Title: That's A Little Awkward, Part 2

Characters: Max Linell, Rikki Suvari, Asakura Kazumi, Kagurazaka Asuna, Jennifer Minindry, Sasaki Makie, Akashi Yuuna, Okochi Akira

Genre: Angst, Friendship

Rated: G

Timeline: After the Darkness arc, before summer vacation

Spoilers: Pretty big spoilers for the Darkness arc, so be sure to read the whole arc before you read this; also, read 'That's a Little Awkward, Part 1' first, obviously.

"Okay, so, you said she's here?" Asuna asked, looking at Kazumi.

"Yeah, just like the last two times you asked me," Kazumi said. She glanced out through one of the big windows in Natsumi's Diner and leaned on the table, using her left hand to prop up her head. "It'll be fine; stop worrying."

"I don't know...I just keep thinking of all these things that could go wrong," Asuna said. She glanced over at the only other occupied table, a corner table where Akira sat, staring blankly out into space. 'Poor girl's still in shock,' she thought sadly. Poor Akira...she and Max had just clicked the first time they met, and that had been that. For the past six years, the two of them and Jennifer, Max's...whatever she was, had been inseparable. Now that Max finally had a chance to speak with the ghost of his girlfriend who had unexpectedly died on a mission-gone-wrong years ago, Asuna knew Akira must have been afraid that he might abandon her and Jennifer. The poor girl, normally so strong and confident, was a nervous wreck. Asuna didn't think Max would hurt Akira or Jennifer like that, but...her fingers moved to grip the hilt of her sword of their own accord.

"What's she doing?" Asuna asked, turning back to Kazumi.

Kazumi, clearly annoyed at the other redhead's constant questions, glanced over to the side. "She's pacing back and forth, wringing her hands, looking worried...about what you'd expect," she said, cocking an eyebrow as she looked back at Asuna. "It's not like she had any idea he was even in the city until she overheard you talking about it. At least, she didn't say anything to me."

Asuna nodded nervously. "And that is thanks to you casting that translation spell on her," she said, getting some of her own back. She hadn't thought much about how Rikki, as a ghost, would react to the presence of her former partner and boyfriend. 'Come on, stop worrying! It's just like Kazumi said, this will go well. You don't want to just give up now and have to watch something like a scene ripped out of a harem manga, do you?' She sighed. Watching Max, Akira, and Jennifer bumble around awkwardly while dancing around the subject of Max's old dead girlfriend who had just returned as a ghost would just be too much. Once she had had that thought, it just wouldn't go away. It was just like something out of a bad harem manga! "Or maybe a cheap TV drama," she said aloud.

Kazumi glanced over at her. "Did you say something?"

Asuna shook her head, and Kazumi's gaze returned to the window. Asuna sat there in the otherwise quiet diner for maybe thirty seconds before her cell phone beeped. She pulled it out and flipped it open. The text message she found waiting for her was short and simple. "Ayaka says he's coming," she said aloud.

The effects of her announcement were immediate. Kazumi's attention snapped back to her, while Akira fell half out of her seat, scrambled up, and ran across the dining area to hide behind the counter. Natsumi, preparing for the afternoon rush, gave her an odd look as she crouched down out of sight, but didn't force her out.

"You! Right here!" Kazumi said in a firm voice, looking at nothing Asuna could see as she pointed at a spot on the floor beside her. Asuna couldn't see the ghost, but judging from Kazumi's appreciative nod, it followed her orders and moved to stand beside her.

As the seconds stretched to first one minute and then five, Asuna began to get annoyed. She had just pulled out her cell phone to demand an update when the bell above the door jingled, signaling a new arrival. Asuna looked up to see her friend Max, dragged along by Yuuna and Makie, one girl on each arm, with Jennifer pushing along from behind.

"Look, I said I was going to go, and I meant it!" he growled out at them. "You don't have to drag me!"

"Yeah right! You were just going to stand on that street corner moping all day if we didn't drag you here!" Yuuna said, grinning widely. "Admit it!"

"Yeah! You're acting like a schoolboy with a crush!" Makie added as she did her best to drag her friend and fellow P.E. teacher into the diner by his left arm.

Asuna immediately noticed Jennifer's unusual silence as well as the fact that she seemed to be working just as hard as the other two to speed him up. Asuna didn't quite understand the relationship the two of them shared, much less how Akira fit into it, but it was obvious to anyone who knew her that Jennifer was just as nervous as Akira, maybe even more. Nevertheless, she kept pushing.

"Look, I said I was going to come along, so stop dragging me!" he bellowed, shaking off Yuuna and Makie with ease. "And you...!" he said, whirling to face Jennifer, who lost her balance and crashed into him. His arm went around her to keep her from falling, and she buried her face in his chest. He growled something under his breath. "Jennifer..."

"Oo~h, look at that!" Yuuna said, from where she had safely fallen onto a padded bench in one of the booths next to the door.

"Oh? What's this?!" Makie said in mock horror, holding her hands over her heart as if she had just had it pierced.

"Shut up!" Max bellowed, gently pushing Jennifer away as he glared at Makie and Yuuna. In spite of the anger he showed, he was blushing so completely from neck to hairline that Asuna had to struggle to stifle a laugh. As scary and serious as the big man liked to portray himself, he was a total softie inside, and probably as nervous as Akira and Jennifer and Rikki seemed to be. He was very careful as well; Asuna hadn't missed how he had flung both Yuuna and Makie away, only for them to miraculously fall on heavily padded benches when they could have easily ended up bouncing off of a table or hitting a wall instead. She heaved a sigh and stepped forward. She grabbed his hand before he realized she was close enough, and gave it a little tug to get him moving.

"I'm not a child," he growled under his breath.

Asuna grinned up at him. "Well come on then. It's not that bad, is it?" She looked ahead, toward where Kazumi was standing. "Are you ready?"

Kazumi nodded and looked over to the side at something only she could see. "Ready? Do it just like I told you," she said, holding out her hand. For a long moment nothing happened, but then Kazumi put her head down, shivered, and wrapped her arms around herself.

Asuna watched, curious, as something about Kazumi changed. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but the moment the ghost took control was obvious. Everything, from the way she moved to the way she carried herself to the way her gaze darted across the diner was eerily unlike Kazumi. She felt Max grip her hand tightly and looked back at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost," she said, before she could stop herself. Yuuna groaned at the bad joke as she sat on her padded bench.

"Y...you could say that," Max said quietly, his eyes glued on Kazumi.

Kazumi, or rather the ghost operating Kazumi's body, froze upon hearing Max's voice and looked up at him. Asuna noted that her eyes were incredibly wide, as if she had seen a ghost herself. "M...Max..." The voice that came out of Kazumi's mouth was eerily different, forcibly reminding Asuna that, again, this was not Kazumi. "You...you can hear me now..."

"...Rikki...?" he replied nervously.

She took a hesitant step forward, then another, and then she broke into a stumbling run toward him. Max caught her and hugged her tight.

"Rikki...Rikki..." he said. "I'm sorry, Rikki. I never meant for..."

"Oh Max...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Asuna could only watch such a sappy thing for so long before she had to avert her eyes out of embarrassment for both parties involved. Or rather, for all three parties involved, since, while Rikki was in charge, it was Kazumi's body she was using to cling to Max. A quick look at Yuuna showed her to be taking pictures with her cell phone, and a quick look at Makie showed her to be doing the same. Jennifer was just standing near the door, her gaze averted from Max and Rikki as she stared off into space with a closed off expression on her face, while Akira was peeking up over the counter, watching the exchange and no doubt freaking out inside her head. Akira was normally among the most stable members of their old class; it seemed the only thing that could ever make her lose her cool was Max. Asuna looked back at Max and Rikki and was disturbed to see Rikki looking like she was getting ready to go for a kiss.

"Okay! Well now, why don't we all sit down and talk!" Asuna said, slapping each one on the shoulder. They all but leaped apart when they realized what they had been about to do. "So!" she said, steering them to a booth, where she shoved Rikki into one side and forced her over to the wall. "Wait here a minute," she said to Max as she trotted over to the door and grabbed Jennifer.

"Wh-hey! Don't, I mean, I don't want to-to get in their way..."

"No time!"Asuna growled at her. "Do you want them to get back together, or do you want them to accept reality?" she demanded as she dragged Jennifer over to the booth and shoved her in opposite Rikki. Rikki quickly looked down at her hands and Jennifer looked down to where the bench butted up against the wall. Asuna quickly dragged Akira's protesting form out from behind the counter and shoved her in next to Jennifer, then pushed Max in beside them, ignoring his protests about a lack of space. 'Okay, what now...?' Asuna wondered as she spotted Yuuna and Makie. She motioned them over and they quickly took up positions in the booths on each side, moving so they could watch the whole thing. With nothing else left, Asuna slid in next to Rikki, blocking any possible attempt at escape.

"Well!" Asuna said, looking around at the spectacularly crowded table. "Everybody comfortable? Natsumi!" she called out.

"Coming!" Natsumi replied as she bustled around the counter and laid out two trays full of food. Megumi, the only waitress at the moment, brought three more.

"Great!" Asuna said, full of enthusiasm. "Here! Try some of this spaghetti! Natsumi's got the best cook in town working in the kitchen today!" she said, pointing at the cook in question. The curvy young woman in the chef hat behind the counter smiled and waved at them, then went back to her task. Asuna pushed the plate over in front of Rikki, who hesitantly picked up a fork.

The next five minutes were some of the most awkward Asuna had ever felt. No one wanted to eat at first, but that quickly changed when they got a taste of Satsuki's spaghetti. There was little sound but the clanking of silverware against plates after that. 'I knew it was a good idea to ask Satsuki to help out with this,' Asuna thought as she again glanced at the chef. She had initially worried that Satsuki might reject her request since Satsuki's restaurant chain and Natsumi's Diner were technically in competition with each other, but she felt like an idiot when Satsuki agreed as soon as Asuna explained the situation. Of course Satsuki would help! Asuna knew she should have known there wouldn't even be a question; even though she had always been the quiet one, Satsuki cared just as much about her old friends and classmates as the rest of them did.

After the plates were cleared, however, silence again fell like a lead weight over the table. Asuna was ready to pull her hair out when someone unexpected came to the rescue.

"That was really good," Jennifer said after a moment. This brought about a chorus of hesitant agreement.

"Of course!" Asuna said, seizing upon the opportunity. "Satsuki's the best chef in town!" She turned to Rikki. "So how about you? What did you think?" she asked.

Rikki shrank back, but opened her mouth to answer. "It...it was really very good," she said, then looked up at Asuna. "I haven't had anything like that in years."

Asuna just blinked at her. Had Rikki just told a joke? Her grin widened as she decided that yes, she had. It was a pitiful attempt, but a joke was a joke.

"So then he says 'Well I thought it was a good idea at the time'," Rikki said, badly mimicking the deep voice of one of her and Max's old friends back in America. Everyone cracked up or smiled at the story, even, to Asuna's relief, Jennifer, who had seemed even more nervous than Rikki at first. Asuna grinned at her, and Jennifer returned it with her own awkward grin, her way of showing Asuna she was at least trying. Everyone was trying, and that was a big help. Even Akira, jealous as she could be without even realizing it when it came to Max, seemed to have warmed up to Rikki, if only a little.

Asuna took a sip of her drink, but something about the taste made her eye it suspiciously. A quick glance over at Natsumi showed the other woman quickly hiding a large bottle of some alcoholic drink. Asuna shrugged. She would take any help she could get right now, even spiked drinks. 'Or maybe I should tell her to lay off on Akira's share...' Asuna thought as she eyed the long haired woman leaning heavily against Max. It was pretty obvious to anyone who knew her that Akira was, if not drunk already, close to it.

A glance over at Rikki showed her chatting with Yuuna, so Asuna decided the time was right for a push in the right direction. She looked at Max, caught his eyes, and glanced over at Rikki. He looked at her, then quickly away, and picked up his drink. Asuna kicked him in the shin.

"Rikki," Max said. Something in his tone cut through the alcohol-induced gaiety at the table in a heartbeat, and Asuna looked over to see Rikki looking at Max, her eyes big and worried. Again, she was struck by the difference between Kazumi herself and Rikki borrowing Kazumi's body. He gently forced open Akira's grip on his arm and stood up from the table. Asuna, realizing what he wanted to do, stood up to allow Rikki to slide out and face him, and stood watching the two as they faced each other.

"Rikki..."

"Max..."

They paused, looking at each other, each waiting for the other to speak first.

"Rikki," Max finally said. He looked down at Jennifer with her head down and Akira, looking up at him with big watery eyes, and then at Yuuna and Makie, who waited excitedly for what he would say next. He glanced at Asuna, and she nodded at him, smiling. Finally, he looked back at Rikki, who quickly averted her gaze. He reached up and gently took the end of her chin in his hand, and their eyes met. They stood in silence for a long, long moment, just looking at each other.

"I'm sorry, Rikki," he finally said.

Rikki smiled sadly, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "I know, Max."

Asuna just looked at the two of them blankly. '...what?' She almost asked if that was it, but Rikki suddenly spasmed, her knees gave out, and Max moved to catch her before she could fall to the floor. Rikki clung to him weakly and shook her head as if to clear it, and suddenly she was Kazumi again, looking up at Max's ugly mug, and she let out a startled shriek and punched him in the nose. Naturally, he dropped her on the floor.

Asuna sighed. Her anticipation of what would happen had been tremendous, but that resolution... '"I'm sorry"? "I know"?' Asuna thought, frowning. What a letdown...! She heaved another sigh as Akira and Jennifer doted on Max, and turned to Kazumi. "Well? Where did she go?"

Kazumi, clearly embarrassed by what Rikki had done with her body, looked around and frowned. "I don't know, she's not in this building anymore, at least."

"You didn't see where she went at all?" Asuna asked, cocking an eyebrow as she moved to help her friend up.

"Well excuse me for living," Kazumi said dryly as she allowed Asuna to pull her to her feet. "I'm trying to recover from the third most terrifying thing I've ever seen, thanks. A little understanding might be nice," she said, cocking an eyebrow of her own.

Asuna rolled her eyes. "Tch. Quit'yer whining. I saw him first thing in the morning once, before he had time to clean himself up. You've got nothing to complain about." The corner of her mouth quirked upward in a half-smile.

Kazumi rolled her eyes. "Besides, I've got to run damage control on Makie and Yuuna. You don't think they've uploaded the pictures to the internet yet, do you?"

Asuna's eyes went wide and she quickly looked at the two girls in question, both trying to stifle laughter while they looked at Yuuna's cell phone. "...it's probably too late.

Kazumi heaved a sigh. "Damn."