(1am, Friday Morning)
It was early Friday morning, and behind the former Maehara restaurant, an exceptionally eagle-eyed observer might have been unfortunate enough to notice a couple of small shapes moving.
"What was the point, then? In coming here?" Kyosuke asked himself contemplatively.
"Simple, you were the most reliable person we could get at the time." a young female voice answered back.
"So then, what? My 'vacation' was actually just another assignment?" the young yakuza barked.
"No, your vacation actually starts now. Here, your birthday present"
A 13 year old girl in a middle school uniform tossed an envelope at Kyosuke and turned away with her arms crossed over her chest. Kyosuke caught the envelope in his hand, it was obviously packed with something due to it's slight heftiness. He opened it and examined the contents, a small letter and quite a sum of money inside.
"You mean 'vacation' as in 'I have to leave the country and run a few errands' right?" he asked with a hint of defiance.
The young girl turned around with her hands up in the air.
"Guilty. I just can't believe you saw through that." she said in a sarcastic tone. "But seriously, that's the plan of our business. To keep an allotted amount of people in certain areas and spread contacts all over the world. We don't have enough manpower to secure a tight hold of any sort anywhere yet but it at least gives us an all-seeing eye if you get my meaning." she grinned at Kyosuke who examined the letter un-amused.
"Italy, huh? How long?" Kyosuke asked as he closed up the envelope and stuffed it in his pocket.
"Oh, just a month or two. Your flight leaves in the morning. And if your worried about your current assignment then you can stop, we're already looking for a replacement." she took a few steps toward him until they were mere inches away from each other.
Kyosuke looked down at her with the same cold expression he wore everyday and she just stared back up at him. Finally, the girl broke the silence.
"Onii-chan, just be careful out there okay?"
Finally, the mask that covered his face had shattered and he smiled down at her.
"You know I'm all about careful. After all, I've still got a few more years to bug you."
She gave him a cheerful smile and he turned to walk away.
"Oh and by the way," he turned back to see his younger sister with his façade back on. "can you postpone the completion of my assignment? I don't want anyone near that guy until I get back to finish him myself."
She nodded and saluted. "Yes sir!" This made him grin again as he walked back to the Hinata Sou.
"See you around, Aya."
----------
(Friday Morning, Al's room, Hinata House)
Dizzy crawled out of his plastic castle. He'd had a nice sleep -- such long and lovely dreams of a world where he could be fed cakes and cookies by his long time celebrity crush Halle Berry.
He glanced at Al who was hunched up in the corner scribbling away furiously, several crumpled papers and broken pencils lay scattered around him.
Crawling over his friends shoulder, Dizzy peered at what he was working on. More comics, these starring a space pirate whom Al had developed as a cooler alter-ego when he was younger.
Dizzy turned to compliment Al on his work -- so many pages in such a short time -- but he stopped mid "Grr." Al looked horrible; he had been up all night, his eyes were bloodshot and his hair a mess. He was staring at the paper with such focus that Dizzy feared it might catch on fire.
After scribbling the words "The End", Al promptly fell over backwards, sound asleep.
Dizzy moaned a small weaselly moan. This was going to be a long day.
(Sam's Morning)
Samuel awoke to another fine morning. After having been knocked out by one of Naru's punches he had actualy had a very good rest. In fact, the morning would have been perfect if only he were not hanging upside down from a flagpole, stark naked, in the middle of the hot springs. Fortunately he saw Su and Sara, who were giggling and pointing at him.
"I always thought they were supposed to be bigger than that?" commented Suu, wherupon Sara started into some graphic details of just how well-endowed Lance was (although she had not actually managed to verify this).
"Yo, girls," shouted Sam, "By any chance, could you tell me where my pants are? ...and could you cut me down?"
"Nope," smirked Sara, "This is your punishment for wrecking my console!"
"...And my TV" added Suu.
"LET ME DOWN, YA LIL HARLOTS!" screamed Sam, suddenly realising what might happen if he were found in this situation by one of the more combustible residents.
"What's a harlot, is it yummy?" queried Suu, interestedly.
"Erm, its a woman who..." mumbled Sam, blushing.
"Oohhh Toko-chan is coming!" giggled Suu, cutting him off.
"Awww sh..." sighed Sam, as the two 'little harlots' made themselves scarce seconds before Motoko entered the springs.
"Kami... Samuel, what are you doing up there?" asked Motoko, shocked. She then saw his state of undress, and pulled out her sword. "YOU DISGUSTING MALE PIG! HIKEN ZANKUSEN!"
Fortunatley, he only flew through 7 walls and landed neatly on his bed.
"At least I managed to get down..." he said, and passed out.
---
At breakfast, Al was present, but he might just as well not have been since he spent the entire time snoring into his bowl of wheat-os. This was a shame -- missing Shinobu's cooking was not something he would have wanted to do -- but Dizzy was completely unable to wake him. Before the girls could start acting on their more extreme suggestions of how to wake him, though, Keitaro took all of their attention with an announcement.
"EH!?" everyone else exclaimed, all staring at Keitaro. The manager sighed and repeated.
"Just like I said, Kyosuke's gone. He left this note," he holds up the note, "saying that he's on a trip to a family emergency in Venice Italy. It says here that he won't be back for a couple of months."
Shinobu put a finger to her chin and looked up, trying to remember something. 'So that's why I heard a commotion last night...' In her mind she sighed, relieved and yet... sad that she lost a fellow tenant and perhaps, a potential friend.
"Rats! I-I mean darn! That's just too bad he had to go and miss out on all the fun here." Kitsune said, cursing in her mind for not being able to bilk him for his money sooner.
"I'm sure it was something really important and that he couldn't refuse." Haruka reasoned. "I think we can all agree that we would cross half-way around the world if granny Hina were in trouble right?"
They all agreed, and at the same time on a plane somewhere above the Sea of Japan, a young man with rectangular glasses and black hair was looking out the window, back on the wild events that he would never forget and he would surely be eager to get back to. Kyosuke just remembered something and snapped his fingers.
"Crap, I forgot to get Naru a present. Oh well, I'll think of something when I get back... it's not like she's gonna care anyway."
---
Back in Japan, Dizzy screamed and covered his eyes... it had seemed like a good idea at the time.
When he had discovered that Al's vespa needed fixing he had asked Su to do so, but until then, he needed to get Al to school.
So somehow, Al -- on roller skates, with Dizzy clinging to his hair -- was flying downhill, unaided, and sound asleep as he shot across busy intersections. By a stroke of luck, Haitani and Shirai were on their way to work, in Haitani's new convertible -- small, blue, and dead sexy.
"Hey, Haitani -- isn't that Al?" Shirai pointed at the swiftly approaching form of the boy who seemed to be lucky enough to stay in Hinata house while they scrounged for cheap apartments.
"Well I'll be, um... he's heading right for us, and his eyes are closed."
"Oh dear."
The boys who were stuck at a red light could do nothing but watch as the boy hit their front bumper, and shoot over their windshield into their backseat.
"Grr." Dizzy waved as he crawled out from under the tired boy.
"What's in it for us?" Haitani asked in response to Dizzy's request to drive them to school.
"Grr."
"Really now? Well, that sounds just lovely... what do you say, Shirai?"
"That depends -- what did he say?" asked Shirai, who was still learning how to speak with weasels.
"He said he's got us a date."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Al was not the only one late for school. Samuel came to on his bed, and after checking his watch realised he had only 4 minutes to get to school in time for registration. Only one solution presented it to his mind.
He quickly dressed, gathered his satchel, and ran downstairs to find Naru in the dining room.
"Yo, Naru!" he greeted her, cheerfully.
"What do you want, idiot boy? I'm busy!" she growled back.
"I just noticed, one of your boobs is bigger then the other!" Sam proclaimed, "So, I think your water bra has sprung a leak!"
Kitsune burst out laughing, spitting cereal everywhere. However, Naru was not as amused.
"Why, I..." she growled, standing up and gathering her fist as a red aura flared around her.
"Hentai!" she screamed as she let fly, and so Samuel began his trip to school via Narusagewa airways. It was pretty uneventful, except for the Japanese airforce trying to shoot him down mistaking him for a missile.
He landed in the schoolyard, causing a small crater and a colection of sweatdrops from the watching crowd.
"Does that gajin ever come to school normaly?" whispered one girl, hiding behind her schoolbag.
"No, I think everyone does that in England." replied her friend, as they ran off to their class.
"Owwwww..." groaned Sam, "Stupid ass spine always getting bust up..."
He climbed to the top of the crater, and was met with the sight of a rather attractive pair of legs, which the miniskirt that was part of the standard school uniform did very little to conceal.
"Ooooooooooh, nice legs..." he murmered, as his libido hit the 'Master Override' switch for his brain and left him gazing dreamily with a slightly dopey expression. He followed the legs upwards to see a girl standing there. "Wow, the goddess of cuteness has come to earth!" he murmumered.
"Er, are you ok?" the vision asked him worridly.
Sam was unable to reply as his eyes had confirmed his identity as a teenaged boy by locking themselves onto her chest.
"Maybe I should get a doctor?" the girl asked, as Sam started to drool.
"Wow... you're cute..." mumbled Sam, as finally his brain managed to get a message out past the storm of hormones.
"You too!" she giggled.
"Aha, er..." Sam quickly wiped the drool from his mouth and attempted to appear a bit more composed. "I'm Samuel.. it's a pleasure to meet you!"
"My name is... " she started to reply, but was interrupted by a menacing figure aproaching her from behind. Sam recognised him as none other than Lu Bu, who has been causing him problems during his delivery runs the previous week.
"Lu Ling Qi, you forgot your lunch... oh, who's your friend?" asked Lu Bu, completely failing to recognise Sam.
"Dad, this is Samuel."
"Wait, I know him... ITS MY ARCH NEMESIS!" Lu Bu roared, finally making the connection.
"Dad," sighed Ling Qi, "You said your arch nemisis had horns and a goatee, and was the spawn of satan himself."
"He is though!"
"You have a new nemesis every week!"
"ENOUGH OF THIS! FEEL MY WRATH, NEMESIS!" Lu Bu leapt up, and swung at where Sam had been, but fortunately Sam had just bent down to tie his shoelaces and Lu Bu overshot and ended up in a heap by the tree.
"MOM! DADS BEING HIMSELF AGAIN!" shouted Ling Qi, and a plump but formiddable woman arrived quickly on the scene and dragged Lu Bu away by his ear, as he tried to explain to her.
"Mighty Lu Bu, my left testicle..." sniggered Sam to himself, but was cut short by Ling Qi grabbing him by his ear and dragging him to his next lesson.
"Oweee!" squealed Sam, finally getting a bit of sympathy for Lu Bu after all.
(Morning, School)
"Lupin-kun!" Maho greeted Al cheerfully, waving her book bag. "Ohayo!"
He was asleep on the desk.
"Ano, Al-san? Rush?" She patted him on the back gently. Then she socked him in the tender area between his shoulder blades. "Hey, wake up!"
"Mmuuurgh," he groaned into his sleeve, smacking his lips and digging his head further into his arms. "Leave me 'lone," he muttered in English.
"Long night, I see," Maho nodded, taking a seat next to him. "You should sleep earlier. But that's all right, because I just need to ask you a tiny little favor."
"Mmm."
"It's not much, I promise." She twiddled her thumbs. "I was just wondering if you wanted to be my partner for a couple of magic tricks tomorrow, because I really need an extra hand."
"Ummm."
"It is Naru's birthday, you know. We have to make it spectacular."
"Mm." Al snorted and wiped his mouth.
Maho clasped her hands together. "Oh, will you please help me out? I haven't been able to do a big trick since I got here, and it would be so terrific if we could!"
"Uh-huh." He nodded, irritated. Anything to get the noisy chatter away.
"Really?" She beamed. "Arigato, Lupin-kun!" She kissed him on the top of his head before heading back to her seat. "Oyasumi."
Dizzy poked his head out from Al's backpack, looking at the girl who had just wrangled his charge into participating in her mysterious rituals. What did the immediate future hold for poor Al, now that he was bound to this new promise? Would he have the stomach to keep his word and be Maho's helpless guinea pig? Would he dress up as a woman yet again?
He shrugged and went back to hiding. Perhaps, perhaps.
---
Sam's morning mostly passed peacefully. The teachers were busy yattering away at the board and Samuel was in his chair, asleep, thinking about important things. Anyone close enough to hear might have heard him mumble "mmm zzzzzzzzzz boobszzzzzzzzzzzzzz" but fortunately for him, he was left alone until he woke, realising the teacher was talking to him.
"Mr Mcshannock! What is the answer?" the teacher repeated.
"Erm, er..." Sam looked about in confusion, and his eyes again were unable to prevent themselves from focussing on Ling Qi's shirt. "Tits! ...erm, Titius" he replied.
"Correct..." the teacher said, in surprise, "The 7th roman consul was Titius."
Suddenly, the song Hallelujah started playing. Sam looked about in shock.
"What did I tell you about mobile phones in class?" shouted the teacher, as a shamefaced student retrieved his phone from his bag and quickly muted it. Sam sweatdropped.
---
(early afternoon)
Maho strolled into the Hinata Teahouse, her book bag slung nonchalantly over her shoulder. "Tadaima!"
"Maho-san." Kentaro gave his regards with a short bow, and then went back to cleaning the tables.
"Where's my sister?" she asked.
"In the back, taking inventory." He smiled awkwardly, scratching his head with an old rag. "So, about the letter..."
Maho hopped over to him and ruffled his hair like an overexcited parent. "Don't worry, Ken-kun! Your little lovesick missive will reach the right hands!"
Kentaro boggled. "You read it?"
"Nope." She winked. "You're just transparent."
He slumped his shoulders. "How true indeed."
"Don't worry, I said!" Maho grinned and made a victory sign. "With me as your fairy godmother, you have nothing to fear."
He smirked. "That must make me your pretty princess."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far." She opened the door to the back room. "Ja."
Kentaro chuckled and waved. But once the door closed, he stopped working and stared blankly at the table.
Was everything really going to work out? Did he really have nothing to fear, now that he put his words to paper and had a plan of action? Just because he was on a quest didn't necessarily mean he would succeed.
"Stop thinking such vile thoughts, you unfaithful cretin!" He admonished himself aloud. "I still have four hundred dollars to go until I can afford a plane ticket to America. I have to work extra hard this month to save money." Kentaro made a determined fist. "Yosh! I will win my love back!"
With that, he picked up a mop and went at double speed, calculating the cost of a bundle of roses once he arrived at Alaska.
---
"Haru-nee!" Maho greeted her sister with a hug.
"Maho-chan, I'm working!" Haruka tried to sound stern, but her expression was clearly amused as she pushed the shorter girl off. "You're awfully chipper today, chibi-ko. Any reason?"
"Oh, nothing really." Maho smiled. "I'm just excited about Naru's birthday tomorrow, I guess. Did you have anything planned?"
"Well, I did buy a bracelet for her, actually. But not much else." The woman raised an eyebrow. "Why? Something you have in mind?"
"A magic show!"
Haruka face faulted. "Really now."
If Maho noticed her reaction, she didn't acknowledge it. "Yep! I'm going with Ryuko-chan today to pick up some extra supplies."
"Ryuko-chan...?" Haruka nodded. "Oh, that Yoshikawa girl. Well, I'm glad you're making friends."
"Mmhmm! Well, I'm off!" She suddenly remembered something. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." Maho dug in her pockets for a while, finally producing a sealed envelope. "This is for you, Haru-nee."
"For me?" Haruka took the envelope, staring at it curiously as she tapped numbers into a calculator. "Who's it from?"
"Kentaro-kun."
"Ah, sou." She did a double take. "Wait a second."
Maho was already on her way out the door. "Bye!"
"Ano..." Haruka cursed when she heard her sister's boots loudly clomping out of the teahouse as fast as they could go. "Damn it."
She looked at the envelope again, examining it in the harsh fluorescent light of the storage room. Sighing in defeat, Haruka opened the envelope, removed the letter and began to read. It began like letters tended to:
"Dear Ai-chan."
---
(afternoon)
"That will be 35,000 yen, please."
Maho grimaced, digging in her coat pockets for her reserve cash. Everything was so expensive in Japan. She could've gotten a cheaper version, of course, one that was a cotton blend instead of one hundred percent silk. But for Naru, it had to be the very best, and one didn't get higher quality than this. She examined the object one more time, as the cashier carefully folded the sleeves and placed it into a paper bag. This one was flawless.
"Ryuko-chan!" Maho called.
"I'm over here," she replied from the far corner of the store. Maho made her way over to the men's shoe department, where she found Ryuko trying on a pair of enormous loafers.
She raised an eyebrow. "Ryuko-chan, why are you trying on guy shoes?"
"Er." The older girl blushed a little. "They're the only ones that fit."
"Oh." Maho noticed for the first time how physically imposing her new friend was. Not only was Ryuko almost a full foot taller than her, but her feet were enormous as well. First Al, then her-were all Americans like this? "Well, if that's the case. Do you want to buy those?"
"Not particularly." She quickly placed them back on the shelf. "So did you get it?"
"Uh-huh." Maho showed off the bag. "Take a look!"
Ryuko peered inside. "Wow. I hope it didn't cost too much."
Maho chuckled, keenly aware of how empty her pockets felt. "Of course not."
---
"You really don't want to?"
"Frankly? No way."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, pretty sure."
Maho pouted. "It's not like I actually cut you in half. There are different box compartments and such. And I would see blood on the saw blade way before anything serious happened, honest!"
Ryuko sweat dropped. "Gomen, ne?"
"It's okay. I can always get Lupin-kun to do it."
The two girls were on the fifth floor of the shopping center, in the middle of the headwear department. Maho produced a long list from her sleeve, pulled a pen from behind her ear, and started checking off items. "Let's see. I have an extra deck of cards, a stuffed rabbit, the Super Special Item, fireworks..." She picked up an object from the hat rack and placed it on her head. "And now a proper top hat." She posed, tilting the hat at a rakish angle and doing a faux kiss. "How do I look?"
"Ravishing." Ryuko chuckled, trying on a white beret herself.
"That looks really nice on you!"
"You think so?" She examined it with an air of interest. "Well, it's been a while since I bought something nice for myself."
"Have you shopped at all since you arrived in Japan?" Maho asked.
"Actually, no I haven't." She looked at her simple t-shirt and slacks. "Does it show?"
"Not really. But you know, I'm pretty much done with magic supplies, so if you want...?" Maho looked at her hopefully.
Ryuko arched an eyebrow. "Clothes shopping?"
"Great idea. Let's go!" Maho dashed to the escalator, dragging the bemused woman behind her.
---
"Say, Maho-chan." Ryuko said conversationally as she looked at a shirt, noting that the sleeves were woefully tiny. "You seem really close with your sister."
"Haruka onee-san? I suppose so." Maho nodded. "She was the first one to greet me when I first arrived at the Urashima house. I remember, she showed me a magic trick while we were having tea. Pulled a coin from my ear." She chuckled. "I think she regrets doing that. But we've been close ever since."
"That sounds nice." Ryuko thought for a moment. "But what do you mean, when you first arrived at the Urashima house?"
"I was adopted when I was five."
"Oh."
Maho smiled apologetically. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that. Haru-nee and I are actually half-sisters. After my mother died, there was no one to take care of me, so Mama took me in as part of the family. Things have been pretty smooth after that."
Ryuko frowned. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it was ages ago. I don't even think Kei-kun really remembers. It just wasn't something we talked about, you know?" Maho looked up at her. "But I don't mind telling you. We're friends now."
"I appreciate that." She sighed. "My family life isn't perfect either, if you put my dad into the equation. But I guess at least I still have him, as difficult as it is."
"What's he like?" Maho asked.
"Oh, well." Ryuko paused. "He's a very serious man. I guess you could say he's distant."
"Distant?"
"Mmhmm." Her eyes stared into space. "Cold, even."
Maho suddenly squealed, pulling out a red dress and modeling it in front of the mirror. "Oh, look at this! Isn't it just the cutest thing?"
Ryuko examined the price tag. Well, it didn't look apocalyptic. "Why don't you get it?"
"Aw, well I couldn't do that." Maho swished the fabric around. "I don't even have someone to show it off to." She smiled a little. "Well, maybe one person."
Ryuko rolled her eyes. "Is it that one boy? Rush?"
"No!" The other girl blushed. "Of course not!"
"Uh-huh." She smiled knowingly. "It's okay. I was young once, too."
"You're only one year older, Ryuko-chan!"
"Call me 'Ryuko-sempai' instead. I like the sound of that."
"Hmph."
---
Their shopping done, Maho and Ryuko made their way to the mall's food court.
Maho gestured towards a cluster of crowded tables. "Go save a table, and I'll get us some dishes of ice cream, my treat. What kind would you like?"
Ryuko adjusted her glasses and squinted up at the back-lit menu of the frozen desserts kiosk. After reading through the list of flavors, she didn't have to think long to decide. "Almond fudge would hit the spot right about now."
Maho smiled back. "Good choice. I'll be right back..."
Ryuko took the shopping bags Maho was carrying, and left to find a table. She had to circle around several times before spotting a couple just getting up to leave. She sprinted to lay claim to their table before someone else did.
She tucked the bags beneath her chair, and rested for a moment while she waited for Maho, seemingly exhausted. After a few minutes, she remembered the lanyard around her neck. Slipping a finger around the cord, Ryuko pulled the hidden portion out from beneath her blouse. A key was hanging from it, which she inspected as if she'd never seen it before.
"Oh, there you are!", Maho suddenly announced upon finding her shopping companion.
Ryuko jumped in her seat, then relaxed. "You startled me."
"Gomen. You were hard to spot, with so many people sitting around you. Here's yours..." Maho placed a dish in front of Ryuko, before sitting down herself.
"Arigato." Ryuko let go of the key, its weight then pulling the lanyard taut. She experimentally sampled her ice cream. Her eyes closed and a very contented smile appeared on her face. "Mmmm..."
Maho chuckled. "I haven't seen you smile like that since the daifuku raid."
Ryuko opened her eyes. "That almost seems like it was /weeks/ ago, so much has happened in just a few days' time."
"Almost surreal, isn't it?..." Maho was distracted by a young couple that had just paused beside their table, kissing and groping each other. After that couple continued on its way, Maho just shook her head. "How rude. They could at least be a little bit discreet about..." She trailed off as she noticed Ryuko's spoon-holding hand twitching, as if she were on a caffeine high. "Ano...Are you all right?"
Ryuko put her spood down and made a fist. The twitching stopped. "That was weird. I think it's okay now."
"Hmmm. Hey, is that your grandmother's key?"
Ryuko glanced downward. "Yeah. I don't know what it goes to yet. It has the number '56' engraved on it, so my best guess so far is that it's for a locker at a bus- or train- station somewhere."
Maho looked at a clock prominently displayed in the center of the food court. "We do have some time to kill. We could visit a few stations on the way back, if you want."
Ryuko suddenly felt (and looked) more energetic. "You sure you wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not. It might be fun!"
-----
"Wow, this place is busy." Ryuko walked up some steps and inclined her head to read a large sign, spending a moment as she struggled to pronounce it. "Hama...Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal. Did I say that right?"
Maho nodded, considering herself lucky to have gotten past security with all those fireworks concealed in her clothing. "This station serves the Tokyo world trade center. There must be a directory around here somewhere..."
The two wandered around for a bit, staying close to as not to become separated in the crowd. The noise was almost unbearable, with so many people talking on cellphones as they hurriedly ran to and fro. "There it is," Maho called back, pointing to a sign mounted on a prominent column ahead of her.
The closer they got to the map, the more packed the crowd seemed to become. Maho became frustrated as she couldn't see over everyone's shoulders. What she wouldn't give to be ten or twenty centimeters taller...
"It looks like the lockers are just down the hallway, and to the right," Ryuko interpreted as she had no problem viewing the floor plan. Excited, Ryuko rapidly progressed in that direction despite the large bags she was carrying, and the crowd being in her way.
Maho did everything she could to keep up, but people kept bumping into her. She briefly entertained the idea of creating a diversion so everyone around her would stop in their tracks, thus letting her slip by more easily, but she thought better of it. Even a small explosion could cause a panic.
Finally she caught up with her companion in the very last aisle of lockers. She caught her breath, then asked, "How do you move so quickly?"
Ryuko shrugged. "I don't consciously think about it, but I guess I walk in an assertive way. People tend to stand aside when they see me coming." She returned her attention to the lockers in front of her, finally focusing on just one of them. "Here goes nothing..." She gently inserted the key all the way.
Maho stood by anxiously, wondering what could be inside that locker.
Ryuko sighed. "It won't turn."
Maho frowned. "At least it wasn't a total waste. There's a Thomas Edison quote..."
Ryuko nodded, interrupting. "I know the one you're thinking of." She sighed again upon pulling the key out. "Gomen. I let the frustration get to me."
"It's okay. What do you want to do now?"
"How about if we head home so we can catch dinner. I'll try another station some other time. Thanks anyway for bringing me here today."
Maho smiled. "No problem. Just one small favor..."
"What's that?"
"Don't leave me behind the next time you plow through a crowd, okay?"
Ryuko chuckled. "Deal."
----
Al yawned, having finally perked up after a long day of napping, and was now getting dressed into some casual clothes for his night out on the town.
Somehow, Dizzy had convinced Haitani, Shirai, and Mutsumi to join them, so Motoko most likely wouldn't think anything less then kosher was happening.
"Oh Alllll!" Called Su in a singsong voice from outside his window.
Al peeked nervously around the black curtains he had hung and his eyes bulged. Su was hovering outside on his Vespa.
"Um... you've made some improvements?"
"Yup, all that speed racer has and then some! This baby's got more hardware in it than Bill Gates' house!"
Al climbed out the window and onto the bike, the jets below barely warming his feet as he straddled the bike in front of Su.
"Ok, now push this button to shift into drive."
"This one?"
"NO!"
BOOM! Off like a gunshot the bike streaked, leaving Su hanging from a nearby tree.
Kitsune never knew what hit her. There was a speeding mass of blue, and suddenly she was swept away into the air. The food she was bringing back from the store lay forgotten on the steps as she and Al streaked across the night to meet their friends in Tokyo.
(Ryuko's Evening)
After returning home, Ryuko went up to her room and set her futon down on the tatami, then tossed a few pillows on top. She figured she'd take a brief nap before dinner, since she was tired from so much walking. No sooner did she lie down, than a small, squeaky voice called out to her.
"ryuko?"
"Ryu-chan?" Ryuko rolled over to face the source of the voice...but it was not the stuffed dragon. Instead, a PDA sitting on the bookcase beside her sprang to life.
"kaolla-chan upgraded the PDA! i have four times as much memory, and a faster processor now!"
Ryuko picked up the scientific-calculator-sized device and held it over her head. "It's nice to have you back to normal. I missed having you with me today...but what about that idea of making a new body for you out of that mecha-tama?"
Ryu-chan's avatar bounced up and down. "look at the shelf beside you!"
"Huh?" Ryuko flipped on the lamp by the head of the futon, and beheld a 30-centimeter-tall robot dragon. "Whoa...!"
"the PDA can be plugged into the robot's underbelly."
Ryuko sat up and repositioned her legs so she was seated Indian-style, and inspected the robot. "How in the world did she build this so fast?!", she wondered aloud. Following Ryu-chan's hint, she clipped the PDA into the rectangular cavity on the robot's torso. Instantly, Ryu-chan's avatar dissappeared from the screen, to be replaced by a scrolling list of hardware checks, then the robot came to life. His eyes lit up, then he flapped his wings.
"Still not quite huggable, but...I'm impressed!" Ryuko leaned forward, facing the robot eye-to-eye. He was mostly silver, with a few black details to give him a sharp, balanced appearance.
"kaolla-chan was working on a new body for me even before the PDA crashed, but she asked me to keep it a secret." The robot's mouth moved in synch with his voice, and his multi-segmented tail gently swayed from side to side.
"That explains it, then. I've never met a hardware hacker as skilled as her before. I'm not sure what I can do to repay her for this."
Ryu-chan scratched the side of his face, pondering how to say something. "ryuko, there's something you need to know." His tail stopped moving.
"Yes?"
Ryu-chan hung his head low.
"Is something wrong?"
"hai."
Ryuko wondered what could be bothering her little companion so much. "Well...?"
"there's no easy way to say this, but...your father died last night."
Ryuko's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She raised her hand to cover her mouth and sat there in stunned silence for the span of many minutes. All she could hear was her quickened breathing and the throbbing of her heart as it raced faster and faster.
Ryu-chan remained silent.
She closed her eyes and buried her face in the palms of her hands, rocking slowly forward and backward as the first tears she could ever remember shedding for her father rolled down her cheeks. A torrent of old memories came back to her.
Finally, she squeaked out in a higher-pitched voice than was typical for her, "How did it happen?" Then she added, "And how did you get the news?"
"he was involved in a head-on collision. he didn't suffer. he was not at fault. no-one else was hurt."
Ryu-chan waited for that to sink in.
Ryuko stood up and paced around her room, but she was so lightheaded that she thought she was going to pass out, so she flopped down again on the futon, burying her face in the pillow. She was never close to her father, especially after her parents separated some years ago, but this...was altogether unexpected.
"someone named lauren emailed you with the news. she had access to your father's computer and found your address."
"A friend of dad's?"
Ryu-chan didn't answer immediately.
Ryuko's voice was muffled due to the pillow. "You're not telling me something."
"she's your sister."
"I was an only child. You know that."
Another pause.
"Ryu-chan, /spit it out/!"
The dragon complied. "she's your half-sister."
"I don't have any half-sis..." Ryuko rolled over and sat up again, drying her face with her sleeves. "Unless..." She rested her forehead in her palms. "Is...is her last name Taylor?"
"hai."
"Oh my..." Ryuko looked up at the ceiling, as if staring through it.
"...She'd be about fourteen now."
This was a bit much to swallow all at once. Ryuko stood up again and walked to the window.
She opened it to get some fresh air, and leaned out.
"I wonder if Mom knew."
(Lance's Evening)
As Lance walked home from school, he suddenly remembered that although the 'LADS' band had been practicing for a bit now, he still had not managed to get around to submitting an entryform for their group. The competition was Sunday, so this was the last chance to get one! Ducking into a nearby shop, he picked one up from the counter, getting a few odd looks from the lady behind the counter.
"Err, is this form for you?" she enquired, and when he answered in the affirmative she burst into laughter. Lance couldn't be bothered to waste more time with this -- besides, translating the form would take a bit of time -- and so he ran out before the lady could explain her source of amusement.
As he walked back to Hinata-sou, Lance worked his way through the form. All the pronouns seemed to be in female gender, which was irritating -- obviously, Japan was suffering from the same Politically-Correct disease as the USA. It was not until he finally reached the rules at the end that he at long last understood.
----
"Su-chan, are you in there?" Lance hammered on the door of the only member of the group currently in the building. Eventually she opened the door.
"Yay! Have you come to play?" she shouted, and leapt at him.
Lance dodged, and tried to calm her down. Eventually he pulled out a banana (his secret weapon) and this calmed her down long enough for him to explain.
"It appears this competition on Sunday is for /FEMALE ARTISTS ONLY/! And, out of the four of us, you're the only one who qualifies. Although, Al seems to be wearing dresses awfully frequently..."
"Ha! No problem!" shouted Suu, gleefully. "It will give me the chance to try out my new 'Strawberry-egg-kun' device! Just wait there!" she dived back into the trees, as Lance looked about in panic. Visions of strange devices like miniature guillotines drifted through his head, and he moved his hands to his crotch protectively. No way was he going to let Suu turn HIM into a female!
Fortunately, when Suu finally reappeared, she seemed to be holding nothing but a small heart-shaped choker. Before Lance could dodge, she leapt at him and fastened it around his throat.
"Suu-chan! Stop it! I... oh!" Lance said in puzzlement, as his voice suddenly dropped an octave into a rather attractive contralto. Trying out a few words, Lance had to admit that, with another of these, they could actually pull it off. Maybe.
"And, of course, Al's got enough dresses and wigs to share!" added Suu, and Lance groaned. Why was it that, ever since he met Rush, he seemed to be spending a significant amount of his time in skirts?
----
(Sam's Evening)
Sam had finished the day at school, and now only had his delivery runs to make.
Mr Wang presented him with only three deliveries for the evening, and so our intrepid delivery boy set out on his rickety bike for his first delivery.
"I'm making excellent time," he remarked to himself as he skidded around a corner, "I've only hit four cats and an old lady this time... here we are!"
He knocked on the door in front of him, and called out, "Wangs chinese takeaway here with your food!" and stood in the doorway, takeout in one hand and the other outstretched to receive a tip. The door opened.
"I didnt order chinese..." mumbled the man who answered. "Hey, Tycho?"
"Yeah?" came from further back in the house.
"Why did you order chinese? We've had lunch!"
"I had to it... had the word 'wang' in it. The power of wang compells you..."
"Yeah...." said Sam, sweatdropping. "Erm, can I leave now?"
"I aint gonna eat it, you keep it kid." scowled the first man, and closed the door on him.
"What am I gonna do with a cold chinese meal?" grumbled Sam, before an idea came to him. He made a slight deviasion on his route in order to go past Lu Bus house.
"Incoming!" he called out, as he lobbed the Kung Pow Chicken over the fence and chortled at a howl of rage. 'That will teach him not to try and get between me and Lin Qi' he thought to himself as he rode off to the next delivery.
"At last my take out... its semi cold! I know whose fault this is, do you?" shouted the luckless recipient of the next package.
"erm no ..."
"It's Liu Beis fault! CURSE YOU SHU CURSE YOU LIU BEI!"
"What ever ..."
But Sam had to remain unelightened as the door was again closed in his face and he had to leave without a tip yet again. Taking his revenge by dumping the remainder of the previously unwanted meal over the home owner's car, and filling the exhaust pipe with wontons, Sam rode away to the last delivery.
"Hello..." answred Liu Bei. "Ahh my dinner... thank you, here's your tip"
Finally, Sam managed to get a generous amount of money, and as this had been his last delivery he proceeded to the shopping mall to get a birthday gift for Naru. Having toyed with the idea of buying her lingerie but (wisely) rejected the notion, he finally decided to get her a punching bag. 'Maybe she'll stop using Keitaro for practice, then?' he thought to himself.
----
(7:30pm)
Su swung confidently from one vine to the next, making her way to the bedroom door. "Yes, who is it?" She opened the door with one foot. "Ah, Haruka-san."
"Konbanwa." Haruka stepped inside, trying not to get bowled over by the sudden jungle mist. "Love what you've done with the place."
"Oh, it's just a few trees here and there. I engineered them myself!"
She stepped on a crawling flower that was trying to eat her socks. "I see."
"Something you need, Haruka-san?"
Haruka walked gingerly around Kaolla Su's room. She laid her hand on a strange-looking device, a bathtub that was blinking weakly with red and blue lights. She smirked. "You know, you sure caused a lot of trouble with this machine."
"Really?" She grinned. "I thought that was fun! Even if it was a malfunction."
"So, this machine." She looked at Su, who was now in the middle of putting various microchips together like a jigsaw puzzle. "Does it still work?"
The swarthy young girl took a brief glance at the age changing device. "I'd have to spend a few hours repairing it, but I can make it work if I want." She looked up at Haruka. "Why?"
It took her a moment to muster the courage. "Su-chan, I need a favor from you."
-----------------------
(Al and Kitsune's evening in Tokyo)
Tokyo, 8:30 P.M
"Cheers!" called all the members of the table of friends. Shirai was seated next to Mutsumi, then Haitani, then Kitsune, and finally Al at the end of the circle booth.
They clinked their glasses together and drank, Al attempting to drown the voice in his mind that reminded him that his money was being consumed by Kitsune, who seemed to be a bottomless pit for boose.
The group had been chatting for hours, about work, school, a new movie the boys wanted to take the girls to... Haitani and Shirai never missed a chance to flirt with the two girls, although Mutsumi took no notice and was as bubbly as ever, but Kitsune exploited every chance she got with Haitani's infatuation.
"Oh Haitani, dear, please go put on some nice soft music, I want to set a mood..."
Haitani lept up and dashed off, happy to serve.
"So Al, tell us about yourself, you've been living with us for weeks and we hardly know you." Kitsune gazed at Al pensively from behind her beer mug.
"What is there to tell?" Al asked shrugging casually, "I'm a hero of peace hunting the elusive mayfly known as love."
"Booo!" A barrage of wadded napkins met his cheesy line.
"Hey hey! Alright, I was born in California, raised in Utah and I was sent here for a year to try and become a anime artist."
"So you're leaving in a year?" Shirai asked, thinking about how badly he and Haitani wanted to move in to the Hinata house.
"Well yeah...I guess." Al looked a bit subdued, which he hid with a swig from his glass, but Kitsune caught it and had clearly seen how he felt. This was a skill she had picked up from living in a house where nobody seemed to want to admit their true feelings for anyone else.
"So, how about your love life? Ever had a girlfriend?" Shirai asked, attempting to hide his staring at Mutsumi who sat quietly gazing around the room.
"Not really, the ones who are attracted to me all seem to be nuts... and I have three rules to live by: don't play cards with a man called "Boss", never duel with pistols against a man named Bob, and never sleep with a girl who has more problems then you do."
His joke was met with chuckles but Kitsune was absorbing every word, she could tell it was something he had said many times before, but it sounded like something he might have read or heard somewhere. He was acting, trying to be pleasing conversation for the four of them.
"So how about you Kitsune, where are you from? I've heard family stories from everyone at the Hinata house but you."
Kitsune looked for something to change the subject and saw it. Everyone's drinks were empty, and as Haitani came back from the jukebox, she stood.
"I'm gonna go get us all some more to drink." she took all the cups on a tray, and left Al wondering why she didn't want to answer him.
"So, uh, Haitani, did you talk to that guy about the spot in that apartment building, the one we decided we didn't want as badly as we thought we did?" Shirai asked looking at Haitani, the message he was trying to get across clear to only Haitani.
"Not yet, but don't worry, I will." Haitani flashed back to just before they had left for work that morning when Shirai had requested that Haitani ask the people he had hired in the mob to stop hunting Al.
Haitani was only a little worried. He didn't really think the mob would kill Al, after all he had only asked them to make him leave the apartments.
Before anyone could say anything more, a yell caused most of the bar to turn. Kitsune and a tall equally busty black haired girl in a very tight tube top and short cutoff jeans were yelling at one another.
"You saggy-chested bimbo, you spilled my drinks!" Kitsune was uncharacteristically angry.
"You old hag, you spilled them on me!" The two girls began fighting, and the mother of all catfights soon rendered most the males in the bar catatonic with nosebleeds.
Mutsumi looked worried "Oh dear, we need to stop them!"
Al sighed and stood up to intervene, only to be stopped by a man in a bad suit, "Hello there, the names Buck, Buck Naked, I'm a director and I'd like to have your friend here in my movies."
"Pass." Alex waved the sleezy looking man away and pulled Kitsune from the fight, placing himself between the girls till they calmed down, and trying so hard not to notice where their clothing had been ripped.
"Now listen, she's sorry for soaking your shirt, she's sorry for spilling your drinks, I'll buy new ones for us, is that enough?"
The girls glared and jumped at each other again, the insults had cut deep.
The man in the bad suit however was looking at Al with interest, he took his cell and punched some numbers, to the person who answered he said only two words "He's here."
------
Hinata, 10pm
Keitaro sat in the lounge taking a rare moment to relax. Repairs were going well, the bank balance was again healthy, and in a couple of days it was Naru's birthday. Maybe she'd soften towards him a bit, this year? Imagining her enthusiastic kisses as she unwrapped her present, he failed to notice Lance entering until he plopped down next to him.
"Oh! Err, good evening, Lance-san." Keitaro greeted him. "If you don't mind my mentioning it, you look a little preoccipied this evening. Any problems?"
"Oh... plenty." replied Lance with a shake of his head. "For starters, I don't know what to get Naru for a gift tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow?" said Keitaro. "No, you've got it wrong. Her birthday is on Saturday. You've got all of Friday yet."
"No I don't, baka!" retorted Lance. "It's Friday today! Thursday there was that fire, Wednesday was the day Al regressed to that annoying toddler..."
Keitaro stood in shock. He'd thought that that entire episode has been a dream! If it had been real, then today was indeed Friday, and he'd have to arrange Naru's gift for TOMORROW, and it also meant that...
"And, I'm taking Shinobu to the festival on Sunday, how can I compete with that mega-date you treated her to on Wednesday?" continued Lance, obliviously, feeling somewhat insecure.
Horror-struck, Keitaro groped into his pants' pocket, and pulled out a small wedge of paper. The colours had run, and it was tatty after going through the washing machine, but it was just recognisable as a photo-club print booth sticker. It was also so ruined that it was impossible to tell who it was a picture of.
As Lance continued, saying something about problems with a band contest or something, Keitaro was in a whirl of emotions. If it hadn't been a dream, then he'd really spent that time with her. It was reality, not just wishful thinking. He'd spent the day with her, they'd laughed together, and then, on the roof, he had....
And now she was going on a date with Lance?
---
Keitaro knocked nervously on Shinobu's door. It was late, but he should at least try to patch things up with her. Hopefully, she wouldn't have gone to bed yet?
Just as he was about to give up, the panel slid back to reveal Shinobu dressed in her long T-shirt nightdress, and pink bunny slippers, her hair tied back to sleep. She blushed crimson to think that Keitaro could see her like this!
"Ano...!" she started, trying to hide a bit behind the panel.
"Shinobu, about Wednesday... our date..." began Keitaro, nervously.
Shinobu's eyes widened in shock. 'Oh no, Sempai is going to tell me it was all a big mistake!' she thought to herself, wretchedly. He'd probably been working up the willpower to tell her since she'd stolen that kiss from him. Of course he couldn't possibly be interested in her now that she had lost her more womanly figure... How could she take the rejection? There was only one thing to do to salvage her pride.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sempai!" she responded with fake brightness. "I was a bit carried away then... it was good to have some time out, but I'm not really old enough for dating, am I?" she tried to hold the smile, as Keitaro just looked confused.
"But... Lance... the festival..." Keitaro murmured, and Shinobu mentally kicked herself. He knew about that? She just didn't have Kitsune's ability when it came to spinning stories.
"Oh... it's best for me to date someone closer to my age!" she found herself saying as she grasped for a response. "Although, you treated me well, just like an older brother!" Inside her head, she couldn't believe what she was coming out with. Anything is better than hearing Sempai reject me, she thought sadly to herself.
"Anyway... I have to go to bed. Early start tomorrow!" and with that she closed the door, just before her smile broke and the tears started to flow.
Keitaro stood outside the door in shock. Was that really how she'd thought of him -- as an older brother? Remembering that final moment on the roof (it all came back so clearly, now!) he couldn't remember anything sisterly about the way she'd kissed him. He knew he'd felt something, too... but then there was Naru. She was his Promise Girl, wasn't she?
So, why had he felt happier when spending time with someone else?
Keitaro trudged off to bed, feeling like his heart was being pulled in several ways at once.
Back in her room, Shinobu held her pillow tightly, and let the tears flow down her pretty face. If you love something, you let it go, she told herself. Don't hold on when he wants to be free.
But why does altruism hurt so much?
---
Tokyo, 11:55 P.M
Al sighed as he entered the dingy bathroom. He had managed to keep Kitsune from getting them kicked out, but he never did manage to learn anything about her past and that bothered him, he saw it as a new mystery that he would need to solve.
He stopped, suddenly. Someone in a suit was watching him from the sink, when the door opened and another man in the same suit came in.
"Please come with us sir." The suit asked.
As Al was led out of the bar his friends noticed and got up to follow.
11:59 P.M
Al was on his knees, as the three men in suits who had chased him and Lance that day after school stood, gloating. They had caught a lot of slack for his getting away, so this would be sweet.
"You've destroyed our vans, made us look like fools... YOU KNOW WHAT THE GODFATHER IS THINKING OF US RIGHT NOW?!?" The man yelled and began punching Al.
"Well it's all over now. We've completed our job." The leader walked behind Alex and placed the barrel of a gun to the back of his blond head.
"I was kinda amused by your joking when we chased you, so now all I have to say is... sayonara, bubble-brain."
Al closed his eyes, for once he had no idea how he was going to get out of this.
BANG!
Midnight...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
So... what has happenned to Al? Will Shinobu ever be with Keitaro? How about Al and Motoko? Will Kyosuke ever cmoe back? And what's the deal with that Ryuko and that key? And how about Kentaro and (cough) Ai-chan?
Sorry (to our 2 readers)thatit took so long to update this time -- we've all has a lot of things going on in real life.