Warning: OC s running rampant alert!

Spring Break

Somehow, another break had rolled around and Tetsu found himself wedged in the backseat of Sano's van again. Susumu was on one side of him, zoned out with his iPod on full blast and Shinpachi was snoring lightly on the other side. Heisuke was "navigating," for whatever that was worth. Especially considering that they'd been driving around in circles for almost two hours now. Tetsu's butt was getting tingly.

"Tada! And we're here."

Shinpachi grunted and cracked an eye lazily, "That's the fifteenth time you've said that, Heisuke. Are we really here this time?"

"Shinpattsan, I'm wounded to the core! You have so little faith in me."

"So that means no." The eyelid slid back down, "Wake me up when we're actually in the parking lot."

Tetsu nodded in silent agreement and mashed buttons on his DS. He really didn't see the point of this stupid game. Who wanted to do math problems anyway? Sure, he told Tatsu that it was "educational" and some shit, but he didn't think that his big brother would actually get him the lamest game ever invented. Anything that had Brain in the title, that wasn't proceeded with gun or blow up, had to be just plain out stupid.

"Blue! GoddammitIsaid BLUE!"

"Turtles!" Sano piped up cheerfully from the front.

Tetsu's jaw dropped, "Bastard! Turtles isn't a color! Turtles! Hey, it's not working!"

"You're too smart for it, shithead." Susumu muttered, "It knows you know turtles isn't a color. It's fucking with you."

"But Sano…"

"I rest my case." The teenager rumbled disagreeably, "Hey, when are we stopping this bucket of rust and getting some food?"

"When we get to where we're going!" Heisuke remarked cheerfully, "Take a left, Sano."

The car lurched right then swung left.

"Real men ask for directions. Hey, Susumu, get out and go ask for directions in that gas station." Heisuke smirked and almost got served a bloody nose. He ducked back and tsked, "Don't complain if you're not going to do anything about it."

"Quit calling me a chick!"

"I called you a chick? I think that might be an insult to all women; after all, we're not sure exactly what you are."

Shinpachi opened the door and slid out of the van. His orange hair was waving from the scrunched up nap in the back seat and he rubbed a little sleep out of his eyes, "I'll be right back. Don't kill anybody while I'm gone."

"Aww, he's so cute like that!" Heisuke gushed and Susumu made gagging noises. Tetsu just stabbed the screen with his stylus and muttered, "That was so an eight, stupid game. Eight! It's an eight, not a zero!"

"Oh no." Heisuke growled, "Of all the bad luck." He looked slightly nervous, although Tetsu couldn't figure out why.

Tetsu glanced out of the window, "At least Okita's not with us."

Sano nodded sagely, "Yes, that's good. Ren and Okita aren't very nice. Kinda like a rat and a snake."

"Which begs the question who's who." Susumu muttered, "Can't say that creepy cross dresser is my favorite person in the whole fucking wide world either."

"But aren't you a creepy cross dresser too?" Tetsu blinked as a finger got shoved in his face. "Hey, it's true!"

Shinpachi stuck his head in the rolled down window, "I found Ren in there. He says we can follow his car to the mall or we'll never get there. Something about Heisuke has the sense of direction of an apple. The only place his mind ever goes is down? Anyway, Sano, follow that…"

"Wait… he said that?" Heisuke demanded and Shinpachi shrugged lightly, "Something to that effect."

Heisuke muttered, "I knew it; he's still mad at me for winter break." Shinpachi shrugged and got in the back, not refuting his claim.

The van was silent as they followed Ren's beat up Honda Civic to the Great Mall of America. It wasn't until they got into the parking lot and unloaded that Tetsu turned off his DS and stashed it under the seat. Maybe he could get a better game if he begged someone with money…

"Okay everyone, you all know Ren," Shinpachi said, gesturing to his cousin who smirked back in greeting, "This is his girlfriend Steph. She lives in the area."

Tetsu wasn't sure there was a person under all the metal and ink, let alone if it was female or not.

"Yo." She nodded, "Pleased to meet y'all. Ren's said some pretty wild things about 'ya. Hope you don't mind if we don't hang out too much. We're meeting some friends inside, so we ain't babysitting much. Unless you want to meet the crew too?"

Shinpachi rolled his eyes, "Nice way to treat family."

She pinched his check sharply, "I never said you couldn't come, just that we're busy people, Shin."

Shinpachi swatted her hand away and she cocked her head at Heisuke, "So this is the beau, huh? Well, you could definitely do worse. Hmm, definitely could do better though. Hey you, if you ever hurt Shin, I'll kick your ass little boy."

"Little boy?" "Haha, do it and more power to you." "She's scary."

"C'mon Ren, Jen and Evie are probably waiting." Steph twisted to look over her shoulder, "Guess the kiddies should come; we wouldn't want them getting lost or anything."

Ren gave an apologetic smile and trailed after his girlfriend. Shinpachi rolled his eyes, "Crazy. He's crazy about her and I don't get it. Should we go with them? Their friends are probably freaks."

Heisuke smirked, "Sano's been looking for a new girlfriend, and he doesn't mind freaks. Oh, and I'd say Susumu too, but he seems to be getting pretty cozy with Maro."

"To save YOUR ass, jerk. I saved you and you so owe me!" Susumu hissed, "You ungrateful piece of shit."

"You say it was to save us but you know you enjoyed it. That's why you've gone out at least two more times." Heisuke smirked knowingly, "Looks like you've found a soul mate."

Tetsu wasn't so sure it was a good idea, but the Tatsu voice was saying to mind his manners and he decided to listen to it this time. He wasn't interested in any trouble and he wanted some stories to take back to Suzu and Okita.

Tetsu was definitely going to have some stories to tell.

Ren and Steph's two friends were sharing a table in the food court. They seemed normal enough at first glance. Both were in their twenties wearing normal clothing and normal hair and just plain normal stuff. If they were guys or something then they looked pretty normal.

"Evie," Steph pointed to the tall, slender girl with the short hair then to the shorter, well-kept girl, "Jennifer, this is my "coz" Shin and his friends from school." Steph gave a short wave of her hand, "They're tagging along today, if that's okay."

"Sure," Evie gave a polite smile and glanced over her glasses, "That's not a problem. It's not like we own the mall or anything. So this is Shin? Nice to finally meet you and have a face to go with the name."

Shinpachi blushed.

"Man-stealing home wrecker." Heisuke hissed and Shinpachi stepped on his foot, growling, "Heisuke!"

Evie gave a mild look, "Excessive jealousy isn't good for your relationship. I was simply being polite."

This time Heisuke turned red, although it was probably from anger rather than embarrassment.

"Sano?"

Sano whirled as only a giant bear of a guy could and his mouth fell open. He darted behind Ren and tried to hide, "Gloria?"

"It's Sano!" The woman chirped gladly, ignoring the fact that he was trying to hide and glomping him before he could get away, "How have you been? You never call! I miss you soooooo much!" Sano was struggling to get away from the woman and it sounded like he was saying "bubbles?" What the heck did that mean?

"This is too fucking creepy." Susumu hissed and Tetsu nodded. Shinpachi leaned over and whispered, "That's Sano's ex-girlfriend Gloria. That's why he has issues with the Power Puff Girls."

Tetsu thought back to the last time they watched Cartoon Network and realized Shinpachi was right. Sano had freaked when the power puff girl commercial had come on, screaming something about evil. Actually, looking at Gloria, he was shocked to realize she had blond hair pulled up into two ponytails and that her chubby body resembled the cartoon drawings.

"I don't even want to fucking know." Susumu growled, shaking his head, "Not one little fucking bit."

"I do!"

"Shh!" Shinpachi whispered, glancing over, "I'm not sure about the whole story, but apparently she tried to dress his fish up, which killed them, and then she decorated the apartment with every piece of Bubbles merchandise ever manufactured. Sano just snapped, although I think it was the fish, not the room. She even tracked him down at school to make sure he was wearing the Bubbles underwear she bought him. That's when they broke up."

"Gee, can't imagine why." Susumu snorted sarcastically.

Tetsu looked over warily. They seemed to be getting along now that Ren had convinced Sano to let go of his death-hold. Evie was adding a few words to the conversation and suddenly the three of them were acting like best friends forever or some crap like that. He did back up when he started hearing weird words about things that should be fillets. Next they'd be talking about Sano's monster spider and giving him worse ideas!

Tetsu had a sinking feeling that it was going to be an eventful day, and that he wasn't going to get a new game either.

So it was agreed, they'd split up and meet up again at 3:00 pm. That gave everyone ample time to hit all the shops.

Somehow Tetsu ended up with a group comprised of Shinpachi, Heisuke, and Steph. The cross-dresser was idly whisking into shops ahead of them, then coming back out before they could even make it there. She didn't seem remotely interested in sticking around, or maybe it was because she kept buying strange things and didn't want them to see?

After browsing and buying a few things, Tetsu decided that maybe he should have gone with Sano, Gloria, and Evie after all. Even if Sano's ex did scare him.

"…Did you see that? They're holding hands." Tetsu heard and turned to look at the whisperer. A group of teenage girls noticed his look and scowled.

"It's so wrong!"

Suddenly Steph appeared again, walked up to the nearest one, and belted her across the face with a shopping bag.

"Backstabbing suits trash like you." She said with a glare. "Go on, if you have something to say, say it loud and proud! What? Nothing? You sure had plenty to say before."

"You…" The assaulted girl sputtered, holding her dishonored face, "You're a girl!"

"Whatever gave you the idea I wasn't?" Steph dared with a malicious look, her piercings glittering.

"Kendra, don't touch them!" One of the leader's minions called out fearfully, "They're probably carrying all sorts of disgusting things like AIDs."

"And you've got mind-rot." Steph snapped back, "Why don't you retreat to your classy, snotty hang outs. This is a mall. You wouldn't want to catch something from the trash, you rich bitches."

Shinpachi started to step forward to stop her, but Heisuke tugged him back, looking amused.

"Heisuke, let go. If I don't stop her we'll get kicked out." He insisted.

"Is that so?" The other senior grinned wickedly, "Then why don't we actually do something that merits being kicked out?"

Before Shinpachi could react Heisuke had pinned him against a map sign and proceeded to show the whole world that holding hands was nothing.

There were some audible gasps from the crowd and a loud thump from someone fainting. Tetsu looked around and noticed there were some not-so-friendly looks from the on-lookers.

He balled up his fists. He promised Tatsu he wouldn't do anything that would get him arrested. He was pretty sure getting in a fistfight in the mall qualified.

The extremely red, not to mention furious, carrot top jerked back and grabbed a fistful of Heisuke shirt. He hissed, "What were you thinking?"

"At the moment I'm thinking you shouldn't have had that pretzel. You taste salty."

Shinpachi ignored his reply and continued, "You just shoved your tongue down my throat."

"So?"

"In public!" Shinpachi spat, his voice steadily getting louder, and made Heisuke look around, "Just where do you think we are?"

"Umm." Heisuke said, blinking.

Shinpachi's voice rose to a scream, drawing even more of a crowd than the kiss did, "Look at the scene you caused!"

Steph, who had backed off the group of girls, grinned, "Atta boy."

"So are you trying to outdo me? I think your crowd is larger." Heisuke said lightly, grimacing in pain as his collar was tightened, "You know, those looks from the old ladies are quite dangerous. They should be banned as illegal weapons."

"You bastard. Do you realize where in the mall we are?"

Heisuke glanced around and his eyes landed on a big black and white classic sign, "The Gap?"

"Yes." Shinpachi said levelly, ignoring the people around him, "So consider the people who shop and work here."

"People who couldn't think themselves out of a wet bag." Steph snorted, running her fingers through her short hair.

"Preppy pricks?" Heisuke said finally.

Shinpachi didn't agree or disagree with the words used, "So what do you think they thought of our little display of public affection?"

Heisuke grinned cheekily, "Wasn't paying attention! Maybe I should do it again, just to see."

Shinpachi turned to the crowd, favoring them with a death glare, before dragging his boyfriend in the direction of the bathroom.

"Going to finish it there then?" The chick named Kendra catcalled, failing to see Steph flick her wrist. A compact smacked off her forehead, silencing the teenager.

Tetsu followed the two, hearing Shinpachi saying, "This isn't Wal-Mart!"

"You're right, no one even pulled out a camera to take pictures."

They finally went around the corner, where there was a sign for the men's room.

Shinpachi reached to push the door in when a little kid came out from the other side. He paused to look at them then growled, "You're those nasty people Mommy was talking about!"

"Yeah, so what?"

The kid lunged forward and kicked him in the shin.

Heisuke winced and said evenly, "You shouldn't run up to people and kick them. They might do something like this!" He drew his foot back and nailed the kid on the foot.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!" The child screamed in a mix of pain and outrage, "Mooommmmmmmmmmy! The disgusting man touched me."

Shinpachi threw his head back and groaned, "Heisuke! You can't go around hitting little kids. Now the cops are definitely going to show up! Did you hear that kid? He said you touched him!"

"So? I did. I kicked him." Heisuke smirked, "Kids these days are so ill-mannered."

"Never mind. We need to get out of here for a while. You've got to understand, you can't do things like that in public."

"Why not? It's not like I care what they think." Tetsu was in agreement there.

"Because," Shinpachi sighed, scratching his head, "Because you don't make the rules here. I know you don't like rules that limit your fun, but they're around for a reason. Even if it's some stupid, society-based one."

"Are you mad at me?" Heisuke frowned.

Shinpachi favored him with a toothy grin, "When aren't I? You just love to push my buttons!"

"You just have too many off them! I could push other buttons." Heisuke offered slyly, "Ones that are much more pleasurable than anger."

And Tetsu decided that was his cue to leave… fast.

He nodded to Steph, who was guarding the door, and wandered off. Surely it couldn't be too hard to find someone else. Right? Really, the mall was only made up of a giant theme park and over five hundred shops.

Totally lost and very bored, he started randomly entering shops and browsing. That was proving to not be a very good tactic however. He realized that half way into Victoria Secret. Being a teenage boy surrounded by sexy, revealing, frilly things that were provocative even without the bodies to fill them… well, he'd never run so fast in his life.

It might have worked better to walk out because he slammed into someone, got tangled in a rack full of slinky black lingerie, and screamed bloody murder. Struggling free, he caught sight of the person he bashed into. Staggering up, he tried to apologize, only to find himself talking to pink panties.

And suddenly it was there. The dreaded Tatsu-voice. The voice that he had tried to mute out this whole trip. And he'd succeeded… until now.

"Ummm… hey lady! Miss!" Tetsu called out and the figure seemed to panic. It darted between some sort of… oh god, what WERE those? –They looked like torture devices for woman – And out the door.

Tetsu was quite happy to also make his escape.

He was wondering where to go next, being careful to look at the shop signs this time, when he noticed that the person he'd bumped into was heading into The Body Shop. Not sure what that was, but still under the influence of the nag, Tetsu followed.

The first thing he saw was Jennifer talking to the clerk.

"Suzy, are you sure that the scrub has the same potency as the extract? I mean, I don't like the smell, but it does wonders for the skin."

"Yup, I looked into it myself. The Green tea I ordered for you is imported from China." The clerk nodded confidently.

Jennifer nodded, "Good, I'd hate for my skin to be tainted with all that perfumed crap, and overrated dye."

Suzy smiled, "You should come and work with me; we are looking for people and you'd be great here."

"Don't insult my intelligence." Jennifer laughed just as Susumu came around the corner with a product in each hand. He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide.

"I… I was… just shopping for my sister." He sputtered, trying to juggle the two bottles into one hand and behind his back.

Before he could back away Jennifer had darted over and snatched the bottle out of his hands. She scrutinized the labels before handing them back saying, "Your sister isn't a rosehip or peppermint type of person. I see her more as a chamomile or rosemary."

He backed up slightly and did a good imitation of Bob.

"How… I mean, you don't know her!" He accused. Come to think of it, Ayunee did wear rosemary. Or at least that's what Tetsu thought it was.

"You know you should try the apricot scrub; it works well for those pesky black heads and the red splotches on your neck." Jennifer smirked, clearly pleased about something.

Susumu's dark eyes narrowed, "You're a real bitch. Just back off."

"You also might want to use the freshmint lotion; it doesn't smell as flowery as the ones you have there." Jennifer continued, as if she hadn't heard him at all. "So no one can confuse your smell with a woman."

Susumu suddenly went pale.

"Unless you like smelling like a women."

"Uh…" Tetsu said, thinking this might be a good time to see where someone else was… yeah, right now. Just back out silently…

Not fast enough.

Jennifer seemed to have Saito beat in popping up next to people. Except you knew she was coming and couldn't do a damn thing about it.

She looked him over critically, obviously still in that sort of mood and commented, "You have such a cute baby face. You'll need a mango scrub so when you hit puberty so you won't look like this thing here." She pointed to Susumu, who was giving his best glare, "You could even use the rosehip blush to bring out those cheek bones that's plastered somewhere under that baby fat. But then of course it could be a pre-puberty thing too."

"Uh."

"I suggest you use the SPF 45 lip balm, since you have some nasty cracks." Jennifer continued, giving him a wink.

"Umm."

"It's not like he's getting anything from his freak boyfriend." Susumu chipped in.

"You do want to kiss someone," Jennifer didn't even hesitate at Susumu's correction, "Oh boyfriend, then better take the one with 7 moisturizers! It works faster."

Tetsu nodded dumbly.

Jennifer turned to the older teen and said, "You're just jealous he doesn't need as much work as you do…" She paused slightly, maliciously, then added, "Or is it that he's getting something and you're not?"

Tetsu finally regained his wits enough to pay for the balm and asked, "You don't mind me having a boyfriend?"

Jennifer paused to look at him with a perfect raised eyebrow, "Why would I kid? It's your choice to be happy."

Tetsu's mind flashed back to what had happened just a bit earlier with Heisuke and Shinpachi. He bit his lip, "Most people do."

"Not many people are happy in this life, so why make even more people miserable? Look at him," She nodded at Susumu calmly, "He'll be alone and bitter all his life because he can't accept the fact that other people are not like him, or are like him. I haven't figured that one out yet."

"Hey, I'm still here you fanatic." Susumu growled.

"Aww poor baby is jealous that he's no longer the center of attention." Jennifer cooed in amusement before her look turned dark, "Grow up, and come back when you mature a LOT."

Tetsu smirked, pleased. It wasn't often that someone would actually face Susumu down, let alone berate him. Usually he would get in a brief spat with Heisuke or a debate with Okita, but they ended too soon for a winner to be declared.

"See what I mean about being bitter and alone?" Jennifer said with a smile.

Susumu threw the stuff down and stalked out. Jennifer shrugged and followed. Tetsu, not quite sure he actually wanted to be with either of them, followed also. Right into the middle of another potential arrest-scene…

"You stupid piece of shit! Get out of my fucking way. Bastard." Susumu fumed, looking ready to knock the shorter person out.

"Hey, you bumped into me." The short one spat back, sounding oddly familiar.

"The hell I did, you asshole. Do you have shit-for-brains or is that just your coordination?" Susumu snapped back.

"You fiend! That is no way to address a lady in public!" Jennifer suddenly jumped in, "I'm ashamed that your mother didn't teach you manners, and you make your sister look like white trailer park trash with that mouth."

Susumu fell back in surprised and the shorter one sniggered, "You spoilt it. Man, and I thought I was going to have a good story to tell Ren later. Oh well. It's almost time to meet up at the food court anyway. How about some last minute shopping? Without the guys. Hey Puppy, Heisuke and Shin still haven't come out of the bathroom. I'm guessing that's why you were so fired up to get out of there? Ren said you were a smart boy."

"Thanks for the information." Susumu snipped, nursing his injured pride, "I'll see you guys at the food court."

"Uh-huh." The two girls said already walking off.

And he was alone again. Not that he particularly minded this time. His friends were usually more than enough insanity, but suddenly adding Ren's girlfriend, two random chicks, and Sano's ex-girlfriend it was suddenly feeling a little too… girly. Well, then there was Susumu too. Whatever his deal was.

"Ichimura."

Tetsu whirled in surprise.

"You know that child?" A female voice asked. He looked up to see a rather beautiful, or at least in his limited scope, young woman.

"Yes. He is a freshman at the school I attend. However, it surprises me greatly to see him here." Saito replied monotone, not looking remotely surprised.

Tetsu stared.

He had never seen Saito look so… classy.

Of course, the man was still in black, that was a given. However, it was a nice pair of black slacks complimented by a knit black turtleneck sweater and his customary beads. His hair was pulled back neatly, a contrast to the usual style. All in all he looked… presentable.

"Not much for manners, is he?" The woman sniffed lightly.

"Perhaps he is shy." Saito suggested, then he added in the same unhurried way, "The school boasts an all-male population. He may be nervous around females."

She looked unimpressed by his logic.

"Ah… er… I was just surprised to see Saito here." Tetsu tried to explain. He wasn't nervous around women! Even though he was starting to get the feeling that he should be.

"Well?" The woman snapped at him expectantly. "Your name boy, your name!"

"Tet…Tetsu…nosuke."

"Hmm, Saito how could you? He cannot even introduce himself properly!"

"Tetsu is a good boy." Saito replied monotonously. He didn't seem intimidated in the slightest by the woman's bossy demeanor. Tetsu wished he could say the same.

She tapped her lip with an immaculately done fingernail. It was bright red with some kind of pink petals across it and white stripes? Anyway, it looked expensive.

"Well, Tetsunosuke," she paused, "My name is Tokio Tanagi."

It took a few moments for Tetsu to dreg up information from Christmas time, but when he did, his mouth dropped in shock.

"You're… you're Saito's… I mean… you're his wife!"

Saito nodded slightly.

"Oh, have you been gossiping about me to random students?" Tokio said sweetly at Saito.

"I have not." Saito said without blinking, "I merely made a statement when required. Tetsu has a very good memory. That was over Christmas holiday."

"Ooo, you mean when you were trapped in a cabin with all those nasty boys?" Tetsu wasn't going to tell her that most of those "nasty boys" were here in the mall, wandering at large.

"I was in a cabin, yes."

Out of all the woman he'd met today, Tokio seemed the scariest.

"Well, I do hope we do not have the misfortune of running into them in the future." She grimaced, flipping her long, black hair back over her shoulder. "However, you friend Souji was quite lovely. Why can't you have more friends like him?"

Tetsu wondered when in the world Tokio had met Okita and why the purple haired senior hadn't come to Saito's defense when he was being teased. Then again, Saito probably wouldn't have liked being defended or backed up. He seemed to enjoying being alone and doing things alone.

"Hey, Puppy!" Sano boomed, waving. Evie and Gloria were trailing behind looking engrossed in some sort of video game. "Where's Shinpachi and Heisuke?"

"In the bathroom last I saw." Tetsu muttered, but didn't shout it out loud. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Saito's wife. Her lips were pinched at the edges, but she didn't look too putout… yet. He'd give it about five minutes around Sano. She seemed like the type who didn't care for noise or good-natured rough housing. Both of which Sano had in the bizillions.

"Oh." Even Sano knew what that meant, "Hey, so where's everyone else?" He paused, "Why's Saito here?"

"Another friend?" Tokio asked with an arched brow, "How… unexpected."

Saito nodded, "Harada is another student at the school."

Tokio's manicured fingers twitched slightly as Sano gave her a hearty greeting then turned back to the video game, yelling something about kill it. They twitched even more as the two girls completely ignored her.

"Umm… Shinpachi and Heisuke are here too… but Okita didn't come this time… why are you two here?" Tetsu babbled, trying to fill the tense silence.

Tokio sighed and dug in her purse with perfect fingers. She pulled out a crisp five dollar bill and pressed it into Tetsu's sweaty palm, "Here, go buy yourself an ice cream, Tetsunosuke."

Tetsu gave her an uncertain look and managed, "No thank you; I already ate…"

Tokio leaned over and whispered sharply in his ear, "A twenty will buy your silence then?" She put another bill in Tetsu's pocket and pretended to pat him on the head, "Of course you have enough room for ice cream, do you not?" He nodded and pretended to go get some ice cream. Instead, he hid around the corner to see if she bribed off everyone else too. He just needed ten more for that game!

"Kill! Kill 'em kill! No, go that way!" Sano bellowed, having gotten ahold of the game and started swinging in the direction he wanted the character to go. He jerked to the left and Tokio neatly sidestepped to avoid being elbowed in the chest. She gave a small twitch, "Do you not have any well-bred friends, Saito?"

Saito just gave a slight shrug as if he wouldn't know.

Suddenly, something clicked in Tetsu's mind. It was something that had been nagging him incessantly since he met the scary woman.

"Dragon." He whispered loudly. This was the lady that the Demon had been complaining about. Saito's wife! Haha, she beat him down too. Tetsu wasn't sure if he should be in awe or pee his pants in fear. He decided a healthy mix of terror and respect should do the trick. And it was less embarrassing than a wet spot.

Sano jerked again, this time much faster. He could move pretty fast for a big guy. And this time Tokio didn't have time to react. The large senior easily barreled into her and knocked her off her feet.

Saito, in all his dark glory, managed to somehow catch her like a perfect gentlemen and steadily put her back on her huge heels. She pursed her lips and brushed his hand off her waist. Straightening, she announced, "Apologize."

Tetsu almost choked with laughter. Like Sano even know what that was! He was like a giant puppy who didn't know his own strength. And he was just as likely to lick her face in sorry as a whipped dog was.

Sano looked unimpressed and completely unapologetic, "You should watch where you're walking." He explained pragmatically with a nod, "Plus, if you ate more then you wouldn't be so tiny. I have trouble seeing tiny people when they get under my feet."

Saito placed his hand back on Tokio's shoulder. She allowed him with a sniff and remarked, "I was not going to strike him; crude violence is beneath me." Then she dropped her voice and murmured vindictively, "Which does not exclude my thoughts of castrating him like an unmannered dog."

Tetsu was glad he was hidden.

"Hey," Shinpachi and Heisuke wandered up. Shinpachi looked curiously at Saito, "Who's the beautiful lady?"

Tokio eyed them.

Heisuke snorted, "So not my type."

Tokio seemed undaunted, and somewhat resigned, to the appearance of more people.

Saito seemed to be slightly uncomfortable, or as much as he ever seemed to be, but none-the-less, he gave introductions in a mild voice, "This is Tokio Tangai, my wife. Tokio, this is Shinpachi Nagakura and Heisuke Toudou."

Tokio's dubious look turned darker as she noticed Ren, Steph, and Jennifer coming from the opposite direction. For a few moments Tetsu thought that it was pretty cool that they we're all showing up at the same time in the same place… until he realized that they must have set a meeting place when he wasn't paying attention.

"Are those also students?"

Saito gave the newcomers a level look, "No, I do not know the two women, however, that is Ren, Shinpachi's cousin. He was also at the cabin."

Ren gave a short bow, "I'm sorry; are we ruining your outing Saito?"

"No, it is not ruined, merely diverted."

"To put it mildly." Tokio added.

Steph gave her an equally scornful look, "Well then, get along. Wouldn't want to catch something from us curs, now would you?"

Susumu appeared to add his usual cheer, "God, it's like a fucking freak show here." He sighed and leaned against the wall, clearly not wanting to be affiliated with the said 'freak show' in any way.

"I believe you mean to say that these people belong in a slightly lower class area." Tokio corrected and Susumu snorted with laughter, "Yeah, an insane asylum. Their parents should have been stopped from procreating."

"…That'd be Okita's parents…" Heisuke muttered darkly.

Tokio gave him a cutting look and her voice dripped with scorn, "So you're that one. I informed Mitsu that playing with trash like you was a filthy habit. She really should take good advice when it is given."

"As long as that psycho bitch stays the hell away from me, the world is a good place." Heisuke stated bluntly, staring at her, daring her to contradict him. She merely gave an amused smirk, "Then she grew tired of her broken toy?"

"Heh, broken." Heisuke grinned, "You know you want to see, don't you? Too bad for you I'm not remotely interested in what you have."

"How crude. And I have far more than you could ever dream of: money, breeding, looks, and refinement."

"Inbreeding."

"In any case, I do not have mall security searching for me. How uncouth."

"Enough," Shinpachi hissed grabbing Heisuke by the arm, "She's a lady; how can you be picking a fight with her? And she's Saito's wife!"

"I think he thinks he finally found someone he can win against." Susumu smirked evilly, "After all, he repeatedly gets bottom on every other argument." Shinpachi turned bright red and Heisuke glared, "I always win, and I always get what I want." Heisuke gave Shinpachi a kiss on the forehead and gave a look of triumph at the pissed Susumu.

"Gloating as well as displays of public affection. Revolting." Tokio cradled her forehead in her palm and muttered, "I need a latte… before their behavior makes me cross." She glanced at Susumu, "Come. I will buy you one as well. You seem to also need to escape the idiocy around you."

Susumu blinked and looked around like she meant someone else and Heisuke sniggered, "Buying friends, how base." Shinpachi just sighed, giving up. Heisuke added under his breath in mock sympathy, "The poor boy's a molester magnet or something. Oh well, our gain, less whine."

Tetsu crept out once he was sure Tokio and Susumu had gone to the Starbucks across the food court.

"What were you thinking, messing with her like that?"

Heisuke shrugged, "But no one ever fights with me like that. It was mostly in good fun."

"It's all fun and games until she brings Mitsu to visit, just to spite you. And then we'll all suffer."

Heisuke's mouth dropped, "She wouldn't!"

"I think she would." Tetsu opined.

"Try her. Does she look like she cares about your pathetic little feelings?"

Suddenly Sano made a big boom and the three of them jumped.

"Wow, he beat the game already." Evie commented, glancing around Sano, looking impressed.

"Sure, that takes some real talent. At least he doesn't know there's a petstore around here…"

"What? Where." Sano tossed the game to Gloria.

"I thought you were playing your game!"

"I was, until I heard you say the p-word."

"As if we don't have enough animals running around as it is." Heisuke commented.

Tetsu really missed Okita, even if he could be scarier than all the girls mushed into one big monster. At least he wouldn't make Tetsu want to curl up in a little ball and cry. Or at least not cry from the crushing, hopeless feeling the girls inspired. Pain he had learned to deal with but this was something else entirely, and he just wanted to buy his video game and play his spring break away. Was that too much to ask?

Tetsu frantically pushed buttons, cursing every videogame maker he could think of. It was a rather short list, so he just repeated it. A lot. And with much venom.

"So, that's it? Sounds like fun." Okita was bouncing lightly on Tetsu's bed, rocking the smaller freshman back and forth, "I wish I had come. Too bad you guys came home early, huh. And you should've said hi to Tokio for me!"

"I'll just be happy if I never see her again." Heisuke replied, "She consorts with that thing you call a sister. By choice!"

Shinpachi added, "Besides, we had to leave. We got kicked out of the restaurant. We ended up going to Home Town Buffet because no one could decide on what to eat. That was fine until Susumu and Tetsu started a food fight with the soft serve."

"Don't blame it on me. If the little brat hadn't made that comment…" Susumu swore.

"Not only that but, Ren and Steph had to drive home; they have class tomorrow too. The party broke up at the mall and it wound down from there."

"And no one got smashed." Heisuke replied mournfully, "What kind of spring break is that?"

"You had more than enough entertainment sober." Suzu snapped, giving a look over the top of his book. What kind of loser studied all spring break? "Just do not give invitations to those people to visit. There is enough chaos around here as it is."

"Too late…" Shinpachi groaned, "At least on one account. Sano and Gloria got back together… well, sort of. I'm not sure exactly how that worked out, but you'll probably get to meet her eventually."

"Nice!" Okita chirped.

Tetsu, personally, didn't care. He got his game and he had no comments. Unless Tokio came back… but that could be fun if she argued with the Demon. Demon vs. Dragon! Live action fight scene. Rock on.

Tetsu's fingers paused.

Oh. Shit. Er, Crap.

"I forgot my chemistry paper!" He howled, startling the rest of the room. Taking a calming breath, he continued, "Oh well, spring break's not over for two more hours."

A/N: I don't really like how this chapter turned out, but hopefully someone will get a kick out of it; after all, it does have a few good parts.

Beta's comments: LOL You remembered all of Jennifer's little lines impressed I was looking through FF and going can't I read something that's fucking good… then I remembered that I had to edit this. This is what I needed/wanted to read. Good job.