"Well, okay then. How about--" Keychain suddenly stopped speaking and flinched as the hole was punctured into the ceiling. "Oh boy," she mumbled. Placing her hands over her head to keep any debris off of her, mostly the heavier ones that could damage her head if they fell in the right place, Keychain eyed Burlo. "Sir, do you know what you have done?"

"What---how---I---I don't believe it." Evan gripped his hair. "There's a hole in my ceiling! All the way to the roof! I don't believe it!"

Aqua jumped off the counter. She gave him a pat on the back, almost hurling off his feet. "I hate to break it to you, but if I let you continue talking, you'll just end up repeating yourself more than once, twice, and even thrice." She grinned, giving him a pat again. "If anyone wants to get a lift through the ceiling, you can count on me. I'm tall enough." Reaching up, Aqua pressed a hand against the ceiling, her hand pressed fully against it. Her elbow was slightly bent. "See? I'm just going to go the old fashion way; out the door."

Evan glanced around the shop, annoyed. "I'm still open for a few hours too."

"Calm down. Jasper and I will come down and fix it with you and your sister. If any luck, your aunt and uncle won't dig into you so much," commented Keychain.

He eyed her. Looking from her dress to her face, Evan grinned widely. It wasn't often that Keychain would actually dress so . . . womanly. "Many guys may not say this to you often enough, but you are a very sexy girl."

"That's it! I'm changing back into my clothing." Keychain stormed to the back room, aiming to change into her regular dress.

Aqua shrugged at Zeze and Shada. "She gets like that." Cupping her hands together, she stared at the two with her eyebrows raised, the band-aid releasing more from its place on her forehead. "Now, are either of you going to go through the roof or not? I could lift one person and. . . he--hell, I don't know your name--- can lift the other. Good plan?"

OoC: I'm glad that I wait. Last time Sabertache posted while I was writing mine. XD

Zeze stared at the now recently formed hole, her mouth open in an unladylike fashion. She snapped it closed, clapping her hands delightedly. Now this is what I'm talking about! Real adventure!

"Now how's this for a plan? If we're really quiet, then Alpha won't notice anything...I just feel kind of bad for leaving Saki behind, but it can't be helped."

As Aqua began to offer giving a hand (or a shoulder - she didn't really know how they were going to manage) in getting the ladies out of the store, she shook her head. Still showcasing her green dress, she turned to Evan with excitement written across her tattooed face.

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll pay back for this later. But you see, Saki has the money bag... I gave everything to her when I was shopping."

She squinted, watching Burlo trying to come down the hole that he had created. Zeze had to admit that it wasn't the prettiest sight in the world, but she was glad that he was taking time - she definitely wanted to go through the hole by herself, and she didn't want to crash into him when she did succeed. She called out softly lest the mages outside might hear,

"No need, Burlo, m'dear friend. I rather want to try out my skills in agility..."

She flexed her muscles, toned by the years of gymnastics. She was a Bard, but during her experiences in performing for people, she discovered that she gathered a bigger crowd by doing flips in the air while playing her flute. Naturally, she felt comfortable with jumping all over the place - even through a hole in the ceiling.

__________________________________

Sakiko flinched, wondering if she had asked the wrong question. Actually, there was even no need to wonder - she did ask a very wrong question. The pale girl watched as Alpha tried to control his anger and his bitter explanation of his relationship with Shada. She couldn't help but feel relieved that he had nothing suspiciously pleasant to say about his fellow Sheikah.

She inwardly shook her head. No...I shouldn't even care. He is just someone I admire...nothing else. The Mage bit her lips, one more question lingering in her mind... he had mentioned that he would never give that something to someone like her. If her suspicions were correct, she knew what that certain something that he was speaking of. If he couldn't give it to someone like Shada, then would he give it to someone else?

However, she had not the courage to ask it; Alpha seemed to be in a foul mood, and it was a sensitive question. She didn't even know this man in front of her that well, and she had no right to even wonder about such things as these. Sakiko sucked in her cheeks, breathing out slowly.

There were so many things she wanted to know about him. Before, when she had watched him from afar, she had only had a single thought in her mind - he was admirable. Yes, he was something that she wanted to strive to be. He was a role model for her, almost... he had proven to her that one didn't have to feel empathy and constant desire to bring happiness to be respectable. And yet, as she stood there, watching his every move, so many questions flooded her mind.

But that wasn't right. He didn't want to bother with these questions. He didn't want to relieve such trivial curiosities.

And so instead, Sakiko said softly,

"I see."

The Mage pushed her back further against the wall, not bothering to break the silence. The silence had become such a regular habit to her that it wasn't awkward for at all; it was rather comforting and a good excuse to withdraw into her own world again-

grrooowwwllll

Sakiko looked down at her stomach, her face becoming cherry red. That's right...I haven't eaten all last night and skipped breakfast! It's already getting late in the afternoon...

Curling her arm around her stomach, she hoped that Alpha hadn't noticed.

Shada felt her mouth drop open as the drunk rocketed upwards, going straight through the ceiling and landing on the roof. Did he have any idea what he had just done? Did he know how much work it would take to repair the roof and make the store look as good as it had when they'd first entered? . . . apparently not, and apparently no one else really cared, so the Sheikah just shrugged and moved over beside Zeze.

"You needn't worry about me either - I'm a fairly good jumper," she called up to Burlo with a smirk on her face; the Shadow Folk were well known for their athletic prowess, so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise to anyone to hear her say that.

She glanced back once to the entrance, where Alpha and Sakiko were still waiting. Yes, it felt bad to leave the silver haired mage behind, but it really couldn't be helped - not if she wanted a chance of escaping from Keyru and shopping with the girls for the rest of the evening. Besides, these sorts of activities didn't seem like the kind of things Saki enjoyed. If the mages were curious about their companions, they could always ask Evan - the shopkeeper would be able to give them the general idea of what was going on.

She paused again before leaping, wondering to herself if it was wise to leave Sakiko and Keyru alone together - oh, what was she thinking? There was nothing going on between the two of them! Reassured, she looked up, waiting for Burlo to move, and then leapt up as silently as the breeze she left behind herself, landing on the rooftop in a ninja-like stance. Satisfied with her flourishing exit from the store, she quickly moved to the side and waited for the others to join her.

* * *

"I see."

The words seemed to break through Alpha's fuming mind, and he slowly shook his head as a sheepish grin overtook his features. "Sorry; you'll have to forgive me for that little outburst," he said. "I guess I'm still a bit infuriated with Shada's actions at your party . . ." The man trailed off, remembering the event with a smile. Shada had been quite the annoyance, but ignoring her interference he recalled the night rather fondly.

"Most men would fall for her in an instant," he muttered after a few more seconds of slow breathing to recompose himself. "Smart, athletic, outgoing, polite, and incredibly beautiful - men and women both would call her a good catch. But her negative attributes far outweigh such things in my mind; her unreasonable stubbornness, her cocky and happy-go-lucky attitude towards life, her inability to accept the darkness of the world as a reality . . ." He shook his head. "As long as she remains that way, the idea of a deeper relationship with her just seems . . . repulsive."

He glanced upwards and looked straight at Sakiko, giving her one of the heart-melting smiles he had sported for the party. It was almost as if her unspoken questions had touched Alpha's unconscious as he said, "Honestly, I find you much more attractive than she is."

He said the words, though, without any subtext; it just seemed, like most everything else he said, to be a fact that he was acknowledging. The smile suggested that he thought it would either amuse or embarrass her to hear it, but there was no way to tell if he was actually answer Sakiko's question: would he actually be willing to give this 'something' to the silver haired mage? Indeed, it was impossible to say.

Zeze rubbed her hands together, encouraged by Shada's excellent performance. The Bard was rather...conceited in some ways, and she took a quick peek to make sure that at least someone was watching. Tucking the green fabric between her knees, she leaped into the air, arching her back as she landed on one of the clothing racks with a graceful flip. In a fleeting second - one had to be speedy in order to keep the momentum flowing - Zeze bent her knees, her tanned hand gripping the steel firmly, and pushed herself off into the air.

Her fingers caught hold of the edge of the hole, and she dangled rather helplessly. She had managed to get to the hole, but she had miscalculated and landed herself in a rather pitiful state. She began to laugh hysterically, trying to ask for help in the meantime. She called out below,

"No looking up! Unless you want to see something quite indecent - I'm talking to you, Evan!"

_______________________

"I guess I'm still a bit infuriated with Shada's actions at your party . . ."

Sakiko almost broke into a smile. She had thought that Alpha would probably forget about something like that; brush it off as something small and trivial. But he hadn't... perhaps she was thinking about it in the wrong perspective, but just to imagine that she had been something a little memorable in Alpha's memory pleasantly surprised her. She almost felt glad that Shada had tried to get her poisoned. How ironic; Shada would've loved to hear what was going on in her mind at the moment.

"Most men would fall for her in an instant. Smart, athletic, outgoing, polite, and incredibly beautiful - men and women both would call her a good catch."

The Mage raised her head slowly, a frown immediately replacing the satisfied expression on her face. Wait...was she feeling...something along the line of envy? She almost laughed at herself for that - after all, there was nothing to base her jealousy on. But to hear Alpha admit - no, recognize - Shada's traits was not something she wanted to listen to for some strange reason. She was about to shoot in the comment that she didn't think Shada a good catch when Alpha continued,

"But her negative attributes far outweigh such things in my mind; her unreasonable stubbornness, her cocky and happy-go-lucky attitude towards life, her inability to accept the darkness of the world as a reality . . ."

Alpha was definitely, without question, making her bipolar. The instant he had uttered those words, she felt her ruffled feathers soothed again. It was all she could hope for; just imagining Shada - no, anyone in such a...relationship with Alpha got her feeling gloomy.To have him reassure her that nothing of such nature was going to come upon them, she felt strangely relieved. She was a complex being and she didn't really take the time to truly analyze everything she felt. It was a courageous task - to fully try to understand an emotion going inside someone. To her, it was dangerous. A part of her did not want to acknowledge what she felt, if she was feeling anything at all...?

"Honestly, I find you much more attractive than she is."

Attractive?

....

Attractive!

Sakiko felt a rush of blood rising up to her head. Her brain was thumping madly with the rush of...adrenaline(?!) as she gripped her robe tightly. Her mind began to whir, and it didn't help that she didn't have enough energy to support such shock at the moment. Her knee buckled slightly, her body not being able to handle such a change of emotions so quickly. It didn't help that Alpha had on such a charming smile, and it was all - every bit of it - directed at her.

The Mage unconsciously put a hand on Alpha's shoulder for support. She muttered,

"I'm sorry...but do you think we can get some food? I'll treat you."

A loud crash announced Burlo's departure from the hole, his girth knocking over a few racks as he literally bounced a little off the ground. Getting back to his feet, he shook his head to clear the dizziness. Then he realized the dizziness was the same dizziness he always felt, and ceased attempting to remedy it. He saw there was only one other girl standing about with him, and promptly snatched Aqua up with both his arms, launching himself upward again with the aid of some more magical energy. Of course, as the Cleric had not bothered to look up, he found himself careening tophat-first into the edgehogging Zeze, giving her the much-needed boost in perhaps a less than desirable fashion.

Plummeting back to the shop floor with Aqua, the drunk somehow managed to stay on his feet, leaving a considerable dent or two where his pudgy feet had made contact with the ground. He laughed wildly and looked at Aqua with a loud, alcohol-breathed assurance.

"Don' worreh, e'en 'f de 'ole's blarked up, I's get us'ns t'rough."

And, true to his word, Burlo did. He launched straight up again, assuring that they wouldn't find their path blocked by simply creating a new one, landing beside Shada. Setting Aqua down, he twiddled his fingers excitedly.

"Now'n, 'o wan's ter go eat sunt'n?"

OoC: Evan? A pervert? I laugh at the thought!

IC: "Erm, sure, pay me back whenever," mumbled Evan as his head rested on the counter. Seeing him as she walked out from the back, Keychain gave the guy a small pat on the back. The shop was a small one, so it didn't get a lot of business. Repairing the hole would be hard for him to do, mostly with the costs.

He gazed at Keychain. "Have I ever told you how much I dislike magic users?" After he heard Zeze's comment, he added. "And Bards. One in particular."

Hesitantly, Keychain rubbed his back. "There there, it will be all right."

Hearing the bangs, Evan groaned. "I'm not even going to look. Next time you think of bringing your friends here, don't. It's the last thing I'll need in my life. The shop is going to be in ruins."

"I told you already, I'll come down and help you clean up. Maybe even later in the day. I don't have anything else do the rest of the day after this." Leaning on the counter, she whispered, "Plus, Aqua looks pretty peeved."

"Seriously?" Evan questioned, looking up with his innocent like eyes.

Aqua crossed her arms, glaring darkly. A heavy dark cloud of hate hung over her head. She didn't have anything against Burlo, but she didn't like being thrown around like she just had been.

"Next time, grab someone else," she growled.

Shada could feel her surprise at Burlo's actions transferring itself into the beads of sweat that formed on her head; honestly, grabbing Aqua and then jumping out of the room with her in tow was a decidedly ungentlemanly thing to do. Especially when it involved tearing a second hole through the ceiling. Did this man ever even think before jumping into action?

. . . doubtfully.

She shook her head woefully, sending a sorrowful smile down to where Evan sat. 'I'd say how sorry I am about all this, but I can be letting Keyru know we're up here . . . it's a wonder he hasn't decided to check in on us yet, and I'm not pushing my luck.' Silently, she then looks to the others gathered on the rooftop, motioning them to follow her down to the back side of the building. She didn't dare speak aloud; Keyru had excellent hearing, and she wasn't going to risk it.

Upon reaching the back end of the building, she turned and softly said, "Wherever we go, let's head in this direction - no way I'm chancing having Keyru spot us in the corner of his eye." She pointed in the direction opposite the entrance and straight in front of those on the rooftop, sure that they'd understand her concerns.

* * *

Not surprisingly, the last thing Alpha expected was for Sakiko to suddenly collapse beside him. Instinctively his arms reached out to catch the girl, wrapping around her and drawing the girl close so that his stature could be used to support them both. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm sorry...but do you think we can get some food? I'll treat you."

At once he felt like laughing; so that was the problem. He'd almost assumed it was something he had said that had sent her into this daze, but apparently she was just hungry. He knew how that felt; he sometimes went an entire week without eating, though it wasn't a practice he ever enjoyed. "I'd be happy to accompany you," he said once his urge to laugh had subsided. "Though you don't need to worry about treating me; I always keep some extra spending money safely tucked away in case something like this happens.

"However, if we do, let's head that way," he continued, pointing further down the street. "Considering Shada just left with the rest of them in the opposite direction . . . and I don't think we want to have her seeing us. She might get in a murdering mood again." He grimaced; the girl had already gone far enough at Sakiko and Arrika's party, and yet he knew without a doubt that she'd go right back to that again if she ever saw Alpha alone with either of the girls. Especially if they were doing something that might have been considered even slightly intimate, like dancing or eating together.

He suddenly blinked his eyes. Wait a second . . . had she just -

No, of course not. That was silly. Sakiko was probably just afraid she'd collapse again without him there to help her along. Only Shada had any emotional interest in him, and his rebuffs of her had likely forced any other possible candidates to reconsider his worth as a partner. Which was how it should be. In the end, Alpha knew one thing very well: in this world of darkness and betrayal, he could only depend on himself, and as a result he was, always would be, and if he was honest, really needed to be . . . alone.

Completely and utterly alone.

. . .

But a dinner with a fellow adventurer certainly wouldn't hurt. He smiled at Sakiko, and motioned for her to lead the way.

Zeze was a simple girl, and she didn't really understand that the situation was absolutely horrible for Evan. Besides, she was going to pay back later, so what was the problem? The Bard peeked out her head from the hole and yelled at Evan,

"I heard that, you little rascal!"

She had to say that the way of being aided by Burlo was less than flattering, but she was now safely on the roof and had nothing to complain about. Although she had shoved herself full while shopping and before shopping, she didn't mind eating a big lunch. The Bard nodded at Shada's suggestion.

"I am starved, m'dears! Ladies first!"

Zeze cartwheeled to the edge of the roof, leaping towards the ground like a diver towards the open sea. Just when she was about to touch the ground, she did a small flip and landed with a small cloud of dust. She brushed her hands with a small, "ta-da!" and looked up at where the others were.

Shada grinned at Zeze's acrobatics, allowing her to land on the ground below with an impressive display of her skills. The Sheikah decided to go for a much simpler way of disembarking from the house, simply hopping down from the roof and landing with a thud on the ground, her knees collapsing upon impact to decrease any pain she might have received.

She glanced back towards the front of the building; having no idea that Alpha and Sakiko were already walking off, she still spoke in quiet tones that ensured that even Alpha's trained Sheikah hearing would have trouble picking up the words, especially in all the noise of the town. "Let's get going then!"

Just because she was cautious didn't mean she wasn't excited.

OOC: I've split Sakiko and Alpha's adventures off into a new topic, so now this one can be focused entirely on the shopping gang. ^^

OoC: Thanks, that helped out a lot.

IC: Aqua was an original person. She took the classical way out. Through the front door like a normal person. Even though she was far from normal. She scratched at the band-aid. The covering came off, showing off the mark on her forehead. Aqua rubbed it into the ground as if she didn't notice the stares she was starting to get. A scar shaped into a perfect five pointed star glowed fainting the spot where the band-aid originally rested. There was a small mix of blue and gold coloring coming from the edge of the scar.

The bell ringing over the door caught Aqua's attention. She turned around to see Keychain coming out. "I would have thought Evan would use your shoulder to cry on."

Keychain looked at her with a frown on her face. "I offered to stay and help out but he wanted me to enjoy the rest of the day. Tomorrow I'm coming down with Jasper. After this, I don't think his sister will leave him in charge of the shop ever again. Poor guy."

"Come on, let's go eat." Aqua watched Shada and Zeze jump off the roof. She laughed slightly. "Wow, I have no idea why they decided to be all sneaky. How about--" Aqua stopped as she eyed the two guards coming in their direction. "Okay, I know I haven't done anything bad lately. Did you do anything wrong?"

"When do you think I did something wrong recently?" hissed Keychain. She plastered a fake smile on her face as the two guards came close enough to listen to them. "Hello, sirs, is there something wrong?"

"Are you Miss Keychain Innocence?" one asked.

"I am. What can I do for you?"

"We would like to talk to you." They eyed Aqua uneasily. "We would like to talk with Miss Innocence alone, miss."

"Huh? Oh! You're talking about me. Yeah, sure, of course," Aqua said. She walked to Shada and Zeze. "I'm very uneasy about this. There should be no reason why they need to talk with her." Aqua watched them. She saw an expression appear on Keychain's face. Was it sadness? Shock? Despair? All three? Aqua shook her head, frowning very deeply. "I don't like this at all."

Why would they need to talk to Keychain? She did nothing wrong, the red head was one of the goody-good kids. She wouldn't even lie about a surprise birthday party. Could it be that they already had a status on her missing brother or mother? That didn't make sense. Keychain had recently asked for the search of her family after she found out they could be in North Hyrule instead of the south.

But why are they talking to her? It was too soon, right?

Aqua frowned even deeper. "This is no good, not at all."

OoC: I did this once, but it seems like as if it never submitted. I couldn't go back to copy it down. It's not as good as it originally was.

"grrrr Next time, grab someone else grrrr"

"Dere warn't no'un else ter grab!" The Cleric stated matter-of-factly, turning to see everone jumping off the roof. Aqua performed a rather impressive feat of acrobatics, and it was with great gusto that the Drunk followed.

In seconds he was on the ground, in a crumpled heap with bits of the roof falling around him, be they shingles, wood, or whatever Evan made his roof of. It's probably take another few days of work to mend the new series of dents in the shop.

Getting up more than a little shakily, the oldest of the group grinned to all the girls around him.

"Whar's e'ry'un wan' ter go?"

Zeze scratched her chin at Aqua's comment.

"I wouldn't worry about it... Key-Key's a big girl. We can wait here, if you'd like."

She was carefree and nothing could weigh her down today. The sun was shining, the temperature was just right...what was there to be unhappy about? If Keychain was a girl she knew her to be, then there was no problem. Zeze turned to Burlo.

"Ehhh....somewhere not too fancy, like. I don't have much - scratch that, I don't have any - money right now."

She grinned apologetically.

"I'll pay y'all back, but I guess I need to scrounge some money from someone for today..."

The Bard stretched her back, putting a hand to her empty - or, what felt like empty - stomach. She began to walk around in circles, wondering if they should stay and wait for Keychain or leave without her. The second option was not what he preferred, but she was getting a tad bit famished.

OOC: Oh, yes! Sakiko, you just set me up for an opportunity I've been wanting to use for a while now.

IC:
Shada grinned shakily at Burlo as he collapsed off the rooftop, not being nearly so graceful in his arrival on ground level as she and Zeze had been. Even with his antics, though, she couldn't dismiss the situation with Keychain so easily as Zeze could - almost, but not quite.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," she cheerfully chimed in. "I can't imagine her getting into much trouble, and if those two are looking to start something . . ." She cracked her knuckles, almost giddy at the thought of a challenge. ". . . I'm sure they'll think twice before messing with our friend." Still, she was a bit worried, and tried to prepare herself for whatever might befall her shopping companions. If those men were going to interrupt her glorious day even before the shopping had started . . . then oh! would she make them pay.

"Ehhh....somewhere not too fancy, like. I don't have much - scratch that, I don't have any - money right now."

Shada glanced back to Zeze as responded to Burlo's question, reaching out and patting the girl on the back. "What're you talking about?! No place fancy? Well, we certainly can't have that!" With a fluid motion she whipped out Keyru's bag of rupees and held it in front of the girl's face. "Don't you remember? Keyru's treating us tonight!" She paused as a thought crossed her mind for the first time. "Of course, I have no idea how much is in here . . . but just listen to that jingling! The thing's packed, so I'm sure there's more than enough to feed us all."

Just to prove her point, she gave the bag a few good shakes, listening to the sound of the little gems clashing together - indeed, the bag was stuffed full, barely able to be kept closed by the small clasp Alpha had on it, and the jingling noises made were like hundreds of little instruments all resounding as one. Even if they were all green rupees, it would still be enough to feed them all a fairly nice meal.

Of course, Shada wasn't willing to leave without verifying this. They needed to know exactly what kind of restaurant the man was paying for them to dine at. With quick movements her fingers eagerly undid the clasp and shoved it into her pocket, then untied the strings and at last released the tension felt all around the mouth of the bag. Hurriedly she pulled it open -

"HOLY-!"

If anyone looked at the Sheikah woman now, they'd notice that she hadn't even realized the loud voice that had emerged from her still-open mouth. The bag was held open in her trembling hands as the girl lowered it so all could see.

Gold.

And Silver.

Rupees . . . hundreds of them.

Anyone who knew Hyrulean currency would realize what that translated into: close to a thousand gems worth one or two hundred rupees apiece.

Shada just stood there, her mouth hanging open as realization hit her. This was only Alpha's everyday purse, his pocket money - he probably had just as much and more stored in banks or hidden away across Hyrule, or maybe in that special Void place she'd once been unfortunate enough to travel to. Her mouth felt dry, and she closed her lips at last to swallow in a gulp as another detail abruptly hit her where she stood:

Either Keyru had stolen all this, or he was a freaking millionaire.

Aqua lifted her eyebrows. A smile suddenly sprouted on her lips. "Interesting. Seems like someone is a penny pincher. Either that or they are very rich from their parents. The person could also be a thief." The smile turned sly. "Something so wouldn't be so bad to spend. I mean, that's what money is for."

Keychain was coming back. Something was gripped into her hand. A piece of paper maybe. Why would they give her a piece of paper? Aqua didn't know the answer to such a question. And she wanted to know.

"What's that, Key?" she questioned.

"Hm? Oh, this thing? Just an address, nothing important to this moment. Ah, I better put it somewhere safe, though." Keychain started patting herself as she tried to find a place to put the paper at. Finally she ended up sticking it down her front. Smiling like as if they hadn't of seen that, Keychain spoke again. "Who's hungry? I know I am."

Aqua elbowed Keychain. She pointed from the Cleric to the money bag. "One thing, imagine how Lily will react to that. Another thing, that money can get us into anywhere around this town. In any town, to be exact. Do you think we should go to that place where the band plays?"

Keychain scowled. "That is someone's money. Not our money, so we can't decide how and when to spend it. It would be plain out rude if we spent the rupees like they were ours." Keychain eyed the pouch. "Then again, it is a lot of money." She shook her head. "We can't spend it."