CHAPTER 9

PHANTOM AND ANGEL

PART 17

T-Chan was starting to feel a little bit ignored. "Wan'ta find out what kind of disaster he can cause trying t'make tea?"

Leon turned his head to see what the teddy-goat was growling behind him about. He saw that weird, smugness in the creature's amber eyes and detected some sort of playful put-down.

"Kyu. Kyu-kyu-kyu-kyu." Q-Chan was air-born again, and landed on a counter top of an ornate black-stained china shelf. On the counter top were several metal canisters of different sizes and decoration. Q-Chan seemed to ponder the different canisters with a tiny paw pressed to his chin.

Again, Leon was forcing himself not to laugh, and faintly wondered if he was developing some inexplicable kind of respect for the little fluff-ball. "I suppose he doesn't have anything that has the same 'kick' as coffee?"

Q-Chan turned his head to look at Leon with another moment of deep contemplation, then turned back to the tea canisters. He seemed to give one of the canisters a big hug, and started to walk backwards, pulling the mini-monolith in lurching increments.

The detective made a sour face and lumbered over to the fluffy freight hauler. "Now I think I know what the Q in your name stands for…'QUIT--trying t'hurt yourself, silly!'" He took a hold of the canister that Puffula was trying to drag out. "I got it, dude." He lifted it up to look at it when he saw that there were a few words in English on it. "…Yerba Mate… Ah—yeah, I think I heard about this stuff. It's like the Red Bull of Brazil…or…someplace where they think soccer is football."

There was now an expression frozen on Q-Chan's face during a lengthy gaze up at Leon as if he wasn't sure what that particular statement told him about the…detective. He finally came to the conclusion that it was time to show Leon which teapot he should use. Perhaps Leon actually did need a 'healthy' dose of caffeine. He waddled over to a deep blue and gold porcelain teapot and patted it while looking up at Leon expectantly.

T-Chan nearly jumped up when he realized that the bonehead probably didn't know that the teapot needed to be warmed before the boiled water was put in it. He moved back to the tap and turned on the hot water. "Over here, Sherlock," he called to Leon.

"Kyu-kyu-kyu-kyu-kyu," Q-Chan pointed the teapot with little thrusts of his paw.

Leon remembered, from more than one personal experience, that pouring freshly boiled water into a cold glass container sometimes resulted in having to do a majorly pain-staking clean-up job. He decided that it was too early in the morning for him to have to do that, and went over to the sink with the teapot. The top didn't come right off like he was expecting it to. It had a couple of little knobs at either side that had to be lined up with indents that they fit through. That kind of made sense; so that the lid didn't accidently fall off while someone was trying to pour the tea into cups.

"The teapot needs warmed up first," Leon stated his guess. "Where in the world did D find a Leon-proof teapot?" He chuckled at his own joke, but noticed that T-Chan's eyes seemed to be alight with mirth. He winked at the teddy-goat and stuck the opening of the teapot under the stream of water.

T-Chan felt his hair try to stand on end when Leon winked at him. Before he realized what his body was about to do in order to stop himself, he shivered.

Contrary to popular belief, Leon did know a thing or two about animals. He'd caught the shiver out of the corner of his eye and noticed that T-Chan looked poofier to him than he had in the short time between him winking at the teddy-goat and finishing filling the teapot with warm water. "Are you cold, T-dude?" Leon asked T-Chan with a tinge of genuine concern in his voice. He placed his palm on the counter surface right in front of where T-Chan was sitting. "Hm. Little cold, I guess." After the teapot seemed filled enough, he set it on the counter next to the stove and turned the hot water off.

Before T-Chan knew what was coming, Leon had him against his chest with his left arm wrapped around him. "I'm borrowing your teddy-goat, Pon-Chan," he announced pleasantly. He'd already started working small circles with his fingertips into the muscles on either side of T-Chan's spine.

"Okay," Pon-Chan let out a perky chirped answer. "He's nicer after you borrow him, anyway."

If Leon hadn't been acting as a tranquilizer, there would be teeth bared, there would be chasing and fleeing, there would be snarling and screams, there would be detective tar-tar for breakfast. "I really should… eat you… as soon as you've… mmmph… stopped… nnnnnnngh… having any kind of… hmmmm… use… ful… ness," T-Chan murmured casually.

Leon stopped trying to re-liquify the teddy-goat long enough to dump and refill the tea-kettle and start it heating. "Sounds like you need tea with a real kick almost as much as I do, T," he chuckled. He was getting comfortable with using the tea kettle, but he hurried so that he could go back to improving T-Chan's circulation.

"Teddy-goat?" Ten-Chan's amused voice came from the doorway. A pleased gleam shone in his eyes when he saw T-Chan once again at the mercy of his one true advisory. "I'm getting the distinct feeling that I should have snuck into Orcot's room last night."

T-Chan's eyes were peacefully shut, and the totetsu had to decide whether or not he should even dignify his housemate with any kind of response. "You mean, this morning… and I definitely should eat you," he mumbled sluggishly.

Ten-Chan's reaction to the threat was a loud, dramatic sigh. "Promises-promises… Frankly, I don't think you're even in any condition to aim your mouth in my direction and open it," the Kitsune drawled pleasantly. He grinned knowingly and swished his tails in self-satisfaction.

T-Chan managed to pry his eyelids open long enough to glance over at Ten-Chan slyly, "No complaints here…" Leon's fingertips were digging into his welcoming muscles and pleasant tingles were dancing through every particle of his body.

Leon's body suddenly went tense beneath T-Chan's and he swung around towards the stove. "Aw, crap! Q! The rice is start'n t'boil." His voice was suddenly tight with anxiety.

"Kyu… kyu… kyu…" each syllable was made in a lower pitch than the one before it.

"Just turn it down?" Leon asked uncertainly. He settled slightly when he realized that he'd noticed the water in the pot starting to boil before it had a chance to rise to the top and start spilling over.

Q-Chan nodded calmly.

"Okay, well then I need ya 't'let me know when to stop," Leon told his instructor.

Ten-Chan sat on the floor a few feet away from the oven, and wrapped his arms around his knees. His gossamer hair spilled over one shoulder and across his chest when he tilted his head to one side. "Are we training Orcot in the fine art of making tea?" His exotic eyes appraised the scene gleefully.

"And rice!" Pon-Chan announced excitedly. She beamed at the odd little group proudly, as though it was her own personal orchestration.

Ten-Chan proved his rights to every last one of his tails. There would be hell to pay should any of them dash the little one's happiness. The kitsune graced little Pon-Chan with an approving smile and encouraging wink.

Leon had turned so that he was holding T-Chan away from the stove, and reached his long arm to turn the burner control from High to Low.

"Kyu." Q-Chan told Leon confidently.

"There?" Leon had taken his hand away when the setting was neatly on Lo.

Q-Chan nodded.

"How are we going to be able to tell the difference between the rice and the totetsu after Orcot's done with'im?" Ten-Chan went to the cupboard next to the one that the rice cooking pot had come out of and pulled out the lid for it. He held it out for Leon, "Here," he told him.

"The rice won't eat back," T-Chan was able to threaten once Leon's free hand was busy turning the heat down on the stove.

Leon heard Ten-Chan growling and then bark with something in his mouth. He looked down and saw the kitsune holding the pot's lid in his teeth by the knob. He bent down and took it from him, "Thanks, dude. I forgot about that."

"Are you sure about that?" Ten-Chan asked T-Chan coyly, "This is Orcot we're letting prepare food, so we may not know exactly what we're in for," he reminded matter-of-factly. "Not to mention the fact that your condition seems to be quickly deteriorating."

Just when T-Chan thought he was going to come down with a sudden case motion-sickness, Leon set the lid over the pot and went back to working on his back. "Mmmm—no complaints here…"