Author's note I will be adding Sho's tavern song, but with changes to fit the characters
Kanae and Chiori trudged through the snow on their way to town. Kanae muttered the occasional curse while Choiri mentally wrote down what she was going to pen in her rage journal, which she somehow manage to lose at some point.
However, that did not matter. What did matter was rescuing Kyoko. As much as they hated to admit it, they were no match for that creature. They knew of only one idiot who could be any match for it, if his bragging carried any weight that is.
####
Meanwhile the said idiot was busy drinking away his wounded pride.
He ranted over the day's events, his words becoming more slurred with every drink.
"Who does that girl " GULP "think" GULP "she is". After that his words became slightly inaudible.
Kijima simply watched the scene, also annoyed at the turn of events, through for a different intention. "Urgh … I was this close to becoming the number one bachelor in town." He grumbled inwardly "Why can't that plain girl just grab this proposal and go?!"
Sho glanced at his half empty mug before tossing it into the fire.
"More beer" Kajijma asked, with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"What for? Nothing helps, I'm disgraced" Sho sulked, not really hearing the other man's question.
"Who you? Never!" Kijima reassured, while trying to remember what the benefits of brown noising were again. "Sho, you've got to pull yourself together."
"Gosh, it disturbs me to see you Sho
Looking so down in the dumps"
Sho shove his chair in the other direction, as a child might who did not get what he wanted for Christmas.
"Every guy here'd like to be you, Sho
Even when taking your lumps."
Sho was having none of it. Without even glancing at …, whatever he considered Kijima to be, he picked up his chair and turned away once more. Kijima suppressed a groan "Number one Bachler" he chanted to himself as he tried again.
"There's no man in town as admired as you
You're everyone's favorite guy
Everyone's awed and inspired by you
And it's not very hard to see why'"
He turned Sho chair around to face the rest of the bar.
"No one's slick as Sho
No one's quick as Sho
"No one is as incredibly thick as Sho"
Kijima added to himself, before he continued praising Sho.
"For there's no man in town half as manly
Perfect, a pure paragon!
You can ask any Takeo, Minoru, or Seiji
And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on"
The three men he mentioned nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"No one's been like Sho
A kingpin like Sho
No one's got a swell cleft in his chin like Sho
"As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating!"
Sho grinned, now warming to all the praises being showered on him.
"My, what a guy, that Sho!"
Soon almost everyone in the tavern, who had nothing better to do, joined Kijima's tribute to Sho.
"Give five, "Hurrahs!"
Give twelve, "Hip hips!"" The crows all cheered and drank for Sho
"Sho is the best and the rest is all drips"
Kajima added before taking a drink. A last he tried to, but Sho had lunched himself onto a table and into a fight, spilling all the contents in the mug before he had the chance.
"No one fights like Sho
Douses lights like Sho
"In a wrestling match nobody bites like Sho"
The unlucky receiver of the said bite choked out.
"For there's no one as burly and brawny"
Three certain swooning girls gushed, no need to name names, before squealing in delight as Sho leaned in giving Minirir a peak on the cheek.
As you see I've got biceps to spare
(Shining Golden Sun: What biceps? You didn't pick up any of them, let alone all three.)
"Not a bit of him scraggly or scrawny" Kajimi said sarcastically
"That's right!" Sho told everyone proudly
"And every last inch of me is covered with hair"
(Shining Golden Sun: Let me say this for a majority of the readers; TMI!)
"No one hits like Sho
Matches wits like Sho"
The crowds cheered as Sho topple a game of chess he just lost at.
"In a spitting match nobody spits like Sho"
"I'm especially good at expectorating!"
"Ten points for Sho!"
(Shining Golden Sun: Again TMI, I will not even describe the events that just happened)
(Sho: Maybe because what happed was to amazing for words)
(Shining Golden Sun: Or Maybe what happened is too disgusting for words)
"When I was a lad I ate four eggs
Every morning to help me get large
And now that I'm grown I eat five eggs
So I'm roughly the size of a barge!"
"My, what a guy, that Sho!"
Sho smirked at all the girls swooning and gushing at him. "Now this is more like it" he thought as the girls began to rush at him in their eagerness to touch him.
"Girls, girls, girls, please
There's plenty for all" he told them, as eager for them as they were for him
"Oh yeah" he thought as they began to stoke his arm or face.
"No one shoots like Sho
Makes those beauts like Sho
"Then goes tromping around wearing boots like Sho" Kijima mostly narrated as Sho did just that.
"I use antlers in all of my decorating!"
"My, what a guy, Sho!
As the Entire tavern burst out into cheering, Kijima simply rolled his eyes and headed to the bar. He was in desperate need of a drink himself, especially after losing his last one.
Then the doors were thrown open. Some men gulped. Others turned to give smirks that would have normally earned them a smack from the said young women. Girls on the other hand glared or sneered.
Kanae and Choiri stumbled in, their faces bright red, their eyes flashing maliciously.
Kanae's eyes scanned the room until they landed on Sho. Instantly, she marched over and glared at him. "You follow us!" she growled, not at all liking the situation. "Kyoko is in grave danger and needs help NOW!" This slightly interested Sho. If Kyoko was in danger, and he saved her... then well "She will come running to me begging for forgiveness" he thought.
"What kind of danger is she in?" he asked. Both girls looked at each other. They were hoping to avoid this part until they got to the castle. "She is being held hostage." Choiri told him. "By who." He probed. Looking him straight in the eye, Kanae told him "A monster." There was a moment's silence before everyone, with the exception of Kanae and Choiri, burst out laughing. Choiri glared at them "It's true you…" she took in a deep breath before she called them something that defiantly would not convince the villagers to help them. "It was a freaking monster taller than any man I ever seen." "Did it have horns?" one villager called. Kanae shot him a glare before replying "As a matter of fact it did" The villagers shot out more quest, many the girls tried to answer quickly. Then Kanae shot a look at Choiri when she realized what was going on. All they were achieving was being made fun of and nowhere near being any closer to rescuing their friend.
In fact, no one was laughing as hard as Sho was. It was one of the few times he openly dropped the cool act to roll on the floor with laughter. When he regained some self-control, he glanced at them and snorted. "Do you honestly expect me to believe such an idiotic story?" he laughed.
Kanae grabbed Sho by the collar of his shirt and glared at him "For a guy so interested in her, shouldn't you be showing more concern ?! Mo!" she spat in disgust throwing him back onto his seat.
"Get out of here you 'Love Me Girls'" jeered Rikio
"We don't want you here" another added as the two girls stormed out. No one noticed their slight stagger or how they leaned on each other for support. No one bother to help them or even pretend to be concerned.
####
Chiori turned and glared at them, already imagining what she would write in her rage journal. "… If I still had it." She thought grudgingly
####
"Those crazy Love me Girls" a bartender muttered after Kanae and Choiri left.
"Crazy Love Me Girls, hmmm?" Sho thought out loud as he began to grin wickedly.
"Crazy Love Me Girls..."
"Kijima, I'm afraid I've been thinking"
"A dangerous pastime" Kijima groaned.
"I know." Sho commented.
"But those two crazy chicks are Kyoko's friends
And their sanity's only "so-so"
Now the wheels in my head have been turning
Since I looked at those two bizarre girls
See, I've promised myself I'd be married to Kyoko
And right now I'm evolving a plan"
"If I . . ." Sho pulled
"Yes?" Kijima asked leaning in.
"Then we . . ." Sho whispered more instructions into Kijima's ear
"No! Would she . . ." Kijima started to ask as his eyes widened at what Sho was getting at.
Sho whispered the last stages of his plan and smirked "Guess!"
Kijima returned the grin with equal malice "Now I get it!"
"Let's go!" they shouted together.
"No one plots like Sho" they sang together
"Takes cheap shots like Sho" Sho continued, his nose growing longer and thinner.
"Plans to persecute harmless single damsels like Sho" Kijima added
"Yes, I'm endlessly, wildly resourceful" Sho bragged
"As down to the depths you descend" Kijima
"I won't even be mildly remorseful" Sho
Just as long as I (you) get what I (you) want in the end
"Who has brains like Sho?" Sho boasted
"Entertains like Gaston?" Kijima grinned as Sho joined in with him
"Who can make up these endless refrains like Sho?
And his marriage we soon will be celebrating
My what a guy
Sho!"
The whole tavern erupted into cheering. Their town's pride was back. Even Erika, Mimori and Ruriko were excited for him. Not so much as the possibility of him being married, through quite frankly they were most likely pretending the upcoming wedding was for one of them. Rather they were just pleased to have him back to his normal self.
####
Meanwhile, the two girls were still fighting their way home. The storm had not lessened it severity by any means, through on the other hand, it was not any worse. Nevertheless both girls were determined to find some other means to save Kyoko since as Kanae phrased it "Those idiots have nothing better to do than sit on their lazy butts all day long kill." As they headed for the cottage, a warm light started to glow around them. "Wha?" Choiri asked as she started to blackout. "Now what?" Kanae mumbled as she too fell into the blissful darkness, where there was no cold storm for blazing fever.
Then, a lone figure, dressed in a long flowing gown approached them her wavy hair pulled high making it appear shorter than it really was. "I'm sorry." She whispered to the sleeping girls. "But I must not let any interference, at least for the time being." She then glanced at their feverish faces with concern. "Not to mention you need rest, however I am afraid you will be asleep a while. Although you will not completely recover, you will be out of harm's way in the meantime."
She glanced up in the direction of the tavern. "And not just from your illnesses" she sighed to herself "Through I can only delay both, sooner or later you will have to face them…you all with have to face them. I just hope darling knows what he is doing." She muttered the last part. Waving her hand slowly in a large arc over them, she watched as they disappeared in a gently wave of gold.
Author's note this will be my late Christmas present to all of you wonderful readers out there. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year if I do not update before then. Also, as an apology for this being late I will be updating very soon so stay tuned.