raVen speaks:

I decided to update for once!

There's another version of this chapter… a more adult version. But you'll have to e-mail me to get it.

And my editor/fellow writer seems to be slacking off… so forgive me if this chapter is full of tiny little errors.

Chapter 8

© by raVen

All was quiet as the sun rose, like it usually did every single day… all except for two sources of soft, gentle and catlike purring… one emanated from Lilo's bed, where the two had entangled somehow and was now cuddling each other in their sleep; Stitch's head pressed against Lilo's chest, and her head on top of his, grasping each other tightly, breathing softly. The other source came from a mess of blankets and pillows on the platform next to the window, where a white ear protruded from the heap, pointing straight up into the air. From somewhere underneath all that, another, soft purr was heard.

The time was about 7 AM, and Nani was up an about, getting ready to go to work. The rest of the house was still pretty much very quiet. Feeling in a very good mood, Nani made waffles and a pot of hot, pure full caffeine coffee. Placing the waffles in the microwave, she glanced at the coffee pot full of the black stuff, and then around at the kitchen… as if it was the last time she would see it. She made her way to her room, put on some trainers, and walked back, taking the elevator up to Lilo and Stitch's room. Seeing both of them in the same bed, se raised an eyebrow, but thought nothing further… and lucky for 628, seeing Stitch with Lilo, Nani didn't even bother looking over to Stitch's bed.

"Lilo… Honey?" she said softly and nudged Lilo's shoulder. She opened her eyes, blinked a bit and focused on Nani.

"Yeah…?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

"I made some waffles, they're in the microwave. And don't forget to come around at ten so we can go buy you some new sandals." She nodded sleepily. Stitch was still fast asleep. Nani leaned down and gave Lilo a kiss.

"Well, I'm off. Seeya later."

"Kay…" And Lilo laid back down, turning her back towards Nani and Stitch, and pulled up the blanket. Nani turned back and took the elevator down once more, grabbing a bag from her room, and leaving through the front door.

"Bah… stupid time differences…" Jumba mumbled and rubbed all four his eyes, as he walked down the stairs from his cockpit and out the side door through the larger room. He frowned at the amount of light outside, visible through the trees.

"Was being up all night?" he asked himself. "Blitznag…" And he waddled through the undergrowth back to the house, up the stairs, through the door, and up more stairs to his room… but on opening the door, he realized something.

Where's Pleakley! Stifling a yawn, he quickly hurried back to the ship and scanned all the rooms. He had left Pleakley on that workbench to recover… but in his haste to help 628 the previous day, he had not even noticed Pleakley was gone when he used the very same table for 628. Rubbing his burning eyes, he shook his head.

"Probably be going with Nani to town…" he said and made his way all the way back to his room again, where he promptly fell asleep.

Lilo was suddenly wide awake and sat up. Nani was just in the room. She glanced over to where 628 still slept, and scratched her head. For some strange, miraculous reason, Nani hadn't noticed the white ball of fluff on Stitch's bed… Stitch stirred, and a moment later, Lilo was staring down into his big, black eyes.

"Gabba…?" came his sleepy question. Lilo just shook her head, and Stitch frowned, propping himself up to look at what Lilo was looking at… 628, still asleep in his bed. So?

"Nani was in here just now…" Lilo answered his unasked question. Stitch's eyes stretched and he glanced at 628 to make sure he was still there.

"Not notice cousin?" Stitch asked, now very much awake and sitting up.

"…No!" Lilo said, incredulously. Stitch gaped.

"I know! It's weird," Lilo replied and shooed Stitch off the bed, and got out of it herself. She glanced at her clock… it was about nine. Stitch was only halfway up the wall to the window, when Lilo came out of her dresser, her pajamas off, replaced by a yellow muumuu with red leaves.

"Just hurry, Stitch! We gotta get a sandwich to Pudge before we meet Nani at the shoe-place…" she said stuffing her swimsuit into a bag.

"Ih…" Stitch said and hurried out the window.

Several moments later, he returned through the doggy door downstairs, and into the kitchen, where Lilo was eating some waffles. He hopped up onto the chair, about to swallow his three waffles (Lilo only took one), when she stopped him.

"What did I tell you?" Lilo asked, her hands on her hips.

"Huh?" Stitch asked, his head tilted sideways, one ear up, and the other halfway, his paws frozen over the waffles. Lilo waved a finger at him.

"You have to wash your hands after going, or-"

"-bad germs eat stomach; yeah yeah…" he said, finishing her sentence, and with that he hopped off the chair and hurried to the bathroom and back soon afterwards. He waved his hands dry before he lobbed/stuffed the waffles into his mouth, emptied the cup with the warm syrup afterwards, and swallowed with effort. Lilo just stared at him in shocked awe. He gave a chuckle, and waddled over to the zinc, placing his plate and the cup in it, like a well educated sentient being. Lilo was leaning on one hand, and was gesturing with her fork as she spoke. "The next thing I'm teaching you, are table manners… really. It's a good thing we eat in our room when Nani's here, or we would've lost that deal with her long ago."

"Naga besta…" he mumbled and shrugged.

"Miga koutchu kagabbi?"

"Well, it's only been one day… so it's hard to tell."

"Iki kagotta chitchitiba?" Lilo took a bite, chewed and swallowed before answering.

"Three days… if Nani's not forgotten about it…"

"Ih." The microwave flashed 9:30 and Lilo gasped.

"You can make the sandwich while I finish here! Quickly!"

"Oketakka!"

628 woke with a start, sitting up, wide awake… He felt his body all over and looked down to confirm that he, being alive, was not just some kind of strange dream. He shook his head and giggled as his ears slapped him in the face. He grabbed them and tugged some, wincing. They were kinda sensitive. Something welled up inside him and he closed one eye, forcing the feeling down. When it passed, his eyes were full of tears and he had this unbelievable urge to just stretch! Once again the feeling came, and he could hold it no longer, his mouth opened in a huge yawn and he stretched, long and hard, finally collapsing back onto the bed with a grin on his face, his eyes half-open. That was nice… and it left him feeling more aware and suddenly, his mind seemed to do the equivalent of a boot-up in PC's, and his various senses reported all sorts of information to him… the sounds, the smells, if there was any imminent danger, how hungry/thirsty he was, the condition of his health, his body temperature, the percentage dilatation of his veins and a whole bunch of other information. This sudden burst of information made him pause for no more than a second as his mind processed this, and he was once again back to his awareness. He had to use the bathroom. As he got down from the bed with a soft landing, he noticed his keepers were not present. Lilo and the blue one, Stitch. Their scents were quite new, and he pondered where they could be on his way to the bathroom.

Having been careful at flushing this time, 628 left the bathroom and looked around cautiously… he didn't know if he was allowed to wander around on his own… he listened for a bit, trying to find any sounds, but he just heard the snoring of someone upstairs. He felt a rising feeling welling up once more… one that made him hyperventilate and want to run around, looking for someone… but his logic quickly quelled this, and he was just left with the uneasy feeling of being alone. He took a deep, instinctive breath, and decided that he was fully capable of looking after himself. Hm… these earthlings, as Jumba called them, walked on the floor… which means that he was less likely to be found on the ceiling. So he pressed his paws against the wall and had his claws dig in a little to make sure he'd stick, and climbed to the ceiling. His ears twisted this way and that, tilting the mental map that he had of the house around in his mind. He made his way over to the living room and peered around, then into the kitchen, the smell of food wafting into his nostrils… but this was not priority, so he scurried back and to Nani's room. It was empty as well, but it reeked with her scent. Twisting his ears around again, he made his way to where the snore was coming from, and dropped down from the ceiling, making sure to land softly. He took a moment to tap his nose as he stared at the door's mechanism. He decided to pull on it, and so climbed halfway up the wall to do so, yet, no effect. Next, he tried to push it… but no effect either. Then he tried twisting it, but he was sure that wouldn't work… but there was an audible click and the door swung open inwards. He climbed through the small opening he made and noticed that it was Jumba making all the noise.

"Nikishta?" he said loudly and Jumba groaned and squirmed in his sleep.

"Nikishta?" he tried again, but nothing this time. He dropped from the wall and walked over to the bed, and stared up at it, his ears twisting around as he figured out what to do. With one mighty bound, he jumped right onto Jumba's big belly, and had to pause a moment, staring at the floor and where was standing now. He didn't know he could jump that high. He made a 'meh' sound and turned his attention back to Jumba, placing one paw on his hip and the other tapped his nose. He settled on a high-pitched squeak.

"Kiiiiiiiihiiii!" he sounded and Jumba jumped with such force that 628 went flying and the bed groaned painfully, before collapsing under Jumba's mass. When the dust cleared, 628 found himself clutching to the wall, upside down, and Jumba was sitting, propped up by his arms, with the nightcap he was wearing drenched over his face. His rear eyes could still see though.

"6-2-8…" he said surprisingly calmly after what just happened. 628 gasped, though, and quickly got to the floor, grabbing one of the bed's legs and looking in vein if there was any way to put it back together.

"Soka!"

"Is being okay… ugh…" Jumba stood up and dusted himself off, taking the nightcap off and tossing it aside. He was wide awake after that little encounter.

"No use for sleeping now…" he mumbled. He bent backwards and rubbed his back, trying to rid himself of the stiffness in his joints caused by lack of sleep.

"Be reminding me to be making device that fixes things by itself…" he said and rubbed his four eyes.

"Iyanota shikitta kiyatta?" 628 quickly blabbed out his fears.

"Oho?" Jumba mumbled and leaned somewhat to glance out the door but shook his head. He wouldn't be able to see anyone from there anyways.

"Well… bigger earth girl is being working…" he said and walked over to the table, tapping something on the computer.

"And 626, most likely with little girl, is proceeding to town, though they are being taking abnormal route…" he paused.

"Ah, yes… the fish-deity that Lilo believes in. She had to feed him today, which means it is being Thursday." He had another blank pause. 628 just watched him and sat doggy-style, his paws tucked in-between his feet. Jumba seemed to try and remember something… then he snapped his fingers.

"Must be getting to dry-cleaning for Pleakley's stupid formal eating gathering occasion tomorrow… gah." He opened a drawer and pulled out a roll of hundreds. He waved it at 628.

"Earth money is confusing being…" he mumbled and 628 took the roll from him, sniffing it and rolling it around with a curious/confused look.

"Once be buying soda, and be handing one of rolls of currency, and helping person behind antique technology machine just be staring for several moments… is time that Pleakley suggested we leave… hm… let be getting disguise on… be right out."

After Jumba dressed, he opened the door to a waiting 628, still clutching the roll of money. 628 tilted his head up at his creator with a curious expression. Jumba was now wearing a wig, a mustache and native Hawaiian clothing that were stretched to their limits across the great surface of his belly. He patted his tummy and pulled up his pants, then started down the stairs.

"Now, how far is training coming with little girl and 626?"

"Ih! Jusha dokka."

"Good, good. After final training today, will being fully trained to take on threat of 4-2-6."

"Huh… danitta?"

"Yes. Many exercises being devised over night. Very simple exercises actually." He reached into his pocket and took out a tennis-ball.

"Be checking hand-eye coordination and dexterity with simple throw-and-catch technique. Be doing this for lack of more sophisticated testing technology that be having back at lab," Jumba explained as they walked down the stairs.

"Also being ingenious, as natives of planet will be thinking am playing fetch-game with dog…" he added and laughed, opening the door and walking out. He locked it behind him. 628 once again enjoyed the scents and smells of nature's many fresh fragrances as the wind blew through his fur. Jumba grunted, and walked down the last of the stairs. 628 stayed standing where he was, not sure if he was to follow or not.

"This is also being good opportunity to be showing other natives of earth…" he said and glanced to his side, to find 628 missing. He looked back to find him still standing at the top of the stairs.

"Come!" he said and beckoned.

"We're going for a walk…"

Moments later, they were walking through the town. 628 was jumpy and glancing from side to side, afraid and paranoid of all the many different smells, noises and moving things. His heart was beating furiously as his nose was assaulted by hundreds of smells, some of them chemicals that are poisonous to living things. His head felt dizzy… just then he noticed a native that was holding some sort small white stick that was smoking. He constantly brought this to his mouth, pulled some smoke into his mouth, and then inhaled it. He then breathed out the smoke, and continued to talk with the native nearby. The smoke he blew out contained hundreds of lethal poisons… 628 wondered why the human would choose to kill himself in such a slow, agonizing way… surely there were faster methods- he suddenly walked into something hard and fell onto his furry behind. He rubbed his cheek, and noticed that Jumba had come to a stop, glancing up at a sign, and then down at a paper in his hand.

"We are being here," he said downwards at 628 and held out his hand. 628 glanced down at the roll of money still in his paw and reached up, giving it to Jumba.

"Be staying here."

"Ih…"

Jumba walked into the store… 628 sat down and awaited his creator… he jumped as a cup broke in the coffee-shop next door, and then again as a vehicle sounded it's horn right in the street in front of him. He darted under one of the coffee tables, expecting the apocalypse to arrive at any moment… his nose was working more and more to analyze all the various smells… it was taking up so much of his concentration, that his eyelids drooped as if he was in a drugged state. He shook his head to try and clear it, but then he became aware that his ears were also trying to analyze what they were hearing. Soon, he began drowsily swerving as he sat under the table and was about to keel over when a pair of small hands took him and lifted him up.

"6-2-8! Hey, are you okay? 6-2-8?" His vision was blurry, but the female voice cleared his mind and soon, the many blurred images became one, and he saw the concerned face of Lilo, with a similarly concerned one of his blue cousin over her shoulder.

"Oooh… ganjakidibba…" he mumbled and rubbed his head.

"What's wrong...?"

"Uuungh…" he groaned and blinked several times.

"Cousin is takkaba, miga inja-gasha shi-shi, 'gabba na bakka'?" Stitch said and stumbled around to emphasize his point.

"Oh…" Lilo said and put him down. She quickly tried to remember what it was that she did when the same happened to Stitch… the memory came back to her and she quickly waved her hand in front of 628's face. He was drowsily swaying again.

"6-2-8! Look at my hand… hey…" she clicked her fingers and he blinked a few times.

"Hey! Here… focus on my hand… just on my hand…" she said. He did as she said and focused on her hand. It was blurry for a moment, but it soon became clear.

"Ju… ju shouga naga shipakka gigga goju…" Stitch added on. Okay. The hand is the only thing there. There's nothing else… He then experienced an odd sensation as everything else around him was blocked out and the hand became grossly magnified and clear in his vision. He could see every single sweat-pore on her hand, see the various shadows and contrasts of her skin, her unique hand print and fingerprints were etched into his brain… he picked up on the traces of salt and urea on her skin due to sweat, he could almost feel the blood pulsing through her veins! He tilted his head sideways and his ears were tilted directly towards her hand.

"Is working…" Stitch said and pointed to 628's hands, which were gently lifting up as 628 instinctively wanted to feel the object he was studying. Lilo then proceeded to give one loud clap and 628 almost fell over from surprise. The surroundings flooded back in, but thanks to the little experience she had just given him, he found that he could mentally block out the unwanted things he didn't want to hear or see or smell. He glanced around at everything around him. He noticed the tourist with the smoking stick and tilted his ears away… it was as if the tourist wasn't there… the moment he tilted his ears to the tourist, and looked at him, it was as if he was talking to him, right next to him in an enclosed, quiet room. He grinned. This was cool. The only negative thing was that he couldn't distinguish between the thousands of smells filtering in.

"Better?" Lilo asked.

"Ih! Takka!" he said and stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do with this feeling of showing gratitude physically. Lilo acted on that, and gave him a hug. He found this alarming at first, and wanted to push her away, but her soft, almost loving embrace caused shivers to run over him and he went limp. He found a purr escaping his throat and raised an eyebrow. Lilo let go and stared at him, somewhat surprised. He looked down at himself, sheepishly and grinned back up at her, scratching his head. Stitch was enjoying the scene himself, but for a completely different reason. He knew exactly how his cousin felt, and enjoyed watching him squirm as he did once a while ago.

"When did you learn how to purr like Stitch does?" 628 looked confused as Stitch spoke up.

"Naga learn… Stitch just always do… when feel good," he explained.

"Hm… well, okay. What're you doing here alone in town anyway?" Lilo asked just as Jumba came walking out of the dry-cleaners with his super-oversized tux and an elegant dress.

"Ah! Little girl and 6-2-6… be feeding fish-deity?" he asked, staring at his tux.

"His name is Pudge. And yes, we did. It'll be nice and sunny till next week…" she glanced to Stitch. "Uuunless a cousin interferes," she added.

"Ah, being good!" They were quiet. Jumba smiled nervously as a nearby woman eyed him curiously and 628 stared at Stitch, as if he was trying to figure something out. Stitch soon started squirming under his scrutiny.

"Ooookay then… so we'll all just go about our business!" Lilo finally spoke up.

"Yesh!"

"Bye!"

"Buhbye!" and they all split up with 628 looking lost again. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go with the little girl and his cousin or with his creator.

"6-2-8! Come!" Jumba finally called which made up his name.