"Come on, lets go meet this Hiro person you keep telling me about!"
"You'll like him, he's really nice. Just a little rough around the edges," Kisa said softly. She never stuttered around anyone she felt comfortable with, just everyone else. "A little like your sister..."
Ryoko stopped in mid-step, her eyes wide. "I don't have to see her for one and a half weeks, but I have to deal with her clone?" She groaned. "Oh my goddess, this is going to be tough."
"He's not as crazy as her," Kisa said, trying to reassure her friend before she ran away, "just sorta thinks like her."
"Hey Kisa, how have you been?" said a brown haired boy, coming up behind them.
"Hello Hiro. I'm doing good," Kisa said, smiling. "This is my friend, Aoyama Ryoko."
Ryoko bowed. "Hello."
"Hm, I'm Hiro." He gave her a look, and turned away from her slightly. Ryoko's eyes narrowed.
"What is your problem? I just met you, and already you act like you don't like me."
"You're saying I have problems? Are you some type of psychiatrist? It's not really for you to judge if I have problems or not. Some people act friendly right away to everyone, and I don't. Why be friends with someone if they can't stand all their moods?"
"Hiro, please don't cause any problems," Kisa pleaded softly.
"No Kisa, we need to work this out. If we don't solve our problem with each other, or at least come to an understanding, there's not going to be any peace between us. So, you have to continue to be so cynical, twist people's words around, and mess with their minds. Yeah, I'd classify that as a problem."
"So now you have to dissect my personality? Oh, bravo, you've only done what everyone else figures they must do."
"I don't care if you have to be so bad-tempered. Go ahead and be like that, and see how many friends that gets you. Do you feel like you have to chase everyone away?"
"I don't need to be friends with someone who feels like they can't stand me!"
"And when did I say I couldn't stand you!" Ryoko exploded. "You just come in here, I try to be polite, and you go and shove that in my face! I'm trying to be your friend!"
"And if I don't want to be your friend?"
"Well, to bad, I'm going to do it anyway!" Hiro looked shocked. "I've dealt with my sisters mood swings, and you can be sure I'm going to deal with yours. I just want to be friends. Even if you don't want to, I'm going to continue to be nice and polite, and hang around with you." She smiled at him. "So there."
Kisa smiled as they continued shooting glares at each other. They were going to be good friends, she could tell.
Lenne glared at her bag. Maybe if she gave it a really dirty look, it would explode, and all the clothing would land in the correct drawer. Yep. Any minute now... Any minute. Maybe if she put a little energy into it.
"Lenne, if you and that bag have issues, you should work them out. It won't do you any good to burn it, because when it gets out of the hospital, it's going to hunt you down." Artemis stepped into her assistants room, a smile twitching the corners of her mouth.
"We do have issues. I don't want to put my stuff away, and the bag can just explode in the general direction for my extra stuff, but it won't," Lenne explained patiently, like she was talking to a two year old. "And the zipper just happens to be broken."
Artemis gave her a look. "You are a goddess' assistant, have dealt with demons, somehow managed to stay in school with your attitude, and you can't open your bag? There is something wrong here. Very very wrong."
"Why don't you just hire the bag instead of me? It would do a better job since it can defeat me."
"Just unpack and get ready. We're going to Nerima first, there are some martial artists there I want you to train with." She left, chuckling as Lenne bowed to her bag.
"You are a worthy opponent. I bow to your skills, and look forward to our next meeting." She knew she could deal with a broken zipper. She was just minding her buisness when laziness snuck up on her. "I should guard my back more carefully before something else sneaks up on me. Like politeness. Ooh, that would be horrible."
She shoved her extra clothing in a semi-neat heap in a dresser, and put the rest of it in a small backpack. She sighed and surveyed the room, looking for anything she may have missed. It was neater than the apartment, considering Lenne didn't use this room often.
It was about twenty by twenty, Western styled walls. There was a small futon folded in the corner, a wardrobe in the opposite corner, and a small desk on the wall opposite the window. Artemis had a bookshelf and desk there to try and motivate Lenne to study when she had free time. Like that would work.
The windows were situated to overlook the garden. With the window open, it gave the room a tranquil feel, something the energetic teen wasn't used to. 'This is nice,' she thought lazily, staring quietly as the wind blew softly. 'I could get used to meditating and being quiet if it was here.'
"Lenne! Come on, come on, let's go see you get your ass kicked by random martial artists," Artemis trilled, practically dancing. She stopped when she saw her assistant staring out the window, a peaceful look on her face, her eyes blank. She blinked slowly. 'Lenne is actually being quiet! Oh, I knew this was the perfect room for her.'
Lenne half-turned and grinned lazily. "Oh, don't you have so much confidence in me. Maybe if I train hard enough, I'll be able to pound your ass into the ground, then you'll see what I've gone through."
They left teasing each other, but that one peaceful moment was still on their minds.
Hiro, Kisa, and Ryoko sat in Shigure's living room, watching a new Mogeta movie. Well, Ryoko and Kisa were anyway. Hiro was just sitting there, his eye twitching slightly as he listened to the cheesy dialouge. '"I'll be with you forever, no matter what, even if I go to the other side of the world, because I love you"? This has just gone from bad to worse since they added the love interest.'
"That was so sad," Kisa said, wiping a tear away as the credits started rolling.
"I know. I mean, she just leaves to go to that dance school in the US, but she confessed her love to the evil twin, instead of her true love. This is going to rip them up for sure."
"I know. And there family problems, too." Kisa sighed. "That was so sad, their father walking out and then their mother dying." Ryoko stayed quiet. "Ryoko, is something wrong."
"Um, I wanna show you guys something." She got up, and went to her room. Kisa looked at Hiro, and he shrugged. "I don't know what she's talking about."
Ryoko came back a couple minutes later with a book. "This is our family's photo album," she explained, flipping it to the page with their mother's graduation photo. "This was our mother. She met our father after high school."
"Hey Artemis! Can we go back to Nerima?" Lenne asked, skipping backwards through the forest.
"But don't you want to go to the other dojos?" she asked, watching Lenne expertly dodge trees.
"Well yeah, but I wanna spar with Ranma again! He's fun. Akane's not though, and I don't think I can survive her cooking." She made a face. "I don't like how she keeps blaming him for everything. It's not his fault he's half-girl, she should be kicking the crap out of Genma."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "If it bugs you so much, why don't you take it on as an emotional case?" Lenne gasped and looked at her like she was crazy.
"Are you suggesting that I should do an emotional case during my vacation when I won't even do them during the school year?" It looked like she was about to run into a shrub, but dodged at the last second.
"Well," Artemis said, "I guess we don't have to." Turning around, she started walking away.
"Now hold on a minute! He's my friend, we can't just leave him hanging!" Lenne stopped skipping. "It's decided, we're going back to Nerima. Hold on Ranma, I comin' to save you!" She started sprinting towards Nerima.
'She's going to run into a tree,' Artemis thought. It was confirmed when she heard a thunk and loud cursing while a flock of birds flew away in fright. 'She can go backwards, but can't run past a tree going forward. Something is desperately wrong with her.'
In a tavern somewhere in one of the worst parts of the Makai at a rickety table, with two grime covered glasses filled with some blood-based whiskey, two men sat together.
"So, she's found a new assistant," said the cloacked man, examining the metal bug his servant gave him.
The blonde man nervously coughed. "Er, Lord Aki--"
"Yes, but it doesn't matter, Akumu, don't worry. Just a small bump in my way, easily disposed of. She's quite a moron, isn't she? Yes, this will only be too simple."
"Lord Aki--"
"For years I have been integrating my troops with the humans, so that even they themselves do not know who they are. My pet hasn't been gaining their loyalty just the way I would have, but loyalty through fear will be as effective as undying loyalty through gratitude and affection."
"Lord Aki!" Akumu finally was able to get a word in.
"There's no need to shout, Akumu, I'm right here."
"Your make-up is smudging."
Even under the hood, Akumu could see his lord's look of horror. "What! Oh, I knew I should of brought my kit with me. I'm still pretty, right?" He whipped a mirror out and patted his face anxiously. "Answer me! Am I still pretty?"
"Yes, my lord," the blond general answered with a sigh. He'd probably get a 'reward' later for his answer. Whips and chains were his favorites, but only on the battlefield.
Hiro continued to ponder over Ryoko's question as Kisa flipped through the photo ablum. "Oh, you looked so cute, Ryoko-chan!" Ryoko pretended to look offended and said, "Oh, and I'm not cute now?"
"Well, not really."
"Oh, ouch."
"I'm kidding."
"I hope you are."
Kisa nodded. "Yes, maybe there's a disease going around making people say things they don't mean!"
"I've got it!" Hiro exclaimed suddenly.
"Aw, poor Hiro-kun, he's diseased," Ryoko said, patting his head. Hiro glared at her.
"Maybe if you weren't so stupid, you'd know I'm talking about your problem." He smirked as she turned chibi with claws and red eyes as Kisa held her back. "From what you said, either your mother met your father sooner than she said and was just ashamed she was pregnant in highschool, or your father is not your sisters father."
Ryoko flipped the album to a picture of their family at the park. Ryoko was three, Lenne was six. There mother had been gone for two years, and there father had not yet sunk into the depths of despair. Lenne hated him even back then. Looking at the photo, they looked almost like twins. They still did.
"The thing is, no one in the history of our mom's or dad's family has purple or grey eyes."
"Hey there, kid!" Lenne swept Ryoko into a hug. She was here to pick her up to take her to Artemis's. "Go get your stuff, you know what a slave driver Artemis is. But you can take your time to say goodbye." She smiled as her sister ran off with Kisa, as Ryoko's new 'friend' Hiro trailed behind them.
"I hope she wasn't a problem," Lenne told Tohru.
"Oh, no problem at all! Kisa was already staying here, and one more kid wouldn't make much difference. They're both so quiet." Lenne started snickering.
"That's a laugh. Ryoko, quiet?" She busted out laughing. "My sister, for being so small, has a big set of lungs, which she puts to use."
"We could say the same thing of you," Kyo teased, yanking one of her braids.
"I'm not short! Excuse me for not being a sasquatch."
"What did you call me, you damn brat!"
"You heard me, sasquatch. Or, can't youhear me up there? Maybe I should just knock you down!"
Haru walked in to see them glaring at each other, before Tohru started panicking. "Please don't fight!" she said frantically, waving the spoon that she was holding as she waved her hands in a warding gesture.
Lenne stared at her curiously. "Why do you have a spoon?" Tohru blinked, and stared down at the item in question.
"Oh, I guess I forgot I was still holding it!" She walked to the kitchen saying, "I'll be right back."
Lenne turned around. "Haru-kun!" she said with a smile. "Nice to see you again. It's been a while."
"Nice to see you too, Lenne-chan. Have you been busy?"
"Just a training trip my sadistic master decided I needed to go on. It was fun, though, I got a pen pal! She's an awesome fighter."
Kyo looked up. "Since when were you a martial artist?"
"Oh, I'm not really. I'm mostly a street fighter, but my master decided I need to broaden my horizens. Geez, Orangey-kun, I thought you were just a stupid street fighter."
"Don't call me Orangey!"
"Well," Haru said quietly. "You're right about the stupid part." They laughed as Kyo continued steaming.
"Lenne, I got my stuff!" Ryoko was watching them with a sly smirk, like she knew something.
"Bye, Ryoko-chan!" Tohru cried, flying out of the kitchen to hug her. "It was so nice getting to know you!"
"See ya later guys! Happy New Years." Lenne smiled at Haru before she dragged Ryoko away.
They walked in silence. "So," Ryoko said at last. "You like Hatsuharu-san?"
"Of course I do! He's my friend. It seems weird to be friends with someone if you don't like them, or at least share a mutual respect."
"No, I mean liiiiiike." Ryoko put extra emphasis on 'like'.
"Yeeeeeeah," Lenne said, giving her sister a strange look.
Ryoko made a noise of disgust. "You're just impossible."
"Took you long enough." She laughed as Ryoko tried to kick her. "We stayed in Nerima the whole time. I made a new friend, Ranma." Lenne glared as Ryoko smirked. "Friend, Ryoko, friend. Besides, he's a full-time she now. I still can't get used to that. It took a while, and some fights, but I helped helped her get her life in relative order. It's up to her now. But her father was the hardest. He has all these notions about what females can and can't do." She snickered, obviously recalling some memories. "After he cooled off quite a few time, he was willing to listen." She unlocked there apartment and flicked the light on.
Ryoko decided it was best for her sanity if she didn't ask questions. She just went to gather some extra clothes.
"Kisa, Hiro and I discovered something interesting," she said casually, stuffing a sweater in her bag.
"Oh?"
"Turns out our father isn't your father. Our mother most likely commited adultery, and if that's the case, I'm not our fathers child either." She walked out of the bedroom after untangling herself from something that tried to eat her, and saw Lenne leaning against the kitchen counter, pale-faced and blank-eyed. She poked her sister's stomach to see if she was still warm.
"Oh" was the only sound Lenne made.
Well, I'm pissed. I had this chapter all written out, and worked hard on it, but my computer doesn't want me to be happy. When I saved it, it messed up and cut everything off from when Lenne's talking about going back to Nerima. -twitch- I'm sorta okay now, since I added some stuff I wouldn't of thought of anyways, but still. I'm gonna destroy this computer, laugh maniacally, and get a new one.
Matron Raenee: The magic green fairy has been haunting me for days, telling me to drink absinthe. I'm wondering if I accidently drank some before I read your review, because it oddly makes sense to me.
phantomess13: I haven't seen a lot of Monty Python. Jus' a little. But I'm looking for the DVD's, and I'm going to rent one. Yay! We are now the Knights who say... "Ekki-Ekki-Ekki-Ekki-PTANG! Zoom-Boing! Z'nourrwringmm!"
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2, or Fruits Basket, or Monty Python. But if I only had a brain... I would lament my loss with bigger words.