"Really, Artemis, sit as befits your station, not like some insolent whelp." Suppressing a groan, Artemis sat up and turned to face her father's wife. "Hera. In case you've forgotton yesterdays events, you happened to call me an insolent whelp. Therefore, my actions befit my personality, and I think I deserve to act like an insolent whelp."
The queen of the gods sneered at her. "As you are. I cannot stress myself to try and remember these foolish mortals time keeping system. Yesterday, tomorrow, five years from now, it all runs together."
"Yes. Someone your age might have trouble remembering every day gone by. You were, after all, born close after the beginning of the universe."
"And as I have such seniority, it would do you well to remember, you and that hot-headed brother of yours, I shall not tolerate such impertinence. You're lucky I have decided to let you remain on Olympus at all, even giving you free reign of that garden you use for all those mortals you keep."
Artemis grit her teeth to keep herself from talking back. She, the blonde icy bitch, had no such control to take away her special garden, a gift from Zeus. He would not let the foul-mouthed old bat kick her off Olympus in the first place. She was a goddess, a high ranking goddess, even if Zeus sired her in the womb of another woman.
"Of course, Lady. Please forgive my transgressions. I momentarily forgot who I was talking to." A crotchy, sharp-tongued old bat with no life of her own.
"Perhaps. Or maybe you are still being uppity with me. No matter." She glanced over at the pond at the exact moment Lenne and Momiji were talking rapidly about something and making elaborate gestures. "I see you have been monitering your charge. Well well, you certainly have an ... interesting ... choice. Are you sure you chose wisely?" The younger goddesses back stiffened.
"Are you implying I cannot choose an acceptable candidate, after doing this for about 80,000 years? You have never once questioned my other choices. What about the emperor's favorite consort? You undoubtedly disapproved of her, but said nothing. And the assassin, the teacher, the nurse, the old folks home worker, the gang member? All were subjected to your insults, though you never once said they could not handle the job. The only one you've ever liked was that cynical, crotchy middle-aged woman with a suicide wish. The only person I didn't like."
"Yes. She could face the harsh reality of life with a stiff upper lip. The others were too happy," Hera sneered, spitting out the last word like poison.
"Oh, well forgive me for choosing someone who'd rather face life, accept it, and move on rather than someone who faces life already expecting nothing good to happen, and not even trying to make it better. Those girls have faced hardships, things they would never forget, and they tried to make it better. And you know what? They suceeded. Lenne is trying to make life better for her little sister and herself, and you have no right to judge her." She was breathing hard as she finished her tirade.
"You think so? All right then," Artemis's eyes snapped to Hera, "I'll simply have to see for myself. A little test is in order, do you not agree?"
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"'Gure-chan! Listen listen to this wonderful new predicament!"
"Oh? Tell me, bring this news out into the open forth-with!"
"I have found someone to rival the captive princess!"
"Our perfect little flower? This is incomprehensible!"
"Oh so? She is like Tohru-kun, but instead of that darling flusterability, she has a sense of humour. Quite like our own!"
"Why this is wonderful! I must meet this little goddess, quite soon!"
"Of course! And the best part is, she calls me 'Ayame-sama'!"
"Oh, you lucky snake you! You're flocked by all those subordinates, treating you so well. At least I can console myself with our perfect flower." He gave a small sigh.
"Yes, yes, but poor 'Tori-san! No princess or goddess to console him." Ayame sighed.
"Oh, but we must find someone for him then! We can not let him be lonesome. Just all by himself on a cold winters night, no one to bring him tea, or cuddle with him under a warm blanket in front of a fire and say--" "No way in hell am I gonna wear that freaky pink little outfit!" A new voice from Ayame's side shouted.
"Aya, is something wrong?"
"Oh, just Lenne-chan violently protesting Mine's latest choice of outfit. Nothing new."
"Ah, the only downfall of the little goddess."
"Not so. This makes her even more endearing! Such a sweet little girl, hoping to get her way against Mine's violent forcing ways."
"But what about that undeniable silence?"
"..." There was silence on the other end. "Oh my."
"What? What happened?" There was a long pause. Shigure was thinking Ayame had dropped the phone until he said, "Lenne-chan chose her own uniforms. She happens to quite like them. She's actually having to choose between which one to wear today."
"And those are?"
"Cat ears, a cat tail, and a black dress versus a chinese fighting outfit with dog ears and a collar and leash combo."
"... You know, today I'm feeling restless. I think I shall come to visit you immediatly."
"Uh-uh-uh. You still have that manuscript Mit-chan wants from you. Oh well, I guess I shall admire her beauty for both of us! Ha ha ha, sayonara, 'Gure!" Shigure stared at the phone with teary eyes. "Ayame, you're really too cruel." He sighed as he hung up the phone, looking like the picture of an abandoned puppy that makes you want to go 'awww'. He turned around with his usual smile and sparkles. "I guess I'll just have to make some time for a surprise visit."
He turned to the door as Kisa walked in with a black-haired girl trailing behind her.
"Oh, Kisa-chan, hello."
"Is... nii-san here yet? Isn't today... her day... off?"
"Oh, she should be home any--"
"We're home!" Tohru's cheerful voice rang throughout the house. "Oh, Kisa-chan, hello. Who's this?" She turned towards the black-haired girl, and her eyes widened. "It's a miniature version of Lenne-chan!"
"Yes, I'm her sister. Aoyama Ryoko, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a bow. She straightened, and looked at them with a gleam in her eye. "She mentioned something about friends with the last name Sohma. I'm guessing you're them. She hasn't been... misbehaving this past week, has she?" Tohru stuttered over her reply.
"N-No! She's been wonderful, and she's a very sweet, energetic person."
"You don't have to cover for her. She's been making trouble, I can already tell." She sighed. "Lenne's like that. Undoubtedly running around, yelling random things. That's just how she is. Please excuse her, and don't think badly of her."
"Yes! Lenne-chan is a wonderful person, and it's wonderful to hang out with her." Shigure snapped his fingers.
"Ah, yes, Lenne-chan. She works in Ayame's shop, you know." Yuki paled slightly at the mention of his brother's name.
"She works in that place? She has more courage than I gave her credit for."
"What?" Ryoko asked. "Is it a bad place? Lenne just said she was working at a shop owned by someone named Sohma Ayame and she got to wear weird uniforms." Kisa nodded. "I wondered too."
Silence reigned in the house. The only sound was Kyo's angry muttering about being out of milk, probably thanks to someone not him, even though he drinks it like he needs it to live.
"Um, how about we explain when you're older?"
"Oh wait, since she said weird uniforms, it could be a cosplay shop," Ryoko said with a little nod. Kisa turned to her. "Cosplay?"
Before Ryoko could explain about the wonderful world of cosplay clubs and conventions, which would undoubtedly lead them to the right train of thought, Shigure felt the need to interrupt. "Kisa, Hiro left his Mogeta movie over here." The two girls brightened instantly.
"You have the Mogeta movie?"
"Yes! I never get tired watching it! We can watch it right now."
"Cool! Oh, but I need to call my sister. May I use your phone?"
"Uh, yes, right over here." The older teens desperatly hoped she didn't remember Lenne was at work, leading back to the question of where did she work.
"Hello, Lenne? May I stay over at a friends house to watch a movie? ... Lenne, stop exaggerating, it's not like I never get out of the house. ...Yes yes, I'll probably be home before you get off work. Oh yeah, where do you work?" Everyone's back stiffened. "Kisa-chan's uncle, Shigure-san, brought up Ayame's shop. ...Okay, I'll tell him for you. Sayonara." She hung up and turned to Shigure. "My sister would like a word with you. I suggest you not be alone in the same room with her ever, unless you, and I quote, "would like to lose something very personal an extremely unpleasant way", end quote. Whatever that means. I'm sure you know, though, since you look pale."
"Heh heh, go watch you movie, children, I must go attend to my manuscript." He stood suddenly, and made a hasty departure, silently lamenting the fact his 'girl with animal ears' fantasy would be delayed.
aaaaaaaaaa
"Really Lenne-chan, threats over the phone? I'm shocked."
"Sorry, Ayame-sama, this was very important. The corruption of my impressionable little sister, believe it or not, is high up on my list of things to prevent. Imagine that"
"Ah yes, a younger sibling. I have a younger brother of my own, but sadly, he keeps avoiding me. Oh, the tragedy of it all."
"Don't worry, Ayame-sama. He just probably hasn't seen the good in you yet. I'm sure he'll see it one day. If not, we can force him. Sounds fun, yes?"
"Wherever would I do without you?" He asked with a tragic sigh.
"In a shop with Mine-san, creating new outfits." Ayame grinned and twirled around.
"Yes yes, I feel inspiration coming on," he said in a sing-song voice. "Go on and change in the back room and then you may continue manning the front counter." He twirled off in his usual way. Lenne sighed.
"If he was anyone else, that would just look corny. How does he manage to look good doing it?" She walked to the back room pondering. Setting her uniforms on a box labeled 'Stewardess Uniforms', she pulled what looked to be a compact mirror out of her pocket.
It looked like an ordinary mirror, but if you flipped it open, you would see a black screen and two folded pieces. When those pieces unfolded, the mirror formed what looked like a miniature laptop computer, with a keyboard and touch-sensitive mouse pad. Lenne wished Artemis would just give her a folded calculator disguise, but she (Artemis) insisted if Lenne carried a calculator it would look strange. 'Oh, I can't look like a smart person, but a girly-girl. At least no one's seen it yet.' It came with a disguise button to turn the screen into a regular mirror, and could also be used as binoculars thanks to a small camera on the compact cover.
Making herself comfortable, she turned it on, gave the customary retina scan, and flipped through her mission file. The whole reason she received the mini computer was to keep in touch with Artemis, to view demon sightings, and to search the People database. The database was just a prototype currently, but could be used to view information on anyone, mortal or otherwise. The only problem was secrets. If someone had a secret, no matter how trivial it was, it wouldn't appear in that persons bio. If she found out the persons secret, it would appear in the bio and give her all the informatin needed, unless it pertained to someone elses secret. It was infuriating to learn one persons secret, and learn the tantalizing fact someone else shared that secret or something involved that person.
She brought up 'Sohma Ayame'. It supplied the usual 'age-d.o.b.-gender' information, a summary about his general self, a little about his history. 'Hello hello, whatever is this?' Of course. He had a secret. Next to the section marked secret was a little emoticon sticking its tongue out at her and going 'Guess! Guess!'. She would track down the annoying thing one day and beat the shit out of it.
'I wonder...' On a whim, she looked up everyone named Sohma. She was shocked to see over one hundred listings, all related. She chose to just look up the people she knew. 'Lessee... Haru, Yuki, Kyo, Ayame, Shigure, and Momiji. That must be why they have that sad look way at the back of their eyes, always guarded. Hm, could this have anything to do with hugging? I think it does!' She wasn't that suprised to see 'secret involves abstaining from hugging' pop up. It couldn't tell her what, oh no, but it gave her hints.
Pausing, then coming to a decision, she brought up 'Honda, Tohru'. She also had a secret. More than one, actually. 'Wait a minute, this first one. It says she doesn't know. How's that possible. True, it could involve something about her birth, or something. Dammit! This is so confusing. It's mildly linked to the second secret, and the second secret is shared with the Sohmas. Geez, a never-ending puzzle.'
"Well, I can solve this later," she decided out loud, and started changing into her uniform.
aaaaaaaaaa
Momiji skipped down the sidewalk, trying to stop the anxious feeling inside him. He was late coming home. Akito didn't notice the rabbit as much as the others, for which he felt lucky for, but it would be noticeable if he didn't show before it got too dark.
Turning around a corner, he noticed Lenne walking farther ahead. "Lenne-chan!" He called, already headed towards her. She turned, and noticeably brightened. "Momiji-chan! I haven't seen you firever!"
"I just saw you at school!"
"I know! That's firever! I never said forever. Come, you must walk with me!" The two happily continued on there way.
"What are you doing out this late?"
"I was just at my papa's building. I stayed later than I should of." Lenne smiled a little wistfully.
"Must be nice, having a parent to care for you."
"Actually, Papa's busy a lot." He looked down at his hands. "He'd actually be upset if he knew I was there. I haven't actually seen him in a long time. Someone else takes care of me."
"That's sad. He actually wouldn't want to see his son?" She snorted. "All fathers must read the same handbook on how to be an uncaring bastard."
"Why are you so bitter towards your father?"
"He wasn't there for us. After my mom left us, he became listless. He wouldn't even look at us. He didn't hear us. He didn't care what happened to us. He'd just sit in the same spot, drinking alcohol, looking at the wall. Eventually, he just gave up to the last ray of hope of our mother ever coming back, and just died. Didn't leave us a thing except overdue rent bills. He hated us. The only thing he ever said to us before he became an empty shell was 'It's all your fault Mom left us. You or your sister should never of been born. We would of been happier that way.'"
A heavy silence covered them both. Lenne sighed, and stopped. "Thanks for listening, Momiji-chan. I needed to tell someone before it all burst out."
"That's what friends are for!" Lenne smiled.
"Friend, huh? I like the sound of that. If you think you can handle being friends with me, you're now stuck with me." They stood grinning like morons until two rollerbladers rode by, knocking Lenne aside. It seemed like she would fall on Momiji, but she caught herself at the last minute.
"Hey you punks!" She yelled, not noticing Momiji's mildly scared face. "Watch where you're going! If I didn't have super awesome reflexes, I would of landed on my friend!" She huffed angrily as they laughed. "Jerks." She turned to Momiji. "Hey, I didn't accidently scratch you or hit you with my bag, did I?"
"N-No, I'm fine."
"Good. Really, the inconsideration! I could've fell and broken my wrist, or..." Momiji half-listened to her rants as they continued walking. When she had fallen backwards, it seemed like she was conciously trying to land on him, then changed her mind at the last second. 'I could just be imagining it. She doesn't know or suspect, right? We haven't done anything suspicious.'
Behind her happy face, Lenne was beating herself up. 'I can't betray a friend.' She reminded the voice screaming at her about the wasted oppurtunity to find out the secret. 'He'll tell me when he's ready. I'll just have to keep waiting, no matter how long.'
aaaaaaaaaa
Hello people, I'm back! I got caught up in finishing my other story, then I had writers block. Don't worry, I'm over it. I hope. Well, RR people, you know what to do! Click that little purple button in the corner. Go on, it's lonely. It hasn't been clicked in a long time. Be a nice person and satisfy its desires.
Matron Raenee: -shakes head- Nuh-uh, Ayame-sama's mine! -huggles him tightly- Where else to you think I find my inspiration for how they talk? Besides my messed up little head.
meganegreer24: I'm glad you like it! -happy anime tears- I feel so appreciated.
ROGMethos: Thank you for your compliments! You've been so supportive since the beginning. All two chapters of it. Was the phone conversation good enough to satisfy your need thus far? It promises things to come, yes yes it does. -grins mischieviously-