~ Chapter 11 ~
Channel 13 ½
"Finally no da!" I slumped onto Sakura's head. It hadn't been a very easy-going flight over … since it was pitch black outside, it was quite hard for Sakura's navigation skills and she had trouble finding Joanna's house. After what seemed like an eternity, she landed near the tree in her yard.
"We still have a problem, Chichiri …" She shifted Tasuki in her arms, as they were falling asleep in this constant position. "I think I remember him waking up … or something – he may be asleep now but I'm not sure."
I peered at his relaxed face. "He's probably sleeping no da." Sakura and I slumped our backs against the tree's trunk and sat down. It was relatively warm out, but with hardly any light. Tasuki was left to sleep in the grass. I laid down my kasa on the ground next to Tasuki.
"Speaking of sleeping no da … we should get some before tomorrow na no da," I stretched my arms high above my head as Sakura yawned very loudly and noticeably.
"Aw, just a lil tired …" She said, unintentionally stressing the "lil" part. I unhooked my kesa and threw it at her face.
"Well … oyasumi nasai no da! Daa … hope it helps," I slid my eyes shut and leaned my back heavily against the bark of the tree.
"Thanks …"
The next morning I was the first to wake up … not surprising, really, me being the early bird and all. The sun was just coming up and it cast an orangey glare over just about everything. It was shining in my face, so I had to squint just to see my feet. But I didn't need to see that Sakura was leaning, and very heavily, her back against my left arm. Not only that but her head and about everything but her legs where covered completely by my kesa. Boy, she's a heavier sleeper than Tasuki.
"Daa, Tasuki … that's right! Wonder if he's still unconscious no da …" I jumped suddenly from where I was, but quickly propped up Sakura on my kasa … temporarily of course, because I knew it wouldn't hold her for long.
SD, I walked over to Tasuki, who was sprawled out on the grass and his mouth wide open. This was a sure sign he was asleep, going by his occasional snores. Well, I had to wake him up anyhow … so I slowly started to pull his tessen out of its sheath, hoping to get his attention and wake him up. I had it out almost all the way, and he was still snoring.
"Da…" I sighed and sat down, just kinda waving the tessen over his face. Then I jabbed his nose with one of its edges once … twice … three times. Didn't work. I figured as much … the only sure fire way to get him up and about right away was to beat the living crap out of him. So I raised the tessen over my head, my arms stretched so they were perfectly straight and I lunged at him, still SD of course.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Tasuki screamed bloody murder when I landed on his stomach. It would have been worse if I had hit him with the tessen, but I had missed and used myself to make his eyes pop out of his head. I sweatdropped as he had almost always had me do this to him in the past. And when he woke up, so did everyone and everything in his vicinity. Sakura had also woken up, and I managed to catch a glimpse of her falling backwards into my kasa so her head and shoulders were inside, and the rest of her and the kesa where flailing around outside.
"WHAT IN F—" I slapped my hand across his mouth to keep him quiet.
"Tasuki shut UP no DA!" I whispered dangerously in his face. We were planning to visit Joanna, and Joanna only. Not her parents and the entire neighborhood as well.
After everything was in order again, we approached Joanna's house. The sun had risen a little bit more, and a few cars passed by – so we had to be a little more careful with our actions. But we had a bigger problem.
"So…how're we gettin' in there again?" Tasuki asked with false enthusiasm near my ear. We were all tightly packed together in a line, hiding behind a bush around the side of her house, near the window we could actually get at. The blind was down and it seemed relatively quiet. I gave him a warning look, as I could hear the annoyance in his voice. Now was the worst of times to argue, especially when there was a dog pen behind us … and we wanted anything but to wake it up.
"Well…why don't we just go right in?" She suggested simply. "Sure she wouldn't mind."
Tasuki rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say … she's your friend."
"Okay!" She tried to move around as her feet began to fall asleep. "Chichiri … you get her attention!"
I blinked behind my mask. "Nani da? Me no da?"
She laughed nervously and pushed me out of the bush and into the window…literally. I had a very good close-up view of her blinds, as my face was smushed against the windowpane.
"What should I do no da?" It was an obvious question, but I really didn't know.
"Just knock or something!"
"O-okay no da…" I tapped the window lightly, and got no answer. Sakura rustled in the bush to get out and, almost tripping over a root coming from the bush, made her way to the windowpane as well. She listened for a moment, and didn't hear anything from inside. I looked behind us, noting Tasuki was still in the bush…now by himself.
"Tasuki-san…what are you still doing in there no da?"
"Pretending like I don't exist…Sakura says it'll keep us from getting into trouble," He got up from the bush and brushed himself off. "…but anyway maybe I can help ya out…" He unsheathed his tessen and made his way toward us…only…
"Tasuki, watch out for that---!" Sakura made a move to stop him.
Too late. Him being his usual clumsy self tripped all-out over the big ugly root and careened into Sakura and I, who flew against Joanna's window and bust through it. Good thing Joanna's window wasn't totally glass.
"Itai no da…" I rubbed my head and looked up from where I was, and I saw Joanna near her door, gripping the doorhandle so hard her knuckles were white … and her eyes couldn't get any bigger. Tasuki was sprawled out on Joanna's poofy circular chair and I had fallen in on my back, my legs straight up in the air, which were leaning up against the circular chair. This wasn't exactly the best position, and not only that; Sakura had fallen across my stomach and made no move to get up. She just kept grinning at me, despite her present situation, as I sweatdropped and laughed nervously.
~~Note, temporarily in Joanna's PoV until further notice…
What the hell was going on? I was about to go out and eat breakfast and get ready to catch the bus when Sakura, Chichiri, and Tasuki come busting through my window! Now that's something you don't see everyday…
"Um…what are you doing here?" I asked as I took in what had just happened, and before that, made sure no one was coming to check on me. Sakura perked up, but didn't leave her spot.
"We've come for YOU to help us!"
Tasuki sighed. "Well, don't you feel special…"
I approached them now … knowing I wasn't having another weird dream. "And what's that?" Sakura grabbed Chichiri's kasa and set it on the ground. Then she rolled up whatever sleeves she had and pulled some huge thing out of it…a….a really big TV set. She set it down inside my open closet so it was hidden. After all, it was relatively large and if my mom would have walked in, she would demand to know where this television came from.
"Um … lemme guess…is it for me?" I asked with a tinge of hope, it growing as Sakura grinned.
"Ahhh…..nope!" She took out a remote after successfully plugging it in and handed it to Chichiri and Tasuki to desipher a way to show us the channel with the strange aura. Tasuki stifled a yawn, but a smack upside the head by Chichiri stopped him midway.
"So……why are you in my bedroom with a big TV set when I'm about to go to school?"
"Well, last night we kinda broke into the school because we all sensed some weird aura from inside the library … and Chichiri and I felt it strongest inside the TV ---"
"—what about Tasuki?"
Sakura rolled her eyes and flushed as she remembered. "Don't ask… anyway we stuffed it into Chichiri's kasa and well, here we are!"
"And how am I going to get my mom to let me stay home from school?" I asked crossing my arms.
"You could … um … pretend you go on the bus, but you actually are hiding in the neighbor's yard … and you stay there until your mom goes to work! …or something like that…and we could stay somewhere till then I guess…" She trailed off, uncertain. "You figure something out…you know your mom better than we do."
I thought for a moment. "That might work...but I'm not sure…"
"We got it Sakura-chan no da!" Chichiri suddenly popped in. Both Tasuki and Chichiri sat in front of the large TV screen, now turned on and on a channel that was just a plain old crimson color with nothing else but that.
"Great! I wonder what this means…" Sakura hopped down off the bed and looked on with interest as Chichiri explained all he knew.
"Well…we—" Chichiri nudged Tasuki in the ribs sharply. "---er, I figured out that instead of being sucked up into the Universe of the Four Gods book, it would be the same way, but with this television set no da! We just have to find the correct button to press, and we would be sucked up into our world again na no da!" He gave Sakura the remote and continued. "I guess when we go inside, everything we do is shown on the screen, as if it was an actual television show no da. Joanna can probably watch over us that way, because with the Universe of the Four Gods book, another reader with a connection of some sort would be able to almost visualize what happened to the one he/she was connected to inside the book no da! If you two have something somewhat in common that you can wear, you would have that essential connection and Joanna would be able to see everything that happens to us in our world no da!"
Sakura, Tasuki, and I stared at him with blank, drawn faces.
"Did I … say too much no da?" Chichiri smiled nervously.
I blinked suddenly. "Did you say we needed something in common for our connection? Well, in that case…" I got up and got my woven bracelet that I had hand made, and for myself, it had an "M" on it … then I found another one that looked exactly like it but had a "C" on it. I gave the one with the "C" to Sakura and we put each other's on.
Sakura studied the bracelet carefully. "Our connection…I get it!"
I put my hands together eagerly. "So…when are you guys gonna go in and start?!"
"Well … later when your mom leaves for work…remember?" Sakura reminded me.
I slouched. "Oh, right." I sighed; I couldn't wait to get started!