"Carrot, I want a divorce."

Her words hit him like a punch to the back of the head.

"What?"

"I love you. You know I always have, and I always will," Tira said. 
"But...lately, I've been thinking about it and...I realized I just don't 
feel the way I used to about you."

"So...you've fallen out of love with me?" Carrot asked.

"Not exactly. It's just...you see, I..." Tira swallowed hard, fidgeting 
as a blush stained her cheeks.

"...There's someone else, isn't there?"

She nodded.

"Who is he?"

"Well...that's the thing," Tira said nervously. "It...isn't a guy."

Carrot fell over.

"So...you're a LESBIAN now?!"

"Yes, Carrot," Tira said quietly. "I don't know how I came to this 
realization, but when I started spending more time with this woman, I 
realized...that I was falling in love with her."

Carrot nodded. "So who is it?"

"Shicho."

"You mean Marron's old acquaintance, that ninja chick?" Carrot blinked.

"Yes, her. I know, it seems REALLY unlikely, doesn't it? But...it is her."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About a month."

"How long have you felt this way about her?" Carrot asked.

"Awhile, I guess. I didn't know her as well as Marron did, but that one 
time when she came back with those other guys..."

"And Marron kicked ass?" Carrot smiled a little, as he always did 
whenever he thought about his brother.

"Yeah." Tira smiled slightly. "After the battle, I found myself...
THINKING about her a lot. But I was so in love with you I dismissed it as 
'I wish I could be as cool as her!'. Then a little over a month ago, she's 
back in town, we start spending time together, and...well, you know the 
rest," she said.

"Does Marron know you're in love with his friend?"

"Yeah, I told him about it. He doesn't mind...but he warned me to tell you 
before you found out from someone else," Tira said.

"So that's why you've suddenly come out with this," Carrot said.

"Yeah." Tira sighed, placing one of her hands on Carrot's slender, tanned 
arm. "Carrot...I'll always love you, but I just can't stay married to you 
when my heart is elsewhere," she said. Carrot nodded a little.

"I understand," he said. "Weird, everyone thought it'd be ME that broke up 
our marriage by falling another girl."

"You haven't fallen in love with anyone else, have you?" Tira raised an 
eyebrow. "Because if you've been lying to me, Carrot Glacé..."

"No! I-I mean...I LOVE other people, of course, but I never betrayed ya!" 
Carrot said nervously.

"Good."

"So..." Carrot smiled sadly. "I...guess this is it?"

"Yeah...I loved being married to you, but it's time for us both to move on 
now," Tira said.

"Same here," Carrot said. They kissed briefly, then Tira walked out of 
the room to phone her lawyer.

Carrot collapsed onto the bed, sighing. He didn't know how he felt-on one 
hand, he was pretty sad. He DID love Tira, even if it wasn't that 'one 
and only, forever' kind of love, she'd been a good person to settle down 
with. But in a way, being married made him feel a little estranged from 
the others. Plus, it made him feel so tied down! Granted, he wasn't the 
skirt-chaser he used to be, but old habits were hard to break.

Then there was the fact that Tira had kept this secret from him for so 
long. Why hadn't she just told him right out? Then again, maybe she was 
confused about her feelings.

"Well, that's over...now what?" he asked himself aloud.

~

[The next day]

Gateau and Marron were enjoying a relaxing afternoon making out on the 
living room sofa when suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Aww..." Marron reluctantly pulled himself from Gateau's embrace. "I'll 
get it."

"No, let me get it."

"I said I'd get it!"

"And I said I'd get it!" Gateau laughed as their little 'debate' became 
another liplock. The doorbell could wait!

Then it rang again, followed by an urgent knock.

"Mmm...I'd better get that," Marron said, pulling away and getting up.

"Don't take too long!" Gateau called after him.

"I won't!"

Marron opened the door, and was nearly knocked over by 120 pounds of 
frantic, gasping Carrot.

"Niisan?!"

"M...Marron..." Carrot struggled to catch his breath, and Marron could 
see faint tearstains on his cheeks.

"Niisan, is something wrong?!"

Carrot finally caught his breath, then looked up at Marron with moist 
brown eyes.

"Tira's divorcing me," he said.

"What?!"

"Marron, you promised not to take so long!" Gateau said, walking into the 
foyer. "What-" His eyes widened when he noticed who had been there. 
"Carrot?!"

"Tira and I are getting a divorce. She was having an affair with a woman 
and waited a month to tell me," Carrot said quietly.

"Ouch..." Gateau winced.

"Come on, niisan...let's go into the living room and you can tell us about 
it," Marron said.