Chapter 44: Recruiting Candace And Gemma
*CONTINUING ON*
"Autographs and fan mails will only be accepted after you receive your votes! So if you don't have anything to write on, there are writing utensils on each table so please feel free to write down who you are voting for and put them in the drop box!"
Fan mails?! So maybe I can use these letters as fan mails so that they'll think I'm supporting them, but I'm recruiting them. Hopefully I can succeed.
"I forgot my envelope. I wanted to give Candace a real fan mail for good luck." Xavier said.
Well… envelopes… that's what I meant to say.
"So that's all we have time for, ladies and gentlemen! Let's give one more round of applause for Candace and Gemma! If you wish to stick around here, the party will close at 7:45 PM. And if you guys are leaving, we'll see you at the Royal Rally. Fan votes will be revealed tomorrow. Let's keep enjoying this party, folks!" The man on the mic said as he put the microphone down and started waving to everybody and everybody started clapping.
Wow… I guess that was pretty good. No wonder he had that much confidence. I guess he must be a famous person.
"Alright… time to put in my vote. C-A-N-D-A-C-E. Candace." Xavier said.
"That sounded pretty weird." Wendell said with a sweatdrop.
"More like a 4-year old monologue." Cheyenne added.
"I don't care. I still have confidence in myself." Xavier said. "My whole attention is on Candace tomorrow, and I'm gonna win her respect and support her against Gemma because Gemma, she's nice, I'll give it to her, but she's overrated. She hasn't beat Candace one time. Yet she's still here. So I'm going to support Candace once more."
Xavier then rushed towards the line to put his vote in Candace's drop box, leaving some of us with sweatdrops due to the fact that once more he's going to cause a scene.
"I guess Xavier's going to overdo himself again." I said while still looking at him.
"Agreed. Candace may be in for a little treat once again with him being here." Blue said.
"I mean, he isn't all that bad." Wendell said. "We both know what we talk about so him just going into Candace's lane doesn't affect me at all. That's just… how it is."
"But doesn't it concern you that he's exasperating Candace? She doesn't have that much of a relationship with him. Well she talks with him a little bit. But she still finds him annoying."
"Well, I expected it from her in my opinion." Cheyenne said. "She doesn't like to get along with people who have the will to be over excited and like to ask for autographs and money like they are at a sporting event."
"To be honest, Cheyenne, according to what you said, I think I've encountered that before. It was just way too embarrassing to follow through in a way." I said.
"What do you mean?"
"Wait, you got encountered by lots of people who like how you look?" Wendell asked.
"Yes. I appreciated their comments about my looks, but it's like I'm a celebrity now which I don't want to be. I'm just fine being in my own lane."
"Well… speaking of celebrities, can I borrow you for a second, Kaze?" Blue asked.
"Me… uh, sure." I said, looking confused.
About what though?
"I'll be right back. I need to talk to her for a second." Blue said as we both got up from our seats and headed somewhere private.
You know, now that I'm thinking, I never got the chance to talk to Blue about who she will be recruiting. I know I've heard from her that most girls don't pay attention to her due to Candace's immense talent for fashion, but I really don't want her to give up the ghost now. I just want us to stay active in recruiting so that we don't have to waste time.
We only have a few days left before the stones appear. I'm just hoping something good happens. Otherwise, I'm going to be on the losing end of the recruiting mission.
Once we found an important hiding spot, this is when Blue said this first…
"Ok, this will do right here. Now I'm really curious. Ever since I saw you holding those envelopes, I'm starting to get the feeling that you want Candace and Gemma on our side, right?"
It shocked me very hard. I didn't know she was seeing right through me this whole time. But then at the same time, I was concerned because I'm thinking she didn't do something at her end. Like I said, I don't want her to give up the ghost. I need her at the current moment.
"Y-Yeah! How did you know about this?!" I asked.
"Kaze, I was at Candace, Gemma and your envelopes. I could tell you wanted them on your team."
"I honestly don't know anyone here in the United Kingdom. And I think recruiting strangers would be like dragging them to our side without reasoning with them. I would feel embarrassed doing that."
…
"I understand."
"What?"
"I said I understand. However, Candace isn't really experienced with supernatural and dimensional stuff. That's just not in her life history. But we did promise that we would tell Candace about Thanos' scheme. We can't break that promise either. As for Gemma… I don't think she might handle becoming an HCU. How would she feel if we tell her what is going on?"
"I've asked her about it. But I didn't know what her reaction was. I told her I'll have to hold off on what Thanos was plotting because she has a Royal Rally to prepare for but I decided I wanted to give her this envelope so that I won't have to waste time trying to get her to join us on our mission."
"Are you sure she's really ok with this?" Blue asked.
"She told me that she'll be patient. So it tells me that she was interested to listen to what I remembered." I asked.
…
"Alright… but to be honest… I need to grab your envelopes for Candace. It can be a little difficult to recruit her on your own. I need to do my share of recruiting anyway since I haven't gotten a chance to do so."
Blue… you didn't do anything?
…
But I guess she has a history with Candace, so I guess I can trust her for this one.
"Ok then. If you think you can handle Candace, then here you go." I said as I passed her the envelope with a green ribbon. "This is green so that should be Candace's. And I guess my assignment is Gemma then."
"Hopefully Gemma accepts this since she's nice after all." Blue said.
"I mean I've met Gemma yesterday and hopefully this will stay the same. Hopefully." I whispered.
"And I'm sorry if I didn't get a chance to find some other people to recruit. It was just so hard finding people who want to take action in having to find these stones. This stuff can be really difficult."
"Don't apologize. Like you said, it is difficult but we have to keep trying. No matter how difficult it is."
"I agree. Where'd you even get these envelopes from anyway?"
"I got them from Lunia. I've asked her for her help and this was the best she could do."
"Oh ok. Then I guess she was expecting us to do this on our own then." Blue asked.
"Possibly."
"Alright. I'll try to figure something out. We should send these to Gemma and Candace."
"Wait… it looks like we need to put in our votes before doing so, don't you think?" I asked Blue.
"Well… yeah. I forgot to mention that."
Hopefully with this new formula, it could maximize our chances. Hopefully. It'll be like finishing our work separately.
If Candace agrees… It could definitely be huge. But it will definitely be decided after the party.
"Alright. We're back." Blue said as we both made it back to our table.
"Where did you two go?" Xavier asked.
"I was talking to Kaze about who she was going to pick for the Royal Rally. We can't tell you though." Blue said.
"You know, you could at least spill the beans already, Kaze."
"I can't. It's really a secret if you must know." I said as I took a card and a writing utensil.
"Why is that?" Emily asked.
"You must have something up your sleeve." Wendell said.
"I mean, you're only just voting for one person." Lucas said. "It's not like everyone's gonna criticize you for just voting for the wrong person."
"I know, I know." I said. "But still though, I have my personal reasons for doing this. It's just going to be for the one time."
…
…
I guess I have to decide who to vote for, huh?
…
…
…
…
…
…
Well… Gemma is nice of course… Candace on the other hand seems like she wants more support due to Gemma being in the way. And Candace has been in the Royal Rally five times and it looks like she wants to do more damage to Gemma. But Gemma on the other hand… she wants a lot of people to look at her more since she has a lot of respect and energy to the event. And in three of those events… she hasn't been living up to the expectations to even become a popular fashionista. I know she's the definition of fun, but Candace is beating her way too much and I'm not sure why Gemma is getting the more fans that she deserves even when she's trying her very hardest. And Candace might get upset with me if I lended the support to Gemma. But Candace isn't all that friendly with Gemma since her rivalry with her heats up with Gemma getting lots of fans and lots of people pumping her up dramatically.
…
…
…
I have to give Candace her respect. I want to try to help Gemma with all my might… but it sounds like Candace definitely makes sense for me. I don't really like unfriending people, especially Gemma, but I have to make both relationships make sense for me. Although I don't really want to change their personalities. It's not right.
…
So I'm gonna have to go with Candace for this one.
After thinking it through, I wrote "Candace" on my card to indicate that I'm gonna root for Candace.
Sorry, Gemma. I got to do this.
"Alright. I'm done. Like I said, I can't tell you guys. I have my own reasons for this." I said to everyone.
"Alright. We won't have to force you." Cheyenne said.
"Now I'm thinking that you are really gonna shock everyone with who you are voting for." Emily said.
"No, I don't think it's likely. My vote is hidden." I said.
"Yeah, whatever." Xavier said.
"Hopefully you'll stay cool out there." Aiden said.
"I will. I'm just only inserting my vote in."
"Same here." Blue said as she was holding her voting card. "Candace is my friend and all, so I voted for her again."
"I knew you were gonna pick Candace." Juniper said.
"Well I have to prove to her that I'm always on time since she's always worried about me being on time. If she can give me some time at least." Blue said in annoyance.
"Candace would love that extra support." Xavier said.
"She's my friend after all… but I like Gemma as well so there's no point in telling that I'm on Candace's side. I have to make things balanced."
That would be necessary on my end. Wait…
"Anyway, we're gonna put our votes in before more people swarm in and we have to wait a long time."
"Hopefully you'll say hi to her." Lucas said.
"We will. If she can see us."
We both walked towards the voter's box, ready to send in our votes. Something felt off to me for some reason because we both picked Candace for some reason, ruling her as the unanimous pick for the Royal Rally instead of just keeping the seesaw balanced. This was when Blue said something that I was going to bring up…
"Did you decide on who you were gonna vote for?" Blue asked.
…
"*sigh* I voted for Candace as well. Just to win her respect." I said.
"You are going for Candace?! I thought you were going for Gemma!" Blue asked, looking shocked.
"I know. I wanted to pick her so badly, but after thinking about those two for so long, I want to help Candace in some way. I really want her on my team. I mean, if it's ok with her. I just want to do anything I can to win her trust. And hopefully, I can do the same for Gemma. At least, if this doesn't shatter her heart that she's going to think I'm betraying her."
"So you decided to go with what would be best for you?"
"That's right. But I'm not sure how Gemma's going to take this though. Because now our relationship might be in the opposite direction."
Blue then was thinking about it for a minute. She might have realized that my idea was not the idea that she would recommend. And I understand why now. Having to cope with relationships with celebrities is extremely strenuous.
But this was when the tables turned from there with Blue saying this…
"Then give me Gemma's envelope. I'll change my vote to Gemma."
"H-Huh?! You want to turn your back on Candace?!" I asked, looking shocked.
"No. You wanted to recruit Candace and Gemma, right? Candace is not easy to persuade on your own, but for you to say that you want to win her respect now makes me think that you're trying to get her and Gemma to link up as HGUs alongside us. And to be honest… I had a strong feeling lately that I was going to do the same thing too. I never got to interact with Gemma that much, but if you're trying to get them to link up, then I'll do Gemma for you. Because yes Candace is my friend and all since we've known each other for years, but if you're trying to recruit Candace, you want to at least give her something in return. Like that vote you have right there. And I'll do the rest on Gemma. She kinda needs my support anyway."
"Huh… I never thought you were gonna do this to Candace. Ok, I guess we both are going two seperate ways for this one, aren't we?" I asked.
"Candace is gonna hate me for this, I can tell, but I'm doing what's best for us. Recruiting girls is not easy, but we won't know unless we try."
"I understand. I'll take Candace's envelope then."
"Alright."
We both swapped envelopes as we both have officially decided who's going to recruit who. That was when Blue took her leave and I was all alone for this one.
Alright, Candace. I know this is not going to sound pretty to you, but… I will do my best to recruit you.
Blue's POV
Minutes after swapping envelopes and finally deciding who is going to recruit Candace and/or Gemma, I reached back to the table where I was going to change my vote to Gemma for Kaze. I have always been on Candace's side. Always. But Kaze being all alone is not a good look for her despite not wanting to be overwhelmed by lots of people.
"I changed my mind. I'm going for Gemma for this one." I said as I grabbed a writing utensil and started erasing my card.
"Wait, you changed your mind?!" Wendell asked.
"I thought you were going for Candace." Aiden said.
"I know, but I feel like the more I look at Gemma, the more supportive I want to be to her. I just want to give her support just for once." I said.
"Are you serious? Man, this is such betrayal. Candace is gonna come after you hard if you do this." Xavier said.
"I know. But it's for the best. I gotta do the unthinkable." I said as I started writing Gemma on the card I had.
"Unthinkable is what's gonna make this harder for yourself, Blue." Cheyenne said.
"True. But I still have to shuffle things up. I'll get back to Candace at the next Royal Rally, but for this one, Gemma is who I'm gonna vote for."
"Damn, that's really sad." Juniper said. "Turning your back on the number one fashionista in the world. But It's not like I want you to stay loyal to your friend or anything."
"I'll get back to her. I promise. Just trust me." I said as I walked away from the others as I was getting ready to put in my vote for Gemma.
Sure, this may hurt Candace that I'm gonna vote for Gemma, but I would never want to betray a celebrity that I have met for 3 ½ years. Of course she can be so furious over us making one wrong move, but it doesn't excuse the fact that I still want to keep the relationship connected.
It still haunts me that I have to go for Gemma due to Kaze having to recruit Candace on her team in which it was unexpected. Candace is not into supernatural things, but I'm still surprised that she wants to hear us out. I'm just hopeful that Kaze can pull this off in one fell swoop.
…
Just thinking about Kaze right now… she's just a really special girl that is the same age as me. So easygoing on me… I wish there were more people like her.
…
H-Hey. What's with the look? There's nothing heartwarming about it. I just want to focus on my dreams of becoming a mage. And I got what I wanted thanks to Kaze. I didn't know how she managed to do the unexpected.
Several minutes of waiting in line to put in my vote for Gemma, I finally got the chance to do so. That might actually mean that me and Kaze will face off in a way. But by supporting different celebrities. I haven't seen Gemma in months. So that'll only mean that I'll get a chance to speak with her in person and hand her Kaze's recruiting letter.
Hopefully I'll stay confident!
"Thank you for sending me fan mail, everyone! Let's keep racking them up! I would be so appreciative!" I can hear Gemma shout on stage.
That's really like Gemma. I guess I have a shot now.
"Gemma!" I called as I was walking up to her.
"Oh? Oh! Blue Mackenzie! Long time no see! I love that outfit you're wearing!" Gemma said to me with a cheeky smile.
What I was wearing was a light-blue T-shirt with white snowflakes all over the front, double white rubber bands, white jean shorts, and very long pure white boots. I even had a snowflake hairpin on the left side. Just to make myself more entertaining.
"Thank you. And same to you. I've never paid much attention to you recently so I decided to meet up with you and give you some support." I said to her.
"Wow, I'm really thankful of course. But I'm really shocked that you voted for me to be honest."
"Because I'm picking for Candace more often?" I asked.
"Yeah. You are really a Candace stan after all. I'm even surprised that this is actually her last Royal Rally. Then I might be all alone for this one."
"You sure seem to be a good citizen to her even though she still finds you as an annoyance." I said.
"Well… I am a nice person, but I still love to tease people because I find it funny. Most people sometimes find me funny. But other than being funny, I always bring massive energy to my fans, even you of course. It seems like now I'm a superhero. In a way."
"Uhh… I wouldn't say that you are a superhero in a way. Maybe a "superstar"?"
"Or that too. I could go with that."
"*gasp* Or speaking of being a superhero, I wanted to give you this envelope that might take you to the next level." I said as I gave Gemma the envelope. "Maybe that way, the amount of fans you'll get will skyrocket in a way. It's something… futuristic. You don't have to open it right now though! I prefer waiting until after the Royal Rally. But it's something that you might like. When you get a chance, try to read it for me."
"Wow… thank you! This is a really big envelope! Ok, I'll open it after the Royal Rally then. I promise. I really appreciate you giving me such fascinating mail."
"No problem. I'll be wishing you good luck out there, Gemma." I said as I waved at her.
"Thank you! Tell your friends I said hi for me!" Gemma said to me back.
"I will!"
Well… I guess it turned out to be a no-brainer. I see why everyone has taken a liking for her. She really isn't all that bad to talk too after all.
…
But I still need to not break our relationship with Candace. I'm gonna regret it hard if I don't set it straight to her. Still, this is for the best.
Kaze's POV
After putting in my vote for Candace, I was getting ready to walk up to Candace where lots of people were handing in fan mails and autographs to her. Lots of people were really taking a liking of her. Due to how much she has grown in the Royal Rally.
I guess fashionistas are mostly what girls like. I wonder why they aren't more like her. They can be famous too. I'm glad I didn't get roped into these unwanted situations or am all alone. Otherwise, I could be inundated with lots of fans, boy or girl. I would love to dye my hair back to black, but I like how I am.
…
*sigh* Just looking at Candace…
"Ohhohohoho! Please, please! One at a time! I'll do my best to enlighten you all with your wishes! You all will soon be ecstatic! Just be patient with me! Now I'll start with you!"
Just another Rulue I have to deal with. Just thinking back to how she was before.
*FLASHBACK*
"My apologies, Raffina. I guess my fighting techniques got you scared, huh?" Rulue asked.
"No need to apologize, Lady Rulue. You are totally fine with your queenly martial arts."
"Well, I'm glad you understood."
"Ohhohoho~!" Those two were laughing like royalty.
"Do you girls know each other?" I asked them.
"Of course. We both are known to have strong martial arts abilities. I was surprised when I first met her." Raffina explained.
"I see."
"Wait, not to mention, Kaze? Do you play Puyo Puyo?"
Rulue asked.
"Actually, yes. I just got to this world several days ago."
*PRESENT*
Her and Raffina really do get along very well. But I'm still shocked by the fact that her clone side almost finished me, grabbing my throat so hard. I still don't forgive Ecolo for what he did to our friends. Just extremely harsh.
Aside from that, It looks like I have to go through another person who is also trying to be beautiful. This feels like a whole new dimension to me even though Liverpool is just… Liverpool. My home.
After waiting a couple of minutes with the number of people getting lower, I finally got the chance to meet Candace in person for the second time. It may still sting that I would not vote for Gemma because we both grew a liking to each other at the tennis court, but I would want to work with both. Something that I've really wanted to do. Just to not only get on another level of making new friends, but to get them to cooperate with me to help find the other stones.
Candace's is going to be really difficult. I just have to stay focused.
"This is going very smoothly! Ah! You must be that Katie girl from before!" Candace said as I was walking up to her with an envelope in my hand.
"It's Kaze." I pronounced.
"Kaze? Oh yeah… I don't know how out of all the people you got that name. Are you really sure it's not even your nickname or something?"
"No, that's just actually my first name. I understand why you asked me that, though."
"But I still don't understand where Blue is, though! She should've been for over 6 minutes and this is really starting to piss me off!" Candace said in annoyance.
"But aren't you friends with her? I-It sounded like you did."
"*sigh* We are still friends, yes. But I still want recognition. This is my last Royal Rally and Gemma is still getting in my way. No wonder why she's doing her best to evade me. You know what, just forget it. I guess you getting support is fine. For someone who wants to be like me."
"Uh… I wouldn't want to be like you. I just like how I am." I said.
"Is that outfit you're wearing related to space or something?" Candace asked.
"I guess you can put it that way. This is my first time being in events like this so I thought about wearing something like this."
"Well… God, I'm about to get it really hard." Candace said, acting exasperated while facepalm.
"It's ok. You can say it. It's not like you're feeling offended."
"*sigh* I wish I had that outfi— I mean I had on something similar to that. It would make me even more beautiful to say the least."
"Well not all hope is lost." I said. "Are you a rich fashionista?"
"Yes, but Gemma is the richer human being and makes 3 times the pounds that I have as a young teenager herself. It's the sort of shit that I don't understand. And it's mainly because her wannabe fans are probably going to make her steal the spotlight from me even though I'm more talented than her over the past three Royal Rallies. Don't you think how annoying this is for me?"
"Well… it's not my business. Maybe she's doing it because of her lovable character. I honestly never thought she would get this captivating before. But I kinda understand why you need more recognition. In fact, I think it was the prime reason why I wanted to vote for you."
"R-Really?! So you see where I'm getting at! Hmph… I never thought you would be this reliable right from the start." Candace said with a smirk.
"Well, I'm only doing what's best for me. It's just… ever since I met you, I thought you would be a tough nut to crack since you only care about what is more important in your life and not about other things. So I thought it would be a good time to learn more about you. Even Gemma of course since she's your rival."
"To make it straight, I've always been nice to mature people like yourself, but causing interference with my number one goal to become the most beautiful fashionista in the world is one of the most stupid moves one person could ever do. Because now it's like a race to the summit and I have to do everything in my power to not let it happen to me. I want to be famous of course. Gemma… *sigh* ok, I'm gonna take this down a notch. She's really nice, yes, she's really talented and everyone really respects her for that. But I'm not gonna let someone take away my title after I won three of the matches I've won. She really should just give up already. She's no match for me after all."
"Well.. I also think she isn't all that bad either. In fact, she seems like… she can be an easy person to befriend nowadays."
"Y-You really want to befriend that whippersnapper?" Candace asked.
"To be straight-up, We've already become friends. We met at a local tennis court."
"Yuck! I spit on that!" Candace yelled while facepalming.
"But that doesn't mean I'm losing interest in you. I like keeping things balanced so I'm not gonna forget about you too."
"Yes, I get it, but you befriending her? She really has the nerve." Candace said in annoyance while looking at her. "*sigh* Whatever… I am still thankful for you voting for me in advance. I guess Gemma can suck it for now."
"Y-You're welcome. Geez, girl! Your rivalry will never end with you trash-talking her!" I said while looking shocked.
"Oi, she's gonna get what she really deserves! When it comes to this, nobody can absolutely dominate Princess Candace, the most beautiful woman in the United Kingdom! Ohhohohohohoho!"
"I see… I guess it can't be helped then. Anyway, I wanted to give you this." I said as I handed her the envelope. "I mean, of course, you did promise that I was going to tell you about Thanos and how he got to the United Kingdom, but I decided to write it on a piece of paper."
"Damn, this is a large envelope." Candace said as she was holding on to the envelope.
"But you don't have to read that now, though. I suggest waiting until after the Royal Rally since you have a title to defend and all."
"Well… I can agree with you there. I don't think I have the time to read it because you are holding up other people."
"Oh yeah, I really am holding up other people." I said while looking worried. "But yeah, give it a read if you get a chance. There's also something in there that I would like you to try if you ever have a chance. It's really cool."
"Alright, I appreciate the gift. I don't know how the hell you got such a huge gift but thank you for giving me this." Candace said with a smile.
"No problem. Take good care of it. And I'll see you at the Royal Rally." I said with a smile as I waved and walked away from her.
"We shall meet again, Kaze! Ohhohohohoho!" Candace said with another princess laugh.
…
I-I didn't think she had this in her! Don't get the wrong idea! I thought she was going to be a tough nut to crack once I was talking but since she likes my maturity, our relationship is getting even stronger and we might be able to become friends big-time. I might have 15 friends that I can talk to. It's just pretty amazing that I'm getting this much socialization from other people.
After giving Candace the envelope for secretly recruiting her, I took the time to pull out my phone to check on my mother.
"Hey mom. Are you doing ok?" I texted.
Knowing my mother, I know she might be doing some energized activities like exercising (even though it's getting dark), watching more FIFA highlights (classic mom), or playing Pac-Man. Well… I don't think she would be doing either of those things.
Maybe one day, Mom might find the perfect activity.
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"Yeah. I'm just reading one of your books to give me some relaxation." Mom texted back.
Well, that's something new. Mom is reading my books. I wish I could leave her to it, but I'm starting to get really tired.
"I see. I thought you would be watching more soccer highlights." I texted back.
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"I would, but I'm not really in the mood to be watching soccer. I've gone through a lot today so I've wanted to do one last thing before I can get some rest."
Understandable.
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"How's the party coming along?"
"It's going pretty great. I got to meet some new people and I've sent the recruitment envelopes to both Candace and Gemma." I texted.
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"That's good. It's always important to get stronger too. I want you to get off to a fast start when you're fighting enemies because you don't know their strength."
"I know. But recruiting is more important for me because we need to have exactly 10 people to start our mission."
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"True. But it's still important to train as well. Lunia has her kids well-trained, so I personally think it's best if you train as well."
I guess she's right. I won't be able to start off fresh without training. I'm gonna need it real badly.
"Yeah you're right. I think I need this training. Lunia's gonna be disappointed at me if I don't train. But she's wanting me to recruit some people to join us so maybe tomorrow I'm gonna do it simultaneously. I think I need one more person to recruit."
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"Yeah. You could also do that as well."
I'm getting a little tired.
"I don't think there's anything else to do here. I'm ready to go home now." I texted.
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"Have you talked to Blue and your friends? Have you seen them?"
"Blue helped me out with recruiting Candace and Gemma. It was both of us that helped recruit both of them. We're trying to keep in touch with each other to see if they both accepted." I texted.
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"Oh, I see. I forgot Blue was in the conversation about having to recruit other people. It's really great that you two are working together. You'll definitely be useful resources."
"We'll do our best. I can guarantee it."
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"I'll be on my way over. You just keep having fun."
"Alright." I texted.
I'm just so glad she's giving me these opportunities. This is why I really love my mom. And this is why I'm not gonna leave her side. Hopefully our relationship stays that way.
I was now walking back to the table where I'm gonna meet back up with my friends. Ever since I got back from the world of Puyo Puyo, things have really changed dramatically and this is starting to become a new era for me. There really has been a lot of good things happening to me which is actually shell-shocking. I guess this summer is gonna be a huge breeze outside of work.
And I guess this might continue right here.
"So someone was interested in Candace after all." Juniper said to me.
"Oh… so you saw me." I said while rubbing my head, blushing.
"D-Duh!" Xavier and Wendell said.
"You were up there talking to her for like ten minutes! What gives?! Now I'm pissed off that I don't get to talk to her for a good ten minutes. Xavier said in annoyance.
"It's because of your lack of maturity." Cheyenne said with a sweatdrop.
"You being in my business also lacks maturity coming from you."
"I-It's the truth, damnit!" Cheyenne yelled.
"I chose Candace because I think it's going to help me in maintaining the relationships with both because I thought she would be a little tricky until she was being nice to me. She really likes my maturity so I just kept it going from there."
"Wow… out of all people, I didn't think you had this in you, Kaze." Emily said.
"It seems like a milestone." Juniper said. "She's really about to be your friend?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't gotten a word yet. But I'm inching closer though." I said.
"That's crazy. You must be getting more popular." Wendell said.
"Not really. Just… more recognition is all." I said.
"You can say that you are making a huge surge in friends." Blue said as she was joining us back at the table.
"Well not exactly a huge surge. It's just… it's a sign of improvement. The summer has been really great. It really is."
"Yeah. Knowing you now, you could definitely be easy to talk to in many situations." Cheyenne said.
"It's still crazy how you are getting that much love." Lucas said.
"But don't we all come together as one? We, technically, have the largest group." Wendell said. "Think about how big the size is. It's really… I can't explain it. You know how we've always stuck together in spite of Kaze before she got here. I get this strong feeling that everytime I look at Kaze, the more… pumped I get, so I'm not saying that it's Kaze that I'm liking more than all of you. I'm saying that it's very good that we were able to make that many friends. I think we might set a record as a group."
What he doesn't know is that I have more than that though. I have been traveling over the past few days after all.
"Yeah. Having that many friends is really a big achievement." Emily said. "It's almost as if you're really a celebrity or something which is really tough to ever accomplish."
"I know, but it isn't really needed." I said. "I just thought about you guys keeping me company. I mean, I really can't be living my life all alone. Even though I did say that I just wanted to be alone."
…
"W-Wait… so… I-I'm confused." Lucas said. "You were saying that when you were little, you used to not have any friends because you didn't want anyone to interfere in chasing your dreams, but now you are saying that you didn't want to be alone."
"Well… not wanting to be alone and not wanting to make friends is like two different things." Xavier said.
"Yeah, which is what I'm confused about."
"So, were you trying to chase your dreams first when you were little and decided not to make any friends because you think they might interfere with what you really want?" Blue asked me.
"Yes. Having magic was always my number one goal." I said. "It has been my number one goal right from the start. My father one time gave me a book about magic that literally piqued my interest so quickly. And then it never stopped them there where I kept reading books to the point where I just loved reading them. Especially magic."
"I see…"
"Albeit having friends does make it better for me, I just wanted to stay focused on getting supernatural stuff while being intelligent because that's another thing I might want to require. Which is why I wanted to stay under the shadows."
"But I still could've helped you out big time."
"How? You've never met her for a long period of time." Cheyenne said to Blue.
"Well… Yeah, there's nothing that can be reversed now." Blue said with a sweatdrop.
"What are y'all doing tomorrow?" Wendell asked.
"Playing my video games." Xavier said.
"I'm going to exercise. Probably go to the gym to prepare for the Royal Rally." Cheyenne said.
"I don't know… I'll just watch some anime on my phone." Emily said.
"Maybe I'll sleep. I'm just bored." Aiden said.
"Just sleep? I don't know how you are stuck with nothing to do." Lucas said.
"I mean, I would be on my 3DS, but I figure tomorrow's gonna be one of those common days where there ain't nothing to do."
"*sigh* Looks like someone needs some company then." Juniper said. "I guess it can't be freaking helped."
"Wha— You're gonna go to Aiden's house, Jupiter?" Xavier asked.
"Boy, I can slap you. Yeah, I'm going to his house."
"That's fine. I'll tell my mother that."
"Are you really gonna let strangers into your home? That's crazy." Wendell said.
"Juniper ain't a stranger. That's a loyal human being."
"Appreciate that, buddy." Juniper said with a smile.
"You got anything planned, you two?" Lucas asked me and Blue.
"I don't know. I think I'm going to read books. I have nothing else to do." Blue said.
"I do. It's personal though so I can't tell you." I said.
"Like really personal?" Xavier asked.
"Personal than you think it is."
And it would definitely give me lots of energy for tomorrow.
Author's Note: So now that Candace and Gemma have been given an invitation to work with Kaze and Blue and search for the stones, there's only one more person that needs to be invited. And this is probably going to be the toughest yet for either Kaze or Blue because they haven't known a single person and the stone in the Mushroom Kingdom is going to arrive in 2-3 days. So time is of the essence for these two and someone's gotta step in big-time.
Despite this going into effect, the next chapter will be the start of the Royal Rally. Wow. I will try my best to also make this a 3-parter since this will be a five game series. And I don't want to make this another long ass chapter. So… Candace Vs. Gemma: Part 4. Will Gemma finally be victorious or will Candace be unstoppable against her? That's the question that will be revealed.
That's all for now, so if you guys are enjoying this story so far, Favorite/Follow/Review this story, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter. PEACE!