Insert Self Here
Chapter Eleven
Kari Needs a Hobby
X X X
It was the Monday after the big fights. To Yuka and Sayuri, it was a typical morning. The two were chatting amiably before class started, waiting for Akane and the others to arrive. Both girls turned their heads to the door when they heard it open, and both sets of eyes widened in shock.
"Ryoga!" Sayuri cried, rushing over as he and Ranma entered the classroom. Her reason for concern was obvious; one of his eyes was covered by gauze and bandages and half of his body seemed to be a single mass of black and blue. Was his opponent on Saturday that strong? "What kind of monster could do this to somebody?" the girl gasped.
"You poor thing," Yuka agreed. Ranma didn't look nearly as beat up. "That Ryo guy really knocked you for a loop, didn't he?"
"Ryo?" Ranma asked, confused. "Kari did most of that."
There was a moment of silence. Both girls looked like a gust of wind might blow them over.
It was Sayuri who spoke first. "...Kari did that?"
"It's not her fault," Ryoga said quietly. He worked his way over to his seat, the two girls and Ranma tagging along behind him. "I deserved it," he finished, laying his schoolbag down on his desk before taking his seat.
"What did you do to her to deserve that?" Sayuri asked.
"Yeah!" Yuka agreed. "Don't worry, Ryoga, we'll talk to her for you. We'll make her apologize!"
"Good luck with that," Ranma said as he began the trek to his desk. As the pigtailed boy took his seat, the door opened again and two more people entered.
Sayuri and Yuka both recognized Akane and Kari, the elder girl walking in with her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. But Kari's appearance was what shocked them both.
The young kunoichi had long, gorgeous hair. Her light blue hair was possibly longer than Akane's, and went down to the small of her back even when put up in a ponytail.
But that hair was gone now. There was still hair, sure, the same light blue color as it always was. But it no longer hung down her back. It was so short that it no longer hung, period. It could have been shorter, possibly, but nonetheless it was still too short to even be considered medium-length hair.
Concerns over Ryoga immediately dissipated.
Sayuri was the first to speak, though both she and Yuka made their way over. "Kari!" She reached the girl and looked over her hair. Where had it all gone? "What happened to your hair?"
Kari ran a hand through her shorter hair. "Oh, this?" she asked with a disturbingly pleasant smile. "I just decided it was time for a change is all." She broke off any other attempts at conversation when she walked to the back of the room to take her seat, also purposely avoiding Ryoga's gaze as she did so.
It was a moment before Sayuri spoke again. "What really happened?" she asked Akane.
"Her hair was cut in Ryo and Ryoga's fight," Akane said, supplying the answer.
"Is that why she beat up Ryoga?" Yuka wondered aloud.
Akane nodded. "I know that a lot of girls take pride in their hair... but Kari, she was really attached to hers. She was really, really upset."
"She still is, isn't she?" Sayuri asked, looking over at the girl. It was obvious, even to her, that the cheer was just a façade that Kari was putting up.
She couldn't do anything, though, as the teacher chose that moment to make his entrance. The girls made their way to their seats.
X X X
Lunchtime came once again, as it tended to do. Kari decided to eat with the girls as opposed to Ranma and Ryoga that day, so she picked through her bento while Akane, Yuka, and Sayuri silently ate theirs.
Sayuri broke the silence. "You know, Kari, your new haircut isn't that bad."
Kari looked up. "Maybe." She looked back down. "I look like a guy, though." While it's true she thought of herself as a guy, she couldn't deny that she had grown up as a girl. She still had some feminine pride, and that was being firmly crushed.
"You need to cheer up," Akane said, poking Kari in the shoulder with her pair of chopsticks, "or you'll never catch yourself a guy."
Kari gave a wry, if somewhat forced, smile. Heh, like she was worried about picking up guys. "I'll try," she answered.
"Yeah," Yuka piped up. "It's only hair, anyway. It'll grow back."
"In how many years?" was what Kari wanted to say. But she was nice. "Thanks, Yuka," was her verbal reply.
"I know!" Sayuri piped up suddenly.
"What?" Kari asked, looking over to Sayuri. Sayuri, the girl who used to have the shortest hair of the four. Now that role fell onto Kari. Bah.
"Why don't you go join an after-school club?" the brunette asked. "It'll give you something to do, and I'm sure it'll take your mind off your hair."
"That's a great idea!" Yuka agreed, leaning forward. "You should totally try it, Kari!"
"You like swimming, right?" Akane asked. "You could try to join the swim team."
Yuka was next to offer a suggestion. "Or you could join one of the school's martial arts clubs."
"M-Maybe," Kari said, not really feeling very enthusiastic about the ideas.
Sayuri put a hand on Kari's shoulder. "Look, it's really not that bad of an idea. And, you know, there's a big billboard out in the front hall with all sorts of fliers for clubs and sports. You should go check a few out today."
"Okay, okay," the young kunoichi replied, "I will. I promise, today I'll go check out some of the clubs, okay?"
"It's decided!" Yuka piped up.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to join any, though," Kari continued, crossing her arms.
"At least give them a fair chance," Akane said sternly.
Kari sighed. "Fine, fine. I will."
X X X
It was after school and, as promised, Kari was checking out the various fliers on the bulletin board. She noted the swim team practice schedule - they practiced Mondays, so she could check them out - and the room number for the shougi club. She wasn't even going to bother with any of the martial arts clubs, she just wasn't interested enough in them.
So her first stop brought her to the outside pool, the same one that Kuno and Ranma had almost fallen into on her first day at Furinkan.
That brought back memories.
In any case, this day there were several girls and boys gather around it, all wearing their school-mandated swimsuits. Most of them seemed to still be stretching before taking to the water.
Kari leapt into a nearby tree and watched the team practice from there. She patiently gauged each swimmer's skill. One of them, an older girl Kari didn't immediately recognize, was quite fast, maybe even faster than her. None of the others, however, were even close to that girl, nor were they close to Kari. They appeared to be doing a timed exercise, so it should be their fastest, or near fastest, as well.
In the end, it wasn't any lack of skill on the team's part that dissuaded Kari, it was the general atmosphere. It was much too intense. Swimming was something Kari did for fun. She, for one, didn't want to be under any pressure when swimming.
The kunoichi silently made her way from the pool and into the school building. She'd probably be more at home at the shougi club, anyway. She loved those kinds of games; shougi, go, and chess especially.
Now, which classroom was it again? 2-A? The girl made her way to where she believed the room was, classroom 2-A. The door to the classroom was open, and inside were a dozen plus one students, three girls and ten boys. They were all engaged in games of shougi, with the sole exception of a red-haired boy sitting by the window, idly toying with his paper fan.
Some of the students looked up, but they quickly turned back to their own games. Kari briefly considered asking the boy by the window for a match, but then decided against it. He looked content in staring off into space. Instead, she walked around the room, satisfied in simply watching the game in progress.
Most of the games were in mid-game, a few reaching toward the end, but they were all played by amateurs. As she passed one of the games, she noticed one of the players making a bad move. "I wouldn't do that," she advised.
The boy turned and leveled a glare at the girl. If looks could kill, his eyes would be WMDs.
Kari cringed away from the boy. "Okay, okay, sheesh. Just go back to your game, ignore the little girl, okay?" The players were kind of creepy, really. None of them were talking. And that glare... She shuddered.
"Ignore them," a voice commented from behind Kari. The young kunoichi turned around, noticing the boy who was sitting by the window was looking in her direction. He folded his fan and slapped in on his palm. "Are you, per chance, a new member?"
"Maybe," Kari replied evenly. "I'm checking out our shougi club to see if it's worth joining."
"Worth joining?" The redhead snorted. "We've won every high school competition this year and last."
"That good, huh?" Kari wondered aloud. She had been comparing those players to herself and found them lacking; maybe she was that good herself? Or maybe the competition players were out?
The redhead grinned, opening his fan. On the white paper fan was the kanji for "king." "I'll show you," the boy said. "Care for a match?"
Kari grinned. That was it. This boy was so confident; was he the one that got them through the tournaments? She felt a surge of excitement. She wanted to face him. "Let's find a board," she replied.
The redhead showed her to a board, and the two began setting up their pieces. After they had finished, the boy looked over at Kari. "Say, should I remove my left lance and rook?"
Kari blinked. That was a handicap, of course. Not the biggest handicap he could give, but a large one nonetheless. "I'm not so inexperienced," she remarked. "Keep your damned pieces, and make a move." She slumped into her seat.
Kari began to wonder if he was toying with her doing the first opening moves. His pawn formation was horrible, and his gold general was in a weak position. Well, she'd take advantage.
The game went by somewhat quickly. Each player took their time thinking, but neither would waste time, either. Pretty soon a small crowd had gathered from the other club members deciding to watch after finishing their own games.
"You're not half-bad, for a kid," the boy admitted sometime during the mid-game.
"Half-bad?" A twitch in Kari's left eyebrow. "Kid?" She picked up a captured pawn and practically slammed it down onto the board. Her eyebrow twitched once more. "Your move."
"Sheesh," was the reply given, "don't be so uptight." His move was much quicker this time; he had planned on Kari playing the pawn there. "You know that uptight little boys won't get any ladies."
Kari's next move was fast, and it slammed a piece down on the board. "Go."
"Don't be so impatient," the boy remarked, "you're just rushing toward your death." He moved his lance to capture the moved piece. "You won't put up a good show for our audience."
Kari looked over the board. Wow, when had it ended up like this? She mulled over her position for a while, then began to mull over his words. That jerk! She moved a bishop.
The redhead unfolded his fan, using it to obscure his face. The kanji for "king" caught Kari's eye, and he smirked. Time for him to wrap things up.
The game quickly progressed into the endgame, obviously in the favor of Kari's opponent. Kari realized she played some bad moves, and attempted to make a comeback. It was, however, all in vain. This boy was too good to be done when he had an advantage in the endgame like he did.
"I resign," Kari muttered. She stood up and bowed to her opponent. Ethics, and her own sense of morals, demanded it, even if she didn't like it. "Good game."
"You creamed her, Kaga!" exclaimed one of the boys gathered to watch the game.
Kaga ignored the boy and returned the bow. "Like I said, kid, not half-bad. You would've done a lot better if you hadn't gotten all angry at me." He snorted. "I wasn't even being insulting. Trust me, I know insulting."
Kari turned away from him. She didn't want to make a big scene, especially as all these students had their eyes on her, but... "Look, I'm... I was..." She sighed. What a jerk! "Hell with it!" She eyed the exit, which a boy was in the way of. She marched up to him. "Out of the way!"
"Rude," the boy muttered, stepping to the side.
Kaga Tetsuo watched as the best player he had seen in a while marched out of the classroom. "Damn," he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I guess I was sorta rude, but really... what upset him so much?" He had really hoped to recruit that boy as a member!
"Um, sir..."
Kaga turned to see the boy who had addressed him. "Eh? What is it?"
"I recognize that kid... She's one of the ones that beats up Kuno every morning... And I think she's a girl."
Kaga was silent a moment. "...Oh." A pause. "Damn."
X X X
Ryoga and Ranma, the latter in girl form, were on their way back to the Tendo home from an ice cream parlor.
"Honestly," the fanged boy piped up, "why do you have to eat ice cream as a girl, anyway?"
"Because it's not manly!" the redhead replied crossly. "Honestly, what guys do you know that eat ice cream?"
"I just got done eating some with you," Ryoga replied evenly.
"Oh." Ranma paused a moment. "Right."
Ryoga clenched a fist and punched it into his palm. "Unless, of course, you're trying to suggest that I'm not manly."
Ranma snorted. "Sorry, buddy, but I don't pick on the injured. Come talk to me again when you get better."
The Hibiki boy growled. "I'm not so injured that I can't take you on, Ranma!"
An evil, sinister laugh cut off Ranma's reply. It was high-pitched and feminine, but still the only word to properly describe the atrocity to their ears was "evil."
The two boys had no choice but to investigate.
What they found was an empty lot. Several girls in leotards, a few of whom Ranma and Ryoga recognized from school, were all getting mercilessly beaten by a girl in a black leotard, who was perched atop a wooden fence and using a ribbon on her victims like a whip.
Ryoga was the first to act, leaping forward and putting his umbrella in the way of the next strike. The ribbon wrapped around the boy's weapon, and he jerked it away and out of the psycho's hand. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" the lost boy shouted.
"We're saved!" one of the Furinkan girls cried as Ranma went over to check on them.
"And just who do you two peasants think you are?" The girl in black leotard, black hair pulled into a long ponytail to the side, snorted. "You're quite brave to stand up to me. Brave, but stupid!" She let loose a volley of clubs at both Jusenkyo-cursed martial artists, pulling them from who-knows-where.
Ryoga idly knocked them all to the side as they approached him, noting Ranma take care of them just as easily as he had. "I'd suggest you leave them alone." He looked the girl in the eyes. "Your attacks aren't good enough to hurt us."
The girl laughed haughtily, revealing that she was the source of the insane laugh from earlier. "Well, it seems you two aren't average high school students." As she leapt away, she shouted, "But neither am I! Do not forget this face, nor the name of Kodachi, Black Rose of St. Hebereke!" And, with another laugh a few more leaps, she was gone.
Ryoga snorted before turning and checking on the girls.
X X X
Kari spent the next half-hour in a classroom down the hall, watching the flower arrangement club do their work. If she had been watching them, it would have been as boring as one of Genma's lectures. As it was, though, Kari was busy, replaying the scenario in her head.
She had lost big-time. It didn't sit well with her; she liked to consider herself a very good player in strategy games. She could blame it on the anger, but that wasn't it. It was her fault for letting that jerk get to her in the first place. And, worse, letting it affect her gameplay.
Kari's reverie was broken when one of the club members walked up to her. "Um, are you waiting for somebody?" the girl, flowers in hand, inquired.
Kari shook her head. "No. Sorry." She beat a hasty retreat from the classroom.
Well, it's not like she didn't try. Her club searching was a bust, but Sayuri and Akane couldn't hold it against her, she was sure.
Mind made up, Kari began to head down the stairs. Just as she reached the bottom, however, she was momentarily distracted by a sound from a nearby classroom. It sounded like something striking wood. It was followed by a feminine groan.
The girl turned to the source of the sounds. Wasn't that one of the chemistry labs? She was fairly certain it was.
Curious, the young kunoichi slid open the door.
Inside the chemistry laboratory were four figures, sitting around small tables in pairs, a large game board between each pair. Kari recognized three of the four.
One of the pairs was Hiroshi and Daisuke. Hiroshi was leaning back in his chair nonchalantly while Daisuke appeared deep in thought. One of the other pair was a girl Kari recognized as one of Nabiki's flunkies, though her name was lost to the young ninja. The last figure was another girl, slightly overweight and taller than average, whom Kari didn't recognize at all.
Three sets of eyes turned to Kari as the walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Everybody but Daisuke, who was seemingly too intent on the game to notice, were looking at her.
"Kari! Are you here to join the go club?" Hiroshi inquired.
Kari was, quite honestly, shocked to see Hiroshi and Daisuke performing a task requiring more than two brain cells. It boggled the mind, truly. Nevertheless, she overcame her shock to reply. "Perhaps," was the even reply.
"Welcome!" the tall girl greeted, walking over. She took Kari's hand, shaking it vigorously. "My name's Chitase Hayabusa. Are you a classmate of Hiroshi's?" That would explain how she came to know of the go club. She kept putting up fliers, but those kept getting torn down by the jerks in the shougi club.
"Erm, yeah." Kari sweated a bit. The black-haired girl, hair pulled into two pigtails, towered over her, but she seemed friendly enough. "We're classmates." She looked over at her two classmates, Daisuke still intent on his game. "I had no idea the two played go."
"You never asked," Hiroshi replied.
Nabiki's flunky also walked over to the younger girl. Kari recognized the burly brown hair and half-lidded eyes. "You should really consider joining our club," she said. "We could use another member, after our last two quit." She paused for a moment before continuing. "My name's Ryonami, by the way. Ryonami Katase."
"You should watch Hiroshi and Daisuke's game!" Chitase spoke up, practically dragging the much smaller girl to the table where Kari's two classmates were playing.
Kari paused to look over the game. Go was a game played with white and black stones placed onto a large board. Surrounding an opponent's stones would get rid of them, but the main goal of the game was to fight for territory on the board.
In this particular game, white had an obvious advantage in territory. Black always went first, so to make up for that advantage, white received a five-and-half point, or moku, handicap, the handicap itself known as komi. With the komi in mind, white seemed to be leading by quite a bit in territory.
Daisuke, sweat on his brow, dipped his hand into the bowl containing black stones. He pulled one out, then paused to consider. He let the stone drop. "I resign."
"Good game!" Hiroshi said amiably as he began to clear the white stones from the board.
"Yeah, yeah," Daisuke grumbled, placing his own stones back in their container.
"You both seem pretty good," Kari said with a smile.
"How can you tell?" Chitase asked. "Daisuke ended the game, so you didn't get to see either of them move."
"The pattern of the stones," Kari replied. "I kind of have a general idea of how the game must have went from where the stones were placed."
"That means you're no amateur, yourself," Hiroshi responded. He and his friend were finished clearing the board, so Hiroshi smiled and motioned to the seat Daisuke was vacating. "How about we play a game, Kari?"
"I'd love to," Kari replied. It'd be nice to play a good game of go. While she professed to liking all strategy games the same, she had played go more often when growing up due to her father's preference. In addition, go was the only game she was able to practice in China, as neither shougi nor chess were popular games in that country.
As the girl took her seat, Hiroshi motioned to the board. "I'll let you set three stones, all right?"
"Don't take me so lightly," Kari responded. "You just got done saying I'm not an amateur, no need to play me with a handicap." She paused. "Besides, we need to play a game to see where we really stand against each other."
"All right," was Hiroshi's response. "Fair enough." He and Kari began their game after deciding Hiroshi would play black, and the two found themselves pitted against each other in a fierce battle.
It became apparent through the course of the game just which one of the two was better. Every time Hiroshi and Kari's stones fought for territory, the girl's would come out ahead. All four corners were firmly in Kari's control, as was a good deal of the rest of the board.
Hiroshi had no choice in the matter. "I resign," he said, bowing over the board.
"Told ya I was good," Kari replied with a smile. It felt good to win a game after her earlier loss in shougi.
"I'm impressed," Ryonami admitted. "Hiroshi and Daisuke are the best players in the club. They play me with a three stone handicap, and I'm the best besides them."
"Are they?" Kari asked. She continued with another question. "So which one of them is better?"
"Me," Hiroshi and Daisuke responded simultaneously. The two looked at each other, then snorted.
"They're about the same," Ryonami supplied. "I'm next best, then Chitase." She sat down on one of the tables used for lab experiments. "There used to be two other boys, one at my level and one between my level and Chitase's. But they both quit a while back."
"Why'd they quit?" Kari asked, somewhat curious.
"They're both classmates of mine." Ryonami was silent a moment. "One of them just hopped on his motorbike one day and left to go on a 'journey of self-discovery,' as he called it. The other got bored without him there, and left to go focus on the Chem club."
Kari took a seat on one of the tables as well. Why not? No teachers to yell at her. "Well, that sucks." She was silent a moment. "How often do you guys meet here?"
"Every day," Daisuke answered, "if we can."
"Of course, we all can't make it every day," Ryonami continued. "Like whenever Nabiki needs me for something, I can't show."
"And I'm on the school newspaper," Chitase spoke up, "so I can't make it every day."
"We show up every day," Daisuke grumbled.
Hiroshi laughed. "That's because we have no life!"
Daisuke slugged his buddy's arm. "Don't make it sound like a good thing."
Chitase laughed at the two, and the two boys quickly joined in the laughter. Ryonami shook her head in disgust, possibly mock disgust, but Kari couldn't be sure.
The ninja giggled. They seemed like a fun bunch.
"Hey," Hiroshi said after a moment, "Kari. You think you have time for another game?"
"Do you mind taking a two stone handicap?" was the girl's reply.
"Not at all." He and Kari began another game while Chitase and Ryonami went off to play one of their own games, Daisuke tagging along to watch and occasionally criticize.
Later in the afternoon, Kari prepared to leave. "Well, I had fun, guys!"
"You gonna come back tomorrow?" Daisuke wondered.
"Sure," the ninja replied. "Will you guys be here?"
"Definitely!" Chitase replied while the others nodded.
"I'll see you guys then!" With that, the newest member of the Furinkan High School go club left for the day.
X X X
The sun was beginning to set by the time Kari arrived back to the place she was beginning to call "Home." She slipped off her shoes as she entered.
"Welcome home," Kasumi greeted the young girl.
"Hello, Kasumi!" Kari beamed a smile.
"It's nice to see you're doing well," the eldest Tendo daughter continued, beaming a smile of her own. "Did you have fun at school today?"
Kari didn't hesitate with her answer. "I did."
"That's nice." Kasumi was glad Kari had finally gotten over her impromptu haircut. It really wasn't a pleasant experience to see the young girl, usually so full of energy, moping around the house all day. "Say, could you go tell Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga that dinner will be ready soon?"
"Sure thing, Kasumi." The now-shorthaired ninja turned and began toward the stairs before Kasumi's voice stopped her.
"Oh, no. The three of them are in the dojo."
Kari stopped short. "Oh, so they're practicing. Thanks, Kasumi." She began toward the dojo.
Before the young girl even set foot within the structure, she could hear the shouts. "No, stupid, you're doing it all wrong!" "Then why don't you try it!" "Calm down!" "I am calm!" "Stupid klutz!" "Stupid boy!"
Kari was beginning to wonder whether or not entering the dojo was a good idea. The point became moot when Ranma flew out of the dojo, through the door, which had been closed at the time.
"Ow ow ow ow..." Ranma slowly got back to his feet. "Stupid tomboy."
Kari looked over at her pigtailed friend. "So, Ranma, you feeling all right there?"
The boy looked over at Kari. "Oh, Kari, when did you get back?" He seemed momentarily distracted from the "stupid tomboy," as he called her.
"Just a bit ago." Kari noticed that Akane and Ryoga were coming out of the dojo. Akane was dressed in her yellow gi and holding... a ribbon? "What's going on, Akane? Why do you have that ribbon?"
"It's a long story," Ryoga stated simply.
Ranma disagreed, apparently. "Some psycho gymnast beat up our school's martial arts rhythmic gymnastic team, so they talked Akane into facing her in a match next week."
Ryoga was silent for a moment. "Okay, maybe not that long."
Psycho gymnast? Warning bells were going off in Kari's head. "Wait, are you talking about Kodachi Kuno?"
Akane nodded. "Yeah, her name's Kodachi."
There was a moment's silence before, "KUNO?" Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane all seemed shocked.
"You didn't know?" Kari asked innocently. "I hear she's the sister to our Kuno, and just as insane." She looked Akane in the eyes. In as serious a tone as could be mustered by a fourteen year-old girl, she said, "I'd be careful, Akane."
"I will be," Akane replied with a nod.
Ryoga was the next to speak. "Well, we'd best get back to training."
Before they made in back into the dojo, however, Kari remembered her message. "Wait, guys!" They stopped, turning to look at her. "Er, dinner's almost done."
The teens mentally weighed the importance of training against the importance of food. You can guess which won.
X X X
It was late Monday night. He knew that much. Turning to the clock next to the bed, he corrected himself. It was Tuesday morning.
The teenager threw the covers off of himself and rose from the bed. His partner was still lying in the bed, undisturbed by his movement. Not that he cared one way or the other.
Finding the boxers he had discarded earlier, the boy pulled them on. He wasn't the kind to wander around naked.
Walking over to the small window of the room, he brushed the blinds aside. The lights of Roppongi were visible down below. The boy stood and watched them for a while.
"Honey?"
The boy turned to see his companion was now awake. She was sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her nude torso was plainly visible, the sheets having fallen when she sat up. She didn't seem to mind showing off her figure to the boy; after the night before, she had no reason to.
"You're awake," the boxer-clad youth said, stating the obvious.
"What time is it?" the girl asked.
"About two in the morning." The boy turned, once again facing the street below.
"Look," the girl began, "about last night..."
"Nobody finds out," the boy responded swiftly, turning and glaring at the young girl.
She nodded slowly. "Yes, I know..." She looked into his eyes. "How many times... how many times have you done this?"
The boy snorted. "Enough."
The girl sighed. "Just my luck... to fall for a womanizing jerk." She smiled. "But that's what I-"
In the blink of an eye, the boy was beside the bed, lifting the girl by her neck. He began putting unreasonable pressure in his grip. "What. Did. You. Say?"
The girl's eyes, before full of adoration, were now full of fear. "I'm sorry!" she gasped out, futilely trying to get the boy to release his grip. "I'm sorry!"
The boy wasn't seeing the girl in front of him, struggling to escape. No, he was seeing somebody else... He growled, tightening his grip.
The girl was now being held in the air completely, her feet and hands waving futilely. After a few moments, they fell limp.
The boy continued strangling the body for a few moments before snapping out of it. Throwing the corpse onto the bed, he snorted.
Stupid bitch.
X X X
End Chapter Eleven
To be continued...
X X X
Author's Notes: Wow. It's been, what, two days? Three? Yeah, this one came out quick. I wasn't lying when I said that writer's block was gone.
Anyway... Kari got a hobby, got over her haircut, and meets some new friends! What a nice chapter! Ignoring, of course, the two psychos introduced in this chapter. Kodachi, you all know. The other... He'll be arriving some day, and bringing Hell with him.
Oh, right. I feel it necessary to point out that Kaga Tetsuo is not an original character, he's from the manga/anime Hikaru no Go, which I do not own, et cetera. Be happy, corporate lawyers.
See you in another chapter!