Thunder looked at his watch again. It was five minutes before the start of the ball. He looked around the entire room, watching as guests mingled with one another. So far his friends had not arrived and he was beginning to wonder where they were. He knew they would eventually show up, but would that be in time? Then he began to worry. What if they were in trouble? What if someone had attacked them, and they were all fighting now? What if one of them were injured? What if it was Hana?!

He started to panic and when he could take no more, he decided to connect with Flash just to see if everyone was all right. He never got that chance. The door opened, and in filed, Scorpio, Sage, Rekino, Shades, Hana, and Flash.

A smile came to his face as he made his way toward them. People who were in his way, quickly parted to let him pass on through, and soon he stood before them. He stared at them with a slight cock of his head to exhibit his curiosity. “Where you were you guys at? Surely you weren’t fighting someone?”

All of them looked at one another, and then finally everyone looked at Rekino. The Lady Ronin Guardian of Wildfire stared at the floor, her amethyst eyes narrowed. She knew why they were all staring at her, and she really didn’t want to go through with it. But she knew that sooner or later he would find out, and it was just best to tell him now.

“Thunder,” she said, quietly as she looked up into his eyes. “I have a confession to make.”

Thunder stared down at her and waited for her to continue. Whatever she had to say must have been very important, for never had he seen her look so serious unless it involved a new enemy. He wondered what it could be though and just how important it was.

The others were very quiet now, and no one even thought of interrupting them. As he waited for Rekino to say what she had to say, Hana joined his side and he held her close to him, still waiting patiently.

Finally, Rekino spoke. “That night you and Hana were in the bedroom and I took those pictures of you, and I got angry at you for the two tricks you pulled on me, I put the camera in my room.. When I left the room for a little while, someone broke into it, and stole the camera.”

Thunder continued to listen as she told them how they managed to track down the culprit all the way to the Tägliche Nachrichten, where they had found the editor unconscious on the floor and the photos on a desk. By the time she finished, she waited to see what he would say.

For a while he didn’t speak. He stood there quietly, thinking of all that had happened during these past several months and how it seemed to have changed them all, and even bringing them closer to one another as friends and as lovers. “Do you have the pictures now?” he asked her.

Rekino nodded and reached into her pocket and pulled them out, and handed them to him. She watched as he went through them all, quietly saying, “They’re all there, Thunder.” He didn’t answer her as he stopped at one picture, frowning a little bit.

“What’s the matter?” Scorpio asked him, raising his eyebrows at his best friend’s frown.

Thunder continued to study that one photograph with an unhappy expression. He shook his head. “This picture is just so wrong,” he said. “I mean look at it. I don’t take pictures well at all. Rekino, you caught my bad side!”

Rekino gasped as she stared back at him, then when she saw him smiling, she couldn’t help but laugh at him. “How was I to know that?”

Hana smiled and pulled Thunder closer to her, smirking a little bit. “I think it was a lovely photo, and a memory keeper.” And saying no more, she kissed him fully on the lips.

The couple had either completely forgotten about the crowd around them or chose to ignore them as cheers and clapping sounds surfaced. Shades cleared her throat loudly, Scorpio shifted his feet, Rowen wrapped his arms around Rekino from behind as she placed her head on his shoulder, and Sage placed his arm around Flash’s waist as she leaned into him. The six warriors were all watching their two friends’ showing of affection.
Thunder and Hana pulled apart quickly, but lingered on each other’s lips. Thunder smiled down at Hana and kissed her forehead as the blonde woman smiled up at him.
“Now,” Hana began, “if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for this little shindig your father brewed up.” She reached up on her tiptoes and gave him a very quick kiss before retreating out of the ballroom.
Thunder turned towards the others, “My father arranged for the designer company to bring the whole line of clothing here so you guys could choose what you want to wear.”
Rekino raised her head off of Rowen’s shoulder to look at the prince, “Free of charge?”
“Free of charge,” Thunder said.
“Oh…hell yeah. Free shit. About time we were treated like royalty!” Rekino wiggled free of her boyfriend’s grip and kissed him on the cheek. “Gotta go get ready!”
Flash watched the younger girl retreat out of the ballroom. She raised an eyebrow, “I thought she didn’t like to wear dresses.”
Rowen shrugged, “Normally she doesn’t, but…it’s Rekino. What can I say? She likes free stuff. The less money she has to spend, the happier she’ll be.”
Laughter rose amongst the teenage group after hearing Rowen’s comment about his girlfriend. But he was right. The less money Rekino had to spend, the happier she was, and as it was standing, she was already promising herself to pay Flash back all the money she’d spent on their little “trip”.
Thunder looked around and noticed that most of the guests were still mingling around his friends. He glanced down at his watch and frowned, “Not to sound rude, but you guys have to be dressed and in the hall by seven. That’s in like three minutes.”
“I guess we better high tail it upstairs then, huh?” Scorpio laughed as he hugged Thunder one last time before going upstairs. The others followed shortly after saying their goodbyes to the German Prince.

*~*

Hana was standing in front of the mirror with a smile on her face. The other girls had entered the room shortly after she did, Rekino being the first, and were now looking through the racks of apparel. She touched her lips, still feeling those delicious lips upon hers. Those lips had tasted like cinnamon and honey, and she could feel her insides burn with passion. Upon kissing Thunder, she had smelled an exotic smell emanating from his body and it burned her loins. She was positive he was not wearing any cologne, and if he was, she'd have to ask him what kind it was. She then glanced at the clock and cussed. She only had a few minutes to get ready.
Flash, Shades, and Rekino all turned when they heard Hana curse out loud and start to frantically get her things together. They couldn’t help but laugh as the blonde girl rushed with taking her clothes off. Seeing Hana running around in her bra and panties was a funny sight, actually. It reminded the three girls of a chicken running around with its head cut off.
“Hana,” Rekino started, “if you don’t chill out, I’m going lock you out of this dressing room for the whole world to see.”
“I can’t!” The blonde paced back and work muttering about how repulsing she looked. “I have to fix my hair, put on makeup, pick out a dress…AH! I haven’t even took a shower today! I probably smell!”
Flash shook her head and turned back around to the clothes rack, “Let’s just ignore her for now. She’ll eventually figure out what she’s doing.”
Rekino laughed and patted Flash on the back and looked over towards Shades, “Which one do you like? It’s free, you know! Free meaning we ain’t got to pay shit!”
“Free stuff is good,” Shades said smiling at Rekino. She picked up the edge of a dress and frowned. “I hate dressing up.”
Flash nodded, “I agree, somewhat. At least we aren’t paying for it.”
“I suggest we get our stuff and go before Hana runs us over trying to pick out what she wants to wear,” Rekino stated as she reached for a dress. Flash and Shades nodded and they both reached for a dress they’d been keeping an eye on.

*~*

In the guys room, Scorpio stood in front of the full length mirror as he fix his tux. Behind him, Sage and Rowen were putting on their shoes as they chatted away. The Warrior of Current was happy to know that the group could actually relax now that the threat of Germany was now over. He turned back towards his new friends.
“Ready to go?” He asked calmly.
Sage, who was applying a little cologne, nodded his head, “Yeah. I hope the girls are ready by now. Knowing Hana, she’s probably frantically running around trying to figure out what she’s suppose to be doing.”
“You don’t know how right you are, Sage.”
The guys turned around to see Flash standing in the doorway. Sage’s jaw dropped on the floor as he took in the sight of her. The blue, spaghetti strap dress barely touched the floor. The creamy skin of her shoulders looked smooth and sleek as they glittered under the lights. The chest area of the dress had flower designs embroidered on it and going down in a small, three in line to the bottom of her dress. She didn’t bother doing anything with her hair, so she just left it down. To the others, it looked better that way.
Sage let out a low whistle, “Damn babe. You look…well, I don’t think I should say it. I might get slapped.”
Flash smiled, “Go ahead.”
The Ronin of Halo didn’t miss a beat, “You look good enough to eat.”
A voice from behind Flash startled the group, “Okay, Hannibal Lecture, calm down. She’s our leader. We kinda need her, ya know.”
Everyone looked behind Flash to see Shades standing with her arms crossed. The Warrior of Ataxia’s dress reflected in a dark green hue. The dress touched the floor and her three-inch heels sparkled under the florescent lights. Her hair was tied in a bun on the back of her head as a braid outlined the bun. She wore little makeup, but looked gorgeous nonetheless.
“Nice,” Scorpio nodded. He smiled at his comrade. “Who did you hair?”
“Uhh…” A hand rose behind the two female Warriors, “Credit goes to me.”
Shades and Flash stepped aside and let Rekino walk in the room. Rowen’s blue eyes wandered over his fiancée’s body. For the evening, Rekino wore a quarter sleeved, shiny red dress. Some of her ankle length black hair was tied in a bun as the rest was pulled through the center of the bun and hung down to her hips. The Guardian of Wildfire chose to wear no makeup tonight, deciding it would be too much trouble. The aroma of her perfume, Clinque Happy, was soon spread around the room.
Rowen walked over to her and touched their lips together softly, “Gorgeous.”
Rekino blushed. “Thank you.”
Scorpio looked at the girls and then back at the guys, doing a quick head count, “We’re missing one. Where’s Hana?”
”Weeeeeeell…she’s not quite ready yet. She said about five more minutes. I don’t know what that girl’s doing. She just needs to throw on a dress, fix her hair, slip on some shoes and BOOM…ready to go,” Rekino said quickly as she took Rowen’s hand and stepped outside the door.
Sage looked down at his watched as he looped his other arm through Flash’s, “Let’s hope she’s not late. We got exactly forty-five seconds to be down in the ballroom.”
Shades, who opted to have Scorpio walk her down the stairs, looped her right arm through his left. “Less talk. More walk.”
The group laughed as they closed the door to the dressing room and headed downstairs where the festival was being held.

*~*

Guests were spread out around the ballroom, the ladies in dashing gowns of splendor, their escorts dressed handsomely in array of colorful tuxedoes. Servants had brought more delicious food out and only the finest feast in Germany had been made for just this occasion. Soft music was played by the best band there was: The Heiko was softly playing enchanting music with their trombones, piano, violins, drums, flutes, and cymbals. Amidst all, stood Thunder, carefully waiting and watching for Hana. He saw his friends enter and smiled in greeting at them. Rekino gave him a look which said: ‘she’s still taking her sweet time in getting ready.’ Thunder understood of this and continued to wait, while his friends mingled with other guests.

Thaitus came and stood beside him, overlooking the guests, with his arms clasped behind his back, as he stood there dignified. “Well, it seems this ball is getting off to a great start, don’t you agree? he said to his son.

Thunder nodded in reply, his visible right light blue eye still searching. “Yes,” he answered, “and the people seem to be enjoying themselves as well. I expect this ball to last all night long?”

“Indeed,” his father said with a smile and a laugh. “When we give balls, we give balls!” Thunder smiled at him, and his father calmed and changed the subject. “Speaking of such, where is that lovely girl of yours? What was her name now… ah, Hana!”

Thunder looked at him now as he himself wondered when she would appear. He longed to hold her in his arms again, to dance with her throughout the night, and just feel her beside him. “She is still getting ready from what I understand.”

Thaitus was nonplussed and he turned his attention to the clock mounted on the wall. The ball would begin less than thirteen seconds, and she still had not appeared. How could one girl take so much time in getting ready for such an event? He turned his attention back to Thunder. “Well, son, even though she may be slow at getting ready, I’d say this girl is a keeper for sure. Do not lose her, and do not let her lose you. You two make a perfect match and I want to see it continue that way for the rest of your lives.” He gave his son a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and returned to his wife who stood near the dais, chatting with some friends of her own.

Thunder watched him go, then something caught his eye and he turned toward his right and gasped. For lo and behold stood Hana, dressed so beautifully in adoring green emerald gown that it took his breath away and he forgot how to breathe for a moment.

The dress was made of satin and clung to her body like a second skin. It had no straps, and her bare shoulders glimmered under the ballroom lights. Hana had chose to leave her hair down for the night and the blonde, curly tresses seemed to shimmer as well as the ends touched the middle of her back. Her makeup was light, which was hard for her to do. Her five-inch emerald green heels made her almost as tall as her date.

Thunder stared in awe at her, his eyes never leaving her body as they beheld her. She was so beautiful in his eyes. For a moment the world disappeared between them. He held her in his strong arms, gazing deep into her left eye. The people around them once again watched with fascination, and the king and queen smiled down upon them.

“You look so exquisite, Hana,” Thunder told her in a sincere voice. His voice was soft, meant for her ears alone, and not even Flash who had excellent hearing had heard him say these words. Hana blushed at him as she gave him a loving hug. Her heart hammered within her chest and she nearly felt faint. Here was the man she loved, a man she had always dreamt of. And now to be held in his arms in front of a large crowd was like a dream come true.

Thaitus clapped his hands suddenly, getting everyone’s attention, including the two love-birds. With a smile as he raised his goblet of wine, he proclaimed: “Let the ball begin!”

The lights dimmed down and silver colored disco lights spun around creating a calming effect of sparkling showers of light on the guests. Men, young and elderly took their ladies’ hands and took them to the middle of the room and began to dance with them. Colors seem to intertwine with one another and one could not tell where one side began and the other ended. The Ronins, Lady Guardians, and the Warriors were enjoying themselves as they took up their partners and danced the night away. As Hana laid her head on Thunder’s shoulder, she sighed happily through her nose and thought quietly to herself. ‘This is like a dream come true. Here dancing in the arms with the hottest guy, and of royal blood no less. And if this is a dream I never want to wake up.’

Back at the hospital, Cye and Kento were being treated by separate physicians in different rooms as their two loved ones stayed waiting anxiously in the waiting room. Josephine tried to distract herself from worry by reading a magazine while Amaya watched a soap opera on the television. The hours seemed to tick by and quite a few times Josephine stood up, ready to march into that ward and demand to know what was going on, but one look from Amaya would cause her to sit down again.

“I know how you feel, Jo,” Amaya said quietly. “But we must be patient. They’ll come out when they’re finished.”

Josephine nodded and leaned back in her chair as her brow creased in worry. “I just wish I knew how they were. They’ve been back there for two hours already. How long does it have to take?”

Amaya shook her head as she glanced back at the door.

The girls continued to wait as the minutes agonizingly ticked on by. Quite a few times Josephine tossed and turned on that hard plastic chair and almost acted as if she were going to get up and march right through those double doors that led to Emergency. But she opted to remain still.

Amaya twirled her hair around her finger as her eyes drifted to the clock. The big hand slowly moved to another minute. A sigh escaped her lips. How much longer would it have to be? she asked herself. Her mind no longer on the soap opera, she decided to occupy her mind by reading a Home and Garden Magazine.

Josephine on the other hand had turned her attention to the television set. She scowled when she discovered it was another soap opera and wondered how to change the darn television set. Just as she was about to get up and change the station manually, a doctor stepped into the room.

“Excuse me,” he said, getting both of their attentions, “Cye Mouri and Kento Rei Faun are ready to go soon.”

“Well, it’s about time!” Josephine cried out with an air of impatience.

“Josephine!” Amaya scolded. She turned to the doctor and smiled sweetly at him. “Are they in the back getting ready to go?” she asked.

“Yes,” the doctor replied. “Follow me, and I’ll lead you to them.”

Cye looked up the moment Josephine came barreling through the closed curtain. The first words out of her mouth were, “Are you all right! Do you hurt anywhere? Did the doctors take real good care of you? If they didn’t, I’ll pound them one!”

Amaya on the other hand was a bit more gentle as she asked Kento how he felt and what type of medication did the doctor give him for pain.

“Babe, I’m just fine,” Cye reassured Josephine with a smile. “I’m in pain, but nothing like medication and some sleep wouldn’t cure.”

“That’s good to hear,” Josephine said as she kissed him right then and there. Amaya cleared her throat to specify this wasn’t the place for that, and Josephine backed off Cye, giving him one of her famous smiles.

“Anyway, what do you say we all get out of here?” Kento said as he stood up. He grimaced in pain a bit , but managed to settle himself enough to walk. Everyone agreed and the four of them walked out of the emergency room, and then out of the hospital.

As they were heading to the car, Amaya looked at them both. “Weren’t you two in different hospital rooms?”

“Well yes, we were,” Cye answered. “But Kento and I got bored sitting by ourselves, so we found each other in Kento’s room, and just waited for you together.”

“Uh huh,” Josephine said as the car doors were opening. “And why did only one doctor come and get us?”

“Probably because the other doctor told him of our condition as well as he knew his own patient’s condition?” Kento suggested with a shrug.

Amaya and Josephine shrugged and everyone got in the car. Josephine started the engine up, and drove the car out of the parking lot and into the street, leaving the hospital far behind.