"So, you guys are having a fish meal for dinner right?"
Lana asked as she looked at the vendor a few spots down.
"Yeah, that's the plan."
I looked at Yuu Yuu still focused on her white prism ranger. She reminded me so much of a child as she ogled at the toy. Suddenly, she looked at me with a surprised look, likely realizing that I was… admiring her.
"Oh… yeah, I want fish!"
She answered late, earning a giggle from Lana.
"Wow, you're a bigger kid than me!"
"Ehhh?! W-What do you mean?!"
"You seriously like toys like that. It's… really cool when adults like toys like these too."
Yuu Yuu hid the doll over her lips.
"Well… it's more than just a doll now…"
She whispered turning away from me slightly.
"It's…. it's my first gift…from Feodora."
My heart nearly pushed out from my chest. I didn't even think of it as a… gift to Yuu Yuu. I just decided that she wanted something and got it for her. But here she was, holding it and adoring it… not just because it was cute but… because I was the one who gave it to her.
"Oh…"
Lana squeezed.
"Oh my gosh, you two are adorable together!"
Vivian screamed, causing the people around us to look at us with… less than happy looks. Lana was getting embarrassed by Vivian's overly excited antics and pushed her hand on her face.
"Stop! Can't you see you're embarrassing them?!"
Lana scolded. Vivian pecked Lana's palms, causing her to jump with surprise. She tilted her head and smiled.
"Your palms taste like peaches!"
Vivian said as she licked her lips.
"Ehhhh?! Stop!"
Lana was just as embarrassed as Yuu Yuu and I now. Trying my best to calm the situation, I turned back to the vendor Lana mentioned before.
"Ah… do you think the fish over there is the best here?"
With a exhale, Lana turned back to me and nodded.
"Yep, Feodora. That's the fish we get in our group when we have big parties. It's fresh, and the taste can't be better. I mean, you can go fishing for them, but the quality here is just different."
We walked up to the vendor and what sat in front was a mountain of different fishes, crabs, and other sea life just there for the taking.
"Is there anything else you two want?"
Lana asked, looking at us. Yuu Yuu looked at me and whispered.
"A-Are you sure it's okay to let her pay? She's a… child."
She was even worried about the same thing. Lana was young… and it's kind of strange to let a kid pull out all the money and do the business. But she was firm and not letting go of her stance.
"It's okay, guys! Lana buys me things all the time!"
Vivian said with no shame. I turned back to the mountain of fish then back to my… ah… date.
"What are you in the mood for? We still have vegetables to buy after this."
She pushed the doll up to her face and then looked behind her. For a moment she waited then turned back to the fish.
"Ah… I like trout."
I looked at the trouts, and they were really big. Having one would be enough for the two of us. So, I pointed out the fish that looked freshest to me.
"Ah… can we get one trout?"
The vendor nodded and smiled. He slapped the poor creature on the wrapping paper and abused it a bit before wrapping it up and handing it over to me in a bag.
"Yay."
Yuu Yuu expressed, smiling at me tenderly. Why was everything that this girl was doing… making my heart race? I held the smelly fish to the side as Lana and Vivian looked up at the meats.
"Steaks?"
Vivian suggested.
"Steaks!"
Lana cried as they both ran off to the next stand. I looked at Yuu Yuu and she smiled back at me. I think we had the same idea as we took each other's hands and followed Lana and Vivian to the other meats. There they stood in front of a stand with all these delicious-looking raw meats everywhere. Vivian jumped around excitedly.
"What should we have, Feodora?! Tell us?!"
Vivian demanded.
"Yeah, tell us!"
Lana jumped around too as she seemed to be on the same level as the white bunny.
"Aren't you guys cooking for the Baron group too?"
Vivian nodded.
"Yep, we had a baseball game and our team won. So, Lana and I are making a big dinner for the winning team."
The white bunny rubbed her stomach as she imagined the meal.
I thought about all the food they could make. Something simple for them but that could feed a lot of people. I thought about all the dishes I've made… and it was apparent that I only made food for myself most times. But something simple and easy to make in a short amount of time was…
"Why don't you make beef skewers? You can make plenty and use less meat that way."
I suggested.
"Ohh, that sounds amazing!"
Vivian cried as she looked at all the meat.
"We can cut it up and slowly cook them on the fire. We can easily make like 12 of them for the group."
Lana was getting into it as she puffed out her chest as if she had the idea herself. Yuu Yuu giggled behind me, giving me a simple nudge. I turned to her as she whispered.
"Do you… like kids at least, Feodora?"
I shook my head almost immediately.
"I'm… not good with them."
Cutely, she pushed her shoulder on mine as we watched Vivian and Lana excitedly by the meats they needed. Both our groups bought vegetables too. With all of our food in hand, we walked out of the shopping district.
"Hey ah… Yuuna."
Lana walked over to the pink-haired girl, holding the bag of vegetables that we just bought.
"Ah… yes, Lana?"
"Next time you're in town, how about you come to visit the Barons. Maybe we can play Prism Rangers together."
Lana brought up her yellow ranger. Vivian mirrored this and brought up her pink one.
"Yeah, we can be superheroines together!"
Vivian screamed, excitedly.
"Superheroines!"
Lana mirrored Vivian's excitement. The pair smiled as they looked back at Yuu Yuu. She seemed overwhelmed as she stood behind me.
"…Only if Feodora comes."
She complained. Everyone turned to me and all the attention was causing me to want to shadow walk away, escaping the eyes of these children.
"I'll… I'll be there."
I promised, earning a shout of happiness from Vivian and Lana.
"Alright, let's go make this food for the team, Vivian. You two have a good date."
The barklight waved.
"Yeah, I'll see you around, Yuuna, Feodora!"
They skipped away together. I wondered how they met, but it seemed that they got along well. I could even see Vivian attempting to hold hands with Lana, but she regularly slapped it away and that made me giggle a bit.
"Fancy seeing you here…"
When I turned around, those bright blue eyes met mine as I looked at her. It was no one other than Eve Seed, holding her gun around.
"Oh, Eve."
I turned to Yuu Yuu.
"Do you remember Yuuna?"
She nodded.
"Yep, she helped with that bombing incident earlier. What are you two up to?"
She looked at our bags then back at us. We were still holding hands, and I think Eve took all of this into account.
"Ohh, do you two have a dinner date?"
She teased, waving her gun around like a madwoman.
"Ah… yeah… F-Feodora asked me to have dinner with her."
Shyly, she admitted as she pushed her shoulder closer to me. Eve sighed and smiled that crazed look.
"Oh, young love… something I have a problem with."
She mumbled before turning and kicking the wall next to her. It caused Yuu Yuu to jump, and she pushed closer to me. I was used to these reactions, so it didn't startle me at all.
"W-Well, we'll be leaving now, Eve. I'll see you around."
"Oh, yeah, don't let me stop you two… I did want to mention one thing before you go though, Feodora."
"Hm?"
I turned back to the psycho as she crossed her arms. She stepped to the side of me, grabbed my shoulder, and walked me away from Yuu Yuu.
"What's wrong?"
"I found another bomb in the city."
Eve whispered. I was shocked as I tilted my head. She looked at Yuu Yuu briefly then turned back to me.
"Shh… I disarmed it but kept the tracker on it. So, it should appear to look like it's working. I'm going to watch it and when it attempts to go off… I'll find out who planted it."
Understanding that Eve had this covered, I nodded softly.
"So, if I ask for your help… will you be willing to help me?"
Eve asked.
"… Yeah."
She pushed me away, towards Yuu Yuu, violently.
"Make sure you two have fun and… don't go too far too early."
She teased as she walked towards the shopping district. Eve made her way into the crowd. It seemed she was still going about her investigation… and to think there was another potential attack so soon…
"Let's go… I want to eat with you."
Yuu Yuu whined as she pulled me along.
"That girl… she scares me."
Yuu Yuu added as she wrapped her arm around mine. We made our way out of the city.
"Don't worry about her… I won't let her hurt you."
I teased. Together we walked to my home, hand in hand.