Author's Note-Well, sorry that I haven't been posting lately. I've been
having more tests and schoolwork than I thought. . . But anyways, this /is/
the next chapter and I'm hoping to have the next one up tomorrow or the day
after. See ya then.
~Cassie~
I had wondered every now and then if I would enjoy a simpler life, free of electronics. With the assurance that the Chee had taken our place so that our parents wouldn't worry, with me hanging the wet clothes on the clothesline, breathing in the crisp, clean air of autumn, I think I got my answer.
Rachel was sitting off to the side, watching Kenshin and I work. Her kimono had been fixed. I think I was as surprised as she was almost. I never thought I'd agree to wearing a dress, but now I see that miracles can happen.
Megumi had left a little while ago, and Kaoru and Yahiko were cleaning the dojo. I looked over at Rachel. "You could help, you know. Everyone else is." I said, raising an eyebrow.
"But you guys are almost done with the laundry. I have nothing left to do."
"You can fold up the clothes when it dries, Rachel-dono, de gozaru yo. It shouldn't take too long." Kenshin said, looking up at the sky. It was a clear, deep blue with a few wispy clouds trailing across it. "It's a beautiful, clear day, but sessha predicts snow soon, de gozaru yo."
"Well, snow isn't too bad." Rachel said as Kenshin looked back down at the laundry. Rachel and I noticed that he was scrubbing it a bit harder than he really needed too. Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Kenshin?"
Kenshin smiled faintly. "No, sessha is fine, demo arigato anyways, Rachel-dono." He said, though the stress was evident on his face. I frowned. I knew that we shouldn't have gotten them involved. Suddenly Kenshin looked up and stopped scrubbing.
"Hm?" I asked, blinking. "Kenshin, what is it?"
Rachel followed his gaze to the left. I looked around the wet hakama that I had just hung up to see what they were looking at and saw the dojo gate. Rachel and Kenshin stood up, Kenshin drying his hands on his hakama.
A man in a blue uniform with black hair walked in. He looked harmless enough.or at least as harmless as a seven foot-tall man /can/ look. Kenshin, Rachel, and I exchanged glances. This must have been Saitou. And we still hadn't reached a conclusion.
"I'll handle this." Kenshin said quietly, stepping forward.
Rachel glanced at me as Kenshin walked over to Saitou. "Be ready for trouble." She said quietly. I nodded. I prayed that the others were on their way back or that Tobias had seen and was getting Jake.
"Hello, Saitou." Kenshin said cheerfully. We didn't expect you to come so early, do gozaru yo."
"Spare the pleasantries, Himura." Saitou said. He looked over at us and gave us a contemptuous look. Kenshin followed his gaze to us.
"Oh. These are some friends of ours, Rachel-dono and Cassie-dono. They are from America, de gozaru yo." Kenshin explained. Then he added, "They are our guests." I noticed the small threat made in that statement, and wondered if Saitou did as well.
"I see." Saitou said. He looked down at Kenshin. I sweatdropped. Kenshin and I were only slightly above his elbow, and even Rachel scarcely reached his shoulders. We must have looked like little kids compared to him. "Now, what was going on last night? Answer truthfully, Himura. I know that groups of people walking around in the street in the middle of the night yelling things about morphing and 'Andalite Bandits' are not normal. Maybe for a bunch of drunks, but for them to be spread throughout the city all yelling the same thing? I think not."
"There's nothing to answer because nothing unusual had happened. And even if it did, sessha does not know why you would blame it on a mere rurouni such as himself, de gozaru yo." Kenshin said innocently.
". . ." Saitou continued to stare down at him. Kenshin's smile faded and his eyes grew serious as he looked up at him. "I will find out, one way or another. You best just tell me now, without the trouble." Saitou said.
There was a long silence. Then Rachel started towards them. "Look," she said, "can Kenshin, Cassie, and I speak alone for a moment at least?"
"So that the three of you could come up with a good lie? I think not." Saitou shot back. "Baka onna."
Rachel glared darkly at him. "Listen, you-" She was cut off when Kenshin reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Rachel looked down at him, then sighed in frustration.
"Saitou, this is practically-" Kenshin was interrupted as Marco, Jake, and Sano came barreling in. Jake was wearing the same kind of uniform as Saitou.
"Guys, guys, the decision has been made. Sorry that we couldn't take a vote, but we never did get the chance to." Jake said. He turned to Saitou. "We'll tell you."
~Ax~
{Ax! Saitou's coming, and so are the other Animorphs. Meet us at the dojo as human.} Tobias said, flying above me.
{I'll be there as soon as I can, Tobias.} I replied back as I ran to the edge of the forest and began morphing human. When the morph was complete, I rushed into the dojo, only moments behind Prince Jake, Marco, and Sanosuke and stumbling on my clumsy human legs with the backpack on my back.
"Guys, Guys. The decision has been made. Sorry that we couldn't take a vote, but we never got the chance to." Prince Jake said. He turned to a tall, black-haired man that I recognized to be Hajime Saitou. "We'll tell you."
"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Jake?" Kenshin asked, turning to Prince Jake.
Prince Jake nodded. "Yeah. But considering that you know this guy, hopefully you know that." He said. Kenshin nodded. Prince Jake then said to Saitou, "Now, let me ask you: are you willing to risk your life for the sake of this planet?"
"I risked my life for the sake of Japan; I think I'd be willing to risk my life for the sake of this planet." Saitou said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.
Prince Jake nodded. "Okay then. Now that we've got that cleared up, you might want to sit down. If you want the full story, it's gonna take awhile."
"I'm fine." Saitou stated.
Prince Jake blinked, then shrugged, then leaned against a tree.
Marco blinked, then shrugged as well, then fell back and lay there, staring up at the sky. Prince Jake explained for about an hour, and by the time he was finished, the only people not sitting down was him and Saitou. Tobias was perched on the gate. Yahiko and Kaoru had come out of the dojo and was now sitting beside Kenshin, and I was sitting under the tree, trying to put the Escafil device together with strong but clumsy human hands. Saitou's expression only showed contempt and disbelief.
"I'm surprised you couldn't come up with a better lie. Perhaps if you made some wild story about a swordsman from the revolution; but people not only from the future but from a different planet? I think not." He said.
Prince Jake sighed as Rachel jumped up and glared at Saitou. "Who's lying?! You're just too much of a realist to believe something out of the ordinary!" she exclaimed.
"." Saitou glanced over at Rachel, then looked over at Kenshin. "However, I do believe that these kids were found out in the woods. That's really about all. Don't tell me that you actually believe them, Himura."
Kenshin looked back at him with serious eyes. "Sessha does. Sessha has seen it himself."
Saitou raised an eyebrow. The message was clear: If anyone would joke about such a thing, Kenshin would be the last one to do it. Kenshin's answer seemed to be conformation enough.
Prince Jake looked over at me. "Hey, Ax. How long have you been in morph?"
"One hour and twenty-one of your minutes." I replied. Then, unable to resist, "Minutes. Miiinutes. Sss." Prince Jake sighed.
"Ax. They're everybody's minutes. You're on earth too, Space-boy." Marco said
"That has occurred to me." I said, standing up and putting the Escafil device back in the backpack. It was almost ready. If I continued to work on it until nightfall, then it should be complete. I set the backpack next to me and turned to Prince Jake. "Should I demorph now, Prince Jake?" I asked.
Prince Jake looked up at Saitou, then back at me, and nodded. "Yeah. Good idea. Do it here, now." He said.
I blinked, then nodded and began to demorph. Saitou's eyebrows shot up, but that was the most surprise he allowed to on his face. Fur covered my body, first colorless and clear, then slowly began to turn blue, as if someone was pouring blue dye on me.
My eyes turned green and my lips sealed shut, growing together, and eventually disappeared. My ears became pointed, and my nose flattened out into slits. My bulk began to expand out until two hoofed legs grew out the end. And it didn't stop there. As my toed-human feet and legs began to change into hoofed Andalite legs, and my hands grew weak and two extra fingers, my tail began to finally grow, and eventually the blade as well. Stalk eyes began to grow, and I was able to turn them and watch my tail bade sharpen.
Kaoru looked horrified; like she was about to start screaming. I didn't blame her. It was her first time watching anybody morph or demorph, and neither was like a human cartoon where a person would merely transform instantly and neatly in a poof of smoke. Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Yahiko looked a little freaked out, and Saitou was trying his best to not look too surprised, though I did detect the looks of both surprise and disgust on his face.
"Saitou, this is Ax." Prince Jake said.
"Our resident Andalite." Marco added helpfully.
"Does it.hurt?" Kaoru asked in a near whisper, still horrified. Rachel looked over at her.
"Hm?" she asked.
"Morphing. Does it hurt? Because that looked painful." Kaoru asked again, a bit louder.
{Ah, no. Considering that it was merely a problem of pain when the internal organs shift around and go into Zero Space, it was a simple task for my people to create a solution. You see, when you touch the Escafil device, a chemical passes through the pores or the hairs on the hand called Nicontrosobonateclaotron. It spreads through the blood stream and attaches it to all of the organs and the DNA inside you. It will begin the growth of a gland called-}
"Basically, that's a no." Marco said, before I could launch into a scientific explanation. I sighed.
Author's Note-Well, like I said, hopefully I'll have the next chapter out in at least tomorrow or the day after. Too busyish. But anyways, please review! Ja ne!
~Cassie~
I had wondered every now and then if I would enjoy a simpler life, free of electronics. With the assurance that the Chee had taken our place so that our parents wouldn't worry, with me hanging the wet clothes on the clothesline, breathing in the crisp, clean air of autumn, I think I got my answer.
Rachel was sitting off to the side, watching Kenshin and I work. Her kimono had been fixed. I think I was as surprised as she was almost. I never thought I'd agree to wearing a dress, but now I see that miracles can happen.
Megumi had left a little while ago, and Kaoru and Yahiko were cleaning the dojo. I looked over at Rachel. "You could help, you know. Everyone else is." I said, raising an eyebrow.
"But you guys are almost done with the laundry. I have nothing left to do."
"You can fold up the clothes when it dries, Rachel-dono, de gozaru yo. It shouldn't take too long." Kenshin said, looking up at the sky. It was a clear, deep blue with a few wispy clouds trailing across it. "It's a beautiful, clear day, but sessha predicts snow soon, de gozaru yo."
"Well, snow isn't too bad." Rachel said as Kenshin looked back down at the laundry. Rachel and I noticed that he was scrubbing it a bit harder than he really needed too. Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Kenshin?"
Kenshin smiled faintly. "No, sessha is fine, demo arigato anyways, Rachel-dono." He said, though the stress was evident on his face. I frowned. I knew that we shouldn't have gotten them involved. Suddenly Kenshin looked up and stopped scrubbing.
"Hm?" I asked, blinking. "Kenshin, what is it?"
Rachel followed his gaze to the left. I looked around the wet hakama that I had just hung up to see what they were looking at and saw the dojo gate. Rachel and Kenshin stood up, Kenshin drying his hands on his hakama.
A man in a blue uniform with black hair walked in. He looked harmless enough.or at least as harmless as a seven foot-tall man /can/ look. Kenshin, Rachel, and I exchanged glances. This must have been Saitou. And we still hadn't reached a conclusion.
"I'll handle this." Kenshin said quietly, stepping forward.
Rachel glanced at me as Kenshin walked over to Saitou. "Be ready for trouble." She said quietly. I nodded. I prayed that the others were on their way back or that Tobias had seen and was getting Jake.
"Hello, Saitou." Kenshin said cheerfully. We didn't expect you to come so early, do gozaru yo."
"Spare the pleasantries, Himura." Saitou said. He looked over at us and gave us a contemptuous look. Kenshin followed his gaze to us.
"Oh. These are some friends of ours, Rachel-dono and Cassie-dono. They are from America, de gozaru yo." Kenshin explained. Then he added, "They are our guests." I noticed the small threat made in that statement, and wondered if Saitou did as well.
"I see." Saitou said. He looked down at Kenshin. I sweatdropped. Kenshin and I were only slightly above his elbow, and even Rachel scarcely reached his shoulders. We must have looked like little kids compared to him. "Now, what was going on last night? Answer truthfully, Himura. I know that groups of people walking around in the street in the middle of the night yelling things about morphing and 'Andalite Bandits' are not normal. Maybe for a bunch of drunks, but for them to be spread throughout the city all yelling the same thing? I think not."
"There's nothing to answer because nothing unusual had happened. And even if it did, sessha does not know why you would blame it on a mere rurouni such as himself, de gozaru yo." Kenshin said innocently.
". . ." Saitou continued to stare down at him. Kenshin's smile faded and his eyes grew serious as he looked up at him. "I will find out, one way or another. You best just tell me now, without the trouble." Saitou said.
There was a long silence. Then Rachel started towards them. "Look," she said, "can Kenshin, Cassie, and I speak alone for a moment at least?"
"So that the three of you could come up with a good lie? I think not." Saitou shot back. "Baka onna."
Rachel glared darkly at him. "Listen, you-" She was cut off when Kenshin reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Rachel looked down at him, then sighed in frustration.
"Saitou, this is practically-" Kenshin was interrupted as Marco, Jake, and Sano came barreling in. Jake was wearing the same kind of uniform as Saitou.
"Guys, guys, the decision has been made. Sorry that we couldn't take a vote, but we never did get the chance to." Jake said. He turned to Saitou. "We'll tell you."
~Ax~
{Ax! Saitou's coming, and so are the other Animorphs. Meet us at the dojo as human.} Tobias said, flying above me.
{I'll be there as soon as I can, Tobias.} I replied back as I ran to the edge of the forest and began morphing human. When the morph was complete, I rushed into the dojo, only moments behind Prince Jake, Marco, and Sanosuke and stumbling on my clumsy human legs with the backpack on my back.
"Guys, Guys. The decision has been made. Sorry that we couldn't take a vote, but we never got the chance to." Prince Jake said. He turned to a tall, black-haired man that I recognized to be Hajime Saitou. "We'll tell you."
"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Jake?" Kenshin asked, turning to Prince Jake.
Prince Jake nodded. "Yeah. But considering that you know this guy, hopefully you know that." He said. Kenshin nodded. Prince Jake then said to Saitou, "Now, let me ask you: are you willing to risk your life for the sake of this planet?"
"I risked my life for the sake of Japan; I think I'd be willing to risk my life for the sake of this planet." Saitou said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.
Prince Jake nodded. "Okay then. Now that we've got that cleared up, you might want to sit down. If you want the full story, it's gonna take awhile."
"I'm fine." Saitou stated.
Prince Jake blinked, then shrugged, then leaned against a tree.
Marco blinked, then shrugged as well, then fell back and lay there, staring up at the sky. Prince Jake explained for about an hour, and by the time he was finished, the only people not sitting down was him and Saitou. Tobias was perched on the gate. Yahiko and Kaoru had come out of the dojo and was now sitting beside Kenshin, and I was sitting under the tree, trying to put the Escafil device together with strong but clumsy human hands. Saitou's expression only showed contempt and disbelief.
"I'm surprised you couldn't come up with a better lie. Perhaps if you made some wild story about a swordsman from the revolution; but people not only from the future but from a different planet? I think not." He said.
Prince Jake sighed as Rachel jumped up and glared at Saitou. "Who's lying?! You're just too much of a realist to believe something out of the ordinary!" she exclaimed.
"." Saitou glanced over at Rachel, then looked over at Kenshin. "However, I do believe that these kids were found out in the woods. That's really about all. Don't tell me that you actually believe them, Himura."
Kenshin looked back at him with serious eyes. "Sessha does. Sessha has seen it himself."
Saitou raised an eyebrow. The message was clear: If anyone would joke about such a thing, Kenshin would be the last one to do it. Kenshin's answer seemed to be conformation enough.
Prince Jake looked over at me. "Hey, Ax. How long have you been in morph?"
"One hour and twenty-one of your minutes." I replied. Then, unable to resist, "Minutes. Miiinutes. Sss." Prince Jake sighed.
"Ax. They're everybody's minutes. You're on earth too, Space-boy." Marco said
"That has occurred to me." I said, standing up and putting the Escafil device back in the backpack. It was almost ready. If I continued to work on it until nightfall, then it should be complete. I set the backpack next to me and turned to Prince Jake. "Should I demorph now, Prince Jake?" I asked.
Prince Jake looked up at Saitou, then back at me, and nodded. "Yeah. Good idea. Do it here, now." He said.
I blinked, then nodded and began to demorph. Saitou's eyebrows shot up, but that was the most surprise he allowed to on his face. Fur covered my body, first colorless and clear, then slowly began to turn blue, as if someone was pouring blue dye on me.
My eyes turned green and my lips sealed shut, growing together, and eventually disappeared. My ears became pointed, and my nose flattened out into slits. My bulk began to expand out until two hoofed legs grew out the end. And it didn't stop there. As my toed-human feet and legs began to change into hoofed Andalite legs, and my hands grew weak and two extra fingers, my tail began to finally grow, and eventually the blade as well. Stalk eyes began to grow, and I was able to turn them and watch my tail bade sharpen.
Kaoru looked horrified; like she was about to start screaming. I didn't blame her. It was her first time watching anybody morph or demorph, and neither was like a human cartoon where a person would merely transform instantly and neatly in a poof of smoke. Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Yahiko looked a little freaked out, and Saitou was trying his best to not look too surprised, though I did detect the looks of both surprise and disgust on his face.
"Saitou, this is Ax." Prince Jake said.
"Our resident Andalite." Marco added helpfully.
"Does it.hurt?" Kaoru asked in a near whisper, still horrified. Rachel looked over at her.
"Hm?" she asked.
"Morphing. Does it hurt? Because that looked painful." Kaoru asked again, a bit louder.
{Ah, no. Considering that it was merely a problem of pain when the internal organs shift around and go into Zero Space, it was a simple task for my people to create a solution. You see, when you touch the Escafil device, a chemical passes through the pores or the hairs on the hand called Nicontrosobonateclaotron. It spreads through the blood stream and attaches it to all of the organs and the DNA inside you. It will begin the growth of a gland called-}
"Basically, that's a no." Marco said, before I could launch into a scientific explanation. I sighed.
Author's Note-Well, like I said, hopefully I'll have the next chapter out in at least tomorrow or the day after. Too busyish. But anyways, please review! Ja ne!