Love Hina and the Saga Episode #2
"Or forever hold your peace…"
(With cameos by Marty McFly and Doc Brown)
By Ash "James" Stuchly
(Once again, no chapters)
It has been 3 years since the disaster that had befallen the FoxX's on that fateful day of the wedding. Ash and Shinobu Still living at Hinata Apartments. Shinobu's mother had died the year before from a car Crash, and her father was remarried in Tokyo, still a cab driver. Of course, Shinobu was not happy about this. Ash and Shinobu sit next to each other, holding hands and kissing lightly. Across from them are the lovely couple, Keitaro and Naru Urashima. They sit in front of the big TV in the main room. The lights are off. Naru and Keitaro had just put their 3-year-old daughter, Sakiu to bed. The only light source in the room came from the Huge TV. On the screen was a Valentines Special Aired back in 1985. Very outdated, but quite appropriate. Suddenly, a loud ringing interrupts this perfect moment. Ash stands up, and answers the phone.
"Hello?.. Yes… Hiya Jake!… No, I can't. I told you! Because I'm the manager now… I kno- I can't drive tonight! I don't care how bad the probl-.. Oh… Okay. I'll do it." Ash sadly hangs the phone up, and turns to his wife.
"Shinobu, I'm afraid I have to go."
"Why? What was that all about?"
"I have been called on assignment. I have to drive the G-6155 interceptor tonight." The interceptor was a beautiful car. It was used in the PS2 Game, Spy Hunter. I still need to sue them for that…
"But I thought you were retired." Keitaro walks into the kitchen with Shinobu and Ash.
"I was… But I have to do this one. We have received strange word of a flying train that appeared out of nowhere, and crashed into Tokyo's Skyline. I need to investigate."
"Okay Ash." Shinobu says as she lowers her head, crying. Ash notices this, and steps up to her. He puts his hands on her shoulders, and pulls her to him. They hug and kiss and Ash leaves the Apartments.
"Hey!" Haruka of the Hinata teahouse next to the Apartments yells. 'Where the hell are you going Ash? Get into a fight with Shinobu?"
"No Haruka." Ash yelled and waved to her. "I have been called on Assignment."
"Well, Good luck." Haruka says, as she continues sweeping the steps of her teahouse. Ash walks around to the Garage in the Apartment, and hops into his Interceptor Defender, A flying DeLorean that could change into an Arwing. He drove quickly to the AFBSHQ in Tokyo. The White interceptor sits outside, the passenger side open and facing him. Jake rises from the side of the car with a medium wrench in his mouth.
"Hey Ash." He says as he removes the tool.
"Hey Jake. Long time no see." Ash says, as he gives Jake their Secret handshake.
"Well, here's the car. Its all ready for you." Ash sits in the car, and shuts the door. He looks at the Instruments and pieces in the car. He takes the keys, and puts them into the ignition. VROOM! The car comes to life. The green LCD Panels flash up, and analyze the driver.
"Welcome back Ash…" The Female Computer voice rang from the stereo. Ash leaned his body onto the steering wheel, covered in Buttons with letters on them. His memory was beating down on him. And hard too. He revved the engine slowly, and then faster and faster. Finally, he grasped the steel thruster facing the rear of the vehicle, and gives Jake the Thumbs up. Jake pushes the Buttons in the control panel alongside a large building. A large gate opens slowly, and Ash revs the engine more and more.
"Go!" Jake's voice yells over the radio. Ash thrusts the lever forward, and hits the Gas. A Couple of Fire trails shoot from the Exhaust, and the car burns rubber out of the gate. Ash moves some switches, and a pair of machine guns rise out of the hood. Then, a casing full of guided missiles rises from the cab. A Panel from the rear of the vehicle lowers, revealing four holes where oil and Smoke are able to shoot from. The Tires expand from under the car while it is speeding down the road, lowering the car smoothly on the shocks, and a metallic belt covers the tires. A short blender type blade shoots from the wheel, and starts to spin in the opposite direction.
"Sweet." Ash says. The car was still working. Suddenly, Ash notices a slow Semi crawling in front of him. Ash grasps the wheel, and punches one of the buttons on the Dash. A Duo of durable metal bars shoots from under the car, and fire out blue and purple flames. The car hovers over the traffic.
"Wow. I guess Jake was doing some major work on her. I don't remember these at all." The LCD rearview mirror comes down, and reveals a White car with a Red M Following Ash. The radio in the interceptor begins to crackle, and a voice comes over. A picture of a young man with blue eyes and a white helmet comes over the transmission.
"Hey! You stole my gadgets!" the car behind Ash began to jump and mimic many moves the interceptor was pulling off. Then, a stupid robotic Dove comes from the engine, and attacks the driver.
"The Mach 5!" Ash cries, as he hits the turbo boosts, and takes the exit nearly ramming into the wall. The mach 5 is in rubble on the side of the road.
"I always knew that robot was a dumb Idea." Suddenly, a Stoned looking Monkey hit the windshield.
"AHH!" Then, a little boy dressed like the hamburglar hit the window too, knocking the both of them off and over the car, getting them caught in the missile silo. Ash fires the missile and, bye-bye monkeys. Finally, Ash made it to Tokyo. It was apparent where the damage was. A short black train hung through a huge building, and a couple of men were at the bottom dealing with the upset People. One man wears a white Science coat, while the other wears Blue jeans and a red vest. Ash goes in to investigate. It turns out the citizens were not protesting to the men, they were getting autographs.
"What in the hell? Who are you?"
"I am Christopher I- I mean Doctor Emmett L. Brown."
"And I'm Micha- I mean Marty." Doctor brown nudges him. "Marty McFly." Marty finishes.
"Nice to meet you." Ash says. "Now what the hell happened here?" Ash Asks.
"Well, We were flying the train when we suddenly appeared in Tokyo, and rammed right into that building there." Doctor brow- "Call me Doc!" Doctor – I mean Doc Says.
"Okay. Then why were you signing autographs" Ash takes out a clipboard, and takes notes. Doc begins to talk about it, inaudible to Ash, as he focuses on his Clipboard, nodding his head occasionally. On the paper attached to the clipboard, Ash is drawing a picture of Shinobu. Her voice travels in his head. Ash begins to cry quietly.
"What's wrong boy?" Doc asks.
"My Wife… I miss her a lot."
"I understand. We will be on our way then. Marty set the shields for the building repair." Marty runs to a Briefcase on the ground. Suddenly, the train flies out of the building, and a blue wall of pulsating energy covers the holes. The Wall slowly repairs the building.
"See you around. Nice car by the way." Marty says.
"Thanks." Ash hops into the G-6155 Interceptor, and drives off towards Hinata. On the way, Ash takes the Highway he was on earlier, The Mach 5 Still on the side of the road. Speed racer, the driver, Faces Ash's car, and shakes his fist.
"Hey! You get back here! Ha-ha!" the badly translated speed cried. Ash skids around the corner of the trash, and splashes Speed in the face with mud. Soon, Ash arrives back to Hinata. Ash parks the G-6155 interceptor in the Garage against another vehicle with a huge gray tarp over it. Ash had left his Interceptor defender at the Base for storage, and took the G-6155 Interceptor. Ash slowly inches closer to the car, and lifts the tarp a little. A Hand comes in from his right, and knocks the hand Away.
"Don't touch that! Its very sensitive equipment." It was Doc. "Haven't you ever heard of 'Minding your own Business'?" He says.
"Sorry Doc. I – Hey! Wait! What are you doing here at Hinata?!" Ash asks. Doc stands back, looking shocked.
"Hey, Aren't you the Guy with the G-6155 Interceptor?" Ash looks across.
"Yeah…" Doc runs up to Ash very quickly, and grasps his shoulders. He stands about 3 inches away from Ash's face.
"That was my design! I invented it, and some crackpot named Mr. William Wisdom stole my designs, and took all of my fame. That car there was a top secret weapon I was going to use to fight NOSTRA Industries."
"And what did NOSTRA do to deserve it?" Ash asks.
"They bootlegged the 'Back to the Future' animated series and drew a mustache on my video feeds with PhotoShop. But that's not important!" Doc screams in Ash's face. "It's the principal of the idea." Ash puts his hand behind his head.
"But still, Why are you here at Hinata?"
"To get revenge on NOSTRA. Their base is here in Japan."
"Where in Japan? It's pretty big here."
"I'm not sure exactly. It could be Hinata, Tokyo, Okinawa, Sendai, or perhaps the island off the coast called Para-something Island."
"Or perhaps pararantis."
"Perhaps." Doc paces around the garage, tripping over tools littered on the floor.
"Let's just go to my lab. I will show you my plans." Doc and Ash arrive in the lab located in the attic of the Hinata Apartments. The room is vast, but dark. The only light in the room comes from certain spots of the floor from the bending wood and an old Amiga computer on a desk. Marty is on the computer playing a game. Doc walks over to a table covered in scrap and pieces of paper. A blueprint of the G-6155 Interceptor lay under a rusty 7 inch by 5 inch metal casing. On the paper, the name 'ELB-DMC Interceptor' is crossed off, with the new name 'G-6155 Interceptor' written in red crayon. On the lower right corner of the paper is the scribbled word 'copy'. Doc digs around in his cabinets, and pulls out a scale model of the car made out of clay.
"This was my invention." He says, as he hands the casting to Ash, The sounds of 'space war' beeping from the computer.
"Now, why are you showing me this? I know what my own car looks like."
"That is not your car!" Doc screams. "I invented it!"
"No you did not! My father built the design for that car, and my pal, Jake and I built it ourselves."
"What about Mr. Wisdom?" Doc screams, going mad. Ash smacks Doc hard in the face, and Doc flies back into the wall. He falls then to the floor, and falls through. Ash looks over at Marty, still preoccupied on the computer.
"Ahh!" Shinobu screams from downstairs. Ash rushes to the hole and jumps down, only to fall headfirst into the hot spring baths. He stands knee deep in the water, and looks to his left. Shinobu lies on her back in the water with a light pink towel with the Doc sitting on her.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ash yells.
"Ahh!" Shinobu screams again.
"Oops." Doc bites his lip. Suddenly, Naru rushes out the door, and spots poor Shinobu, gasping for air. Naru punches Doc from Shinobu, and helps her to her feet. Ash stands behind her in the water, and rests his hands on her shoulders. She turns around, and lays her head on his left shoulder. She puts her hands around his back, and he does the same. They stand there lovingly for awhile, and finally, go back inside.
The next day
"Hello? Hey… Sorry, I—I told you! I am going to retire tomorrow! Why? You're asking ME why? I'll tell you why. Because I love my wife, and I don't ever want to lose her again. And I'll be damned if I ever set foot on that base again, unless it is to pick up my DeLorean… Fine! {CLANG}" Ash hangs up his red and black cell phone violently, and walks outside. He sets himself on a bench near the city's park, and takes out a pack of unopened cigarettes. He packs the box, and opens it. He grabs a lone cigarette with his teeth, and flips it out of the pack. Then, with one slick movement, he opens his 'zippy' lighter, and lights it from his knee, lighting the cigarette in his mouth. He sits himself back onto the white concrete bench, and adjusts his leather trench coat over his shoulders. He holds his cigarette between his fingers in his right hand, and puts his face into his hands. His blue hair sulking over his fingers. Shinobu creeps up by his right and sits down. She looks at him sadly, as he quietly sobs into his hands. Shinobu leans over to him, and picks his head up with her finger, catching a lone tear, and rubbing it lightly into his blue hair.
"What's wrong?" Shinobu smiles. Ash smiles at her too.
"Ha. You remembered our first meeting huh?"
"Yup" Shinobu winks. Ash takes a puff of his cigarette, and Shinobu watches the red glowing ember creep towards his lips. Ash takes a breath, and looks back at Shinobu.
"So, what brings you out here?"
"I heard you arguing over the phone and then throwing the cell at the floor, and I wanted to know what it was about. And then I saw you leave and spark up a cigarette, and that normally means something is really bothering you." She says.
"Boy. You know me better than my own sister does." Ash smiles. Shinobu puts her arm around her husband, and lays him onto the bench.
"Of course I do. I love you Ash. I love you more than anyone or anything in the known universe. And since my mother died, I didn't have much choice since my father remarried in Tokyo, and I'll never forgive him for that either." Ash giggles a little, making Shinobu smile at him. She lies on his body and he puts his arms around her back. She kisses him longingly and closes her eyes. Ash's eyes still open, he watches as tiny tears sparkle under her eyes. He closes his eyes and caresses her body.
"Ahem." A loud male voice ruins the moment. Ash looks at the owner of the voice, and finds it is a huge sweaty man with huge lips. "That's ma seat." He says.
"Oh. Uh, sorry sir."
"Who you callin' sir little man? The name is Miss. Beauty." Ash stares blankly.
"Uh, are you a drag queen?"
"No… I'm a lady. Don't make me prove it!" She raises her shirt, and faces Ash and Shinobu who scream loudly and quickly run away to the apartments. A fat man with flowers sits next to the ugly woman.
"Hey! I saw you in the prison truck! What were you in for?" he says.
"Killed my boyfriend." The broad says.
"Oh, then I guess you're available. Want to go to my house?" he says as he takes his car keys from his pocket. The fat broad snatches the keys.
"I'm drivin'." She sits in the poor mans Mustang, forcing the car to lean to the left. The fat man attempts to sit next to her, when she shuts his door, and she drives off without him, forcing sparks and pieces of the car to emerge from the undercarriage. The car sparks off down the street, as Ash and Shinobu rush to the Hinata hot springs. They jump in through their room window, and tackle the bed, laughing hard.
"Oh my God! Wasn't that great!" Ash cried out.
"Yeah!!!" Shinobu laughed. They lay on the bed, laughing away, until finally, the room grew quiet. Ash and Shinobu relax gently on the mattress. Shinobu stares at the dark ceiling while Ash slowly dozes off. Shinobu puts her arms behind her head, and turns to Ash, sleeping like a baby. She gently caresses Ash's hand, and touches her soft pink cheek with it. She blushes turning the pink to a light red. Ash flutters in his sleep, feeling the heat in his hand gently rising. He turns to Shinobu, fast asleep with his hand in her arms. He rolls a bit towards her, and puts his free arm over her body, and finally goes back to sleep.
The next day…
Ash awakens the next morning lying halfway on the bed, and off the bed, A very awkward, but freakishly comfortable position. He fell the rest of the way, pulling the sheets with him. He stands up, and looks to the bed. Shinobu is gone. Ash walks downstairs to the kitchen, expecting to see her making breakfast, and instead sees Kaolla trying to put Keitaro into the oven. Ash sighs, and places his hand on Kaolla's shoulder.
"Have you seen Shinobu?" he asks.
"No. Isn't she with you?" Ash runs back up the stairs, and into the room. The sheets still in a pile on the floor. Ash grasps the sheets, and pulls them up fast. Shinobu flies, entangled in the sheets, and hits the door with them. Ash rushes to help her, and quickly notices she is nude, and waking up… he is screwed. She sits up, and rubs her head.
"What happened?" She asks. Blood seeping from her nose and mouth. Ash quickly gets her a towel, and dresses her up. He rushes her to the hot springs, and relaxes with her. Suddenly, the springs begin to bubble. Shinobu looks at Ash.
"PEE YOO! Ash!" She holds her nose.
"It wasn't me!" Ash cries. Just then, the DeLorean rises out of the water, picking the two of them up. The gull wing doors spring open, and fly them across opposite sides of the springs. Doc climbs out of his car, and closes the door, locking it with a remote. Ash approaches him, and grabs his lab coat by the tie.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Shinobu slowly regains her footing.
"I need to get back to bed." She says faintly, and scoots her way upstairs.
"What did you do to her?" Ash screams.
"Just one too many bumps on the head. She'll be fine once she gets a little sleep. You would have a migraine too if you flew that high into a wall." Ash releases the Doc's tie, marches inside, and dresses into his Black clothes. He searches around desperately in his drawers.
"Shinobu, where are all of my shirts?"
"In the wash dear…" she says quietly, trying to doze off.
"What am I going to wear?"
"Don't worry about it Ash. (Yawn). You will be fi--Zzzzz." Ash walks about the apartments without a shirt. He tries to look casual by crawling under the Doc's DeLorean to look like he is working. Doc comes out from behind the car, carrying a load of boxes full of parts. He drops the box on top of Ash's legs, and takes out some of the parts.
"Hey!" The muffled Ash cries. Doc stares at the car, and examines the hood, the crushing weight of the box forcing Ash to clench his teeth.
"Finally! You are beginning to crack! I knew you would one day."
"What?" Ash's muffled voice rang.
"I have waited years to prove that vehicles do indeed have feelings!" Doc kicks the box, shifting the weight onto Ash's kneecaps.
"AHH!" Ash cries, the pain unbearable, and his kneecaps riding along the side of the heavy box.
"I see your weak spot!" Doc cries, as he hops into the already heavy box, and jumps up and down on Ash's kneecaps. Ash bites his lip, and thinks of Shinobu… NO!
"GET OFF OF ME!" Ash cries. Doc stops jumping.
"Ash?"
"Yeah! Get off!" Doc jumps down, and helps Ash from under the car.
"You didn't hear any of that did you?" Doc asks quietly.
"My lips are sealed." Doc helps Ash to his room, and fits him with some automatic walking crutches. His kneecaps were almost detached. Ash lies on his bed, and straightens out. Doc returns, and puts some ice on the knees.
"Sorry about that Ash."
"It's okay."
"You're the manager right" Doc asks with a raspier voice than ever.
"Uh, yeah." Doc suddenly turns green. He leaves slowly and closes the door, catching on his lab coat at least twice making Ash giggle quietly to himself. The sound of the DeLorean starting up fills the apartments. Ash looks out the window, and watches in horror as the car flies into the air, and disappears with fire trails in the air.
"DOC!" Ash falls from his bed, entangled in the thin white sheet. The ice that was on his knees buried into them once he hit the floor, finally detaching his kneecaps. Ash screams in extreme pain and lies flat on the floor like a rag doll. His knees were no longer movable but luckily, they had no feeling either. Naru, Keitaro and Mitsune rush into the room.
"What happened to you Ash" Keitaro cried.
"I--uh, I broke my kneecaps." Just then, Marty rushes in, no look of despair on his face, but that of humor.
"Ash, You really shouldn't scare Doc like that."
"What"
"He thought the car was talking to him again. It happened once before when I was locked in the hood." They both laugh. Just then Shinobu rushes in wearing her spa towel.
"Oh my God!" she cries. She falls to her knees on the hard wooden floor and throws her arms around Ash, lightly sobbing on his chest, still without a shirt. Ash puts his arms around her back and looks at his feet. His legs lay askew in front of him in some wabi-sabi type way. He looked like a broken doll with mechanics still in the upper body. Ash was now paralyzed, probably for the rest of his life. Everybody helps him back into his bed, with the exception of Shinobu, who was too heartbroken to move at all. She just lay from the side over Ash on his bed, listening attentively to his heart beating. She quietly sobs over him, and dozes off. Soon, Marty comes back into the room to check on Ash.
"How are you doing?" Marty asks, actually looking concerned. Ash looks up at him, half-sobbing, half-traumatized.
"Why did Doc kill himself?" Ash asks.
"What?!" Marty yelps.
"I saw him out my window…" Marty looks grim, and glances between Ash and the window slowly.
"What happened?"
"I saw him launch the car into the air, and then Explode in a nucleic blue light, leaving flame trails in mid air." Marty's expression suddenly bloomed.
"He is okay Ash! He just went away somewhere, probably to shop. He does that when he is upset with himself. He'll be back before sunset." Ash suddenly turns to a warm red, and glances out the window.
"2 hours to sunset." He says quietly. In the corner of his eye, he watches Shinobu slowly moving up and down from his breathing. She was still out cold. Suddenly a loud BOOM made him jump, nearly out of his bed, but just enough to wake up Shinobu. The DeLorean flew out from a blue spiraling hole, and flashed the high beams past the window. Doc lands loudly, and shuts off the whirring engine. Doc opens the gull wing door, bellowing smoke from it. He emerges with a clear plastic bag in his left hand. He fumbles to close the door, and freezes his keys to it. He rushes to the trunk and freezes a few of his fingers to it. He blows on them, thawing them from the surface and opens the trunk. Inside, he grabs a hair dryer. He strangles to plug it in, and finally turns it on. Once he does, the keys had already thawed on their own, and were lying on the floor. Doc grunts, and returns the hair dryer, freezing his fingers again. He heats them with the hair dryer, and opens the trunk again. He hurls the hair dryer into the trunk and shuts it. Unfortunately, his fingers blocked the passage. Doc reaches for the keys under the door, with his fingers stuck under the hood. He pulls his body towards it, and in time, frees himself without the keys. He stuffs the keys into his pocket and realizes he forgot his bag. He smacks his head, and turns around slipping on some thin ice on the ground, making him slide around the driveway trying to keep his balance. He stops immediately, and tries to stand up again, causing him to once again, lose his footing and fall onto his back. Ash laughs from his window, and looks at Shinobu, rubbing her eyes. Soon, Doc returned upstairs with the bag. He takes out an Rx drug, and hands it to Shinobu.
"Give him two of these each hour for the rest of today. Be sure he takes it with alcohol."
"W-Why what's it do?"
"It will cure your broken leg. I paid a visit to Tokyo in 2385 and bought a prescription for this. Surprisingly, this drug was still new when I got there. I guess that Tokyo will not be the economic leader of technology in the future. The US had found the cure prior to 2008."
"Ha! That's what they get for keeping the good games from coming to America. (For example, Love Hina Gorgeous for the Playstation 2 was released in Japan Mid 2003 (I think) And never released due to nudity. It was awesome because you used the control sticks to-)"
"That's enough!" Shinobu cries. Doc stands dumbfounded on how fast Ash could talk.
"What's Love Hina?" Ash looks at him evilly, and takes a couple of his pills.
"Never mind." He grabs a beer and forces it down his pipe.
"Ugh, nasty stuff." He throws the can on the floor, forcing it to bounce back up and smack him in the face, leaving a red ring around his forehead. He watches through his drunken eyes at his knees, wobbling back and forth. His knees were slowly but surely coming back to life. But there was still 22 pills left to take before he got better. He lies back on his bed and falls asleep. Shinobu didn't like him being drunk, so she got him some non-alcoholic beers to down the pills with… Coors Lite!.. Ash pops a couple of pills each hour, and chugs down the beers, nearly vomiting after each one. Finally the last two pills remained, and he triumphantly chugged the last beer with the final pills and stood up from his bed.
"Yes!" With that, he collapsed from his knees and slammed his head on the metal table, knocking him unconscious. The loud 'PING' sound had Doc and Shinobu running into the room to see a drooling Ash lying on the floor. Shinobu begins to cry. 'What have I gotten myself into?' She was married to a freak, and that freak was lying on the floor with semi-broken legs and his face wet with drool.
"I can't believe you Ash! This is what has become of our relationship!? You treat me like dirt! I'm leaving you." She walks out, and slams the door, waking up Ash.
"Now Ash, why did you break into the beer stash?" Doc asks.
"I had to drink beer to down the pills! I didn't like them either." Ash gags.
"That was supposed to be non-alcoholic beer. Apparently you got some real beer in your system and passed out."
"No! I tried to stand up and collapsed! Where is Shinobu at?" Doc looked to the door.
"Oh boy…" He ran out the door after Shinobu. Ash just sat up, and rubbed his head. There was a huge bump on his forehead.
"Great. Proof that I'm an idiot." Ash grabbed his automatic crutches, and walked himself to the sitting room. Shinobu was crying into her hands with Doc at her side moving his lips. Ash was too far to understand, but he tried to read them… 'Impossible.' He thought. Ash slowly crept down the stairs. He sneaked around a drywall doorway, and listened to Doc explaining everything to Shinobu. She nodded her head lightly. Then Doc said, "Forgive him" and Shinobu threw a huge fit. She started grabbing things from tables and throwing the cushions from the couch. She tore off her wedding ring, and threw it at the glass doors. They didn't shatter but it caused a small crack in the door and the ring fell to the ground in slow motion, to Ash anyway. Ash turned back behind the drywall, and slid his back down the other side, landing on his butt. He thrusts his face into his hands, and sobbed quietly. He eyed his wedding ring through his tearing eyes, and tried to pull it off, but his emotion was too strong compared to his everlasting love for Shinobu. He remained behind the wall, listening to Shinobu calming down. She walked slowly over her ring, and picked it up. She grasped it into her fist, and walked upstairs to her room. Ash waited until she closed her door, and emerged from his hiding place. He searched for the ring, and of course, did not find it. He sadly walked up to his room, and sobbed in his bed.
"The ring is gone… It's over…" Ash sobbed into the dampened pillow. He took a second look at his ring, and once again attempted to remove it. The wetness from his tears made his fingers slip and pinch at his finger and the ring. Finally, Ash put the finger in his mouth, and Ash pulled the ring off with his teeth. Once it came off, all that remained on the finger was purple skin and blood. Ash read the inscription imprinted on the inside of the ring. "Till death do we part ~ FoxX" Ash clenches the ring in his fist, and throws it at his window. The force of the ring shatters a hole in the plane glass, and the ring falls to the bushes next to the hot springs. Ash ignores the enormous mess, and pushes his pillow over his damp face. His black shirt clung to his body from the sweat and tears. His bangs so damp, they stuck to his forehead like some ancient nazca indian lines. He throws his orange over-shirt against the wall, and pushes his face into the pillow. He hears a door open, but ignores it, and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he becomes face to face with Kaolla, sticking him in the arm with a stick. Ash, surprised by the sudden "face" in his "face", jumped back, and fell onto the floor. Kaolla stands over the mangled mess, and laughs.
"Hey! Shinobu was looking for you!" Kaolla cried.
Huh?" Ash got to his feet, and stumbled himself to the door, mangled in his sheets. Once he slides open the plane doors, Mitsune stands trying to keep her balance, a saki bottle in her hand.
"Hey." She says in a slurred tone, shaking violently from side to side, spilling the saki on the floor.
"Shinobu was lookin' for you sugar." She says, as she collapses, pulling down the sheets mangled around Ash. Unfortunately, Ash's boxers were also mangled in the sheets, and the sheets were on the floor now. Like clockwork, the loud thumps of Naru's footsteps echoed in the halls. Ash peeked around the hall, and watched helplessly as Naru jump kicked a naked Ash out the plane windows, and stood in the hallway with a balled fist, breathing heavily.
"There are children in this dorm!" Naru cries out the broken window.
"You know, you should probably calm down. We have spent a fortune already replacing all of the windows and doors here." Haruka said, coming out of nowhere as usual. Naru loosened her grip, and looked behind her. Keitaro stood with Sakiu in his arms, still very young. Naru goes to her husbands' side, and walks with him to their room.
"Hey, have you guys seen Shinobu anywhere?" Haruka asked.
"Yes! She is at the bridge! She looked sad when she left, so I didn't bother chasing after her." Kaolla said.
"At the bridge? What did that idiot do to her now?" Sarah cried.
"Nothing!" Ash cried from down below. Ash rushes into a towel, and trips into the bushes.
"Agh! That hurt." When he unclenches his eyes, he spots the ring he had thrown out the window. He picks it up, and begins to tear. He throws the ring in the air, and catches it it again. "I won't let her get away from me… Not like Alex!" Ash runs inside, and dresses into his coat over his black Dickies and T-shirt, Not to mention his infamous orange over-shirt. He pops a cigarette into his mouth, and rushes to the garage. Doc was lying on the floor, under his DeLorean, probably sleeping. Unfortunately, Doc was blocking his Interceptor, and the Defender was at the garage at Jake's place. The only vehicle available was an old red 1974 VW Beetle. Ash hopped inside, and to his relief, the driver left the keys in the glove compartment, which sported a cheap 'hang-on' cup holder. Ash struggled to start the car, and it jumped out of its space, and into the road, stalling immediately. Ash attempted to start it again, and once again it jumped and stalled immediately. Ash quickly realized why.
"Duh! Its still in gear!" Ash put it out of gear, choked it once, and drove the car to the bridge. He pops a cigarette into his mouth, and lights it without holding the wheel. Soon, he came across the bridge, but Shinobu was not there. However, there was a notebook on one of the concrete benches. She had sketched a picture of Ash with his arm over a huge beer on the couch, and Shinobu drew herself kneeling in the corner with a broom. Ash noticed the paper was still damp. But it was hard to tell because he was adding to it. She was close. Ash quickly hopped back into the Beetle, and it hopped again.
"Dammit! It's still in gear!" He smacks the steering wheel. Ash drove cautiously to where he thought she would be. He drove the car off of the pavement, and into the grass. He dragged the small car around the city park, and soon came across the bench where they had first met. Ash's line of sight was blocked by a sand sculpture of a huge Pikachu character. Ash rammed the car into the sculpture, nearly killing the little boy who was working on it. Shinobu sat there with her face in her hands. Ash left the engine on, and left the vehicle. He sat next to Shinobu, a cigarette in his mouth.
"Aren't you a little too drunk to drive?" Shinobu muttered.
"The beer you gave me was non-alcoholic." Ash said, taking a drag.
"Then you must have asked Mitsune for a drink of her saki or something."
"No! Shinobu," Ash holds her chin with his finger, and catches a tear with one of his fingers. Ash was also crying. "Shinobu, I was NOT drunk. I hate beer. I hate alcohol too."
"But you were.."
"Unconscious Shinobu. I tried to stand up after my last pills, and my knees gave way, and I hit my head on the table." Shinobu glanced at the bump on his head.
"How are your knees?"
"Much better after a good nights sleep." Ash cried a bit, and tried to force himself not to. Shinobu noticed this, and put her arms around him.
"I love you Ash. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Let it out." Ash suddenly felt the weight from his shoulders, lift away his problems. 'But the ring' he thought to himself.
"What about the ring?" Ash said quietly, close to bursting. Shinobu put her hand in his, and grasped her fingers, making a two-person fist. The ring flashed on her finger.
"I had it all the time."
"But, I saw you throw it against the door."
"I was upset Ash. After I thought about it awhile, I never wanted to leave you." She cuddles against his shoulder, supporting some of her silky hair in the cup of his arm. Ash reached into the pocket of his coat, and took out the ring. He studied it in his forefingers and thumbs of both hands, and read the inscription again.
"Till death do we part" Shinobu and Ash said it at the same time, and looked at each other. Shinobu blushed beautifully and Ash smiled at her. Shinobu cuddled deeper into the safety of Ash's cupped arm, and closed her eyes. She looked so peaceful; Ash did not want to move. With the wonder of the moment, pink flower petals flow peacefully around the park, seeming to give attention to the couple. Ash shook Shinobu's shoulder, and she opened her eyes.
"Come on. Let's get back to the apartments. Everyone is worried about you." Ash helps Shinobu into the small running car, and drives out of the park. The boy Ash had almost hit shook his fist at the car. Ash glances over at Shinobu, sitting upright with her hands together in her lap. She looks out the window, and props herself onto her hand, leaning her right elbow on the window jamb, the other wrapped around her waist. She didn't look sad, she looked relieved. But not all too happy, especially since she was just about to fall asleep in the park with Ash a few minutes ago. Soon, the rickety car arrived in the parking lot of the Hinata Apartments. Shinobu had fallen asleep on the door jamb on the way, so getting Shinobu inside would be no easy task. Ash decided not to wake Shinobu, so he would try to get her inside peacefully, and hopefully, quickly. He slowly opened the passenger side door, Bad idea. It was the only piece of the car supporting her weight, besides the car seat. The plan backfired. Shinobu screeched her elbow from the surface of the window, and fell headfirst into the pavement. Of course, she woke up. Ash stood above her, and kneeled down.
"Sorry about that Shinobu." He said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. Shinobu looked up at him, and started laughing. Ash, suddenly relieved, started laughing along. He picked her up, like he had done on their wedding day, and walked her inside. Doc and Marty sat on the roof, watching the whole thing.
"Marty! I just had an epiphany!" Doc cries.
"Congratulations! Boy or girl?" Marty Joked.
"Marty, we have done what we came here to do… Get them back together."
"What the hell are you talking about?" A voice from behind them echoed on the roof. Marty and Doc looked back, and noticed Ash standing out from a latched door on the roof. Doc's dog Einstein jumps from the hole also, and sits with his master.
"Tell me the truth." Ash said. Doc stood up, and walked towards Ash, and meets him head to head halfway.
"Well, as you know, I have access to a time machine. On one of my sessions, I watched as the world went to rubble. I soon found out why. Ash FoxX and his Wife Shinobu FoxX had been sabotaged by somebody by the name of Speed Racer, who was on his way to sabotage your marriage once I had arrived here in Tokyo."
"But, what about when you broke my knees? I know that wasn't in your plan."
"Well, at first, no. But then I realized when I had arrived here in Tokyo, the DeLorean was damaged in the train crash, and you can forget time traveling in a train in this area. It would be much too conspicuous."
"Oh, and a time traveling 'DeLorean' is less conspicuous?"
"Yes. The time equipment is better hidden than the ones on the train. Plus, the DeLorean is quieter, smaller, and harder to see at night. So, I needed to repair the DeLorean myself here in Hinata. I never expected you to get under my car, but that helped with your relationship. I guess I should have guessed something would happen when Einstein here stole all of your shirts."
"Bark bark!" Einstein booms.
"What do you mean?! Shinobu was madder than ever when that happened?!"
"But not now."
"Well,"
"Yes. This was all to make your relationship with Shinobu much stronger, just in case someone was to ever do something like this again."
"If you ask me, this is a desperate attempt to make money."
"Or perhaps to get in jail for copyright infringement."
"Well, anyways Doc, Thanks for everything." Ash crawls back down into the hole of the roof. Ash sits in his room, cuddling next to Shinobu, and watches out the window as the Reflective surface of the DeLorean disappeared in a flash of blue light. Ash looks forward.
"Really corny ending eh?"
THE END
"Or forever hold your peace…"
(With cameos by Marty McFly and Doc Brown)
By Ash "James" Stuchly
(Once again, no chapters)
It has been 3 years since the disaster that had befallen the FoxX's on that fateful day of the wedding. Ash and Shinobu Still living at Hinata Apartments. Shinobu's mother had died the year before from a car Crash, and her father was remarried in Tokyo, still a cab driver. Of course, Shinobu was not happy about this. Ash and Shinobu sit next to each other, holding hands and kissing lightly. Across from them are the lovely couple, Keitaro and Naru Urashima. They sit in front of the big TV in the main room. The lights are off. Naru and Keitaro had just put their 3-year-old daughter, Sakiu to bed. The only light source in the room came from the Huge TV. On the screen was a Valentines Special Aired back in 1985. Very outdated, but quite appropriate. Suddenly, a loud ringing interrupts this perfect moment. Ash stands up, and answers the phone.
"Hello?.. Yes… Hiya Jake!… No, I can't. I told you! Because I'm the manager now… I kno- I can't drive tonight! I don't care how bad the probl-.. Oh… Okay. I'll do it." Ash sadly hangs the phone up, and turns to his wife.
"Shinobu, I'm afraid I have to go."
"Why? What was that all about?"
"I have been called on assignment. I have to drive the G-6155 interceptor tonight." The interceptor was a beautiful car. It was used in the PS2 Game, Spy Hunter. I still need to sue them for that…
"But I thought you were retired." Keitaro walks into the kitchen with Shinobu and Ash.
"I was… But I have to do this one. We have received strange word of a flying train that appeared out of nowhere, and crashed into Tokyo's Skyline. I need to investigate."
"Okay Ash." Shinobu says as she lowers her head, crying. Ash notices this, and steps up to her. He puts his hands on her shoulders, and pulls her to him. They hug and kiss and Ash leaves the Apartments.
"Hey!" Haruka of the Hinata teahouse next to the Apartments yells. 'Where the hell are you going Ash? Get into a fight with Shinobu?"
"No Haruka." Ash yelled and waved to her. "I have been called on Assignment."
"Well, Good luck." Haruka says, as she continues sweeping the steps of her teahouse. Ash walks around to the Garage in the Apartment, and hops into his Interceptor Defender, A flying DeLorean that could change into an Arwing. He drove quickly to the AFBSHQ in Tokyo. The White interceptor sits outside, the passenger side open and facing him. Jake rises from the side of the car with a medium wrench in his mouth.
"Hey Ash." He says as he removes the tool.
"Hey Jake. Long time no see." Ash says, as he gives Jake their Secret handshake.
"Well, here's the car. Its all ready for you." Ash sits in the car, and shuts the door. He looks at the Instruments and pieces in the car. He takes the keys, and puts them into the ignition. VROOM! The car comes to life. The green LCD Panels flash up, and analyze the driver.
"Welcome back Ash…" The Female Computer voice rang from the stereo. Ash leaned his body onto the steering wheel, covered in Buttons with letters on them. His memory was beating down on him. And hard too. He revved the engine slowly, and then faster and faster. Finally, he grasped the steel thruster facing the rear of the vehicle, and gives Jake the Thumbs up. Jake pushes the Buttons in the control panel alongside a large building. A large gate opens slowly, and Ash revs the engine more and more.
"Go!" Jake's voice yells over the radio. Ash thrusts the lever forward, and hits the Gas. A Couple of Fire trails shoot from the Exhaust, and the car burns rubber out of the gate. Ash moves some switches, and a pair of machine guns rise out of the hood. Then, a casing full of guided missiles rises from the cab. A Panel from the rear of the vehicle lowers, revealing four holes where oil and Smoke are able to shoot from. The Tires expand from under the car while it is speeding down the road, lowering the car smoothly on the shocks, and a metallic belt covers the tires. A short blender type blade shoots from the wheel, and starts to spin in the opposite direction.
"Sweet." Ash says. The car was still working. Suddenly, Ash notices a slow Semi crawling in front of him. Ash grasps the wheel, and punches one of the buttons on the Dash. A Duo of durable metal bars shoots from under the car, and fire out blue and purple flames. The car hovers over the traffic.
"Wow. I guess Jake was doing some major work on her. I don't remember these at all." The LCD rearview mirror comes down, and reveals a White car with a Red M Following Ash. The radio in the interceptor begins to crackle, and a voice comes over. A picture of a young man with blue eyes and a white helmet comes over the transmission.
"Hey! You stole my gadgets!" the car behind Ash began to jump and mimic many moves the interceptor was pulling off. Then, a stupid robotic Dove comes from the engine, and attacks the driver.
"The Mach 5!" Ash cries, as he hits the turbo boosts, and takes the exit nearly ramming into the wall. The mach 5 is in rubble on the side of the road.
"I always knew that robot was a dumb Idea." Suddenly, a Stoned looking Monkey hit the windshield.
"AHH!" Then, a little boy dressed like the hamburglar hit the window too, knocking the both of them off and over the car, getting them caught in the missile silo. Ash fires the missile and, bye-bye monkeys. Finally, Ash made it to Tokyo. It was apparent where the damage was. A short black train hung through a huge building, and a couple of men were at the bottom dealing with the upset People. One man wears a white Science coat, while the other wears Blue jeans and a red vest. Ash goes in to investigate. It turns out the citizens were not protesting to the men, they were getting autographs.
"What in the hell? Who are you?"
"I am Christopher I- I mean Doctor Emmett L. Brown."
"And I'm Micha- I mean Marty." Doctor brown nudges him. "Marty McFly." Marty finishes.
"Nice to meet you." Ash says. "Now what the hell happened here?" Ash Asks.
"Well, We were flying the train when we suddenly appeared in Tokyo, and rammed right into that building there." Doctor brow- "Call me Doc!" Doctor – I mean Doc Says.
"Okay. Then why were you signing autographs" Ash takes out a clipboard, and takes notes. Doc begins to talk about it, inaudible to Ash, as he focuses on his Clipboard, nodding his head occasionally. On the paper attached to the clipboard, Ash is drawing a picture of Shinobu. Her voice travels in his head. Ash begins to cry quietly.
"What's wrong boy?" Doc asks.
"My Wife… I miss her a lot."
"I understand. We will be on our way then. Marty set the shields for the building repair." Marty runs to a Briefcase on the ground. Suddenly, the train flies out of the building, and a blue wall of pulsating energy covers the holes. The Wall slowly repairs the building.
"See you around. Nice car by the way." Marty says.
"Thanks." Ash hops into the G-6155 Interceptor, and drives off towards Hinata. On the way, Ash takes the Highway he was on earlier, The Mach 5 Still on the side of the road. Speed racer, the driver, Faces Ash's car, and shakes his fist.
"Hey! You get back here! Ha-ha!" the badly translated speed cried. Ash skids around the corner of the trash, and splashes Speed in the face with mud. Soon, Ash arrives back to Hinata. Ash parks the G-6155 interceptor in the Garage against another vehicle with a huge gray tarp over it. Ash had left his Interceptor defender at the Base for storage, and took the G-6155 Interceptor. Ash slowly inches closer to the car, and lifts the tarp a little. A Hand comes in from his right, and knocks the hand Away.
"Don't touch that! Its very sensitive equipment." It was Doc. "Haven't you ever heard of 'Minding your own Business'?" He says.
"Sorry Doc. I – Hey! Wait! What are you doing here at Hinata?!" Ash asks. Doc stands back, looking shocked.
"Hey, Aren't you the Guy with the G-6155 Interceptor?" Ash looks across.
"Yeah…" Doc runs up to Ash very quickly, and grasps his shoulders. He stands about 3 inches away from Ash's face.
"That was my design! I invented it, and some crackpot named Mr. William Wisdom stole my designs, and took all of my fame. That car there was a top secret weapon I was going to use to fight NOSTRA Industries."
"And what did NOSTRA do to deserve it?" Ash asks.
"They bootlegged the 'Back to the Future' animated series and drew a mustache on my video feeds with PhotoShop. But that's not important!" Doc screams in Ash's face. "It's the principal of the idea." Ash puts his hand behind his head.
"But still, Why are you here at Hinata?"
"To get revenge on NOSTRA. Their base is here in Japan."
"Where in Japan? It's pretty big here."
"I'm not sure exactly. It could be Hinata, Tokyo, Okinawa, Sendai, or perhaps the island off the coast called Para-something Island."
"Or perhaps pararantis."
"Perhaps." Doc paces around the garage, tripping over tools littered on the floor.
"Let's just go to my lab. I will show you my plans." Doc and Ash arrive in the lab located in the attic of the Hinata Apartments. The room is vast, but dark. The only light in the room comes from certain spots of the floor from the bending wood and an old Amiga computer on a desk. Marty is on the computer playing a game. Doc walks over to a table covered in scrap and pieces of paper. A blueprint of the G-6155 Interceptor lay under a rusty 7 inch by 5 inch metal casing. On the paper, the name 'ELB-DMC Interceptor' is crossed off, with the new name 'G-6155 Interceptor' written in red crayon. On the lower right corner of the paper is the scribbled word 'copy'. Doc digs around in his cabinets, and pulls out a scale model of the car made out of clay.
"This was my invention." He says, as he hands the casting to Ash, The sounds of 'space war' beeping from the computer.
"Now, why are you showing me this? I know what my own car looks like."
"That is not your car!" Doc screams. "I invented it!"
"No you did not! My father built the design for that car, and my pal, Jake and I built it ourselves."
"What about Mr. Wisdom?" Doc screams, going mad. Ash smacks Doc hard in the face, and Doc flies back into the wall. He falls then to the floor, and falls through. Ash looks over at Marty, still preoccupied on the computer.
"Ahh!" Shinobu screams from downstairs. Ash rushes to the hole and jumps down, only to fall headfirst into the hot spring baths. He stands knee deep in the water, and looks to his left. Shinobu lies on her back in the water with a light pink towel with the Doc sitting on her.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ash yells.
"Ahh!" Shinobu screams again.
"Oops." Doc bites his lip. Suddenly, Naru rushes out the door, and spots poor Shinobu, gasping for air. Naru punches Doc from Shinobu, and helps her to her feet. Ash stands behind her in the water, and rests his hands on her shoulders. She turns around, and lays her head on his left shoulder. She puts her hands around his back, and he does the same. They stand there lovingly for awhile, and finally, go back inside.
The next day
"Hello? Hey… Sorry, I—I told you! I am going to retire tomorrow! Why? You're asking ME why? I'll tell you why. Because I love my wife, and I don't ever want to lose her again. And I'll be damned if I ever set foot on that base again, unless it is to pick up my DeLorean… Fine! {CLANG}" Ash hangs up his red and black cell phone violently, and walks outside. He sets himself on a bench near the city's park, and takes out a pack of unopened cigarettes. He packs the box, and opens it. He grabs a lone cigarette with his teeth, and flips it out of the pack. Then, with one slick movement, he opens his 'zippy' lighter, and lights it from his knee, lighting the cigarette in his mouth. He sits himself back onto the white concrete bench, and adjusts his leather trench coat over his shoulders. He holds his cigarette between his fingers in his right hand, and puts his face into his hands. His blue hair sulking over his fingers. Shinobu creeps up by his right and sits down. She looks at him sadly, as he quietly sobs into his hands. Shinobu leans over to him, and picks his head up with her finger, catching a lone tear, and rubbing it lightly into his blue hair.
"What's wrong?" Shinobu smiles. Ash smiles at her too.
"Ha. You remembered our first meeting huh?"
"Yup" Shinobu winks. Ash takes a puff of his cigarette, and Shinobu watches the red glowing ember creep towards his lips. Ash takes a breath, and looks back at Shinobu.
"So, what brings you out here?"
"I heard you arguing over the phone and then throwing the cell at the floor, and I wanted to know what it was about. And then I saw you leave and spark up a cigarette, and that normally means something is really bothering you." She says.
"Boy. You know me better than my own sister does." Ash smiles. Shinobu puts her arm around her husband, and lays him onto the bench.
"Of course I do. I love you Ash. I love you more than anyone or anything in the known universe. And since my mother died, I didn't have much choice since my father remarried in Tokyo, and I'll never forgive him for that either." Ash giggles a little, making Shinobu smile at him. She lies on his body and he puts his arms around her back. She kisses him longingly and closes her eyes. Ash's eyes still open, he watches as tiny tears sparkle under her eyes. He closes his eyes and caresses her body.
"Ahem." A loud male voice ruins the moment. Ash looks at the owner of the voice, and finds it is a huge sweaty man with huge lips. "That's ma seat." He says.
"Oh. Uh, sorry sir."
"Who you callin' sir little man? The name is Miss. Beauty." Ash stares blankly.
"Uh, are you a drag queen?"
"No… I'm a lady. Don't make me prove it!" She raises her shirt, and faces Ash and Shinobu who scream loudly and quickly run away to the apartments. A fat man with flowers sits next to the ugly woman.
"Hey! I saw you in the prison truck! What were you in for?" he says.
"Killed my boyfriend." The broad says.
"Oh, then I guess you're available. Want to go to my house?" he says as he takes his car keys from his pocket. The fat broad snatches the keys.
"I'm drivin'." She sits in the poor mans Mustang, forcing the car to lean to the left. The fat man attempts to sit next to her, when she shuts his door, and she drives off without him, forcing sparks and pieces of the car to emerge from the undercarriage. The car sparks off down the street, as Ash and Shinobu rush to the Hinata hot springs. They jump in through their room window, and tackle the bed, laughing hard.
"Oh my God! Wasn't that great!" Ash cried out.
"Yeah!!!" Shinobu laughed. They lay on the bed, laughing away, until finally, the room grew quiet. Ash and Shinobu relax gently on the mattress. Shinobu stares at the dark ceiling while Ash slowly dozes off. Shinobu puts her arms behind her head, and turns to Ash, sleeping like a baby. She gently caresses Ash's hand, and touches her soft pink cheek with it. She blushes turning the pink to a light red. Ash flutters in his sleep, feeling the heat in his hand gently rising. He turns to Shinobu, fast asleep with his hand in her arms. He rolls a bit towards her, and puts his free arm over her body, and finally goes back to sleep.
The next day…
Ash awakens the next morning lying halfway on the bed, and off the bed, A very awkward, but freakishly comfortable position. He fell the rest of the way, pulling the sheets with him. He stands up, and looks to the bed. Shinobu is gone. Ash walks downstairs to the kitchen, expecting to see her making breakfast, and instead sees Kaolla trying to put Keitaro into the oven. Ash sighs, and places his hand on Kaolla's shoulder.
"Have you seen Shinobu?" he asks.
"No. Isn't she with you?" Ash runs back up the stairs, and into the room. The sheets still in a pile on the floor. Ash grasps the sheets, and pulls them up fast. Shinobu flies, entangled in the sheets, and hits the door with them. Ash rushes to help her, and quickly notices she is nude, and waking up… he is screwed. She sits up, and rubs her head.
"What happened?" She asks. Blood seeping from her nose and mouth. Ash quickly gets her a towel, and dresses her up. He rushes her to the hot springs, and relaxes with her. Suddenly, the springs begin to bubble. Shinobu looks at Ash.
"PEE YOO! Ash!" She holds her nose.
"It wasn't me!" Ash cries. Just then, the DeLorean rises out of the water, picking the two of them up. The gull wing doors spring open, and fly them across opposite sides of the springs. Doc climbs out of his car, and closes the door, locking it with a remote. Ash approaches him, and grabs his lab coat by the tie.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Shinobu slowly regains her footing.
"I need to get back to bed." She says faintly, and scoots her way upstairs.
"What did you do to her?" Ash screams.
"Just one too many bumps on the head. She'll be fine once she gets a little sleep. You would have a migraine too if you flew that high into a wall." Ash releases the Doc's tie, marches inside, and dresses into his Black clothes. He searches around desperately in his drawers.
"Shinobu, where are all of my shirts?"
"In the wash dear…" she says quietly, trying to doze off.
"What am I going to wear?"
"Don't worry about it Ash. (Yawn). You will be fi--Zzzzz." Ash walks about the apartments without a shirt. He tries to look casual by crawling under the Doc's DeLorean to look like he is working. Doc comes out from behind the car, carrying a load of boxes full of parts. He drops the box on top of Ash's legs, and takes out some of the parts.
"Hey!" The muffled Ash cries. Doc stares at the car, and examines the hood, the crushing weight of the box forcing Ash to clench his teeth.
"Finally! You are beginning to crack! I knew you would one day."
"What?" Ash's muffled voice rang.
"I have waited years to prove that vehicles do indeed have feelings!" Doc kicks the box, shifting the weight onto Ash's kneecaps.
"AHH!" Ash cries, the pain unbearable, and his kneecaps riding along the side of the heavy box.
"I see your weak spot!" Doc cries, as he hops into the already heavy box, and jumps up and down on Ash's kneecaps. Ash bites his lip, and thinks of Shinobu… NO!
"GET OFF OF ME!" Ash cries. Doc stops jumping.
"Ash?"
"Yeah! Get off!" Doc jumps down, and helps Ash from under the car.
"You didn't hear any of that did you?" Doc asks quietly.
"My lips are sealed." Doc helps Ash to his room, and fits him with some automatic walking crutches. His kneecaps were almost detached. Ash lies on his bed, and straightens out. Doc returns, and puts some ice on the knees.
"Sorry about that Ash."
"It's okay."
"You're the manager right" Doc asks with a raspier voice than ever.
"Uh, yeah." Doc suddenly turns green. He leaves slowly and closes the door, catching on his lab coat at least twice making Ash giggle quietly to himself. The sound of the DeLorean starting up fills the apartments. Ash looks out the window, and watches in horror as the car flies into the air, and disappears with fire trails in the air.
"DOC!" Ash falls from his bed, entangled in the thin white sheet. The ice that was on his knees buried into them once he hit the floor, finally detaching his kneecaps. Ash screams in extreme pain and lies flat on the floor like a rag doll. His knees were no longer movable but luckily, they had no feeling either. Naru, Keitaro and Mitsune rush into the room.
"What happened to you Ash" Keitaro cried.
"I--uh, I broke my kneecaps." Just then, Marty rushes in, no look of despair on his face, but that of humor.
"Ash, You really shouldn't scare Doc like that."
"What"
"He thought the car was talking to him again. It happened once before when I was locked in the hood." They both laugh. Just then Shinobu rushes in wearing her spa towel.
"Oh my God!" she cries. She falls to her knees on the hard wooden floor and throws her arms around Ash, lightly sobbing on his chest, still without a shirt. Ash puts his arms around her back and looks at his feet. His legs lay askew in front of him in some wabi-sabi type way. He looked like a broken doll with mechanics still in the upper body. Ash was now paralyzed, probably for the rest of his life. Everybody helps him back into his bed, with the exception of Shinobu, who was too heartbroken to move at all. She just lay from the side over Ash on his bed, listening attentively to his heart beating. She quietly sobs over him, and dozes off. Soon, Marty comes back into the room to check on Ash.
"How are you doing?" Marty asks, actually looking concerned. Ash looks up at him, half-sobbing, half-traumatized.
"Why did Doc kill himself?" Ash asks.
"What?!" Marty yelps.
"I saw him out my window…" Marty looks grim, and glances between Ash and the window slowly.
"What happened?"
"I saw him launch the car into the air, and then Explode in a nucleic blue light, leaving flame trails in mid air." Marty's expression suddenly bloomed.
"He is okay Ash! He just went away somewhere, probably to shop. He does that when he is upset with himself. He'll be back before sunset." Ash suddenly turns to a warm red, and glances out the window.
"2 hours to sunset." He says quietly. In the corner of his eye, he watches Shinobu slowly moving up and down from his breathing. She was still out cold. Suddenly a loud BOOM made him jump, nearly out of his bed, but just enough to wake up Shinobu. The DeLorean flew out from a blue spiraling hole, and flashed the high beams past the window. Doc lands loudly, and shuts off the whirring engine. Doc opens the gull wing door, bellowing smoke from it. He emerges with a clear plastic bag in his left hand. He fumbles to close the door, and freezes his keys to it. He rushes to the trunk and freezes a few of his fingers to it. He blows on them, thawing them from the surface and opens the trunk. Inside, he grabs a hair dryer. He strangles to plug it in, and finally turns it on. Once he does, the keys had already thawed on their own, and were lying on the floor. Doc grunts, and returns the hair dryer, freezing his fingers again. He heats them with the hair dryer, and opens the trunk again. He hurls the hair dryer into the trunk and shuts it. Unfortunately, his fingers blocked the passage. Doc reaches for the keys under the door, with his fingers stuck under the hood. He pulls his body towards it, and in time, frees himself without the keys. He stuffs the keys into his pocket and realizes he forgot his bag. He smacks his head, and turns around slipping on some thin ice on the ground, making him slide around the driveway trying to keep his balance. He stops immediately, and tries to stand up again, causing him to once again, lose his footing and fall onto his back. Ash laughs from his window, and looks at Shinobu, rubbing her eyes. Soon, Doc returned upstairs with the bag. He takes out an Rx drug, and hands it to Shinobu.
"Give him two of these each hour for the rest of today. Be sure he takes it with alcohol."
"W-Why what's it do?"
"It will cure your broken leg. I paid a visit to Tokyo in 2385 and bought a prescription for this. Surprisingly, this drug was still new when I got there. I guess that Tokyo will not be the economic leader of technology in the future. The US had found the cure prior to 2008."
"Ha! That's what they get for keeping the good games from coming to America. (For example, Love Hina Gorgeous for the Playstation 2 was released in Japan Mid 2003 (I think) And never released due to nudity. It was awesome because you used the control sticks to-)"
"That's enough!" Shinobu cries. Doc stands dumbfounded on how fast Ash could talk.
"What's Love Hina?" Ash looks at him evilly, and takes a couple of his pills.
"Never mind." He grabs a beer and forces it down his pipe.
"Ugh, nasty stuff." He throws the can on the floor, forcing it to bounce back up and smack him in the face, leaving a red ring around his forehead. He watches through his drunken eyes at his knees, wobbling back and forth. His knees were slowly but surely coming back to life. But there was still 22 pills left to take before he got better. He lies back on his bed and falls asleep. Shinobu didn't like him being drunk, so she got him some non-alcoholic beers to down the pills with… Coors Lite!.. Ash pops a couple of pills each hour, and chugs down the beers, nearly vomiting after each one. Finally the last two pills remained, and he triumphantly chugged the last beer with the final pills and stood up from his bed.
"Yes!" With that, he collapsed from his knees and slammed his head on the metal table, knocking him unconscious. The loud 'PING' sound had Doc and Shinobu running into the room to see a drooling Ash lying on the floor. Shinobu begins to cry. 'What have I gotten myself into?' She was married to a freak, and that freak was lying on the floor with semi-broken legs and his face wet with drool.
"I can't believe you Ash! This is what has become of our relationship!? You treat me like dirt! I'm leaving you." She walks out, and slams the door, waking up Ash.
"Now Ash, why did you break into the beer stash?" Doc asks.
"I had to drink beer to down the pills! I didn't like them either." Ash gags.
"That was supposed to be non-alcoholic beer. Apparently you got some real beer in your system and passed out."
"No! I tried to stand up and collapsed! Where is Shinobu at?" Doc looked to the door.
"Oh boy…" He ran out the door after Shinobu. Ash just sat up, and rubbed his head. There was a huge bump on his forehead.
"Great. Proof that I'm an idiot." Ash grabbed his automatic crutches, and walked himself to the sitting room. Shinobu was crying into her hands with Doc at her side moving his lips. Ash was too far to understand, but he tried to read them… 'Impossible.' He thought. Ash slowly crept down the stairs. He sneaked around a drywall doorway, and listened to Doc explaining everything to Shinobu. She nodded her head lightly. Then Doc said, "Forgive him" and Shinobu threw a huge fit. She started grabbing things from tables and throwing the cushions from the couch. She tore off her wedding ring, and threw it at the glass doors. They didn't shatter but it caused a small crack in the door and the ring fell to the ground in slow motion, to Ash anyway. Ash turned back behind the drywall, and slid his back down the other side, landing on his butt. He thrusts his face into his hands, and sobbed quietly. He eyed his wedding ring through his tearing eyes, and tried to pull it off, but his emotion was too strong compared to his everlasting love for Shinobu. He remained behind the wall, listening to Shinobu calming down. She walked slowly over her ring, and picked it up. She grasped it into her fist, and walked upstairs to her room. Ash waited until she closed her door, and emerged from his hiding place. He searched for the ring, and of course, did not find it. He sadly walked up to his room, and sobbed in his bed.
"The ring is gone… It's over…" Ash sobbed into the dampened pillow. He took a second look at his ring, and once again attempted to remove it. The wetness from his tears made his fingers slip and pinch at his finger and the ring. Finally, Ash put the finger in his mouth, and Ash pulled the ring off with his teeth. Once it came off, all that remained on the finger was purple skin and blood. Ash read the inscription imprinted on the inside of the ring. "Till death do we part ~ FoxX" Ash clenches the ring in his fist, and throws it at his window. The force of the ring shatters a hole in the plane glass, and the ring falls to the bushes next to the hot springs. Ash ignores the enormous mess, and pushes his pillow over his damp face. His black shirt clung to his body from the sweat and tears. His bangs so damp, they stuck to his forehead like some ancient nazca indian lines. He throws his orange over-shirt against the wall, and pushes his face into the pillow. He hears a door open, but ignores it, and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he becomes face to face with Kaolla, sticking him in the arm with a stick. Ash, surprised by the sudden "face" in his "face", jumped back, and fell onto the floor. Kaolla stands over the mangled mess, and laughs.
"Hey! Shinobu was looking for you!" Kaolla cried.
Huh?" Ash got to his feet, and stumbled himself to the door, mangled in his sheets. Once he slides open the plane doors, Mitsune stands trying to keep her balance, a saki bottle in her hand.
"Hey." She says in a slurred tone, shaking violently from side to side, spilling the saki on the floor.
"Shinobu was lookin' for you sugar." She says, as she collapses, pulling down the sheets mangled around Ash. Unfortunately, Ash's boxers were also mangled in the sheets, and the sheets were on the floor now. Like clockwork, the loud thumps of Naru's footsteps echoed in the halls. Ash peeked around the hall, and watched helplessly as Naru jump kicked a naked Ash out the plane windows, and stood in the hallway with a balled fist, breathing heavily.
"There are children in this dorm!" Naru cries out the broken window.
"You know, you should probably calm down. We have spent a fortune already replacing all of the windows and doors here." Haruka said, coming out of nowhere as usual. Naru loosened her grip, and looked behind her. Keitaro stood with Sakiu in his arms, still very young. Naru goes to her husbands' side, and walks with him to their room.
"Hey, have you guys seen Shinobu anywhere?" Haruka asked.
"Yes! She is at the bridge! She looked sad when she left, so I didn't bother chasing after her." Kaolla said.
"At the bridge? What did that idiot do to her now?" Sarah cried.
"Nothing!" Ash cried from down below. Ash rushes into a towel, and trips into the bushes.
"Agh! That hurt." When he unclenches his eyes, he spots the ring he had thrown out the window. He picks it up, and begins to tear. He throws the ring in the air, and catches it it again. "I won't let her get away from me… Not like Alex!" Ash runs inside, and dresses into his coat over his black Dickies and T-shirt, Not to mention his infamous orange over-shirt. He pops a cigarette into his mouth, and rushes to the garage. Doc was lying on the floor, under his DeLorean, probably sleeping. Unfortunately, Doc was blocking his Interceptor, and the Defender was at the garage at Jake's place. The only vehicle available was an old red 1974 VW Beetle. Ash hopped inside, and to his relief, the driver left the keys in the glove compartment, which sported a cheap 'hang-on' cup holder. Ash struggled to start the car, and it jumped out of its space, and into the road, stalling immediately. Ash attempted to start it again, and once again it jumped and stalled immediately. Ash quickly realized why.
"Duh! Its still in gear!" Ash put it out of gear, choked it once, and drove the car to the bridge. He pops a cigarette into his mouth, and lights it without holding the wheel. Soon, he came across the bridge, but Shinobu was not there. However, there was a notebook on one of the concrete benches. She had sketched a picture of Ash with his arm over a huge beer on the couch, and Shinobu drew herself kneeling in the corner with a broom. Ash noticed the paper was still damp. But it was hard to tell because he was adding to it. She was close. Ash quickly hopped back into the Beetle, and it hopped again.
"Dammit! It's still in gear!" He smacks the steering wheel. Ash drove cautiously to where he thought she would be. He drove the car off of the pavement, and into the grass. He dragged the small car around the city park, and soon came across the bench where they had first met. Ash's line of sight was blocked by a sand sculpture of a huge Pikachu character. Ash rammed the car into the sculpture, nearly killing the little boy who was working on it. Shinobu sat there with her face in her hands. Ash left the engine on, and left the vehicle. He sat next to Shinobu, a cigarette in his mouth.
"Aren't you a little too drunk to drive?" Shinobu muttered.
"The beer you gave me was non-alcoholic." Ash said, taking a drag.
"Then you must have asked Mitsune for a drink of her saki or something."
"No! Shinobu," Ash holds her chin with his finger, and catches a tear with one of his fingers. Ash was also crying. "Shinobu, I was NOT drunk. I hate beer. I hate alcohol too."
"But you were.."
"Unconscious Shinobu. I tried to stand up after my last pills, and my knees gave way, and I hit my head on the table." Shinobu glanced at the bump on his head.
"How are your knees?"
"Much better after a good nights sleep." Ash cried a bit, and tried to force himself not to. Shinobu noticed this, and put her arms around him.
"I love you Ash. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Let it out." Ash suddenly felt the weight from his shoulders, lift away his problems. 'But the ring' he thought to himself.
"What about the ring?" Ash said quietly, close to bursting. Shinobu put her hand in his, and grasped her fingers, making a two-person fist. The ring flashed on her finger.
"I had it all the time."
"But, I saw you throw it against the door."
"I was upset Ash. After I thought about it awhile, I never wanted to leave you." She cuddles against his shoulder, supporting some of her silky hair in the cup of his arm. Ash reached into the pocket of his coat, and took out the ring. He studied it in his forefingers and thumbs of both hands, and read the inscription again.
"Till death do we part" Shinobu and Ash said it at the same time, and looked at each other. Shinobu blushed beautifully and Ash smiled at her. Shinobu cuddled deeper into the safety of Ash's cupped arm, and closed her eyes. She looked so peaceful; Ash did not want to move. With the wonder of the moment, pink flower petals flow peacefully around the park, seeming to give attention to the couple. Ash shook Shinobu's shoulder, and she opened her eyes.
"Come on. Let's get back to the apartments. Everyone is worried about you." Ash helps Shinobu into the small running car, and drives out of the park. The boy Ash had almost hit shook his fist at the car. Ash glances over at Shinobu, sitting upright with her hands together in her lap. She looks out the window, and props herself onto her hand, leaning her right elbow on the window jamb, the other wrapped around her waist. She didn't look sad, she looked relieved. But not all too happy, especially since she was just about to fall asleep in the park with Ash a few minutes ago. Soon, the rickety car arrived in the parking lot of the Hinata Apartments. Shinobu had fallen asleep on the door jamb on the way, so getting Shinobu inside would be no easy task. Ash decided not to wake Shinobu, so he would try to get her inside peacefully, and hopefully, quickly. He slowly opened the passenger side door, Bad idea. It was the only piece of the car supporting her weight, besides the car seat. The plan backfired. Shinobu screeched her elbow from the surface of the window, and fell headfirst into the pavement. Of course, she woke up. Ash stood above her, and kneeled down.
"Sorry about that Shinobu." He said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. Shinobu looked up at him, and started laughing. Ash, suddenly relieved, started laughing along. He picked her up, like he had done on their wedding day, and walked her inside. Doc and Marty sat on the roof, watching the whole thing.
"Marty! I just had an epiphany!" Doc cries.
"Congratulations! Boy or girl?" Marty Joked.
"Marty, we have done what we came here to do… Get them back together."
"What the hell are you talking about?" A voice from behind them echoed on the roof. Marty and Doc looked back, and noticed Ash standing out from a latched door on the roof. Doc's dog Einstein jumps from the hole also, and sits with his master.
"Tell me the truth." Ash said. Doc stood up, and walked towards Ash, and meets him head to head halfway.
"Well, as you know, I have access to a time machine. On one of my sessions, I watched as the world went to rubble. I soon found out why. Ash FoxX and his Wife Shinobu FoxX had been sabotaged by somebody by the name of Speed Racer, who was on his way to sabotage your marriage once I had arrived here in Tokyo."
"But, what about when you broke my knees? I know that wasn't in your plan."
"Well, at first, no. But then I realized when I had arrived here in Tokyo, the DeLorean was damaged in the train crash, and you can forget time traveling in a train in this area. It would be much too conspicuous."
"Oh, and a time traveling 'DeLorean' is less conspicuous?"
"Yes. The time equipment is better hidden than the ones on the train. Plus, the DeLorean is quieter, smaller, and harder to see at night. So, I needed to repair the DeLorean myself here in Hinata. I never expected you to get under my car, but that helped with your relationship. I guess I should have guessed something would happen when Einstein here stole all of your shirts."
"Bark bark!" Einstein booms.
"What do you mean?! Shinobu was madder than ever when that happened?!"
"But not now."
"Well,"
"Yes. This was all to make your relationship with Shinobu much stronger, just in case someone was to ever do something like this again."
"If you ask me, this is a desperate attempt to make money."
"Or perhaps to get in jail for copyright infringement."
"Well, anyways Doc, Thanks for everything." Ash crawls back down into the hole of the roof. Ash sits in his room, cuddling next to Shinobu, and watches out the window as the Reflective surface of the DeLorean disappeared in a flash of blue light. Ash looks forward.
"Really corny ending eh?"
THE END