-The next day-
The sun beamed down, shining brightly on the city of Kofu, Japan. The city was lively, its occupants going back to their everyday routine as adults went to work, children playing around with their parents as they walked them to nearby shopping districts, and so on. But for others, the day was just starting as the sun's rays blasted through the window of a small apartment complex.
The room was small and didn't house much furniture, only a bed with a few dressers with a TV sitting on top of the biggest one. In the bed, covered by a blue and white comforter was Luna, tossing and turning; trying her best to deflect the Sun's rays off her face. A slight groan escaped her lips as she forcibly placed her pillow on top of her head.
"Why won't you go away?" She sighed heavily as she slowly forced herself to sit up. Sitting upright, she appeared to be a mess. Her hair wasn't combed, and her eyes gave off the vibe that she didn't sleep well the night before. She slowly turned her head towards the clock that sat on her dresser beside her bed. "Ugh, 9:30…." She took a deep breath before getting out of her bed.
Her bare feet slapped onto the ground as she grabbed her remote that was sitting next to her TV, pressed a button to turn it on as she placed it back down, and made her way towards her bathroom. The sound of her TV echoed throughout her place as she began to brush her teeth.
"It's 9:30 AM and this is your host Mura Sasaki, coming live to you from the XMA arena in Tokyo Japan." A middle-aged brunette spoke into the microphone as she could be seen standing in front of a large ring with a few fighters training behind her. "Today, I'm here to give a live interview with who's been rising up the charts as of late, Isa Miura," Mura announced as a female fighter with medium short length hair that was two-toned colored with the majority of it being black, with a few blonde streaks coming down in front of her face. Her gold eyes seemed filled with life and excitement as she stood next to the reporter that was ready to interview her.
Her fair skin appeared to be healthy as it was covered with her in-ring attire, which consisted of an XMA licensed black tank top, with a pair of black and general-colored army fatigue combat shorts. "What's going on world?" Isa greeted her audience. "Are you ready to see me dominate tonight's main event and win my first championship?" She asked the TV viewers.
Luna could be seen in the bathroom as she continued to brush her teeth, rolling her eyes at the statement that Isa made on the Television screen, grunting slightly as she spits out the toothpaste into the sink.
"So, Isa," Mura turned to face her, taking her eyes off the camera. "A lot of people are wondering how you feel about going into this matchup, not only that; but how do you feel about the controversy that happened between you and the former XMA fighter Luna Kazahaya?" She placed the microphone up to the lips of Isa Miura, who was more than ready to give an answer.
"Wha…" Luna's eyes widen at the sound of her name being mentioned as she quickly turned her head towards the TV screen, listening to the answers that Isa was about to give.
Isa couldn't help but smile as a hint of a smirk crossed her lips. "Well Mura," She paused. "I can call you Mura, right?" She asked her interviewer, who simply nodded her head in approval. "Well, Mura; I'll answer your questions in order from first to last." She began. "How do I feel about this match-up tonight? Well, I'll tell you; I feel damn good about tonight. It's like there's no possible way I can lose, I've been on a roll. A straight roll and nobody has been tough enough to stop me." She told the interviewer as Isa turned to the screen; the same smirk still plastered on her face. "As for Luna…. Well, a lot of people want to speculate that there was an illegal substance that was used to make a substantial difference in our match." Isa turned to Mura, who nodded her head again.
"However," Isa turned her head back to the screen."
Luna watched the screen intently, her eyes slightly narrowing; waiting for Isa to finish her statement.
"However, that is not the case." Isa's grin widens for everyone to see. "In Luna's last match, she agreed to the stipulations, in which she would have to quit XMA should she lose to me, as to our agreement that was not only carefully sought over by the officials, but by the higher-ups as well." Isa began to explain. "Now, the speculation came from Luna herself that I was under the influence of a famous drug, known to the public as Exceed." She continued to elaborate on the situation. "Which; is nothing more than a mere steroid that enhances the human body to an unbelievable level and absolutely prohibited for usage of any kind."
"What do you think made her come up with such a claim Isa?" Mura asked her as she placed the microphone back under Isa's lips.
"I would be happy to share that with you, Mura," Isa stated as she turned her eyes back to the screen again. "That's because Luna knew she couldn't beat me…. One on one, in a fair match." Her eyes slightly narrowed as her smirk widen as if she knew that Luna was somewhere watching.
"She knew that if she lost, she would have to return to that dump of a city, she calls a home," Isa spoke arrogantly. "So, she came up with this crazy assumption that I was under the influence of Exceed and that I was on body enhancements, something that is nothing short of disgraceful for XMA fighters." Isa continued to grin.
On the outside of the TV screen, standing midway between her bedroom and bathroom; Luna was livid. Her hands curled up into a tight fist as she began to grit her teeth at were showing on the news. "That, no good…." She growled as the new top fighter trashed her reputation.
"And is that why the fighters here don't speak on her?" Mura asked her as Isa nodded, giving an indication that Mura was on the right track.
"That is correct Mura," Isa answered her. "You see, Luna developed a bad reputation saying that she began to see the top fighters that you know of today, using Exceed to aid them in their matches and remain on top, since her words have no truth to that claim, it brings nothing but a negative impact to the business, not only did she hurt her credibility as a person and as a fighter, but the relationships she's worked so hard to forge in this business," Isa added on.
"Credibility…" Luna began to grind her teeth a bit. "There's no way…" Her fist clenched around her toothbrush as her eyes landed specifically on Isa. "I can't believe this; you have to be kidding me right now." A low growl escaped her lips.
"I see…" Mura added. "So do you think that the XMA will move forward without one of its most prized fighters?" Mura asked her as Isa simply nodded her head as the microphone came back into her personal space.
"Not only will the XMA thrive without Luna, but will reach new heights with new fighters that respect the sport, and will not try to sabotage it with false accusations of drug usage" Isa calmly carried on the conversation
"What the hell do you mean false accusations?" Luna shouted at her TV screen as she saw the face of Isa turned towards her as if she was listening. "Sabotage? I would never…."
"So does the XMA have any new plans coming up in the near future?" Mura asked Isa, almost sounding like she cut Luna off.
"Actually, yes, we do, it's a shame that some of our "fighters" Isa used air quotes, putting emphasis on the word "Fighters." Won't be participating in it, but we do have a new event coming up." Isa told her.
"A new event?" Mura repeated.
"That's right," Isa responded. "But I can't just give it away; you'll have to wait to find out, like everyone else," Isa smirked as Mura brought the microphone back to her face.
"Well, there you have it," Mura stated as she kept her eyes focused on the camera. "Thank you for taking your time out to talk to us Isa," She lightly bowed to her interviewee. "Oh? Do you have any last words for all your fans out there?" She asked her as Isa gladly accepted the mic one last time.
"As a matter of fact, I do, listen up everyone; Make sure you catch tonight's main event and watch me overcome the obstacles and become the first-ever women's XMA Champion, keep your eyes glued to that TV screen…Especially you…Luna." Isa ended as Luna's TV was quickly turned off by the click of the remote that Luna quickly grabbed off the dresser.
"Whatever, you guys can do what you want," Luna grumbled, obviously pissed off at the newly found turn of events. "First you kick me out and now you want to ruin my image." She slammed the bathroom door behind her,
The water could be heard as Luna's head could be seen under the shower faucet, still fuming over the words that were spoken live on television. "Friends, relationships?" She repeated the words that Isa told the reporter.
She gritted her teeth at the thought. "Speculation?" She spoke another word that Isa chose to use as she describes the situation on TV. "There was nothing to speculate with what I saw with my own two eyes." She growled under her breath as the thought ran through her head as the water ran down her face as she closed her eyes for a moment, slowly turning off the water.
She took a deep breath, exhaling deeply as she reopened her eyes. "It doesn't matter anymore anyway, it's not like I'm in that world anymore, right?" She told herself as she dried her face and body. "Yea, that life is behind me…." She sounded unsure of herself as she sighed heavily as she began to get dressed.
It didn't take her long as she outfitted herself with a black V-neck T-shirt with a white short-sleeve jacket with the edges of the sleeves outlined in blue. The jacket acted more like a button-up shirt without the buttons as it stopped at her waist. Her thighs were covered with a pair of blue jean shorts with a pair of white socks, followed up with white casual sneakers.
She sighed heavily again as she made her way towards the kitchen, searching for something to eat to start the day, "Nothing," She uttered as she opened a few cabinet doors. "Nothing…." She opened the refrigerator. "And nothing." Her voice sounded defeated as she closed the refrigerator door. "Great, I forgot to go grocery shopping last night, ugh." She slumped down against the kitchen wall as her stomach growled from hunger. "I really lost track of time when I was training Rakaia."
She looked down, her hand over her abdomen as it continued to talk to her. "I guess that means I better go out and get something to eat before I keel over." She spoke sadly, the interview that she just witnessed still fresh on her mind as slowly grabbed what she needed and left her apartment.
It didn't take her long before she made it to the street, watching as life carried on as if she wasn't around. She watched as the people carried on with their everyday lives, making busy runs as if time was of the essence, something that reminded Luna on how she used to be. She took a deep breath as her mind brought her back to the words of Isa.
"Make sure you catch tonight's main event and watch me overcome the obstacles and become the first-ever women's XMA Champion, keep your eyes glued to that TV screen…Especially you…Luna." She gritted her teeth at the thought but tried to calm down about the situation. "No, don't think about it, Luna." She told herself. "That part of your life is over now, you're not part of that world anymore," She tried to convince herself as the words of Isa still got to her.
"There's nothing you can do, but just move on." Luna walked, not really paying attention to where she was going. People passed her, not paying any mind to whom she was which also saddened her a bit more.
Her mind then flashed back to her training Rakaia.
"Flashback"
Hey, Luna mind if I ask you something?" Rakaia asked her as Luna shook her.
"What is it?" Her eyes glanced over at him as he turned his head away from her.
Rakaia took a deep breath before he spoke. ".... Why did you quit?" He asked her as Luna stopped in her tracks instantly as she quickly hid her expression from Rakaia, who took a couple of steps ahead of her before he realized that she had stopped walking completely. "...Luna...You ok, Luna"
"Flashback ended"
Another flashback occurred after she thought of the question that Rakaia had asked her, taking her back to when she spoke with Cana.
"2nd Flashback"
Luna's eyes widen a bit. "Huh? What? Me?" Her confused shocked expression was noted. "Wait, you can't be serious. He was cheering me on. You're joking right?" Luna asked her.
"No, I'm serious," Cana interjected. "Rakaia couldn't wait to see you fight when XMA came on." Cana stood up. "He would always glue himself to the TV and watch you win your matches, he's a big fan of yours Luna honestly, probably more than I am." Cana finished as Luna's eyes remained in shock as she lightly bit her lip while tearing her eyes away from Cana.
2nd Flashback ended
"If you knew what really happened, would you still be that big of a fan of me?" She wondered as her eyes widen and quickly shook the thought out of her head. "Why am I thinking about this? Why should I care?"
"Care about what?" Luna heard a familiar female voice as she found herself in front of the supermarket, but her eyes widened as she caught the sight of Rakaia's mother standing there with a bag full of groceries in her hand.
Luna lifted her head up instantly as her eyes landed on the last person she expected to see, during her morning walk to the store. "You're…Rakaia's mom?" She had a puzzled look on her face as Rakaia's mom simply smiled at her; she closed her eyes in the process as her smile radiated as if to say "In the flesh"
Not too much time had passed since the two bumped into each other. Rakaia's mother continued to carry a cheerful smile on her face as Luna unknowingly began to walk with her, forgetting the purpose of her going out in the first place.
"So, Luna, is it?" Rakaia's mom asked her,
Luna nodded her head, indicating that she had gotten her name correct. "What brings you out to the supermarket on a busy day like this?" She asked her. "You know the sharks only come out during a sale." She stated with a giggle as Luna lowered her eyes a bit as looked at the ground as they walked, giving her a bit of fake laughter in return.
"Yea," She simply replied. "I had forgotten to get groceries last night, so my…The fridge is a bit on the empty side." She told her truthfully as Rakaia's mom turned her attention toward her.
"Is it because you spent all your time training my son for his upcoming match?" She asked her bluntly as Luna looked up at her with a semi-shocked expression, which was quickly dismissed by his mother. "Don't be so surprised, I already knew." She told her. "I knew you would the first day you stepped foot in my house, now how long it would take, would depend on my son, but I'm glad he came around sooner rather than later." She turned her attention forward, keeping her eyes on their direction.
"Yea," She sighed at the thought of Rakaia and remembers what she heard earlier on the news. "I wonder if he's seen the news yet." She questioned in her head.
Rakaia's mom looked down at her. "Well, I'm glad that I bumped into you today." She told her. "I was trying to get Rakaia to come with me, but heaven knows I couldn't wake him up for anything." She told Luna as she picked her head up a bit, upon the realization that Rakaia missed the interview that aired earlier that morning.
"You mean he's still asleep?" Luna asked her as his mother nodded her head a bit.
"I don't know what you put him through last night, but he sure was out of it today." His mother stated, but suddenly smirked as a thought crossed her mind, her eyes slightly narrowing at Luna; but not in an angry way, but in a way that was a bit naughty. "Say, Luna…" His mother called her name, gaining the attention of the brown-haired fighter. "What kind of training did you two do last night?" She asked her in a flirtatious voice. "Don't tell me you let Rakaia go all the way on the first night." She dragged out the end of her sentence as Luna's eyes shot up in shock as her cheeks turned red from embarrassment.
"Wha…Wha…What!" Luna stammered. "I…I…Don't know what you're talking about, there's no way we would…."
Rakaia's mom cut her off as she slid a bit closer to her, wrapping her arm around the flustered teen. "Oh, come on, you can tell me what really happened." She was trying hard not to burst out into a fit of laughter from the bashful Luna.
"We didn't...Didn't...Do…Anything." Luna twiddled her fingers as Rakaia's mom pulled her close.
"You mean to tell me you didn't do anything when you were alone with him in the gym, training him." She asked her as Luna's head nearly popped off from the sheer torture that she was putting her through. Luna nearly cracked under pressure until she heard his mother's laughter at her, causing her to look at her a bit.
"That was a good one." She stated.
"Huh?" Luna gave her a confused expression as she couldn't help but wonder what in the world just happened here.
"You seemed like something was bothering you, sweetie, I thought that maybe a little fun would get your mind off things." She said as the two continued to walk down the street.
Luna's mind did feel at ease a bit, but she groaned at the thought of what transpired earlier. "It's about what happened on the news isn't it?" Rakaia's mother spoke, which took Luna completely by surprise.
Her eyes lowered a bit more. "So, you saw it…"
Rakaia's mother looked down at her. "No, I didn't." She responded, which caused Luna to lift her head back up, her facial expression full of bewilderment.
"But then how did you…."
"I have my ways." Rakaia's mom turned her attention away from Luna as they finally made it to the Meiyo resident without Luna realizing it. "Just because I'm a mom doesn't mean I don't keep my eyes and ears open." She stated as she walked up to the front door. "Listen, Luna, I don't know exactly what's going on, but if you feel like you made the right decision, then that's all that matters." She told her as she opened the door to her home. "People will always try to make you regret everything you do in this world," She turned her head back to look at her. "But even though they try, that doesn't mean they have to succeed right?" She gave Luna a smile as she, the former pro, stood there in complete amazement. "Now come on in, I can't have you leave my house on an empty stomach; it is my fault that you forgot to do your shopping again." She giggled as Luna continued to remain in the same spot.
"Well don't just stand there, come on in." Rakaia's mom assured her.
Luna quickly nodded her head, snapping out of her shock. "Yes…Yes, ma'am." Luna quickly followed up as she entered Rakaia's house, closing the door behind her
Meanwhile, while Luna helped Rakaia's mom put up the groceries that she picked up, the noise stirred the sleepy Rakaia, who resided upstairs in his quarters. His eyes twitched a bit as they slowly opened. He appeared to be a bit groggy, tired from the events from the night before.
Rakaia was a wild sleeper; he awoke and on instinct turned to his right and immediately fell out of the bed with a hard thud.
Hitting his face on the ground created a small bang that ironically, went unnoticed by Luna, but not by his mother. She looked up at the ceiling for a second and a small smirk formed on her lips. "Luna…" She called out."
"Yes," She answered politely.
"I forgot to get something while we were out, do you mind getting everything set up so I can get breakfast started? I won't be long." Rakaia's mother asked her as she quickly turned towards the front door, opening it and getting ready to leave.
"Um ok, but I don't know what you…" Luna tried to stop her.
"It won't even take a minute." She cut her off before closing the door, leaving the dark brown-haired teen in her kitchen, looking highly confused.
She sighed heavily as she turned towards the bags that were used to carry the food back to the house. She slowly picked up one bag, trying to decipher if she should take the food out. "Is this what she wants…No, that's not it." She began to talk to herself. "What about this?" She picked up another bag of food, opening it as she began to nervously sit everything on the counter. "How does she want it? Is it like this?" Luna continued to ramble to herself as Rakaia rounded the corner from the staircase making his way into the kitchen.
He was dressed in a long sleeve white T-shirt with a red short-sleeved shirt over it a pair of cargo pants and white socks. He made his way into the kitchen, still a bit sleepy. "Hey mom, I'm up what's for…GAAAA!!!!" Rakaia immediately woke up out of his tired trance and pointed at Luna.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" She screamed at the sudden shriek from Rakaia, nearly jumping out of her shoes.
"Ra... Ra…Rakaia! What are you doing here?" She asked, forgetting where she was.
"What am I doing here?" Rakaia repeated. "This is my house!" Rakaia shouted as he pointed at her again. "The real question is what are you doing here?" He turned the tables on her as Luna quickly tried to make sense of her situation.
"Well, I, uh; you see." She stammered a bit, her head darting from left to right, trying to find the answers to his questions before she finally took a deep breath. "I was out, and I ran into your mom while I was trying to shop for food." Luna gave him the truth as Rakaia dropped the theatrics and placed both of his hands by his side.
"That doesn't explain why you're here." He told her
"Well, she kind of asked me for a favor and well, I kind of got sidetracked and," She turned her head away from him a bit. "She invited me in, since; I still didn't get any shopping done," Luna admitted as she turned towards the food that his mother had brought. "She wanted me to set up everything for breakfast, but I…I…I'm not sure what she really…"
Luna heard Rakaia's footsteps coming up beside her. "You don't know how to set up breakfast?" Rakaia asked her.
Luna's head lowered in shame. "No, not really; it's not so much of setting up, but I just don't want to mess anything up." She calmly explained. "While I was doing XMA, our food was occasionally prepared for us so we wouldn't have to waste time on things such as cooking or anything that they deemed trivial. "She told him as Rakaia turned his head towards Luna.
"So, you can't cook?" Rakaia bluntly asked her as Luna exhaled again, shaking her head as Rakaia sighed as well, rolling up his sleeves. "Here let me do it." He told her as he gently slid everything to his side of the counter.
Luna gave him a perplexed look. "You can cook?" She asked him.
"Of course, I can cook." Rakaia returned. "Although, I may not be good as my mom, I can cook a mean stack of hotcakes." He laughed as Luna gave him a quizzical look. "Hey, I can cook enough to manage ok? You'd be surprised at what I can do in the kitchen." He ended as Luna crossed her arms with a small smile crossing her lips.
"I never placed you as someone who would be good in the kitchen." She replied as she leaned against the wall, watching as Rakaia began to prepare everything for breakfast.
"Thank my mom for that." Rakaia returned. "If it wasn't for her, I would have been burning boiled water right about now." He continued as he turned on the stove and began to set the pots and pans on top of each eye that was available. "Mom was always a pro at cooking; she made it a point for me to learn how to cook. Saying something like I'm going to be prepared before I go out on my own or I'm going to starve to death." Rakaia stated as Luna continued to watch as Rakaia worked the kitchen. "Or, how she really puts it. "No son of mine is going to die on the streets because he can't cook a decent meal." That's how she said it anyway."
She giggled as she watched how he flipped pancakes with ease, not really worrying about how it landed as he moved on to the next dish that he was preparing. Carefully manipulated the eggs in the frying pan, that sat next to the pan that was occupied by the pancakes. He quickly shifted towards the bacon he had on the other eye, moving efficiently; just the way his mother taught him. He quickly opened the refrigerator and pulled out two small cups of yogurt and before Luna could catch herself staring, he was finished.
Not only did she see how delicate and serious Rakaia was in the kitchen, but even the presentation of the food was incredible. Her eyes were transfixed on the plate that he sat on the table in front of her. "Well," He snapped her out of her trance."
"Huh?" Luna blinked for a minute.
"Go ahead, try it; tell me what you think." Rakaia gestured towards the food as Luna slowly looked at him, nodding as she sat down at the table.
"All...Right," She looked down at the spread in front of her. She had to admit, that even though what he prepared would be considered basic in terms of effort, it appeared that he really put his all into it. Luna couldn't help but slightly drool a bit as her stomach growled. Rakaia watched as she slowly lifted her fork, quickly cutting the syrup-filled pancake delicate, watching the pancake split in the substance that gave its sweet flavor.
She carefully stuck the fork into her piece and slowly brought it up to her face. Her mouth was wide open as her taste buds awaited the flavor that was about to enter her mouth.
"HEY!!!!" Cana shouted from the Rakaia's living room door, with his mother standing behind her. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Cana's face was beat red as she turned her attention to Luna who had a fork in her mouth as she was about to taste the flavor of Rakaia's cooking.
"Cana…. What the hell are you…." Rakaia looked over at her as Cana pointed at Luna intensively.
"Did Kaia make that?" She growled as Luna quickly looked down at her food and back up at Cana. "That's not fair! Kaia you never cooked for me!" She whined.
"That's because you're always stuffing your face with my mom's cooking." Rakaia shot back as Cana quickly got in his face.
"Well, you could have offered you know!" Cana shouted.
Rakaia pushed her head back with his. "You've never asked!" Rakaia countered as his mother couldn't help but stand in the doorway giggling.
The two continued to argue back and forth, unknown to them that Luna had placed the fork full of food into her mouth, clamping down on it; her eyes widening a bit as she continued to chew. "Mm, good." Her words quickly broke up the fight as both Rakaia and Cana stopped their arguing as they both quickly turned their heads to Luna.
"What! Are you serious?" Cana asked as she turned her head back to Rakaia. "Kaia, can cook?" She sounded a bit surprised by her own words as Luna slid her plate to Cana, who didn't have a problem with taking a sample for herself.
Cana's eyes widen as Rakaia's mom came over to stand next to her son, surveying the reaction that Rakaia was getting from the meal that he prepared.
"I can't believe it!" Cana whirled around to Rakaia. "This is good! I mean it's nothing fancy, but this is really good!" She spoke as she drove down into Luna's pancake again, but Luna's hand moved by itself, grabbing Cana by the wrist.
"I'm sorry; you've already had your bite," Luna told her as they began to stare at each other intently.
"One bite isn't enough, so I'm going to take another." Cana retorted, glaring back at the brown-haired fighter.
"Then get your own…" Luna's stomach growled as her glare darkened as the two continued to stare at each other Rakaia slightly glanced back at his mother, who kept her hand over her mouth as she watched as the two girls were about to maul each other over a plate of food.
"You did this on purpose didn't you?" Rakaia asked her.
His mother glanced back down at him, still trying to stop herself from giggling. "Rakaia, I don't know what you mean." She giggled as Rakaia sighed depressingly as the two girls continued to glare at each other.
Time passed as the kids ate their fill and found themselves standing in front of Rakaia's house. Rakaia, now sporting a pair of white shoes, with black and red designs on them. Cana outfitted herself in a pair of black shoes with burgundy stockings with an orange outline at the top of it, stopping just short of her skirt, which also housed the same color. Her top was covered with a white sleeveless shirt that revealed her shoulders but covered her chest. On the lower left side of her shirt was a large Orange C that was stitched on, as if indicating the first letter of her name.
"Kaia, what do you have planned for today?" Cana asked him as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Since we don't have class today are you going to finish training with Luna?" She asked him as Rakaia shook his head lightly.
"Nah, my body is sore from last night's workout." He answered her as he shifted his gaze towards Luna. "Besides I don't want to overdo it." He added, going off Luna's previous words.
Luna nodded her head a bit as she looked at him. "Although it's still only one day, you did catch on pretty quickly." She told him. "Just remember, you're still going to have to practice getting it down. If you don't, you're just going to go back to your normal way of fighting." She warned him as Rakaia nodded his head.
"Don't worry though; we still have tomorrow for a refresher course," Luna smirked as Rakaia rubbed the back of his head lightly at the thought.
"You're going to ease up on the punches though, right?" Rakaia asked her as Luna's smile widen a bit.
"That depends," Luna replied. "But I guess we'll see when the time comes." Luna's smile remained as Rakaia sighed heavily, Cana couldn't help but giggle at his reaction.
"So, if you're not going to train today, then what are you going to do?" Cana asked him. "Luna and I are going to the supermarket to pick up a few things, you want to come?" Cana asked him as Rakaia shook his head again.
"I can't, I have something I got to do. "He returned as both Luna and Cana raised their eyebrows with curiosity.
"Something to do?" Cana repeated. "You have something to do? Since when have you ever…."
"It's Noah…." Rakaia stopped her as Cana quickly stopped herself from finishing her statement, a small saddening expression slowly appearing on her face.
"Oh, that's right…" Cana replied, her eyes looking down at the pavement.
"The attack was pretty bad." Luna began. "But if I remember correctly, his injuries were minor." She looked up at Rakaia who nodded his head, confirming that she was correct.
"Yea, he suffered a minor concussion and a few bumps and bruises," Rakaia stated. "It's nothing major, at least physically anyway." Rakaia ended with his eyes looking down at the ground as well.
"What do you mean?" Cana asked out of curiosity.
Rakaia slowly lifted his head up. His eyes met the girls before he slowly turned away again. "I'm his friend…." Rakaia began. "He tried to warn me how dangerous Saitou and his brothers were, but of course...I wouldn't listen. I was too relaxed and when they ambushed us, I... I couldn't do anything." Rakaia explained as both Cana and Luna's eyes softened upon his speech.
"I sat there and watched him take a beating that was meant to be a message for me. I brought him into something that he had no part in and look what happened." Rakaia sighed as he lifted his head up, his eyes looking upwards at the sky. "Sure, he may be ok physically, but…."
"You want to know what he's thinking," Luna interjected as Rakaia slowly nodded his head as Luna closed her eyes a bit, before reopening them, giving Rakaia an assuring smile. "Don't worry; I'm sure Noah doesn't blame you for what happened," Luna told him.
"Yea, Noah's better than that." Cana stepped up. "If anything, he's probably at home now reading a book or something." Cana smiled as well. "You know how he likes so to be ahead of everyone." She added.
Rakaia brought his vision back down to the two girls in front of him. "You...You really think so?" Rakaia asked.
"I'm sure of it. I'm sure Noah understands that what happened wasn't your fault." Cana stepped forward. "If you want to ease your mind and go see for yourself, then go." Cana smiled at him, grabbing Rakaia's hands with her own. "I'll just have a girl's day with our new friend here. It's no big deal, go see how Noah is doing." Cana told him as Rakaia looked at her and slowly shifted his gaze to Luna who nodded her head.
"Besides, I'm sure he knows you're probably beating yourself up over what happened," Cana added. "So go see how's he doing and let us know ok, we were worried to you know," Cana told him as Rakaia nodded his head.
"Good, I get to go shopping with Luna!" Cana shouted as Rakaia couldn't help but snicker at the thought.
"Just don't run her away," Rakaia added as Cana quickly looked back at him.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure if you promise to cook for her, she'll come running back," Cana commented as both Rakaia and Luna turned a shade of red at the thought.
They both stammered a bit before it was Cana's turn to let out a snide giggle. "I just better be the first one to get a plate." She assured him as Rakaia couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"You know this is your fault, right?" Rakaia told Luna who took a sigh of her own.
"I didn't ask you to cook for me." She retaliated as they both sighed once again as Cana rambled on.
Meanwhile, a few hours passed as the Viper Brothers were standing in an Alleyway, covered in trash and piles of wood, bricks, and rocks discarded all throughout the area with a large dumpster behind them.
Kaitou and Maitou leaned against the dumpster while Saitou was pressing a few buttons on his green-colored touchscreen phone, trying to make a phone call.
"Saitou," Kaitou called his name in a drawn-out whine as he made sure to have his older brother in his sights. "Are we really going to go through with this?" He asked him.
"What choice do we have?" Saitou responded to him, keeping his eyes on the phone. "You heard what Visha said if we fail; then we're done." He added.
"Yea, but…" Kaitou sighed a bit. "Isn't there a way we can get out of this?" He asked him.
"Not one that I can see," Maitou stated, crossing his arms as he looked at both of his brothers. "We've been doing this for too long, I doubt they'll just let us up and leave like that." Maitou finished as Kaitou sighed again.
"We're trapped in this huh?" Kaitou groaned. "This is what we're going to do for the rest of our lives. "He sighed depressingly as Saitou lifted his head up to see his brother.
"Hey," Saitou gained his attention. "Don't worry Kaitou, this is the last time," Saitou stated. "After this, we're done with taking orders from Visha." He announced. "After we finish this last job, we're through, we're going to start our own gang and make a name for ourselves." He promised him as he pressed the talk button on his phone.
"I'm tired of taking orders…" He growled as he placed the phone to his ear.
A few rings could be heard and a voice could be heard as the other end was answered. "Took you long enough to call." A deep voice on the other end could be heard as Saitou held the phone to his ear. "How long were you three idiots going to keep me waiting?" He spoke as Saitou took a deep breath before he added his input to the conversation.
"Let's skip the useless details." He stated. "Do you have the shipment?" He questioned the man on the other of the receiver.
"What kind of question is that?" The voice asked.
"A question my boss would like to know," Saitou answered. "She can get really frisky if things don't go her way, so I'm trying to avoid all that, so tell me; do you have the shipment," Saitou asked him again.
A dark laugh could be heard on the other end. "I bet she does, Visha was always one of my favorites." The voice responded as another chuckle escaped his lips, giving Saitou an uncomfortable feeling. "The usual spot…" He heard the voice through his receiver. "The docks by the abandoned warehouse, 9:00… tonight." He put down his terms and location.
"You sure do like the waters, don't you?" Saitou responded. "But why so early, that's not like you…" Saitou's eyes narrowed a bit.
"You're not the only client I have to meet up with, what can I say; I'm a very busy man." The voice responded as the phone hung up, leaving Saitou to take the phone off his ear and look at it, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.