Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own the Prince of Tennis or anything affiliated with said show. I do own Kari and her crazy ideas though.
"Speaking"
'Thoughts'
Eiji Kikumaru was sleeping peacefully, dreaming about brushing his teeth, when he was hit upside the head with a pillow.
"Wakey, wakey Kuku!" An overly cheerful voice said.
Still half asleep, Eiji halfheartedly waved his hand in what he hoped to be a dismissing way. "Go away mo-." He started to say before the words he heard finally sunk in. 'Kuku?' He thought groggily. 'Nobody's called me that since…' Suddenly Eiji was up and out of bed with a huge grin on his face. "Kari!" He said happily as he prepared to glomp the girl before him. Of course, one glare from said girl was all it took for him to back off. "Eh heh heh…" He laughed nervously. "Sorry, habit."
Kari just grinned as she reached over and gave her friend a hug. "Long time no see eh Kuku." She said as she stepped back.
"Ah come on, don't call me that anymore." Eiji whined. "It's so…" He paused, trying to find the right word.
"Cute, childish and suits you perfectly." Kari finished for him.
Eiji crossed his arms and began to pout. "I'm not childish." He mumbled.
"Yeah, you're acting sooo mature." Kari said as she rolled her eyes. Her friend just stuck his tongue out in response. Shaking her head, Kari plopped down on Eiji's bed and smiled. "So how have you been?" She asked.
Forgetting all about the earlier incident, Eiji returned her smile. "Not bad, how about you? I haven't seen you since last summer, anything interesting happen?"
"Naah, same old stuff." Kari replied with a wave of her hand. "School, more school and the occasional prank. You know, just the usual."
They continued to catch up on the past year for a while, when suddenly Eiji realized what day it was. "Wait a minute." He said. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't supposed to be here until the end of next week."
"Oh, I was just being so good that mom decided I could come here a little early." Kari replied with complete sincerity.
Or course since Eiji had grown up with her; he didn't believe her for a second. "What did you do this time?" He asked with a sigh.
"Nothing, I was a complete angel." She replied with fake innocence.
Eiji raised an eyebrow. "Yeah right, and pigs can fly." He said sarcastically.
"You know, there was that one time we launched that pi-." Kari started to say before being cut off.
"Can we get back on topic?" Eiji asked seriously.
Kari sighed. "Fine, enough joking around. I came over early because I needed to get out of the house. Mom's getting remarried and the guy's an ass."
Eiji gave Kari a comforting hug and waited for her to continue.
"So since I was finished with school I packed my things and caught the next flight here. I know I'm a week early, but your mom said it was fine." Kari said, before suddenly grinning. "Guess what?"
"What?" Eiji asked, confused somewhat by the change in her demeanor.
"I'm going to be staying here the rest of the summer, possibly longer if I can convince mom to let me go to high school here." Kari said happily.
Eiji's face lit up with a smile. "Hurray! It'll be just like old times again." He said as he bounced up and down on his bed. Then he paused and looked at her seriously. "You better not hide any cameras in my house this time." He said with a small glare.
Kari looked at him innocently. "Now why would I do something like that?" She asked.
Eiji just looked at her.
"All right, fine." Kari grumbled. "No hidden cameras, I promise." Then she grinned evilly. "Besides, I get more usable footage if I film things directly."
Groaning, Eiji held his head in his hands. "You still haven't stopped getting information on people?" He asked.
"Of course not." Kari replied with a grin. "Besides, you never know when the information might come in handy."
"Yeah, if you end up broke and need some quick cash." Eiji muttered. "Don't you know blackmail's illegal?"
"Duh." Kari replied. "But it's not blackmail. I'm just selling home videos for large sums of money. There's nothing wrong with that."
Eiji just shook his head.
"Besides, if people want to do stupid stuff in front of me it's their own fault. It's not like I plan for them to do it." Seeing Eiji's look, she sighed. "Ok, I don't always plan for them to do it."
"No, just most of the time right?" Eiji asked with a grin.
"Hey, if people say 'get themselves drunk'." Kari said as she watched Eiji pale. "I have every right to videotape what happens." 'Even if I did manipulate the situation a little.' She thought with a grin.
"Ok, changing subjects now." Eiji said as he cleared his throat. "Since I don't get done with school for another couple of days, what are you going to do?"
"I figured I'd go exploring, unless you'd like me to go to school with you." Kari said with a smirk.
Eiji gulped and shook his head at the thought. "Why don't you go exploring. I only have half days left, so you'd probably get bored."
"I'm sure I'd be able to entertain myself, but I think I'll go and see the sights for awhile." Kari said. "Today's a half day right?" Seeing Eiji's nod, she clapped her hands together. "That settles it, I'll go explore today while you're at school and then I'll meet you at school when you get out. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great." Eiji said as he stood up and grabbed his school clothes. "Just let me get ready and then you can walk me to school. That way you'll know where to meet me at."
"Ok." Kari said as she headed towards the door. "I'll grab my stuff and wait for you outside." Walking out, she closed the door behind her. 'He hasn't changed a bit.' She thought happily.
25 minutes later they found themselves outside of Eiji's school. "I get done at 11:30am." Eiji said. "So I'll see you then."
"Later." Kari said with a wave as she headed off to who knows where.
"Bye!" Eiji said, waving enthusiastically. Turning around, he started towards his first class before suddenly pausing. "Why does it feel like I've forgotten something?" He asked himself out loud. "Oh well, it must not be that important." He said with a shrug as he continued on his way.