F-Zero: Seppuku 2/3 - Lap 48

==Lap 48=

“I promise that if you let me go, I’ll never-”
“Nope,” Seppuku responded coldly.
Dark Rose dipped her head down and sighed. Everyone was present in the kitchen, where Seppuku and Fiona had finally captured Dark Rose--killing her would be on the top agenda once they obtained all needed information from her. Unfortunately for Rose, not one person in the kitchen felt sympathetic towards her. Rose was trembling as she looked at everyone, she licked her lips in frustration as every single person she planned on killing was standing right in front of her; everyone except for Abigail Flower. Seppuku crossed his arms and nodded at Rose.
“Why come here? Why kill them?”
Rose glared at him and shook negatively, “Kiss my ass wanker.”
Seppuku sighed and looked over at the three, “Any one have any methods of interrogation?”
Earl was surprised to find that everyone looked at him, he lowered his eyebrows and swallowed nervously, “Guys, I don’t know anything about interrogating--all we learned was how to cope through interrogation.”
Seppuku sighed, “Maybe we can do what Black Shadow did to Chiya…”
Chiya gasped and shook negatively, “No, I don’t care how evil Rose is, no one deserves what I got…”
Earl looked at her arms and raised his eyebrows, he had completely forgotten that Chiya had been given hundreds of deep cuts and gashes as a punishment for not breaking--the scars were now for the most part gone. Seppuku crossed his arms angrily at Chiya, clearly in disparagement of her morals.
“This is a war we’re fighting Chiya, things have to happen,” Seppuku looked over at Earl, “You were in a war, wouldn’t you agree?”
Earl dipped his head down and rubbed his head, “Honestly, I think I agree with Chiya, no soldier deserved that kind of treatment--maybe the government, but not the soldiers.”
Seppuku glanced over at Fiona for a moment, “I heard what happened to my baby, I don’t think I could bear the thought that I committed a similar atrocity.”
Seppuku finally sighed and nodded, “You got lucky Rose, we’re more merciful than your emperor, apparently.”
Rose turned her head away from him and snarled, “All you’ll have gotten out of me by the end of this is the humiliation of being tied up like some dog.”
Fiona looked around the room confused, still being left without the full story of Dark Rose, “So---o, why exactly was my daughter cloned?”
Earl quickly turned his head, “Black Shadow thought that he could use her for informative purposes, as a clone of Chiya is built with memories and knowledge, Rose knows all of our weaknesses and codes to various things.”
Seppuku raised an eyebrow at Earl, “Yes, actually.”
Rose had a dauntless look on her face as she continued to look around the room, her red eyes were momentarily trained on Chiya’s blue eyes intensely. Chiya widened her eyes and blinked a few times, Rose tugged on her leash and sighed.
“Why did we put a pet leash on her?” asked Chiya.
Seppuku smirked, “Well, she insisted on acting like a fleabag, so I gave her a leash.”
Rose growled at him, “Because you told me to!” she spat defensively.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, you just started meowing like a cat for some reason.”
“Oh, for sure,” she sneered back at him.
A few moments of silence went by, Seppuku finally yawned and shrugged. He then began to chuckle and threw his long rifle up in the air, shoving it right into her mouth. Rose widened her eyes and began to tremble, she could recall how powerful his rifle was--the shot would separate her head. Everyone got disturbed looks at Seppuku, even Chiya had to feel somewhat bad for her evil counterpart, what Seppuku was doing seemed unethical for a hero. Even if he were an anti-hero.
“Better blurt out answers little girl, you’re seconds away from a cold and lonely death.”
Rose shut her eyes tightly and began to shake in frustration, “Do it! Kill me, I wanna’ die!” Seppuku only growled at this, feeling that she was simply trying to act brave, but then everyone noticed something--a tear of blood going down her face. “My life is terrible, please, just set me free already!”
Chiya widened her eyes and lowered her eyebrows, “Well that’s not what I wanted to hear…”
Seppuku smirked and shoved the barrel further into her mouth, “Same here…”
Earl lowered his eyebrows at her, “Why do you not wanna’ live?”
Rose cried very softly, making no sounds as the red tears went down her cheeks, “B- because, my life is horrible!” Everyone continued to stare at her in confusion, Rose was now grinding her teeth and breathed in while biting down on Seppuku’s rifle, “I’m tortured, beaten, I have no friends, no one loves me, I don’t have a cat, I don’t get to have fun, I’m constantly starved as a punishment, no TV, no games, no books, I can’t even draw…”
Chiya got a very crushed look on her face, Rose then fiercely glared at Chiya, “I miss the days where I was part of your blood, where we both led the luxurious life,” Rose stomped her foot down furiously and growled, “Why the Hell do you get to live a happy life with all these things!?”
Chiya was stunned and couldn’t think of a response, once again falling victim to guilt--Dark Rose wouldn’t have been created in the first place if it weren’t for the fact that she got shot aboard the ship. Rose and Chiya continued to have a stare off, Seppuku slowly took the barrel of his rifle out of her mouth and quirked his mouth. Chiya’s eyes were now watering as she shook negatively.
“Wh- why kill us then? Just run Rose! Leave Black Shadow, or even join us, we’ll take care of you!”
Seppuku smirked, “Not a half bad idea actua-”
“You idiots…” she muttered with a slight smirk. Both Chiya and Seppuku gave her puzzled looks, Rose quirked her mouth and shook negatively, “It’s not my decision, I was programmed this way…”
Rose then glanced up at Chiya with an intense look, “Unless my master is destroyed--I will always be this way.”
Chiya lowered her eyebrows, “Black Shadow?”
Rose hesitantly nodded, “As long as he lives, I am a puppet--if he ceases to exist, then me, Blood Falcon, and Blaskovitz are released.”
Earl widened his eyes and hit his fist into his palm, “Can’t we surgically remove this part of you?”
“Stupid mechanic, we’re centuries ahead of you technologically--we’re programmed through our blood, connected to his blood.”
Chiya growled, “Don’t call Earl stupid! He’s trying to help!”
Rose chuckled at her while looking down at the floor, “Then help me by killing yourself.”
Chiya lowered her eyebrows as she continued to stare at Rose, focusing on her drooping black bangs as she had her face drooped downward. If what she says is true, we can save her by killing Black Shadow--she might turn into someone nice like me… Chiya then gasped as Seppuku put the barrel of his gun up to Rose’s face again.
“How sad, but I’m still gonna’ have to kill you…”
Chiya gasped and leapt at Seppuku, instantly latching onto his rifle, “No! You can’t shoot her!”
Seppuku growled and tried shaking Chiya off of her, “Let go Chiya, she’s evil and needs to be vanquished once and for all!”
“No!”
“Yes!”
The two immediately locked up with challenging looks, both wanting a different solution to the problem. Earl and Rose were both watching in amazement, Rose was utterly shocked at Chiya’s defense of her. Seppuku was still able to shoot Rose if he wanted, but he was wanting a clean shot to the head, not the body.
“Let, go, Chiya!” Seppuku instructed loudly.
“No!”
Earl momentarily got behind Chiya and grabbed her softly, blocking the front of the rifle. Fiona got behind Seppuku and grabbed his arm.
“Come on Mr. Seppuku, we need to speak more about this as a team before actually doing anything!”
Rose was wide-eyed and trembling, wondering if Seppuku would get the shot on her--it was three against one. Rose looked down at the metal leash and gritted her teeth, wondering if she could find a way to break free.
Seppuku momentarily stomped his foot down loudly and let out a loud growl. “Okay, okay, fine! We’ll try and compromise about this some more then.” Everyone then let go of him, Chiya and Earl both stepped back in front of Rose--making sure that he wouldn’t shoot her immediately after. Seppuku quirked his mouth in frustration, “Why so sympathetic against this clone all of a sudden?”
“Witch,” Rose corrected.
Earl shook negatively, “Quite frankly, I’d like to see her dead as much as you, but we can’t just put her down like some kind of sick animal!”
Fiona nodded in agreement, “What about prison? Surely the woman who made contact with me cou-”
“I refuse to further work with that bat.”
Fiona raised an eyebrow at Seppuku, “What’s wrong with her?”
The room then went silent for a few moments, Seppuku was simply giving her an intense stare. Chiya then cleared her throat and playfully puckered her lips. “They’re in love.”
Seppuku jolted up straight and spun around with a furious look, he then shoved his rifle roughly past their heads--pressing it against Rose’s forehead, “Say again, Little Flower?”
Chiya grabbed his barrel and grunted, “I- I was just kidding!”


Several hours later, the four had failed to come to an agreement--everyone had departed for bed, agreeing to simply leave Rose tied up for the night. The group was so far leaning on the idea of bringing her back to Seppuku’s base, where they would lock her up in the training room. Seppuku now believed that killing her wasn’t the best idea, as Rose could provide them with information about Black Shadow--such as weak points and his usual location. The simple fact was, however, that no one wanted Rose alive. Chiya merely pleaded for mercy because she feels that she could still be saved. Earl intervened because he views Rose like a soldier forced to fight--and because Chiya displayed emotions for Rose’s survival. Fiona had little of a stance on the matter, but she had no desire to clean up blood from her walls.
Chiya and Earl were yet again sleeping together, Chiya had completely hogged the blanket in her sleep and wrapped it completely around herself. Earl was slightly shivering as he silently slept, though he wasn’t awake to actually react to this. Chiya was constantly licking her lips, her mouth was completely dry and sticky--she grunted a few times as she tried moistening up the roof of her mouth. Chiya was also pawing her hand forward constantly like a cat, completely lost in a good dream.
“Is the deputy in camp..?” she muttered silently in her sleep.
Chiya then slightly began to roll around, repositioning herself on the bed--but she miscalculated slightly and ended up rolling off the bed. Chiya immediately shot open her eyes as she could feel herself sliding right off the bed, momentarily landing roughly on the floor.
“What the-”
Earl then jolted up startled and looked down at the floor, “Chiya, are you okay?”
Chiya rubbed her forehead and nodded, “I was having that cat dream again…”
Earl made a low grunt and nodded, “Ah.”
Chiya slowly stood up with her legs shaking, she was still exhausted from little sleep. Earl then grabbed the pillow and softened it up again, he smiled and looked back at her, “There, should make your dreaming even better.”
Chiya nodded at him and turned around, “I’ll be right back, I need some water for my mouth…”
Earl nodded and yawned, immediately sending himself back into the pillow, “Okay, well goodnight.”
Chiya yawned and walked out of her bedroom, immediately walking down the kitchen hallway. She only had her eyes opened at the slightest, simply wanting to drink a glass of water, and rejoin Earl immediately after. Chiya walked into the kitchen silently on her toes, she stopped immediately upon entering the room and glanced over at the wall. Rose was on the cold floor using the fat of her arm as a pillow--her other arm was still raised up in the air, as it was connected to the wall via leash. Chiya lowered her eyebrows sadly at her, she was instantly reminded of her time as a bum in Mute City--where she was forced to sleep wherever she could no matter what the temperature was. All she had was the blanket Fiona had made for her. Chiya had eventually found the abandoned warehouse in Mute City, but even this was a dirty and rodent infested building.
Chiya let out a sigh as she stared at Rose’s sleeping face, when asleep, she didn’t look nearly as menacing--rather she looked like Chiya. Chiya walked up to the sink and grabbed a small glass from the cupboard, she immediately began to fill it up via the sink. Chiya quirked her mouth and turned off the cold water, turning up the hot water instead--she then began to fill the glass up with warm water. Chiya stopped a few moments later and began to drink the entire glass without hesitation.
“Chiya.”
Chiya widened her eyes and forcibly swallowed the water, nearly choking on it as it went down. Chiya quickly spun around--the first thing she was faced with was the glowing color red. She squinted in confusion and momentarily could make out the black circles in the center of the red--Rose’s pupils.
“R- Rose.”
Rose was smirking at her, she then nodded, “I have a favor I want done from you.”
Chiya narrowed her eyes at her, “Better be good…”
Rose nodded, “When I’m executed tomorrow--I want you to drink from my blood.”
Chiya widened her eyes and gasped, “Wha- what!? no way!”
“Since I’m to die, I would like to rejoin you--once again as a bodily fluid of yours.”
Chiya stuck her tongue out in disgust, “Drink blood? What do I look like, a vampire?” Rose didn’t respond to her, simply waiting for a more specific response. Chiya then raised an eyebrow at her, “Who says you’ll be executed?”
Rose began to chuckle silently, “You all want me dead, all four of you, I’ll be killed right here tomorrow, no doubt.”
Chiya shook negatively, “You can be saved Rose, we’ll just kill Black Shadow and you can live with-”
“Shut up, none of you can harm Black Shadow--I would never let you…”
Chiya shook negatively, “I know that isn’t you talking, that’s your clone speaking…”
“Witch!” she angrily corrected.
“Whatever!” Chiya angrily responded.
Rose dipped her head down and sighed, “The honest truth is, this is the last time I’ll be seeing Black Shadow even if I were to get away,” Chiya raised an eyebrow at her, “Black Shadow would have me killed anyways for failing my mission again, so why would I go back?”
Chiya raised her eyebrows and nodded, “Yes, good, forget about Black Shadow!”
“I haven’t actually committed any crimes, maybe I can find some researchers to help me get rid of this programmed behavior, I would be able to live a happy life away from you guys and Black Shadow.”
Chiya smiled and clapped her hands together, “Yes! Do it! Go for it!” she spat out excitedly.
Rose then smirked and dipped her head, “But alas, I’m doomed to die tomorrow--I’ll never get to fulfill this dream…” Rose then slowly looked up at Chiya, “Believe me when I say, I don’t want to kill you, rather I have to, but if I can possibly fix this, then I would try everything I could to do so.”
Chiya slowly nodded at her, she then grabbed a kitchen knife and walked back up to Rose. Rose widened her eyes and gasped, Chiya stared down at her intensely, “Do you promise that if I do this, you’ll go and get help?”
Rose blinked at her a few times, her glowing red eyes completely revealed to Chiya. Rose nodded her head constantly with an excited look, Chiya then lowered her eyebrows and slashed down at the leash roughly--separating Rose from the wall. Chiya stepped back from Rose as she slowly got up from the floor.
“Chiya…” Chiya nodded at her, Rose’s lip was quivering as she looked into Chiya’s blue eyes, “I don’t know what to say…”
Chiya slightly smiled, “Get help Rose, I very much would like to be friends w-”
“Fingers crossed!” Rose shouted with an evil grin.
Chiya widened her eyes and gasped, “Huh!?”
Rose then beat her fist squarely across Chiya’s face, knocking her down to the floor instantly. Rose then looked at the shattered window and smirked, “Chow!” she concluded as she leaped out the window--she had cut herself on the broken glass, but escaped without a struggle none-the-less.
Chiya got back up and reached down for her gun, but she didn’t have it with her, as she had been sleeping. Chiya stomped her foot down and let out a loud whine of frustration. Seppuku and Earl immediately charged into the kitchen upon hearing noises, Seppuku already had his rifle drawn--Earl was for some reason holding their pillow. Chiya was holding her face in shame at what she had just done, Seppuku instantly looked at the wall and found that the leash was cut--and that Chiya was holding a knife.
Seppuku sighed and shook negatively, “You never cease to amaze me, Flower…”
“She said that she was going to get help fixing herself if I let her go, I don’t understand…”
Earl raised an eyebrow at her, “You didn’t account for the fact that a bad person might lie?”
Chiya made a shameful grunting noise as she shook negatively, because of her, they now missed a great opportunity at damaging the Dark Million organization. Earl wrapped his arm around Chiya and began walking her back to her room.
“It’s okay Chiya, don’t beat on yourself, mistakes happen…”
Seppuku stomped his foot down as he watched the two walk away, “She has every right to beat on herself, that was just boneheaded!”
“I’m so sorry…” Chiya muttered to Earl.
“We can talk about it in the morning, just accept that it happened and move on.”
Chiya let out a heavy sigh, she still found herself wondering if Rose had spoken any of the truth. She was mainly wondering if Rose truly was miserable, or whether she did actually want to get away from Black Shadow and fix herself. These were questions she would now never have answered. Earl laid Chiya back down on her bed and momentarily joined her again. Chiya reluctantly laid her head back on the pillow again, but now found that she had a pain in her stomach. She had let her feelings once again jeopardize her mission.



Many hours later, Chiya remained sleeping in bed with a saddened look on her face, she knew that Dark Rose escaping was completely her fault, and that her friends and family were now at risk once again. Chiya tightened her closed eyes more as she could begin to smell something--something good to her. What are they making in the kitchen..? she wondered. Chiya could then feel some warmth under her nose, and the scent got much more powerful, it was a scent she could remember--cookie dough.
Chiya opened her eyes and found Earl’s hand up against her face, he was holding a chocolate chip cookie under her nose.
“Good morning.”
Chiya grunted as she looked down at the cookie, she had been distancing herself from these ever since she was overweight. Chiya jolted back and gritted her teeth nervously, “E- Earl, get that away from me!”
Earl smirked and raised an eyebrow, “It’s just a cookie Chiya, your mom made em’.”
Chiya shook her head frantically, “I don’t care! I don’t wanna’ be fat again!”
“Fat? You think one cookie is gonna’ turn you fat?”
Chiya hesitantly nodded, “If I eat one, I’ll want more, much more…” she then dipped her head down sadly, “Then you’ll find me disgusting…”
Earl pushed the cookie back up to her face anyways, she widened her eyes and looked back up at him. Earl was smiling as he shrugged at her, “I’m content with you being a bit obese, as long as you don’t become one of those huge whales that can barely move.”
Chiya gasped and hesitantly put the cookie in her hands, Earl then stretched and picked up a jackboot, observing Chiya’s footwear. Chiya sighed and dipped her head down, finally giving into temptation and taking a bite out of the treat. Memories of her childhood instantly sprung into her head as she took a simple taste of the chocolate. Earl smirked at her and nodded, Chiya began to nibble on the cookie more and closed her eyes as she ate it. I hope he’s telling the truth… Chiya then looked up at him slightly and could see the respectful look on his face--reassuring her that he was true to his word that he would be content with her being overweight. Chiya quickly finished the cookie and dropped her hands on her legs in disbelief.
“I- it didn’t taste as good as I remember…”
“Meaning?”
Chiya shrugged and smirked at him, “It was good, but not as addicting as I recall.”
Earl smirked at her, he then pulled out a canteen from his pocket and began unscrewing it, “If only that were the case with my drinking addic-”
Chiya quickly grabbed the canteen, “Uh, you can’t drink alcohol here…” Earl grunted and widened his eyes, “Mysterian law, you’re not in your thirties yet, therefore it is illegal.”
Earl stood completely still with a baffled look on his face, Chiya smiled at him and patted his back, “I know you well Earl, I know you can cope with this for me.”


“So, if I pay the added amount, I can get on Sand Ocean within the day, is what you’re saying?” Earl asked Seppuku.
Chiya was standing in the kitchen with a quivering lip, saddened that Earl was trying to get off Mysteria because of alcohol. Earl was hardly regarding the fact that he had hurt her feelings, simply up at Seppuku’s face about leaving for beer.
“Sorry to say, but we’re stuck here for two more days, transport comes back for us the day after the race,” said Seppuku.
Earl flailed his hands in the air, “Oh for God’s sake! I can’t go that many days without getting buzzed!”
Chiya put her hands on Earl’s shoulder, “I- it’s okay Earl, I’ll do anything for you that-”
“Shut up Chiya!”
Chiya gasped and was completely sent back with a crushed feeling, Earl began to scratch his head violently--feeling like a trapped animal. Chiya began to walk away with watering eyes, feeling very hurt by Earl. Seppuku glanced over at Chiya and got a furious look on his face, he then grabbed Earl by the neck.
“Hey! Look what you just did to Flower you bastard!” Earl widened his eyes in response and tried turning his head around, Seppuku continued to shake Earl around, “You shut the Hell up and grow a pair, you don’t think I’d like to get a glass myself?”
Earl narrowed his eyes at him, “Yo- you can have beer though!”
Seppuku puckered his lip and nodded, “Oh, that’s right!”
He then took the canteen out of Earl’s hand and began to drink the alcohol in front of him. Earl swiped it out of his hands and growled, Seppuku then stomped his foot down.
“Apologize to Flower, you hurt her stupid feelings.”
Earl grunted and dipped his head down, he exhaled as he tried calming down. He then turned around to face Chiya, but she was already gone. Earl gasped and looked around constantly, “Aw, no, come on!”
Earl then walked away from Seppuku, trying to find Chiya. The first place he checked was the bedroom, but she wasn’t in her room anywhere. Earl let out a distressed moan as he desperately looked around for a solution to the problem. The first clue he found was that her jackboots were now missing--meaning she was leaving.
“Jesus Christ…” he muttered as he began running towards the door, assuming that she was leaving in the Purring Kitten.
Earl then ran outside and practically leaped towards the Purring Kitten--but Chiya wasn’t there either. Earl stood still and grunted, wondering where Chiya could have possibly gone, they were out in the country, so he knew that she couldn’t have gotten far. It was then that he heard a door slam shut out in the distance. He turned his head towards the large shed in the back and found that it was now shut, he lowered his eyebrows sadly and began charging towards the shed. The shed was what Chiya referred to as the Workshop, large enough to fit vehicles in. Earl began to pant as he quickly made his way to the large shed, immediately placing his hand on the wooden door.
“This is a really primitive place…” he muttered while catching his breath.
He then slowly opened the massive wooden door and looked inside, it was fairly empty except for the massive amounts of metal tools that were in the shed. Earl took a step inside and was immediately faced with something displeasing to him. He found that Chiya was sitting behind a workbench silently crying. Earl gritted his teeth and rubbed the back of his head, suddenly feeling really bad for the way he snapped at her. Earl rarely saw Chiya cry, she only saw her cry when it was something unbearable--like memories of her father. He realized now just how bad he messed up to make her cry over him.
Earl slowly approached Chiya and knelt behind her, he then wrapped his arms just below her collarbone. Chiya jolted her head up startled and stopped whimpering, she quickly wiped her eyes and cleared her throat.
“Please don’t cry Chiya, that wasn’t the real me talking, it was the addiction…”
“I- I wasn’t crying!” she wiped her eyes some more and pouted, “People who cry are babies…”
Earl shook negatively at her comment, he then lifted her back up on her feet and patted her back, “I’m sorry Chiya, I swear that I don’t actually wanna’ leave, I just have a hard time going without my daily liquor.”
Chiya dipped her head down, trying to hide her face from him, “You weren’t like this the other days, you didn’t even bring up beer those days…”
Earl frowned, “Just didn’t cross my mind, we’ve had more important things to do, drinking was on the bottom of my agenda.”
Chiya crossed her arms and lowered her head even more, “I- I just…” she then swallowed and began to tear up some more, “I don’t think I would want a family like this…”
Earl widened his eyes, somewhat feeling awkward by her dream to start a family. He coped through this none-the-less and patted her back again, “Don’t worry, I’ll never become abusive or anything, I put family and honor before beer.”
Chiya smiled and nodded, “I know, I just don’t want any of my children feeling threatened by their father.”
Earl then grunted and began to turn red, now he felt especially awkward that she mentioned her desire to have children, “Uh, uh, you don’t have to worry about that…” he then puckered his lips and rubbed his forehead uncomfortably, “Exactly, how many children do you think you’ll want?”
Chiya quickly spun around with a gleeful smile, “Ten!”
Earl began to tremble and felt a shock go down his spine, “Oh my…”


Earl had much later taken Chiya into New Edinburgh, they were now at a mall--in a clothing section for the third time. Luckily for Earl, Chiya hadn’t taken him straight to the undergarments section like usual. Chiya had her boots off and was nervously letting Earl hold her foot--he was the first person she was letting touch her feet at all. Earl held up a black leather boot and raised an eyebrow. Chiya shook negatively at the boot.
“I want something like the ones I’ve always been wearing.”
Earl looked at her worn out jackboots and shrugged, “Well you really shouldn’t have been wearing those all these years, it probably changed the shape of your foot by now.”
Chiya looked at her foot and nodded, noticing that her toes were no longer spread out like they should, rather they were closing in towards the center of her sock. Earl then held up another black boot, this one had some white fur going around it. Chiya shook negatively, Earl then got a frustrated look.
“Well, why don’t you look then?”
“I want the same looking boots I’ve always worn.”
Earl sighed, “Those are jackboots, they aren’t stylish, so no one sells them.”
“They are too stylish…” she defended.
Earl held up a flip flop and raised an eyebrow, Chiya narrowed her eyes at him and growled. He then held up some black leather boots, almost like a jackboot--only they looked more like dress shoes.
“O---ooh!” she said in awe at the boot.
Earl began putting the boot on for her, Chiya’s lips were puckered as he brought it up her foot. Earl smirked as it appeared to be a perfect fit--Chiya appeared very excited at this, as the boot was both darker and much more shiny than her jackboots.
“Nice!” she said excitedly.
Earl nodded as he put the other boot on her, Chiya was kicking her feet around excitedly afterwards. She hadn’t gotten to go shopping like this before, bringing a gleeful teenage like burst of excitement into her body.
“I love them!” she said excitedly as she stood up.
Earl smiled and nodded at her, “I hope you’ll forgive me for yelling at you now.”
“Damn right I will!”
Earl had also purchased new shoes, but they were for the most part similar to what he usually wore. Chiya then forcibly grabbed his hand and began skipping towards the counter, ecstatic to check the new boots out. She had left her original pair behind.


The day had passed, and it was once again night time, the two were now in the bedroom again, but Chiya hadn’t taken her boots off ever since she put them on. Earl was standing in the middle of her bedroom shadowboxing, trying to keep up with his Seoli Idong skills. Chiya was still kicking her feet around as she watched him shadowbox, she was wondering whether she should finally get the next lesson from Earl--as it seemed that every time she met with Excalibur, they ended up fighting in Seoli Idong style.
Seppuku and Fiona were once again in the kitchen together, both were sitting at the table calmly with each other. Seppuku tipped his fedora to her.
“How about it Flower, has your daughter changed much while she’s been gone?”
Fiona tilted her head with a puzzled look, “Kind of, I still see my same beautiful daughter when I look at her, but she has certainly changed,” she smirked at Seppuku, “Quite frankly, I’m surprised that she agreed to the line of work you guys do, I can’t say I approve, but it’s her life now, and she leads it the way she wants to.”
Seppuku nodded, “That’s about the best thing a mother can do for a child.”
Fiona dipped her head down and sighed, “Abigail sure missed Chiya all these years though, she felt as though she had lost her best friend forever.”
Seppuku chuckled and crossed his arms, “Knowing Chiya, she’ll probably be begging me to help find her, I’m sure she won’t be satisfied until she knows that her entire family is safe.”
Fiona smiled at Seppuku and nodded, “Do you think of yourself like a father figure to Chiya?”
Seppuku nodded, “Of course, you should’ve seen what I did to the inmates trying to rape your daughter when we were in the middle of that one prison riot.” He then got an angry look on his face, “I’ll be damned if I’m gonna’ let some dirty men steal something that special from her…”
Fiona grunted, “My daugh- she’s still a-”
Seppuku nodded, “She is keen on the idea that she wants to do that only with the person she’ll marry.”
Fiona blinked a few times at him, then exhaled in relief, “Her friends were always so perverse, I assumed that Chiya had joined in on one of their sessions before she even left Mysteria.”
Seppuku shook negatively, “Her latest medical record still labels her as a virgin, she is indeed an honorable woman who wants to grant this to the one she loves.”
Fiona smiled, “She must be strong like I was, I waited until I was married to Robert, had two children, and now…”
“Now you’re living a sad life.”
Fiona closed her eyes and slowly nodded, Seppuku chuckled and stood up, walking up next to her. Fiona slightly opened her eyes and looked up at him, “Both me and Chiya are the romance types, I always pictured myself living the fantasy life, but I’ve never met anyone ever again as nice as Robert…” The two continued to stare at each other for a few moments, her eyes began to quiver at him, “Not- not for a long time…”
The two continued to stare aimlessly into each others eyes, Fiona then slowly stood up while still looking at him.


Chiya was laughing loudly as Earl had clumsily fallen to the ground while shadowboxing. Earl found some humor in his own clumsiness and laughed as well.
“You amaze me Earl, you knocked yourself off your feet just like that…”
Earl rubbed his head and nodded, “I haven’t practiced in a while.”
Chiya continued to giggle as she walked towards her door, she pointed back at him and puckered her lips, “Don’t knock yourself out while I’m getting a soda.”
Earl rolled his eyes at her playfully and got back on his feet. Chiya continued down the hallway with a gleeful smile on her face, she had gotten Earl out of his desperation for alcohol for the time being. Considering the race would be starting the following day, Chiya needed Earl to have a clear mind so he could guide her. Chiya continued to smile as she thought about Earl, still slightly laughing at the fact that he had knocked himself down on accident.
Chiya took a step into the kitchen, but the next thing she saw completely sent her smile into a look of awe. Chiya took a heavy step back and let out a long and very loud gasp. Seppuku and Fiona were kissing each other. Chiya let out a scream of horror and closed her eyes tightly. Everyone in the house was alarmed at Chiya’s loud screaming, including Earl. Seppuku and Fiona both let go of each other and looked at Chiya surprised--expecting that the two had went to bed.
“Mo- mom!” Chiya spat out in extreme fright.
Fiona took a step towards Chiya and held her hands out, “Sweetie it’s not-”
Chiya shook negatively and immediately began running back to her room with an adrenaline rush, Fiona watched as her daughter took the news very heavily--clearly upset by this greatly. Seppuku smirked and wrapped his arm around Fiona.
Chiya slammed the door shut and locked the door behind her, she immediately leapt onto her bed and forced herself into her pillow. Earl widened his eyes and ran up to her quickly.
“Chiya! What’s wrong!?”
Chiya was kicking her feet up and down constantly as she hid her face deep inside her pillow. She was making several low pitched grunting sounds as she constantly beat her hand onto the side of her bed.
“Chiya! Calm down, whatever it is, we can tackle this together!”
Chiya looked up at Earl with completely traumatized eyes, she was hyperventilating greatly, “M- mom and Seppuku, they were- were-” Earl lowered his eyebrows at her and gritted his teeth, mere seconds later, a knocking was at her door.
Earl turned around and approached the door, seeing that Chiya was failing to complete her sentence. Earl opened the door a crack and saw Fiona standing in front of the door, he then opened it for her and stepped aside. Chiya glanced at Fiona for a moment, then let out a loud moan. Fiona put her hand on Earl’s shoulder.
“Dear, can you step out for a moment, I need to have a private conversation with my daughter.”
Earl bowed to her with a puzzled look, he then stepped outside of her room and closed the door behind him. Fiona looked back at Chiya sadly, saddened that Chiya was taking this news so badly. Fiona sat down on the bed with Chiya and put her hand down on her shoulder. Chiya immediately slapped Fiona’s hand away from her, still keeping her face in her pillow. The two remained silent for a few moments, Chiya wasn’t crying, but she was deeply hurt and in a distraught state.
“Please mom, don’t marry Seppuku! Don’t marry Seppuku!”
Fiona sighed and patted her shoulder, “Chiya, don’t you want me to be happy?”
Chiya whipped her face towards her angrily, “What about dad! Dad was the greatest person ever! How could you betray him like this!?”
Fiona remained silent and sighed, “Chiya, I don’t think you understand, but we’ve never been romantically attached to each other since you were a baby.”
Chiya gasped and shook negatively, “N- no! That’s a lie! We always had family nights!”
“For you, and Abigail.” Chiya felt her eyes tighten up in amazement, “If it weren’t for the fact that you two were born, we probably would’ve divorced.”
Chiya held her forehead in shock, “Oh my God, I’m gonna’ be ill…”
Fiona grabbed Chiya cheeks, “You can still love your dad, even I still love him, I just- I lost the spark with him so long ago, the day he died was the last time I truly missed him.”
Chiya held her face and shook negatively, “You can’t marry Seppuku, I don’t want him to be my step dad…”
Fiona smirked at him, “It was just a kiss Chiya, it was never established that we would be getting married.”
Chiya rubbed her stomach with a sickened look, “I’m seriously going to be ill, I did not need to see that.”
Fiona stood up and sighed, “Come see me when you want to talk about this, I’m just going to let you calm down a bit first.”
Chiya slightly nodded with a distraught look, Fiona then opened the door and let Earl back in. Earl immediately ran up to Chiya and sat next to her.
“Is everythin-”
“Seppuku and my mom, are soft on each other…”
Earl widened his eyes, “You mean, they’re-”
“Yes.”
Earl held his forehead in disbelief, “Seppuku? Father in law?” he muttered nervously.
Chiya held her face again and began to groan, she then held her stomach again and widened her eyes at Earl, “Get me a garbage bin, I’m gonna-”
Her mouth then began to bloat up, Earl widened his eyes and gasped as Chiya was still staring at him, about to vomit.


“Oh Go----od!” Earl yelled from her room.
Seppuku and Fiona looked back at her door, Seppuku still had a prideful look on his face. Fiona had a somewhat disappointed look, as she was hoping Chiya would initially understand her position.
The day was mostly a bad one for Chiya, the best part being where she got her new boots. Dark Rose was free, Earl had snapped at her before, and now Fiona kissed Seppuku; considering that Chiya would be racing the following day, she had plenty of problems on her plate. It would surely be a stressful race.

To be continued…