The steak sizzled on the grill, occasionally spitting a few drops of grease in every direction. Ayumu dodged to the side to avoid a sling of grease aimed in his direction as he flipped the steak. He nearly let out a growl and a heavy sigh. He HAD to do something about that grease.
In about a half an hour, Madoka would come home, beat and grumpy as always, waiting for food to be presented to her. Something in the back of his mind wondered if she'd take a liking to the almost American-style steak he was cooking up this evening. The miniature grill nearly spanned the surface of the entire counter, so she better eat some of it because he had neither the time nor the room to make anything else at the moment.
But what was he saying? Was he actually worried about steak going uneaten? Especially when-
"NARUMI-SAN!"
Right on time. Speak of the devil. He swore that girl could smell his cooking from miles away. He actually had expected her fifteen seconds earlier...maybe her nose was starting to get rusty...or maybe she was finally gaining some weight for all the food she ate.
The girl in question scooted behind him and peeked over his shoulder at the mouthwatering dinner on the grill, using him as a shield for the spraying grease. Her malicious grin said it all.
"Narumi-san...Is there any reason why you made enough steak for three people?"
"Hn."
"You were expecting me, weren't you?"
"Hn."
She snapped her fingers, "Dangit...I'll have to find another way then to keep you offguard."
He turned his head to look at her, "Why? And why are you hanging over my shoulder like that?"
"'Cuz I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry. And I can't get the steak off the grill with you on my shoulder."
She automatically stepped away from him and waited for him to unload the steak onto plates. As he set the plates down on the table, she rubbed her hands together gleefully, a mischievous smirk on her face. She quickly sat down and picked up her fork and knife, and was about to dig in when he swiped the knife from her hand.
"You're dangerous with sharp objects, especially when you're around food." he informed rather curtly. She huffed and scowled at him, her arms crossed, as he took her plate to the counter and proceeded in cutting the meat himself. She sighed heavily when he reluctantly brought it back to her. Without much hesitation, she began to eat.
As she neared the last piece of juicy red meat, the door opened and Madoka Narumi stormed in, slamming the door behind her. Hiyono, looking a bit worried, inquired, "Are you alright, Madoka-oneesan?"
When the young woman didn't answer, Hiyono put her fork down and stared at her lap. Madoka slumped into the kitchen chair opposite Hiyono and threw her elbows on the table, burying her head in her arms. Hiyono bit her lip, almost afraid to speak. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Ayumu began to walk over to his sister-in-law, who, without lifting her head, held her hand out to keep him from getting any closer.
Ayumu stopped in his tracks and stared at Madoka for a while, emotionless, before finally turning his glance to Hiyono and nodding his head towards the door to outside. Hiyono took the hint and rose from her chair, following Ayumu out to the hall deck like a loyal puppy afraid of being left behind. After she shut the door behind her, she joined Ayumu in leaning over the railing, staring out at the rest of the city. Ayumu divulged in a few moments of silence before speaking softly, still staring into space, "Do you want me to walk you home?"
Hiyono smiled softly and folded her hands together, her elbows on the railing, "There aren't many times I say 'no' to you, and I don't think this is gonna be one of them. I don't know about you but I would rather you walk me home than face your Madoka-oneesan when she's in this kind of mood."
A small smile tugged at Ayumu's lips, "I think she's PMSing; and for once I agree with you, even though you can be an annoying stupid girl."
Hiyono growled and puffed out her cheeks, punching him in the arm with her bear puppet, "You never let up, do you, Narumi-san?"
His chocolate eyes showed his smirk as he grabbed her hand, puppet and all, and tugged her away from the railing. With that, he let go...after he pulled the puppet off her slender fingers. He automatically gave it back to her to avoid her getting wound-up again.
She put it away quickly and followed him out of the apartment building and down to the street. Without a word he began walking in the direction of her house, or where he thought her house was. Hiyono laughed through her teeth as he kept walking. Finally, as she burst out in a fit of giggles, he stopped and waited for her to explain, not even bothering to look back at her. After breathing deeply to catch her breath, she managed to explain, still trying not to laugh, "Narumi-san...you're going completely the wrong way."
Hiyono watched as she could see his shoulders tense up. He turned around briskly and trudged in the other direction, his hands clenched in fists and a scowl on his face.
She walked behind him most of the way, choosing to walk closer as soon as he relaxed a bit. Suddenly she gazed up at the sky and stared at the moon, mumbling in awe, "It's so beautiful..."
Ayumu chose not to comment, but spun around to face her once they reached her house. She gave him a huge smile, "Thanks for the delicious dinner, Narumi-san."
Once again, he didn't answer. But a smile caught his face when she stepped through the door, but turned around once more before shutting it, "Nighty night, Narumi-san."
When the brown-haired detective arrived back at the apartment, he was greeted by his sister-in-law shoving a pamphlet in his face. He warily took it and held it away from him so he could see. As he read over it, he realized what his sister-in-law was trying to say with her pamphlet and bold antics.
"You're going to Texas?"
Madoka shook her head, "Nope. WE are going to Texas!" she announced dramatically. A million thoughts buzzed around Ayumu Narumi's head. The main one, however, was definitely:
"For how long?" his voice almost sounded as surprised as he really was.
Madoka shrugged, "Until I feel like leaving."
Ayumu was speechless. He strode past her and trudged in his room, his expression almost like a drone. He fell backwards onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. The first thought that came to his mind was Hiyono. Without him to keep an eye on her, would she be alright? If he was in Texas, who would be there to keep her in line? To keep her from eating too much at a time? To hover over her shoulder while she was on the computer digging up information about the Blade Children? To walk her home so she wouldn't run into creeps like Kanone Hilbert. Kanone...HE was in the United States...If Ayumu was there as well, would Kanone find some way to track him down?
There was no doubt in his mind the real reason Madoka wanted to go to Texas. She thought Kiyotaka was there. Ayumu had to be truthful in the fact that he had no interest in finding his brother. As soon as his brother was found, he'd probably wind up back in the shadows again. Hiyono...Ayumu definitely felt stupid for thinking it, but what if they DID find Kiyotaka? Would even Hiyono abandon him for his older brother?
Ayumu's mental distress eventually put him to sleep. Without warning, he fell into a slumber looking stiff as death.
An strangely obnoxious cell phone ring bolted Ayumu from his sleep. Not even bothering to fool with his unnaturally messy bed-head, he stared at the phone, wondering why in the world Rio would call him, and at SIX in the morning for heaven's sake. He gave a heavy sigh and answered, his sleepyness echoing etchy scratches in his voice, "Yeah?"
After a moment he heard the reply of the young seemingly innocent childish voice of Rio, "Ayumu, are you sick? Nevermind. I need to tell you something. We just found out that Kanone's coming back to Japan! He'll be at the airport this afternoon!"
Ayumu nearly choked on the spit at the back of his throat. When he didn't answer with words, Rio continued, her voice beginning to get a bit frantic, "But Ayumu, I think he's determined to make you suffer this time!"
All Ayumu said was, with his brows knitted together in a determined expression, "Not if I'm out of the country by then!"
With that, he hung up. Standing up stiffly from his bed, he began to pace back and forth, still wearing his clothing from the day before. After a while, he began to express his thoughts out loud.
"If Kanone wants me to suffer...what would he try to pull? He's too crafty for the capture-torture session. Wait...Knowing him, he'd get to me by hurting the people close to me...but he already proved that he can't handle Madoka...after the last time, she made sure she carried that gun of hers with her wherever she went...so who would he...oh no..."
With that, Ayumu rushed out of his bedroom in his socks as fast as he could while trying not to wake his sister-in-law. It didn't take long for him to spot what he was looking for on the kitchen table. Along with the pamphlet she showed him, Madoka left two plane tickets in the middle of the table. Ayumu grabbed his home phone off its hook and dialed a number, waiting impatiently for someone to pick up. Finally that golden voice answered the stupid phone, as Ayumu viewed it, "Hello?"
His voice came out at a hurried whisper, trying not to make noise to wake the 'sleeping beauty', "Listen, Hiyono, don't ask questions and don't get excited. Pack your bags for a couple weeks and meet me at the airport by noon."
It took a while for everything to register in Hiyono's mind, finally she replied frantically, "Um, O-okay, s-sure."
Ayumu continued, still in a whisper, "Good. I'll see you there."
He turned off the phone and stepped softly into his room and began to pack a suitcase quietly.
When Ayumu finally finished packing, he threw on a light jacket and mussed his hair with his hand before snatching the tickets from the table and briskly walking out the door, giving one last glance in the direction of Madoka's room. He sighed and closed the door behind him, beginning his journey to the airport and ultimately his journey to Texas. As long as Kanone was in Japan and Ayumu was in the States, there was no way he would be able to track Ayumu down in time. Even if he did, Ayumu would make sure that Hiyono was completely out of reach. Ayumu bet his life on it.
Preview: After Ayumu so brazenly stole Madoka's plane tickets, he and Hiyono are on their way to the States. Will Kanone track them down? Will Madoka get a hold of Ayumu before he changes his phone number? How mad will she be? And what does the story here have to do with the title?
Hahahaa, don't worry, all will be answered in time. As for the title, it's named for something that happens in Texas, so hang on and see what happens when Ayumu and Hiyono are faced with something outrageous in Texas. Not outrageous to the Texans, of course, but pretty outrageous to a couple of modern teenage 'city slickers' in the area. Although we all know that whatever it is, Hiyono would probably love it, or at least find it fascinating. Ah, what the heck, I'm talking too much. I'll just let all of you find out for yourselves.(And I am very much a country girl myself so don't take anything I write about Texas as insulting...in fact...I really wanna go to Texas...It's Awesome!)