IX: No Need for Adjusting!
When the light kills the darkness, a little victory is scored. When the inky shadows of night are banished once again, and light and vision and warmth is restored to the world, then all worries and all troubles seem to evaporate away with their dark counterparts. It was exactly this way when the sun illuminated its warm rays on a sleeping Ryoko, and with a very soft groan, her eyes fluttered open and a smile came to her face.
And all too soon, this smile faded as she found herself lying in bed, inches away from the face of the infamous bounty hunter, Nagi. Ryoko let out a little shriek and jerked away on instinct, but as Nagi stirred from the sound, the ex-pirate let out a sigh of relief and apologized.
"Whoo, sorry… I guess I still have to get used to you…"
"Good morning yourself," muttered Nagi. Both girls stretched out of the covers, popping their limbs and twisting their muscles in almost the same exact movements. "It's okay," grunted Nagi as she stretched. "I'm not used to it either. I guess… it'll take awhile…"
"Yeah." Ryoko and Nagi both dragged themselves out of bed, rubbed their eyes, and called dibs on the shower--Nagi won. While her… sister… was bathing herself (it was still a little strange to think of Nagi as a sister), Ryoko busied herself with cleaning up the hotel room and reading the morning paper. Since officially reuniting in the Border Bar, the two sisters had staked out a nice hotel where they could crash after a day of spending quality time together. Their first day of sisterly bonding went rather sour, but Ryoko was hoping for a better time that day.
Nagi emerged from the shower with two towels on, and warned her sister that the water might not have been as warm as she wanted. Ryoko merely shrugged, and stepped inside to wash herself off. She was slowly getting used to having Nagi as a member of her small family, and although the two ladies no longer held any dissent towards each other, they still found it strange to be in such close quarters with each other.
Ryoko smiled as the warm droplets of water trickled down her body, and she took her time in washing herself. So far, she and her… sister… were faring very well for two people who had been mortal enemies a year ago. Sure, they still had their difficult moments, but at least they were now making an effort to put the past behind them. Ryoko actually liked the idea of having a sister, and even though it wasn't who she initially expected, she was still thankful that there had been a family out there for her.
A family… Ryoko's insides grew warm as the word ran through her mind. A small, tiny tear came to her eye and vanished in the spray of water as she tried thinking of life growing up in a normal family: her father the wise, her mother the kind, her sister the fun, and of course, her self. Holidays, vacations, dinner table conversations, cookouts, barbecues, camping, swimming…… Oh, the things she had missed!
And the more Ryoko grew tearful of these things, the more determined she was to remedy the situation. As soon as she emerged from the shower, she was going to show Nagi--no, she was going to show Nanette a good time!!!
Ryoko emerged from the shower with a surprising ensemble on. Her hair was still tussled up in a towel, but the rest of her defied description. She was wearing a pretty blue dress with a light-blue blouse on, the same that was worn during traditional German fairs (sans bonnet, of course). She looked like a real, genuine lady, even with her hair all made out in spikes, and when Nagi caught sight of her sister in the dress, her eyes bugged out significantly. She was wearing her usual clothes along with her cloak.
"Ryoko?!" she squealed. Ryoko smiled merrily at her sister, and suddenly gave the slightly-taller woman a big hug. Nagi froze as Ryoko put her arms around her, and could only stare ahead in disbelief as a defense.
"…Ryoko…"
"Hi, sis," sang Ryoko, her voice more light and friendly than it had ever been. "Ya like my new drags?" Ryoko released her grasp and smiled back at the other woman with pure innocence and spunk. Nagi's eyes bugged out even more, but she could not prevent the smile on her face.
"…Wow, Ryoko! You, uhh…… you look good!"
"Please, call me Christina!" she insisted. "And please, Nanette, please don't wear that God-awful outfit outside! People will think you're some punk or somethin'!" Nagi, who didn't know whether to be amazed at Ryoko's sudden friendliness, or the fact that she was giving hints on clothing, or the fact that she had actually used her real name, simply smiled at her sister and chuckled.
"…If you say so, sis." Ryoko smiled, but this time, t'was Nagi who gave her sister the hug. Ryoko/Christina returned it happily, and the two long-lost twin sisters shared their second heartfelt embrace.
"I'm so glad to have you back, Nanette," whispered Ryoko into her sister's ear. "I'm so, so glad… I think… I think I'm gonna like havin' a family…" Nagi/Nanette smiled, and patted her sister's back gently.
"Me too, Christina. Me too." The sisters smiled and squeezed each other one more time, and then Nagi/Nanette left for a private room, wherein she would finally be rid of the very last traces of Nagi the bounty hunter. When she emerged from the room again, she would be dressed in as much of a pretty and classy ensemble as her sister, and no longer would there be a Nagi or a Ryoko or two enemies, but in their stead, two twin sisters who were starting to like each other more and more.
Nagi--no, it was Nanette now--Nanette and Christina came out of the hotel with their arms linked and their faces beaming. While Christina had on her blue dress, Nanette had a green one, and since the town they were in was a very classy and civilized place, their attire would hardly stand out at all.
Nanette and Christina finally cast aside all their previous feelings for each other that day. They really and truly began to treat each other like sisters and not enemies. Of course, Nanette would always make a joke about how she was the oldest and Ryoko was her little sister, but since neither one of them had much information concerning their birth, it was difficult to determine who had came out first.
Nanette and Christina, both armed with purses full of cash and their individual cabbits, paraded into the square of the town they had stayed in. Their intention was simple: to shop til' they dropped, and to treat each other like sisters the entire day, which they were already becoming good at. At first, one would think that the two ladies would never get along, even with their biological tie, but after seeing them together, one would think that it had always been like that.
Indeed, it felt like an age-old bond had been resurrected after countless years of neglect. It was as if everything was starting to click with the girls; they became fast friends, and by the end of the hour, they were nearly inseparable. Of course, were it not for either one of them being willing to make an effort of reconciliation, they might've still held an enmity with each other, but as it stood, they couldn't get enough of the other.
"Wow, look at this!" whispered Christina in awe, her face plastered against the glass of a candy store. "Nanette, let's buy some candy!"
"Take a look over here, Chrissy!" called Nanette. "They have the most adorable shoes!"
"Aww!! Kittens!" squealed Christina, hoisting a few baby cats up in her arms.
"Meaow-mrowrr!"
"Chaoow-yeaoow!"
"Of course you two can go off by yourselves!" squealed Christina. "Hehehehehe… looking for a little 'private time', eh? Hehehehehe!"
"Don't make too much noise, now," smiled Nanette, rubbing Ken-ohki's head. "And try not to get lost, okay?" The two little lovers agreed to their conditions and hopped out of sight, leaving the twin sisters by themselves for the rest of the day. They sighed and smiled at each other, and never once did it come across to either one of them that they had once hated each other.
"Shall we?" said Nanette, extending her elbow. Christina cheered out a reply, and linked her elbow with her sister's as the two ladies ventured into the town. They stayed in that beautiful little square for hours on end, taking in the sights of the city and drinking in the wonderful flavors it had to offer. There was a giant fountain in the middle of it all, and the road was lined with bricks and not crude asphalt, and there were gorgeous trees and sweet-smelling aromas everywhere. Most travelers looked at the two girls in bemusement, and their puzzlement was dissolved only a little when they explained that they were just two wild and crazy sisters, spending some much-needed quality time together.
"Ooh, here!" squealed Christina, pointing to a karaoke bar. "Let's go here next, Netty!"
"Netty?"
"Just a little pet name for my sweet sister!" sang Christina. Nanette rolled her eyes and threatened to vomit, but her chuckling beat it to the punch. She was then dragged against her will to the karaoke bar, where there was such a sizeable audience that it seemed as if they'd never get a chance to sing.
"It's crowded," murmured Nanette. "You sure you wanna be here, sis?"
"Yeah, sure!" sang Christina, putting her arm across Nanette's shoulders. "Hey, c'mon, you afraid that you're not gonna have a good singin' voice?"
"Well, I, uh--"
"Aah, no problem!" assured Christina. "I can do the singin' if you're uncomfortable with it!"
"Well, I, uh--"
"C'mon!" And with that, Christina dragged her sister up to the stage, where the crowd received the two lovely ladies with whistling and cheering. They both smiled back, though Christina had a little more zest, and a cue from the slightly shorter woman started up the music. Nanette smiled at her sister as the song cued up, and Christina's own face was glowing with so much love that it was almost too much to bear.
"This one goes out to somebody who's very important to me," said Christina, her eyes locked onto her sister's. "…My sister, Nanette." Christina gave her sister a hug, smiled again, and suddenly dove into the song with a ferocious rap.
When I heard Miss Washu say that I had a sis,
I knew I'd catch up on times that I had missed
But imagine! My shock when I discovered
It was Nagi, who was my twin and none other!
I was surprised! It was plain, you see
That Nagi and I, we had some enmity!
The best of the worst, is what we were
She hated me and I hated her!
Well we tried, to get along
But then we found, it was just plain wrong!
It was tragic, the way we fought!
But an end to this solution was what Washu sought!
She made Ayeka, who was my worst enemy
Reform her ways and become my friend, you see!
And now we're soulmates, the lady and I,
Though Miss Nagi, I still wanted to die!
But time quelled this horrible storm,
And now the two of us were ready to reform!
Now we're sistas, part of a family!
Oh Miss Nagi, you complete me!
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try, just the two of us… (Just the two of us!)
Just the two of us, building castles in the sky, just the two of us… You and I!
By the time Christina had actually started singing, Nanette was well into the song and was even belting out the tunes with her. Surprisingly, she was an astounding singer, and one would think that in her early years, Nanette had been trained as a vocalist. The song ended with the two of them doing a little dance on the floor, and they bowed once the applause cued up. They stayed in that bar for an hour longer, and even got up to do another song, as per request. This time, Nanette was the one singing. She had chosen a very slow, and very touching melody that was obviously dedicated to somebody very close to her.
The girls went to a very wonderful and slightly pricey restaurant for dinner, and they both chose their favorite dishes (Christina, as a rule, would eat just about anything placed before her, and Nanette had a very liberal diet). They talked, chatted, and laughed the evening away, and slowly began to catch up on all the things that they had missed in life. They had many more years to go, but they were both reasonably young women, and with their previous occupations a thing of the past, they could now devote all their time towards each other.
"I'm really enjoying this day, Nanette," smiled Ryoko, twirling her pasta around aimlessly. Nanette nodded her head in agreement and cut her steak a little more.
"Yeah… At first I thought it would be horrible, but after putting some effort into it, I found out that you're actually a very wonderful person to be with! Christina, I…… well, I just wanted to say… that, uhh…… well… I'm… I'm glad you're my sister." Christina smiled warmly at the heartfelt declaration, and even let out a girlish Awww!.
"Nanette… I'm glad you're my sister too… Ha, it sounds a bit funny for me to say that, but'cha know something? I'm starting to like it. I really am! I'm really starting to like having you as a sister!" The two girls smiled again, and although they were receiving a few stares from some of the other diners, they paid them no mind.
Unfortunately, the tender moment would not last forever, as an annoying blaring noise came out from Christina's purse. She snarled and let out a curse, which was apparently aimed directly at Washu.
"That wretched little…" murmured the woman, and she yanked a communicator out of her purse and activated it. Ryoko--that is, the "old" Ryoko--had agreed to carry a two-way communicator with her, just in case Washu had some emergency that came up. The smallish scientist had made it plain that she would research their parents while they were away, and so insisted that the golden-eyes woman carry such a device around. Christina was eager to learn about her real parents, but considering that this was Washu, it could've been anything.
"Yeah, whaddyou want?" she grumbled.
"Ryoko, where are you?!" A pause. Christina made a face that suggested her true feelings towards the redhead.
"Nice talkin' to you too, Washu."
"Ryoko, this is serious!" spat the scientist. "Where are you?!" Christina sighed, and looked to her sister for answers.
"Aarnkaard."
"Some planet named Aarnkaard. I dunno, I think it's close." A pause. Christina shrugged when her sister made an inquisitive face.
"…Yeah, you're close," came Washu's voice after awhile. "Listen, Ryoko, I don't care what you're doing right now, just please! Come over here as quickly as you can!"
"What's the deal? Didja find something about our parents?"
"You could say that," said Washu flatly. "Just please, come back here right away! I don't care what it takes, just… please!"
"Washu--"
"Please!!" begged the scientist. The mere tone of her voice was enough to get Christina concerned, and when the connection was suddenly cut off, her boiling curiosity was risen even more.
"What was that?" asked her sister. Christina let out a showy sigh and shook her head.
"I don't know," she said, "but I've got a bad feeling about this…"
Next chapter: So just what has Washu discovered? Is it really so important that she'd be willing to break up this reunion? She sounds far too serious to be pulling any pranks, and she sure did sound petrified in the last chapter! So what's the deal? Coming up next chapter, "No Need for a History Lesson!". It's unquestionably engrossing!