I have decided, for my own sanity, and for much convenience for Danny, Phantom can understand Japanese. (he is a ghost, and for some reason, that makes him an automatic translator of all languages) I will occasionally throw in words in the language that I know, but it just provides too much of a hassle for none of them to understand what everyone is saying.
So… Yea. Ph33r him.
Haru growled deep in his throat, dark eyes narrowed in anger. He lunged forward, whipping around in a powerful attempt to smack down the cat in one kick.
The battle was on.
Kyo narrowly dodged the attack, striking out with his own assault before the ox had a chance to regain his balance. Muscles flexed and twisted as they fought, eyes gleaming with the adrenaline rush. Kyo managed to clip Haru's side with his fist, only to be thrown to the floor as his opponent clutched his arm and flipped him.
At the last moment, the neko twisted in mid-air, landing heavily in a catlike crouch.
His orange hair fell messily in his eyes, clinging to his forehead as he leapt away from a fierce punch thrown by his black-minded friend.
Haru's mouth twisted into a feral snarl, blows exchanged and retaliated.
Their whirlwind of fighting slowly migrated around the room, momentarily placed on the stairs.
Kyo ended that little bit by leaping nimbly over the ox, running back into the main room before twisting around and clothes lining the duel-haired teen.
Danny backed away, carefully staying close to the wall, eyeing the two fighting figures with anxiety as he muttered a little conversation with Phantom.
You know, this fight could get interesting
By interesting, to you mean bloody?
You know me too well.
Kyo tackled Haru roughly, landing catlike on the floor, only to leap to the side as Haru smashed his foot down where the cat was moments earlier.
Haru crouched down, lunging after the cat as it tried to flee outdoors. Fists are balled, teeth bared.
The door slide open, and another teen walked in, with a small bag of groceries. His amethyst eyes flicking around the house, which is in surprisingly good condition, despite the fighting boys. Kyo yells, skidding as he tries to stop, but crashed into yuki, toppling them both onto the floor.
Danny darted forward, grabbing the bag before it could hit the ground. He moved away as yuki glared at Kyo, placing the bag on the floor as he watched him lifting both legs and kicking the boy firmly in the chest. Hatsaharu yelped quietly as he tripped over the flying neko, stumbling and falling to his knees, face inches away from Yuki's
They both stayed there for a moment, haru's mouth open slightly, panting, His hair disheveled. Yuki smiled softly, turning and getting to his feet.
Haru raked his fingers through his hair, sighing heavily and doing likewise.
Kyo leapt forward, obviously trying to attack Haru once more, but something stopped him, and the orange-haired boy fell heavily to the floor, very disgruntled.
"Ah Ah ahhh! No more fighting in the house! It's still in once piece, and I would like to keep it that way!"
Danny looked up, having previously been eyeing the journal that Kyo had dropped during the small war, considering whether or not to read it.
Well, he had been trying to refrain Phantom from making him read it, Danny alone was too polite to try and do that.
His blue eyes fell upon a young man, quite a bit older than the three teens (he still was wondering who the silver-haired one was. And from the distance he was at, he was rather unsure if it was a girl or boy.)
He looked back at Shigure, who had not yet noticed his presence, and was smiling cheerfully while arguing with a temperamental Kyo.
"What do you mean, by that, ya damn dog! He deserved it!"
"And you still need to control your temper"
"Shut up!"
Silver hair, however, knew about his presence. A curious look was sent his way, but the boy (or girl, still unsure) did not approach Danny. Instead, they exited the house again, returning moments later with another bag, and shadowed by someone else.
How many people lived here, anyway?
The older man turned to silver hair, saying in a singsong voice.
"Oh Yu-ki! Could you please help Tohru put all the groceries in the kitchen?"
Silver hai- Or… Yuki, nodded, saying quietly
"I would be happy to… Miss Honda?"
Tohru beamed, obviously female, her golden brown hair reaching nearly to her waist. She turned to Yuki, thanking him in a soprano voice before turning to the cat, requesting politely.
"Kyo? Would you mind helping me as well? There are a lot of things to be unloaded and.. well." She cast her warm brown eyes across the dozen or so paper bags on the floor around their entrance.
"I would really appreciate the help. Oh!" She jerked her head up, as if realizing something.
"But if you have something to do, I don't want to keep you from it!"
Danny's bright blue eyes turned to the cat as he responded. His name was Kyo, eh?
The teen answered in a soft voice, hot temper quickly cooled. It was rather obvious that he had feelings for the girl. Tohru.
"No, I don't have anything to do. I don't mind helping you." He paused, red-brown eyes flaring up with anger. "But I don't want to work with that Damn Rat!"
His voice had that tone that suggested he was quite used to saying such cruel things. Was Yuki the rat? Ah, yes. The voice was as gentle as ever, but the words conveyed plenty of emotions.
"I don't much like working with the stupid cat, but…" He turned to the girl, smiling softly. "I would gladly do it for you, miss Honda"
The teen turned and picked up two bags, heading toward what Danny assumed to be the Kitchen, ignoring Kyo's angry insults about his being such a mindless slave.
After a moment, The brown-haired girl requested for Kitty…erm…. Kyo to please stop yelling.
He did so immediately, picking up a bag and heading into the kitchen. Muffled yells were soon heard as the two started arguing again. Tohru sighed, joining the two with the last of the bags under her slender arms.
The older man seemed to finally notice Danny, his eyes sparking over with curiosity at first, then masked anxiety.
"Why… why are you here?"
The man approached him with hesitant steps, fiddling with a fold in his robe.
"Relax, he doesn't know."
White-hair was approaching from the side, cutting off the dude's path. "Haru! I didn't realize you were here!"
With whatever assurance that phrase created, the man switched back to 'happy mode'
"Alright then! To what do I have this honor of your visit? Oh! I know! You should stay for dinner! I can ask Tohru to make something special!"
Haru smiled his soft expression, scratching gently at the back of his head.
"He was outside when we found him. He still hasn't told us what he was doing."
"Do you know his name?"
"Danny"
"Why doesn't he have a shirt on? Were you and Kyo being naughty?" The man leaned forward, a smile plastered on his face that screamed of something perverted.
Haru took the hint and blushed furiously, denying the phrase quickly and forcefully as Tohru called from the kitchen.
"Shigure! Do you want anything particular for dinner, I was thinking about cooking something special tonie—" She trailed off, having obviously just spotted the blue-eyed boy standing shyly behind Haru.
"Oh hello there! I didn't catch your name! I'm Tohru Honda!"
Danny raised one eyebrow, replying rather hesitantly.
"I'm Danny"
She didn't question his last name, assuming he was another Sohma, perhaps one of the zodiac she hadn't met yet. She had seen his bare chest, and was around the family long enough to know not to look down after a transformation. Instead, the brown-haired female merely started humming a little tune, heading back into the kitchen to make something for dinner.
Kyo exited shortly afterwards, hands jammed into his pockets, muttering something about leeks.
Yuki followed shortly behind, announcing in that strangely melodic soft voice. " I am going upstairs for a bit. Call me down when supper is ready"
For a brief moment, purple eyes met clear blue ones, and a question was formed in the zodiac rat's mind.
Who was this boy?
A similar question was created in Danny's mind, though a few words were changed.
Was this a boy? Or a girl?
Phantom sniggered, in his mind, muttering something about resembling Sam. The purple eyes and pale skin were similar, and the facial structure was definitely alike…buuuuut….
'Boy'
'Ah, Thanks'
'whatever'
Yuki headed upstairs, casting one last suspicious glance toward Danny, who immediately let his eyes glaze over to have an internal conversation with his phantom.
How can I understand them now, anyway?
Guess
Why, when you can just tell me?
Since when have you been so talkative?
Since I wanted you to answer my question.
Uh huh….
Pweeeeze….
Nope
mental image of a puppy with huge watery eyes
No!
Hate to do this…but, it must be done.
Image of same puppy, three legs cut off, whimpering and bleeding
OH MY FREAKING GOSH! ITS ADORABLE!
How can I understand them?
Fine, I will answer.
Whoot!
Since I am a ghost, I can understand all other ghosts (cept wulf. Dunno about him.) And, because everyone has a soul inside of them, which has the potential to turn into a ghost, I can understand them as well. You are actually speaking in Japanese, but you hear English, because that is the language you were trained into.
Get it?
No
That's good, I wasn't expecting you to.
So why go through the trouble?
Because you begged me to
That isn't a very good reason
Whatever… The people are talking
What?
The people are talking to you. Here…
What do you mean.
Quote: Are you okay, Danny. Hey, Danny! Answer me. Are you okay! Oh my g-
OKAY! Sheesh
Danny blinked, looking up at the two concerned faces hovering inside of his vision.
"Huh?"
Eloquently put, nitwit
"What's wrong?"
Shigure placed the back of his hand on Danny's forehead, feeling his own at the same time.
"Well, It seems you have a bit of a fever, not surprising if what Haru said was true. Tohru wanted to call Hatori to come have a look at you, but it doesn't seem like anything serious. What is your phone number? I wish to call your parents and have them-"
"I have to parents!" Danny nearly snarled this, yanking his head away from the young man, flinging the blankets up to his shoulder and laying down, burying his face in the pillow. His voice was slightly muffled as he added
"They abandoned me when I needed them the most, kicking me out of the house after I had saved their sorry bums"
The pillow hid his newly created tears, the images of his parents screaming at him for being a monstrosity…a freak of nature.
They tried to kill their own son, and were disappointed when he escaped. However, they had managed to achieve their goal, if not in the desired way.
His trust in his friends and family had been shattered, especially after Sam and Tucker had refused to answer his numerous calls, and the singular call to his parents had the guys in white sicced upon him.
No… Danny no longer had parents. He had his phantom, his ghost… and he was perfectly happy.
That horrible pain in his chest was from a bruised rib, not heartbreak after all.
Shigure put on a sympathetic look, gently placing a hand on the half ghost's shoulder.
"I'm sure it will be alright eventually…" He seemed unsure of what to say, and was saved by Kyo walking into the room, unaware that all (minus one) pairs of eyes had snapped to him. He casually opened the sliding door, peeking outside and cursing loudly when a sheet of water was flung indoors, apparently falling from the roof.
The soaked cat shivered, growling menacingly and stalking toward the stairs.
A short argument was heard in the upper story, a few thumps, and Yuki waltzed from the shadows of the staircase, examining his knuckles, obviously the victor.
He looked up, rather more observant than his cousin, and voicing his wonder.
"Why is everyone staring at me?"
Haru quickly averted his eyes, choosing instead to examine the floor. Shigure simply shrugged, looking back down to Danny, who refused to remove his face from his pillow.
Oi! Nitwit!
What do you want?
Geeze, no need to be so snappish!
Shut up
Just to let you know, your oxygen supply is getting low. You may want to breathe soon.
No
WHAT!
I said no
What about phone bludgeoning!
Stop whining.
But!
Go plan world domination or whatever you do in the back of my mind
But! But!
JUST SPIT IT OUT, ALREADY!
There is no blood involved!
…
And you are hungry…
I am going to die anyway
Danny
What.
The girl is making foooood
And?
It smells guuuuuuud
Danny lifted his head, sniffing hesitantly
HA! You breathed!
Moron
Nitwit
Hallucination
Dumbass
Freak
Geek
I hate you
Yea, I know
I wanna go swallow a knife
YES!
Huh?
Bloody death! Go for it, boy!
You freak me out sometimes
Danny mumbled incoherent insults toward phantom, getting to his knees and glaring at Shigure. The zodiac dog sighed, standing up and shuffling toward the kitchen, nose lifted to breathe in the delicious scent wafting out.
As Danny's gaze was turned to Haru, he realized the boy was no longer present, nodding to himself as he reached toward his half-dried shirt.
Dragging it toward him, the black-haired boy opened the bottom, shivering as the damp cloth slipped over his skin. Tugging it down, he haphazardly folded the blanket, setting it atop his pillow and getting to his feet.
Phantom had healed all of his wounds prior, but the spirit could not cure sore muscles, unfortunately. Darn the memory of his nerves!
Danny lifted his arms, stretching before hopping to his bare feet, walking silently toward the door Shigure had entered. He stopped, backpedaling quickly as Tohru exited, smiling sweetly at him, dishes laden with food in her hands. Kyo followed obediently, the rice still steaming. Miss Honda darted back into the kitchen, taking out one last bowl and a bunch of chopsticks.
Hooray for Chinese restaurants, eh nitwit? You actually know how to use those!
Danny waited until Kyo and Yuki (who had appeared out of nowhere, and were currently glaring daggers at the cat) had seated before heading toward the table. He kneeled down near the end of the table, glancing questioningly at Haru, who had decided to sit next to him and Yuki.
In reply, the duel-haired teen simply shrugged, picking up some chopsticks and placing them twixt his fingers.
A few minutes into the meal, Shigure decided to question the boy about his reasons, hoping that the food would keep him anchored in place until he could wrestle out a few answers.
"Ano… Danny?"
Blue eyes flicked up to his own, questioning.
"Are you sure your parents don't want you back? It could have been just a misunderstanding…"
Those ocean blue eyes suddenly became icy, lips curving into a sharp frown. Danny made no effort to reply, glaring down at the half-eaten pale of rice in front of him.
No… They made it perfectly clear that he was never to return home. There was no way on earth he was going back.
Tohru spoke up, big brown eyes shimmering with comforting emotions.
"I'm sure they still love you, deep in there hearts, even if they don't show it. Maybe if you talk about it, you will be able to see that-"
She was cut off as Danny stood up suddenly, striding quickly toward the door and exiting. The Sohmas could hear his footsteps in the water puddles outside, and Haru slowly stood up to follow the angry teen.
Loudly, Kyo exclaimed "What the hell was that about?"
Shigure sighed, poking a piece of sushi with his chopsticks.
"It seems like his parents are a bit of a touchy subject with him. It may not have been a good idea to talk about it."
The young girl looked downcast, quietly nibbling on a rice ball.
Danny strode quickly around the house, toward the road with his hands jammed into his pockets. A small breeze raised Goosebumps on his pale skin, damp shirt intensifying the feeling. He heard someone following him, and asked phantom to tell him who it was.
The spirit sighed, spreading his aura outward to analyze the pursuer.
Its that funky-haired dude that went nuts after stealing the cat's journal.
Haru?
Yep
The half ghost scowled deeper, darting into the house's shadow, turning invisible. He glided upward, sitting atop the roof with his feet dangling over the edge before becoming visible.
Haru looked up, confused at how Danny had gotten up there so fast. The ladder to the roof was on the other side of the house, wasn't it?
His dark eyes were locked with bright blue for a moment before Haru spoke.
"Tohru tends to take everything personally. You really should go apologize to her."
"Apologize for what? Leaving after she put her nose where it doesn't belong? What does she know about my parents."
Haru studied him for a moment before replying.
"Both her parents are dead, Danny. She doesn't want anyone to suffer the same loneliness as she did."
"At least she wasn't driven out of her home after she told them the one secret she thought she could trust in them to accept."
In a quieter voice, he added
"At least she wasn't a freak of nature"
Haru frowned at his words, walking closer to the side of the house, craning his neck to look up.
"Nearly everyone in this house was rejected by humanity as a child, or taunted because they were different. Kyo is going to be locked up for the rest of his life as soon as he graduates, simply because of who he is. Yuki has terrible asthma, plus his looks makes people label him as weak. I have multiple personality disorder. Your life isn't that bad, Danny"
Said teen looked down at Haru with interest, head tilted slightly.
"You have MPD?"
Hatsaharu nodded, unsure of where this was going. He gasped softly as Danny leapt nimbly from the roof, expecting the boy to fall and hurt himself. Instead, the hybrid landed softly on his feet, gazing at Haru intently.
"Are you telling the truth?"
He nodded.
"You saw my other persona… the violent one that attacked Kyo earlier."
Danny nodded, circling the zodiac once, looking at him carefully. Suddenly, he stopped in front of him, holding out his hand in an offer to shake.
"Hi, My name is Danny. I also have a psychotic, murderous person in my mind that goes by the name of Phantom. Nice to meet you, Haru"
The ox stared at him for a moment in disbelief, before hesitantly shaking his hand.
"What does this mean?"
"It means that I give you permission to knock me out cold any time Phantom rears his ugly head"
Hey!
"And that you are my new friend"
Haru raised one eyebrow, shrugging and returning the handshake.
"Okay then."
"Does your duel persona thingy get his own name?"
Haru nodded, explaining the condensed version.
"The state I am in right now is usually called White Haru… my other side is black Haru. My near-polar opposite"
"This could be the start of a wonderful friendship."
"You got over your depression fairly quickly"
Danny merely smiled, stepping cheerfully back toward the house's main door with a certain black and white-haired teen trailing behind.
Hey nitwit
What is it now?
Haru is giving you a weird look
yea… It kind of reminds me of how tucker looked whenever he saw a cute girl
Danny coughed, face flushing in embarrassment
SHUT UP!
