From: Goola2u <goola2u@aol.comREMOVE> Subject: [PW!] [NC] Shards of the Heart Date: Saturday, May 01, 1999 11:32 AM All right, since Tenchi had the guts to try this, I'll try it myself, as no one admires a lack of courage. Hopefully, I'll get it right, but the heart IS a fickle thing... Shard had walked out of the Cinabar flower shop, looking for Maria, and thinking about how, if there was a way, to get her to, if only for a few seconds, give up on James and give him some thought. And there was the problem of that Tenchi person, but Maria could see right through him, see that he only loved her for her body. So why couldn't she see... Shard was so absorbed in his thoughts, and his field of vision blocked by such a large amount of the seemingly-infinite roses he was carrying, that he didn't see James rushing past, and was taken completely by surprise when he was crashed into. He looked up, blushing, at Maria. Feeling like a complete moron, he reached up to try and give Maria one of the rose bouquets, but she just trampled over him, resuming her chase. Shard sighed, and walked on in tears. --- Later, Shard managed to meet with James, in a spot away from Maria, so they could talk. Shard explained the situation to James, what the love triangle was doing, and what could be done. James agreed to help Shard talk to Maria, as did Sneakers. There was still one litle gremlin in this machine, though. --- Tenchi was with his friend, Sammy, guzzling down booze like there was no tomorrow. Little did he know, even as the barage of Lickitungs assaulted the bar, and as he was tied up and stuffed into the bag, how right he was. --- Shard, Raven, and Sneakers walked up to Maria. They presented her with the captured Tenchi, as a token of Shard's love, and tried to explain to Maria the situation, one which hey were somehow sure she already knew, and merely chose to try to change. Maria's attention, however, seemed to solely fall on James, ignoring all that was said. Shard should have known that Maria would never see him. However, he was sure that, working together, the three could make her notice. --- It took months, but Maria finally gave in. She slipped a vial of poison into her pocket, and headed to lunch with Shard. But a funny thing happened. She found herself able to tolerate him, maybe more. If James wouldn't stop running, she thought, Shard may be a nice second choice. From this beginning, the rose of love slowly bloomed, petals opening little by little, month by month, until Maria finally had the thought to return Shard's affection. Shard could see the world, past, present, future, and whatever was left, in that smile. Anything else was unimportant. --- James smiled at Jessie as he cought the flowers. Meowth, who had got tangled in the string as they tied the pokeballs to the back of the car, was far less thrilled as the newlyweds drove off into the sunset. TBC? Shard Fields, who hopes this wasn't TOO bad.