[Poke, pokepoke]
Once again being awakened to the feeling of someone or something poking me, I opened my eyes, while
my brain slowly started up again. First off, I noticed the poking stopped. Then temperatures
registered. My body was warm for the most part, and I could feel sheets on most of me, but my head
and arm was extremely cold.
Rolling my eyes to look at Makoto, I spotter her glaring at me, with a pen in one hand outstretched,
and the other hand on her hip. She looked upset, and I frowned, unsure what
I'd done..
Soft. There was something soft, and bizarrely familiar under my left hand. Focusing on what was lying
beside me, I realized Nabiki still laid there, head slightly elevated, and my hand was currently
resting upon...
"Augh!" I jumped back, which, unfortunately, wasn't too smart, as the wall was a foot and a half
behind me, and I only succeeded in falling off the bed and onto the floor in a heap under the
blankets.
Makoto chuckles softly at this, and I reached up to lift my head above the bed, glaring at her as I
struggled out of my cloth prison. When I was finished, I shivered, and quickly covered Nabiki with
the blankets I'd torn from the bed in my hasty retreat.
Quickly changing into something warmer, I exited my closet and looked at Makoto, who, now that I
looked at her, was wearing my sweater over what looked like one of my thicker long sleeve shirts.
"Why the hell is it so cold?" I muttered. The wounded look on Makoto's face, and her sudden refusal
to meet my eye reminded me of her attempts to help her friends last night, and the resulting damage
done to my heater.
"Err.. Makoto. I'm sorry." I lamely amended, stepping towards her slowly, unsure how to take back
what I'd said. She sighed heavily, and I sat on the bed, staring at the TV. Looking at the clock, I
realized it was rather late in the morning. Glad I didn't have to work today, I thought about going
to sleep again, but something was nagging me, a stray thought in the back of my head. Shrugging, I
moved over to my desk, Makoto slouching in the chair nearby and idly nosing through the Sailor Moon
manga she'd pulled off the shelf. Pushing the stuff on the desk out of my way, something I didn't
immediately recognize fell to the floor, and I leaned over to pick it up. Looking at it, I suddenly
spun to look at the clock.
Makoto was twenty minutes from being late to her orientation! Jumping to the counter, where she'd
placed her uniform, I tossed them at her, then looked at the things I'd purchased last night, hoping
I could get everything done in time. Makoto, snapping out of her daze when her bagged uniform
smacked her in the side of the head, quickly went into the bathroom and changed, while I looked
everything over.
"Simple enough." I muttered, holding up an old Polaroid camera I had sitting under my desk. When
Makoto exited the bathroom, I snapped a picture, and waited for it to appear, scissors in hand. When
it did, I quickly cut out Makoto's head, hoping nobody would pay attention to the edge of the mirror
behind her.
Laminating the ID quickly, I followed the paper instructions, and ended up with what looked like a
legitimate Illinois Drivers License, though, I would have to check to see if his was what one really
looked like. Hopefully, The managers would give it the customary once-over, and move on.
After Makoto had left, I turned to look at Nabiki, lying in bed, and then the broken heater. I
thought about opening it to poke around inside, but reconsidered after I realized I had no idea what
I'd find, and even less an idea of what to do even if I did. Swallowing a couple more painkillers, I
decided it was a good time to go to the main office, and talk to the landlord about getting a new
heating unit.
Piling a couple blankets on Nabiki to make sure she stayed warm, I threw on my jacket and trudged up
to the office, wondering how much colder Denver could get. Entering the office, I looked around, and
wondered what I would have to do to get someone to make me some cotton candy. I didn't want to ask
why a cotton candy machine was in the office of an apartment complex, so I pretended it wasn't there
as we started to talk about getting a new heater.
The landlady was upset at first, but when I explained it was a freak electrical surge, and my quick
thinking saved the wiring in the rest of the apartment, she relented, and said a workman would come
out to take a look at it in a couple hours. Thanking her, I left, pausing to realize that it had
started snowing. Shivering slightly, I jogged over to my mailbox grabbing what little mail I had, and
then ran back to my apartment.
Glancing at Nabiki, I noticed she was stirring slowly, and moved over to the side of the bed to see
if she'd wake up. After a moment, here eyelids slowly peeled open, and she looked around wearily for
a moment before focusing on me.
"So it's dead, then?" She asked, her voice somewhat hoarse. I nodded, going into the kitchen to grab
a glass of water for her before pulling a chair over to the side of the bed.
"What, are you going to read me a story?" she asked, staring at me. I chuckled then sat down, the
painkillers finally kicking in.
"No. I just wanted to see if you were all right. You hit the wall pretty hard, and it doesn't yield
as well as other things." She quirked a brow at this, and I turned, pulling up my shirt to show her
my back. I heard her grunt, and later found out that the railing had left a ladder-shaped bruise
across my back.
"I don't think Makoto should try to help her friends.. Unless they're fighting something simple..
like a mouse or a rabbit."
I chuckled at that, the mental image of Jupiter shocking Usagi for no reason surprisingly funny,
before looking at her.
"How's your head? And the rest of you for that matter. We didn't really know what to do after we got
you in bed." She blinked at that, and I fidgeted, realizing what I'd just said. "I mean, when we put
you in your place." A frown. I felt myself blushing and tried again, quickly, "I mean, we.. ahh..
that is to sa.."
"Nevermind, Kyle. I understand, all the same. You're really easy to fluster, you know that? And
before you ask again, my head is throbbing, and my back feels like an elephant decided to play
hopscotch on it. Got anything for pain?"
"I don't know... are painkillers a good idea for a possible concussion?" The question was somewhat
rhetoric, and she didn't answer, just staring at me as if I'd not said anything at all.
Our ersatz conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door, and I moved to open it, annoyed at my
inability to verbally spar with Nabiki. Opening the door, I recognized the man as one of the workers
for the complex, and pointed to the Heater, before turning back to Nabiki.
"We need to find a way home." She said, once I'd sat back down. I nodded, but didn't respond. She
looked at me with a slight frown, and I stopped nodding to return her gaze.
"We've been here a week, tonight. Makoto and Mara might not have family, but I do, and I'm sure their
worried sick. Do you have any Idea how messed up Nerima is going to be when I get back?" I blinked,
then shrugged.
"It wont be too bad. I mean, you're.." I shut up, then, not wanting to finish what I'd started.
'You're Nabiki' might come off as a little too harsh. Unfortunately, she'd deduced what I'd intended
to say, and looked away, at the wall, visibly sinking into the bed a little more.
"…I'm Nabiki." She said, quietly.
Gritting my teeth, I squeezed the chair I was sitting in, before responding "Yeah… but they don't
know you like I do. I know what they're thinking, because I felt that way before, too. But.. well..
You're not the same person I'd come to expect."
She rolled over and sat up, glaring at me, her eyes looking like they might burn a hole in me if she
had the power, and also like they might let loose a flood of tears.
"Oh, right. What with all the time you've spent with me, I'm sure you've gotten to know me quite
well."
"Hey! Don't pin this all on me. You've done a good job of distancing yourself from us, too."
"Heh. The only one distancing themselves is Mara, in case you haven't noticed."
"I noticed. And with the way things have been going lately, I'm not going to complain. I… Don't
change the subject. You've not done all you could to be as friendly with us as you could, you know."
"Friendly? Damnitt Kyle, I want to go home, not make friends!" I scowled at her for that, and holding
back the anger that comment had brought forth, I responded, "it would be much easier for us to get
along and work together to finding you a way home if you tried to be a little friendlier."
"Hmph. Considering the way you and Makoto seem to be doing, I'd be butting in."
"Butting in, to wh.. huh? Wait. What do you mean?" I stared at her, not quite sure I understood what
she'd said. Sometime in our conversation, a few tears had broken free, and as she glared at me, the
first one fell into her lap, darkening the cloth there.
"Makoto likes you. And it's pretty apparent you like her, too."
I just stared, not really at anything, as what she said sunk in. I honestly hadn't really thought
about things like that. Being busy supporting two, occasionally three guests and thinking up ways to
get them home, I'd not really thought about starting a relationship. But if what Nabiki said was true
(and the part about me liking Makoto was, I realized) then-
My thoughts were cutoff as my pillow hit me in the face, knocking me out of the chair in surprise.
"You don't have to space out on me." Nabiki said, looking down at me from on the bed. I sat up, and
sighed, looking down at the ground unhappily. "Nabiki, I'm sorry. I justt… look. You're a nice person
when you want to be, and I don't mean to ignore you or anything, I just.. sometimes get the feeling
you'd rather be left alone. Lets get cleaned up, and we can go out somewhere… I'll buy you… a
moderately sized meal, or something to make it up to you." I looked at her, trying to look as sincere
as I felt, and watched as she went from upset to calculating.
"Moderately sized?" She asked, finally. I nodded, "We do need to save a little if your trip home
isn't as soon as we all hope." She merely nodded at this, before sliding out of the sheets, and
standing beside the bed. She wobbled a little, before moving into the bathroom, and I sighed, turning
to the repairman, who seemed to be having a tough time pulling something out.
"Dumb question, but are you going to be alright if I leave?"
"Si, senior."
"Right." Turning away, I looked for something clean to wear, and changed while Nabiki took a quick
shower. When she was dressed, we left, bundled up as much as we could without looking ridiculous, to
go eat at a nearby Subway.
That evening, Nabiki and I were playing a game of You Don't Know Jack, when Makoto walked in, looking
tired and somewhat worried.
"How'd it go?" I asked once she'd shut the door. She looked at me, and shrugged. "Alright, I guess.
Tomorrow though, they said they'd have to run all my numbers, and do all the paperwork." I nodded,
then sighed. If the fake Ids were detected, there went that job. Still, since there was little I
could do about it, I decided we'd best just sit it out and see what happens tomorrow.
"Did you get a server booklet?" I asked, looking at the bag she'd carried in. She nodded, and
retrieved it, rummaging through it to pull out a large book.
"I have to fill out so much stuff it's not even funny," she groused. I just chuckled, and told her to
pull up a chair. Then, I proceeded to tell her the answers I knew, the next couple hours going by
quickly in a makeshift Q&A session. Nabiki just played YDKJ solo for a bit, before turning in for the
evening. Makoto and I soon finished up, and, thankful the heater was once again working, I stretched
out on the floor, wondering what would happen next.
My question was answered around four in the morning, when I was once again woken up by Makoto poking
me. Opening my eyes to look at her, I realized she looked worried, and sat up. "Something wrong?" I
asked. As I did though, I realized that yes, there was something wrong.
Nabiki, Makoto, and I all seemed to be glowing softly, a golden aura surrounding the three of us.
Makoto, however seemed to be glowing green on the inside, and I assumed it was her magic fighting off
whatever surrounded her. Looking closely, I thought I could detect a hint of green helping Nabiki, as
well.
"What the hell?" I asked, looking at Makoto again.
"I.. I don't know. It's like an attack, but it's definitely magical. And it's strong too, my magic is
almost fully used up protecting us."
"Us?"
"Yes.. I don't know quite how, but I'm protecting you two as well.. lets hope Mara isn't in any
trouble…"
"I-" my question was cut off as a tendril of golden light reached in towards Nabiki and Makoto's
heads (and mine, too, I assumed) the green underneath bunching up where it would most likely connect
and stopping it from reaching. A spot on the side of my head started to tingle, like some warm static
shock, but nothing bad happened afterwards, so I assumed Makoto's magic did what it intended.
That's when Makoto passed out. "Makoto!" I moved to catch her before she went through the television,
and managed to intercept her at the last minute. Nabiki was awakened by the shout, and sat up,
groggily. I felt another tingle begin, and saw that whatever surrounded us was once again reaching
forth a tendril of magic towards out heads. This time, however, Makoto's magic wasn't there to stop
it, and as the world grew white, I hoped I'd be waking up again.
Once again being awakened to the feeling of someone or something poking me, I opened my eyes, while
my brain slowly started up again. First off, I noticed the poking stopped. Then temperatures
registered. My body was warm for the most part, and I could feel sheets on most of me, but my head
and arm was extremely cold.
Rolling my eyes to look at Makoto, I spotter her glaring at me, with a pen in one hand outstretched,
and the other hand on her hip. She looked upset, and I frowned, unsure what
I'd done..
Soft. There was something soft, and bizarrely familiar under my left hand. Focusing on what was lying
beside me, I realized Nabiki still laid there, head slightly elevated, and my hand was currently
resting upon...
"Augh!" I jumped back, which, unfortunately, wasn't too smart, as the wall was a foot and a half
behind me, and I only succeeded in falling off the bed and onto the floor in a heap under the
blankets.
Makoto chuckles softly at this, and I reached up to lift my head above the bed, glaring at her as I
struggled out of my cloth prison. When I was finished, I shivered, and quickly covered Nabiki with
the blankets I'd torn from the bed in my hasty retreat.
Quickly changing into something warmer, I exited my closet and looked at Makoto, who, now that I
looked at her, was wearing my sweater over what looked like one of my thicker long sleeve shirts.
"Why the hell is it so cold?" I muttered. The wounded look on Makoto's face, and her sudden refusal
to meet my eye reminded me of her attempts to help her friends last night, and the resulting damage
done to my heater.
"Err.. Makoto. I'm sorry." I lamely amended, stepping towards her slowly, unsure how to take back
what I'd said. She sighed heavily, and I sat on the bed, staring at the TV. Looking at the clock, I
realized it was rather late in the morning. Glad I didn't have to work today, I thought about going
to sleep again, but something was nagging me, a stray thought in the back of my head. Shrugging, I
moved over to my desk, Makoto slouching in the chair nearby and idly nosing through the Sailor Moon
manga she'd pulled off the shelf. Pushing the stuff on the desk out of my way, something I didn't
immediately recognize fell to the floor, and I leaned over to pick it up. Looking at it, I suddenly
spun to look at the clock.
Makoto was twenty minutes from being late to her orientation! Jumping to the counter, where she'd
placed her uniform, I tossed them at her, then looked at the things I'd purchased last night, hoping
I could get everything done in time. Makoto, snapping out of her daze when her bagged uniform
smacked her in the side of the head, quickly went into the bathroom and changed, while I looked
everything over.
"Simple enough." I muttered, holding up an old Polaroid camera I had sitting under my desk. When
Makoto exited the bathroom, I snapped a picture, and waited for it to appear, scissors in hand. When
it did, I quickly cut out Makoto's head, hoping nobody would pay attention to the edge of the mirror
behind her.
Laminating the ID quickly, I followed the paper instructions, and ended up with what looked like a
legitimate Illinois Drivers License, though, I would have to check to see if his was what one really
looked like. Hopefully, The managers would give it the customary once-over, and move on.
After Makoto had left, I turned to look at Nabiki, lying in bed, and then the broken heater. I
thought about opening it to poke around inside, but reconsidered after I realized I had no idea what
I'd find, and even less an idea of what to do even if I did. Swallowing a couple more painkillers, I
decided it was a good time to go to the main office, and talk to the landlord about getting a new
heating unit.
Piling a couple blankets on Nabiki to make sure she stayed warm, I threw on my jacket and trudged up
to the office, wondering how much colder Denver could get. Entering the office, I looked around, and
wondered what I would have to do to get someone to make me some cotton candy. I didn't want to ask
why a cotton candy machine was in the office of an apartment complex, so I pretended it wasn't there
as we started to talk about getting a new heater.
The landlady was upset at first, but when I explained it was a freak electrical surge, and my quick
thinking saved the wiring in the rest of the apartment, she relented, and said a workman would come
out to take a look at it in a couple hours. Thanking her, I left, pausing to realize that it had
started snowing. Shivering slightly, I jogged over to my mailbox grabbing what little mail I had, and
then ran back to my apartment.
Glancing at Nabiki, I noticed she was stirring slowly, and moved over to the side of the bed to see
if she'd wake up. After a moment, here eyelids slowly peeled open, and she looked around wearily for
a moment before focusing on me.
"So it's dead, then?" She asked, her voice somewhat hoarse. I nodded, going into the kitchen to grab
a glass of water for her before pulling a chair over to the side of the bed.
"What, are you going to read me a story?" she asked, staring at me. I chuckled then sat down, the
painkillers finally kicking in.
"No. I just wanted to see if you were all right. You hit the wall pretty hard, and it doesn't yield
as well as other things." She quirked a brow at this, and I turned, pulling up my shirt to show her
my back. I heard her grunt, and later found out that the railing had left a ladder-shaped bruise
across my back.
"I don't think Makoto should try to help her friends.. Unless they're fighting something simple..
like a mouse or a rabbit."
I chuckled at that, the mental image of Jupiter shocking Usagi for no reason surprisingly funny,
before looking at her.
"How's your head? And the rest of you for that matter. We didn't really know what to do after we got
you in bed." She blinked at that, and I fidgeted, realizing what I'd just said. "I mean, when we put
you in your place." A frown. I felt myself blushing and tried again, quickly, "I mean, we.. ahh..
that is to sa.."
"Nevermind, Kyle. I understand, all the same. You're really easy to fluster, you know that? And
before you ask again, my head is throbbing, and my back feels like an elephant decided to play
hopscotch on it. Got anything for pain?"
"I don't know... are painkillers a good idea for a possible concussion?" The question was somewhat
rhetoric, and she didn't answer, just staring at me as if I'd not said anything at all.
Our ersatz conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door, and I moved to open it, annoyed at my
inability to verbally spar with Nabiki. Opening the door, I recognized the man as one of the workers
for the complex, and pointed to the Heater, before turning back to Nabiki.
"We need to find a way home." She said, once I'd sat back down. I nodded, but didn't respond. She
looked at me with a slight frown, and I stopped nodding to return her gaze.
"We've been here a week, tonight. Makoto and Mara might not have family, but I do, and I'm sure their
worried sick. Do you have any Idea how messed up Nerima is going to be when I get back?" I blinked,
then shrugged.
"It wont be too bad. I mean, you're.." I shut up, then, not wanting to finish what I'd started.
'You're Nabiki' might come off as a little too harsh. Unfortunately, she'd deduced what I'd intended
to say, and looked away, at the wall, visibly sinking into the bed a little more.
"…I'm Nabiki." She said, quietly.
Gritting my teeth, I squeezed the chair I was sitting in, before responding "Yeah… but they don't
know you like I do. I know what they're thinking, because I felt that way before, too. But.. well..
You're not the same person I'd come to expect."
She rolled over and sat up, glaring at me, her eyes looking like they might burn a hole in me if she
had the power, and also like they might let loose a flood of tears.
"Oh, right. What with all the time you've spent with me, I'm sure you've gotten to know me quite
well."
"Hey! Don't pin this all on me. You've done a good job of distancing yourself from us, too."
"Heh. The only one distancing themselves is Mara, in case you haven't noticed."
"I noticed. And with the way things have been going lately, I'm not going to complain. I… Don't
change the subject. You've not done all you could to be as friendly with us as you could, you know."
"Friendly? Damnitt Kyle, I want to go home, not make friends!" I scowled at her for that, and holding
back the anger that comment had brought forth, I responded, "it would be much easier for us to get
along and work together to finding you a way home if you tried to be a little friendlier."
"Hmph. Considering the way you and Makoto seem to be doing, I'd be butting in."
"Butting in, to wh.. huh? Wait. What do you mean?" I stared at her, not quite sure I understood what
she'd said. Sometime in our conversation, a few tears had broken free, and as she glared at me, the
first one fell into her lap, darkening the cloth there.
"Makoto likes you. And it's pretty apparent you like her, too."
I just stared, not really at anything, as what she said sunk in. I honestly hadn't really thought
about things like that. Being busy supporting two, occasionally three guests and thinking up ways to
get them home, I'd not really thought about starting a relationship. But if what Nabiki said was true
(and the part about me liking Makoto was, I realized) then-
My thoughts were cutoff as my pillow hit me in the face, knocking me out of the chair in surprise.
"You don't have to space out on me." Nabiki said, looking down at me from on the bed. I sat up, and
sighed, looking down at the ground unhappily. "Nabiki, I'm sorry. I justt… look. You're a nice person
when you want to be, and I don't mean to ignore you or anything, I just.. sometimes get the feeling
you'd rather be left alone. Lets get cleaned up, and we can go out somewhere… I'll buy you… a
moderately sized meal, or something to make it up to you." I looked at her, trying to look as sincere
as I felt, and watched as she went from upset to calculating.
"Moderately sized?" She asked, finally. I nodded, "We do need to save a little if your trip home
isn't as soon as we all hope." She merely nodded at this, before sliding out of the sheets, and
standing beside the bed. She wobbled a little, before moving into the bathroom, and I sighed, turning
to the repairman, who seemed to be having a tough time pulling something out.
"Dumb question, but are you going to be alright if I leave?"
"Si, senior."
"Right." Turning away, I looked for something clean to wear, and changed while Nabiki took a quick
shower. When she was dressed, we left, bundled up as much as we could without looking ridiculous, to
go eat at a nearby Subway.
That evening, Nabiki and I were playing a game of You Don't Know Jack, when Makoto walked in, looking
tired and somewhat worried.
"How'd it go?" I asked once she'd shut the door. She looked at me, and shrugged. "Alright, I guess.
Tomorrow though, they said they'd have to run all my numbers, and do all the paperwork." I nodded,
then sighed. If the fake Ids were detected, there went that job. Still, since there was little I
could do about it, I decided we'd best just sit it out and see what happens tomorrow.
"Did you get a server booklet?" I asked, looking at the bag she'd carried in. She nodded, and
retrieved it, rummaging through it to pull out a large book.
"I have to fill out so much stuff it's not even funny," she groused. I just chuckled, and told her to
pull up a chair. Then, I proceeded to tell her the answers I knew, the next couple hours going by
quickly in a makeshift Q&A session. Nabiki just played YDKJ solo for a bit, before turning in for the
evening. Makoto and I soon finished up, and, thankful the heater was once again working, I stretched
out on the floor, wondering what would happen next.
My question was answered around four in the morning, when I was once again woken up by Makoto poking
me. Opening my eyes to look at her, I realized she looked worried, and sat up. "Something wrong?" I
asked. As I did though, I realized that yes, there was something wrong.
Nabiki, Makoto, and I all seemed to be glowing softly, a golden aura surrounding the three of us.
Makoto, however seemed to be glowing green on the inside, and I assumed it was her magic fighting off
whatever surrounded her. Looking closely, I thought I could detect a hint of green helping Nabiki, as
well.
"What the hell?" I asked, looking at Makoto again.
"I.. I don't know. It's like an attack, but it's definitely magical. And it's strong too, my magic is
almost fully used up protecting us."
"Us?"
"Yes.. I don't know quite how, but I'm protecting you two as well.. lets hope Mara isn't in any
trouble…"
"I-" my question was cut off as a tendril of golden light reached in towards Nabiki and Makoto's
heads (and mine, too, I assumed) the green underneath bunching up where it would most likely connect
and stopping it from reaching. A spot on the side of my head started to tingle, like some warm static
shock, but nothing bad happened afterwards, so I assumed Makoto's magic did what it intended.
That's when Makoto passed out. "Makoto!" I moved to catch her before she went through the television,
and managed to intercept her at the last minute. Nabiki was awakened by the shout, and sat up,
groggily. I felt another tingle begin, and saw that whatever surrounded us was once again reaching
forth a tendril of magic towards out heads. This time, however, Makoto's magic wasn't there to stop
it, and as the world grew white, I hoped I'd be waking up again.