Chapter 2: Plotting, Planning, Paranoia!
(About two A.M. that night)
*ring! ring! ring!*
Miyako turned over and groped for the phone, pricked her finger on the pencil sticking out of it, then finally managed to grab the handset.
"'ello?" she said, irritably. Two A.M. was not her best time, as Koushiro would well know. "'whoisit 'n whaddawant?"
"It's Hikari, you idiot! I just had an absolutely brilliant beyond brilliant idea!!!"
"Urgh... Didyanow? CanyatellmeinthemorningKarithanks." She flung the handset at the rest of the phone, rolling over she sat bolt upright. This was her opportunity to get Hikari to stop trying to get her and Ken together! Was she insane?? Well--that was another matter...
*ring! ring! ri--
Hikari swooped up the phone, "Miyako!" Hikari was more than a bit sugared up, and she had spent the night watching movies and trying to think up something. The girl had become obsessed. She had also become incredibly hyper.
"Yeah, 'kari, so what's the bright idea?"
"WellIwaswatchingOuttoSeaandIthoughtitwouldbeagood--
"God, Hikari, you KNOW you aren't supposed to eat that many Swedish Fish.... Please slow down."
"To hell with the Swedish Fish."
"Do Swedish Fish have a hell all to themselves? I mean, is it just for Swedish fish, or is there a communal one for all vaguely gummy-like candy?"
"Remind me never to call you late at night."
"I called you, and its early in the morning."
"Yeah, well, I thought maybe we could send them on a romantic cruise, you know?"
"Hey...Not a bad idea. They'd be all alone on the ship, and who knows what could happen?"
"Alone?" Hikari giggled "They'd only think they were alone. I'm gonna get Koushiro to wire the ship, so we know exactly what's happening. I'm not missing this date!"
"Cool! I can get Jyou to rent the boat... I think his uncle works down by the docks. One thing though... how do we first get them on the boat in the first place? What do we tell them?"
"Hmmmmm..." Hikari hummed thoughtfully. She snapped her fingers "Got it! Why tell them anything? We just send out two invitations, and Bingo!"
"That's my line. Now you've got me hungry for Swedish Fish and worried about my candy's eternal well-being. Remind me not to call you this early in the morning."
"I thought I called you."
**************************************************************
"This boat is absolutely perfect Jyou! Thank you so much for getting it for us!" Hikari beamed, with Miyako, Koushiro, Takeru, Iori (who were now in on the plot) and about 100 pounds of video equipment aboard the Murphy's Dream.
Miyako turned to the cutaway map of the boat. "Now then," she said, pointing out areas to Koushiro. "We should rig a couple of cameras here-and-here and-here in the dining room... and here, on the deck....and--Jyou? Why is there a bedroom on the ship?"
"Er...Well...Mimi always hated the long plane ride to Japan...."
Koushiro went beet-red. "WHAT ARE YOU INSINUATING WITH THAT???"
Miyako followed suit, and soon Hikari, Takeru and Iori were forced to break up the three-way strangle-a-thon.
Takeru smiled. "Let's put a couple cameras in the bedroom too, hm?" He arched an eyebrow. Hikari face-faulted.
"Urk?? Don't tell me you want to see that!?" Hikari was almost ready to join Miyako, Koushiro and Jyou in their throttling, but restrained herself, when Takeru hastily retracted that.
"Ah--no, of course not, Hikari, dear...But think of the blackmail it'd make!" Takeru said, become nervous again as that "I'm-in-a-destructive-mood-watch-out" smile flashed over Hikari's features.
"Ok, then. Koushiro, Miyako, you're in charge of rigging the ship up, Jyou, you need to make sure all the help is here and accounted for and knows what to do. I, unfortunately, have a family gathering tomorrow night, so you," Hikari pointed to Iori, "and you," she pointed to Takeru "will be monitoring their every actions in the control center Koushiro has so kindly set up in the boat house. Got it?"
The rest of the Chosen nodded weakly. They were cowed by that evil smile. Moo.
Miyako handed two cards to Iori. "And Iori, would you mind delivering these to Ken and Daisuke?" Iori bowed.
"No problem"
***************************************************************
Jyou Kido paced nervously. He had been searching for hours, and he was still short a captain. Now he was god-knows-where around the docks and smelling strongly of fish. If it wasn't for that awful I-can-screw-up-your-life-so-bad-so-don't-screw-with-me smile on Hikari's face, he would have never agreed to this.
"Dammit!! Urgh! Where in Hades am I going to find a captain before tomorrow night??" He stamped his foot. Wherever he was, it was a rather dark and dingy alley. He heard scratching nearby in the rubble. Ohno...Not a rat. Jyou was already at the hurling point from stress and was afraid a rat would push him over the edge.
It wasn't a rat, for it was as big as Jyou, and had a patch over one eye, but from his appearance, he might as well have been. Jyou began to hyperventilate, his paranoia taking over. Not that this was unusual.
"Heard ya was looking for a captain, eh?" the old man said, his voice somewhat like the rusty gutter that was his residence. Jyou was looking for an escape at this point, but he was so desperate he decided to hear the crazy coot out.
"Urm...Yeah. I was," he managed to ek out. Silently he cursed Hikari and her god-awful life-screwing plans.
"Heh-heh, sonny, yer looking at one! Proud master of the Mary Catherine!" At this, Jyou started. The Mary Catherine? He knew he had heard of it...but he couldn't place where. Who cares? If he didn't get a captain soon, he had a feeling he would be volunteered as the prow-head. Urk.
" Ok, good. I'll pay you--" Jyou cut off. What did you offer to pay an insane bum?? "Why don't you make an offer?"
"I'll work for two bottles of good rum, sonny. Up front. Aye?" The man had acquired a parrot in the ten seconds that Jyou had been thinking. He didn't want to know where it came from. His eye patch had switched eyes too.
Now Jyou was a paranoid, and he figured that giving the "cap't" the rum beforehand was probably singing a death warrant for Ken and Daisuke...But at this point, he was so frazzled he could give a shit less. "Yeah. Sure. Meet me here." He was about to scribble an address on a piece of paper, then thought the better of it. "Meet me at the ship yard, in the big house, ok? I'll have your rum, and we'll get you acquainted with the ship, all right?"
He could only guess the old man understood, since he seemed to have fallen asleep standing up. "Oy vay.." he muttered under his breath as he went to leave and the parrot began cursing at him with an impressive vocabulary.
***************************************************************
Iori was having a bit of a problem (isn't everyone in this story?). Due to his height, (or lack thereof) he couldn't seem to get the invitation into Daisuke's mail slot.
At Ken's house, he'd had a similar problem, but Ken's mom had taken it and promised not to tell Ken who delivered it.
Iori sighed. "What am I gonna do? I have to make sure he gets it...but I also need to make sure he doesn't know I delivered it. I can't trust Jun farther than I can throw her..." And though Iori had done remarkably well on the discus, he doubted that he could throw Jun very far. Giving up, he shoved the letter unceremoniously into the flowerpot and hoped for the best. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. He decided to go to the Murphy's Dream to see how Koushiro, Miyako and Takeru were getting on with the wiring of the ship. He just prayed Hikari wasn't there. The girl was seriously starting to scare him.
(About two A.M. that night)
*ring! ring! ring!*
Miyako turned over and groped for the phone, pricked her finger on the pencil sticking out of it, then finally managed to grab the handset.
"'ello?" she said, irritably. Two A.M. was not her best time, as Koushiro would well know. "'whoisit 'n whaddawant?"
"It's Hikari, you idiot! I just had an absolutely brilliant beyond brilliant idea!!!"
"Urgh... Didyanow? CanyatellmeinthemorningKarithanks." She flung the handset at the rest of the phone, rolling over she sat bolt upright. This was her opportunity to get Hikari to stop trying to get her and Ken together! Was she insane?? Well--that was another matter...
*ring! ring! ri--
Hikari swooped up the phone, "Miyako!" Hikari was more than a bit sugared up, and she had spent the night watching movies and trying to think up something. The girl had become obsessed. She had also become incredibly hyper.
"Yeah, 'kari, so what's the bright idea?"
"WellIwaswatchingOuttoSeaandIthoughtitwouldbeagood--
"God, Hikari, you KNOW you aren't supposed to eat that many Swedish Fish.... Please slow down."
"To hell with the Swedish Fish."
"Do Swedish Fish have a hell all to themselves? I mean, is it just for Swedish fish, or is there a communal one for all vaguely gummy-like candy?"
"Remind me never to call you late at night."
"I called you, and its early in the morning."
"Yeah, well, I thought maybe we could send them on a romantic cruise, you know?"
"Hey...Not a bad idea. They'd be all alone on the ship, and who knows what could happen?"
"Alone?" Hikari giggled "They'd only think they were alone. I'm gonna get Koushiro to wire the ship, so we know exactly what's happening. I'm not missing this date!"
"Cool! I can get Jyou to rent the boat... I think his uncle works down by the docks. One thing though... how do we first get them on the boat in the first place? What do we tell them?"
"Hmmmmm..." Hikari hummed thoughtfully. She snapped her fingers "Got it! Why tell them anything? We just send out two invitations, and Bingo!"
"That's my line. Now you've got me hungry for Swedish Fish and worried about my candy's eternal well-being. Remind me not to call you this early in the morning."
"I thought I called you."
**************************************************************
"This boat is absolutely perfect Jyou! Thank you so much for getting it for us!" Hikari beamed, with Miyako, Koushiro, Takeru, Iori (who were now in on the plot) and about 100 pounds of video equipment aboard the Murphy's Dream.
Miyako turned to the cutaway map of the boat. "Now then," she said, pointing out areas to Koushiro. "We should rig a couple of cameras here-and-here and-here in the dining room... and here, on the deck....and--Jyou? Why is there a bedroom on the ship?"
"Er...Well...Mimi always hated the long plane ride to Japan...."
Koushiro went beet-red. "WHAT ARE YOU INSINUATING WITH THAT???"
Miyako followed suit, and soon Hikari, Takeru and Iori were forced to break up the three-way strangle-a-thon.
Takeru smiled. "Let's put a couple cameras in the bedroom too, hm?" He arched an eyebrow. Hikari face-faulted.
"Urk?? Don't tell me you want to see that!?" Hikari was almost ready to join Miyako, Koushiro and Jyou in their throttling, but restrained herself, when Takeru hastily retracted that.
"Ah--no, of course not, Hikari, dear...But think of the blackmail it'd make!" Takeru said, become nervous again as that "I'm-in-a-destructive-mood-watch-out" smile flashed over Hikari's features.
"Ok, then. Koushiro, Miyako, you're in charge of rigging the ship up, Jyou, you need to make sure all the help is here and accounted for and knows what to do. I, unfortunately, have a family gathering tomorrow night, so you," Hikari pointed to Iori, "and you," she pointed to Takeru "will be monitoring their every actions in the control center Koushiro has so kindly set up in the boat house. Got it?"
The rest of the Chosen nodded weakly. They were cowed by that evil smile. Moo.
Miyako handed two cards to Iori. "And Iori, would you mind delivering these to Ken and Daisuke?" Iori bowed.
"No problem"
***************************************************************
Jyou Kido paced nervously. He had been searching for hours, and he was still short a captain. Now he was god-knows-where around the docks and smelling strongly of fish. If it wasn't for that awful I-can-screw-up-your-life-so-bad-so-don't-screw-with-me smile on Hikari's face, he would have never agreed to this.
"Dammit!! Urgh! Where in Hades am I going to find a captain before tomorrow night??" He stamped his foot. Wherever he was, it was a rather dark and dingy alley. He heard scratching nearby in the rubble. Ohno...Not a rat. Jyou was already at the hurling point from stress and was afraid a rat would push him over the edge.
It wasn't a rat, for it was as big as Jyou, and had a patch over one eye, but from his appearance, he might as well have been. Jyou began to hyperventilate, his paranoia taking over. Not that this was unusual.
"Heard ya was looking for a captain, eh?" the old man said, his voice somewhat like the rusty gutter that was his residence. Jyou was looking for an escape at this point, but he was so desperate he decided to hear the crazy coot out.
"Urm...Yeah. I was," he managed to ek out. Silently he cursed Hikari and her god-awful life-screwing plans.
"Heh-heh, sonny, yer looking at one! Proud master of the Mary Catherine!" At this, Jyou started. The Mary Catherine? He knew he had heard of it...but he couldn't place where. Who cares? If he didn't get a captain soon, he had a feeling he would be volunteered as the prow-head. Urk.
" Ok, good. I'll pay you--" Jyou cut off. What did you offer to pay an insane bum?? "Why don't you make an offer?"
"I'll work for two bottles of good rum, sonny. Up front. Aye?" The man had acquired a parrot in the ten seconds that Jyou had been thinking. He didn't want to know where it came from. His eye patch had switched eyes too.
Now Jyou was a paranoid, and he figured that giving the "cap't" the rum beforehand was probably singing a death warrant for Ken and Daisuke...But at this point, he was so frazzled he could give a shit less. "Yeah. Sure. Meet me here." He was about to scribble an address on a piece of paper, then thought the better of it. "Meet me at the ship yard, in the big house, ok? I'll have your rum, and we'll get you acquainted with the ship, all right?"
He could only guess the old man understood, since he seemed to have fallen asleep standing up. "Oy vay.." he muttered under his breath as he went to leave and the parrot began cursing at him with an impressive vocabulary.
***************************************************************
Iori was having a bit of a problem (isn't everyone in this story?). Due to his height, (or lack thereof) he couldn't seem to get the invitation into Daisuke's mail slot.
At Ken's house, he'd had a similar problem, but Ken's mom had taken it and promised not to tell Ken who delivered it.
Iori sighed. "What am I gonna do? I have to make sure he gets it...but I also need to make sure he doesn't know I delivered it. I can't trust Jun farther than I can throw her..." And though Iori had done remarkably well on the discus, he doubted that he could throw Jun very far. Giving up, he shoved the letter unceremoniously into the flowerpot and hoped for the best. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. He decided to go to the Murphy's Dream to see how Koushiro, Miyako and Takeru were getting on with the wiring of the ship. He just prayed Hikari wasn't there. The girl was seriously starting to scare him.