"I'm soooo in love!" Kuki sauntered into Lime Ricky's Bar, singing loudly to herself. The other patrons ignored this eccentric behaviour. They saw Kuki on a regular basis.

"Hey, Numbuh Three! Over here!" She spun her head towards the back of the room, where Abby was seated at a circular table and waving at her.

Kuki made her merry way to the table and plopped down on a cushion. "Hi, Numbuh Five. How's it going?"

"Fine. Uh, Numbuh Three, we just saw each other twenty minutes ago, remember?"

"I know, silly." said Kuki. She sighed wistfully and stared into the distance. "I'm just so happy to have friends like you."

Taken aback, Abby gave a casual smile. Although the five of them were close friends, they rarely said it explicitly. "Thanks, Numbuh Three." She cleared her throat. "So anyway, what are the others doing?"

Sector V's most recent mission had been an unqualified success. They had destroyed the second largest broccoli farm in the world, capturing five of the farm's workers in the process. To celebrate, the team decided to go Lime Ricky's. But Nigel insisted on locating an additional broccoli farm first. While he pored over a computer map displaying the layout of vegetable radiation in North America, Hoagie and Wally started a game of Yipper cards. And since Kuki was fond of watching them play, Abby left in advance.

"Numbuh One is still looking for a broccoli farm, and Numbuh Four and Numbuh Two are finishing their card game."

Abby rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you, those two can be such dorks sometimes. Especially Numbuh Two."

"Oooh come on", reasoned Kuki, "they're our dorks!"

"Yeah, that's true. Besides, Abby likes them the way they are."

"Evening ladies." interrupted the waiter, Johnny. "What'll it be?" The two operatives took a moment to admire Johnny. With his pin-striped, prohibition-style uniform, which had been implemented after the drinking age crisis, he cut a fine figure. No matter how many times they saw the uniforms, it never got old.

"I'll have a mountain dew with ice cubes." said Abby finally.

"I'll have a root beer!" stated Kuki.

Johnny nodded. "One mountain dew and one root beer, coming right up." He walked off.

"I wonder what the next mission's going to be about?" wondered Kuki.

"Numbuh Five ain't sure. It's supposed to be about infiltrating a factory, I think."

"Oooh", said Kuki, her eyes lighting up, "I hope I get to be the lookout!" However, she was disappointed to see Abby throw her an incredulous glare in response. That didn't look encouraging.

"Are you sure Numbuh Three? Even after what happened last time?"

The Japanese girl frowned. "What do you mean?"

Abby gave her a stern look. "Last time, you got distracted by a butterfly, remember? And while you weren't watching Chester's guards showed up and nearly captured us!"

Kuki's lips formed into a pout. "I did not get distracted!" she protested.

"You did too! Ya said so yourself."

"Did not!"

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not, did not, did not!" shouted Kuki, bouncing up and down.

Abby shrugged in resignation. It was always the same. Kuki had no problem daydreaming during missions, but she hated getting caught up on it. "Whatever you say, girl."

A few moments later their drinks arrived. They clinked their mugs and quietly drank.

Abby gazed at her friend. The argument left Kuki looking thoughtful, but within twenty seconds she had reverted to her usual demeanor: she smiled widely and began singing the song "I'm so in Love." It had to be said, Kuki could be annoying sometimes. She was rarely able to focus during missions, which more often that not landed Sector V in deep trouble. She was spoiled: if she didn't get what she wanted she would throw a tantrum. And yet, Abby felt a deep bond with the Japanese operative. Besides the fact that they were in the same unit, she was the only one on the team who understood the problems and concerns that came with being a girl. It helped that when it came to sharing problems, Kuki possessed seemingly endless reserves of patience and kindness. One occasion in particular stood out in Abby's mind. Four years ago, she'd been challenged and defeated in a fight by a boy (the first and last time this had ever happened). Kuki had been her shoulder to cry on that day. Moreover, she had encouraged Abby to fight back, and had persuaded Cree to give her sister martial arts lessons.

Abby's eyes settled on Johnny again, and she was reminded of the looming auditions for the musical. "You're ready for the auditions tomorrow?" she asked Kuki.

"I sure am. I've been preparing for this moment my whole life! What about you?"

Abby gulped down some root beer. Kuki would get the part of Marietta, there was no doubt about it. Heck, she was practically born for the role. But Abby didn't feel completely ready. "I'm not sure. I know my lines and the dancing moves; I just have a hard time singing and dancing at the same time."

"You'll be fine." Kuki reassured her. "You've been practicing all week!"

Abby paused, mug at her lips. "You really think I'm ready?"

Sector V's diversionary expert nodded eagerly. "Definitely! You just haven't been seeing yourself, that's all!"

They fell silent once more.

Good old Abby, reflected Kuki. Whenever she was down on her luck, Abby would be at her side. She remembered when she had lost her cat in second grade. Abby had spent an entire day helping her look for the animal. And last year, when Kuki had been about to fail first quarter math, when all hope seemed lost, Sector V's second in command had tutored her, refusing to give up until Kuki understood the crucial formulas. Sure she could be a little proud and snobbish, but who wouldn't be in her shoes?

Her thoughts shifted from their relationship to the musical. Suddenly she swallowed a lot of soda, and a troubled expression appeared on her face. The change did not go unmissed by Abby.

"What's the matter? Something on your mind?" the African American girl inquired.

"Oh nothing." Kuki replied hastily. "Do you think Wally will be auditioning?"

Abby briefly considered the matter. Wally singing, dancing, and kissing? Funny, but not remotely possible. "Numbuh Five doubts it. The boy hates musicals. In fact, he probably doesn't even know the musical's happening."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Kuki gulped down a large amount of soda. "I just want to get Wally more interested in school activities. His grades are terrible."

"You're right. Numbuh Five's seen his GPA. If it drops a few more points he'll probably get suspended from the KND. And we can't let that happen." said Abby.

Having nothing else to say on the topic for now, she glanced at the bar's entrance. There was still no sign of the guys. "What's taking them so long?" she asked impatiently.

"I hope Numbuh Two and Numbuh Four don't get carried away again." remarked Kuki. "Remember the time when they played for six hours straight?"

Abby scoffed at the memory. "How could Abby forget? She had to get up at 2 AM to make'em stop playing. And the worst part is, they woke up two hours later to finish the game." She grabbed her walkie-talkie, but it crackled to life before she could use it.

"Numbuh Five, it's Numbuh One! I'm on my way to Lime Ricky's, but I may be a little late. I ran into the Ice Cream Men and, uh, we got into a little argument." From the other side of the walkie-talkie came the distinctive sound of a missile shrieking by, followed by an explosion.

Abby massaged her forehead, half amused, half exasperated. "Gee, what a surprise. We trusted you to make it a whole two miles without getting into a fight."

"Hey, it's not my fault!" said Nigel in an outraged voice. "The Ice Cream Men weren't letting kids buy ice-cream again!"

"Just forget about them, Numbuh One. You're supposed to be off-duty, remember?"

"I'll forget about them as soon as I-ugh!-give out the ice cream they took!"

On the other side of the line another missile shrieked by, and a megaphone-enhanced adult voice made itself heard. "Attention, Nigel Uno. You are surrounded! Release the ice cream and no one will be harmed!"

"This could be the end, Numbuh Five!" yelled Nigel with worrying persuasiveness. "If I die, tell my parents not to cut down the-". His words turned to static.

Abby chuckled and set down her walkie-talkie.

Kuki raised a curious eyebrow. "What was that about?"

The other operative lay back against the wall and clasped her hands behind her head. "Oh, Numbuh One's just being his usual self. He just can't resist fighting those ice-cream men when he sees them. Some things never change, I guess." She chuckled again, and Kuki joined in.

The subject of Nigel brought a secret to the forefront of Abby's mind. He wouldn't want her discussing it, but now the temptation was too great. She leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner. "Hey, Numbuh Three. Did ya know that Numbuh One sleeps with a rainbow monkey under his pillow?"

Kuki's looked at her teammate in astonishment. "Numbuh One has a rainbow monkey?! He never told me that!"

"He never told Numbuh Five either." said Abby mischievously. "I was in his room once, and I just saw a blue rainbow monkey under his pillow."

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy, this is so exciting!" said Kuki, rubbing her hands together. "Finally, someone I can invite to my rainbow monkey tea parties!"

"Yeah. Just don't tell Numbuh Two, Numbuh Four, or anyone else, okay? He made me promise not to tell them." The two of them snorted in laughter.

Abby found herself wishing that Cree was here. Her older sister constantly complained to their parents that 'two wasn't company'. But as usual, Cree couldn't have been more wrong.