M/N: So here's the drill: I forgot my good friend Kou's birthday, so this fanfic is her belated birthday present. Happy belated birthday, short bus!
Standard disclaimers apply.
Includes: Author insert-ish (Kou as character... maybe guest appearances, too). Slight Melfina/Gene references (maybe more if this gets longer), and a bit of Aisha-bashing... Make that everyone-bashing. I don't discriminate, I just hate everyone.
Oh! And a bonus! There are three homages in this chapter: anime, online comic, anime in that order. They should be fairly easy to pick out, so the first person to get at least two out of three correct gets a chapter dedicated to them! In order to do so, you have to review!
---
This is modeled after the fanfic "Once Upon a Freakin' Time", by Evadane, who modeled HERS after a "Not Too Long Ago" comic by Sarah Nobel. It's nowhere near their caliber, however.
---
The Misadventures of a Rogue Hawking
by Gracelyn Musica
Prologue
Meet the Family
---
Subject: James Hawking, Jim to his friends. Age: 16. A boy genius, he is the son of a renound hacker known as the Computer Wizard. However, not much else is known about his real family. Since the age of 7, Jim has lived with and cared for Gene Starwind as his business partner and sidekick. In reality, Jim is the younger of two children.
Why would two capable and loving parents leave their young son in the hands of Gene Starwind of all people? Well, it turns out that both Gene and Jim are the second generations working at Starwind and Hawking Enterprises, a company started by their fathers. When Gene's father died, Jim's father took him in. Conversely, when Jim's father retired, Jim went to live with Gene.
It's perfectly logical and completely absurd at the same time. Only the Starwinds and Hawkings would be so thoughly screwed up in their business ethics.
---
When the door to 'Starwind and Hawking' opened, the small brass bell over it jingled cheerfully. The crew of the Outlaw Star perked up at the sound, hopeful for a big job. Melfina, the closest to the door, smiled and bowed politely to the customer.
"Hello! Welcome to Starwind and Hawking Enterprises, my name's Melfina, may I help you with something?"
The customer raised a hand under a wide-brimed hat to take off round, yellow-tinted sunglasses, revealing piercing ice-blue eyes. "Yes, I would like to speak with James Hawking please," the customer said, stuffing the sunglasses into a trenchoat hip pocket.
Aisha, who was sitting at the table with Suzuka, leaned back to try and catch a glimpse of who the customer was: A young woman, maybe 18 or 19, dressed in a red trenchcoat that went down to her mud-colored boots. One hand as pushing up the brim of her brown hat while her other hand was buried deep in the pocket. A brown pack was slung across her back.
"Mrow?" Aisha perked up, her cat ears turning this way and that in her curiosity.
Melfina looked confused. "James...? Oh, Jim!" The dark-haired woman smiled. "I'm sorry, but Jim is currently out on a job right now."
"That's fine, I can wait for him," the young woman replied, smiling back.
"Please, have a seat in the living room and make yourself comfortable. May I bring you something to drink while you wait?"
"Some water would be great, actually."
"I'll get that for you, please, sit."
"Yes ma'am."
By now, the other three crew members were intently curious, but when the trenchcoat-clad woman entered, they were all the picture of innocence: Aisha was absorbed in her game; Suzuka her book; and Gene just ducked back down out of sight on the second level. The two women watched out of the corner of their eyes as the hat was swept off to reveal raggedly-cut hair the color of her trenchcoat--what Jim often refered to as "Starwind red". She smirked slightly as she put her pack down and slowly unbuttoned her trenchcoat, Gene slowly approaching the railing to peer down at the bottled redhead. When it hit the couch next to the hat, she was wearing baggy cargo jeans and a white tee with the words '3v1l l33t' scrawled in black over the front. The top of a knife protruded from the top of her boots, and a big silver gun hung at her hip on a wide leather belt. She finally plopped down on the couch, crossing her legs and running a hand through her red hair.
"Kou? Koushiro, is that you?" Gene finally spoke up when he found his tongue.
The newly-named Kou looked up and smiled. "Gene! I knew you had to be lurking around here somewhere, you damn outlaw."
"Well, well, I'll be damned..." Gene half-ran down the stairs and the two redheads hugged tightly. "What the hell happened to my little Kou?"
"Well, I'm not quite so 'little' anymore, Gene."
"I can tell--you've grown into one hell of a woma--"
"You damn pervert, you haven't change--"
"A-HEM!" Aisha cleared her throat loudly, and everyone looked at her.
"Oh! Kou, this is Aisha and Suzuka, two of my crew members, guys, this is Kou Hawking."
"Mrow? Hawking?" Aisha's ears did a 180 to perk towards the girl.
Kou nodded. "I'm Jim's older sister--adopted older sister, but older sister none the less."
"Weeeeeell, Jim shouldn't be back for quite a while." Gene smiled brightly at Kou. "Would you do a favor for me?"
Kou sighed. "Jim's gonna be mad if we blow something up again..."
---
Jim stood outside, staring blankly at his business/home across the street. Black smoke was rising from either the roof or from behind the building. He hoped it was the latter. Sincerely hoped it was the latter.
Gulping, he crossed the street and walked in. Melfina greeted him at the door. "Jim! You're back late!"
"Yeah, the job went longer than I expected, but I got some overtime out of it... Um, Mel? What's up with the smoke?"
"Oh! Gene's trying to barbecue something... I think..." She shrugged. "And you have a visitor."
"A... Visitor?"
A red head popped from around the corner, eyes obscured by goggles. Their owner pulled them to rest on her forehead, blue eyes glittering. "Jimmy!"
Jim stood, dumbstruck, for the second time in five minutes. "Kou!?! What the hell happened to your hair!?"
"Ah, well, you know I always wanted to be a red head like Gene," she told her little brother.
"What are you doing here?"
Kou shrugged. "Dad thought I should join the family business, since I'm not married off yet."
"Not married yet?! You're only 18!"
"I know, dude, I know." She grinned evily. "So I get to bug you instead of a boyfriend. Oh, and there's a problem with these records."
"What, they're all in the red?"
"That... and there's all this internet porn on the computer."
It was at that exact moment that Jim Hawking decided that God didn't like him.
---
It'll get better, I promise. I'm just laying the groundwork right now. Review please!
Standard disclaimers apply.
Includes: Author insert-ish (Kou as character... maybe guest appearances, too). Slight Melfina/Gene references (maybe more if this gets longer), and a bit of Aisha-bashing... Make that everyone-bashing. I don't discriminate, I just hate everyone.
Oh! And a bonus! There are three homages in this chapter: anime, online comic, anime in that order. They should be fairly easy to pick out, so the first person to get at least two out of three correct gets a chapter dedicated to them! In order to do so, you have to review!
---
This is modeled after the fanfic "Once Upon a Freakin' Time", by Evadane, who modeled HERS after a "Not Too Long Ago" comic by Sarah Nobel. It's nowhere near their caliber, however.
---
The Misadventures of a Rogue Hawking
by Gracelyn Musica
Prologue
Meet the Family
---
Subject: James Hawking, Jim to his friends. Age: 16. A boy genius, he is the son of a renound hacker known as the Computer Wizard. However, not much else is known about his real family. Since the age of 7, Jim has lived with and cared for Gene Starwind as his business partner and sidekick. In reality, Jim is the younger of two children.
Why would two capable and loving parents leave their young son in the hands of Gene Starwind of all people? Well, it turns out that both Gene and Jim are the second generations working at Starwind and Hawking Enterprises, a company started by their fathers. When Gene's father died, Jim's father took him in. Conversely, when Jim's father retired, Jim went to live with Gene.
It's perfectly logical and completely absurd at the same time. Only the Starwinds and Hawkings would be so thoughly screwed up in their business ethics.
---
When the door to 'Starwind and Hawking' opened, the small brass bell over it jingled cheerfully. The crew of the Outlaw Star perked up at the sound, hopeful for a big job. Melfina, the closest to the door, smiled and bowed politely to the customer.
"Hello! Welcome to Starwind and Hawking Enterprises, my name's Melfina, may I help you with something?"
The customer raised a hand under a wide-brimed hat to take off round, yellow-tinted sunglasses, revealing piercing ice-blue eyes. "Yes, I would like to speak with James Hawking please," the customer said, stuffing the sunglasses into a trenchoat hip pocket.
Aisha, who was sitting at the table with Suzuka, leaned back to try and catch a glimpse of who the customer was: A young woman, maybe 18 or 19, dressed in a red trenchcoat that went down to her mud-colored boots. One hand as pushing up the brim of her brown hat while her other hand was buried deep in the pocket. A brown pack was slung across her back.
"Mrow?" Aisha perked up, her cat ears turning this way and that in her curiosity.
Melfina looked confused. "James...? Oh, Jim!" The dark-haired woman smiled. "I'm sorry, but Jim is currently out on a job right now."
"That's fine, I can wait for him," the young woman replied, smiling back.
"Please, have a seat in the living room and make yourself comfortable. May I bring you something to drink while you wait?"
"Some water would be great, actually."
"I'll get that for you, please, sit."
"Yes ma'am."
By now, the other three crew members were intently curious, but when the trenchcoat-clad woman entered, they were all the picture of innocence: Aisha was absorbed in her game; Suzuka her book; and Gene just ducked back down out of sight on the second level. The two women watched out of the corner of their eyes as the hat was swept off to reveal raggedly-cut hair the color of her trenchcoat--what Jim often refered to as "Starwind red". She smirked slightly as she put her pack down and slowly unbuttoned her trenchcoat, Gene slowly approaching the railing to peer down at the bottled redhead. When it hit the couch next to the hat, she was wearing baggy cargo jeans and a white tee with the words '3v1l l33t' scrawled in black over the front. The top of a knife protruded from the top of her boots, and a big silver gun hung at her hip on a wide leather belt. She finally plopped down on the couch, crossing her legs and running a hand through her red hair.
"Kou? Koushiro, is that you?" Gene finally spoke up when he found his tongue.
The newly-named Kou looked up and smiled. "Gene! I knew you had to be lurking around here somewhere, you damn outlaw."
"Well, well, I'll be damned..." Gene half-ran down the stairs and the two redheads hugged tightly. "What the hell happened to my little Kou?"
"Well, I'm not quite so 'little' anymore, Gene."
"I can tell--you've grown into one hell of a woma--"
"You damn pervert, you haven't change--"
"A-HEM!" Aisha cleared her throat loudly, and everyone looked at her.
"Oh! Kou, this is Aisha and Suzuka, two of my crew members, guys, this is Kou Hawking."
"Mrow? Hawking?" Aisha's ears did a 180 to perk towards the girl.
Kou nodded. "I'm Jim's older sister--adopted older sister, but older sister none the less."
"Weeeeeell, Jim shouldn't be back for quite a while." Gene smiled brightly at Kou. "Would you do a favor for me?"
Kou sighed. "Jim's gonna be mad if we blow something up again..."
---
Jim stood outside, staring blankly at his business/home across the street. Black smoke was rising from either the roof or from behind the building. He hoped it was the latter. Sincerely hoped it was the latter.
Gulping, he crossed the street and walked in. Melfina greeted him at the door. "Jim! You're back late!"
"Yeah, the job went longer than I expected, but I got some overtime out of it... Um, Mel? What's up with the smoke?"
"Oh! Gene's trying to barbecue something... I think..." She shrugged. "And you have a visitor."
"A... Visitor?"
A red head popped from around the corner, eyes obscured by goggles. Their owner pulled them to rest on her forehead, blue eyes glittering. "Jimmy!"
Jim stood, dumbstruck, for the second time in five minutes. "Kou!?! What the hell happened to your hair!?"
"Ah, well, you know I always wanted to be a red head like Gene," she told her little brother.
"What are you doing here?"
Kou shrugged. "Dad thought I should join the family business, since I'm not married off yet."
"Not married yet?! You're only 18!"
"I know, dude, I know." She grinned evily. "So I get to bug you instead of a boyfriend. Oh, and there's a problem with these records."
"What, they're all in the red?"
"That... and there's all this internet porn on the computer."
It was at that exact moment that Jim Hawking decided that God didn't like him.
---
It'll get better, I promise. I'm just laying the groundwork right now. Review please!