OK, this is the first time I've tried my hand at writing anything other than 15 page essays and research papers so please, be gentle. I'm still exploring styles to see which one works best. Hopefully the next time around will be better... And I don't own anything.

Update: This is now considered #1 on the timeline my stories follow. Look at my profile if you wanna know what I'm talking about.

Rinku's Day

It was an average day in the home of Jin, Touya, Shishi, Suzuka, Chu and Rinku. Jin was out somewhere flying around, or, doing some sort of Jin-thing that only he could fully understand. Touya was in the den reading, thoroughly enjoying the peace while Jin was gone. Shishi was in the bathroom, where he was the first 3 hours of every day. Suzuka was in his bedroom, the one he shared with Shishi, perfecting one of his latest potions while Shishi was too busy elsewhere to complain about the smell. Chu was in the kitchen killing a hangover with some of "the hair of the dog," and little Rinku was all alone upstairs beating the high score on his Game Boy for the eleventh time that day.

"Man, this is so lame!" he said, tossing the video game aside. "I haven't been this bored since... I don't think I've ever been this bored." He sat up on his bed and racked his brain for something to do. 'Maybe Touya would go a few rounds with me in the backyard...' He smiled a bit as he started down the stairs. He'd always liked training with Touya. He was the only one patient enough to train with him for more than 20 minutes without complaining that he wasn't taking it serious enough. He was a child after all, he wasn't supposed to take things serious yet. That was for grown-ups...

"Hey Touya, whatcha doin'?"

"The book I ordered arrived today," he replied, never shifting his gaze from the pages which apparently held him spellbound.

"What kinda book is it?"

"Advanced Chess. It's a strategy book for advanced chess players. I'm hoping to learn some new tactics before Kurama and I play again."

'Sorry I asked! And I thought my day was boring...' "Wanna take a break and train with me for a little while?"

"I'm afraid I can't at the moment. In sharing a room with Jin for as long as I have, I've learned that if I do not do my reading while he's away, I won't be doing it at all. Perhaps Chu can train with you."

"Yeah, sure." With that, Rinku shoved his hands into his pockets and slowly walked away, trying to hide his disappointment. Into the kitchen he went, knowing Chu's morning routine of killing his hangover with a few shots of whatever whiskey or liquor was handy.

"Hey Chu, wanna throw-down out back?"

"Ugh..."

"Chu?"

"Uuuuuugh"

"Chu?"

"Uuuuu-" Splat. Chu's cereal, or whatever he had in his bowl that resembled cereal, splashed out all over the table as Chu's face crashed down into it.

Sweat drops 'Musta been another bad one. He never did know how to quit taking shots when the headache stopped...' Rinku thought to himself as he sat Chu up in his chair and took a single swipe at his food covered face with the nearby dish towel that was hanging over the back of a chair to his right.

CRASH BANG BOOM

"SHISHI! OPEN THIS DOOR!"

'Shishi must be done primping...' He walked toward the foot of the steps to peer up and see if it was safe to head that way. He saw Suzuka standing before the closed door, pounding it with his fist like a madman.

"SHISHI! I WAS ALMOST DONE WITH THAT! OPEN UP!"

No response.

"IT'S MY ROOM, TOO YOU KNOW!"

This time, he was greeted by the sound of Shishi's stereo blaring.

"SHISHI!" KNOCK KNOCK

The only sound was the music from Shishi's Living World souvenir. As Rinku neared the stairs he heard someone singing "These chicks don't even know the name of my band..."

"Hmph! Be that way! Conceited bastard!" Suzuka turned up his nose, folded his arms across his chest and started down the stairs.

"Suddenly, I'm reminded of a story about a pot and a kettle..." Rinku heard Touya mutter. Through the archway to the den, he noticed that he still hadn't taken his eyes off the book.

"Suzuka, wanna spar?"

"Not right now. I'm going to take a walk through the woods to find the last ingredient for my new acne med-" ahem "My new... Acme... Me...teor Shower in a Box!" Suzuka seemed to be smiling rather nervously.

"Acme? So what's your last ingredient? A coyote?" Rinku asked, raising an eyebrow. "And by the way, what's that band-aid on your nose for? You didn't have that when we got through training yesterday."

He hurriedly pushed past Rinku toward the front door. "No time! Gotta go!"

"Hm." Touya still hadn't looked away from his book, but now he had raised the left corner of his lips in a semi-smile.

'That leaves...' He glanced up at Shishi's door. 'Forget that!'

CRASH!

"What the?" It sounded like a tree had fallen out back.

"Not again..." Touya said, standing up and placing his bookmark.

Touya stopped in the backyard to shake his head. Rinku then saw why. A tree had indeed fallen, and near the far end that used to be the top, Jin was struggling, head down, and yelling incomprehensible profanities at his captor...

"Trying to beat his best time again, no doubt," said a slightly exasperated, yet, faintly amused Touya.

"Looks like he zigged when he shoulda zagged... again." Rinku said between chuckles.

"I think he may have gotten his hair tangled in the branches. Let's offer him some assistance."

"Yeah, but do you think we could wait until I go get my camera?"

"Tempting, but it looks like he's suffering enough humiliation as it is. Besides, I have to put up with him later. Trust me, there is some truth to that stereotype about redheads and short tempers." Rinku was about to try one more time to persuade Touya to make this a Kodak moment, but then he saw the real reason Jin's head had been pointed downward. He hadn't tangled his hair in the branches, like he had the week before. He had hit the tree head on, literally, and now his horn had betrayed him.

He was stuck.

Hope to roll out chapter 2 soon, but till then tell me what ya think of my 1st attempt!

PS-Like I said, be gentle!