Chapter 4: People Pleaser
Shu burst into his room with a blue and black hamster in each hand. He did a twirl, closing the door with his foot in the process (as well as nearly making the hamsters vomit), and set the Legendz down on his bed.
"Behold!" he said to Ranshiin, spreading his arms to gesture to the entire room.
The black hamster looked around, incredibly underwhelmed by the size, although he hid it behind a layer of gratitude for its cleanliness, and pretended it was awe. Nezzucho rolled his eyes and flew over to a tiny bed next to Shu's. He yawned, about to climb in, before the Legendz club president stopped him with a hand.
"Wait a second," he said as he picked up Waruccho by his scruff. The hamster did not resist as he was placed on the tiny bed and tucked in; the blue hamster, on the other hand, did.
Nezzucho hopped up and down, pointing at Waruccho and shaking his fists. Shu scoffed and waved it away.
"Calm down, Nezzucho," he said, "It's just one night; you to can share a bed for one night, at least until Meg gets another doll bed for Waruccho, or I get my talisdam fixed." He brushed away the embaressing memory of having dropped the item in a toliet...it was hard to explain exactly how that had happened.
He coughed and tucked Nezzucho in with Waruccho, ignoring the protests of both and heading to bed. The hamsters stared at each other in darkness and silence for awhile.
Waruccho eventually shrugged and rolled over, muttering a small "Fu" as goodnight before the soft sounds of his snoring- in rythym with their Saga's-filled Nezzucho's ears.
Nezzucho sighed and rolled over so his wings brushed against Waruccho's. He stared at the dark walls of the enclosure for a long while, letting his thoughts about his 'other half' spin around in his head. It was both strange and uncomfortable to have the object of his vexation and loathing sleeping right beside him; It was almost as uncomfortable as his Saga's trust in said loathed object.
Nezzucho huffed quietly as Waruccho pulled the blanket off of him in his sleep. He tried to tug it back, but the black hamster had a steel grip on the fabric. After five unsuccessful tries, he finally gave up and submitted himself to a night of slight discomfort.
When he next opened his eyes, he realized it was late morning.
His saga and Waruccho were no where to be seen. He smelled the faint scent of greasy breakfast foods wafting in from the direction of the kitchen. His mind groggily put two and two together and he lifted himself from the bed.
He paused for a moment, half way in the air, watching his blanket slide off of his body. It looked as of he had been...tucked in. Like someone had carefully placed the blanket on him while he was asleep, without causing any disturbance.
Had Waruccho…?
He shook it off and flew out the door into the hallway, following the scent of food until he found his Saga having breakfast with his mother. Shu looked up from a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast to smile up at the hamster coming towards him.
"Messusho!" he mumbled past a mouthful of bacon.
His mother smiled as the hamster landed beside her. She gave him a small piece of toast with melted butter and petted his head.
"Good morning, Nezzucho," she said, "Did you sleep well?"
"Ga," The hamster said dismissively, nibbling on the toast. He looked up at his saga. "Gaga-ga?"
"Oh, yeah," Shu said, "Waruccho went with Dad to Duck Duck Company, for some reason."
Nezzucho nearly choked on his toast. Mrs. Matsutani offered him a sip of milk from her glass and patted his back with her finger until he recovered enough to be able to speak again. He gapped for air and blinked up at Shu.
"GA?!" he cried.
Shu shrugged. "Why not? Waruccho seemed like he really wanted to go, and dad didn't mind. What's the big deal?" He had gotten better at translating the Legendz's hamster language, mostly through simply studying his body's motions.
Nezzucho tugged on the flaps of his hat and growled in rage. He flew up and grabbed Shu's shirt, trying to tug him up. Shu fininshed his breakfast, put up his dishes, kissed his mom goodbye, and whisked out the door with the hamster and his scooter.
They hit the street, racing across the cement towards Duck Duck Toys HQ. Nezzucho worried the entire way, hiding it behind a steeled face of determination; what was Ranshiin planning? Why did he want to go to Duck Duck Toys?
Perhaps the black dragon wanted to kill Mr. Matsutani and Mr. Sparks, and disguise it as an industrial accident; or maybe he wanted to use the talisdams they were producing to summon an army of dark legendz, or program the toys to hurt children; or it could be something else horrible, that Nezzucho could not even begin to imagine.
He growled at the thought and tugged on the talispod hanging from Shu's belt. Shu stopped and blinked down at the white hamster in confusion.
"You want to be reborn?" he asked.
"Ga!" Nezzucho said, nestling into the talispod's hold.
His saga shrugged and parked his scooter, then held up the device.
"Shiron! Come back!" he cried as the hamster was replaced with a blue crystal.
He held it up to the light. "Shiron, Reborn!"
A small tornado revealed a large white dragon standing before the saga. Shiron growled and burst through the door of the warehouse, ignoring his saga and the receptionist. He stormed through the place, looking around for a hamster and adjusting his gloves.
"Ranshiin!" he yelled, making several workers jump as he passed them, "Where are you?"
"Shiron, what's wrong? What are you doing?" Shu grabbed Shiron's tail and hung on as the Windragon searched the place.
Shiron again ignored him, searching around for any trace of the black legendz. "RANSHIIN!"
"Yes?" A voice answered from right behind them.
Shiron spun around in shock as he saw the black Windragon, fully reborn, wearing a Duck Duck Toys apron over a tight white T-Shirt and loose black shorts. He had a peaceful, pleasant smile on his face, and was carrying three heavy-looking boxes labeled "Fragile".
Shiron growled and grabbed the front of Ranshiin's shirt over the boxes. "What are you up to?" he demanded.
Ranshiin didn't even bat an eye; metaphorically, at least. He actually batted his eyes several times in an irritatingly feminine manner, almost like he was mocking Shiron.
"What am I up to?" Ranshiin echoed as if confused, "Why would I be up to something? Am I doing anything wrong, Shiron?"
"No, you're not," Shu said, slipping off of Shiron's tail and stepping between the two. He looked up at Shiron sternly. "Shiron, what is Waruccho doing wrong?"
Shiron blinked down at Shu and then glanced at Ranshiin. "...Nothing...yet."
Shu nodded. "Right. Give him a chance, until he does something; then you can beat him up."
Shu saw the wounded look on Ranshiin's face and quickly amended with: "Not that you would do something, Waruccho."
Ranshiin put the boxes on a workbench where a few employees were working. He watched them tear open the boxes and work for a moment. "Damn right," he muttered as if under his breath, although Shiron was sure he had taken the stung tone intentionally so Shu would hear it.
Shu went over and patted Ranshiin's calf sympathetically. "Shiron's just tense, is all. Everyone is, after...everything that happened. But we can all make an effort to move forward...and we will. And we know you will too." he smiled up at the Legendz.
Ranshiin smiled back down at his saga, and for the first time, Shiron thought he saw something...genuine in his expression. Something resembling gratitude, or even…
Shiron refused to get ahead of himself; He could only afford a shred of trust for Ranshiin and his past noble deed, if only for his saga's sake; but he would be weary. He would always be weary, in case Ranshiin turned.
Shu tugged on Ranshiin's shorts. "Hey, show us what you've been doing here!" he said excitedly.
Ranshiin cast a glance in Shiron's direction, then away again when he saw his eyes on him. He smiled and set Shu on his shoulder.
"Well, Kaze no Saga," he said proudly, "I've volunteered to help unload supplies and toy parts, as well as assist in some equipment moving and…"
Shiron tuned him out almost entirely as he led them around the warehouse, explaining what he had helped with and the ways everyone was working together to help the company get onto its feet. He even introduced them to some Legendz employees that had recently been hired, whom he had assisted in training.
Shiron just shook the hands they offered him, not even bothering to remember their names or faces. They weren't as important to him at the moment.
Ranshiin dropped Shu off in front of Mr. Matsutani and Spark's office. Shu smiled up at him as Shiron knocked on the door.
After a moment, Mr. Spark's head poked out. His eyes landed on Ranshiin, and he smiled.
"Well, if it isn't our most valued employee!" he said, stepping out and taking Ranshiin's hand.
The black windragon returned the smile and gestured to Shu and Shiron with a wing. "'Most valued' is a tad much, for my humble services. Anyway, Shu and Shiron are here to see you and Mr. Matsutani."
Mr. Sparks looked past Ranshiin and smiled at the two. "Ah! Shu! Shiron! Back already, I see. Come inside," he held open the door so Shu and Shiron could squeeze in (the 'squeezing' part refering to Shiron).
Shu's father was bent over a few spare parts and tools. He paused in his work for a moment to stare at a blueprint, taking no notice of his son or the two large Legendz that took up most of the room, until Shu cleared his throat.
Mr. Matsutani grinned up at them. "Oh, hey! What brings you two back here?"
Shu pointed over his shoulder at Shiron's crouched form. "Dekkacho thinks Waruchho's up to no good."
Mr. Matsutani laughed. "I assure you, Shiron, Ranshiin's been very helpful. He hasn't done anything wrong."
"In fact, we could use more like him," Mr. Sparks said. He stepped beside Ranshiin and patted his leg. "If only we could clone him!"
Ranshiin and the two men laughed as if this was some sort of personal joke between them. Shiron tried to refrain from rolling his eyes; was this Ranshiin's plan to get everyone to trust him? By smiling and kissing up to everyone?- or had he really changed?- He, personally, didn't believe Ranshiin would be so quick to be rid of his pride.
"Well, whatever he's up to," Shiron thought, "trying to make him look bad won't help; I'll only incriminate myself. Better to let him think he has my trust...Until he truely earns it."
Shu snapped to get Shiron's attention. "Dekkacho!"
The windragon blinked, fully awake and out of his trance. He looked at Shu. "Yo, what do you need?"
"I was asking for a ride home," Shu said slowly, as if making sure Shiron could understand, "since we're done here, and we know that Waruchho's not doing any evil doing. Hello?"
Shiron nodded and scooped Shu up. He turned to Ranshiin again. "So, when can we expect you home?"
Ranshiin smiled. "Around 10 pm. I still have to help Ms. Hepburn at 101 Grade School; I understand children can be quite the handful." He did that irritating, feminine batting of his eyes again, and Shiron wasn't entirely sure that Ranshiin was not purposefully trying to provoke him.
He took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Well, see you later, Ran-Ran," -If Ranshiin wanted play games… Shiron could play them too. He batted his eyelids at Ranshiin and swept out the door with their saga.