Urusei Yatsura 2
Episode 22 - I Hate the Sea!
All original cast and characters of Urusei Yatsura belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I own only the OCs
Enjoy if you will.
Seaside - Beach near No Man's Cove
A wonderful sunny day, clear blue skies, white shiny sand, and hundreds of tourists playing around in the beach. Yes, the beach, often regarded as the king location of summer vacationists. Many stores and shops lined the beach in hopes of selling their wares to tourists and visitors, teashops, restaurants, lodges. Many arrive here to relax and let loose, let their inhibitions free, as many arrive to swim, hundreds of beautiful women in skimpy, form-fitting, sexy swimsuits were a very common and welcomed sight, many bathing in the sun's warm rays, and many more swimming in the crystalline ocean.
"...This is torture..." A voice filled with spite called out, that voice belonging to a very well known delinquent back in Tomobiki, Kenichi Aoki, otherwise known simply as Ken. Donning some long cargo shorts and a hooded white and blue jacket, along with a white t-shirt which bore a series of symbols [namely ⬆⬆⬇⬇⬅➡⬅➡ (B) (A) (START) ]
"Sweetie~!" A charming voice called from the skies, as the feminine form of Emi Moroboshi, the rebellious half Oni princess, flew down from above, the Oni princess was donning her usual jacket along with a one piece swimsuit, with a shooting star motif colored in green and blue, she hovered right in front of Ken, who was currently too busy sulking.
"Geez...are t'cha gonna sulk here all day?" Emi asked with a pout.
"Yes! Not like I got any choice: This is the safest spot on this place!" Ken berated, indeed he had located himself in a bench...one as far away from the water as physically possible without leaving the beach.
"Explain this: why did you drag me all the way here?!" Ken demanded to know.
"Lady Emi!" Another voice called, one that made Emi cringe, and automatically float and grab onto Ken's arm. Once again they encountered Shin Mendou, the unbearable scion of the Mendou fortune.
Emi held on tightly to Ken as she shot a glower to Mendou. Shin scoffed in a mocking tone against Ken. "Ah, and yet we meet again, you low class delinquent. I do clearly recollect that I invited Lady Emi to my personal villa in this area, though I wonder WHY you decided to tag along." Shin taunted.
"Hey, not my choice this time, Octo-freak!" Ken said with hostility. "I was dragged here against my will." Ken shot a dirty look to Emi.
Emi meekly looked at Ken with puppy eyes. "W-well...I didn't wanna be alone with this freak after all!" She explained, *THUD* making Shin faceplant on the sandy ground, while Ken muttered an off-handed "Huh...guess you got a point..."
"Besides, I wanted us to come to the beach and have some fun!" Emi said in a cheerful. "All of us!"
As if on cue, four others joined in on the conversation: Shou "Tanuki" Inoue, who also tagged along, bearing a similar attire to that of Ken except with reversed colors, Usagi "Bunny" Miyake, another one invited by Shin, wearing a cheerfull, rabbit themed two piece swimsuit, Airi, Emi's little sister who had a tiger stripped swimsuit and finally the little Hikaru, A.K.A. the Pure-hearted-fox, who was carrying a beach ball twice as big as the little fox was.
"You're still all the way over here, Kitsune?" Shou asked exasperated, referring to his live-long rival by his nickname, Shou was one of the few people to be able to get away with calling Ken that, just as inversely as Ken was the only one who could get away with calling Shou "Tanuki".
"Piss off, Tanuki." Ken said, hostile once more. "I'm not in the mood."
"Is this because you can't swim?" Usagi asked, pointing to the fact that Ken was indeed a hammer in the water, which is to say: he sank like a rock.
"..." Ken did not dignify that question with an answer, he merely glared at the sea.
"C'mon Big Bro, let's play!" Airi asked.
Ken sighed. "Sorry, kiddo. Your Big Bro isn't in much of a fun mood right now." Ken said, making Airi look down sadly.
Hikaru jumped up on the bench, Ken was sitting on, and placed a little paw on Ken's arm , the little fox's intention was to comfort his familiar.
But Ken's glare clearly communicated it actually had the opposite effect. "!...S-sorry, Kenichi-kun..." The little Hikaru meekly apologized.
"You guys clearly don't understand..." Ken said annoyed, as he stood up from the bench, tightening his fist. "The "swim lesson" fiasco was one thing true...but to drag me here of all places..." Ken looked genuinely angry!
Emi's empathic abilities told her that his anger was the real deal as well. "Sweetie..." Emi said, sadly
"THIS PLACE IS SHEER TORTURE TO ME!" Ken yelled. "It ain't any different than taunting an oasis in front of a thirsty desert dweller!"
"Hmph! Ridiculous..." Shin scoffed, mocking Ken's pain.
"H-hey...if you feel that strongly about it...then maybe we can try to teach you how to swim aga-?" Usagi was about to suggest, however-
"F**K NO! NO WAY IN HELL I'M LETTIN' YOU GUYS PUT ME THROUGH THAT HELL AGAIN!" Ken roared, cutting the blonde girl off, bowling everyone over. "Besides, that's not the point! I mean...it's part of the point but you guys are missin' the big picture!" Ken continued to rant.
Everyone had been bowled over into the sand, and Shou emerged along with Emi, Usagi and Hikaru, blinking at how Ken was reacting.
"J-just look around you!" Ken ordered. "Tons of babes around in bikinis, skimpy swimsuits, two-pieces, one-pieces, three-pieces!" Ken started to rant, Shou did mutter an odd "Three-pieces?"
"And I'm stuck here! Not able to go after any babe, because of that obscenely huge death hazard just over there!" Ken pointed with blazing eyes and pure hatred towards the sea.
Of course he was meet with the unamused glares of Emi, Usagi, Shou and Shin. Usagi sighed as she decided to humor the aquatically challenged fighter. "By "obscenely huge death hazard"...you mean the ocean, right?"
"..." Ken glared at the ocean.
"But it's not like you can't go up to the girls that aren't swimming and talk to them, right bro?" Airi reasoned, ignoring her sister's angry yell "AIRI! WHY YOU-! Don't give Sweetie any ideas!"
"Even if I did that, sooner or later they'll want to swim with me..." Ken reasoned, already having thought through that option. "And if I reveal I can't swim, they'll think I'm lame and want nothin' to do with me: in other words, WHAT'S THE POINT?!" Ken gripped his head with both hands as he descended in a squat.
Emi glared flatly, as her husbands reason for his foul mood was because his girl-hunting would be hindered...not like she would've allowed it in the first place anyway. "W-well, then let's just have some fun here in the sand." Emi tried to redirect.
"Like what?" Ken questioned irritated.
Emi, suddenly put on the spot, started to wonder. "Umm...umm...we could build a sandcastle?" Emi suggested
"What are you? 5?" Ken shot back with a flat expression.
Emi scowled. "How's about beach volleyball?" She suggested, just the slightest twitch at her lips
"With Tanuki and Bunny here? First serve either of them get, they'd send the ball into orbit." Ken pointed out. "By the way, that also rules out frisbee..."
Usagi and Shou glared at the tall boy."W-well...let's bury you in the sand!" Emi playfully suggested.
"PASS." Ken said simply. "With Tako-Ouji here, I don't like my chances of resurfacin' again..."
Shin glared at Ken, but then noticed the suspicious glares the others were giving the rich boy. "...good point..." Emi admitted, ignoring the hurt expression on Shin's face.
"Uh...Umm..." Emi suddenly at a loss tried to think of something, she snapped her fingers as she thought of something. "Howzzabout surfing?!" Emi energetically suggested.
Dead. Silence.
No one even tried to make a comment on that suggestion, as Emi turned to look at everyone, she then realized her mistake, and shrank as she laughed meekly.
"...If you need me...I'll be in town nearby..." Ken said with a flat expression, as he flipped his ever present 3DS open. "...you know what?..." Ken said as he gave Emi his 3DS. "If somethin' happens use it...ok? I waterproofed it." Ken said annoyed, as he then started to walk away.
Emi blinked confused, as she held to the modified handheld. "S-Sweetie, wait!" Emi was about to fly after Ken, but Shin held her hand back.
"Leave the lout be, milady. We can enjoy the sea just well enough by ourselves without him. " Shin attempted to be debonair.
But Emi's angry glower, just before she zapped him said another story. *****ZAP***** "GYAHOOOOOIHA!" Mendou yelped, as he crumpled into a heap.
Shou scratched the back of his neck. "Ah...let's give him some time to cool down..." Shou suggested. "Maybe afterwards he'll join us, on the pretext that he got bored or somethin'..."
"But t'cha know Sweetie is probably gonna be girl-huntin' and-" Emi tried to say worried, but Usagi placed a comforting hand in her shoulder.
"Moroboshi, look around: all the girls in the area are around here in the beach." Usagi pointed out. "I doubt Ken's gonna find much in town. So let's give Kenichi-kun some space, okay?"
Emi still looked unsure, but Shou nodded to that wisdom. "Besides, if we don't give him some time to cool off, he's liable to do something horrible to the ocean just out of frustration."
Emi's shoulders slumped as she sighed in defeat...and then noticed something. "Hey...where did Airi and Hikaru go?"
Seaside - Beach Town Streets
The streets were sparse with townspeople, which was to say they were just about abandoned, there was one or two stray passersby, but that was it. At this time of the day, people would rarely go touristing, looking at shops or wandering to see any local attractions. At this point Ken knew there was not much hope for girl-hunting, but at least he could hope to find an arcade...or even an arcade cabinet near a store.
"...*grumble*...well, this is magnificent suckage!" Ken snarked, as he walked a little further...and stopped, as he heard the sound of a pitter patter of little paws and the tell tale sound of flight.
Ken looked back and instantly his two stalkers hid before he could spot them. "...*sigh*...You two can come out now..." Ken called out.
From a nearby cardboard box, Hikaru meekly pooped out, while Airi floated from behind a telephone pole. "W-we're sorry Big Bro..." Airi apologized.
Ken scratched his head. "It's okay, guys. I'm not mad at either of you..." Ken messed up the two's hair. "Besides, misery loves company, kehehehehe~..." Ken laughed, though there was a tired note in his voice.
"D-don't worry, Kenichi. We'll keep you company!" Hikaru cheered, Airi nodded energetically as well.
Ken smiled, but right then they trio heard-
***CRASH***
Everybody turned to the sound. "Huh?" Hikaru perked his ears.
"What was that?" Airi asked as she floated higher into the air to look.
Ken held an arm to signal them to stay behind as he cautiously followed the sound of the crash. "Wait here you two..." Ken said as he walked cautiously, the crash came from right around the corner of the block they were in, as Ken poked his head to look he was welcomed to quite a nasty sight.
A gang of several delinquents, just like him, who happened to have a severe multitude in numbers, all seemed to be surrounding someone.
"What the-? A "Random Encounter"? Here, of all places?!" Ken whispered annoyed, and just then his amulet started to shine.
[...We may be able to avoid this battle...] The blue magatama advised to it's keeper. [They've got their target already.]
Ken blinked when he heard that, and watched what was going on.
From his vantage point of view he saw several delinquents, many carrying a varied assortment of weapons, like steel pipes, bats, and chains, many scary and nasty looking, one of them, seemingly the leader of the gang, hair in dreadlocks, with a stupid looking Hawaiian shirt, was a beast of a different muscular build that towered over his gang at an impressive 1 meter 80 centimeters [still way shorter than Ken though], but what drew Ken's attention was who this delinquent boss was staring down:
A young man, Ken figured him to be the same age as himself, bearing a tattered old high school dark blue shirt, and an equally tattered white t-shirt underneath. The youth was very attractive, even Ken admitted that, he had dark brown hair, tied in a short and thin ponytail, and a cool air about him... a certain badassery that was innately apparent.
...(Wait, what?... WTF?!)Ken shook his head violently, eliminating that stray and utterly random thought that had wormed into his brain, he slapped his cheeks to try and snap himself awake.
"Big Bro, what's goin' on?" Airi, tired of waiting floated above Ken and peeked at the scene, just as Hikaru did the same at Ken's feet.
"*kon?!* Y-you guys I told you to-! Agh, nevermind!" Ken was about to scold but decided to continue watching what was occurring.
The young man looked to his left, and then to his right. Yup, he was completely surrounded by these creeps.
"So...what can I do ya for?" The young man asked to the muscular boss.
The boss, completely covered in tattoos sneered at the youth. "Hehehehe...you hear that boys? This asshole here is still playing dumb with us."
"Yeah, we's gonna make you pay." "You goin' down!" "HAhahahaha~!"
Jeers and mocking laughter flooded the place, until the boss raised his hand signaling everyone to shut up, he then turned to the brown haired youth once more. "Day after day, each time one of my men crosses your path's, you beat them to a pulp!" The boss glowered.
The boy tiredly scratched his head. "...So?"
The boss sneered a smile once more, "...I'll ask you again: Will you join us? We certainly could use someone as tough as nails like you..."
"Aoi Fujinami!"
Ken blinked as he heard the name, then looked at Aoi's reaction to the question.
Aoi for his part chuckled. "Heh...You f****n kidding me?" Aoi said in a cool way. "I thrash you losers just about daily, why the hell would I want to join you morons?"
Ken gave an approving smile to that.
"Hehehe..." The boss laughed lowly. "You don't understand, Fujinami-kun, so I'll explain it to you: Either you join us..."
In that moment the delinquents started to crowd and surround Aoi. "...Or we'll cripple you..."
Airi scowled as she saw this. "Grr... those bullies!" She said "Let's go teach them a lesson Big Bro!"
But Ken scratched his chin and held up a hand, stopping Airi. "Let's spectate this fight...for now." Ken said.
Aoi looked at the surrounding foes, and scoffed. "Heh...too scared to take me on alone? FINE BY ME!" In a single motion, Aoi grabbed the nearest thug and flipped him over to the others, knocking a group of them out. "Just shut up and..." Aoi challenged
"...FIGHT!"
"W-What are you guys waiting for?! Smash that bastard!" The boss ordered, and as a unit all the thugs ran at Aoi.
"BRING IT!" Aoi challenged back, he ducked at an overhead pipe delivering a body blow to one thug, swerving to meet another with a backhand, then smoothly twisting into a crouch for a sweep kick, followed by an uppercut, and finishing with a round house kick. This combo took out at least ten of the delinquents.
"Not bad~, not bad at all~!" Ken praised, "Dude's a natural." But Ken noticed one of the thugs sneaking behind Aoi. "Ah! Watch out! Behind you!" Ken called out.
"Huh?" Aoi was distracted by the shout, and reacted too late as a thug sneaked behind him and-
***ZAAAP!***
"ARGHHHH!" Aoi yelped in pain as electricity coursed him, and was forced to his knees, behind him, one of the thugs had a tazer and managed to electrocute Aoi in a sneak attack.
"Heh. Restrain our friend." The boss ordered, and instantly Aoi was restrained. Held in a kneeling position in front of the boss, Aoi glared at the boss with hatred.
"Damn...I let my guard down..." Aoi cursed, as he struggled against his captors.
"Now..." The boss grabbed a nail bat handed to him by one of his flunkies. "See, we could've solved all this peacefully...but you just had to go and do your own thing...no, don't take this personal, Fujinami-kun..." The boss paced towards Aoi, bat in hand as his cronies had to use the power of several man just to hold the youth down.
"...But I want my gang to control this little town unchecked...can't have a wild card like you doing as they please..." The boss said as he raised the nail bat high, his flunkies getting the signal and forcing Aoi to expose his arm.
"So, I'm gonna take this arm of yours...so you never use it against us!" And the boss was ready to swing the bat down, seeking to break Aoi's arm.
"Tch!" Aoi closed his eyes and gritted his teeth...but nothing happened.
"Hey boss!" One of the gang members called out. "What's the hold u-...ah...AH...AAH!" He suddenly yelled.
Right behind the boss, towering over him and grabbing onto the bat with extreme force, Ken had arrived. His eyes shinning white like a demon's as he glared down at the delinquent gang.
"Now this is hardly fair..." Ken said in a mock offended tone, as within his hands he gripped and started to destroy the bat in the boss's hand. "You guys havin' a ton of fun here...and keepin' me out of it?! FOR SHAME!" Ken said with a mocking grin.
The boss turned to look at the newcomer nervously, as he tried to recover his bat from the tall boy's hands. "W-who are you?!"
Ken grinned, as his eyes blazed with white ethereal fire. "I am someone you really, REALLY don't want to meet when they're mad." In an instant, the bat was destroyed in Ken's grip, as the weapon was turned to useless clumps of wood.
"...And lucky you...💢💢💢💢I HAPPEN TO BE SERIOUSLY PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW!💢💢💢💢" Ken roared, as his very fighting spirit launched a few thugs back along with his roar. Ken grabbed the boss's face, lifted him up in the air, by his face, and slammed him down into the ground, causing a crater immediately after.
********CRASH!********
As Ken buried the boss in the ground, he did a hand-stand and spin kicked a few of the thugs holding Aoi down out of the way, giving Aoi the chance to get rid of the rest and free himself.
"Thanks for the assist, but I didn't need your help, whoever you are." Aoi took a ready stance as he stood back to back with Ken.
"I'm not here to help you." Ken said smugly.
"Huh?!" Aoi rebuked confused.
"I'm here to challenge you to a little contest..." Ken said with a smile.
"A contest?" Aoi asked confused.
"Yup." Ken said, with a fox-like smug expression. "Whoever defeats the most of these morons wins, you in?"
Aoi blinked surprised at what Ken was suggesting, but soon a glint of mayhem shone in his eyes, as he smiled evilly. "F**K YEAH I'M IN!" Aoi roared.
"G-guh!" The boss managed to pry himself out of the concrete. "W-what're you idiots waiting for?! ANNIHILATE THEM!" The boss roared.
And a battle royale burst out, the thugs rushed at the brawling duo, weapons at the ready, but were met with pure devastation. Ken swerved and dodged methodically, countering at his opponents blind-spots with surgical precision and devastating force. Aoi, in the other hand, was a force of nature! He tackled and beat down any thug foolish enough to wander in his direction. Pure raw talent for destruction and pure methodical obliteration, the thugs themselves couldn't tell who was worse!
"W-what is this?! WHO IS THIS GUY?!" The boss yelped, now honestly scared. With Aoi, they could sometimes ambush and overwhelm the youth but Ken was practically untouchable! And the two fighting side by side? They were unstoppable! It was time to put a stop to this. The boss signaled one of his flunkies, one carrying a stun gun to approach Ken and taze him.
The thug managed to sneak just next to Ken and- ***ZAAAP!*** "AGHKH!" Ken grunted in pain.
"DUDE!" Aoi exclaimed worried for his newfound ally.
"Hyehehehehe~this is what happens to those who defy us!" The thug cheered malevolently, but instead of seeing Ken falling down weakened, "Huh?" The thug was met with a powerful round house kick to the face "BUGWAAAH!" The delinquent was sent sailing towards a wall.
Ken, who was still sparkling a little, grabbed the stun gun before it fell down. "GAH! I HATE ELECTRICITY!" Ken yelled angry, as he crushed the stun gun in his hands.
NOW the boss was freaked out. "W-W-W-W-WHAT THE F**K?!"
"Gah...so freakin' annoyin'!" Ken complained as his amulet started to shine.
[Ugh...t-thankfully Emi has built up our resistance to electricity...but let's try not to get hit by that again...please~.] The amulet pleaded, as it felt it's keeper's pain.
"Done and done!" Ken agreed as he smashed the head of a rushing thug into the wall.
Aoi was stunned silent, as he back handed an incoming thug, he just muttered an impressed: "Badass!"
The boss started to see the number of his men dwindling, no matter how much they crowded Ken and Aoi, the terrible two made short work out of them. Airi and Hikaru cheering from their vantage point.
"22...23...24..." Ken started to count the downed foes as he KO'ed them.
"That's three more so...24!...No wait...I missed one..." Aoi also counted his defeated enemies.
"25!" Both said at the same time, as they defeated the last two foes.
"*huff* *huff* I got 25!" Aoi called out, walking up to Ken.
"*huff* *huff*...wait, are you kiddin' me?!" Ken yelled in frustration. "WE'RE TIED! I got 25 down too!"
"WHAT?! Aw man, LAME!" Aoi cursed, as Ken crossed his arms, not happy without having a clear winner...
Until the two noticed that the boss was still staring at the scene.
"Hey, did you count the leader guy?" Aoi asked, pointing to the leader of the gang that now laid unconscious.
"Nooo...Since I didn't KO him he didn't count as a point." Ken realized. "So whoever punishes that guy first..."
"...then they win...right?" Aoi finished.
The boss didn't like where this was going, as he gulped loudly. Ken's and Aoi's eyes were shinning with promises of pain.
"I...thinkIhearmymommycalling!" The boss ran away as fast as he could.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Both Aoi and Ken took pursuit, chasing after the leader thug with astounding speed
The boss looked back in fear, and immediately screamed. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! ! !" Both heroic delinquents were hot on his heels! Ken reached out and grabbed the boss by his stupid looking shirt and pulling him back.
"Gotcha!" Ken punished him with a devastating punch to his face.
"GWAH!" The boss yelped.
"He's still conscious!" Aoi called as he landed an upward kick to the gut.
"BUGWAH!" Another yelp.
"His eyes still open!" Ken called as he followed up with an uppercut to the head.
"DOWAH!" Yet one more yelp.
"Still standing!" Aoi smashed the boss's jaw with his fist.
"MURPHBY![Mercy!]" The boss pleaded.
"Ah, still awake, huh?" Ken answered by landing a kick to his side.
This continued for a bit of a while, as the two fighters wanted to land the last blow. Airi blinked as she floated away for a while, Hikaru following her.
15 minutes later...
The boss...was unrecognizable, and that is putting it mildly! The poor bastard had been on the receiving end of so many attacks, it was a sheer miracle he was still alive. Airi had returned along with Hikaru, the two now eating an popsicle each.
"*huff*...*gasp*...*huff* ..." Ken panted.
"*haff*...*wheeze*...*phew*..." Aoi mirrored in Ken's tiredness. "*whew~*...so...who won?"Aoi asked honestly.
Ken shook his head. "Believe it or not...it's a tie..." Ken admitted.
"OH C'MON! After all that?!" Aoi complained. "Meh, whatevs..." Aoi shrugged, and amicably punched Ken's shoulder. "But DUDE! You were a BEAST out there! And taking that tazer on, awesome!" Aoi praised.
"Well...let's just say you need a WAY higher voltage to bring me down." Ken said cryptically. "But you weren't too shabby yourself! You tore them a new one to these creeps...in a few cases literally, even." Ken praised...another male?
"Hehehe..." Aoi laughed meekly at the praise, and extended his hand in a handshake. "Name's Aoi Fujinami, stranger. What's yours?"
Ken smiled back and took the handshake. "Name's Ken Aoki. Intergalactic Badass, Hero and Conqueror of Beautiful Women!" Ken boasted.
"Hahahaha~! I dunno about the intergalactic stuff or whatever, but you were pretty cool out there. Not cooler than me though." Aoi boasted himself.
Ken arched an eyebrow, but never lost his smile. "Heh, What the heck: we're both equally awesome!" The two shared a laugh at that...with the moaning pained groans of their fallen enemies in the background.
Airi, who had been watching the whole exchange just about from the beginning was starting to feel something was off, but she wasn't sure what. She did decide that since the danger was over she wanted to go do something else.
"Big Bro!" Airi yelled as she floated over to where Ken was, ignoring the surprised yelp from Aoi "Holy shit! A flying kid?!"
"What's up, Airi-chan?" Ken said, his upbeat mood recovered.
"I'm bored, let's go do something else!" Airi said annoyed.
"Fair enough." Ken said cheerfully.
"Holy crap, Ken-dude! You know this flying brat?!" Aoi asked amazed.
Ken nodded, while Airi yelled an annoyed "I'm not a brat!" in the background, Ken followed up by explaining. "She's...the little sister of my w-...fiancée." Ken explained, he then noticed Hikaru, who had approached shyly and hid behind Ken's legs, and motioned to him. "And this guy is Hikaru, he's family to me."
Aoi stared at the little fox, who stepped cautiously from behind Ken and bowed politely. "Nice to meet you."
"Holy crap! It talked!" Aoi gasped surprised. "O-oi, Ken-dude, you keep some strange company..." Aoi pointed out the obvious.
To which Ken remarked with a flat stare and a deadpan. "You don't know half of it..." Ken said flatly, but then changed the subject. "Hey dude, know any place like an arcade or game-center or whatever around here?" Ken asked the local delinquent
Aoi took a pensive pose. "Arcades are those super fancy places with all the game cabinets right? Yeah, I know one around here." Aoi said. "But the place is old, and like I said: expensive."
Ken looked oddly at that, but shrugged. "Maybe I can do something about that, wanna join us?" Ken invited...the other guy...?
Aoi looked surprised, as he pointed to himself, just to make sure. "Huh? A-are you sure?! It's pricey enough as it is, I don't wanna impose..."
But Ken grabbed the slightly shorter boy into a headlock and noogie'd him. "Shit man, we both had one of the best brawls ever and you're gonna ditch me? C'mon, my treat!" Ken insisted.
Aoi laughed at the playful banter. "Hahaha~ow~okay okay! I'll go, man!" And just like that Aoi joined the group, as the two teens walked side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Airi and Hikaru stared at the scene, and tilted their heads.
Something was definitely screwy about this picture...
Seaside - Beach near No Man's Cove
Meanwhile...
The beach goers like before were all having fun in the sun...to take a very cliché expression. Everyone was enjoying having the time of their lives...
Shou and Usagi were trying to enjoy a game of Frisbee catch...the operative word being "trying"...as they wanted to prove a certain fox-like delinquent wrong...so far they had both collectively lost at least 413 flying discs.
"...Darn...there goes another one..." Shou lamented, as Usagi's throw had sent their latest disc far beyond the horizon before Shou could catch it.
"...If Kenichi-kun asks, we were swimming all day..." Usagi decided, Shou nodded in agreement, though the two were painfully aware that if Ken checked the Records, their little lie would be exposed and it would be a moot point anyway.
"...is Moroboshi still sulking back there?!" Usagi asked annoyed.
Shou sweat dropped as he laughed nervously and looked back to the Oni princess.
"...*pout*..." Emi had usurped Ken's "sulking spot" in the bench and a general aura of gloom permeated her area.
Both Shou and Usagi decided to confront the princess. "We finally got Ken to stop sulking here, why are you taking his spot, Moroboshi?!" Usagi demanded to know.
Emi kept pouting. "...I'm not sulkin'..." Emi lied...mostly to herself.
"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" Usagi yelled irritated, Shou managed to cut in, hoping to handle the situation with a lighter touch than Usagi's
"Umm...Emi-san, please come and join us...we can try surfin' like you wanted!" Shou suggested.
"...Dun' wanna..." Emi said depressed.
Shou meekly scratched his head, while Usagi shook hers. "Kenichi-kun ditching us really got you depressed, huh?" Usagi accurately assessed.
"...not depressed..." Emi lied...again to herself
"IT'S WRITTEN IN YOUR DAMN FACE!" Usagi yelled, tired of beating around the bush.
Unknown to the two, a green shine manifested itself underneath Emi's ankle band. [Hate to break it to ya, Aneesan. But it's pretty damn obvious your down in the dumps...]
[Then again...kind of comes with the territory of being an empath for ya, you can read everyone's emotions and soul, but you can't hide your own.]
(...Have I told you your power sucks?!) Emi berated internally to her own amulet, an annoyed expression clear on her face. She sighed depressed, and quickly went teary eyed. "I...I just wanted Sweetie to come with us and have fun~..." Emi lamented.
Usagi huffed, she could sympathize with the Oni girl at least. "Yeah, but Ken happens to hate any activity close to deep water."
In that moment Shin appeared from behind the bench and took Emi's hand daintily. "Milady Emi, please let me soothe your heart, and help you forget that insensitive delinquent." Mendou offered.
Emi removed her hand and responded by landing a painful elbow hit to the rich boy's skull. "Get a clue, already! I. AM. MARRIED!" Emi yelled as Shin slipped into unconsciousness from Emi's attack. Emi huffed annoyed as Shou and Usagi stared at the scene and sweat-dropped.
"This guy will never learn..." Shou condemned, Usagi nodding in agreement.
"*sigh*...how's about we go look for Kenichi-kun and go back to the lodge and eat something?" Usagi suggested, and as expected Emi perked up at the idea.
Shou nodded as well. "Umu...he should've cooled down by now...either that or beat up a few dozen thugs, either way it should be good now..."
"Then let's go!" Emi cheered, as the prospect of meeting up with her beloved husband did wonders for her mood.
"Real easy to understand her, huh?" Usagi noted to Shou, who with jealous tears nodded in agreement.
Seaside - Beach Town Streets
A couple of hours later...
"Seriously dude, Cheapest. Arcade. Ever!" Ken was arguing with his newest friend, Aoi as they along with Hikaru and Airi walked down the streets.
"Whaddya mean 'Cheapest'?! That place is pricey like hell!" Aoi berated. "You're just loaded with dough..."
"It was ¥50 a pop!" Ken argued back. "Even a little kid can afford that!"
This made Aoi cringe, as the boy muttered under his breath. "Well sorry for being poor!"
Ken laughed good-naturedly. "Well...at least you were spot on on the games being old. Some of those machines are older than the two of us!"
"I know, right?" Aoi agreed upbeat. "But at least they're fun!"
"No argument here! Nothin' but classics." Ken agreed. "Ghosts N' Goblins, Metal Slug, Contra, Double Dragon, Altered Beast..."
"Rise from your grave!" Aoi mimicked the voice clip from the last mention, earning a laugh from the pony-tailed dude.
"KAHAHAHAHAHA-SPOT ON-HAHAHAHAHA!" Ken laughed, he was having the time of his life!
"Big Bro!" Airi wailed as she floated up to land on her political big brother in piggyback. "I'm hungry~"
"Oh man..." Ken looked back at Airi, as his amulet shone briefly. "Guess I lost track of time back there..."
Aoi blinked as he heard that, then snapped his fingers as an idea popped into his mind. "Hey, how about we head over to my place?" Aoi suggested.
"Huh?" Ken asked.
"My folks own a teashop, so why not drop by there." Aoi scratched the back of his neck. "The place is pretty run down but hey, it'll be my treat!" Aoi offered. "Think of it as thanks for treating me to some of the games."
Ken looked at Airi. "Whaddya say?"
Airi shrugged. "It's free food."
"O-oi..." Ken called out.
"Haha...relax Ken. It's no big deal for me...just...umm...don't mind my parents..." Aoi said.
"Why?" Ken asked curious.
"...They're idiots...I mean, always asking me to act proper and junk, to be responsible and all that noise, you know what I'm saying?" Aoi said.
"Dude, like I said before...you are preachin' to the choir here." Ken deadpanned.
"Amen." Airi agreed
As the two walked towards the teashop, Aoi asked a question. "H-Hey...how long are you guys gonna be in town?"
Ken blinked at the question. "Umm...we're gonna stay a couple more days, then head back on Monday...why?" Ken asked.
Aoi turned at Ken with a smile. "I...kinda wanna test my skills against you in a fight!" Aoi said with a smile.
Ken blinked, but he thought about it for a while, and with a broad smile he answered. "Sure, dude! You're on!"
******SPOOT!****** No one noticed Hikaru do a spit take just in that moment.
Beach - Hamachaya Teashop
"Dude...THIS is where you live?!" Ken asked in shock.
And quite justified shock at that: the...shack that welcomed Ken and company was a little run down shack, Ken could see it had a small habitation section behind it, just about a 6 tatamis big. The teashop was a bit larger in area but the place looked...bare. The walls were actually just old straw curtains, with a very few...very rotted wooden beams holding the roof aloft...barely, walking inside...was not any better. Inside the teashop there a few tables and uncomfortable looking wooden benches, a sole fan barely running was futilely trying to cool the place down, in a corner there was an old CRT television set, with a staticky signal, showing what looked like a boxing match.
As the group walked inside, they found three people: An athletic man, though somewhat androgynous, with black short hair, donning a white shirt and worn old jeans, seemingly in his forties, watching TV; a seemingly delicate woman, also in the same age group, donning a yellow sundress, her hair tied in a ponytail, cleaning the tables...and a freaky old man working in the back making shaved ice, ugly like a sin, stupid-looking, and something about him just gave Ken bad vibes all around...and somehow reminded him of...ugh...Cherry...
"Nice family..." Ken said simply, though his flat stare signaled the sarcasm in his voice.
"Bear with it, dude..." Aoi admitted, as he then greeted his folks. "TADAI-!"
"YOU LITTLE JACKASS!" *********SMASH!********* In a single instant, the older man jumped from his seat and struck Aoi upside the head with staggering force!
Aoi, who by the impact force was forced into a bow, finished lamely. "...ma~..." Once the brown haired youth, stood back up, he glared at his attacking parent. "WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?!"
"YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHY I PUNCHED YOU!" The older man berated, who Ken assumed was Aoi's father. "You were skipping work. AGAIN!"
Ken blinked surprised, then looked at Aoi. "W-who cares anyway?!" Aoi defended. "'S not like we even get any customers here anyway..." Aoi muttered to himself, but Ken heard perfectly.
"R-really?! It's that bad, huh?" Ken said sympathetically.
"AOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIII!" Suddenly like a tidal wave, the old man at the back dashed towards Aoi, making Ken and the others step back. [or actually, hold on to the tall boy and hide behind him in Airi's and Hikaru's case]. "As the future owner of the Hamachaya you should take your responsibilities more seriously! This teashop is your legacy, it's the treasure of our family!" The oldest man in the teashop bellowed.
"This. Place. Is. A. Dump." Aoi did not mince words, as he effectively described the teashop in a single sentence, but the freaky looking man grabbed Aoi into a hug and staring off into the sky he went into a speech.
"That's the way, Aoi! Prove to your useless father, prove that you can make the Hamachaya Teashop into something greater! Make the future of the Hamachaya so bright that it will make this place look like a dump, only a true man among men like you will be able to pull this off, Aoi!" the athletic young man gritted his teeth in anger at what he heard as the eldest was hugging Aoi.
"Whatever you say, Gramps..." Aoi answered boredly, he then looked at Ken, who had a confused expression on his face and explained. "Ah sorry dude, this is my Gramps, he's senile so don't pay him much mind, okay?" Aoi explained.
"W-well, he looks fit for a senile old man..." Ken observed, as the old freak-of-nature moved with surprising speed and strength.
"Yeah, he's tough as nails..." Aoi admitted. "But...how do I put this?... the lights are on, but there's nobody home..." Aoi said.
"Ah...I get ya..." Ken understood.
"If only...if only..." Aoi's grandfather continued. "If only you had given my grandson a manlier name, Ryuunosuke!"
"Shut the f**k up, old man! And apologize to every Aoi in Japan!" Ryuunosuke yelled back. "Aoi's a perfect name for my kid...it's just that..."
"NO EXCUSES!" Gramps interrupted. "A man's worth is measured by everything they do, everything they are! By giving him a name as misleading like that... of course he'd turn into a slacker...LIKE YOU!" Gramps then punched Ryuunosuke right on his face, the man staggering back, but holding his ground.
"W-who..." Ryuunosuke gritted his teeth. "WHO THE F**K'S A SLACKER?! Look in a mirror before you call anyone that!" Ryuunosuke answered with a devastating punch of his own.
"UNGRATEFUL CHILD!"
"SENILE FREAK!"
"DISRESPECTFUL SON!"
"IDIOT!"
"MORON!"
The fight between the two continued, as Aoi and Ken, along with Hikaru and Airi, just watched.
"Like I said before...Nice family..." Ken remarked, while Aoi buried his face in his hands.
"Know anyone that's willing to adopt me?" Aoi pleaded, as he felt the intense desire to cry.
Ryuunosuke stopped fighting with the Gramps as he noticed the ponytailed delinquent standing next to Aoi. "Hey!"
Ken blinked as he was addressed to. "Uh...yeah?"
Ryuunosuke stared at Ken carefully. Ken finally glared bored. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."
"Hey dude..." Ryuunosuke started to ask. "Anybody ever told you you look like a kitsune?"
****CRASH****
Everybody in the room face-planted. "NOT-A-KITSUNE! *KON!*" Ken barked annoyed.
Aoi scratched his cheek meekly, looking away. "W-well...since you did say the little fox was family of yours, I didn't say anything..." Aoi muttered.
As Ken shot an angry look at him, Aoi looked away, avoiding the annoyed glare.
"Huh? Little fox?" Ryuunosuke asked, and noticed that behind Ken's legs a white, awfully familiar little fox hid. "W-wait a minute...I know you!" Ryuunosuke said happily, as he picked up the little fox. "The little fox! From back in Tomobiki High!" The little fox said a meek "Hi, good to see you again..." as he scratched the back of his head embarrassed.
"HUH?!" Ken said surprised. Not only because Hikaru happened to be an acquaintance of Ryuunosuke, but also the mention of his high school: Tomobiki High.
Airi, finally sick of waiting popped out from behind Ken and yelled: "Big Bro! Let's eat already!"
"?!" This also got Ryuunosuke's attention as he looked at the little Oni girl floating near Ken. "Y-you're...you're Moroboshi's kid, aren't you?!" Ryuunosuke cheered, Airi merely nodded from behind Ken.
"What the-?!" Ken said to himself. (...what's goin' on here?!) Ken thought to himself.
[A-a another connection to the Moroboshi's... not just that, with Hikaru that makes a link to your family too!] The amulet hanging from Ken's neck summarized.
(...Quickest way to know is to ask directly...) Ken thought to himself, while this happened Ryuunosuke was trying to get a closer look at little Airi, not unlike an uncle excited to meet their nieces. "C'mon...you probably don't know me but I'm friend of your parents...kinda like an aun-"
"*ahem!*" Ken interrupted, drawing Ryuunosuke's attention. "As someone who's totally confused right now, I'd like an explanation." Ken demanded
Ryuunosuke blinked, but once he saw that the pony-tailed fellow was a friend to the little fox, and an older brother of sorts to the Oni girl, he gave an amenable smile. "Sure thing!"
Aoi meanwhile was looking back and forth between Ken and Ryuunosuke, equally as confused as to what was going on.
A quick explanation later...
"So you were a classmate to Mr. M and Auntie back in the day...geez...I figured as much...but still!" Ken complained as he heard the explanation having a seat, with a plate of soba in front of him.
"HAHAHAHAHA~!" That's about it!" Ryuunosuke laughed cheerily as she joined the four on their meal.
"Geez...as if you guys weren't weird enough...you tellin' me you went to school with aliens?! Unbelievable..." Aoi complained.
"I'm only half-alien!" Airi complained at Aoi.
"Kid, that only makes you half a weirdo..." Aoi deadpanned, ignoring Airi's scowl, the little Oni girl deciding to continue eating her strawberry syrup shaved ice.
"Man, it's so trippy meeting you like this!" Ryuunosuke playfully ruffled Airi's hair. "You gotta tell me how your mom and dad have been!"
Indeed, Ryuunosuke Fujinami was a classmate to Ataru, Lum and several other now parents and teachers from Tomobiki High. Ken confirmed this with the Records themselves...but this left a very disturbing feeling of dread, as Ken sat silently thinking.
[This can't be a coincidence...] The amulet said to Ken internally
(I agree, so far all the connecting pieces to the Moroboshi have connected me along the way...Hikaru being friends with Bunny's mom, her being an old friend to the Moroboshi family, the teachers also being classmates to Mr. M and Auntie Lum, the gate to Neptune leading to Rin's Palace...or what's left of it...her mom being a friend of Auntie Lum...Tako-Ouji's dad also being an old classmate to Auntie and Mr. M...Kurama herself having met Mr. M before she underwent stasis 20 plus years ago... even Cherry and Kota-chan share a connection with them...and I'm not sure the connections end there either...) Ken carefully analyzed.
[So far the only deviations to these have been Shou and Nekomi...you being the only connecting link to the Moroboshi, since thanks to Hikaru even you share an old connection to the Moroboshi...but I guess that one doesn't really count...] the amulet helped Ken compile the facts.
Ken kept thinking. ("Protect the Moroboshi Clan"...) Ken thought (And "Everything is connected...")
[Still thinking about that flashback while you were frozen that day?] The blue magatama questioned.
(It's not as simple as that...I heard those precepts in my own voice!) Ken explained to the amulet. (...Maybe...my connection with the Moroboshi clan goes deeper than I thought?...URK!) Ken clutched the right side of his head in pain. "G-guh!" Ken complained, as he started to look in pain.
"H-hey, what's wrong?" Ryuunosuke asked concerned, as Ken grimaced in pain, everybody turned to look at the pony-tailed delinquent in worry.
"I-I'm all right..." Ken tried to assuage. "J-just need some air and I'll right as-" But as Ken was about to stand he suddenly felt dizzy and stumbled to the floor.
*THUD*
"Big Bro!" "Kenichi-kun!" "O-Oi, Ken what's wrong?!" "Kid?!" Everyone started crowding Ken, trying to understand what was wrong, as the boy looked in serious pain.
"K-Ken! D-don't tell me...you got wounded in the fight back then?!" Aoi asked concerned, but got no response, Ken had blacked out, though his face was still twisted in pain.
"Wait...WHAT FIGHT?! You little-?! I told you not to get in fights anymore!" Ryuunosuke scolded. "Dammit, it's not the way a proper-!"
"S-Shut up! Now's not the time for this!" Aoi cut off, as she placed Ken's arm over his shoulder to help lift him up, and take him to the habitational area. "D-Dammit...someone go lay a futon!" Aoi ordered.
"Right away, Aoi-chan!" The brown haired woman said as she dashed to the back.
Hamachaya Teashop - Living Quarters
As the brown haired woman, named Nagisa Fujinami, laid down the futon, Aoi removed Ken's jacket and placed him on the futon and to let him rest and ease his pain.
"Easy does it, Ken..." Aoi said softly.
"Gn!..." Ken was still grunting in pain.
"Big Bro!" "Kenichi!" Airi and Hikaru both flew and ran into the room respectively.
"I-Is Big Bro gonna be all right?" Airi asked Aoi.
Aoi flinched at the question, and then looked down at Ken. "...Y-yeah...the dude's strong, he'll be all right..." Aoi tried to reassure...
"Aoi-chan, Airi-chan, Kitsune..." Ryuunosuke barged into the room. "I-I'm gonna get some help! You guys keep an eye on the kid, ok?" Ryuunosuke ordered
Aoi was at a loss, most problems for the local delinquent were easily solvable by smashing someone's face in...but this one was way over his head.
"D-dammit!" Aoi cursed at his own uselessness, but couldn't think of anything to do...then suddenly-
*BR-R-RP...BR-R-RP BR-R-RP* *BR-R-RP...BR-R-RP BR-R-RP*
A strange ringing came from Ken's jacket! "UWAH!" Aoi was startled back as he heard the weird sound, but the sound continued.
*BR-R-RP...BR-R-RP BR-R-RP* *BR-R-RP...BR-R-RP BR-R-RP*
"Ah, that's Big Bro's cellphone!" Airi realized.
"Eh? You mean one of those super expensive phones people use to watch tv and hear music and junk?!" Aoi said surprised. "Man...Ken IS loaded!"
"It's probably my sister!" Airi said, as the ringing continued. "Well, whaddya waiting for?! Pick it up!" Airi ordered.
"Huh?! I-is it okay? I mean...it's gotta be super expensive and-" Aoi felt uneasy about the idea of going through someone else's belongings
"Big Sis can help Big Bro!" Airi said in emergency, this snapped Aoi from his indecision.
"R-...Right!" No longer hesitating, Aoi started to look through Ken's pockets of his jacket...finally finding his cellphone! [After realizing Ken had looted the wallets of several of the thugs they had faced earlier...but Aoi would ignore that little detail]
One look at the screen, and Aoi saw the picture of a beautiful girl, with green hair and golden horns, she had a passing resemblance to Airi, along with the name Emi Moroboshi...Aoi fiddled with the phone for a few moments, completely lost on how to operate the machine, however, the green receiver button started to glow as if by instinct, Aoi pressed the button, and placed the device to his ear
Accessing Akasha Network AR System...Channel K.E.N.1 ...
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: He-
Emi Moroboshi: Sweetie! Where are t'cha? We're lookin' for t'cha all over!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: ...S..."Sweetie"?!...
Emi Moroboshi: ...Huh?...W-who is this?!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: Name's Aoi Fujinami, listen I-
Emi Moroboshi: Where's Sweetie? What are t'cha doin' with his phone?!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: Ken collapsed!
Emi Moroboshi: ! ! !...What happened? W-where is he? Is he all right?!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: He's okay...I think...Right now he's at my place, the Hamachaya Teashop...ummm it's over by the far end of the beach, over by the rocks...umm...man, the one time I need to give directions to this dump!
Emi Moroboshi: [indistinct conversation] Yeah, I got it...
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: !...Yeah, you know where it is?
Emi Moroboshi: We're gonna use Sweetie's 3DS to track the location d-...A-AH!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: W-What happened?!
Emi Moroboshi: S-Sweetie forgot to unlock it, we can't use the 3DS! We need a password!
Aoi wasn't sure what this 3DS was, but it seemed to be something that would definitely help them, by the tone of voice of the girl, he looked around, first at Airi and Hikaru.
"They need a password to unlock some 3DS thing to find this place or something!" Aoi explained. "Any idea what could it be?"
Hikaru and Airi looked at Aoi at a loss, then to each other, hoping the other had an idea of what Ken would use for a password...but they had no clue whatsoever.
Seaside - Beach Town Streets
"Try "Boobies"!" Shou suggested, as Emi typed the word in the touchscreen with accurate strikes, but again the ACCESS DENIED screen mocked her
"Perhaps..."Babes" would be it?" Shin, not sure of what the device could do, but lended a helping hand nonetheless. Emi typed that one in, but again the system remained locked!
"No good!" Emi cursed, she had already tried her own name, Ken's birthday, the word 'swordfish'...heck she even tried typing the word 'password' on the off chance that worked, but it was all no good!
"Try "Harem"! Knowing Kenichi that has to be it!" Usagi added to the helping effort.
Emi nodded, and typed it. But once more the system remained locked! "Gnn!" Emi gritted her teeth in worry, as she decided to type all manner of other words."Super Mario?...no! Metal Gear?...no! Blazblue?...No! Guilty Gear?...No! Pokémon?...NO! Metroid?!...NO! Darkstalkers?!...NO! !" Emi yelled desperate, nothing was working!
Hamachaya Teashop - Living Quarters
Aoi overheard all the attempts Ken's friends were making, and how fruitless they seemed.
"Damn!" Aoi cursed. "C'mon man, wake up! They need that pass-...!" It was then Aoi realized something.
Back in the Arcade, a few hours ago...
"Dude...I've been meaning to ask..." Aoi questioned, as he controlled the character on screen to avoid the rain of bullets. "What's with all the arrows and junk on your t-shirt?"
Ken never taking his eyes off the screen, wielding the first player character and controlling with experienced expertise, answered. "You never heard of the K*NAMI code?"
Aoi shook his head, rescuing one hostage in the midst of the battlefield the two were in...in the game of course.
Ken smiled, as he acquired a Heavy Weapons powerup. "It's just about the most famous cheat code to all gamers out there, any gamer worth their salt knows it...hell, I know it by heart!"
"Really?" Aoi questioned, as they had arrived to a safe part of the stage, he looked at Ken as he closed his eyes and recited the code.
"Up up down down left right left right B A and finally START!" Ken said proud.
"Whoa...that's insane!" Aoi said impressed. "I guess if you say it out loud it sounds easy to remember but no way I'd remember all those directions and junk!"
"Good thing you can look them up on my shirt, huh?" Ken joked
"Hey...think that code will work on some of these games?!" Aoi asked
Ken pondered about that. "Hmm...I think we can actually use it on a few, now that you mention it..." Ken said as he scanned the other arcade machines in the dark arcade.
"COOL! Let's try it on some of those!" Aoi said excited
Back in the present...
Aoi thought of a possibility. "No way..." Without thinking it much, Aoi undid the covers of the futon to see Ken's shirt, it was worth a shot! He picked up Ken's phone again.
Accessing Akasha Network AR System...Channel K.E.N.1 ...
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: Hey you there?!
Emi Moroboshi: W-what happened to Sweetie?!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: He's still okay...well...still knocked out...but I got an idea of what the password is!
Emi Moroboshi: T'CHA DO?!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: Try this: Up Up, Down Down, Left Right Left Right, B, A, Start.
Emi Moroboshi: ...wait...but that's too many letters!...wait...THAT'S THE COMMAND ON SWEETIE'S T-SHIRT!
Ken Aoki [Aoi Fujinami]: Try it! I got a good feeling about it!
Emi Moroboshi: OK!
Seaside - Beach Town Streets
Emi gripped the system, as she put away the stylus, and pressed the command sequence Aoi gave her.
"And START!" She said as she pressed the last button, and the screen flashed, a message of ACCESS GRANTED welcomed her, quickly changing into an emergency screen that read
ACCESS TO THE AKASHIC RECORDS ESTABLISHED
WARNING!
KENICHI AOKI
Status: Unconscious but no mortal danger.
DOWNLOADING LOCATION DATA...
DATA ACQUIRED!
PROJECTING HOLOGRAPHIC MARKERS LEADING TO HAMACHAYA TEASHOP. MAP IN UPPER SCREEN.
A map leading accurately to the Hamachaya and to boot a holographic arrow emerged from the system...and even many were projected on the street, all leading to the 3DS's rightful owner!
"Let's go!" Emi closed the device and pocketed into her cleavage and flew following the arrows at breakneck speed, Shou and Usagi nodded following in turn, Shou carrying a first aids kit...meanwhile Shin was left staring dumbfounded at what a mere handheld game console...a mere "toy"...had managed to do.
"U-unbelievable! J-just what sort of device is that game console?!" Shin gasped, as he and other passersby shared his shock reaction, the arrows still glowing in the air, leading to where Ken was. Shin shook his head, there were questions in his mind right now, but he would definitely pry the answers out of the delinquent rogue! He dashed following the arrows...ignoring that as soon as he passed them, they started to vanish behind him...
Hamachaya Teashop - A while later...
"WHERE IS MY HUSBAND?!" A loud roar erupted from the green haired, Oni princess as she barged into the Teashop, Airi flew out of the living quarters, where only the gramps was busy watching TV while everything occurred around him. Airi took one look and she knew her sister was ready to tear through the place to get to Ken.
"!" Airi didn't think it twice, she just flew out of the way and pointed to where Ken was resting.
"SWEETIE!" Emi jetted past Airi into the room, once inside she saw Ken unconscious, lying on the futon, while Hikaru and a stranger to her were watching over him, Emi descended gently by Ken's side, a haunted expression on her face, she then faced the stranger in a ponytail and grabbed him from the neck of his shirt, pulling him close to her face, while her other hand was balled into a fist.
"What did t'cha do?!" Emi demanded, fury in her eyes.
"H-Hey! Calm down! W-We were eating and then he collapsed! I got no clue what happened!" Emi continued to glare, but her amulet showed her that what Aoi told was true...or at least he was honest about it...further more, Emi felt a sense of camaraderie between the stranger and her husband.
"I-I'm sorry..." Emi looked at who had just barged in now more carefully, it was the girl who had called mere moments ago, the one Ken's cellphone displayed the picture for.
"..."
"..." an uncomfortable silence befell the two for a moment, Hikaru trying to figure out what to do in this tense situation, Emi decided to look after Ken, worry in her eyes. It looked like Ken was now merely resting.
Emi dug into her cleavage and produced Ken's 3DS, Aoi stared at the odd device the green haired girl was now fiddling with, she looked like she aimed it at Ken, as a blue light shone from the two lenses on the device's cover. Aoi curious scooted over to look over the half-Oni girl's shoulder at the device's screen.
MEDICAL SCANNER...
ANALYZING KENICHI AOKI
PROBLEM F0uN)!
RXZlcnl0aGluZydzIGNvbm5lY3RlZC4gCg==
UHJvdGVjdCB0aGUgTW9yb2Jvc2hpLiAKCg==
SSBoYXZlIGEgcmVhc29uIHRvIGJlIGEgbWFydGlhbCBhcnRpc3QhIAoKCg==
UmVwYWlyIG9mIEtlbmljaGkgQW9raSdzIG1lbW9yeSBpbiBwcm9ncmVzcyEKCgoK==
SSBjb21tYW5kIHRoZSBBa2FzaGljIFJlY29yZHMuIEkgYW0gdGhlIEtJTkcgb2YgdGhlIGNvdXJ0IG9mIEFrYXNoYSEKCgoKCg==
"W-what is this?!" Emi looked at the string of odd numbers and symbols, was this some sort of code? Did the 3DS just suffer a failure?
"Gn!" emi frustrated pocketed Ken's 3DS into her cleavage and pulled out her own scouter goggles, as the glasses also emitted a blue scanning light they analyzed Ken's physical status.
Analysis complete...
Subject is healthy
Status: unconscious
Emi glared frustrated, and threw the goggles away in anger, at the very least Ken's 3DS DID recognize something was wrong! Emi could only take solace in knowing her beloved was out of danger...
Emi gingerly lifted Ken's head, and placed him on her lap, if only to be closer to her beloved.
Aoi blinked at the entire scene, something about it...did not sit right with him.
"Tch!" Aoi snapped. "What are you? His mom?!" Aoi muttered annoyed.
Emi blinked as she overheard that, but Aoi seemed to regret what he said instantly. "H-hey...umm...Oni girl..."
"My name's Emi..." Emi introduced herself, somewhat tense.
"R-Right...Name's Aoi...ah! But you knew that already..." Aoi followed suit, and then asked also concerned. "Is... Ken's gonna be all right...right?" Aoi asked.
Emi could see it in Aoi's soul...it was genuine concern...she smiled. "Well...my Scouter said that Sweetie's healthy...or at least that there's nothing life threatening happening to him...t-that's about the best it can do, actually..." Emi said.
Aoi let loose the breath he didn't know he was holding in a huge sigh. "*Phew~!*...hehe...figures for someone as tough as this guy, right?" Aoi said, infinitely relieved.
In that moment, tired and out of breath, Shou, Usagi and Shin had arrived.
"*GASP!* *WHEEZE!* E-Emi-san... *WHEEZE!* W-we finally...*GASP!* caught up to ya~..." Shou said as he managed to keep himself standing by grabbing on to the door frame.
"D-d-dammit Moroboshi! *pant!* *WHEEZE* slow down next time! *pant!*" Usagi complained, holding onto the opposite doorframe, while Shin merely just collapsed in the floor behind them, out of sheer exhaustion. The others were thankful for the holographic markers pointing the way, cause trying to keep up with the jet-fast Emi was a monumental task!
...a short time later...
Everyone had introduced themselves, Emi, Shou, Usagi and Shin as Ken's acquaintances, while Aoi explained how he met the delinquent fighter himself.
"Eesh!" Shou grimaced as he heard the tale. "Ken was already pissed off we brought him here...I'd hate to imagine what he did to those thugs!"
Aoi cocked his head curious. "He was pissed off? Because you brought him here?"
"Ohhhh...right, you don't know!" Usagi realized. "Ken can't swim. He's totally afraid of deep water."
Aoi went wide eyed as that news hit him. "Wha-?!...REALLY?!" Aoi looked at the knocked out Ken, then turned to glare at the others. "NO SHIT HE'D BE PISSED OFF, YOU MORONS!" Aoi called the others out.
The others flinched as Aoi yelled at them. "H-hey...Emi-san just wanted to spend some time with him, since she was invited, she also asked us all to come along!" Shou defended.
Aoi stood up and glared at Shou. "And even so, you knew Ken was afraid of water and you dragged him here?! WHAT THE F**K, MAN?!" Aoi roared, glaring at Ken's companions in disgust, after a moment of tense silence. Aoi looked aside. "Look, I get that you didn't mean anything wrong by bringing him along...but it sounds like you guys forced him to come."
"T-that's not-!" Emi wanted to argue, but bit her lip as she recalled Ken's exact words.
"Hey, not my choice this time, Octo-freak!" Ken said with hostility. "I was dragged here against my will."
Everyone save Shin looked guilty, the Mendou scion for his part scoffed. "I certainly did not invite that blasted delinquent here. I invited the fair lady Emi." Shin justified. Everyone turned to glare at Mendou, but before anyone could make a move Aoi calmly stepped over to him.
Shin looked at the taller youth, somewhat cautious. Aoi looked down at the Mendou scion and said this.
"Shut up." And pulling his fist back...something amazing happened.
Aoi's fist was surrounded in white fire! The same ghostly fire that made up Ken's ki! But not just that it quickly became engulfed in a globule of water as well! Aoi shot his fist with devastating strength, becoming a white blaze of energy combined with a jetstream of water, that collided with the unfortunate Mendou scion.
************SMASH!************
"DOWAH!" Shin yelped, as the impact made him collide with one of the walls and was sent towards the sea, Mendou bounced along the water like a human stone skip...[which happened to be a feeling of déjà vu for Shin]
Everyone's eyes bugged out as they saw the super human feat take place in front of their eyes.
"A...a...a...dual type?!" Shou all but yelped. "Another one even?!"
"No...Sweetie can switch between the two types he has...this guy used them at the same time..." Emi said astonished.
"Shit..." Aoi cursed. "I don't like using the flashy moves on wimps like him, but he was starting to piss me off." Aoi scratched his head annoyed.
Before anyone could ask what had happened, Ken stirred awake. "Ugh..." Ken sat up, and in a flash everyone went to him.
"Kitsune!" "Kenichi-kun!" "Big Bro!" "Kenichi, are you all right?" "Sweetie!" "Ken, dude!"
Ken shook his head. "Agh...One at a time, you dweebs!" Ken said annoyed, as he recovered his bearings. "...What happened? Whu-what are you guys doing here?!" Ken asked, surprised to see Emi and the others.
"You blacked out, dude." Aoi explained, making Ken go wide eyed. "Emi here called and well, they got here as quick as they could..."
Emi approached Ken for a moment. "Sweetie what happened?" She asked earnestly.
Ken blinked, he looked down for a moment, and covered his mouth as he burped. "...*burp*...augh...f-food poisoning..." Ken said, looking away.
This got weird looks from Emi and Aoi, just as Shou was going to question further, Gramps walked by and said. "Oh sorry about that, must've confused yours and Ryuunosuke's plates..." Gramps apologized, just shortly after, Ryuunosuke dashed and kicked the elderly man into orbit.
"DAMMIT! YOU STILL PULL THIS STUPID SHIT!" Ryuunosuke yelled, as the Gramps flew yelling "I love the seaaaaaaaaaaa~!"
"Oh hey, you're up now!" Ryuunosuke said relieved, as he peered into the room, and saw Ken was awake again. Of course he then noticed Emi. "Hey...HEY!" Ryuunosuke cheered
"?!" Emi was confused, as Ryuunosuke went and hugged the Oni girl.
"Oh man, look at you!" Ryuunosuke said happy. "Y-You're Emi, right?! Little Emi!" Once again, like a jovial uncle who was meeting his niece after a long time. "Lemme get a good look at ya!" Ryuunosuke made Emi stand up, the Oni girl still very confused, but since she saw no hostility in Ryuunosuke's aura, she allowed the...'nice uncle[?]' to get a look at her.
Ryuunosuke looked at Emi over, very proud and happily impressed. "Look at you! You grew up to be a beauty!" Ryuunosuke said cheerily. "Hell, I remember when you were still a snot-nosed, little crying baby!"
"H-HUH?!" Emi gasped surprised.
"Oh?" Ken questioned. "So you met Emi after she was born?" Ken asked curious.
Ryuunosuke nodded, as he turned back to Emi. "Just...look at you!" Ryuunosuke said proud...and a little...jealous?
"?" To Emi's senses, she saw an aura of jealousy around the uncle. As Ryuunosuke turned to look at Aoi...that jealousy turned to disappointment as Ryuunosuke shook his head. He then noticed Usagi, and also pointed to her.
"A-and you're-...?" Ryuunosuke got closer to stare at Usagi, and then gave a huge boisterous happy laugh. "HAHAHAHA! You're totally Shinobu's brat, aren't ya?!"
"Y-Yes?! Y-you know my mom...too?!" Usagi asked surprised.
"OF COURSE I KNOW HER! SHE IS MY BEST FRIEND!" Ryuunosuke said happy.
Ken stood back up, now feeling better. "Pops here went to high school with your parents, Emi, Bunny." Ken explained, not noticing how Ryuunosuke grimaced at what Ken said..
Both girls blinked surprised, Emi then turned to Usagi in shock. "Wait a minute...MY PARENTS WENT TO SCHOOL WITH YOUR PARENTS?!" Emi gasped surprised, this was news to her after all.
"Y-you didn't know?!" Usagi asked, shocked...but for a different reason.
Meanwhile Ryuunosuke looked at the two girls...proud. "Man...you two grew up into nice, well mannered ladies!" Ryuunosuke congratulated.
Both Emi and Usagi smiled at the compliment, somewhat embarrassed, though Ken and Shou looked unsure about that. "Nice and well-mannered ladies? You see any here, Tanuki?" Ken asked to Shou, who was trying his hardest to not be an accomplice to what Ken was doing...and doing so horribly by looking away, like he was completely guilty, while the two girls glared at them.
Ryuunosuke then gritted his teeth, as he smacked Aoi in the head again. "Dammit! You could learn a thing or two, you jackass!" Ryuunosuke scolded angrily.
"OW! Dammit, NOW what did I do?!" Aoi complained angry.
Ryuunosuke pointed at Aoi accusingly. "While I was outside looking for help, I came across the 50 thugs you and that Kitsune kid beat up! I told you again and again to stop getting into stupid street fights!"
"...💢"
"...Then I heard you went a wasted a bunch of money at a freaking arcade! Do you know how expensive those are?!" Ryuunosuke scolded some more.
"...💢💢"
"I-I didn't use any of my money!" Aoi defended. "Ken invited me, right dude?" Aoi asked, Ken nodding silently in response.
"THAT MAKES IT EVEN WORSE! Dammit, that was the Kitsune kid's money, not yours! You should've declined so he wouldn't have to waste that much money! Those games are ¥50 each play! We're not made of money, dammit!" Ryuunosuke continued yelling.
"H-Hey...isn't that...actually dirt-cheap?!" Shou asked in the background. "Y-yeah...they are..." Usagi answered.
"...💢💢💢"
"W-what do you care anyway?!" Aoi finally roared back angry. "I don't care what the hell you gotta say, I'll do what I want and that's it!" Aoi challenged
"You little idiot!" Ryuunosuke was starting to reach a boiling point. "YOU have RESPONSIBILITIES! And like hell I'll let you shirk them! And dammit, you should act proper! Doing whatever you want! I won't allow it! GOT IT!" As Ryuunosuke roared the last part of the sentence, he was ready to clobber Aoi once more, the youth gritting his teeth to expect the hit, before it collided with his skull again, but-
*GRAB!*
"W-what the-?!" Ryuunosuke said surprised.
In a blur, Ken had managed to grab Ryuunosuke's fist at the last second, as the boy himslef glared at the Teashop owner.
"Ken?" Aoi asked surprised, Ken did not take his scowl off of Ryuunosuke.
"You...piss me off...Pops...💢" Ken said...in a cool tone, Ryuunosuke grimaced at what Ken had said.
"Get outta the way, kid...this is none of your business...Kitsune kid...💢" Ryuunosuke warned, also quite angry, Ken's eyebrow twitched at that.
"Y-Yeah, dude...this is my fight! You don't have to protect me!" Aoi berated.
"I ain't doin' this for you, dude..." Ken said to Aoi. "Your old man...reminds me too damn much of that shitty monster woman of my mom... always going on and on about responsibility and that shit... f**kin' decidin' my life for me and shit...💢" Ken explained, as Ryuunosuke was starting to get angrier and angrier...something Ken had said was starting to set him off, at least that's what Emi could perceive.
"Oi...Kid...I wouldn't feel right smacking a guy who just woke up after fainting like a daisy...know your place...💢" Ryuunosuke warned, Ken was also getting more and more furious...though it was a tranquil fury in his case.
"I heal quickly...perhaps I should demonstrate how healthy I am...by kicking the ever loving shit out of you, you shitty old man!" Ken said, his ki blazing as nine ethereal white fires surrounded him! This took Aoi by surprise!"T-those are...like mine...but-!"
Ryuunosuke was all too happy to oblige. "You know what?! Yeah, let's! It's an adult's duty to teach snot nosed brats like you WHY they are WRONG and WHY we are RIGHT!" Ryuunosuke had conjured a veritable wave of water, also drunk in battle lust.
The two stepped outside, leaving the others confused.
"T'cha know somethin'..." Emi said. "I'm starting to hate the sea..." she said, as she dashed outside, along with the others.
As the sun was setting, a battle loomed ever closer to the little teashop
Seaside - Island in the Middle of Nowhere
Shin had been sent flying and buried in a remote island...an abandoned teashop was the only thing that welcomed him as he recovered conscience.
"Ugh...where am I?" Mendou asked, as he saw no other signs of civilization save for the coastal town off in the distance.
"Hmph! No matter. I'll just call for my secret service to pick me up." Shin said to himself, as he retrieved the cellphone from his pocket and pressed a button to activate it.
**KZZT!** **fizz**
Only for the device to short out, and pour a huge amount of seawater from it... Shin forgot to place his cell phone in it's waterproof case and was now a useless piece of plastic.
Shin bemoaned his fate. "...why me?..."
To Be Continued...
Next Episode: Battle by the Sea!