Chapter 32: Big Spending in Little China
Genma fiddle with the phone cord as he listened to the ringing sound. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say. 'Hey, Tendo, you know that yakuza boss I got myself indebted too? He wants you and your daughters to come visit, so he can try to get access to your new found political power'? It was a terrible idea.
Staring down the traditionally decorated hallway of the Oozora home, Genma did wonder if he could try to distract them into talking architecture and interior design should the meeting somehow happened. Soun's tastes had always been similarly old fashioned after all.
"Hello, Tendo residence. For issues concerning dojo challenges, please press one, otherwise stay on the line," a cold feminine voice said. The hint of sarcasm was not lost on Genma, and he strongly suspected that Nabiki would hang up on anyone who pressed a key... assuming they had a push-button phone at all. (The Oozoras had kept to a rotary design still, after all.)
"It's Saotome, could I speak to your father?" Genma asked.
"Oh, yeah," Nabiki replied, before turning away from the phone a bit to shout for her father. (In Genma's opinion, she did not turn away nearly enough, and he was left gritting his teeth at the volume of her yelling.)
A quiet thunk indicated the cold girl had put the receiver down and no doubt wandered off, not bothering to wait for her father to arrive. It was annoying, but Genma felt he was in no place to comment as he glanced over to the living room and saw his currently very female son letting Hibari and Suzume play with hair braiding techniques.
"Hello?" Soun asked.
"Tendo-kun, it's Saotome... it would seem that Oozora's heard about your new job. Before I did, I might add," Genma said.
"I... yes. About that, you see, with the new position, I'm a little worried our usual meeting up might be seen in a poor light, considering your accommodations. I've been handed this honour, and I'd really rather not mishandle the role," Soun explained. "I hope you understand."
"Of course," Genma began.
"There's no need to worry my good man," Ibari's voice declared (apparently having been listening from another telephone somewhere in the Oozora home). "Kurimoto and Ogata are old friends of mine. Nishimura and Ishawata might give you a little trouble, but that's just because they're friends of Koinobori's, and Furinkan is on the border of our territories. Don't worry though, the Koinobori's gang are decent folks, generally our spats with them are just a bit of graffiti and vandalising each other's cars."
"I... pardon?" Soun asked.
"You did know that it's generally expected you'll have some Yakuza contacts, no? Did they not get to that part of the orientation? Should be one of the first things... it's such an important and mutually beneficial arrangement," Ibari explained. "Saotome certainly holds you in high regard, so I hope we can get a business partnership up and running."
Soun paused a bit, his desperately wracking his brain in an attempt to find any excuse to avoid this was almost audible. In the end he let out a soft sigh of defeat, "Alright, I'll meet with you. However, I don't feel safe having my girls visiting your... compound. I would like for them to stay home."
"I suppose that is understandable. I would certainly do my best to keep my girls safe as well," Ibari replied, sounding rather disappointed. At least until inspiration struck. "I know! How about Ranma and my kids visit with your daughters while you visit me? Afterall, half this meeting is about having the kids get to know each other. We can drop them off in the car that comes around to pick you up."
"That... that's reasonable," Soun admitted. "I suppose the day after tomorrow could work... if that's alright?"
"Sounds good," Ibari replied with a jovial chuckle.
Co-chan had a simple objective: find the bathroom. Well, most specifically the bath. He was pretty sure there were a couple of washrooms around without baths in the Oozora complex. Currently his investigation of the third floor wasn't turning up any leads.
Pausing to try and figure out where to try next, he suddenly felt himself lifted off the floor to the sound of feminine giggling behind him. The height ruled out Suzume, and the way he was being swung about surely ruled out Tsugumi (probably Tsubame as well? He was fairly certain she'd never trust the idea of touching a pig anyhow). This of course left two options... one of whom he wanted to bite and the other he wanted to confess his love to.
It was infuriating that he couldn't figure it out. Surely he should be able to tell his nemesis from the one he loved... or at least one of the ones he loved. That Yoiko girl had been cute.
Co-chan shook his head. Right now he would focus on Hibari. Stick to the target that was before him.
Confident in his decisions, the piglet was shocked to find himself dangling over a tub of warm water. Suddenly he was plunged into it.
As the transformation warred with anyone's natural instinct to flail a little as they're plunged under water, Ryoga was, for a split second, almost frightening to behold with limbs flailing about whilst growing longer. Panting a little as he surfaced, he turned to see who he was dealing with.
Hibari's face glaring at him instantly made him worried. Sure, they'd not parted on the best terms, but he wanted to make up for it.
"What are you doing back here?" she asked, making sure he saw the way she was taking in his nude and muscular form.
"I... I c-came to apologise for running off. And, I, uh... I..." Ryoga began, before the gears in his brain ground to a halt. Hibari was too cute, and that mischievous glint in her eyes... there was no denying that he was head over heels for her. (Blonde or red haired.)
"If you've come to win me over, I'm sorry, but you're too late. Ranma's come to her senses and stopped pretending not to like me," Hibari informed him.
Ryoga shot up to his feet, adrenaline pumping through his veins as the feeling of losing to Ranma overwhelmed him. "I... I'll prove I'm better! I... give me two weeks, and I'll... I'll beat him in a martial arts match. Yeah!"
Hibari was rather distracted for a moment by what currently filled her frame of view. "So you are trying to compensate."
Ryoga went bright red and dropped back into the water and tried to desperately regain some modesty. Hibari meanwhile was on the floor in hysterics.
"Oh man, your face... that was too precious," Hibari finally said, sitting up and wiping tears from her eyes. "Seriously though, how does beating Ranma in a fight fix your issue? If someone beat me up, would you suddenly want to date them?"
Ryoga's response died in his throat as he realised he really hadn't thought that far ahead... "I... it's part of proving myself to you. Showing I can be better. Um... I'll buy you a gift too!"
Hibari leaned in towards Ryoga's personal space, her nose practically brushing against his as she smiled. "You're cute, but hopeless. Ranma would probably want to accept your challenge though, so I'll pass it on. But I choose who my heart belongs to. I'm not some prize to be tossed about. Understood?"
Ryoga nodded nervously. Well, tried to nod without moving his head, for fear of either accidentally kissing or headbutting Hibari she was so close.
The blonde smiled and stood up. "Well, I've got things to do. Please don't get too beat up when the fight does roll around, Suzume does love her little pet so."
Ryoga nodded and watched Hibari leave. After a few moments he climbed out of the tub, only to realise his clothes were probably halfway across the compound. Sighing, he turned on the cold water.
Ranma relaxed and listened to the deep calming sound of Hibari's playing the bass. It was a great way to start the day. The black haired teen wasn't sure, but this piece sounded a bit different from what Hibari usually played. Older somehow. Certainly way more complex than anything she'd been showing Ranma, even if they'd at last moved on to having the pigtailed teen try to play an actual song.
Her suddenly coming to a halt threw Ranma from the musically induced calm.
"Bleh. Bach always messes me up," Hibari grumbled. "Not even sure why I bother, it's not like I plan to go pro..."
"The drive to be the best you can be?" Ranma offered.
"Hmm... probably the drive to master something my dad thought would be a manly skill, and remaining feminine while doing it," Hibari replied, after taking a moment to honestly think it over.
Ranma smiled, in those moments where Hibari became lost in thought she looked so cute. And Ranma was definitely beginning to understand that line of thought. Hibari flipped through her music book for a moment, humming the tune quietly as she tried to get the feel for it.
"You know, I haven't actually heard you sing," Hibari said suddenly. "We should go to karaoke sometime, I'm curious what your singing voice is like... or singing voices, I suppose."
"Well, I ain't really had any proper trainin'," Ranma protested. "Closest thing was probably when I was a kid and-"
"Nihao!" Shui declared, nearly unhinging the door as she shoved it open. The handsome (currently) male teen was once more dressed interestingly, with a beret, an oversized blue sports jersey for a team neither Ranma nor Hibari recognised (truth be told, Shui didn't either), and the skinny jeans+combat boots Shui seemed to always wear. "Good news! Jusenkyo merchant is back in town! Well... back in Yokohama, but that is basically 'town'."
The other two just stared at the cursed girl for a moment.
"Did someone let you in, or...?" Hibari asked. They hadn't even had breakfast yet.
"Oh yes. Tsugumi is very nice. She said she will even make me some breakfast too, since I came here so early," Shui declared happily. "But we should hurry. Cologne not taking time off to drive, so have to go by train. That takes so long... So right after breakfast, we go, yes?"
"I'd like to grab a bath after we eat, but then we can set out," Hibari replied.
The train ride was long, yet both Ranma and Shui were distracted the whole time. There was just so much to see from the elevated Tokyo area rail lines. Their childlike wonder caused more than a few disparaging remarks from other passengers that 'boys their age should be more mature', but Hibari thought they were both exceptionally cute.
As the pair got excited for the ocean coming into view, Hibari smiled gently. She felt so lucky at that moment to have both of these pure and cheerful cuties that it took her a moment to realise she was thinking of Shui as 'hers' too.
'No, no, no,' Hibari silently chastised herself. 'Shampoo's a girl. If I show a hint of attraction now... dad will find a way to get us married by dinner, and Ranma will probably be shackled to Tsubame or something.'
"Tongzhi is okay, yes?" Shui asked, their faces mere centimetres apart.
"Bwah!" Hibari blurted, slipping back and nearly falling from her seat. "I'm fine! I'm fine... just lost in thought. Excited about what we're buying and all that."
"I bet there's so much good food to be had too," Ranma chimed in, wearing that innocent smile Hibari tended to more associate with girl mode than Ranma's current form.
"Is almost all southern food though," Shui replied dismissively. "Too sweet and light."
"Still, be fun to sample either way," Ranma said absently as the numerous cranes of the Minato Mirai 21 project came into sight.
"The first stop is the Jusenkyo merchant though," Hibari stated, "We get Shampoo back to her proper self before we worry about anything else."
"Well, yeah," Ranma replied, though there was clearly a little bit of apprehension in the black haired boy's voice. 'Shui' 's face was that of a friend, while Shampoo's birth face was one Ranma still associated with being hunted across China, a distinction that left Ranma a bit nervous about seeing that latter again.
Their stop being next hammered home that Ranma didn't have much longer to put it off.
Ishikawacho station proved rather large and felt briefly intimidating, but Ranma could tell Shui knew their route well enough, so fell in step behind the cursed girl. Once out on the street, the pigtailed boy was struck by how claustrophobic the area felt, being surrounded by elevated highways, one of which passed right over the exit they used from the station.
There was no question about whether they were on the right path or not though, as a traditional Chinese style arch beckoned them mere steps from the station. That first arch was merely for direction however, as they walked a bit further down a typical Japanese urban street that led to a surprisingly open bit of city once they escaped the complicated mess of highways and overpasses.
Another arch greeted them a minute or two later, this one mean to mark the entrance to Chinatown. It left Ranma rather unimpressed, as the path they'd taken led onto a quiet residential street. Ranma was left waiting for a grand entrance, and barely noticed as the energy and chaos of the area grew gradually, until suddenly the young Saotome realised the surrounding signs were predominantly in Chinese (and crammed into every available space as it felt like every doorway led to three different shops).
"I hope am not dragged into any politics arguments today," Shui sighed as the sound of yelling in Cantonese mixed in with Japanese more and more.
"Why would you get dragged into arguments?" Ranma asked, trying to ignore the allure of cooking food coming from a nearby restaurant.
"Accent. Especially in Mandarin. Many here think am some sort of Communist type," Shui said, while clearly trying to remember directions at this intersection.
"You do like to toss around tongzhi a lot," Hibari noted.
"Yes, but is Hong Kong meaning, not Communist meaning," Shui replied, wiping off some sweat and setting off again down a street that somehow held more signs than the last one.
"Hong Kong meaning?" Ranma and Hibari asked in unison.
The cursed girl stopped dead in her tracks and turned to the other two. "Aiya! You mean you not know? Thought at least tongzhi Hibari would know. Is term to mean close to 'fellow gay', as cheeky slang. Was meant to help flirting, show am 'boy' who like boys 'too'... Of course, think now we three more girl who like girls."
"I like boys plenty," Hibari declared defensively as she followed Shui onto a small side street.
"Same... I think," Ranma added while sidestepping to avoid an inconveniently placed sign. The black haired teen certainly enjoyed the view that Shampoo's cursed form provided. (And then there was the confusion with Ryoga...)
"Girls who like both?" Shui offered, gaining a nod from Hibari.
"Both..." Ranma muttered, just barely audible. The idea of liking both guys and girls seemed straightforward enough, but that left Ranma wondering: why could you like both, but only be allowed to be one or the other?
"Just down here," Shui said, pointing to an alleyway covered over by balconies on either side that nearly touched in the middle (despite their small size).
"Looks like the location of a legitimate business," Hibari replied sarcastically.
Ranma followed after the other two, nervous that a leaky external pipe was going to break as they walked under. With two people carrying Jusenkyo curses walking next to it, the black haired boy was convinced the pipe breaking was inevitable, and quietly prayed it was filled with cold water. One only had to look at how damp Shui's shirt was with sweat to remember the cursed girl was dealing with the heat sensitivity from the Cat's Tongue.
Exiting the constricting still air of the alleyway, Shui stepped forward and rapped on a rusted iron door. The trio waited quietly, listening for a sound of life from within. Shui apparently lost patience after a few seconds and the dark haired teen began knocking with more force. Both Ranma and Hibari began to worry the door would come off its hinges when an eye slit slid open.
A gruff male voice was almost certainly complaining in Mandarin from behind the door, but whoever he was stopped upon realising who it was that was pounding away. Ranma briefly heard Shampoo's name, and grasped a couple of other words that indicated the man was concerned about Shui's current state.
"I am here for Phoenix Pill and a couple other items," Shui replied in calm Japanese.
"Another Phoenix pill? Did that fiancé cause more trouble? Or... wait, had two of them, no?" the man replied, before glancing over Shui's shoulder and spotting Hibari and Ranma (both of whom waved nervously). "That them? Jusenkyo certainly generous to make him that cute."
Hibari couldn't help but give Ranma a confident smirk.
"Engagement... is on hold," Shui replied, "And Phoenix Pill is for self."
"Wèile nǐ? Bùxìng de nǚhái... I give you 20% discount. Girl as cute as Shampoo should not be stuck living as boy!" the man declared. "Come in! Come in!"
The door creaked open, releasing a pungent mixture of unidentifiable smells (and body odour). Hibari braced herself as she walked forward, though Shui and Ranma were rather more used to these sorts of smells.
For unclear reasons the room was illuminated by purplish red lights usually used for photography dark rooms. Hibari hoped it was to preserve potions or whatever that might be photosensitive, but was far from confident in her assessment. She decided to focus on finding the instant Nyannichuan, and leave everything else up to the others.
Ranma meanwhile had decided to just generally browse and see what sort of creepy or gross things might be in the various jars filling the shelves of the 'store'. Well, that was the original plan, but then the pigtailed teen spotted a small selection of Qinghai specific snacks. Ranma had no idea what was in any of it, but the little cookie things shaped like stars were delicious and Ranma had been craving them a few times since getting back to Japan.
"What tongzhi doing with Tu cat treats?" Shui asked, while holding the small ornate envelope that contained the Phoenix Pill.
"C-cat treats? Really?" Ranma asked, feeling both embarrassed and a bit mad at Genma for having given them as a snack during the trip.
"Mhm. Though, if being honest, they are surprisingly tasty. I always eat them as little girl," Shui replied with a conspiratorial whisper. "No idea what in them, though think there mint."
"Can I get a bulk discount on these?" Hibari asked, holding up a box of instant Nyannichuan packets.
The sweaty middle aged merchant, with his obviously too small Mao jacket and receding hairline, gave out a chuckle. "Looking to cause mischief are we? Small discount only. 5%."
"5%? Really?" Hibari replied as she began to give her best puppy dog eyes. "My dad doesn't give me much of an allowance. I've had to really save to have the money to buy this. I'm not quite sure I can cover it all with just 5%."
The man chuckled. "You' really making use of that curse. Sadly, cute routine doesn't work on those who know truth."
"Uh, she's not the one with the curse," Ranma said, "That's me. I can prove it with a glass of water, if you need me to?"
"Is true!" Shui added.
The man paled a bit (or perhaps a lot, it was hard to tell in this dim red lighting). "N-not... that very cruel! And sorry miss! Give 10% discount as apology!"
Hibari replied with a massive grin. The trio piled up their purchases (Hibari deciding to add in a few packets of Nannichuan too, sure they'd have a use of some kind), and handed over the yen cover it all. Hibari and Shui were both skipping as they left the shop. Ranma hurried after as the two girls hunted for a washroom to change in.
"How the heck am I going to beat Ranma," Ryoga muttered to himself as he paced back and forth in the alleyway behind the Oozora compound. "I couldn't land a hit last time, and he was exhausted... I need some kind of intensive training."
"Um, if you're going to stand in front of our restau-" Mousse began, having been sent by Cologne to get rid of this emotional loiterer.
"Saotome Ranma! I don't know how, but I will defeat you!" Ryoga shouted, not noticing Mousse until after he'd shouted. Looking around he realised he definitely was not in the alleyway anymore. "Uh, hey there?"
"You're an enemy of Saotome?" Mousse asked.
"...Yes?" Ryoga replied nervously. He had no idea who this guy was, or what he thought of Ranma, but... that pigtailed teen did seem better at finding enemies than finding friends, so Ryoga hoped for the best.
"I think we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement," Mousse replied with an unsettlingly large grin. (Maybe Shampoo had demanded that he not intervene in matters, but if he helped someone else mess things up... that was obviously a different matter altogether.)
"Aahhh... that feels good," Shampoo sighed as she felt the hot water running down her body.
Ranma and Hibari both felt a bit flustered at the sheer ecstasy in Shampoo's voice as they stood crammed into the public washroom of a small (and currently very dead) Cantonese restaurant. Ranma felt a brief moment of fear as Shampoo turned to smile at the others, but she looked so adorable in the beret and (now even more) oversized jersey that Ranma was too distracted by cute to fear her.
"Now tongzhi Hibari change?" Shampoo asked, leaning into the blonde's personal space.
In the dim and flickering fluorescent lighting the shadows looked surprisingly artistic on the Nujiezu girl's face, and for a moment Hibari felt oddly hypnotised by the way the shifting light played on Shampoo's delicate features. Something about the strong lighting was emphasising how Shampoo's female features were quite close to those of her cursed face, only softer. And Hibari was rather fond of Shampoo's male form...
"Of course," Hibari half whispered.
Shampoo slid out of the way, breaking the brief moment of surreal hypnotism. Hibari pulled one of the sachets out from her bag and mixed it with cool water in the bottle Shampoo had just used. Once all the powder had thoroughly dissolved, the blonde upturned the bottle on her head, and shivered at the tingling of the transformation.
"Mmmhm... that is nice," Hibari said, unintentionally causing Ranma to become a blushing mess once more by expressing just as much joy as Shampoo had.
Shampoo herself was also blushing a little, still feeling a bit guilty about expressing her interest in girls while in her birth form.
"Uhh... should I change too while we're at it?" Ranma asked, growing even more flustered as Hibari unbuttoned her shirt to remove the now unnecessary padding.
"It could be fun to have a girls' day out," Hibari replied, turning a bit to face her fiancé (and not bothering to button her shirt back up quite yet). "But I like the view either way."
Ranma looked nervously at the two girls, before giving a defeated shrug. "Eh, Hibari, you're always telling me to go with the flow. If I get splashed, I get splashed. If I don't, I don't."
"Sounds like a plan. Oh, and while we're here, I also want to visit Motomachi. I hear they've got some otherwise hard to find foreign albums and clothes," Hibari replied.
For once Ranma was quite satiated, having gotten to try a wide range of foods as they'd meandered across Chinatown. Now they'd moved on to the main shopping street of Motomachi, having crossed over the river and under the highway that separated the two districts. Hibari was carrying a stuffed pink panda with a bow, which she insisted was a gift for Genma (while Shampoo was loaded up with bags, having picked up at least one thing at practically every shop in Chinatown).
As they walked through Motomachi, Ranma was struck by how this area felt just as foreign as the Chinatown had... perhaps more foreign, as the dominant influence being European. Ranma hadn't been, but could only guess that this was what a modern shopping street in France or Switzerland looked like. Even the writing had switched, from the kanji and full on Chinese of Chinatown to a sea of romanji with English and other languages thrown in (French seemed the next most common, but that may have just been Ranma's slight familiarity with the language thanks to lessons at the Chardin's).
"Ooh, this belt would go perfect with jersey! Help sell the 'is now a dress' look," Shampoo announced, picking up an elastic belt from one store's open air display rack.
It was only now that Ranma realised the blue haired girl had, at some point, removed the skinny jeans she was wearing before. Luckily her shirt reached mid-thigh and preserved her modesty, but Ranma was left wondering if Shampoo would have really cared that much.
Hibari began browsing the little shop and its European wares, and lit up as she produced a beret and placed it on her head. "Heh, look. We match."
The new hat, in Ranma's opinion, looked very nice with Hibari's outfit of overalls and striped orange and white shirt. Very 'artist' was Ranma's best description.
"Beret looks very good on you," Shampoo replied, a light flutter of her eyelashes prompting Hibari to remember the other girl's romantic interests. "We should get Ranma one too!"
"I don't tend ta wear many hats," Ranma replied, a bit unsure. The glances from some of the other shoppers was also making the teen feel a bit awkward. Maybe girl mode would have been better... three girls shopping would have attracted less speculation than Ranma was sure they were receiving now.
Did people think Ranma was a brother or cousin? Maybe a gay friend? Dating both of them? Somehow the latter felt the most likely to be drawing stares... and yet Ranma wasn't sure if that option was exactly wrong. It definitely felt like a date from Hibari, though Ranma couldn't tell if Shampoo was a slightly awkward third wheel or on the date with them.
"Oooh! It's reversible. Red and black. That's perfect," Hibari announced, lifting up a new beret and placing it (red side out) on Ranma's head.
Looking in a nearby mirror Ranma felt a little self conscious. "This seems kind of more of a girl mode hat. I mean, it is a women's clothing store."
"It's a hat," Hibari replied with a shrug. "Any decisions about it being 'for girls' or 'for boys' is just people adding pointless nonsense to bits of fabric. If you like it, you like it."
Ranma decided to fix the beret a little, and turned to look in the mirror from a different angle. The floppy fabric would definitely look cuter on the smaller version of Ranma, but... why couldn't Ranma dress a bit more fun in boy mode?
"Y'know what, you're right. Let's get it," Ranma said, smiling at Hibari.
"Of course I'm right. I'm always right," the redhead declared confidently as she grabbed the hat off Ranma to pay. She got a couple steps towards the cash before stopping and turning to Shampoo. "I'll pay for the belt too. I'm guessing you're a bit short on cash after buying half of Chinatown, aren't you Shammy?"
"Aiyah! Really? Thank you!" Shampoo replied, beaming as she bounded over and tackle Hibari with a hug. After a moment of holding Hibari in an iron grip she looked up and gave a slightly awkward smile. "This is, of course, platonic hug."
"Of course," Hibari gasped. "Being able to breathe would be nice though."
Tsubame sat at her desk, working on her summer homework, and enjoying the (relative) peace and quiet that came when Hibari left the house. The one good thing she felt Ranma's arrival had brought was that Hibari spent a lot more time out of her hair (the blonde having been a bit of a home body before).
Then Tsubame's bedroom door slammed open.
"Hey! Sis! Guess who's a redhead again?" Hibari shouted.
Tsubame let her forehead fall onto her desk in frustration. "Owww..."
The pain in her forehead almost kept Tsubame too distracted to notice the sound of Hibari opening her closet and rifling about.
"What are you doing now you little per-"
"Remember our agreement," Hibari cut her off, pointing a finger at her sister while still sifting through clothing with her free hand. "And then explain what's perverted about a sister looking to borrow your clothing."
"A-at least ask permission first!" Tsubame yelled.
Hibari pulled a shirt off a hanger and turned to her brown haired sister with an unimpressed stare. "I don't remember you asking to borrow this."
"I-uh, it probably got mixed up during laundry!" Tsubame protested.
"Well, if you're not going to let me borrow anything for tomorrow, maybe I'll go through and find out all the other things that got 'mixed up during laundry', eh?" Hibari shot back.
"Oh? Then let's check your closet for my stuff too!" Tsubame fumed.
An exasperated Tsugumi appeared at the doorway. "Don't you two start again. It's too hot, uncle Genma's been trying to get advice on diplomacy from me all day, and I think Shampoo is trying to convince our other redhead that she's a good CPR teacher. I'm not dealing with you two arguing too."
"Wait, what!?" Hibari shouted before running downstairs.
After checking several rooms she found Shampoo, Ranma, and Suzume in the living room sitting around... a CPR training dummy?
"Oh! Tongzhi Hibari, you want CPR training too? Jusenkyo guide teach when little as part of Beijing outreach program. Is very useful knowledge," Shampoo asked cheerfully.
"I, uh... sure, yeah," Hibari muttered.