(a/n) – sorry for lack of updates, stuff and stuff with school projects and whatnot. no ouran for now cuz i sorta lost my train of thought too...
here's something that wouldn't leave my head after watching the lucky star oav's
Fate/School Days – Sidestory 04: Story Time
Rin Tohsaka-Emiya was not a happy person. Today was yet another weekend where the majority of the household was absent, people either day-tripping around the country or otherwise spending their free time with their friends in various downtown diversions. As always, most of the younger children were left behind under the watchful supervision of one or two of the adults. Normally somebody would volunteer, but in the few cases where that did not happen they would draw straws.
Today, Rin had drawn the short one.
Normally she would not mind so much, except this time That Woman had decided to leave her brats at home, so Rin found herself staring into the watery eyes of Aleksi and Aliisa and struggling mightily not to curse their drill-haired mother out loud. "What is it now?" she demanded.
The fraternal twins looked at each other then shrugged. ""We're bored,"" they chimed together.
"Ichi-nee just wants to spend all her time in her garden," Aleksi said.
"And Shin-nee is doing her quiet thing again," Aliisa added. "She's no fun to be around."
"Well, just watch TV or something!" Rin said.
"Mama said we shouldn't watch TV without an adult," said Aleksi.
"And the adult can't be Matsu-kaachan."
Rin face-palmed as she immediately recalled several instances explaining why Luvia had made that rule for her children. For all her apparent intelligence, Matsu was far too careless in leaving her video collections in the entertainment centers. Unfortunately, while Rin was confident in simply turning on a television and channel surfing, she still had never bothered to learn how to flip through the various auxiliary inputs, nor did she even know which doohickey was most likely to hold the redhead's disc or tape or whatever she used nowadays. So, sitting them in front of an electronic babysitter was probably out of the question.
"Having problems, Kaa-chan?"
Rin looked over to see Karin walking over with a small book tucked under her arm. Sometimes she wondered about Karin, she almost never seemed to leave the house except for school. "Maybe. Bored kids. Her bored kids. But if you think you have a suggestion, don't think we've forgotten that little mess you and Koyuki made."
Karin pouted, "That was years ago. Besides, this one's not so messy." She held up her book, "I thought we could read them a story."
"Story?" Aliisa perked up. "What's it about?"
Karin flipped the book around and stared at the cover, "Oh, it's about a prince, a girl, fairy godmothers, and the like."
Rin arched an eyebrow, "Cinderella?"
"Something like that."
Rin dusted her hands off, "Well then, I guess I can leave these two to you. I'll be in my study." She started to step away, then stopped as she felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned around to find Aleksi holding his arms out towards her.
"Lap," the boy demanded.
"Oh for the love of—" Rin began, then she saw Aliisa mirroring her twin's pose. She sighed and dropped onto the nearest couch, shifting positions to make herself comfortable as the two toddlers climbed on top of her. Her arms automatically came up to cradle them against her side – years of parenthood had given her a few habits she had yet to grow out of – and she gave Karin a perfunctory nod once they were settled in. "Let's get this over with... "
Karin had a smile on her face as she sat down in a nearby chair and settled the book on her own lap. " 'Kay. So, here we go. . . Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a young woman who—"
"What was the woman like?" Aliisa was almost bouncing with excitement.
"Um," Karin glanced down at the book, then flipped a few pages. "Wait one... " She thumbed her way through the next few pages with increasing speed, then simply held up the book sideways and tilted her head to the side. She kept a thumb pressed against the raised end of the book so the pages fell one at a time. Her eyes flickered back and forth at a speed which, quite frankly, unnerved Rin. Finally she clapped the book closed and placed it on her lap. She remained still for a few more moments, then her face lit up with a mischievous smile.
...
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a young woman who lived in a small town with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters.
Our heroine was cruelly mistreated by her family. Her body was thin from the terrible food that was all she was given to eat, and wiry from the labors her family would force her to do. Her eyes were like bright, hm... sapphires. She had long, flowing hair, the color of the ashes they forced her to sleep in. Since she always had to do the chores, she kept it tied up, out of the way. Here, and here...
...
Karin motioned her hands to either side of her head, suggesting the positioning for twin-tails.
""Ooh... ""
Rin narrowed her eyes.
...
But the young woman was prideful, she refused to let anybody know how she felt about her family's treatment of her. So to outsiders, she was always unfailingly polite and well-mannered. But behind that mask, she was quietly raging and looking for opportunities to get even against her wicked stepmother and stepsisters.
...
Rin was fairly certain that's not how the story went... at least not as she had remembered it from her own childhood.
...
But, in that same land, there was a young prince. His father had recently passed away and he was growing used to the idea of being a hero of his kingdom. Our young heroine, like many others in the land, was smitten by the dashing prince—
...
"What's 'smitten'?" Aleksi asked.
...
Smitten, verb, past-participle; in this context it's to be strongly attracted to someone. A~anyhow, our heroine was deeply in love with the young prince. But, because she was so used to hiding her feelings, she pretended to be as cold towards him as she was to everybody else.
...
"Oh no!" Aliisa gasped.
Rin's uneasy feeling increased as she felt Karin's eyes on her.
"What's her name?" Aleksi asked.
Karin opened her eyes in mock surprise. "Oh, her name! I'm sorry." Her smile grew wider as she looked Rin in the eye.
...
Our heroine's name... is Tsunderella.
...
"Huh?" Aleksi frowned. "I think I've heard that name before... "
Aliisa put a hand to her cheek, "Me too. I think it was... it was in that big book Mama showed us!"
"The one with all the words?"
"Yeah!"
Rin quietly fumed at her own step-daughter. Karin smiled innocently in return.
Aleksi half turned around, "Rin-kaachan, do you know what 'tsunde–' " He suddenly gasped as he saw her scowling face. "Ah! Just like the picture!"
Aliisa seemed to come to the same conclusion. "Rin-kaachan is Tsunderella?"
The twin-tailed parent opened her mouth to say in no-uncertain terms she was most definitely not Tsunderella, but she paused as she saw the wide-eyed, innocent looks on the two toddler's faces. Her mouth bobbed silently for a few moments, then she lifted her head as Karin let out a muffled chuckle.
"Yes," she sighed, slumping back against the couch. "I guess I'm 'Tsunderella'." She narrowed her eyes. "But Luvia is one of the wicked step-sisters."
Aleksi and Aliisa gasped in dismay. ""What?""
Karin toppled out of her chair, cackling madly.