I own squat, Disney owns all. Bastards won't sell either. Well folks, here it is. My view on the episode "Exchange", from the perspective of Bonnie, Sensei, and GJ, chapter 2. I also decided to add… a little something more to this chapter as well. When I do , it means Japanese is being spoken. Enjoy!
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Answers – Chapter 4
Bonnie slowly sipped her coffee while they waited for her food. "So, what else do you like to do?"
Hirotaka smiled at her, and Bonnie felt her heart skip a beat when he did so. "I do enjoy the outdoors, as well as motorcycles. And of course, my martial arts. What about you?"
Bonnie twisted a free strand of hair in her free hand as she gazed into his eyes. "Well, I love ballet, I probably spend two or three hours a day practicing. I have my cheerleading as well, and you know, all the other normal stuff like hanging out and that."
The waitress set their plates down before Bonnie had a chance to ask another question, and she quickly took a bite of her burger. Barry's may not have had the best atmosphere, but they definitely had the best burgers in town. She took another bite before she noticed Hirotaka was just looking at his.
"Something wrong with your burger? I'm sure they could fix it."
Hirotaka just shook his head. "No, there is nothing wrong with it. I… have just never had one before."
Bonnie eyes widened, and she put her burger back down on the plate. "You've never had a burger before? I thought that they had all kinds of burger places in Japan?"
"We do, it is just… Yamanouchi is a private school, and they do not have such fare there for meals."
"And you never had a burger when you went home from school?"
Hirotaka visibly flinched at that. "I… do not have a home outside the school. I was taken in by one of the… teachers at the school, and spend all my time at the school."
Bonnie kicked herself for bringing up such a painful memory for him, and gently laid a hand on top of his. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought something like that up."
Hirotaka just shook his head. "You could not know. I am fine though. My mother passed away while I was still very young, so it does not hurt as much to speak of it."
Bonnie wanted to ask about his father, but just seeing how this was affecting him made her change her mind immediately. Instead, she gripped his hand firmly, giving it a squeeze. "Well, if you've never had a hamburger before, that means there is a lot that you've never had before. It would be my honour to guide you in the ways of American food while you're here."
Hirotaka smiled. "I would enjoy that!"
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Sensei broke the direct connection with his student, allowing the magiks to continue without his direct attention. They were non-invasive, passive scans that allowed him to read the energy of the person they were focused on, in this case, Bonnie Rockwaller. They also included a cloaking spell, preventing her from getting any kind of reading off of Hirotaka. It was only precautionary from what he had seen. She had little control over her abilities at the moment, but even just one glimpse would set things in motion far too quickly for all their sakes. Better to, as they say in America, play it safe.
Sensei walked the grounds, smiling at the students as they performed their assigned tasks and duties that day. He had never planned on becoming Sensei. Gardening had been his other passion, back before he had been chosen, but now, when he saw the smiling faces of his students, when he saw the joy on their faces at accomplishing some task they thought undoable, he never regretted the course his life had taken him.
A commotion distracted him from the quiet reverie of his thoughts. He quickly followed the raised voices to their source, and was not surprised when he got there.
"Stoppable-son, you must eat!"
Ron lunged at the tray, chopsticks in both hands as they stabbed downward. "I would if you would stop moving the tray on me!"
Ron stabbed sideways, and again, the tray shifted away, and not once was the food there disturbed. "You not desire food?"
Ron gritted his teeth, and stabbed as quickly as he could, over and over again. "Of course I want food!" He stabbed three times more, all with no success. "Oh come on, you didn't move the tray this much when Rufus was grabbing his lunch!"
"Rufus-son swift, he catch food. You must be swift!"
"I'm trying!" Ron stabbed more and more, and each time the tray was not where he had expected.
Sensei suppressed a smile, and approached the pair silently. "Are you finished serving lunch Nooni?"
Nooni turned to look over at Sensei, and Ron took the moment's distraction to attack again. He missed horribly, and he fell right past her. "Lunch almost done, but Stoppable-son no want lunch. He not hungry."
Ron picked himself up off the ground, eyeing her with almost a look of hate. "I am too hungry, but SHE keeps moving the tray on me!"
She turned back to him then, her expression never changing. "How you get what you desire if you not get what you need?"
Ron threw his hands up in the air, frustration obvious. "Fine, I give up. I'm just going to go to my room for a bit before we start with more exercises."
The pair watched Ron stalk off, and Sensei allowed the smile he had been suppressing to sneak out. "/How goes Stoppable-son's progress/"
"/It is slower than I had feared. He does possess the ability, but he does not yet have the desire to use it. I have seen glimpses of it, brief bursts, but that is all. Are you sure this is the one the prophecy mentions/"
Sensei nodded. "/Of him, I am certain. He has the mystical monkey power, but he has not accepted that power within himself. He will accept it though, of that I am certain. Events are already in motion, the signs of the beginning period are all arriving. I don't know when, but it has started. Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible, Bonnie Rockwaller, all three will share a destiny. The events in California, in Italy… all is coming into place now./"
Nooni nodded, noticing the dark expression on the face of her closest friend. "/So you are certain of Rockwaller than. I wish there was some other way, some way to prevent this from all occurring. Some way that you…/"
Sensei's face took on a pained expression for a moment, but then it faded. "/I've known my role for some time now, and I no longer fear it./"
The pair stood in silence for a moment, allowing the wind to bring the scents of the nearby garden to their noses, enjoying the gentle peace of the mountain. Reluctantly, Sensei turned, heading back for his room, pausing briefly to look at Nooni over his shoulder. "/You would join me for tea tonight/"
Nooni nodded, a faint smile crossing her normally impassive face. "/Of course./"
Sensei nodded, and then grinned again. "/You do know Stoppable-son has food in his room/"
Nooni's smile widened. "/I know. I am granting him one last day with it. I plan on taking it from him tomorrow, after he wakes./"
Both adults shared a smile as they went about their day.
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Bonnie walked through the halls, books under one arm, as she searched desperately for Hirotaka. She smiled when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but that smile faded when she turned around.
Brick stood there, a forlorn look on his face. "Bonnie, can we go somewhere to talk?"
Bonnie lifted his hand off her shoulder, dropping it unceremoniously to his side. "There's nothing to talk about."
Bonnie turned to leave, but Brick quickly stepped into her way. "Come on Bonnie, you owe me that much! Besides, I won't leave you alone until you do!"
Bonnie stared down a couple of the students that had started paying attention, and they quickly turned away. "Fine, let's go somewhere and talk. But this better be quick!"
She grabbed him by the arm, dragging him to an empty classroom. Shutting the door, she turned on him. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Oh come on, you know why I want to talk. Why'd you break up with me?"
Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest. "It was just time, that's all."
Brick looked pained at that statement, but pushed on. "Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did. But I care about you. A lot! A lot a lot! Just… please… tell me what I did wrong, and I'll fix it!"
Seeing that look on his face, Bonnie almost dropped her defenses right there and then. Remembering the vision that she had had though brought the anger right back to the surface. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's over! Do you think you can get that through that thick skull of yours?"
Now it was Brick who was angry. "Just like that, just because you say so? You won't even tell me what I did wrong?" Her silence was deafening in the small room, and Brick's face contorted in rage. "This is all because of some stupid popularity thing, isn't it? That's why you're hanging out with that Japanese dude. Well screw you Bonnie! I'm tired of these games. I thought you really cared about what we had, what we meant to each other, but I can see that I was wrong. You're more concerned with your popularity than anything else."
Brick stomped past her, but paused with his hand on the doorknob. "You know, I thought you really did have a good side. I didn't even let the things you do at school get to me, because deep down, I thought you were a good person, a person I thought I knew. I guess I was wrong… you really are just a bitch!"
Brick threw open the door, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him. Once he was gone, Bonnie lost all the resolve she had. Her legs gave out on her, and she slumped to the floor, tears freely streaming down her cheeks.
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Nooni almost felt sorry for the young man, as he flailed away, trying desperately to get even a morsel of food. Almost, but not quite.
"Stoppable-son, you must be swift if you are to achieve what desires you have."
Ron stabbed again and again, already feeling tired from the multitude of exercises that day. "Can't you see I'm trying?" He lunged forward, hoping to knock her down, and maybe, just maybe, get some bit of food, but Nooni just sidestepped him. Tossing away his chopsticks, he almost screamed. "I can't do this!"
Nooni just frowned at him. "How you achieve when you give up so easy?"
Ron just shook his head. "Look, I'm tired, so I'm just going to go to my room and rest a bit, until I have to get up again, okay?"
She watched him stalk off, and quietly began to follow him. When she got to the door to his room, she could hear the rustling going on inside, and smiled inwardly.
"Rufus, buddy, did you eat ALL the nacos?"
She could hear the little naked mole rat reply in the negative, and the sound of rustling could be heard again, as he sifted through his stuff a second time. "I know I had a few left, there's no way they could be gone yet. I mean, who would want to steal my… NOONI!"
Nooni couldn't help herself as a smile broke out on her face. At least he is swift in some areas. Comporting herself, she responded through the closed door. "Naco make Stoppable-son slow. Now with no naco, maybe Stoppable-son become swift."
An agonized scream was her only response.
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Author's Notes – Well folks, as always, I didn't plan it, but it looks like we are going to have at least another chapter or two! I just had an idea float in, and I had to run with it. By the way, if you enjoyed Nooni, please read mattb3671's ongoing series. I am just happy she relented to join us on this little trip here. And don't you worry, it won't be long for Recovery!