Author's Note-Hey, I'm back! Well, sorry that I didn't post a chapter
yesterday, but I've been really busy studying for tests this week and
stuff, so it's possible I could be a little slow this week. Second, I do
not own Animorphs or Rurouni Kenshin. And third. . .there is no third. So
just read and review. ^_^;
~Rachel~
I awoke late in the morning. My back-which was used to soft feather beds-ached slightly. I groaned. It was gonna take a lot of adjustment to get used to Meiji Tokyo.
Yawning, I sat up and looked around. Cassie was gone. Next to the door, someone had set what I guessed was a change of clothes. I stood up and walked over to the bundle.
Unfolding it, I found that I had been right. It was a long, white dress, and seemed like a robe. Underneath that was what looked like another robe, long and made of silk. It was a red color with yellow-gold leaves decorating the front. The bottom of the sleeves stretched down to nearly my knees. Underneath the red robe were two long strips of folded fabric, and a comb.
As I put on the first dress, the white one, I looked down at the red one. I shrugged and put it on right over left, like a bathrobe. Then I stared down at the one of the pieces of fabric, which I had guessed to be a belt or a sash, uncomprehending. Picking it up, I searched for a buckle or. . .something. Finding none, I tied it around my waist like a bow and shifted it around to my back.
The other sash lay on the floor. I wondered what it was for. A spare, maybe? I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. Never had I thought that I would have a problem with fashion. I pulled on the socks and wooden sandals and pulled the comb through my blond hair.
I'd have to ask for some pants later. Oh well. At least I didn't have to wear a corset. I slid the door open and walked out, shutting it behind me. I walked down the hall and into the main room. Looked around. Huh. No one there. I opened the door and saw Kenshin and Cassie doing laundry.
I walked over to them and stared. Cassie was wearing a dress. Never, in my life, did I ever think I'd see Cassie wearing a dress. It was like mine, only off-white and with a pine tree design on it.
Cassie looked over at me from hanging up the wet clothes, smiling and sweatdropping. I raised an eyebrow at her, then turned to Kenshin, who hadn't even so much as glanced at me. "Well?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.
"Well what, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin asked, not looking up from the shirt he was scrubbing.
"Well, how do I look?" I repeated impatiently. Kenshin's violet eyes flicked upward at me in a glance and returned to the sudsy water again.
"Sessha hates to be the one to tell you this, but you're dressed like a badly dressed corpse, de gozaru yo. Gomen nasi, Rachel-dono." He said carefully, sounding sincerely apologetic.
I twitched. That was probably the last thing I had expected to hear. ". . .What?"
"Oh, Rachel! There you are!" Kaoru exclaimed, walking over to me. A woman that looked a bit older than her and had black hair was on her heels.
"Is this the girl in question? She can't even put on a kimono right." Said the woman.
"Well, they are foreigners, Megumi." Kaoru pointed out. She turned to me. "Don't worry, Rachel. Cassie was confused too."
"Well. . .what did I do wrong?" I asked.
Kaoru took one look at me, then bluntly said, "Pretty much everything."
"What?!"
"First of all, a kimono being worn right over left is how you dress a dead person." She told me. I blushed slightly with embarrassment. Oops. "Second of all, the obi is all wrong. Where are the other two pieces?" she asked.
"Um. . .Obi? Pieces? You mean this?" I asked, plucking at what I had thought was a belt. Kaoru sighed.
"Let's go inside and get that fixed." She said. To the others, she said, "We'll be right back." With that, we walked back to mine and Cassie's room.
"Now, let's see. . ." she said, picking up the two pieces of fabric that I had left on the floor as I adjusted the white robe that I had later learned was a yukatas, and the kimono robe. "Okay, now for the obi. I'm going to do it in a cho cho bow, okay?"
"O. . .kay. . ." I said slowly. She tied the first sash around my waist.
"This is the Kashi-Himo sash. It always goes first." She tied another, smaller sash over it. "This is the Date-Jime belt. It goes on second." Then she took a small, braided cord that I hadn't noticed before. "And this is the Obi-Jime. This goes on third."
She began to tie the entire obi into a complicated bow. "It's imported that you tie the obi right, or else your kimono will flap open." She explained as she tied.
I smiled and sweatdropped. "Wow. I guess I have a lot to learn, huh?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll learn soon enough." Kaoru said. For the sake of my pride, I hoped she was right.
~Marco~
Jake, Sano, and I walked down the street. We had intended to have the meeting this morning, but we had an unexpected visitor, so now we could only hope that Saitou wouldn't come to the dojo until evening, or better yet, tomorrow. Perhaps, better still, never.
"So, Sano," I asked, putting my hands behind my head lazily, "What do you guys do for fun around here? Play video games?"
Sano glanced down at me. "We gamble and spar. And video what?"
Jake fwapped me over the head. "Video games haven't been invented yet!"
"I know, I know. I was just kiddin. Geez. Learn a lesson in humor, Jake." I whined.
Jake rolled his eyes but smiled. Tokyo was packed, even now. Of course, we blended right in wearing our new hakamas and gis we had borrowed from the dojo. Of course, we didn't wear the hakamas until we were convinced that they weren't skirts. They weren't jeans, and tying them was a bit complicated, but they allowed free movement, which was good enough for me. Unfortunately, controllers were dressed to suit the time period as well.
"Join the Sharing! We'll make you feel like you belong like family. We can give you and your children a good education; help you with financial problems, and even some political ones. Just come right here to sign up." Some controllers would yell along the street. People, sadly, crowded around them. Great. The Yeerks were gonna have a lot more controllers now. . .
"Hey! Those are Yeer-" Sano started.
"Shhh!" Jake shushed. He looked over at the advertisers to see if any of them were in hearing range. When he saw that they weren't, he explained, "The Sharing is their cover organization."
"Yeah. Really though, they're just trying to shove a Yeerk up your ear." I added helpfully.
Jake and Sano sweatdropped. "Yeah, I figured. But if they're oh-so- advanced, then why bother with this nice-nice cover crap?" Sanosuke asked.
"They could bring only a limited army. Probably not many bug fighters. I'm sure that they could bet more if they needed to with the time matrix, if they have it to begin with, but. . .yeah. . .it probably wouldn't be easy." I explained.
Jake nodded, then added, "Visser Three isn't stupid. He probably wants a full-blown invasion, but he can't risk Japan being thrown into chaos."
"But. . .he should be aware of how vulnerable Japan is at the moment. The government is unstable, the economy sucks, and there's a sword ban, making most of the samurai that fought in the revolution and could fight in an army now weak and out of practice." Sano pointed out.
I shrugged. "Maybe they're scared of /you/ guys." I said, half joking, half serious. "And us. You told us of Shishio and the guys you guys defeated. If they have to deal and risk with /that/, then a full-blown invasion maybe isn't the best idea."
". . .Maybe. . ." Sano said doubtfully.
". . .So anyway," I said, "getting completely and totally off the subject. . .what job do you think I should get?"
"You mean what job you could get? Remember, one of your only strengths is video games." Jake joked. I shoved him playfully.
Sano looked around. "A scribe, maybe."
"I can't write in Japanese."
"A clown?"
". . .No. I can't afford to ruin my good looks with the make-up." I joked.
"Helping clean up a shrine?"
"You mean a Buddhist shrine? I'm not Buddhist." I said.
"A carpenter?"
"I can't carpentate." I said, making up a new word. Sano sweatdropped.
"Then what /can/ you do?"
"I can cook." I said.
"Hm. . ." Sano said. "Follow me." We walked down the street and turned into a restaurant. "This is the Akabeco. It's a restaurant that we like to go to, and we're friends with some of the employees here." He then turned to a woman on the other side of the room. "Tae! Hey, Tae!" he called.
A young woman with brown hair, a striped dress, and an apron walked over. She frowned when she saw who it was. "Oh, Sanosuke." She said.
"Yeah, me. Hey, my friend needs a job and he can cook. That's about his only skill. His name is Marco. Can you let him work here?" Sano asked.
Tae shot him a dirty look. "/You/ need a job, Sanosuke, so you can pay your bills." She said. She then looked over at me, then sighed and smiled. "Sure. We could always use the extra help. You'll get paid eight yen an hour, and can start today if you want." She said kindly.
"Thanks." I said.
"No problem. I'll get Tsubame to show you around as soon as I can." She said cheerfully.
"Hey, waitress!" Someone at one of the tables called.
"Coming!" Tae said, hurrying over to them.
"Hey." Jake said as Tae left.
"Hi." Sano replied.
"Do you think they'll let someone my age work at the police station? I can use the work and I can find out more about this Saitou guy, not to mention having a good excuse for snooping around for Yeerk activity." Jake said.
"I dunno, but you can try." Sano suggested.
Jake nodded thoughtfully. "Alright." He said. He and Sano began to leave. "See ya later." He said. With that, they disappeared out the door.
A girl wearing a waitress dress walked over to me. She had short, brown hair and looked around ten years old. "Hello. My name is Tsubame. You must be Marco. Let me show you around." She said.
Tsubame showed me around and introduced me to the other employees. I got to work soon afterwards. It was only about an hour later when Tobias yelled, {Marco! Get over to the dojo! He's coming!}
Author's Note- *blinkblink* Geez. . .I've run out of things to say. . . *a long silence stretches on for eternity* Anyway, please review! Feel free to make suggestions and ask questions. Now, I'm going to go to bed. . .I'm sleepy. . . Ja ne!
~Rachel~
I awoke late in the morning. My back-which was used to soft feather beds-ached slightly. I groaned. It was gonna take a lot of adjustment to get used to Meiji Tokyo.
Yawning, I sat up and looked around. Cassie was gone. Next to the door, someone had set what I guessed was a change of clothes. I stood up and walked over to the bundle.
Unfolding it, I found that I had been right. It was a long, white dress, and seemed like a robe. Underneath that was what looked like another robe, long and made of silk. It was a red color with yellow-gold leaves decorating the front. The bottom of the sleeves stretched down to nearly my knees. Underneath the red robe were two long strips of folded fabric, and a comb.
As I put on the first dress, the white one, I looked down at the red one. I shrugged and put it on right over left, like a bathrobe. Then I stared down at the one of the pieces of fabric, which I had guessed to be a belt or a sash, uncomprehending. Picking it up, I searched for a buckle or. . .something. Finding none, I tied it around my waist like a bow and shifted it around to my back.
The other sash lay on the floor. I wondered what it was for. A spare, maybe? I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. Never had I thought that I would have a problem with fashion. I pulled on the socks and wooden sandals and pulled the comb through my blond hair.
I'd have to ask for some pants later. Oh well. At least I didn't have to wear a corset. I slid the door open and walked out, shutting it behind me. I walked down the hall and into the main room. Looked around. Huh. No one there. I opened the door and saw Kenshin and Cassie doing laundry.
I walked over to them and stared. Cassie was wearing a dress. Never, in my life, did I ever think I'd see Cassie wearing a dress. It was like mine, only off-white and with a pine tree design on it.
Cassie looked over at me from hanging up the wet clothes, smiling and sweatdropping. I raised an eyebrow at her, then turned to Kenshin, who hadn't even so much as glanced at me. "Well?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.
"Well what, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin asked, not looking up from the shirt he was scrubbing.
"Well, how do I look?" I repeated impatiently. Kenshin's violet eyes flicked upward at me in a glance and returned to the sudsy water again.
"Sessha hates to be the one to tell you this, but you're dressed like a badly dressed corpse, de gozaru yo. Gomen nasi, Rachel-dono." He said carefully, sounding sincerely apologetic.
I twitched. That was probably the last thing I had expected to hear. ". . .What?"
"Oh, Rachel! There you are!" Kaoru exclaimed, walking over to me. A woman that looked a bit older than her and had black hair was on her heels.
"Is this the girl in question? She can't even put on a kimono right." Said the woman.
"Well, they are foreigners, Megumi." Kaoru pointed out. She turned to me. "Don't worry, Rachel. Cassie was confused too."
"Well. . .what did I do wrong?" I asked.
Kaoru took one look at me, then bluntly said, "Pretty much everything."
"What?!"
"First of all, a kimono being worn right over left is how you dress a dead person." She told me. I blushed slightly with embarrassment. Oops. "Second of all, the obi is all wrong. Where are the other two pieces?" she asked.
"Um. . .Obi? Pieces? You mean this?" I asked, plucking at what I had thought was a belt. Kaoru sighed.
"Let's go inside and get that fixed." She said. To the others, she said, "We'll be right back." With that, we walked back to mine and Cassie's room.
"Now, let's see. . ." she said, picking up the two pieces of fabric that I had left on the floor as I adjusted the white robe that I had later learned was a yukatas, and the kimono robe. "Okay, now for the obi. I'm going to do it in a cho cho bow, okay?"
"O. . .kay. . ." I said slowly. She tied the first sash around my waist.
"This is the Kashi-Himo sash. It always goes first." She tied another, smaller sash over it. "This is the Date-Jime belt. It goes on second." Then she took a small, braided cord that I hadn't noticed before. "And this is the Obi-Jime. This goes on third."
She began to tie the entire obi into a complicated bow. "It's imported that you tie the obi right, or else your kimono will flap open." She explained as she tied.
I smiled and sweatdropped. "Wow. I guess I have a lot to learn, huh?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll learn soon enough." Kaoru said. For the sake of my pride, I hoped she was right.
~Marco~
Jake, Sano, and I walked down the street. We had intended to have the meeting this morning, but we had an unexpected visitor, so now we could only hope that Saitou wouldn't come to the dojo until evening, or better yet, tomorrow. Perhaps, better still, never.
"So, Sano," I asked, putting my hands behind my head lazily, "What do you guys do for fun around here? Play video games?"
Sano glanced down at me. "We gamble and spar. And video what?"
Jake fwapped me over the head. "Video games haven't been invented yet!"
"I know, I know. I was just kiddin. Geez. Learn a lesson in humor, Jake." I whined.
Jake rolled his eyes but smiled. Tokyo was packed, even now. Of course, we blended right in wearing our new hakamas and gis we had borrowed from the dojo. Of course, we didn't wear the hakamas until we were convinced that they weren't skirts. They weren't jeans, and tying them was a bit complicated, but they allowed free movement, which was good enough for me. Unfortunately, controllers were dressed to suit the time period as well.
"Join the Sharing! We'll make you feel like you belong like family. We can give you and your children a good education; help you with financial problems, and even some political ones. Just come right here to sign up." Some controllers would yell along the street. People, sadly, crowded around them. Great. The Yeerks were gonna have a lot more controllers now. . .
"Hey! Those are Yeer-" Sano started.
"Shhh!" Jake shushed. He looked over at the advertisers to see if any of them were in hearing range. When he saw that they weren't, he explained, "The Sharing is their cover organization."
"Yeah. Really though, they're just trying to shove a Yeerk up your ear." I added helpfully.
Jake and Sano sweatdropped. "Yeah, I figured. But if they're oh-so- advanced, then why bother with this nice-nice cover crap?" Sanosuke asked.
"They could bring only a limited army. Probably not many bug fighters. I'm sure that they could bet more if they needed to with the time matrix, if they have it to begin with, but. . .yeah. . .it probably wouldn't be easy." I explained.
Jake nodded, then added, "Visser Three isn't stupid. He probably wants a full-blown invasion, but he can't risk Japan being thrown into chaos."
"But. . .he should be aware of how vulnerable Japan is at the moment. The government is unstable, the economy sucks, and there's a sword ban, making most of the samurai that fought in the revolution and could fight in an army now weak and out of practice." Sano pointed out.
I shrugged. "Maybe they're scared of /you/ guys." I said, half joking, half serious. "And us. You told us of Shishio and the guys you guys defeated. If they have to deal and risk with /that/, then a full-blown invasion maybe isn't the best idea."
". . .Maybe. . ." Sano said doubtfully.
". . .So anyway," I said, "getting completely and totally off the subject. . .what job do you think I should get?"
"You mean what job you could get? Remember, one of your only strengths is video games." Jake joked. I shoved him playfully.
Sano looked around. "A scribe, maybe."
"I can't write in Japanese."
"A clown?"
". . .No. I can't afford to ruin my good looks with the make-up." I joked.
"Helping clean up a shrine?"
"You mean a Buddhist shrine? I'm not Buddhist." I said.
"A carpenter?"
"I can't carpentate." I said, making up a new word. Sano sweatdropped.
"Then what /can/ you do?"
"I can cook." I said.
"Hm. . ." Sano said. "Follow me." We walked down the street and turned into a restaurant. "This is the Akabeco. It's a restaurant that we like to go to, and we're friends with some of the employees here." He then turned to a woman on the other side of the room. "Tae! Hey, Tae!" he called.
A young woman with brown hair, a striped dress, and an apron walked over. She frowned when she saw who it was. "Oh, Sanosuke." She said.
"Yeah, me. Hey, my friend needs a job and he can cook. That's about his only skill. His name is Marco. Can you let him work here?" Sano asked.
Tae shot him a dirty look. "/You/ need a job, Sanosuke, so you can pay your bills." She said. She then looked over at me, then sighed and smiled. "Sure. We could always use the extra help. You'll get paid eight yen an hour, and can start today if you want." She said kindly.
"Thanks." I said.
"No problem. I'll get Tsubame to show you around as soon as I can." She said cheerfully.
"Hey, waitress!" Someone at one of the tables called.
"Coming!" Tae said, hurrying over to them.
"Hey." Jake said as Tae left.
"Hi." Sano replied.
"Do you think they'll let someone my age work at the police station? I can use the work and I can find out more about this Saitou guy, not to mention having a good excuse for snooping around for Yeerk activity." Jake said.
"I dunno, but you can try." Sano suggested.
Jake nodded thoughtfully. "Alright." He said. He and Sano began to leave. "See ya later." He said. With that, they disappeared out the door.
A girl wearing a waitress dress walked over to me. She had short, brown hair and looked around ten years old. "Hello. My name is Tsubame. You must be Marco. Let me show you around." She said.
Tsubame showed me around and introduced me to the other employees. I got to work soon afterwards. It was only about an hour later when Tobias yelled, {Marco! Get over to the dojo! He's coming!}
Author's Note- *blinkblink* Geez. . .I've run out of things to say. . . *a long silence stretches on for eternity* Anyway, please review! Feel free to make suggestions and ask questions. Now, I'm going to go to bed. . .I'm sleepy. . . Ja ne!