Disclaimer: All Kim Possible characters are the copyright of Walt Disney Corporation. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. All other characters in my stories, that Disney doesn't own, are mine. :)
Big thanks once again go to campy for providing great proofreading service! (big grin)
Big thanks go to all who read and left reviews for Chapter 26: romantic-cancer, whitem, AtomicFire, Bubbahotek, Yankee Bard, hope master, axt, Mr. Average, warlord-xana, Kitsune6, milordo-z 2.0, NMR68, reddragonn343, Omega-Red9, Goinghome, shiro-wolfman-k, Chris Redfield-Center Chao, Farm7455, iron-mantis, snake screamer, DJ Rodriquez, Play3rtwo, and Etherelemental.
And thanks go to all who read Chapter 26. :)
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A Bond of Honor
Chapter 27 – Date Night Sitch
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)
Friday Night in Middleton. As most in the country, Friday night was a major time for many people to go out, mingle, and enjoy the various entertainments one could find around town. Teens and most adults did not have to go to school or work the next day, thus they were free to pretty much stay up late into the night. One had to be blind not to see that Friday nights were the significant start of the weekend, for traffic, both pedestrian and motor vehicles, increased heavily during these evenings, rivaled only by Saturday nights.
As with most major cities and towns, Middleton was no exception when it came to the weekly experiences of Friday Nights. As soon as the workday wound down, the traffic within center of town became nearly congested as workers hurried home or elsewhere to start the weekends, and it was not long after sunset that many people were going to the stores, the movies, bars, restaurants, and other leisure hangouts around the Main Street Business District, which was not far off the main interstate highway that connects all three cities of the Tri-City Area from north to south.
So with spring already under way, it came as no surprise that the Friday Night ventures were in full swing, far more than one would expect from the Winter Fright Nights. Warmer weather meant more people able to stroll up-and-down the streets, thus more business for all. No business owner would complain if more people came out to spend their money. Who wouldn't want more customers?
The megaplex movie theater, nearby Middleton Mall, indeed welcomed the increased number of people as any other business. Many people opted to go to the movies on weekends more than the weekdays, thus most of the theaters' employees would be working the longest and hardest during this time period, starting as usual on Friday nights.
No one could explain why most adults and teens would rather pay more to see a movie during Friday or Saturday nights compare to catching a matinee during the day. Was it because there were barely any crying children about? The closeness of friends one does not get during the day? The excitement people get by seeing a good movie? Whatever the reasons, few people could dispute how much some enjoy catching a big-screen flick during the night than during the day.
Walking out of the theater into the cool night-time air, the lights of the movie complex, lamp posts, and the nearby mall illuminating everything against the starry sky, three Middleton High School students wouldn't dare disagree that seeing a movie on Friday or Saturday nights was the best time to do so. The two girls and one boy were enjoying conversing on the action/adventure movie they'd just seen as they veered away from the mall toward Main Street. To any outsider, the redheaded girl, pretty African-American young lady, and the young man in the wheelchair looked to be the best of friends, which they were. After all, very few people were close friends to Kim Possible, and Monique Williams and Felix Renton were two of a very few to ever gain the headstrong teen heroine's trust to be part of her inner circle of friends.
After chuckling from a joke Felix made, Kim smiled at the pair walking to the right side of her. "Thanks for inviting me to the movies. I mean you guys do not have to do so, for you two are a couple and all."
Monique, strolling in the middle of the three, waved her friend's concerns away. "Kim girl, you don't have to keep thanking us," she half grinned and frowned. "Zombie Boy and I thought you could use some company tonight, so we did so. This is what friends are for."
"Yeah," Felix confirmed with a reassuring grin. "It's not like Club Banana Girl and I want to visit the 'Secret Make-out Spot' all the time," he joked as the trio veered to the right at a corner and headed south on Main Street.
Kim giggled, while Monique smirked. "True," the dark-skinned girl confirmed, "yet if I recall correctly, you weren't complaining the last time we visited the SMS."
"What guy in his right mind would have complained?" the wheelchair-bounded boy immediately countered, his expression matching his girlfriend's. He knew better to criticize with a beautiful girl sitting in his lap while engaged in snogging so-called girl.
Having caught her BF's eyes briefly roaming over her shapely form in a long-sleeved, red, form-fitting shirt, denim mini-skirt, and feminine walking shoes, Kim's Best Girlfriend Friend couldn't help but feel like she was the most beautiful lady on the planet. "Indeed," she quickly answered back, her smirk widening, "for only those guys in their left minds would have complained."
Both Kim and Felix laughed, while Monique only chuckled as she reached over to entwine her right hand with her beau's left.
"So where are we going?" the redhead cheerleader asked after a brief silence.
Felix nodded ahead with a grin. "I want to visit Comic Land to check out the newest video games that arrived this week. I think you're familiar with the store, Kim, since Ron is much a video gamer as I am."
Kim snorted an affirmative laugh, remembering the many times her long-time best friend took her to visit the place. "Not to mention he's into comics as much as The Tweebs." Felix and Monique amusedly eyed each other briefly, sharing wordlessly what they knew of the MHS's honor-roll student's experience with the store as well as its history.
Comic Land was a family-run store that was founded 50 years ago when it was just a small grocery store that sold magazines and comics. During the 1980's, when comics were starting to grow in popularity, it slowly evolved to carry much comics and games, especially when the store's ownership passed to the son who was a comic lover in heart. The new owner expanded the store in the 90's to feature comics, board games, card games, collector stuff, and video games. By now, with the help of the family's third and fourth generations, Comic Land has become the haven for comic lovers and gamers alike. There was no doubt for everyone in Middleton that Comic Land was the place to check first if anyone needed to find someone who was either a dweeb or geek.
As the three teenagers journeyed down the street toward their destination, they all thought about one person, a freckled blond boy with a goofy personality. The couple thought of times their friend would joke, play games, read comics, and just be his 'never be normal' self. The third, however, thought the same things, but her mind wandered to what her best friend was most likely doing right at this moment, and the mental pictures were not giving her happy thoughts.
"Knowing that sneaky ninja," Kim mentally snarled, while maintaining a neutral face, "she perhaps has Ron wrap up in her arms and snogging his brains out."
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"ACHOO!" a young blond man sneezed as he immediately broke his lips from his girlfriend's in order to turn his head around to avoid blowing into her face.
"Achoo! Achoo!" softer, feminine-like sneezes soon came after from the oriental girl sitting intimately close to the young man on the park bench, her arms around his body while his were around her waist.
Having recovered from their sneezing, both turned their heads to face each other and offered sheepish, amused grins as they chuckled.
"Man, that has to be quite weird, Yori," Ron Stoppable mentioned while gazing into twin ebony eyes. "I don't think I like to experience sneezing into someone's mouth. That's so sick. Yuck," he finished with his tongue sticking out.
Giggling, Yori Takana nodded in agreement to what her boyfriend had said. "Hai, that would be quite sick, Ron-kun. I am amazed though that a person is able to sneeze while kissing, especially given our lips were firmly locked together as they were."
"Yeah, that has to be one for the record books," the blond joked, prompting the pretty ninja in his arms to giggle again. Grinning, Ron removed his left arm from around her waist in order to lean back against the backrest of the bench, prompting his girlfriend to release her right arm to do the same. Their other arms however kept their positions around each other as they snuggled together as close as possible.
Looking to his right just only slightly down, the teenage boy couldn't help but think the girl in his arms was beautiful. Her outfit was made up of form-fitting black pants, simple flat walking shoes, and a long-sleeved red shirt with triangle opening collar. For tonight, given she had no pockets, she carried a strapped purse to carry her stuff. The attire was perfect for a nice cool night out on the town to do casual things.
Her gentle laughter dying down, Yori maintained her grin as she spoke, turning her head to look into those soft eyes that reminded her of warm chocolate. "In Japan, they say that if you sneeze once, someone, somewhere else, is praising you or thinking good thoughts about you. If you sneeze twice, someone is scolding you or thinking bad thoughts about you. You sneeze three times, then someone detests you or really does not like you."
"And if you sneeze four times?" Ron asked cheekily.
The almond-eyed young woman snorted a laugh, trying to not to giggle out loud. "It's a sign you are coming down with a cold."
Smirking, Ron rolled his eyes heavenward as his head faced forward. "Oh, that is soooo the sign of a cold all right, Yori." Her laughter was music to his ears as he felt her forehead came to rest on his right shoulder. It made his insides warm to know she was enjoying herself.
After her laughter went away, Yori settled down into his warmth, and only after they relaxed once again, did both look up at the night sky. Not much of the stars could be seen against the illumination of the Tri-City area, but there were enough to make out the major constellations, including The Big Dipper and Orion. It was fortunate for stargazers that the Tri-City was not that heavily populated like Los Angeles or New York City, for the stars could scarcely be seen at all in the big heavy urban areas of the country.
For the two teens, stargazing was something they came to enjoy together, next to making out at times. They would have preferred at the moment to make out, but regrettably The Secret Make-out Spot of Middleton Park was occupied when they had checked an hour ago.
After school, they had returned to the Stoppables' residence for studying until dinner, where Yori joined Ron and his parents for a good meal. Once the meal was over, the young couple had ventured out toward town and the park. They had been disappointed at first to find their make-out spot was taken by another teenage couple, who they didn't recognize, but they settled for the alternative of sitting at an almost secluded park bench. It did not give them the privacy they would have preferred, but it did allow them to engage in some good lip-lock action, which was as far as they could go while in the public's eye.
Dipping her head to eye her blond suitor, Yori warmly grinned as she took in his appearance. He was maybe a goofball at times, but for the Japanese girl, Ron was the most handsome man in the world, especially in cute ways. For tonight, instead of his usual red jersey over black shirt, he was wearing a black-and-white T-shirt over his standard cargo pants and sneakers. She knew the red jersey was his favorite attire, which he considered part of his Ron-ness, but it was good to see him in other clothes, even if he did not particularly wear them often.
Even though he couldn't see it, Ron knew Yori was looking at him. It was an uncanny ability he knew when it came to the important women in his life, and the pretty ninja was no exception despite only knowing her for a short span of time.
With an amused smirk, the freckle-faced boy spoke out what he thought of their just spoken subject. "You know what, Yori?" He paused for a moment, knowing she was listening. "Kim is one of the most popular people in the world. She would be sneezing her head off for every person talking about her. Not to mention she wouldn't able to get her homework done in time."
Yori chuckled at the mental image of the redhead girl constantly sneezing without end. "Possible-san also would not able to do her good deeds for the world, Ron-kun. We are grateful that it's just a saying and not fact."
Tilting his head down to his right to lock eyes with hers, the Stoppables' only son grandly placed his left hand over his chest. "Well, the Ron-man also is grateful, for how would he be able to eat Bueno Nacho if he is always sneezing due to all the fans around the world talking about him?"
Narrowing her almond eyes as her lips turned lopsidedly, the Yamanouchi shinobi decided to play along. "I am sure the Ron-man will survive, especially given he can to eat foods other than Bueno Nacho. Besides…" She paused for a few seconds as her grin became slyer. "I doubt he's more popular than Possible-san."
"Aw, come on, Yori!" Ron quickly fired back with a wide grin, giving a mock smugness. "The Ron-man is all the rage, right along with his hot, good-looking Japanese girlfriend. After all, they are the talk of Middleton High."
A giggle escaped her lips as she enjoyed the game they were playing. "True, but I am grateful the Ron-man is not currently sneezing."
Raising an eyebrow out of amused curiosity, the blond young man followed her lead as she inched her face closer to his, making him do the same toward her. "Oh? And why is that, ninja girl?"
"Because I would not be able to reach 'first base' with him again," Yori whispered, knowing victory was hers.
"Now that is a bon-diggity, good reason," Ron spoke just as quietly, his lips next to hers, feeling each other's breath.
"I knew you would see it my way, ninja boy," finished the Japanese girl before closing the remaining distance to latch her lips firmly and warmly on his. They moaned once before all thoughts fled the pair with the exception of each other.
As the teenage couple kissed, they were unaware of an approaching man and woman, walking together hand-to-hand on the walkway. The 30-something couple gave a warm, knowing grin at the younger pair's enthusiasm, for after all, they remembered well how eager they were with intimate affection when they were teens. Passing by, the older man and woman left the young ones to their loving bonding, but not before the woman, feeling inspired by what she saw, reached out to bring her beau's face down to hers to initiate their own soul-searing, loving, lip-locking smooch.
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"Achoo!" sneezed an auburn-haired girl as she walked south on Main Street.
"Bless you again, girlfriend," immediately spoke Monique as she eyed her best female friend, half amused and half concern. "Are you sure you're not coming down with a cold? That nose of yours has been sneezing up a hurricane several times already."
Kim waved away her friend's worries. "I'm not coming down with a cold. I'm fine, Monique. It's perhaps some dust in the air, that's all."
"Or perhaps it's pollen," Felix substituted a likely suspect to the MHS cheer squad captain's sneezing bout. After all, spring was in full swing as of now, thus pollen from flowers, trees, and other plants would be in the air.
Again, the petite and nimble girl dismissed the answer but this time with a shake of her head. "I know I'm not allergic to anything." Her lips grinned slightly to reassure her friends. "As I said, I'm fine. It's just a one-time thing that occurs to everyone once in a while. No big."
Letting go of the issue, Felix turned his head to face forward and what he saw just up ahead made him grin wide. "Well, we're here, ladies," he announced with a bit of flair as the three teens approached Comic Land.
The three-story building happened to be owned by the owners of Comic Land. For decades the family would live in the upper two levels while the entire street level would be for the business. It was roughly the length of the Stoppable's house, thus it provided plenty of room for the family to live and to stock the large selection of items for the store. Its location also was convenient, for it was not far from Middleton Mall, which didn't have a comic or game store. People would able to easily walk to Comic Land from the mall and other nearby places where large numbers of people gathered, like the Middleton Convention Center.
Using one of his wheelchair's robotic arms, Felix opened one of two glass double-doors out of courtesy for his female friends, and after the two ladies entered the young man used both robotic arms to pull both doors open to allow him to get through with enough space for his cybertronic chair. Once the doors were closed behind him, the two mechanical arms retracted back into their compartments.
"Felix!" cried out a man's voice, and the three teenagers turned their heads to see a smiling, middle-aged man with brown-blondish hair approaching them.
"Mr. Clark!" Felix called out as the man stopped before them and extended his right hand, which the wheelchair boy took and shook with firmness. "Busy as usual, I presume?" he asked.
"No more than usual, Felix," Mr. Clark responded with a nod and grin before letting go of the handshake and retracting his hand. Blue-green eyes then focused on the redhead girl to Felix's left, making the grin on his face broaden. "Kim Possible," he mentioned, causing the young woman to grin in return. "It's been a long time since I last seen you here with Ron. So how is everything going for ya and your family?" His grin became devious. "Those two brothers of yours still causing problems?"
Smirking, Kim snorted and rolled her eyes, while her ears easily heard Monique and Felix chuckling. "The typical Tweebs' sitches, Mr. Clark – building rockets, ray guns, robots, and all sorts of mayhem. Nope, just business as usual with my family."
"Knowing them," Mr. Clark began with a slight shake of his head, "I really do not expect 'business as usual.'" The 'Tell me something I don't know' smirk on Kim's face told the elder man just how right he was.
Moving his line of sight from the Possible's eldest daughter, Mr. Clark eyed the African-American girl on Felix's right. "And who is this pretty young lady?" he inquired with a welcoming expression, causing Monique to grinned slightly with a small blush.
"Mr. Clark," Felix introduced while eying his girlfriend, "this is Monique Williams." His hand then gestured to the older man. "Monique, this is Bruce Clark, the owner of Comic Land."
"Good to meet you, Mr. Clark," Monique politely greeted as her hand shook Mr. Clark's.
"Likewise, Monique," he returned the greeting with a head nod. "I presume this is your first visit?"
Dark eyes blinked in surprise. "How do you know?" Eying her beau and best friend, she saw they weren't shock at all.
After the African-American teen trained her sight back on the comic store's owner, the so-called owner gave a knowing grin. "Simply put, I have not recalled seeing you here often, compared to Kim, her brothers, Felix, or even Ron. Also since I have not seen you in any of their company, it leaves me with no doubt you're new here."
Giving a sheepish chuckle, Monique crossed her arms. "Yeah, you hit the bull-eyes," she said just before the grin on her face went from sheepish to devilish with her right thumb pointing toward the brown-haired young man besides her. "My BF here wants to check out the newest vid games that came out this week, so after we caught a movie, we came here directly."
"BF?" blinked Mr. Clark, baffled to what she was talking about. Yet after a moment or two of thinking about it, his face contorted into an expression that his mind made the connection. "Oh, boyfriend is what you meant." Eyes jetting back-and-forth between the two youngsters, the experienced man smirked and cocked one eyebrow while the other eye narrowed. "Reach 'first base' yet?"
Kim barely contained her giggles as she watched Felix and Monique blush with small grins. The wheelchaired boy answered while sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, we did, but we're not in a rush to reach 'home base'."
"That's good to hear," Mr. Clark replied with a satisfied and reassuring look. "You're good kids, and I really do not like to see any of you rush things without thinking about it." He scoffed as his eyes rolled. "I heard too many bad stories of young people rushing into playing the bed games, only to find out later the consequences of their actions."
All three MHS students nodded their head once in agreement. Even with all the knowledge and help now of these days available for adolescents, there were still bound to be stupid mistakes made, especially if the couple acted with their hormones instead of their heads.
After releasing a breath in a gentle sigh, Mr. Clark, with a kind grin, gestured with a thumb toward the rear of the store. "You know where to go, Felix, and you also can give your girlfriend the tour, if she wishes it. I have to get back to work. If any of you have any questions, I'll be at the front with my wife." With that said, he walked away, heading toward the front check-out counter.
"Thanks, Mr. Clark," Felix called after the middle-aged gentleman before waving a hand for his two female companions to follow him. "Come on, I'll show you where they keep the all the board and video games here." Putting his mechanized wheelchair in motion, the young man guided them through an aisle of racked comics, explaining along the way about the layout of the store.
The store's arrangement was pretty simple in order for customers to find what they seek. Comics were on racks positioned in rows along the center of the store with boxes of old comics on the store's left side wall. Assorted cards – sports, trading, and game cards – were situated at the front right near the check-out register. Various action figures and toys were placed at the front left side, and last, the entire rear area was for all video and board games with alcoves where tables and chairs were set up for game playing for clubs given permission to play. Overall, it was a basic, simple layout with nothing fancy.
Upon Felix finished explaining as they emerged into the store's rear from the aisle, Kim's emerald eyes, as well as the eyes of Monique and Felix's, went wide when she spotted a person standing beside a table which held a terrain setup for miniature war gaming. The Captain of the MHS Cheer Squad knew that long blonde hair and blue eyes anywhere, and Comic Land was the last place she would expect to find this girl, who was currently talking with the familiar form of the MHS Chess Captain. The redhead blurted out a name in a shocking, disbelieving tone. "Tara?"
Given their backs were facing the front, Danny Cage and Tara Sterling were not aware of the three's arrival until they heard her name called out. They turned as one and went wide-eyed upon seeing the others, yet it was momentarily, for their lips curled into grins. "Hi, Kim," the bleach blonde cheerleader greeted her squad captain.
Before Kim could say anything, Felix rolled forward to greet the boy beside the blonde. "Dan, my man!" he addressed as he held out a hand, which Danny comradely shook. "Spending time with your date tonight?" he teasingly asked.
Letting go of the handshake, Danny softly chuckled as he sheepishly scratched the top of his head as both he and his blonde companion somewhat blushed. "Well, I don't know," he replied just before his eyes and Tara's blues connected as their heads turned toward the other. Feeling reassurance as they gazed into each other's eyes, both grinned warmly, giving the confidence for the young man to ask the question. "Do you consider this a date, Tara?"
Watching him lower his hand, the blonde young woman still felt a bit sheepish, but she couldn't deny what was the truth. "We are hanging out together, are we not, Danny?" The color on her cheeks became more pinkish. "So yeah, we can say this is our first date. It's not like we can call our times playing chess in the school's cafeteria dates."
Felix smiled rakishly at the pair, while Monique gave a low approving whistle before producing a lopsided grin, her mind already could imagine how the MHS grapevine would be talking up a storm upon hearing Cage and Sterling were now officially dating. Kim, after shaking off her initial shock, gave a warm grin that one of her squad members was dating again after breaking up with Josh Mankey a few months ago. Yet the redhead's inner self was evilly gleeful, knowing Bonnie was going to blow a gasket upon hearing about Middleton High School's newest couple.
Eying the blonde, Kim could see that Tara's attire was not her typical school wardrobe, but something a girl would consider wearing on a date. Being close in color to the green sleeveless shirt the blonde wore at school occasionally, the long flowing sundress adored the body with ruffles laced along the hem and the button-up center of the torso. A matching, open, long-sleeved crop jacket provided cover for the arms and shoulders, while the feet were encased in high-heeled sandals of the same color. To top the fashion off, her long locks were held in a ponytail by a color-matching scrunchie, while a green purse hung over one shoulder by the shoulder strap. The fashion-freak inside both Kim and Monique approved greatly, for the outfit matched wonderfully with the atmosphere of spring in the air.
"Tara," Kim began while taking a few steps to stand on her squad mate's left, "I wouldn't have pegged you as the comic book type. Exactly why are you here?"
The blonde young woman giggled at her leader's words. "I really am not the comic book type, Kim. Yet, Danny," she gestured with one hand to the boy, "wanted to show me these other games which involve strategic thinking and planning. Chess is not the only game that makes people think. It just happens to be the most prestigious and well-known strategic game in the world."
"Yeah," Danny chimed in, "these games," he pointed to the table and the figurine game set, "takes more time to set up than chess, but they do require players to think how they set up their positions prior to the start of the game, or else an opponent can run over you easily." His lips became sly. "Not to mention that you have to continue to think and plan even after the game starts in order to win."
Felix added his two cents to the conversation. "It's the same with some video games, Kim. They're not all one-on-one, shoot'em, duke'em, fighting games. Some definitely need one to think and plan."
Raising an eyebrow, Kim smirked in understanding. "Like Everlot?"
"Precisely!" agreed Danny with a pointing finger at the redhead.
Hearing the game's name, Monique entered the conversation. "Kim girl, are you talking about that online game Rondo played a year or so ago? The one you entered in order to save his butt when he had gotten sent there by some weird virtual-reality gizmo?"
"That's the one," the auburn-haired girl confirmed before shaking her head fondly at the memories. "All due respect to Ron, but he hardly was the thinking type. That game was right up Wade's ally, but Ron was so green with that game that he was killed so many times before he even sought Wade's advice."
All three girls softly laughed at the mental pictures of Ron's online character being killed in various ways. Felix chuckled for his best friend's misfortune, remembering well what the blond boy told him of his experience, while Danny simply grinned, for he did not know Ron well enough since he only had met him a few times.
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"ACHOO!" a freckle-faced boy sneezed as he walked along side his oriental girlfriend on a walkway in Middleton Park.
"Who you suppose is talking about you now, Ron-kun?" Yori asked teasingly as she walked with her left arm looped into his right.
After giving a sniff, Ron frowned. "I bet it is Mr. Barkin. He's probably writing up those extra homework assignments to give me on Monday if I screw up in a class."
Yori giggled at the silliness of his words, not believing for a moment that the high school's vice-principal would be right now doing such a thing.
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"ACHOO!" a large sneeze vibrated throughout the small office room in the home of Steve Barkin.
"Cheese and crackers!" the seated big man nearly shouted as he picked up the ruined paper by the edge. "How can I write up these extra homework assignments if I keep sneezing all the time!"
With that said, the ex-military officer leaned his arm over the desk's edge to drop the paper into the waste basket with the other dozens of snot-covered homework.
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As the three young ladies' laughter died down, Monique placed a hand on her boyfriend's right shoulder as her eyes gazed into his. "I didn't know you knew the Chess Cap here, Zombie Boy." Danny raised an amused eyebrow at the nickname bestowed on Felix. "I know you're not a member of the Chess Club, so how do you two know each other?"
"Through the Middleton High Game Club, Club Banana Girl," answered the brown-haired boy, and this time, both Danny and Tara chuckled upon hearing Monique's nickname. "I may not be into chess, but Dan is into other games besides chess."
Blinking in realization, the African-American teen smacked her forehead. "Well, duh to me. It should have been obvious given the Chess Cap is scoping out other games in this store other than chess." The others snickered and chuckled, causing a somewhat embarrassed Monique to grin lopsidedly.
"So," Monique narrowed her eyes slyly at Danny, "do you happen to play 'Beat up the Zombies' that Felix and Rondo play, Chess Cap?"
Yet before Danny could answer, a feminine voice with a Spanish accent replied behind Kim's best female friend. "If you're referring to Zombie Mayhem, the answer is indeed 'yes,' for Dan is familiar with that game."
Everyone trained their sights on the grinning Mexican teenage girl standing at the threshold of one of the comic aisles. Despite that it has been a long time since they last saw her, Kim and Monique still remembered her, and now, as then, the girl was wearing a pink tank shirt, light purplish baggy pants, black belt, black shoes, and large, gold, hoop earrings.
Giving a small warm grin, Kim welcomed the newcomer by name. "Hi, Zita. It has been a long time."
Zita Flores, well known in Middleton High circles as one of the best Everlot game players, stepped forward to stand beside Felix while keeping her eyesight on Kim's. "It has been a long time, Kim. Given our busy schedules, I'm not surprised we lost touch over time." The knowing nod and grin from the redhead world heroine told the Spanish girl how much she agreed with her.
Yet after speaking with Kim, Zita's grin transformed into a large warm smile as her dark eyes came down to rest upon the wheelchair-bound boy next to her. "Felix!" she cried out just before, to the other girls' surprise, leaned over to envelope the boy in a huge hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were stopping by Comic Land? I would have come sooner, if I knew." Felix just simply grinned and hugged the girl back.
For Kim, her astonishment was short-lived upon realizing that she should not be surprised that Felix and Zita knew each other. After all, Zita was a big video game player, thus it made sense that the Mexican girl was a member of the MHS Game Club if she happened to know Ron's best male friend.
Tara came to the same conclusion as her cheerleading captain. Yet it was seeing her new boyfriend's facial expression that made her connected the dots. Dan was not shocked at all upon seeing Zita, thus it made sense that he knew her. Since Zita was not seen at any of the Chess Club meetings thus eliminating her as a Chess Club member, the bleach blonde deduced Zita must be a member of the Game Club, which both Dan and Felix were members as well.
Monique was inwardly feeling a different vibe than the other two girls. She knew it was just a friendly embrace, but she felt that hug was just too friendly, especially given how warmly Zita greeted Felix. Her left eye started to twitch as her mind mentally screamed, "WHAT IS THIS HUSSY DOING WITH MY BABY BOY?!"
Feeling the hug has gone long enough, Monique, with crossed arms, noisily cleared her throat, prompting the hugging duo to disengage and look at her. "I presume you two know each other through the Game Club, right?" she smirked while pointing back-and-forth between her BF and the Latina girl.
"Oh, yeah," Felix slightly nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "We've been friends ever since we met at my first Game Club meeting after I moved to Middleton two years ago." He hoped his answer was enough to pacify his girlfriend, given that friendly smirk did not convey what he saw in those dark eyes, making it clear that Zita's hug has prompted the Green Beast in Monique to come out.
Zita however was not perturbed; her hand resting fondly on Felix's left shoulder as she grinned. "Felix is a great inspiration to most of us in the Game Club," she said before a confusing frown marred her features. "Umm… Do I know you?"
Seeing her best friend narrowed her eyes with looks to kill, Kim immediately came to rescue before Monique said something of the wrong kind. "Zita," she grinned, "this is my best friend Monique Williams. She was there with me at Bueno Nacho last year when Ron first tried to move the relationship with you to the 'next level'," she air quoted and a frowned, remembering how silly the blond boy was during that time.
Her mind remembering too that time, Zita shook her head with a frowning grin. "Yeah, well, Ron sure did not have the moves to get to the next level." Her right index finger pointed to the redhead in curiosity. "I heard about him dating the Japanese newcomer. What level is he with her?"
"Let's just say, Zita, that Ron is on a whole another level with Yori," Kim replied, her green eyes looking at nothing as they narrowed in irritation. Zita wisely chose not to ask anything more, since it was clear to her that the redhead best friend of her former boyfriend was not happy with the new student at all.
Monique couldn't help but snicker. "It sounds you're not keeping up with the school's grapevine, Game Girl."
Zita chuckled at the nickname before sheepishly answering. "Well, I'm not into that kind of gossip, Monique."
"Not unless it involves the online game gossip on the blogs," Felix added jokingly.
Watching the Mexican girl giggle at the joke and squeeze Felix's shoulder, the Middleton High School's Gossip Queen came up with a grand way to nip in the bud any ideas the other girl may have in claiming her BF. With a smirk, she put her plan into motion. "Really?" Her speaking caught everyone's attention sans Kim, who was still spacing out with narrowed eyes. "If you read the online blogs, Game Girl, did you read Zombie Boy's blog regarding our date," she pointed back-and-forth between herself and the wheelchaired boy, "two weeks ago to the GWA Main Event?"
Just as Monique predicted, the Latina teen's eyes went wide in shock. "WHAT?!" Her head then whipped down to look at her fellow Game Club member. "You didn't tell me you were dating, Felix! Your blog didn't even mention anything either!" It was clear that Zita's voice conveyed angry disappointment.
Felix chuckled a bit nervously but he knew it was best to tell the truth to calm his friend. "Well, I really didn't have time to update my blog, Zita. I thought you knew along with the rest of the school." Only after observing his Spanish-speaking friend composed herself somewhat did Ron's best male friend train a mild glare at his girlfriend, who was wore a smug expression while pretending to interestingly look at the nearby comics.
Viewing the whole thing, MHS's newest couple was amused, especially Danny, whom Tara noticed was snickering like he knew this might happen. Leaning up toward the ear of her new boyfriend without taking her blue eyes off Monique, Felix, and Zita, the blonde cheerleader whispered low enough so he could hear but not the others. "Dan, you knew this would happen, didn't you?"
Also keeping his eyes on the trio, Danny nodded his head, his smirk widening. "Yeah," he replied just as low, leaning his head toward Tara. "I and few others in the Game Club knew Zita liked Felix yet knew he was dating Monique. I knew it would just be a matter of time before Zita found out and blew her top. She's that smitten with him."
"I can see that," Tara agreed as she and Dan watched Zita still looked somewhat peeved about learning the news the hard way.
Snickering yet again, the Chess Captain of the MHS Chess Team knew her girlfriend was no fool when it came to the school's rumor mill. "Unlike most in the Game and Chess Clubs, I least want to stay informed of the scuttlebutt, Tara. At least I learn many interesting things, right?" he finished with a wink at her.
Giggling in total concurrence, Tara looped her arm through the left one of her new BF as they watched Monique, Felix, Zita, and a still zoned, angry Kim. The more time the blonde spent with the teenage chess wizard, the more she came to like him. He may not be a hottie in Bonnie's terms, but to Tara, Danny looked cute, not to mention bright and smart, qualities she deemed more enduring than exterior appearances. "Bonnie was wrong after all," she mentally thought. "There really is more to a boyfriend than just looks alone."
Suddenly, yells and screams of distress were heard from the front of the store, snapping all six teenagers back to reality. Hearing the calls for help, a determined Kim sprung into action as she ran through one comic aisle toward the panicking human voices, and her act immediately made the other five follow right behind her.
Emerging from the aisle, Kim and her friends came upon several scared people as a worrisome Mr. Clark stood in front of them. It was clear to all that these frighten folks had just run into the store to escape something from the outside.
"Robbers!" a fearful 20-something woman told the comic store owner before pointing in the direction indicating down the street. "The Crystal Jewelry Store is being robbed by four men! We saw two of them jump out of a car and immediately rush into the store! The next thing we saw was people leaving the store in panic!"
The redhead world-known heroine didn't hesitate upon hearing the sitch. Gritting her teeth, the lithe young woman ran out of the store and headed south toward the jewelry store.
"Kim!" Monique called out as her best friend left. Letting out a frustrated "Oh!" the African-American quickly followed the leader of Team Possible, and after leaving the store she noticed her BF, Zita, Danny, and Tara following as well. Monique knew Kim just too well that she would not ever stand back and just let bad people get away with doing bad things. It was just her nature to help others, but to Monique, she would be crazy to just stand back and not back up her auburn-haired friend. If she and the others could do something to assist, so be it.
Running down the sidewalk along side the 4-lane Main Street and following the loud burglar alarm, Kim arrived at the scene where she spotted two hoodlums in an open convertible, no doubt waiting for the other two to come out so they could make a getaway. Middleton's famous teenager was not going to allow this.
Springing into the air, the lithe girl landed in the small space between the two men, startling them to look up into her sneering grin and contempt eyes. "Hello, boys," Kim spoke to them in a mock sweetly voice before leaping up to spread her legs to kick both guys right in the face with enough force to knock them out of the car.
Landing on her feet, Kim immediately cart-wheeled to the left out of the vehicle to face the driver, who was just getting up with a scornful expression. The bad man aimed a right punch at the redhead, who ducked and delivered a left side-chop to the ribs before right kneeing him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
It was then as the driver was falling to the paved roadway Kim swiveled around just in time to instinctively right side-step out of the way to avoid a thrown punch from the second thug, who had come around the parked car to attack her. Leaping on one foot, Team Possible's boss swung her other leg into an arc to side kick her attacker on the back right down onto the road beside his partner in crime.
Once her feet were again on the ground, a narrow-eyed Kim took up a determined defense position as she watched the two growling thugs slowly get onto their feet. "You're going to pay for this, girly," snarled one of the men while pointing at her. Those spoken words made the young heroine prepare for the upcoming assault.
Yet the attack did not come, for something unexpected happened to shock the two men and one young woman. Two mechanical claws latched onto the two hoodlums by the waist and raised them into the air, rendering them helpless. It was then that green eyes looked up and realized that help had arrived in the form of a friend on his hovering, cyber-robotic wheelchair.
"Thanks for the back-up, Felix!" Kim smiled thankfully at the brown-haired boy. She knew she could have taken on those two guys on her own, but she was not going to complain for any help she could get.
"No prob!" replied Felix as he controlled his chair, ignoring the noisy complaints from the captured bad men.
"KIM!" a voice cried out, alerting Kim to Monique, who stood with Tara, Danny, and Zita while pointing to the so-called getaway car. Whipping her head about, emerald eyes saw the other two robbers were already in the vehicle, and from their actions, anyone could tell they were about to floor the accelerator to make their escape.
Gritting her teeth, Kim knew the other two thugs must have come out of the jewelry store when she was dealing with the first two guys. "NUTS!" her mind screamed as her body moved immediately to try to intercept the men before they could leave, but it was too late.
As the convertible started to move with the tires spinning rapidly, the feisty redhead teen knew she would not ever able to jump onto the vehicle in time. With her hairdryer grappler not on her person, she reached into a pocket to pull out an item that was the next best thing. She threw the small thing at the rear of the car as it was leaving, and it clinked onto the metal by its tiny magnets. As Kim watched the bad guys left with haste onto the left southbound lane, almost colliding with incoming traffic, she knew the tracking device would do its job of locating the getaway car with ease.
Just as she was hearing the police sirens and the voices of foot-patrol officers approaching, Kim quickly retrieved her Kimmunicator and pressed a button, and once the image of Wade appeared, she began rapidly speaking before her tech man could uttered a word. "Wade! There's been a robbery at the Crystal Jewelry Store! Felix and I managed to stop two of the thieves but another two escaped! I placed a tracking chip onto their getaway car, a convertible! Track them!"
Without the need to be told twice, the super genius boy's hands flew across his keyboard, his eyes glued to the monitor in front of him. "Got them, Kim!" he excited exclaimed. "They're heading south on Main Street. It looks like they're going to pass Middleton Park and veer off to get onto the interstate highway."
"Good," Kim smirked victoriously. She knew as long as Wade could track them, those two thieves were good as caught. Her mouth was about to say so, until her tech wizard spoke up animatedly, catching her off-guard.
"They're in Middleton Park!" Wade eagerly stated with his eyes still on his computer screen. "I'll contact them immediately so they can intercept!" With that said, the Kimmunicator's small screen blipped off, leaving Team Possible's leader confused and bewildered.
As she heard the voice and footsteps of a police officer drawing near her, Kim nearly screeched down at the blank-screened PDA in her hands, hating being left in the dark like this. "Who's in Middleton Park, Wade?! Answer me! Who are you talking about?!"
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Walking hand-in-hand, her left to his right, on a path next to one of two ponds in Middleton Park, Ron and Yori were enjoying the brisk night air, the smell of the park's greenery, and the close proximity of one another. Yet the peaceful tranquility was broken by familiar four musical tones that rose from Yori's purse. Beep-beep-be-beep.
After the couple was shaken out of their romantic world, the Japanese ninja immediately reached into her purse to pull out the black PDA and pressed a button. Yet once the image of Wade came onto the small screen, Yori didn't have any chance to speak as the young genius nearly shouted out in excitement.
"Ron, Yori, there's been a jewelry heist!" he cried out before pressing a keyboard button. The PDA screen changed to a map of the area around Middleton Park, showing two red dots approaching fast toward Middleton Park where was shown two blue dots, indicating Ron and Yori. "Two of the thieves are moving toward you fast south on Main Street in a convertible! You need to move now so you can intercept them!"
Almond eyes narrowed as her face transformed into a determine one. One that spoke that she would stop the robbers with all she has. "Understood, Wade-san! We're on it!" Her other hand, still clutching her boyfriend's, pulled her partner along as she began to run. "Let's go, Ron-kun!"
"WAAA!" the blond boy shouted out as he was dragged through the park by his girlfriend. His footwork managed to match pace with the swift kunoichi shortly after the chase began, and soon they were both weaving around people, trees, shrubbery, and other things as they guided their movements via the map on the Kimmunicator's screen in Yori's right hand. The two blue dots on the screen were rapidly coming up to the border of Middleton Park's east side that ran along Main Street's southbound lanes, and as they drew near, the two teens saw the high metal fence that surrounded the park and knew they have to get over that fence if they had any chance of stopping the two jewelry bandits.
Spotting a very large oak tree, one of the largest in the park with branches extending over the fence and Main Street's sidewalk and southbound lanes, the nimble Yamanouchi warrior instantly devised a way to get over the park's barrier and be in position to stop the bad guys, whose red dots on the PDA were getting closer and closer to their positions.
As they came up to the tree, knowing there was no time to tell her plan to Ron, Yori let go of her suitor's left hand and quickly stashed her PDA back into the purse before drawing out another device. To brown eyes, the gadget looked like a mini-gun with a thin round protrusion on top, yet when he saw her aim at a thick branch that was over the ground between the tree trunk and the fence, Ron knew what it was right away.
As the blond young man expected, a grappler and line soon shot out of the device and imbedded into the branch, and before Ron could react, Yori wrapped her other arm around his waist. "Hang on, Ron-kun!" she warned before they were hoisted into the air toward the branch, thanks to the strong motor that was reeling in the line. Yet despite all those times he had been lifted up onto tall buildings and other structures by Kim and was used to it, the only son of Don and Hanna Stoppable still found it a bit nerve-racking at times at how fast these grapplers could raise a person in the air like this.
Reaching the designated branch, Yori climbed onto the branch followed by Ron before she released the line and quickly stored the mini-grappler gun into her purse. Afterward, the stealthy ninja began walking steadily the length of the branch with her male teammate just behind her. She was calm and confident; however Ron was starting to become edgy.
"Um, Yori? We're running out of woodwalk here, not to mention if we go any further, the two of us might end up taking a trip down onto the road?" he anxiously conveyed as the branch became narrower at they went. "I don't think the Ronster wants to become road-kill, ya know?"
"No time, Ron-kun!" Yori called out as they were over the street, and just then, loud honking car horns were heard from up the street, making both teens turn their heads toward the ruckus. From the distance, dark and brown eyes spotted the convertible as it recklessly weaved in-and-out of traffic down Main Street, annoying other drivers to blow their horns at full volume.
"Yori is right, Ron!" Wade's voice rose from inside the purse, obviously enabling to hear the conversation despite the PDA's confinement. "The crooks are approaching you now!"
The Japanese girl's left hand at once grabbed the right hand of her American boyfriend. "Prepare to jump, Ron-kun!" she instructed as they watched the rapidly approaching getaway car and the two thieves who were unaware of them, and just when the speeding automobile's front was about to go underneath the teenage pair, a single commanding word was shouted out from Yori's mouth. "NOW!"
"YAAAAAA!" Ron yelled as he and his ninja girlfriend jumped together down toward the speeding car, timing it perfectly for them to land behind the front couch seats with Yori situated between the two bad men. What happened next occurred so quickly that witnesses, who saw what happened from the sidewalks, swore it happened in a blur.
Both teens turned toward the front of the vehicle just as the two thieves were turning their heads to see what had landed in their car. Yori reacted swiftly by backhanding the thugs in the face before jumping just high enough for her feet to kick them with enough force out of the car, leaving them hanging onto the sides. Yet right after the thugs vacated their seats, Ron moved on the double into the driver's seat to take control. It was then that Yori saw the danger up ahead.
"Ron-kun, watch out!" she yelled with wide eyes while pointing at the car they were about to crash into.
With a small scream, the blond Team Possible member swerved the car to the right into empty parking spaces and slammed onto the brakes, just after the ebony-haired Yamanouchi student placed one foot on the top frame of the convertible's windshield and the other foot into the front couch-seats' backrest to brace herself for the car's sudden breaking. Surely enough, the vehicle came to a screeching halt, sending the two jewelry robbers flying forward with yells.
Yori and Ron winced upon seeing the two thugs impacted against two solid objects – one hit the rear loading door of a parked, medium-size, commercial truck and the other ended up colliding with a fire hydrant between the legs.
His face still scrunched up, Ron pointed sympathetically toward the moaning thief at the fire hydrant. "You will really need an iceberg for that one, dude." He closed his eyes and shook his head a bit. "A guy can only take so much pain between there."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Yori couldn't help but place a hand over her mouth as she tried to prevent from giggling out loud. She knew precisely what her boyfriend was referring, and it amused her, given her mind reminded her of the few times at Yamanouchi when some of the male students learned first hand not to ever make sexual ploys at the school's kunoichi. It would only make them end up in the school's hospital ward, groaning and clutching between their legs in intense pain.
It was not long before the two teenagers heard the wails of police sirens coming in both street directions, and soon police cars surrounded them. Given some of the police were not aware of who they were, the couple was given a brief scare being at the receiving end of several guns pointed at them as the officers, aiming the weapons, yelled for Ron and Yori to put their hands in the air.
Yet one officer immediately saw who they were. "Put down your weapons!" he ordered his fellow law-enforcement officers as he approached the convertible and the two high school students. "These are not the crooks! They're members of Team Possible!"
As the other police obeyed the command and began to apprehend the real thieves, Ron and Yori gave a breath of relief, and both immediately grinned upon recognizing the head officer, the sergeant who was there at the time Team Possible busted the muggers at Middleton Mall nearly a month ago.
"It's good to see you again, Serge!" Ron enthusiastically greeted the grinning officer as he came to a halt next to the car.
"As do I," Yori agreed before leaping off the getaway vehicle to land besides the Middleton policeman.
The officer gave a small laugh. "If I recall correctly, I didn't properly introduced myself the last time we met. It's Booker, Officer Booker." The expression on his face went from amusement to one of gratitude and respect. "We're once more indebted to you for stopping the bad guys, Mr. Stoppable," he nodded to Ron, "Miss Takana," he finished with a nod to Yori.
Grinning, Yori placed her hands together and did the traditional Japanese bow. "It was our honor to do what was right and just, Booker-sama. Ron-kun and I would not have done otherwise."
"What she said," smiled Ron as his girlfriend straightened herself out. "Team Possible will be there to bust the bad guys, big time!" Given his mind was so focused on Officer Booker and Yori that he momentary took his foot off the brake, making the car moved forward just a bit before the blond, with a yelp, quickly reapplied his foot to the break to halt the vehicle.
"Young man," Officer Booker warily smirked at the sheepish, grinning boy, "it's best you park the car and turn off the ignition. We don't need to have any one else going to the hospital, other than the two criminals. I'll be back in a few minutes to take down your stories for our report."
As Officer Booker walked away to converse with another officer, a still sheepish Ron rubbed the back of his head as his eyes came to rest on his girlfriend, who was giving a half-frown/half-grin look at him. Releasing a sigh, Yori pointed to the dashboard. "Park the car, Ron-kun."
"Right," the embarrassed, goofy boy obeyed as he did as he was told. A minute later, Ron vacant the parked convertible to stand besides Yori, who softly chuckled as she shook her head at the grinning young man. He really was an oddball and would be clueless at times, but she knew it made up his personality, which she slowly found to be quite endearing.
It was then that they heard the familiar voice coming from Yori's purse. "Ron, Yori? I know you're there."
With slightly wide eyes on their faces, Yori quickly pulled out the black PDA with the image of a grinning Wade Load on it. "Wade-san! We've forgotten about you!"
"Yeah, Wademan," Ron concurred with his oriental girlfriend, "the excitement was really tense these last few minutes."
Wade held up a hand and chuckled, showing he was not offended. "It's okay, guys. It's quite understandable given the sitch." After he lowered his hand, the pre-teen super-genius continued. "So, given what I heard, you busted the bad guys, right?" The young couple grinned and bobbed their heads once in confirmation. "That's good. It was Kim who informed me of the robbery at Crystal Jewelry Store. She and Felix busted two of the robbers, while another two escaped. Can you tell me exactly what you two did to stop the remaining two crooks?"
Ron and Yori was happy to oblige, thus they told Wade everything right up to stopping the getaway car. Their story verified with what the young tech-man saw on his equipment as he tracked them via the tracking device on Yori's PDA. After the young couple finished, did a satisfied grin appeared on the young African-American's face.
"Good work, guys," Wade congratulated. "These crooks' plan has been foiled. I'll inform Kim. Have a good night."
"Good night, Wade-san," Yori grinned, "and arigatou."
"Yeah, thanks, man," Ron followed with a matching grin. "Good night."
With a nod and grin, Wade pressed a button on his keyboard, causing the tiny PDA screen to go dark.
As the various police officers went about their business around them, Team Possible's blond member snaked his left arm around the shoulders of the newest member as she placed her Kimmunicator away in her purse. Upon feeling his arm hugging her, the Far Eastern young woman couldn't help but smile warmly at his comfortable presence and touch, thus when she raised her head to look into his eyes after putting away the PDA device, she reciprocated by wrapping her right arm around his waist and hugging him back.
Loving the feel of her hand on his waist, Ron goofily grinned. "So I guess this is it for our date tonight."
"Hai," Yori nodded in accord. "After we give our stories to Booker-sama, we'll head home. I think we have enough excitement for tonight."
"Yeah," he said before a contented, warm silence came between them as Middleton High's most talked about boyfriend/girlfriend stood there together, gazing into the other, and it was clear to them that they deeply cared for one another by the affectionate glow in their eyes.
Yet the tranquil silence didn't last long, for only a minute or so has passed until they both heard the rumbling of Ron's stomach, making him frown and her amusedly grin. "I think a trip to the BN is in order before I head home," the blond told himself as he gazed down to that growling part of his body. "Taking down the bad guys sometimes is hungry work."
Closing almond eyes, Yori couldn't help but giggle at his words as she snuggled her right cheek into his left shoulder. Once again, it just amazed her how much Ron-kun could burn off so much energy like that at times. For a young man who claimed proudly to be a procrastinator at certain things, he sure tended to exhibit the opposite more often than not no matter what he had said.
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Pacing back and forth with a slight scowl, Kim was clearly not happy. To anyone who did not know her, it would be best to avoid her given her current state. Monique however did know her best female friend, and the African-American knew the redhead's uneasiness was due to not being in control of the situation and being left in the dark. Since Wade had signed off minutes ago, the leader of Team Possible had given her story to Officer Hobble, and afterward, with nothing to do, Kim had started to pace, wondering what Wade had in mind to stop the two crooks that had gotten away.
Monique frowned for perhaps the tenth time or so since watching her friend's restlessness. "Will you stop trying to wear-out the sidewalk, girlfriend," she chided. "Going up-and-down like a yo-yo will not help you know what has happened since Techno Boy signed off."
"Yeah," Felix concurred as he stood besides his girlfriend, while Tara, Dan, and Zita, who were behind and to sides of the couple, nodded their heads to show their agreement. "Besides, if you think about it, I can only think of two people that Wade would have contacted to stop the thieves. Ron did tell me today at school that he and Yori were going out into town tonight. He didn't say where they were going for their date, but they were going out tonight."
Kim stopped pacing upon hearing that, her face scrunching into a thoughtful frown. She knew Ron and Yori were going out tonight, but she didn't think it by chance they were going to Middleton Park. It would explain Wade's action if her two teammates were at the park at the time.
Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by the four musical tones heard coming from Kim's cargo pants pocket. Beep-beep-be-beep
Without second thoughts, Kim hurriedly pulled out the Kimmunicator, pressed a button, and once Wade's face appeared on the screen, shouted out impatiently. "TELL ME WHAT'S THE SITCH NOW, WADE!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wade held up his hands in a calming gesture for he and the other teens were shocked by the outburst by the usual cool and collective redhead teen. "Calm down, Kim!" There were no doubts to the others the smart pre-teenager must have been scared out of his wits to see a very close-up, outraged Kim's face on his computer screen glaring at him.
"He's right, girl," Monique said as she came over and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Settle down before you really blow a fuse."
Closing her eyes, Kim nodded before releasing a breath to sooth her nerves. Her friends were right. All the screaming and yelling in the world would not help matters at all. It was just frustrating to be kept out of the loop regarding the actions taken to apprehend the last two jewelry crooks.
"Sorry, Wade," Kim apologized with a contrite grin as her green eyes opened to gaze at her youngest friend. "You obviously know I don't like being hung up like that."
Wade's grin told his leader that he was relieved that she has calmed down as well that he forgave her. "No prob, Kim. I should have expected you would be so worked-up after I signed off like that, but there was no time to explain everything."
Seeing Kim gave an understanding nod, the genius boy continued with a grin that spoke of good news. "I'm happy to report, Kim, that the two crooks were stopped, and it's all thanks to Yori and Ron."
Even though she was expecting it, the information still managed to make Kim blinked. "So it really was Ron and Yori you contacted at Middleton Park?" Her head turned to take in the grins of Monique and the others. Felix's was a tad smug, given he guessed correctly who Wade must have called.
"Yep," Wade concurred, catching Kim's attention again. "The tracking device in Yori's Kimmunicator told me she was in Middleton Park, thus it did not take much to figure out that Yori and Ron were together at the park. Given there was little time before the getaway car arrives at the park, I had to contact them immediately so they could intercept."
Monique chimed in. "So Yori girl and Rondo managed to take down the bad guys while they were in a speeding car?" The chubby 10-year-old bobbed his head once in an affirmative. "How?"
With a proud grin, Wade told the whole story that Ron and Yori told him, and once he was finished a few minutes later, it left Kim speechless and Monique, Felix, Tara, Dan, and Zita sporting admiring grins.
"That sure took timing to jump onto the car from a tree branch," Felix chuckled, being the first to speak after Wade finished the tale.
"I say," Monique agreed wholeheartedly with her Baby Boy.
Kim however frowned, for again she shouldn't have been surprised at the story at all. Yori was trained to be a ninja after all, and something, as jumping onto a high-speed moving vehicle, should be second nature for the lithe Japanese girl. Yet the feisty only daughter of James and Ann Possible couldn't help but feel like she was left out of the final grand bust. True that she and Felix busted two of the four bad guys, but it was nothing compared to how Ron and Yori busted the last two.
The frown on the MHS cheer squad captain's face slowly became a scowling one. "Like what more can that sneaky ninja can do better than me?!" she mentally exclaimed, not aware she was clutching the Kimmunicator tighter than necessary. One preteen, via video conferencing technology, and five teenagers were a bit freaked out from Kim's sudden sullen mood.
Concern, light-blue eyes still on her scowling cheer captain, Tara leaned toward Monique. "Um, Monique?" she whispered, "Why is Kim suddenly angry? I mean the crooks were caught, right?" The lithesome blonde had occasionally seen Kim tweaked by Bonnie but nothing like she was seeing now from the redhead. It looked like Kim wanted to outright murder someone.
Letting out a regretful sigh, Monique whispered back. "Tara girl, what you are seeing is the Green-eyed Monster coming forth from the deep and Kim girl is not even aware it is there. It has been coming out once in awhile ever since Ron started dating a particular Japanese girl a month ago."
Having already knew what his girlfriend was speaking about, Felix was not surprise one bit, but Tara, Danny, and Zita were shocked, given their wide-eyes. They knew Kim and Ron were close, but from past experience, it would seemed unlikely either would be extremely jealous if either one were to date others. Zita knew this first-hand due that she had dated Ron for a brief time, and Kim had not ever shown any jealous tendencies toward her. Yet now, just from looking at the angry redhead, there was no doubt that Kim cared for her blond best friend as more than 'just friends'.
As Kim's five friends watched her fuming form, they all wondered how long it would be before the Green-eyed Monster would be seeking out Yori to rip her to shreds. The same thing was going across the mind of Team Possible's techo wizard with the added thoughts that he was glad he had made the Kimmunicator's shell tough and durable, for the regular casing of a standard PDA would have already been crunched under the pressure of Kim's clenching fingers.
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Some distance away from Crystal Jewelry, next to Middleton Park, a Japanese girl was caught unawares with her nose releasing a mini-storm. "Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"
"Bless you, Miss Takana," a passing officer grinned to Yori, who nodded her thanks with a grin. She was quite aware of the American custom and beliefs when it came to sneezing, for she had heard the 'Bless you' reply many times at Middleton High as well as being told about it by Mochizuki-shishou.
"Whoa, Yori," Ron grinned teasingly at his GF. "Your nose blasted out three times there. Is someone speaking really bad things about you?" As far as he knew, only the bad guys would think such things, for his brain couldn't comprehend anyone not liking Yori at all.
Seeing that her boyfriend was joking given his humorous face, Yori played along. "I don't think so, Ron-kun. I find it hard to believe anyone would not like me," she finished with a grin, causing him to chuckle.
Yet as they stood there side-hugging each other, Yori couldn't help but to mentally frown as she felt that she was given a bad omen.
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TBC (End of Chapter 27)
A/Ns:
1) Yeah, yeah, I know this chapter is late and such, but I did say that I place no guarantees on when I would put out chapters. I felt like sitting back and just do other things than writing, like reading more Naruto fanfics, watching anime, and just recently the 3rd Season of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' has started. So I'm enjoying other pursuits other than writing my KP fanfics. :)
2) The Japanese sayings regarding sneezing is a typical gag seen in most Japanese animes and manga. From what I've read and seen, they say that if you sneeze, someone is talking about you. Yet when I did research on this through Google, I found the Japanese sayings are more profound than just speaking about someone. There are several different beliefs regarding what people are saying about you if you sneeze two to three times with the first and fourth sneeze being the same. So I'd decided to take one 'sneezing' belief and just modified it a bit to become what Yori believes in.
So, yes, in Japan, they really do have such a belief that someone is talking about you if you sneeze, and whether someone is talking about you in good or bad favor depends on the number of sneezes. :)
3) The Japanese suffix honorary 'sama' is used as a polite term of address to someone noticeably older or higher status than yourself. Given Officer Booker is older as well as a police officer, I figured it was right for Yori to use this suffix honorary when addressing him. I'd thought of using 'sensei' given it is use to address anyone of a high profession, but I really can't see a police officer on the same professional level as say Kim's parents.
I also read online that one can use 'sama' when addressing a person who also has a 'sensei' suffix. A 'sensei' can be a 'sama', but not every 'sama' can be a 'sensei'. This is another reason why I chosen Yori to address Officer Booker as 'sama'.
4) Once more, I was inspired by Real Life pop culture for the KP style names of two OCs in this chapter.
The name of 'Bruce Clark' was derived from the first names of two well-known, long-standing comic book characters, and yes, give yourself a pat on the back on figuring out that it was indeed Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent I'm talking about. ;)
When I was thinking up a name for the police sergeant, my mind remembered that TV cop series starring William Shatner. I couldn't help but think it would be perfect to spoof that name, and given the typical police sayings of 'booking' criminals, I immediately came up the name 'Sergeant Booker'. However, I just want to say that no, Sergeant Booker does not look or act like T.J. Hooker, okay? XP
5) The following are going to be spoilers for the Season 4 episode "Graduation", the KP series finale. Given this is the last Author Note, you can stop reading this to avoid being spoiled, and yes, something about the episode has to do with "A Bond of Honor"….
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It was shown in "Graduation" that Felix Renton has gotten together with Zita Flores, the girl Ron briefly dated in "Vir-tu-Ron". This couple has come out of left field, causing quite a surprise to me and other fans. It was totally unexpected.
Will this news change things in "A Bond of Honor" where Felix is dating Monique? To be honest, I really do not like to break up Monique and Felix to fit this fic with canon. Other than knowing they are both gamers, there is nothing else I can see that makes me feel Felix and Zita are perfect together. There is very little information regarding Zita as a person, and given Monique and Felix's personalities and likes, I still feel they are quite compatible together even though they have not ever met in an episode.
So despite what has happened in canon, I'm not going to break-up Monique and Felix. In honor of the finale, this chapter showed Felix does know about Zita through the school's Gaming Club and they are friends. Monique in ABoH just happens to snagged Felix first before Zita could even think of carrying anything further, that's all. Nothing in canon ever said when Felix and Zita has gotten together as a couple, and in my mind, it happened during the senior year. ;)
Hmm… Yet this might make for an interesting second relationship triangle next to ABoH's primary one of Kim, Ron, and Yori. It would be ironic for Felix to be in a triangle with Monique and Zita while Ron is in one with Kim and Yori. (Big Grin)