Author's Note: When we last left our intrepid teenaged adventurers, they were trapped deep inside the haunted hotel, with only one box of Scooby Snax left between them, and Velma was theorizing that rather than the butler, it was the caretaker whodunit.
Wait, no. When we last saw them, our intrepid teenaged adventurers were being teenagers in whatever possible way they could (i.e. inappropriate touches, underage drinking, causing permanent psychological damage, losing their V cards, etc.).
I continue to thank everyone who reads, and everyone who reviews, and everyone who just sits there, reads the chapter and then makes a raspberry noise and says, "WHERE IS MY SEX SCENE, BITCH."
It is in your mom's pants, dude. Your mom's pants. Ponder that one for awhile.
PS: Thanks to everyone who's thought that and hasn't said it. I appreciate it.
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At the restaurant, where Ranmaru was curled against the wall of their booth, the six Japanese tourists and Mexican tour guide sat discussing the rest of the day.
Takenaga was admonishing Sakura for her choice of locale, Noi was holding his hand tightly, and Yuki was frowning deeply.
"What's that mean, 'bad girl'?" he asked Ranmaru, who closed his eyes wearily and ignored him.
Ricardo was ordering for them when he looked around and said, "Where is the other boy?"
"What other boy?" Takenaga asked, looking away from Sunako.
"The one with the anger management issues," Ricardo told him, looking around the restaurant.
"I haven't seen him since the church," Noi said.
"Last I saw he was…" Ranmaru had to stop and gag, then swallow roughly.
"He was going after you, wasn't he?" Yuki asked Sunako.
She was quiet for a moment as they all turned to look at her.
"He went off on his own," she said calmly. "To explore the Mexico."
"The Mexico," Ricardo chuckled, shaking his head. "She is a beautiful but wily mistress."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Takenaga muttered. "The Mexico. It's just Mexico!"
"I'm sure he'll meet us back at the hotel later," Ranmaru said abruptly and impatiently. "Do they sell anti-nausea medication in Mexico?"
Ricardo laughed heartily. "My effeminate friend, we will find you the best anti-nausea medication pesos can buy, yes?!" He nearly howled with laughter and echoed Ranmaru: "Do they sell anti-nausea medication in Mexico. HAH!"
There was a long moment of quiet as the waitress brought their food and they began to eat.
"YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME?!" Yuki shrieked, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands on the table, eyes locked in disbelief on Ranmaru.
The taller boy groaned in irritation and thumped his head against the wall once, a silent plea to make the horror of it all end. Everyone else politely looked away.
That night, Ranmaru, who Ricardo had supplied with prescription-less prescription medication (or perhaps it was prescription-less illegal drugs, no one was sure), was lying on Sunako's bed, head lolling upside down at the TV. His eyes were dilated and his mouth was slack but smiling lightly.
"Wow, this is beautiful," he slurred at the television.
It was an infomercial for Oxyclean.
"Can you hear that voice?" he asked his friends, who were playing cards. "It's so musical. It's like… music or something."
"Yup," Takenaga replied shortly. He put a card down in the center of the table.
Noi, who sat across from him immediately put down another card. Yuki glared at Ranmaru.
"Take. ADVANTAGE. Of me," he growled at the drugged boy, slapping a card down on the table.
"We should take advantage of this incredibly low price," Ranmaru replied matter-of-factly, nodding his head.
Sunako sat across from Yuki, sweatshirt hood pulled tightly around her face, not touching her cards (which had been laid out in front of her as a polite formality rather than an expectation for her to play). She glared at them.
"Shut up you… you… streetwalker!" Yuki yelled, standing up to point at Ranmaru.
"Sit down, Yuki," Takenaga said wearily, not looking up from his cards. Noi's foot was toying playfully with his under the table. He looked at her and smiled shyly. She blushed and beamed back happily.
Yuki sat down roughly and winced. He paused for a moment before a look of realization crossed his face, then turned to Ranmaru again, furious and shocked.
"Is that why my butt hurts?!" he cried.
Ranmaru snorted with laughter and pointed to the television. "Oh my god, did you guys see that stain? He totally got it out! That was so funny, oh crap!" He laughed wildly and moved his hands to his stomach.
"Well," Noi said, letting out a loud, fake yawn, "guess it's time to hit the hay!"
"Is it?" Takenaga asked, lifting his wrist to look at his watch. "It's only…"
"Late," Noi cut him off. She gave him a shy smile and turned bright red. Sunako's eyes watched them from her sweatshirt cave.
"You're right, so late," Takenaga said, standing up as he recognized the look on Noi's face. "When do you think Kyohei will be back?" He looked at Sunako.
"Much later," she told them. "I will leave the door unlocked for him. I will put pillows in the bathtub. He will not bother me. You should go now."
"Wait, go to bed?" Yuki asked with a frown. "But… I mean… He's…" One of his hands waved in disdain at Ranmaru, who was rambling at the television, a loopy smile on his face.
"He's harmless tonight," Takenaga said quickly. "Just drag him down to your room and dump him on a bed. He doesn't even know where he is right now."
"Let's call out for sushi!" Ranmaru called to them, as if demonstrating how altered his perceptions were.
"We're in Mexico," Noi said, leaning toward him. "There's no sushi here."
"Oh my god, Juliette Lewis! I loved you in that movie where you were a retard," Ranmaru gasped, grabbing Noi's shoulder.
"Fuck you!" she snapped, and stormed out of the room in a huff.
"Byyyyyye," he called after her.
"You're an offensive prick, Ranmaru," Takenaga told him, then turned to the other boy. "Yuki, you'll deal with this?" He began edging for the door and gave Yuki a hopeful look. Yuki looked down the hall at Noi's receding figure and sighed.
"Yeah, I'll take care of him," he muttered. Takenaga bolted out the door.
Both Sunako and Yuki looked at Ranmaru, who was laughing insanely at the television.
"Are you really okay with Kyohei staying here?" Yuki asked her.
She smiled sinisterly, making Yuki cower for a moment, before saying, "He can't hurt me. I will be safe from him. Are you really okay with Ranmaru staying in your room?"
Bravely, Yuki lifted his chin. "He can't hurt me! I'm safe from him! No means no!"
Sunako gave him a puzzled look.
Yuki shrugged. "He can't even stand up, I'm not worried." He leaned forward and grabbed Ranmaru's wrist. "C'mon, Ran."
"Wait, wait, I wanna see this one," the boy objected, pointing to the screen. Yuki ignored him and began walking for the door so that Ranmaru thumped onto the floor jarringly.
Sunako watched as Ranmaru complained loudly at Yuki, who lugged him down the hallway. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his body being dragged across the floor. One of her favorite sound effects.
Yawning, she curled into a ball in bed and flipped to Spanish horror movie. Happily, she flipped the lights out and settled against her pillows.
Kyohei swore he could feel the fingers of the dead around him claw into his skin as he stood stiffly in the catacombs, too petrified to move, to speak, to imagine himself anywhere other than the pitch black.