I think I speak on behalf of many when I say 'Where the heck did this come from?' In truth, I don't know.
--
Sixteen year old Pearl Fey sighed as she walked down the street. It was late summer, and really too hot. It was always warm in the city- far from the cool climate of Kurain Village she was used to. Odd, ever since she was a child, she had prayed for long, fairy-princess hair waving all the way down to her waist in gentle cascades. Now that she had it- or at least a watered-down version of her dream- she was growing increasingly tired of it, especially in hot weather when it seemed to absorb the suns unbearably powerful rays and weigh her down.
Tugging, annoyed, at her kimono, she frowned. Her spirit-medium uniform seemed thicker and heavier than ever, and her traditional wooden sandals were making her feet burn uncomfortably. She needed a drink, a place to sit down, and maybe a snack would be nice too.
Turning the corner, her eyes fell upon a quaint little store tucked between two major chains of clothes shop- 'The Kitaki Family Pie Shop'. Her stomach began to growl warningly. Pearl licked her lips, and before she knew it, her feet had carried her through the open door and into the shop.
At first the place appeared to be empty, but when she looked more carefully, she saw the blurred figure of a person sat behind the glass counter.
"Hello?" She called out politely.
"Ah!" The person leapt to their feet, dashing up to where Pearl waited at the counter. Pearl was quite taken aback at first- before her stood the strangest looking boy she had ever seen, and that was saying something. His hair was brown and combed back, with a large unruly curl of ginger hanging over his forehead, and two yellow tufts sticking up either side of his head, closely resembling the ears of a fox or some other wild animal. On his round cheeks were cat-like whiskers, he had a turned-up nose and a single looped earring in his ear. He wore a baggy T-shirt with a strange design on the front which looked like the infamous blue badger, except with snazzy shades and a beard. Over the T-shirt he wore an oversized pink jacket with vicious looking dogs printed on it. There was no arguing with the fact that he was one weird looking kid, but then Pearl wasn't really one to comment on how people were dressed.
"Hey, how goes it? What can I do ya for?" Grinned the boy. He had a pronounced American accent, like those old-time gangster types, but his smile was genuine, and Pearl could tell he was harmless.
"Um, do you sell cold drinks here?" Pearl asked "And what confectionary would you recommend?"
"Uh…" The boy frowned and pursed his lips in puzzlement "No… and… eh?"
"What snack should I buy?" Pearl translated, amused.
"Yeah, I knew that!" Said the boy as if it was obvious "And how 'bout this: The O.G Cracker!" He beamed and handed her a small cake.
"Um…" Pearl didn't like to say that it was more of a muffin than a cracker. Instead she smiled and politely took a bite.
The taste made her eyes water. Something was terribly, terribly wrong with The O.G Cracker. It wasn't that the sponge was gooey and undercooked. It wasn't that the grape jam in the centre was sour and out of season. It was something far worse, far more noticeable.
"I think you used salt instead of sugar…" She said, forcing herself to swallow, feeling sick to her stomach.
"What? You fo' real?" Said the boy disbelievingly, snatching the 'cracker' from her hands. He took a bite himself. With far less decorum than Pearl, he rudely spat his mouthful out on the counter.
"Yuck! Aw, man!" He cursed angrily. Turning back to Pearl, he grinned. "I guess I make a better gangster than a chef, huh?"
"You were a gangster?" Said Pearl fearfully.
"Yeah, fo' shizzle!" The boy gave her a thumbs up "You never heard of the famous Kitaki Family? We're the baddest G's there ever was!" He said proudly. His smile faded "Or at least we were, until a few moths back. But hey, this gig ain't so bad once ya get used to it."
"Well, I'm not from around here…" Pearl explained.
"Yeah…" The boy agreed, looking her up and down "You some fortune teller or something?"
"Something like that." Said Pearl vaguely.
"Ah…" The boy nodded as if that explained everything "Still can't get thing cookin' thing down… Not my thing, I guess."
He chewed his lip thoughtfully. Then his face broke into a smile, his tufty 'ears' pricking up. Pearl could almost see the light bulb lighting up above his head.
"Hey… You're a girl, right?" He said, grinning.
"Yes…" Pearl folded her arms, a little offended.
"Well, girls rule at cooking, right? So, I was wondering…" The boy's voice trailed off, disappearing under Pearl's stony glare "Never mind."
"Hm. Well." Said Pearl huffily "… I'm Pearl. Pearl Fey."
The boy smiled again.
"Wocky Kitaki." He said, reaching over the counter and shaking her hand vigorously.
Pulling her hand out of his iron grip, Pearl smiled nervously.
"You know, I'm in town for a while- visiting friends, you know… Perhaps I could help you out with your… work." She offered somewhat warily.
"Oh. Oh! Sure! Hang tight a sec, I'll give you the address…" Said Wocky, fumbling for a pen and paper.
Scribbling out the street and the number, he handed the scrap of paper to Pearl.
"There! Don't lose it now!" He warned "You wanna drop by tomorrow afternoon?"
Pearl smiled politely, taking the filthy scrap of paper gingerly between her thumb and forefinger, she said "I'll think about it."
And turning on her heel, she marched dignifiedly out of the shop.
--
Pearl looked disbelievingly from the address on the paper Wocky gave her to the huge mansion towering before her. Did he play a trick on her by giving her the wrong address? Somehow she didn't think so. The building before her was huge, traditional Japanese decorated with dancing dragons and elaborate bonsai trees.
Raising her hand uncertainly, she knocked on the large wooden door. She fidgeted as she waited for someone to answer, suddenly nervous. What if she had the wrong address? What if she had the right address? What would she do then?
"Hey, you came!" Wocky beamed as he opened the door. Wait, this really was his house?
"Hello Wocky." Greeted Pearl after a moments hesitation "I brought some things for the cooking" She held up the plastic bag she held in her hand.
"What? Oh, yeah, that!" Said Wocky as if he'd only just remembered, tugging playfully at his orange fringe "So, ya wanna come in or what?"
Pearl smiled as he held the door open for her in a rare act of politeness.
--
Boy, when Wocky said cooking wasn't his thing, he really meant it. The batch of cakes he and Pearl were making were supposed to take only ten to twenty minutes to make, but thanks to his fruitless endeavours, it took them over an hour. He couldn't tell sugar from salt, he set the whisk too high so the mix splattered all over the place, he didn't know what grams were, he even tried to read the instructions upside-down. Pearl had to try very hard not to lose her temper with him.
By the time the cupcakes were in the oven, Pearl was exhausted. Wocky however, seemed very pleased with himself, almost triumphant.
"That's the first time I've ever baked 'em right!" He laughed "When can we eat 'em, then?"
"They'll be done in about ten minutes." Said Pearl, sighing tiredly. She brightened "Just enough time for us to clean up!"
"Aw, man!" Wocky grumbled "You're startin' to sound like my mom, gal!" But he didn't argue further.
Pearl smiled.
--
Pearl and Wocky grinned at each other as they bit into the last of their freshly-baked muffins. In truth, Pearl was still on her first, eating delicately with small ladylike nibbles. Wocky had polished off the other eleven single-handedly, his cheeks bulging.
"They're good." Said Wocky with his mouth full, spraying crumbs all over.
"Yes." Pearl agreed, shifting in her seat, brushing the crumbs from her lap.
"Um…" Wocky swallowed the rest of his muffin whole. Shifting over to Pearl, he reached out and wiped some stray cake mix from the tip of Pearl's nose with the pad of his thumb.
Pearl giggled apologetically. She looked at Wocky and their eyes locked. They stayed like that for almost a minute, smiling, both a little nervous, a little confused, a little shy.
Pearl blushed and looked away. It was rude to stare!
The awkward silence was broken by a loud bang as someone marched through the front door.
"I'm back!" Called a husky, booming voice. A huge woman bustled through the kitchen door, laden with shopping bags. "Wocky, honey, are you in here…"
The woman stopped still when she saw Pearl. Putting her hands on her hips, she turned to Wocky.
"Wocky, how many times do I have to tell you, tell me when you're bringing your girlfriend round!" She scolded. Turning to Pearl, she smiled widely "Well, hello, sweetie! Ain't you the pretty one! I'm Plum. Plum Kitaki."
She shook Pearl warmly by the hand in the same iron grip as Wocky.
"You'll have to excuse my son." She apologised "He can be so tiring sometimes. He's a good lad at heart, but not the brightest bulb in the box. You know what I mean, right? 'Course you do!"
"Um…" Pearl looked back at Wocky for help as Plum turned her away from him, chatting as if they were old friends. Wocky shrugged helplessly at her.
"You should have seen him when he was little. Oh, he was a terror and a half!" Plum laughed "Still, what toddlers don't strut around naked once in a while? He always acted tough, even back then, but you know he wet the bed right up until he was eleven…"
"MO-OOOM!" Shouted Wocky, finding his voice "Sh-Shaddap already, will ya?! You're embarrassing me!" Embarrassed seemed to be an understatement for poor Wocky. His cheeks and ears burned crimson, his face an incredible bright red, fading to pink as he flushed even down his neck and across the top of his chest.
Plum turned to Wocky, her arms folded, a furious look on her face. If looks could kill, Wocky would be the next person Pearl was channelling.
"Excuse me, young man." Plum said. She pinched his ear between her thumb and forefinger and shook his head by it hard.
"Ow! Owww! Mom!" Wocky yelled, writhing, one eye creased up in pain "Cut it out!"
"Don't you tell me to shut up, Wocky Kitaki!" Plum said, twisting Wocky's ear so that he yelped involuntarily "You may be nineteen, but you're still my little boy, and you do as I say, you understand?"
"Ow! YES! OWW!"
"Good." Plum smiled contentedly and released her son. Skipping over to the door, she turned just as she was about to leave. Addressing Pearl, she said "Now, you just give Little Plum a shout if he gets on your nerves, ok sweetie?"
Pearl nodded, clenching her teeth together to keep the torrent of laughter from escaping her.
Plum smiled at Peal and gave Wocky a warning look, then left the room.
Turning away from the door by which his mother had left, Wocky ballooned out his cheeks in anger and rubbed his swollen ear, trying to scowl but looking more like he was pouting. The overall effect was so cute that Pearl got an overwhelming urge to reach out and pinch his cheek, but she resisted it, not wanting to cause the boy more embarrassment.
"What you laughin' at?" Wocky demanded angrily.
"Well!" Pearl folded her arms, her laughter dying on her lips "I didn't do anything, actually." She told him.
"Yeah, I know, I know… sorry." Said Wocky, shaking his head. Looking back at her he flashed her a huge grin, fiddling sheepishly with his orange fringe "Eh heh…"
Suddenly Pearl couldn't resist it any longer, and she couldn't stop herself reaching up and pinching his red cheek fondly.
--
Pearl found herself visiting the Kitaki Mansion rather a lot after that. The family was surprisingly welcoming- far from what she would expect from an organized crime syndicate. Plum seemed to have taken an instant shine to her, never passing up a chance to have a good girly chat- she had even fished out an old family photo album and showed her some pictures of Wocky when he was little, which had resulted in a very red-faced Wocky desperately trying to persuade Pearl that the grubby child in the photos wasn't him, but someone who looked like him. Big Wins, the big boss himself, wasn't much of a talker, but would always greet Pearl with a friendly smile and told her she was always welcome, and even offered her a part-time job at the pie shop.
Pearl also found herself growing increasingly fond of Wocky. Despite his tough-guy attitude, attention deficiency, ridiculous smooth-talk, hyperactivity and often downright ignorance, she was oddly drawn to him. He really wasn't as 'hard' as he liked to think he was- Pearl had seen more menace in a rabbit. He was a nice guy, though he would claim otherwise, and Pearl couldn't help but like him. He had taken to calling her 'My little gem'- a terribly cheesy play on her name, Pearl thought, but she secretly felt flattered, and would blush whenever he greeted her with a 'Yo, gorgeous!' or something of the like. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was flirting with her.
"So, spirit medium, huh? Like ghosts and stuff? That's wack, babes!" Said Wocky disbelievingly when Pearl had entrusted him with her secret 'occupation'.
"No, it's true." Insisted Pearl, a little offended.
"Really? No way!" Wocky laughed, beginning to believe her "Mad! So, can ya like, channel right now? A ghost, I mean."
Pearl shook her head.
"It's not as simple as that." She said "It's a great responsibility. I can't get careless with it."
"Aw, that's no fun!" Said Wocky, disappointed "You coulda channelled that quack that had me near knockin' on death's door. Then I coulda finally given 'im a piece of my mind!"
"Excuse me?" Pearl said questioningly.
"Doc botched up my op a while back." Confided Wocky "Damn near died, I did! Lucky thing we found another dude to fix me up 'fore it was too late."
"Oh, how awful!" Exclaimed Pearl, horrified at his story and pleased that he had trusted her with it.
"The ol' quack popped it a few months back." Wocky said, quieter this time "Weren't missed much."
"Ah. But, you're better now, right?" Pearl asked worriedly.
"Yeah. Takes more that that to get to Wocky Kitaki!" Wocky grinned proudly "Ya wanna see my scar?"
"Oh, all right…" Said Pearl.
Wocky grinned and pulled up his T-shirt, pointing to a long pink scar running down his tanned chest, still held together with flesh-coloured thread.
"Pretty cool, huh?" He said proudly.
"Um, yes, I suppose." Said Pearl, actually horrified at the state of Wocky's poor cut chest.
"You can touch it if ya want." Offered Wocky.
"No, thankyou…" Pearl declined, shaking her head.
"Ok, then." Said Wocly grinning.
Pearl realised that he was just going to grin cheekinly at her like that until she succumbed. Sighing, she lightly brushed the scar with her fingers, pulling away immediately as if a mere touch would tear the stitches. She shuddered.
"Yuck!" She said, wiping her hand on her kimono just in case any blood had got on her. She was always a bit squeamish when it came to blood and gore.
"No, it's cool!" Insisted Wocky "It feels weird. Look." He took Pearls hand and guided it to the scar, running her fingertips over the stitching. "See?"
Pearl had to admit, the ridges of stitching did feel 'cool' in a creepy sort of way. She smiled tiredly at Wocky as if to say 'satisfied?" Wocky grinned toothily back at her. Pearl felt a very odd sensation spread through her, and her smile faded, as did Wocky's. As she looked into his dark eyes she found herself getting a little breathless. Subconsciously she stepped closer to him. His hands moved to wrap around her, one hand at her waist and one at her neck, stroking her hair. Keeping her left hand against his bare chest, her right moved to brush against his cheek. And they were getting closer together, so close that Pearl could feel his breath tickling her face, and her face grew warm. Her head tilted right, his left. Her eyes closed, and-
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"
They leapt away from each other abruptly, Pearl blushing furiously. What must they have looked like?
Little Plum sighed and gave Pearl a resigned look as if to say 'I was young once, too'. Then turning to Wocky, she glared daggers.
"I- We weren't… We were just…" Wocky stuttered, strugging to explain.
Plum sighed and put her hands on her hips, shaking her head.
"Wocky, how many times do I have to tell you, not in the kitchen."
--
I know it's a weird couple, but I like it. Wocky was one of my favourite characters in Apollo Justice, I thought he should have a girl who wouldn't (SPOILER HERE) sign his death warrant, get engaged to him for money, and frame him for murder.
Please review if you have the time, it would mean a lot to me.