Sister Pri 09

"Tis but the fate of this fair mortal,

To waste on yonder feelings cordial,

And sit, unnoticed and unloved, through another boring class."

"Thank you… Mr. … Minakami…" the teacher replied, sounding almost as unflattering as Wataru had sounded forlorn. "And I'll thank you for sparing us another poetic out burst in the middle of class, FOR THE LOVE OF GLORY!"

"Truth is truth, Daddy-O," he coolly mumbled.

The teacher raised his finger, just as the bell rang.

"We'll continue this discussion later, class dismissed," the teacher said, quickly leaving to morph into another of his many guises.

As he did the whole class was abuzz about his new attitude. The Minakami family mostly kept to itself. There was definitely enough of them to do that. Kaho had a couple of acquaintances in cheerleading, and Aria was just such an all around people person, but the older ones weren't to concerned with popularity.

For instance Naruway Nanasei from class three wouldn't shut up about seeing him Chikage bump into him on their way out the A corridor doors, and lower classman Himuari Kenshin overheard Usagi Tuskinino (something, something) telling Rei Hino that he had been gnawing on some girl's neck during lunch, and there was a rumor it was his sister.

"Really?"

"I don't know, but somebody should find out."

"I know."

"Really."

And so it should have been no surprise when he stood up at the end of class the first person to approach him wasn't a sister, but a girl. And yet it was.

"Um… hello?" he asked.

She had been looking over with a fine toothcomb, but realizing she had been spotted, though she was an impressive three feet away, she started a dialogue.

"Hi, my name is Nanapon and I was just wondering if all the things they were saying were true?"

"About me being a good kisser?"

"Actually about you kissing your sister."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Do kisses on the neck count?"

"I think so-"

"Oh, then kisses on the hand must count as well, right?"

"I… I guess, I mean I-"

"Then of course I kiss my sisters, what loving brother doesn't?"

"Yeah but-"

"Do you have a brother?"

"No, b-"

"Then you'll never understand, now if you'll excuse me."

"Wait, I wasn't-"

"Wasn't through making accusations, yes, I know."

"No, you have me all wrong, I-"

"Would like to have a romantic candlelight dinner with me; I know."

"What?" she lamented, sounding almost indignity now. "You are… you are…"

"I'm listening…" he said, being quiet now that she was on the defensive.

"I… you…"

"I'm full of myself?"

"BINGO!"

"Welcome to my world, baby. Now since you've already refused my incredibly charitable romantic candlelight dinner, might I bother asking you to step aside?"

Her mouth was moving up and down, but nothing was coming out. Probably because for the past 'dialogue' whenever anything did come out it came out all wrong. Slowly she nodded and he filed past as the entire class looked on in wonder, family members included. "Wait!" she said, before he walked out.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry… I just heard some people talking and… I just want to say I'm sorry is all."

"Don't say you're sorry. Say you'll go out with me."

"What? I-"

"Now, now, you did just accuse me of an act most lewd, don't you think the least you could do to… make sure this never happens again is to spare an evening of your life, just to get to know the accused?"

"I guess-"

"Then you'll come? How is tonight?"

"I… I…" her cheeks were blushing, but her lips were smiling just a bit, and her eyes looked excited. "T-tonight? I'll do it!"

"Y-You will? Okay, but just for the record let's not call this a pity date. The last time I went on one of those the only person I ended up feeling sorry for was myself."

"Really?"

"Maybe… Tonight then, I'll see you-"

"Wait! That's not possible!" Mami said rushing to his side and grabbing one arm.

"That's right, he already has dinner arrangements tonight," Karen said appearing from just behind him and grabbing his other.

"But… he was the one who…"

"Don't worry about him, he's just not feeling well today."

"Are you, Bud?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, besides if I were- Oh my golly."

Mecha Rin Rin had just appeared at the door. It, er… she was wearing her dress Kimono, and was just standing at the door staring at him.

"What's that?" Nanapon asked.

"Does anybody know where Rin Rin is, perchance?"

"Not I!" Yamada said, sneaking out the back door.

"Hmmm… that's a good idea…"

He cautiously released himself from the girls' grip, bowed to the relative stranger, and snuck over to the other door. Her opened it a crack. Mysteriously Mecha Rin Rin was right there looking back at him. In fact it even appeared to be blushing. Or overheating so intensely the metal was glowing. Very flattering, even if it was impossibly dangerous. He snuck back over to the other door and peered out. There it was again, hopping up and down like it was laughing. It raised a hand and lowered it in a girlish 'oh you!' pose, that accidentally put a hole in the wall.

"Mami would you mind-?" he asked Mami, pointing to the other door.

However she was already there, though not to help him.

"You're on your own, Bud!" she said, sneaking out.

"No soup for you!" he shouted.

"What?" she asked, leaping back in.

"You heard me."

"No soup?"

"Big Brother, what does it want?"

"I think it either wants to kill me for defying it earlier, or, going off that kimono, it thinks I'm attracted to it because I blew in it's ear earlier… though who ever heard of a computer falling in love with a human?"

"It is magic when you blow in people ears."

"You think so?"

"Oh brother," Mami said, shaking her head from the door.

"No, really! I'd even call it irresistible."

"Me?" Wataru asked.

Karen blushed.

"You know Karen have I ever told you how good you look in your school uniform?" She shook her head. "Well… you do… so does every other girl, but I thought I might tell you personally."

Karen's cheeks got redder and the class didn't know what to think. He thinks his sister looks good in her uniform? But he said so does every other girl, so that was cool. But why would he bother telling her now? And what was all that about blowing in people's ear?

"Karen?"

"Yes?"

"Avon calling."

"huh?"

"Your lipstick, it's clashing, let me help you get some of that off."

Okay that totally wasn't cool!

As he strode over to her, grabbed her shoulders and gazed into her eye as their lips got ever closer the class room gasped, and Mami leapt forward to stop this, if not for a little feeling in her own heart that to stop it before their collective reputation was ruined. However Mecha Rin Rin, seeing her Sweetums seconds away from kissing another girl, spared her the trouble.

CRASH!

"It's coming inside!" someone shouted.

"Run for your lives!"

"No, wait! It wants Wataru! We should do what any Random Character's with nothing to lose, except their guest spots, should do! We should make him a sacrifice to the monster!"

"You heard Random Character #7 somebody grab his legs!"

"Hey I brought my pagan hatchet for show and tell today!"

"What luck!"

"Wow," Wataru said, seeing Mami on his right hand, the nut and bolts (more like nuts and more nuts) love machine on his left and a pagan lynch mob all around. "That escalated pretty fast, didn't it?"

"It did," Karen said, backing up with him towards the wall of windows.

"Wataru Minakami, there's nowhere to run," Random Character # 7 said, "there's nowhere to hide."

Thinking fast he threw the window open and flung Karen out. She landed on the grass, her backside a little sore, but all things considered…

"D'oh!" he shouted.

"I always wanted to do that," Wataru said, "and today you have given me the chance,." Tears inevitably welled up in his eyes. The random display of emotion was disheartening, and many of the nearest students hesitated. "Thank you pagan lynch mob. Oh, and C-ya SUCKERS!"

He laughed as he dived out the window and next to Karen on the green, green grass. Well he could visualize it happening, but Random Character # 4 grabbed his arm."

"erk!" he lamented as they started to close in.

"Hi-ya!" a girl shouted, chopping the boy's arm.

"Ow! Hey I thought you were on our side!"

"Mami!" Wataru whispered.

Mami grabbed the oncoming mass and held them off. "Bud… I mean Wataru… Run, Wataru!"

"Why Mami?" he asked before he could bring himself to fling himself out the window.

"Because I love-"

"She's one of them, bind her mouth!"

"Grab her legs!"

"You already said that!"

"Yeah, good job grabbing his hand by the way."

"Shut up," Random Character # 9 said, waiving the words in an annoyed tone rather than sounding particularly angry, like the raspy and offense growl #7 produced did, before pouncing on sleaze ball. I mean 'our hero!'

"Wataru, No!" Mami shouted, tearing loose herself and pushing him out the window before any harm could come to him.

It was kind of counterproductive really, because the first words out of his mouth after she made contact were, "Falling! FALLING!" as he hurdled down to his uncertain fate. And only five seconds ago he had every intention of saying something to the tune of 'I never forget you' or 'I love you too' or, if he was really pressed for time, just an all meaningful 'bye.' But things as they were he dropped first on to a ledge, then into the arms of tall, dark and giddy. Haruka quickly dropped him, but he got back up.

"Haruka, you… save my life…"

"I did?" she asked, turning red

"You did…" he said, grabbing her hands and holding them between them.

"I'm so happy I could finally protect my Beloved brother," closing her eyes as she blushed.

"Haruka…" he said, closing his own eyes, as his lips-

"Whatever happened to Mami?" Karen asked.

His eyes popped back open.

"Well that could have gone better," one of them said to another from the open window, not even bothering to hush their voices.

"What if the fall didn't kill him?"

"Then it could have gone a lot better."

"What are we going to do with Red here?"

"Let's sacrifice here to our Mechanical idol of Kimonos and Mayhem."

"No, it's gone, her blood would be wasted. If were going to make a sacrifice the Monster must be present."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"That explains it."

"Hey what's going on in here?" a new voice asked.

"Yeah and what happened to the door?"

"Wataru Minakami, that's what happened!"

"Yeah his computer friend broke the door down, so, naturally, we decided to sacrifice him to the Metalic Mass to appease it-"

"But he jump out the window."

"And now we have his accomplice."

"And we can't just let her walk away."

"She's his sister isn't she?"

"Don't ask me!"

"You're his sister aren't you?"

"Yeah," Mami said, a little scared sounding.

"Did you see him making out with his sister at lunch?"

"We weren't making out!" Haruka called up.

Heads started poking out windows. More heads than had previously been in the classroom, there must be quite a crowd in there now.

"Wataru Minakami, still alive I see."

"Surprised? Disappointed?"

"Why don't you come up here for a moment and see?"

"Don't do it Bud!" Mami shouted.

"Why don't you come down here, for a moment?"

"Wise guy…"

"No less."

"Perhaps you forget that we have your precious sister!"

"What are you going to do to her?"

"I… What are we going to do with her?"

"I have a hatchet!" one called down.

"I have a boner!" Wataru called up.

The number of heads poking out the window quickly doubled, and to add to it, the strange stares Karen and Haruka were giving him on there own would have been unflattering enough. Currently they were focusing every ounce of restraint on not looking down.

"Okay, no I don't, but one dirty thought is all it takes!"

"Enough talk! Your blood will mean nothing, NOTHING; without the Mechanical Menace present. So lets make a deal, Mr. Minakami. The dock at sunset! We'll bring your sister, you bring the Computer."

"What if the Perfunctory Pandemic doesn't like a deader me?"

"Perfunctory Pandemic… That's good…"

"Hey."

"Somebody write that down!"

"Hey!"

"Oh, it will, we'll see to that…"

"And if it doesn't show?"

"We'll just have to improvise. As for it, be sure to bring your umbrella, because you will get wet!"

"What to you mean?"

"It's going to rain."

"Oh… Mami, is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, just bring my umbrella too!"

"What the- No conversing with the prisoner you!"

"Hey this is fun! Can an underclassman from class two come along?"

"Do you have enough Tiki masks and grass skirts to go round?"

"Do I ever!"

"Okay, you're in. In fact lets get the whole school involved."

"Horay!" they shouted.

They pulled their heads back in the window.

"This is fun, we should do it more often."

"Yeah, I was looking for an excuse to make a human sacrifice anyway."

"Aren't we all…"

"Let's get going," Wataru said, shaking his head a bit as he strode down the University block.

"You're not going, are you Big Brother?"

"I have to, they have Mami."

"But Beloved Brother, what if they-"

"I don't know, we're just going to have to play this one by ear."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go home. Brush my teeth. Dust off my Leather Jacket. Brandish my bullwhip. Steal Yotsuba's Aussi hat. And head off into the sunset just in time to save the day."

"You're so brave Big Brother."

"You know it."

"Should I come too?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Karin. You know I'm going to be confronting a blood thirsty mob, and there really isn't enough blood to go round, so when they hear you're my sister-"

"Wataru!" a girl shouted, running to catch up to them, just as they came to the elevator.

"Who is that, Beloved Brother?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm so glad I caught you!" she said, a little out of breath. "I just wanted to-"

"Ask me if I was kissing my sister during lunch, yes, the answer is no."

"What!"

"Huh?" She didn't know? There was no reason in perpetuating the rumor. "Nothing."

"No, I wanted to tell you that the cheer leader team is practicing for the luau tonight, so Kaho says, don't wait up."

"I don't think it's a luau."

"Whatever. Oh, and by the way, I saw you at lunch and you were kissing your sister, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone." She winked.

"Huh?" the three asked.

"Bye," she said waving, as she ran back to the building.

"That was weird."

"Oh, no. What vill everybody say about us after what happened at lunch-"

"We have more important things to worry about Haruka, like what are we going to do about China when they eventually invade Taiwan, and which major news network can we really trust."

"Ummm… zat's true, but-"

"Besides, we still have each other, and we can worry about our reputation after we save Mami."

"Yes… I'm coming with you Beloved Brother."

"I was hoping you would Haruka."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I want you to go buy a Tiki mask and a grass skirt, so you can slip in the crowd and shout confusing things if I get caught. Oh, and you should buy a coconut bra too because I'm just dying to see you in one."

"Big Brother!"

"What?"