"The Watch": By DarkSilverMaiden & LightBlueMaiden
Disclaimer: I do not own any anime and book references in this fan fiction. I am not making money on this for my own private benefit. If I was, I would not spend time babbling on about some silly disclaimer, now would I? I do however own Roxanne. Linnea, Faline, and Merle own themselves. This is under my account because Faline is not allowed to have her own, Linnea is too wrapped up in her project to grow a purple lime, and Merle is too lazy. Enjoy.
Bang! The door of the house swung open to reveal a girl with her arms full of brown paper bags.
"I'm home with the groceries!" a winded sixteen year old shouted. She received three shouts of recognition, a pounding of random organ keys, and three bodies fell down the stairs.
"Linnea! Remember to pick up your keyboards and don't keep them on the steps!" a muffled reply came from the bottom of the pile.
"My sibster Faline, I'm just showing my individuality." Linnea said as she stood up and brushed herself off.
"Remind me what a 'sibster' is again, please!" Faline blew a stray strand of light brown hair from her face and tried to stand up, but found she couldn't because there was another body on top of her.
"Well, I think it's when you're like a sibling and a sister, or something screwy like that that only Linnea could make up," the third voice said while poking her two index fingers together thoughtfully.
"Eggzacitally, Merle my sibster-friend!" Linnea said while helping Merle and Faline up with both arms outstretched.
"Well, I would appreciate some sibsterly help with these groceries!" the girl at the door called while struggling to keep her balance with the packages. The other girls rushed over and each grabbed a package from the girl's hands.
"So, what are you cooking tonight for dinner Roxanne?" Faline asked inquiringly with an innocent smile on her lips.
"Yeah, it's your week to cook," Merle said with a glint in her eyes.
"I think we were all getting sick of Faline's burned-slash-charred messes and I know Merle was marking off on the calendar on when your week for cooking came up. And did I mention-" Merle's hand slapped over Linnea's mile-a-minute mouth and smiled nervously with a sweat-drop on the side of her head. Faline looked positively venomous-and ready to strike. She opened her mouth to say something to Linnea and Merle when a muffin was stuffed in her mouth.
"H-how d-do you l-like m-my new m-muffin recipe?" Roxanne asked shakily. "D-does it n-need m-more ch-chocolate ch-chips?" Faline glared as much as she could with a muffin in her mouth.
"Jeeze, Faline. You make muffins look deadly with that glare!" Roxanne chuckled softly as she unpacked the bags and put them in the kitchen. She gently waved her hands around like she was caressing the air, and the boxes and bags went to their proper places in the cupboards. The brown bags folded themselves and stacked up in the cupboard under the sink.
"Showoff," Faline and Merle poked their heads around the corner and laughed. Roxanne summoned up a large pot, set it gently on the stove, and possessed the kitchen to make dinner.
"Oh, I invited our neighbors over for dinner tonight, so go get cleaned up." She said while spreading a white linen tablecloth over the dining room table only to find out that there were little green and purple limes painted on it. The girls paled when they saw the 'sign.
"Linnea! NO!" They all screamed in unison. Unbeknownst to them, Linnea had her headphones on and was listening to her Aqua CD. That only meant one thing-she was painting on something that wasn't a canvas.
The girls ran upstairs only to find that the hallway was in the same state as the poor tablecloth. It was covered in little green and purple limes. Oh dear God not again. This was the third time this month. By this time they had gotten down a system. Merle grabbed the headphones, palate, and paintbrushes. Faline and Roxanne grabbed Linnea and held her still.
"What were you trying to do?" Merle said while rubbing her temples with her free hand. Linnea gave an innocent laugh.
"Redecorating the hallway. It looked bland. I added flavor to it." Linnea said while inspecting her purple fingernails with little limes painted on them.
"Well, make it go back to the way it was! We decide on things as a group!" Faline declared with a sigh. Linnea gave a wobbly smile and the puppy-dog eyes to her friends.
"It was meant to be a surprise, though." Linnea cried some tears for the added effect. The girls didn't buy it, but another look at her made their glares subside into smiles.
"Well anyways, could you make the paint go back in the tubes like last time? That was really cool!" Roxanne added hopefully. Linnea nodded and wiggled her nose with her index finger. The wet paint from the walls upstairs and on the tablecloth in the dining room flowed in the air, defying gravity, and went back into their appropriate tubes leaving the white walls immaculately clean. As soon as the caps were screwed on and the art supplies drifted from Merle's arms and into their appropriate baskets in Linnea's room, the doorbell sounded.
"Crap," Roxanne whacked her forehead against the palm of her hand, "they're here"
Kurama and Hiei waited patiently by the mahogany and stained glass door of an old two- story stone house covered with ivy. His mother and step-father had just moved from bustling Tokyo, to a quiet, out of the way house in Akita. The culture was rich and neighbors were friendly. Moving away from his fellow Spirit Team Members had been hard because every time that Koenma sent a tape, it would have to be relayed by Botan from Tokyo to Akita. She objected to flying at night and often grumbled about 'loosing precious beauty-sleep.' Kurama could only begin to think about the offending comment of Yusuke's.
On the other hand, Akita had one of the best schools in the country and had many art and science museums, as well as plenty of little book/coffee shops. One in which he had met Roxanne. He had startled her causing her to spill her double chocolate-chip frappucinno all over the front of his sweater. In addition to offering to get the dirty charcoal-gray sweater dry-cleaned, which he refused, she invited him over for dinner that night. Kurama could not stop thinking about the comical look on her face when he had tapped her on the shoulder to ask where the reference section was. She had jumped, startling both him and several other customers and let the plastic coffee container in her hand go flying backwards, spilling all over the front of him. The expression on her face was a mix of shock and utter embarrassment. Her long, dark brown hair streaked purple had whipped around hitting the other side of her face and her blue-green eyes were wide with awe.
During this time, Hiei was using his jagan-eye to scan the premises looking for anything out of the ordinary. Kurama had persuaded him to come with him by egging him on with a carton of 'Ben and Jerry's - Vanilla Bean.' That got his attention and he immediately took the offer, hook-line-and sinker. While probing the Fox's mind he had found out that he was bribing him because he did not want to go to a house full of girls alone. He had good reason. Kurama had been getting fan mail from the girls back at his old school and at his new school already. The mail carrier had become suspicious of the sack of mail all addressed to Shuchi Minamino. 'Oh, boy not this again.' Hiei smirked inwardly. The Fox's kind nature would make him respond to every one of the letters. Hiei just hoped he wouldn't have to lick the stamps like last time.
Several crashes from the inside of the house got their attention. A shadowed figure opened the door yelling something about 'individuality' and 'keyboards.' A barefoot girl in tan cargo pants and a lime green tee-shirt with purple long sleeves attached on to it opened the door.
"Hello! You must be…um…wait…let me think… Roxanne! What was his name again? By the way he looks really hot! You snagged yourself a good-…" two sets of hands muffled her while an angry voice let out a growl. Linnea was pulled back into the house and a blushingRoxanne smoothed her disheveled hair and opened the door to invite them in.
"Well, please come in. I see you have already met my friend Linnea." she led them inside closing the door behind them and made a slashing movement with her index finger to her throat while pointing at Linnea. The guests took off their shoes and left them with the rest of the shoes lined up against the one wall.
"Um… I guess that leaves me to introduce Merle and Faline. Faline is the short one." Roxanne said while smirking. Faline glared and led them into the cozy family room that had a fire already burning in the fireplace. The living room was colored in deep reds, oranges and yellows and gave the impression that the room itself was producing the heat. A beautiful calico cat was curled up in a cat bed near the fireplace purring softly.
"Oh, that's Cato. Make yourself at home. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Roxanne announced while making her way through the swing doors into the kitchen only to find that a gigantic brownish blackish dog was licking his lips of the last of the shrimp alfredo sauce.
"MOOSE!" an angry voice interrupted the card game that was beginning in the living room. Merle fumbled with the cards and they went up in the air like confetti. The large dog barreled out of the kitchen making the swing doors flap wildly. Roxanne waggled a wooden spoon at the gigantic dog.
"This is the last time I leave the kitchen unattended with that dog around!" Roxanne yelled. Moose huddled in a corner whimpering.
" And you! You sir are supposed to be on a diet! D-I-E-T! Diet!" she grumbled and whacked herself in the head with the spoon retreating back to the kitchen mumbling about not watching him enough.
"Is she alright?" Kurama whispered to Faline.
"Eventually, but she needs some time to simmer down and make a new alfredo sauce."
Five minutes later, Kurama laid down his cards revealing a full house and brought the large pot over to his side of the table. Everyone sighed. Except for Hiei, who knew that he had cheated all along. Back in the kitchen, Roxanne was talking to Gladys. Gladys was their supercomputer who had a secret artificial intelligence chip that allowed her to make astral projections of herself, function on her own, and make decisions and choices on her own. Basically, she was a second mother to all of them.
"Okay, a pinch of garlic and that will be done." Gladys said while in her astral projection form bustling around the kitchen cheerily. Roxanne was sulking with a piece of dark chocolate Gladys had given her to calm her temper.
"Grr… that was so aggravating. They will probably think we're strange like the rest of these ningens. I mean, how are we supposed to act around them? They took our jobs. We were demoted to 'Rekai Tantei Number Two' because of them! Do I have a right to be angry?" Roxanne said between bites of chocolate. Gladys set out six servings of noodles on corresponding plates and drizzled the sauce over it. She gave a sympathetic smile.
"I understand how you feel. I miss being on the missions too, but I do not think you could hold a grudge against them. I mean, Yama was out on vacation for the week leaving that twerp in charge. If you want someone to blame, blame Koenma. I never liked him very much. He was always such a stuck-up brat." Roxanne stood up giving Gladys a hug and grabbing the dishes from her.
"Thanks Gladys. You always know how to make someone feel better." Roxanne winked and backed out the kitchen doors setting the plates on the table. She returned to the kitchen where Gladys handed her a basket of breadsticks and a pitcher of water. Gladys had already set the table in advance during the paint fiasco. Roxanne set them on the table and smiled with satisfaction.
"Dinner is served." she said calling them to the table. Supper was served without a hitch.
"So, Kurama," Merle asked, "what brings you from Tokyo to Akita? Surely, it can't be the dogs." Merle said while alluding to the breed of dogs this part of Japan was famous for. Kurama smiled, recognizing the reference.
"My mother and step-father wanted to get out of the city after they married, so they thought Akita might be the place to go. The history and culture is wonderful here. I am looking forward to the cherry blossoms in the spring." He said casually. Faline kept sneaking glances at Hiei behind the thick volume she was reading. Linnea noticed it and it was too late when the question came pouring out of her mouth.
"So, Hiei, what's your story? Faline seems interested in your wonderfully spiky pineapple headedness that I do believe that she has fallen under you spell. I mean you two are the same height. Why not tie the knot early?" Several crickets sounded while the rest of them twitched. Faline became red with embarrassment.
"LINNEA I AM GONNA KILL YOU!" the normally quiet teen shut the many-volumed book and launched it straight for Linnea's head. Linnea caught it easily, flipped through the pages, and quoted.
"The art of swordsmanship is a practiced skill of refined and artistic movement. The student can learn with a bokken or shinai first and move up to a standard katana. From there-" Linnea was cut off when Faline took her book and headed up the stairs to her room.
"Let's go Moose," the large dog followed her up the steps accordingly. The silence seemed undead.
"We should be going soon, my mother will soon become worried." Kurama said while checking his watch. Hiei followed Kurama to the foyer to retrieve his shoes. Roxanne shot her friends a dark glare and followed to bid them goodnight. As they slipped on their shoes, Roxanne took the time to apologize.
"I am so sorry about this whole meeting. This was all my fault I should have just have got your shirt dry-cleaned. Gladys let Linnea have sugar this morning." She sighed apologetically. They shot her an inquisitive stare.
"Who's Gladys?" Kurama asked politely. Roxanne looked around for a cue and found Gladys by the kitchen doors. "Aunt" Gladys mouthed.
"Um… Gladys is my aunt," she rolling her eyes, "she went out for the night and left us the house."
"Oh, alright." Kurama said with shifty eyes. Roxanne opened the door for them and walked them down the front path. Kurama turned around, took Roxanne's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it gently. While his head was down Roxanne twitched and stared. Hiei smirked, enjoying her torment. Kurama dropped her hand and smiled. Roxanne followed with a forced one.
"Well it was nice seeing you and maybe we can get together another time," she said while mentally saying 'never'. She waved as they walked down the road to Kurama's house. When she thought it a good time, she ran back inside closing the door and bolting all the locks.
"Oh my goodness that was so strange! That custom is so outdated!" Roxanne said while wiping her hand against her dark blue jeans. Merle, Linnea, and Faline laughed from the top of the stairs.
"They must think we are so weird!" Merle said while clutching her sides. Cato, the cat from before, sauntered from his comfortable spot by the fire, into the foyer, and jumped up on Roxanne's shoulder where he made a perch. Roxanne stroked his fur.
"Everyone thinks your strange," Cato said in a calm voice. He held out a white paw, and extended his claws for careful inspection. Merle gave him a dead look and started to retort when Faline made a comment.
"C'mon Cato get out of that form. You look ridiculous." Cato sniffed.
"I actually like this form. I am-" he thought looking for the word, "travel-sized." he said while smirking. He hopped down off of Roxanne's shoulder, shook out his fur , and arched his spine. He grew in size and darkened in color becoming a splendid mysterious black jaguar. Cato circled around Roxanne, rubbing himself up against her legs and gracefully sat down and purred as Roxanne stroked his head.
"There we go. Back to what we consider 'normal'." Faline said with a smile.
"You could have at least said something." Kurama told Hiei as they walked back down the road to Kurama's house. Hiei gave a glare.
"I didn't feel like it fox." he said grumpily. He looked at Kurama then shook his head smirking. Kurama looked at him quizzically.
"Why did you kiss that girl's hand?" Hiei asked.
"Well, it is an English custom to kiss the hand of your hostess when you leave their presence or meet them for the first time. I noticed that the book that Faline was reading was printed in English and it reminded me that they were English." Kurama said with a shrug. Hiei smirked and let out a chuckle.
"Fox, they are American, not English. They didn't have a British accent." Kurama paled when Hiei said this and whacked himself in the forehead.
There is a dark room with one bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. The time is 11:03 p.m. Two figures have welder's masks. One has a torch and the other has a bonding stick. They are huddled over an old-fashioned pocket watch. They murmur in hushed tones. Suddenly, the watch back closes shut with a snap, startling the two. It lights up with a green light coming from the inside of it. It looks almost demonic. There is a rush of wind, and the two figures jump back avoiding the beams of green light.
"Well, that worked well." the first figure said while pulling off the mask. It revealed Faline. The second figure also took their mask off.
"Let's just hope Koenma doesn't find out about this," Roxanne said picking up the watch delicately and putting it into a silken draw-string bag. Faline opened a blue foam-lined suitcase and Roxanne set the bag in. Roxanne locked the suitcase was locked with a key. Faline took the key and placed it onto her tongue. She closed her mouth and hid it into a pocket of skin at the roof of her mouth commonly known as a "Magician's Pocket.
"Or worse, Yama could send us straight to Sprit Prison." Roxanne commented again while smirking.
"Yes, but then he would feel guilty like last time and stick us on probation." Faline chimed in. They both laughed while sticking the suitcase in a hidden wall safe. The combination was set and they walked out of the room, locking the door behind them. The time was 6:00 a.m.
LBM: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of our story.
DSM: Repondes Sil te plait!
LBM: You and your French.
DSM: Whatever. Just because you can't speak it does not mean you can just hate it instantly.
LBM: (Sticks out tongue)
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