Between losing a whole scene, writer’s block, school, moving, and whatever else happened, this has been a hard chapter to complete... but it’s a fun chapter. Sorry for taking so long on it! Thank you again for all of your reviews!

And thank you for your nominations! Feel free to continue nominating the boys and girls only parts... now you can nominate characters of either gender for the following parts:

Either male or female parts: The Mystic Friend, the Kid, the Detective, the Evil Tactician, the Evil Powerhouse, the Evil General, the Evil Scientist, the Ninja, the Messenger, the Robot

I know it’s a lot of parts, but have fun with it! If there’s not enough, there are some parts that can be dropped... but I’ll decide that when it’s time.

And one more thing... more definite couples! You'll definitely see in this story... (I'm using animal names for this, even if the love thing is in human form)...

Knuckles and Rouge like each other, Amy likes Sonic, Sonic likes Tikal (a tiny bit), Tikal likes Shadow, Shadow likes Amy, Mike likes every pretty girl, Alicia (OC not introduced yet) likes Knuckles, John likes Alice, Alice likes the King, the King likes Tikal (maybe), Yuri (made by Delta Operator) likes Tikal, Josiah (made by Crystal and Krystal) likes Sam, Sam likes Sonic, Espio likes Jen (made by Starry-chan)...

Vector likes Vanilla...

Bokkun likes Cream, Charmy likes Cream, Cream will eventually like Charmy...

Hope (OC that will come in in chapter 16) likes Tails, the Castle likes Tails.

There might be changes to this, depending on what happens. Hopefully I'll be able to post a diagram up somewhere when I have good internet again. And with that, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or any other character from the Sonic games or Sonic X (including their human forms). They’re owned by Sonic Team and SEGA.

“Hey Miles,” Tim greeted as he sat down next to Miles at lunch. None of their other friends were there yet, so Tim took this opportunity to ask Miles for help. “Did you understand what Egg-head was talking about in English?” ...Maybe fighting Knuckles on a school night wasn’t the best idea... Tim added in his mind. At least he’s not mad anymore... and I have another Chaos Emerald... Hm, maybe I should give it to Tails after school, since he earned it...

“You mean irony?” inquired the younger boy; Tim nodded. “Of course. Irony is when you expect one thing, but something completely different happens.” Meeting his friend’s confused face, Miles began to elaborate, “Like—”

“I am not getting defensive!” Kevin boomed in a very defensive manner, making heads turn.

“Like that. That’s a good example of irony,” Miles finished.

Tim stared to find Kevin talking to a young lady with long, orange hair and emerald green eyes. It’s that girl again... wasn’t she talking to Kevin before or something? Tim thought. Out loud, the teenager curiously asked, “Who’s that? And why is she talking to an idiot like Kevin?”

Ruby happened to be walking by them when she heard the question. Without stopping in her trek, she answered, “She’s Kevin’s sister.”

Tim’s mouth hung. “N-no way!” he gasped, surprised.

“And that’s another fine example of irony,” Miles said.

Kevin’s sister happily greeted Ruby, unaware of the surprise that she caused.

----

“Tomorrow’s Valentine’s day! It’s going to be so much fun!”

“I’m giving my boyfriend this huge box of chocolates...”

“I hear it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, though.” Girls happily gossiped about the upcoming holiday all around the school.

“Hey Karen,” one girl said, “do you have anyone special for tomorrow?”

Karen stared up from her book, surprised. “Me? No, of course not.” With a chuckle, she added, “I’m more worried about helping Ruby give my brother a surprise.”

“You’re too kind, Kar. You need to find a guy to spend the day with! You’re not going to have another chance for a whole year!”

“But I’ll have another chance, when I find someone I love,” Karen pointed out. “Right now I’m not interested in anyone.” Just then, the bell rang. Karen gathered up her stuff and carefully stashed it in her book bag.

“See you later, Karen!”

“Bye, have fun,” Karen said as she slung her book bag over her shoulder. She then took off down the hall, headed for Kevin’s class. Mom’s going to be mad if we both don’t go straight home... She’s been very protective lately... probably because of Dr. Eggman. Deep in thought, Karen didn’t notice where she was going until after she ran into someone. Taken by surprise, she tripped and fell backwards onto her back.

“Ow,” she mumbled. Quickly picking herself up, she said to the person she bumped into, “Sorry about that, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

She stared at a boy that looked about her age. He had short black hair that jetted out in a spiky-looking manner. He almost seemed to glare at Karen though his crimson red eyes. “...It’s fine,” he muttered curtly.

Staring past the boy, Karen realized that he must’ve walked out of Kevin’s classroom. “Hey, you’re not Espio by any chance, are you?”

“Who?” asked the boy, startled.

“Never mind. My brother’s in your class.”

“...That’s nice,” the boy said, obviously not caring. He moved around Karen to head out of the school.

Karen watched him go, a minor blush on her cheeks.

“Karen?” a familiar voice asked. Karen jerked around to see her brother standing there. Her face grew redder as she grew embarrassed without knowing why. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah! I’m perfectly fine!”

“Hey, Karen!” Ruby greeted as she popped out of the classroom.

“Ruby!”

Ruby walked over to the younger girl, looking past him. Leaning down, Ruby whispered, “Well well, looks like you set your eyes on a guy. Wanna learn some tricks?”

“Ehhh? No, that’s not what I...”

“He happens to be a friend of mine. Maybe I could help you... if you help me with your brother. We have a deal?”

“S-sure...” Karen mumbled before she thought about it, very nervous.

“All right, one rule, though: don’t tell your brother about your crush. Trust me, it’d be better like that. Anyway, that guy... his name’s Hiei.”

Hiei, eh? Karen repeated in her head. W-wait a minute, I’ve only just met him! And it’s just a minor crush or something... it’s probably because my friends were so insistent on Valentine’s Day tomorrow... I just won’t worry about him and help Ruby and Kevin out! Karen decided.

----

The next morning, an alarm sounded in the Parker house. Hiei threw a pillow over his ears to cover up the sound, but to no avail. He groggily stared at the clock to find that it was only 4:10 in the morning. Thoroughly annoyed with the loud noise, he threw his covers off and stormed to his brother’s door. Hiei slammed the door open and practically yelled, “What are you thinking having your alarm go off this early on a weekend night?”

Tim jolted up, surprised by the angry teen. He tiredly stared at the time and said, “...Good question...” He slowly reached up and turned the alarm off and then looked up again to meet his twin’s annoyed glare. “...What?”

“You woke me up.”

“Sorry.” Still receiving a hard glare, Tim then said, “What else do you want me to—wait. What’s today?”

“February fourteenth.”

The blue haired boy suddenly jumped to his feet. “I have to go.”

“What craziness are you talking about now...?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day. Emily will attack me if she sees me at all today,” Tim explained as he hurried around the room, throwing clothes and various games and stuff in a bag. “That’s why I set my alarm so early...”

“You didn’t have to wake me up for that...”

“Sorry, Hiei! But thanks for waking me up. Tell Dad that I’m at Miles’ house.” He walked past Hiei and into the hallway before pausing and turning back with one last thought, “Oh, yeah, and if Emily comes looking for me, tell her that I’m sick—very sick. Contagious. Got it?”

“If you’re sick then maybe you should act it...”

“No way! I’d rather have fun while I’m out!”

“Whatever. I’m going back to bed,” Hiei muttered as he trudged back to his room.

“Thanks, bro!” Tim called behind the other boy. With his bag over his shoulder, he grinned softly to himself as he walked downstairs. The walls were a light shade of blue, and the carpet a light brown, but shadows now painted both a darker shade in the dark house. Pictures of the family hung on the wall, hard to see now through the darkness. This is the perfect plan... Tim thought happily. I’ll hurry to the workshop as Sonic, catch some extra sleep in a tree or something, and then get some training! Finally, no more Valentine’s Day! Who ever came up with that day, anyway? It’s the worst possible day... Proud of his plan, Tim kept walking downstairs without any attention as to where he was going. Emily will never find me as Son—he missed the last step and fell to the floor—ic... “Ow...”

“Idiot...” his brother’s voice called down from above.

Tim picked himself up, annoyed. I thought I was done falling... Without another word, he snuck through the back door and out of the house. Once outside, he quickly turned to his hedgehog form and jumped clear away from his house and onto the streets. He took off at a jog, wanting to the workshop and still be tired enough for sleep. The cool night air nipped at him on the streets—he was the only one out. He paused a minute just to stare at the empty streets. Never before had he seen the main roads so void of life. Not even the sound of birds reached his ears. Somehow, the quiet felt almost... serene, like the world was his, and his alone. He found himself content in the silence and emptiness, much to his surprise.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice asked from behind Sonic.

“Yeah,” answered the hedgehog without turning his head. He didn’t feel any need to turn and look at his young companion. For once, the hedgehog felt calm... or maybe just tired. As his eyes started to droop, he started to realize that maybe he was just tired. Guess this is what happens when I wake up at four in the morning...

“Here, have some breakfast. It’ll get you to the workshop at least,” the person behind him offered. Sonic finally turned his head, half asleep, to see the person. He found himself face-to-face with the Bishop, who was offering Sonic a hotdog. “Sorry it’s not a chilidog... I didn’t have time to make one on such a short notice.”

“Thanks,” the hedgehog said as he accepted the food. He quickly started munching on it. With his mouth full, he said, “Ho’d ou ow I wa ere?”

With a laugh, the Bishop said, “Don’t talk with your mouth full! Ah, I guess I forgot to bring a drink...”

After gulping down his bite, Sonic repeated his question: “How’d you know I was here?”

“I didn’t really. Castle and Knight were talking about Valentine’s Day... and then I realized that you’d probably try to run from it,” the Bishop explained.

“Haha, you know me... hey wait, how do all of you guys know me?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re the hero, Sonic the Hedgehog!”

“I just became a hero, though... unless you’re talking about that previous life. If you are, though, no one seems to remember it.”

“Yeah, I was wondering about that, too...”

Sonic took another large bite of the hotdog. When he finished that bite, he said, “Too bad it doesn’t have chili.”

“Sorry,” the Bishop said. “I’ll try to get some next time.”

Sonic quickly finished the hotdog up. “Thanks for the food. I’m going to bed now.”

“All right. Sleep well!”

“Thanks. See ya!” With that, Sonic zoomed off towards the workshop.

“See you later, Sonic...” the Bishop muttered, staring in the direction he went until well after the blue hedgehog was gone.

Upon arrival at the workshop, Sonic immediately noticed something in front of the door. A little pink package sat on the ground, leaning against the door. Curious, Sonic picked it up. Turning it over in his hands, he found no address or name of any kind. The hedgehog quickly removed the wrapping paper to reveal a red box with a lovely red and white lacy ribbon and two words written in very neat handwriting on it: “To Tails.” More curious than ever, Sonic searched all over the box without breaking a seal, searching to find who it was from. However, he found no name. Does Tails have a secret admirer...? Or is this a friend of his...? Hm, I guess I should tell him about this... Conveniently forgetting that it was four in the morning, Sonic reached for his watch and clicked the yellow button. “Hey, Tails?” After a moment of silence, Sonic continued, “Taaaillls! Are you there? I have something for you! ...Tails? Is everything okay? You could answer, you know...”

“Unn?” a sleepy voice came from the watch.

“Hi Tails! Is everything okay?”

“Why are you calling me at this time...?” the tired voice slowly asked.

“What time is it?” Sonic asked out loud as he finally opened the workshop door and stared at a clock in the workshop: 4:35. “Oh! Right, sorry Tails!”

Tails moaned to show that he half acknowledged Sonic.

“Well, someone left a package for you... come pick it up at the workshop when you wake up...”

Another moan came through the watch.

“Night, Tails.”

Sonic heard no more sounds as he set the package on the table. The workshop looked the same as before, only with a digital clock on the wall next to the refrigerator and a full grocery list... mostly in Sonic’s handwriting. “I wonder when he’s going shopping... we really need some more snacks and entertainment here.” With a yawn and a stretch, Sonic added, “And a bed...” He then walked outside, closing the door behind him. He jumped into a tree and made himself comfortable before going back to sleep.

----

“Sick? What do you mean sick?” Emily demanded later on that day as she stood at the front door, talking to Hiei Parker.

“He suddenly decided to come down with a fever. And the doctor said that it’s very contagious, so he’s not to see anyone,” explained Tim’s brother. You owe me for this, Tim, Hiei thought.

Emily sighed. “But I wanted to give him these chocolates today...” She stared at the ground sadly.

“I can deliver them for you.”

“That’s not the same! I have to give them to Tim myself!” Emily explained stubbornly. “I know! Is there anything I can do around the house to help him feel better?”

“He’s sleeping right now,” Hiei lied nonchalantly. “Other than him resting, there’s nothing that needs to be done.”

“O-oh...” Emily mumbled, staring at the ground. Hiei couldn’t help but feel sorry for the miserable girl, and opened his mouth to offer for her to come inside when he realized that that might just reveal the lie. So instead, he stood in silence, clutching the door.

Once she gathered her nerves again, Emily smiled up to her friend. “Okay, then will one of you call my cell phone if there’s anything I can do, or if there’s any chance I can see him today?”

“Sure.”

“If not, then tell him to get well soon for me! A-and I guess I’ll give him the chocolates tomorrow...”

“All right.”

“Bye, Hiei! Thank you!” Emily said as she spun around and took off at a run.

Hiei watched in silence, feeling bad for lying to her. But it would’ve been worse if I told her the truth, right...? Geez, Tim, why do you have to go and hurt everyone around you? he thought, annoyed. As Hiei turned to go inside, he felt something wet and cold touch his head. He looked up to see large gray clouds falling over the city, brining rain quickly with them. The teenager turned inside and shut the door behind him. I wonder where Tim is... Outside, he heard the rain falling faster and faster. Bored, Hiei walked into the living room. It was a nice open room with plain white walls and a brown carpet. There were two couches facing the TV, which was equipped with many video and game systems. There was a coffee table in front of the biggest couch and a table between the couches with a phone resting on it; the couches sat at a ninety-degree angle to each other. He sat on the couch, remote controller in hand and idly turned on the TV. As he flipped through the channels, his crimson eyes caught something blue and strange on the ground in the city on the screen. Hiei flipped the channel back a few to find a normal news report. Guess I was just seeing things... Suddenly the phone began to ring. The boy picked it up. “Hello?”

“Shadow! There's something strange on Cherry Street. I want you to go see what it is,” Dr. Eggman’s voice commanded over the phone.

“Why me?”

“I'm working on a machine and Ruby’s on a date. I don't know if it’s an ally or an enemy of Sonic’s, but we need to find out.”

Hiei sighed. “Fine, I’ll go. ...I think I know where it is.” After hanging up the phone, the teen turned off the television and headed for the door. On his way out, he grabbed a jacket to throw on and an umbrella for the rain. He opened the navy blue umbrella as he stepped out the door.

----

“Geez, why does it have to rain? And why do I have to play delivery boy?” Sonic practically shouted as he walked down the wet street, the package for Tails under his right arm. “Sorry, Sonic,” he remembered the fox saying over the watch, “but you kinda caught me at a bad time... could you bring the package here? It should take you no time with how fast you are!” “Now if only I could find this place...” the boy muttered, annoyed. He paid no notice as the people on the streets stared and pointed at him. “What was it called... Electronic something...” He glanced around at the shop names in the city. Well, only one of those around. That must be it. He quickly strolled into the store.

“Welcome—um, hedgehog?” a voice greeted him. Talk about generic electronics store… The store was somewhat small. Games for all current systems lines the walls in front with the game systems near them. Older games stood in cases near the center. In the back of the store, or what he could see, he noticed computer gadgets and programs. Although he couldn’t see them, he knew that the computers were in the very back of the store, along the wall. Come to think of it, I’ve been here before... Customers stared at the various products, searching or considering. In the crowed, he noticed a young pink hedgehog.

“Huh? Amy?” Sonic burst out, surprised. The girl turned to him, shocked as well.

“Sonic! I didn’t expect to run into you here!” she exclaimed as she hurried over to him. She looked completely normal except that she, too, held a medium-sized red package in her hands. The blue hedgehog couldn’t help but notice a tint of sadness on her face.

“Something wrong?”

“N-no, nothing! I’m perfectly fine!” She glanced down at the box Sonic held. “Are you delivering that to someone?” she asked curiously as her heart be a little faster than normal. She put her hand on it, inwardly trying to calm herself down. I like Tim! I like Tim!

“Huh?” Sonic followed her eyes down to the box. “Oh, yeah. It’s for Tails,” he answered nonchalantly.

Amy felt her eyebrow twitch. “What?”

“This was made just for him, but he couldn’t come down to the workshop for it, so—”

“Sonic...” Amy muttered as she began fuming.

“What? What’d I say?” the flabbergasted teenager asked.

“I don’t believe you! After all I...”

“What do you mean—” Suddenly, it dawned on him. “Wait, no! I’m not—I mean, that’s not what I was—this isn’t from me!” he yelled, making the whole store turn to stare at him. Embarrassed, he whispered to Amy, “How could you even think that?”

“Well, you weren’t making it seem like it wasn’t,” the girl whispered back.

“Someone left it at the workshop!”

“So then it’s not from you?”

“NO! It’s not!”

Amy breathed easily. “Don’t scare me like that...”

“You think you were scared...!” the boy hedgehog muttered, annoyed. “...Hey, wait, why were you scared?”

“Ah—! I-it’s nothing!” Amy said quickly, her face turning pink. She turned around to glance around the store. “Um... So, is Tails around here, then?”

“I think so... unless I have the wrong store?” He, too, glanced around. When his eyes landed back on his friend, he found her smiling at him. “What?”

She giggled. “Your face is still red!” It’s kinda cute! she added in her head.

Sonic whipped around so that she couldn’t see his face anymore. “It is not!”

“Sonic!” a hyper voice called out. Both hedgehogs turned to find the young fox hurrying towards them from the back of the store.

“Hey, Tails! Where have you been?” Sonic questioned.

“Sorry, I had to finish up some stuff first!” Tails answered. “Hello, Amy!”

“Hi, Tails.”

“So, Sonic, you said you had something for me?” the fox asked inquisitively.

Sonic’s face turned red again, and Amy giggled. Sonic threw a glare at her before thrusting the package in Tails’ arms. “Yeah. Someone left it at the workshop this morning.” The fox then proceeded to look it over for a name. Finding none, he curiously opened the box.

Inside the box he found a bunch of chocolates. “Eeehh? Chocolates? For me?” Sonic’s young friend exclaimed, surprised. “Who left these?”

“No clue. They were there when I arrived. Though that person must’ve come pretty early... Do you know anyone who might be a secret admirer? Unless... are you hiding some girl from us?” the hedgehog teased as he nudged his best friend jokingly.

“N-no! I don’t! I-I only know all of you as a fox, no one more! I-I swear!”

“I don’t know, maybe they’re from Sonic,” Amy mocked.

“Hey, cut that out!” Amy burst out laughing, and Sonic couldn’t help but grin. “I’m straight already! Now enough on that subject!”

“Did something happen?” Tails asked, confused.

“No!”

“Yes!”

The fox stared at the two, now even more puzzled. “Um...”

Sonic glanced around, looking for a way to change the subject. His eyes rested on the box that Tails held. “So how do they taste?” Tails followed the hedgehog’s gaze down, startled. He quickly stuffed one in his mouth. After a moment’s pause, the fox proceeded to quickly stuff a handful more into his mouth.

“Tails?”

“I-isn’t that a lot of sugar?” Amy and Sonic stared at the younger boy, awed.

After completely finishing what he had in his mouth, he smiled at his friends. “Nope! It’s really good! Ah...!

“Something wrong?”

“How will I ever thank the person that gave this to me if I don’t know who they are?” he asked, really worried.

“I kinda think that might have been the point...” Sonic attempted to point out.

“B-but I have to do something... they even knew my favorite...!”

The intercom of the store beeped on. “Miles Prower, please come to register two, Miles Prower, please come to register two,” the monotone voice said. Tails spun around to find the lines growing too long for his friend at the front counters. Panicking, Tails quickly thought of what he should say to Sonic and Amy. “U-um...” he muttered, barely audible.

Miles Prower? both hedgehogs thought, completely thrown off. He works here?

“I have to go,” Sonic quickly said.

“Yeah, me too!” Amy agreed.

“Talk to you later, Tails!”

“Um... bye?” the fox attempted to call, but both of his friends were already out the door and dashing off in opposite directions. Tails used this moment to slip to the bathrooms in order to change back into his human form without anyone noticing. As a human again, he jogged up front. “Sorry about that!” he told his fellow employee as he took his place at the cash register. “I’ll take the next person over here!” He stuffed the box under the counter as a customer walked up. Happily helping to deal with the customers, he failed to notice Timothy Parker enter the store. Time swiftly grabbed a good-looking game and hopped in line. A few seconds later, Emily Camilla stepped in, wet from the rain. She immediately noticed Tim and paused, her jaw dropped.

“T-Tim!” she called as she ran to him, he arms spread out in front of her. She didn’t even heed the box of chocolates that she dropped at the door. “You’re better!”

“E-Emily!” Tim yelped back, terrified. He threw his hands up to stop her and caught her hands in front of him, trying to keep the death-hug away. Fury flamed in the girl’s green eyes as she realized what was going on. “You... you played sick, didn’t you?” she demanded, infuriated. “You actually got Hiei to lie for you and tell me that you were sick so you wouldn’t have to see me today! I can’t believe you, Timothy!”

Tim faltered. “I-i-it was—I was... I wasn’t feeling so good this morning! I woke up on the wrong side of the bed! I-I...”

“Stop lying!” Emily yelled, pushing harder than ever to get past Tim’s defense. “When I get to you, Tim, I’ll...”

“W-wait! Don’t attack me! I’m not fully recovered yet! I’m serious! I-I’ll get sick again!”

“You’ll get better after I beat some sense into you!”

“Noooo!”

Meanwhile, people in the store stared at the two and whispered amongst themselves, pointing mainly at Tim. Miles also stared, awe-struck. What are they doing here...? he thought to himself. And they’re creating a scene...

“Emily, don’t attack me here! We’re in a store! You’ll destroy everything!” Tim attempted to argue.

Glaring, the girl threw down her hands. “Fine, since Miles works here. But as soon as we exit...”

Tim gulped. I’ll be faaaar away before you can hit me...

“It’s your fault, you know. If you hadn’t lied to me, I wouldn’t have a reason to be mad at you!” Still angry, she stormed over to the door and picked up the box of chocolates she had previously discarded. “After I worked so hard to make these for you...”

“You could’ve had Hiei deliver them to me.”

“It’s not the same!” the girl yelled as she turned on him.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Sheesh...”

Emily walked back over and held the box out to him, her head bowed low. “You’ll take them, won’t you...?”

Her friend paused, wanting the chocolates and yet not wanting to accept them from her on Valentine’s Day. I guess this whole thing is my fault, though... Geez, why’d I change back again? Oh yeah, Miles... Grudgingly, he took the package. “All right, whatever.”

“And you won’t do that again?”

“I won’t if I don’t have a reason to.”

“Timothy! Promise me that you won’t do that again!”

“Okay, I won’t!” he said, but behind his back he had his fingers crossed.

“I see your fingers! You will, won’t you!”

“Uh...”

“TIMOTHY!”

“Hey look, the line’s moving!” the boy said loudly as he stepped forward across the large gap they had created. Emily folded her arms and followed him, furious.

“I’ll take the next customer!” the cashier next to Miles announced to Tim and Emily. Tim allowed the next person behind him to go first and continued waiting until Miles finished with the customer he talked to. Without being invited, Tim scurried over to his best friend’s counter. “Hey, Miles!”

“Tim! Emily! I didn’t expect to see you two here! Are you on a date?”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Tim glared at the girl next to him. Miles grinned, thinking, That’s just like them... He scanned the game and said, “Will this be all?”

“Yeah... and about that, I didn’t know you worked here! Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I didn’t even know you were old enough to work!” Emily agreed.

“I guess it just never came up. The school’s allowed for me to work, though, so luckily this store accepted me,” Miles answered, smiling as he tapped some buttons on the screen of the computer. Tim blinked, noticing a hint of nervousness on Miles’ face. “That’ll be one thousand and fifty rings.”

Tim reached into his pocket and pulled out two golden rings with starts in the center of them—each worth a thousand rings. He placed them on the counter. “How are things going with your Mom and Millie?”

“Same as usual.” The younger boy grabbed the rings and opened the cash register, where he pulled out a silver ring with a star in the middle. He grabbed the receipt and placed it in the bag, and, as he handed it and the change to Tim, he continued, “Millie’s planted some flowers—she’ll probably invite you two to see them when they’ve bloomed.”

“I can’t wait!” Emily said.

“I’ll talk to you later, Tim, Emily!”

“Okay, see ya!”

“Bye, Miles.”

The two walked slowly to the door. As soon as Tim got one foot out the door and in the rain, he took off at a run, Emily chasing close behind him. Miles smiled to himself as he watched them go.

----

Hiei walked down the sidewalk with his umbrella over him, but the rain still soaked his feet. He glanced around, looking for the unidentified creature. The street was not very busy, but most who did walk it huddled in pairs under umbrellas. The cars zoomed by at a more leisurely pace than normal, searching for places to park.

“Yo, Chaos!” a familiar-sounding voice caught Hiei’s attention. He turned to find the cause of the voice, but most of the people around he did not recognize. Only one person held any question. The man wore a black cloak with a hood covering his face and gloves on his hands. Do I know him...? Hiei wondered as he stared at the person. The man held a navy blue umbrella over his head and stared down at a puddle of water. “...Still as talkative as ever, I see,” the cloaked person said sarcastically. “After all the trouble I took to find you.”

...I doubt I know him, Hiei reconsidered as he watched the person talk to a puddle of water. He seems to be crazy. Hiei began to walk away.

“It seems Hiei Parker came looking for you, too!” the man continued. Hiei paused again and turned to gaze again, now startled. The puddle of water suddenly lurched out at the man, who swiftly threw his umbrella in front for defense and leaped backwards to dodge. “Geez, you don’t have to be so violent!” the person said, his black cloak now getting soaked in the rain.

It’s the creature! Hiei realized as his eyes moved down to the puddle of water. The cloaked man turned to the teenager.

“Hello, Shadow. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the one known as the King.”

He knows who I am! And... “Another chess piece? Do the other three work for you, then?”

“Sorta. There’s a Queen and some pawns, too,” the King replied. “Oh, I guess I forgot to tell Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge that much. Oh well, I’ll just have to gather you all up and properly introduce myself later. How does that sound?”

“Are we supposed to be part of your ‘game’?”

“Yep!”

“And if I don’t participate?”

“Sorry, but... you don’t really have a choice in that.” The King spun around, his cloak barely moving from being pulled down by the water. “Sorry, but my time is short. Chaos, I’ll come back for you when you’ve cooled down some... now that I know where to find you...” With that, the enigma walked down some stairs leading to the subway and seemed to vanish. Hiei turned to the puddle of water and stared at it, wondering if the creature was still there. Soon the puddle began to creep slowly down the sidewalk. Curious, the teenage boy followed it, acting casual. He searched for a reason for its movement, yet made sure that he still pursued the thing. Chaos... that was what he called it, right?

Hiei soon realized that Chaos seemed to be trailing a girl. The girl had long, orange hair and had a warm red coat on. She wore a long, dark orange skirt and wet white tennis shoes. She had a bracelet on her right wrist, and in that hand she held a red umbrella over her head. Is it after that girl? What does it want with her? The girl glanced around the dark street nervously. Hiei recognized her face. It’s that girl that I met at the school the other day! The one who said her brother was in my class... Does she have some connection to this whole thing? Why else would Chaos be after her? The girl turned to stare Hiei directly in the eyes. Hiei halted, alarmed. Oh great, now it looks like I’ve been following her...

“You’re Hiei, right?” she asked, and the boy nodded. “I’m sorry to bother you again, but... I-I think I made a wrong turn somewhere...” The girl blushed, embarrassed. I should know the streets better than this... but it’s dark... and rainy... she thought, flustered.

Hiei sighed. “Where are you trying to go?”

“I’m looking for North Cloud Street.”

“That’s a dangerous street when it’s this dark...”

The girl smiled. “Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be all right.”

Not with that monster following you, the boy thought dryly. “You passed it. Come on.” Hiei turned and started to walk away, and the girl trotted to catch up to him.

“Ah, you don’t have to take me—”

“My house is that way anyways. I’m bored of this walk,” Hiei lied as he glanced behind him to see if Chaos was following; and sure enough, the puddle of water trailed behind the two.

“Oh, thank you... My name’s Karen.”

Hiei nodded his acknowledgement and continued walking in silence. They reached an intersection, where they crossed the street and proceeded down North Cloud Street. As the street seemed to grow darker, Chaos seemed to grow anxious. It began bubbling loudly behind them, making both humans turn in alarm.

“W-what’s going on?” Karen asked as she stared at the bubbling puddle.

“I don’t think we want to find out...”

A blue, pointy head slowly rose up from the puddle of water. The creature was made of water, with a visible brain inside its head. It had shining green eyes, and in the back its head split off into two spikes like long pigtails. Its body was shaped like that of a human, but it had two claws on each hand and foot. It had a small tail as well.

“What is that...?” Karen asked, a tint of fear in her voice. Thunder boomed and lightening struck the city, lighting up the area for a brief second. Karen fell to her knees and dropped her umbrella, her face white. “I-I’ve... seen this... before...”

“What do you mean?” the boy next to her demanded.

She blinked and stared up at him, seeming to regain her senses. “This creature is dangerous. Hurry, you must get away!”

Chaos burst into sprinkles of water and seemed to merge with the rain. Hiei abandoned his own umbrella and grabbed Karen’s wrist. “Come on!” He bolted off, taking the girl with him. He slammed through the first public door he saw, where he finally stopped. They were in a small coffee shop.

Most of the chairs in the shop were full, save four surrounding a table. The teenagers walked over to that chair and sat down.

“We should be safe here... we’ll at least see it if it tries anything,” Hiei said. I’ll fight it when the rain clears out. Right now it has the perfect battle ground... “Now, what were you saying about how you’ve seen it before?”

Karen nodded. “It was only for a second... but now there’s no doubt in my mind—that creature gravely wounded the person next to me.”

“Why?”

“I-I don’t know...” Karen stared at the table, not wanting to talk about it any more than she had to.

“It must be after you then... but why?” Hiei wondered out loud.

“I’m not so sure...” Hiei’s companion mumbled, but he couldn’t hear her. In her head, she thought, Last time, I might have died if it hadn’t come... but still, what it did to that man... She blinked, trying to clear her mind. Turning to Hiei, she said, “I’m sorry, your clothes are all wet now because of me... My house is close, so you can borrow some of my brother’s clothes if you want.”

“I’ll be fine. Besides, we have to wait for the rain to clear out anyway.”

“Oh, right...” After a moment of silence, Karen stood up. “Would you like something to drink, then? My treat since you helped me out!”

Hiei shrugged. “I guess. How about a hot chocolate?”

“All right, I’ll be right back!” the girl said excitedly as she ran to the back of the store, where the counter was. She waited in line for her turn to order something while Hiei rested in his chair.

I hate running like this, but it’s the wisest thing to do in this case... And now I have a girl to watch after... it’d be easier to fight if I didn’t have her tagging along. Wait, Hiei’s thoughts paused as something suddenly occurred to him, isn’t it Valentine’s Day...? Tim is never going to let this go if she sees me hanging out with a girl today... But he’s hiding, so I should be safe... The image of a certain bat flashed in his head. Never mind. She’d also make fun of me if she saw this... Maybe I should run while I have the chance...

“Here you go!” Karen said as she handed Hiei a hot chocolate. She held that and a drink for herself in her right hand and a chocolate cake in the left. Hiei took the drink as Karen placed the cake on the table. “I got some food, too... I didn’t know what you’d like, but then I saw the chocolate cake... I hope that’s okay! Oh, but I also got an apple pie. You can have that if you’d rather it.”

“...Thanks,” Hiei muttered. “The cake’s fine.”

Karen set her drink down and then rushed back to the counter. When she returned, she held an apple pie and two sets of silverware. She distributed all of them and began eating her apple pie while Hiei ate his cake.

Half of the time they sat in silence, while the other half Karen attempted to carry a conversation, but she didn’t get much help from her new friend. Once the rain cleared, they left the café and resumed their walk down North Cloud Street. Without a conversation topic, they walked in silence.

Neither noticed Kevin and Ruby waiting for the light to change at an intersection. Kevin, noticing his sister with his enemy’s brother, glared at Hiei. “Oi, why are they walking together?”

Ruby, on the other hand, grinned. Like normal, she wore a tight, showy outfit. She carried a bag in her left hand. “Well it is Valentine’s Day,” she pointed out.

“That makes it worse!” Kevin yelled. He began to walk across the street with the walk symbol. “He’s not allowed to be with my sister!”

“Just a minute,” Ruby said as she grabbed Kevin’s arm.

“Let me go!”

“Calm down, calm down. He’s probably just being a gentleman and walking her home,” Ruby suggested, but she knew that couldn’t be the case. Shadow? A gentleman? Heh heh, I can’t wait to hear about this one!

“I don’t care what he’s doing, he should leave my sister alone!”

Ruby sighed. “Here, Kevie, I have something for you! I was going to wait to give it to you, but...” ...I need to let Karen have her chance with Hiei... Ruby thought deviously. She released his arm to reach in the bag and pull out a box, which she immediately handed to Kevin.

“What’s this?” Kevin asked, confused.

“Open it up.”

He did, only to find an assortment of chocolates. “Chocolates?” he stared, now even more confused. “What for?”

Ruby sighed. “I thought we went over this already. It’s Valentine’s Day.”

Kevin’s face turned even redder than his hair. “Wha... WHAAAAT?”

Ruby grinned and grabbed her best friend’s arm again. She tugged on it. “Come on, get out of the street or you’ll get run over.”

The boy hopped back up on the curb, his face still red. His friend giggled. “Oh come on, I give you chocolates every year.”

“Y-you do?”

“Have you really not noticed? Geez, nothing ever gets through that thick skull of yours, does it?”

For once, the red head didn’t answer, but simple stared at the chocolates, embarrassed.

“You can eat them, you know. It’s normal to get chocolates on Valentine’s Day.”

“I-I know that!”

“Then why are you so embarrassed, Kevie?”

----

Tim didn’t arrive home until late, and as soon as he got in, he collapsed on the large couch in the living room.

“Man, I’m beat!”

“It sounds like you had a little too much fun,” Hiei quipped from the smaller couch. He watched TV while eating popcorn.

“More like the opposite. Emily caught me!”

“So your plan failed...”

“Yeah... this morning was so nice, too!”

“I guess you learned your lesson, then?” inquired the black haired twin.

“Yeah... next time I’ll have to be more careful!” Tim concluded.

“That’s... not quite what I meant...”

Hiei’s cell phone rang, so he answered it as his brother sat up. “Hello?”

“Hey Shadow!” Rouge greeted. “So, did you and Karen have a nice walk?”

“...Shut up.”

“Then you tell me all about it!”

“How about not.”

“Pleeeeassse? I protected you from her brother!”

“And who would that be exactly...?”

“Kevin!”

“...You’re not serious,” Hiei replied, while Tim watched curiously.

“What’s going on? Who’re you talking to?”

“It’s nothing!” Hiei quickly replied.

“Did something happen today?” the boy with blue hair asked.

“No!”

“Come on, tell us about it, Shadow!” Rouge begged over the phone.

“There’s nothing to tell!”