Chara Chara
Cookies all around! I'll get to work on the descriptions as quickly as I can. For now, here's chapter two.
* * *
In Which Akane Recieves A Nasty Shock
* * *
Akane could not sew. There was no reasoning to this, as her mother had been a genius with a needle and thread, and had transferred much of this skill onto Kasumi, her oldest. Even Nabiki could patch up her clothes if they chanced to tear, although she was much more likely to buy new ones than wear patched up clothes. Nevertheless, Akane simply could not, though not from a lack of trying.
She was once handed over to a shriveled little gnome by the name of Rumpulstilskin, in hopes that if she could learn to weave straw into gold, a simple ripped shirt would be child's play. The terms were drawn up, and Akane would most certainly have lost her first three born children, had it not been for the marvelous skill only she possessed to turn straw into coal. By the time Master Rumpulstilskin had officially branded her unteachable, she had managed to supply most of the locals with enough fuel for many winters over, not to mention the large amount left for her own family's use. And the fiasco with the star queen was better left forgotten.
The woman, as sweet as she seemed, had been driven mad by years of silence and servitude, only to nearly be burned at the stake by her husband. She evidently believed that only those with the 'magic mark' could even dare touch starflowers, and so before each lesson Akane was forced to draw a star upon her forehead using honey. It was sticky and attracted all sorts of wildlife on the walk back home, but Akane's father was so convinced that this was Akane's only hope that he turned a blind eye to her numerous baths and talked away the short haircut. The flowers themselves hurt quite a bit, which was really the thing that marveled Akane the most.
Here was this queen, glamorous if nothing else, and yet all she seemed to do, the activity she ignored her children for, was teaching children to pick barbed leaves off of plants and weave them into terribly uncomfortable shirts. She began to observe the queen for signs of what NOT to become in life. Not that she had very long to do so, as within the short period of a little over a month, Akane had managed to bring her bizarre teacher to near tears with her many attempts at clothing, all of which she improvised on somewhere halfway through the planning stage. As a result, Akane had made the strangest looking shirts in the entire class. No matter how prickly the shirts may have supposed to be, Akane's were the only ones that pierced, an even more horrible fate when it was taken into consideration that half of the initial shirts had been made into body suits, according to whatever her imagination could create. Nevertheless, Akane did learn that she truly never wished to become ruler of any country, as it apparently drove you insane. The same went for the more ladylike of behaviors, although she always secretly wished to cook, and strangely kept up the need to repair clothes, even if she only improved slightly as the years went by.
She could, however, fight. Since she was old enough to walk Akane had wandered around the store, playing dress-up with her father's old discarded gi and imitating the students as they came in and out of her life. It was one of the biggest pieces of her life she found lacking whenever she was sent off to become a lady. She learned as best she could without formal training, so well in fact that her father decided to make her the heir instead of the older two, both who had shown little interest in continuing the business, due in part to their own dreams. Of course, it didn't hurt that they just didn't see the point to all of it.
This was fine as far as Akane was concerned. Her sisters could go off seeking their fortunes all they wanted, she was fine here. Besides, there would be no point if she did try. She _was_ the youngest after all.
Akane had been nineteen for a little over a month when Hinako called an urgent family meeting in the kitchen. Grumbling silently, the girls followed her in and waited silently, wondering what all this was about.
Taking a deep breath, Hinako glanced them over, looking as if she was considering something. Shaking her for once adult head, she began. "Girls, I have some bad news: We're broke."
The sisters blinked, quite surprised at this sudden revelation.
"Bu-but we were fine last month!"
"Yeah, I know for a fact we had more than enough to survive at least a few months not three weeks ago!"
Hinako smiled nervously and said far too quickly for any of their liking, "Right, well that was then, this is now; let's just concentrate on the future and let it go! No need to worry ourselves over how we got ourselves into this, fretting only causes wrinkles. Heh . . . heh?"
Akane saw Nabiki give their stepmother a strange look, almost as if she appraising her for sale. "Spill it, what happened to the money?"
" . . . But it was so CUTE!" Hinako howled, her voice wavering as she quite visibly broke down, shrinking into her prepubescent body. "And I needed them to complete my collection! Really girls, it was all very necessary."
She was given only glares as a response. "Oh come on, I'll even share them if you guys want! At least for as long as you're still around here."
"Look, you can't bribe us with dolls and toys anymore, we aren't- What?" Akane cooled considerably as she speculated what exactly Hinako was planning. She had never seemed the evil stepmother type; in fact aside from occasionally fighting with them over toys when the girls were younger she had been quite sweet, even motherly. 'Still,' Akane contemplated to herself, 'You can never tell with these things. She could have just been putting up an act all these years, after all.' She looked worriedly down at the child, hoping that her thoughts were completely off.
"That's why I called you in here!" Hinako brightened, obviously happy the conversation had strayed from her spending habits. "Since I really don't think the budget here can support all four of us for very long, I've found apprenticeships for you girls." Removing a large sheet of paper from her pocket where it had been sticking out ever since she had changed, she unfolded it and scanned over it before turning to the least problematic of the three. "Kasumi, I thought you could go to an old friend of mine, Ms. Ackerton. She's fairly nice, but more importantly she can teach you the basics of magic and all that! Than, when you're ready to go off exploring, you'll be fully prepared. Isn't that great?" She beamed up at the twenty-two year old.
Kasumi looked as if she was going to say otherwise, but instead sighed. "Yes, that was very nice of her. And of course I'm pleased with your choice of professions for me, how very clever. Thank you stepmother."
Hinako, taking the words at face value simply nodded, smiled and moved on. "All right, Nabiki. I've got you down for Walnuts, okay? Now before you give me a lecture about how you aren't really the sweets type, you know perfectly well you won't be there very long, and I'm sure you can manage for a little while. Besides, what better place to meet someone? You'll know his secret indulgences before you even exchange names!"
Nabiki merely smirked as she considered it. "Well all right, why not? I'm sure it'll be . . . beneficial."
At that point Hinako finally turned to Akane who was a bit worried now. After all, the other two must have been easy to place, they had actual practical SKILLS. What was she supposed to do, she could write, do math in her head, knew a bit about the world's affairs and was fairly well read, but so what? Almost every other person in Nermia had these skills, at least the ones who had gone to school did! What chance would she stand in the world if all she could do was fight? . . . Unless she became a -knight-. Why that was it! Akane crossed her fingers, wishing as hard as she could to be sent out as a squire.
"Well Akane, I'm sure the two of us will be just fine, right?"
"Huh?!"
Hinako looked at her funnily. "The shop, Akane. You, me, a fairly large amount of sharp metal. Are you okay?"
It took a second for it all to seep in, but she finally got it. Hinako wasn't getting rid of her; she was still the heir here. Trying not to grin _too_ widely, she nodded. "Oh sure, sorry. We'll be fine here!" She sighed happily and turned towards he sisters, only to be hit by a wave of remorse.
It had finally caught up with her that for the first time she wouldn't be sharing the house with her siblings. As much as they had fought over the years, the two had been Akane's best friends. Still, she had known for quite some time that this day was coming, when the other two went off to seek their fortunes while she stayed at home. She wouldn't cry. Warriors never did, so the same must go for those who would one day train them. Blinking off the tiny drops of water threatening to blur her eyes, Akane got up and hugged her sisters in congratulations, telling herself they still had a little while left before being shipped off.
* * *
It turned out to be only a few days, just enough time to help pack. By Tuesday night, Kasumi had been whisked off in a strange pumpkin-shaped golden carriage, a bit worn but still absolutely lovely; and early Friday morning Nabiki set off for the bakery with a slightly sleepy Akane grumbling behind her wordlessly with her trunks. She was already forgetting what exactly she would miss about her sister.
When she got finally got back, Akane was put immediately to work cleaning up the dojo while Hinako straightened up the shop. "After all," Akane was told, "We need to get the place clean if we ever plan to attract customers!" As she could see the sense in this, Akane worked maniacally, stopping only when Hinako came in and exclaimed that she would wear the floor down if she shined it anymore. Of course, a passing noodle cart soon distracted her, but Akane got her initial point and left the wooden boards to arrange the large array of cinder blocks. When it seemed almost right to her, Akane began pacing, wondering when her new students were due to arrive. After waiting for most of the day in nervous anticipation, it became clear that no one was coming.
"Where _are_ they? I thought we had whole books full to the brim of waiting lists? I thought we were so horribly overbooked, we were accepting bribes? I thought we actually HAD students?"
Hinako sighed. "Well honestly Akane, to put it plainly: they quit."
"-What-? Why? Dad was a great teacher!" She frowned, trying to remember if she had insulted the students last time they were here.
Meanwhile, Hinako was idly playing with a twist tie, knowing perfectly well this wasn't going to be pretty. "Oh, he was! It's just, uh . . . well, theydon'tthinkyoucanteachthem."
"_EXCUSE_ me?"
"Akane, think about it! Neither of us are really trained enough to teach very much. Those boys are ahead of you right now, and there's no way I'm giving away my secret!"
"But-." Akane started, only to be interrupted by a small, sticky fist coming over her mouth.
"No 'buts', we're going to add onto the store, make it more of a clothing section!" Seeing Akane's face, she softened a little. "Cheer up, we'll sell gi's too, just for you! Come on, you can go buy us some ice cream and we'll take the night off. Tomorrow you can help me choose the new employees, okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, Hinako dragged Akane towards the house and out the door.
* * *
A/N: *grins madly* So, what did you think?
Ah yes, I need another beta reader. Mine's great, but really quite busy with her own life right now, so I'd love anyone. If you'd like the job, e-mail me at any of my three addresses provided here: babygirl_1999bc@yahoo.com , or erie2222@hotmail.com
Thank you guys!
'Til next chapter,
-Erie
Cookies all around! I'll get to work on the descriptions as quickly as I can. For now, here's chapter two.
* * *
In Which Akane Recieves A Nasty Shock
* * *
Akane could not sew. There was no reasoning to this, as her mother had been a genius with a needle and thread, and had transferred much of this skill onto Kasumi, her oldest. Even Nabiki could patch up her clothes if they chanced to tear, although she was much more likely to buy new ones than wear patched up clothes. Nevertheless, Akane simply could not, though not from a lack of trying.
She was once handed over to a shriveled little gnome by the name of Rumpulstilskin, in hopes that if she could learn to weave straw into gold, a simple ripped shirt would be child's play. The terms were drawn up, and Akane would most certainly have lost her first three born children, had it not been for the marvelous skill only she possessed to turn straw into coal. By the time Master Rumpulstilskin had officially branded her unteachable, she had managed to supply most of the locals with enough fuel for many winters over, not to mention the large amount left for her own family's use. And the fiasco with the star queen was better left forgotten.
The woman, as sweet as she seemed, had been driven mad by years of silence and servitude, only to nearly be burned at the stake by her husband. She evidently believed that only those with the 'magic mark' could even dare touch starflowers, and so before each lesson Akane was forced to draw a star upon her forehead using honey. It was sticky and attracted all sorts of wildlife on the walk back home, but Akane's father was so convinced that this was Akane's only hope that he turned a blind eye to her numerous baths and talked away the short haircut. The flowers themselves hurt quite a bit, which was really the thing that marveled Akane the most.
Here was this queen, glamorous if nothing else, and yet all she seemed to do, the activity she ignored her children for, was teaching children to pick barbed leaves off of plants and weave them into terribly uncomfortable shirts. She began to observe the queen for signs of what NOT to become in life. Not that she had very long to do so, as within the short period of a little over a month, Akane had managed to bring her bizarre teacher to near tears with her many attempts at clothing, all of which she improvised on somewhere halfway through the planning stage. As a result, Akane had made the strangest looking shirts in the entire class. No matter how prickly the shirts may have supposed to be, Akane's were the only ones that pierced, an even more horrible fate when it was taken into consideration that half of the initial shirts had been made into body suits, according to whatever her imagination could create. Nevertheless, Akane did learn that she truly never wished to become ruler of any country, as it apparently drove you insane. The same went for the more ladylike of behaviors, although she always secretly wished to cook, and strangely kept up the need to repair clothes, even if she only improved slightly as the years went by.
She could, however, fight. Since she was old enough to walk Akane had wandered around the store, playing dress-up with her father's old discarded gi and imitating the students as they came in and out of her life. It was one of the biggest pieces of her life she found lacking whenever she was sent off to become a lady. She learned as best she could without formal training, so well in fact that her father decided to make her the heir instead of the older two, both who had shown little interest in continuing the business, due in part to their own dreams. Of course, it didn't hurt that they just didn't see the point to all of it.
This was fine as far as Akane was concerned. Her sisters could go off seeking their fortunes all they wanted, she was fine here. Besides, there would be no point if she did try. She _was_ the youngest after all.
Akane had been nineteen for a little over a month when Hinako called an urgent family meeting in the kitchen. Grumbling silently, the girls followed her in and waited silently, wondering what all this was about.
Taking a deep breath, Hinako glanced them over, looking as if she was considering something. Shaking her for once adult head, she began. "Girls, I have some bad news: We're broke."
The sisters blinked, quite surprised at this sudden revelation.
"Bu-but we were fine last month!"
"Yeah, I know for a fact we had more than enough to survive at least a few months not three weeks ago!"
Hinako smiled nervously and said far too quickly for any of their liking, "Right, well that was then, this is now; let's just concentrate on the future and let it go! No need to worry ourselves over how we got ourselves into this, fretting only causes wrinkles. Heh . . . heh?"
Akane saw Nabiki give their stepmother a strange look, almost as if she appraising her for sale. "Spill it, what happened to the money?"
" . . . But it was so CUTE!" Hinako howled, her voice wavering as she quite visibly broke down, shrinking into her prepubescent body. "And I needed them to complete my collection! Really girls, it was all very necessary."
She was given only glares as a response. "Oh come on, I'll even share them if you guys want! At least for as long as you're still around here."
"Look, you can't bribe us with dolls and toys anymore, we aren't- What?" Akane cooled considerably as she speculated what exactly Hinako was planning. She had never seemed the evil stepmother type; in fact aside from occasionally fighting with them over toys when the girls were younger she had been quite sweet, even motherly. 'Still,' Akane contemplated to herself, 'You can never tell with these things. She could have just been putting up an act all these years, after all.' She looked worriedly down at the child, hoping that her thoughts were completely off.
"That's why I called you in here!" Hinako brightened, obviously happy the conversation had strayed from her spending habits. "Since I really don't think the budget here can support all four of us for very long, I've found apprenticeships for you girls." Removing a large sheet of paper from her pocket where it had been sticking out ever since she had changed, she unfolded it and scanned over it before turning to the least problematic of the three. "Kasumi, I thought you could go to an old friend of mine, Ms. Ackerton. She's fairly nice, but more importantly she can teach you the basics of magic and all that! Than, when you're ready to go off exploring, you'll be fully prepared. Isn't that great?" She beamed up at the twenty-two year old.
Kasumi looked as if she was going to say otherwise, but instead sighed. "Yes, that was very nice of her. And of course I'm pleased with your choice of professions for me, how very clever. Thank you stepmother."
Hinako, taking the words at face value simply nodded, smiled and moved on. "All right, Nabiki. I've got you down for Walnuts, okay? Now before you give me a lecture about how you aren't really the sweets type, you know perfectly well you won't be there very long, and I'm sure you can manage for a little while. Besides, what better place to meet someone? You'll know his secret indulgences before you even exchange names!"
Nabiki merely smirked as she considered it. "Well all right, why not? I'm sure it'll be . . . beneficial."
At that point Hinako finally turned to Akane who was a bit worried now. After all, the other two must have been easy to place, they had actual practical SKILLS. What was she supposed to do, she could write, do math in her head, knew a bit about the world's affairs and was fairly well read, but so what? Almost every other person in Nermia had these skills, at least the ones who had gone to school did! What chance would she stand in the world if all she could do was fight? . . . Unless she became a -knight-. Why that was it! Akane crossed her fingers, wishing as hard as she could to be sent out as a squire.
"Well Akane, I'm sure the two of us will be just fine, right?"
"Huh?!"
Hinako looked at her funnily. "The shop, Akane. You, me, a fairly large amount of sharp metal. Are you okay?"
It took a second for it all to seep in, but she finally got it. Hinako wasn't getting rid of her; she was still the heir here. Trying not to grin _too_ widely, she nodded. "Oh sure, sorry. We'll be fine here!" She sighed happily and turned towards he sisters, only to be hit by a wave of remorse.
It had finally caught up with her that for the first time she wouldn't be sharing the house with her siblings. As much as they had fought over the years, the two had been Akane's best friends. Still, she had known for quite some time that this day was coming, when the other two went off to seek their fortunes while she stayed at home. She wouldn't cry. Warriors never did, so the same must go for those who would one day train them. Blinking off the tiny drops of water threatening to blur her eyes, Akane got up and hugged her sisters in congratulations, telling herself they still had a little while left before being shipped off.
* * *
It turned out to be only a few days, just enough time to help pack. By Tuesday night, Kasumi had been whisked off in a strange pumpkin-shaped golden carriage, a bit worn but still absolutely lovely; and early Friday morning Nabiki set off for the bakery with a slightly sleepy Akane grumbling behind her wordlessly with her trunks. She was already forgetting what exactly she would miss about her sister.
When she got finally got back, Akane was put immediately to work cleaning up the dojo while Hinako straightened up the shop. "After all," Akane was told, "We need to get the place clean if we ever plan to attract customers!" As she could see the sense in this, Akane worked maniacally, stopping only when Hinako came in and exclaimed that she would wear the floor down if she shined it anymore. Of course, a passing noodle cart soon distracted her, but Akane got her initial point and left the wooden boards to arrange the large array of cinder blocks. When it seemed almost right to her, Akane began pacing, wondering when her new students were due to arrive. After waiting for most of the day in nervous anticipation, it became clear that no one was coming.
"Where _are_ they? I thought we had whole books full to the brim of waiting lists? I thought we were so horribly overbooked, we were accepting bribes? I thought we actually HAD students?"
Hinako sighed. "Well honestly Akane, to put it plainly: they quit."
"-What-? Why? Dad was a great teacher!" She frowned, trying to remember if she had insulted the students last time they were here.
Meanwhile, Hinako was idly playing with a twist tie, knowing perfectly well this wasn't going to be pretty. "Oh, he was! It's just, uh . . . well, theydon'tthinkyoucanteachthem."
"_EXCUSE_ me?"
"Akane, think about it! Neither of us are really trained enough to teach very much. Those boys are ahead of you right now, and there's no way I'm giving away my secret!"
"But-." Akane started, only to be interrupted by a small, sticky fist coming over her mouth.
"No 'buts', we're going to add onto the store, make it more of a clothing section!" Seeing Akane's face, she softened a little. "Cheer up, we'll sell gi's too, just for you! Come on, you can go buy us some ice cream and we'll take the night off. Tomorrow you can help me choose the new employees, okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, Hinako dragged Akane towards the house and out the door.
* * *
A/N: *grins madly* So, what did you think?
Ah yes, I need another beta reader. Mine's great, but really quite busy with her own life right now, so I'd love anyone. If you'd like the job, e-mail me at any of my three addresses provided here: babygirl_1999bc@yahoo.com , or erie2222@hotmail.com
Thank you guys!
'Til next chapter,
-Erie