Ruri Miyamoto sits at a cafe table with a small iced green tea and an expectation of conflict, the latter of which is fulfilled when Marika decides to stand up, place her hands firmly upon the tabletop, and declare in a bright and loud voice that,

"Raku-sama and I went on a date yesterday!"

This statement is met with a moment of silence, but experience has taught Ruri that this moment of silence will only last for, well, a moment.

Because as Marika's words sink into understanding among the disproportionately estrogen-filled group, Chitoge lets out a shriek, Onodera mumbles something about not feeling like finishing her strawberry cake anymore, and Ruri braces for the impending chaos. Chitoge momentarily lapses out of her shock to thank the brunette and eat the remainder of her generically-anime dessert, before turning to Raku Ichijou and yelling, "What do you have to say for yourself, beansprout?"

"We went to the marketplace and even held hands!" Marika proudly cuts in.

"I can explain-" Raku beings to say, but unsurprisingly, he isn't allowed to.

"You could care to be more faithful!" Chitoge demands, not-so-lightly bonking her fake boyfriend on the head.

"That's right!" croons Tsugumi, pulling out a flamethrower from who-knows-where. "How dare you hurt Young Master!"

The bifauxman hitman then proceeds to ignite the general area where Raku's head is. Luckily for him, he's slipped under the table, and the flames end up torching Marika's half-eaten icecream, pooling the melted vanilla bean into an unpleasant puddle. (The icecream bowl, table, and Marika herself, however, are completely unharmed because anime logic.)

'And to hope I'd have some peace and quiet today,' Ruri muses wryly. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Maiko Shuu, who's sitting by her side. 'He's clearly enjoying this,' she thinks, and suppresses an urge to punch him.

"Since when were tsundere highschool girls allowed to own and use highly destructive military weapons?" Raku cries as he scrambles out from under the cafe table and out towards the exit, adding in a "Isn't it heavy carrying a flamethrower around with you everywhere?" as he flees out into the streets.

"Not heavy at all when it's for Young Masterrr!" roars Tsugumi, charging out after him.

"I'm going to punch you, you spineless coward!" hollers Chitoge, running right behind Tsugumi. "But make it quick, because I'm still hungry, and happy hour's almost over!"

The three of them are suddenly gone, leaving behind a trail of destruction and a random used gun cartridge lying on the cafe floor. ('Did Tsugumi bring her machine guns too?' Ruri wonders to herself.)

"I certainly don't want to miss any of the fun," Marika says with wide-eyed innocence, ruffling the pleats of her school skirt and skipping after the others, completely oblivious to- or simply not caring about- the fact that she is essentially the cause of the conflict.

"You go with them," Ruri tells Onodera, who's looking more than a little dazed. "You have to make sure that the other girls don't steal him away."

The girl snaps out of it and turns to face her friend. "What about you, Ruri-chan? Aren't you coming with?"

Ruri shakes her head. "If I'm around any more excitement, I think I might faint," she explains, though in actuality, Onodera looks far more susceptible to passing out than the stoic megane ever will. "I'll watch your bag for you."

Pink dots Onodera's cheeks and she dips her head in gratitude. "Thank you," she mumbles, and slips past an incredibly confused barista and out the cafe door.

"And then there were two," comments Shuu, who's sitting to the right of Ruri.

With the absence of the others, the girl can't help but notice how uncomfortably close they're sitting together, but forces down the initial reaction of disgust.

"I think we're the only sane ones here," Ruri replies coolly, taking a sip of her tea.

"Why thank you," Shuu says with a cheeky grin. "I'm glad you noticed how reliable and level-headed and-"

"I only said I thought you were sane," Ruri interrupts, visibly ticked, "and I will gladly take it back if need be."

"What you mean is that we never seem to be involved in any of their crazy antics," Shuu amends in a very un-Shuu-like manner. "Or at least directly involved," he adds after a moment's thought.

"You're right," Ruri relents. "All this love stuff. It goes over my head." She sighs and smooths out her bangs. "Onodera and Raku both like each other, yet neither are aware of the other's feelings. Isn't that just sad?"

"Not everyone can be as perceptive as you," Shuu replies.

"I'd like to just tell them," Ruri admits, annoyed by the lack of romantic development. "But even then, I'd wonder if either would have the courage to own up to it."

"That's why you just have to leave it to them to figure it out themselves," Shuu murmurs, cradling his cheek in his hands as he peers out the window. Smoke chokes the sky and little explosions go off every so often in the hazy distance.

"Looks like Tsugumi's really mad," Ruri offhandedly comments, facepalming inwardly. "They're not exactly being discreet, are they?"

"Are they ever?"

"How much money do you think the damage costs will rack up?"

Shuu laughs. "I can't even begin to imagine."

"We're such a crazy group, aren't we? We're so violent and oblivious and-"

"-fun."

Ruri rolls her eyes and takes one last sip of her small iced green tea, a small smile pulling up at the corners of her mouth. "So much fun."

A/N: And that's it! Special thanks to PastaUnit01 for the great beta-ing! Hope you like! Drop a review or something of the like! I'd appreciate it. :)

-freeflight