Author's Note:
I'm pleased with the positive feedback I've gotten from people who read and reviewed my last fic; "Hinata and the Chocolate Factory". This sequel is for them more than anything. Like the previous story, it keeps fairly close to the original Roald Dahl work. It does, however, deviate from the original in order for lots of great Kishimoto Masashi moments of comedy and action. I hope you'll approve.
2. Space Hotel "U.S.A."
Wonka-san's great glass elevator was not the only thing orbiting the planet at that particular time. Eight months prior, a large group of emigrants from various countries had formed to create their own country. It was to be a nation apart from the more traditional values of shinobi and ninjutsu, instead focusing on having its people lead comfortable lives through advancements in technology. These people declared themselves 'Patriots', and formed their own country.
That country was named 'Amerika'.
Not too long ago, Amerika had successfully launched its first 'Space Hotel', a gigantic sausage-shaped capsule no less than one thousand feet long. It was christened Space Hotel "Yoo Esu Aeh", but was abbreviated to U.S.A. and was truly a marvel of Amerika's vast and altogether sudden might and prowess. The 'Amerikans' (as they preferred to be called) were decadent people who wished only to extend the hand of their power and luxury to others if it meant making a profit. It seemed money was the key motivator for these new powers among shinobi.
The Space hotel had inside it a tennis court, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a children's playroom and five hundred luxury bedrooms, each with a private bath. It was fully air-conditioned. It was also equipped with a gravity making machine so that you didn't float about inside of it. You could walk normally.
This extraordinary object was now speeding round and round the planet at a height of two hundred and forty kilometers. Guests were to be taken up and down by a taxi service of commuter capsules blasting off from Amerika's very own launch site, 'Keipu Kenedi' every hour on the hour, Monday through Friday. But as yet there was no one on board, not even an Amerikan spacewoman (It was decided that women made the best space people, as the Amerikan men tended to lose their heads in space, trying to venture off to the moon or some other far off planet in a feeling of machoism and bravado like some action movie star). The reason for it being empty was that no one in any of the countries had really believed such a thing was possible. It was widely believed the enormous space hotel would never get up off the ground without blowing up.
But the launching had been a great success and now the Space Hotel was safely in orbit, there was a tremendous hustle and bustle to send up the first guests. It was rumoured that the leader of Amerika, known as the 'President', herself would be among the first to stay in the hotel, and of course there was a mad rush by all sorts of other people across the world to book rooms. Several feudal lords had sent messages to the Amerikan house of leadership, known as a 'White House', for reservations. Invitations had been extended to the five Kages of the five biggest shinobi villages as well.
But you cannot send guests to a hotel unless there are lots of people there to look after them, and that explains why there was yet another interesting object orbiting the planet at that moment. This was a large Commuter Capsule containing the entire staff for the Space Hotel U.S.A. There were managers, assistant managers, desk clerks, waitresses, bellhops, chambermaids, pastry chefs, and all sorts of other staff. The capsule they were traveling in was manned by three famous Amerikan astronauts with very Amerikan names. They were Shuckworth, Shanks, and Showler. All of them were very white, very thin, and very, very blonde; as was deemed to be the height of beauty in Amerika. Because of this, they were considered some of the most clever and brave of all their astronauts.
"In exactly one hour," said Shuckworth, speaking to the passengers over the loud speaker, "we shall link up with Space Hotel U.S.A., your happy home for, like, the next ten years. And any moment now, if you look straight ahead, you should catch your first glimpse of this magnificent spaceship. Ah-ha! I see something there! That must be it, folks! There's definitely something up there ahead of us."
Shuckworth, Shanks and Showler, as well as managers, assistant managers, desk clerks, waitresses, bellhops, chambermaids, pastry chefs, and all sorts of other staff, all stared excitedly out their windows. Shuckworth fired a couple of small rockets to make the capsule go faster, and they began to catch up very quickly.
"Oi!" yelled Showler, "That isn't our Space Hotel."
"Holy rats!" cried Shanks, "what in the name of Swartzeneggar's ghost is that!"
"Quick! Give me your telescope!" yelled Shuckworth. With one hand, he focused the telescope and with the other he flipped the switch connecting him with Ground Control.
"Ground Control, do you read me?" he cried into the microphone, "There's something crazy going on here. There's a thing orbiting ahead of us and it's not like any spaceship I've ever seen before, that's for sure."
"Describe it at once," ordered Ground Control back in Amerika.
"It's…it's made of glass and it's kind of square and it's got a bunch of people inside of it! They're all floating about like fish in a tank!"
"How many astronauts are aboard?"
"None," said Shuckworth, "They can't possibly be astronauts."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because a bunch of them look like teenagers!"
"Don't be a fool, Shuckworth!" snapped Ground Control, "Pull yourself together, woman! This is serious!"
"I swear it!" cried poor Shuckworth, who was getting quite worked up. "There are four of them who don't look much older than maybe sixteen. Two girls and two boys! There's another fellow too, but it looks like he's wearing a top hat! A top hat in space!"
"You've gone mad, Shuckworth," shouted Ground Control. "You're fired! Give me Shanks!"
"Shanks speaking," said Shanks, "now listen here, Ground Control. There's four teenage looking people floating around in this crazy glass box and there's this funny little guy wearing a black top hat and a plum coloured velvet tailcoat and bottle green pants…"
"Stop!" screamed Ground Control.
"Hold the phone!" said Shanks, "I think I can make out something else. It looks like the teenage kids are wearing some kind of shiny headbands. Maybe they're in some kind of band, perhaps?"
"Those aren't headbands, you idiot!" shouted Ground Control. "That's got to be some sort of space helmet apparatus or something! They're all astronauts in disguise!"
"But who are they?" cried Shanks.
"How the hell would I know?" said Ground Control. "Are they heading for our Space Hotel?"
"That's exactly where they are heading." Cried Shanks, her hair askew underneath her helmet, "I can see the space hotel about a kilometer ahead!"
"They're going to blow it up!" yelled Ground Control. "This is desperate! This is…" Suddenly his voice was cut off and Shanks heard another quite different voice in her earphones. It was deep and authoritative, yet unmistakably feminine.
"I'll take charge of this," said the deep authoritative voice. "Are you there, Shanks?"
"Of course I'm here," said Shanks. "But how dare you butt in! Keep your big nose out of this! Who are you anyway?"
"This is the President of Amerika," said the voice.
"Feh, and this is the Yondaime Hokage," said Shanks in a mocking tone. "Who do you think you're kidding?"
"Cut the crap, Shanks!" snapped the President. "This is a national emergency!"
"Good grief!" said Shanks, turning to Shuckworth and Showler. "It really is the President! It's President Giriguraso, herself! Well, konichi wa, President-sama. How are you today?"
"How many people are in that glass capsule?" rasped the President.
"Five," said Shanks, "all floating."
"Floating!"
"We're outside the pull of gravity here, President-sama. Everything floats."
"Of course I know that!" said the President, "What else can you tell me?"
"Well," Shanks continued, "There are four people who look a lot like teenagers. They're still too far away to make out, but it looks like they're wearing really colourful clothing…Oooh, one of them has blonde hair!"
"Blonde hair!" The president yelled. "Then they're Amerikan! Shanks, do we have any other astronauts up there aside from you three?"
"No maim. Wait, one of them seems to have pink hair as well. Brilliantly bright pink hair!"
"You must be loopy, Shanks!" declared the President, "Pink hair is impossible! You're dotty as a doughnut! Let me talk to Showler! You're fired along with Shuckworth!"
"Showler here!" said Showler as she took the microphone from Shanks, who began to cry. "It's a great honour to talk with you, President-sama!"
"Oh shut up!" said the President. "Just tell me what you see."
"Well, they're teenagers all right. I've got a better view of them now. They look almost like ninja maim. They've got what look like forehead protectors and-"
"NINJA!" screamed the president, "They're not ninja, you driveling thickwit! Ninja can't come to space! Only astronauts can! Didn't they teach you anything in space camp! They're trying to blow up the Space Hotel! They must have some kind of…destructive weapons that could…um…destroy things on a mass scale! Yeah! They're going to blow up our magnificent Space Hotel!"
"Who's they, President-sama?" asked Showler.
"Don't talk so much and let me think!" said the President. There were a few moments of silence. Showler waited tensely. So did Shanks and Shuckworth, who were both still sniffling. So did the managers, assistant managers, desk clerks, waitresses, bellhops, chambermaids, pastry chefs, and all sorts of other staff. And down in the huge room at Ground Control in the Country of Amerika, one hundred controllers sat motionless in front of their dials and monitors, waiting to see what orders the President would give to the astronauts.
"I've just thought of something," said the President. "Don't you have a television camera set up there on the front of your spacecraft, Showler?"
"Sure do, President-sama."
"Then switch it on, you nit, and let all of us down here get a good look at this object!"
"Ah! I never thought of that," said Showler. "No wonder you're the President. Here goes!" He reached out and switched on the TV camera in the nose of the Commuter Capsule, and at that moment, millions of people all over the world who had been listening in on their radios rushed to their television sets.
On their screens they saw exactly what Shuckworth and Shanks and Showler were seeing: A weird glass box in splendid orbit around the planet, and inside the box, seen not too clearly but seen nonetheless, were four teenagers in odd clothing and an oddly dressed, funny little man. And far off in the distance, beyond the glass box, the TV watchers could see the enormous, glistening, silvery shape of the Space Hotel U.S.A.
But it was the sinister glass box itself that everyone was staring at, and the cargo of sinister creatures inside of it: five astronauts so tough and strong they didn't even need to bother wearing spacesuits. Who were these people and where did they come from? What in heaven's name was that glass box? The President had said these people were carrying some kind of bomb, but what were they going to do with it? All across Amerika and the Wind Country and the Fire Country and everywhere else in the world, a kind of panic began to take hold of the television watchers.
"Keep clear of them, Showler!" ordered the President over the radio link.
"Sure will, President-sama!" Showler answered, "I sure will!"
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the Commuter Capsule, in a very, very dark and very cramped room, two people hid themselves.
Because it was so very dark, you couldn't see their faces, or their bodies, or anything else about them. The only reason you could tell there were people there at all was because you could hear them breathing and muttering to each other.
Another distinguishing feature about these two was that one of them was taller than the other.
"How much longer until we reach the Space Hotel?" asked the tall one.
"Not long." Replied the short one.
"Good. As soon as we link up, we'll move out of sight, and then begin our mission."
"Indeed…"