Rocket Knights: Rise of the Black Knights

[Kohakuchan19]

It has been a few years since King El Zebulos VI passed away, and Princess Sherry was crowned the queen of the Zebulos Kingdom. Sparkster and his Rocket Knights have thus far done well in keeping the peace, and to the surprise of the opossums, Other races have been joining the ranks as well. Sparkster and Sherry both embrace this, as it was bringing all of the kingdoms together to form new alliances and a new way of life. But.. Axel gear had also returned from the shadows.

Axel has heard of the King's death, and has decided that he will do everything he can to take over the throne, after recruiting his own league of Knights... But this is not the only threat... Elsewhere, far, far away, on an island way out at sea, the Tyrant King of Koal, Rasputin the Red, despises all society that embraces the way of technology in any way... He has recently been purging all those who oppose him, banishing them to drift at sea aimlessly. For now.. he has no reason to leave his island kingdom, but he plots to this day.

One sunny day... somewhere on the coastal beaches of Zebulos, a dingy has wrecked on the shore, broken and ruined. no one is present to see that a young feline girl is lying in the sand near the wreckage. Her fur is orange with brown stripes and white tipped ears and tail. her muzzle is also white, and she has long brown hair. Her clothes are that of a village peasant, but they are torn and tattered slightly... She soon wakes up, thanks to the rays of sun in her eyes.. She opens her blue eyes and looks slowly brings herself to her feet before looking around..

This strange new place she did not recognize seemed peaceful. She started to wander the land until she found a forest, where she hope to find some food... She entered and began to search for anything that seemed edible.. She found a stream and decided to rest there, and collect her thoughts... What would she do when she ran into any locals...? would they be willing to accept her? She had no idea... Where she came from, there was no education about other cultures, other than the part that they were "evil".. But she was labeled as such too... so could they really be that bad...?

After a short break from what seemed like endless trekking, The Feline goes to the stream ready to do a little fishing. Little does she know, she is being watched from a distance. The Feline had just caught herself a small fish when she heard the sound of what could only be heavy breathing.. and it was not her own breath. She turned around and saw a Tall wolf-like figure, towering over her. Before she could turn and run away, there were about 4 others in her way. She was surrounded.

"W...who are you guys... what do you want?" Asked the frightened Feline.

"Ye be trespass'n in our turf Lassie... and we don't like Cat folk in these parts..."

The wolves got a little closer to the feline girl, looking as menacing as possible.

"Do ye know what we do with trespass'n cat folk...?"

"U...umm... Let them off with a warning and send them on their way....?" Replied the girl, nervously

"Wrong answer Lassie... We KILL 'EM!!"

Frightened by the wolf's response, She let out a scream... a desperate cry for help. She wanted to run, but her legs refused to move. The wolves got even closer to her, bearing their teeth, and unsheathing their weapons. She shrank into a shaking ball of fur, crying in fear.

"Please... Somebody help me!" she cried, while hiding her face.

She could hear the wolves laughing as they got ready to kill her. But then, she heard another noise... it sounded like a blast of fire... it was getting louder... and louder... She looked up just in time to see the puzzled look on the wolves faces as they stopped to listen to the noise. in the distance, the Feline saw something glowing in the distance, it was getting closer, and fast. The wolves saw it too, and started to panic. but be they time they even broke the circle around the girl, whatever what coming for them was already there. An opossum in red armor wielding a sword and a strange contraption on his back.

The opossum made quick work of the wolves, but did not kill them. instead he had stripped them of their weapons and most of their armor. leaving them in their briefs. The wolves, now unarmed an humiliated, ran off with their tails between their legs. The feline, still on the ground, looked up at her savior, who looked to her.

"My my... A Cat in these parts...?" Said the opossum in a heavy tone "You don't have to be afraid... The wolves won't be bothering you any time soon..."

The Cat girl, still shaken by what was about to happen before this friendly stranger came along, could only manage to sit up on her knees. She then bowed in respect and gratitude.

"T-thank you.. thank you so much for saving me.. I owe you my life mr... um..."

"The name is Kaji... Kaji Firestone of the Rocket Knights.. and might I ask you name young maiden?"

The Cat girl looked up at Kaji, and then stood up. "My name is Kohaku Sphynx... Of um.. or was.. of Koal...."

"I see... you're an exile huh...? Well.. come along then.. I can tell you have had a rough trip.. You can tell me your story on the way to the city."

Kohaku was about to follow when something caught her eye.. She saw the remnants of the armor that the wolves had, she decided to grab some of the gear, and drag it along with her. The gears in her mind were beginning to turn. Kaji was puzzled by this, but Kohaku did not seem at all aggressive, so he let it slide.

On the way to the city, Kaji and Kohaku began to talk more and Kaji gradually began to understand what had happened for her to be banished from her home land.

"So kid... Is it alright if I ask why you were exiled from Koal? I hear that the locals there can't even flee from that country if they wanted to.." Kaji asked.

"... Well.. I think it was intended for me to be lost at sea... I think I just got lucky..." Kohaku replied.

"Oh.. I see.. Well that's a bit harsh for a kid your age. What did you do?"

"I was caught practicing the art of technology.. Which is Forbidden where I'm from.. the people of Koal usually practice Magic or Chemistry.."

"Hmm.. that's a strange law.... and you didn't get a warning or anything?"

"Nope... just put me on a Dingy and sent me adrift at sea.."

Kaji couldn't comprehend these strange laws of Koal, especially since his kind had practiced a little bit of everything for generations. He looked at the tired Kohaku for a while, and decided that there was no way that she would do any harm, but he was still puzzled about the random junk she picked up before.

"Might I ask what you plan to do with all that stuff you have there Kohaku?" Kaji asked sincerely. "Looks like it might be a bit heavy for you to carry all on your own.. need any help?"

"Oh all of this.. I dunno yet... I thought maybe I could make something useful with all of these.. Something to help you out.. you know... sort of a way to thank you for saving me back there."

"Haha! Is that it? Don't worry about it, a simple thank you will suffice."

Kaji took some of the parts that Kohaku was carrying, and they continued toward the city gates. as they entered the City walls, Kohaku was awestruck at what she saw.. The streets were so busy and full of life. All kinds of different people were living and working here. mostly opossums, but still. This seemed like a place she could really get used to.

[mitsukoshi753]

All of a sudden, the two of them heard someone call Kaji's name. A tall, muscular, blonde opossum and a younger opossum, also blonde, walked over. The older one was the one that had called out to Kaji.

"Hey Kaji. Lucas and I were just out grocery shopping. Who is that behind you?"

[Kohakuchan19]

Kaji looked to the two familiar opossums approaching him and Kohaku. Kohaku wasn't sure if these two were as friendly as Kaji, so she hid meekly behind him.

"Hello Sparkster sir!" Kaji said with a salute and a smile. "Nice weather we're having today, is it not? And Hello to you as well Lucas!"

When Sparkster asked about Kohaku, Kaji looked behind him to see Kohaku was hiding.

"Oh, This is Miss Kohaku. I just rescued her from a band of wolf bandits.. I guess she's still a bit nervous..." Kaji looked to Kohaku with a smile. "Hey don't worry, These are friends of mine. Meet Sparkster, and Lucas."

"U-um... Hello. I'm Kohaku.. as Mr. Kaji said... Nice to um.. meet you." Said Kohaku as she stepped out from behind Kaji.

"You'll have to forgive her.. as I said.. she's a little shook up..." Kaji said "She was also recently exiled from her homeland.. Until we can get her citizenship sorted out, I'm going to let her stay with me and my family. With your permission of course sir.."

Kohaku kept looking around as they were having the conversation. She was still fascinated by her current surroundings. Then she saw some of the civilians giving her awkward looks, as if they had never seen her kind before.. Which she figured wouldn't be too much of a surprise.. She doubted any other exiles made it this far, and that maybe she was just one of the few lucky ones to survive their punishment. Still.. it was an uncomfortable feeling, and even a bit disheartening.

[mitsukoshi753]

"Well, it's very nice to meet you.", Sparkster said. "You're free to stay as long as you like."

"Hey, how about you and your family come and eat dinner with us? I'm gonna make my famous curry rice.", Lucas suddenly chimed in.

"Hey, that's a great idea! Lucas makes the best curry rice on Elhorn.", Sparkster said, making Lucas blush. "So, what do you say? Around 7, maybe?"

[Kohakuchan19]

"It would be an honor Sparkster!" Said Kaji with a smile. "By then, Kohaku here might learn a few things about the way we do things around here."

Little did Kaji realize, Kohaku had already hidden behind Kaji again.

"hmm..? What's the matter now?" Kaji then noticed that some of the townsfolk were giving Kohaku strange looks. "Hey!" Kaji shouted "The girl is with me understand? If you have a problem with that you can bring it up with me!"

and just like that, the onlookers walked away, and went about their own business.

"It's alright Kohaku.. They won't bother you.. Some of us Opossums are still getting used to other species living in the city after what happened about 15 years ago..."

"O-oh... What happened...?"

"Lets just say that our people put our faith in the wrong people at one point.."

"I think I understand.. So where do you live Kaji?"

"It's a little ways away still, but it's not too much further. Just follow me." Kaji looked to Sparkster and Lucas, and waved "See you two later. Tell Stella and Booster that I said 'Hello'!"

With that said, Kaji lead Kohaku down the road towards his home. before going to far, Kohaku waved good-bye to Sparkster and Lucas.

"See you later.."

((NOTE: Stella and Booster are unofficial names I have given Sparkster's wife and biological son, which first appear at the beginning of Rocket Knight))

[OnionRingz64]

On the while, one of the on lookers happened to be a hedgehog who was just walking by carring a couple of bags full of grocceries. When Kaji spoke to the citizens who were staring, he hedgehog just rolled his eyes and went back to his buisness.

"Eh, the girl's a freak." The fully quilled hedgehog said to himself in his breath.




((This isn't Spike BTW.))

[Kohakuchan19]

Kohaku and Kaji eventually made it to Kaji's home, where Kaji was immediately greeted by his two children. A boy and a girl Opossum. about half Kohaku's height at most. They had brown hair and blue eyes, and wore outfits of similar colors.

"DADDY!! DADDY!! You're home!!" They cheerfully shouted as they tackled their father with hugs.

"Oof! Well good afternoon Kids!" Kaji said with a smile as he hugged his children.

The scene brought a smile to Kohaku's face, Kaji seemed to be a genuinely good person, and he clearly loved his children. She still kept a bit of a distance however.

"Have you been good while I was away?"

"Yes Daddy! huh...?" They say as they both notice Kohaku. "Daddy, whose that?"

"Oh! William.. Lillian.. This is a new friend of mine. Her name is Kohaku. She's rather shy, and she's new around these parts.. Be nice to her okay...?"

"Hello..." Kohaku said with a smile.

"Hi! I'm Lilly!" said the girl. "And I'm Willy!" said the boy. "And we're Twins!"

"Hee hee! I thought you two looked a lot alike. I'm Kohaku.. I'm a cat from a far away place called Koal."

"What'cha doing so far away from home? Are you on vacation?" William asked Obliviously.

"Oh um... Well.. It's a long story.. but I don't think it's anything kids your age should be concerned with.."

"Is that Scrap metal you got there? Do you like to Tinker around too?"

Kohaku looked to the parts that she had been carrying this whole time, then looked to the Twins and smiled. "Yes!.. Yes I do..!"

"AWESOME!" Said the twins with excitement in their voices. They both turned to their father. "Can we show her our Lab Daddy?"

"Lab...?"

"Of course. I think she would like to see that very much!" Kaji said, then looked to Kohaku. "Looks like you've already made friends with my kids! Go on, you and the kids should get along just fine."

Kohaku nodded as the twins tugged her along, urging Kohaku to follow them.

"Hurry Up Kohaku! This way!" Said the Twins.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! take it easy!" Kohaku laughed.

As the trio left the room and into the garage area of the house, Kaji's wife,Julia, approached Kaji.

"Whose you're little friend there Kaji dear?" She asked.

"Hello Sweetheart." Kaji gave Julia a hug and a kiss on the cheek "She's just a Feline I found in the woods.. In the nick of time too.. She was about to become a punching bag for a pack of Wolves..."

"How awful.. but where did she come from...?"

"I'll try to explain as best as I can.."

[OnionRingz64]

Meanwhile, the same hedgehog who was the onlooker was coming to a house that was just a little ways from Kaji's abode. He quickly grabbed the keys to the house from his pocket while he held one bag of the grocceries under his arm and unlocked the door. He turned the knob and then he pushed the door open as he went inside the small house.

"Hey bro, I'm home!" The hedgehog with the grocceries said as he puts down the bags on a table as he approached another room where another hedgehog was sitting down and bent, as if he was working on something.

"Bro! We got grocceries." He said in a rushed tone to the other hedgehog. The other hedgehog just stopped whatever he was doing and he turned around with a look of disaproval.

"Hey! Can't you see I'm busy!?" The other and half quilled hedgehog yelled out. "Just go put of the grocceries yourself!"

"Alright, alright. Geez, you don't have to yell." The first hedgehog said as he just left the room and went to put up the grocceries.

The second hedgehog was indeed working on something because he muttered to himself as he grabbed a couple of tools from a container and he did a little bit of tweaking on something.

"Just a few more tweaks aaaannnnnd..." The other hedgehog said as he just screwed something on the thing he was working on. Then he just puts the tools back in the container and then he gets off of his seat while holding a rocket-like object in his hands.

"Finished!" The hedgehog yelled out in approval. "Now to weld this thing on my armor..."

[Kohakuchan19]

While Kaji and Julia have a discussion about Kohaku, The twins were showing Kohaku around the house as they made their way to the "lab". All the while the twins were pointing out every room they walked by.

"That's The Kitchen and Dining room!"
"That's our bedroom!"
"That's Mom and Dad's room!"
"That's the Bathroom"

and so on.

Eventually they were coming up on the door way to the garage, and the twins opened the door they said. "And This is our Lab! What do you think?"

As Kohaku looked into the room, her jaw dropped as she saw a room that was far better than the one she had hidden away back at her homeland. She saw all kinds of new tools she had never seen before, and what looked like experimental designs on a chalkboard. Kohaku set her things down in a corner.

"This is.. the most incredible room I've ever been in! Did you do all this?" Kohaku asked, still awestruck.

"Um.. yeah.."
"You sound like you've never seen a Lab like this before... Don't you do this kind of thing at home?"

Kohaku's ears sank a little as she heard these words. Of course these children didn't know about where she was from.. but was it her place to explain it to them? She wasn't sure.

"Well... yeah.. but where I'm from.. I'm kinda the only one who does this sort of thing... I'm from a place called Koal.. and over there.. this kind of thing is well... forbidden..."

"Well that's a silly rule.. Who came up with THAT?"
"Yeah... That doesn't make any sense."

"Lets just say our King over there is a bit.. paranoid... and leave it at that.."

"Oh... But it's okay if you practice here right?" William asked
"We don't have that silly law in Zebulos!" Said Lillian cheerfully.

"Yeah... I guess you're right about that." Kohaku smiled. "Why don't you two show me some of your experiments?"

"YEAH!!" Said the twins as they grabbed a few of their inventions and started doing demonstrations on how they all worked.

Kohaku watched with a smile on her face. She was glad to have finally met others with the same passion she had. The idea of living in this Country... Wasn't so bad. Maybe in time, everyone else would come to like her as much as the Twins.

[mitsukoshi753]

Meanwhile, Sparkster and Lucas returned to their house with groceries. Outside, a spaceship has crash-landed in the front yard. A small, round, pink-colored alien with pops out of the wreckage. It had a big nose, whiskers, and a single antenna with a red bow in it. It looked up at the two opossums with its beady, black eyes

"HI HI HI. aM mR. SAturN, B0ing! FlYIng tHiNG fALL D0wn g0 b00m, dINg! I sTay wITH y0u aWHile, z00m?"

"Of course. Stay as long as you need.", Lucas said.

"Are you sure about this...?", Sparkster asked uneasily.

"Sure I am! After all, we need the extra help around the house.", Lucas replied. And with that, the three of them went inside the house.

[Kohakuchan19]

"Hey Dad! Hey Bro!" Said a young male opossum, who was probably about 6-8 yrs older than Lucas, his hair was brown, however, but his eyes were the same as Sparkster's. It was Sparkster's first and eldest son, Booster.

He had just come out of the house to see what had caused the ground the shake by the house.

"What the heck is that thing...?" Booster asked as he too saw the pink alien. "It talks funny.. But He's easy enough to understand I guess.."

Booster scratched his head a little, then as Sparkster and Lucas went inside, he went to investigate the wrecked ship.

"What a mess... It crashed right into the Watermelon Patch... Mom won't be happy about this...."

Inside the house, Sparkster's Wife, Stella was looking out the window at the wreckage, seemingly upset that the spaceship had fallen in the crops, that she had been growing. After a heavy sigh, she looked over to Sparkster and Lucas, then at Mr.Saturn.

"Oh my... Who is this..?" She asked starring at the odd little alien. "It's kind of cute.~"

______________________________________

At Kaji's House, Kohaku and the Twins were having a blast in the Lab. The Twins were showing Kohaku all of their tools and showing her how they worked. Kohaku was excited to learn all of these new things. She put them to the test too, as they took the parts Kohaku had brought to the house and made different things with them, but first, Kohaku had to ask the Twins something.

"Hey, mind if I ask for your help with something?"

"Sure! what is it?" Said the Twins.

"I want to do make something useful that can be used around the house.. Is there anything you guys can think of that might be helpful?"

"hmmm..." The twins took a moment to ponder.

"Well... We have a bit of a pest problem in the back yard.."
"Yeah, We have a hornets nest in the Tree, Mom and Dad won't let us play back there because of it.. Dumb Hornets..."

Kohaku thought for a moment to find a solution to the problem.. She assumed that the problem was that the hornets were too aggressive, and dangerous for anyone to approach the nest to remove it. She looked at the parts. The armor parts that once belonged to wolves, were much too big for her to simply wear.. but.. Maybe she could use them to make something different.

"I think.. I might have an idea."
___________________

Out in the Living room, Kaji and Julia were still talking about what they were going to do.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to keep an exile here?" Julia asked.

"Julia... She hasn't don't anything wrong, all she did was get caught practicing technology, that's the only reason."

"But what if she is lying to you? She could be dangerous.. Or maybe she is a thief?"

"I couldn't sense any hint of treachery. Her voice was sincere, and her body language showed no signs of her lying. Though she is a nervous individual. Though I can't blamer her after what could have happened to her today."

"Alright Kaji.. I will give her a chance. I would feel pretty bad if anything bad happened because we cast her out.."

While they were talking, Kaji noticed something outside of the window. He saw what looked like a metal pole, sort of like a gofer pole with a claw at the end. It was holding some kind of metal tray.

"What in Elhorn is going on out there?"

"What?"

The two of them approached the window, and saw that the pole was putting the tray on the ground, under the Hornet's nest, Kaji then saw someone inside of what looked like dome, with a peeping hole, and another hole for the pole.

"What are they...?"

"Oh no! The Twins!"

"We're right here Mom" Said the Twins standing behind their parents.

"Then the one in the Dome is... Oh crud.. Did you two tell her about that hornets nest?"

"Um... Yeeeesss?"

Kaji opened the window, and yelled through the screen.

"Kohaku! You don't have to do that!"

Kohaku heard Kaji, but she was determined to fix this problem. After the tray was put down, She pulled the pole back. It seemed to retract. Then after changing out the end. Kohaku aimed it at the hive. It looked like a mini cross bow. but it was more of a sling-shot.

"Dammit.. So determined to return the favor... You're gonna get youself hurt!"

Kohaku pulled back the band with a smaller hooked rod, and then let it go, firing a stone. It was a bulls eye. She hit the stem of the hive, and the whole thing fell down onto the tray, and hit some kind of trigger, cause it to shut, forming a screen mesh dome over the nest, sealing the hornets and the hive inside.

"She did it!" The Twins cheered.

"Well.. I'll be..." Kaji said a bit surprized, he didn't realize that the tray was actually a trap.

"She's pretty resourseful.."

"She used the stuff she brought over to make some of those things. We gave some materials too."

Kohaku then got out of the dome, and approached the trap. She then took the whole container and took it to a fire pit. She then took a fuel can and a match. She sprayed the hive and buzzing hornets with the fuel, and then lit the match, and dropped it over the fuel, causing the who thing to burn, and killing the wasps quickly. She then put her hands together, as if to pray for the lives she had taken.

"I'm sorry Hornets.. but you were just to dangerous to keep around..."

Kohaku then waited for the hive to finish burning. Kaji walked out and up to Kohaku from behind.

"You're pretty smart. I'll give you that. But the next time you want to be helpful, you might want to consult me before doing something dangerous like this."

"I kinda did this more for the Twins than anything. They seemed so bummed that they couldn't play outside, so I decided this would be the first thing."

The Twins then ran out to the Backyard with Julia, happy to have a hornet free yard.

"Well.. Thank you Kohaku.. It'll be nice to be able to relax in the back yard again. OH... Julia.. You haven't started Dinner yet have you?"

"No... Why?"

"Sparkster and his family invited us over for Dinner. They're having Curry Tonight."

"Oh! Well then. Kids, you should get yourselves ready to go!"

"YAY CURRY AT UNCLE SPARKSTER'S!!" The Twins Shout happily as they run back inside.

"Kohaku, you look to be about the same size as me, how about I let you barrow some of my clothes for tonight?"

Kohaku smiled and followed Julia back inside. Kaji put out the flame and followed them all inside.

[mitsukoshi753]

"0HHH... y0u tHanK! aM mR. sATurn, b0ing! sTay hERe awHILE t0 fix FlyING tHIng, z00m! als0 helP aR0uND h0usE, dak0ta.

"Well, we better get cooking. The Firestones and a new friend are coming over in a couple hours."

"Oh! I just had a good idea to surprise them! I'll need to borrow Mr. Saturn for a bit, and I'll need a few things.

"Kay-0!"

[Kohakuchan19]

Booster was working on getting the ship out of the garden and out by the house so he could repair any damage he could on the garden itself. He had hitched it to a towing mechanism attached to a tractor with a wagon. He then used these things to pull the ship into the wagon and drove it up to the house before looking to Lucas and Mr.Saturn.

"Okay Bro. I've got the.. ball-shaped thing... up by the house. Maybe we'll be able to fix it over time. not sure how long it'll take though.." Booster explained. "Well.. I'm off to fix the crop lines.."

Booster then walked back out to the garden to do some farming. Stella on the other hand was busy cleaning up for the guests they were expecting.

"Sparky dear?" Said Stella. "So who is this new friend you speak of?"
________________________
Meanwhile, Kohaku and the Firestone Family had been all cleaned up and ready to go to the Sanjulo Residence for a little get together. Kaji had changed into more casual-looking clothes, but still looked presentable. He was in black pants, white shirt, and a brown over-coat. He was also sporting brown boots. Julia decided to wear her Blue Dress, with violet ribbon around the waist, and offered Kohaku a red dress to go with the color of her fur, but when she tried to take Kohaku's scarf , Kohaku shook her head at the notion.

"What's the matter? I think you would look much nicer in this if you take off that scarf dear." Julia suggested.

"I'm sorry.. But this scarf is a symbol of my exile.."

"Dear child, you aren't really going to let yourself be bound to that scarf are you? it's only a piece of red fabric. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to take it off for a night.

Kohaku shook her head once more.

"Well.. Alright then. I suppose if it means that much to you. maybe I can work with it some how.."

By the time Julia was done with Kohaku, Kohaku was wearing a scarlet blouse and white dress pants, and her red scarf around her neck, and the loose ends were tucked into a small white overcoat which was buttoned up. Unfortunately, Kohaku's feet couldn't fit into any of Julia's shoes, they would have to get her a pair.. which made Julia realize, Kohaku was bare foot this entire time.

"Kaji.. We're going to need to visit the Cobbler to see if they have any shoes her size."

"I see. We can do that." said Kaji. He then called the kids. "William! Lillian. We have to get going a bit early, are you two ready?"

"Coming!" The twins answered as they ran out of their room. William was in a blue shirt and brown pants, while Lillian wore a light blue dress.

"How nice. You two look great!" Said Julia with a grin.

"Lets go! Lets go!" The Twins shouted with excitement, as they take grab their parent's by the hand.

"Coming 'Gadget'?" Kaji asked, to Kohaku.

Kohaku was confused at first. "Gadget...?"

"Yeah Gadget. Sound pretty good to me. It'll be your nickname from now on."

Kohaku blinked for a moment, and then smiled with a nod. Then they all walked out the door. The first stop was the Shoe store. they made their way down the road on foot, and as they walked Kohaku kept looking around to see if anyone was giving her funny looks, but it seemed that once they realized she was being accompanied by a local family, and of a Rocket Knight no less, they just went about their own business or dismissed Kohaku as harmless. Especially was the Twins would run circles around Kohaku, playing with her.

They finally make it to the Cobbler shop, Kaji looked around to see if anyone was there.

"huh.. the shops open but no store keeper is about..." Kaji then called "Hey! Is anyone here?"

[OnionRingz64]

Meanwhile, the first hedgehog was finished putting up groceries and he sighed in victory after he had completed the task. "Finally," He said with a tone of approval. "All of these are put up and I'm ready to start the week."

Then before anything else happened, he heard the voice of Kaji and then he just stopped for a second and went to go see who it was. He got to the counter and approached it. "Good morning sir, how may I help..." He saw Kohaku for a moment and he just quickly adverted his eyes to Kaji. "Err... How may I help you this morning?" He asked, trying to mimic the same tone he gave to Kaji as if he was trying to hide something.

[Kohakuchan19]

Kaji looked at the Hedgehog with a puzzled look on his face. He was acting rather peculiar.

"Um.. Yes, we're kind of in a bit of a hurry, but I'm looking to purchase a pair or two of shoes for my friend over here."

Little did Kaji realize, "gadget" was already meandering around the store, looking at these.. shoes... in a curious manner. No body from her home land wore shoes like these.. Sandles maybe... but not shoes like what she was seeing.

"Gadget! would you come over here please?"

"Yes sir!" said Gadget as she obeyed. "What is it Kaji?"

"Just stay put a moment okay?" Kaji looked over to the Hedgehog. "As you can see, My friend Gadget does not have any shoes. Do you have any that might fit her?"

Kohaku just stood there, staring off in every directions, still looking at all the shoes.