A/N: okay. so i have to go out of town for a week-long dance competion soon, and until then i'm going to be drowning under dance rehearsals. so i'm not going to be updating for a while. srry. i promise to pull up a new chapter as soon as it's over.

oh, and if the dialogue ever seems slow or boring, it's just because i was trying to make ren and daichii's afternoon a little awkward. i tried not to make it TOO dull.

Disclaimer: dude, i'm an otaku. i've gone broke from buying manga and how to draw anime books. how could i afford an anime series?

The Next Generation

Chapter 8

All About the Look

Ren ignored the first knock at the door. So . . . close! Must . . . finish! The girl thought to herself, sticking her tongue out in concentration. Besides, the twins could get it, right? They were closer to the front door, right?

"REN! SOMEONE'S AT THE DOOR!!!" two voices shouted from below.

Ren set down her paintbrush in a huff and rushed out of her room. As she was hurrying down her stairs, she realized just how horrible she must look. She had stayed up half the night and most of the morning to paint her latest project. She was still wearing her school clothes from yesterday, being too tired to change. Her blue hair hung loosely, unruly bangs dancing in her eyes. Ren glanced down and noticed there were bright paint blobs on her hands. Who knows where else the spots might be!

Oh man! Ren worried as she slid across the wooden floors in her socks. What if it's someone from Mara's work?!? If he sees me like this . . . !

With great reluctance, Ren opened the front door and flung herself over in a bow. "Good morning . . . Mara . . . is still sick . . . Please . . . come inside," Ren greeted politely.

"Uhh . . . ?"

When she looked up, Ren saw not the face of a strict businessman, but a confused boy. She snapped her back straight and stuttered in surprise, "D-D-Daichi!?!"

"Yo," Daichii replied, still a bit bemused. "Er, expecting someone else?"

"N-no," Ren answered. It was hard to ignore the way those brown eyes took in her appearance. "So . . ."

"Oh! I was just out for a walk and . . . well, you never did tell me if you wanted to go out for dinner, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out."

Ren's eyes widened in apology. She had never realized that she forgot to tell Daichii about what was going on. Looking away, she explained, "Mara's sick."

"Yeah, I heard you when you opened the door," Daichii sighed wistfully, jamming his hands in his pockets. "So I guess you're busy?"

Ren only nodded. Her friend laughed, a little helplessly.

"Dang. Taking care of Mara AND the twins. That's gotta be a pain. Need me to get you guys something from the store?"

Ren leaned against the door frame and shook her head hollowly. Suddenly, she was overcome by a strange desire to invite him to stay, just so she could have someone to talk to-- or rather, someone to talk to her. But I can't do that. I don't want to ruin his weekend.

Daichii stretched and let out a breath of defeat. "Alright. I guess I'll just have to bug Rikae for entertainment. See you later. Ah! And Ren?" After he jumped down the porch steps, Daichii turned around with an amused glint in his eye. Ren raised an eyebrow when he touched his nose. "You have a splotch of orange paint on you right there."

"EH!?!?!?" Ren started scrubbing at her face. Her skin burned in shame under her touch. She could practically hear the boy grinning widely.

"Bye, Ren!" Daichii called cheerfully.

Ren stopped scrubbing to watch him walk away. The front door seemed ten times heavier than normal as Ren struggled to close it. The lock clicked into place, a melancholy noise. "Bye . . . Daichii," Ren whispered. She trudged back upstairs to finish the final touches to her painting. Somehow, it didn't seem as important anymore. However, before she had entered the haven of her room, a voice drifted down from the hallway.

"Who was at the door, Ren?"

The renewed strength in the sound had to make Ren smile softly. She wandered into Mr. Mara's bedroom and said, "Daichii."

Mr. Mara was sitting up straight, propped up by fluffy pillows while he drank orange juice. Sheets of newspaper had replaced the mountain of tissues. The TV was on, but it was turned down low. The man glanced at his daughter out of the corner of his eye while he finished his drink. "Daichii? Why would that boy come over here so--" Mr. Mara set down his glass when the answer hit him. "Oh, Ren. Daichii probably came over to see if you could finally come out of this prison. I'm sorry. This whole "sick" thing must be cutting into all your plans. I bet you're slowly going crazy!"

Ren shook her head wildly and held her foster father's hand in reassurance. She fished up a smile to show him everything was alright. Mara just flicked her hand away.

"No, no. You've been wanting to go outside and you know it. Listen, Ren. I've been feeling much better lately. I'm sure I can handle a few hours alone. And in extreme emergencies, I always have the twins . . . I think. Go have some fun for once."

Ren was still gazing at the man worriedly. Mr. Mara frowned and said, "Good grief, child! You're hopeless! This is the strangest command I have ever given. You are to get ready and hang out with your friends like a normal teenager or else. No 'buts.' Got it?"

Ren cocked her head and stared at him, startled. Mr. Mara's watch beeped the hour in the silence that followed. Then the girl smiled gratefully. "Thank . . . you," she whispered before leaning in to kiss the man on the forehead. The race against the clock had begun.

After about eight minutes of rushing around, Ren was almost ready. She had washed her face, (though she hadn't completely gotten all the paint marks off her hands and arms) pulled her hair back into a ponytail, (though she never actually combed out the tangles) and jumped into some clean clothes. (though she never actually ironed them) Pretty much record time for a girl to get ready, right? Right now, she was screwing on the tops to her paints in a hurry so they wouldn't dry out.

But what about the painting?!? the voice cried.

Who cares about that dumb old thing? Ren shouted back as she stuffed her feet in her shoes at the entrance. There's plenty of time to finish it later. I want to see Daichii!

Ren hopped on her bike and flew down the sidewalks. Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for the familiar splash of pinkish-red. Come on, Daichii! Where are you? She rounded a corner while looking the other way. When her attention finally drifted back to center, her stomach flipped. KRUUUDDD!!!!!

Ren slammed on brakes. Hearing the noise, a bored looking teen turned around and let his mouth fall open. He shielded his face with his arms and yelled, "REN!"

"Yes?" the girl replied calmly.

Heart pounding, Daichii lowered his arms. The blue-gray bike had stopped centimeters away from him. The blue-haired beauty was leaning on her handlebars, her pale skin turning pink in embarrassment. Daichii gaped wordlessly at her before narrowing his eyes. "Jeez, Ren! I only said it was one little spot of paint. You don't have to run me over for it!"

Ren giggled and cocked her head happily. "Oops?"

"So, what made you change your mind?"

Ren was walking her bike next to Daichii. His question made her glance at him. Even on a bike, she reasoned to herself, I shouldn't have found Daichii this close to my house. He shouldn't been much farther on. The girl raised an eyebrow. Does that mean he hesitated or doubled back? Was he secretly hoping I'd change my mind?

"Earth to Ren!"

A waving hand brought Ren's drifting thoughts to a hault. She blinked twice and answered, "Eh? Um . . . Mara."

Ughhh. This is such a boring conversation, Dark complained.

Daichii nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. He's a really nice guy. You're lucky to have him as a father."

"Not . . . really."

You have her all alone! Make a move already. Just do something!

"Huh. Why's that?" Daichii asked curiously, trying his best to ignore the pest inside him.

Daichii, you have officially failed at life.

SHUDDAP!

Ren made a face. "Means . . . I have twins . . . as brothers."

Daichii laughed. "Yeah, I guess nothing in life is perfect."

Ren didn't see how she had been funny. She was just being honest. But seeing the boy so relaxed and happy, she had to smile. I've been noticing that Daichii gets a little moody sometimes, but I really like this Daichii. It's no wonder he's so popular.

In the midst of his laughter, Daichii caught Ren smiling. His laughter died down to chuckles. It was a very . . . cute smile. His chuckles stopped completely. Too cute. He swallowed as an uneasy feeling settled at the bottom of his stomach.

Finally! It's time for a little action. Want me to give a demonstration on what to do when you're around cute girls?

What!

Daichii couldn't breathe any more. He stopped and sank to his knees. Ren whirled around in panic and dropped her bike. "Daichii?"

A sharp pang went through Daichii. He clenched his teeth and held his sides. Dark, no!

It won't hurt so much if you just surrender to the transformation. Jeez.

Ren crouched down and felt his forehead. "What's wrong?" she gasped. She cupped his face in her hands. "Daichii!"

Daichii met her eyes weakly. No. No. Don't touch me!

Daichii pushed past Ren and dashed into the nearest backyard. Ren fell back on the sidewalk painfully. Daichii jumped into the neighbor's "garden" of thick weeds just as he transformed. Relief passed over him, but not for long.

DARK!! What have you done!?! Daichii hissed.

What? I didn't do anything. Dark casually flicked a spider off his shoulder. You know, you should be a lot gentler to girls. It's only polite.

Huh?!? I knocked Ren over! I have to go see that she's okay! No wait! Daichii changed his mind as Dark began to crawl out of the jungle of weeds. STAY . . . THERE.

So I guess you don't want me to greet her with a kiss?

DO THAT AND I'LL KILL YOU!

Don't worry. Don't worry. She's not my type anyway. A bunch of dandylion seeds flew up and made Dark sneeze. Can we at least get out of here? No self-respecting phantom thief should have to hide like this.

But Ren . . . !

You want me to go check on her, right?

Just stay out of sight, okay? Daichii pleaded.

Yeah, yeah. Do you really think I want to attract fangirls?

Dark cautiously crawled out of the weeds. Back to the house wall, Dark edged back to the front yard where they had left Ren. He peeked out from the corner . . . and then jumped out completely. "Uh oh," Dark whispered.

WHERE'D REN GO?!!? Daichii yelled.

PREVIEW

"For there was Ren's bike lying abandoned on the sidewalk corner, but no one else was in sight."

"Who are you?"

"I'll take care of her. Just go!"

"Really? Maybe I'll see you at school."

"Class. We have a new transfer student. Ronin."

"Take my advice. Forget about her. She only ever talks to that Niwa kid."

THE NEW KID