Chocolate was glad the operation in Pea Pod to nail the original sorceress Jacfu had been a successful one. During the entire time on the road she had to deal with a slew of problems. First there was Marron whose unwillingness to surrender the forbidden magic had everyone devastated. Only recently they had thought him to be dead, having died heroically on that train. They were briefly reunited only to lose him again when they had to resort to kinju to defeat Yogurt.
Second, the contracts on Sodium and Jacfu were still open and a lot of their time and effort was being spent on trying to ascertain their current whereabouts. Trying to find those two lately was like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack.
Lastly, what weighed most on her mind was of a personal nature, having to do with her newfound relationship with the mysterious Rei Chi. While they had been on the assignment to Pea Pod, she had been
increasingly aware of Carrot and Tira’s new intimacy. They had a cute way of relating to each other that made Chocolate uncomfortable. Usually it had been Tira to chide Chocolate for her open behavior around Carrot. But that was when neither of them had him.
Chocolate recalled seeing Tira wipe some icing off of Carrot’s chin and lick it. It was like her almost being killed by Yogurt had completely changed him. And as much as she resented their being together, she could not hate Tira for it.
And it more than heightened her awareness of her own recent actions, especially at the Sprite River where she had angrily told Rei Chi not to follow her. He had reached out to her and she refused his overture of comfort, saying it made her feel weak to rely on him too much. Yes,
a lot of things were on her mind.
After Jacfu had been ushered safely to the Glaces house, Chocolate spoke with Tira.
"I’ll be on Rei Chi’s houseboat if you need me."
"Is that a good idead, sis? Especially with Marron loose?"
"I’ll be alright, Tira. He didn’t attack me last time."
She hurried out, heading for the Sprite River, to the spot where she expected his yacht to be anchored. Trudging through the snow, she said a silent prayer hoping that he had not taken off and left, which would have been within his rights considering how she treated him.
Chocolate accidentally ripped her turquoise jacket while she ran through the thicket. Torn clothing hardly mattered to her, she wanted only to see him and assure him that she was not pushing him away.
That special night lingered in her mind, when reunited, she had seduced him into bed where they engaged in a deeply moving combination of touch, laughter, lust, sensual and emotion expression. It had been everything she always dreamed of, imagined what it would be like. Only
Carrot had been replaced with Rei Chi, not unlike the dream she described to Gateau over the holidays.
He had been so hesitant at first which only made her want him all the more. What was it with the guys she wanted, why did they run from her advances? And yet she discovered how much he adored her while they
made love, remembering especially the way he looked at her with caring dark eyes.
In the moonlight, she saw the familiar shape of his houseboat, it cast a long shadow in the eerily lit carbonated water. She half- wondered if he that the ability to cloak the entire thing if he wanted.
Had he left it visible so she could find him?
She took a running start then leapt from the icy bank over a small stretch of water then onto the back of the boat. Her landing on the heavy wood barely made any audible sound. A second later, she opened the hatch that led below and silently descended the ladder steps. She could see pretty well in the dimly lit room, which was illuminated by small nightlights. She didn’t want to click on a wall lantern for fear to wake him if he was sleeping.
She stood for a minute in the doorway of his bedroom, listening for soft breathing. Knowing full well that she couldn’t surprise someone with someone of his martial arts caliber. He was much too formidible to be taken that way. Somehow she knew that he knew she was standing there and she shuffled nervously. He gave no indication that he was aware of her presence. He lay prone in bed with the back of his head towards her, him facing the wall. The tension in the room was palpable and she
broke it by clearing her throat then sitting down quietly at the edge of the bed.
Gradually, she moved herself to a horizontal position at his side, her head a foot from his. He was faced the opposite way still and she could not tell if he was really asleep or not. She let out a sign then touched his bare arm with her cold hands. He shifted a little, letting him know that he indeed was awake. A strained silence passed between them.
"I’m back," she whispered. "We got Jacfu, she’s at the Glaces’ house."
"Oh?" he mumbled.
She paused. Time to swallow her pride. "Are you mad at me?"
He slowly turned and faced her, a soft glow emanating from his hand, illuminating the darkness between them. Chocolate recognized it as part of his solar/light magic.
Eyes filled with nothing but warmth, he replied, "I could never be mad at you, Chocolate. Upset? Maybe for a millisecond."
"I’m glad you didn’t leave while I was away in Peapod. I had to leave so suddenly and all."
He touched her cold cheek lightly with two fingers. "I didn’t know whether to follow you or wait here at first."
Waiting for her while they were somewhat at odds was just as bad as being a year without seeing her since Perdone.
"I missed you," they both said to each other at once.
He smiled and she laughed.
"So tell me about this sorceress you nabbed."
She took her index finger and touched his lips. "Tomorrow, Rei Chi. Right now I'm more interested in something else."
"What is t-that?" he stammered.
"Getting busy with you."
He had to admit that her open frankness in regards to sexuality thrilled him to no end. And while their first time together had been ever so gentle and nice, he knew where she was concerned all types of
carnal pleasures probably lay in store. Which was fine for him to a degree. While she gave of her body, he had lingering doubts where her heart was. She had yet to tell him that she loved him.
Before he could do anything, her wire line was suddenly in her hands. His eyes widened with alarm, but she flashed him a reassuring smile.
"Hold still," she said in a sultry voice.
A few quick slices and both their clothes had been turned to strips of cloth. He laughed at her brazeness, then pulled her alluring naked
body closer to his, amazed at how wonderful being this close to her really was.
Much later, after they were both worn out, she started to drift off to sleep in his arms.
"I love you, Chocolate-chan," he whispered softly in her ear.
He watched her sleep, fascinated by the angelic sight of her, running his fingers lazily through her wavy auburn hair. As the wind howled outside, he was glad to be in a warm bed with her soft skin against his. He wanted this to last forever. Maybe it could. Would it
be too early to propose? He sort of felt guilty at rushing so fast into a sexual relationship. But she had been the one to initiate it and there was no way he was going to refuse her. She had gotten enough of that from the last guy she liked. As his mind slowly started to drift into unconsciousness, she groaned softly.
"Darling."
He smiled and kissed her forehead gently, then paused. Darling? That was her pet name for Carrot.
"I love you, Darling!" she singsongily muttered.
And in one brief moment, Rei Chi's heaven was torn to pieces.
Carrot. She was dreaming about him. Had to be. Chocolate had always
refered to him as "Darling", not Rei Chi.
He stared up into the darkened ceiling and sighed.
Chocolate woke, feeling incredibly high after a night of passion with her lover. She reached out for him, but discovered that she was alone in bed. She slowly opened her blue eyes and sat up, trying to locate him, listening for telltale sounds. A minute went by with her hearing nothing.
"Where’d he go?" she asked herself.
She slid out of bed and threw on a flannel robe. Donning a pair of slippers, she walked into the next room. "Rei Chi?"
There wasn’t any sign of him below or above decks. Perhaps he had gone out to get breakfast. She wished he had waited for her to get up, having entertained thoughts of taking a nice hot shower together.
Chocolate walked back into his room and couldn’t help but be curious as to what he kept in his closet and storage areas.
She looked at a sketchbook he had. There were several pencil drawings of her with various hairstyles and facial expressions. She saw a notebook filled with poetry about her, some of it sad. He probably wrote most of it when they had been apart. Since Perdone. She noticed something glimmer behind a cabinet door and opened it. Inside was looked like a hologram, but she saw no crystal source. It looked like solid light to her, probably created through his light wielding
magic abilities. The photonic sculpture was one of a man and a woman, him holding her on his lap, loving expressions on their faces. She recognized it as her and him. The detail was extraordinary. Suddenly she felt bad for ruining a potential surprise he intended and resolved not to go through his things any further.
Movement above deck startled her and she accidentally touched the precious
art work. It faded into nothingness much to her horror!
"No!" she cried, hating her carelessness.
She shut the cabinet door as someone knocked on the door above. She cautiously ascended the ladder steps and opened the hatch. Carrot peered down at her from above.
"Chocolate," he said. "Gateau’s been attacked."
"What? By whom?"
"Marron."
She was shocked. Marron maliciously attacking one of their own?
Carrot went down the steps to get out of the cold. He stamped the snow off his boots. "I came to let you two know. We need to meet back at the house."
"I’ll get dressed," Chocolate said softly.
He looked after her. "Where’s Rei Chi?"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chocolate sat in her and Tira’s old room at the Glaces house. The pink haired younger sister of hers handed her a mug of steaming cocoa.
"I hate waiting around, expecting something bad to happen again," Chocolate told her. "I think I’m gonna go crazy sitting in here though having to put up with Milphey and those Kabal members too."
"Well Chocolate, you don’t have to worry. I’ve been asked to give you a message."
"What’s that, sis?"
"Rei Chi wants you to meet him in Yolk Town at 7PM. He said to be at the corner of 5th and Main."
"So that’s where he went off to this morning. I wish I could figure him out sometimes."
"He likes you a lot, Chocolate. I’m happy for you."
Chocolate sipped her drink, wondering what her sister and Rei Chi had talked about.
She showed up twenty minutes early, wearing a warm fur coat that hid a lovely scarlett evening gown. She wore her hair up, intending to look her best for whatever he had planned. When it came to that type of thing, she knew he intended to spoil her. Regarding that, she had mixed feelings. She didn’t want him to waste his money on expensive gifts, but had to accept them for fear of hurting his feelings.
Two hands covered her eyes, startling her. "Guess who?"
Her lips formed into a smile. "The guy who forgot to wake me up this morning?"
He let go and she turned to face him. "Why didn’t you get me up when you woke up?"
"I had chores to do, ma’am."
"Don’t call me that. I’m the same age as you, sir!"
"Okay Miss Misu," he teased.
"So why did you want me to meet you all the way in the big city?" she asked.
"A date. I figured we needed to get out, blow off some steam."
He took her into a four star Hibachi restaurant. He ordered miso ramen soup as an appetizer for them.
"How did you know I liked this?" she asked.
"I asked your sister."
"You could have asked me," she half frowned.
Rei Chi reached out and held one of her hands. "There’s a lot we don’t still know about each other."
"That’s true," Chocolate admitted. "I don’t know your favorite color or much about where you come from. When we spent time together in Perdone you learned a lot more about me than I about you. Why is that?"
"Dunno. Hearing about you was more stimulating than me talking about myself, I guess," he told her.
"I’d like to know more about you," she said.
"Well I’ll let you know that my favorite food is barbecued ribs."
Chocolate looked down. That was Carrot’s favorite too.
"Did I say something wrong?" he asked her.
"No," she replied. "So tell me about your hobbies besides martial arts."
"I like to draw and paint. I also sculpt."
Chocolate winced, very much upset that she had destroyed his masterpiece. Tears formed in her eyes and she excused herself to the bathroom.
As she stared into the bathroom mirror of the ladies room, her mind suddenly asked her if she was really upset about the sculpture or being reminded of Carrot when Rei Chi had told her what his favorite food was.
"Shut up!" she yelled at her mind.
She tore a paper towel from the dispenser than dried her eyes, trying to gain composure over herself.
Rei Chi entered the bathroom, uncaring if anyone noticed him. "Chocolate, are
you okay?"
She turned to him and let him take her in his arms.
"What’s wrong?" he asked gently.
"I ruined your light art in the cabinet. I touched it on accident," she confessed.
"It’s okay," he soothed. "At least you got to see it."
"It was so beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you look tonight."
He took her back into the dining room when she had calmed down. As she ate some cucumber salad, he took two pieces of paper out of his jacket pocket.
"I got us two tickets to Phantom of The Opera. I know you like opera and always
wanted to see that show."
After the long musical, they walked down the sidewalk arm in arm.
"I really loved those songs," she gushed. "Especially ‘Music of the Night’."
"I’m glad you got to see it before they closed."
Suddenly a huge coach pulled alongside them and stopped. Chocolate moved to get out of the way of whomever was exiting it.
"It’s for us," he laughed.
"Really?" she smiled, getting in.
They were driven throughout the brightly lit city, admiring the buildings and quaint little shops. Rei Chi put an arm around her, hoping she wasn’t too cold.
She certainly didn’t feel could. Was it a tiny aspect of his solar magic to heat the air around them?
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Brocolli Park," he replied. "I have a surprise for you!"
"Another one? What did I do to deserve this?"
"Melt my heart with your smile."
She kissed him on the cheek.
Ten minutes later, they drove into the wooded area on a stone path through Brocolli Park. Chocolate realized this was where Marron had lured Gateau and felt a little wary. She was glad Rei Chi was with her. Soon, the driver stopped and Rei Chi opened the side door and they got out.
"Chocolate, please wear this," he told her, holding up a small strip of cloth,
"A blindfold?" she asked. "What kind of kinky surprise is this?"
"Nothing like that," he assured her.
Chocolate let him tie the blindfold around her eyes. He reached out and picked her up in his arms.
"Hey!" she laughed. "What’re you doing?"
"You’ll know soon," he promised.
He headed down the dark path into a grassy clearing. Carefully stepping over the side of something, he soon let her on her feet again. Chocolate waited while she heard him fumble with something, then felt a slight decrease in air volume.
"Can I look now?" she asked.
"Another two minutes."
The anticipation was killing her. But soon he removed the blindfold to reveal a wonderful sight. They were high up in the air over the city in a hot air baloon.
She clasped her hands together and shrieked in delight.
"Oh Rei Chi, this is so nice!"
The balloon rose a little more in the air then started to travel back towards the mountains and where the Glaces lived.
She leaned against the sides and looked out over, getting a spectacular bird’s
eye view of snowcapped mountains and treetops. Rei Chi had brought along a huge spotlight and telescope so she’d be able to see other things.
"It’s real beautiful seeing the land from all the way up here. It’s like we’re above it all, all the problems and oppression the whole continent constantly faces."
"It’s been like that your whole life, ne?"
She nodded, suddenly wondering if ever the Spooner Continent would be free from evil sorcerers. He moved closer to her, putting an arm around her slim shoulders. "I can take you away from all this suffering, Chocolate. To a place where you can be safe, where you can have everything you want and need."
Chocolate turned her head to look at him. His gaze was tender and warm. "To the Cuisine Islands?"
"Yes." Then heart racing, he continued. "That is something I want you to have, to be able to live your life in safety, apart from this accursed land. I think you’d like that. It’s a tropical climate year round, not too humid, never cold. No storms or tsunami to speak of."
Her eyes lit up at the thought. In the middle of winter where they were now, being on a sandy beach in the warm sun sounded very good. "I don’t think Big
Mama would give me vacation time especially with that secret organization still
active and Marron all messed up."
"I’m not just talking about a vacation. I want you to stay and live with me. After
what’s happened this past week, I’ve never been more sure about anything."
"That sounds so tempting, being able to see where you’re from, make love together on a secluded beach…" she grinned.
"There’s more," he told her, then slipped a small velvet box from his coat pocket. A brisk flip with the thumb and the top opened to reveal the biggest diamond ring she ever laid eyes on. And not just a ring, but a pair of Sapphire earrings, her birthstones, thrown in for good measure. Not as lovely as her eyes,
he figured.
"What’s this?" she gasped. "You shouldn’t have!" She lightly punched him in the arm. "I told you I don’t need such expensive presents!"
"And I told you that a girl like you deserves to have such things," he said softly. He took the ring and slipped it on her forefinger. "I want to be with your forever,
Chocolate-chan. I want you to be my wife."
Chocolate stared at the dazzling rock on her finger, too shocked to speak.
"Will you marry me?" he asked.
There was nowhere to run or hide, they were too high in the air, way above the ground. She had to give him an answer.
He waited quietly, trying to remain calm while stomach and insides did backflips.
"This is so romantic," she admitted , voice barely above a whisper. "Our whole date, the carriage ride through the city, this balloon, now you’re proposing…I….I don’t know what to say!"
"Just say ‘yes’," he smiled sheepishly.
Chocolate folded her arms across herself, a pained look on her face. Finally she
responded. "I …I need some time to think."
"Chocolate?" His heart sank with his voice. It felt like she was saying no even if she had not.
She turned and saw the look of disappointment on his face. It devastated her.
"Please, Rei Chi. Any girl would be honored and privileged to hear what you just said, but…but….."
She paused, trying to gather the right words to say. It wasn’t as if she was breaking off what they had….
"…but you don’t feel the same way," he finished for her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he continued. "When I came back I thought it was the right time. You were the one who sought ME out. I guess I read it all wrong that you felt the same way…"
"No! I wanted to see you again. So much," she retorted. "I'm just not ready…."
"When we spent the night together, I took it as a sign of mutual love…."
Indeed he had. That was the day Meat had been attacked and she had asked him, "Are we in love, Rei Chi?"
Then that question had gone unanswered on her part when she had stormed off in a huff. It had left him with mind wrenching doubts. Now his insides ached and he felt like he was going to vomit.
"…I guess I was wrong."
"Rei Chi, don't say that. Please."
He didn't want to upset her, but he had to bring it up. The memory of the night before had weighed heavily on his mind all day.
"You're still in love with Carrot."
Chocolate wanted to hold Rei Chi in her arms and tell him what he just said wasn't true, but she hesitated. Her mind told her to say she was over Carrot, but for some reason she could not.
"I see that I can do nothing to replace him in your heart. Perhaps I was a fool to try."
He clutched a rope which did something to cause the balloon to start sinking at a steady rate. Facing the opposite way from her, tears began to streak down his cheeks. He didn't want to look at her for fear of losing it completely. Chocolate bit her lip, tears of her own forming.* Why is this happening?*, she wondered.
A few long minutes later, and the aircraft touched down. He stood motionless, waiting for her to get off. She climbed over the side then felt her feet once more on solid, snowy ground.
"Please don't leave, don't leave me," she implored him. "Not yet."
She wanted to work things out. This wasn't about Carrot, she told herself. It was about US.
He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. "There's a coach that will pick you up shortly and take you back to the Glace's house. I'm going to return
This balloon to it's owner."
Chocolate watched the balloon rise again into the night air and wondered if she would ever see him again. It wasn't supposed to happen like this; this was supposed to be a simple first date. She had not expected him to ask her to marry him. ……
The carriage soon picked her up, taking her back to what she knew would not be any comfort at all.
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