Chapter 6: The LONG Ride Home

Where the hell is she..? Whip was getting more and more worried as she waited for Kula to show up. It had been at LEAST an hour since they parted, and knowing K', he probably said something to offend/hurt Kula, which leads to her running off, which in turn leads to him having to find her. Or at least…That's the only thing she could assume, as the reason why they were taking so long. Unless…He wouldn't make a move on her…Right? That's crazy! I mean…He HATES public affection so…But then again…How hard would it be to pull her into a bathroom…AH! NO! K' ISN'T LIKE THAT! Whip was having a semblance of a heart attack when she suddenly ran into something warm and hard. What the..? She looked up only to see a face she wished she could forget. "…Excuse me."

"Machiko…" Adelheid said with longing well heard in his voice. He smiled as he looked at her for the first time in a couple years.

"Don't…Call me that. It's Whip now. Just Whip…" Whip shifted uncomfortably from side to side, hoping Maxima would find his way over to her soon. I shouldn't have let him go shoe shopping…

"Why are you being so…Formal about this? Don't tell me you've forgotten how we—" His words were cut off as Whip shoved her palm over his mouth.

"Don't say it…No. I haven't forgotten…Not completely…" But Kami do I wish I could…Looking left and right, Whip saw no sign of anyone yet. UGH! What's taking them so long!

Adelheid took her hand and led it away from his mouth, and into his own. "I've been meaning to tell you something for some time now…That night when you saw Rose and I it wasn't—" Once again he was cut off, this time by a slap to the face.

"Do not. EVER. Bring that up again. I don't know what you were doing, and I can't say that I care. I'm over it. I'm over you. So drop it, okay? Spare me you're apologies and explanations. It's a waste of your breath. Now, if you have nothing else to say…" She turned around again and began to walk away, until he gripped her wrist and pulled her back.

"Wait! Just…Listen to me alright? Please! I—" The third time he got cut off, someone jerked him away from Whip and pushed him to the ground. Hard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to my sister..?" K' said in a tone that SCREAMED vengeance. He was already in a bad mood but then some asshole decides it's okay to put their hands his sister? No fucking way was that happening.

"K'. That's enough. I'm fine. He's an idiot. Just leave him alone, and let's get going, okay? We need to find Maxima before he destroys another shoe store. If you'll excuse us…" Whip turned around and began to walk away as Kula followed, quite confused.

"…Don't go near my sister EVER again. I'm warning you now…She's off limits." K' kicked Adelheid back down as he was getting up, before he too walked away.

"You okay, nee-chan..?" Kula linked their arms together and began walking alongside her.

"Yeah. Everything is just peachy…" Whip turned and gave Kula the fakest smile she could muster. The look in her eyes said she wasn't buying it, but at this point, she didn't care. She just wanted to go home. Where the hell is Maxima..?

…

Maxima sat in the food court as many lovely women walked by. He sat there stupidly grinning like an idiot, while they looked at him with confusion and disgust. Oh how I love pretty girls…Suddenly, Maxima felt a knock on his head.

"Quit being such a pervert. You're scaring them." Maxima smiled and looked up at the familiar face that was Vanessa.

"Fancy seeing you here, Vanessa. How have you been doing?" Maxima gestured for her to sit in the seat across from him.

She sat down and crossed her arms on top of the table. "I'm alright. Just running into a lot of familiar faces. Today is like the KOF shopping day. Adelheid and Rose were here. Leona and Iori as well. Odd, isn't it."

Maxima felt slightly uneasy about the mention of Adelheid, but decided to ignore it. I mean, what were the chances of him running into Whip? "It's VERY strange. I'm surprised to see you here. Last I checked, you abhorred crowds, especially the likes you see here. So. What brings you out to the mall this fine day?" Maxima's smile widened with her obvious irritation to his comments.

"You know. I DO need a new wardrobe every once in a while…And sadly, nowhere else in South Town sells things as cheap for people with my style." Vanessa shifted left and right a bit uncomfortably. She had a question for him, and Maxima already knew the answer to it.

"He's fine. I know you were wondering." Maxima's face faltered a bit but he kept his peaceful smile in place for the girl. He felt bad for her, truly he did. What, with her husband dead, revenge taken, and the only time she's thought about moving on, the man in question was already far from her reach. But seriously. What the hell was it about K' that made him so damn popular? The kid was an ass. Hands down. Never says a word to a woman, unless he plans to pull a one-nighter, and the times he DOES open his mouth, it's usually for an insult. He broods and mopes around all day with nothing but his past on his mind, and yet SOMEHOW, all these women are attracted to him, left and right. Maybe MAXIMA should try having a stick up his ass. That way, at least he could stand a chance.

Vanessa blushed slightly but kept her face as clear of emotions as possible. "That wasn't what I was going to say, you know…" She looked even more uncomfortable now with the lie she just uttered.

"I do know. That's why I answered. I can see through that façade you have going. I've known you longer than that. I hope you know, that if you ever need anything, I'm always here." Maxima smiled warmly and gave her a pat on the shoulder, before getting up and walking away. Damn it. I really need to work on getting a woman. This whole bachelor thing isn't working out so well…

…

Kula didn't let go of Whip's arm until she caught sight of Maxima. She gasped then took off running to catch him.

"KULA!" Whip yelled, as K' looked up and saw the icy blue hair trailing behind a corner.

"…" He said nothing but felt a slight tremor in his heart as she left his sight. It was getting harder and harder not to worry for the girl. The way things have been going, he wouldn't be too surprised if she ran into her assailant this moment. "..!" K' found himself speeding up just enough to catch up with her, and he could have sworn he heard a tiny snicker as he passed Whip.

"Go get her." Whip whispered, jokingly. K' blushed a bit but didn't stop until he reached Kula…Hugging Maxima…What the hell does that OLD man think he's doing..? Putting his hands on MY gi—DON'T EVEN START. But seriously…He better remove his hands from her back, he seems to be enjoying that a LITTLE too much…

"…Maxima! Jii-san! You're hurting me a little…" Kula was jerked from Maxima's grip as K' put her behind him, radiating an aura filled with rage (aka jealousy).

"…What do you think you're doing, OLD man..?" K' said barely audible. He made sure that Kula was at a safe distance before gripping Maxima's collar.

"Relax K'. I'm just given my little Kula-bear a hug. I needed the comfort. And I don't want any from you, before you offer." Maxima gripped K's arms and pulled them away from himself.

K' smirked a bit and patted his shoulder, all traces of anger gone. "I told you before, I don't swing that way, not even for you. I know deep down you feel disappointed, but one day, you'll learn to live with it."

Maxima chuckled as Whip laughed out right. Kula seemed to be the only one slightly confused, but she said nothing, just smiled up at both men.

K' was about to suggest leaving, when he saw a familiar face. "...Vanessa?" he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. What's she doing here..? K' left his post in front of Kula to go find out.

"Vanessa!" He yelled a bit louder than he should have, but it gained her attention, so K' didn't mind much.

"...K'..." She spoke softly, and the look in her eyes betrayed the poker face she was attempting to put on.

"Vanessa..." K' finally approached her, leaving the distance between himself and Kula to at least one hundred feet. "What...Why are you here?" he gave a small smile to his old friend.

"Just as I explained to Maxima a little bit ago, I DO need clothes every once in a while. Just so happens that my current wardrobe is offically up for retirement..." Vanessa joked then smiled back, her face showing mixed emotions.

K' could only decipher two of them. Dread and relief. Why both..? I hope it's not because of...It was her idea to become 'fuck buddies' in the first palce...It had to end sometime. She knew that...So why..? Caught up in his thoughts, K' hadn't realized the tension and awkward silence he had just created.

"...We..Well I suppose I should get going then...Nice seeing you K'..." Vanessa brushed the hair from behind her ear to cover her slightly flushed face. Part nervousness. Part embarrasement.

"...Oh. Yeah. I should get back as well. Nice seeing you. Let me know if you ever want to drink." K' waved an awkward goodbye and walked back over to see a curious Whip, an irritated Maxima, and what looked like a pissed of Kula. K' stopped walking momentarily. What the...What the hell did I do? I was just saying hi...

K' was about to speak when Kula cut him off. "...Can we go now...I want to go eat candy. At home." Then, without anyone's response, Kula stomped off towards the exit.

K' began to follow when Maxima hit his shoulder with a hardy laugh. "Yeah. I suppose now would be a good time to get going. Don't want to run into anyone ELSE while we're at it now do we..?" He winked at K', and K' gumbled to himself as he continued to walk. I don't think I could handle running into any of my one night stands on top of everything else...Kami knows I'm already in a bad mood...

...

Kula was seething with jealousy and anger. Just what HAPPENED between those two? You could feel the awkward tension from where she was standing! And the look on Vanessa's face when she spotted K'...It's almost the same as mine...But mine is more intense! Because I love him more than anyone else does! I know I do!...Ugh...So much for being mature...

Kula was so lost in thought, that she passed the in the parking lot. Twice...Now three times. She barely heard Whip and Maxima calling for her, so she turned around, and ran straight into hard muscle. "Mph!" She was about to fall backwords, when strong arms caught her, and pulled her back into place. For a moment, she was os happy, thinking it was K'...

"You should be careful next time. I might not be here to catch your fall..." Said a familiar voice. Kula looked up and stared straight into the eyes of Rock Howard. She gasped then smiled.

"Rock! It's been a long time!" Kula hugged him briefly, but when she tried to let go, he wrapped his arms around her. Tightly. What is he..?

"It sure has been...I've missed you." He stated, then spotted K' and released her with a smirk.

"Well...What have you been up to? When did you get back to South Town?" Kula smiled, oblivious to the deadly aura slowly approaching behind her.

"I just got back about a month or so ago. I've been a bit busy, but I needed to get some new pants...The last fight I was in tore them pretty badly. And since I'm not a seamstress, well...You can see my shotty patch job." Rock laughed and Kula joined him.

She was about to comment on his pants with a 'Nice job!' when K' interrupted. "...You wanted to leave, so let's leave. NOW." he said it with a tone that bore no arguments. As K' began to walk back to the car, pulling Kula's arm with him, Rock gripped her other arm and stopped K' dead in his tracks. Needless to say, K' was MORE than royally pissed off about it.

"...Come by King's bar sometime. I'm currently working there as a stock boy. Needed the money to buy new pants." He smiled down at Kula then kissed the top of her head. "I'll see you later." he then let go of her arm completely and walked away.

"O..Okay..." Kula was COMPLETELY taken off guard by that last gesture, so much so that she didn't even notice when K' continued to pull her away. Or that he did it roughly. I wonder what that means...

...

K' thought he was pissed earlier, but boy was he wrong. As he and Kula sat in the car, on opposite ends mind you, his mind was running a million miles a minute. I swear I'm going to KILL that Rock...What business does he have holding Kula...Let alone KISSING her. Like she's his girlfriend or something...And why didn't Kula say anything? Don't tell me she likes that CREEP. There's no WAY she would...What the hell should I care though...She's not my property...*sigh* Maybe I need to get laid. Maybe that's what's causing all this...emotional shit to come up. I mean...It's just Kula...

But for some reason, even in his head, he felt WRONG for saying that...Because she wasn't JUST Kula...She wasn't JUST anybody...His heart felt constricted and K' thought that maybe he could convince himself to believe he didn't care as much as he wanted to admit. Why in the hell was he feeling this way for Kula? Some little brat with maturity issues and a sweet tooth. But Kami knew how much of a sweet tooth he was starting to get for her. And her 'maturity'. And the cycle continues...

With neither of them speaking, and Maxima in his own daze, Whip, feeling uncomfortable with the silence, suggested food or a movie. Her treat. But neither responded. Only Maxima seemed to join the real world again. "...I guess they BOTH had a rough day. And that's only the begining. If they're going to live with each other, they're going to need to learn how to...Deal. With their 'issues'."

Whip sighed and nodded. "You have a point there...But what can we do? They won't listen to us anymore. They're going to write their own agenda, and stick stubbournly with it. Even if they know we're right."

Maxima laughed at that. "We'll just have to see them through this. From the sidelines, I guess. It's not the first time K's acted like an idiot." He then yellped as he felt a pinch.

"I heard that." K' stated then dropped his hand and went back to looking out the window in thought.

"It's true! You can be a real ass someti-most days." Maxima quickly corrected. Then turned to Whip. "Why don't we all just have dinner at the house, and talk about it then?"

Whip sighed, "Okay. I guess it can wait." and the rest of the ride home was silent, save for Maxima's attempt at singing along with the radio.

...

Author's Note: I am SO. SORRY. For taking this long to update! Viruses are the evil of all writers! I had to start from scratch with this chapter. I hope that it's still okay though. I tried to remember where I was going with this, but I had to make a new path. I hope that I can update another chapter really soon. It isn't fair to everyone who has been waiting, for me to take this long. SO. On another note.

Maxima needs a partner. Who should I hook him up with? I was thinking Vanessa cause she has no one but.. Maybe you can think of someone better? Also. I slightly apologize for throwing in so many random charcaters this chapter. I was hoping to bring out some jealousy and new love interests, but it might have been too many at one time.

K' needs to take a chill pill and admit that he loves Kula. I am probably going to drag that out as long as I can though, because I feel that K' is super stubborn and probably wouldn't admit that so easily. And the reason why I made him kind of a "player" is because I just can't picture him a virgin...Plus he's super hot...MEH. WELL. I think for next chapter, I'm going to have a little Kula bending over and showing K' just how nice her ass is. ^o^ Oh how I love being a pervert. I want them to at LEAST make out by chapter 10. If not sooner. We shall see how this plays out.