Kitty walked along the streets towards her apartment as the sun shone overhead at about half-past three in the afternoon. A few more days had passed and things were moving along at a state of normalcy. Well... as normal as things got for her, anyway.

After her little 'lunch date' with Dendalli a few days previous, she'd been thinking on and off about the elf and what he'd told her. She was debating on whether she should tell everyone else what she'd learned or not. It was a rather big notion for her to take in as it was. Naturally, the initial shock over the fact that they knew and spent time with 'fictional' characters from various canons had long since passed. But now, the idea that there were countless other worlds and dimensions out there was a quite a bit more for her to digest. This basically meant that everyone they had encountered up to this point, as well as the worlds they had seen... they all barely scratched the surface. Each time she thought about it, it left her reeling from the immensity of it.

She shook herself out of the thought as she kept walking. No sooner had she done so, she felt a light tap on her shoulder from behind.

"GAH!!" She nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around, tripping over her own feet in the process. Before she could fall to the ground, she felt a hand grasp her arm firmly and quickly pull her back upright. Once stable on her feet again, it took her a moment to gain sense of what happened. Her eyes finally settled on the one holding her by the arm. It was Dendalli.

"Are you alright?" he released her arm as he looked at her in concern. "I didn't mean to frighten you, but I called your name twice as I approached and you didn't seem to hear me." Kitty took a step back to regain composure, clearing her throat. "Uh... yeah. Sorry. I guess my mind was elsewhere." "Is something wrong?" Again he looked concerned. "No, no", she waved a hand. "It's nothing. You just... kinda surprised me. I guess I wasn't expecting to see you again yet." "I can meet with you again some other time if now isn't convenient for you." "No, it's okay", she reassured him. "Now's fine. Was there... something you wanted to talk about?" Dendalli perked up a bit. "Well, it's just that we had the chance to talk quite a bit about each other at our last meeting. I was hoping a simple friendly outing together sharing the sights would be more in order this time around. If that's alright with you, of course." Kitty shrugged with a small smile. "Well, I don't really have anything planned so I don't see why n-"

"Hey Kitty!" The end of her statement was interrupted as she heard her name called from behind. Turning to see, she caught sight of several people walking down the sidewalk in their direction. As they approached, she recognized them as Raven, Empty, Usako, and Sarran.

The four of them walked up to Kitty and greeted her in a friendly manner. Dendalli looked at the four and recognized them all at once from his previous scrying. However, he remained silent and waited for Kitty to make introductions when she felt necessary. "What's up, Kitty?" Empty greeted. "Not much", she replied. "I was just on the way to Kat's to give her back the notes she lent me for History. What about you guys?" "We're just heading over to the arcade", Sarran said happily. "Gonna burn it up on some SF 3. Wanna come along?" "No thanks", Kitty waved a hand. "I know you guys'll kick my ass, so I'm not even gonna try." She chuckled at the end of her statement. "Ooooh", Raven cooed as she looked at Dendalli. "Well now, sir... Who's this tall order with you today?" Kitty gave Raven an askew glance before looking back at Dendalli and then back to the others. "Sorry, about that. Guys, this is Dendalli. He's a new friend of mine. He's the one I told you about the other day, hun." She addressed the last part of her statement towards Usako. "Oh", he nodded. "So you're the one that helped Kitty out? Thanks for that." "Thanks are not necessary", Dendalli smiled. "I was merely doing what any decent individual would have done." "Dendalli", Kitty continued, motioning to her friends. "This is my boyfriend, Usako. And these are a few of our friends; Empty, Raven, and Sarran." "A pleasure to meet you all", Dendalli answered courteously, placing a hand over his chest with a small but respectful bow towards the group. "Likewise", Sarran was the first to greet back. "So where are you from?" "I'm-" "He's from someplace new", Kitty jumped in. "You guys wouldn't know about it yet. I'm still not familiar with it myself." "Ah, is it a new game or a show?" Empty asked. "I forget off hand", she replied. "He's still kinda new to our town though so I've been showing him around as a 'thank you' for his help."

Empty and Sarran gave a joint nod of understanding while Dendalli looked on quietly. Why is she hiding the truth from them? he wondered. It's like she's afraid to tell them... "Sooo", Raven scooted up to Kitty with a devious grin. "New 'friend', huh sir? You sure you're just showing him around town?" "Raven, behave", Kitty scowled. The ebony haired Asian girl nudged Kitty with her elbow. "C'mon, now", she insisted. "You can't tell me he's not your new 'flavor of the month'. He looks like he must taste like vanilla." "RAVEN!!" Kitty's face went beet red in embarrassment at Raven's rather forward comment. Dendalli overheard and subsequently followed suit with a bright blush of his own staining his pale cheeks. Usako face-palmed while Empty and Sarran's faces also blushed slightly in embarrassment. Raven simply chuckled in amusement. "Well", Usako sighed. "We'd better get going while it's still early or the arcade will be crowded by the time we get there." "Uh, yeah", Sarran nodded in agreement.

The group gave their respective goodbyes before shuffling off down the sidewalk again. Kitty and Dendalli were left standing there in an awkward silence for a few moments. Dammit, Raven, Kitty cursed inwardly. "I am exceedingly sorry about that", she spoke up without looking at him at present; face still red. Dendalli brought a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Uh... Well your friends are certainly... interesting... in person", he said a bit nervously. "Again, I apologize", she sighed, trying to regain composure and tugging at the straps on her backpack. "Lets just move on, shall we?" She turned to start walking again, but stopped when she heard him speak up. "Pardon my asking, but... Why did you lie to your friends about me?" She turned back to look at him. "It wasn't a lie", she said. "It just wasn't the whole truth, that's all." "Still", he persisted. "Why not simply tell them the truth?" Kitty sighed a bit before responding. "Look... I know we're all already used to the fact that other people that, in actuality, shouldn't exist are walking around freely in this town. But the idea that all those worlds we already know about aren't even the tip of the iceberg in comparison to how many actually exist is quite a lot to accept. I'm still having a hard time believing it myself. I'm not sure how the others would handle it. I just think it's better to wait on it for the time being."

Dendalli watched Kitty for a long moment before he understood what she was getting at. "I understand", he gave a brief nod of his head. "I'll speak no more of it, then." "Thanks", she gave a brief smile of relief. "Well, then... Shall we?"

The two began walking down the sidewalk together now. However, Dendalli stopped after a few feet. Kitty noticed and stopped as well, looking back at him. "Hm? What is it?" Dendalli glanced to the side without moving. "We're being followed. I sense a strong presence." Kitty looked surprised a moment. She then felt a brief rush of air and heard the light landing of boots against the pavement behind her. She quickly turned to the previously empty sidewalk space in front of her to now see a familiar figure standing before her; short in stature and clad in black with tall and spiky black hair that held a patch of white above his forehead.

"Hiei", she said reflexively. Intense crimson eyes met hers in reply. "Let's go", he said simply. Kitty blinked in response. "Right now?" He didn't answer. After a few moments of silence, she sighed in defeat. There was no point in arguing. She turned to Dendalli with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Dendalli... But it looks like we'll have to continue this another time." "Is something wrong", the wizard asked disconcertingly, looking past her at the short figure. He was a dwarf even in comparison to Kitty, yet he could easily sense a great strength in the dark clad figure. "No, it's okay", she answered, drawing the elf's gaze back to her for the moment. "He's a friend of mine." Dendalli looked back at the figure again. He certainly didn't appear very 'friendly'. "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'll be fine", she reassured him. "I'll see you later, okay?" After a moment, Dendalli acknowledged her decision with a small nod. Kitty then turned to look back at Hiei. Without a word, he walked up to her and took her by the waist before the two suddenly disappeared in a sudden blur.

Dendalli was left standing alone on the sidewalk after that, looking into the sky in the direction he felt them leave. Well, now, he thought. That was certainly interesting... After a few more moments, he turned back to walk down a nearby ally. Once out of public view, he waved a hand casually, stepping through the portal that opened back into his realm. *

Two days later, Kitty was walking down the streets once again. She didn't seem as though she had a particular destination in mind, yet she was surprised to find herself crossing paths with Dendalli again. She caught sight of him approaching her from the other direction on the sidewalk she was walking with a friendly wave and a smile. She returned the gesture as they came up to each other. "Good afternoon, Kitty", he greeted. She smiled warmly in reply. "Goodness, you sure are persistent." "Pardon?" he asked curiously. "About hanging out with me", she continued. "I've been seeing quite a lot of you since we first met. You know, " she gave him a sideways glance with a perk of her brow, "the way you keep appearing out of nowhere like this could be misinterpreted as stalking, ya know." Dendalli displayed a slightly upset look. "I apologize. If it discomforts you, I will leave you alone and bother you no more." "No, no", she waved her hands in front of her. "I was just kidding. I know you're not like that. I know we haven't known each other long, but I do feel like you're a trustworthy person and mean me no harm. It's a gut feeling, you could say." "Proverbial Female Intuition, perhaps?" The elf quirked a hairless brow. "Something like that", Kitty giggled. "Anyway, I'm still glad to see you. I'm sorry about the interruption the other day." "No need to apologize", he waved a hand dismissively. "Though I must admit my curiosity as to what was so urgent. Or shall I simply assume that it is an intimate matter and say no more on the subject?" "If you don't mind", she replied. "But then again, if you'd been watching me for a while, as you'd said before, you likely already know the answer." "Yes", he nodded. "I'm am aware of you and your boyfriend's rather 'open' relationship. And it is not my place to judge." "Good", she nodded back. "Moving on then." She walked a few steps past him, motioning a hand for him to follow. "Shall we?"

The two spent the next few hours walking through town with Kitty basically acting as Dendalli's tour guide. She showed him the local arcades where some of the the gang was hanging out at again, pointed out the convention center, passed by the mall, and a few other points of interest. During the 'tour', Kitty told Dendalli a lot about the town and how life was since she moved there. She also mentioned a few more things about herself, such as her parents and where she used to live before relocating after they died. He smiled a bit as she went on about her and Usako's relationship and how often they walked through town together; sometimes for no reason at all. It was endearing hearing how much she loved and adored the young man. He found himself slightly envious at the way she spoke of him so highly. It had been a long while since he had been in a relationship of any sort himself. He found it easy to empathize with how wonderful it must be to have someone with whom you've found such a deep connection.

Eventually, the pair reached the town's main park. Strolling down the cobblestone walk paths, they saw various people out and about, even as the sun was reaching half mast towards the horizon. Some were packing up from picnics, others playing in the grassy field areas with their pets and children, and some taking routine jogs through the area. Kitty pointed to a small hill area within the park, mentioning how it was a wonderful place to watch the sunset and how she had done so with Usako on several occasions. She also pointed out the local playground, where there were still a few children enjoying the jungle-gym and swings. It was all a serene and friendly atmosphere as they walked, and Dendalli felt pleasantly content.

As they reached one area of the park in particular, they saw an area with several stone tables set up in a large group. Several people, mainly of the elderly persuasion, were seated at the tables and enjoying their individual games of chess. Dendalli smiled at the sight with a somewhat wistful expression. Kitty happened to notice in glancing. "What is it?" "Hm?" Dendalli looked down at her. "Oh, nothing. I was just admiring the chess players. It's been a while since I've played myself." "Oh, you like chess?" "I find it very pleasant, yes", he replied. "It's an engaging and thought provoking game. The only problem is finding one willing to play with. I fear most others in the Aener are a little too preoccupied with other matters to bother." "Ah", Kitty nodded in understanding. "I see. Well I've played it a few times myself, but I'm afraid I'm not very good at it. I have an old chess set at home that belonged to my uncle before he passed away, but it's just been collecting dust."

Dendalli's features lit up. "Then would you mind indulging me in a match later?" Kitty giggled a bit. "Well I would... but like I said before, I'm not very good at it. I suck at games of strategy. It's hard for me to plan moves ahead so I lose pretty quickly." "Well, if you like, I would be happy to teach you." Kitty thought a moment. "Well, I'm not sure I'd be a very good student." "Well, I am a good teacher", he insisted, apparently not wanting to squelch this opportunity for a game. "After all, being an immortal, patience and long term planning becomes a bit of a necessity. I'm sure I can give you some tips that will help you play both more easily and more confidently." "Well, if you're that insistent, I suppose I can't say no." "Splendid!" Dendalli exclaimed almost giddily. The response elicited a laugh from Kitty. "But", she pointed to the horizon with that, noting the placement of the lowering sun. "It'll have to be another day. It's getting late." "As you wish", Dendalli nodded. "I don't suppose tomorrow would be a good time, would it?" Kitty giggled again at his apparent anxiousness. "Actually I have a date with Usako tomorrow afternoon. Why don't we make it the day after? Perhaps around 11am? I'll make sure the board is set up before you arrive." Again Dendalli's features lit up, smiling broadly. "Agreed, then. I anxiously await the appointed hour."

At that point, the two parted ways from the park and Kitty headed down the streets back home. Left alone once more, Dendalli was brimming with anticipation. He knew he would be spending most of his time teaching the girl how to play, but a game was still a game. As he walked out of the park with the setting of the sun, he realized how excited he felt. It was good to feel this way again. And he owed it all to her. Indeed, he'd made a good choice in getting to know her. And she was no longer a simple distraction.

She was his friend.