My Grandpa's Back

Kohari: Well, sorry, guys. Some of you may know things haven't been so well with me for a while. But things are getting better. I had a major state of depression for the past two days for no real reason that I can think of. But like I said, things are getting better. I even got my license and won third place in a writing contest at school. I think the whole school knew that the person who got first would win. I didn't mind being beaten by the second place person, 'cause he's hotter than the Gobi Desert! lol. But y'all don't wanna hear about all that, so I'll get this fic on.

"Um...Tex?" Max asked uncertainly. When Tex had turned to him, he continued, "Are you sure it's a good idea to be riding on a...train like this?" He had to pause every time they hit a bump. He could have sworn the diverse crowd of people that separated and squished the gang was listening to every word.

"Don't be so paranoid, son," came the reply, accompanied by another bump.

"I'd have to say I agree with Max," Ray commented.

"Too late now," Tyson argued, thoroughly enjoying the ride, with the exception of the smell of stinky armpits. He was the one with the most elbow room; passengers were trying to avoid his airborne butt as he pressed his nose to the dirty safety-glass windows.

"Yeah. Might as well sit back, relax, and," Tex taking his own advice, yawned as he placed his hands behind his head, being jerked about by another bump. "You get the idea. You know, we were really lucky to get these tickets. If that old bloke's family hadn't've been too late to catch the train, he wouldn't've sold us the tickets and we'd have had to walk the whole way. And I ain't doin' that, now..."

"By the way, where's Kai?" Ray wondered aloud. "We're stopping in a few minutes, right?"

Tex's eyes shot open in alarm. "That's right - I forgot. It's our stop next."

"Ah, man," Tyson complained.

Kai leaned against the railing of the old caboose, tossing miniscule rocks from the floor onto the tracks at intervals. He had left to find a semi-private spot after the conductor had taken their tickets. Things were so old-fashioned here. He would make a mental note never to return to this place, but he had no idea where they were.

His hair whipped in every direction with the wind, occasionally getting him in the eye. But it was better than having to sit in that train compartment. He hated traveling in large groups, especially with strangers.

Momentarily, he was pulled from his thoughts. There were forests on both sides of the track as far as he could see. But among the shrubbery and timber, he caught a glimpse of a slim girl in a sky blue dress. On her arm hung a small wicker basket. Long blond hair clung to her shoulders. Her large blue eyes gazed at him as the train passed.

Kai's eyes locked on her, memorizing her, until she was out of sight. A few minutes later, the trian approached the platform, and he was forced to depart.

"Come on, Tex - where are we goin'?"

"Can't tell ya that," Tex told the boys in a singsong voice. He gave them a wink.

"This is NOT Italy, Tex!" Max cried. "You told Mr. D you were taking us to Italy."

"That was just to throw off anyone who may have stolen that info," he explained.

"Tex!"

"Kai, you okay?" Ray inquired of Hiwatari. "You don't look well."

"I'm fine." His response lacked the usual snappy tone. He did, however, give Ray the death-glare his team was accustomed to as Ray opened his mouth to pry.

He just couldn't get her out of his head...

Bunking with the drunkies was NOT cool. Camping out in alcoholic air grew old quickly. The boys had long since split up with the agreement to meet again within the week.

Kai had taken to wandering the market streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, however unlikely this seemed.

After a 2-day stake-out, he had nearly given up. He had grown weary of turning around every time a melodic voice had reached his ears. He had stopped stalking every girl who walked by in a blue dress only to find the face did not match that of the one in his memory. Had he just imagined the girl?

He glanced up to avoid bumping into a group of large men and his eyes involuntarily moved to a booth he knew sold herbs. Conversing with the vendor was none other than SHE. The blue dress, the basket...and upon closer inspection, the same eyes and face he had viewed from the train.

He stood by the booth, pretending to be checking out various herbs and spices. Her voice was beautiful - like music. Finally, he took a breath to talk to her.

"Kai Hiwatari," she said immediately, as though she knew just what he had to say. "Am I right?"

He had no time to answer.

"I know who you are. I'm the only one in my family who believes in you. So I'm sorry I can't really help you. Well, good-bye."

And then she was gone.

"She's a strange one," the vendor told him. "Goes out of town every now and again to pick herbs. Knows the best places. Good quality stuff, too. Half my stock comes from her. Nice girl.Nice girl."

Kai stared off after her. She was without a doubt a strange one...

Kohari: Okay. I'm tired of typing. And this is definitely not the end. Unless, that is, if you guys don't review. I'll be nice and demand 3. Well, get to it! Remember - no reviews, no updates. And trust me, I will abandon this story. Well, that's it for now. Tootles!

PS: This was not proofread. And we know how this site tends to jumble words together after saving changes. Sorry for the mistakes. If they really bug you, I'll fix them - if you review, of course. Well, you'd have to review to let me know about the mistakes, anyway.