[Nepleslia Prime] One Hell of a Coincidence

"I didn't rape nobody, it was the motherfucker Decane an'-fuck, okay," Rico spat bitterly, raising his voice for a moment before getting a hold back onto his anger. "...well, shit, all a' that is horse shit, but it'll work for now. So, ya know I like the ladies," Rico said, extending his index finger to count off the point. "An' it's pretty obvious I've been doin' it all my life. So," Rico finished by pointing the extended finger at Suku.

"What makes ya think I'll just stop all a' that, huh? That's how I am, sweet heart, an' I don't think I'm that good at changin' nature. Yer obviously the jealous type...you'd just end up being angry an' pissed off an' sad all the time. So I did you a favor; I told you to drop it. There. That's it, alright?"

Suku seemed unimpressed by the Sergeant's defense, even if she understood his case more. She didn't seem all too bitten by the point Rico had made. though unimpressed, she seemed more relieved than before. With a sigh, she felt a tad annoyed by the realization of all she had to go through just get that answer. A delicate hand went up to stay her hair for a moment, with that same hand she held a finger up to Rico's face. The bitterness had crept back up into her eyes.

"Okay, first of all, don't act like you know me. Like you can tell who the fuck I am by taking me out two or three times. Next, I'm not a high school girl, I am an adult woman who has had a lot of shitty relationships. When I met you, I thought you were a decent guy. But, when things started to go south, I got depressed, because I thought I fucked up a good chance. I figured, maybe it's just not meant to be. Then, I got hopes up when you wanted to talk. Instead, you just try to rip my heart out so I'll stop thinking about you. Now, what I am wondering is why in the hell can't you just tell me these things? You know, instead of making me a bitter old woman." Suku spat angrily, her tone reaching higher and higher as she spoke.

"Who the fuck you think you are, huh?" Rico said, obviously a little angered by Suku's reaction to his explanation. "Why can't I just tell you? What the hell, you think I owe you somethin' or somethin'? I don't owe ya a damn think, babe, definitely not a straight answer. I had yer number pinned down the moment I met ya. Angry, proud, shit luck with men an' bitter 'cause of it, a big hard shell with a soft belly an' a pretty face. I know 'cause I've known somebody just like ya, and it's somethin' ya don't forget, specially if I happen to like 'em that way." Rico finished, continuing to flare despite the whispery soft voice.

"Now it's cute an' all that ya felt all sorry for yerself after I blew ya off, but did ya honestly think after hearin' all about me, seein' it for yourself, that I'd suddenly cut the flirtin' and live some love story endin' with ya? This ain't What I Think of You or some shit," The sergeant continued, getting up off the wall and confronting Suku while he spoke. But believe it or not, I did ya a favor by tellin' ya to get lost. I don't want ya chasin' me my whole life, 'cause I know ya don't wanna spend yer life runnin' after me. I'm a flirt, an' a damn good one, an' I can't change how I am, sugar. That's why yer better off somewhere else, alright."

"You think I'm 'crawling' back to you your something!?" Suku flared back angrily, certainly not liking Rico's hostile retort, "Your head is fatter than I fucking thought!"

----

"Ey, Rands." started Alford, who had a cigar in his mouth.

"What, Alf?" replied Randy, inspecting his side arm.

"Ever done a girl in tha' butt?"

Randy scratched his chin for a moment.

"Nope, can't say I have." Randy said casually. Alford just shook his head up and down slowly as he began puffing his cigar some more.

----

"I beat the shit out of you in that bar, then brought you here to get an answer." Suku looked like she was about to yell her next words, her finger thrusting back at Rico's face. However, she froze, completely, facial expression and all. It was there that she realized she had got her answer, he had said it, she was just too busy being angry to realize it. She shrugged, leaning back towards the wall.

"And I guess I just got it." Suku looked unimpressed again, it seemed she was more mad about losing an argument than finally getting the answer. Yet, after a few more seconds, She rose from her spot on the wall threw her finger into Rico's face again.

"I like What I Think of You."

"Yeah, ya do. Now what the hell do you want?" Rico asked again as he batted her pointing hand away, still not very comfortable with the outcome of the conversation so far. "I don' see ya for a month or two, an' then you start tryin' to pick fights with me, dragged me here, even took off yer clothes to get me to talk. So, what, are you done? 'Cause I was tired a' this shit the moment it started."

"Yes, I'm done. You're a big flirt, who can't stop cozying to women." Suku huffed and crossed her arms under her breasts, and turned her attention to the mirror and her reflection. She was staring intently into the reflective glass, not breaking eye-contact with it when she spoke again.

"I just wanted to know, whether it was because of me or you. Yeah, I'm glad that you were actually just 'thinking about me' when you told me I was nothing but a piece of ass to you, but I couldn't tell what was right at the time. For all I knew, you were just being some pompous ass. I-.." She sighed, then broke her stare from the looking glass and looked at him, her eyes were focused on him, but lazily so.

"If you want to get back to all that flirtin', I'd like to know how you're planning to get past tweedle-dumb and tweedle-stupid out there."

"Me? Plannin'?" Rico said sarcastically, his tension finally relaxing in parallel with Suku's. He breathed a heavy sigh, realizing that he had no plans; the situation was very dire indeed. The two officers outside the door apparently had their descriptions, and said door was the only way in and out of this predicament. "Shit sweetheart...I don't got no plans anymore. It might be easier, though," Rico added with a small smile and short gesture towards Suku's exposed midriff, "if you put some clothes back on, yannow? Not that I'm not enjoyin' the great view an' all, but it's a lil' distractin'."

"Pssh, didn't do anything for me anyway... Suku pulled off her lingerie, seemingly uncaring that her bare chest was showing to him. The pile of clothes by the door was a mess, but that didn't seem to bother her either as she nonchalantly bent over to pick them up, her panties and the big bold letters of NAVY staring back up at Rico.

"You know, it'd be nice to have Kokuten come in around now, he was always one for saying something right, or just taking the fall for it." Suku whispered as she stood back and began to put on her bra. "If he weren't so weird, he'd probably seem less like a brother."
----

"Say, Rands." asked Alford, still puffing his cigar. Randy sighed heavily.

"What, Alf?" Rand was clearly annoyed, putting his gun back it's holster. His partner raised his hands to signify he was being serious.

"What did that fella' wit'tha' glowin' eyes tell us 'bout them other fella's?" asked Alford.

"He said man in a green pullover, and a chick with green hair." Randy informed him.

"Naw ther' was mor' t'it."

"Well, he also said the girl had red eyes, and brown skin. N'then he said the guy was albino, with purple eyes."

"N'tha three guys tha'went out'ther' after'm said that it checked out?"

"The green hair and pullover part, at least."

"Feh, we'll git-" Alford started, but then stopped as one of the dressing room doors opened and out walked a rather exasperated couple. The teenage man had a very bright skin color, with purple eyes, carrying a green pullover on his arm. His girlfriend, a younger girl with a dark complexion, red eyes, and green hair walked out with him. Alford looked at Randy, and nodded to him, and Randy replied with his own nod.

"You two! Freeze! You're under arrest!" Barked Randy as he moved up with baton. The couple was shocked, they weren't sure at first if he was talking to him, but when Alford pulled his billy club out and moved towards them, they seemed to figure it out. Randy cuffed the young man, while Alford cuffed the young lady.

"W-wai- wait! Officer, she's over sixteen, honest!" Blabbered the albino boy.

"Shut up, and get walking." Randy shoved him to get moving. Alford started to push the girl, who began to break down into tears as she walked. The four of them exited the store and made their way to the police station.

----

Kokuten sat on a small jail bunk, staring at the ceiling, he hadn't looked so rough in awhile. His face bruised rather badly, he had taken two clubs to the face, not including the damge from the fight. He had also damaged his arm when he tried to reattach it too quickly. The female officer who he had thrown the bottle at kicked him in the nuts for getting alcohol and glass all over her. That wasn't the end of it, either, when he was finally put in a cell, he had to wrestle and fight with his cellmates from the bar because the took him as the guy who started the fight. After that, he was removed from that cell and placed in a solitary confinement cell for apparently causing another fight.

"I hope Suku and Rico got - fhk-... out okay..." Kokuten sighed in slight pain.

Seeing as nobody before had cared to call Rico Sanroma an upstanding gentleman, nobody would have really blamed him for taking in the oh-so-pleasant view. "I dunno...you work purple pretty good," Rico commented slyly. He looked rather pleased at first, but his expression became a little more confused just as Suku began working the straps on her old undergarments. "That's pretty funny though, I always thought you had a thing for ol' green eyes. That's some a' the reason I tried leavin' ya alone; figured you might be the only tail he's gettin', since you were always hangin' 'round him an' all."

"What? No!" Suku laughed a little bit as she pulled her pants up. Rico's flattery seemed to put an upward turn in her mood.

"Kokuten was just a friend, I hung around him a lot because he never seemed to mind my anger. He's really sweet, but his eyes and arms just freak me out." She put her shirt on, sliding it under the belt of her pants and doing the same with the jacket.

"But that wasn't the only reason I was around him so much. He's always Mr. Kind, Generous, and Helpful, he was usually so willing to listen to me, even if he was doing it out of one ear, like he was some kind of psychiatrist. He's got the worse luck though, I remember this one time, Fian found him in an alleyway, drunk and alone. So drunk, in fact, Fian had to carry him the entire way back to the ship." Suku secured her belt, and then dusted her butt and sides off.

"Huh," Rico said, flipping back through his previous dealings with Kokuten mentally. When he took the time to think about it, Kokuten getting piss-drunk on occasion didn't exactly seem that far-fetched. "Well, doesn't surprise me much, ya kinda start feelin' sorry for him after a while..." As he spoke, Rico went about cautiously cracking the door open, risking their position to hopefully get a better analysis on their situation outside of the door...

...but the longer he looked, the more convinced he was that the two officers were no longer there. Sally the Clerk was still there, though. She almost immediately caught sight of Rico's peeking face and waved. Rico returned a weak smile, still wary of the possibility of their pursuers still camping right outside of the entrance, as he opened the door a little more. "Uh...," Rico exclaimed in slight disbelief as he examined the rest of the store. "...I think they left."

"What? Why the hell would they leave?" Suku walked out, fitting her gloves on. She arched a brow, sort of not believing what had happened.

"They were looking for us right?" She asked, walking out to hang up the lingerie, but Sally had come over and took it from her.

"You guys were in there for a good while, I gotta make sure this isn't stained first." said the lingerie-clad attendant as she strolled back over to the desk. She flipped a small compartment on the table to reveal a small blue-light sensor and began to place the clothing under it. Suku sighed, and shook her head and looked over at Rico.

"I'm guessing you've got some where to be after all this?" She asked, twirling a strand of green hair in her finger.

While the attendant scanned the merchandise for impurities, Rico stepped lightly over to the front of the store and looked around to make sure the policemen were gone. When he found no sign of them, Rico had a strong urge to just keep walking right out of the doors...but seeing as he had been forced to suppress such urges for the last half-hour, he figured humoring the nurse a little longer couldn't hurt. Rico turned back around to face Suku, walking up to the counter and leaning his arms flat on the top of it.

"Not really, sweet heart. I got 'bout half a day a' waitin' until my new boat gets here, an' now I can't spend it gettin' piss-drunk," Rico chided with a smile, giving Suku a momentary disparaging look. "What, you got a suggestion or somethin'?"

Sally seemed to gain an unbelieving look on her face after she had scanned the lingerie. She looked up at the both of the them, and just shook her head, moving the clothing back to a rack.

"Nope." Suku shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. She seemed to return his mocking tone. "I just figured you were done with me for the day." The mall area was just a little less busy than it was, as Suku saw from where she was standing. She stepped up to the exit, and leaned against the frame, her attention seemed to be somewhere else than wholly on Rico.

"Pretty much," Rico replied casually, walked to the opposite frame of the store entrance and leaning his shoulder against it. He did so with a straight face at first, then smirked shortly and threw a sideways glance at Suku. When he realized she wasn't paying much attention to him, though, he reverted back to simply watching the traffic of bodies move by wondering what he was going to spend the next few hours on. Rico remembered, though, that he had a perfectly good way to spend time standing within but a few steps.

The suave Nepleslian gave himself a once-over to make sure that he was presentable before looking at Suku again. "Well, good that we cleared this all up babe. You take it easy now." He said, pushing back up away from the frame and giving her a sincere nod...before whirling around and sauntering over to the check-out counter to check out the lovely attendant.

Suku looked over at Rico for a moment, taking in his smile for a moment.

"Bye." She said flatly, and then her gaze went back out to outside the store. Not another word came from her mouth, she looked more tired now.

----

"Oh! Welcome back! Coming to buy that lovely piece of purple your girlfriend wanted to try?" Sally greeted enthusiastically, her breast bouncing a little to her greeting.

"Huh? Oh, she's not my girl," Rico said as he leaned one elbow atop the counter, smiling widely at the lingerie-clad employee. "Just an' old friend, we thought those cops were lookin' for us so we ducked in here for a spell. Guess we were, uh, wrong, eh?" he joked, looking around one last time to make extra certain that this was indeed the case. Suku's weak farewell went unnoticed. "She didn' even try it on."

"I was thinkin' about gettin' somethin', though. My sis' birthday is comin' up an' I always buy her embarassin' shit to mess with her," Rico lied casually through his grin. "Think you could, ah, give me a hand lookin' for somethin'? I dunno, model a thing or two? Professionally, a' course."

Sally seem confused when Rico said she hadn't even worn the piece of Lingerie, she could have sworn it was warm to the touch when she put it up. She looked past Rico to Suku, who seemed to be rather out of it, not even paying attention. The clerk frowned and then looked at Rico, trying to pick up her expression.

"We're not actually allowed to 'go out of uniform' to try on store merchandise. The last girl who worked on this spot, tried that and got fired." Sally explained grimly.

"Not even for a sale?" Rico asked, faking a sincerely concerned tone. "Well...I wouldn' want ya to get in trouble, but if ya ask me, that's not good for business, yannow?"

Sally seemed to think really hard about this.

"I guess... so... The manager might not get mad if I'm just trying to sell something. Alright. What would you like?" She concluded gesturing to the rack of clothing.