(2/3/11)
Sunday...
The night camping was turning out to be quite fun. Though, the girls decided to get really creative and make us some 'leftover' pot roast. The boys became excited, but I remained suspicious.
When it was served, I threw mine out. A pair of doves tasted the food and immediately died, which didn't bode well. True to my suspicions, the boys immediately spat the rest of it out.
Instead, we ordered food from Cato's personal chef and ate. Afterwards, the girls slept in the tents, while we boys stayed outside and began to stargaze.
"Guys..." Akihiko said, "Look at that star..."
"Ah, Orion's Belt..." Lee said, "If you connect those stars and cnnect Scorpio, it'll seem like Orion is beating it with a club."
"You're making that stuff up!" Kenji cried.
"Fool, look closer-" Lee said and began pointing, "There's Scorpio and there's Orion, even a fool can see that!"
"Can these stars predict the future?" Quan asked.
"They don't predict the future, they tell stories." Lee said impatiently.
"Tell stories huh...?" I mused, "I wonder... if the stars will tell our stories after we're long gone... Like Tristan and Isolde..."
"Huh?" Junpei said, "What's gotten into you? They're just a buncha dots!"
"Junpei, sometimes there's more to something than it's face value." I chided, "Take for an example: several cultures believe that stars are the souls of fallen heroes who have been honored by their deities..."
"Really?" Junpei wondered, "I always kinda thought stars were big rip-offs of the sun..."
Lee took a deep, patient breath, "Junpei... You just created a new level for idiot."
Junpei shrugged. Kenji spoke up, "Stars aside, I saw what you did there, Minato..." He said with a wry smile.
"What?" I said in confusion.
"You were hoping that the stars would remember your story with Minako!" Kenji cried, "Perhaps the greatest love story in this century!"
"Say what?" I cried back.
"Oh yeah! Minato has the 'L' word!" Akihiko said.
"Yeah! Laryngitis!" Quan said, hi-fiving Junpei.
"Uh, no..." Akihiko said.
"Yeah! Leptospirosis!" Junpei said.
"No, fool!" Lee said, "Starts with L and ends with E! Ya fools!"
"Love?" Junpei suggested.
"Bingo! Our little friendly neighborhood blue haired nice guy is in love!" Kenji said as everyone teased me by either prodding me or poking me.
"What?! What made you fools think of that?!" I said defensively. I knew they knew I liked Minako, but I didn't want to make it known until we were oth ready.
"Come on, Minato!" Akihiko said, "A hopeless romantic like you and an even bigger hopeless romantic like her? You two were made for each other!"
"Uh, no, No and NO!" I said loudly, "Drop it! Minako and I are just friends! I don't have a crush on her."
The boys looked at each other and burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha! Denial confirms it! You're in love, Lover boy!"
They began singing, "Minato and Minako, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love! Seconds comes marriage! Third comes a baby in a baby carriage!"
"Really mature, you guys, real mature." I said dryly as I took a deep breath.
"Dude..." Lee said, "Frankly speaking. Tell us how you feel. We won't make fun."
"Bullshit." I retorted cynically.
"No, really! We promise!" They swore.
"If you fools lie, I'll force you all to eat dirt." I swore, "Okay... I have a crush on Minako!" I said with a hushed voice.
"Nice!" They said approvingly. "Sure, Yuka-tan was nice and all, but you and Minako are perfect!" Junpei said.
"Yeah, Yukari and I? It was just a bit of fun. A few laughs and all... I mean, what's she to me and me to her?" I said.
"Nothing more than a fleeting feeling." Kenji said, "S'ides, Yukari-san always was moody as hell... Like Rio when she misses her morning exercise regime."
"Yeah... Besides, the best lovers are best friends." Akihiko said.
"Me in love with my best friend..." I mused, "How does that sound for forbidden love?!"
"Let's find out, shall we?" Kenji said as he fished out his phone and started dialling.
"What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.
"Calling Rio." Kenji said, "And shaping your destiny!"
"That's crazy! You're crazy!" I cried.
"Am I or am I just a genius?" Kenji said, "It's already ringing."
"Uh, I have my own phone," I pointed out, "And so does Minako."
"If you look at things at a different angle, it'd seem less likely for Minako to see you as a friend and more as a lover if you remain inconspicous." Lee said.
I thought about it for a while, "Damn, why didn't I think of that...?"
"That's why you have us as your advisors." Kenji said as he tossed his phone at me, which I caught with a deft hand.
"I'm doomed then." I said hopelessly as I handed it back to Kenji.
Minako POV
The girls and I were having fun at the bar. Recently, we took a dip at the pool and were enjoying some lemonade. On top of truth and dare, we also played video games, courtesy of the boys.
I borrowed Minato's PSP and played against Rio. We were playing PersonaL 4: Arena.
"Oh, you suck! You suck!" I muttered as I hit Rio with a three-hit combo.
"Oh yeah? Eat Hama!" Rio cried as her character summined a pillar of light on mine.
"Oh shit!" I cried as my character was instantly KO'ed, "This is bullshit!" I cried, setting the PSP down.
"Hey, take it easy!" Rio said with an easy smile.
"Every time, you always pull that trick! There should be, like, a rule or something! No matter how good you are!" I said in annoyance.
"Instead of playing video games, I suggest we talk." Chidori suggested.
"I second the motion!" Fuuka said, "I really don't want to be tempted to play..."
"Okay! Which of the guys d'ja guys like?" Pinky asked.
"Whoa! Pinky-" I protested.
"I like Aki." Leah said, "Obviously. Other than the fact he's has the body of a jock and a mind of a nerd, he's also as innocent as a newborn baby."
"As for me, I prefer Junpei." Chidori said quietly, "He may be the biggest tomfool in this world, but I do love him dearly."
"Kenji's my main squeeze!" Rio said, "Love that idiot to death!"
"Lee-chan is my one and only..." Fuuka sighed, "He makes me feel really good about myself... And he feels comfortable with me."
"I like Quanny!" Pinky said, "Well, he has red hair! And he's, like, hot and stuff!"
"Who do you like?" They asked me.
"Well..." I blushed, "Minato's looking real good... I mean, we're friends and all, but I like him... Just a bit!" I added, but they girls were already feeling so excited, they squealed with delight.
"We knew it!" They said, "Minako Hamuko Arisato! Oh, the name is so fittting!"
"Nothing's changed about my name, you idiots!" I cried in exasperation.
"That's the best part, my dear." Chidori said, "As for me, after our marriage, my name would be 'Chidori Iori'... Can you imagine that? Like a rhyming nightmare!"
"Hmmmm... Rio Tomochika... It kinda sounds about right, but Iwasaki sounds cooler...! Well, that's the price of love and passion..." Rio sighed.
"Fuuka Aida..." Fuuka mused, "Well, I guess it does sound rather dashing..."
"My name's already changed, so no problemo!" Leah said, "Leah Marie Sanada."
"As for moi..." Pink said, "Pink Frau Adilind Juliette Esme Vera Tamara Joyce Reneé Tosca Park Lee-Lao... Sounds super-duper catchy!" She said.
Our mouths still hung at the length of her name, "Uh, why the hyphen...?" Rio managed.
"The only condition Oppa said. And a prenup, since he's convinced Quanny will be a jobless hobo." Pinky said cheerfully.
"Heh, if you marry Lee and you're the guy, his name would be 'Lee Lee'." I joked, to Fuuka's extreme dismay.
Suddenly, Rio's phone rang, "Wonder who it could be...? Meh, probably Nike or Adidas about wanting to be my sponsors again..." Rio said, as she answered the phone, "Hello? What the- Kenji...?" Rio said in surprise, "You do realize you guys are just outside our tents right? Yeah, and I don't see why you need to call and- ah... I see..." She looks at me, "It's for you."
"Kenji wants to talk to me?!" I cried in surprise and disgust.
"It's Minato. He wants to talk to you." Rio said as the girls swooned. I grabbed the phone, "Hello?"
Minato POV
I covered the reciever, "What do I say?!" I whispered.
"Relax dude! Uh... Say 'Sup? Don M speaking, word up, coolio'."
"Uh, okay..." I put my ear to the phone, "Ummm... Sup? Don M speaking and, uh... word up coolio...?" I said as the boys did a thumbs up.
Minako POV
I covered the phone, "Minato's trying to flirt with me!"
The girls squealed with delight as they implored me to put it on loudspeaker, which I did, only if they would shut up.
"Say 'Oh, you just caught me going out of the bathroom'," Leah said.
"What?!" Chidori, Fuuka and I cried.
"Sell yourself! See how far this goes!" Rio supplied.
"There's a fine line between fun and folly." Chidori said.
"Oh, c'mon Chidori-san! You're such a prune!" Leah said as Chidori's eyes became enraged, "Fine! Go on ahead and say it, Minako-chan!"
I nodded and said, rather awkwardly: "Yo buddy! You jut caught me going out of the shower."
Minato POV
"Shit, she said just got out of the shower!" I hissed. Kenji and Junpei clutched their chests, "Crap, my heart is beating faster!" Kenji hissed.
"Me likey!" Lee said lecherously as he licked his lips.
"Hey, that's my girl you're talking about!" I said angrily, "Will you fools help me out now? Please?"
"Okay, okay." Akihiko said, "I'll help. Say... "I need a bath too, since I've been working on my Pilates. My legs are just so cramped."" Akihiko said.
I looked at him as if he were insane, "Yeah, I'm gonna have to call back. This is bordering on insanity already!"
"Are you nuts?!" Lee cried, "Don't blow this, man! Do it!"
"Alright, fine!" I cried as I put the phone back, "I need a bath too, since my legs hurt from doing Pilates."
Minako POV
Rio whispered in my ear as I repeated it, "Oh, yeah, you want to get really flexible, huh?"
Minato POV
"The payout is bigger if you feel the deep, hot burn in your loins." I said with slight disgust, at Lee's behest.
Minako POV
"Oh! Say' You know how to fix that? Use whip cream'." Chidori said, to which we looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Don't ask." She said. We didn't want to know.
"Use whipped cream." I said, "I'll massage it for you."
Minato POV
"Goddamned! You bagged a wild one!" Lee said, "Now say 'wanna lick the cream like- hey!" Lee cried as I ignored him, since there was no turing back.
"Hey, Minako? Good night. You're gonna be in my dreams."
Minako POV
"Be in your wet dreams! Say that!" The girls said, but I ignored them.
"You too. Night Minato! See ya tomorrow!" She said.
Minato POV
"Night." I said as I took a deep breath, contented.
The guys, however, seemed really disappointed.
"Good night?! You are the most helpless fool ever!" Lee said, "I knew you were flat up front, like a eunuch!"
"Hey, gimme a break!" I said.
"Ah...Forget you, I'm going to sleep!" Lee said as everyone else followed.
I smiled and went to sleep. I after a while, I opened my eyes and was surprised I wasn't outdoors anymore. I was inside a tent, dressed in a robe, with incense and fragrant oils burning. To my surprise, Fuuka, Rio, Pinky, Leah and Chidori were in skimpy, sexy lingerie and were all either kissing my body or groping me.
"Hey, hey, quit that!" I said, "That is unwanted persona contact- hey! What are you doing?!" I cried as Pinky pinched my ears, "Quit it!"
Then, Minako, wearing a really sexy bikini, entered the room.
"Minako, help! Your friends are molesting me!" I cried, but she crawled towards me, licked my face and looked me in the eyes.
I opened my eyes to see a deer licking me awake. I promptly struggled with it, until Lee caught it by the tail.
"Morning, sunshine!" Lee said cheerily, "I see you've acquainted yourself with our breakfast. Bambi here will make nice venison for breakfast." He said as he hoised the deer and tied it upside down on a tree and quickly dispatched it with his knife and gutted it.
"Waddya mean 'acquainted'?!" I protested, "That hoofed woodland terror just violated me!"
After a while, the girls joined us as we began to feast on the venison. The boys and girls were still ribbing the both of us for last night. I was about to protest, when I saw something highly unusual by the forest hill. It was a black wormhole. Even stranger, is that a score of warriors in grey armor with a full ash-grey face mask that had a vague skull-like appearance and wielded staves ran out and charged, with a particularly large one wearing an orange cape and wielding a quarterstaff leading it. I quickly realized the danger and called everyone to attention. We knew they meant to harm/maim us.
"Oh shit!" Lee cried, "Fuuka-chan, Pinky-san, Chisori-san go call for help! They're after the venison!" They nodded. I really didn't agree they were after the venison, though.
I was too flustered to reply, and they were moving in too quickly. Everyone scrambled to grab a weapon or something to fight them off. Lee had his knives and let Leah use the other one, Junpei siezed a picnic parasol, Minako grabbed a garbage stick, Akihiko readied his fists and Quan flexed his legs for some Shaolin style kung-fu.
"What about us?!" Kenji and Rio cried. Chidori nods, "Use these, you two." She unchains two axes inside her sleeves and tosses them to the duo before running for help. Rio and Kenji stood there stunned. Junpei smiled knowingly.
"That's why I try not to rush our relationship... She could cut me up and cook me like gumbo if she wanted. That's why black widows are so hot!" Junpei said as he charged.
"Hey! What about me?! I'm unarmed!" I cried. I didn't want to summon Deus Xiphos, not unless Elder himself came down here... But these men weren't from Elder. They felt more... good.
Junpei smacked one in the head, parried another strike, deflected and countered. He drove several off with his parasol, and actually used it as a shield at times. Minako backed him up, using the garbage pick as a makeshift harpoon, she fended off the staff wielders and wounded several more, actually poking one through the seat of his pants.
Akihiko and Quan went toe-to-toe against the staff wielders. Although it seemed like an unfair fight, it was... For Quan and Akihiko's enemies. They wasn't rusty at all, easily handling three of them and got so close that their staves proved ineffective. And it took a short amount of time for Akihiko and Quan to knock them out. Quan did a leg sweep and Akihiko followed up with a skull-crushing haymaker. Their fight scene reminded me of Iron Fist and 12 Kick's battle in Kung-Fu Hustle.
Leah and Lee worked harmoniously, but rather savagely, fighting back-to-back and using the knives effectively. Lee managed to stab one in the heart, while Leah slashed the other one three times. They reeled back, but their wounds began to knit slightly faster, since they stopped bleeding already.
Rio and Kenji, on the other hand, charged through and savagely attacked anyone in reach. Kenji even conked Junpei with the back of his axe by accident. Like before, they inflicted terrifyingly grievous wounds, probably on accident, that would kill a man, but the enemies healed really faster than normal.
They were silent, not even groaning when struck, but their leader, the one with the orange cloak, began to scream: "Kill all, but the Messiah! Find him! Preferrably alive, if possible... Dead... just as good."
I began to feel really mad, "Hey, cowards, I'm over here! I'm the Messiah!"
They all laughed, "You? Don't insult us, boy!"
I took off my wristwatch and wristband and showed them my pierced wrists. I even placed a finger through it, "I didn't pierce these for kicks."
Their demeanor changed and they looked apprehensive, fearful even. Their leader nodded and the nearest ones wantonly charged.
"Hey... I'm unarmed... I'm unarmed!" I cried out, raising my arms, "You're not gonna kill an unarmed civilian?"
"All the better to kill you then!" The leader said "That's exactly what we're gonna do!"
With them descending on me, I made a desperate grab to the nearest thing: a frying pan.
The leader gave a harsh laugh, "Oh, how we've been waiting for this moment! Boys, time to avenge Lord Isil and our brothers!" He said as the rest cried loudly.
I looked uncertainly at my weapon as one swung his staff to hit my temple. I ducked and swung the frying pan at his face, cracking his mask and knocking him out. Another charged and attempted to punch me in the gut with his staff point, but I deflected it and smashed the frying pan down his skull. Then, one more swung his staff and I parried the strike and quickly hit him in the face with it as he crumpled to the ground. Another one foolishly attacked and missed me, to which I took a crack at his jaw and knocked him senseless. One of them tried to crack my skull with a downward smash, but I weaved past it and bashed him on the skull and he fell with the rest in a heap.
I looked at the frying pan with new respect, "Damn, I gotta try Deus Xiphos in frying pan form!" I cried as I took a mental note to try it out in frying pan form next time.
"Drat!" The leader hissed, "I forgot the Messiah is a proficient weapons expert!"
"Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah, that's right!" I cried, as the the leader and his followers stopped attacking, "And-" as I said that, the grease at the handle forced it to slip by my hand. They then smiled as they wielded their staves. It looked prettybad, since my friends were far enough that it'd be too late if they arrived.
Bang!
A shot from Naoto broke up the crowd as Cato, Pinky, Chidori and Fuuka reassured the guests that this was just a reenactment, and nothing serious, to which they showed much appreciation and delight.
"Let's get out of here!" The leader said to his lads, "We bit off more than we can chew, lads! Let's report back to the Queen!" He said as all of them (for none had died) ran back to the wormhole and disappeared. The guests erupted in applause as we all bowed. They actually came forward and asked for autographs. One of them actually wanted me to sign their frying pans. They praised our 'choreography' and 'improvisation'.
After the fame had died down, we ate our remaining venison. "Those guys with the sticks must really like venison..." Lee said as he chewed on the deer meat.
Cato, on the other hand, looked ashen faced as he whispered, "Those guys... It was them! They're the Grey Exiles!" He then looked at me, "You need to do something before they go out of control!"
I nodded and we packed up, as Cato said we should leave, for our own safety. When we came back home, we found a gristly discovery...
Minako's home was surrounded by police and the place looked like it was attacked by a siege team. I knew then what happened.
Minako's aunt was murdered.
A/N: I know I promised three installments, but it would be too short. Also, the ones who attacked Minato on this chap aren't in league with Elder. Just a reminder. As always, review please! Quota is still in effect and also, if you have time, vote on the poll! That'll help speed things up.
Q/A:
Blah: Depends on how you see it. And yes, Yukari wasn't there. Who said I liked her in the first place? And they won't remain a memory, since they're still there. Duh.
Why should you be surprised?
Actually, you're wrong. First, you never did truly like this fanfic, and secondly, I made that wiki annotation. And don't make theories based on some foolish thought, I inspired myself. This story used to be Months of Autumn. Just so you know.
I have an array of names I'd like to call you, but I'll keep it to myself.
Radaketor: Heh. Yes, but for me to become the real Undertaker, I'd need to beat at least 20 more. And I don't want to fight unless necessary. I'd rather we forget JD. He's not important.
Yeah, they're aware of it. Why?
Ace: 'He' is a detective. I guess they help the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
Gin: Right you are! And yeah, it kinda seemed right for Minako to know, since she eats loads of food and has tons of experience. And a Pokemon reference? It was more of a Grimm reference, but I guess that's another way to look at it.
Cutie: I guess you can call me that. I don't mind. Also, Naoto may or not be directly involved in Elder/Exile conflict. Just a small hint. :)
Level up!
Jack Daniel: So you have said many times now. You did earn it! Want some more? Kidding! And it's clearly affecting you, since you're withdrawing. Yep. I'm a bad motherfvcker and now you know this. I'm a good to good and bad to bad kind of guy.
Zombie Donald: When reviews go above 15 or 20.