IMPORTANT NOTE: I revised chapter 3 (Go read it if you haven't read the revised version yet) and A Trip to the Mall and a Creepy Pet Shop is going to be rewritten and is going to be a later chapter probably chapter 6. Ah! I forgot to thank reviewers last chapter! I can't waste the whole chapter thanking every reviewer so I'm just going to say thank you, minna-san! (minna-san: everyone or everybody) Also, I want to discuss the reviews that people give. I mean, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate each one but they always say 'update soon!' or 'continue!' I mean, can't anybody at least include which part of the story they like or dislike? Or tell me what kind of mistakes I made? Thanks for reading this anyway.
Chapter 4: Moody Caretaker
12:00 PM
Ryou's POV
When I peeked into Ruri-san's bedroom, I could see a lump resting on top of her blanket. I walked closer to see that it was Ruri-san and she still had her glasses on. I climbed on the high bed and I could see that she was drooling at the corner of her mouth. 'Ew!' my brain said but I didn't really care that much. She moved a little bit and made whimpering sounds and held tightly onto her pillow. As soon as she stopped moving, I reached out and got her glasses then put them on the table next to her bed. Then I tried to get the blanket from under her, but she was too heavy. I think Ruri-san would be mad if I told her that.
"What do I do?" I said quietly.
I put my finger under my chin and started to think. I don't want Ruri-san to be cold but I can't get the blanket if she's sleeping on top of it. There's also no other blankets except for the one upstairs in the attic but it's too heavy for me. So I looked around her room, then I found a giant blue towel on the top of the chair that she put next to her desk. I climbed down from the bed then walked over to it. I snatched the towel from the chair and the towel draped over my head. I couldn't see where I was going so I lifted it up a bit and walked over to the edge of the bed.
"He he he" I started to giggle when Ruri-san started to snore lightly.
"You better get into that tub before I really cause YOU some trouble! Stupid brother!" Ruri-san shouted in her sleep. Then she rolled over to her side, then peacefully slept.
I started to climb on her bed by holding onto the bed sheet that dangled down the sides of the bed and trying to pull myself up. But my grip loosened and with the heavy towel on my head, I fell down. I sat up and water started to fill my eyes. I will not-I will not cry but I can't help myself: WAAHHH!
Ryou's POV ends
Ruri heard the cry but she thought she was dreaming, so she yelled: "Mom! It's Kiyo! He won't stop crying!" (Kiyo is her little brother) She was dreaming that she was still the tomboy 10-year old sister and her little baby brother was crying. Her black-haired mom rushing to the nursery to tend to Kiyo. But when she fully awoke, she could still hear the loud crying. She was confused and tried to figure out where it came from by listening closely to the sound. Then she looked over the edge of her bed, she spotted Ryou crying into his hands.
"Ryou, why are you crying? Are you still sad about your birthday?" she asked, lifting Ryou up into the bed.
"Uh-uh," he said, still crying into his hands.
"Ryou, what are you doing with the towel?" Ruri asked when she saw the towel on the floor.
"I-I-I w-wan-wanted t-to," Ryou said, blubbering between every word.
"Okay, you can stop now," Ruri said, not understanding his stuttered words.
"Why are you in my room in the first place?"
"I-I-I-"
"Okay. Never mind. Forget it," Ruri said, holding up her hand to stop him and another hand on her forehead.
"Ruri-san, hurry!" Isis rushed into the room, pointing to the living room.
"Hurry for what?" Ruri asked, Isis pulling her along to the living room.
Ruri pulled Ryou with her, followed Isis to the living room and yawning in the process. She was tired but she started to worry a little when Isis beckoned for her in a serious and worried tone.
"Ruri-san, Malik's not feeling well! I don't know what's wrong with him. He won't eat or do anything!" Isis yelled, causing Ruri to wince at her high voice.
"Don't worry. Maybe he just has a slight cold and medicine will make him feel all better," Ruri said, trying to calm Isis down.
Ruri let go of Isis and the still crying Ryou's hand, then knelt next to the couch where Malik was resting, putting her palm on Malik's forehead. She then put another palm on her forehead then compared her and Malik's temperature. She glanced at Malik and saw that he kept clutching his stomach.
"What's wrong, Malik-chan?" Ruri asked gently.
"I don't feel so good, Ruri-san. My tummy hurts...," he said, starting to cry.
"It'll be okay, Mal-" Ruri said, but stopped when he hurled on her...again.
"Gomen nasai, Ruu-san," Malik said, his hand closing around her index finger.
"Um...it's okay. It's all right. I'll just wash it...or use it as a dishrag," Ruri said, pulling at her striped pajama shirt (also covered with vomit).
"Ruri-san, is he going to die?" Isis suddenly asked.
"Choy! Dai gut lei see!" I exclaimed. (A/N: Chinese speaking people should know what it means. But it's really what Chinese people would say if somebody said something unlucky. Don't make fun of it! Got it? I'm tired of people making fun of the Chinese language : ( Anyway back to the story)
"Huh?" everybody except Malik and Ryou said.
"It means don't be so unlucky or something like that. Basically, scolding somebody for being so unlucky because if they do say it, it might happen. My mom says it to me all the time. Particularly, whenever I said that I wish somebody would go to hell or something," she said, trying to get her finger out of Malik's (surprisingly strong for a little kid) grip.
"Then he isn't going to die?" Isis asked, clutching her hands in hope.
"Of course not, he just has a stomachache. You really overreacted over nothing. He probably ate too much pizza last night," Ruri deduced since the vomit on her shirt smells strangely like pepperoni.
After Ruri changed her clothes
Ryou's POV
I peeked out between my fingers to see what Ruri-san was doing, I want her to hug me. I thought that she was a nice lady. She seemed to forgot about me when she came out to see Malik-chan. I'm not trying to annoy her anymore because I know that she doesn't like us that much. I still remember when we first came here and the look of surprise and dislike was on her face. I knew that she didn't like us when she found us in her house. But she still took care of us. Sometimes she's so nice but...huh?
"We're going out to eat brunch (missed breakfast), Ryou, go get dressed," Ruri-san said, wiping away my tears with a napkin and carrying me into her little brother's room.
"Sorry for waking you up, Ruri-san...," I said, blushing in embarrassment.
But she didn't say anything, she just opened the dresser drawers and pulled out some clothes for me and the others. Even the girls had to wear her little brother's clothes because Ruri-san didn't have any clothes that fits them. Then she let me down and handed me a pair of dark blue pants and red shirt. I think she's mad at somebody...maybe me. She got a couple of other pants and shirts and went out of the room to find the others.
Ryou's POV ends
Ruri's POV starts
"But Ruri-san, I don't feel good," Malik whined.
"That's exactly why we're going to go out, so we can buy you some Pepto- Bismel(sp?)" I said, handing Jou some clothes to change into.
Malik didn't try to argue because he make the sounds that indicated that he was going to vomit, but luckily I carried him into the bathroom so fast that he threw up into the sink instead.
"All right! I finally got you to barf somewhere besides me!" I said, grinning a little bit.
Malik, however, was not amused. Instead, he started to look a little bit pale than normal. I put my palm on his forehead and felt that his forehead was hot. Hotter than mine. His eyes started to droop a little. I carried him into the crib that my little brother used to sleep in and covered him with a blanket. It was surprising but convenient that he could still fit inside a crib.
"Oh, great, now what am I going to do?" I muttered to myself.
I contemplated until I thought of my friend, Miiko-chan, she was always energetic. So she might be good with children. Oh, what a good idea! I thought giddily as I dialed her phone number on the phone. She can take the others out while I take care of Malik.
Meet Miiko-chan
"Konnichiwa, Ruri-chan! What is it that you want me to do?" she asked, smiling happily at me.
"Take them out," I said, pointing to the kids excluding Malik.
"Um, no. Ja ne, Ru," Miiko said, walking away.
Until I sprang to her feet, holding onto her as if my life depended on it.
"Onegai, Miiko-chan! They are killing me! I need help! ONEGAI! ONEGAI! ONEGAI!" I yelled, practically crying.
"Okay-okay-OKAY! Just get off of me!" she said, trying to kick me off.
"Arigato, Miiko-chan," I said deviously.
"Ruri-san, why's there a halo above your head?" Mai asked, pointing above me.
"Uh..."
TBC
