Part VI: Of Kitchen Knives, Flames, and Brothers
The rest of the morning passed quite well. That is, if you call passing out cold each time a new giant ghost was introduced to you "well." But, by far, your least favorite of them all was a pair that the pink-haired owner called "Konchi and Ponchi." They hadn't even waited five seconds before they both poked their heads up your frilly maid's skirt, causing you to smack them with a random frying pan. Fearing dismissal for your harsh actions, you stuttered your apologies to Tamao, who forgave you almost instantly due to her compassionate nature.
Feeling like an idiot after what you had done, you decided it was best that you get back to work. After vacuuming a few bedrooms with no interruption, you were beginning to get used to your new job. Being the maid wasn't so bad, now was it? Well, not until your employers start to acknowledge you as possible girlfriend material.
The ever-girlfriend-less Horohoro (according to Ren) wandered into the living room (which was were you were currently vacuuming), and settled himself on a couch in the middle of the room. You twitched as you felt him staring at you as you maneuvered the humming machine around the room. It wasn't like you could tell him to leave you alone, so you did the next-best thing; try to start a conversation.
"Horohoro-san, where are you from?" you asked from nowhere. Seeing a look of confusion on the bluenette's face, you clarified. "I've never heard the name 'Horohoro' before. It doesn't sound like you're from around here."
"Me?" he asked casually. "I'm Ainu. Do you have any Ainu in you?" You smiled lightly. He seemed to be a more adequate conversationalist than Ren, who either said nothing whatsoever or talked nonstop.
"No; I can't say that I do," you responded politely.
"Would you like some?" This took a minute to sink in, and then poor Horo was at the receiving end of an upright Hoover hurdling through the air as you stormed angrily out of the room, your face a scarlet hue, trying to refrain from shrieking profanities. As you entered the kitchen, you nearly bumped into Yoh, who looked to be heading toward the front door with Manta.
"Gomen nasai, Yoh-san," you said hurriedly, trying to un-blush yourself. "It's just--"
"Did Horo-kun use a disgusting pick-up line on you, Katsumi?" Manta cut in, crossing his tiny arms. You nodded, a little surprised at the accuracy. Yoh laughed lightly.
"He only uses those on Tamao," the taller boy said good-naturedly. "I was wondering how long it would be before he started in on you. Wait a minute, how long was that, Manta?" he asked the blonde. Manta looked at his watch.
"It's about 11:30. I'd say at least three hours, Yoh-kun." Yoh smiled.
"Well, there you have it, Katsumi," he said cheerfully. "Now, Manta and I need to go. There's a BobLove signing at the music store, and we need to get there soon before it ends." And with that, the two friends walked out of the kitchen and down the long hall.
Since it was almost noon, you decided you should start to make lunch. You decided to ask Anna what she would like for lunch. About five minutes after you began to peel vegetables for the midday meal, the doorbell rang. Since you were the maid, you figured that you should answer the door. You walked quickly down the long hall that connected the kitchen to the front door without even setting down your knife, then opened said door.
Standing on the front steps were two people; a girl about your age (give or take a few years) with long, silvery-purple hair, and a tall blonde man with square glasses. The girl gave you a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Is Lyserg in?" she asked with a voice like audible sugar. The tall man cleared his throat, giving the impression of higher status than you. You frowned inwardly.
"Um, yeah. Could you wait here just a minute, please?" you asked as you began to walk down the long hallway in search of the green-haired boy. You didn't have to look for very long, as you found him sitting on the couch in the living room, mournfully trying to get a large lump on Horohoro's head to go down using a bag of ice.
"Lyserg-san, you've got visitors," you said, nodding your head toward the front door. Lyserg perked up.
"Who is it?" he asked, trying to get Horo to hold the ice on his own.
"They didn't say," you said as you fingered the blade of the knife you still hadn't deposited yet. "There's a girl with long silver hair and a blonde man with glasses." Lyserg looked ecstatic as he zipped off down the hall. You and Horo shared an inquiring look. Unfortunately, Horo seemed to be inquiring about something completely different.
"You know, Katsumi; that's a very nice dress you've got on. Can I talk you out of it?"
Soon enough, the knife you'd been holding was stuck into the couch near Horo's head. Luckily, your aim was a bit off, so the only damage done was a few sky blue stands of hair left on the seat of the couch as the Ainu scurried off into another room, squawking nervously. Quickly drawing the knife from the couch, you scuttled back into the kitchen to finish lunch.
As soon as you reached the tiled room, none other than Ren glided into the kitchen through a different door, scowling in the general direction Horohoro had run off in.
"What the hell was all Ainu-baka's squealing about?" he asked harshly. You blushed profusely, not knowing how to phrase your last encounter. But the gears inside Ren's head were already turning. "Kisama," he hissed, drawing out his spear. "He's so dead!" Ren seemed to be talking to himself more than you or Horo. As he left the kitchen, you noticed he was practically shaking with suppressed anger. You cringed when you heard the smashing of glass objects, then what sounded like a body being slammed into a wall.
Sighing, you went back to peeling random vegetables over the sink. Looking up out the window over the kitchen sink, you were incredibly surprised to see a pair of sweet brown eyes peeking up into the house at you. So surprised that you accidentally cut the palm of your hand on the knife, allowing blood to drip gently into the sink.
"Yoh-san!" you squeaked. Even though you'd only seen him a few times, you could recognize his eyes anywhere. "What are you doing out there?" As if to answer your question, Yoh levitated, yes levitated, through the open window and into the kitchen. Yet, when he set himself gracefully on his feet, you began to realize that this, in fact, was not Yoh. Not Yoh at all. This one's hair was much longer, and he was sporting a long, cream-colored shawl. He seemed to have an air of security despite the fact that he was standing, uninvited, in the middle of someone's kitchen. Or maybe it was just self-confidence; but either way, it scared you a bit.
"Let me see your hand." He spoke tenderly in spite of his powerful impression. Not knowing what else to do, you held out your trembling hand. He took it, holding it in his larger gloved hands like a small child holding a frog; both hands clasping gently, yet possessively. He didn't seem the least bit interested in the fact that his gloves were being soaked by the life-sustaining fluid as it now dripped onto the floor.
You gasped as your hand and both of his were enveloped in a heatless, yet violent-looking flame. Pulling your flaming appendage away, you breathlessly looked from your hand and into his eyes, then back to your hand again as you realized that, when the flame had disappeared, you were no longer bleeding. You stood there silently, although your head was screaming, as you watched this boy's right hand burst into the same vicious-looking as before. As the flames dissipated, a blood-red, long-stemmed rose rested tranquilly in his hand. He held it out to you, and you took it, anxiously looking up into his calm brown eyes and silently asking every question that raced through your mind. He smiled loftily.
"I just wanted to see what caught otôto's attention," he said casually as he hopped back out the kitchen window and into the yard. "Ja!" With that, he burst into flames and disappeared from your view.
'Otôto?' you thought. 'The only person that even resembles him in the slightest is Yoh, but he doesn't have an older brother, does he? And he doesn't have feelings for me, does he? And who was that?' A million questions screamed through your mind as you tried to figure every that had just happened out. But, after a few seconds of thinking, you realized that this boy had disappeared in a bubble of flames, thus causing you to pass out cold on the kitchen floor.
End Part VI.