She stopped suddenly when she noticed us. Fear took over her face when she saw Kurumi. Kurumi smiled. "My, my. Isn't this a pleasant surprise." she said. I could see the poor girl trembling a bit. "I simply must take advantage of this rare opportunity, Yoshino." she continued, changing into her Astral dress.

I couldn't just let this happen. After all, my goal was to get her to stop eating other living beings. I stepped in front of Kurumi. "Please. Don't." I begged her.

"Yeah! Why don't you listen to your boyfriend, you big bully!" I heard from an unfamiliar voice. I turned to face Yoshino again. "Stop. I'm trying to help you here." I told her. "I... I didn't.." the young girl muttered in a second voice. It definitely puzzled me a bit. "Hey! I'm the one who said that, stupid!" the puppet, Yoshinon answered.

I have to admit, her ventriloquism act was flawless.

Kurumi was getting impatient. "And just why shouldn't I consume her, Shawn?" she asked me. I hate to admit it, but I didn't have much of an argument. "Isn't this what we were trying to avoid today? To try regular food instead of living beings?" I said. "That's right! Keep your dog on her leash, boyfriend!" I heard Yoshinon spouting behind me. I turned to see Yoshino covering Yoshinon's mouth. "Okay, listen here you little shit! I-" I yelled at Yoshinon.

I would have continued arguing, but I realized it was just a puppet. A very, very, VERY annoying puppet. I took a deep breath.

"Look, I'm trying to help you here, Yoshino." I calmly stated. "I know...But Yoshinon..." she said. The poor girl was obviously shaken up. "Enough of this!" Kurumi yelled. She raised her musket. Yoshino jumped back, raising a wall of ice. "EVERYBODY JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" I started yelling.

"So basically, Kurumi killed Yoshino?" the Commander asked. "Not exactly..." Shawn said. "Hey, got any more cigarettes?" Shawn asked. The Commander pulled out a new pack and the lighter from earlier. He gave a cigarette to Shawn and he put it to his mouth and leaned over a bit so the Commander could light it. "Nice zippo. Where'd you get it?" Shawn joked, taking a puff. The Commander laughed slightly to himself.

So here's what happened. Kurumi flew passed me and blasted a hole into the wall of ice. Yoshino flew off on top of Yoshinon, who was now at least twenty times its actual size, taking on the form of a rabbit-like, vicious monster. Kurumi chased after.

There was running. So much fucking running. Do you have any idea how fast Spirits move? Yeah, I learned that the hard way. I eventually chased the two of them to a nearby park, presumably the one where Kurumi had previously murdered two others. Kurumi had backed Yoshino to some trees. Yoshino, being trapped, had to choice but to switch to the offensive. They both lunged at each other. But as they did, I ran in between them, panting and gasping a bit. With my lungs feeling frozen, I gave it all I could "STOP!" I yelled. I knew Kurumi wouldn't have been at least upset if she accidentally did serious harm to her lovable servant. And I had a feeling Yoshino couldn't bring herself to harm a bystander. They both suddenly stopped.

"Let's...talk...this...over." I managed to say in between gasps. I vowed never to chase after a Spirit again.

I'll skip ahead a bit. After some intense negotiations, I somehow managed to diffuse the situation. Though it was still Winter, a local ice cream shop, which is almost famous for its ice cream, was still open. It was sort of an old place, but still a hangout to a lot of people, just not recently. I somehow managed Kurumi to let Yohino accompany us there. We bought Yoshino vanilla ice cream in, what the store called, a "Like it" size. Me and Kurumi decided to share a vanilla in a "Love it" size. At first, the four of us, counting Yoshinon, sat quietly, keeping to ourselves. "Not gonna lie, this is pretty awkward." Yoshinon said, finally breaking the silence. "It was only awkward after you announced it." I lied. "Please Shawn. There's no use arguing with it." Kurumi told me. "I have a name you know." Yoshinon announced. Kurumi ignored it. "I...Um.." Yoshino started. She was speaking to me. "Hmm?" I asked. "The ice cream...It's...Thank you." she managed to utter. I smiled. "Don't mention it kid." I said. Yoshino smiled a bit and relaxed.

Kurumi kicked my shin under the table. I winced a bit.

"What's the deal with you two anyway?" Yoshinon asked me.

I didn't miss a beat. "We're lovers." I replied. Kurumi choked a bit on her ice cream and kicked my shin again.

"He's my servant." Kurumi quickly stated. "In any case, why should it matter to you?" Kurumi asked. "Just making conversation." Yoshinon replied. "Your idea of 'making conversation' annoys me." Kurumi said. "Well, someone here has to break the silence, and you sure aren't doing it." said Yoshinon. The bickering was starting to annoy me. "Can we just enjoy our ice cream in peace, please?" I pleaded.

Kurumi kicked my shin again. It really wouldn't be a problem, if she didn't kick the exact same fucking spot over and over again. I started tearing up a bit. I was in hell. A tasty, cold, vanilla-flavored hell.

We all finished our ice cream and left the store. "Thank you again for the ice cream..." Yoshino said. Kurumi looked away, crossing her arms. "Hey, no problem kid. I'm glad you enjoyed it." I said. Yoshino turned to Kurumi. "T-thank you.." she said, timidly. "You're welcome." Kurumi replied. Yoshino then turned and walked away, sort of hurrying off a bit. It began snowing lightly. I turned to Kurumi.

"You're not too mad at me, are you?" I asked. "And if I am? How would you make it up to me?" she asked. I took a moment. "What if I wrote you a song and played it on my guitar? Would you forgive me then?" I asked. She stayed silent a moment before sighing a bit. "I guess I would have to, wouldn't I?" she said. She turned to me and smiled warmly.

"We are lovers, after all."