Today was to be a day of grandest celebration. Only a day ago Juka had found the ultimate purpose of his life, to his his powers in order to help those who couldn't help themselves and for that he thanked his newest ninja friend Koga. But, even more important than that, it was only yesterday that, after an entire month of being trapped in his bubble, his bubble had finally obeyed his command and dissappeard. Oh what a happy day that was to finally be free of it and once more be Juka Miami bublless extraordinaire. And today he vowed to celebrate that most grand event in his life by, of course, going shopping.

It had been some time since Juka had gone all out with his dress and appearance, but today seemed like the day to do so, if ever there was such a day. And so, for the first time in weeks, he had left the Mansion grounds and returned to his lofty appartment, searched through his closets and found the perfect outfit for such a noteworthy event as this. He opted for a purple, white and black theme, with a purple and black dress with white highlights and black boots. Around his neck was an elaborate silver and (fake but who needed to know) diamond choker and matching bracelets around his wrists. His makeup, as per usual of course, was exquisite and elaborate, with dramatic reds and purples to compliment his dress of choice and his hair was done up in dozens of little braids. Yes, he was Juka Miami and he was the most fabulous person around.

Times Square was, of course, the best place in the city that Juka knew of for a giant celebratory shopping spree and, for once, he opted to go via taxi cab. Getting out, he remembered to tip generously and winked at the rather handsome young man who had driven him all the way who had been staring with awefilled eyes at him the entire ride. And really, Juka couldn't blame him. After all, he was probably the most amazing person the man had ever seen, let alone had the privalege of giving a ride too.

Instantly upon exiting the taxi eyes fell upon Juka and, of course, that was exactly as it should be. After weeks of moping around the Mansion, stuck in his bubble and recovering both physically and emotionally from Aura's viscious attack upon him, Juka was back and in all his glory. Yes, people stared, but they were the stares of admiration, awe and, yes, even the occasional stare of horror. But at least they weren't the stares that said 'you are a freak and therefore we hate you'. Now all he had to do was find the perfect present for himself.

Christmas had come and passed. The positive thing about the holidays being over was that there would be after-Christmas sales. Henrietta didn't have tons of money and she was hoping some clothes would be on sale. She doubted it. Usually it was just Christmas ornaments and other things she, personally, didn't need anytime soon. Maybe when she had her own family and house, but until that time, she wasn’t concerned. Looking in the store windows at all the Christmas stuff made her a little queasy. Giant clay monsters and Christmases would probably always be synonymous is her mind.

Trying to think about something else, she glanced at her shirt. It wasn’t anything too fancy, but all of her nicer shirts were in a hamper. Henrietta always enjoyed looking nice, especially if she was going to be seen in public. She had done her makeup as she usually had. That had always made her feel prettier. She usually wore black eyeliner and sometimes she’d wear blue or silver eye shadow. It made her blue eyes pop. That’s what her mother had always said, anyway. Her mother was beginning to enter her thoughts a lot lately, but there was no way Henri was going to call her first. No. Way. Ever.

As she continued to walk down the sidewalk, Henri felt her throat start to tickle. Of course, when that happens, most people cough. Unfortunately for Henrietta, coughing had hurt quite badly since she fell from a pretty high distance. Again, the stupid clay thingy’s work. Knowing there was no fighting it, she let herself cough. A stabbing pain was felt in her torso. She grabbed at her stomach and kept walking.

“Just walk it off.” She was mumbling, and Henrietta continued to mumble random things to herself as she made her way along. It was one of the only ways she felt less lonely. Growing up as an only child usually meant you were bound to get used to talking to yourself at some point. Of course, some people will look at you funny if you’re talking and you’re seemingly by yourself. A man gave her a strange look. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forget most people can’t see Bob. My therapist says he’s imaginary, but I don’t buy it.” After she said this, the man began to walk much, much faster. It was a joke, but he wouldn’t know that. She began to giggle. Usually Henri didn’t say things, she just got embarrassed. It was a bit weird for her, but it felt good to laugh though. She hadn’t laughed much since the Christmas Eve incident. She had been in shock.

It wasn't like she had anyone specific to impress at work, but there was no telling who one might meet at a New Years party. And since this year Noel didn't have anyone planned to kiss at midnight she had to find something fabulous enough to attract someone for a kiss, but something not so fabulous that they'd want to keep the kiss going.

She really wasn't looking for commitment. Not with the job that she had. And definitely not with the mutation she had. It was always awkward when you just happened to forget that you have a significant other (or a relative for that matter).

So what was a no-commitment dress fabulous enough to get a kiss? Black? That was pretty classic. And buying a classic from Times Square was likely to turn a few heads at a party. People weren't going to get out of these shops without spending in the triple digits, not even with the after Christmas Specials.

Noel tarried outside of a large display window with faceless mannequins and dresses pulled tight in the back so that they'd be more form fitting. That is until she heard a juicy little nugget on the street.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forget most people can’t see Bob. My therapist says he’s imaginary, but I don’t buy it.”

That didn't taste like garbage, but it didn't taste like a spring garden either. A man, hopefully not "Bob," scurried past Noel with the grace of a baboon. Eyebrow. Raise.

"Why don't you just tattoo "leper" on your forehead?" It wasn't a direct comment to the girl, but then what New York street pedestrian could pass up making a comment after a mini-scene like that?

Or maybe Noel was just grumpy from the people who liked to remind her that her name was all kinds of Christmasy. Thanks Mom and Dad. She wasn't even born in December.

Shopping was, of course, a most excellent activity to engage in at any time, particularly when it involved shopping for clothes or for kitties, because if there was one thing Juka knew it was that kitties enjoyed getting pampered just as much as humans did, if not more so. But if there was one thing that was better than shopping it was shopping with someone else, someone to share the joy of a shiny new purchase with. And as much as he adored his kitties, they just didn't fill that role very well. Alas, Juka found himself shopping alone this day but he was nothing if not Juka Miami and that meant that he would not be shopping alone for long. Surely someone was out there that was simply dying to spend time with him. After all, who wouldn't be?

[color=800000}“Oh, I’m sorry. I forget most people can’t see Bob. My therapist says he’s imaginary, but I don’t buy it.” [/color]

A familiar voice! For a moment Juka merely stood there in the street, trying to figure out where he had heard the voice from. After all, he did have hordes of adoring fans (if only in his own mind at least) and so th voice could have been anyone. Then: revalation! The voice he heard was from someone living at the Mansion and, if he was not mistaken, someone who had helped him in vanquishing the evil clay Cthulu monster that had so rudely decided to wreak such havok at Central Park only a few days ago. Clearly this was destiny that the two of them were at the same place at the exact same time which meant that clearly Juka was meant to approach her so that they might go on a shopping adventure together. She must want a shopping companion just as much as he did, right?

Decision made, Juka did a once over on his appearance, ensuring that everything was perfect (which of couse it was) and glided elegently over to her. The crowds parted before him, clealry seeing him for the beautiful man that he was and knowing that it simply wouldn't be seemly for them to stand in his way. ""You are a vision of beauty my dear," Juka told her, curtseying deeply in front of her. "I would be most honoured if you would accompany me this day as we wander this most perilous city in search of its many hidden treasures." It bothered him not at all that she had been talking to herself only a moment before. After all, he often found himself talking to his kitties and wasn't that pretty much the same thing? Well, except for the fact that his kitties often talked back to him of course.

"Why don't you just tattoo "leper" on your forehead?"

Juka blinked, turned around, and frowned at a second woman who had appeared, this one completely unfamilair. "Well don't you think that was a little rude? "Clearly this vision," he gestured towards the girl from the Mansion whose name he still did not know, "is excercising her individuality and that is something to be admired not scorned." Some people just didn't understand.

While she was laughing, she heard a girl’s voice. “Why don’t you just tattoo ‘leper’ on your forehead?” Henrietta felt embarrassed and her face turned red. She had just been kidding, of course. While that was going on, someone else walked over. Rapunzel recognized him as one of the people who had been at central park fighting the giant clay beast. Well, she thought he was a him. If they were a him, they had a very different choice in clothing, but it wouldn’t bother her either way. She’d heard some people call him Juka, she thought.

>>”You are a vision of beauty, my dear.” The man curtsied in front of her. "I would be most honoured if you would accompany me this day as we wander this most perilous city in search of its many hidden treasures."

Henri wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation. She’d never had anyone talk to her like that. It didn’t offend her. Actually, she felt kind of flattered. She never really thought of herself as being beautiful. Henrietta thought she was okay looking, but that’s about as far as it went. She didn’t know it, but many of her old friends envied her looks. She had a high metabolism and didn’t struggle with weight loss like a few of them did. Like most teenagers, she would have acne breakouts here and there, but overall she had been blessed with decent features.

She smiled at him. “Thank you. That’s so sweet. I’m Henrietta Braun. You can call me Henri if you want.” After he had spoken to her, he told the other girl off for what she said about tattooing something on her forehead. Henri was surprised, but then realized that maybe he was upset about people being judged. She felt bad for both of these people. One seemed hurt by what the other had said, and the other probably had no idea why she was being scolded. Not knowing what to do, Henri just waited until it was over. She was afraid to make things worse.

"Well don't you think that was a little rude?"

She was being addressed now? Noel had slipped back into her own thoughts which was composed of black slip dresses and what was an appropriate length to wear around coworkers... and now... she was being addressed... as rude.

Noel turned not too happily to spy a ... uhhh... well the voice was man, the clothes were female.... transvestite. Yes, a transvestite was motioning to a young girl. Noel's unhappy increased.

"Clearly this vision is excercising her individuality and that is something to be admired not scorned."

"Oh I'm not knocking the kid's looks. But I am a bit worried for her safety." and then she ignored Juka to address the girl in question. "Is this guy bothering you?"

And for god's sakes where was this child's parental figures? Noel glanced around. There were none in sight. Surely they wouldn't just send a lamb like that out into the surly world to get hit on by transvestite hookers! And shouldn't she be wearing a bit more? It was cold out.

Juka beamed at Henri, happy to have made a good first impression. Now all he had to do was convince her that he simply most be her most loyal companion in shopping and he would be set. "A pleasure to meet you my darling Henri. I am Juka Miami and I would be honoured if you would accept me as your knight in shining armour to protect you from the many perils of this city and ensure success in whatever you have come to this city for." He knew he didn't exactly look like a knight and didn't have much experience in being a knight, but he was learning and she had seen him battle Cthulu, after all.

"Oh I'm not knocking the kid's looks. But I am a bit worried for her safety."

Juka thought he detected scorn in the other woman's voice and that scorn was directed at him. Well, he knew exactly how to deal with such a thing. He simply coudln't be the fabulous socialite that he was and not have some defense against those jealous of his beauty and talent as this woman so clearly was.

"You clearly cannot see past the angelic beauty of this woman to the tough and heroic core underneath. She doesn't need you protecting her and I am most certainly not bothering her." Scorn met and surpassed a hundred fold. "Personally I think your jealous of her." Score: Juka 1, rude stranger 0.

>>"Is this guy bothering you?"

Was this guy bothering her? No, she didn’t think so. Henri was a little startled, but didn’t feel bothered. She really wasn’t sure what the correct feeling was. She also wasn’t sure if she should be standing in the middle of the sidewalk walking to strangers, but on the other hand, she didn’t feel threatened by either person. Well, a little by the girl, but only because she was saying whatever came into her mind, or so it seemed.

“Uhh, no, I think I’m okay.” She glanced at the man in the dress and then back at the girl. “I’m Henrietta. What’s your name?” The girl had been looking around. Henri wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but the she seemed to be inspecting her lack of jacket. She was wearing a very large, warm sweater. Rapunzel hadn’t felt any coldness.

>>"A pleasure to meet you my darling Henri. I am Juka Miami and I would be honoured if you would accept me as your knight in shining armour to protect you from the many perils of this city and ensure success in whatever you have come to this city for."

Turning back to Juka, she smiled. “I don’t want to be a bother to you.” Henrietta had seen the man around and about in places, but she didn’t personally know him. She was afraid that something bad might happen. It wasn’t that she was scared of him, just weary.

Juka now began to talk to the mystery girl. He implied that the girl was jealous of her. Henrietta felt her cheeks turn red. She was slightly embarrassed, partially because she thought that this other girl had no reason to be jealous of her. She was pretty and seemed very independent. What was there to be jealous of?

"You clearly cannot see past the angelic beauty of this woman to the tough and heroic core underneath. She doesn't need you protecting her and I am most certainly not bothering her."

Oh. Gag. Maybe he believed those words to some extent but they came off a sickly sweet taste. Too sweet to swallow. Noel actually made a "gag me" face because the flavor was that offensive. Still... tough and heroic core? Noel turned a hard eye to the girl. She tried to see past the freckles and the body and money... yeah. All Noel could see was JAIL BAIT written in christmas colors across her forehead.

"Personally I think your jealous of her."

Well if they were going to play the personal truth game, Noel was okay with that."Personally I think you're a potential predator and a whackadoodle, but I'm not this girl's mother. I can't tell her not to go alone with you." Heaven forbid that Noel would ever be a mother. She gave Juka the full force of her "I'm not buying what you're selling" look. If there was one thing Noel was good at, it was truth. And whatever he was believing was clearly delusion.

And bless the poor girl, she tried to break the tension. “I’m Henrietta. What’s your name?”

"Noel." She switched her gaze to Henrietta and offered her hand to the girl for a good shaking. "I'm an agent of the state... and I can taste lies." Noel glared at Juka pointedly. If he had any sense of reality he would realize there was no jealousy here, but the urge to protect and serve.

Oh geez, the girl sure didn't want to be a bother? She should want to be a bother to a man that was luring her into a trap of debauchery and who knows what else! It was all Noel could do to follow them or get herself invited along... for the girl's safety of course.

"You are no bother at all," Juka assured Henri graciously. "How could you be?" He smiled warmly at her. He wasn't really flirting (at least not much) but he couldn't help the way he acted. For better or worse, Juka was Juka and when it came to beautiful girls or guys he couldn't help but be over the top and complimentary of them. Really, more people should learn to appreciate those around them.

Spotting the little bit of redness of Henri's cheeks, Juka smiled at her. "I see you aren't used to people stating what is so clearly evident to myself. Dearheart, there is no reason to be embarrased. I merely point out the truth."

"Personally I think you're a potential predator and a whackadoodle, but I'm not this girl's mother. I can't tell her not to go alone with you."

Now that was certainly a first. Juka had never been accused of either being a potential predator or a whackadoodle before, though he had been accused of some fairly colourful things. Juka blinked, feeling somewhat dumbfounded, and then burst into amused laughter. "Potential predator?" More laughter. "Whatckadoodle?" He could barely get the word out through his peals of amusement. "Apparently you can't taste lies as well as you think you can." With a monumental effort he reined his laughter in but couldn't help the grin plastered across his face. And people called him weird. He wasn't the one that came up with such bizarre and entertaining fiction.

>>"Noel." She held her hand out as if to have Henri shake it. “I'm an agent of the state... and I can taste lies."

Smiling, Henrietta gripped Noel’s hand and shook it warmly. “Nice to meet you, Noel. That’s a very pretty name, by the way.” As soon as she heard someone’s name and she liked it, she would compliment it almost instantly. It depended on the situation though. Sometimes while in the middle of talking about something else, she wouldn’t get the chance, but the opportunity arose this time and she took it.

>>"You are no bother at all. How could you be? I see you aren't used to people stating what is so clearly evident to myself. Dearheart, there is no reason to be embarrassed. I merely point out the truth."

Henrietta smiled. He seemed genuinely sweet. He didn’t strike her as a whackadoodle, but of course she couldn’t be sure. She didn’t know Noel either, though. Her mother would be freaking out right now either way. She was talking to strangers. For some reason, Henri hadn’t been as scared as she usually would’ve been. Maybe it was because she’d seen Juka around and they were both from the Mansion.

Juka had laughed at what Noel said. Henri was a little relieved that he hadn’t taken it personally. At least he isn’t angry, she thought. Trying to take something positive out of the situation, she smiled. “It really was nice to meet both of you. I enjoy meeting new people and hope that maybe we can be friends.” Next, to try to smooth everything over, she asked both people the same question. “How about we all shop together?”

Passive aggressive, effeminate, weird, delusional, flamboyant... the list of the man-in-a-dress's transgressions just kept growing. Noel took all the dislike from her face ad body language and distilled it into a laser-like glare. That should be answer enough to his petty drivel.

Of course, she was sweet to Henri. No one said Noel wasn't sexist. "A wonderful solution, Henrietta. What are you looking for today?" Noel figured she might not get much shopping done for herself. Who knows what would happen if she disappeared in a changing room?

"Why of course I simply must shop with you my dear," Juka told Henri with a broad smile. The smile turned to a pout when Noel also accepted the invitation to shopping. He wasn't normally the type to make rush judgments about a person, especially not negative judgments, but in this case he was willing to make an exception. If she had only given him a chance surely she could have seen that he was a good person, but she hadn't and so he felt justified in disliking her. Besides, she reminded him uncomfortably of his father and that was definately not a positive reminder.

Juka returned Noel's glare of dislike with one of his own. Clearly Henri wasn't the only person that this spiteful little individual was jealous off. Not that Juka would ever blame someone for being jealous of him, but if she had asked he would have been more than happy to share whatever wisdom he could in order to help make her more fabulous and more beautiful. It would be a lost cause to match him in his perfection, of course, but no one could ever accuse him of not trying.

"Where to first?" Juka asked Henri, intentionally turning his head so as to disclude Noel from the question.

>> "A wonderful solution, Henrietta. What are you looking for today?"

Henrietta smiled at Noel. “I just wanted to look for some clothes that I can afford. If you’re sure you want to come with, you may. I just don’t want to ruin your shopping day. What are you looking for, Noel?” Rapunzel didn’t want to interrupt them. Honestly, she could’ve done this on her own, but it was getting too intense to blow either person off. Plus, she didn’t want to offend them.

The two were giving each other dirty looks and Henri could feel the tension in the cold, winter air. Trying to make everything better, she offered the first thing to come in her mind. “We should definitely go where the two of you would like to go also.” The brunette glanced at both Juka and Noel. Smiling, to answer Juka’s question, she pointed across the street to a store. “That’s where I was headed.”

"Good luck finding something affordable." Noel's tone didn't sound like she was really wishing Henrietta luck. It wasn't any comment on the girl's taste, it was more a testament to the phrase "clothes that I can afford" being applied to any store in Time's Square...

Of course if this young sprout was a hotel heiress or some other New York royalty she could afford to buy a whole Times Square store. Lord knows Noel could hardly throw a stick in New York without it landing on someone rich or someone mutated. Often both.

She appraised the young potential millionaire for a moment before sloughing off the idea that her billions mattered. Beyond the fact that she was being harassed, it really didn't. Bajillionaires really ought to keep their spawn in check. Froofy-man tried to not so subtly cut her out of the conversation, but Henrietta was too sweet a young thing to ignore her.

"I need a dress that I can hide guns in but is still cute enough to get me a kiss at midnight." She smiled a bit ruefully. "It's a tricky find. I'll just pick something up along the way I'm sure." And she made a motion for their party to cross the street and enter the store that Henrietta wanted to visit. No point in dallying in the cold. The man's feminine dress looked more fore fashion than for December snow practicality.