Rito ½

Chapter 9: Blood is Thicker than Cold Water

HeroSpirit wipes his forehead. "Phew, finally done!"

Rito: "Good, the house is fixed, the water mains are fixed, and best of all your computer is still intact."

HeroSpirit: "Don't forget that the poll is fixed too!"

Rito: "Oh yeah! That's right! It didn't show up on your profile before didn't it?"

HeroSpirit: "Yeah, but it's up now, and I'll be open for another week."

Rito: "Hear that readers? The poll is fixed and you have ONE more week to vote! Vote now, because it'll close on January 17th."

HeroSpirit: "I can't start on chapter 10 without your votes, and once it closes I'll be starting on the next chapter!"

Thursday hit me like a ton of bricks. After yesterday I really didn't need any more complications in my life for the time being, and my sister arriving was enough to keep my head spinning for days. I can't say I hated having my sister home, but I can't say I enjoyed it either.

"Why is it that inconvenience seems to follow me around?"

I woke up from my slumber in the early morning and slugged myself out of bed, taking a moment to walk over to my dresser and check on Kyouko. She was all curled up sleeping in my socks, and she didn't look like she'd wake up any time soon. At least that was a good thing, it would let me relax for a bit. I walked downstairs where I'd head to the laundry room to grab a few towels before I took my bath. Yeah, I'm one of those weirdos who takes a bath in the morning rather than a shower. I find it more relaxing though.

"Hey Rene, where are all towels?" I asked as I leaned in towards the kitchen where Rene was making coffee.

"I had to put them in the wash. There's a few in the dryer though, if you just hop in the bath I can bring them up in a few minutes." Rene answered, removing the pot underneath the coffee maker and pouring it's contents into a mug.

I guess that'd be more convenient for me, so I just walked back up stairs and started my bath, waiting for it to get to a certain point before I took off my shirt along with the rest of my clothing.

"I wonder if Rene is still wondering about yesterday, I don't need her still thinking I'm a cross-dresser or something. I have enough bad luck as is."

I slid myself into the water as I shut off the valves, laying my head back in the tub as I felt the waters soothe my pain. I needed this, I've been stressing out too much lately, and that's not good for anyone. Unfortunately, my relaxation didn't last before I heard a soft THUD from my room.

"Huh?" I grunted sitting upright and staring at the bedroom door. My room was directly connected to my bathroom, so it was right outside the door. It was kind of like hearing a pigeon crash into the window in mid-flight, but it wasn't coming from the window. I leaned into the crack I left in my doorway. I always keep my bathroom door slightly cracked, I never knew why, it was just a habit. It's not like anyone would come barging in. After all, they have to get to my room first. That was right about the time when something slid through the crack I made in the doorway.

It was Kyouko, squeezing her little guinea pig body through the entrance and scurrying across the floor.

"How did she get out of the dresser?"

I knew for a fact I left Kyouko's dresser drawer open, but that drawer was the 2nd one up, she'd have to climb out and fall to the floor. Plus the fall itself would have been a couple of feet.

"Could that have been the thud I heard?"

I heard Kyouko squeak a few times as she scampered toward the bath tub. It wasn't that long before I saw her lifting herself up on the edge of the tub only inches from the water contained by it.

"How did she even climb up there? The tub itself is a foot tall, and it's made of porcelain! It's not like she could have dug her claws in and scaled up!"

The logic didn't stop Kyouko though, in fact I saw her wiggle her big guinea pig tush at what seemed like an attempt to get ready to jump into the water.

"Wait... Kyouko... guinea pig... tub... hot water... curse... oh no!"

Kyouko bounded into the water, and I couldn't believe what I saw. The water began to sizzle and bubble like it was beginning to boil. I slid back a ways as this took place, and moments later, Kyouko popped out from beneath the water... totally butt naked.

"Never put in sock drawer again!" she yelled. I averted my eyes as she raised herself from the depths of what seemed like was the only thing covering her.

"Uh... K-kyouko... um.." I stuttered as I looked to the ceiling, keeping my eyes away from what normal teenage guys would kill for. "C-...clothes..."

I looked back at Kyouko and Kyouko looked down at herself, realizing what I was meaning to say.

"Kyaaaa!" she yelled as she promptly covered her chest and kept me from taking "sneak peeks", not that I would.

"Ritoki! Those towels are ready. Are you ok? I heard a scream when I came up." I heard a familiar voice say from the doorway of my room.

"Just my luck..."

"Shhh! It's my sister!" I whispered, Kyouko seemed to glare at me like it was some sort of excuse. She attempted to switch her position in the enclosed space we were in, but it wasn't working.

"Ritoki? Are you alright in there?" I heard Rene ask as I could hear footsteps entering the room.

"Move elbow out of stomach!" Kyouko growled as she grunted switching her position in the small tub.

"Kyouko!... Shh!" I pleaded, but it was too late, the door was already starting to open.

"Ritoki, is there someone in there?" Rene questioned as she cracked the door slightly.

"Ga!... don't-.." I would have finished my sentence, but Kyouko was still struggling around, and it got to the point where her foot was literally in my mouth. Have you ever tasted a human foot? Yeah, don't try it anytime soon...

"Ritoki I.." Rene started as she opened the door wide enough to see what was going on. Kyouko was still fussing around and I could only stare with Kyouko's foot in my mouth. I managed to free my arm from the entanglement and forcibly took the foot out.

"Sis... I can explain..." I said. Rene could only stare though, and she had every reason to. How would you feel if you found your younger brother or sister in the bathtub completely naked with a person of the opposite gender? It wasn't exactly a picnic for me either, just to let you know.

Rene stood there in shock and awe, she dropped a couple of towels in her arms which I had guessed she was bringing to me as she promised. Rene's eyes rolled back, and her legs refused to keep her upright, her arms went to jello and she collapsed on the floor.

"Did... did Rene just faint?"

It was only until about few minutes of struggling to get out of the bathtub, and after that I had to literally carry my sister all the way back downstairs. Kyouko aided me in this endeavor, but I still couldn't look at her due to her lack of clothing. I knew if I so much as peeked, she's kick me to Nebraska and back again. Just to let you know, that's a very far away distance from where I'm at.

I was rather surprised by my strength as I gave my unconscious sibling a piggy back ride downstairs just before I put on some shorts that I left on the bathroom floor. I couldn't lift a fifty pound weight in gym class let alone my own sister who was at the very least twice that. I managed to set her down on the couch while Kyouko dashed to the laundry room to grab a towel and cover herself.

"What am I going to do now..." I asked myself aloud as I stared at her motionless body. It was like I was watching her sleep, but no matter how I thought of it, it was still creepy.

"This no happen if pervert girl knock first..." Kyouko sighed as I saw her wrap a towel around her as she exited the laundry room adjacent to the living room.

"You jumped into the bathtub while I was still in it. Who's the REAL pervert girl here?"

"I still don't get how I'm going to explain that, maybe I can excuse it as a hallucination or something because she became paranoid after she saw me undressing.." I mused aloud.

"Could always knock her unconscious whenever pervert girl mentions it, that keep her mouth shut.." Kyouko suggested, wearing a towel for a dress as she sat down.

"Again, who's the real pervert girl? The girl who hopped into a boy's bathtub while he was naked, or the girl who just forgot to knock?"

I flinched when I saw Rene's body move. Her already closed eyes started to squint, and she started to groan.

"Crap! You have to hide!" I quickly went over to Kyouko to whisper this, so that way Rene's waking contentiousness couldn't pick it up.

"Hide where? I has nowhere to hide, no reason to..." she opposed. I growled at this rebellious attitude of Kyouko's, and grabbed her arm and dragged her to the kitchen. Kyouko screamed in defiance as she was forced towards the direction I was going. When we reached the sink I grabbed the nozzle of the sink and twisted it clockwise. The cool thing about our sink is that if you twisted the nozzle, it would come out a little ways and act as a miniature hose. I reached for the cold water valve and pointed this tiny hose at Kyouko's body. Soon after a rush of freezing liquid came directly at her, and Kyouko acted like the wicked witch of oz as she was sprayed. Giving off a "Kya!" scream as this happened. All that was left afterwards was a small black guinea pig running out from the towel that was left.

"Now that I know the rules of them, these curses are useful indeed."

I picked up the newly guinea pigged Kyouko and opened up a hand towel drawer, only to shove her into it in an attempt to hide her. When I got back into the living room, Rene was sitting straight up holding her head.

"Ritoki?" she asked in a weak and half asleep voice. I rushed to the side of the couch and tried to look casual.

"Yo sis! Did you have a nice nap?" I politely asked, it was the best I could think of, and I actually think it was a good excuse.

"Wow, did I fall asleep on the couch or something? I had this weird dream that you were taking a bath with this black haired lady and you were doing weird stuff with her..." Rene stated, seeming to buy my lie. I dodged a bullet there, but it could have been ugly...

The afternoon passed by pretty fast and it was already about two in the afternoon. I managed to sneak Kyouko back into my dresser drawer without any problems and I walked downstairs to see Rene putting on her shoes.

"Going somewhere, sis?" I asked in curiosity, it was unlike her to leave the house when she was visiting someone.

"Yeah, I haven't been to our mall in so long it seems like forever. I wanted to go see it again. You want to come Ritoki? I'll let you pick out a few things. You might be able to find a few skirts you like..." Rene smiled innocently. I face-palmed at that moment.

"She's still on that?"

"I am NOT a cross-dresser!" I objected. Rene didn't buy it in the least.

"It's ok Ritoki, you don't have to keep secrets from me, as long as it's on your own time, your hobbies are your hobbies." she calmly told me. My eye twitched, the last thing I needed was the hear that...

It took us only minutes for Rene to start the car and drive us over to the mall. I had to admit that I hadn't been to the mall myself in a while, and I was anxious to see what the comic store had in it's new stock. Hopefully I would be able to meet Brayden there, but it was highly unlikely.

We walked into the building nonchalantly, and Rene had an expression like she'd never seen a mall before in her life. I could tell she was happy to be home, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I'm going to head over to the comics shop." I told as I started walking a little ahead of Rene.

"Meet me in the food court in a couple of hours, and don't come back wearing a dress!" Rene replied as she started heading a different direction. I stumbled over my own feet at this remark.

"WHY do you have to say that in a public place?"

Moments past, and I finally got out of the comics shop with the newest issue of Cyber Man under my arm wrapped in a plastic covering. I looked at the clock built into my cell phone only to see that I had another hour and a half to kill, so I decided to read my new comic in the commons area of the mall.

The commons area is where all the teenagers go to hang out, there's AstroTurf, a few benches, and a circular fountain that was near the side of it. I always sat on the side of the fountain because the rest of the area is always crowded with jocks and rude girls, especially on the weekends. Somehow I wish that I hadn't decided to sit there though, because you can guess what happened next.

A kid somewhere around twelve years of age came riding on his skateboard past the commons, and a few security guards were after him. I was guessing that skateboarding was a violation of the mall's rules, and they were after him to convict him. I decided that I might as well help the guards out, and I slid my foot in the way of the skateboard in an attempt to make the kid crash. This kid wasn't the brightest of the bunch, because he ran right into in a flew a few yards after his skateboard left the bottom of his feet. What I didn't expect was the pain that came from stopping a skateboard that was going 30 miles an hour.

I flinched and grabbed my leg, and shifted it into my lap to see the damage, no bruises thank god, but MAN that was smarts. I tried to bend it a little closer to my face to examine it better, but I must have bended it a little too far... because I lost my balance and fell into the fountain.

"Ah! CRAP!"

I thought this as I plunged into the inch deep puddle, and immediately stood up, several teenagers nearby were laughing.

"Ah! My comic!" I gasped as I noticed that my new comic book fell in along with me, now completely ruined and soaked by the water. It's ink smeared, it's pages stuck together, and it's pages now falling apart.

"Who dares make such a cheap comic?"

I stood up from my soaked position and tried airing myself out, it didn't take me long to realize that a certain something was blocking the view to my feet. Which could only mean...

"I'm a girl..."

"Ah! Rita!" I heard someone call from a distance. I turned to see the familiar face of Darlyne. Her face looked of concern as she gazed at me. "What happened? Why are you all wet?"

"For the umpteenth time..."

"Eh... I just accidentally fell into the fountain is all. It's just a little water though, it won't hurt anything." I said modestly as I scratched the back of my head. It was then I realized my head didn't plunge in along with the rest of my body. It's a good thing too, god knows whatever the hell people do in that fountain.

Darlyne didn't respond after that, she could only stare at my body that was dripping on the floor, and I only waited seconds before she approached and turned around, spreading her arms out slightly. I blinked at this. It seemed like she was trying to act as a shield. Darlyne turned her head slightly and whispered.

"Rita... your shirt is wet... people can see through it.." she subtly said. My jaw dropped at this, looking down at myself only to see my shirt hugging my skin like latex. Through the thin fabric you could see traces of skin, and my nose felt like it was seconds from bleeding. I covered my chest, I had no idea why though. It's not like I had a sense of feminine modesty. Even if I did, why should I care of a few people get a glimpse of my chest?... or maybe that was what feminine modesty was.

"Ah, oh man..." I whispered to myself, as Darlyne grabbed my arm and started leading my in a direction. Making subtle and keen movements so we wouldn't draw attention.

"You can't continue walking around like that, I know somewhere you can get a change of clothes." Darlyne informed. I couldn't help but twitch at this. Somehow I knew where this was going to end up.

"Ah! It's ok really! If I just use the bathroom and dry off in there I can.." I started, but Darlyne interrupted, which was certainly not like her.

"That will never do! Trust me, I have a discount there, and plenty of money to cover it." Darlyne insisted as she turned back to me and gave a friendly smile. I couldn't help but blush.

"Ah, what a benevolent spirit Darlyne is..."

I spoke too soon though, because we ended up at the one place I thought I'd never be.

"A women's clothing store?"

It was a women's clothing store alright. It had the big letters "Vogue Corner" at the top of the store in bright white letters, and about twenty people could be seen browsing it's contents with intrigued eyes.

"Come on, I'll show you where the changing rooms are." Darlyne offered.

"There is no possible... no conceivable way that I can go into that stupid-..."

"Coming..." I mindlessly said. Don't judge me, Darlyne's voice is like a hypnotizing wheel. When I heard it my mind goes numb.

Darlyne showed me to a booth covered by a wooden lockable door. She showed me inside and instructed me to undress inside. As I did so Darlyne leaned over on the door and sighed.

"I can't believe you aren't bothered by something such as that. You should respect your body a little more Rita." Darlyne advised. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. What did I cared, I was a guy. "I also can't believe you weren't wearing a bra! I'm sure you've been told that isn't good for you." she scolded. I went wide eyed at this as I took off my soaked pants.

"Huh?" I grunted.

"Really? I thought girls only wore bras because it was a sort of 'second line of defense'. Like in case their shirt ripped or something."

"After this, I should take you shopping to get you some underwear, you can't keep living without wearing one." Darlyne sighed. I couldn't help but twitch my eye.

"God... if you have any mercy... strike me down this instant."

Darlyne went away for a few moments to pick out something for me to wear, and after a few minutes of squinting my eyes shut to keep myself from staring at my own body, she opened the door just a cracked and squeezed in an article of clothing.

"Try this!" she zealously instructed. I pulled in the clothing to see what it was... and almost fell over when I saw it...

It was an outfit that coupled a dark red blouse with white frills at the ends of the sleeves and collar, it also had a single button that had a white ribbon tied onto it near the collar. Along with it came a medium length white skirt with a red design of what looked like thin ribbons holding each other's ends all in a circle.

"Eh... um... Darlyne, this isn't really my style." I admitted from inside the changing room.

"Just try it, I think I'll look really cute on you." Darlyne giggled.

"Damn it Darlyne! You're a benevolent spirit and a compassionate angel... but I will KILL you if you make me wear this!"

I had to give in though, Darlyne was holding all the cards on this one. I reluctantly came out wearing the articles of clothing she picked for me, and looked down to the floor in embarrassment.

"Wow! Rita, you look so cute! I knew they would look great on you!" Darlyne smiled. I couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Darlyne thought of me as cute, but I had to remind myself that I was still a girl, and when she said that it didn't mean what I originally thought. I stepped back aways back into the changing room to look at the mirror. I was really bugged by the fact that it was me, but you know... if this person was someone other than me... I could really fall for this girl.

The girl in the mirror looked so young, so serene. Her red hair entranced me along with her gentle blue eyes that you could get lost in. The freckle that bridged from one cheek to the other only aided her appeal even more. It was right then I went wide eyed and snapped out of my trance.

"GA! What am I thinking? Get a hold if yourself Richards! You're losing it! Hear me? Losing it!"

I shook my head, listening to the voices that told me to snap out of it, and gave a faint smile just to please Darlyne. I had to show some form of gratitude.

We had to leave the store with my old clothes in a shopping bag, of course I was embarrassed to walk out in such an outfit, but I had to suck up my dignity momentarily just for Darlyne's sake. She wouldn't let me walk out of that place without them, so I did just that...

We made our way towards the food court after Darlyne asked me if we could hang out a little longer, I had completely forgotten the meeting with my sister that was suppose to take place after only two short hours, and I hadn't even noticed that it was just about that time.

"Oh! Let me get a coffee, do you drink coffee, Rita?" Darlyne asked. I did drink coffee from time to time, but after burning a small hole in Darlyne's wallet after she bought me these clothes, I felt like I would be imposing if I asked her to get me anything else. After all, the money in the pockets of my pants were soaked along with the rest of my clothes, so I had no money.

"I'm good, thanks though." I gratefully said.

We got to the food court and took a seat and Darlyne took a sip of the coffee she bought.

"What brought you to to mall anyway? Do you just come to hang out?" Darlyne was trying to start the conversation back up, and I wasn't sure how to reply. It's not like I'd be normal for a girl to say "I came to grab some comics". I guess I really shouldn't talk though, I don't know very many girls period.

"Eh, well you know... I just came to...uh..." I stuttered, not quite certain as to how to respond. Darlyne looked intently, waiting for my answer, and she got an expression that signaled she just got an idea. She leaned in with a crafty expression, as though she understood something.

"I see... you came to scope out a few guys didn't you..." Darlyne interrogated. My psyche almost shattered at the very thought.

"NO NO! If course not! I was just.. I mean..." I nervously stammered. Darlyne could only giggle.

"It's ok Rita, there's no need to hide it. It's normal for a girl to do that kind of stuff." she eased.

"That's exactly why I'm objecting..."

"But that was right when I saw something, something I had forgotten long before. I saw Rene taking a seat a few tables away in the middle of the food court. A soda in her hand and looking at her watch, like she was waiting for someone.

"Oh man! She's waiting for me! I totally forgot!"

What was I suppose to do though? It's not like I could say "Oops! Gotta go, sorry!" to Darlyne. That would be way to suspicious, and too rude at that. She bought me clothes for god sakes. Then again, I couldn't keep Rene waiting for too long, or she'd get worried. I looked back at Darlyne, then at Rene, switching my sight back and forth between them.

"Something wrong, Rita?" Darlyne asked as she observed this. My head was spinning, I had no idea what to do.

"Oh man! What am I supposed to do?"

HeroSpirit sighs. "Ah, another chapter completed."

Rito: "Cool, the fans will be pleased. It's hard to believe you wrote half of this in one night too."

HeroSpirit: "I'm talented, what can I say.."

Rito: "Yeah, so talented you can write 2000 words, call a plumber, and fix an entire room in one day."