A few moments passed.

	Miro glanced around. He was sure they hadn't moved yet. "Mise?"

	Mise stood silent and motionless.

	Miro prompted the shop again. "Mise?"

	Mise continued her imitation of a statue.

	Miro began to worry. "Hello? Mise? Mise?"

	Reia strode closer and waved her hand in front of Mise's face.
"What's going on, Miro? What's wrong with Mise?"

	"I...don't know...Mise?" The last part was said as Miro took note
of Mise's slight change in posture.

	"Sorry master." The shop began, "I'm currently attending a
meeting. It'll be over in a bit, but until then, I won't be very
responsive."

	Miro blinked. "Meeting? What meeting?"

	Miro couldn't get a response though. Mise was away again.

	Reia sighed. "So what do we do now?"

*******

	"I know what'll cheer you up!" Rikura said cheerfully. "I'll take
you back home!"

	"Huh? Whatever." Alea said dreamily as she gazed out the shop
window, lost in memory and thought.

	"Right! Here we go! Mog! We're going home!" Rikura pointed off in
a random direction, in the attempt to strike a dramatic pose.

	The shop, in response, jostled a bit, and in a few seconds,
settled into its new home on a side street near Rikura's house.

	"Master, if you're finished, I must away to attend a meeting. It
might be a while, so take care, and leave the shop closed for now." Mog
relayed, before stiffening up, and doing his best imitation of a
plushie.

	"Eh? Mog? What's this all about?" Rikura asked, but got no reply.

	Alea sighed wistfully.

	Rikura would have pursued the matter with her shop, but it
suddenly occurred to her that there was another in the room that needed
more attention. "This is no time to be lying around!" She declared.
"You've gotta come over to my place and see my collection!"

	Alea, who for the first time since Reill had betrayed her, seemed
to focus on anything, said, "Huh? What?"

	Rikura grabbed Alea by the arm, yanked her to her feet, and then
ran out the door, dragging her behind.

*******

	Two doors swung open. Two people emerged from each door. Two
doors swung shut. Two mouths hung open.

	"You!" Rikura and Miro yelled at once, both seemingly pointing an
accusing finger at the other.

	Miro franticly motioned his hands. "What are you doing here?"

	Rikura was about to respond, but realized that Miro's words
weren't aimed at her. Instead, his attentions were focused on Alea.

	Alea, who had been off in her own private dreamland, snapped out
of it again at the sound of Miro's voice. Her voice quavered as she
spoke up. "M~M~Miro?"

	Upon realizing that it was indeed Miro in front of her, and not
some kind of delusional fantasy, Alea stood upright, adjusted her
clothing and then her hair. She cleared her throat, and spoke again,
seemingly having regained much of her calm and composure that she'd had
when she first met Miro, yet lost when dealing with Reill. "Miro? Why
are you here?"

	Miro deadpanned. "I live here. What's your excuse?"

	"It's not like I wanted to come! I had little choice in the
matter." Alea snapped.

	Rikura rubbed the back of her neck and laughed nervously. "Well,
I kinda brought her here. Wanted to show her my collection and
stuff..."

	Miro blinked. "Rikura? Where'd you come from?"

	Rikura balled up her fist, strode closer to Miro, and bopped him
in the head. "Boy, you got one heck of a case of tunnel vision."

	Miro grumbled and rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Why are you
with her anyways?"

	Rikura would have responded, but again realized that Miro's
comments were aimed at Alea. An angry twitch appeared above her eye.

	"I told you. She gave me little choice." Alea stated.

	Rikura's twitch intensified. "What do you mean? You were the one
who came to me!"

	"And you were the one who insisted we come here. Not my problem
really." Alea uncaringly deadpanned. With that, she strode off down the
street, away from Miro and Rikura.

	Miro shook his head after she'd turned the corner. "Always the
loner, eh Alea?"

*******

	Reia sipped her 'milkshake' slowly, enjoying the strange taste of
the foreign food. She pondered her new clothing, Rikura having picked
them up during their three hour time killing shopping trip. The shirt
seemed far too tight, and the pants, which she still couldn't believe
were designed with female usage in mind, were far too baggy. And this
'Bra' Rikura insisted she wear was so discomforting...Reia couldn't
understand it.

	Reia looked across the table, to where Rikura was currently
retelling a story of her travels throughout the universe after Miro had
disappeared. Miro was listening intently, hanging off every word. Reia
was almost jealous, but knew that she really had nothing to worry about
from Rikura. She was far too goofy to be any sort of threat to her
relationship with Miro. Besides, in the short time she'd known him,
Miro had never been one to pass up a story, and always paid attention
to the details.

	"What?" Miro yelled in shock, snapping Reia from her thoughts.

	"What what?" Rikura responded, a little subdued after being
scared half to death by Miro's scream.

	"It's your birthday tomorrow?" Miro questioned disbelievingly.

	"Yeah, been keeping track of days according to my time, not earth
time. Problem?" Rikura asked, noting Miro's jaw sliding open.

	"But...that means...you've been away from home how long?" Miro
asked, his mind still trying to grasp the facts.

	"Nearly nine months now." Rikura produced her diary, each page
appropriately labeled starting from Day 1.

	"But...but...but..." Miro stuttered, "That makes you older than
me now..."

	Rikura grinned. "Oh? How do you suppose that happened?"

	Miro glared daggers at Rikura. "You just feel the need to beat me
at everything, don't you?"

	"Eh, he he he..." Rikura laughed.

	Miro sighed and plunked his head down on the table.

	"May I have another of these?" Reia asked, indicating her empty
glass.

	Miro waved his hand dismissively. "Go ahead."

	Rikura smiled brightly as she waved the waiter over. "I think
I'll have another as well."

	Miro sat up suddenly. "I think I'll go check to see if Mise has
returned yet."

	"Eh? I'll go with you then!" Reia said as she stood up.

	Miro shook his head. "No, you stay here. I won't be long."

	Reia nodded. She wasn't going to argue with Miro about it. There
really wasn't anything to worry about...was there?

	Miro took a hasty look around, before standing quickly and
dashing for the door.

Reia blinked. "There's something he didn't tell us, is there?"

Rikura nodded. "If Mise were to come back, he'd be able to tell through
his link to the shop."

Reia pointed to Miro's retreating figure. "So where's he going?"

"Aha! There you are! You aren't going to get away from me this time!"
Miro's mother's voice floated in.

Rikura pointed out Yukiri's current position to Reia, "I'm guessing
he's trying to get away from her."

Reia slumped down into her seat. "I guess this is one of those things
he should really handle on his own."

Rikura nodded, then frowned, apparently deep in thought.

	The waiter brought over their refilled milkshakes. Reia sipped
hers slowly.

	Rikura's face brightened. "When in doubt, we go shopping!"

	Reia sighed.

*******

	Miro turned the corner quickly. He was nearly to his shop. Once
there, all he had to do was slip inside. His mother would have no idea
where he was.

	Miro took the time to glance back over his shoulder. He caught a
glimpse of his mother chasing him around the corner he had just turned,
even as he turned another corner himself.

	Finally making it to his shop, he quickly unlocked the door and
slipped inside. He breathed a sigh of relief, and slumped to the floor
behind his counter. He'd be safe now.

	As Miro panted for breath, he heard a jingling sound. Miro turned
all white. "Gotta hide! Gotta hide!" He whispered to himself, looking
for a good spot to hide. There was none. What he did find was one of
Reia's robes.

	Balking at the prospect of wearing the woman's clothing, Miro sat
motionless...until he heard his mother's voice.

	"Hello? Hello miss? ...Are you all right?"

	Miro cursed himself. He'd forgotten Mise was still standing in
the middle of the shop. Miro hastily donned the robes, and shuffled out
to intercept his mother.

	"Do you need some help? Miss?" Yukiri was waving her hand in
front of the comatose Mise's face.

	"Ahem." Miro said, in the attempt to get his mother's attention
off Mise.

	"Oh?" Yukiri turned to take in the strange robed figure of Miro.
"Are you the owner? What's wrong with her?"

	"Umm...nothing. She just does that from time to time." Miro said,
trying to make his voice sound deeper as to not be recognized.

	"Uh...huh..." Yukiri didn't sound too convinced.

	"It's the truth. Really." Miro tried to sound more convincing.

	Yukiri's gaze swept the threadbare shop. "What exactly do you
sell here? Not her, I'm hoping."

	Miro's jaw hung open beneath the hood of the robe. Did his mother
always have to be so dirty minded? "No, no, no. Nothing like that. I
sell specialty goods. In fact...if you tell me what it is you're
looking for, I just might have it..." Miro kicked himself mentally. Why
did he just say that?

	Yukiri blinked. "Actually, I'm looking for someone. Did anyone
duck inside this store within the past few minutes?"

	"Hmm..." Miro pretended to ponder the matter. "I don't remember
anyone other than myself entering within the past while..." Miro
mentally kicked himself again. Was he trying to tip her off or
something?

	Yukiri sighed. "I'll never catch him again now..."

	Miro suddenly felt the need to reach out and comfort his
mother...but then she'd know who he was. Yet Miro couldn't leave her
alone..."Maybe...maybe I have something that can help."

	Yukiri looked up at Miro, her eyes shimmering with withheld
tears. "Even if you did, I don't have any money with me."

	Miro worked hard to keep the surprise from his voice. "Uhm...I
guess you don't know my store policy? Why not tell me a story. I'm sure
that'll be more than enough to pay for any items you might buy."

	"What kind of stupid...Ah, forget it. I'm no good at telling
stories anyways." Yukiri began to make her way back to the door.

	Miro moved to stop her. "I'd still like to hear your story."

	A few minutes later, Yukiri passionately finished off her story
of Miro's disappearance, her guilt over driving him away, then his
return, and more guilt over driving him away again.

	Miro nodded, taking in all the details, making sure he wasn't
missing anything. His mother loved him. Really truly loved him. She
didn't really mean to be so angry with him all the time. Miro just
reminded her a lot of his father. The one who had a poor education. The
one who never seemed to get a job. The one who left.

	"Y'know..." Miro said slowly, a few moments after the story had
finished. "If you had just talked about your feelings in the first
place, instead of dragging this out, a lot could have been avoided."

	Yukiri paused while drinking her tea. "What do you mean?"

	"It just seems to me that...instead of talking about the problem,
you kept all that rage inside. You're mad that your husband left. And
you've been taking it out on your son all this time."

	Yukiri's mouth hung open. "I...I..."

	Miro pulled back the hood of the robes, revealing his face to his
mother. "Mom, you just need to learn how to talk about your problems."

	Yukiri gasped, and pointed. "M...Miro? What?"

	Miro gestured around him. "I own this shop now. It's what I've
been stuck with since leaving those...two weeks ago."

	"You...what?" Yukiri asked, still not quite grasping the
situation.

	The door chimed. "Miro! We're back!" Rikura shouted.

	"We're in the back!" Miro loudly stated.

	Reia looked in, and took note that Miro was wearing her robes.
"Um...Miro?"

	"I'm just borrowing them. Really spur of the moment thing." Miro
rushed to explain.

	Reia thought she understood.

	Yukiri recovered enough to realize that they weren't speaking a
language she understood. "Huh?"

	"Umm...how do I explain this..." Miro pondered exactly how to
tell his mother about the Shop.

	Just then, Miro felt a familiar tug at the back of his mind. Mise
ran in the door, nearly bowling over Reia. "Master! I've got some bad
news!"

	Yukiri understood that. Her eye twitched. "Master?"

	"Eh...he...I'll explain everything in a minute..." Miro said
nervously. "What is it Mise?"

	Mise was about to launch into an explanation, but something else
caught her attention. "Master? What is this energy? You managed to make
a sale when I wasn't even here?"

	Miro blinked. "What are you jabbering about now?"

	Mise pointed at Yukiri. "That woman. You sold her peace of mind."

	Miro glanced at his mother, whose expression was quite confused
at the moment. "I suppose I did. But what was your news?"

	"Well..." Mise relayed the story of the meeting with the other
Shops. Miro listened intently, as did Reia, and both their faces
darkened at once as soon as they heard of Red's proclamation. Yukiri
was quite confused, mainly due to the fact that Mise was speaking in
Reia's native language. And Rikura? She was fast asleep in a chair in
the other room.

*******

	Red said her goodbyes to the last of the Shops remaining after
the meeting and sighed. Then a smile lit up on her face.

	"How was that?" She asked the empty air of the crossroads where
the meeting was held.

	Weren stepped out from a tear in the fabric of reality. "Quite
the performance there, Red."

	"Didn't your mother teach you it's impolite to spy on other
people?" Red chided.

	"But it was really amusing. I just had to come watch you perform
my dirty work." Weren grinned.

	"I didn't do this for you. I did this for the benefit of all."
Red coolly replied.

	"If all is one, and one is all, then I'd agree with you. You did
this for yourself. I'm going to take advantage of it. That is all."
Weren drew forth the Traveler's weapon he had received just a short
while ago. "This is one of many keys I needed. You delivered this to me
as well."

	Red frowned. "I did not intend for you to get that. I did not
intend to aid you in the slightest. It was a mistake. One that I am not
going to make again."

	"Mind if I join the party?" A happy sounding voice floated in.

	Red's smile crept back onto her face. "I was wondering when you'd
show yourself Kero."

	"I told you not to call me that." A gate opened, and from within
stepped a small man, who seemed to be at the most, four feet tall. He
was dressed in an impressive patchwork assortment of green colored
armors, topped off with a long and flowing, emerald green cape. A short
sword hung freely from his belt, and a pistol rested opposite it.

	"Ah! So this is the elusive Traveler legend, Keha Rou? Funny. I
always thought you'd be taller." Weren said, most non-respectively.

	"Yeah, and I always thought you'd be a lot less ugly." Keha
retorted.

	"Oh, I'm so hurt, Kero." Weren mocked.

	Keha grumbled. "Anyways. I'm going to say what I came here to
say. Red. You and me...we have history together."

	Red nodded.

	"But I'll not sit idly by while you put a price on my daughter's
head." Keha drew his weapon, and pointed it at Red.

	Red stood, unflinching, still smiling, even as Keha charged in.
Keha brought his blade up, intending to hack at her knees to bring her
down and smash her head. But as he swung in, his blade was intercepted.

	"What?" Keha spun around to face Weren, who's newly acquired
Traveler's sword had made the save. "Why are you protecting her?"

	Weren grinned. "She and I...have a business arrangement."

	Red shook her head. "No we don't."

	Weren continued to grin. "Well, anyways, I'm not going to let her
die yet. Too many things she's going to be doing for me."

	Red shook her head again. "I do nothing for you."

	Weren shrugged.

	Keha growled. He thought of his daughter, he thought of Red. He
thought of the burden he had to bear. And then he attacked Weren.

	Weren blocked sword thrust after sword thrust. "Remind me to
thank Reill for this sword! It is truly well made if it can stand up to
even Keha's blade."

	Keha growled again as he recalled what fate had befallen Reill.

	"You know, when you growl, you sound just like a frog, Kero!"
Weren taunted.

	A sharp pain stabbed the back of Keha's head, and his vision
blurred. He spun around to behold Red clutching a quarterstaff. Before
she brought it down again sending him spiraling into unconsciousness,
his last thoughts went out to his daughter, Alea, whose life was in
terrible danger now that the Shops had set out to bring her down.

	Weren reached down, and removed a pouch from a pocket inside
Keha's cape. "Thanks Red. That's another one I owe you. Keep them
coming, and I might just let you live."

	Red's face turned red. "I do nothing for you. Nothing."

	Weren laughed. "Yeah, yeah. I know. You do everything for
yourself, without a care for others. That's why I like you so much Red.
You aren't like these other fools, who give a damn." Weren flung open a
gate, and left.

	Red dropped to her knees. "I am doing it for the sake of
everyone. I am. They'll understand. In time." She laughed, seemingly
half crazed, before hiccupping. Then she smiled brightly again. She
looked to Keha, and shook her head, before vanishing from the
crossroads.

*******

One of Those Shops

Started by Farsan de Arnibia
This Chapter by Smlee

Chapter 9A: Meetings, Greetings, and Beatings

*******

Author notes:

Thank you everyone for being patient with my slow writing as of late.
It seems to be getting harder to get something together without the
pressure of the last minute deadline.

Thanks to Jex and Segev for being there to bounce ideas off of, and
thanks again to Jex for Keha's name. Thanks go to Jex a third time, for
agreeing to read over Shops a few hours after it was already due...

What went on? Well...Miro's problems with his mother have
resolved...and now there's a whole new set of problems. I set up the
meeting...but just couldn't write it. I ended up writing an after
meeting meeting thing. Ah well. In case you couldn't follow some of my
last minute gibberish, Keha is Alea's father. Red has put a 'price' out
on Alea's head for an unknown reason. And Weren seems to be collecting
things...but for what purpose?

So um...yeah. Read, enjoy. Understand, hopefully. You might have
noticed the title is at the end of the chapter...I just couldn't find a
place to slot it in above. Although, now that I think of it, the
beginning might have been nice...but who wants to be conventional?

Thursday, February 20, 2003 (Another one bites the dust! Yahoo!)