A Mabudachi Story:
Chapter Two
By Ayame Kazeai
Hatori stared at the two boys in a mix of disbelief and shock.
"No. No no. My internet connection is for research purposes only, Ayame."
"EXACTLY! Research into the hearts of women! Finding and seeking your one true love! This is not some child's play… this is the rest of your life, Tori-chan, and you must embrace it! This would be the research that will forever change your life! RESEARCH!" he exclaimed excitedly, golden eyes sparkling in a dangerous light.
"No." he replied with a stern head shake. "You know what I mean."
"Why not? It can't hurt to look." Shigure chimed in as he hopped over the desk to sit next to Ayame.
"Yes. Yes it can. People on the internet are crazy." he responded, with the slightest touch of worry in his voice.
Ayame quickly shook his head, put on a defensive face, and replied "But we're on the internet, Tori-chan!" Shigure nodded franticly in agreement.
"…my point exactly."
"Please?" Shigure whined as he brought his hands up to his chest in a pleading manner.
"No."
"It'll be fun!"
"I doubt that."
"You won't know till you try!"
"No."
"Yes?"
"NO."
"Oh, come on now!" Shigure exclaimed as he threw his hands up in defeat.
"No, I am not going to get onto the internet to find some imaginary girlfriend, have cyber-romance with her, fall in fake love, and late discover that 'she' is really a he, and that he is a 40 year old convicted felon serving life in Australia." Hatori replied stoically as he picked up the book next to Ayame and started to flip through it himself. "Not happening. Case closed. Go home."
"Fine…" Ayame said with a sigh, finally accepting defeat. The two boys waved goodbye and drug themselves out of the room, sulking.
Hatori let his mind linger on the suggestion for a moment before shaking his head and going back to his homework. "Let's see.. BCIS.." he said to himself, and picked up the folder off of his desk. Lazily, he thumbed through the papers in the folder. "Ah, here it is…" he mumbled out loud and slipped the crisp paper out of it's holder. As his eyes glanced over the title of the page, his brow immediately raised in interest.
"INTERNET BUSINESS:
Studies into the effective use of
The internet and your business."
Hatori's gaze then shifted over slightly to focus on the screen in front of him. It was almost like an open invitation. "No, I will not." he told himself, and set the paper back into the folder, and the folder back onto his desk. The next folder on his stack was one for calculus. "Much safer.." he thought as he slipped the assignment out.
"RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT:
List 10 online resources to better your
College level calculus preparations."
Hatori instantly tossed the folder and assignment back onto his desk in one graceful move, and picked up the next one. His brow began to ruffle in frustration, leading him to throw down the next folder as well once it was discovered that he needed to research the names and stats of all of the members of the Japanese Olympics team…via the web. A hand few up to run through his raven locks in frustration while the other one pointed a finger dangerously at the picture of Ayame and Shigure by his monitor. "You're mocking me." he mumbled in frustration.
In all actuality, Ayame's suggestion was enticing. A cyber love would be his one way to be "involved" with someone without the threat of hugging. On top of that, he would have the opportunity to get to know someone mentally and ensure that they were completely compatible, and…"Ugh! Why am I even thinking about this?"
But it -was- a good idea. Shigure and Ayame seemed to always be gabbing it up about the "hot chick they bothered last night" or "the group of girls that fell for them last night and got soooooo mad when they jokingly said that they were gay". It seemed like a lot of…fun. Fun? Suddenly Hatori picture Ayame sitting on his desk, saying "…I mean as carefree and fun as someone completely without the ability to be carefree and/or fun…" Thoughtfully, he reached over to press his index and middle fingers against the picture frame for a moment, then pushed it backwards.. Causing it to topple over. "Idiots."
♥
Hatori tucked the last of his assignments back into their proper folders, and set them all back in his bag. He had finally finished his assignments for the evening. A lazy eye was cast towards the clock- it was only 9 pm, and he was already out of it. But, like an evil glowing beacon, the hazy computer screen called to him. It had somehow found it's way to TalkJapan Chat Sector. Hatori rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and leaned forward to give the site a good once-over.
"Hn…chat rooms…'Happy Couples over 30'… 'Swinging Singles'…I'm not particularly one to 'swing'… 'BignBeautifulnHawt4U', egads! Hmm…'High Prospects'…I don't even want to know." Hatori shook his head. This was starting to seem like the bad idea that he knew it would be. As he moved the mouse up to close the window out, something caught his eye. "TokyoUniHopeful: For those who actually have an IQ" Once his eyes locked onto the topic, the temptation was there full throttle. It had been a long time since the last he spoke with people who could intellectually level with him. Shigure and Ayame were far from dumb, but they were too busy being up to their own crazy antics to stop and think. The idea of the chat room was extremely attractive. He stood up. "No, I can't do it. I've seen documentaries upon documentaries advocating against the introduction of the 'chat world' into one's life." But there must be some reason why people become addicts, some sort of…psychological phenomenon. This wouldn't be diving into the proverbial shark tank- this would be research.
♥
Hatori rushed home from school. It had been merely twelve days since his "research" began, and he was starting to get into it. But it would figure that the second he sat down at the computer, Shigure and Ayame collapsed against the door frame, panting and gasping for air.
"Ha…ha…Hatori…w-why…are you so…in a rush…?" Shigure said between gasps for air.
Ayame just let out a simple "Meeeehh!" as his delicate features warped into a look of pure distraught.
"Wuh…we…we were trying…to keep up…with you…wanted to go…to the mall…and…look for cute…girls." Shigure continued.
"Shigure, Ayame, I have work to do." Hatori replied coolly, not even raising his eyes to look at them as he got comfortable at his desk.
An exasperated sigh escaped Ayame's lips. "Work? But…you've always given us some time after school and…and waited to do homework till we got done." he exclaimed with a genuinely hurt expression on his face.
"Guys, seriously. I have something that I'd like to get done." Hatori replied. He had already started to log onto all of his programs and such, and was obviously not giving in. But apparently Ayame and Shigure felt the same way. He could see their determination…but what he didn't see was Ayame walking over to him, obviously in attempt to corner his friend, whine, and beg until he gave in. But what Ayame accidentally saw caught him off-guard.
"AHHH!" Ayame cried out as a finger flew out to point at the computer screen. "Ah, AHH!"
Hatori swung around to look at Ayame, then followed his point right back to his computer screen. TalkJapan Chat Sector login window was on proud display…and Ayame wasn't really suppose to see that. He apparently didn't want to see it either, judging by the look of pure horror on the snake's face at catching his friend in the attempt to deceive. But before Hatori could even think to cover for what he had done, Shigure flew to Ayame's side and saw it all as well. "You've been CHATTING, you whore!" said Shigure with a voice laced in amusement.
"Yes. Yes I have. And if you call me a 'whore' again, I will tell the entire student council that you wet your bed until you were five." Hatori retorted coldly…which was enough to send the dog retreating behind Ayame.
"Awww, Gure-chan…it's okay! Aaya loves you!" Ayame cooed in an almost comforting way as he hugged the distraught dog close to his chest.
Hatori rolled his eyes and turned back to his computer. "If you two don't mind…" he began, in a way that showed that they really didn't have the choice that his words indicated that they did, "…there are some things that I'd like to take care of."
"And by 'things', he means 'online flirting', and by 'take care of' he means 'get my groove on with'." Shigure loudly whispered to Ayame in the most sarcastic manner possible. He 'explained' the situation to Ayame as one would do to a child, while Ayame nodded and pretended to be shocked.
"Idiot." Hatori mumbled, while the two boys giggled feverishly to one another.
"Again, I have something that I'd like to do-"
"-honestly, Tori-chan, say what you really need, not what you feel that you need to say!" Ayame said, cutting him off.
"Ooooh, Aaya-chan! That was really good!" Shigure replied and patted Ayame on the head.
The snake beamed in pride, turned to face Shigure once again, and chirped "Thanks! I read that off of the inspirational calender on Erosei-sensei's desk!"
"Ayame."
"Mmmm?" Ayame replied as he looked back to Hatori.
"Sh."
Ayame nodded as he suddenly lost his enthusiasm and achieved a much more composed demeanor.
"Okay…honestly I am wanting to discuss something with a friend online." Hatori said quietly to the two.
"A friend named imhawt4u2...?" Shigure teasingly questioned with a wink.
"No." came Hatori's unamused reply. "If you must know, her username is 'fennecfoxrawks'…and she is not some mindless internet bimbo like the kind you two run with."
Shigure looked at Ayame in shock. "Do you run with internet bimbos?"
"No!" answered Ayame, eyes wide in interest. "Do you?"
"No, but when Hatori puts it that way, it sounds deadly interesting."
"Gentlemen."
The two stopped mid-conversation to look at Hatori, who looked back at them with an air of displeasure.
"Fine. We'll go. But we hope you don't have the slightest bit of fun to the point that it forces you to hang out with people in the real world!" Ayame replied as he put his hands on his hips defiantly and gave Hatori a very, very stern look.
"Yes. Like us, when we're not off in our own little dreamland." added Shigure with a grin.
The two boys took their leave, whispering hotly between the two of them about the plans for their evening. Once they got to the front door and saw themselves out, Ayame grabbed Shigure by the hand and pulled him near. His face showed a tinge of concern and he bit gently on his bottom lip.
"It'll be okay, Aaya-chan…" Shigure reassured him as he pulled the snake into a hug.
"No, it's not that, Gure-chan. I need to tell you something. Something very important."
end of chapter two