Enter The Nomicon
Chapter Ten
~Takeshi~
(A few days back...)
BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEEP!
Ruby let out a deep sigh. It was the usual business for her: faxing paper after paper for hours straight. It was beginning to get on her nerves
Just as she considered taking her break, a familiar face popped through her office door.
"Hello Ruby. Hope I didn't come in at the wrong time."
Ruby smiled. "No, not at all, Mr. Weinerman."
The tall portly man let out a bellowing laugh as he squeezed his way into the room, his enormous head nearly touching the ceiling.
"Well, I just came in to tell you we're having a meeting in ten minutes."
Ruby perked up at this. It was rare to have meetings at night unless they were extremely important.
"Oh! I'll be there soon sir. I'll just finish faxing these last couple of papers Viceroy set me."
Mr. Weinerman chuckled. "Well don't work yourself to death. Viceroy told me you haven't been feeling too well."
The southern man perked a brow and gave Ruby a look. She rubbed her arm, a sheepish smile etching itself upon her face.
"It's nothing really, just stress. I'm fine. Honest, Sir."
A large grin plastered itself upon Mr. Weinerman's face and he nodded.
"All right girly, but remember, if you really aren't feeling too well, tell me, all right? I'll send you home on a short vacation. You've always been a hard worker. You deserve a break once in a while."
"Thank you, Sir."
Mr. Weinerman shook his head, his bright blue eyes filled with a sort of fatherly fondness. "Good. Remember, the meeting is in ten."
"Yes, Sir."
As soon as the tall figure of Mr. Weinerman was out of the room, Ruby finally seated herself again. She eyed the papers with a slight hint of annoyance, and instead of faxing them, she decided to day dream.
Ruby had been more than relieved to know that Mr. Weinerman was no longer sick and had taken charge of the night shift instead of McFist. However, Viceroy had also decided to stay late this very night.
A small scowl found itself on her face before her face was calm again. She briefly wondered if things between her son and his teacher were okay, whatever tension there was, hopefully resolved.
Shaking her head, Ruby thought of Mr. Weinerman. The man was like a young version of Santa Claus. He even had a personality that fit the fictional man. His thick southern accent was the only major difference between the two. He was as tall as a bear, he had large hairy forearms, very light blonde hair, and the lightest blue eyes Ruby had ever seen. He even had a bushy beard and mustache.
Ruby smiled to herself as she thought of the older man. If it weren't for him and Mrs. Weinerman, surely she and Randy wouldn't be where they were today.
As Ruby continued to think about her past, a light rap on her office's doorframe startled her. Turning her head towards where the noise resounded from, Ruby almost scowled when she saw it was Viceroy.
"Sorry if I startled you Ruby, but I came to tell you that you were going to be late to the meeting."
"Oh, sorry. I guess I lost track of time."
Ms. Cunningham left her office and followed Viceroy down the familiar long corridor. She took a quick glance at the large viewing room before looking back in front of her. They paused and entered an even larger room. Ruby could see a large table in the center of the room where many other employees were already seated.
Sadly, there were only two seats left...and they were right next to each other...
Ruby frowned.
Victory began to babble on, but Ruby paid no heed to him, and instead turned her attention to Mr. Weinerman, who stood at the front of the room, bearing his usual jolly grin.
"Well I know this is certainly out of the norm, but this meeting is important to us all." Mr. Weinerman paused. His gaze hardened as the employees spoke amongst each other before resuming. "If you haven't heard, the annual Summer Carp Festival and Ball are coming up. McFist and I will be hosting it this year. We want to impress our business allies..."
Ruby zoned out. She had heard of the Summer Carp Ball, and it was the usual buzz every year. It was just a bunch of rich people dining on fine h'orderves and drinking the strongest alcohol McFist could get his hands on. It was supposed to be a ball with dancing, but they barely lifted a foot at all. Though the ball wasn't all that great, the festival was certainly the gem of the evening as the streets were filled with booths of all kinds. Beautiful decor covered the main streets of Norrisville, carp themed respectively.
The festival itself was tradition dating back nearly one thousand years ago, with the ball as a recently added addition. Back when Ruby was a freshmen, she had actually met Randy's father at the festival. It was certainly a bittersweet memory to her now, though.
Ruby snapped out of her reverie when she felt Viceroy rise from his seat. He stood, walked to the front of the room, and stood next Mr. Weinerman's taller form.
"This year McFist wants us employees to attend the ball. He also encourages all to bring their families."
With that Viceroy pulled out beautiful carp invitations to the ball itself. Ruby groaned while the rest of her coworkers let out whoops and cheers. With the meeting coming to an end, she walked back to her office, and not even a minute later Viceroy poked his head into her office and quickly stepped in.
"Hello again Ruby. Are you going to the SCB?"
Ruby thought for a moment, but shrugged. "I'm not sure. I have my son and his friend to take care of—"
"Well you can take your family, remember?"
"Oh, well, I suppose you're right..."
For a moment, they both stayed silent. Ruby's skin prickled and crawled the longer Viceroy stood in front of her. A second later he spoke up again.
"Ruby, I know this may be inappropriate to ask, but...I was wondering, hoping that you would maybe, be my date to the ball? I'm sure your son and his friend would enjoy themselves at the festival, and—"
"I'm sorry Viceroy, but it is inappropriate."
Ruby's discomfort began to grow, and it became evident to Viceroy. The mad scientist scratched the back of his head.
"No, it's fine, I understand. Ruby, I'm sorry, but did I say or do something wro—"
"No. I just want to be with my son for once, Viceroy. Nothing personal. Now if you excuse me, I need to finish faxing these papers."
Taking this as a dismissal, Viceroy left the room without another word.
Glaring at the papers in front of her, Ruby grabbed a thick folder from the pile. She tore it open, pulled out a thick packet, and began to read it.
The title of the paper was "SCF/B Plans". As Ruby read through it, she nearly dropped the entire packet. She covered her mouth in shock.
What was inside was horrible.
Shoving back the packet of paper inside the folder quickly, Ruby stuffed it into her suitcase. Checking her phone's clock she was relieved to know that it was time to go home again.
As soon as she got home, she found the house silent, and Randy sleeping while Nomi was in his book form (she wasn't sure if he was asleep or not). Ruby furrowed her brows worriedly.
"I guess things didn't go too well," she thought to herself before leaving Randy's room.
The purple haired woman glanced at her suitcase. Maybe she should keep this to herself, at least until things died down a little. So for now, she'd do her own snooping around. Nodding to herself, Ruby turned in to her own room.
At least this job was good for something.
...
(Present)
Randy, Nomi, and Howard, shuffled around the dark halls of the empty school. Their only light source was Nomi's amulet, which lit at least five feet of the hallway in front of them.
They were relieved when they were finally by the main entrance of the school, and for a moment theology relished in the light provided by the moon and stars. Briskly climbing out of the same window they used to break in, Nomi lead them through the hauntingly empty and quiet streets of Norrisville.
His long cape flowed behind him, with a sense of quiet resolution. His eyes were hidden beneath the mask, but Randy caught a few glimpses of Nomi's brown eyes. His ninja-like suit blended into the shadows of the night, his ghostly appearance making goosebumps erupt all over Randy's body. Or was that just the cold air?
Randy shivered. The cold was starting to get to him. However, that wasn't what Randy was really worried about. His suit—its abilities were obviously weakened, and it made Randy feel all the more vulnerable. Would it stir trouble for him during an extremely dangerous battle? The stray robots and monsters weren't challenging to defeat, but what if he had an unexpected battle with the Sorcerer?
Ever since he had crossed Nomi's line, Randy didn't ask questions, he simply followed his teacher's instructions. Things were pretty awkward between them at the moment.
Randy shook his head when he felt another cool wind smack him, reminding him why he was even thinking of the suit in the first place, and he returned to his vain attempts to stay warm. He shivered again, and rubbed his arms vigorously.
Casting a small glance, Nomi noticed his student's discomfort. He paused in his walking, and began to rack his brain for what he should do. Coming to a decision, Nomi silently slipped his cape off his shoulders.
Truthfully, Nomi wasn't all that surprised by the suit's weakened abilities, or its inability to protect Randy from the abnormally cool summer night. Nomi and the suit were mentally connected by the amulet, and this gave the suit life. In other words, the suit could feel, both emotionally and physically.
Randy, who had been staring at the cement for the last couple of seconds, felt someone's gaze upon him. Lifting his head up, he was surprised to see Nomi standing in front of him.
Randy gave an involuntary shudder as Nomi outstretched his hand. In his hand, he held his cape. Randy's blue eyes flickered up to Nomi's, and though he couldn't exactly see them, he felt Nomi staring back at him.
With slight hesitance, Randy gently grasped the cape and breathed out a "thanks". He silently slipped on the cape, and almost instantly felt himself warm up. Nomi's body heat was still there, and Randy was grateful.
The cape now flowing gracefully behind him, Randy began to study the 'scroll' part of the cape. The images changed, from beautiful natural backgrounds, to spectacular images of mystical creatures, to images of paper cut outs of ancient warriors.
Nomi nodded to himself before continuing to lead them through the silent neighborhood.
Howard hadn't been paying any attention to the two, and hadn't witnessed what had just transpired moments ago. He was more than content with himself and the egg. He was, however, confused as to how he knew what to do to stop the egg from moving, but at the same time didn't really question it or really care.
Nomi wasn't surprised that Howard had known what to do with the egg. Howard didn't know it, but he was connected to the Tengu. He had been since the day it had possessed him. Nomi knew first hand the side effects of being possessed by the Tengu, and it seemed that this was the case with Howard.
Then again, Nomi sometimes misjudged Howard's intentions.
Howard truly was more complex, and there was a deeper side of him. There were times where he was a despicable asshole, but other times he proved to truly care for others, just in his own special way.
Aside from Nomi's thoughts on Howard, the pudgy teen himself glanced at Randy and Nomi. He noticed something off about Cunningham and the shoob of a book.
As if on queue, both Randy looked up, and Nomi peered over his shoulder. The two caught each other's glances, and immediately turned away.
Howard raised a curious brow at this. How had he not noticed this earlier? It was pretty damn obvious something was up, but what exactly was the question.
Howard was more than correct. Nomi had begun to train Randy more vigorously as soon as he was able to fight again. He even taught him the hydro hand, as well as helping him finally master stealth, and many other powerful moves. It gave Randy fewer chances to question Nomi into telling him what had happened between them days ago.
After what felt like forever, the three had arrived at Randy's home. They more than welcomed the warmth of the house and the faint scent of cinnamon and maple syrup.
Randy had been more than relieved his mother hadn't arrived home yet. He would have been royally cheesed if she had.
When Randy and Howard finished raiding the fridge, they scurried upstairs. As soon as they were upstairs they peeled off their disguises, and Nomi, much to Howard's dismay, took the egg in his hands. He searched the room to see where Randy had tossed his cape. The egg had instantly come to life and tried to escape from Nomi's hands, but he kept a firm hold on it. Finally, his brown eyes landed on his cape which was laid atop Randy's computer chair.
"Randy, please bring me my cape."
Obliging to his teacher's words, Randy wordlessly went over to his computer chair and grabbed the cape before making his way back to Nomi.
"Good. Now roll it into a ball and make it into a nest."
With Howard's help, they made a make-shift nest for the egg. Nomi quickly inspected it then gave an approving nod. He frowned as the egg continued to struggle.
"Takeshi."
Almost instantly the egg ceased all movement as if recognizing Nomi's voice. Nomi chuckled softly at this, his slightly stern gaze softened and he stared at the egg lovingly. He gently placed the egg in the center of the nest.
The tender moment was interrupted when Howard spoke up.
"Now what? When's it going to hatch?"
"Soon."
It hadn't been long before Randy and Howard had lost interest of the egg, and begun to play video games. Nomi looked at Randy disapprovingly.
"Randy, you're not supposed to play video games, your mother told you not to. If she finds out about this, she'll be very upset."
Before Randy could answer, Howard spoke up heatedly.
"Yeah, but not unless you tell her."
He narrowed his eyes accusingly at Nomi, who in turn scoffed at him before turning towards Randy.
Randy simply shrugged, before continuing his current game with Howard. Nomi's eyes widened at this, but he shook his head. He gave a small huff before returning back to the Tengu egg.
From time to time, Nomi would look over at Howard and Randy as they enjoyed themselves with whatever game they were playing. He hated to admit it, but Nomi felt a little hurt that Randy had simply shrugged him off. Maybe a little more than he should.
After another ten or so minutes, Nomi finally had had enough of Randy's disobedience. He stood up from his spot, marched towards the TV, reached for the plug, and yanked it out.
"N-Nomi! That was so anti-Bruce!"
"Baka! Your mother said you couldn't play video games! You shouldn't disobey your mother!"
"But Nomi, my mom's not here! Come on, I just want to have some fun with Howard—"
"No Randy, listen to me! You could get into more trouble than you already are in! It's best not to take anymore risks—"
"You know what? Stop shoobing things up you stupid book!"
Both Randy and Nomi instantly stopped talking and turned to Howard. Nomi's gaze instantly darkened as Howard rose to his feet.
Randy felt himself begin to shrink as a nasty fight began to spark.
"Randy has responsibilities he needs to follow, and you obviously encourage him to take the wrong path. As the ninja, Randy must sacrifice a lot of things for the sake of others, whether he or you like it or not."
"So what?! You did a pretty shitty job at being the stupid ninja! Your entire family was fucking killed. How the hell do I know you won't let Cunningham get killed?!"
As soon as the words were uttered, not even a second later, they heard a feral growl. Neither Randy nor Howard could register it fast enough. Nomi tackled Howard and with brute strength slammed him to the ground. Howard tried in vain to fight back, push Nomi off, but nothing worked. Nomi's grip was like iron, unyielding.
Randy stood stock still. He and Howard stared wide eyed and fearful at Nomi. Nomi's brown eyes filled with hot tears that threatened to spill over, and he snarled every word he spoke.
"Don't you dare speak to me about my family in that way! My family's death is always on my mind. Every day, every miserable day, I mourn for them! Not a single day goes by without me blaming myself for their deaths, for my greatest failure. And, I care whether or not Randy will survive the oncoming battle. I train him so he could be prepared in case I fail again. I do fear of losing him, and that fear grows more and more as the final battle between him and I against McFist and the Sorcerer draws nearer and nearer." Nomi paused as he took deep shallow breaths. "You can insult me, call me stupid names, but if you drag my family into any little hissy fit of yours, or dare even utter the words that I would simply let Randy get killed, I will beat you to a bloody pulp."
Without even thinking twice, Nomi raised a fist and brought it down hard on Howard's face, giving him a bloody nose.
As Nomi glared at Howard, the tears he been trying so hard to keep from spilling over began to fall, but he simply wiped them away. He stood up, and turned to Randy, his gaze softening, but only slightly.
"Randy, don't disobey your mother. I'm only saying this for your own good. And I'm only telling you this once."
Nomi walked back over to the nest under Randy's loft bed and began to meditate.
Staggering to his feet shakily, Howard walked to Randy's bathroom in shame, like a dog with its tail in between its legs.
Randy stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. He looked over at the bathroom door, then at Nomi's back. Nomi could feel his gaze, but he ignored it. He felt too much raw anger in his system, and he wasn't too confident in himself to not take it out on anyone at the moment. Letting out a shaky sigh, he squeezed his eyes shut, taking deep breaths in order to calm himself.
Randy upon further thought, decided on the lesser of the two demons, and made his way to his bathroom. When he entered the bathroom, Randy found bloody toilet paper all over the place with Howard trying to stop his bloody nose by shoving up pieces of toilet paper up his nose.
"Fuck, I can't stop bleeding..." His voice was nasally, and Randy couldn't help but snicker at this. "Shut up!"
Randy rolled his eyes playfully. "Why'd you have to act like such a dick, dude?"
"Hey, he was being a major chowder head! Your mom wasn't even going to—"
"Big H, that was so not the cheese."
"So you're taking the book's side?"
"No dumbass. I'm not taking anyone's side, okay?"
"Whatever."
"Duuude," Randy whined, his voice holding exasperation.
"He started it," Howard grumbled.
"You continued it. Just say sorry or something."
For a while, Howard glared stubbornly at Randy's bathroom mirror before sighing in defeat.
"Alright, I guess I was being a chowder head too. And...I guess, I could say sorry."
Randy smiled at this, relieved that for once Howard actually listened to him. Quickly, Randy helped Howard with his nose, using up an entire roll of toilet paper.
"Uh, let me talk to Nomi first though, see how he's doing."
Howard nodded in agreement, and as he thought of the possibly murderously angry redhead, he shuddered. The book was really scary, and dangerously temperamental when it came to his family. Howard should have known better than to hit such a raw nerve.
Walking over to where Nomi sat, Randy cleared his throat to indicate his presence, and sat across from him. He mimicked Nomi, and began to meditate along with him.
"Hey uh, N-Nomi?"
"Hm?"
Randy stared down at his lap then at the egg. He didn't know what to say, but thankfully he didn't have to say anything. Nomi sighed deeply, and Randy looked up at him.
"I-I'm sorry I lost my temper." Nomi's expression was sober, and he looked emotionally drained.
Randy scooted a little closer to Nomi.
"Hey, I know Howard shouldn't have said that, and he's really sorry. It's just, we don't get to hang out a lot anymore. I-I mean, ninja duty is really important and stuff, but he's my bro."
"I'm not completely upset about what Howard said, Randy. I'm disappointed and hurt that you chose to disobey not just your mother, but me. Am I not your friend as well?"
There was a hint of hurt in Nomi's voice, which surprised both teens.
Randy felt guilt well up inside him, and he paused to think about his current situation, and came to only one conclusion.
He wrapped his lanky arms around Nomi.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. You're my friend too Nomi. You're really important to me."
Nomi shook his head, and didn't hesitate to bury his face into Randy's neck.
"I'm sorry as well. I suppose my actions were...a little irrational. I just really care about you Randy. I really do. You're...important to me too."
The feeling of Nomi's calloused lips and warm breath sent shivers up and down Randy's spine, but he ignored the foreign sensation. They pulled away, and stared at each other. Blue met brown, and the strange feeling from before returned.
Randy swallowed dryly. He tried to ignore the feeling and spoke up.
"H-hey Nomi?"
"Yes?"
Randy stared down at his lap again. His cheeks felt hot. "Um, a few days back..." Randy winced, his voice was shaky, and it was cracking.
"Randy I told you it's fine. I'm not mad."
"N-no, I wasn't going to ask about that. It's just, I-I wanted to do something, but I uh, you...um..." Randy felt his face heat up completely, and he chickened out. "N-never mind."
Before Nomi could question Randy, the sound of the toilet flushing interrupted them as Howard stumbled clumsily out of Randy's bathroom.
"You might not want to go in there for a while."
Both Randy and Nomi looked at each other, then at Howard, and wrinkled their noses.
"Aw that is shnasty dude!"
Howard snorted and walked over to the two, but paused when he saw Nomi glaring at him. He rubbed his neck uneasily and sat himself by Randy.
"Is the book still mad?"
Nomi frowned at the word 'book'. The nickname made him uncomfortable.
"Say sorry." As Randy said this, he looked at Nomi. "You too Nomi, for socking Howard."
Both teens seemed surprised by this proposition, and with defeated gazes, and through gritted teeth, the two muttered their apologies.
"My apologies."
"Sorry dude."
For a brief couple of minutes there was an awkward silence, but then Randy spoke up, not liking the silence that filled the room.
"So when is it going to hatch, Nomi?"
Giving a slight shrug of his shoulders, Nomi said quietly, "I don't know. Takeshi likes to take his time."
"The Tengu's name is Takeshi?" asked Howard.
Nomi nodded. "It was a name given to him by a past ninja, and the name sort of...stuck, I guess you could say."
"Cool."
Randy smiled a little to himself. The fact that Nomi and Howard were at least trying not to kill each other filled him with joy. Nomi had showed he was starting to accept Howard after the whole Mac Antfee and McStacle incidents. Now Randy hoped Howard would start doing the same.
...
After an exhausting day at work, Ruby had mustered up the strength to drive herself to the little diner at the corner of her work, and was more than eager to get something to eat before driving back home.
As Ruby seated herself by the counter, and felt someone else take a seat next to her. Looking up from her menu, she frowned when she saw it was Viceroy before returning to her menu.
Minutes ticked by, and it surprised Ruby that the man who sat next to her, hadn't uttered a single word to her. Did Viceroy finally understand that she was not comfortable with him around? That his very presence sent every hair on her body standing on end?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Stacy the waitress appeared in front of her.
"Hey there Ms. Cunningham. What would you like for the evening?"
"Uh, just a burger and a salad."
"And a cup of water, right?"
Ruby nodded, as Stacy wrote the order down in her tiny little notebook. "Alright, that'll be $7.25."
Ruby had grabbed her purse. She began to sort through her tiny purse, but when she finally had the correct amount of money Stacy already had some crumpled dollars in her hand. The dark haired woman counted the money in her hands, nodded, and then walked away.
Looking to her right, Ruby looked over to Viceroy. The dark skinned man looked as though he hadn't moved a muscle, his eyes moving across his own menu, and this confused Ruby. She looked around her to see if anyone else in the room could have paid for her food, but the only other person besides Ruby and Viceroy, were Stacy and the cooks themselves.
"Sorry, it's a habit."
Nearly leaping out of her skin, Ruby looked back towards Viceroy. He smiled at her. His eyes were sad, yet somehow held playfulness to them. Ruby didn't return this look and simply murmured, "It's fine."
Minutes ticked by before Stacy returned with Ruby's late night dinner, and finally took Viceroy's order. Happily digging into her food, Ruby suddenly paused when a familiar song played from the old radio that sat in front of her.
She instantly recognized the song that played. It was an old song she used to hear when she had been a teen. If she recalled correctly, it was called, "Dream a Little Dream of Me."
She smiled and began to hum and nod along with it.
"You know this song?"
Ruby froze, her cheeks turning a bright red. Had she really been that into the song? Despite herself she nodded.
"Yeah."
That was the last word Ruby had said to Viceroy, before she finished her meal and left the little diner. She could feel Viceroy's eyes staring at her with a pang of sadness.
...
Upon arriving home, Ruby was met by Randy, Nomi, and Howard. They had quickly briefed her in about the Tengu, and begged her to allow them to keep the Tengu. After convincing Ms. Cunningham, Howard had to go home, leaving Randy, his mother, and Nomi to tend to the egg.
As Randy lay on the couch wrapped tightly in a blanket, he watched Nomi and the egg intently. It was quite a curious spectacle to see such a calm and tender gaze on Nomi's face. Nomi was usually serious, and he mostly held a stern look. This different look was a nice change from his scowls and frowns.
Sighing contently, Randy turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling of the living room. He could hear his mother rummaging around in the kitchen, obviously looking for something to feed him and Nomi.
Randy frowned, then suddenly sat up, grabbing his blanket, before sitting next to Nomi who sat on the carpet floor.
Nomi raised a brow at Randy's actions.
"Randy, go to sleep."
"Nope."
They stayed quiet again, that is, until Nomi suddenly let out a long yawn.
"Maybe you should go to sleep," said Randy.
"I can go weeks without it Randy."
For a brief couple of seconds a silence engulfed them.
"Hey Nomi? Do you think I can do it?"
"Do what?"
"Fight the Sorcerer, and win..."
Nomi paused in thought, then chuckled softly. "Of course you can Randy. I believe in you."
Cutting into their conversation quickly, Ms. Cunningham spoke up.
"Hey your dinner's ready. I uh, hope you guys don't mind eating PB & J's for dinner. I'll watch the egg while you guys eat."
The mention of the Sorcerer made her skin feel prickly and her throat dry.
The two teens rose to their feet and made their way to the counter where their sandwiches laid. The two sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying their meals.
Ruby furrowed her brows. She watched them with concern filled eyes from her spot by the nest. Things appeared fine now, but still, she couldn't help but worry.
As soon as the two finished their dinner, they relieved Ms. Cunningham from her egg watching duties.
"Since you're not going to sleep, and I'm not going to sleep..." Randy threw his blanket around their shoulders.
Nomi laughed breathlessly. "Fair enough."
Randy gave him a lopsided grin then turned back to the Tengu egg. He wasn't actually staring at it or really anything in particular. He furrowed his brows in deep thought.
Since he was in middle school, Randy had always questioned his sexuality. It became evident that he was most certainly not straight, but at the same time he wasn't too convinced he was gay either. He was very confused. He knew a hot girl when he saw one, but he also knew a handsome guy when he saw one.
Why was it so hard to find the answer to his problem? Which gender did he feel more attracted to?
Chancing a quick glance, Randy looked over at Nomi. The soft golden light from the kitchen casted brilliant shadows across the redhead's face, emphasizing his facial features. His brown eyes looked black as they stared wistfully at the egg in front of them.
Randy's heart skipped a beat, and he felt his cheeks reddening. He liked Nomi, maybe even loved him, but at the same time he was so unsure and afraid. When he had tried leaning forward to...kiss Nomi, the redhead had turned away, and it made Randy afraid to admit his feelings to him.
Randy had mixed emotions. When Nomi had denied his attempted kiss in silence, it was painful. He was disheartened, hurt, and he couldn't explain it. It was like a strange empty ache in his chest, like he could physically feel the pain he felt in his heart.
The thought of Nomi sent whirlwinds of emotions through his mind, and Randy could go on forever describing each emotion. However, there was one emotion that rose above all others.
Love.
Randy loved Nomi's fiery red hair, his chestnut brown eyes, his smile. The fact that he could totally kick anyone's ass, that he was the Brucest teacher ever, and not to mention his personality. He was caring, selfless, he was brave, strong, fierce, filled with hope, definitely smart, and that was just the things he could list off the top of his head.
Yes, there it was, the answer Randy had been needing to hear. Gender wasn't what mattered most to him, it was personality. Sure looks were good too, but it was nice to be around someone you enjoy being around, right?
Grinning boyishly to himself, Randy had caught Nomi's attention.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Heh, nothing dude."
Nomi didn't persist, but smiled tiredly. Randy let out a yawn before he rested his head on Nomi's shoulder, giving him a light nuzzle.
"You mind dude?"
Nomi rolled his eyes. "If it means you'll go to sleep, then no, go right ahead."
Randy smiled then murmured," G'night dude."
"Goodnight."
...
Once again, morning had come with its bright rays of light cutting through the windows of the Cunningham household. Ms. Cunningham had come into the living room, and wasn't surprised to find Randy and Nomi still asleep, however, she was surprised to find them in a sort of cuddling position.
Ruby smirked as she stifled a giggle. She gave a small knowing smile before making her way to the kitchen to prepare them breakfast. She was stuck in nightshift again, which made her uneasy, but at the least she would be able to see her son during the day.
The smells of breakfast woke Randy and Nomi, who shot up faster than bullets to the counter. They ate their breakfasts as quickly as possible before leaving to train in the small forest, leaving Ms. Cunningham to watch the unhatched Tengu.
...
As the two entered the forest, they quickly changed out of their casual clothing. Randy slipped on the suit and welcomed the feeling of the familiar black and red ribbons wrapping around his body like a second skin. When his transformation was complete, and he was the ninja, he was more than surprised to see Nomi, in his usual ninja getup, slipping on the hand made Tengu mask.
As Randy watched, intrigued and touched, Nomi pulled out his bamboo flute. He placed his hands on one end of the flute as he extended it before he brought it down on his knee, snapping it in half. Holding the two pieces in his hand, Nomi quickly tossed one to Randy, who readily caught it.
"Alright. Let's begin."
Thump! Thump! Woosh! Thud!
"Oof!"
Randy coughed bitterly as he rose from the forest floor. He gripped his half of the bamboo staff tightly and eyed Nomi, who twirled his piece of the staff mockingly. Nomi's amulet glistened brightly as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He let out an airy chuckle before making the "come at me" sign at Randy.
Glaring darkly at Nomi, Randy charged then swung at Nomi's torso. Reacting quickly, Nomi sidestepped the swing then brought down his staff, successfully hitting Randy in the back.
Randy fell to the ground on his stomach then hastily rolled away as Nomi, who loomed above him, raised his staff to swat at him again.
Barely avoiding the foray, Randy jumped to his feet and took on a defensive stance. Nomi mimicked him, and they danced around each other, standing on the tips of their toes. Nomi smirked as Randy charged at him, his staff out in front of him.
Lifting his staff he charged at Randy before slowing to a near stop and smacking Randy's staff out of his hands. He let out a sharp gasp as Nomi swung. On instinct, Randy shot out his hand, and blocked the oncoming attack before he twisted the staff out of Nomi's hands. The red head couldn't hide his surprise, and suddenly, he and Randy found themselves in a hand-to-hand combat.
Randy ducked as a fist came soaring at him, and instantaneously blocked a low kick aimed at his stomach. Each of Nomi's attacks were relentless and held a callous force behind them.
With impetuous speed, Nomi sweep kicked then pinned Randy into the hard ground, and shoved him harshly against a tree. Randy let out a pained grunt, but swiftly brought up a knee, and successfully hit Nomi where it really hurt.
Nomi let out a pained yowl and backed away from Randy. Taking this opportunity to strike, Randy rammed Nomi into the tree opposite from where they had stood. Another small cry escaped Nomi's lips. His still recovering leg was being crushed against the tree by Randy.
Realizing this, Randy quickly withdrew his assailment, and began to blurt out apologies. However, acting upon his own instincts, Nomi delivered a powerful roundhouse kick, giving Randy a close up with his foot, and sent the teen hurdling into a nearby bush.
"F-fuck Randy!"
Scrambling out f the bush, ignoring the pain in his head, Randy began to apologize.
"I'm sorry! Oh god I juiced up! Nomi are you okay?! I didn't mean to! I—"
"Randy! I'm okay...I'm fine."
Wincing, Nomi lifted his injured leg, stretched it out then retracted it, and continued to do so until the pain in his leg subsided. He panted softly, stifling pained grunts. Randy followed suit as if realizing how tired he was himself.
"Again."
Intent on grabbing his bamboo staff, Randy made to grab it, but was stopped by Nomi.
"Hand-to-hand combat is important, and I think we should focus on it, especially in the case where we don't have any weapons around us."
Randy sucked in a breath, then hesitantly nodded his head.
Standing opposite from each other, the two charged at the other in near perfect unison. Before colliding, Nomi slowed to a near stop. He leapt over Randy, grabbing him by his ninja scarf, and using the power of gravity, lifted Randy up as he fell. As the forest floor came closer and closer, Nomi brought Randy down in front of him and landed on his stomach.
Raising a fist, Nomi brought it down to Randy's chest. However, Randy had recovered quickly, and instinctively shot out his hand. He caught the fist, stopping Nomi's powerful punch, then threw it back at him. Not hesitating, he threw a kick at Nomi.
Reacting quickly, Nomi twisted sideways, leaving his student's leg simply hanging in mid air. Grabbing his student's leg, Nomi swung him around in a circle once, then with amazing strength, tossed him into a tree like a ragdoll.
As Randy smacked against the rough bark of the tree he slumped to the ground in defeat.
Nomi huffed at this. "Are you giving up? Don't give up Randy, keep fighting!"
Randy obliged. He began to rise, and instantly he could feel his legs protesting against the action. His muscles ached and burned, but he didn't dare show it. He wanted to prove how strong he was. Randy didn't want to look like a weak shoob.
Feeling fire fill him with determination, Randy charged and all but threw himself at Nomi. Punches and kicks were instantly thrown, either blocked or narrowly avoided. Randy's heart raced, and he made a mantra in his mind; breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in.
Randy felt exhaustion beginning to get to him as he could barely keep up with Nomi's rapid punches and kicks. His muscles tensing and untensing, coiling then uncoiling. Randy's legs nearly gave out, he wanted to give in, but he knew he couldn't.
Breathe out.
Each punch and kick, on his side were becoming slower and weaker.
Breathe in.
Nomi's punches were getting faster, or was it just Randy who was getting slower?
Breathe out.
Suddenly, Randy could no longer keep up, as he was being beaten around, and was barely able to block or dodge. As he weaved under, Nomi threw a powerful kick to the side of his head.
Breathe in.
The world spun violently.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Randy's mantra was broken, and he began to breathe heavily and quickly. He tried to get up again, but couldn't. It was like a giant earthquake kept knocking him off his feet. A sense of dread came over him, and he wondered if this was a real battle between life and death even though he knew Nomi would never kill him.
Finally getting to his feet, Randy stumbled forward as he threw a punch. Nomi dodged and Randy's legs gave out. He began to fall when he felt Nomi's arms wrap around him tightly before he could touch the ground.
"Randy!"
A small groan escaped his lips, as he lifted his head up weakly. Randy looked up at Nomi, and was shocked to see two teachers instead of one. Both teens looked at each other in terror.
Randy squinted and strained to hear anything the red head was saying. He could barely register it at all.
"Shit! Randy?! I-I didn't mean to hit you that hard!"
"I-it's okay...I know, you didn't mean it." Randy slurred as he tried to keep from falling again. He was completely out of it. With a weak hand, he tugged off his ninja mask.
The black and red ribbons retracted into the mask, and Nomi wrapped an arm around his waist before walking awkwardly over to his gym bag. Nomi sifted around the large bag until he found the familiar burlap sack containing the brightly colored leaves. With one hand propping Randy up, the other carefully opened the tiny sack pulling out a couple leaves.
"Randy, open your mouth."
Not even bothering to protest, he weakly opened his mouth allowing Nomi to stuff the leaves in his mouth.
"This time don't eat them."
"Why?"
"Because then they'll start growing in your stomach."
Randy jolted at this, but Nomi looked down at him and smirked.
"Baka, I'm kidding. Your stomach will digest them before they can even grow."
Randy rolled his eyes weakly. "Dick."
Snickering, Nomi ruffled his purple hair.
"I think that was enough training for one morn—er, afternoon."
He hobbled them over to where the bamboo staffs laid and simply stuffed them in the gym bag. He'd put his bamboo flute back together later.
After Randy was able to walk straight without Nomi's help, they made their way back his home. They chatted idly about anything that crossed their minds, playfully bumping shoulders and teasing each other. A few of Randy's neighbors were out and watched the two curiously. To them, Nomi was just another average teen.
However, when they got inside Randy's home, the pleasant air between them was suddenly gone. The house was a wreck.
The living room was covered with torn up pillows, the couch springs and cushions were jutting out in all directions, photo frames with shattered glass surrounding them on the carpet floor.
The kitchen was covered in different foods, large pieces of bread were all over the counter, the cabinet doors hung precariously on their hinges. Boxes of cereal and other boxed foods were raided, juice boxes were strewn about along with half eaten fruit carcasses. The chairs that were usually stationed by the counter were on the floor, one of them was ripped apart covered in various claw marks. The marvelous chandelier was on the floor in shambles.
Now on high alert, Randy slipped on the ninja mask while Nomi pulled out his samurai sword. They began to investigate the damage of the house. As they surveyed the room, it hit Randy, where was his mother?!
Before he could say a word, he heard splashing, and then a woman's scream. It pierced the suspenseful air in the living room, and the sound itself had come from the guest bathroom down the hallway next to the stairs.
"M-Mom?! MOM!"
Ignoring Nomi's shouts of protest, he raced down said hallway. He briskly pulled out his katana, gripping it tightly in his hands. His heart pounded against his chest painfully as he kicked open the bathroom door. At the sight in front of him, he nearly dropped his katana. Nomi had joined him not even a second later, and was surprised at what he saw.
Ms. Cunningham stood in front of the sink, bubbles nearly overflowing the rim of the sink, and something black and puffy squirming in the soapy water.
"Randall Cunningham, why on earth did you kick down the door?!"
Randy's eyes widened, he sputtered out, "Y-you're okay?!"
"Oh, you're talking about the mess in the living room."
"What happened?!"
"Well this little guy got pretty hungry."
"H-huh?"
Suddenly, a tiny white face with blue markings, a red mane, and two little black dot eyes emerged from the bubbles. It chirped up at him innocently.
"I-is that the Tengu?!"
...
After Ms. Cunningham finished washing the baby demon bird, they had to work on cleaning up the mess while Takeshi slept.
They were on their hands and feet, scrubbing walls, sweeping shards of glass. It was late in the afternoon when they had finally finished. They were all covered in a thin layer of sweat, food stains, and so on.
Exhausted, the three sat on the now clean floor, and watched over the sleeping Takeshi. The little black puffball was snuggled in Nomi's cape.
In their peace, they were startled by the sound of the house phone going off. Rising to her feet, Ruby sauntered over it before answering.
"Hello?"
"Hello Ms. Cunningham?"
"Mr. Slimovitz?"
"Ah, well I know this is a little last minute, but tomorrow there will be school! I know tomorrow's a Friday, but it's necessary that all students attend tomorrow as the schedules may be rearranged, and we don't want kids getting confused on Monday."
"Oh, well thank you for advising me. I'll make sure my son attends tomorrow."
"Great, well good bye!"
"Goodbye Mr. Slimovitz."
As Ms. Cunningham hung up the phone, her son spoke up.
"Who was that?"
"Mr. Slimovitz. You and Nomi have school tomorrow."
Randy's perky mood instantly dulled. He groaned loudly.
"Do we have to go? Tomorrow's Friday."
"It's important. The schedules may be rearranged for some kids, so I think it's pretty important you and Nomi go."
"I guess you're right, but who's going to watch Takeshi?"
"Don't worry honey, I can watch over him."
Nomi stayed silent throughout their entire conversation. He was preoccupied with the idea of the schedule change. Would he and Randy have the misfortune of being in different classes?
He hoped not.
Then again, it could give him a chance to be able to speak with S. Ward Smith.
Ruby bit her lower lip. Maybe it was a good time as any to bring up the Summer Carp Festival and Ball.
"Oh, and that reminds me! We've also been invited to attend the Summer Carp Festival and Ball."
This caught Nomi's attention, and suddenly, an ache came over his heart. He had been born on the day of the festival. His family would always go together to the festival and celebrate his birthday. It was a day where no one argued, and they bonded together. Now, it was only a painful memory to Nomi.
"That is so Bruce! Me, Nomi, and Howard can hang out!"
Ms. Cunningham smiled uneasily.
"Yeah, but I'm sure Nomi might have some sort of uh, lesson for you to learn?"
Ruby looked over at Nomi who barely seemed to have noticed that he had just been acknowledged.
"Hm? No, I don't think I have a lesson in mind for that day." The red head gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. He seemed to not be really paying attention.
Randy fist pumped the air as he gave a boyish grin, oblivious to Nomi's behavior.
"All right, well, I suppose you two can enjoy the rest of the day. I'll be in my room if you boys need me, okay?"
Randy nodded as his mother left to her room leaving him, Nomi, and Takeshi to themselves.
"So I guess we're going back to school tomorrow?" said Nomi.
"Hm? Oh, yeah! I hope we still have classes together."
Nomi nodded, and he and Randy enjoyed the rest of the day with Howard dropping by (who nearly fainted after seeing Takeshi). The pudgy teen decided on staying the night.
Tomorrow, everything was going to change.
...
Okay I'm a major shoob for not updating in forever! I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, but I had a lot of things that really needed all of my attention. I had finals, I had a cold! My birthday also passed, and these past months have been very stressful and busy!
I want to say a few things...
I hope all of you guys did great on your final exams, I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
I also would like to say thank you all who have beared with me, cause guess what? I'm at 100 reviews! I never ever thought I'd get this many reviews with only 9 chapters! Now with this chapter, I want to see how many more I'll get! Imagine after nine more chapters how many reviews this story will get!? It's amazing to see so many of you enjoy this story, and to know that you've made so many connections with the characters, etc.
To all my anons! You guys are so amazing and I wish I could thank you all individually!
And believe me when I say this you guys, I'm finishing this story. It's a promise I'm not going to break any time soon!
I'm working on chapter 11 and hopefully I'll get it done and sent to my editor by the end of my Winter break, and maybe get it published not too long after that.
Okay, so I think that's pretty much it, so I'll shut up now!
Enjoy!~
~ChihuahuaRocks~