Well, this is, for lack of a better term, an interesting chapter, at least in my view. I really like it, and I hope y'all will too.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
Chapter 14: Happy Tidings
"You guys should really learn to lock the door. Anyone could just waltz right in," Gene said with a grin, closing and locking the door behind him as he surveyed the devastation.
Mai was on the ground where he'd left her body, curled into Naru, sobbing her heart out. The blood-bile mixture was slowly being mopped up by Masako, Monk, John, and Ayako. Lin was monitoring the monitors. Tamaki and Kamin were still in their Rex-induced-corner, watching the proceedings. Yasu was tapping away at his laptop, or at least, he had been before Gene walked in. Now, he was staring wide-eyed at the semi-new arrival, fingers paused over the keyboard.
"Yeah, like you?" Lin asked before an awkward silence could accumulate.
"Of course, like me. Who else would it be?" Gene asked, smiling widely. As he heard Mai's cry, his smile softened into a gentle curve.
Mai burst up from the floor, flinging herself into Gene's arms. "Gene, oh my god! Are you alright? Where were you?" She hugged him tightly, squeezing the air from his lungs. That's when she realized she was pressing her face into boobs. Jerking back, she stared at said breasts with furrowed brows. "Gene, whose body is this? Where did you get her?"
"I just borrowed it from one of the spirits outside the door. She seemed otherwise preoccupied, and I don't think she minded too terribly. I think I know her," Gene explained with a shrug, wrapping an arm around Mai's shoulder.
"Um, maybe, but I definitely do." Mai punched him in the shoulder, finally tearing her eyes away from his boobs to glare up at him with wet eyes. "Dammit Gene, you took over Natalia's body!" She punched him in the arm again.
Gene winced. "For a girl who has lost so much blood, you sure do pack a powerful punch. Shouldn't you be in a crying heap?" he asked.
"Don't remind me," Mai grumbled, glancing down at her legs. The blood had ceased to run, and was beginning to dry. It was gross. She didn't like the feeling of dried blood. It always felt as if the flakes were trying to pull up her skin. Tears dripped down her nose, traveling to the ground between her feet.
Sighing and rolling his eyes towards Naru, arm still around Mai's shoulder, Gene asked, "Don't we know someone named Natalia?"
"Possibly. It has been a long time since I've heard that name," Naru said, wrapping gentle fingers around Mai's shoulders, pulling her from Gene's grasp.
Yasu gasped loudly, as if coming out of a trance. "Gene!" he called, scrambling to his feet. If he wasn't careful, he'd crack his screen.
Masako shot him a suspicious look, but none of the others were paying much attention. Ayako sat back on her haunches, glancing between Gene and Yasu, eyes narrowing, but a smile spreading across her lips. Monk just lifted his head, watching the entire exchange.
Gene's grin spread wider. "Yasu!" he said, flinging out his arms, "I wasn't gone very long was I? Were you lost without you pervert companion?"
A grin wider than Gene's slowly spreading across his face, Yasu strode across the room. Without so much as a warning, he grabbed Gene's face, capturing his lips. Gene released a small, surprised sound, before grabbing the back of Yasu's neck, and fervently kissing back.
"Whoa!" Monk shouted, jumping to his feet.
The others around the pair took surprised steps back. Mai just stared on in wide-eyed astonishment. "Well, this is not what I was expecting to return to…" she murmured, brows making friends with her hairline.
"Why? Why are you always kissing my brother?" Naru growled, rolling his eyes and turning Mai away. Frowning, he turned back to the pair. "Tell me you have not been doing with that with my twin in my fiancée's body."
Breaking apart, Gene let his head loll back, rolling to look at Naru, voice lethargic. "Those first two times were for CPR purposes, and this time you didn't find the situation, so it doesn't count. And to answer your plea; no, we have not. I wouldn't do that you or Mai, and neither would Yasu. We're not complete assholes." Finding his feet again, Gene dropped one of his arms to his side. "Anyway, that was as much of a surprise to me as it was to you." Glancing over at Yasu's stunned expression, he laughed, tapping Yasu's cheek. "It seems like he's just as surprised."
"I… I really didn't know I was going to do that," Yasu whispered.
"Oh, didn't you now?" Masako asked, sauntering up. She cocked her hip to the side, crossing her arms over her chest.
Suddenly, the happy mood plummeted. Mai's eyebrows shot higher, her eyes growing wider. "Oh, it looks like it's time for me to go take a jump out the window," she said, turning towards the monitors, "Or, you know, someone else could." Clasping her fingers behind her back, she wandered over to Lin's side, her eyebrows still high.
"And this is where I leave you to it," Naru said, nodding and turning to wrap arms around Mai. He'd be hanging all over her for the next few days until he'd filled the three month plus yawning Mai shaped void in his being.
Yasu and Masako weren't paying attention. Yasu scowled, narrowing his eyes. "No, I didn't. Why does it matter anyway? Why do you give a fuck who I kiss?"
"I don't," Masako shot back irately, grinding her teeth.
"Obviously you do if you're bitching at me about it," Yasu growled.
Extracting himself from Yasu's ever tightening hold, Gene spun away, pursing his lips to the side. "It's my turn to leave. This is a spat I do not need to be a part of," he muttered under his breath, leaning in next to Naru and Mai. "So, what are we going to do about Ash and his assholishness?"
Mai sighed. "I don't know. I don't know exactly how to strip him of his abilities or cut off all of his connections to the spirits he's collected."
"Neither do I," Gene whispered conspiratorially, trying to tune out Masako and Yasu's bickering, "But I'll bet you great sex with Yasu that Ash has no actual power of his own accept one, and that's to use the abilities of others."
"I am so not betting on that with you," Mai laughed, shaking her head, "I've already got a man of my own."
Gene shrugged, smirking. "More for me then."
"You jumped on that bandwagon quickly, didn't you?" Lin commented, taping a few more keys before minimizing the page he'd been on.
"What bandwagon was there to jump on? You don't know what I've been thinking," Gene quipped back, sticking out his tongue at the man.
"And I don't want to," Lin said, shaking his head.
Leaning over Lin's shoulder, Gene reached for the mouse pad. "Are you writing more porn about us? Am I in it this time? Please tell me I'm in it. Who am I doing?"
"I'm not writing anything," Lin replied, slapping Gene's hand away and snapping his laptop shut, "And as I hear it, you're doing Yasu."
"Not yet, but I will be," Gene said, his voice lower than Mai's or Natalia's, but higher than his normal voice, waggling his eyebrows before his face went stone cold. It was a nearly identical expression to the one Naru always used when something really pissed him off, only in female form. Pissed, he was utterly pissed.
Masako got in Yasu's face, growling, "You're just on the rebound. You can't take it that I dumped you, so you go crawling into the lap of the first person that will take you. Never mind that that person was Naru's twin in your friend's body, and he identifies as a male. No, you would screw anything."
"Are you including yourself in that 'anything' category because that sounded rather derogatory?" Yasu spat back sweetly, glaring down at her, "Anyway, this has nothing to do with Gene. That was all you. And why does it matter what he identifies as? Are you against bisexuals now?"
"No, it's the fact that all your attracted to is the body," Masako snarled viciously.
Yasu reeled back. "Are you serious? How much of a bitch-"
"That is enough!" Gene shouted, spinning around to face them. He marched over to them, anger spilling from his every pore. His palm cracked against the side of Masako's face then he turned and did the same to Yasu. Surprised and unsure of how to proceed, they simply stared at him wide-eyed. "Now you two finally shut the fuck up. This is not about me, this is about the fact that you can't get over the fact that Masako screwed the good priest there trying to shield the twin's ears, and that Yasu wasn't expressly into three-ways. You two yelling at each other isn't going to help! Right now, we've got bigger problems than the ones orbiting planets Bitchy-Bitch-Bitch and I've-Got-A-Bigger-Dick-Than-You! Now, you either help us, or I'm going to throw you to the wolves, and not open the door when you start screaming." Finally, his frown turned into a sickly sweet smile. "Now, which will it be?"
Cupping their cheeks, the pair muttered together, grudgingly on Masako's part, "We'll help."
"Good." Gene turned this time towards the twins, marching towards them. He dropped down onto his haunches, grinning widely and true. "Now look, I know I just said a lot of bad words just now, but I want you to promise you'll never use the same language, and to forgive me for such vulgar speech."
Smiling along with him, the twins pushed John's hands away and nodded. "It's alright," they said together, "Are you, Mommy, and Daddy alright now? Not going to fight anymore."
"Alright? Alright?! We've never been better!" he declared, scooping them up into his arms. "Now, I'm going to ask you two for some help. We need the creative minds of the two of you. Think you're up for the job?" With wide, star struck eyes, they nodded. "Good. I want you to talk to Mai and Lin, and try to formulate what to do about our rat problem."
"Okay!" they said, excitement fresh in their voices. They jumped from his arms, running to Lin's side and wrapping their arms around his legs. "We're supposed to help you and Mommy."
Lin chuckled. "Then get up here and help us." They were up in his lap in a moment.
"You!" Gene swung around, pointing at Yasu. "You're going to tell us all that information you've been finding. You!" He swung his finger towards Masako. "Seal your lips and keep them that way. You!" He turned to John. "…I don't know. Just sit there and look pretty or help Monk and Ayako clean up that mess. Rex, just have fun being a dog." Pursing his lips, he looked back at John. "Actually, maybe you can figure out a way to get Mai clean, maybe, possibly. I can't help you there. I'm not clever enough." Clapping his hands, he turned to face the entire room. "Alright, everyone's got a job. Let's get working. I want out of this god-forsaken hell hole as soon as possible, and I'm sure, so do the rest of you."
Rolling their eyes, Naru punched his brother in the arm in the exact spot Mai had. "You're very vocal today."
"When am I ever not vocal?" Gene asked, smirking. Naru rolled his eyes hard this time, and simply shoved his twin in Yasu's direction.
Sorry that this chapter was a little late. I had a mishap with timing yesterday, and a really hard swim practice. I hope y'all had a blast on this chapter like I did. I love mixing things up and then putting characters in their places. No, actually, I just like screwing with characters. Anyway, see you next chapter.