Chapter 6: Yo-ho-ho and a Bottle of Wine!
Disclaimer: bla-bla-bla, you know the drill. I have no right to own Tasuki or any other character associated with him. Wow, I even bothered to elaborate that; I must be going crazy.
"It's been 4 hours and 12 minutes since I dropped off that note to Daryll," Akire said, tickling the ear of a cat that just entered her room. "Yeah, I know, why don't I just go over there now, and tell him? But, Kitty, realize that if I do that, who knows how much damage Ikegai could've done while I'm not around. So I'm stuck to the waiting, my feline friend."
One of the things that really annoy Akire is a long, long wait. She would rather find herself under a precariously placed 1-tonne steel bar seconds before it falls than sit in the same room, doing the same thing all over again, for a very long time. "Well, cat, if I'm going to do the waiting game, I might as well do something interesting. Being cooped up here is too much for me." The cat mewed in agreement, as Akire strode out of her room and tried to look for Nuriko.
She found Nuriko talking to Miaka, who were about to go outside when she caught up with them. "Hey, guys! Mind if I join you?" They were about to agree when Tasuki's head popped out from the top of the door-shade (ugh, at a loss for words). Miaka said, "Of course you can," "if Tasuki comes," Nuriko added. "You crazy (bleep)! You ain't gonna make me!" Tasuki said. Akire's cheeks puffed up in annoyance. Miaka and Nuriko whispered to each other, while Tasuki and Akire eyed each other evilly. Finally, Nuriko said, "If you two come, we'll buy you wine." "WINE!" the other two yelled. Akire, of course, never drank any before, but she feels like it would be a really, really good time to start. Tasuki, well, you know.
So, the four went out for a stroll, Nuriko and Miaka at the center, and Akire and Tasuki on the extreme sides. The girls (Tasuki has no taste in shopping. Feh.) spotted a ( to all Pinoys: ano English ng tiange?) marketplace with all kinds of things for sale. Akire, very homesick, bought a lot of trinkets for herself, and for the ladies back home. They were about to go back when Tasuki promptly reminded them to buy a big bottle o' wine. Akire willingly donated some of her money to buy it, not for the sake of camaraderie with Tasuki, of course.
That night, when they were about to eat out, Tasuki ate so fast you'd think the devil was chasing him, just so he wouldn't share a table with Akire. This, of course, touched a nerve or two, so for that grand occasion, she popped open the wine bottle. She was about to take a big gulp out of it when Tasuki grabbed the bottleneck. "Hold it, you don't mean you're the only one drinking from that." He tried to yank it away from her, but her fist was frozen tight to the bottleneck.
Knowing this would solve nothing, they both called for two extra mugs. Now, all they have to do was to let the other one pour out the first helping. Over their dead bodies. Neither of the two budged much less lifted a finger from their death grip. "Hoo, boy, this is gonna be a loooong night," Tamahome said, taking out one of his beloved coins and said, "Okay, now, who wants-" "-HEADS!" Tasuki and Akire shouted out. Glaring at each other, Akire finally yielded to Tasuki, with much reluctance, so he gets to choose heads.
Tamahome tossed the coin (um, duh...) as everyone watched it land in suspended animation. The coin, as if spurred on by their waiting with bated breath, kept on stubbornly rolling around on its side, till 3 minutes later, it finally halted. Akire was about to pick it up with her left hand (the right one held tightly onto the bottle) when Nuriko snatched it away. "Tut, tut! WE look," she said. She cupped the coin inside her hands, and let the other see it. Sarcastically, they all nodded and looked at each other, saying, "Oooh," or "I see," and nodding some more, till Tasuki lost his patience and yelled, "If no-one tells us who goes first, I'll ram this bottle down someone's throat!" Nuriko looked darkly at him and murmured, "If YOU don't shut up, I'LL ram it down your throat for you. Alright, it's tails."
Akire stuck out her tongue childishly at Tasuki, as he slowly let go of the bottle. She poured the wine into the mug till it almost reached the brim. Taking a deep, determined breath, she drained her mug till the last drop. Instantly, her face began to redden, and she felt a wave of dizziness rush to her head. "My turn!" Tasuki said in glee, grabbing the bottle from her. "That is, unless you give up." Perking up and ignoring her blurring vision, she said louder and rougher than she did intended, "Damn straight I won't! I betcha won't go past your second mug!" He just glared at her, as he poured out the wine into his mug, and without hesitating, gulped down everything, except the mug of course.
Akire, by now, shook off most of the effects of her first drink, so confidently, she drank her second draught. Feeling quite defiant that time, she set down her drained mug with a whack. "Don't you go lookin' down on me now, redhead!" she barked.
Surprised but not very bothered, Tasuki drank his second mug with fervor, but was now quite red in the face. "If you drain your next draught, I'll pay you whatever you want!" Tasuki dared. By now, the fuss drew quite a crowd, and everyone was placing their bets. This latest development caused quite a lot of oohs, and aahs, in the crowd.
Feeling up to the challenge, but by now seeing everything in double, Akire hastily grabbed at the bottle 3 times, two times missing, the third time almost spilling the contents. Not even bothering to pour it into the mug, she drank her bit straight from the bottle. "Since there's only a little of this stuff left, if you finish this I'll pay you twice the price I had in mind!" she said, pushing the bottle at him, daring him to do it.
Tasuki, not taking his eyes off his strong contender (actually, he's staring at a wooden post behind her, but drunk as he his, you can't blame him), grabbed the bottle and draining it completely. Now, both of them are very, very red in the face, thinking quite irrationally, and don't have the 20:20 vision of a typical person. Laughing hysterically, Nuriko and Tamahome carefully guided the two to an empty area and each whispered to the drunks, "If you can take the other one out with one punch, I'll give you all my money." Smiling quite stupidly, Akire and Tasuki were really about to raise their fists to punch the other one, but it seems like the wine gets to have the last laugh, as the two of them fell backwards, out cold. Needless to say, their companions were laughing their heads off right now.
The morning after that, Akire woke up, with a gut-wrenching headache, and an upset stomach. I don't think I need to describe what comes next. So, after, um, puking her guts out, she took a very long bath, and drank a lot of water. "Ugh, no more drinks, Akire, very bad idea," she told herself. She checked her drawer afterwards, but still no reply from Daryll. "No, no, no, no! I can't wait any longer!" she cried, clutching her aching head. Okay, I'll rest for the whole day, then tomorrow, I go ahead. Alone."
Disclaimer: bla-bla-bla, you know the drill. I have no right to own Tasuki or any other character associated with him. Wow, I even bothered to elaborate that; I must be going crazy.
"It's been 4 hours and 12 minutes since I dropped off that note to Daryll," Akire said, tickling the ear of a cat that just entered her room. "Yeah, I know, why don't I just go over there now, and tell him? But, Kitty, realize that if I do that, who knows how much damage Ikegai could've done while I'm not around. So I'm stuck to the waiting, my feline friend."
One of the things that really annoy Akire is a long, long wait. She would rather find herself under a precariously placed 1-tonne steel bar seconds before it falls than sit in the same room, doing the same thing all over again, for a very long time. "Well, cat, if I'm going to do the waiting game, I might as well do something interesting. Being cooped up here is too much for me." The cat mewed in agreement, as Akire strode out of her room and tried to look for Nuriko.
She found Nuriko talking to Miaka, who were about to go outside when she caught up with them. "Hey, guys! Mind if I join you?" They were about to agree when Tasuki's head popped out from the top of the door-shade (ugh, at a loss for words). Miaka said, "Of course you can," "if Tasuki comes," Nuriko added. "You crazy (bleep)! You ain't gonna make me!" Tasuki said. Akire's cheeks puffed up in annoyance. Miaka and Nuriko whispered to each other, while Tasuki and Akire eyed each other evilly. Finally, Nuriko said, "If you two come, we'll buy you wine." "WINE!" the other two yelled. Akire, of course, never drank any before, but she feels like it would be a really, really good time to start. Tasuki, well, you know.
So, the four went out for a stroll, Nuriko and Miaka at the center, and Akire and Tasuki on the extreme sides. The girls (Tasuki has no taste in shopping. Feh.) spotted a ( to all Pinoys: ano English ng tiange?) marketplace with all kinds of things for sale. Akire, very homesick, bought a lot of trinkets for herself, and for the ladies back home. They were about to go back when Tasuki promptly reminded them to buy a big bottle o' wine. Akire willingly donated some of her money to buy it, not for the sake of camaraderie with Tasuki, of course.
That night, when they were about to eat out, Tasuki ate so fast you'd think the devil was chasing him, just so he wouldn't share a table with Akire. This, of course, touched a nerve or two, so for that grand occasion, she popped open the wine bottle. She was about to take a big gulp out of it when Tasuki grabbed the bottleneck. "Hold it, you don't mean you're the only one drinking from that." He tried to yank it away from her, but her fist was frozen tight to the bottleneck.
Knowing this would solve nothing, they both called for two extra mugs. Now, all they have to do was to let the other one pour out the first helping. Over their dead bodies. Neither of the two budged much less lifted a finger from their death grip. "Hoo, boy, this is gonna be a loooong night," Tamahome said, taking out one of his beloved coins and said, "Okay, now, who wants-" "-HEADS!" Tasuki and Akire shouted out. Glaring at each other, Akire finally yielded to Tasuki, with much reluctance, so he gets to choose heads.
Tamahome tossed the coin (um, duh...) as everyone watched it land in suspended animation. The coin, as if spurred on by their waiting with bated breath, kept on stubbornly rolling around on its side, till 3 minutes later, it finally halted. Akire was about to pick it up with her left hand (the right one held tightly onto the bottle) when Nuriko snatched it away. "Tut, tut! WE look," she said. She cupped the coin inside her hands, and let the other see it. Sarcastically, they all nodded and looked at each other, saying, "Oooh," or "I see," and nodding some more, till Tasuki lost his patience and yelled, "If no-one tells us who goes first, I'll ram this bottle down someone's throat!" Nuriko looked darkly at him and murmured, "If YOU don't shut up, I'LL ram it down your throat for you. Alright, it's tails."
Akire stuck out her tongue childishly at Tasuki, as he slowly let go of the bottle. She poured the wine into the mug till it almost reached the brim. Taking a deep, determined breath, she drained her mug till the last drop. Instantly, her face began to redden, and she felt a wave of dizziness rush to her head. "My turn!" Tasuki said in glee, grabbing the bottle from her. "That is, unless you give up." Perking up and ignoring her blurring vision, she said louder and rougher than she did intended, "Damn straight I won't! I betcha won't go past your second mug!" He just glared at her, as he poured out the wine into his mug, and without hesitating, gulped down everything, except the mug of course.
Akire, by now, shook off most of the effects of her first drink, so confidently, she drank her second draught. Feeling quite defiant that time, she set down her drained mug with a whack. "Don't you go lookin' down on me now, redhead!" she barked.
Surprised but not very bothered, Tasuki drank his second mug with fervor, but was now quite red in the face. "If you drain your next draught, I'll pay you whatever you want!" Tasuki dared. By now, the fuss drew quite a crowd, and everyone was placing their bets. This latest development caused quite a lot of oohs, and aahs, in the crowd.
Feeling up to the challenge, but by now seeing everything in double, Akire hastily grabbed at the bottle 3 times, two times missing, the third time almost spilling the contents. Not even bothering to pour it into the mug, she drank her bit straight from the bottle. "Since there's only a little of this stuff left, if you finish this I'll pay you twice the price I had in mind!" she said, pushing the bottle at him, daring him to do it.
Tasuki, not taking his eyes off his strong contender (actually, he's staring at a wooden post behind her, but drunk as he his, you can't blame him), grabbed the bottle and draining it completely. Now, both of them are very, very red in the face, thinking quite irrationally, and don't have the 20:20 vision of a typical person. Laughing hysterically, Nuriko and Tamahome carefully guided the two to an empty area and each whispered to the drunks, "If you can take the other one out with one punch, I'll give you all my money." Smiling quite stupidly, Akire and Tasuki were really about to raise their fists to punch the other one, but it seems like the wine gets to have the last laugh, as the two of them fell backwards, out cold. Needless to say, their companions were laughing their heads off right now.
The morning after that, Akire woke up, with a gut-wrenching headache, and an upset stomach. I don't think I need to describe what comes next. So, after, um, puking her guts out, she took a very long bath, and drank a lot of water. "Ugh, no more drinks, Akire, very bad idea," she told herself. She checked her drawer afterwards, but still no reply from Daryll. "No, no, no, no! I can't wait any longer!" she cried, clutching her aching head. Okay, I'll rest for the whole day, then tomorrow, I go ahead. Alone."