Chapter Five: Demonic Kitchen Appliances and the Roller Coaster from Hell
Ren had finally resigned himself to his fate and lay stretched out on the couch, his arm thrown over his face in a pathetic attempt to block out the reality that there was not a drop of milk to be found in the house. Not even a box of evaporated milk.
"Three hours and thirty-three minutes." He peeked at the wall clock from beneath his arm. "This is it. This is really the end. I'm going to starve to death. What a pathetic way to die."
"Bocchama!" Bason floated toward his master, deeply concerned by his sudden change in demeanor. "You can't mean that!"
"I can't believe it. I, the illustrious heir to the Tao Family, am going to slowly wither away with hunger! And it's all nee-san's fault!"
He moaned softly as his stomach growled loudly. He placed on hand on top of it to calm it down.
"I had expected to die gloriously in battle; struck down by a worthy opponent. Not like this… I'll soon be a ghost, like you, within a few hours."
"Bocchama, it takes at least a week before one could die of starvation. You've only been without food for three hours and thirty-five minutes."
"She could have at least had the decency to leave me something!" He flung his arm from his face and glared at the ceiling. "Some coffee and a bowl of rice, or some chow mein. Some fresh peaches, at the very least! When's the last time anyone went shopping?"
"Perhaps you could go down to the store and buy something to eat, bocchama?" Bason suggested, trying his best to be patient with his young master. It annoyed him to no end when Bocchama refused to take any of his advise, especially when he knew it was good advise.
"Can't you see I'm too weak to even stand?" Ren turned his face toward the red spirit flame. "Look at me! Nothing but skin and bones. You can already see my ribs poking through." He opened his shirt and ran a hand down his side for emphasis.
The spirit flame squinted his eyes as he closely inspected his master's physique. "Your ribs are showing because you are stretching yourself out, bocchama. I really think you are being a bit overly dramatic--"
"I SAID I'M DYING! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?" He sat bolt upright, his eyes glittering with a feral light. The boy's stomach roared in protest and he quickly slumped down onto the couch once more. "Nee-san, how cruel of you to tell me to help myself to the pantry and then leave me nothing to eat."
"But bocchama! There is plenty of food in the pantry--" Bason started to say, but was quickly cut off.
"Nothing I can eat out of the bag! Everything has to be cooked, and I haven't the foggiest idea how to prepare anything."
Bason's face remained passive, but his thoughts boiled with impatience. Bocchama is being exceedingly difficult today, more so than usual. I've never seen such a lazy child before, and so unimaginative. He would never have survived if he lived during my time.
Sighing, Bason said slowly, "Then perhaps you should order take-out. Then you wouldn't even have to leave the house."
The Chinese shaman stared at his mochirei with nothing less than utter disgust. He looked down upon Bason, as if he were lower than a cockroach.
"How dare you suggest such a thing?" His lips curled into a hateful sneer. "You know these stupid Japanese cannot possibly recreate the subtle and rich flavor of true Chinese cuisine. If there's anything I hate worse than non-Chinese food, it's bad Chinese take-out."
Bason flinched under his master's gaze, as if Ren had physically struck him. He had served his master faithfully for ten long years, and had endured his insults and his punishments gracefully and silently, but this pathetic whining was beginning to get on his nerves. He had suggested plenty of viable options, and Ren refused to acknowledge any one of them.
Unable to take it anymore, the spirit flame was engulfed in a cloud of red vapor and emerged as a fully armored Chinese warlord. Bason's red eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits as he folded his arms over his barrel chest.
"Bocchama," his deep voice echoed across the room while Ren stared at him in utter shock. "I am your loyal mochirei, but enough is enough. Stop wasting your breath complaining about your hunger and do something about it! If you do not know how to cook, then why don't you look through one of Jun-san's cookbooks and teach yourself? If there is one thing I learned in life, it is this: you have to work for what you want. You are a man now, and you cannot always depend on others to do things for you."
Bason took a deep breath and let it all out in a whoosh. He stared at his master, surprised by the impact his words had on him. Ren's golden eyes were widened in shock at his mochirei's sudden outburst of emotion. Never before had Bason actually told him do something. Ren felt a grain of anger eating at him as he watched the black-armored warlord vanish in a cloud of smoke to reveal the small spirit flame once more.
"How dare you order me to do anything?" Ren quickly backhanded his ghost companion, appalled at his rebellious remark. Bason stared at him with teary eyes, quickly resuming his passive attitude as a servant once more. "I should punish you severely for your insolence."
"Forgive me, bocchama." Bason lowered his eyes in shame. "I do not know what came over me. It's just that I cannot bear to see you in this state. I was only trying to help."
For a moment, the boy's face softened at his mochirei's concern for him. Though he hated to admit it, Bason's words rang true. Jun would not always be there for him, and he would have to learn to fend for himself eventually. And since there was no better time than the present…
"I concede. You do have a point," Ren admitted begrudgingly, his arms folded over his chest. "If I'm going to become the Shaman King, then I must be able to rely solely on my own abilities. And if that means that I must learn to cook, then I'll teach myself, even if it kills me!"
"That's the spirit, bocchama!" Bason was happy to see the energy returning to his master.
Ren quickly got to his feet and clenched his fists in front of him. "I refuse to admit defeat! A Tao never wavers, even in the face of adversity. This will be my greatest challenge. I vow I will dine on a meal of my own making by tonight, or surely I will die trying!"
The young shaman marched purposefully toward the kitchen and ripped a book off the nearby shelf and slammed it onto the counter. He stared at the bright yellow book with the words "Chinese Cooking Made Easy" etched on the cover in red ink. He quickly flipped through and found a simple recipe for preparing white rice and steamed vegetables.
"Very well. I'm sure I could start out on something more elegant, but perhaps it's best if I whet my appetite with something simple first." Ren tried to hide his doubt behind an arrogant remark. He was daunted by even this supposedly easy recipe, but he would never allow himself to reveal any weakness.
"Let's see…" Ren ran his finger down the list of ingredients as Bason hovered over his shoulder in curiosity. "One pound of rice, some carrots, broccoli, green beans, water chestnuts… A tisp of salt…?" He reread through the instructions, thinking perhaps he misread something. "What's a 'tisp'?"
"What's that, bocchama?" Bason floated closer to the book.
"It say's right here." He stabbed at the page angrily with his finger. "One tsp. of salt."
"I believe that's an abbreviation for teaspoon, bocchama." The spirit flame smiled to himself at Ren's naïveté. Despite what he'd like to believe, Ren was still just a child and just as new to the world as Jun.
"Uh, of course! I knew that." The boy smiled arrogantly. "I was just testing you, to see if you knew."
"Of course, bocchama." Bason shook his head.
"All right then. Let's see if we can't get this rice cooking now." Ren hurried toward the cabinet but found he was far too short to reach the handle above his head. Growling in frustration, he clambered onto the counter, his heels hanging an inch off the edge. Bason stared in worry as his young master opened the cabinet and pulled a large rice-steamer out, swaying backward slightly as he struggled to maintain his equilibrium. Ren slammed the cabinet door closed with his elbow and slowly climbed down from the counter, the rice-steamer clutched tightly in his small arms.
Bason was startled as Ren slammed the metal rice-steamer on to the counter and plugged it into the wall outlet.
"Let's see here," he skimmed through the directions again. "Pour in one pound of rice into rice-steamer with six cups of water. Set to medium temperature and let steam for half an hour."
He stared at the bag of rice, then at he rice-streamer, then back to the bag of rice.
"Thirty minutes? For one measly bag of rice? That's far too long, and I'm hungry now!"
Ren rummaged in the cabinets and pulled out two more bags of rice. He ripped them open with his teeth and began to pour the contents into the pot.
"Bocchama! What are you doing?" Bason glided nervously to his master's side.
"I'm tired and I've been starving for the better part of three hours! I'll just fill it up with water, set it to high, and it'll be done in five minutes. I'll be eating in no time!" Ren smiled at his own genius as he began pouring water into the metal pot, its contents nearly overflowing.
"Bocchama," Bason glanced nervously at the overfilled rice-steamer as Ren turned the dial all the way to the right. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Streaming implies that the contents will be under pressure--"
"Silence!" Ren glared at the red spirit flame as he picked up a carrot and a knife and began clumsily peeling it. "I know what I'm doing. I'm in a bad mood right now, and the sooner I eat something, the sooner I'll be more agreeable. That's what you want, don't you?"
"Of course, bocchama, but I really think you should--"
"I said that's enough out of you." Ren flicked his ghost companion into the living room where the hapless ghost landed on the couch in a heap. "This cooking thing is going to be a snap. I don't see why I never tried it before. I'm a natural." He smiled smugly as he sliced into his thumb with the knife.
"Kisama!" Ren dropped the carrot and stuck his injured thumb in his mouth.
"What happened, bocchama?" Bason floated to his master's side immediately upon hearing his curse.
"I cut myself with the stupid knife," he removed his thumb and watched as blood began to well up again. He promptly stuck it back into his mouth and sucked on it, wincing at the pain.
"You should cut away from yourself, never toward, bocchama," Bason offered that pearl of wisdom belatedly.
"You could have told me that sooner," Ren glared at him out of the corner of his eye.
Suddenly, his attention was arrested by the sound of metal striking metal. He turned toward the rice-streamer and his eyes grew round with fear as he saw the lid bouncing up and down, like a pair of castanets, as water and grains of rice sloshed over the side of the pot.
"It's overflowing, bocchama!" Bason wore a similar expression on his face.
"I can see that, baka!" The pain in his thumb temporarily forgotten, Ren dashed forward and clamped his hands down on top of the lid. He screeched in pain and quickly removed them, forgetting that the pot was extremely hot. He gazed at his palms, the flesh slightly pink where his hands had come in contact with the hot metal. Pulling on a pair of oven mitts, his forced the lid down once more, unwilling to admit defeat to the demonic kitchen appliance.
"You're going to cook my food, damn it!" He leaned forward, using his body weight to hold the struggling lid down on the pot.
"Bocchama! It's too dangerous," Bason couldn't keep the note of panic out of his voice. "Get away from there, now!"
"I won't give up." Sweat was beading on the young shaman's brow as he continued to battle against the rice-streamer. "I'm going to cook this meal, even if it kills me."
"And that may very well happen if you don't duck and cover, bocchama." Bason raced to his master's side. "The contents are under pressure. Steam is trapped inside. If it can't find an escape, it will create one!"
"Over my dead body…" Ren was cut off as he became aware of the pressure building beneath his palms. He struggled with all his might to keep the lid on. Just a few more minutes and his food would finally be ready. He could almost taste it on his lips…
"Bocchama! It's going to blow!" Bason had no choice. It was his master's life they were dealing with, and he'd be damned if he allowed anything to happen to his master.
The red spirit flame closed his eyes and whizzed forward into his master's back, integrating with the young shaman and taking control of his body. Surprised at the sudden presence of his mochirei inside his body, Ren's body quickly leaped backward of its own accord as the rice-streamer suddenly exploded, sending scalding water and bits of rice shrapnel everywhere. Ren's body hit the floor and continued to roll several feet as water and rice trailed after him. Coming to a stop, the Chinese shaman sat up as his spirit companion left his body.
"What the hell did you do that for?" Ren exploded almost as violently as the rice-streamer.
"If you had stayed there a moment longer, you could have--" Bason choked on his words, tears welling in his eyes. Suddenly, he flew into his master's arms and buried his face in Ren's black silk shirt. "Oh, bocchama! I was afraid I was going to lose you."
"What a stupid thing to say, Bason," Ren frowned at his mochirei, but he couldn't help feeling a twinge of gratitude toward the red spirit flame nestled close to his heart.
Ren lifted his gaze from his mochirei to the rest of the house and he felt his jaw slam to the floor. He tried to scream, but his voice got lost somewhere along the way. It was a scene from a nightmare. Water pooled on the white linoleum of the kitchen and stained the red carpet a deeper shade of crimson, like blood on a battlefield. Clumps of rice lay scattered on the floor, clung to the walls, dangled from the curtains, even hung from the ceiling. The disaster zone spread from the kitchen all the way to the far wall of the living room.
"If I don't die of hunger in the next few hours," Ren said as he gulped audibly. "Nee-san will surly get the job done when she gets home…"
"Then you'd better start cleaning up, bocchama." Bason looked sadly at his master as Ren trudged to the kitchen and emerged with a shiny red bowl and a pair of chopsticks. On hands and knees, Ren set himself to the arduous task of picking each and every grain of rice up with the chopsticks and dropping it into the bowl. He winced every now and then at pain in his tender hands, but he continued to persevere, his stomach rumbling audibly the entire time.
Jun stopped in her tracks as a violent sneeze shook her entire body. She rubbed at her nose with one finger.
"Bless you, Miss Jun," Pailong turned to her as she stood rubbing at her nose.
"That's strange. Someone must be saying bad things about me," she shook her and took a deep breath.
"Why would anyone do that?" The tall martial artist frowned.
"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, let's keep going. Is this roller coaster you keep telling me about very far off?"
"We should be getting closer. I can hear it in the distance."
"Hear it? What exactly is a roller coaster, anyway?" Jun asked, her lovely head tilted to one side in confusion.
"You'll see," he grinned from ear to ear. "It's the best kind of ride to go on. You'll have so much fun, I just know it."
"If you say so." She smiled. She trusted her mochirei with her life and knew that he would never let anything happen to her.
When they finally reached the roller coaster, Jun's faith in Pailong began to waver. She tilted her head back to take in the horrific sight. Miles of twisted blue steel stretched across the horizon, the piercing screech of metal sliding against metal deafened her. She watched as a shuttle, resembling an opened up subway car, hurtled at breakneck speed across the tracks, the screams of its passengers went up in a paean of terror, reminding her of the tortured screams she heard in the dungeon deep within the Tao Manor.
"Doesn't that look like fun?" Pailong was grinning madly, almost insanely. Jun's eyes widened in sheer terror. Did he really think that such a hideous torture device could possibly be fun? Surely he wouldn't think of taking her on such an obviously dangerous machine, would he?
"That's supposed to be the roller coaster?" Jun asked, her knees trembling beneath her.
"Of course! What did you expect?"
"I don't know, but certainly not this…"
"Are you scared?" Pailong's face softened as a look of concern entered his dark eyes.
"That," she stabbed her finger at the horrendous machination, "is not fun! Those people are terrified!"
"That's the point." He took her hands and smiled at her reassuringly. "It's fun to get scared."
"Maybe in your twisted little world, but certainly not mine!"
"This ride is perfectly safe." Pailong pointed to a crowd of people exiting the ride, their hair tousled, but looking none the worse for wear.
"That was totally awesome! I thought I was gonna piss myself!" One of the young men laughed to his friends.
"Yeah, I nearly threw-up. That was the best ride ever!" A girl grinned at him.
"Let's get in line and ride it again!" A child, no older than twelve, said to his fellows.
"See? It's perfectly harmless." Pailong stared into his master's sapphire eyes. "Would I really allow anything bad to happen to you?"
"No…" Jun stared at her shoes in shame.
"Then let's get in line and get on!"
Jun slipped her hands from his grasp and backed away nervously. Despite his reassurance, she was still terrified.
"Um… you go on. I'll wait here for you." She clasped her hands neatly in front of her, to keep them from trembling, and smiled sweetly at him.
"But Miss Jun, I want you to come with me."
"I really don't think I should," she shook her head quickly. "You go on and have fun."
"But I don't want to leave you behind." She stared into his large puppy-eyes and felt her resolve weaken. "I you don't want to ride, then I won't ride."
"But this is your special day and I want you to have fun!" Jun waved him on reassuringly. "I'll be fine. You go on ahead."
"No…" He sighed, disappointment etched onto his face. "Let's do something else then."
Jun gazed at him softly, feeling ashamed of herself for spoiling Pailong's fun. This was his birthday, and she promised to make it the most special he'd ever experienced. She gazed once more at the gargantuan ride and gulped audibly. It was just a silly ride, wasn't it? If riding with Pailong would make him happy, then she'd just have to swallow her fear and get it over with.
"All right," she sighed heavily, resigned to her fate. "I'll go with you."
"You really mean it?" His eyes lit up immediately. "You're not just saying that, are you? If you really don't feel comfortable getting on, then we can do something else."
"No, no! I want to ride with you," she put on her best smile to mask her fear. "If you say it's fun, then it must be."
"You're sure about this?"
"Yes! Now come on, before the line gets any longer."
She dragged him away before her reasonable side would get the better of her. Pailong grinned at her courage, confidant that once she experienced the thrill of a roller coaster that she'd feel silly at being so afraid of it before.
After half an hour of standing in line, it was finally their turn to get on. An attendant seated them in the very front and began to strap them in. A large steel bar lowered over their heads and clicked onto their laps. Jun felt her earlier confidence wavering; she could feel her pulse beginning to beat more rapidly.
"Ma'am, you're likely to lose that hat. Would you like me to hold onto it for you?"
"Yes please," Jun smiled nervously and handed her hat to the attendant. "Actually, I think I should go get something to eat. Wouldn't want to ride on an empty stomach, eh?"
"I'd advise against that." The attendant smiled sweetly while waving a signal to start the ride.
"This will be fun, Miss Jun," Pailong smiled and touched her hand for reassurance. "You can hold my hand, if you want."
"I'm fine!" She said, a bit too quickly. Her breathing was becoming more rapid as the sounds of grinding wheels screeched and the cars began moving forward. "Actually, I've changed my mind! I want off! Stop the ride! Let me out!"
"It's too late for that, Miss Jun," Pailong laughed, not unkindly. "It'll all be over before you know it. Just sit back and relax!"
Easy for you to say, Jun stared wide-eyed straight ahead as the cars began crawling forward at a steep incline. She grasped the lap bar in front of her in a white-knuckled grip, feeling as though she would fall from her seat before the ride had even begun. She would be lucky if that happened.
The cars stopped for a moment at the top of the hill and it was then that Jun finally realized the extent of her mistake. Teetering over the edge at least a hundred feet in the air, she felt as though she were perched atop a mountain. Her blue eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she realized that the tracks were leading straight down into the ground.
"Get me off! Get me off!" She shook her head wildly, her breath coming in wheezing gasps. "I don't want to ride anymore!"
"It's all right! You're going to be just fine!" Pailong raised his voice to be heard over the clamoring of the passengers behind them.
"No I'm noooooooooot!" Jun screamed in terror as the car finally rolled over the edge of the hill and sped ever closer to the ground below. Pailong threw his arms in the air and howled with delight. The sounds of screeching metal and terrified screams mingled with various whoops and hollers. Jun's scream rose an entire octave higher as the car drew ever closer toward the ground.
"Miss Jun! Put your hands up!" Pailong smiled with delight, completely oblivious to her screams of terror.
The girl locked her elbows and sat stock stiff, her hands gripping the bar so tightly her tendons were showing.
"We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" She chanted over and over again like some sort of mantra.
Jun braced herself, cursing Pailong for tricking her into getting on this obscene device of human torture, knowing that in just a few moments the car was going to slam into the ground and they would all die. Before the car could hit the ground, it suddenly turned upward and hurtled toward the right, causing the Jun to slid toward the left side of the car and Pailong to lean closer toward her. The car turned sharply toward the left, and then began to slow down as they began to climb another steep incline. She managed to turn her head slightly to find Pailong staring straight ahead at their doom to come, grinning like an idiot.
Before she could voice her opinion of him at the moment, the car fell over the edge once more and Jun was forced to stare ahead in terror once more, at the mercy of the evil roller coaster. Her screams drowned out the others as the car hurtled forward around sharp curves, the car turning completely sideways at one point. Suddenly, Jun saw the tracks curve upward before her and she was quickly silenced in awe of seeing nothing but blue sky beneath her feet. The car exited the loop and the sky and ground were in their proper places once more. Once more, the car slowed and trundled up the steep incline.
"This is it!" Pailong shouted over the screams of the crowd. "The last big drop before the end! Brace yourself!"
That's what I've been doing the entire time, you big jerk! Jun nearly felt tears spring to her eyes. Pailong did a terrible thing, and she'd have a word with him, if she managed to survive this brush with death.
The car zoomed over the edge once more and Jun's screams rose in octave as the roller coaster followed three loops in a row and a few more twists and turns before finally slowing down and entering the loading station once more.
"Ah! That was the best ride ever! Wasn't that fun, Miss Jun?" Pailong finally turned to look at her and his face lost any semblance of joy. Tao Jun's face had become as pale as snow, her sapphire eyes round with fear. She could no longer bring herself to scream anymore, her throat raw, her mind in shock. She continued to grip the bar in front of her as if her life depended on it.
"Miss Jun, it's over now. You can let go." Pailong laughed nervously, but his master remained frozen, as if she had been turned into a statue. The attendant came by to unstrap the passengers, but were having difficulties with the green haired Chinese girl.
"Ma'am, you have to let go of the bar, all right?" One of the male attendants, the one who had been holding her hat, calmly said.
"Is she okay?" A female attendant waved a hand in front of her face, but the girl's blue eyes refused to follow it.
"Damn, she's strong! I can't loosen her grip." The male attendant struggled to pry her fingers loose from the bar.
"Is she in shock?"
"Sir, she's your girl friend, right? Maybe you can help," the male attendant helped Pailong out of his seat as he strode quickly toward Miss Jun's side.
"Miss Jun!" Pailong stared into her emotionless eyes, fear gripping his heart. What had he done to his master? He never realized she would take it so badly. Would she remain like this, a frozen statue, forever?
He laid his hands on her own and stared into her eyes, pleading for her to look at him. His cold touch sent a shiver through her entire body and she slowly turned her head to gaze at him.
"Miss Jun!" Pailong cried in joy, but seeing his master's eye narrow dangerously, he was quickly silenced. Next thing he knew, he felt a sharp crack on his right cheek, and he saw Jun sitting there, tears welling in her sapphire eyes.
"I hate you, Pailong!" Her fists were balled in front of her. "How dare you trick me, saying this was supposed to be fun? I was terrified!"
She pushed her hand against his chest, refusing his offered hand for assistance, and struggled out of the car. Her knees buckling beneath her, she quickly fell to the wooden floor.
"Miss Jun," Pailong called to her and ran quickly to her side. He kneeled and offered his hand, but a piercing glare forced him to take it back. She slowly got to her feet, gripping a guard rail for support while she struggled to keep her feet beneath her. The male attendant offered his assistance as well, but she brushed him away after snatching her hat from him, too infuriated with her mochirei to offer any words of civility. Pailong sighed and slowly followed his master as she wobbled away.
"Miss Jun, I'm sorry." He apologized weakly as he stared at the back of her head, as he had done so many times before. Her hair was tousled by the wind, and she leaned heavily on the guard rail. She turned to look at him, her eyes blazing with fury, her face colored a sickly shade of pale green.
"You should be!" She leaned forward slightly, sweat beading on her brow. "I…" She was about to say 'I hate you', but it came out as, "I think I'm going to be sick…"
She staggered to a nearby trash can and promptly began to vomit. Pailong followed her obediently and gently pulled back her hair away from her face. He stood there, towering over her, and gently rubbed her back with one hand while glaring at anyone who gave them the slightest look.
I'm such a baka! He closed his eyes and frowned to himself as Jun continued to purge the contents of her stomach. I should have known better. Miss Jun's never been on a roller coaster, let alone an amusement park; I should have known this would happen! I've been a terrible mochirei… All I wanted was for her to have fun, and I had to go and screw it up.
Jun finally lifted her head up, the color slowly returning to her cheeks. It seemed she had managed to purge herself of her anger as well, for when she looked up at her mochirei, she had only sympathy in her eyes.
"Feeling better?" Pailong asked, for lack of anything better to say.
"Yes," Jun heaved a great sigh, "but I have this nasty taste in my mouth."
Pailong leaned heavily against a wall as Miss Jun flushed her mouth out at a nearby water fountain. He was too ashamed to look at her, too angry at his own stupidity to say anything.
"Pailong," she said softly. "I'm sorry, for slapping you earlier."
"I deserved it," he stared at her earnestly, eager to make amends. "I should never have forced you to come with me."
She shook her head gently. "You didn't force me. I wanted to come."
"Only because I asked you to!" The tall martial artist stared at his clenched fist in anger. "I only wanted you to have a little fun, and look what happened. I was selfish--"
"No you weren't." He looked down to see Jun touching his hand, smiling softly at him. "This is your special day, after all. And to tell you the truth," she blushed a little, "now that I'm safely on the ground, I think the roller coaster was fun. I just don't think I'll be riding it again anytime soon."
"Really?" Pailong's dark eyes sparkled with delight.
"Yeah! That loop thing was pretty cool. Seeing nothing but the clear blue sky beneath your feet, it's a bit awe-inspiring, you know what I mean?"
"I guess so," he smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Had enough fun at the carnival for one day?"
"I'll say," she sighed. "Let's go to the park for a while and rest a bit. I'm starting to get hungry now."
"I'll bet, after all that throwing up!" He laughed nervously. "You ever notice how vomit tastes like pizza and orange juice mixed together?"
Jun stared blankly at him for a moment.
"Eh…" He scratched his head nervously. "Never mind."
"You really do say some strange things, Pailong." Jun cocked her eyebrow at him in confusion. "But that's what makes you so endearing."
All right! Things are gonna start getting exciting now! Ren's cooking exploits are only just beginning, and Jun's and Pailong's love for one another is starting to blossom. There will be some ass-kicking action coming up very soon, but I may have to change the rating to PG-13 for violence and mild cursing, just to be safe. Pailong will be kicking punk-ass thugs around, and Ren-kun while be kicking Bason and demonic kitchen appliances around. By the way, about Jun's sneeze; the Japanese believe if you sneeze really hard for no reason, it means someone is talking behind your back. Ren wasn't saying really nice things about his sister, now was he? He gets very cranky when he's hungry.