Retreat into Hell
By Sarah-chan
Part 2A
Note: I mean no disrespect for the French. I've been to Paris,
met some WONDERFUL people there, and over all it is an absolutely
GORGEOUS country. But stereotypes are like, so much fun to write
anyways. They don't really count.
The stereotype for Americans are cowboy outfits, valley girls and
cheerleaders, blonde hair and blue eyes, but we don't go around
screaming at the top of our lungs to say, "WE'RE NOT THAT WAY!!!"
That's not true! I constantly have to keep down the urge to
attach spurs to my Adidas... well... I WISH I had Adidas.
Some people take things WAY too seriously... and personally.
Oh, and consider the lesson on bees REAL. My uncle owns some, so
I've seen them in action. The info's a bit vague, since it's
been a while, so it's not enough to write a term paper on, in
case you're trying, but it's accurate enough for quaint dinner
conversation... not really!!
ENJOY!
* * * * * *
--Day 1--
Yaten woke up screaming when a loud horn blew in his ear,
and a bucket of ice cold water was poured onto his face.
"WHAT THE----!!!!!!!!"
"Rise and shine!! You over slept! It's four minutes
after 6:00! You'll be paying for it now!"
"Oh my God, this has to be a nightmare."
"A nightmare?" Furui poked himself and shook his head. "'Fraid not, my boy! Come on, up! UP!"
Yaten scrambled to his feet when he heard two more
distinctive screams from the other room.
"MY EYES!!!"
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
"Hey, this is more fun than I thought it would be!"
There was a laugh and, "One of the highlights of my day."
"Can I do it again tomorrow, San-san?"
"Absolutely. As long as you're the first person to wake
up."
"You're such a sweetie for getting me up early."
"Don't mention it. It was my pleasure."
Yaten groaned, but was kicked into the hall way, and
bounced off of Seiya as he was shoved out of his own room.
"Hey! What kind of service is this?!" screamed Yaten.
"Only the best!" said Furui.
"THIS is what we paid for?!" cried Taiki. "Where's the
sleeping in until noon?"
"NOON?!" Furui's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?
That's unthinkable. Oh, and no refunds! Sorry!"
Yaten turned and shot daggers in Minako's direction.
"What did you get us into?"
Minako grinned widely. "I know, isn't this great?"
"BWEAKFHAST!" called a loud booming voice. Seiya without
thinking ran to the kitchen, while Taiki stumbled after him.
"WHERE AH ZE RHEST OF ZE BRAHTS?! I DU NOT HAHVE TIME TO WAIHT
FOR LEETLE KIDDIES!"
"Coming, Itamae-san!" called San.
"ZE NAME IS *MONSEIUR CHEF* YOU BAHSTARD SON OF A PIG!"
"Ah! He's on a good day, today!" Furui said happily and
left with San down the hallway, leaving Yaten and Minako alone.
Yaten glared at her.
"I'll never forgive you."
"Oh, posh! Of course you will. And you haven't said
anything about my outfit!"
"What is this? Lara Croft Day?" he asked, narrowing his
eyes.
She looked down at her tight tank top and khaki shorts,
and looked back to Yaten with a sultry smile.
"Maybe," she said, and quickly honed in to give him a
light peck on the lips "Come on! Furui-sama has the day all
planned out. You'll love it!"
And she was gone with a squeal. Yaten blinked a few
times before realizing what had just happened and realizing he
hadn't reacted at all. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he
scream at her in protest and insult her until his fury finally
died down?
"That dream," he muttered, and shuddering he walked down
the hall, shaking the horrible image of Minako's broken eyes.
His palms pressed into his stomach, and he closed his
eyes, the air becoming suddenly still as he thought of that dream
. So real it was scary... the feel of her body, of her hair
sliding between his fingers...
*Yaten no baka... what have you gotten yourself into?
She's an annoying idol chaser who's chasing three men at one time
. That's all. She's just like the rest of them. Yeah, that's
right. Just another face in the crowd...*
Meanwhile, Minako fell lightly against a wall around the
corner, closed her eyes dreamily, and congratulated herself on a
job well done.
*If he doesn't want to kiss you, then YOU kiss him. Take
the initiative! That's what the dream was telling me. Don't let
a guy think in instances like those. ESPECIALLY Yaten. And
Taiki. And Seiya... oh joy. I have my work cut out for me.*
And as she walked down the hallway, her heart dropped a
little at the prospect of seducing three men. She had always
been a one man kind of a girl, right?
*Well... Besides Hawkseye and Snakeseye... and... Silly!
That was the past! No more looking back! Only forward! Onward
March! The more love, the better!*
* * * * * *
Yaten entered the kitchen, and began to walk to the table
where everybody else was, until a very large man in a chef's
uniform blocked his way.
"DIHD YU NOT HEAR ME WHEN AH CALLHED YU?"
"E-excuse me?"
"AH SLAVE AWAY IN FRONHT UV A HOHT STOHVE FORH *YU*, AHND
YU HAHVE ZE INSOLENCE TO JUHST TAKE YUR TAHME AND WAHLK IN HERE
AS EEF YU OWN ZIS KITCHEN."
"I-"
"NUH NUH NUH!! AH DU NOT HAHVE TO TAKE YOUR INSULHTS!
NO SOUP FOR YOU!"
"Wha-"
"SILENCE!!!"
"Eep!"
Yaten quickly rushed to the table and sat down next to
Seiya, his stomach grumbling as he eyes the miso soup in front of
the raven haired boy. Seiya's eyes narrowed and he quickly
finished off his breakfast. Yaten groaned.
"I see you've met Monsieur Chef," said Mariko happily.
Yaten dropped his head onto the table.
"Good! Everybody's here!"
San and Mariko were standing on either side of the old
man. Seiya was getting an extra helping of breakfast, while Taiki
tried inhaling lots of oxygen to calm his nerves down.
Unfortunately, he only got high and began giggling at the button
on his shirt while hyperventilating at the prospect of a
bazillion hairy, gushy, insects racing towards him with stinging
swords on their butts.
Minako was leaning against the poor guy, soothingly
rubbing his back and murmuring words of reassurance. He hated to
admit he was actually calming down by that soft hand. Meanwhile,
Yaten watching Minako in her Lara Croft cosplay outfit, minus the
guns, scowling at her intimacy with Taiki.
"So," said Furui. "Today is the day for nourishment of
the body... and no, not THAT kind." Taiki began to giggle
hysterically, and breathed in the mountain air to stop, only to
get more oxygen rushing to his brain.
Furui didn't notice. "We'll be breaking up into pairs.
Mariko will take Taiki to the beehives to harvest honey. Seiya
will pair up with San to do yard work, and Yaten will come with me
to care for the animals. We'll meet back here to have lunch at
two, and then--"
"Whoa whoa whoa," stuttered Seiya, food dropping out of
his mouth. "What's this about WORK? This is a retreat, right?
Time to relax, get tan, do ANYTHING but work."
"R-right!" said Taiki.
"Really!" cried Yaten. "WORKING was not part of the plan.
Your flyer never said anything about cleaning up some animal's
WASTE."
"To ease a soul, one must ease the body," said Furui, and
dropping a pair of Oakley sunglasses onto his nose, he grinned
and walked away, beckoning for a seething Yaten to follow him.
The shortest Light turned to Minako and jabbed a finger
out at her. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! You were the one who made
the reservations!"
"Hey," said Minako waving her hands at him in defense.
"You agreed to come!"
"Well maybe if you checked your information instead of
touching every man you see--"
"I do not!"
"You do too!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"When did I?!"
"What was that with Taiki just a minute ago, huh?"
Suddenly, it dawned on Minako.
"Are you jealous?" She fluttered her eyelashes, causing
Yaten to sputter.
"Of course not!" he cried, and calmed his aura down.
"What's in this for you, huh? What do you want so badly--"
"Which reminds me!" cried Furui, spinning around.
"Minako-san, will you help Itamae-san make lunch?"
"ZAT IZ MONSIEUR _CHEF_, YU FAHRT OF A MAHN. HAOW MENY
TYMES DU I... HAHFTUTELL YU?!"
The chef stood at the entrance of the doorway, holding a
large knife in one hand, and twisting a thin moustache angrily
with his other, his large poofy white chef's hat tilted to be
looking oh so chic.
"Right, right, Itamae-san," said Furui, and dragged Yaten
away from the angry chef's glare, off to the bird sanctuary.
His demonic gaze turned to Minako, and the girl suddenly
felt very very small. He whipped a knifepoint in her direction,
still twisting his moustache.
"YU THAR, LEETLE GIRHL! DU YU KNOW HAOW TU PREEPAR ZEE... _AH_,
HOWDUYUSAY... BLOWFEESH."
"B-Blowfish? Isn't that a little dangerous to make?"
"ZE PROHBLEHMS, ZE PROHBLEHMS." The chef rolled his eyes,
and tapped his foot. "AH CAHN SEE AHLREAHDY YU WILL BE...
NOHEHLPATALL. COM, COM... QUICKHLY. PWECHIOUS TIME EES BEINGH
WAHSTED BAHY YUR... HEHZITENZY. MUVE EET!"
Minako eeped and walked towards the man, careful of the
knife the chef was waving at her, and stared at the remaining
four watching her, after giving desperate looks to Seiya and
Taiki.
*Minako-sama, I shall save you from this monster!*
*Nay, my dear Taiki... it is _I_ who will rescue this
sweet damsel in distress...*
*I think NOT, my comrade.*
*Ohoho, but I think SO, my friend--*
*Now, now you two. There's enough of Minako to go around.
Really! There's no point in fighting over me!*
"No way," said Seiya, backing away from her. "You're on
your own with this one." Taiki nodded his head in agreement.
*Taiki-kun! Seiya-kun! Where are you going with
Itamae-san?!*
*ZAT IZ MONSIEUR _CHEF_ YOU IMPERTENENT GIRHL!*
*No! Come back!*
*AHAHAHAHAHA!! COM, MY COMRAHDES... LET US DWINHK TO
OUR... FUHTURES! AH SERHVE ONLHY ZE BEHST WINE.*
Minako sighed and walked through the door.
"Well," said Mariko, and smiled to Taiki. "Ready to go?
The hives can't hold much more than what's there already."
Taiki swallowed, nodded his head, and was rendered a
walking ghoul when she took his hand and led him down a trail,
out of sight.
The only ones left were San and Seiya. The blue haired
boy scowled at the idol, and Seiya put on his shades on for extra
defense.
"So..." Seiya said, and flushed as the boy just looked at
him. Talk about unnerving! Yeesh.
"Let's just get this over with," said San, and started to
walk down the trail without giving the boy a second's thought.
"Hey!" shouted Seiya and raced to get beside the walking
pile of grudge. "Look, I think we got on the wrong start and--"
"There's nothing to say," said San. "I already know what
you are--"
"You do?"
San looked over at the wide-eyed Seiya. "Of course.
It's seeping out of your pores--"
"Then you understand how tired we are," said Seiya,
putting his hand on San's shoulder. San stood rigid, and turned
around to look at the pained boy.
"I'd rather you didn't touch me," said San, and brushed
Seiya's hand off... not as harshly as he had intended, which
surprised him. Seiya only shrugged.
"That's understandable. I mean a guy like you must not
get a lot of PDAs everyday. Maybe I could give you a few tips-"
"No," said San waving him off. "I don't want to hear
about it."
Seiya chuckled, and the angry boy found a smile forming
on his lips. Damn, it was hard to stay mad when somebody this
charismatic was actually making an effort. And then Seiya opened
his mouth.
"So, what's up with you and Mariko? Are you two going out
or something, 'cause you two seem pretty tight."
San's eyes glinted a deep amber, and Seiya backed away.
"We aren't 'together'. We're just a duo."
"Singing?"
"Not really..." He winced just thinking about the last
time she had dragged him to the Karaoke bar in town.
"Fighters of crime?"
"...You could say that."
"Both?"
"What?"
"Does she ever talk about three incredibly sexy women who
used to hang around her a lot?"
"..."
"Cause if she hasn't, would you mind if I--"
A low growl was heard, and Seiya shut his mouth quickly,
realizing he was digging his own grave.
"I already told you not to touch her--"
"But you--"
"She's already taken."
"Really? Who--"
"He's not here."
"If I know anything about this world," muttered Seiya.
"Unseen boyfriends never come back."
San's face darkened. "That doesn't mean you can touch
her."
"What does 'touch' mean specifically?" Another growl was
heard. "Okay! Okay! I get the idea."
There was a silence.
"Does she like olives?"
"Look--"
"I'm joking!"
The Jeep suddenly turned into view, and San opened the
door to the driver's side.
"I thought we were doing a little yard work," said Seiya
eyeing the tools in the back.
"We are," said San. "About fifty acres of it."
"Green acres?"
"Yeah," said San, raising an eyebrow and missing the pun.
Seiya sighed and shook his head in amusement. "What?"
"Man, you have been DEPRIVED. So uptight. Wait, a second.
I have just the thing."
Out of his jeans pocket, he pulled out an audio tape,
tapping it with a finger. Hopping into the car, he buckled his
seat and inserted the tape, adjusting the volume to be about
eardrum bursting level.
1960's American farm music immediately followed.
"GREEN ACRES IS THE PLACE TO BE!" sang Seiya at the top
of his lungs as San revved up the car and drove down the trail.
*This is going to be a long, long day.*
* * * * * *
"You want to know the saddest thing?"
"S-sure."
"The reason why honey bees die after one sting is because
the stinger gets lodged into the skin, and when the poor thing
tries to pull it out, the stinger gets ripped off the body along
with its entrails..."
"H-how terrible!" Taiki had a hard time trying not to
throw up. Mariko smiled sweetly at his compassionate face, and
squeezed his hand. They crossed over a hill, and she pointed to
a small shed in the distance, beaming as if it was her very own
mansion made of solid gold.
"That's where the suits and equipment are... I'm not sure if we
have gear in your size, you're so tall! But we'll make do."
"What do you mean, 'we'll make do'?"
"Well... you'll see..."
* * * * * *
This was an outrage! A complete desecration of everything
moral and good. This was insane, completely nuts. Hell, this
was DISGUSTING.
"You're doing well, my boy. Just keep cleaning, and when
you're done I'll hand you buckets to feed them."
Yaten shot a glare at the old man as Furui smiled, sipped
a glass of lemonade, and read his manga. This was NOT at all what
Yaten had planned, his soft and delicate hands gloved in icky
cheap plastic and scraping out falcon poo from the floor. By God,
he was even sweating!
*Maybe muscles are a good thing,* he thought. *If you
live on a hick farm.*
Which was what this place was. A _HICK FARM_. A retreat
for troubled souls. Riiiight. Probably just a cover because a
big corporation was trying to buy the house and they needed extra
cash to keep the stupid place.
Sighing in relief, he stood up, not daring to wipe his
sweaty forehead with his sleeve. Furui moved in next to him and
nodded his head.
"Very good! Couldn't have done better myself."
"Yeah, right," muttered Yaten.
"And here's the food."
Yaten paled considerably as Furui held out a bucket full
of mouse carcasses, smiled, and slapped the poor boy on the back.
"Tell me when you're through. I'm hungry!"
*Well, I'm not,* thought Yaten as the smell of dead bodies
wafted to his nose. He stared at the hooded birds, and thought
about giving them the finger before deciding against it.
"It's too dirty to be shown."
His finger, not the act.
* * * * * *
"NOW, YU SHALL BOYWILL ZE WATEHR WYLE AH SHAHLL CUHT ZE
KRAHB, YU UNDEHRSTAND, OUI? AFTEHR ZAT, YU MUHST SLYHCE ZE
CHAHVES LIKE SO, AND ZEN YOU WILL TOSS ZE SALAD WITH EFFORHTLESS
GRACE. EEF EET EES NOHT EFFORHTLESS, ZEN THE HOHLE ZING...
WILBEERUIHNED! ZE KRAHB MUHST NOHT BEH SPOIHLED, OHR AH WIL
HAHVE YUR HEHD!"
"Got it, got it," reassured Minako, turned to the stove,
and turned on the burner, humming with satisfaction as the water
began to simmer.
"AH AHM WAIHTING!"
"What?!" Minako turned around to see the chef tapping
his foot aggravatingly, hands on hips and brow furrowed in
impatience. "But you just told me what to do! You can't possibly
be done cutting!"
"AH AHM AY MAHSTER CHEF, YOU LEETLE NIHT-WHIHT!
WHATDOYOUTAKEMEFOR?! YU AHRE TOO SLOHW!"
"I am not!"
"YU AH TU!"
"Am not!"
"AH TU!"
"Am not!"
"ZE WATEHR! ZE WATEHR!"
"Oops!" she cried, and turned around to see the water
overflowing onto the stove, the fire hissing as droplets plunked
onto the flames. She dashed over, turning the fire down.
"NUH NUH NUH! MOOVE ZE PAHN! ZE PAHN!"
She grabbed the handle and shrieked as it burned her hands. The
chef shouted in rage, and finally she grabbed a kitchen towel,
holding the handle gingerly, and moved it to another burner,
slopping water all over the floor.
"ZE RAHG! ZE RAHG EES BURHNING!"
And sure enough, it was. Minako held the flaming towel
in front of her, screaming in panic, while the chef shouted at
her. She flailed the towel around, trying to make the flame
disappear, only to have the woman made wind feed the flames. The
chef screamed when one side of his carefully oiled moustache
ignited when she spun it close to him.
Finally, after mayhem, flailing, jumping onto tables and
freaking the chickens out, she dumped it into the large pot of
water.
"WHAHT AHRE YU DOING?!"
"Stopping the fire!"
"YU HAHVE RUIHNED ZE WAHTER! NAHW ZE TAHSTE WIL BEE
TAIHNTED! AH CAHNNOT WURK WIHTH SUHCH LIHQUID!"
"Well, I'm not doing it again!"
They glared at each other, and the chef pointed with his
cleaver to the cutting board.
"SLYHCE ZE CHAVHES!"
Minako moved to the cutting board and held up a knife,
and began to cut the pile of chives in front of her.
"WHAHT AHRE YU DOING!"
"I'm slicing the chives!"
"NUT WIS MY BEHST KNAHFE!"
Minako looked down at the knife in her hand, and back to
the fuming man, who grabbed it from her, and placed a smaller one
in her hand.
"AHND DU NOHT SLYHCE IT ZAT WAY!"
"I'll slice it the way I want it!"
"YU WIL NOT!"
"I will to!"
"WIL NOT!"
"Will too!"
"WIL NOT!"
Minako scowled at him, and began cutting away with evil
satisfaction, watching as the chef's face turned a beet red. The
man huffed and turned back to pot, dumping it out, and adding
fresh water.
Hey, this was kind of fun. Slicing chives, anyway.
Knives were awesome, with the cool blade sliding against the wood,
the green strips seeming to float away after they were severed.
There was a peace that came over her, a methodical silence, a
chance for meditation...
"AH AHM WAIHTING!"
"What?! But you were just boiling the water!"
"DU YU THINK I AHM AHS SLOW AHS YU?!"
"I'm not slow!"
"YU AHRE TU!"
"Am not!"
"AHRE TU!"
"Am not!"
"JUHST FINIHSH!"
"Fine!" She cut the rest of the chives as fast as she
could, and shoved the cutting board at him. He grabbed it out of
her hands harshly, and set the board on the table.
"NOHW TOSS ZE SALAHD!"
"Iie!"
"OUI!"
"Iie!"
"OUI!"
"Iie!"
"DU IT NOHW!"
She shot him a glare and moved over to the salad, staring
at the big wooden bowl, and pretended to role up her sleeves.
"A future legendary idol such as I, Aino Minako, shouldn't
have to toss salad!"
"AHND AH FORHMER LEGENHDARY CHEF SUCH AHS _MOI_, MONSIEUR
CHEF, SHOULD NOHT HAHVE TO BEH UNNAPRECIATED IN ZE MIDDHLE OF
_NOWHEHRE_!"
Minako heard a sniffle, and turned around to stare at the
chef started bawling into the wet rag he had fished out of the
water.
"A-anou... are you okay?"
"UV COURHSE N-N-N-NOOOOHT!"
Well, this was interesting... Minako's heart ached as she
watched the broken man weep into the already sopping wet cloth.
*No way! Nobody should be that sad! Don't worry,
Minako-sama will take away all your sorrows!*
"Um... do you want to talk about it?"
"NUH, AH DU NOHT WAHNT TO TAHLK ABOUT IT!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, tears coming from his
eyes like waterfalls.
"WHO WOULD HAHVE THOUGHT THAHT YOUR CAREEHR WOULD
BE RUIHNED BY A STUPIHD, LEETLE CONTEST!"
"Contest? Did you enter one, or did you gamble?"
The man stopped crying, and carefully looked around the
room before pulling up a chair and sitting down. His voice
lowered, bringing Minako closer to him, and the room was as
silent as a starless night as the man told his tale of woe.
"...Bohth. Yu seeh, Ah wahs invited to bee ohn Ihron
Chef ohne dahy..."
* * * * * *
"Hey, this fits me fine." Taiki looked down at the bee
suit carefully. Sleeves were just the right length, pant legs
were the right size, not too tight...
"It's too tight."
"Really?" He turned around to watch as Mariko frowned at
the fit. He could see that her suit was slightly baggier on her
than it was on him.
"It's tight enough that you could get stung easily."
"R-really?" He swallowed. "Then maybe I shouldn't go out
there..."
"No way! You said you wanted to go out there, right?
It's only if you don't panic. If you show fear or act
aggressively, they'll only try to protect the hive. I've been to
one of your concerts, and I know..."
"...Know what?"
"I know that if danger ever comes your way, you face it
as if you didn't care about the outcome... and that's why you will
always be victorious, because you don't let your fears take hold
of you. There is something that drives you, that I can't place
my finger on.. but I do know that you are not afraid of death...
such a sadness in your eyes..."
They stared at each other, and Taiki walked closer to her, could
feel her move closer to him, could sense her sweetness drifting
towards him, so open, so gentle, so free.
"Mariko..."
"...Yes?" Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes closed
briefly, before looking deep into his. Taiki wet his lips before
taking her delicate hand, and moved to her ear, his speaking lips
fluttering against her skin, sending shivers up her spine.
He moved away suddenly, and watched her intently. She
finally realized he had asked her a question, and the words he
had whispered to her finally registered, sending her eyes wide.
"What do you think of leather bikinis?"
* * * * * *
Can't... go... on...
Seiya dragged his numb feet down the trail, with one bag
of extremely heavy tools in one hand, and another full of heavy
branches back to the Jeep. He still didn't understand why a
forest had to be pruned and taken care of. Especially by him.
He wasn't exactly partial to climbing trees with huge sharp
clippers and chopping off branches that were JUST fine before San
said they had to go. He wasn't looking exactly... eloquent, and
damnit, his... sensitive areas were getting VERY uncomfortable.
The smug little dog boy was having fun ordering a
gorgeous teen idol around, wasn't he?
*It's not a natural forest,* was all San had said, but the
ever mysterious boy only fed to his curiosity. Looked pretty
natural to him.
Suddenly the scent of olives wafted towards him, and he
hear could a voice, calling out to him.
"...Fighter..."
"Princess?" Dropping the bags he spun around, trying to
catch the direction from where the voice had sounded from.
"Princess... answer me!"
"...Fighter..."
He ran off the path into the trees.
"What are you doing?!" shouted San. Seiya ignored him,
and raced through, ignoring the pain of the scratches and slaps
from the twigs and branches.
Seiya burst through a group of bushes and searched for a
woman... a woman with the scent of olives, and found none.
"Kakyuu!" There was silence. Seiya hung his head, hiding
the tears of frustration that welled up in his eyes. *I'm going
absolutely insane.*
Once he got his breath, he stood back up straight and
looked at his surroundings, ogling at the two huge statues facing
each other in the middle of the secret meadow.
"Man, they're gorgeous..."
He walked to one, peering at the angel's face closely,
its closed eyelids seemingly paper thin, almost real, and Seiya
watched with morbid fascination as they seemed to tremble, as if
trying to open.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" screamed San, and shoved Seiya to the
ground, one foot digging into Seiya's hand, and another digging
into his face.
"MFGHT..."
"Do you realize what you could have done?!"
"Yu noe, ziz kyndah herts..."
San stepped off of Seiya, and stood in front of the statue
and bowed deeply to it.
"We apologize, for this... boy who was trying to disturb
you. We honor and are deeply grateful for your sacrifice to
protect this clearing."
Seiya rose an eyebrow, and rolled to his feet. "Gets a
little crazy around here, doesn't it?"
"You have NO idea," said San, and walked around the
statue, making sure nothing had been disturbed. Seiya nursed his
throbbing hand, but forgot about it when he saw the Crack in
between the statues.
"Whoa! What's this?" He peered down at the rods
perpendicular to the opening, and caught himself beginning to
nudge one with his toe.
San's eyes created a crystal gleam as he bowed his head
and sighed. He moved next to Seiya, staring at the Crack with a
hatred Seiya couldn't have thought possible.
"They say this is a crack that leads straight into Hell.
For centuries Furui-sama's bloodline has taken care of the Crack
and the forest around it, making sure that there is balance and
order 360 degrees around the crack and fifty acres around it.
Balance is the only way to control the chaos that is inside."
"Huh. You believe this thing actually leads to Hell?"
San's eyes seemed to change into a deep, deep red.
"You can't believe the things I've seen that have climbed
out of the crack... it's... it's-"
"Absolutely revolting?"
"To put it mildly, yes."
"Are you sure you weren't taking something when you were
here?"
San growled, and Seiya laughed it off. "O-okay! Just
asking! What about these babes?"
He looked at the statues, and blinked when he thought he
saw a mouth twitch on one of them.
"The Tenshi no Ishi, twin angels agreed to help us guard
it. Without their power, we would be lost by now. If they're
moved even a MILLIMETER... the crack will open all the way."
Seiya looked back to the angel statue he had almost
touched. Angels of stone... Tenshi no Ishi...
"The Crack is hard to handle, though," said San. "And
their power has weakened since they've come here. We've had to
work extra hard this year to keep this thing under control. And
it seems that lately, the forest is growing much faster than
usual... and with all the studying Mariko-chan has to do--"
"You're the man to do it."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Seems like I'M the one who's doing it now."
"Hey, I've been working this job for over--" San stopped
himself, and looked to Seiya with a hesitant smile.
"Looks like all of us have our secrets."
"Let's just say we all help around here to make the world
a better place..."
"FOR YOU AND FOR ME AND THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE!" Seiya
whipped out another tape, and gave a sharp howl, grabbing his
crotch and did a moon walk back into the bushes. "See you in the
car! Come meet Michael Jackson!"
San sighed. And the angel's eyes opened. The other
statue farther from him chuckled.
"He's annoying," said San. "Completely annoying."
"But funny," said the farther statue. " I haven't
laughed in what... over a century wouldn't you say, Ishi? Not
since Furui-kun retired."
"He may be funny, Tenshi-sama," said San. "But he has
the shortest attention span I've ever seen."
The other statue smiled. "What amuses me is the fact he
thinks we're women."
"The most beautiful men on the planet."
"The silver haired boy would beg to differ," said Ishi.
"Yaten Kou, isn't it?"
"You forget they aren't even really men."
"Lighten up, San. Try acting your age for once."
"I do." San turned to Tenshi and grinned his lopsided
grin. Ishi smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Well, then maybe you should try acting YOUNGER than you
really are. Mariko-chan would appreciate it, I think."
San turned his gaze away.
"Mariko's become too attatched to me."
"I'd call it a good thing, wouldn't you, Ishi?"
"Most assuredly," the other angel said.
"It isn't right," San asserted. "She's in love with
Oukami-oujii."
"Your master would want you to be happy."
San closed his eyes, and moaned mournfully.
"Um. Wrong thing to say. Sorry."
"It would break her heart if she found out the wolf
prince died. She cares for you so much, and she's been waiting
so long for him."
"And she will continue to wait," the other angel added.
"Unless you tell her truth, and save her the agony."
"We've kept it from her for so long! What would happen
if I told her he had died?!"
"She's starting to suspect he has come in a different
form, ne?"
"Her heart is edging towards the intelligent one."
"Are you kidding me?!" cried the other angel. "Him?! I
say the one with the black hair."
"You'll lose your chance soon, San."
San hung his head. "She sees my master in him. She sees
a brother in me. There is no way to change that."
"You underestimate her heart, my boy."
"You underestimate yourself too." Ishi met eyes with
San. "We haven't thanked you for your service."
"Service?" San shook his head. "I love doing it. It
makes me feel good knowing that I have a hand in keeping this
planet alive... I-it's the least I can do for what they've
done... since..."
"Well, we appreciate you and Mariko's hard work. God
knows we could never have done it without you. We don't even
think the Seal would have held for a YEAR even if it had been
perfect."
"Do you know how long we have?"
"The Shadows have been gathering energy... something big
will happen soon. Otherwise the three would not have been sent
here. And that girl..."
"Aino Minako," reminded Ishi to his brother. "She's a
fighsty one."
"The silver haired one notices her, all right."
"He isn't worth it," said San. "They'll be gone soon.
They won't return."
"You don't know that."
"You're right," said San. "But I can hope, can't I?
Outsiders have always been a problem for me."
"Not every Outsider is Galaxia, San."
"Besides, you and the funny guy seem to be chumming it up.
Eh? Am I right?"
"He has the charisma of the prince. As the other has the
intelligence of him... and the other, the beauty of him."
"The prince was perfect," said San.
"Too bad he died."
San growled, more at himself than the other two.
"You might actually be surprised what you find out about
them. You may be psychic, but your emotions get in the way of
finding the full truth."
"If only I knew why in God's name Minako is with them."
"Patience, my boy. Everything will be revealed in due
course."
"It better..."
"Anyways, tell Furui to come see us sometime. He's never
kept in touch since he retired and put you in charge."
"Been what... over a century, wouldn't you say?"
"And have some fun... San-san."
The two statues burst out laughing, and San bid farewell,
walking away. When he reached the Jeep, Seiya turned to him and
smiled.
"Where've you been, man?"
"I had to take care of a few things."
They met eyes.
*Yes... so much like the wolf prince... it's amazing. Is
the past coming back to haunt me? What am I supposed to do now?*
Seiya shrugged, inserted the tape, and pressed play, his
soul in bliss as they drove down the path listening to Michael
Jackson.
"I thought we would commemorate our special bonding with
Thriller! Nice, huh? I think it fits the atmosphere."
*I won't kill another prince... I won't.*
* * * * * *
END PART 2A
* * * * * *
NOTES: I realize now, that unwittingly, I have created
new characters. This always happens! SO! New disclaimer.
I OWN EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN THIS FIC EXCEPT FOR JAPAN,
TOKYO, THINGS FROM SAILOR MOON, RANMA 1/2... and maybe THE
LITTLE MERMAID (Ze chef is familiar, no?)... YOU TAKE THEM,
I WILL KNOW! REMEMBER THE TRACKING DEVICES AND CHEESEY
NUCLEAR WEAPONS? SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO USE THE PLACES, THE
LEGENDS, THE CHARACTERS, THE TRACKING DEVICES OR THE NUCLEAR
WEAPONS, WHICH BELONG TO ME... ASK.
Ah yes, and I did not make Michael Jackson or Green Acres
up. They are REAL, oddly enough.
And yes, I do realize NONE of this is tied together
chronologically.
And YES, I know Monsieur Chef would not be speaking English
when talking to Minako. But can you really imagine him
saying, "Iie Iie Iie" instead of "NUH NUH NUH"?
And to those Seiya fans who don't like my interpretation of
him... puu on you. Seiya likes to be goofy and aloof
sometimes. He needs a break from his Usagi-woes and
Kakyuu-gagas, don't you, Seiya-mimi? ::holds his head and
shakes it "yes" as he roles his eyes::
Ah! I need to get over my love of NOTES. Take care, minna!
Party on, Garth!
By Sarah-chan
Part 2A
Note: I mean no disrespect for the French. I've been to Paris,
met some WONDERFUL people there, and over all it is an absolutely
GORGEOUS country. But stereotypes are like, so much fun to write
anyways. They don't really count.
The stereotype for Americans are cowboy outfits, valley girls and
cheerleaders, blonde hair and blue eyes, but we don't go around
screaming at the top of our lungs to say, "WE'RE NOT THAT WAY!!!"
That's not true! I constantly have to keep down the urge to
attach spurs to my Adidas... well... I WISH I had Adidas.
Some people take things WAY too seriously... and personally.
Oh, and consider the lesson on bees REAL. My uncle owns some, so
I've seen them in action. The info's a bit vague, since it's
been a while, so it's not enough to write a term paper on, in
case you're trying, but it's accurate enough for quaint dinner
conversation... not really!!
ENJOY!
* * * * * *
--Day 1--
Yaten woke up screaming when a loud horn blew in his ear,
and a bucket of ice cold water was poured onto his face.
"WHAT THE----!!!!!!!!"
"Rise and shine!! You over slept! It's four minutes
after 6:00! You'll be paying for it now!"
"Oh my God, this has to be a nightmare."
"A nightmare?" Furui poked himself and shook his head. "'Fraid not, my boy! Come on, up! UP!"
Yaten scrambled to his feet when he heard two more
distinctive screams from the other room.
"MY EYES!!!"
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
"Hey, this is more fun than I thought it would be!"
There was a laugh and, "One of the highlights of my day."
"Can I do it again tomorrow, San-san?"
"Absolutely. As long as you're the first person to wake
up."
"You're such a sweetie for getting me up early."
"Don't mention it. It was my pleasure."
Yaten groaned, but was kicked into the hall way, and
bounced off of Seiya as he was shoved out of his own room.
"Hey! What kind of service is this?!" screamed Yaten.
"Only the best!" said Furui.
"THIS is what we paid for?!" cried Taiki. "Where's the
sleeping in until noon?"
"NOON?!" Furui's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?
That's unthinkable. Oh, and no refunds! Sorry!"
Yaten turned and shot daggers in Minako's direction.
"What did you get us into?"
Minako grinned widely. "I know, isn't this great?"
"BWEAKFHAST!" called a loud booming voice. Seiya without
thinking ran to the kitchen, while Taiki stumbled after him.
"WHERE AH ZE RHEST OF ZE BRAHTS?! I DU NOT HAHVE TIME TO WAIHT
FOR LEETLE KIDDIES!"
"Coming, Itamae-san!" called San.
"ZE NAME IS *MONSEIUR CHEF* YOU BAHSTARD SON OF A PIG!"
"Ah! He's on a good day, today!" Furui said happily and
left with San down the hallway, leaving Yaten and Minako alone.
Yaten glared at her.
"I'll never forgive you."
"Oh, posh! Of course you will. And you haven't said
anything about my outfit!"
"What is this? Lara Croft Day?" he asked, narrowing his
eyes.
She looked down at her tight tank top and khaki shorts,
and looked back to Yaten with a sultry smile.
"Maybe," she said, and quickly honed in to give him a
light peck on the lips "Come on! Furui-sama has the day all
planned out. You'll love it!"
And she was gone with a squeal. Yaten blinked a few
times before realizing what had just happened and realizing he
hadn't reacted at all. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he
scream at her in protest and insult her until his fury finally
died down?
"That dream," he muttered, and shuddering he walked down
the hall, shaking the horrible image of Minako's broken eyes.
His palms pressed into his stomach, and he closed his
eyes, the air becoming suddenly still as he thought of that dream
. So real it was scary... the feel of her body, of her hair
sliding between his fingers...
*Yaten no baka... what have you gotten yourself into?
She's an annoying idol chaser who's chasing three men at one time
. That's all. She's just like the rest of them. Yeah, that's
right. Just another face in the crowd...*
Meanwhile, Minako fell lightly against a wall around the
corner, closed her eyes dreamily, and congratulated herself on a
job well done.
*If he doesn't want to kiss you, then YOU kiss him. Take
the initiative! That's what the dream was telling me. Don't let
a guy think in instances like those. ESPECIALLY Yaten. And
Taiki. And Seiya... oh joy. I have my work cut out for me.*
And as she walked down the hallway, her heart dropped a
little at the prospect of seducing three men. She had always
been a one man kind of a girl, right?
*Well... Besides Hawkseye and Snakeseye... and... Silly!
That was the past! No more looking back! Only forward! Onward
March! The more love, the better!*
* * * * * *
Yaten entered the kitchen, and began to walk to the table
where everybody else was, until a very large man in a chef's
uniform blocked his way.
"DIHD YU NOT HEAR ME WHEN AH CALLHED YU?"
"E-excuse me?"
"AH SLAVE AWAY IN FRONHT UV A HOHT STOHVE FORH *YU*, AHND
YU HAHVE ZE INSOLENCE TO JUHST TAKE YUR TAHME AND WAHLK IN HERE
AS EEF YU OWN ZIS KITCHEN."
"I-"
"NUH NUH NUH!! AH DU NOT HAHVE TO TAKE YOUR INSULHTS!
NO SOUP FOR YOU!"
"Wha-"
"SILENCE!!!"
"Eep!"
Yaten quickly rushed to the table and sat down next to
Seiya, his stomach grumbling as he eyes the miso soup in front of
the raven haired boy. Seiya's eyes narrowed and he quickly
finished off his breakfast. Yaten groaned.
"I see you've met Monsieur Chef," said Mariko happily.
Yaten dropped his head onto the table.
"Good! Everybody's here!"
San and Mariko were standing on either side of the old
man. Seiya was getting an extra helping of breakfast, while Taiki
tried inhaling lots of oxygen to calm his nerves down.
Unfortunately, he only got high and began giggling at the button
on his shirt while hyperventilating at the prospect of a
bazillion hairy, gushy, insects racing towards him with stinging
swords on their butts.
Minako was leaning against the poor guy, soothingly
rubbing his back and murmuring words of reassurance. He hated to
admit he was actually calming down by that soft hand. Meanwhile,
Yaten watching Minako in her Lara Croft cosplay outfit, minus the
guns, scowling at her intimacy with Taiki.
"So," said Furui. "Today is the day for nourishment of
the body... and no, not THAT kind." Taiki began to giggle
hysterically, and breathed in the mountain air to stop, only to
get more oxygen rushing to his brain.
Furui didn't notice. "We'll be breaking up into pairs.
Mariko will take Taiki to the beehives to harvest honey. Seiya
will pair up with San to do yard work, and Yaten will come with me
to care for the animals. We'll meet back here to have lunch at
two, and then--"
"Whoa whoa whoa," stuttered Seiya, food dropping out of
his mouth. "What's this about WORK? This is a retreat, right?
Time to relax, get tan, do ANYTHING but work."
"R-right!" said Taiki.
"Really!" cried Yaten. "WORKING was not part of the plan.
Your flyer never said anything about cleaning up some animal's
WASTE."
"To ease a soul, one must ease the body," said Furui, and
dropping a pair of Oakley sunglasses onto his nose, he grinned
and walked away, beckoning for a seething Yaten to follow him.
The shortest Light turned to Minako and jabbed a finger
out at her. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! You were the one who made
the reservations!"
"Hey," said Minako waving her hands at him in defense.
"You agreed to come!"
"Well maybe if you checked your information instead of
touching every man you see--"
"I do not!"
"You do too!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"When did I?!"
"What was that with Taiki just a minute ago, huh?"
Suddenly, it dawned on Minako.
"Are you jealous?" She fluttered her eyelashes, causing
Yaten to sputter.
"Of course not!" he cried, and calmed his aura down.
"What's in this for you, huh? What do you want so badly--"
"Which reminds me!" cried Furui, spinning around.
"Minako-san, will you help Itamae-san make lunch?"
"ZAT IZ MONSIEUR _CHEF_, YU FAHRT OF A MAHN. HAOW MENY
TYMES DU I... HAHFTUTELL YU?!"
The chef stood at the entrance of the doorway, holding a
large knife in one hand, and twisting a thin moustache angrily
with his other, his large poofy white chef's hat tilted to be
looking oh so chic.
"Right, right, Itamae-san," said Furui, and dragged Yaten
away from the angry chef's glare, off to the bird sanctuary.
His demonic gaze turned to Minako, and the girl suddenly
felt very very small. He whipped a knifepoint in her direction,
still twisting his moustache.
"YU THAR, LEETLE GIRHL! DU YU KNOW HAOW TU PREEPAR ZEE... _AH_,
HOWDUYUSAY... BLOWFEESH."
"B-Blowfish? Isn't that a little dangerous to make?"
"ZE PROHBLEHMS, ZE PROHBLEHMS." The chef rolled his eyes,
and tapped his foot. "AH CAHN SEE AHLREAHDY YU WILL BE...
NOHEHLPATALL. COM, COM... QUICKHLY. PWECHIOUS TIME EES BEINGH
WAHSTED BAHY YUR... HEHZITENZY. MUVE EET!"
Minako eeped and walked towards the man, careful of the
knife the chef was waving at her, and stared at the remaining
four watching her, after giving desperate looks to Seiya and
Taiki.
*Minako-sama, I shall save you from this monster!*
*Nay, my dear Taiki... it is _I_ who will rescue this
sweet damsel in distress...*
*I think NOT, my comrade.*
*Ohoho, but I think SO, my friend--*
*Now, now you two. There's enough of Minako to go around.
Really! There's no point in fighting over me!*
"No way," said Seiya, backing away from her. "You're on
your own with this one." Taiki nodded his head in agreement.
*Taiki-kun! Seiya-kun! Where are you going with
Itamae-san?!*
*ZAT IZ MONSIEUR _CHEF_ YOU IMPERTENENT GIRHL!*
*No! Come back!*
*AHAHAHAHAHA!! COM, MY COMRAHDES... LET US DWINHK TO
OUR... FUHTURES! AH SERHVE ONLHY ZE BEHST WINE.*
Minako sighed and walked through the door.
"Well," said Mariko, and smiled to Taiki. "Ready to go?
The hives can't hold much more than what's there already."
Taiki swallowed, nodded his head, and was rendered a
walking ghoul when she took his hand and led him down a trail,
out of sight.
The only ones left were San and Seiya. The blue haired
boy scowled at the idol, and Seiya put on his shades on for extra
defense.
"So..." Seiya said, and flushed as the boy just looked at
him. Talk about unnerving! Yeesh.
"Let's just get this over with," said San, and started to
walk down the trail without giving the boy a second's thought.
"Hey!" shouted Seiya and raced to get beside the walking
pile of grudge. "Look, I think we got on the wrong start and--"
"There's nothing to say," said San. "I already know what
you are--"
"You do?"
San looked over at the wide-eyed Seiya. "Of course.
It's seeping out of your pores--"
"Then you understand how tired we are," said Seiya,
putting his hand on San's shoulder. San stood rigid, and turned
around to look at the pained boy.
"I'd rather you didn't touch me," said San, and brushed
Seiya's hand off... not as harshly as he had intended, which
surprised him. Seiya only shrugged.
"That's understandable. I mean a guy like you must not
get a lot of PDAs everyday. Maybe I could give you a few tips-"
"No," said San waving him off. "I don't want to hear
about it."
Seiya chuckled, and the angry boy found a smile forming
on his lips. Damn, it was hard to stay mad when somebody this
charismatic was actually making an effort. And then Seiya opened
his mouth.
"So, what's up with you and Mariko? Are you two going out
or something, 'cause you two seem pretty tight."
San's eyes glinted a deep amber, and Seiya backed away.
"We aren't 'together'. We're just a duo."
"Singing?"
"Not really..." He winced just thinking about the last
time she had dragged him to the Karaoke bar in town.
"Fighters of crime?"
"...You could say that."
"Both?"
"What?"
"Does she ever talk about three incredibly sexy women who
used to hang around her a lot?"
"..."
"Cause if she hasn't, would you mind if I--"
A low growl was heard, and Seiya shut his mouth quickly,
realizing he was digging his own grave.
"I already told you not to touch her--"
"But you--"
"She's already taken."
"Really? Who--"
"He's not here."
"If I know anything about this world," muttered Seiya.
"Unseen boyfriends never come back."
San's face darkened. "That doesn't mean you can touch
her."
"What does 'touch' mean specifically?" Another growl was
heard. "Okay! Okay! I get the idea."
There was a silence.
"Does she like olives?"
"Look--"
"I'm joking!"
The Jeep suddenly turned into view, and San opened the
door to the driver's side.
"I thought we were doing a little yard work," said Seiya
eyeing the tools in the back.
"We are," said San. "About fifty acres of it."
"Green acres?"
"Yeah," said San, raising an eyebrow and missing the pun.
Seiya sighed and shook his head in amusement. "What?"
"Man, you have been DEPRIVED. So uptight. Wait, a second.
I have just the thing."
Out of his jeans pocket, he pulled out an audio tape,
tapping it with a finger. Hopping into the car, he buckled his
seat and inserted the tape, adjusting the volume to be about
eardrum bursting level.
1960's American farm music immediately followed.
"GREEN ACRES IS THE PLACE TO BE!" sang Seiya at the top
of his lungs as San revved up the car and drove down the trail.
*This is going to be a long, long day.*
* * * * * *
"You want to know the saddest thing?"
"S-sure."
"The reason why honey bees die after one sting is because
the stinger gets lodged into the skin, and when the poor thing
tries to pull it out, the stinger gets ripped off the body along
with its entrails..."
"H-how terrible!" Taiki had a hard time trying not to
throw up. Mariko smiled sweetly at his compassionate face, and
squeezed his hand. They crossed over a hill, and she pointed to
a small shed in the distance, beaming as if it was her very own
mansion made of solid gold.
"That's where the suits and equipment are... I'm not sure if we
have gear in your size, you're so tall! But we'll make do."
"What do you mean, 'we'll make do'?"
"Well... you'll see..."
* * * * * *
This was an outrage! A complete desecration of everything
moral and good. This was insane, completely nuts. Hell, this
was DISGUSTING.
"You're doing well, my boy. Just keep cleaning, and when
you're done I'll hand you buckets to feed them."
Yaten shot a glare at the old man as Furui smiled, sipped
a glass of lemonade, and read his manga. This was NOT at all what
Yaten had planned, his soft and delicate hands gloved in icky
cheap plastic and scraping out falcon poo from the floor. By God,
he was even sweating!
*Maybe muscles are a good thing,* he thought. *If you
live on a hick farm.*
Which was what this place was. A _HICK FARM_. A retreat
for troubled souls. Riiiight. Probably just a cover because a
big corporation was trying to buy the house and they needed extra
cash to keep the stupid place.
Sighing in relief, he stood up, not daring to wipe his
sweaty forehead with his sleeve. Furui moved in next to him and
nodded his head.
"Very good! Couldn't have done better myself."
"Yeah, right," muttered Yaten.
"And here's the food."
Yaten paled considerably as Furui held out a bucket full
of mouse carcasses, smiled, and slapped the poor boy on the back.
"Tell me when you're through. I'm hungry!"
*Well, I'm not,* thought Yaten as the smell of dead bodies
wafted to his nose. He stared at the hooded birds, and thought
about giving them the finger before deciding against it.
"It's too dirty to be shown."
His finger, not the act.
* * * * * *
"NOW, YU SHALL BOYWILL ZE WATEHR WYLE AH SHAHLL CUHT ZE
KRAHB, YU UNDEHRSTAND, OUI? AFTEHR ZAT, YU MUHST SLYHCE ZE
CHAHVES LIKE SO, AND ZEN YOU WILL TOSS ZE SALAD WITH EFFORHTLESS
GRACE. EEF EET EES NOHT EFFORHTLESS, ZEN THE HOHLE ZING...
WILBEERUIHNED! ZE KRAHB MUHST NOHT BEH SPOIHLED, OHR AH WIL
HAHVE YUR HEHD!"
"Got it, got it," reassured Minako, turned to the stove,
and turned on the burner, humming with satisfaction as the water
began to simmer.
"AH AHM WAIHTING!"
"What?!" Minako turned around to see the chef tapping
his foot aggravatingly, hands on hips and brow furrowed in
impatience. "But you just told me what to do! You can't possibly
be done cutting!"
"AH AHM AY MAHSTER CHEF, YOU LEETLE NIHT-WHIHT!
WHATDOYOUTAKEMEFOR?! YU AHRE TOO SLOHW!"
"I am not!"
"YU AH TU!"
"Am not!"
"AH TU!"
"Am not!"
"ZE WATEHR! ZE WATEHR!"
"Oops!" she cried, and turned around to see the water
overflowing onto the stove, the fire hissing as droplets plunked
onto the flames. She dashed over, turning the fire down.
"NUH NUH NUH! MOOVE ZE PAHN! ZE PAHN!"
She grabbed the handle and shrieked as it burned her hands. The
chef shouted in rage, and finally she grabbed a kitchen towel,
holding the handle gingerly, and moved it to another burner,
slopping water all over the floor.
"ZE RAHG! ZE RAHG EES BURHNING!"
And sure enough, it was. Minako held the flaming towel
in front of her, screaming in panic, while the chef shouted at
her. She flailed the towel around, trying to make the flame
disappear, only to have the woman made wind feed the flames. The
chef screamed when one side of his carefully oiled moustache
ignited when she spun it close to him.
Finally, after mayhem, flailing, jumping onto tables and
freaking the chickens out, she dumped it into the large pot of
water.
"WHAHT AHRE YU DOING?!"
"Stopping the fire!"
"YU HAHVE RUIHNED ZE WAHTER! NAHW ZE TAHSTE WIL BEE
TAIHNTED! AH CAHNNOT WURK WIHTH SUHCH LIHQUID!"
"Well, I'm not doing it again!"
They glared at each other, and the chef pointed with his
cleaver to the cutting board.
"SLYHCE ZE CHAVHES!"
Minako moved to the cutting board and held up a knife,
and began to cut the pile of chives in front of her.
"WHAHT AHRE YU DOING!"
"I'm slicing the chives!"
"NUT WIS MY BEHST KNAHFE!"
Minako looked down at the knife in her hand, and back to
the fuming man, who grabbed it from her, and placed a smaller one
in her hand.
"AHND DU NOHT SLYHCE IT ZAT WAY!"
"I'll slice it the way I want it!"
"YU WIL NOT!"
"I will to!"
"WIL NOT!"
"Will too!"
"WIL NOT!"
Minako scowled at him, and began cutting away with evil
satisfaction, watching as the chef's face turned a beet red. The
man huffed and turned back to pot, dumping it out, and adding
fresh water.
Hey, this was kind of fun. Slicing chives, anyway.
Knives were awesome, with the cool blade sliding against the wood,
the green strips seeming to float away after they were severed.
There was a peace that came over her, a methodical silence, a
chance for meditation...
"AH AHM WAIHTING!"
"What?! But you were just boiling the water!"
"DU YU THINK I AHM AHS SLOW AHS YU?!"
"I'm not slow!"
"YU AHRE TU!"
"Am not!"
"AHRE TU!"
"Am not!"
"JUHST FINIHSH!"
"Fine!" She cut the rest of the chives as fast as she
could, and shoved the cutting board at him. He grabbed it out of
her hands harshly, and set the board on the table.
"NOHW TOSS ZE SALAHD!"
"Iie!"
"OUI!"
"Iie!"
"OUI!"
"Iie!"
"DU IT NOHW!"
She shot him a glare and moved over to the salad, staring
at the big wooden bowl, and pretended to role up her sleeves.
"A future legendary idol such as I, Aino Minako, shouldn't
have to toss salad!"
"AHND AH FORHMER LEGENHDARY CHEF SUCH AHS _MOI_, MONSIEUR
CHEF, SHOULD NOHT HAHVE TO BEH UNNAPRECIATED IN ZE MIDDHLE OF
_NOWHEHRE_!"
Minako heard a sniffle, and turned around to stare at the
chef started bawling into the wet rag he had fished out of the
water.
"A-anou... are you okay?"
"UV COURHSE N-N-N-NOOOOHT!"
Well, this was interesting... Minako's heart ached as she
watched the broken man weep into the already sopping wet cloth.
*No way! Nobody should be that sad! Don't worry,
Minako-sama will take away all your sorrows!*
"Um... do you want to talk about it?"
"NUH, AH DU NOHT WAHNT TO TAHLK ABOUT IT!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, tears coming from his
eyes like waterfalls.
"WHO WOULD HAHVE THOUGHT THAHT YOUR CAREEHR WOULD
BE RUIHNED BY A STUPIHD, LEETLE CONTEST!"
"Contest? Did you enter one, or did you gamble?"
The man stopped crying, and carefully looked around the
room before pulling up a chair and sitting down. His voice
lowered, bringing Minako closer to him, and the room was as
silent as a starless night as the man told his tale of woe.
"...Bohth. Yu seeh, Ah wahs invited to bee ohn Ihron
Chef ohne dahy..."
* * * * * *
"Hey, this fits me fine." Taiki looked down at the bee
suit carefully. Sleeves were just the right length, pant legs
were the right size, not too tight...
"It's too tight."
"Really?" He turned around to watch as Mariko frowned at
the fit. He could see that her suit was slightly baggier on her
than it was on him.
"It's tight enough that you could get stung easily."
"R-really?" He swallowed. "Then maybe I shouldn't go out
there..."
"No way! You said you wanted to go out there, right?
It's only if you don't panic. If you show fear or act
aggressively, they'll only try to protect the hive. I've been to
one of your concerts, and I know..."
"...Know what?"
"I know that if danger ever comes your way, you face it
as if you didn't care about the outcome... and that's why you will
always be victorious, because you don't let your fears take hold
of you. There is something that drives you, that I can't place
my finger on.. but I do know that you are not afraid of death...
such a sadness in your eyes..."
They stared at each other, and Taiki walked closer to her, could
feel her move closer to him, could sense her sweetness drifting
towards him, so open, so gentle, so free.
"Mariko..."
"...Yes?" Her lips parted slightly, and her eyes closed
briefly, before looking deep into his. Taiki wet his lips before
taking her delicate hand, and moved to her ear, his speaking lips
fluttering against her skin, sending shivers up her spine.
He moved away suddenly, and watched her intently. She
finally realized he had asked her a question, and the words he
had whispered to her finally registered, sending her eyes wide.
"What do you think of leather bikinis?"
* * * * * *
Can't... go... on...
Seiya dragged his numb feet down the trail, with one bag
of extremely heavy tools in one hand, and another full of heavy
branches back to the Jeep. He still didn't understand why a
forest had to be pruned and taken care of. Especially by him.
He wasn't exactly partial to climbing trees with huge sharp
clippers and chopping off branches that were JUST fine before San
said they had to go. He wasn't looking exactly... eloquent, and
damnit, his... sensitive areas were getting VERY uncomfortable.
The smug little dog boy was having fun ordering a
gorgeous teen idol around, wasn't he?
*It's not a natural forest,* was all San had said, but the
ever mysterious boy only fed to his curiosity. Looked pretty
natural to him.
Suddenly the scent of olives wafted towards him, and he
hear could a voice, calling out to him.
"...Fighter..."
"Princess?" Dropping the bags he spun around, trying to
catch the direction from where the voice had sounded from.
"Princess... answer me!"
"...Fighter..."
He ran off the path into the trees.
"What are you doing?!" shouted San. Seiya ignored him,
and raced through, ignoring the pain of the scratches and slaps
from the twigs and branches.
Seiya burst through a group of bushes and searched for a
woman... a woman with the scent of olives, and found none.
"Kakyuu!" There was silence. Seiya hung his head, hiding
the tears of frustration that welled up in his eyes. *I'm going
absolutely insane.*
Once he got his breath, he stood back up straight and
looked at his surroundings, ogling at the two huge statues facing
each other in the middle of the secret meadow.
"Man, they're gorgeous..."
He walked to one, peering at the angel's face closely,
its closed eyelids seemingly paper thin, almost real, and Seiya
watched with morbid fascination as they seemed to tremble, as if
trying to open.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" screamed San, and shoved Seiya to the
ground, one foot digging into Seiya's hand, and another digging
into his face.
"MFGHT..."
"Do you realize what you could have done?!"
"Yu noe, ziz kyndah herts..."
San stepped off of Seiya, and stood in front of the statue
and bowed deeply to it.
"We apologize, for this... boy who was trying to disturb
you. We honor and are deeply grateful for your sacrifice to
protect this clearing."
Seiya rose an eyebrow, and rolled to his feet. "Gets a
little crazy around here, doesn't it?"
"You have NO idea," said San, and walked around the
statue, making sure nothing had been disturbed. Seiya nursed his
throbbing hand, but forgot about it when he saw the Crack in
between the statues.
"Whoa! What's this?" He peered down at the rods
perpendicular to the opening, and caught himself beginning to
nudge one with his toe.
San's eyes created a crystal gleam as he bowed his head
and sighed. He moved next to Seiya, staring at the Crack with a
hatred Seiya couldn't have thought possible.
"They say this is a crack that leads straight into Hell.
For centuries Furui-sama's bloodline has taken care of the Crack
and the forest around it, making sure that there is balance and
order 360 degrees around the crack and fifty acres around it.
Balance is the only way to control the chaos that is inside."
"Huh. You believe this thing actually leads to Hell?"
San's eyes seemed to change into a deep, deep red.
"You can't believe the things I've seen that have climbed
out of the crack... it's... it's-"
"Absolutely revolting?"
"To put it mildly, yes."
"Are you sure you weren't taking something when you were
here?"
San growled, and Seiya laughed it off. "O-okay! Just
asking! What about these babes?"
He looked at the statues, and blinked when he thought he
saw a mouth twitch on one of them.
"The Tenshi no Ishi, twin angels agreed to help us guard
it. Without their power, we would be lost by now. If they're
moved even a MILLIMETER... the crack will open all the way."
Seiya looked back to the angel statue he had almost
touched. Angels of stone... Tenshi no Ishi...
"The Crack is hard to handle, though," said San. "And
their power has weakened since they've come here. We've had to
work extra hard this year to keep this thing under control. And
it seems that lately, the forest is growing much faster than
usual... and with all the studying Mariko-chan has to do--"
"You're the man to do it."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Seems like I'M the one who's doing it now."
"Hey, I've been working this job for over--" San stopped
himself, and looked to Seiya with a hesitant smile.
"Looks like all of us have our secrets."
"Let's just say we all help around here to make the world
a better place..."
"FOR YOU AND FOR ME AND THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE!" Seiya
whipped out another tape, and gave a sharp howl, grabbing his
crotch and did a moon walk back into the bushes. "See you in the
car! Come meet Michael Jackson!"
San sighed. And the angel's eyes opened. The other
statue farther from him chuckled.
"He's annoying," said San. "Completely annoying."
"But funny," said the farther statue. " I haven't
laughed in what... over a century wouldn't you say, Ishi? Not
since Furui-kun retired."
"He may be funny, Tenshi-sama," said San. "But he has
the shortest attention span I've ever seen."
The other statue smiled. "What amuses me is the fact he
thinks we're women."
"The most beautiful men on the planet."
"The silver haired boy would beg to differ," said Ishi.
"Yaten Kou, isn't it?"
"You forget they aren't even really men."
"Lighten up, San. Try acting your age for once."
"I do." San turned to Tenshi and grinned his lopsided
grin. Ishi smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Well, then maybe you should try acting YOUNGER than you
really are. Mariko-chan would appreciate it, I think."
San turned his gaze away.
"Mariko's become too attatched to me."
"I'd call it a good thing, wouldn't you, Ishi?"
"Most assuredly," the other angel said.
"It isn't right," San asserted. "She's in love with
Oukami-oujii."
"Your master would want you to be happy."
San closed his eyes, and moaned mournfully.
"Um. Wrong thing to say. Sorry."
"It would break her heart if she found out the wolf
prince died. She cares for you so much, and she's been waiting
so long for him."
"And she will continue to wait," the other angel added.
"Unless you tell her truth, and save her the agony."
"We've kept it from her for so long! What would happen
if I told her he had died?!"
"She's starting to suspect he has come in a different
form, ne?"
"Her heart is edging towards the intelligent one."
"Are you kidding me?!" cried the other angel. "Him?! I
say the one with the black hair."
"You'll lose your chance soon, San."
San hung his head. "She sees my master in him. She sees
a brother in me. There is no way to change that."
"You underestimate her heart, my boy."
"You underestimate yourself too." Ishi met eyes with
San. "We haven't thanked you for your service."
"Service?" San shook his head. "I love doing it. It
makes me feel good knowing that I have a hand in keeping this
planet alive... I-it's the least I can do for what they've
done... since..."
"Well, we appreciate you and Mariko's hard work. God
knows we could never have done it without you. We don't even
think the Seal would have held for a YEAR even if it had been
perfect."
"Do you know how long we have?"
"The Shadows have been gathering energy... something big
will happen soon. Otherwise the three would not have been sent
here. And that girl..."
"Aino Minako," reminded Ishi to his brother. "She's a
fighsty one."
"The silver haired one notices her, all right."
"He isn't worth it," said San. "They'll be gone soon.
They won't return."
"You don't know that."
"You're right," said San. "But I can hope, can't I?
Outsiders have always been a problem for me."
"Not every Outsider is Galaxia, San."
"Besides, you and the funny guy seem to be chumming it up.
Eh? Am I right?"
"He has the charisma of the prince. As the other has the
intelligence of him... and the other, the beauty of him."
"The prince was perfect," said San.
"Too bad he died."
San growled, more at himself than the other two.
"You might actually be surprised what you find out about
them. You may be psychic, but your emotions get in the way of
finding the full truth."
"If only I knew why in God's name Minako is with them."
"Patience, my boy. Everything will be revealed in due
course."
"It better..."
"Anyways, tell Furui to come see us sometime. He's never
kept in touch since he retired and put you in charge."
"Been what... over a century, wouldn't you say?"
"And have some fun... San-san."
The two statues burst out laughing, and San bid farewell,
walking away. When he reached the Jeep, Seiya turned to him and
smiled.
"Where've you been, man?"
"I had to take care of a few things."
They met eyes.
*Yes... so much like the wolf prince... it's amazing. Is
the past coming back to haunt me? What am I supposed to do now?*
Seiya shrugged, inserted the tape, and pressed play, his
soul in bliss as they drove down the path listening to Michael
Jackson.
"I thought we would commemorate our special bonding with
Thriller! Nice, huh? I think it fits the atmosphere."
*I won't kill another prince... I won't.*
* * * * * *
END PART 2A
* * * * * *
NOTES: I realize now, that unwittingly, I have created
new characters. This always happens! SO! New disclaimer.
I OWN EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN THIS FIC EXCEPT FOR JAPAN,
TOKYO, THINGS FROM SAILOR MOON, RANMA 1/2... and maybe THE
LITTLE MERMAID (Ze chef is familiar, no?)... YOU TAKE THEM,
I WILL KNOW! REMEMBER THE TRACKING DEVICES AND CHEESEY
NUCLEAR WEAPONS? SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO USE THE PLACES, THE
LEGENDS, THE CHARACTERS, THE TRACKING DEVICES OR THE NUCLEAR
WEAPONS, WHICH BELONG TO ME... ASK.
Ah yes, and I did not make Michael Jackson or Green Acres
up. They are REAL, oddly enough.
And yes, I do realize NONE of this is tied together
chronologically.
And YES, I know Monsieur Chef would not be speaking English
when talking to Minako. But can you really imagine him
saying, "Iie Iie Iie" instead of "NUH NUH NUH"?
And to those Seiya fans who don't like my interpretation of
him... puu on you. Seiya likes to be goofy and aloof
sometimes. He needs a break from his Usagi-woes and
Kakyuu-gagas, don't you, Seiya-mimi? ::holds his head and
shakes it "yes" as he roles his eyes::
Ah! I need to get over my love of NOTES. Take care, minna!
Party on, Garth!
