Duran-kun and Kiyo-chan's Omake Theater!
(featuring the Tokiha and Minagi family pets)
Miroku hovered menacingly, raising his heavy, spiked club. Yes, he was only a foot tall now that he wasn't being fueled by the energies of the HiME Star, but even so the floating oni still carried an aura of violence and threat about him.
Plus, Kagutsuchi wasn't any bigger than Miroku was, so the respective threat level was generally the same as if they'd been their original sizes.
The dragon-like CHILD was stretched out flat on his belly, all six of his eyes closed. Suddenly, menace found promise in action as Miroku's club whipped down, descending full-force onto Kagutsuchi's muzzle! There was a loud, screeching noise as of tearing metal and Kagutsuchi rose into the air, shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears. Miroku showed no sign of reacting; the fear of retribution obviously had no impact on him.
Scowling, Mai regarded the results.
"Well, I hope you're satisfied," she declared.
"Actually..." Yuuichi Tate said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "I kind of need one more."
Kagutsuchi gave a yowl that sounded more like a whalesong than something either a dragon or a phoenix might say.
"What?" Mai echoed her pet.
"I told you how I needed to cut two openings in this sheet of metal." He held up the snips. "That means that I need two different pilot holes to start cutting from."
"Yuuichi..."
"Hey, it's not my fault! The teacher handed out snips; he didn't say anything about other tools."
"It is your fault, because if you hadn't procrastinated this until the weekend you could have just gone into the academy's metal shop and done the work there, the way you're supposed to do for your shop class homework. And what kind of guy calls up his girlfriend to bail him out with his shop class anyway?"
The look she directed at him suggested that he'd better have a good answer for that one.
"The modern kind who assumes that a girl can do all kinds of stuff, not just cooking and sewing?" he tried.
Mai gave him a long, measuring look.
"You did call me up first thing without even stopping to think about that," she mused. "And you win points for being willing to ask me for help instead of trying to be all manly and not admit you'd screwed up."
He almost said I did not screw up! but his brain managed to choke those words off, just as a few moments ago it had kept him from saying, You're best friends with Natsuki and she'd ram a wrench up my butt if I said tools and machine grease are in any way unfeminine. Say what you will about Tate, he was learning.
"Okay, you pass," Mai said. "Guys, can we do one more?"
Kagutsuchi tilted his head to the side as if thinking it over, then nodded.
"Great, thanks! I need it right here," Tate said, tapping the spot on the piece of sheet metal. Kagutsuchi flitted down and settled into place, putting the point of the sword that was thrust through his jaws right over the place indicated.
"But seriously, while I don't think Miroku minds playing hammer, at least bring your own nail the next time you need a hole punched."