100 Themes PART TWO: Wally Kuki
Keeping a Secret
"Hey Numbuh Four!" the sweet Japanese girl chirped as she bounded towards the blonde haired boy, a rainbow monkey cradled in her arms.
"What is it Numbuh Three?" he asked irritated
"Well, I was just wondering" she looked around the room "hey where is everybody!"
"I can't tell you" he muttered
She pouted "Why not?"
"Because, it's a secret" he growled,
He immediately regretted his tone of voice when the tears gathered up in her eyes.
"Kuki, you know I…" he stammered, the eyes were full to the brim now "Why don't we go find 'em?"
She attempted a small teary smile, and he gave a sigh of relief
"Sure, Wally, do you know where they are?"
"Yes, but it's a secret, y' have t' wear a blindfold, else I can't show you"
He took a blue bandana from his pocket and tied it gently on her face; then taking her hand, glad she couldn't see the blush on his cheeks; he led her through the tree house, warning her about steps, things in the way, and any other obstacle.
"Just a bit further Kooks" he assured her when he reached a door
Opening it he looked inside to see if everything was ready, before taking her gently by the shoulders and leading her inside.
He had to admit, it was worth all the planning, hours away from his usual training to see her face light up when he pulled off the bandana. She squealed in delight as their friends jumped out from behind furniture and yelled 'surprise'. Kuki had always said she'd never had a surprise birthday party. He felt his cheeks get hot when she grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
"You didn't need to do that, Wally, it's only my twelfth birthday!" she'd told him afterward
"Well, ya only turn twelve once" he muttered gruffly "and ya always said ya wanted a surprise birthday party" hesitantly, he took a step forward, holding something behind his back.
"I, uh bout you a present" he cleared his throat, and his mouth felt dry
Her purple eyes shone with surprise
"I've been working on it for a while" he added "but ya have to close your eyes"
She obliged him, putting her hands in front of her and closing her eyes. She felt him put something on her hand, then a gently kiss on her cheek and a whispered 'happy birthday Kuki'
When she opened her eyes, Wally had already left and she had a small box on her hand. She touched her cheek gently and felt a tender smile grow on her face
Memories
A fourteen year old boy walked around an old tree house. He pushed his blonde bangs off his green eyes. Silently walking through it, he reached a small balcony where a raven haired girl was sitting all alone, staring out into the dark night. She was wearing an oversized green sweater, but seemed to shiver under the fabric.
"What are you doin out here? You're gonna freeze" he told her
She turned and smiled at him happily "no I'm not Wally, it's not that cold"
He grumbled something incoherently and sat down next to her.
"Why are you up in the tree house?"
She sighed happily "Just thinking back on the KND"
"About what?"
"How fun it used to be to go on missions, not having to be limited to just spying"
"Kooks, you know we still get to do real missions!"
She looked down "I know, but it's just not the same!" She took Wally by surprise when she looked up, violet eyes met green ones and the world seemed to stand still.
"You know what I'm glad is still the same?" she whispered
He could only stare numbly as she told him "You're still around"
After saying that Kuki looked down, surprised at her outburst and a bright red blush painting her cheeks. She gasped in surprise when Wally hugged her. She tried to see his eyes, but the bangs were in the way. After a few moments, he pulled away and cleared his throat.
"You um… looked cold, Kuki" he told her; then he stood up and started walking away.
She stood up too, and walked slowly to her old room, picking up a dusty orange Rainbow Monkey. She managed to get some of the dust off it when Wally came in.
"Uh Kuki, I want to um… tell you something" he scuffed his foot on the ground "Something important, if you want to listen to it"
She stared at him "What is it Wally?"
His cheeks looked tinted pink; he moved his jaw from side to side, trying to find the right words to say. Finally he set his jaw, and pushed his hair out of his eyes.
"Kuki, I really I've been trying to tell you this for years" he explained "I never could, because I was… afraid" he cleared his throat, fearing his voice would crack
Kuki walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder
"What is it Wally?" she asked again
"I was thinking, bout the past and all that, how so many times I wanted to tell you"
He took her hand in his, holding it gently
"I was just never ready to say it, just being ten and all" by now, his face was all red
"Kuki I really" he took a deep breath "I really care about you"
That was all she needed to hear, she hugged him tightly as if she would never let go, he wrapped his arms around her slim form. In his mind he saw himself as a ten year old boy, over and over again trying to tell Kuki Sanban how he felt. The time they had been looking for Bradley the Skunk, the time that she was performing in the school play and he though she was really going to kiss their worst enemy, and the time when he rescued her from having to marry Sandy. Right now, it felt as if he was back at ten, just a happy kid who had finally admitted the truth.
Protector
They were suddenly interrupted by the shrill ringing of their cell phones. Number One had left a message for them. They were to go to a root beer factory and scout it out, there were rumors going around about plans to put something on soda shipments for children, to speed up growth into adults and control their minds. It was probably nothing; Number One was prone to exaggeration. They gathered their packs and hailed a cab to get to the outskirts of town.
"Are you sure this is the place, it doesn't look like a soda factory" Kuki asked Number one via cell phone once they got there
"That's what the Intel says, try not to get spotted" the phone clicked off
"Looks like your dream came true, Kuki, we're back in the danger zone"
"What are you talking about, we're here to spy!"
"No, those guys just saw us, and they're coming to get us, pull your hood up"
They charged against the incoming guards, the guards carried soda pop guns, and they had no weapons. They jumped up and kicked two guards down. After a while, Wally lost track of where Kuki was, just continued to try to beat the goons away. He growled they needed to get out of there now, if they were caught, the whole Teen's Next Door would be compromised. Suddenly a hurt yelp of a girl cut through the noise and battle haze. His eyes locked and he went in overload, trying to find Kuki. He wished he could call her name, but they couldn't risk their identities. Finally he saw her at the edge of the battle surrounded by fallen guards. Her eyes were closed. He saw the red splotch on her forehead and coolly punched the nearest man. He ran to her and picked up her slight frame. Holding her close, he climbed up the outside stairs that led to the factory. Once he was on the ceiling, he ran as fast as he could, jumping gaps between roofs until he reached the edge of the block, there he jumped down a catwalk and kept running to the streets. He saw his house come up into view and kicked it into full gear.
When he went inside, he almost plowed into his mother, she gasped when she looked at him, then at the unconscious Kuki in his arms, before going to get the first aid kit.
When he set her carefully on the sofa, Kuki groaned and opened her eyes a slit.
"you're safe now, Kooks, we're home, my house that is, I'll call your parents, tell them part of the truth, we were walking along the city when these guys came up to us and tried to get at you, we fought them off, one of them hit you on the head and knocked you out, then I got you here as fast as I could, it was too late to get you back home, and you were tired"
She nodded in agreement to the story, then groaned and put a hand up to her head. When his mom got there, he gently moved Kuki's hand and tended to the head wound. She let out a small cry of pain when the disinfectant touched the wounds; he bandaged it up, then led her to his room, where she collapsed on his bed. He went back and, with his mother to verify that it was the truth, told the Sanbans where their daughter was and why.
Dreamer
Kuki snuggled deep into the bed, sighing happily as she slept. Her dreams were full of colors, she was walking along a path, one side was a dark forest that had strange noises; and then the other had a rainbow colored grassy field full of Rainbow monkeys. A colorful flower on the edge of the forest caught her eye; she wandered off the path to pick it up.
"Don't go there Kuki!" a voice called, she turned to see Wally on the rainbow meadow, she giggled, he looked kind of funny surrounded by rainbow monkeys.
"Why not?" she asked him, hands on her hips
"Because, it's not a real flower, if you get near it, it will hurt you"
She gasped, looking at the flower carefully; it seemed to snarl at her. She gave a small shriek and ran to the meadow, hugging Wally.
"What are you doing here, Wally?" she asked
"Trying to wake you up"
"What?"
"Wake up Kuki" he said, leaning down to kiss her
She woke up by someone shaking her bed, looking around she tried to figure out where she was and why her head hurt. The room was unfamiliar. A blonde head peeked into the room; then disappeared, seconds later; Wally was inside, carrying a plate of food.
"Where are we?" she asked
"Oh right, you've never been to my room afore" he said "I took you here, it was too late t' take you home, don't worry I told your parents"
She polished off her eggs and bacon in record time. Then tried to stand up, the room spun around her, only Wally's arm around her shoulder kept her sanding and off the floor.
"Take a moment to wash your face, do whatever you have to do; then I'll walk you home"
She nodded and went to his small bathroom, after washing her face; she risked a look at the wound. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't deep, but it was kind of big, luckily, her hair hid it perfectly from view.
When she came outside, Wally turned her head for a moment and put some medication on it, his wide calloused fingers gently applying an ointment. It barely stung this time, and reduced the throbbing. She looked at him, her mind going back to what he'd told her the day before at the tree house.
"Wally, honey is she alright, you'd best be taking her home now" Wally's mom's voice came from the kitchen
Wally pulled away "We're going, mom" he told her
Before leading her out the door, he got a jacket from the back of a chair and helped her put it on.
When they reached her house, Wally stopped, looking at her carefully and kicking at the dirt softly.
"Ah, Kuki d' you remember what I told ya" he asked "at the tree house"
She nodded and he continued "well, I was wonderin' if you didn't have any plans for that week, or a date already, if you would like t' go to the dance" he gulped "with me"
She smiled "I'd love to Wally, but don't you usually hate dances?"
He shrugged "last time we were at a dance together, we enjoyed ourselves well enough" he pointed out with a blush "and we were just ten that time, I figure this time it'll be better"
She giggled, and kissed him on the cheek as a goodbye. It was a long time later when she noticed she still had his jacket. She took it off and smelled it. It smelled just like him, she decided absently. After changing her clothes and taking a shower, she clambered up into bed, cradling an orange rainbow monkey wrapped up in Wally's jacket.
Annoyance
"So, are you and Kuki dating now?" Hoagie asked him when he came over later that day
"Yeah" Wally told his friend "when are ye gonna ask Abby out?"
"Hey! That's no fair!"
"Why, you and her kept buggin' me 'n Kuki since we were ten, this is payback" Wally pointed out
"So?"
"So how does it feel?"
"Hey, you got the girl!" Hoagie pointed out
"Just drop it" Wally growled "Help me pick out a cruddy gift"
"I still don't get why you need my help" his friend pointed out later on at a store "You know her and know what she likes"
"Yeah, but I'm no good at this cruddy romance thing" Wally admitted
"What about chocolates? Flowers? Poems?" Hoagie stopped when he saw the look in Wally's eyes
"I already got a load of flowers at home waitin' but I want to get her something she can look at, not just eat, and that won't wilt up and die"
Hoagie raised his eyebrows "Jewelry?"
"Not enough money for a good one" Wally said with a sigh
"What's the thing Kuki loves the most, besides you?"
"Annoying me?" he asked "or is that your job?"
"Other than that, think"
"Well how am I supposed to know, other than those cruddy rainbow Dorkies-"
Hoagie looked at him "oh no, ya can't mean for me to, no way, there are places where a man has t' draw al line and keep his dignity!" Hoagie grabbed his arm and walked to a nearby store, Rainbow Monkeys decorated it everywhere. When the door opened, Hoagie threw him in. Wally landed face first into the store.
A middle aged lady helped him up, she smiled at him joyously.
"Welcome, lad, welcome!" she said "Here at the Rainbow Monkey emporium, I hope we can help you find whatever you are searching for"
"Lady, I'm not a lad"
"So, what are you looking for, a gift for a sister, a close friend, a crush, or for a girlfriend?" the woman went on, as if she hadn't heard his comment
"Um, that last one sounded just about right"
"Come right this way then"
She led him down row after row of colorful smiling monkeys until they reached a staircase. Then she led him down more rows full of the monkeys, finally stopping at one long road of Rainbow monkeys carrying hearts.
"What's her favorite color: pink, red, blue, purple?"
"I'm pretty sure it's Orange and Green" Wally told her
The woman looked at him, noting his orange jacket and green eyes, thinking of the perfect gift to get this girl "And she's liked Rainbow Monkeys since when?"
"Since she was four"
"Then I've got just the thing" she told him to wait there, a few moments later she came back, holding a plastic box with an orange rainbow monkey with dark green eyes and hearts on each paw.
"This is one of our limited edition ten year anniversary Rainbow Monkey, they come in various colors, none has officially hit the stores yet, or will for two weeks"
"How much is it?" he asked wearily
"Before I can even let you hold this, I need to make sure of some thing; we are offering these at a low price for any person who has been with this company for ten years, what's her name?"
"Kuki Sanban"
The woman's eyes widened "She's one of our best costumers, faithfully buying one toy at least once a month since our beginnings in Japan" she pushed some keys in "She already came in here this month, so you won't have any trouble of her buying that doll already"
"How much?" he asked again
"Fifteen dollars and seventy five cents, with tax"
They walked to the cash register and he quickly paid her and exited the store
"How'd it go?" Hoagie asked
Wally raised the bag on his hand "Cruddy hard, but I got her a present"
Tears
Wally handed back his science project grade wordlessly. Apparently the teacher didn't think that a project on how caffeine could turn adults into raging monsters who weren't human anymore and would even attack their own children was 'scientifically sound' and had given him a D. He looked at Hoagie who was high fiving Abby and Nigel; they had both gotten good grades. In the row next to his, Kuki and Rachel, the ex-Numbuh 362, were smiling happily. They had done some project on music and the human brain that the teacher thought was 'positively enchanting.' He sighed in relief when the bell rang and walked outside. Looking around, he noticed Kuki hadn't come out yet and waited for her at the door.
He saw a girl stop Kuki for a moment and tell her something. Kuki said something to the other girl, before walking to where he waited. He looked at the other girl angrily when he noticed the pool of tears gathering up, making Kuki's eyes shiny. The girl smirked and pushed their way past them to the cafeteria.
"Come on, Kuki, let's go somewhere quiet" he told her, drawing her close to him with a protective arm around her shoulders.
He led her to one of their favorite places, the school garden. It was empty and quiet. They sat down in a bench. When they did, Kuki let the tears she'd been holding flow from her eyes.
"What did she say to you?" he asked her
"She called me a" Kuki took a moment for air, then said a string of vile profane words
Wally growled "If it wasn't for the fact that she's a cruddy girl, I'd beat the crud right out of her"
Kuki managed a smile "Thanks Wally"
"Why?" he grumbled as she hugged him "I didn't do anything
"Yes, you did" she looked up at him "You took me away from there and comforted me"
"Hey guys, we've been looking for you, we bought you lunch and everything!" Rachel's voice sounded close by "You sure there here, Nigel?"
'Yeah, we're here, let's go eat" Kuki chirped, getting up to greet their friends
Wally was surprised at how well she could just hide the hurt so fast. He put that thought away for later contemplation and ran to catch up with his friends.
Under the Rain
"There, wrapped up perfectly" Wally said triumphantly, pushing blonde locks off his eyes.
"What is dear, oh my. Wallykins, don't ya think that's a little messily done?"
"Whaddaya mean mum? It looks fine to me" he looked at the present, the paper was wrinkled up disorderly and smeared, one edge was torn "Then again"
"Just go on to pick up Joey from his friend's house and get you soccer practice, I'll wrap up Kuki's present" her mother said "What is it?"
"A special ten year anniversary rainbow monkey" he replied tiredly as he got his soccer gear "See you later mum"
He and Joey were walking to the soccer field when Wally saw a familiar figure walking along the streets. He turned to his brother and while ruffling his blonde hair playfully said "You go on ahead, Joey, I'll catch up soon enough"
His brother shrugged "Sure, but I think it's gonna rain soon"
Wally grinned "All the better for soccer"
With those words of wisdom, Wally left his brother and crossed the empty streets.
"Kuki, where are you goin'?"He asked
Kuki turned around and smiled at him "I was over at Abby's with Rachel we just got back from shopping" she looked at his bag "you have soccer practice now"
"Yeah, you wanna watch, maybe after we could get some food?" when Kuki nodded, he took her hand and led her to the soccer field. They had only taken a few steps when the skies opened up and rain fell in large droplets. The wind kicked up at that same time, soaking the two teens in seconds. Kuki pulled the jacket she was wearing, closer to her. Wally noticed that she was wearing his jacket and felt pleased at that. He kept Kuki close to him, trying to shield her from the worst of the rain and wind. He slipped several times, making her laugh. When they came to the street they had to close in order to get to the soccer field, the rain let up a little, still Wally gave a cry of dismay. The street in front of them was nearly flooded with water. The huge puddle spanned nearly all the width of the road, no matter which way they chose to go to get to the other end, that block was surrounded with water. Wally heard the roar of a car and turned, shielding Kuki just before the car passed by, soaking his back. He winced at the cold.
"We have to make a run for it" he told her
She nodded, smiling happily
"In one, two, three, go!"
Both teens ran into the mass of water, kicking up water, as Kuki ran behind him, she kicked her shoe up and caught him with a wave of water on his lower back. He slowed, allowing her to pass, the retaliated, soaking her legs more than they already where. She laughed happily and let him catch up to her; together they ran into the soccer field.
Sports
"Nice of you to join us, Beatles, get ready, the rest of the team already did five laps around the field, after that, get dribbling" his coach, a man in his mid twenties told him
"Sorry I'm late, coach, but I met up with Kuki on the way, then it started raining"
His coach waved him off with a smile "don't worry about it, get your girlfriend to the bleachers, there are some towels there, then get back here and give me five laps around the field."
He breezed by the practice, it was one of the best practices the team had had in a long while. When the practice ended, Wally stayed behind to help the coach clean up.
"Whoa guys, wait up!" the coach told the boys that were leaving "We still have one problem"
"What is it coach?" one of the boys said
"As you know, Stephen, the team captain had to leave us, since he graduated and is on his way to becoming a great player in the MLS" most of the team looked down as they remembered their old captain "We need a new captain, Stephen had a suggestion, and I agree with him" He looked at the team, making sure he had their full attention "Wallabee Beatles, how would you like to be the new captain, you have what it takes, you know the game and the plays, you know what it is to be a leader"
"Yeah, Wally do it" someone said "come one Beatles!"
"Sure" Wally said, his mouth was dry "I'd be honored to be the new captain"
The coach nodded "I'll need to talk to you for a few minutes then" the coach told him "but we can do that while cleaning up"
Most of the team left, Joey among them. Wally stopped him so he could tell him to tell their mom where he was going to be. Then he listened to his coach as they cleaned up and gathered the soccer balls. He was about to leave when the coach called him back.
"Here," the coach said, giving him an orange armband with the words 'team captain' in white and the team logo "it's yours until you aren't captain anymore, now go take your girlfriend somewhere nice and get back home safe" he waved him off
When Wally reached Kuki, she hugged him happily. "Congratulations, Team captain" she chirped happily as she pulled away
He put an arm around her waist "come on, we have to celebrate" he told her "I know this nice little restaurant down the street, they have some great chocolate cake" he told her
She took his hand and they walked down the street to the restaurant, smiling and laughing
Party
Wally kept a firm hold on the flowers he was holding in one hand as he climbed up the stairs to her house. On his other hand he held her gift, wrapped up by his mom. Kuki's father answered the door and let him in.
"Good afternoon Mr. Sanban is Kuki ready yet?" he asked
"She'll be down soon, come sit"
Wally tried not to squirm under Kuki's father gaze; instead he looked at the flowers, his suit, his shoes, the present, even the rug on the floor. He gave a sigh of relief when he heard Kuki's steps down the stairs. She walked in the room, still fastening an earring
"Daddy, leave him be! Wally's going to behave, right Wally?" Wally nodded earnestly, Mr. Sanban walked out of the room.
"I got ye these flowers" Wally told her "and this present, y' know since it'll be your birthday soon" he passed his hand through his hair "and since I haven't gotten you much of anything since your twelfth birthday, are you going to open it, it took me a cruddy bit of time to find the right one, and it was torture to get"
Kuki smiled up at him and set the flowers on a nearby vase. Then she carefully removed the gift-wrap around the box and gasped. "A ten year anniversary of the Rainbow Monkey Rainbow Monkey! And in my favorite colors!" she hugged Wally "I love it, but how did you get it, these don't come out for a week, even I couldn't get one?"
Wally chuckled "I was thrown in there by Hoagie, the lady took pity on me and showed it to me, then she checked the records for your name, they were giving it early and with discounts to people who had been with them for ten years, and I had just about enough money to buy it"
He took her hand and started leading her outside to the waiting cab.
"Did I mention you look amazing, cause you do?" he admitted, blushing beet red
IT had been a while in the dance, when suddenly the DJ switched tactics, cutting off the fast song mid-play and replacing it with a slow song. Wally and Kuki were one of the few couples that remained dancing; most teens left the dance floor.
Wally put his arms around Kuki's waist, she held on to the back of his neck as they danced to the slow rhythm. Wally felt his gaze lock with hers as the world slowly dissolved around him. Nothing seemed to matter at the moment: no adults to fight, no school work, no friends to interrupt. Something in him knew it was the moment, but he was still afraid of making the first move. They moved closer together and Wally took his courage in hand and leaned down slowly, giving her a chance to turn her head away, push him away. She inched her head closer, pink lip-gloss sparkling. Their lips met, first hesitantly, then more relaxed. They pulled away, and heard clapping and cheering. Nigel, Rachel, Abby, and Hoagie were all there watching them. Both teens laughed and kept on dancing.
Future
Kuki looked down at the soccer field below, there young kids were wearing their brand new soccer uniform and a young man was instructing them, she walked to the bleachers and listened.
"Alright kids, pair up and start passing that ball, control it, don't be too hard, or too soft. Remember to aim" the man told them, his Australian accent still there even after years
Kuki took out her notebook, settling herself for a wait and began drawing, first new designs for Rainbow Monkeys, then veering off to draw an image of a dream she'd had four years ago, slowly those doodles moved on to just being her and her boyfriend. Someone walked up to her, blotting out the sun. She looked up and smiled at said boyfriend, dressed as a soccer coach and smiling at her. She put aside her notebook and gave him her best smile.
"Hi Wally, come on sit down for a moment" she told him
He did, then leaned over to kiss her "I have great news, I got an all expenses paid soccer scholarship to medical school, Harvard" he told her, smiling
She hugged him "You won't be so far from Cambridge then, or The Rainbow Monkey world center offices" she grinned "once we're both done studying, you'll be one of the greatest doctors in the world and I'll be CEO of the Rainbow Monkey Corporation!"
Wally smiled; it was hard not to be optimistic when he was around Kuki. Soon enough, not yet but soon, he would be able to give her everything and anything that she wanted. That scholarship meant he could start saving up some money. Money that could be used to buy all kinds of things: houses, cars. A Wedding ring.