"I could go for something." Long admitted.
"You wanna share one of those huge shakes with two straws Yugo?" Alice offered.
"Erm... No." Yugo replied. "I'm not in the mood for a shake."
"Not in the mood for a shake huh?" Shina repeated, a mischieveous glint in her eyes. "That's really too bad..." She gently set her shopping bag on the ground before grabbing Yugo by the shoulders and shaking him back and forth violently.
"H-hey!" Yugo whined. "I s-said I w-wasn't in the moo-oood..."
"Hey, save some for me!" Alice yelled, rushing over to take her turn at shaking the disoriented boxer. Uriko, Kenji and Long just sat there watching and laughing.
"You are just so much fun to pick on Yugo." Shina said, excusing herself for the joke, picking up her bag, and walking over to Long. "Didn't mean to keep you waiting." she said, giving him a wink and handing him the shopping bag. Long took it carefully from her hands and gave her a curious look. "Just think of it as a friendship gift." she replied, smiling. He separated the bag's handles and looked down into it to find a little round portable CD player with headphones, and a few CDs in square jewel cases.
"I hope you like the music." she continued. "I have no idea what kind of music you like, although I'm sure you probably wouldn't like what I do. So anyways I just asked the lady at the counter for some recomendations."
"Thank you Jannu." Long replied, staring dazedly down at the gift. "I..."
"What did you just call her?" Uriko interrupted. Shina and Long both looked over at her in a startled manner.
"It... it was..." Long began.
"It was nothing." Shina finished, brushing it aside. "Just a silly old name that people used to call me."
"Oh." Uriko replied, looking back and forth between the two and then gave them a knowing wink. "So Long has a special name for you Shina?"
"What? Long has a special name for Shina?" Yugo asked as he walked over to them, Alice trailing closely behind.
"Aw, crap." Shina muttered.
"How did you manage to escape Alice's grasp?" Kenji demanded, before noticing a bit of her pink lipstick at the side of his mouth.
"Oops." Yugo realized that it was there and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt.
"So... Long's got a special name for Shina?" Alice asked. Long brushed through his hair nervously as he found himself the center of attention.
"It was really just a mistake..." he explained.
"Will you all back off!" Shina yelled.
"Long and Shina sitting in a tree..." Yugo chanted.
"Ooo, you little!" Shina raised a threatening fist.
"K-I-S-S..." Yugo continued, Alice interrupted him with one quick slap to the face. "Ow!"
"That's so cute." Uriko told Long encouragingly.
"It's really nothing." Long replied. "I just had this name stuck in my head..."
"We're just friends!" Shina yelled in Yugo's face. Yugo snickered. That's not what you told me you wanted, but I guess you don't want anyone else to know about it.
"Sure you are..." Yugo replied, winking at her.
"At least I'm not like you!" Shina complained. "...saying that you don't like someone and then turning around and kissing them!" That's just a bit hypocritical Shina... Long thought.
"Hey..." Yugo whined.
"I really don't mind it." Alice admitted shyly. "He can say whatever he wants, but he'll always be back for more." Yugo sighed.
"Well I don't care who knows that I like Kenji!" Uriko announced. "I'm proud of my mole boy!" A furious blush flushed over Kenji's face.
"Er, Riko..." Kenji mumbled. "...maybe we shouldn't..."
"So that's where you got the idea!" Shina exclaimed. "You think that because Kenji likes you and he's got a pet name for you that Long's name for me means that he likes me!"
"Yeah, I guess." Uriko admitted.
"How silly." Shina added.
"He's too old for you anyways, right?" Yugo asked. Shina looked up at him and wondered if they would believe her story if she told Yugo to shut up... Is he trying to make me angry? Doesn't he know better than that?
"Yeah, he's like twelve years older than me." she replied in a nonchalant manner.
"Psh, age doesn't matter!" Uriko asserted.
"Yeah." Alice agreed. "Not that it's a big deal for any of us, luckilly Yugo and Kenji are at exactly the right age."
"Well what does matter..." Long began strongly, but then everyone's attention was drawn to him again and he got a little nervous and slowed down. "...what matters is a person's feelings." he finished. This is terrible. Am I going to have to lie to everyone?
"Oh, so you don't have any feelings for each other then?" Uriko asked. Shina and Long gave each other a brief glance.
"Uh, well..." Long began.
"...not besides friendship." Shina finished, smiling at him. Long sighed in relief. Thank you Jannu. I don't think I can stand another lie...
"Well, you never can have enough friends." Yugo added. "I don't know what I would do without all you guys."
"Aw, Yugo that's so sweet!" Alice squealed, giving him a big hug.
"Awwww." Kenji and Uriko commented.
"Come on Ally." Yugo said, peeling her off of him. "Let's all go eat now, I'm hungry!"
"Oh, Yugo." Alice sighed. "Can't you ever think about anything besides your appetite?"
"My appetites..." Yugo replied, smiling mischeiviously. Alice elbowed him in the gut. "Ouuuuch! Ally!"
"Hey, I'm hungry too." Shina defended.
"For food I hope." Long muttered under his breath.
"What was that!?!" she demanded.
"Nothing." Long mumbled. Uriko giggled.
"I oughtta give you a fat lip for that!" Shina yelled playfully, rolling her hands up into fists. "How dare you!"
"I wanna eat too." Kenji agreed.
"I have to go buy these shoes first." Alice told them, grabbing a shoe box and walking towards the checkout line. The others gathered into a jumbled group and followed her, Shina giving Long a soft punch in the side. She pulled up next to him and whispered in his ear.
"I see how it is." Then she gave him a wink before turning her attention to Alice at the cash register. Long sighed to himself, wishing that he hadn't opened his mouth. Alice quickly paid for the shoes and the happy group walked towards the food court. "So, what does everyone want to eat?" Shina asked.
"Pizza!" Uriko yelled enthusiastically.
"Oh, no." Long moaned. Shina laughed.
"I think we're all burnt out on pizza, any better ideas?"
"How about hot dogs?" Yugo suggested. "Or corn dogs, there's supposed to be a really good place..."
"Nah." Shina interrupted. "I'm sick of those too, it's all we ever eat around the house."
"How about burgers?" Alice suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Kenji agreed.
"I don't want burgers right now." Uriko whined.
"I know, let's get fried chicken!" Shina exclaimed.
"Yay!" Uriko acceded.
"I guess that's not bad." Yugo thought.
"Okay with me." Kenji added.
"I suppose I will end up sacrificing my tastes in order to please the group." Long complained.
"You don't like chicken?" Alice asked.
"Not fried chicken." Long corrected.
"You could get something else you know." Shina suggested. "We don't all have to go to the same place, although it would be more convenient that way."
"It's not that much of a problem." Long aquiessed. "I suppose that if I am carefull I can prevent the vast majority of the grease from coming in contact with my skin."
"You afraid of getting zits or something?" Yugo teased.
"Very funny Yugo." Long mumbled. "And I suppose that your request for corn dogs had something to do with their shape..."
"Hey, are you trying to say that...?" Everybody started laughing.
"Ha, ha... Alright Long!" Shina commented. "You scored one off of Yugo! Wooho!"
"He was asking for it." Long excused himself. "I might not be the most sociable person here but that doesn't mean that I'm going to just sit back and tolerate all of Yugo's snide remarks."
"Hey..." Yugo whined. "I don't know what all of the words you just said mean, but that didn't sound very nice!"
"Way to go Master Long!" Uriko cheered. "You're nobody's doormat!"
"He he, thanks Uriko." the Chinese man replied, smiling.
"I'm not a doormat." Kenji pointed out.
"Of course not." Uriko agreed, sending him a sweet smile and squeezing his hand.
"Yugo's the doormat!" Shina declared. "We can all walk all over him!"
"Hey, don't get too comfortable with that!" Yugo warned. "I can only stand so much of it, you know?"
"If they get too mean I'lll just tell 'em to bug off." Alice assured him, nestling into his shoulder.
"That would work much better if you were talking about Stun." Long joked, a couple people snickered at it.
"You know, you've actually got a pretty good sense of humor Long." Shina complimented him.
"Just don't start to get cocky, you little smart mouth!" Yugo added. "I'm supposed to be the one making all the funny jokes around here!"
"Little?" Long complained.
"No, you're supposed to be the one making all the perverted jokes." Shina reminded him. "Leave the funny jokes to the people who completed high school."
"I'm at least as tall as you are Yugo," Long mumbled. "and I have several years seniority..."
"Well that definately rules you out." Yugo replied to Shina's remark while ignoring the Kenpo Master.
"See if I care." Shina argued, sticking her toungue out at the tall boxer.
"I think that rules everyone out except for sis," Uriko stated. "and maybe Master Long?"
"I didn't actually complete it at the school building," Long explained. "I was too busy killing people at that point in time... but I did get my General Education Diploma after a few years."
"So when are you gonna tell us why you became an assassin in the first place?" Yugo prompted.
"Not any time soon." Long replied, giving the other a brief glare. "It is a personal matter that I do not wish to discuss at the moment."
"But..." Yugo began. Kenji elbowed him in the side. "Huh?"
"Leave him alone." Kenji requested.
"Uh, okay..." Yugo agreed. "If you think so." They entered the dinning hall and selected a nice large table that they all could sit at.
"Since I'm paying someone else is going to get the food." Shina announced, leaning back in her chair and resting her feet on the edge of the table.
"I would be honored to be of service my lady." Long offered, bowing gently.
"Oh how cuuuute!" Alice squealed. "How come you never talk like that Yugo?"
"Cute?" Long complained. "I'm 30 years old."
"Grrrr." Yugo growled, a large grimace on his face. "If you like the guy so much why don't you go out with him!?!" His remark stunned everyone into silence as they gazed around the room at Long and Alice who began to shift around nervously.
"You don't really mean that..." Alice asked. "...do you Yugo?"
"No, but everyone telling me that I should act more like Long is getting on my nerves!"
"Mine too." Long agreed.
"Alright fine, I apologize." Alice shrugged. "I guess I'll just forget about it then if this is what's going to happen."
"Well, hopefully that is the end of that." Long commented, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth. Shina fished through her wallet and pulled out several large bills and handed them to Long.
"Just get a whole bunch of it, like 30 pieces." she instructed him. "And get a bunch of biscuits and mashed potatoes... anyone want corn?"
"Not me." Yugo said.
"No." Uriko answered. Kenji and Alice shook their heads.
"Anything else?" Shina asked.
"Drinks." Kenji reminded her.
"Oh yeah, I want whatever kind of cola they have." Shina added.
"I want a Sprite." Uriko decided. Kenji chuckled.
"A sprite, eh?" he teased.
"Hey!" Uriko exclaimed, making a playfull swat at his head.
"Uh, I'll have a root beer." Kenji ordered, ducking under Uriko's arm.
"I wonder if they have any iced tea." Alice mused.
"I'll also take a root beer." Yugo told him.
"You got all that Long?" Shina asked.
"Everyone else seems to think so." Yugo complained.
"Yugo!" Shina yelled, clenching her fists.
"Two root beers, one cola, a sprite, and an iced tea, correct?" Long repeated.
"Yep." Shina replied, nodding. "That's it." Long bowed and turned and walked towards the restaurant lines.
"Hope it won't take you very long, Long." Yugo yelled after him.
"Uh!" Shina groaned. "You are so rude."
"You know..." Alice began, glancing at Uriko just long enough to manage a wink. "Maybe someone should go with him to help carry all the food..."
"You go!" Uriko yelled, sticking her toungue out at Kenji.
"Huh?" Yugo muttered, turning towards them.
"You go!" Kenji replied, sticking his toungue back out at her.
"What?" Yugo asked, confused.
"You go!" Uriko continued.
"What are you talking about?" Yugo demanded.
"No, you go!" Kenji replied, starting to giggle.
"No what?" Yugo whined. "I'm not doing anything..."
"You go!" Uriko replied stubbornly.
"I'm right here damn it!" Yugo yelled. "What!?!" Kenji and Uriko burst into laughter, Shina and Alice soon to follow. "What's so %$#@ing funny!?!" Yugo roared, smashing one fist into the table. "Ow!"
"Too bad Long's not here to see this." Shina managed to say between laughes.
"He he, yeah." Uriko concurred. "I bet he'd get a kick out of this!"
"Man." Yugo sighed. "How come everybody likes him more than me?"
"You were just being so rude Yugo." Alice explained. "It's not that we don't like you... You know that I like you."
"You could try and take control of your own comments a little better." Kenji suggested. "Are you just being grouchy?"
"This sucks." Yugo whined.
"Oh, don't be such a baby!" Shina scholded, taking her feet off of the table and playfully kicking at his shins. "Come on, we're all friends here, right?"
"Right!" Uriko replied, smiling brilliantly.
"Definately." Kenji agreed, shyly wrapping one hand around Uriko's waist.
"Of course we are." Alice added.
"Sure, whatever." Yugo mumbled. "It's just that I finally take a day off of my work so that I can go out and have fun, and then people start ragging on me!"
"Oh, it's okay," Alice assured him, wrapping one arm around his waist and snuggling against his side. "we all love you Yugo."
"Anyways, I'm going to go help Long with the food." Kenji announced, getting up from the table. He grabbed Uriko's hand and gave it a squeeze before adding, "Be right back."
"Why don't you go, Yugo?" Uriko complained, reluctant to see Kenji leave. Yugo gave her a critical look, wondering if she was trying to start another pun on his name.
"Are you kidding?" he asked. "I don't really like that guy..."
"Master Long's cool." Uriko argued. "If it weren't for him and Shina my mother could still be in the hands of those creeps."
"Besides, if you want to stay friends with me then you'd better get used to him." Shina rolled one hand into a fist and flexed her arm muscles in a mock threat.
"Oh, great." Yugo muttered.
Kenji zigzagged through the moving labyrinth of living bodies that made up the space between the dinning tables and the restaurant lines, searching for some sign of the obsidian-haired Kenpo Master. Eventually he arrived at the only place that sold fried chicken and searched the lines to no avail, only to find the Chinese man standing to the side of the place, glancing down at a sales receipt. He walked up to the man and nodded politely.
"I'm here to help carry the food." he explained.
"Good." Long replied, nodding. "I was just considering going back to ask for some help, we've got 3 buckets of chicken, 2 large containers of mashed potatoes, a dozen biscuits, and six drinks to carry."
"Uh, Long? Can I ask you something?" Kenji wondered, scratching at the back of his neck nervously.
"I suppose so." the Kenop Master agreed, looking up from the receipt. "What is it?"
"Well..." Kenji began, felling a little out of place. "I was just wondering... What was it like when you were an assassin?" Long lifted an eyebrow, curious as to why the young ninja had asked the question. "I'm not trying to pry into your personal life or anything." Kenji assured him. "It's just that... since I was an assassin too... I mean, I was just curious..."
"I understand." Long sympathized. "Your experience was recent, and it's events are still fresh in your mind. Both the memorites... and the pain."
"Yeah." Kenji admitted, nodding as he glanced sadly towards the floor.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Long offered.
"I guess..." Kenji trailed off, trying to find the right words to express his wandering thoughts. "I was just wondering... How can I ever be normal again? I feel like I can't even trust myself anymore."
"If only you had asked a different question." Long muttered uneasily as a heavy sigh escaped his mouth. "I am still not the same... not even after all these years have I been able to overcome my feelings for my own actions in the past." He looked down at the solemn young man, who returned his gaze with a sorrowful expression. "Your situation is different however." he added, trying to give the other hope. "You were an unwilling participant in these crimes. Perhaps it will be easier, if only slightly, for you to succeed. In fact, you may even succeed where I have failed..." He paused briefly to look into the other's face. Kenji returned a worried look, wishing that there was some way he could help.
"I regret that I cannot help you." Long confessed. "I cannot tell you what you should do in order to put this matter behind you..." he was about to finish the conversation, but an idea entered his mind. "but I can tell you one thing." He bent down to look straight into the boy's face, in order to deliver his message. "Whatever you do... Do not run from it. Don't try to hide it or ignore it. You can't. You understand?" Kenji nodded dumbly, startled by the directness and intensity of the man. "I know this from personal experinence." Long admitted. "One day you will have to face your fears. We all do. Do not waste precious years of your life trying to ignore something that is impossible to ignore."
Long straightened himself, the most important point in his message already delivered. "This is also something I must do. I do not know how to do it or where to start, but I have to believe that someday... I will be free from it at last. Do you believe in that Kenji?"
"Yeah." Kenji replied, smiling up at him.
"Thank you."
"But... I'm the one who should be thanking you." Kenji objected.
"Nonsense." Long replied, a smile spreading over his face. "Talking with you has helped me realize what I must do to set my own life straight. I thank you for it."