Savage and Graceful Beginnings
"Those Ki-Taneans who share our secrets with outsiders become outsiders themselves. We will destroy any who attempts to destroy us. It is a necessary evil"
--From the sacred texts of the Ki-Tanean tribe.
Relena and Alimaru still weren't sure what to think of each other. Relena found Alimaru to be haughty and irritating; Alimaru found Relena to be little more than a brat. That didn't mean they hated each other, but it also didn't mean they liked each other.
"I need to find a job, Relena. I'd have money from a talent show I was sure to win, but a certain young lady appeared in my garden and needed my constant care instead," Alimaru said, looking through a newspaper. Relena had coloured in all the comics and drew mustaches on every picture in the rest of the paper for fun.
Relena looked up from helping Violet cut out coupons, "Well, sorry for getting disoriented and collapsing! Next time I get shot and have massive blood loss, I'll be sure to just die on the spot instead of inconveniencing the almighty Alimaru, the greatest singer who ever lived and making sure nobody got to hear him share his heavenly gift!" she snapped. She liked Alimaru's sisters; they reminded her of her own younger sisters only a lot easier to deal with. Relena's sisters were Ki-Taneans through and through and trained more than a lot of the younger members of the tribe.
"Relena, don't do this to me. Could you help me find a job?" Alimaru asked. Relena stopped what she was doing and snatched the paper away from the young man.
"Hey lookit! Someone is needed to train vicious guard dogs!" Relena exclaimed.
Ali looked appalled, "I'm not doing that. Don't ever suggest something like that again! That's cruel to both the trainer and the dogs!" he said.
"Relena, are you going to stay with us forever?" Violet asked.
"No, she isn't," Ali growled, "As soon as she's back to full health, she has to leave."
"Aw, c'mon Alimaru! I don't have anywhere else to go!" Relena pleaded, "You can't throw a beautiful girl like me out on the street! Someone will take advantage of me! Have a heart!"
"Well, you can't stay here. I'm sorry but we don't need another mouth to feed, particularly with me unemployed," Alimaru said, nibbling on an apricot.
"I could work! I'm a Ki-Tanean! There's got to be something I could do with my inborn skills to bring in money! If I get a job, then could I stay?" Relena asked.
Ali thought about it. Relena had a point. As a Ki-Tanean she could do things a normal person wouldn't be able to. "We could both work…then we could be free of our money problems for good! My sisters could go to school and do whatever they wanted!" He exclaimed, "Yes, Relena! If you bring in money, you may stay with us."
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The next day, Alimaru went into his garage and found Relena setting up something. He didn't know what it was, but it didn't look…legal. Relena was wearing a pirate hat she had found in Alimaru's closet. It was part of a Halloween costume from when Ali was a kid.
"What the heck are you doing to this place?" Alimaru asked, trying not to blow up. Lily was having her nap, and even though they were in the garage, he didn't want to risk waking her up.
"It's for my pirate radio station," Relena said, "A radio station is the only place where I'd be allowed to act like a child and get paid for it!"
Alimaru slapped his forehead, "Relena, you are not running a pirate radio station out of my garage! It's not work, you won't get paid, and it isn't even legal!" he snapped.
"It's my life's work!" Relena insisted.
"Relena, forget it. I'm not getting arrested for having you run this out of my garage. Take this stuff down now and find a real job! Why don't you come out and help me harvest my fruit? And where did you find that hat? I remember that hat! I had a pirate costume when I was ten! Have you been going through my closet again?" Ali asked angrily.
"What's it to you? All I took was the hat. I could've taken more, like that women's kimono," Relena said, starting to unhook things.
"That kimono belonged to my mother! My father brought it for her from Japan. He was Japanese, and she was French," Alimaru snapped.
"Can I have it?" Relena asked.
"Absolutely not," Alimaru said.
"It's a women's kimono, I am a woman. You're a boy, so it's not appropriate for you to wear," Relena argued.
"Why can't you behave?" Alimaru asked, "If you really want to stay, you need to get your act together. This is my house and if you don't want to find somewhere else to live you'll get a job and bring in money!"
"Aw, Ali, you're no fun! Here, listen to the music I was going to play on my radio station! I made it myself!" Relena exclaimed, handing Alimaru a CD.
"What the heck is this? Hey! 'Alimaru: God's Gift to Bad Music'! You snuck out in my garden while I was outside and recorded me, didn't you?" Alimaru yelled.
"Yep!"
