It was an exciting day in La-Lakoosha, for an annual fair that was held to celebrate the kingdom's founding was to be held. Preparations were being undertaken by the priestesses at the Claire Moa temple, who were both assisting with the logistics and volunteering to do odd jobs to assist the vendors and performers who would be there. From the scale of the proceedings, it promised to be one of the better iterations of the fair that had been held over the years.

At the temple that morning, the High Priestess was walking along the halls, followed by a group of priestesses she was delegating tasks to. She planned to be there just in case, but most of the heavy lifting would be done by her senior staff, and her main role was more as a representative than anything else. Still, it would give her a chance to observe and take part in the festivities. After all, she didn't get out much, so she'd take whatever chance she'd get.

As they were approaching the front entrance of the temple, though, a familiar figure ran through panting, and the High Priestess' heart started to flutter. It was Leorina, sweating like crazy from having run up all the stairs, a crumpled piece of paper in their hand. The High Priestess' feelings for her former protégé had been developing since she had saved her from the evildoer Garlen, and now it was much more clear what she was feeling, even if she was scared to admit it to herself.

"Leo!" she exclaimed with a smile, managing to shake Leorina's hand while the former Sky Pirate was still catching her breath. "So nice of you to join us! Did you receive my letter?"

Nodding, still panting, Leorina held up the piece of paper, a torn envelope still visible around it. "Yeah. You want me to assist you with this… fairground, right?"

The High Priestess nodded and gestured for her entourage to head off to begin their preparations. "Yes indeed. I thought that you might be of good help to us. I believe it's been a while since you've visited the annual fair, right?"

Cocking her head a little, Leorina strained her head to remember. That's right, she had been to them back when she was younger. Before… she had left the temple…

Shaking her head, Leorina tried to put that unpleasant memory out of her head. That was a long time ago, and she couldn't let it run her life now. "I think so. I might be able to help, I guess."

"Excellent!" the High Priestess chimed, clapping her hands a little. "I'm going to go oversee the final preparations, shall I see you at the fairground in a couple hours, Leo?"

Leorina nodded, and with that the High Priestess made her way outside behind her, almost having a skip in her step. She had to admit, she had a lot more respect for her former mentor than she used to. Once, her frustration with her past had given her a blind dislike of her. But now, she knew her to be a caring, patient person who was also capable of wielding great power if she needed to.

She had some strange feelings for her. She wasn't quite sure what they were, but when they saw each other, her heart seemed to stop beating. The letter she'd been sent had sent her running over to provide whatever help she could.

What was going on here, anyway? Surely she couldn't be…

She shook her head. No, surely not. That couldn't be it…

A few hours later, and a midday the fair had begun in earnest. La-Lakooshans and denizens of the other regions of Lunatea had come to enjoy themselves with the different stalls featuring games and food and interesting sights. Among them was a cabbit named Klonoa and a couple of his friends Guntz and Chipple. Klonoa was having the time of his life, whilst Guntz was being his usual overly serious self and Chipple was… oddly quiet and withdrawn.

As they walked along, Klonoa already weighed down with stuffed toys, they approached a stand selling some sort of fluffy pink confectionary.

"Ooh, this looks nice!" Klonoa chirped, his usual chipper self. "Let's get some!"

"I'm good" Guntz said quickly, which wasn't surprising. "Candy makes my stomach hurt."

"Nah, I don't really want any…" mumbled Chipple, which WAS surprising. Chipple usually loved candy.

Concerned but ultimately shrugging, Klonoa ordered one for himself, and in the next moment spotted another friend, Lolo, running up to their group. She seemed quite worried.

"Hey! Klonoa!"

Klonoa waved. "Hey Lolo! What's up?"

Panting, Lolo turned to them all. "Have any of you seen Popka? We got split up a little while ago and I can't find him!"

Meanwhile, the High Priestess was watching over the proceedings as the temple's priestesses did odd jobs to keep things flowing. She was really proud of how well things had gone, and she hoped the rest of the day would go as well as it had started.

As she watched on, Leorina ran up to her in a hurry.

"Hey! High Priestess!"

Her heart skipping a beat at the sound of her voice, the High Priestess turned around to greet her.

"Leo! So good of you to come! I hope you didn't have trouble finding the fairground."

"Nah, only took me a little while." Leorina said as she looked around, seeming a bit out of her depth. "So, what do you want me to do? Transport some heavy boxes, maybe?"

Smiling, the High Priestess replied "Oh, I thought you could accompany me around the fair to make sure that everything runs smoothly."

Raising an eyebrow, Leorina gave an amused smirk. "Walking around the fair, eh? Almost sounds like a date."

Suddenly freezing in place, the High Priestess turned to her in a panic, feeling as though she had already mucked things up. "Was… was that the impression? I'm sorry if I was too untoward, and I just—"

"Actually," Leorina interrupted, noticing that she was clearly about to have a panic attack and could probably use the company. "It does sound like an enjoyable way to spend the day. I wouldn't mind accompanying you."

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, the High Priestess tried to roll back her panic. "Ah, of course… my apologies, I don't know what came over me. I'm glad you're happy to. Shall we head along?"

Leorina nodded and followed behind her as they walked into the fray. Her outburst was surprising, but it put the whole request for her presence into context, or at least she thought so.

Was this really a date?

Popka bobbed and weaved around the different stalls, grinning from ear to ear. Fairs like this were always great to help himself to the spoils and fuel his kleptomaniac habits. He had already swiped quite a few pieces of chocolate cake which had been simply lying on plates in the open, just waiting to be taken! He knew this would be a productive day to swipe some goodies, which was for sure.

Just then, as he finished the last slice of cake, he heard a commotion nearby, and from under his hiding place turned to see the vendor at the cake stand talking with a security guard.

"So you're saying a thief stole some of your cakes?" the security guard said,

"Yes, he did! Made a clean getaway too!" cried the incredulous stall vendor.

"Don't worry, they can't have gone far. We'll find them."

Thinking that he had already been spotted, Popka decided to make a getaway to a better hiding spot to continue his exploits, rushing under the tables without anyone noticing.

Little did he know, the table which held the small slices of cake had a big sign that he had missed entitled "FREE SAMPLES!"

Leorina and the High Priestess walked along between the stalls, having gotten some sort of pastry to try and were quietly eating it.

"So, everyone calls you the High Priestess, right?" Leorina said between munches. "Do you have a proper name?"

The High Priestess shrugged as she swallowed. "Ōmiko. That's my birth name."

Leorina smiled a little. "Nice name."

The High Priestess smiled back. "Thank you. Of course, being the leader of the temple, most just refer to me as my title. I suppose it's more formal that way, and they think it's all they have the liberty to call me."

Leorina chuckled. "Can I call you that?"

The High Priestess stopped and thought for a moment, then smiled. "Of course. I don't see any harm!"

Leorina laughed a bit more, seeming to already be getting comfortable in her presence. Then she frowned a little. "Can I ask you something, Ōmiko?"

"Of course."

"Well…" she thought about how to proceed as she took another bite of her pastry. "You call me Leo, but I mostly go by Leorina these days. How come you stick to that name?"

The High Priestess shuffled around a little, seeming a bit unsure. "Force of habit, I guess. If you would prefer I call you Leorina…"

"No, no. It's fine, I don't mind" Leorina cut in, perhaps too quickly. "It kind of… sounds alright, coming from you.

The High Priestess blushed, but their conversation was interrupted by a hullabaloo nearby.

Coming over to the source, they found that it was Joka, the horrible Jester troublemaker, who was running a classic shell game, and indeed seemed to be making money over it. The onlookers in front of the stall were losing left and right and weren't pleased with his luck.

"That's not allowed, is it?" Leorina whispered.

The High Priestess nodded. "No, it's not. But…" Then, a mischievous smile spread across her face. "Here, just follow my lead."

Curious about where this was going, Leorina tagged behind as she walked up to the stall.

"Aye, Love!" Joka said with a lecherous grin. "Try your luck at this game of chance?"

Smiling, the High Priestess nodded. "Of course. Oh, but I don't have a lot of money. Here, why don't I put my hat into the pool?"

Taking off her hat and letting her greyish-blue hair fall free, the onlookers were looking at her like she was mad. But Leorina stayed silent. She could tell she was up to something.

Joka laughed at the offer and gladly took it, adding it to the pile of currency he'd been accumulating. "Well, I can certainly accept that! Just watch where the pearl goes, and this pile of gold will all be yours!"

With this, he placed a pearl under one of the shells, and began to switch them around at a great speed, almost blurring in motion to the onlookers as he made plenty of gratuitous statements about how much the game counted on a good eye. All throughout, the High Priestess watched on with a smirk, keeping her eyes on the prize.

At last, Joka stopped his shell swapping, and moved his hands away with a grin. "Alright, lady! Where's the pearl?"

The High Priestess gave a show of thinking, before grabbing Joka's arm and forcing his hand open.

"In your right palm." She grinned, holding up the pearl for all to see.

Joka chuckled nervously but was quickly chased off screaming by the angry crowd he had swindled, running around the corner of the fair and out of sight.

Leorina looked on impressed as the High Priestess stood up looking pleased with herself. "Wow, that's good! How'd you know it was in his palm?"

The High Priestess looked at her former pupil with a cocked eyebrow. "I didn't. But I had a hunch it was."

With that she picked up her bounty and let Leorina put it into a pouch she kept with her. Before she put her hat back on, though, Leorina stopped her.

"No, wait. I kind of like how you look without it."

Shocked at her forwardness, but flattered greatly, the High Priestess let her pack the hat away as well. As they set off again, their hands suddenly locked together and they stopped, looking at each other in surprise. But they couldn't bring themselves to pull away, it was too nice a feeling. So, they walked off, holding hands and feeling quite a bit closer than they had been before.

Klonoa, Guntz and Chipple walked on elsewhere at the fair. Lolo had run off again to look for Popka, so they were a group of three once again.

"Man, what a gyp!" Klonoa complained as they left a game stand involving throwing Moos into hoops to win a prize. "Did you see how small those hoops were?! No one could be expected to get a moo in there!"

"Yeah, it sucks." Chipple mumbled quietly.

Exasperated, Guntz sighed and turned towards him. "Alright, what's going on with you?"

Chipple gave an indignant look. "Nothing!"

"Nothing, my ass!" Guntz returned, lacking Klonoa's careful choice of words. "You've been moping around all day, clearly something's got you down. Now, how's about you dispense with the reason before it starts infecting the rest of us!"

Chipple looked about to refused, but Klonoa chimed in with a "He's right, Chipple, you've seemed upset all day, I've been worried." Finally, the kangaroo gave in with a frustrated sigh.

"You remember that boxing championship a few days ago? The one we all took part in?"

Klonoa looked surprised. "Didn't you win first place in that championship?"

"That's the problem!" Chipple said as he threw up his hands. "I feel like a fraud! I beat you both, and you're two of the greatest fighters I've ever seen! You must have been going easy on me, or I was just lucky or something! There's no universe where I could have beaten you!"

Just as quickly as his outburst had come up, he withdrew back into himself. "Just forget it, it's not important."

Klonoa considered his next words carefully. He knew Chipple suffered self esteem issues, and he didn't want to invertedly add to them.

"Chipple… I'll admit I'm an alright fighter, what with the wind ring and all… but you… you're a boxer! You've trained all your life at this sport! I barely had a couple of weeks to practice! Even if I were the better overall fighter, at boxing your skills simply were put to the test better than I could keep up with!"

Chipple considered these words, but he didn't seem quite ready to accept them. "But… you're resourceful! Surely you could have come up with a countermeasure to beat me without any effort!"

Guntz groaned about the lack of progress they were making. "Mate, Klonoa's the biggest one-trick pony I've ever seen! He does one thing well and that's it! He's almost as bad as you are!"

Chipple stuck his tongue out at him, but Klonoa nodded. "He's kind of right, Chipple. I'm really good with my wind ring and you're really good with boxing! I gave it my best shot, but you're more experienced than me with it, so it's only fair that you won! I'd never throw the game for you; I know you well enough to do that!"

Chipple already seemed a bit perked up, but he looked up at Guntz for a rebuttal, who already seemed a little sheepish. "Well, I'll admit I'm not the most experienced at boxing, so it's probably fair that the guy who's been doing it longer is the one to win."

Suddenly, he jabbed Chipple's shoulder playfully. "Was still a nailbiter finish though. I would've totally kicked your ass If I had your experience!"

Although he was now rubbing his shoulder, Chipple was laughing along with Guntz, seeming more like his usual self. Klonoa smiled as he watched them banter at each other. It was nice to see them get along for once.

Meanwhile, the High Priestess and Leorina were walking along and spending their newly gained money at numerous stalls. Leorina had followed suit and removed her hair accessories, letting her crimson hair flow freely. The High Priestess loved the look, she had wonderful hair.

As they walked though, another thought came to mind. "May I ask you a question, Leo?"

"Sure Ōmiko, what is it?"

"Well," she thought how best to present her inquiry. "Now that Sorrow is back at its rightful place among the kingdoms of Lunatea, and you seem more at ease in its presence… have you ever considered returning to the temple to complete your training…?"

Leorina chewed over this for a moment, frowning as she did so. Truth be told, the rebuilding of the Kingdom of Sorrow had been occupying her time quite a bit, and now that it was mostly complete… what was she to do now?

"I guess… I haven't had many plans for my future.." Leorina said slowly. "But it's been a long time since I left the temple. I'd probably be out of my depth there."

The High Priestess gave a supportive smile. "If there's one thing I know about you, Leo, it's that there's no challenge that you can't overcome. And I'll be there to give you whatever assistance you need to get settled in."

Leorina smiled back despite herself. It was a scary thought, but one she couldn't bring herself to dismiss. "I guess… I could consider it, take a look to see what I would need to do."

The High Priestess nodded. "Of course, take all the time you need to decide. For what it's worth, I think a priestess uniform would suit you well."

Now it was Leorina's turn to blush as her thoughts went off like crazy. What kind of compliment was that?!

Her train of thought was cut off by a sudden shrill voice nearby. "HEY! LOVEBIRDS!"

Leorina immediately recognised the voice and raced over to the stall where it had come from, run by a familiar black and white floating cat.

"Tat!" she said with a laugh. "I didn't know you were running a stall!"

"Of course I am, how could I resist the opportunity!" The cat gestured to their setup, featuring a pyramid of ten carefully stacked metal cans. "Shoot the gun, knock them over, win a prize! One gold for three goes!" She looked over at the High Priestess. "How about you, Mrs. Leorina?"

The High Priestess gave a shocked gasp, and Leorina was so affronted by the comment she couldn't even be mad and ended up laughing.

"Ooh, I don't know, I've never tried firing a gun…"

"Oh, I'm sure, Leorina could teach you a thing or two! How about it, Romeo?"

Leorina cursed at her cat friend but smiled at her companion. "Sure, I can give it a try."

Throwing a gold piece on the table, Leorina began coaching the High Priestess on how to properly hold the gun, how to aim, and how to fire without too much recoil. Being the teacher didn't come super naturally, but she just followed what she had seen the High Priestess do when instructing the priestess under her care.

It took a couple tries, with them missing the first one by a country mile, and the second by a slight amount, but on the third she helped her hold the gun steady, giving her little pointers on where to aim, then as she gave the cue to fire, the gun shot at the containers and knocked them all over nicely.

Tat could barely believe her eyes but started to clap all the same. "Man, guess even Casanova over here can become the teacher!"

Leorina jumped up in near-glee and congratulated the High Priestess, almost pulling her into an embrace before stopping herself. For her part, the High Priestess stood there shocked that she had made the shot, only coming out of it when Tat handed her a stuffed plushie of Baguji The Wise.

"How's about we get some food to celebrate?" Leorina offered as she took the High Priestess' hand and led her away from Tat's teasing. "See you, Tat!"

"So long, lovers!" Tat called back, chuckling to herself. It really WAS about time that Leorina get herself a sweetheart, it would do the sky pirate good to stop being so broody all the time.

Her? Nah, the whole world was her oyster, and she had no plans to get tied down with one person anytime soon…

Under the tables, Popka was in a daze. He couldn't figure out where the security guard was but knew that they were surely out to get him. If he knew the authorities in La-Lakoosha, they wouldn't stop until they had their man.

He should have listened to Lolo and stopped his thieving ways. She was right, it would get him into trouble one day, and that day was today! He was doomed, she couldn't save him now!

He couldn't even leave the fairground, because they'd surely spot him, so all he could do was hide and hope they lost the scent if he stayed out of sight long enough.

Nearby, the security guard walked along, holding Balue by the collar as he led him out of the fair. Balue was dressed in as many Lephise accessories as his body would allow, shirts, hairpins, temporary tattoos, and a massive bag of merchandise that numerous stall vendors had been hocking, creating a thoroughly gawdy and slightly off-putting image.

"That's what you get for stealing cakes, sir. You need to go."

"But they were for Lephise!" Balue protested. "I wanted to show her my appreciation after her show later!"

"Well, that's what paying is for! Try it sometime!" the guard sniped back as he led Balue out, in no mood to hear his excuses. For more reasons than one.

Of course, Popka saw none of this.

As the day wore on, Leorina and the High Priestess tried as many stalls as they could, having plenty of fun in each other's company. Soon though, the day started winding down, and they had both pretty much done everything there was to do.

"Well, that was a hoot!" Leorina said as she looked around. "Guess I forgot about how fun the fairground was."

"Well, there's always next year if you want to go again!" the High Priestess grinned as she carried her winnings along. "Once we're done here, would you like to walk me back to the temple?"

Leorina turned and smiled. "Sure, I'd like that."

The High Priestess smiled, and then her expression grew distant as she tried to process her feelings a little. "Leo… I've really enjoyed spending this time with you today."

Leorina blushed a little and looked away slightly bashfully. "Yeah, I've… liked having you around too, Ōmiko."

Her fingers stimming a little, the High Priestess continued. "I've been quite happy that you've been able to find a degree of peace of what happened all those years ago, and I want to say… no matter what, every day you were gone, I wanted the best for you. I still do."

Leorina had trouble meeting her gaze but tried to do so briefly to reply. "I… appreciate that. All those years, I thought I didn't have a home to come back to."

"You always could have returned." The High Priestess said, before looking at her feet with an almost guilty tone. "You've always been special to me, Leo. At first I thought it was because you were my protégé before, but now we've gotten to know each other again, I think I've realised just how much I care about you."

She took a deep shaky breath.

"And I think now I know how I really feel. And how nice it feels when you're around, and how much I wish you were with me when times are low. It feels like I've really grown to…" but her breath hitched, and she was unable to spit those last two words out. "To… um…"

Leorina turned to her. Her heart was thumping out of her chest as she heard her former mentor say these words. She had been afraid to believe it, that she could have feelings for her. But every time she visited the temple, she had begun to enjoy the High Priestess' company, and she never forgot how she came to rescue her from Garlen.

Oh god… could it be that they both…

"What?" she replied in hushed tones.

"I, um…" the High Priestess tried to continue, but found her tongue tied and refusing to work, and so in a moment of impulse reached over and kissed Leorina's cheek.

Leorina gasped and covered her mouth in shock as her face turned bright red.

So, it was true. She really did…

"Oh goodness, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the High Priestess cried out as she started hyperventilating. How could she do such a stupid thing? She was the leader of the temple! While celibacy wasn't mandatory, it was a jolly good idea! She had to set an example for those under her care! She had built up such a nice friendship with her, and now she had ruined—

Before her thoughts could finish, Leorina made an impulsive decision of her own, and pulled her close, quieting her with an earnest kiss on the lips.

The High Priestess seized up in surprise, before closing her eyes and returning the favour. Her fears and worries practically melted away as they embraced each other, almost scared to let go in case it weren't real.

Forget everything, the temple, the responsibilities, whatever else. She wouldn't trade anything else for this…

All around them, a crowd gathered. Klonoa and his group stood surprised as they saw them both embrace. Lolo stood gobsmacked at her spiritual leader engaged in such an act. Tat just started dog-whistling from her stall and yelling out "WHOO! YOU GO, GIRL!"

At last, not caring if anyone was watching, both of them broke the kiss and looked at each other, fondness in their eyes.

"Lolo, I…" the High Priestess began, still unsure how to finish that sentence.

"…love you?" Leorina finished.

Neither replied, simply embracing each other with tears of happiness in their eyes. For them, naught else mattered but this moment.

Meanwhile, as Klonoa's group watched on, Popka ran up to them in a mad sprint.

"Oh god, am I glad to see you guys! The guards are after me, you gotta protect me!"

"Whoa, slow down, Popka!" Klonoa said as he leaned down to face him. "What's happened?"

But Popka didn't answer, looking upon Guntz with a look of horror. "You're… you're a bounty hunter, aren't you?"

Guntz looked down with disinterest. "Yeah. What about it?"

Popka started backing away. "You… you're working for them! You're gonna put me away!" before taking off screaming.

Klonoa and Chipple looked concerned, Guntz just looked confused.

"What's HIS problem?!"