Rimnerel: Thanks everyone for the turn out.
Tala (smirks): You didn't scream loud enough.
Rimnerel: Shut up. Okay, what was I going to say. Oh yeah, I want to thank the following people for reading the last chapter and all.
Thanks to: Sailor Shadow, B. Tiamat Atardecer, DeathAssassin390, Silverm, FREAK014, and Raven Star. But on a note FREAK-kun, I didn't intend for Tala to sound like a country hick. Believe me, he retains his snide, sarcastic, cynical, stubborn, hotheaded, smart ass attitude within this one. I just haven't let him show his full colors as of yet. Just wait, he's the Tala you know and love from me.
Tala (crosses arms): You can't have me, FREAK014. I belong to no one...except Kenny.
Rimnerel: Okay, keep living in that dream world of yours buddy. Okay, let's get this chapter started. I'm letting everyone know now that no real action happens in this chapter, but it's an introduction to a few more characters and sets the stage for the next chapter. But I hope you all enjoy it the same.
***********************
Kenny stared out the window at the town they had finally arrived in ten minutes ago as the sedan rolled down another street. This was where his realitives lived? This small town which wasn't at all like his city with tall skyscrapes, billboards, crossing lights, bright lights, and large crowds of people associated with city life. This place had to be the most rural area he had ever seen. From what he had seen so far, there was a small mall, maybe a club or two, a library here or there, and maybe even one or two schools. The tallest building he had seen since arriving would be compared to a house next to his city's business firms.
*This is going to be so boring. I can see that now.* His eyes roamed over the old traditional, colonial houses which must still be from when the first settlers came over from Europe. They had to be hundreds of years old. Some of the houses looked to have recently gotten upgrades with vinyl siding and shingles. One of the houses on the list of being upgraded was also where his father turned to corner and pulled up into the dirt road driveway. An old violet fence surrounded the lush grassy area the house rested within.
"All right, come on and let's get out," Kenny's father said, cutting off the engine.
"This is where we're going to be staying the summer?" Kenny remarked. He had expected an old shack with bad plumbing and holes in the roof. Even though his house back in the city was better, it was decent enough. But the old bulky, colonial house looked as if it was built to withstand cold weather, have a tornado sweep through and you have no more house. The house itself was painted white with blue and violet here and there.
"Yep. This is your mother's sister, Hikari lives with your uncle. You remember your aunt don't you?" Kenny's father said getting out the car in order to start getting their bags from the back seat and trunk.
How could he forget that woman? Of the few times that she's visted, Kenny felt each having a lasting effect on him. With realitives of Japanese descent, especially like her, he was always reminded of how smart and so on he was. How he was goign to become a great something or another, when in fact he really didn't like all the attention and gloating she did over him. Which was al she did whenever she was there, and talking to strangers about him. Rather than a nephew, he felt like a prized cow being showed off.
"Kenny! You came this year!" Kenny froze, hearing his "favorite" aunt's mouth. Looking up from getting out the car, he found his aunt running out the house towards them. "How's my favorite nephew?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Hikari," Kenny said, less enthusiastic about her as she was about him. He allowed himself to be hugged and studied. Yep, exactly like a prized cow. All that was left was for her to start poking and prodding him.
"Kenny, do you eat? Look at how skinny you are. You're fifteen now aren't you? You need to eat more, you'll never grow. How tall are you? Atsuko, what have you been feeding my Kenny?" his aunt said in a slight scold as she poked him. "You should wear your glasses on your eyes, not your forehead. You don't want to walk into a wall. It might be cool at school for you to do that, but your safety comes first."
The woman moved his hair from out of his light blue eyes, pushing his glasses onto his nose. Standing back, she nodded with approval. Kenny felt like he was going to scream if his parents didn't get his aunt away from him.
"Hikari, leave my son alone and help me with my things," Kenny's mother said on cue.
"Oh fine. When everything's settled, we have to have a talk to catch up, all right sweetie?" The woman kissed him on the cheek before going to help his mother. Once it was safe, Kenny wiped his face, pushing his glasses back up on his head. He didn't need to wear them all the time, just when he was reading small print. He had excellent vision. He could see now that this was going to be a long summer ahead of him.
****************
"Kenny, this will be your room for the summer." His aunt pushed open a bedroom that had a bed along with a bunk bed, a window, a small closet, and table and chair inside. "I hope you like it. There's a plug under the table where you can plug in your laptop to recharge. You know, my daughter Emily is smart too. But we haven't gotten her a laptop yet. Maybe you can show her a thing or two about computers. You remember Emily don't you?"
"I think so." The last time he remembered meeting a girl by the name of Emily was when he was about ten. They had managed to irritate the hell out of each other.
"You were about ten maybe the last time you saw each other. It was during Christmas," his aunt recalled. "She always liked to follow you around, remember? Now she's into tennis. She's pretty good, I wonder should I let her compete in a big competition. You should really see her."
"Oh yeah, I remember." The brat from the four corners of hell that had went around during the whole Christmas break correcting every thing he said because she thought she was so much smarter than he was. If she was anything like back then, he knew that summer would be a hassle.
"Oh, you do remember her! That's so great. It's been a while since you've seen each other. Right now I think she's down at the mall hanging out with her friends. She'll be back soon, and you two can catch up on. I'm sure you'll get along well. By the way, I almost forgot to tell you. Guess who else is spending summer here," his aunt went on.
"Who?" Kenny inquired.
"Well, since his father is on another trip, you'll be sharing your room with Tyson, your other cousin. I'm sure you remember him."
"Yes, I do." How could anyone forget Tyson Granger, his mother's now deceased sister's son? Tyson had to be the most spontaneous person Kenny had ever seen in his life. While Tyson was visiting Kenny's family five months ago, the young brunette had been ready to suffocate the young man while he slept. Tyson really wasn't bad, but Kenny was never equipped to deal with his cousin.
"Aunt Hikari! I'm here!" came a loud voice vibrating the walls of the old house. Rapid footsteps clattered up the old steps and down the hall. "Aunt Hikari!" A minute later, a young man with navy blue hair and eyes appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a pair of shorts with a t-shirt and backwards baseball cap. A huge grin was plastered to his face.
"Hello, Tyson, how are you sweetie?" the woman said, obviously not bothered by the boy's exuberant entrance. "Look whose here also." The woman waved her hand over to Kenny.
Tyson's eyes shifted from her to Kenny. The young man's smile seemed to grow wider as he waved at his cousin. "It's been a while since I seen you Chief!" A nickname Tyson had come up with for him. Kenny didn't know where it came from, but a few of the people that knew him were also starting to call him that too. Tyson had that sort of effect on individuals. Everyone that had ever met Tyson grew to like him immediately. "I didn't know you were coming with your parents this year. Cool! So now it's me, you, Emily, and Ian."
"Ian's here also?" the boys' aunt inquired.
"Yeah, he's downstairs talking with Aunt Atsuko. Aunt Mimi said he wanted to get away from the city for the summer, so he came with us too," Tyson said.
All of the kids in the family, besides Kenny were raised in the country. Tyson's father moved from the country once his wife, Tyson's mother, died when Tyson was twelve. For the past three years, the young man had been staying in the city close to Kenny's other realitives. Ian Colfer, Kenny's youngest cousin lived in the city and his parents took care of Tyson when his father had to be way on business. Ian had also been raised in the country, but his parents had moved to the city four years ago when Ian was nine.
Kenny did not get along well with the smart mouth boy, but hey, who was there that he got along with anyway? The last time Ian had visited, it had taken Rei and Kain to keep him from killing the boy. If he had to spend the whole summer around them all...
"Let me go greet Ian and your father. You boys go unpack." The woman walked out the room, going downstairs. Kenny sighed, knowing full well she was going to bunk all three of them together in the same room. Heaven help him from killing them both in their sleep, or losing his sanity.
"Hey Chief," Tyson said walking over to his cousin.
"Yes Tyson?" Kenny said, plugging his laptop battery in and looking over at the fifteen year old.
"Is this really your first trip out here?" Tyson flopped down on the bed Kenny's bag was on. He tilted his head to the side, studying what his cousin was doing.
"Yes, the first one that I can remember. So what about it?" Kenny inquired.
"Well...I was just going to say that I can show you a lot of the places around here to hang out. Whenever I'm down here Emily and I are always doing stuff. There's a bunch of kids around here our age and stuff. A couple of them are really cool and there's the movie theater, and mall, and music store, and--"
"I'm staying in, thanks for the offer though," Kenny interrupted. "There's a lot of stuff I plan on getting down."
"Oh come on. Don't be such a wet blanket. You can't possibly stay inside all summer. That's going to be completely boring. You got to come out. There's even a great place where kids go and bey. I know you would have a great time analyzing blades and all," Tyson begged. "And there are a couple of hot girls who would love to talk with you."
"I don't want to talk with girls," Kenny said, continuing to check to see if his battery was recharging.
"You can be such a grump when you want to be. How can you pass up the opportunity to talk with girls? You don't have a girl or anything. You aren't telling me that you're--"
"Watch it Tyson," Kenny broke in with a sharp glance. Though when he thought about the word and what his cousin was implying, he remembered his reaction to that male in the tree out in the woods. How he had blushed when the male was standing beside him and just how beautiful he looked. Could he actually... *Augh! Stop it! You aren't gay! Get it out of your head! So what if you don't like girls, it doesn't mean that you like guys! Just chill out, it was just one of those moments.*
"Hey...I didn't mean anything by it, Chief. I was just saying that most people that don't like chicks are," Tyson said in his defense.
"That's a very sad stereotype, Tyson. I just find that there's more to life than girls," Kenny stated. "The real question is how am I going to survive the summer with you, Emily, and Ian around me?"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Tyson exclaimed.
"Oh, not much. I was just wondering." Yes, it was about to be one of those times. Summer was going to be extremely difficult to get through. Especially if he had to deal with moments like these every day he got up. Why had he allowed his parents to drag him along? Maybe he would get lucky and the summer would fly by. Maybe...if he was lucky.
*************************
Rimnerel: Okay, I'm done. How did you like it?
Tala: I didn't make an appearance in this chapter.
Rimnerel: You aren't suppose to. I'm getting to you maybe the next chapter, or the chapter after that. Don't worry, I'm going to allow you to shine.
Tala: You better.
Rimnerel: Do my closing for me.
Tala: Fine. The next chapter comes out Thursday. We hope that everyone likes this chapter. We are still taking requests for opinions on who you want to be in this one or what you might want to happen in upcoming chapters. Get them in to us, and we will try our hardest to work your ideas into the story. So until Wednesday, adieu.
Tala (smirks): You didn't scream loud enough.
Rimnerel: Shut up. Okay, what was I going to say. Oh yeah, I want to thank the following people for reading the last chapter and all.
Thanks to: Sailor Shadow, B. Tiamat Atardecer, DeathAssassin390, Silverm, FREAK014, and Raven Star. But on a note FREAK-kun, I didn't intend for Tala to sound like a country hick. Believe me, he retains his snide, sarcastic, cynical, stubborn, hotheaded, smart ass attitude within this one. I just haven't let him show his full colors as of yet. Just wait, he's the Tala you know and love from me.
Tala (crosses arms): You can't have me, FREAK014. I belong to no one...except Kenny.
Rimnerel: Okay, keep living in that dream world of yours buddy. Okay, let's get this chapter started. I'm letting everyone know now that no real action happens in this chapter, but it's an introduction to a few more characters and sets the stage for the next chapter. But I hope you all enjoy it the same.
***********************
Kenny stared out the window at the town they had finally arrived in ten minutes ago as the sedan rolled down another street. This was where his realitives lived? This small town which wasn't at all like his city with tall skyscrapes, billboards, crossing lights, bright lights, and large crowds of people associated with city life. This place had to be the most rural area he had ever seen. From what he had seen so far, there was a small mall, maybe a club or two, a library here or there, and maybe even one or two schools. The tallest building he had seen since arriving would be compared to a house next to his city's business firms.
*This is going to be so boring. I can see that now.* His eyes roamed over the old traditional, colonial houses which must still be from when the first settlers came over from Europe. They had to be hundreds of years old. Some of the houses looked to have recently gotten upgrades with vinyl siding and shingles. One of the houses on the list of being upgraded was also where his father turned to corner and pulled up into the dirt road driveway. An old violet fence surrounded the lush grassy area the house rested within.
"All right, come on and let's get out," Kenny's father said, cutting off the engine.
"This is where we're going to be staying the summer?" Kenny remarked. He had expected an old shack with bad plumbing and holes in the roof. Even though his house back in the city was better, it was decent enough. But the old bulky, colonial house looked as if it was built to withstand cold weather, have a tornado sweep through and you have no more house. The house itself was painted white with blue and violet here and there.
"Yep. This is your mother's sister, Hikari lives with your uncle. You remember your aunt don't you?" Kenny's father said getting out the car in order to start getting their bags from the back seat and trunk.
How could he forget that woman? Of the few times that she's visted, Kenny felt each having a lasting effect on him. With realitives of Japanese descent, especially like her, he was always reminded of how smart and so on he was. How he was goign to become a great something or another, when in fact he really didn't like all the attention and gloating she did over him. Which was al she did whenever she was there, and talking to strangers about him. Rather than a nephew, he felt like a prized cow being showed off.
"Kenny! You came this year!" Kenny froze, hearing his "favorite" aunt's mouth. Looking up from getting out the car, he found his aunt running out the house towards them. "How's my favorite nephew?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Hikari," Kenny said, less enthusiastic about her as she was about him. He allowed himself to be hugged and studied. Yep, exactly like a prized cow. All that was left was for her to start poking and prodding him.
"Kenny, do you eat? Look at how skinny you are. You're fifteen now aren't you? You need to eat more, you'll never grow. How tall are you? Atsuko, what have you been feeding my Kenny?" his aunt said in a slight scold as she poked him. "You should wear your glasses on your eyes, not your forehead. You don't want to walk into a wall. It might be cool at school for you to do that, but your safety comes first."
The woman moved his hair from out of his light blue eyes, pushing his glasses onto his nose. Standing back, she nodded with approval. Kenny felt like he was going to scream if his parents didn't get his aunt away from him.
"Hikari, leave my son alone and help me with my things," Kenny's mother said on cue.
"Oh fine. When everything's settled, we have to have a talk to catch up, all right sweetie?" The woman kissed him on the cheek before going to help his mother. Once it was safe, Kenny wiped his face, pushing his glasses back up on his head. He didn't need to wear them all the time, just when he was reading small print. He had excellent vision. He could see now that this was going to be a long summer ahead of him.
****************
"Kenny, this will be your room for the summer." His aunt pushed open a bedroom that had a bed along with a bunk bed, a window, a small closet, and table and chair inside. "I hope you like it. There's a plug under the table where you can plug in your laptop to recharge. You know, my daughter Emily is smart too. But we haven't gotten her a laptop yet. Maybe you can show her a thing or two about computers. You remember Emily don't you?"
"I think so." The last time he remembered meeting a girl by the name of Emily was when he was about ten. They had managed to irritate the hell out of each other.
"You were about ten maybe the last time you saw each other. It was during Christmas," his aunt recalled. "She always liked to follow you around, remember? Now she's into tennis. She's pretty good, I wonder should I let her compete in a big competition. You should really see her."
"Oh yeah, I remember." The brat from the four corners of hell that had went around during the whole Christmas break correcting every thing he said because she thought she was so much smarter than he was. If she was anything like back then, he knew that summer would be a hassle.
"Oh, you do remember her! That's so great. It's been a while since you've seen each other. Right now I think she's down at the mall hanging out with her friends. She'll be back soon, and you two can catch up on. I'm sure you'll get along well. By the way, I almost forgot to tell you. Guess who else is spending summer here," his aunt went on.
"Who?" Kenny inquired.
"Well, since his father is on another trip, you'll be sharing your room with Tyson, your other cousin. I'm sure you remember him."
"Yes, I do." How could anyone forget Tyson Granger, his mother's now deceased sister's son? Tyson had to be the most spontaneous person Kenny had ever seen in his life. While Tyson was visiting Kenny's family five months ago, the young brunette had been ready to suffocate the young man while he slept. Tyson really wasn't bad, but Kenny was never equipped to deal with his cousin.
"Aunt Hikari! I'm here!" came a loud voice vibrating the walls of the old house. Rapid footsteps clattered up the old steps and down the hall. "Aunt Hikari!" A minute later, a young man with navy blue hair and eyes appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a pair of shorts with a t-shirt and backwards baseball cap. A huge grin was plastered to his face.
"Hello, Tyson, how are you sweetie?" the woman said, obviously not bothered by the boy's exuberant entrance. "Look whose here also." The woman waved her hand over to Kenny.
Tyson's eyes shifted from her to Kenny. The young man's smile seemed to grow wider as he waved at his cousin. "It's been a while since I seen you Chief!" A nickname Tyson had come up with for him. Kenny didn't know where it came from, but a few of the people that knew him were also starting to call him that too. Tyson had that sort of effect on individuals. Everyone that had ever met Tyson grew to like him immediately. "I didn't know you were coming with your parents this year. Cool! So now it's me, you, Emily, and Ian."
"Ian's here also?" the boys' aunt inquired.
"Yeah, he's downstairs talking with Aunt Atsuko. Aunt Mimi said he wanted to get away from the city for the summer, so he came with us too," Tyson said.
All of the kids in the family, besides Kenny were raised in the country. Tyson's father moved from the country once his wife, Tyson's mother, died when Tyson was twelve. For the past three years, the young man had been staying in the city close to Kenny's other realitives. Ian Colfer, Kenny's youngest cousin lived in the city and his parents took care of Tyson when his father had to be way on business. Ian had also been raised in the country, but his parents had moved to the city four years ago when Ian was nine.
Kenny did not get along well with the smart mouth boy, but hey, who was there that he got along with anyway? The last time Ian had visited, it had taken Rei and Kain to keep him from killing the boy. If he had to spend the whole summer around them all...
"Let me go greet Ian and your father. You boys go unpack." The woman walked out the room, going downstairs. Kenny sighed, knowing full well she was going to bunk all three of them together in the same room. Heaven help him from killing them both in their sleep, or losing his sanity.
"Hey Chief," Tyson said walking over to his cousin.
"Yes Tyson?" Kenny said, plugging his laptop battery in and looking over at the fifteen year old.
"Is this really your first trip out here?" Tyson flopped down on the bed Kenny's bag was on. He tilted his head to the side, studying what his cousin was doing.
"Yes, the first one that I can remember. So what about it?" Kenny inquired.
"Well...I was just going to say that I can show you a lot of the places around here to hang out. Whenever I'm down here Emily and I are always doing stuff. There's a bunch of kids around here our age and stuff. A couple of them are really cool and there's the movie theater, and mall, and music store, and--"
"I'm staying in, thanks for the offer though," Kenny interrupted. "There's a lot of stuff I plan on getting down."
"Oh come on. Don't be such a wet blanket. You can't possibly stay inside all summer. That's going to be completely boring. You got to come out. There's even a great place where kids go and bey. I know you would have a great time analyzing blades and all," Tyson begged. "And there are a couple of hot girls who would love to talk with you."
"I don't want to talk with girls," Kenny said, continuing to check to see if his battery was recharging.
"You can be such a grump when you want to be. How can you pass up the opportunity to talk with girls? You don't have a girl or anything. You aren't telling me that you're--"
"Watch it Tyson," Kenny broke in with a sharp glance. Though when he thought about the word and what his cousin was implying, he remembered his reaction to that male in the tree out in the woods. How he had blushed when the male was standing beside him and just how beautiful he looked. Could he actually... *Augh! Stop it! You aren't gay! Get it out of your head! So what if you don't like girls, it doesn't mean that you like guys! Just chill out, it was just one of those moments.*
"Hey...I didn't mean anything by it, Chief. I was just saying that most people that don't like chicks are," Tyson said in his defense.
"That's a very sad stereotype, Tyson. I just find that there's more to life than girls," Kenny stated. "The real question is how am I going to survive the summer with you, Emily, and Ian around me?"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Tyson exclaimed.
"Oh, not much. I was just wondering." Yes, it was about to be one of those times. Summer was going to be extremely difficult to get through. Especially if he had to deal with moments like these every day he got up. Why had he allowed his parents to drag him along? Maybe he would get lucky and the summer would fly by. Maybe...if he was lucky.
*************************
Rimnerel: Okay, I'm done. How did you like it?
Tala: I didn't make an appearance in this chapter.
Rimnerel: You aren't suppose to. I'm getting to you maybe the next chapter, or the chapter after that. Don't worry, I'm going to allow you to shine.
Tala: You better.
Rimnerel: Do my closing for me.
Tala: Fine. The next chapter comes out Thursday. We hope that everyone likes this chapter. We are still taking requests for opinions on who you want to be in this one or what you might want to happen in upcoming chapters. Get them in to us, and we will try our hardest to work your ideas into the story. So until Wednesday, adieu.