Hey peeps, KT again. (I start every chapter like this don't I? Oh well...) New chapter. Tell a friend about my story and how they should read it because it's so good! *hopes her readers agree with her inflated ego* Enjoy! ~ JA ~ KT ~
::bla:: = thoughts
"bla" = actual dialog
*bla* = action that happened (or whatever...I think you caught on by now...)
********** = new perspective and usually time has passed
Kyoei woke up the next morning feeling tired from not getting a lot of sleep last night. The song she couldn't remember was bugging her to no end, simply because she couldn't remember the rest of the lyrics.
*change dialog from English to Japanese here*
"Kyoei-chan...are you awake?" Kyoei's 'mother' was at the door.
"Yes," She wiped the sleep from her eyes.
"May I come in?" Her mother had her hand on the doorknob. She was worried about Kyoei and wanted to make sure she was OK this morning.
"Yes, please do," Kyoei stood up and began to look for things she needed to pack.
Her mother opened the door a crack to make sure she was decent, and strode through, closing the door behind her. "You've been crying, haven't you? Did you get much sleep?" she stood behind her adopted daughter and stroked her hair lovingly.
Kyoei turned around and gave her mother a hug. "No, I didn't get much sleep, but it is nice that I have you to talk to and comfort me," Kyoei let a few more tears slip from her eyes before stopping herself and calming down.
Her mother put her hands on her shoulders and pushed her away a bit so she could see Kyoei's face, "Let's get you packed so you're not late for your trip. There's also some breakfast for you downstairs. Your father took off work today so we may say goodbye to you," Her mother smiled down at her, knowing full well what might happen to Kyoei when she left into the book world. A few tears spilled from both their eyes as they thought of the possibility.
"He didn't have to do that...I'll be back!" Kyoei started to laugh, like it was impossible that she would die from something other than old age.
"He wanted to, Kyoei-chan," Her mother smiled at her. "But we need to start packing. Goodbyes are for later, and you need to eat breakfast so you can keep up your strength!" Her mother gave her a gentle push out the door so Kyoei could eat while she packed a bit for her.
:: Multi-tasking is good when you're in a hurry. We only have two hours! :: When Kyoei stepped into the kitchen, she saw her father cooking hot cakes on the stove for her. She wasn't used to seeing him cooking, so she stared at the scene for a moment before she registered that this was real.
"Good morning, Kyoei! How was your night?" Her father smiled at her from where she was standing.
"I am doing all right. I didn't get much sleep last night," Kyoei admitted, and she saw her father's worried face.
"Yes, your mother and I heard you for a bit last night, but she said to leave you alone. Are you scared about leaving?" He questioned her, concerned.
"No, I was consumed by some old ghosts," Kyoei went to the medicine cabinet and took out some asprin to calm her headache that had started.
"I see. Then it was that?" Kyoei's father went back to cooking.
"Yes, that was all. So...what's for breakfast?" Kyoei asked, trying to change the mood to something happier and lighter. All this moodiness wasn't going to make her in any mood to see her friends today.
"Well! I have a special treat for you, Kyoei-chan! Hot cakes and syrup with some red bean jelly on toast! And when your friends come, there's some pudding in the refrigerator!" Her father put a plate of food on the table, waiting for her to sit down. Kyoei downed a glass of water and some asprin and walked over to the table. She pulled out a chair, and sat down in front of the food placed there.
************************************************************************
*turn language back into English here*
Shelby crawled out of bed around 11:00 am that morning. She had stayed up late to pack and was glad it was over with, because she wasn't in the mood to do it today.
:: I wonder if Jaren has taken the stick out that he shoved up his ass. :: At that time, Shelby walked out the door to get some breakfast. She noticed Jaren sleeping on the pullout couch, and shook him rigorously to wake him up. "Get up, come on, we only have an hour!" Shelby pulled the covers off him and turned on the lights so as to ruse him some more.
"WTH ARE YOU DOING?" Jaren grabbed the covers and pulled them over his face to block out the blinding light.
"WELL IT'S TIME TO GET UP!" Shelby repeated herself, stomping over to Jaren and pulling the covers off him again. This time she dragged him out of the bed and dropped him on the floor, causing Jaren to curse some more (and very loudly at that), :: At least he got up... :: Shelby went off to make a pot of coffee as Jaren, reluctantly, went to take a shower.
"What time do we have to be there?" Jaren asked, (after shower) appearing in the doorway and looking at his watch.
"Noon, and I don't want to be late! Are you packed?" Shelby was also making some lunch for the three of them for the trip, hoping she packed enough food for a while.
"Yeah, I packed last night. Are we just bringing all the stuff we brought with us here?"
"Yeah, and I'm bringing some food with us and I took the hotel shampoo and conditioner, soap, coffee, complimentary robes, a mini sewing kit, I think there were some shower caps, asprin, plastic cups, more coffee, sugar, creamer, Kleenex, pads of paper, pens, hotel bible, lotion, and I think there was a few things of chap-stick,"
"Wow...you swiped a lot..." Jaren stood there, surprised at how much complimentary things you could get in a hotel. :: What do we need a bible for?! ::
"Yup...the whole lot! I would've taken towels if I thought we needed them...what do you think?"
"I think take some. What about the sheets and pillows?"
"Its ancient China...you think their beds will be really clean? We'll pack em. Where's that extra suitcase we decided to bring?"
"The small one? Here, I put it under my bed," Jaren reached under the bed and handed it to Shelby as she walked into her room and began stripping the beds and stuffing in a few towels after the sheets and pillows. They were obviously in a better mood after they had properly woken up.
"You think we might be on our own for a while? I don't think they'll take our money, or Kyoei's when we're there..." Shelby took the sheets and towels out again, folding them this time so they had more space in the suitcase.
"We might, but let's not think about it, I'm sure we'll be fine," Jaren went over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup.
"OH, I was just wondering, because if we were, then we should probably pack some more food," Shelby finished packing her sheets, pillows, and towels again, and had moved on to the sheets that were on Jaren's bed.
"Yeah, that sounds logical. Maybe we should look for jobs when we get there so we might make some money for things," Jaren was looking towards Shelby as she packed the rest of the sheets into the mini suitcase.
"Yeah, but what are you going to do? You hate the outdoors and any physical activity!" Shelby laughed. :: And anything social is almost forbidden! ::
"Then...I'll find somewhere to stay while you and Kyoei find jobs and I'll stay in the room we rent out once we do have money," Jaren looked happy at his decision. He only really ever talked to his sister anyway, so it was best to get out his opinion early in the game so no one else knew he existed during the trip to Kutou, which he still believed was all a hoax.
"You know...what are you going to do when you get older and are living on your own? You'll need a job!" Shelby was exasperated by how much her brother mooched off of her.
"Yeah, but like you said...that's when I'm older. And when I am older, I'll get a job! Something indoor that doesn't require much work, like a food tester," Jaren laughed. He didn't want to talk about his future at the moment, or ever.
"Whatever," Shelby was finished packing in all under a half an hour and went to grab a quick shower before their departure. After getting dressed for her day, she and Jaren left the hotel, buying more food at a local grocery store that took American dollars, and stopped at a Japanese Starbucks to get a cup of coffee. After taking a few sips she turned to Jaren, "You think this is too much to carry?" Shelby pointed to the two bags that Jaren was carrying and the sheet she had strapped over her back and tied in the front of her body, carrying their groceries and the third suitcase.
"Nah, we'll be fine. And if it is too much, I'm sure Kyoei could turn into a pushcart and we could pile all of our bags on there and pull her/it," Jaren laughed at the impossibility of it.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Shelby thought he was serious. They turned up the street that lead to Kyoei's house, running a little bit late, because Starbucks was so packed. Shelby drank more of her coffee. She hadn't been able to have a cup in the hotel because Jaren had drunk it all. As they appeared at the door, it swung open before they could knock.
"HEY!" Kyoei was standing there, a big smile on her face, but it looked like she had been crying just a little while ago.
"Hey!" Shelby gave Kyoei a hug and whispered to her, "I'll talk to you, privately, later," Shelby stepped back, and Kyoei saw Jaren wave at her. :: I guess Jaren isn't much of a socialist... :: Kyoei smiled, sweatdropped, and waved back at him. Kyoei stepped aside and let them in. As Jaren passed, though, he popped the sweatdrop that had appeared above her head. Kyoei blinked, :: How did he do that?! :: Kyoei closed the door and went into the living room, where she saw Shelby sitting on the couch and Jaren sitting on the floor, feet under the coffee table again. Kyoei stared at them, and Tsuomo walked out of the kitchen, holding The Universe of the Four Gods book in his left hand, and a glass of orange juice in another, which he was drinking. His shirt was untucked, he hadn't shaved, and his tie was loose around his neck. His pants were unbuttoned, but zipped, and his socks looked a week old. "Uncle?" Kyoei stared at him, finding it hard to believe that this was her uncle. She had never seen him this undone...he was always wearing a suit that always looked sharp and crisp on him. He never looked like he had just woken up and hadn't gotten dressed.
"Yes Kyoei?" Her uncle stopped drinking and turned around to look at her, staring at him.
She looked away, "Never mind," She looked at her feet, embarrassed. It wasn't her place to tell her uncle what he should be wearing.
Her uncle noticed, and said to her, "You think the outfit is a bit much? This is how I look relaxed and unprepared for work. It helps with the stress," Her uncle smiled comically and went to sit down on the chair next to the coffee table, across from Jaren.
:: This is exactly how we were seated yesterday... :: Kyoei went to take her place on the couch.
"I see you are all packed and ready to go here," Her uncle smiled again, noting the three parcels that Jaren and Shelby had come with.
"Yes, we thought we might need sheets and pillows and food and other things..." Shelby noted all the things they had with them, but didn't see Kyoei's stuff anywhere. "Kyoei-chan...aren't you bringing anything?" Shelby didn't think they had over packed, but maybe she was wrong.
"OH, yes, my stuff is upstairs, should I get it?" Kyoei looked at her uncle, waiting for his response.
"Yes, I think now would be a good time to go and get that," As he said that, Kyoei got up and went to her room. Shelby decided to follow her, thinking this the best time to ask her why she had been crying.
"Kyoei-chan...can I come with?" Shelby asked, after Kyoei.
"Yes, just come up the stairs and I'm the first door on the left," Kyoei shouted from her room.
"OK!" Shelby called up to her as she ran up the stairs, leaving Jaren and Kyoei's uncle downstairs. She noticed that Jaren had started to stare at Kyoei's uncle. She shook her head. :: When will he learn? :: But then she noticed that Kyoei's uncle was glaring at him right back. Shelby blinked. :: How...childish... :: Shelby got to Kyoei's room, and looked around. It was a nice room, if not a bit small, in her opinion.
"Sorry, it's not totally clean right now. I just got up about two hours ago..." Kyoei grinned.
"No, it's OK, me and Jaren woke up at 11:00, and so you were up before us!" Shelby smiled back. "I just wanted to ask you what was wrong. When you opened the door, you looked happy, but your eyes looked like they had just been crying, so I thought maybe something was wrong," Shelby looked at the floor.
Kyoei went over to Shelby and tilted her head back up, saying, "It's nothing to feel ashamed about! You can ask me anything, Shelby-chan! I was crying; this is true. I had been saying goodbye to my parents and was sad to be leaving them, because there's always the possibility that I won't come back here. My father had taken the day off so he could say goodbye to me, and my uncle had taken the whole rest of this week off so he could keep track of what was happening to us in the book and report to my parents as well," Kyoei looked at Shelby. She had tears coming out of her eyes.
"Oh Kyoei...I'm sorry. It's so much easier for Jaren and me to leave here, because it's just us and we're the only family we have left, but you have two families, and they both will miss you if you don't come back! I solemnly promise to bring you back here, Kyoei-chan, and I promise to bring you back alive!" Shelby stopped crying, and went into Kyoei's bathroom to make sure it didn't look like she had been crying.
"Shelby-chan..." Kyoei leaned against the bathroom doorframe. "I'm sorry too. Talking about families must be hard for you, because you've never had one," Kyoei looked at the floor now. :: I can be so stupid sometimes! Couldn't you see that telling her that would just make her unhappy? ::
"OH! Kyoei-chan! Don't feel bad! I have Jaren! He's all the family I really need, because I never knew any other family. I don't think I could handle any more!" Shelby laughed. She was a bit sad that she didn't have any other family, but she didn't want to make Kyoei feel bad about it. :: It wasn't her fault! I was the one who asked her what was wrong. I shouldn't be the one crying. :: Shelby laughed again as she walked out of the bathroom. She put her right arm around Kyoei's shoulder, causing Kyoei to stoop down a little, because she was a considerable amount taller than Shelby. "Now, let's go downstairs and we won't tell anyone about what happened up here!" Shelby pointed her fist forward, as Kyoei grabbed her bag and they started out the door, laughing, for some apparent reason. As soon as they got to the stairs, Shelby took her arm off of Kyoei's shoulder, so they could both walk down the stairs without falling.
"OK, I got my luggage here," Kyoei said, holding up her one bag. It was only about two feet long and one foot wide, but it was stuffed to the brim.
"That's all you're bringing?" Shelby was beginning to think that they had over packed again.
"Yes, but what you have there is just fine. Don't worry, you didn't over pack," Tsuomo reassured her. "Now, it's time to go," Tsuomo held up the book. "OH, but before you do go, I must tell you, you should probably call each other by your seishi names," Tsuomo couldn't believe that he had almost forgotten that.
"OH YEAH! They do that in Fushigi Yugi too!" Shelby said, like she couldn't believe she had forgotten.
"Yeah..." Tsuomo looked in her direction, thinking she was a little out of her mind.
"Well, my symbol means comedy. So, my name's Kyougen," Kyoei said, so everyone knew her new name now.
"Jaren?" Shelby looked his way, asking him.
"I rarely see my symbol, so I don't know what it is. Nor can I read Chinese or whatever it is, so I wouldn't know what it is anyway," Jaren said, looked the other way.
"Just will it to appear, and I'll tell you what it means then," Kyoei said.
:: Just will it...what does she think it is? Something I control? Whatever, better try anyways. :: Jaren thought about the symbol that was on his right shoulder. He could feel his anger starting to rise very fast.
"There it is! That's the symbol! It means drum. Your name is Taiko!" Kyoei exclaimed, happy that he was able to get him symbol to appear, but at the same time, she saw a blue aura surround him. She walked a bit closer to him and noticed that his eyes were now a solid orange color. Jaren let out a loud scream, jumped up, and started running at a cabinet filled with nice china that has probably been in the Kigeki family for years now. Kyoei noticed what he was going after, and realized that this was probably his seishi power. "NO! NOT THE CHINA!" Kyoei ran after him, and Jaren ran toward the desk full of papers instead. Before he could get to the desk and tear it apart, Kyougen shifted into a steel cage, and held Jaren in.
Shelby stared at the scene. :: This is about the weirdest thing I've ever seen! Here I was standing next to Kyoei...er Kyougen and we saw my brother's symbol, and next thing I know he's going psycho in the Kigeki living room! He does this at home, but I've never paid close attention to him when he does it and don't notice the blue aura and orange glowing eyes; and besides, there's nothing breakable, or nice at our house. :: Shelby looked around the room they were in. :: Here there are more breakable things and nicely organized stuff than the art department at my school! If he broke anything I would feel horrible! But then Kyougen just launched herself toward Jaren...she was in the air, and then she was ...a steel cage? It was bizarre, but that is, after all, her power, I guess. This is just all so very new to me, and I just have to get used to it. But more important is getting Jaren back to normal! He's bashing himself against the walls of the cage that Kyougen turned herself into. I don't know if Kyougen can stand this kind of beating! :: "Jaren...what are you doing?! Calm down and stop trying to cause chaos and destruction in this house! You can do it when we get home! Stop it!" Shelby went over to the cage to stare at her brother in his maddened state. He turned toward her and growled, lashing out and trying to grab Shelby and tear her apart like he was going to do the desk and then the rest of the room. Once he realized she was out of reach, he went back to scratching the bars and trying to bend them so he could get out. Suddenly, Kyougen shifted into a different kind of cage. The inside had padded white material on the walls, and past the material, was solid titanium.
**********A Half Hour Later**********
"WTH is this?" Jaren's usual voice came from within the cage that Kyougen had made herself into. The minute she was convinced that he was OK again, she shifted back into her usual form. Bruises had started to form all over her body and she had a few cuts on her face, but all in all she looked OK, if not just a bit tired.
"It was a cage. Good thing is, we know your seishi power and name. Bad thing, you almost tore apart my living room, and you gave me many bruises and cuts. Good thing, we can get going now," Kyoei helped Jaren up from the ground. "Your name is Taiko, OK?" Kyougen went to get some more asprin and water.
"Yeah..." Jaren looked after her. "I did all that?" He asked Shelby, so no one else would hear.
"Yeah...you do that at home too, but you never remember tearing up the house and," Shelby had a pissed off look on her face now, "then you say it's my fault and make me clean up your mess..." Shelby turned away from him and went to check on Kyougen.
"Oh..." Jaren went to sit by the coffee table again, glaring at Tsuomo in the process. Kyougen and Shelby came back, picked up the things they needed, and waited for Jaren to get up and grab the two suitcases that Shelby and him had.
"OK, now all you have to do is be touching both Kyougen and Taiko when you turn the first page of this book, and then you'll be off," Tsuomo explained to Shelby.
"Got it," She linked her arms in-between Kyougen's and Taiko's, placed her hand on the book page that Tsuomo had opened for her, turned the page, and was surrounded by a blue light. All three were sucked into the book, and when the light was gone Tsuomo saw that he was the only person standing in the room, once more.
There, how do you like it so far? Is it good? I want to thank all my reviewers! You've kept me going with your nice words! I was so happy to hear people liking my story, and I hope I attract more people! *wishes with all her might* I'd also like to thank Purple Mouse for writing her songfic to the song "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General." All thanks to her I have downloaded that song from the Internet and it has now gotten stuck in my head! And I can't get it out. Expect to see it appear at some point in time in my story here now. LOL XD! Have a swell rest of the day! And I hope to have a new chapter out soon. (wrote this one again in just one day .) (Are you all happy with my chapters? Do I spend enough time writing them?) I will be going on vacation soon for two weeks, so I hope I'll have enough posted by that time to tide you all over! Till next time! - KT -
::bla:: = thoughts
"bla" = actual dialog
*bla* = action that happened (or whatever...I think you caught on by now...)
********** = new perspective and usually time has passed
Kyoei woke up the next morning feeling tired from not getting a lot of sleep last night. The song she couldn't remember was bugging her to no end, simply because she couldn't remember the rest of the lyrics.
*change dialog from English to Japanese here*
"Kyoei-chan...are you awake?" Kyoei's 'mother' was at the door.
"Yes," She wiped the sleep from her eyes.
"May I come in?" Her mother had her hand on the doorknob. She was worried about Kyoei and wanted to make sure she was OK this morning.
"Yes, please do," Kyoei stood up and began to look for things she needed to pack.
Her mother opened the door a crack to make sure she was decent, and strode through, closing the door behind her. "You've been crying, haven't you? Did you get much sleep?" she stood behind her adopted daughter and stroked her hair lovingly.
Kyoei turned around and gave her mother a hug. "No, I didn't get much sleep, but it is nice that I have you to talk to and comfort me," Kyoei let a few more tears slip from her eyes before stopping herself and calming down.
Her mother put her hands on her shoulders and pushed her away a bit so she could see Kyoei's face, "Let's get you packed so you're not late for your trip. There's also some breakfast for you downstairs. Your father took off work today so we may say goodbye to you," Her mother smiled down at her, knowing full well what might happen to Kyoei when she left into the book world. A few tears spilled from both their eyes as they thought of the possibility.
"He didn't have to do that...I'll be back!" Kyoei started to laugh, like it was impossible that she would die from something other than old age.
"He wanted to, Kyoei-chan," Her mother smiled at her. "But we need to start packing. Goodbyes are for later, and you need to eat breakfast so you can keep up your strength!" Her mother gave her a gentle push out the door so Kyoei could eat while she packed a bit for her.
:: Multi-tasking is good when you're in a hurry. We only have two hours! :: When Kyoei stepped into the kitchen, she saw her father cooking hot cakes on the stove for her. She wasn't used to seeing him cooking, so she stared at the scene for a moment before she registered that this was real.
"Good morning, Kyoei! How was your night?" Her father smiled at her from where she was standing.
"I am doing all right. I didn't get much sleep last night," Kyoei admitted, and she saw her father's worried face.
"Yes, your mother and I heard you for a bit last night, but she said to leave you alone. Are you scared about leaving?" He questioned her, concerned.
"No, I was consumed by some old ghosts," Kyoei went to the medicine cabinet and took out some asprin to calm her headache that had started.
"I see. Then it was that?" Kyoei's father went back to cooking.
"Yes, that was all. So...what's for breakfast?" Kyoei asked, trying to change the mood to something happier and lighter. All this moodiness wasn't going to make her in any mood to see her friends today.
"Well! I have a special treat for you, Kyoei-chan! Hot cakes and syrup with some red bean jelly on toast! And when your friends come, there's some pudding in the refrigerator!" Her father put a plate of food on the table, waiting for her to sit down. Kyoei downed a glass of water and some asprin and walked over to the table. She pulled out a chair, and sat down in front of the food placed there.
************************************************************************
*turn language back into English here*
Shelby crawled out of bed around 11:00 am that morning. She had stayed up late to pack and was glad it was over with, because she wasn't in the mood to do it today.
:: I wonder if Jaren has taken the stick out that he shoved up his ass. :: At that time, Shelby walked out the door to get some breakfast. She noticed Jaren sleeping on the pullout couch, and shook him rigorously to wake him up. "Get up, come on, we only have an hour!" Shelby pulled the covers off him and turned on the lights so as to ruse him some more.
"WTH ARE YOU DOING?" Jaren grabbed the covers and pulled them over his face to block out the blinding light.
"WELL IT'S TIME TO GET UP!" Shelby repeated herself, stomping over to Jaren and pulling the covers off him again. This time she dragged him out of the bed and dropped him on the floor, causing Jaren to curse some more (and very loudly at that), :: At least he got up... :: Shelby went off to make a pot of coffee as Jaren, reluctantly, went to take a shower.
"What time do we have to be there?" Jaren asked, (after shower) appearing in the doorway and looking at his watch.
"Noon, and I don't want to be late! Are you packed?" Shelby was also making some lunch for the three of them for the trip, hoping she packed enough food for a while.
"Yeah, I packed last night. Are we just bringing all the stuff we brought with us here?"
"Yeah, and I'm bringing some food with us and I took the hotel shampoo and conditioner, soap, coffee, complimentary robes, a mini sewing kit, I think there were some shower caps, asprin, plastic cups, more coffee, sugar, creamer, Kleenex, pads of paper, pens, hotel bible, lotion, and I think there was a few things of chap-stick,"
"Wow...you swiped a lot..." Jaren stood there, surprised at how much complimentary things you could get in a hotel. :: What do we need a bible for?! ::
"Yup...the whole lot! I would've taken towels if I thought we needed them...what do you think?"
"I think take some. What about the sheets and pillows?"
"Its ancient China...you think their beds will be really clean? We'll pack em. Where's that extra suitcase we decided to bring?"
"The small one? Here, I put it under my bed," Jaren reached under the bed and handed it to Shelby as she walked into her room and began stripping the beds and stuffing in a few towels after the sheets and pillows. They were obviously in a better mood after they had properly woken up.
"You think we might be on our own for a while? I don't think they'll take our money, or Kyoei's when we're there..." Shelby took the sheets and towels out again, folding them this time so they had more space in the suitcase.
"We might, but let's not think about it, I'm sure we'll be fine," Jaren went over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup.
"OH, I was just wondering, because if we were, then we should probably pack some more food," Shelby finished packing her sheets, pillows, and towels again, and had moved on to the sheets that were on Jaren's bed.
"Yeah, that sounds logical. Maybe we should look for jobs when we get there so we might make some money for things," Jaren was looking towards Shelby as she packed the rest of the sheets into the mini suitcase.
"Yeah, but what are you going to do? You hate the outdoors and any physical activity!" Shelby laughed. :: And anything social is almost forbidden! ::
"Then...I'll find somewhere to stay while you and Kyoei find jobs and I'll stay in the room we rent out once we do have money," Jaren looked happy at his decision. He only really ever talked to his sister anyway, so it was best to get out his opinion early in the game so no one else knew he existed during the trip to Kutou, which he still believed was all a hoax.
"You know...what are you going to do when you get older and are living on your own? You'll need a job!" Shelby was exasperated by how much her brother mooched off of her.
"Yeah, but like you said...that's when I'm older. And when I am older, I'll get a job! Something indoor that doesn't require much work, like a food tester," Jaren laughed. He didn't want to talk about his future at the moment, or ever.
"Whatever," Shelby was finished packing in all under a half an hour and went to grab a quick shower before their departure. After getting dressed for her day, she and Jaren left the hotel, buying more food at a local grocery store that took American dollars, and stopped at a Japanese Starbucks to get a cup of coffee. After taking a few sips she turned to Jaren, "You think this is too much to carry?" Shelby pointed to the two bags that Jaren was carrying and the sheet she had strapped over her back and tied in the front of her body, carrying their groceries and the third suitcase.
"Nah, we'll be fine. And if it is too much, I'm sure Kyoei could turn into a pushcart and we could pile all of our bags on there and pull her/it," Jaren laughed at the impossibility of it.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Shelby thought he was serious. They turned up the street that lead to Kyoei's house, running a little bit late, because Starbucks was so packed. Shelby drank more of her coffee. She hadn't been able to have a cup in the hotel because Jaren had drunk it all. As they appeared at the door, it swung open before they could knock.
"HEY!" Kyoei was standing there, a big smile on her face, but it looked like she had been crying just a little while ago.
"Hey!" Shelby gave Kyoei a hug and whispered to her, "I'll talk to you, privately, later," Shelby stepped back, and Kyoei saw Jaren wave at her. :: I guess Jaren isn't much of a socialist... :: Kyoei smiled, sweatdropped, and waved back at him. Kyoei stepped aside and let them in. As Jaren passed, though, he popped the sweatdrop that had appeared above her head. Kyoei blinked, :: How did he do that?! :: Kyoei closed the door and went into the living room, where she saw Shelby sitting on the couch and Jaren sitting on the floor, feet under the coffee table again. Kyoei stared at them, and Tsuomo walked out of the kitchen, holding The Universe of the Four Gods book in his left hand, and a glass of orange juice in another, which he was drinking. His shirt was untucked, he hadn't shaved, and his tie was loose around his neck. His pants were unbuttoned, but zipped, and his socks looked a week old. "Uncle?" Kyoei stared at him, finding it hard to believe that this was her uncle. She had never seen him this undone...he was always wearing a suit that always looked sharp and crisp on him. He never looked like he had just woken up and hadn't gotten dressed.
"Yes Kyoei?" Her uncle stopped drinking and turned around to look at her, staring at him.
She looked away, "Never mind," She looked at her feet, embarrassed. It wasn't her place to tell her uncle what he should be wearing.
Her uncle noticed, and said to her, "You think the outfit is a bit much? This is how I look relaxed and unprepared for work. It helps with the stress," Her uncle smiled comically and went to sit down on the chair next to the coffee table, across from Jaren.
:: This is exactly how we were seated yesterday... :: Kyoei went to take her place on the couch.
"I see you are all packed and ready to go here," Her uncle smiled again, noting the three parcels that Jaren and Shelby had come with.
"Yes, we thought we might need sheets and pillows and food and other things..." Shelby noted all the things they had with them, but didn't see Kyoei's stuff anywhere. "Kyoei-chan...aren't you bringing anything?" Shelby didn't think they had over packed, but maybe she was wrong.
"OH, yes, my stuff is upstairs, should I get it?" Kyoei looked at her uncle, waiting for his response.
"Yes, I think now would be a good time to go and get that," As he said that, Kyoei got up and went to her room. Shelby decided to follow her, thinking this the best time to ask her why she had been crying.
"Kyoei-chan...can I come with?" Shelby asked, after Kyoei.
"Yes, just come up the stairs and I'm the first door on the left," Kyoei shouted from her room.
"OK!" Shelby called up to her as she ran up the stairs, leaving Jaren and Kyoei's uncle downstairs. She noticed that Jaren had started to stare at Kyoei's uncle. She shook her head. :: When will he learn? :: But then she noticed that Kyoei's uncle was glaring at him right back. Shelby blinked. :: How...childish... :: Shelby got to Kyoei's room, and looked around. It was a nice room, if not a bit small, in her opinion.
"Sorry, it's not totally clean right now. I just got up about two hours ago..." Kyoei grinned.
"No, it's OK, me and Jaren woke up at 11:00, and so you were up before us!" Shelby smiled back. "I just wanted to ask you what was wrong. When you opened the door, you looked happy, but your eyes looked like they had just been crying, so I thought maybe something was wrong," Shelby looked at the floor.
Kyoei went over to Shelby and tilted her head back up, saying, "It's nothing to feel ashamed about! You can ask me anything, Shelby-chan! I was crying; this is true. I had been saying goodbye to my parents and was sad to be leaving them, because there's always the possibility that I won't come back here. My father had taken the day off so he could say goodbye to me, and my uncle had taken the whole rest of this week off so he could keep track of what was happening to us in the book and report to my parents as well," Kyoei looked at Shelby. She had tears coming out of her eyes.
"Oh Kyoei...I'm sorry. It's so much easier for Jaren and me to leave here, because it's just us and we're the only family we have left, but you have two families, and they both will miss you if you don't come back! I solemnly promise to bring you back here, Kyoei-chan, and I promise to bring you back alive!" Shelby stopped crying, and went into Kyoei's bathroom to make sure it didn't look like she had been crying.
"Shelby-chan..." Kyoei leaned against the bathroom doorframe. "I'm sorry too. Talking about families must be hard for you, because you've never had one," Kyoei looked at the floor now. :: I can be so stupid sometimes! Couldn't you see that telling her that would just make her unhappy? ::
"OH! Kyoei-chan! Don't feel bad! I have Jaren! He's all the family I really need, because I never knew any other family. I don't think I could handle any more!" Shelby laughed. She was a bit sad that she didn't have any other family, but she didn't want to make Kyoei feel bad about it. :: It wasn't her fault! I was the one who asked her what was wrong. I shouldn't be the one crying. :: Shelby laughed again as she walked out of the bathroom. She put her right arm around Kyoei's shoulder, causing Kyoei to stoop down a little, because she was a considerable amount taller than Shelby. "Now, let's go downstairs and we won't tell anyone about what happened up here!" Shelby pointed her fist forward, as Kyoei grabbed her bag and they started out the door, laughing, for some apparent reason. As soon as they got to the stairs, Shelby took her arm off of Kyoei's shoulder, so they could both walk down the stairs without falling.
"OK, I got my luggage here," Kyoei said, holding up her one bag. It was only about two feet long and one foot wide, but it was stuffed to the brim.
"That's all you're bringing?" Shelby was beginning to think that they had over packed again.
"Yes, but what you have there is just fine. Don't worry, you didn't over pack," Tsuomo reassured her. "Now, it's time to go," Tsuomo held up the book. "OH, but before you do go, I must tell you, you should probably call each other by your seishi names," Tsuomo couldn't believe that he had almost forgotten that.
"OH YEAH! They do that in Fushigi Yugi too!" Shelby said, like she couldn't believe she had forgotten.
"Yeah..." Tsuomo looked in her direction, thinking she was a little out of her mind.
"Well, my symbol means comedy. So, my name's Kyougen," Kyoei said, so everyone knew her new name now.
"Jaren?" Shelby looked his way, asking him.
"I rarely see my symbol, so I don't know what it is. Nor can I read Chinese or whatever it is, so I wouldn't know what it is anyway," Jaren said, looked the other way.
"Just will it to appear, and I'll tell you what it means then," Kyoei said.
:: Just will it...what does she think it is? Something I control? Whatever, better try anyways. :: Jaren thought about the symbol that was on his right shoulder. He could feel his anger starting to rise very fast.
"There it is! That's the symbol! It means drum. Your name is Taiko!" Kyoei exclaimed, happy that he was able to get him symbol to appear, but at the same time, she saw a blue aura surround him. She walked a bit closer to him and noticed that his eyes were now a solid orange color. Jaren let out a loud scream, jumped up, and started running at a cabinet filled with nice china that has probably been in the Kigeki family for years now. Kyoei noticed what he was going after, and realized that this was probably his seishi power. "NO! NOT THE CHINA!" Kyoei ran after him, and Jaren ran toward the desk full of papers instead. Before he could get to the desk and tear it apart, Kyougen shifted into a steel cage, and held Jaren in.
Shelby stared at the scene. :: This is about the weirdest thing I've ever seen! Here I was standing next to Kyoei...er Kyougen and we saw my brother's symbol, and next thing I know he's going psycho in the Kigeki living room! He does this at home, but I've never paid close attention to him when he does it and don't notice the blue aura and orange glowing eyes; and besides, there's nothing breakable, or nice at our house. :: Shelby looked around the room they were in. :: Here there are more breakable things and nicely organized stuff than the art department at my school! If he broke anything I would feel horrible! But then Kyougen just launched herself toward Jaren...she was in the air, and then she was ...a steel cage? It was bizarre, but that is, after all, her power, I guess. This is just all so very new to me, and I just have to get used to it. But more important is getting Jaren back to normal! He's bashing himself against the walls of the cage that Kyougen turned herself into. I don't know if Kyougen can stand this kind of beating! :: "Jaren...what are you doing?! Calm down and stop trying to cause chaos and destruction in this house! You can do it when we get home! Stop it!" Shelby went over to the cage to stare at her brother in his maddened state. He turned toward her and growled, lashing out and trying to grab Shelby and tear her apart like he was going to do the desk and then the rest of the room. Once he realized she was out of reach, he went back to scratching the bars and trying to bend them so he could get out. Suddenly, Kyougen shifted into a different kind of cage. The inside had padded white material on the walls, and past the material, was solid titanium.
**********A Half Hour Later**********
"WTH is this?" Jaren's usual voice came from within the cage that Kyougen had made herself into. The minute she was convinced that he was OK again, she shifted back into her usual form. Bruises had started to form all over her body and she had a few cuts on her face, but all in all she looked OK, if not just a bit tired.
"It was a cage. Good thing is, we know your seishi power and name. Bad thing, you almost tore apart my living room, and you gave me many bruises and cuts. Good thing, we can get going now," Kyoei helped Jaren up from the ground. "Your name is Taiko, OK?" Kyougen went to get some more asprin and water.
"Yeah..." Jaren looked after her. "I did all that?" He asked Shelby, so no one else would hear.
"Yeah...you do that at home too, but you never remember tearing up the house and," Shelby had a pissed off look on her face now, "then you say it's my fault and make me clean up your mess..." Shelby turned away from him and went to check on Kyougen.
"Oh..." Jaren went to sit by the coffee table again, glaring at Tsuomo in the process. Kyougen and Shelby came back, picked up the things they needed, and waited for Jaren to get up and grab the two suitcases that Shelby and him had.
"OK, now all you have to do is be touching both Kyougen and Taiko when you turn the first page of this book, and then you'll be off," Tsuomo explained to Shelby.
"Got it," She linked her arms in-between Kyougen's and Taiko's, placed her hand on the book page that Tsuomo had opened for her, turned the page, and was surrounded by a blue light. All three were sucked into the book, and when the light was gone Tsuomo saw that he was the only person standing in the room, once more.
There, how do you like it so far? Is it good? I want to thank all my reviewers! You've kept me going with your nice words! I was so happy to hear people liking my story, and I hope I attract more people! *wishes with all her might* I'd also like to thank Purple Mouse for writing her songfic to the song "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General." All thanks to her I have downloaded that song from the Internet and it has now gotten stuck in my head! And I can't get it out. Expect to see it appear at some point in time in my story here now. LOL XD! Have a swell rest of the day! And I hope to have a new chapter out soon. (wrote this one again in just one day .) (Are you all happy with my chapters? Do I spend enough time writing them?) I will be going on vacation soon for two weeks, so I hope I'll have enough posted by that time to tide you all over! Till next time! - KT -
