Hey everyone, I'm back with an update in hopefully what can be considered a reasonable time. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, because I was seriously unsure about whether or not to put it up. Glad I did though! Thanks to all who reviewed, you make me very happy.
Disclaimer: (Forgot to put one in the last chapter, oops!) Don't own beyblade, not yet anyway…
"Mmm, Rei you're cooking is delicious. What's your secret?"
Sometimes you just have to like Hilary, even if she can scream your ears off she's a nice girl that always knows how to cheer you up. But I'd feel a lot better if my great cooking talent wasn't down to my experience of pressing buttons on a microwave though. Don't get me wrong, I can cook, and well. But think about it, with a glutton like Tyson in the household would you really want to put all that time and effort to cook a great twelve course meal when you know that he'll probably eat too fast to taste it? Not me, so when Kenny gave me a crash-course on how to use the microwave I quickly saw its potential, and voila. No one has caught on yet, the fact I can cook almost anything in less than five minutes has never even occurred to them.
"Secret? Erm…it must run in the family." Technically I'm not lying, I never said it was my family, and these microwavable noodles were made by a family business. It says so on the packet I'm reading. Yes, I can read the packet at the table and still no one catches on, maybe its not just Kai that sees me as a piece of scenery. Either that or the elders forgot to inform me that neko-jins can turn invisible at inappropriate times. For some reason the former theory seems more believable, then again the elders do have fun keeping the younger generation uninformed.
"Yeah it's inherited Hil, did you not know that Rei has tones of uncles world wide that are all chefs, how cool is that?" Max says while adding an incredibly large amount of mustard to his noodles.
Ok, so no one has picked up on all these 'uncle' things either. They're not my uncles, in fact I was the first one to leave the village, so how did all these 'uncles' of mine end up half way across the globe? Heck three of them aren't even Chinese! Our village is just renowned for making some great spices and the hard-core chefs journey out to learn of them. And whenever we had one of these mysterious visitors I would practically stalk them to learn everything I could of the outside world, and a few of them even took a liking to me and I became a 'nephew' of sorts.
Man, Max is still adding mustard to those things. I can't actually see the noodles anymore, its looks just like a bowl of mustard. I would be insulted if I had slaved over the meal for any length of time but now I can only wrinkle my nose in disgust. I can smell it way over here, and I'm at the other end of the table. Even Tyson has stopped eating to look at Maxie fishing out a noodle from under the lake of mustard and eat it.
We all pull a face when he's not paying attention, even Kai looks slightly grossed out. Well he can do and eat whatever he likes, I only wish it wasn't putting me off my own meal.
By silent agreement everyone except Tyson and Max push their bowls away. Tyson's eating habits we've gotten used to after much prolonged exposure, but when Max returned with this new fetish for mustard last year…well lets just say we've been missing out on a lot of meals recently. Besides that I now have numerous stomach injuries to take into consideration.
We wait until Max finishes and a brave two of us (Kai and Daichi) decide that it's safe to start eating again. Hilary and Kenny have yet to get over Tyson's gorging so they wait with me for the meal to end.
"Man I couldn't eat another bite!"
Yes you can Tyson, because I know for a fact within two hours you'll be bugging me to make you a sandwich seeing as your incapable of putting toppings onto bread. I didn't say that to be mean, he really can't! You should have seen the mess when I demanded that he try; now he's not allowed in the kitchen for anything other than eating, and he still makes a mess.
"Well that's good Tyson, because I was wondering if you could walk me home? I really don't want to go alone after that movie…" Hilary asks Tyson sweetly. Max and I share a glance, only us two really realising the significance of this. Hilary is asking Tyson in particular to walk her home, is she planning something, a detour to the park maybe or whatever it is that girls find romantic? Or maybe ask him out on a date or something?
"But Hil, doesn't Kenny usually walk home with you? Well part of the way anyway." Tyson asks, completely oblivious as to what Hilary is trying to do. Also she said she didn't want to go home alone after 'watching' that movie, it's completely understandable she'd want more reassurance than having Kenny with her. No offence to Kenny or anything, but didn't Tyson say they were both kidnapped once? I really don't think Kenny stood up to the role of protector there, and if he did then he didn't do a good job because the two of them were still kidnapped..
Hilary slaps her forehead, obviously annoyed that he wasn't getting the point. "Yes Tyson, but I'd really like you to go with me." She leans in close and flutters her eyelashes flirtatiously. How more obvious can you get!? If he doesn't pick up on it then I'm going to bang my head off the table. Even Daichi seems to have noticed something going on and he's like…what 8? Actually how old is Daichi for that matter? Somewhere between 6 and 14 but that's all I've really been able to work out.
"But Hil, I'm a World Champ, I've got more important things to do with my time than baby-sit you."
Tyson you idiot! Max groans and true to my word I bang my head off the table. Ouch, bad idea when you already might have a concussion but I needed to keep my word. Hilary looks downright furious and I'm sure I can hear Kai laughing slightly under his breath.
"Oh…so you mean lying around and watching TV, which you will probably be doing instead, is more important than me!?" Uh-oh, here we go. The watery-eyed look and the slightly higher than usual voice. She's pretty upset…the only problem with Hilary is that after she gets upset she usually gets very angry at whatever caused it.
However Tyson hasn't acknowledged that fact and is currently giving in to the watery-eyed look. "I didn't mean it like that Hil…"
"Then what did you mean it like Tyson!?"
Oh geez, here we go. Suddenly, to all our amazement Hilary manages to materialise one of the many bamboo swords around the house into her hands. How she did it I have no idea, as far as I know there are no weapons kept in the kitchen – minus a knife or two but I keep them well hidden – and Hilary is too small and wears too tight clothing to hide one on her person. Tyson's eyes are wide as he realises what he's just unleashed upon this innocent world. Hilary with a bamboo sword might as well be Voltaire with a bomb; too dangerous to be within a hundred mile radius. She knocks half the dishes from the table as she swings it so that it faces Tyson.
The old saying 'love hurts' comes to mind at this moment, but I doubt it was meant in this way. We're all helpless to save Tyson as Hilary could easily turn on one of us or unintentionally knock one of us out. I cringe, but can't help but admire Hilary's ruthless swordsmanship. I was never good with the sword back home, I didn't have it in me to cut things to little pieces but I could use my fists just fine. Hilary doesn't seem to have any of those sorts of restrictions. Yeah I know, I'm purposely thinking back to simpler times to take my mind off of Tyson's screams of pain. But whatever works I say.
Ok this is starting to get a bit gruesome. I take a hesitant step forward, very hesitant. I don't think anyone would be eager to step forward into that brutal display of anger. Kenny is looking at me as if I'm insane, by that I mean his mouth is in the shape on an O. If his eyes were visible I'm sure they'd be giving me a 'what the hell are you doing, get back before there's another casualty' look.
Thankfully Hilary stops mauling Tyson before I'm within sword's reach of her. She drops the weapon and I take the chance and run forward to kick it away as a precaution. The weapon is retrieved by Kenny who is holding it as if it could explode at any second, which I really hope it can't by the way.
Hilary gives Tyson a quick kick in the ribs and before I can even check he's still breathing I'm being dragged away by my already pained and bruised arm. "Well if you won't come Tyson then Rei will. He's actually nice and considerate and most importantly not a self-absorbed jerk!"
How about you show your appreciation of these aforementioned qualities of mine by releasing my arm? Seriously with all the torture its been through today it's a miracle I've still got both attached to my shoulders, but one is starting to go a bit numb now from Hilary's grip so that might change soon enough. Seeing as I won't be able to escape this new duty that I so generously volunteered for, I'd better make sure Tyson is alright meanwhile. But of course Hilary is unlikely to want to give Tyson any sort of medical help so I'd best leave some last minute rushed instructions with Max and Kenny.
"Maxie, medical supplies are in the bathroom cupboard. Remember the black bottle is the cleaning alcohol and the blue one is the mouthwash." I can still remember the last time he mixed them up, my head was stinging and had a minty-fresh smell strong enough to make the eyes water for a week. "Oh, and if it's more serious then call an ambulance. I've got them on speed dial." At least I think they're on speed dial anyway, the manual for the phone didn't really help much. Max just nods dumbly, he's not used to being left with the more serious issues but he'll manage.
And then I'm dragged out the dojo, and since Hilary hasn't granted me time to put on my shoes I'm forced to hop down them while being dragged along and pulling on a shoe. And they say guys can't multitask.
Eventually we get a reasonable distance from the dojo and Hilary releases my arm which is now tingling uncomfortably. Man does that girl have a strong grip. And only then do I realise its dark. The street lights are glowing their dim orange color of course but the sky is dark…and I'm really starting to see what Hilary was getting at. I would definitely not want to be walking alone at this time of night especially after watching that gory gore-fest of a gory horror gory movie. Did I mention it was gory? So…on the way back then Hilary won't be there. Not that she'd be much use against lots of gore-liking monster/aliens – she doesn't have the bamboo sword anymore – but it's the company that is most important here, and if she's at home that means I'll have to walk back on my own…shit.
"Oh Rei, how'd you get that bruise on your arm? It's looks really painful!" Hilary that's the result of you dragging me half a mile, and yes it is painful. Being the naturally inquisitive girl that she is, she decides to poke the bruise just to check that yes, it is indeed painful.
"Some crazy girl did it." Wow I must have hit my head pretty hard earlier to have the guts to say that. Thankfully Hilary interprets it as the work of some crazy fangirl and is satisfied.
We walk in silence after that, which makes me really uneasy. Usually I wouldn't mind silence and would even be grateful for a bit of peace but…well the silence is unnerving me. It's not my fault, it's that stupid movie from earlier, which by the way I'm fairly certain has scarred me for life.
"So is there…uh…something going on between you and Tyson?" I ask hesitantly, it was the only topic I could think of and I'm not sure whether or not she's still angry about it. Hilary has been known to both hold grudges, and to forgive in the blink of an eye. She's a bit like Mariah in that way, totally unpredictable.
"Um…well, I'd like there to be." Aww she is totally blushing. "Listen Rei, could you do me a favour?"
Oh dear, I don't like the sound of this. But what else can I say, saying no would unleash the wrath of Hilary, saying yes might mean my doom. I weigh my options. Hilary's wrath, possible doom…I nod hesitantly. "Yeah sure, what is it?"
"I want you to make Tyson jealous. Nothing serious, just flirt with me when we're around him and he'll pick up on it eventually. He's not entirely stupid and will pick up on it eventually."
It takes a bit of effort but somehow I manage to maintain my calm façade. "Perhaps it would be better to see Max about that. He's better with the girls than I am, besides he's around Tyson more so you'll have more opportunities." Oh crap, please choose Max, please! I really don't want to do this and I have more than enough responsibility as it is.
"Hmm, good thinking Rei. I suppose you're right, Max would be a better choice. I'll ask him tomorrow."
Phew, thank you whatever god heard me, my mental prayers have been answered! This might put a bit of strain between Max and Tyson but those two might as well be brothers, and if Hilary's plan works then some good should come of it.
Suddenly a late-night jogger in dark clothing bumps into Hilary and I catch her before she falls over. I look for the man, expecting some sort of apology for running into her, only to find he's still jogging. Wait, actually he's running now, odd. I help Hilary stand up straight and frown. "Man, what a rude jogger."
"Hey, my bag's gone!"
Well at least some good came of today.
"Did you leave it at Tyson's?" I ask, even though I'm mentally jumping for joy that that evil bag has been misplaced. Hopefully for good.
"I had it with me when I left the dojo, I know I did. That guy stole it!"
"What, you mean the jogger in dark clothing?"
"Don't be so naïve Rei, that wasn't a jogger he was a thief! Now go get my bag back!"
I'm sorry Hil, now you're wanting me to chase down an innocent jogger which, though lacking in manners, probably does not deserve to be mauled by me or you for that matter? And even if he's not innocent, you're wanting me, a scrawny teenage neko-jin to chase down a fully grown and potentially dangerous man to save an evil bag that's too small to hold any more than my pocket? Pease forgive me if I'm not so eager to rise up to the occasion.
"Well Rei, what are you waiting for?"
The things I do for these people…
Five or ten minutes later I find Hilary waiting impatiently. I'm now sporting a ripped shirt for the second time today and I know I'm bleeding a bit, but that doesn't matter because I have saved the bag. After discovering that the thief which I mistook for a jogger, did actually have the bag I was more than tempted to let him keep it, but then my sense of pride and justice just had to kick in so I retrieved the evil thing.
"Rei did you get it? I heard screaming all the way over here, you didn't hurt him too badly did you?"
"He'll be fine in a while." I answer truthfully, though I'm slightly annoyed she hasn't asked how I fared. Must be because I'm not crying out in agony or something. I hand her the bag and try not to look too regretful while doing so. She grins and hugs me, totally forgetting that my torso was beaten black and blue by fangirls earlier and causing me to squirm out of her hold in pain.
"How did you manage it?" Oh so now she realises the impossibility of the situation.
"My secret." Yes it is my secret but I'll let you guys know. Do you remember how I took two peppers from my garden this morning to wake up Tyson and Daichi? Do you also remember how Tyson received a different wake up call from Kai? Well that left me with one pepper and being the master chef that I am, I know that getting pepper in your eye is really really bad. Hence all the screaming Hilary heard earlier, you're smart people so I'm sure you can work out what happened. Hah, see how resourceful I can be?
Hilary is opening her bag to check that everything that should be inside is there. Being naturally curious I peek over her shoulder, wondering what on earth she could possibly keep in there that's important enough to risk my neck over. I raise an eyebrow in confusion at the various tiny colored tubes and bottles.
"Thanks so much Rei, I wouldn't have been able to live without my mascara."
THUD
As I was saying earlier, sometimes you just have to like Hilary…but it's at times like these you just have every reason to hate her.
I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I'm just trying to show Rei's relationships with the different characters. You may be surprised, but this story does actually have a plot which I plan to get into more next chapter or the one after. Well…a very vague plot. It's all really just a bit of fun. Well I quite like how this chapter turned out but you're the reviewers, so let me know what you think! R&R, it makes me happy. By the way can anyone tell me if I'm supposed to reply to reviews? I'm sort of new and am not really sure whether I should be replying or not. Oops I'm rambling! Bye!