Free air tasted sweeter than it had at any other time in his life, even if it was digital air. Edge wasn’t given any time to enjoy it, however. The mob of disgruntled peasants which camped constantly outside Cobbletown’s administrative structures, tossed a volley of tomatoes at them. Many  were cat calling the lord a bandit lover, or a traitor. Edge blocked the oncoming red storm with his shield, and the party fled at top speed, leaving the agitators far behind them.

“Why does it always have to be me?” Daphne wined. A tomato had smacked her right in the forehead, covering her face in red goo.

“Because you’re the only one who can make it look cute,” said Belladonna.

“It’s not cute,” argued Daphne.

“You look like a tomato,” stated Edge.

The others burst into laughter, and Daphne’s anger turned tantrum.

“And why did we have to bring her?” she demanded, pointing at Claire.

“She needed help,” replied Edge, as if that explained everything and anything.

“Why do you always help girls with big melons,” she hollered. “C-cup is all you need!”

Claire turned as red as Daphne, suddenly finding a reason to look at her feet, an awkwardly shy pose with her head tucked between her shoulders.

“She’s cuter than me too, just look!” Daphne continued, waving her angry finger. “I won’t forgive you. You pervert Edge.” She didn’t even bother to double punch him before dashing away with super Kiten speed.

Belladonna shrugged. “I’ll get her,” she said, before executing a similar series of dash abilities.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault,” Claire offered in apology.

Edge sighed.

“Don’t worry about it, Claire. It’s been a rough couple of days,” said Sakura, soothingly. An awkward, standing in the middle of the street with nothing to say, moment ensued.

“I guess I’ll go then,” said Claire.

“Wait,” said Edge, not really knowing what to say. He’d gotten used to girls just clinging onto the group. The party needed one more to be complete, and they had stumbled upon a tanky healer . . . As well somehow, this girl knew his real name. Maybe she was in contact with the outside world, or had information on a new skill. “You’re a [Vicar], right?”

“How did you know?”

Educated guess, seemed a bit of a smart ass answer, so he just shrugged. “Look, we need one more for our group . . .” he rolled off, rather awkwardly.

“A [Vicar] would make an excellent fifth addition,” Sakura said, approvingly. “Edge desperately needs someone to support him in melee. It’s an awfully dangerous role to play on your own.” The ever manipulative Sakura gave Claire a meaningful glance.

“Ah, yeah, what she said,” added Edge, without picking up on the nuance.

“You’re right. I owe you for . . . for everything you did. But . . .” Claire hesitated. “I won’t let you tie me up with ropes, or wear strange outfits for you! It’s too much!” she said, too loudly! The ears of nearby NPC’s seemed to grow larger.

What? Where did these weird girls keep coming from? Even Sakura went cross-eyed at the unexplainable outburst.

“I want a fair share of the loot too, I won’t help you if I’m nothing but your . . . your slave,” she finished in a creepy tone, her eyes cast in darkness.

“Uh, we don’t really split loot in our group. If you want something, you just get it. Sakura’s our banker.”

“Financiere, actually,” she said, adjusting her glasses. When did she start wearing those again? “You can keep track of your own finances if you wish, but your share won’t include items farmed with a gathering skill.”

“Gathering skill?” questioned Claire.

Sakura’s glasses sparkled with affirmative action. “I’ll tell you all about it. Come along,” she said, taking Claire under her wing. “We’ll withdraw to our hideout, and we’re sure to rejoin the others there too.”

“Where’s your hideout?” asked Claire.

Edge didn’t need to ask. He just followed behind obediently as Sakura led them back to the cake shop.

. . .

Daphne didn’t really run very far. She stopped as soon as she passed the first corner, and turned to watch and see if Edge would chase after her. He really should have, then she wouldn’t have to be quite so mad at him. Bell appeared right next to her, finishing a dash.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

Daphne peeked around the corner at the three remainders. What were they talking about over there? “I’m testing his commitment,” she said, with determination.

“You're causing trouble, is what you’re doing.”

“We can’t lose to those cow chests.”

“I thought C-cup was big enough?”

“It is. It’s just . . .” She pointed at Sakura and Claire, “those are cheating. It’s probably all virtual hocus pocus.”

“I haven’t seen you like this in a long time, Daph,” Sakura said, a touch jealous. “I notice you haven’t confessed to him yet.”

“Confess, confess my love for that little midget. Why should I?” She crossed her arms over her chest, squeezing her slight cleavage together, and mumbling something about cup size.

“He’s not short, by any means. I actually like his height. It’s neither too short nor too tall.”

“A man isn’t a bowl of porridge. You don’t even like men,” said Daphne, a little more harshly than she’d intended.

“Edge . . .” she tilted her head to the side, as she peered at him down the road “. . . is an exception.”

“That’s not fair! I saw him first.”

“We both know that’s not how it works.”

“We do?” Daphne said, a sly smile on her lips.

Bell’s serious face broke into a fit of laughter. “No one else can make me laugh like that,” she said as the giggles subsided. It was easy for people to think of Daphne as simple, but she was far more complicated than anyone knew. “That’s why I love you.”

Daphne looked decidedly guilty, “You know that ‘us’ is over . . .”

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Bell made a wicked, far away, smile. “Not over, just . . . not what we were.”

“Hey, I thought you said you liked Edge now, anyway.”

“I like you both.”

Daphne knew Bethany well enough to know that she might be a [Ranger] in Levia, but she was a fierce hunter in real life too. A tiny part of Daphne liked being hunted by her, in that way. Even if it wasn’t meant to be, it was still . . . something.

“They’re leaving,” said Bell.

“What? Together! Where is he taking them?” Her cat ears perked forward.

“I think Sakura’s in the lead.”

“Sa-ku-ra . . .” Daphne said, maliciously. “I bet she’s going on a date. Whenever Sakura leads, she always takes him on dates,” she added accusingly.

“She takes us too,” mentioned Bell.

“Don’t let her fool you. Sakura’s our greatest rival,” said Daphne, making a fist in the air in front of her. “I won’t lose to pink melons.”

“Claire’s are bigger,” fueled Bell.

“But Sakura’s melons are smarter. She has a secret weapon . . . corset. It pushes over here, and pulls over there. The secret weapon of perkiness.”

Bell nodded an acknowledgment, at her oddly competitive bestie. Daphne could be pretty weird when she got like this.

“Have no fear, Bethany,” said Daphne, who took up a wide stance, arcing her outthrust finger across the sky. “Daphne has a secret weapon too. Unstoppable man-catcher ability number three, [Super Cute Schoolgirl Outfit].”

Daphne produced a traditional school girl outfit from her inventory. When had she bought that?

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” suggested Bell.

“Why not, it’s super cute on me,” Daphne protested.

Bell gave her the pity eyebrows. “Yes, but Edge doesn’t seem to be affected by those sorts of things. He’s . . . different than most men.”

Daphne’s eyes widened. “You really do like him!”

Bell flinched in discomfort. “Maybe.”

“Oh no, where did they go?” cussed Daphne. She was distracted for a few seconds and Edge had gotten away.

Bell shrugged.

“We need to catch them, before Sakura takes his once in a lifetime virginity.”

Belladonna wondered how Daphne was able to create such elaborate fantasies, let alone believe them-or follow through with the trouble they would inevitably cause. No sane person would follow Daphne’s lead. “They went that way,” said Bell, with a crazy glimmer in her eye. But despite the insanity, being with Daphne was, if sometimes not wise, always entertaining.

Edge sipped his sweet java brew, while Sakura and Claire sampled half the menu at the cake shop. It was surprisingly pleasant. Usually Daphne and Sakura were rowdy enough to shake the table, and somehow even though Belladonna tended to be quieter, it always seemed liked she was gently encouraging the earthquake.

“It’s delicious, Sakura. Thank you for treating me,” said the bashful Claire.

“We’re well within our cake budget, I assure you. And you’re now a valuable member of team Edge, so it’s important to celebrate.”

“Team Edge?” she wondered, glancing at their silent leader.

“First I’ve heard of it,” replied Edge, the cake budget and the team name, not that he was surprised by either. Oddly enough, being leader seemed to take away any power he had to make decisions for this particular group.

“I like it. It’s very sharp.”

Sakura laughed, even if Claire’s joke was terrible.

“Aren’t you having any cake?” Claire inquired of her new leader.

“Not interested.”

“Edge doesn’t like to have fun,” said Sakura.

He did too. It was just harder for him to figure out how.

“Oh come now, you must have at least one taste. Try a bite of mine. This one’s red velvet.” Claire held out her fork, offering to feed Edge.

Why not? He was fun. Edge opened his mouth to receive the sweet treat.

A rumble came from under the white table cloth. Daphne popped up between Edge’s legs, “Noo!” she bellowed, clamping her kiten mouth around the fork, stealing away the delicate cake. “Indirect kiss, blocked,” she announced, with her mouth full.

“That only means you were the one to steal an indirect kiss from Claire,” said Belladonna, who had appeared in the chair beside him. Kiten ranger’s could hide really well, maybe she’d been training in secret too.

Daphne blushed red. Then realized she’d landed herself, sitting in Edge’s lap. It was so warm, and she was so close to him, all lovey dovey like. “Pervert,” she exploded with nervous sexual energy, double punching him on the top of the head. The maneuver sent people and the table flying sideways. Cake rained down from the sky.

Edge quietly stood up from where he was knocked to the ground, brushing off his pant legs. Sakura and Claire were side by side on their knees covered in sticky white icing. Daphne and Belladonna had somehow ended up entangled on the ground, Daphne’s white and red striped panties had a teddy bear on the back, and his tea cup hung from the end of her tail. He sighed to himself, before turning around and walking away. He kept walking disappearing down the street. He heard the teacup fall and smash on the ground.

“Teddy Bear,” stated Claire in shock. Her jaw went slack, and she covered one hand over each eye.

The statement sent Daphne into a panic. “Don’t look!” she screamed.

“Stop moving Daphne,” said Belladonna. “My tails caught in your-” A loud moan escaped her lips as Daphne struggled to escape.

A row of angry cake shop employees in white aprons stood nearby with their arms crossed over their chests, filled with dire ire.

Sakura used her index finger to scrape some icing from between her cleavage, licking it away. “It sounds strange, but you get used to this after a while,” she told Claire, and perhaps herself.