Ranma's Child

by Blissful Archangel

Ryuku Saotome's life is plagued with abandonment and dark rumors. Throughout his childhood, he lacked inspiration and had eventually gave up on the family arts. That all changed when he met a young girl on a cold winter's day. From there, his life was flung into disorderly chaos - crazy martial artists, ancient magic, and Amazonian tribes crash into the redhead's life.

37. Ch 29: The Best L-O-V-E is: Part 1

Chapter 29: The Best L-O-V-E is a Cheerleader's, Part 1

There was no real reason for Gashu to go into the redhead's room but this was a one-time exception. At nine o'clock, Gashu had entered Ryuku's domain with a clear mission in his mind.

Curled up under the covers, Ryuku was still fast asleep. The redhead was lucky it was the weekend. Otherwise, he would've been late for school.

Gashu left him to the realm of dreams. It'd be easier to look through Ryuku's things without being nagged. The double shut the door behind him without making a sound and went to work.

He made his way over to Ryuku's dresser. He opened the drawers but there wasn't much to see. Gashu hadn't expected much in the first place. The double was aware that his sense of fashion was far more appealing and superior than Ryuku's. Gashu tossed a handful of clothing over his shoulder. He didn't bother to see where the clothes were flying or where they had landed. That was something that Ryuku would have to deal with whenever he woke up. It wouldn't kill the guy to do a little cleaning of his own. Once he reached the last drawer, Gashu was met with the same disappointing results.

There had to be other places to look.

Gashu pilfered through Ryuku's desk drawers. It didn't hurt to check any space or compartment that could store any sort of clothing. Plus, you never knew what Ryuku was hiding around.

The last place to look was the closet.

Gashu swung the closet door open and continued on with his search. There were a few work uniforms for the Cat Cafe, a white dress, and a rather revealing ice skating costume. Things weren't looking promising.

Behind him, Gashu heard his own voice ask: "What're you doing?"

"Up and at 'em, Sleepy Head!" Gashu greeted without breaking away from his task at hand. "Did I wake you up?"

There was a stifled yawn. "Answer my question."

Gashu picked up a jacket. "I'm looking for something to wear for my date," he wrinkled his nose at the clashing colors. This thing was a travesty for anyone to own in their closet. "Don't you have anything nicer?"

"You have plenty of your own clothes to wear."

Gashu propped himself against the doorframe of the closet and glanced over at the redhead.

Ryuku was still in bed but had kicked the bed covers off of his lower body. He shifted to sit at the edge of his bed and dangled his legs over the side. Half of his hair had gotten matted down, the other side ruffled up. Red lines ran across his face from the bed sheets. Ryuku shot Gashu an expectant look as he adjusted the front of his loose shirt.

"It's not like I want to borrow your clothes. Our styles don't even match. I wouldn't be caught dead in half of these things," Gashu stated, his tone matter-of-fact. "Where do you keep your girl clothes?"

Ryuku's eyebrows pinched together. "Why do you want to know that?"

"All my better clothes are back home. I have to make do with whatever you have layin' around here, Ichigo," Gashu said. "I hope whatever you have for your girl side is a lot better than what you wear as a guy."

"I don't have a wardrobe set aside for my girl side."

The double's jaw dropped. "Why not?" he gasped in disbelief. Why wouldn't Ryuku have anything for his girl side? What exactly did he expect to wear while he was running about as a girl? "Don't you ever go shopping?"

Ryuku walked over to his door to swung it open. With a sweep of his arm, he gestured to the door. "Can you get out of my room? You already trashed it enough."

"Come on, work with me here, Ichigo! I need to find something nice for my date with Kuno!"

Ryuku's face fell before he shook his head. His features twisted into that of disgust. "I can't believe you said that out loud. Do you even hear yourself sometimes?" he ran his fingers through his hair and made a half-assed attempt to make himself look presentable. "I keep most of that stuff at Aunt Kasumi's."

"Why? Wouldn't it be easier to keep everything here?"

"I don't know. It's easier storage that way, I guess," Ryuku shrugged. "Besides, I don't want to keep any make-up or any of that stuff around here. It's weird."

"Why does that matter?" Gashu asked around a laugh. "It's not like you're gonna bring a girl up here anytime soon. Well, unless you're plannin' on doing somethin' with a certain amazon."

Ryuku gave Gashu a glare. "I don't have anything here."

"You're not very helpful," Gashu heaved a dramatic sigh. He slid down along the wooden door frame for the closet. "How am I supposed to sabotage this date if I don't look good?"

"Why do you have to look good for something like that?" Ryuku stopped over at his desk and plopped down onto his chair. He spun around to face the double. His elbow propped onto the arm rest while he rested his chin against the meat of his palm. "Wouldn't it make more sense to look bad? Then you could just, I don't know, chase him away like that."

Gasuh burst out into a fit of laughter.

This only seemed to irritate the redhead, who narrowed his eyes at the double with a cold glare.

Gashu held onto his stomach as his back thumped against the wall next to the closet. Once his laughter managed to die down, he released a sigh and wiped at the corner of his eye. How Ryuku managed to land Lotion as his girlfriend, he'd never understand. "Jeez, you've never been on a date before, have you, Ichigo?"

"What's that supposed to -" Ryuku waved away the rest of his outburst. "Get out of my room already. You're getting on my nerves."

"Even if it's going to be a bad date, you still wanna look good. It makes the person realize what they're missing out on. All that is pretty obvious stuff," Gashu explained before he turned back to Ryuku's closet. "If you ever go on a date, remind me to give you a few pointers. Trust me, you're gonna need 'em."

Ryuku gave a noncommittal grunt.

So far, Gashu had only searched through the clothes crammed into the confined space. It looked like the upper part of the closet had a shelf with a decent amount of room. There wasn't particularly eye-catching that he could see. Some random manga, a handful of cat toys, and school related things.

A corner of a box poked out from underneath the weight of the useless things piled on top of it. The box was pretty far back, as if it was meant to be unseen. All the more reason to check and see what it could be.

On his tiptoes, the double took hold of the box and, with utmost care, extracted it from its confines. The action caused him to knock several things off the shelf in the process. But it wasn't anything that Ryuku couldn't clean up.

Gashu inspected the box in his hands. It was a little on the fancy side. It was a small, rectangular thing. It had a gloss symbol embossed across it in shiny lettering, to showcase the fashion brand. Gashu couldn't recognize this specific one, but anyone with eyes could see it cost a pretty penny.

How did Ichigo manage to get his hands on something like this? Gashu thought.

Gashu untied the lilac silk bow and removed the lid. Tucked inside the box was a lilac colored dress. The material was glossy but was soft to the touch. Gashu removed the dress out of the box. The dress unfurled before him and revealed itself to be about knee length, with a natural waist and V-neck. Gashu turned it this way and that, inspecting the dress from every which side. Why was Ryuku hiding something like this?

"Where'd you get this from?" Gashu quipped, facing Ryuku with the dress placed in front of himself.

Ryuku gave the dress a glance over. He shrugged as he slid down in his chair then swiveled around to his desk. "Oh that? Itabashi," he replied. "Megumi and her friends wanted to go shopping and I got dragged along. They were all trying on stuff. I got roped into it, too. For whatever reason, they decided to buy me a dress, even though I kept telling them they didn't have to. I didn't know what to do with it so I just shoved it in my closet."

Gashu quirked his eyebrow. "On the top shelf?"

"On the top shelf," Ryuku repeated. "Is that a problem?"

"Nope, no problems here," Gashu said with an eye roll. "But this dress is perfect. It's way better than the other stuff you have around here. Now that I've got the dress, all I need is some makeup and some cute shoes to go with it. I'll be the cutest girl at the ball."

"Aunt Kasumi can help with all that stuff."

A shiver ran down Gashu's spine at the mention of their aunt. Gashu shook off the momentary dread and tucked the dress back into the box. "Nah, I can do my own makeup. It's not that hard to figure out. I have the experience."

"Of course you do," Ryuku scoffed.

"Thanks for the dress, Ichigo," Gashu tucked the box under his arm as he made his way over to the door. "I'll make sure to take extra special care of it. Knowing that it's from your precious Megumi and all that, I wouldn't want to ruin such a pretty, pretty dress."

"It doesn't matter to me what you do with it," Ryuku said. "You can keep it. Or throw it out. I don't care."

Ryuku didn't care about a dress that his crush had purchased for him? Something that he had made an obvious effort into hiding and keeping out of harm's way? No one was going to buy something as stupid as that.

"Is that so? Well, if you say so, Ichigo," Gashu stepped out into the hallway.

If that was the kind of game Ryuku wanted to play, then Gashu would play too. After all, he liked playing games.

X

Every girl needed input related to her love life. Whether it related back to a significant other, a crush, or even a date. A girl needed advice! Asking for guidance of any sort proved to be the perfect reason for Gashu to invite Ayano to the Saotome house. After all, Ryoko needed some much needed help in getting ready for her upcoming date.

Gashu exchanged several messages with Ayano in an attempt to coax the girl over.

Once Ayano arrived, Gashu welcomed her inside in an eager manner.

Aside from a polite greeting and warm smile, Ayano remained silent.

Gashu could tell from Ayano's body language that she was ecstatic to be here. At least, that was the vibes Gashu had gotten from Ayano's text messages. Had Ayano ever been over at a friend's house before?

"Thanks for coming over, Aya," Gasuh led Ayano through the house. "I really needed your help with this."

A light smile played over Ayano's lips. "I hope I can be of some help, Ryoko."

"You being here is already plenty helpful!"

As they passed certain parts of the house, Gashu noticed that Ayano was lagging behind her a few paces.

Ayano was looking all around her, surveying the rooms that made up the Saotome home.

Gashu didn't blame the girl for doing so. The double had done her best to spruce the place up as best as she could. But something as massive as the Saotome house was more than a one-person job for cleaning and tidying up. There were still parts of the house she hadn't even had a chance to go through yet. The double shuddered to think about what could be growing in those areas of the house.

Gashu led Ayano up the stairs, down the hall, and brought her to Ryuku's room. Anticipating Ayano's arrival, Gashu set out to get rid of any possible sign that the room could belong to a boy. It wasn't a difficult task to accomplish. The redhead lacked any sort of character to his room. On top of that, there wasn't any need to worry about Ryuku coming back to find out about Gashu's impromptu room rental.

Ryuku had mentioned that he'd be stopping by Misaki's house after school. Ryuku wouldn't be back home for several hours, as he usually got suckered in by his cousin to stay for dinner.

Gashu would have more than enough time with Ayano and to fix Ryuku's room back to the way it was. Ryuku would be none the wiser.

Ayano took a moment to admire the room. She turned to give Gashu another small smile. "You have a lovely room, Ryoko."

"Thanks! I'm so glad you came over," Gashu gestured over to the bed. "Please, why don't you sit down while I go get ready?"

With a moment of hesitation, Ayano placed her schoolbag onto Ryuku's pillow, her phone atop of it. She smoothed her palms out over the bedding and smoothed out the wrinkles. Ayano took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Gashu had used that time to slip into the dress. She caught the flash of surprise in Ayano's eyes. Ayano must've expected to see the double still in the middle of changing. "What do you think, Aya?" she did a little twirl, which caused the dress to flare out and ruffle up along with her movement. "Do I look cute?"

"I think you look very cute," Ayano said, still wearing a smile.

"Oh, you're just saying that," Gashu said with a little 'bashful' wave. She gave herself another glance over. She confirmed once again that she looked flawless in the dress. Kaida wouldn't know what hit him. "Do you think you can help me with my makeup? I'm not sure what sort of look I want to go for with this dress. Maybe something fierce? Or should I go for more gentle colors?"

Ayano bunched up the material of her skirt between her fingers. "I don't know if I'd be helpful."

Gashu pursed her lips, considering Ayano's words, as she looked over her. Given that Ayano was still in her uniform, it was simple to deduce that she had come here right after school. She didn't even think to stop by her house to change into something a little more casual. Granted, Gashu had pushed that Ayano come to the house as soon as possible. Gashu strolled over to Ayano and reached out to curl her fingers around Ayano's wrist.

Ayano's gaze lowered to their hands. She met Gashu's eyes in confusion but she still seemed to be in high spirits for the most part.

"Have you ever done this before, Aya?" Gashu asked. "Like, girl talk, I mean?"

Ayano tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Her gaze dropped down to her feet. "No, not really. My sister... Naori never really included me with those sorts of things," she murmured. "I don't know how helpful I'll be, Ryoko. I know you wanted me to help you but I can't even do that for you. I'm so sorry. "

"You don't have to apologize for anything. That's what I'm here for, isn't it? We're best friends and best friends help each other out," Gashu gave Ayano's wrist a small squeeze. She let go of her hand and took a step back.

Gashu touched over the front of the dress. Her fingers traced absent patterns over the soft material. She clapped her hands together to express her excitement. "I've got a great idea, Aya!"

The double's enthusiasm must've been contagious given the way Ayano's smile widened.

"What would that be?" Ayano asked.

"Why don't you wear this dress?" Gashu suggested. "I bet you'd look sooo cute in it!"

Ayano waved her hands in front of herself with a nervous laugh. "Oh, I couldn't do that," she said. "I came over to help you, Ryoko. This isn't about me."

"You would be helping me, silly! We have similar body types. I just want to make a few... alterations. To make sure it's the perfect fit for me. Come on, Aya, please?" Gashu jutted her lower lip out into a trembling pout. She added sparkling puppy dog eyes for the full effect. "We can even do your hair and makeup, too! You'd be like a model for me."

Ayano turned her eyes to the floor. Ayano's hair fell over her face and obscured whatever expression she wore.

Gashu lowered her hands to her sides. Her fingers plucked at the dress. Disappointment formed low in Gashu's gut, but she knew better than to press further on the topic. Gashu prepared to drop the whole thing completely by cracking a few jokes but Ayano stood up.

"If... If you think this will help you," Ayano lifted her head up. She brushed her hair out of her face. Her cheeks dusted a light shade of pink. "I'll wear it, Ryoko. I'll wear the dress."

Gashu's face brightened with a wide grin. "Awesome! I'll go get changed and I'll give you some privacy so you can get dressed."

Gashu gathered up the clothes she had changed out of earlier. She slipped out of the bedroom and told Ayano to give her a few minutes. It'd make things a little easier if she changed in the bathroom. Once she returned, Gashu handed the dress off to Ayano like a baton and stepped back out into the hallway.

Instead of standing around, Gashu decided to practice her drills. Gashu danced around the hallway, as she imagined an opponent in front of her. She decided to brush up on her defense. She weaved, going off of her invisible opponent's move set. She dodged the other's forceful punch before she ducked for the kick. Gashu decided to up the difficulty for herself by focusing on moving without making a sound.

The creak of the door opening was the trigger for the double to stop. Gashu whirled around on the heels of her feet. She saw Ayano peeking into the small gap between the wall and door. Gashu tilted her head, puzzled.

"Um, I'm having some trouble," Ayano said. "I can't zip the dress up all the way."

"Then it's a good thing I'm here to help!" Gashu chuckled.

The door swung the rest of the way open. Ayano stood in the middle of the doorway and used her good hand to keep the top of the dress in place.

A compliment was at the tip of Gashu's tongue, only for it to fizzle away into nothingness as she gawked at Ayano. Gashu shook her head, knocking herself out of the sudden trance she had fallen into. She circled around Ayano and kept her gaze honed onto the offending zipper. It rested on the middle of her back. Gashu avoided Ayano's pale pink bra strap and brought the zipper the rest of the way up.

"There you go!" Gashu ushered Ayano back into the room. "Now, let me show you how to do your hair and makeup."

Gashu led Ayano over to the desk chair and gestured for her to take a seat. The double held her hand over the makeup she had laid out over the desktop earlier. She managed to keep a tidy sum of tips while working at the Cat Cafe in Ryuku's place to buy some necessities. It was only fair to keep a little something for herself.

She handed Ayano a handheld mirror. A subtle look would suit Ayano the best. Ayano definitely wasn't the type of girl who wanted to stand out from the crowd. Instead, she wanted to draw someone toward her with an air of mystery.

Gashu went with a light blush, a hint of eye shadow, and used a steady hand to apply the eyeliner and mascara. All Ayano needed was lipstick to finish off the look. Gashu rolled a rose pink shade of lipstick over Ayano's lips. She instructed Ayano to pop her lips together to spread the lipstick out.

With the makeup finished, hair was the next thing to tackle. Gashu brushed through Ayano's long brown tresses. She made sure everything was nice and straight with no tangles. Next, she portioned off the upper part of her hair, brought it back, and tied it in place to keep her face cleared of any hair. Gashu used deft movements of her fingers to braid the separated strand and tied it off at the bottom. Gashu clapped her hands together in delight. She couldn't help but admire her handiwork.

"What do you think?" Gashu asked, helping Ayano lift the mirror up in front of her face.

Ayano stared at her reflection. "Is this really me? I look so different," she murmured in awe. "I don't know how you managed to do this. You did such a good job, Ryoko."

"Makeup isn't all that complicated," Gashu said. "If you ever have any questions about it, or with any date type stuff, you can always ask me about it. I'd be more than happy to help you."

"Thank you so much. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Gashu assured Ayano. "Keep looking pretty. Well, you already looked pretty before but now you're ready to knock a couple of guys off their feet!"

Ayano set the mirror down onto a cleared out section of the desk. "I couldn't do something like that. I already have Togo."

"That doesn't mean you can't be a little bit of a tease. A girl's gotta have fun."

"I'm only doing this to help you out, Ryoko. Remember? This isn't about anything like that," Ayano spread her hand out over the length of the dress. She tugged at it to make her knees covered. "You still haven't told me anything much about your boyfriend."

"I haven't?" Gashu kept her back to Ayano. She sorted through some makeup on the desk. "I could've sworn I told you some things about him."

On the subject of Ryoko's supposed boyfriend, Gashu had told Ayano bits and pieces here and there. Whenever Ayano brought it up, Gashu had made sure the topic didn't last any longer than it had to. There were hints of possible double dates in the future, which Gashu did her best to avoid at all costs. The issue was that Ayano was persistent about wanting to know about the man in Ryoko's life.

Gashu took her phone out and pulled up her picture of Ryou. It wouldn't hurt to show Ayano what her 'boyfriend' look like. It was the least she could do, after all.

Much to Gashu's surprise, the door burst open. All the double could do was stand still as Ryuku stepped into his room and froze mid-step.

Ryuku's eyes widened, surprise took over his face.

This was what Gashu had expected, but she had expected the redhead to target this look at her. She also thought Ryuku would've looked a tad angrier, too. Instead, Ryuku seemed to be looking past Gashu completely. Ryuku remained where he was, his gaze locked onto Ayano. If Gashu didn't know any better, she could've sworn the redhead's cheeks were a little colored.

Gashu jumped in front of Ryuku to block Ayano from his view. "Why, Ryuku, what on earth are you doing here, dear brother?" she waved her hand in front of Ryuku's face, trying to grab his attention.

The corners of Ryuku's mouth pinched together. He bore his glare down onto the double. "What's she -" he exhaled. "What are you doing?"

Gashu lowered her voice to a near whisper. "I only need to borrow your room for another hour or so."

"But this is my room." Ryuku whispered back.

"If I brought Aya up to my room, she'd think my family hated me with a room like that. You have an actual bed!" Gashu put her hands onto her hips. "You know how girls are and you know how this date has to go."

"What does that have to do with -"

"I needed some input on clothes, hair, and makeup. All the works," Gashu interrupted. "Aya would love to be a part of that stuff. It's what BFF's do."

"You invited her without saying anything," Ryuku muttered. Yet his tone lacked any real malice. He held out a bag in front of Gashu.

"What's this?" the double accepted the bag and peeked inside it.

Inside, there was a bundle of clothing along with several accessories and a small pouch.

"You were complaining about it this morning," Ryuku shrugged.

"And you were actually listening?" Gashu asked.

"You have the rest of the hour," Ryuku said. "Any longer than that and I'm coming back to kick you out. Both of you."

"Relax, you won't have to resort to any drastic measures," Gashu assured him. "We'll be out of here soon."

Ryuku took a step toward the door. "Don't take too long. I'm serious," he paused before adding. "Don't look at my things either." with that, he was out the door but not before casting another brief glance towards Ayano.

With a small wave goodbye, Gashu closed the door after Ryuku had slipped back out.

A piercing squeak alerted the double.

Gashu whirled around at the sign of trouble.

There, Ayano was standing on the middle of the bed, hands clutched at her dress. Her face lacked any color, her lips trembled, and she raised a shaking finger at the edge of the bed.

"Something's under the bed," Ayano stammered. "It touched me! It brushed against my legs!"

Gashu looked over at the bed. She prowled forward until the distance was enough for her to drop down to the floor. She peeked underneath the bed frame.

It was hard to see anything in the confined space, other than a vague outline of objects. Gashu squinted her eyes. She reached her hands out to see if anything would happen. She sneezed and pulled away from the clumps of dirt and dust she unearthed. The double wrinkled her nose. She prepared herself for another sneeze but someone beat her to the punch. Or more like, something else did. In the darkness, Gashu found herself staring back at a small pair of eyes.

"I can see it!" Gashu announced.

"Ryoko, you don't have to -"

The double reacted without a second thought. Her hand flew forward and grabbed hold of something warm and furry. Gashu crawled out from under the bed and revealed the offender for herself and Ayano to see. In Gashu's grasps was a cat. The double had caught it by the scruff of its neck. Gashu's eyebrows furrowed, as she looked over the animal, who squirmed around in her hold. The double might not have paid close enough attention to Ryuku's pet, but she was positive that the cat's fur was gray. Not purple.

Ayano clapped her hands together. "A cat!" she knelt down onto the bed, so that she was now seated with her legs crossed. "Now I feel so silly for freaking out. I must've scared the poor thing."

The cat continued to wiggle around.

Ayano reached out to caress the feline's ears. "Is this your cat, Ryoko?"

"Where'd this cat come from?" Gashu asked, struggling to process how this animal had gotten into the room.

She was positive there was no one else in this room with her and Ayano. She would've been able to sense that there was another living being, rather it be a cat or a person. How long had the cat been hiding in this room with them?

"I guess it was hiding under the bed," Ayano suggested. "Maybe it was sleeping and curious to see what all the noise was about. We weren't exactly being very quiet," Ayano caressed her fingertips underneath the cat's chin. "I'm sorry for scaring you. You poor thing. Can I hold it?"

Gashu glanced over the cat. "Uh, she's not super friendly with strangers."

A low purr rumbled low from the cat's throat, as it butted its head up against Ayano's touches.

The animal was going to ruin her focus if it stuck around. Gashu needed to hone her focus on her upcoming date and being an amazing friend to Ayano. The cat had to go.

Gashu climbed onto the bed, the cat in tow, and opened the window. The gentle breeze felt nice on her skin but she hadn't done this for some fresh air. Gashu placed the cat onto the windowsill and slammed the window shut.

The cat was quick to jump onto the glass. Its paws slid down along the slippery surface.

Gashu pulled the curtains shut over the window. Scratching noises followed suit shortly afterward but it all went ignored.

Ayano's lips fell to a small frown. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine. She's more of an outdoor cat," Gashu was quick to assure Ayano. "That was my brother's cat, anyway. I bet she'll leave and try to find him. I wouldn't worry about her too much."

Ayano's eyebrows drew together. "Saotome has a cat?"

"You didn't know that?"

"I don't know much about him," Ayano murmured, worrying her lip. "I hope I didn't make Saotome upset earlier."

"He'll be fine. You know how my brother is," Gashu said, getting off the bed to look into the bag that Ryuku had given her. "He can be a little dramatic sometimes."

The double sorted through the bundled up clothing. Some of the pieces were cute, some a little too cute-sy, which didn't fit the type of ensemble Gashu was aiming for. Kaida seemed like the type who liked to keep up formalities and had a modest sense of style. The restaurant was definitely going to be on the upper scale of things. The clothing Ryuku had brought didn't fit the bill for any of that. It'd work if she was going to a fast food joint.

The accessories weren't much better. Gashu turned over a plastic flower clip. It looked cheap. Something a person would find at a convenience store.

Inside the pouch there was quite a bit of makeup. If Ryuku had arrived earlier, Gashu could've incorporated something more for her look. But she had already settled on the colors and theme she had with her own makeup.

It looked like she'd be sticking with the original dress after all. Ryuku had already told her that she could wear it. He added that she could even keep it. Gashu looked over at the dresses and accessories in thought. Her gaze went over to Ayano.

"Do you want to try on some other dresses?" Gashu asked.

"How about some other time?" Ayano replied. "It's getting close to the time for me to leave soon. I should get changed. "

"We'll take a rain check then. We could go to the mall and pick outfits out for each other!" Gashu suggested. "You could bring Togo, too. I haven't seen him in a while! We'll all catch up over some lunch. I'll even treat you both."

"I'd like that," Ayano said, smiling. She tucked some of her hair behind the shell of her ear. "Maybe next time we hang out, you could bring your boyfriend, too. It could be a double date."

"Oh, definitely! We'll have to set that up soon," Gashu said, her excitement a little less evident in her tone. "That'll be so much fun."

The rest of Ayano's visit took up the rest of the hour to get Gashu all ready and dolled up. Plus, an extra fifteen minutes after convincing Ayano to try different hairstyles.

Ayano left with a warm smile on her face. Her face cleaned from makeup and a braid in her hair held in place by a purple and black striped bow. She looked much livelier than when she had arrived. It warmed Gashu's heart to see Ayano leave in higher spirits.

The double had to double back to fetch her purse from her room.

In the living room area, Ryuku was at the table with his back to her while he watched TV.

Gashu couldn't get a good look to see what the redhead had been watching, since Ryuku turned the TV off.

Ryuku set the remote down onto the floor and turned his head to look over at Gashu. His lips were set to a tight-lipped frown. Ryuku's eyes narrowed and locked onto Gashu to send him a solid glare.

"Look at you all dolled up," Ryuku started. "... And you ended up picking that dress, too."

Gashu shrugged. "You did say I could wear it."

"I brought over those other dresses from Misaki's," Ryuku said. "I even threw in all those extra things. Bows and stuff."

"I know, I looked at everything you brought but none of them were as good as this dress," Gashu put her hands on her hips. "Is that a problem?"

"It's not a problem. I told you I didn't care what you did with it."

"Are you sure? Because I'm getting a bit of mixed signals right now."

Ryuku shifted, his back pressed against the table behind him. "Why did you invite her over here?" he asked, changing the subject so fast Gashu almost experienced whiplash. "I already told you that I didn't want to see her anymore. It's bad enough that I see her all the time at school."

"Wait a sec. Are you pissed off because I used your room or because of the dress? Or is it about Aya now? Which one of the things is it?" Gashu throw her hands to her sides. "Say it straight to me, Ichigo."

Ryuku opened his mouth but Gashu raised her hand up with her index finger extended and added. "Don't try walking around anything either. Use your words. I know you can do it."

"Forget it," Ryuku muttered. "Warn me next time you're going to do something like that. I don't want to see -" he rubbed the back of his neck, his lips pursed, as his gaze darted off to the side. "Makanai shouldn't. I don't want to see that again. That's all."

"You don't want to see Makanai? Or you don't want to see her in this dress? I thought she looked pretty good in it. Almost better than me," Gashu checked the time on her phone. "Now if that's all you had to complain about I should get going. I don't want to be late for my little date."

Ryuku grumbled something under his breath. He didn't bother to further engage in the conversation. Instead, he turned around back to the table and turned the TV back on.

Gashu darted back to Ryuku's room, snatching her purse from where she had left it. Her phone buzzed from a new message. The number was unknown. Given the barely concealed threats the sender could only be the bitter cheerleader.

Yuzuna had taken the liberty of sending Gashu the necessary information for the date. She even had the courtesy to give her location directions. Gashu could only hope Yuzuna's efforts were genuine. She didn't want to wind up at some obscure, sketchy area that'd leave her into a sticky situation.

Of course, Kaida most likely helped set up all the details. The kendoist probably wouldn't let his sister do anything drastic. Yuzuna had something she wanted to gain out of the date as well. After all, Gashu was on a mission to ruin the date. Yet the idea of a potential disaster did sound appealing for the sake of an exciting adventure. Something along those lines was something Gashu was lacking in her life at the moment.

Gashu shook her head. She shouldn't get caught up in her daydreams. She had to get going. That date wasn't going to ruin itself.

X

Gashu arrived at the agreed upon location in a reasonable amount of time. Despite the threats, Yuzuna had been helpful, after all.

It was so reasonable that she was a little early. The restaurant, La Cher Bistro, was the epitome of an upscale restaurant. Gashu was never taken to a place like this on any of the dates she scored with rich guys. The double planned on scoping the place out. But she had gotten distracted by the sheer amount of elegance around her.

Gashu looked over her outfit. The dress was lovely, with the right amount of frills. Something like this didn't measure anywhere near the standards of this place. Her makeup was on the lighter side which she preferred. She had curled her bangs since she had to cover her head up with a knitted hat with cat ears. The hat wear seemed rather juvenile, but she couldn't afford to have her pigtail out.

She took her compact out from her purse and flipped it open. Gashu chewed at her thumbnail while she looked at her reflection for the umpteenth time. Her appearance for tonight shouldn't matter all that much. The date was going to be a disaster but Gashu wanted to at least look good while she sabotaged herself. At least she was getting free food out of this.

"Miss Ryoko." A familiar voice pulled Gashu from her thoughts.

The compact closed with an audible click and dropped it into her handbag. Gashu turned around in time to see Kaida strolling up to her. The kendoist adorned a pressed dark gray three-piece suit. To add to his ensemble were black leather shoes and a red silk tie gave his suit a small splash of color. His stylized hair was off to the side to keep anything from obscuring his face. He definitely cleaned up well. Gashu could admit that much.

Kaida reached inside his jacket to reveal a single red rose. "You look lovely tonight, Miss Ryoko."

Gashu accepted the flower with a curious glance. The stem was thorn less, the petals were vibrant in color, and there was a pleasant scent.

"You're here early. Did you wait long?" Gashu said.

Kaida extended his arm out for Gashu to take. "It wasn't a long wait."

What a gentleman, Gashu held onto his arm and let Kaida lead her over to the restaurant entrance. "It wasn't?"

"I arrived a little over an hour early. I wanted to confirm with the staff that everything was ready for us," Kaida smiled at Gashu. They strolled through the double glass doors. "I guess you could say I'm a bit of a perfectionist."

Although it was a bit of a struggle, Gashu schooled her expression to conceal her shock. Besides, it wouldn't be an attractive look for her if she let her jaw drop. But what kind of guy showed up over an hour early for a date? The earliest she managed was ten, maybe fifteen minutes. A girl had to have a pretty special place in Gashu's heart for her to consider being any earlier than that. Not even Naori was enough for Gashu to do something like that.

"There's nothin' wrong with wantin' things to go a certain way." Gashu quipped with a little laugh.

Their table was in a corner of a vacated section of the restaurant.

Kaida pulled out Gashu's chair and gestured for her to sit down.

Gashu slipped into her seat and glanced around the vicinity. The restaurant was about empty which seemed out of place. There was no way that this place wasn't booked solid. Staff members and serves should be bustling about to serve countless hungry customers. This was the kind of place that had reservations planned a year in advance.

"I rented out this part of the restaurant," Kaida said as he took his seat. "I considered renting out the whole establishment but decided against it."

"No way!" Gashu blurted out, louder than she intended. She coughed to cover up her shock and forced out a chuckle. "I mean, wouldn't that be a bit much? Especially for a first date."

"Do you think so?" Kaida cocked his head. He appeared perplexed in a genuine manner. "I don't mean to come across as too strong. That's not my intention. I wanted to do things properly."

Gashu shook her head. "Don't sweat it, Kuno. I was thrown off guard a little. You don't have to be so formal with me."

"Nonsense. A gentleman always speaks politely to a woman."

"Uh, right," Gashu said. "But like I said, you can relax. It's not like this is an actual first date for you, right?"

Kaida pressed his lips together.

Gashu opened her mouth but closed it a second later.

Kaida cleared his throat and clasped his hands together on the table. "Miss Ryoko, don't misunderstand me. I'm a very busy man. As a third year, a kendo master, a son, an older brother, and a business man... I find it difficult to find time for these sorts of things. I hope that doesn't lessen your opinion of me."

With her elbow propped onto the table, Gashu cupped her cheek. "Jeez, a guy like you is wasting your very first date on someone like me. I feel kind of sorry for you."

Kaida's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm afraid I don't understand. Are you looking at me with pity? I'm not ashamed of this."

"No, it's not pity. It's -"

The rest of Gashu's words was never finished. An eager waiter had decided to swoop into the conversation. The server laid out a menu in front of them and informed the two that he would return shortly to take their orders.

Gashu opened the menu. Her eyes scanned over the selection available. She barely remembered to catch her mouth from dropping. Although it wasn't all that surprising, the prices for everything were expensive. If this wasn't on the Kunos dime, Gashu wouldn't even be able to afford a soup or salad.

"Feel free to order anything you like, Miss Ryoko," Kaida told Gashu without a glance in her direction. "It's my treat. As we agreed on."

The served returned with a pad and pen at the ready.

Gashu launched into her order: a roasted duck, a tri-tip steak, a stuffed chicken, soup, and a salad.

Kaida hadn't batted an eye as he listened to Gashu. He waited for his turn to place his order.

The server scribbled everything down. "It shouldn't be a long wait."

The waiter disappeared for a moment and returned with a drink. It was in a fine glass bottle, the label shiny and glossy, with fancy print. The words printed weren't anything that Gashu recognized, much less bother to pronounce. Once the cork was out, the server poured the drink into two wine glasses. The liquid was a deep purple, the reflection of the glass almost made it seem like it was sparkling.

Gashu swirled the drink around in the glass before she took a small sip. The taste of sweet apple grapes tickled her taste buds. "Mm, this is pretty good! Good choice, Kuno. I like sparkling apple cider."

Kaida took a sip himself. "It has a rich taste. It goes to show that drinks can be nice without the alcohol. Plus, we're both under aged."

"That's true," Gashu agreed. "But it's not like anyone could rat us out."

"I wouldn't dare to do such a thing, Miss Ryoko."

"It was a joke."

"I fail to see the humor."

Gashu brushed at her fringe a bit. This was it. It was time to work her magic and turn this date into a total disaster. She clasped her hands together. She laced her fingers together and pressed the back of her hand against her cheek. "Maybe you need a better sense of humor, Kuno. Let up a bit."

"I find myself to be quite relaxed."

She smiled over at Kaida. "You should be. I promise I'm a classy girl," she hummed. "You know, this whole thing is pretty weird."

"How so?"

"Think about it. A whole bunch of girls come over to your dojo to fight your sister and whoever wins winds up on a date with you? Don't you think that's kinda strange?" Gashu scrunched her nose up. "Why would you even agree to somethin' like that?"

Kaida placed his glass onto the table. "It was my sister's idea."

"No wonder you can't get a date," Gashu said. "That's a weird way to get girls to date you."

"I was against it," Kaida said. "But once Yuzuna has her mind set on something, it's difficult to change her mind."

"Your sister thought that whole thing up?"

"She thought it would bring more people to the dojo. It was unnecessary. Our dojo has plenty of students signing up every day. Yuzuna brought up a point that girls might want to join as well. We haven't had a lot of girls sign up," Kaida explained. "Yuzuna's classmates were always around the dojo and watched our classes. She always chased them away so I assumed they weren't interested in joining. I thought they were more interested in handing me confession letters after class."

Gashu tilted her head. "Do you think she thought this up because she didn't want those girls around?"

"I thought that at first," Kaida agreed. "But we've had a significant increase with female students. They're all very eager to learn and each recruiting event we've had thus far has been very rewarding."

"It's not like everyone can join. If you're reaching a cap amount of students especially," Gashu pointed out. "If you have such great turn outs with these events, don't you have to do crowd control?"

"Yuzuna takes care of that. She holds tryouts and only those with actual interest in joining can become students." Kaida paused as he glanced over at Gashu with curiosity. "Shouldn't you already know this?"

"Of course, I already know that! I was makin' conversation. 'Sides, I don't remember anything like that on the flier!" Gashu didn't miss a beat to change the subject. "But I noticed that the girls who were accepted weren't very... adverse to fighting. If your sister's in charge, wouldn't she try to make it so no one ever wins?"

"You won." Kaida pointed out with a smile.

"That's true. I did win," Gashu sniffed. "Which reminds me, your sister is a sore loser. You might want to talk to her about sportsmanship."

Kaida chuckled. "It is something she needs to work on," he steepled his fingers together and tapped his knuckles to his chin. "But you weren't taking the fight seriously in the first place. You were toying with Yuzuna the whole time."

Of course, an experienced kendoist like Kaida saw that she hadn't fought with much effort.

The double flashed Kaida a cheeky grin. "Okay, fine, you caught me but it's not like you were any better, Mister Kuno. I was gettin' super excited for a real fight, too," she heaved a sigh and lowered her shoulders. "Were you even trying?"

"I hadn't planned on fighting seriously. I was curious to see how you fight," Kaida admitted. "You move in a rather fluid way. I couldn't keep my eyes off of you. I don't mean to sound too forward but you move with such beauty, Miss Ryoko. With such elegance I wish to achieve one day."

With a laugh, Gashu raised her glass up to cover her grin before she finished the rest of her drink. "Oh, you flatter me too much!"

"It's true. Far too many martial artists struggle to achieve such skill. There's a lack of formality and use of proper technique that no one pays heed to. Imagawa could learn a thing or two from you."

"Imagawa?"

"It's no one important. Only someone who tarnishes themselves as a swordsman. Not that he'd ever be worthy of such a title," Kaida said, almost with a disinterested scoff. "This brings me to another question. You're clearly not interested in signing up for kendo. An experienced martial artist like you wouldn't gain anything beneficial from it. Why did you come to the dojo?"

"Look, Kuno, you seem like a pretty nice guy so I'll be completely honest with you." Gashu lowered her gaze onto the table. She worried her lower lip, and glanced at Kaida from underneath her eyelashes. "Sometimes... sometimes, a girl's just gotta eat."

Kaida fell silent. He lowered his gaze onto the table, no doubt absorbing what Gashu had told him. "I see," he crossed his arms over his chest. A thoughtful expression washed over his face. "I have received many confessions, from many girls, and that was... something I truly can't describe. You express your feelings in such a unique way. Miss Ryoko, I -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute!" Gashu interjected swiftly. "That wasn't a confession! I meant that I was, well, I still am hungry. I wanted somethin' to eat. That's all. It wasn't anything like that!"

The food arriving to the table prevented Kaida from saying anything else. A succulent aroma wafted throughout the dining area. Entree after entree was out onto the surface of the tabletop.

Gashu's mouth watered from the sheer amount of food before her. She'd be able to eat without a worry or a care. The double gulped, her fingers twitched on her lap, and her stomach growled as she gawked at the food, wide eyed. After everything was out, the servers informed the two to enjoy their meal and then lined out of the room.

Kaida tucked a handkerchief into his collar. "Please, Miss Ryoko, you said you were hungry. Don't hold back on my account."

Gashu didn't waste any time. She didn't want to come across as a pig. But it was becoming more and more difficult to keep from stuffing her face full of food. Every single bite had a magnificent burst of flavor, which danced upon her taste-buds. It brought tears to Gashu's eyes. She brought another forkful of seasoned duck to her mouth. She looked over at the man in front of her, and saw that he was still cutting into his steak.

A thought popped into Gashu's mind. Appearance was an important factor to a date. But if she wanted to sabotage this date, she didn't need to have proper table manners. She pushed etiquette to the back of her mind. She proceeded to clean off the rest of her plates in a remarkable amount of time. After the last bite, Gashu slumped back in her seat and heaved a loud content sigh.

Gashu wiped the corners of her mouth off with a napkin. She considered a loud belch but decided to settle for a smaller one instead. "That was good!"

"You have a healthy appetite." Kaida commented offhandedly.

He didn't look to be very disgusted by Gashu's behavior. In fact, it seemed as though he was approving of it.

Gashu rubbed her hand over her stomach. She'd try a different approach instead. "You and me should fight some time. I'll take it seriously if you take it seriously."

Kaida chewed around his mouthful. Once he swallowed, he cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with the hem of his handkerchief. "I'm not sure when I could arrange something like that."

"Don't you think you owe me a fight?" Gashu asked with a tilt of her head. "I was lookin' forward to it! You already know I can handle myself fine! Come on, Kuno, live a little! You're the one who said you admired my form and all that."

"You can call me Kaida."

Gashu blinked at that. "Alright, if that's what you want, Big Guy. Don't you wanna fight me, Kaida?"

"With my father's absence, taking care of the dojo, my educational career, and tending to other family affairs... my abilities are rather lacking as of late," Kaida informed her. "You're excited for a worthy opponent but I doubt I'll meet your standards. I haven't had enough time to properly practice anymore. I wouldn't be worth the effort."

The double narrowed her eyes onto the man before her. "I don't believe you," she pointed her finger at him. "You can say you're busy all you like. I'm sure you are but you're like me! You always find the time to practice the arts! No way would you let yourself get rusty. You wanna beat your old man one day, don'tcha? And you weren't fighting me seriously! You mean to tell me that you wouldn't be worth the effort if you actually tried? Don't sell yourself short!"

"But I -"

Gashu slammed her fists onto the table and leaned forward in her seat. "No buts about it! You're obviously the guy I've been waiting for!"

Kaida stayed still in his seat, an unreadable expression on his face. "You're... very passionate. Far more passionate than any girl I've ever met."

"This is somethin' I'm passionate about!" Gashu emphasized her words by banging her fists down again. She unclenched her hands and sat on the edge of her seat, while she batted her eyelashes at Kaida. "So, are you going to find the time to schedule me in or what?"

Kaida tugged the handkerchief from his collar and let it fall to his empty plate. "I'll find the time for you, Miss Ryoko."

Gashu beamed. She was barely able to conceal her excitement, her body betrayed her as she bounced in her seat. "You won't regret it, Kaida! I'm pretty sure I'm worth the effort."

When all that remained were empty plates, it wasn't long before the servers returned to clean up the table. After that, dessert came in the form of a slice of strawberry cheesecake. Sprinkled chocolate shavings adorned the cake. A scoop of vanilla ice cream served in a small metal bowl came along with it.

The bites of ice cream were heavenly. Gashu's taste buds danced in ecstasy. She sniffled as she stared up at the ceiling. She thanked whoever above for this memorable and delicious moment. She deserved this. The free food was definitely worth all the trouble. The double was so enchanted with the sweets that it had taken her a moment to realize Kaida had spoken to her.

Kaida offered the double a light smile. He mentioned that he wanted to know what types of martial arts held Gashu's interests.

Gashu's eyes sparkled as she scarfed down the rest of her ice cream. There was a sharp stab of pain in her forehead, thanks to brain freeze. Yet Gashu had already forgotten about it. She was more interested in talking about the brilliant and wonderful art known as: the Saotome Anything Goes style.

Kaida was completely absorbed into the conversation. It seemed that he was familiar with the art, which wasn't anything that was too surprising for the double. There wasn't a lot he knew about these Kunos but they wouldn't be a stranger to other forms of styles.

A server approached Kaida to serve him the bill and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Kaida nodded as he completed the transaction. He looked over toward Gashu once they were alone.

"We've been talking for a while. Much longer than I had anticipated for our allotted time," Kaida announced as he stood to his feet.

Gashu checked the time on her phone. It had been well over an hour since their date had started. Where the hell did the time go? Gashu laughed in embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I didn't think that much time had passed already!"

"Would you like a ride home, Miss Ryoko?" Kaida circled around the table and pulled Gashu's chair back.

"You don't have to do that. I can get home fine on my own," Gashu stood to her feet and tugged her purse strap over her shoulder. "Thanks for the food. It was amazing."

"Thank you for joining me. You were great company."

As they walked out of the restaurant, there was a long white limo pulled up to the curb. The driver was already out, the car door opened, and waited to be able to usher Kaida into the vehicle.

Kaida smiled down at Gashu and shifted so that he now stood in front of her. He kept his hands at his sides and kept his distance. If this had been any other guy, Gashu would've thought that the kendoist was being fresh. That he was trying to get something out of her. Instead, Kaida took another step back and bowed down. This guy was too much of a gentleman.

"I look forward to our fight," Kaida straightened up. "But I look even more forward to our next date."

Gashu nodded in agreement before Kaida's words registered in her head. "Wait, next date? I never -"

A loud ring cut Gashu off. The double struggled not to swear on the spot.

Kaida tugged the sleeve of his suit just to inspect the time on his Rolex watch. With a soft sigh, he gave Gashu an apologetic nod and turned to walk toward the limo. All the while, Kaida took out his phone and answered the call, no doubt already tangled up in a conversation.

Gashu's shoulders dropped, deflating as the limo drove off. I completely forgot about ruining the date.

"I'm so screwed."

X

"How did the saying go? Something like things couldn't get any worse?" There were always a handful of pros and cons to those sorts of things, right?

Gashu rattled her brain, going over what had happened in the last hour or so in her mind. Everything played out exactly the same. Somehow, Gashu, the date extraordinaire, managed to get a second date. A date she didn't even want. She couldn't blame the guy for falling for her. Anyone would given her dazzling personality and devastating good looks. But she still managed to screw everything up.

The way back home filled Gashu with dread after every step. She considered the possibility of not returning home altogether. She had built up an emergency funds for dire situations from Ryuku's tips. A lesson learned from her very own Gramps but in his case the bills he took were from Grandpa Soun.

But she was a Saotome. Saotomes weren't cowards. Unless Gramps was around then the statement was debatable. But the Saotomes met everything and anything head on.

Once the house was in vision, Gashu prepared herself for the worst. She was ready for anything, anytime, and anywhere. Bad date or not, she was ready to defend herself from a certain redhead's wrath. It was what she had grown accustomed on doing ever since she had turned up here. Gashu stepped up to the front door. She unlocked it and turned the doorknob to allow herself inside. Immediately, all the double heard was complete and utter silence.

No one waited up for me? Gashu thought. Isn't that kind of rude?

A ping of annoyance prickled at her being. But she persevered onward and removed her heels with a relieved sigh.

Wasn't Ryuku even a little bit interested on hearing about the date? Then again, it wasn't like she had any good news to deliver. This was no doubt for the best.

The redhead was most likely holed up in his room. Getting chewed over her latest massive failure could wait until tomorrow. Gashu took a moment to check the time on her phone. She closed the door shut behind her and locked it. It was around the time for Akane to get back home from work. Usually, the most Akane did was prepare an instant meal for dinner. Then, she dragged herself upstairs to her room to sleep off the day.

Gashu made her way over to the staircase and climbed up the steps. Since no one was there to welcome her home, all Gashu had to deal with were the eventual repercussions of the date. Yuzuna was definitely not going to be happy. Then again, the double hadn't ever seen the cheerleader happy. It was ironic considering cheerleaders were the epitome of sunshine and positivity.

There was the slightest chance that Kaida kept his mouth shut. He came across as a private person. He had that air of mystery surrounding him. Chicks always dug that sort of things with guys. The Kuno siblings couldn't tell each other everything going on in their lives.

Heaving a sigh, Gashu dropped her head forward. Oh, who the heck am I kidding? That Yuzuna chick is probably already planning on how to send me to my deathbed.

After the day she had what she needed was a nice, long bath. Gashu pushed all the nagging thoughts to the back of her mind. She could dwell on the matter later, when she was in her futon and struggling to fall asleep.

Gashu nodded to herself, pleased with that aspect her mind gave her, and slipped into her bedroom. Right now, what was more important was getting out of this dress. The heels of her feet ached from those monstrous high heels. The added height and elegance of girl-y footwear were definitely not worth it. The makeup on her face had to go asap. The products gunked together over the surface of her face. It felt like the concoction of products caked onto her skin. It was all too tempting to collapse onto the bed. But there was no way she was going to risk getting premature wrinkles.

Gashu tossed her purse to the side and fiddled with the zipper on the back of her dress. She kicked the door shut behind her while she untied the bow and tugged the zipper halfway down her back.

Gashu shifted on her feet. She wanted to face the futon to gaze at it but stopped when her eyes fell onto what was on her bed. Or, rather, the feline that was taking up temporary residence in the middle of her futon. A purple cat, Ryuku's damn cat, stared up at Gashu with big doe eyes. To anyone else, seeing this might've melted their hearts and caused them to coo at such a cute sight. For Gashu, the reaction was the exact opposite. The last thing she needed to deal with was some dumb cat. The double pushed down the urge to hurl the cat out into the hallway. She glared at the feline with annoyance as she checked to see if it had shed all over her blankets.

The cat's tail swished behind it.

If Gashu didn't know any better, she'd think that the cat was scrutinizing her. Gashu shook the thought away. "As if the cat had the brains to do anything like that." she scoffed. Gashu scrunched her nose up in distaste and adjusted her dress to cover up her shoulders. She was about to give a show to some slippery, sneaky little puss.

Gashu crouched down in front of the cat. "You're not a very smart cat, are you?" she asked, not bothering to conceal her snide tone. "This isn't Ryuku's room, you know."

It looked like the cat wasn't going to move on its own. Gashu had no choice but to make it move herself.

Her actions ended as soon as they started. The double bit back a yelp as her hands had gotten slashed and scratched up.

The animal's true nature showed itself. The cat hissed and bared its sharp teeth at Gashu. Its fur stood on end as its tail lashed about every so often.

Small bursts of pain from the scratches were enough for Gashu to hiss back at the cat. She wasn't above snapping her teeth herself. Gashu glanced over the red lines forming over her fingers. A handful of slash marks blossomed over her palms as well.

She gave the cat a dirty look. "You better hope these don't leave a scar."

The small altercation wasn't enough to deter Gashu from trying again. Using the element of surprise, her arms shot out as she grabbed for the cat.

The animal appeared to have other thoughts as it bounced away and out of Gashu's reach. The cat charged forward as Gashu leaned forward to make another grab for it. The animal swiped its claws at Gashu's face.

Gashu gritted her teeth together but ignored the pain.

It was an odd role reversal of cat and mouse. One that Gashu didn't find to be particularly humorous.

The pesky thing escaped from Gashu's grasps.

Gashu surged forward. Driven by the eventual satisfaction of catching the smarmy feline filled the double with unbridled glee. It wasn't until Gashu was almost covered in claw marks that she had to rethink her next course of action. Gashu scrambled away from the cat. She evaded another onslaught of cat claws. She narrowed her eyes into slits at the dumb animal.

The cat mewled and stretched out onto the futon. It sank its claws into the material.

The double definitely wasn't seeing things that time.

There was a smug glint in the cat's eyes.

"Oh, you rotten little -" Gashu snapped her mouth shut with a restrained growl. Her jaw clenched as she stomped her foot in frustration. This wasn't going anywhere. All she had managed to do was ruin her face. "Fine! You can stay here then! Stupid cat! I'll deal with your hairy ass when I get back."

She muttered curses under her breath. The double went to the closet and sorted through her clothing for her usual sleepwear. Gashu turned on her heels with a huff and exited the room.

What a rotten night! Gashu thought. She tried not to outright stomp down the hallway to vent her frustrations. I don't get it. Why do bad things always have to happen to good people?

The sliding door closed with a satisfying click. Gashu placed her clothes onto the dryer and finished getting undressed. The mirror propped onto the adjacent wall revealed to the double the damage done by the cat. It looked as bad as they had felt. There were angry red scratch marks littered all over her once flawless, pale skin.

"Ugh! That stupid - no wonder Pops hates cats!" Gashu picked up a small basket filled with bath accessories and entered the washroom.

Her first stop was the furo. She twisted a knob, and watched, with mild interest, as warm water gushed into the tub. She dipped the tip of her fingers into the water to test the temperature. She smiled at the pleasing warmth that hugged her fingertips. Gashu cut off the water and dragged a stool over to the shower. Water cascaded from the shower head in countless droplets. Shivering, Gashu rinsed herself off. Makeup rinsed off with plenty of soap and water.

Another shiver ran through Gashu as she shut off the shower head. She brushed her hair back and off her forehead. With a content sigh, she settled back onto the stool.

A thud on the other side of the sliding door drew Gashu's attention from her contentment. Alarmed, the double moved to see what had caused the noise. She peeked into the laundry room. She groaned in annoyance at the mess of clothes that had tumbled and fallen all over the floor. That'd teach her for leaving the laundry basket onto such a wobbly table. Gashu would deal with the mess later. The furo was calling her name and she couldn't keep it waiting.

Gashu took a step back, only to jolt when she felt something furry brush past against her legs. The double jumped back. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the furo. She turned around in time to see that pesky purple cat walking along the edge of the furo.

"What're you -" Gashu cut off the rest of her sentence and dived toward the cat without a second thought.

The cat was a few seconds quicker and jumped into the furo. In her haste, Gashu reached the furo and saw the only thing that hadn't made it into the water yet was the animal's tail. She made a grab for it but her reaction time had gone against her and she missed completely. Gashu pressed herself against the furo and stared down into the water for any sign of the animal to pop back up.

"I thoughts cats hated water."

The seconds passing by were becoming one too many. It didn't look like the cat was about to come out on its own.

She'd pull the cat out herself and toss the stupid animal outside. She wasn't about to let this cat ruin her precious bath time.

The cat looked like it was about to resurface.

There was a shadow in the water. Gashu leaned forward to get a closer look. It's awfully big for a cat that small, Gashu thought.

She was completely overtaken by a splash. The splash was much bigger than Gashu had anticipated. Warm water engulfed the double's body.

The slipperiness of the floor caused Gashu to lose his footing and he fell onto his rear end. His hair was heavy with water. He shook his head in an attempt to lighten the weight. What had caused so much water to come out of the furo? The cat was such a small annoying monster.

"Who are you?"

At the sudden sound of a voice, Gashu lifted his head up and met a familiar face peering down at him from the edge of the furo.

"L-Lotion?" warmth filled his cheeks as he turned his head away from the amazon. His hands flew forward to cover his crotch. "What are you - What the heck's going on?"

The double didn't wait to hear Lotion's reply. He rushed to his feet, almost slipping, as he bolted for the washroom. He needed to find some clothes for the both of them. Asap. Without going back into the washroom, Gashu left out some clothes that had been sitting in the dryer. To give Lotion some privacy, he shut the sliding door. He focused on drying himself off and getting dressed himself. Now wasn't the time to start panicking.

It wasn't long before Lotion emerged from the washroom. She was now donned in a loose shirt, which barely fit her thin frame and basketball shorts. Her long purple tresses spilled over her shoulders in tendrils. The water soaked the material of the shirt. Purple eyes locked with shocked dark blue ones.

In an aura of utter calmness, Lotion strolled over to Gashu until she was standing before him. "I'm the one asking the questions here," she announced, tone terse and curt. "And I expect to hear good answers."

X

The St. Hebereke's gymnastics team was well-known. Their winning streak in the world of rhythmic gymnastics was legendary. Their strenuous practice sessions received a nod of acknowledgement, too.

The school's gymnasium was a perfect location to practice without any distractions. The team captain, Katana, never wasted a single minute. Like mother like daughter, the gymnast would stop at nothing to assure utter victory. But a true victory would happen the day that treacherous Saotome left Nerima forever. The outcome of their first battle showed a lack of desirable results. But all that mattered was when Katana would become victorious. That fateful day would come soon enough when his own doings would lead to his imminent demise.

Katana turned to her shooting targets that were lined up against a wall of the gymnasium. There were paper targets taped in place and arranged at alternating heights, along with practice dummies as well.

Katana's grip tightened around the handle of the club in her hand. Her eyes narrowed onto a target laid out in the center. It already had a rather sizable crater in the middle of it. The gymnast would hit the target until she reached a desired result.

She slipped into a proper stance, raised her right arm into the air, and prepared herself for the next throw. Steady your breathing, eyes on target, and throw!

A loud bang caused Katana to stumble and her stance crumbled. A chorus of loud, booming, music penetrated the sanctity of the gymnasium. The gymnast jolted out of her calm state of mind.

Katana whirled around on her heels to face the intruders. She readied her club to hurl at whoever dared to interrupt practice. Her team knew better than to invite any of their friends, family, or significant others to watch. Katana believed she made her message quite clear the last time someone had failed to listen.

The cause of the bang were the gym doors which slammed wide open. Three cheerleaders cartwheeled into the room and tossed their pom poms into the air. Two others followed suit and wheeled in a large boom box. A powerful ballad echoed inside the gym.

"Oh, Katana!" a distressed, tearful voiced cried out throughout the gym. "It's awful! So awful!"

Katana lowered her weapon as her lips formed into a frown. The club landed onto the floor with a clack as Katana was pulled into a tight embrace. The only person who could have caused such a display could be no one other than her older cousin, Yuzuna. Katana placed her arm around the distressed cheerleader. Katana patted at her back and rubbed her palm over her uniform in small, soothing circles.

Yuzuna buried her face against Katana' shoulder. Her shoulders shook from how hard she was sobbing.

Katana's heart ached to see the poor girl so upset. "Dearest cousin, what on Earth happened to cause you such distress?"

Over Yuzuna's shoulder, Katana glanced around the gym. She had noticed the change of atmosphere around her. Yuzuna's cheerleaders huddled together with their pom-poms. The girls appeared to be in mourning about something themselves. It was easy to assume that it related to whatever had caused Yuzuna's tears. But her team should know better than to stop with their drills. Her teams' eyes were on the captain and the cheerleader.

Katana eased away from Yuzuna. She whistled to grab her team's attention and sent a glare in every girl's direction. "What are you girls doing? There is nothing to see here. Get back to work!"

Over the volume of music, the sharp smack of clubs connected with targets. Ribbons snapped against the gym floor.

Katana turned back toward her cousin. She led Yuzuna over to the bleachers to let the poor girl take a seat. Katana moved to ruffle through her duffel bag and retrieved a clean towel for Yuzuna to use to dry her tears.

Yuzuna accepted the towel with a few quiet words of gratitude. The cheerleader dabbed at the corner of her eyes and made a gesture with her other hand.

The cheerleaders responded by cutting off the music.

Silence blanketed the gym but Katana's team continued to practice.

Katana lowered her voice to ask. "What happened?"

"It's terrible!" Yuzuna clutched at the towel. "You know those awful girls who always come to the dojo? One of them, oh goodness, I can't bear to say it. One of them... won! Kaida, he's. He came back from his date but he. He," her voice broke with a whimper. Yuzuna ripped the towel in half and buried her face into her palms. "He had a wonderful time! That floosy lied to me! She lied! Liar!"

"Who lied to you? Who dared to deceive you?" Katana asked. Her tone short of a demand. "What's going on?"

"That, oh, I don't even want to repeat her name!" Yuzuna lifted her head up from her hands. "Ryoko! She told me she was in a loving, committed relationship with her boyfriend. She told me she didn't even want to go on a date with Kaida. She didn't keep her word! I knew she had an ulterior motive. They always have an ulterior motive to get to my dear, naive brother."

"Ryoko?" Katana's hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. "That treacherous fiend's sister? She's tangled cousin Kaida into her web of deception? Must that entire family sully the Kuno name as well? Will they stop at nothing?"

Katana stomped over to where she had discarded her club from earlier. She shifted into the best stance to give her the most efficient throwing power. The club whizzed through the air at a fast speed. The club connected with the desired target, dead center and the target shattered to countless pieces. The throw would've pleased the gymnast but did little to calm the waves of her resentment. Katana returned to her cousin.

Yuzuna folded and then unfolded the pieces of the towel on her lap. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked with a defeated sniffle.

"First, we must devise a plan," Katana suggested, nodding with herself in agreement. "We need to figure out who Ryoko is close to any friends and family members, and capture every single one of them. I can get Sasuke to -"

"Oh no, I don't want to something like that," Yuzuna waved Katana's suggestion off in a dismissive manner. She pushed the remains of the towel off of her lap and crossed her legs. "That'll take way too long. I want to take care of this right now. Besides," the cheerleader paused to toss her hair over her shoulder. "It's not like that plan worked out so well for you."

Katana crossed her arms over her chest. "Then what do you suggest, Yuzuna?"

"Well, Ryoko did mention that she has a boyfriend," Yuzuna pointed out. "She was very against the idea of going on the date because of that. Of course, she's a two-faced liar but that still means something, doesn't it?"

"Oh, I see," Katana tapped her fingers against her bicep. A thoughtful look washed over her face as she canted her hips. "Alright. We abduct her lowlife boyfriend. That's an excellent plan. I can get Sasuke to -"

"No, I have something better than that!" Yuzuna bounced up to her feet. Her face brightened with excitement. She hopped off of the bleachers and landed onto the floor. "I'll tell him what happened myself! That his beloved cheated on him with Kaida. She'll be completely crushed, completely heartbroken when he dumps her. Honesty is the best policy, after all. Wouldn't you agree, Katana?"

Katana made no attempt to hide her disappointment. "I suppose that would be the best course of action," she ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh. "I'll assist you in your endeavors, dearest cousin. However, if there's the slightest chance of a change in plans then I'll be sure to come up with something far more... effective."

"Nonsense! This plan is foolproof!" Yuzuna laughed in delight. She pulled her cousin in for another hug and bounced up and down in place. "We'll teach that hussy a thing or two!"

"While I always enjoy your visits, Yuzuna dear, I am still quite busy." Katana placed her hands onto Yuzuna's shoulders. "We have a tournament coming up within the following weeks. I simply must get back to practicing."

"I won't keep you from your precious practice, Katana." Yuzuna winked in Katana's direction. She cupped her hands around her mouth and exclaimed. "Come on, girls! We're O-U-T of here!" With a departing wave, Yuzuna left the gymnasium with a skip to her step.

The cheerleaders made their own exit. They cartwheeled out of the area with the boom box wheeled out as well.

Katana waited until the gym doors slammed shut. With a soft sigh, she turned her attention back onto the wall of targets. She pictured that foul imposter in place of the practice dummy before her. She'd take Ryuku down a peg or two. Ryuku nor his sister wouldn't be able to harm her family. Not without suffering dire consequences.

Katana pierced the dummy with a handful of spiked clubs. "Wait until I get my hands on you, imposter."