Chapter 4: Uneasy Nights and Days
Notes: You know the drill. FF7 is Squaresoft's and Laura is LadyTifa26's.
"Rachel? Rachel? HELLOOOOO?!"
Rachel could hear something vaguely when she just hit consciousness again. She felt still a little wet, but warmer, and she felt the weight of covers on herself. Feeling a little weak, she didn't bother to answer. Until, of course, she recognized the voice of who was trying to talk to her.
"AHHHH!" Rachel sprang up, and crawled backwards into a hard pillow, at the sight of red hair and brown eyes looking back at her. She felt exhausted after doing so though, and coughed for a few moments.
It was Kiro sitting there, in a chair right beside Rachel's bed, in her white dolphin shirt leaning forward on her knees. She looked a little freaked out, and scowled. "You're sick, you realize that?" she asked. "You shouldn'tve ran through the rain."
"W-WHERE AM I?!" shouted Rachel. She went through another bout of coughing when Kiro tried to pat Rachel's back to make her feel better. Rachel noticed the hand approaching and slapped it back repeatedly, when she missed and hit Kiro hard in the head. ". . .Oh crap."
". . .Huh?" asked Kiro, just changing personalities again. "Rachel? In a bed?! AWESOME! HOLD STILL!" Rachel cowered, when Kiro stopped. "Oh yeah, you're sick. Even I'm not that low," said Kiro. "That's disgusting. It's like sleeping with a hobo, or. . .or Bill Clinton."
"Thank you, illness. . . ," sighed Rachel. She suddenly felt very dizzy, and fell back into her pillow, going through a sudden chill. She couldn't stop shaking. Feeling feverish and shivering because of the cold, she didn't know whether to pull the covers over herself, or the pull them off. Her decision was just to lie there. ". . .What is this place?" She looked curiously at the old wallpaper and water stains on the ceiling in the small room, with hardwood floors that were dusty and unkempt, then at the scratchy covers she was in. The room only had one bed.
"It's an old motel, as you can see," said Kiro. "I had to use the last of our money to get you out of the rain. You need medicine, you know."
"I take it that I do. . . ," said Rachel in a raspy voice, then coughing to clear it.
"Good thing you bought the water. . . ," said Kiro. "You're gonna need it. . . Want it?"
"Not now. . . ," said Rachel. "How long of a stay do we have here? It smells of feet."
"That's not the room. That's your own puddle of drool."
Rachel scowled and the wet spot under her face, and scooted back.
"We only have one night. Rooms even like this aren't cheap in London," Kiro sighed.
Rachel made an effort to smirk. "You have me in a room, in a bed for one night, and you can't have your way with me because I'm sick. This is like some sort of blessing for me, isn't it?"
"Not if it's pneumonia or the flu. . . ," said Kiro. "I think it's just a cold, but you're too weak to go out and start looking for everyone. If we leave after tonight and you're still sick, you'll collapse again and you'll probably get worse. Why did you have to run off?!"
"I panic when I'm lost. . .Which is sort of often. . . ," said Rachel, turning over in her sheets. ". . .You have no idea how crappy I feel right now."
"At least you're not as frustrated as I am. . . ," said Kiro, leaning forward again. "So vulnerable. . . But. . .you're sick. And that's sick. But you're just lying there. . ."
Rachel was growing uncomfortable from the uncertainty whether she should run and collapse again, or Kiro would snap to it and forget the idea.
Kiro, not being that stupid, leaned back again. "No, you're sick. And you need medicine. . .We don't have any money, though. . ." She bit her lip, thinking what she should do. Kiro couldn't help but just sort of eye Rachel in the bed there. She tried diverting herself with a fly buzzing around the lamp. No good. Then she stared at the ceiling. But as if that was any bit interesting.
"How much is your soul worth?" asked Rachel.
Kiro scowled at her.
"Okay, yeah, right, we're not going to sell that. . . ," said Rachel. "It'd only be worth a shilling or two. . ."
"Get sleep," said Kiro, trying as hard as she could to bring her thoughts off that.
Rachel looked suspiciously at Kiro. Though, she did feel incredibly weak. She could barely feel her limbs. Alternating her eyes from shutting and then snapping open to check if Kiro was pulling something, she slipped back slowly into sleep. She didn't find Kiro doing anything other than trying to think.
But she really didn't quite know what Kiro was thinking, did she?
"So, we lost Kiro," said Cloud, analyzing the situation when Tifa and Laura explained everything. ". . .You sure that's really much of loss?"
"Kiro. . . ," said Alannah. ". . .Is that the one with the red hair? Really horny almost all the time?"
"You catch on quickly," said Tifa, pacing back and forth.
"Now that you mention it, I'm not totally eager to meet her. . . ," said Dayna.
"Especially since she's bisexual, meaning nobody is safe," said Laura.
Dayna cringed.
"Yeah, you've got the impression," said Cloud. "Don't worry. She's more focused on scoring with Rachel more than anyone else."
"But isn't Rachel the other one lost with her?" asked Dayna.
"Which is the other half of why we're so worried," said Tifa. "We don't find them fast enough-
"And Rachel might just have became. . .a woman, you might say," said Laura, sounding a little disgusted.
"Don't make us think about it. . . ," said Aeris, clenching her eyes shut.
"Bad images," said Kyoko.
"The thought of Rachel doing that, does more than sicken," said Vincent.
"Pepto-Bismol, please," Mike requested.
"Does anyone know how we can find them?" asked Tifa.
"Interpol?" asked Chikara. "I've heard about that, but I think that was only France. . ."
"I don't think it's that drastic. . . ," said Holly.
"I have an idea," said Kiako. "I can locate them on my laptop. But it could be difficult. . .I can only hack records of credit cards to find them, if they've bought anything, and if they've bought through cash, it'll be something new. . Especially since there aren't really any records about people paying in cash. Just credit card or check."
"We'll keep that in mind. . . ," said Tifa.
"I'm hopelessly lost around most of London. . . ," said Dayna. "But I can look into the areas I do know. . . .Will you stop that?!" Konoshi was poking Dayna's arm.
"You seem familiar," said Konoshi. "And I like poking people."
"STOPPIT!" shouted Dayna, finally smacking Konoshi's finger back.
Konoshi went waving it in the air, trying to reduce the sting. "Meanie. . . ," she grumbled.
"Still, thanks for the help, Dayna," said Tifa.
"Hm," said Konoshi. "The name is familiar, too. HUGGLES!" Konoshi stood up, giving Dayna a giant hug. Dayna lowered her head and sighed.
"Does she have some sort of hugging complex?" asked Dayna.
"Only to those she likes," said Cloud. "Konoshi, let the poor girl go."
"Huh?" Dayna looked at Konoshi for a minute. "Silver hair, pink highlights. . .the clothes. . .That's impossible."
"What? My hair isn't that hard to-
"No, that's not it. . . ," said Dayna, looking at Konoshi very hard. "Konoshi. . .I know where I've heard the name before. . . Rachel's character?"
"Rachel's missing," said Tifa.
"It's a different Rachel," said Dayna. Dayna shook her head. "No, it's not possible. Just a coincidence."
"At any rate. . . ," Tifa sighed, taking a seat on one of the beds. "We need to find them. In the morning, we should probably scour everywhere. Leave no stone unturned."
"Do bricks count as stones?" asked Chikara.
Tifa glared at her skeptically.
"Never mind. . .," said Chikara quickly, before whistling a tune.
"Why don't we just look now?" asked Keily.
"Because it's dark. We won't have much luck searching when it's dark and raining. And we need sleep," said Tifa. "Let's turn in, okay?"
"If that's the case, I'll meet you here in the morning," said Dayna, approaching the door. "I'll meet you in the lobby at nine o'clock."
"That's fine. Check-out time is eleven," said Tifa.
"All right," Dayna said, opening the heavy hotel door into the bright fluorescent hallway. "I'll see you all later." She shut the door after exiting, making her way to the elevator.
"So. . . ," said Tifa, after Dayna left. ". . .Where have you all been?"
"CIRCU-MMPH!" Kristi quickly shut Chikara's mouth.
Tifa sighed. "I told you all not to leave!"
"How did you guess we went somewhere?" asked Cloud.
"Because you're you, and you never listen to me," said Tifa,.
"Meh," shrugged Keily. "It's a process that works."
"BUT IT WAS FUUUNNNN!" said Chikara. "The acrobatics, the jumps, tricks, and we still have an asswad of money!"
"Huh?" asked Tifa. "From what?"
Everyone looked at Yuffie from the corner of his or her eye.
"WHAT?!" asked Yuffie. "YOU WERE ALL HAPPY BEFORE!"
"Yes, before," said Mike. "But now since we all feel not like dying within the hour from Tifa breaking our bones/skulls, it's time we get our scapegoat."
"THAT'S NOT NICE!" said Yuffie.
"Nobody said we were nice. . . ," said Mike.
Yuffie made a nervous smile in the direction Tifa was in.
Tifa was fuming.
"Am I-
"YES, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY DEAD," said Tifa, cutting Yuffie off. "You can't steal! Not with us around! Otherwise, people will think we're thieves, too!"
"I'm not a thief!" said Yuffie. She took a more dignified pose. "I AM THE GREAT NINJA YUFFIE, PRINCESS OF WUTAI, AND ALL AROUND SPECIAL!"
"Don't make us crack 'special' jokes, Yuffie. . . ," Tifa grumbled.
"Don't make me clue you in like you're disposition is of a grandmother with a bowel problem. . . ," said Yuffie.
Tifa frowned.
"And that you never do anything fun anymore. . . ," Yuffie continued.
Tifa glared.
"Yuffie. . .?" said Holly. "You might want to-
"With your looks, you'd look like a much nicer person, but no, you're so serious, you don't have a life anymore, and I think you enjoy taking us down with you."
Tifa turned red.
"YUFFIE. . ." said Holly. "QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD. . ."
"And what was up with ditching us, huh? Yeah, that's really supportive. Just run out on us, why don't you?!"
"STOP. . .STOP BEFORE WE GET BRUTALLY MURDERED. . . ," said Cloud tensely between his teeth.
The overall level of comfort in the room dropped to a negative eighty points.
Tifa gained an eye twitch.
People feared for their lives.
Yuffie dragged on. "While you're trying to go on some sort of self-improvement thing, did you ever consider wearing something with less skin? Someone might think you're easy with the short skirt and tight shirt, you know? What are you doing, trying to sell your body for cash? I mean-
"YUFFIE, I DON'T FEEL LIKE DYING!" said a distressed Jessie.
"-wear pants or something, and maybe-
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tifa went straight for Yuffie.
"YEEEEEEK!"
Rachel was tossing and turning. She sort of had this bad feeling as she slept. There was something wrong.
Kiro however, was doing just fine. Well, something just fine according to her.
She had positioned herself right above Rachel on all fours. Struggling inside her mind though was a little argument. . . She's lying there, right under her. But she's sick. But she's there. But she's sick. But she's vulnerable. But she's diseased. But she's cute when she's asleep. But she's generally cute all the time-I mean, she has an illness.
"Oh, hell with it. . . ," whispered Kiro under her breath, moving steadily downwards.
"PENGUINS DON'T WEAR UNITARDS, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE EGGPLANT IS BLUE!" shouted Rachel, snapping awake. "Huh? AHHHH! KIRO, GET THE HELL AWAY!" She strained her voice, and coughed a little more.
"YOU KNOW WHAT ALWAYS MAKES ME FEEL BETTER, RACHEL?!" asked Kiro.
"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!" shouted Rachel.
"OF COURSE YOU DO, RACHEL!" said Kiro, her nose now touching Rachel's nose. "KISS ME!"
"I DON'T WANT TO, AND YOU KNOW I'M-MMMMPPPPHHH!" After trying to struggle and get as far away from Kiro's mouth as possible, she was still too weak and try to throw Kiro off, only leaving Kiro to kiss Rachel again.
"NOW!" Kiro declared. "LET'S GET YOU OUT OF THESE WET CLOTHES AND INTO MY PANTS!"
"OKAY! I WON'T FEEL GREAT AFTER THIS, BUT. . .YEAH, WHO AM I KIDDING, I'LL FEEL BETTER!" Rachel picked up her legs and knocked Kiro off of her, leaving her to land on the floor.
Rubbing her head, Kiro picked herself off the floor. She grumbled, and went back to sitting in her chair.
". . .You're quiet. I don't trust you when you're quiet. Hell, I don't trust you at all! What are you doing?!" Rachel was monitoring Kiro as best as she could with he dizziness.
Kiro looked pensive, sitting in her chair. She just seemed to sit and think for a while. Looking back at Rachel, she stuck the back of her hand onto Rachel forehead, and the gap between her eyebrows intensified.
"You're hot," said Kiro.
"Why, thank you," said Rachel. ". . .Never mind. I never want to hear that from you again."
"Don't be so bitter about it," said Kiro. "I need to get you better again. . ."
"Don't worry. . . ," said Rachel. "I'm fine-ACK, COUGH, HACK!" She went into another coughing bout that made her sound like a cat with a furball. She wheezed back. "I'm fine. . .Just fine. . ."
"That's it," said Kiro, standing up. "I don't have any other choice." She walked briskly for the door.
"HEY!" said Rachel. "DON'T LEAVE! Uh. . .Wait, do I really want you here? Yes, that I do. . .But then again, it is you. . .But I don't feel like dying!"
"I'm not leaving you stranded here," said Kiro. "I'll be back in a few hours. Get some sleep." Shutting the door, Kiro's footsteps could be heard trailing away from the door.
". . ." Rachel was left a little silent and confused. ". . . .Please don't tell me she's off to get condoms. Or sleeping pills. Chloroform?!" Rachel became a little paranoid. After that last theatric, she didn't know what to expect from Kiro, whether she was really out to do something to help, or whether she was going to drug Rachel and do. . .things. Evil, evil things. But the sickness had taken the better of her, and put her through another period of sleep.
"OH CRAP!" Dayna found herself lost again. "I should've asked which way was south to the apartments. . ." She was walking around a neighborhood full of alleys and brick buildings, just passing a few shops, and one with a busted neon sign. She quickly eyed some of the people she was passing. The type of homeless sort. The ones that sort of eyed her in a way that made her uncomfortable. She regretted wearing the skirt. Moving quickly and turning her head in the direction she thought was south, she ran into a girl with a white dolphin shirt and short red hair. "Ah! Oh, I'm sorry. . . ," Dayna apologized.
The girl shook her head. "Uh, nah, I'm fine. . . I uh, I have to go!" The girl went running off in the other direction.
Dayna shrugged and kept moving on. "I guess she's just as uncomfortable here as I am. . ."
"Cloud? Cloud? Cloud? Cloud? CLOUD?!" Aeris was shaking Cloud, sleeping in the bed next to hers. "COME ON! YOU SNORE TOO LOUD!" It was late night, and everyone was trying to get some sleep.
"Where's my teddy, mommy? Where's Mr. Huggleton?" asked Cloud in his sleep. He felt Aeris' arm. "THERE HE IS! I'VE MISSED YOU! YOU AND MR. WARKSTER!" He hooked his left arm sharply around Aeris' neck.
"ACK!" Her head was stuck to his side, around his armpit. Her chin scooted itself upward for air, when she noticed Tifa's head there in the same spot, just on the opposite side.
"Nice to see you," said Tifa. "I was going to wake him up when he said 'MR. WARKSTER!' and grappled me."
Aeris laughed weakly. "It explains a little bit to why you weren't on the other side of the bed. How do we get out of this?"
"Hey, don't make Tifa move. . ." said Mike, forced to share the bed with Cloud and an assortment of others. What, you think they were going to put girls in the same bed with guys?! Sick freaks. . . "I like her in my lap."
"Heheheheh. . ." Stephen was where Tifa's chest was. "This is nice. . ."
"Huh? Who's ass is this? It looks nice." Kami found Aeris lying on top of him. "Hey Aeris, I know I'm a stud, but. . ."
"Don't flatter yourself," Tifa grumbled. "It's not like she wants to be there."
"Huh?" Yuffie woke up from the other bed, covered in bandages from Tifa's attack. "HEY! ARE TIFA AND AERIS TRYING TO-
"NO," they said together.
"Okay, on the count of one, we smother Cloud in his sleep," said Mike, holding up a pillow, trying to release Tifa and Aeris.
"Whose idea was THAT?!" asked Kami.
Stephen raised his hand.
"No, death isn't an option. . . ," said Tifa. "I say we just-
"HEY CLOUD!" shouted Chikara in his ear. "WAKE UP!"
He continued snoring on.
"Will you guys please listen to me?!" asked Tifa. "This is all we have to do." She move her head closer to his ear, when she stopped, then cleared her throat and whispered, "pornos".
He let them go and sat up, whipping his head around.
"CID?! YOU MEAN YOU WENT OUT AND BOUGHT MORE?! RENO?! CAN I BORROW ONE?! . . .Huh?" He was surrounded by everyone, eyeing him. ". . .Am I finally popular?"
"For tonight, you certainly are," Tifa grumbled.
"Oh, so you DO acknowledge my charm. . . ," said Cloud. "OW!"
Tifa punched him hard on the shoulder. "Stop snoring. Go to sleep."
"Erm. . .Huh?" The light was turned off in the motel room when Rachel first woke up. Her dizziness had gone away, and her throat was a little better. She was a little warm, but the chills were gone at least. On the whole, she was feeling much better than before she had fallen asleep. Clicking on the light, she noticed the clock, flashing its red numbers. From the time she had fallen asleep, eleven thirty, it was now four fifteen. Across from the black plastic clock, there was her bottle of water, Kiro apparently having taken a drink out of it by noticing some of its contents gone, and there was a bottle of clear, purple liquid. Her mouth tasted funny, and the security plastic wrap they keep on the lid of the bottl was discarded and torn beside it. Her hand searched for balance to the left, when it found an indent in the bed that was a little warm.
Kiro's back was turned to Rachel. She was sleeping soundly, and her hair looked a little messed up. Her shoulder prevented Rachel from really seeing if she was asleep.
Rachel nudged Kiro's shoulder. She received no sign of her being awake. Had she done something? How did she get the medicine? Rachel persisted in her attempt to wake her up.
"Mm, what is it? . . .Rachel?" Kiro muttered groggily. ". . .Are you better?"
"Kiro, how did you get this?" Rachel lifted up the bottle with the clear purple liquid, saying "Dimetapp" on the label, indicating it was cold medicine. Instead of automatically answering Rachel, Kiro bit her lip again, and hauled herself out of bed. "Did you find out that you just had that with you? Did the motel owner give it to you? What?"
"I. . .can't tell you that. . . ," said Kiro, scratching her head, walking in front of the bed and dodging Rachel's eye contact.
"Well, when did you get back?" asked Rachel.
"I'd say about twenty minutes ago. . . ," Kiro replied, still groggy.
"What took you so long?" Rachel then asked.
Kiro didn't reply.
"Huh? Did you just-
"Don't pry, okay?!" Kiro snapped.
Rachel raised her eyebrows in shock. She pinched her eyebrows together, and scooted back, tucking in her legs, making a space where Kiro decided to sit. "You seem thoughtful. I KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING!"
Kiro recoiled. "Uh. . .It's not like I did it because I liked it! Well, kind of, but-
"Oh, you don't have to tell me. . . ," said Rachel, squinting her eyes in the stereotypical "I know what you did last Summer" kind of way. "The hair, the look on your face, coming back late. . .YOU WERE. . ."
Kiro flinched.
"DOING DRUGS!"
She fell over. "I WAS NOT DOING DRUGS!"
"Oh," said Rachel. "THEN YOU WERE. . ." She sighed and fell over.
". . .You're giving up just like that? No protest?" asked Kiro.
"Meh," said Rachel, shrugging. "It's too late at night to argue. Or is it too early in the morning? I think whatever your excuse is, is just fine. . ."
"Okaaaaay. . . ," said Kiro, just sort of going along with it.
"I REALLY DO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING, THOUGH!" shouted Rachel. "YOU WERE. . .YOU WERE. . .Oh hell, I have no idea."
This time, Kiro fell off the bed.
"WHAT?!" asked Rachel.
Kiro stood up and sat on the bed again, half smiling, half groggy. "You really are that clueless, aren't you?"
". . . . . . . . ." Rachel was sort of silent. ". . . . . . .Why are you smiling? Please stop smiling. It scares me."
Kiro just sort of scooted closer.
Rachel panicked. "YEEK! GET AWAY! I HAVE, uh. . .BAD TASTING MEDICINE! AND I KNOW HOW TO USE IT! TWO TABLESPOONS FOR PEOPLE ABOVE 14! . . .Hey, that's me! I mean. . .AHHHHH!"
"Gyah!" Tifa shot upwards in her sleep.
"Muh? What is it, Tifa?" asked Aeris, sleeping next to her. "I don't think Cloud is snoring again. What, do I snore?"
"No. . . ," said Tifa. "I had this odd feeling something happened to Rachel. . . Something good, and something terribly, terribly wrong."
"It's just a dream. . . ," Aeris said in a half-asleep state, her eyes still closed. She stuffed her head deeper into her pillow and talked to Tifa with her voice muffled. "And if you don't think it's that, it just means you care. Now, get some sleep. . ."
"Hah. Care about her, my ass," said Tifa, lying back down, pulling the covers on herself again. "I wonder why I don't have anymore dreams about flying, pancakes, and naked men. . .Good dreams. . ."
"MMM, MMPH, PHMMPHMPHMMMMM!" Ever shout in someone's mouth while they're trying to kiss you? Well, even if you haven't, I hope you never have to do so. Rachel was screaming, and thrashing around, while Kiro was trying to have her way with her again.
"Hm?" Kiro disengaged lip lock (hey, I like that. . .) for a moment. "What did you say? And do that again, it was kinda kinky. Like my mouth was set on 'vibrate'."
"ICK!" Rachel shouted. "I SAID, 'WILL YOU PLEASE GET OFF OF ME?!'!"
"Oh," said Kiro. ". . .NO!" She quickly shook her head with her reply, and dove back in. Rachel twisted her head, and Kiro missed. "Come on Rachel, playing hard to get isn't very fun in bed!"
"IIIIIIICK! ICKY, EW, EW!" said Rachel. "DON'T EVER SAY THAT, STOP TRYING TO GET LAID WITH ME, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, DON'T EVER TRY AND DO STUFF LIKE THIS AGAIN!"
"You mean like getting you medicine to make you better?" asked Kiro. "Okay, fine, I'll stop caring and let you die."
"Of a cold?" asked Rachel skeptically.
"Hey, it could happen," said Kiro, gently but quickly shrugging her shoulders.
"Kiro?" said Rachel.
"What?" asked Kiro.
"Uh, let me see, what am I trying to say? Oh yeah! WHY ARE YOU STILL ON ME?!" Rachel screamed.
"RACHELLLLLLL!" Kiro whined. "COME ONNNNN! I SWEAR, MY PANTS ARE REALLY COMFORTABLE, AND THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR TWO!"
"OH, HERE COME THE HAUNTING IMAGES AND EMOTIONAL SCARS. . ." said Rachel. She tried moving her arms, but Kiro had already pinned them down, and she couldn't kick her off like before because Kiro was right on her legs.
Kiro grinned like the Cheshire cat. "All right Rachel, you can't get away now. . ."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"
A couple was moving through the hall up the stairs when they heard Rachel's scream. The woman piped up.
"Uh. . .what do you suppose they're doing in there?" she asked. The man answered.
"If it's anything, it's what all people go through. . ." he said.
"I can't quite say that. . .Not for men. . . ," said she. "By the sound and volume of the scream, I'd say it's someone giving birth."
He smirked. "Well, this isn't a hospital, so I suppose that can only mean one thing, especially in this location. . ."
". . .You mean. . .?" Come on. You know what she implied.
"Of course!" he said with a great big smile. "This place must be haunted!"
She fell over. "That is no ghost of someone going through medieval torture!" she protested. "It's something of. . .more natural elements."
"Oh." He said abruptly. ". . .This place has rats and they hired a cat? Now, now, I don't think rats scream like that."
"NO! AAHHHH! GET AWAAAAAY!" They heard Rachel scream again.
". . .Brutal murder?" asked the woman.
"Don't want to be at the scene of the crime," he replied. "Let's go. . . And we'll say nothing if there's a pool of blood seeping under the door and knife marks in the room."
"OW!" Kiro was finally knocked to the ground again. "Damn, you sure know how to get someone off and give them potential brain damage, you know that?" she asked, rubbing her back, which she landed on.
"Crap," said Rachel. "I was hoping I'd hit your head." She sighed. "But I have no such luck. . ."
Kiro gave a disappointed scowl and hopped back onto the left, unoccupied side of the bed.
"Hey. You no sleep there," said Rachel. "I don't trust you sleeping there."
"You don't trust me at all. . . ," said Kiro. "I'm neither sleeping in the chair, nor on the floor. Deal with it."
"FINE!" said Rachel. "Keep your hands to yourself. . ."
"Kiro, get your hand off my ass," snapped Rachel, trying to get some more slumber. About one minute into trying to sleep, and Kiro was acting up.
"You're no fun!" protested Kiro.
"Your hand isn't gone. . . ," said Rachel. Rachel felt the hand go away. "Thank you. Now, we're supposed to be getting sleep. Stay on your side."
"Fine," said Kiro. She dropped off a little afterwards, and Rachel tried going back to sleep as well. Until of course, Kiro curled up and took the blankets from her.
Rachel pulled the covers back on her side.
Kiro curled and took them back.
Rachel shivered, and pulled them over.
Kiro grumbled and tugged them all on her.
"GYAAAAAAH!" Rachel lifted her pillow in an attempt to smother Kiro in her sleep, when she stopped, and sighed, looking at Kiro trying to sleep. Instead, Rachel just took her pillow and went on the floor to sleep. ". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AIEEEEEEE! SCREW THIS IDEA!" Rachel thought she saw a bug skitter across the floor, and hopped back on the bed. "Okay, if I can't have the blanket OR my personal space, then there is one thing left to do." She cleared her throat. "AWAY WITH YOU!" Kicking her legs, she knocked Kiro off the bed.
"Zzzzzzzz. . ." Unsurprisingly from previous experience, Kiro didn't wake up from the fall. Rachel stole the covers and went to sleep.
"Uh. . .Mmm. . .hey. . .no. . ." From the sounds of it, Tifa still had an unsettled sleep, and she was left to toss and turn while still packed like a sardine by sharing the bed with three other people. "Mmm. . .grr. . ." Rolling over and over, tossing and turning in her spot, she veered quickly to her right.
"Hmm?" Korus sat up from sitting on the floor, awakened by Tifa's incessant mumblings. He decided while he was up to take a trip to the bathroom, stood, and began to make his way to the bathroom door. ". . .Wha?"
Tifa, to her folly, had unwittingly moved so much and so sharply, and her arms seemed to have caused her to seemingly embrace Aeris, to her immediate right, and their heads were only about two inches away.
"ALL RIGHT!" shouted Korus, apparently excited. "THIS IS WHAT ALL MEN LIVE FOR! WHERE'S THE CAMERA?! DO WE HAVE A CAMERA?! OR BETTER YET! A VIDEO RECORDER! TIFA, JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"
". . .Huh?" Tifa woke up upon hearing her name, then saw Aeris' head right in front of her. "EEEEEEEEEK!"
"AAAHHHHHHH!" Aeris woke up after Tifa screamed in her face.
"What?" asked Yuffie, to Aeris. ". . .YAH!" Tifa and Aeris were still like they were, but screaming.
"What's the hubbub, bub?" asked Nyow sleepily, the next person beside Yuffie. ". . .What the freak?!"
"Hey, now, what?" Cloud sat up from the next bed, and saw Tifa and Aeris together like that. ". . .Whoa. That puts a new twist on the love triangle, now doesn't it?"
Recoiling her arms quickly, Tifa sat up, and Aeris scooted farther away as well. "I wasn't doing a thing!" said Tifa. "I was just having this dream, and I must've been rolling around."
"Hmm. . . ," said Korus. "I did wake up because she was making noises in her sleep and rolling around. . .Or so I thought. Were those noises, SOMETHING ELSE?!"
"EEEWWW!" Tifa and Aeris exclaimed in unison.
"Or not, as it seems. . . ," Korus sighed. "And I did so want to tape that. . .OW!"
Kami threw a shoe at his head. "Shut up, you pervert. . ."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Dayna. "IT'S SIX O' CLOCK ALREADY?!" She had just arrived at her apartment building. "And I realized I could've just taken a taxi or bus here. . ." She sobbed and began hitting her head on a sign.
"Mommy, what's the scary lady's deal?" asked a little boy, looking outside the window of his room.
"Ung, just ignore her. . . ," said the mother, pouring a pot of coffee for so early in the morning.
"But she just started hitting her head on the sign, and now she's kicking it. . .and it's bending. . . ," said the boy. "I don't think people can do that without hurting themselves. . ."
AN3: ::lying on couch, half asleep:: I became so lazy, and this was becoming so long, I had cut it off into two chapters, so now that I happened to have cut it off in the middle, I have a thirteen page head-start on finishing the next chapter.
Everyone: Uh. . .Yay? When did we get a couch?
AN3: We have an official Alternate Earth Lounge, next to the Tifa, which also has a fully stocked liquor bar.
Everyone: ::stares::
AN3: Hey, the more fanfare we get, the more additions we get to the set! We now have a spacious lounge, a bar, and a snack table!
Stephen: How much longer 'til we get a masseuse and a sushi chef?
AN3: QUITE a while. . .Not after I spent all this time getting the lounge and bar.
Tifa: ::sitting at the bar: Yeah, we have a bar, but we don't have a. . .bartender?
AN3: COME ON, TIFA! IT'S YOUR CALLING!
Tifa: ::sighs:: I get paid overtime!
AN3: That's fine. You don't get paid at all, anyway.
Tifa: ::grumbles and moves behind the bar::
Korus: How long until we get a stripper?
Kiro: I can be the stripper. For money.
Korus: How much?
Kiro: Five-thousand dollars an hour.
Korus: ::faints::
Kiro: He'll come to his senses and find the value in it.
AN3: Eeeeeyeaaaaaah. . .HEY! HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!
Andariel and Reno: ::making out on couch::
Selena: ::leering from the bar::
Tifa: WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT KISSING ON THE SET?!
Reno: That only I can do that?
Tifa: . . .Fine. Only you can do that.
Reno: ::goes back to making out::
Tifa: Uh-uh-uhhh. . .ONLY you. No Andariel. No one else.
Reno: HEY! YOU NEED TWO PEOPLE!
Tifa: You were the one who fell for it. . .::goes to cleaning a glass::
Reno: ::sighs::
AN3: You know, I was taking one of those funny tests, and I think this was for personality or something, and it asked "Which one of these cereal titles best describes you in bed? Lucky Charms, Total, All Bran, Just Right, Honey Bunches of Oats, Sugar Smacks, Kix, Count Chocula, or Froot Loops.". Come on, people! Tell me!
Kiro: LUCKY CHARMS AND COUNT CHOCULA!
Cloud: Well aren't THOSE disturbing images. . .
AN3: Okay Cloud. . .Clue us in. What are YOU. . .?
Cloud: Just Right, of course.
Tifa: ::mutters:: More like, All Bran. . .
Cloud: What was that?
Tifa: NOTHING!
Cloud: Yeah, that's just because you were more like, Total. . .and Kix. . .and Sugar Smacks. . .
Tifa: Good. At least I wasn't all one thing.
Cloud: HEY!
AN3: ::laughing nervously::
Tifa: ::looks at AN3:: And what about you?
AN3: Uh, I'm still a virgin.
Tifa: Okay, then considering whatever experience you've had, what would you say? Steve?
Stephen: Um. . .Honey Bunches of Oats, I guess.
Tifa: And what about you? ::leers at AN3::
AN3: FROOT LOOPS!
Tifa: Why do you say THAT?!
AN3: BECAUSE I LOVE FROOT LOOPS! ::kisses Steve::
Steve: ::blushing red::
Everyone: ::falls over::
Tifa: WHAT did I say about-
Reno: AW, SHOVE IT! ::making out again::
AN3: Yep. I should be the only one with enough power to make the rules around here!
Tifa: Great. Our overpowered authoress is nothing but a child, and she can make the rules. SHE'S JUST A CHILD!
Korus: But looking at her body, you'd have no idea.
Tifa: ::sighs:: Interestingly enough. . .
AN3: AND I WOULDN'T QUALIFY BEING FOURTEEN A CHILD! IT'S ADOLESCENT, YOU HEAR ME?!
Cid: ::shouting from the bathroom:: I'M $)( IN HERE AND I CAN % HEAR YA'!
AN3: ::quiets down:: Thank you. Now, for the actual point of having these notes. . .
Tifa: Oh, you've already annoyed them. . .
AN3: The OTHER role of the notes.
Tifa: There's another role?!
AN3: Yep! It's to make updates, remember? Let's see, now that I'm trying to shake off my lethargy and pick up the writing pace, it seems to have come at a very interesting time. . .
Cloud: Aw, you know elections aren't interesting. . .
AN3: Of COURSE I know that! I don't care WHAT gorilla-headed dumbass leads the country this time!
Kyoko: Bush doesn't have a gorilla-head! He has a MONKEY-head!
AN3: My apologies. But at any rate, this weekend, I'm going on vacation, so I won't be writing those days, so it'll be slower updating. Next of all, I'll still need to rush writing this stuff, because I'm going on a road trip in August.
Everyone: ROOOOAAAAD TRIIIIIIIIP!
AN3: Yep! You see, it's a road trip to California, so it'll take days to get there, and I'll be spending about ten days in California, and then there's the trip back, so I'll be spending a LOT of time not writing!
Everyone who actually wants an update: AWWWWWWW!
AN3: ::sighs:: Yeah, the series for the Summer portion will need to be hastened up quite a bit. . .Oh well. It's not like I planned to span soooo many places. . .No, wait. . .Did I? I can't remember. . .
Tifa: Sometimes, with that memory, I think she's more closely related to Lucrecia, rather than Christina is. . .
Christina: ::calculating pi with Lucrecia: Huh?
Tifa: Scratch that. She's not smart enough.
AN3: WHY IS TIFA MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IF SHE'S SO MEAN TO ME?!
Vincent: It's just another mystery unsolved. . .
AN3: I guess it's true that way. . .You know, does anyone know what's up with deviant art, or is it just me? I can't upload any of my images. Well, I can, but it always says it doesn't exist afterwards. I mean, they're .JPEGs and everything, but I dunno, maybe I should try and preview them, anyway. . . Oh well, if any of you have been to my deviant art profile thing or whatever lately, that's why nothing has change. BECAUSE I CAN'T GET IT TO WORK!
Steve: Awww. . .Well then, just calm down. . .::rubs AN3's neck::
AN3: ::laughs brainlessly:: EHEHEHEHEH. . .
Tifa: Ah, so that is her weakness. . .
AN3: W-well, not really. . .
Steve: ::rolls eyes: Don't deny it. . .
AN3: ::scowls and rubs the back of his neck::
Steve: ::widely smile and tips over::
AN3: HAH!
Cloud: HAH!
Steve: ::jumps up and takes his Buster sword and runs away with it:: HA-ah-aahhh! SO. . .HEAVY!
Cloud: ::sighs::
AN3: Will you two stop fighting?! . . .Wow. I sound like Aeris.
Aeris: Catchy, isn't it?
AN3: Very.
Sky: ::lying on another couch: Nice leather. . .WHERE did you get these?!
AN3: My special authoress powers had-
Tifa: You ordered them here, and they delivered.
AN3: FINE! TAKE THE GUSTO! ::lies down and rolls over:: I wanna take a nap. . .It's what I've been doing for days, I know, but I'm just so sleepy. . .
Cloud: ::still trying to kill Steve for taking his sword::
AN3: Oh, stop that. . .It's rainy out, and I'm all tired. . .Byyyye, byyye. . .And sorry if I didn't quite get to the point in this chapter. It's in the next, because I really did just cut and paste the other half of what I had on it. ::nervously laughs:: Yeah, see ya' next chapter. . .