Okay, folks! It's Saturday, which means... woohoo... a new chapter! First off, I want to thank someone who has supported and inspired me for years. Someone who has always been there to encourage me, pushing me to do my best in all things, and never laughing too hard when I subsequently tripped and landed on my nose. In retrospect, being pushed might not have been the best thing... Anyway, this is for someone who has made me more than one breakfast while liberally swearing at the stove the whole time. Twisted Flicker, Ki, I want to say thanks to you. My little sister is my inspiration for Mana in the morning; her amusing habits of getting into arguments with inanimate objects -especially stoves- the way she smacks at things with the cooking utensils and calls them evil, the way she scowls and pouts and curses... they're all just too much fun not to honor in my writing. Thank you, sis. Thank you for making me laugh as I stood there waiting for my scrambled eggs. You're the only person who ever had any problems with that stove.
And thank you, as always to all of my readers and reviewers. I love each and every one of you, because you all make me smile. And isn't that what this story is about?
Now for a note before the chapter. The style of karate Mana takes, Gojo Ryu, is a real style, and I wanted to drop a few lines about it here. First of all, the belt order I mentioned a few chapters back is the correct level order, but as far as promotions go Mana is running a bit slowly. You can actually promote once every six months in Goju Ryu, but Mana chooses to go up only once a year instead. This actually isn't too terribly unusual; gis, sparring equipment, tournament fees, promotion fees... karate actually costs quite a bit of money. It also takes dedication and, more than that, a passion for the art. I've tried to be just as true to that as I can because Goju Ryu is my style of karate. As such, I want to explain something about positions in a karate class. You can tell everybody's status, how strong they are, what level they're at, and where they sit in the class hierarchy, by where they're standing durring opening exercises. A class will usually have several rows of students, and they all face fowards, towards the front of the room, save for the very first row. That row is made up of the highest ranking students in the class, and when you're facing them the strongest person will always be the farthest left- at least that's how it went at my dojo and at the school system that dojo was affiliated with. I remember my class fondly; we were a mized group of home-schooled kids ranging from five to seventeen. My senseis, Chris and Ronnie, were good men, great teachers, fun storytellers... and absolute saints in the patience department. See, the top spot in my classes went to a girl, just like in Mana's, but unlike that class leader this girl was... well... she was just a bit of a klutz. It always amused everyone that she was faster than anyone else in the class, picked up on things quickly, memorized the katas just a bit faster than her classmates... but then she'd find the most amusing ways of hurting herself, too, usually from trying too hard and over-extending a muscle or kicking hard enough to somehow knock herself off her own feet. That somehow managed to happen more than once. At the very least it kept her humble. Yeah... those were the days...
Okay, that's enough reminiscing. We've got a story to get to, and then an actual end-note to talk about where I get some of my ideas. So let's go!
Mana was a good cook and all, but Jin was still kind of surprised that she'd never managed to majorly wound herself in a kitchen before. Yes, it was entertaining to watch her growling at the stove, but he had to worry for her safety nonetheless. Especially when the stove seemed to have a conscious mind of it's own for fighting back... "Mana, why don't ya replace that thing already? Yer gonna get hurt that way."
"It works fine enough as it is," the girl muttered, adjusting the knobs. "It's just this one burner that keeps flaring up at me. It takes a few moments to get it to work right."
"Then maybe ya ought to get it fixed?" Jin winced as the flame flared again, making the girl yelp. "Seems to me like that'd be a good idea..."
"I can handle it!" The girl twirled the knob hard and the flame finally settled. "See? You just need to know the trick to it."
Jin nodded, quickly getting out of the way. The morning sunlight was bright through the balcony doors; he went to look at that instead. Yesterday they had found... nothing. He'd thought he was close twice, but the cold sensation in the air always faded before they could get to the source. Still, he reminded himself, they'd been on the right track. "So wot's the plan for today?"
"Today I have karate after school." Mana dug around in the refrigerator. "I won't be getting home until this evening. We can still go looking, though, if you don't mind eating out again."
"That'll be fine." The redhead slid the door open; there was a nice breeze today. "So ya go to karate once a week?"
"Yep. Class is every Thursday after school." Jin nodded, listening to the girl work. He'd woken up shortly before she had this morning, just in time to see her come staggering out in her pajamas to get her tea. He'd said good morning to her three times, but she didn't seem to hear him. She didn't seem to remember the incident, either. It was enough to make him reach the conclusion that the girl just wasn't conscious until she'd had her tea. Oh, she was awake on some level when she first got up, but something in her mind just wasn't there. It was kind of amusing, really.
Fortunately, Mana seemed well awake when she set his breakfast down on the coffee table. Jin sat down, slightly surprised when she promptly sat next to him. She usually got her school things ready before she ate. "Yer ready to go already?"
"No, I'm just really hungry." The girl was actually forgoing manners to shove the food into her mouth. Jin stared. He knew she'd eaten the night before. Where was this coming from? He frowned.
"Mana, yer feelin' okay, right?"
The healer blinked, swallowing quickly. "Huh?"
Jin pointed with a chopstick. "Yer eatin' like I do. Ya don't usually do that."
The girl turned crimson. "I am not."
"Ya are, too." Jin motioned towards her plate. "Yer havin' at that faster than me. Even when ya eat fast yer usually polite about it. Are ya feelin' okay today?"
"I told you," the girl muttered, "I'm hungry."
The wind master rolled his eyes. "Ya had seconds on dinner last night. Ya can't be that hungry."
Mana stared at him blankly for a moment before speaking. "Do you always pay that kind of attention to people?"
"Sometimes." Jin took a quick bite. "Helps me figure a person out, it does."
Mana leaned against the back of the couch. "And do you think you have me figured out?"
"I'm getting' there." He shrugged. "Getting' easier every day, it is."
"Really." Uh-oh. He'd heard that tone in a female's voice before; it usually meant someone was contemplating giving a slap. Those weren't particularly pleasant memories right there... "Well, then, what kind of person am I?"
Great. Now he had himself between a rock and a hard place... "Well..." Studying the girl carefully, he wondered where to start. That wary expression... "If I had to be honest, I'd say yer the kind of girl who doesn't like getting' close to anyone, but it's not 'cause ya don't like people. Actually, I think it's kinda the opposite. Ya like havin' someone to talk to and eat yer meals with, but ya hate to worry 'bout whether their safe..." Jin stared, realization dawning as he talked it out. "Or whether yer safe yerself. Yer afraid. Probably the only thing ya are more than afraid is lonely."
The girl's face was pale. As Jin watched, she set her plate down and moved to stand. "I need to get ready to go now."
"Ya got plenty of time." Jin reached over and tugged on her wrist. "Besides, it's rude to get up and walk away afore a person's done speaking to ya."
The girl settled back into her seat reluctantly, taking her breakfast back up. "Fine. Finish." Her tone was dangerously short. Jin took a deep breath.
"It seems to me that yer the kind of girl who mostly runs on her own pride. Ya don't back down and ya don't rely on others, not when there's even the slightest chance ya can pull through somethin' on yer own. Ya want to be strong, enough that ya can stand on yer own. It makes ya reckless sometimes, although not in the normal ways. Ya don't go lookin' for trouble, not by any means. But ya welcome it with open arms when trouble comes to yer door."
Mana jabbed at the eggs on her plate with her free hand, a stony look on her face. "Lonely and proud, then. Does that sum it up?"
"Not hardly." Jin studied her features carefully. That guarded expression made her look older than she was. "Honestly, I don't think that's the most of who ya are at all. Yer polite, but it's by effort. Ya actively work not to offend people, even when it goes against yer nature. Yer willin' to take in a man ya never met before, take care of him on yer own, never askin' a thing in return. That's compassion, that is, a kind ya don't see real often. That's the mark of someone special, in my way of thinkin'. A girl like you should be able to reach out and connect to people real easy like, but ya don't. Again, I think it's cause yer afraid." He released her wrist. "Ya won't lead a very fufillin' life if yer afraid all the time."
"You don't know anything," the human whispered, her eyes focused on her hand. "Stop trying to sound smarter than you are. It makes you sound like a fool."
Jin sat back. "Look me in my face and tell me that." Mana flinched visibly. He raised an eyebrow. "Ya can't, can ya? Ya know I'm right."
"So what if you are?" Once again, she set the plate on the table. "So what if you're right? So what if I'm a little bit lonely? I can still make it just fine by myself, lots of people do. It doesn't mean anything."
The apparition set his own plate down. "It means something if yer sittin' here lookin' ready to cry."
"I'm not, either! I just-" The girl's voice trailed to a halt as Jin decided to do something drastic. Reaching over, he seized hold of her with one arm and pulled her into a tight hug. Mana froze up completely against him, eyes wide. Jin sighed.
"Yer just wot?" There was no answer. "Come on, now, say it. Yer just wot?"
The girl was silent for a moment... and then, to Jin's surprise, she actually relaxed in his grip. "I hate it. I hate always having to be someone I'm not. I couldn't care less about school. I don't want to associate with those people, I really don't."
Was she crying? No, she was far too still for that. Jin swallowed slightly; this conversation was not going as he'd planned. Still, her reactions were interesting enough. When was the last time someone had the heart to hug this girl, he wondered dimly. She didn't seem to know how to respond to that simple contact. He patted her on the back lightly, trying to be soothing. "Maybe not those people, then. But ya can't isolate yerself. Yer just doin' wrong to yer own heart."
"Well, I don't exactly see what the alternative is." The girl tried to pull away; Jin held on just to see if he could. "Most people don't believe in spirits and demons, you know. It keeps the number of people I can talk to fairly limited."
Jin tilted his head. "If that's the best argument ya got, Mana, then I guess there's only one way to solve it." The girl stopped pushing, as though bracing herself. The redhead pulled back and beamed. "I'm gonna hafta be yer friend myself, then."
Mana's cheeks flushed. Jin watched amused, as she sputtered for a moment before finally pulling away from him. "You're an idiot!"
"Say wot ya want, I'm still gonna do it." Jin picked his plate back up smugly. He did have her figured out, and now he thought he was starting to figure out how to help her, too. "Gonna be late for school if ya keep gawkin' at me like that, ya are."
It was worth the smack to his head to see the amusing way she muttered a flushed goodbye when she left the house that morning. He waved cheerfully, laughing to himself when she replied with a very rude gesture. He never would have guessed she had it in her...
Her head ached the entire day in school. Mana scowled lightly as she packed her books into her bag as the last bell rang. The source of the headache was all too clear in her mind; she could point a finger right at it and say it's name. Jin! What the hell was wrong with that demon? She couldn't tell if he was smart, stupid, or just plain crazy. She grabbed her duffel bag, heading for the door. The sooner they found Touya the better, or she'd end up insane just like him!
She slowed as she headed down the hallway. It sounded that simple, yeah. Find this mysterious ice user, send Jin on his way... the crowd was brushing past her by the time she reached the school gates. She stopped in the middle of it, examining her wrist. She should have struck him when he grabbed her arm, doubly so when he embraced her. Didn't he know anything about etiquette? He always picked her up, pulled her around, tossed her about like she was some sort of rag doll. It was rude to handle someone that way... and yet...
"Hey, Koyama!" Oh, of all the stupid things she did not need today! The girl turned, openly scowling; Urameshi actually took a step back. "Whoa, someone's having a bad day..."
"You have no idea. Pardon me, I'm running late." Mana turned and started walking. To her surprise, the spirit detective fell into step next to her. She sighed. "You need something again, don't you."
"Yeah. Same thing as last time, in fact." Yusuke's hands were shoved into his pockets. "I need the compass, Koyama. It's important."
Of course it was. Mana sighed again, pulling back her sleeve. The device, so similar to a normal wrist-watch at first glance, was strapped to her upper arm, out of sight. She unfastened it and tossed it to him, reminding herself fiercely that she might need his help soon enough. "What are the odds that I'll get that back working?"
"Not very high." She should have known. Urameshi strapped the compass to his own wrist. "It depends on if it works or not."
"If it works, I get it back in one piece?"
"Ah, no." He shook his green sleeve down over the device. "If it works, you get it back busted. We need to see if something is in the area or not."
"I see." Amazing. He'd actually managed not to insult her. Mana focused on her footsteps, trying not to walk fast enough to seem rude... or slowly enough to seem encouraging. For some reason, the detective wasn't leaving now that he had the compass...
"You doing okay?"
Mana stopped short. Was the whole world going crazy today?! "I'm... I'm fine."
Urameshi looked relieved. "Right. I'll get this back to you tomorrow, then." Mana nodded, numb, as he headed back towards the school. Of course. He hadn't been asking out of concern, he'd just been trying to cover his own ass. Her bag heavy on her shoulder, she started walking even faster than normal to her karate class. Right then, she needed to spar. She pushed open the door to her small dojo, heading for the restrooms to change and bowing to her sensei along the way. She needed to work with her bo staff. She needed to knock somebody clean off their feet. She needed to clear her head. Pulling her gi out of her bag, she couldn't help but reflect that she and Urameshi may have had that in common, at the very least. The fact of the matter was, Jin was right; she welcomed trouble. The fact of the matter was, Mana Koyama enjoyed a good fight.
Martial arts were therapeutic. The head of the class got them through exercises, the instructor looking on as he always did. Mana envied the girl in that position; the rest of the class showed her the most respect. The teenager wasn't the head of the class because she could break the most boards; Mana knew that the dark haired youth had earned her spot for her speed and form. She envied someone with that sort of grace and confidence. Still, the blonde wasn't completely without hope; she herself was in the front row and glad for it. The position meant that here, at least, her hard work received it's due recognition. Still, to be just four places to the right...
After the starting stretches came the kata routines. Mana moved through the katas one step at a time, keeping her movements lithe and quick. The sequential practice exercises were good for settling an agitated mind. They required too much focus to let herself be distracted by her own thoughts. By the time they started working on their weapons katas, Mana realized that she felt a lot calmer than she had before.
That still didn't stop a small shiver of excitement from going through her when she picked up the long wooden staff she was training with.
Mana liked training with weapons. The staff made up for her lack of reach, and seemed more practical to her than the nunchucks or sais that some of the other students trained with. A person didn't have to carry a staff with them all the time, after all; it was probably the easiest weapon there was to substitute for aside from a club. That, and she genuinely enjoyed the motions. It was... relaxing. And more so than that, it made her feel less weak. By the time the class finally got to sparring, she actually felt pretty good. The intense focus required to outthink her opponent, the sensation of closed fist or open palm hitting their mark on her opponent's body, the satisfaction of coming out on top and the look of surprise on her opponent's face as their body hit the ground... Mana's specialty was fighting opponents larger than herself. Speed was the name of the game, speed of body and speed of mind, and she delighted in playing the game well. Precision was the other weapon when one didn't have brute strength, the ability to get in fast and land a strike exactly where it was needed. She took down the first two of her three opponents that day, and while the final match left her on her back with the air knocked out of her lungs she didn't resent the loss, either. She had still done well. Well enough, at the very least, to head home with an open mind. The climb up the fire escape was getting easier now that her strength was returning, that was another good thing. She just had to think positively.
And then Jin jumped down from the roof and almost gave her a heart attack. "Ello, Mana!"
"Um... hi." He seemed cheerful. Mana stared at him warily, feeling just a little bit of her good mood fade. He wasn't going to try to hug her again, was he? No, Jin seemed content to just stand there smiling. Mana nodded slightly. "You're chipper today."
"Nice day out today, it is." The redhead was beaming. "So do we have a plan for goin' out, then?"
"Honestly, right now I'm just too hungry to think." Mana stepped inside the glass doors. "So any planning will have to wait until after dinner."
"Sounds good to me!" Everything sounded good to him, she noted dryly. The apparition followed her inside. "Are we eatin' here or goin' out?"
"We'll eat here once I get changed, and then head out." The girl dropped her duffel bag in the hallway. "Does chicken sound okay to you?"
"Sounds good! Ya know how I am, I'll eat anythin'." Duly noted, the girl thought with a sigh. He was too cheerful...
Jin's good mood seemed to continue through the meal. If anything, he seemed to be even perkier by the end of it. Mana blinked as he sat down his plate and stared at her. "Yes?"
"So wot's the plan? Same as before, yer thinkin'?"
Mana nodded lightly. "You said you felt that chill twice, right? We'll keep going in that direction. It's kind of a rougher part of town, but we should be fine."
"Sure thing!" The apparition looked pleased. "Don't ya worry. We'll make some progress tonight, I'm bettin'." And all she could do was nod.
This girl was harder to get through to than he'd thought she would be. Jin sprawled on his back on the roof the next afternoon, waiting for her to get home. Last night's search had yielded absolutely nothing. There had been no trace of the chill in the air that heralded Touya's presence. Mana had mumbled something about trying another area before she'd disappeared into the bathroom that night, her mood having turned sour again during the course of the fruitless search. Getting her to smile again was getting more and more difficult...
The wind master sat up at a clanging on the fire escape. There was that crisp little breeze that told him the girl was finally home. He stood, vaulting over the edge of the roof to land squarely on the balcony. "Hey there, Mana!"
She actually didn't jump when he landed next to her this time. In fact, the blonde didn't even seem startled. "Hello, Jin. Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I am." She was scowling. That wasn't good. He raised an eyebrow at what looked like a watch clenched in her hand; he didn't have the slightest idea what it was supposed to be doing, but somehow he had the feeling that sparking wasn't it. "Ya doin' okay?"
"Yeah. I just need to change. Excuse me." She brushed passed him, into the apartment. Jin stared after her before shrugging it off and sitting on the railing to wait. It was a nice, windy day today. The breezes from the day before had really picked up. That was good. He liked windy days. The apparition smiled quietly to himself, enjoying the air around him. The Makai wind was fierce and unruly; the Ningenkai wind was gentle and playful by comparison, as though it thought he was something new and interesting. That was why he liked it on the roof so much; there was a really good bit of wind up there.
Mana came back outside shortly, adjusting a poufy pink hat with one hand as she tossed him his own cap with the other. He put it on without arguing, watching her leap to the fire escape quietly. The effort was enough to jostle the hat right off her head. The girl blinked, watching it fall to the ground. "Damn..."
"It'll be fine. Only a hat, ya know." Jin jumped up onto the railing. Mana rolled her eyes and started down the stairs. The redhead watched her get to the ladder and then, feeling a bit playful, jumped off the balcony. He heard a startled yell as he dropped past the blonde, slowing his own fall just enough to land softly and send her cap skidding down the alleyway in the after-gust. Oops. Mana dropped down next to him, scowling. He raised an eyebrow. "Wot?"
"Nothing." The girl adjusted her pink sweater. Jin raised an eyebrow as she turned away from him. That was a new skirt. That was a short skirt. The blue pleats swished around the girl's thighs as she headed over to pick up her hat. Why on earth was a fourteen-year-old girl wearing something that showed that much leg, anyway? And why the hell was she wearing it on such a windy day? That seemed like a recipe for disaster to him...
"Is it safe to be wearin' that on a day like today, ya think?"
The girl paused, looking back at him with a perplexed expression. "What?"
Jin pointed. "That skirt. Seems to me that today is not the best of days to be wearin' somethin' like that."
Lavender eyes rolled towards the sky as Mana bent to pick up her hat. "I don't see what the big deal is. It's only a skirt. What exactly do you think is going to go wrong?"
The wind answered before he could; the alley was a man-made tunnel, forcing the air through even faster than it would have blown on it's own. Jin averted his gaze as the skirt blew up around the girl's waist, politely looking away as Mana shrieked and yanked the fabric back down. "Well, there is that." The girl turned, staring at him with wide eyes, her face redder than his own hair. Jin blinked. "Wot?"
"You..." Why was she shaking? His eyes widened suddenly. Oh, crap... Mana stepped towards him, one hand clenching into a fist. Jin raised his hands.
"Now hold on just a minute! I didn't do a thing there, that happened on it's own!"
The girl didn't even listen. She plowed forward, fists swinging, shouting the entire time. "You jerk! Pervert! I can't believe you did that! I can't believe you! I just... argh!"
"Now, Mana, come on!" Wow, blocking the blows actually stung a bit... "It wasn't me, honest! Calm down, please... please... ow!" He reeled backwards, holding his nose. How had that one gotten through? Oh, he'd taken worse punches than that, yeah, but a hit to the nose was a hit to the nose! "Honestly, Mana, yer cute and all, but kitten panties just don't interest me!" The punches stopped. Jin chanced a look; the girl was staring at him, eyes wide. Oh. Oh, shit. "Em... lucky guess?"
And then she growled at him. Growled and raised one of her hands, pointing right at his chest. Jin's eyes went wide. She wasn't... oh, hell, she couldn't do that, could she? He started backing away as her hand began to glow. There wasn't enough room in the alley to throw up a wind barrier. If she actually fired, he'd have no choice but to take it. "Come on now, let's not do anything hasty..." The girl didn't listen. Jin's eyes widened as she fired, the blue light 'bullet' hitting right into his solar plexus. That hurt a helluva lot more than the punch to the face had! "Ow...!"
"Jerk," the girl hissed.
Jin rubbed his chest, wincing. "I didn't do it..."
"Pervert!"
"Honest, Mana, I didn't do it." The redhead cringed as her eyes narrowed. They were dark when she was angry. "I was only tryin' to warn ya. I didn't flip yer skirt."
"Then you just stood there and stared, is that it?" Well, on the plus side she was keeping her voice down. Jin stepped back as she stepped forward, fire in her eyes. "You..."
"It was a guess, I swear."
"Pretty damned specific for a guess!" Oh crap, she was clenching her fists again. Jin closed his eyes, expecting more blows. Maybe if he just shut up and took the hits she'd lay off? But none came; she was putting the hat back on her head when he opened his eyes again, her back resolutely towards him. Jin sighed.
"Mana, I'm bein' honest. I didn't flip yer skirt, and I didn't stare at ya." There was no answer. The apparition hung his head. "Ya want me to just go on my own today?"
"You don't know your way around." Her tone was sharp. "You need me for this or you wouldn't make it back here."
Jin studied her stiffened shoulders before resolving himself to the fact that this might take making her mad again before things could get any better. Reaching over, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders from behind. "Listen." The girl went even more rigid. "Yer a nice girl and all, and someday I'm bettin' yer gonna be real pretty..." he was playing with fire this time... "Just like yer mother." The girl inhaled sharply, and then he felt her tremble slightly. Perfect. "But right now yer still a kid, and I don't know wot kind of people ya deal with, but I don't think it's much sport to mess with a kid that way. I know I'm not the easiest guy to keep up with. I can't help but tease and I get into everything and ya can't keep me still for a minute. But I'm bein' honest when I'm tellin' ya that wasn't me."
There was a long silence before he heard her heave a sigh. "Fine. I believe you."
He stepped back, relieved. "Atta girl. So, where are we-" The girl spun suddenly, catching him square in the face with an open palm. Jin cringed, half from the blow and half from the smug look on her face. "Wot the hell was that for?!"
"That was for knowing my wardrobe well enough to guess." Mana turned on her heel. Jin stared after her, stunned- had that been a smirk or... from hitting him? It was definite in his mind now; human girls were an entirely different species than their male counterparts! The girl turned back towards him as she reached the end of the alley. "Are you coming or not?"
He hadn't had any idea that she could look that saucy. Jin grinned in spite of himself, half-running to catch up to her. "Right behind ya, then."
The girl rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot." Her tone was soft, almost fondly so, and Jin grinned even wider. Score one for the wind master, then. That made smile number four.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, who wants to have a good laugh at the authoress now? I know what you're thinking after that scene; Oh my goddess, Aeris is so mean to her characters! Well, in that respect I think it's time to talk about where I get a lot of my own ideas, including the whole "Pleated Skirt/Windy Day" scenario. Are you ready for this? Don't blink, you're going to learn a lot from these two words:
PERSONAL. EXPERIENCE.
When I was about nineteen, one of my favorite outfits was a knee-length pleated skirt, red plaid, a white blouse with a very ruffled collar, and a black vest, all topped off with my knee-high black leather boots and some clunky jewelry. I adored that outfit. I wore it all the time, especially helping out at the local card and comic shop. The Grapevine was great; you could go in, meet your friends, play Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh and the like, and just hang out. I was one of the only girl card players, and I also dearly loved helping out when new comic and game shipments came in. This included taking out the trash to the dumpsters in the alley near the shop. On one particularly windy day I was doing just this, dressed in my favorite outfit, when a sudden gust blew some packing peanuts clean out of the box and into the middle of the street. Not one to litter in the middle of downtown, I went after them, finally catching the last piece right outside the Vine. I caught it with my boot, bent down to pick it up, and... you guessed it... a sudden surge of wind right from behind me blew my skirt up clean around my shoulders. I was mortified; there were about ten of my male friends in the shop that day and the front of the store was glass. By the time I got inside they were all having a great laugh over it, teasing me about my underwear, and in my indignation I demanded to know what color I was wearing if they really got that good a view. One of the guys, without missing a beat, informed me that they were black. I must have had murder in my eyes, because the next words out of his mouth were "Oh, shit. They are, aren't they?"
I chased him around the entire store before I finally caught him and gave him a piece of my mind, and the whole time he was standing there yelling "It was a guess! It was just a lucky guess! I didn't see anything!" Nobody tried to help him. They were all laughing too hard.
And this isn't the first scene inspired by my own life, either; as mentioned, Mana in the kitchen comes from my sister (I have actually heard her go "evil old thing" at the stove) and the scene where Jin is flushing the toilet paper down into the toilet also comes from that well of weird crap in my memory banks. Try that some time when you're bored; stick an end of the paper in the toilet and flush. It's kind of fun. But don't try chewing on batteries; they taste funny. So yeah. I don't abuse my characters. I just add spice to their lives with the bounties of my own personal experience.
Thank you for reading. Now let's see some reviews, and I'll see you all next weekend!
