Johnny V, as he was known in certain quarters of Royal Woods, was a natural born hunter. All men are descended from the proud warriors of the hunter-gatherer tribes that traversed the plains millenia before the dawn of recorded history, and even today, in our urban and highly advanced civilization, there lurks in the heart of each and ever man the spark of a warrior. Johnny had been watching a ton of YouTube videos on the subject and had decided, in a small way, to get in touch with that part of himself. And the way to do that was to track, stalk, and kill.

Because he was just beginning his journey to self-discovery and all that jazz, he wanted a plentiful hunting ground teeming with game. Once he had stalked and killed a few times, he would be ready for hard mode, but right now, he needed it easy. So to that end, he decided to hunt right here at the Loud house, where he and his family had been staying ever since a tornado destroyed their home what felt like years ago. Johnny liked the Loud girls and all but he was getting sick of being cooped up with them like some kind of zany cartoon or sitcom where a bunch of characters are forced together. Ha ha, watch them step on each other's toes. Hee hee, Luan made a funny, cue the laugh track. Tune in to THE LOUD HOUSE Tuesday nights at 8pm, this fall, only on CBS. We Know Funny.

Yuck.

The V Man needed his own space, a space where he didn't have a mega truck ton of people up his butt 24/7. In fact, before the tornado even happened, he was getting kind of sick of living in the room with Lincoln. There was an extra bedroom he had, but Dad had converted it into a museum of wrestling stuff. Posters on the walls, fake belts, and thousands of action figures on the floor, all posed and crowded around some special limited edition WrestleMania play set featuring a ring, an entrance ramp, and a the "storied" Big Blue Cage, which was as square and dumb as wrestling itself. Dad treated the room like sacred ground, and if you were to follow him in there, you would find him kneeling on the floor with his forehead pressed to the carpet like a Muslim, praying to Vincee McMahon or whoever he was currently deifying. Probably that scrawny little wimp Tony Kahn. Vince McMahon might be the devil of pro wrestling, but Tony Kahn was pure cringe personified.

Of course Dad liked him.

Real recognizes real, and both were real dorks.

Anyway, Johnny had brought up the idea of moving into the room and Dad threw himself against the door, foaming at the mouth like Mr. Krabs protecting his cash register. "It's mine! ALL MINE!"

Jeez, fine, keep your dumb room.

Even so, he wanted his own space and was seriously thinking about pitching a tent in the basement, maybe next to the hot water heater, that way he could keep warm from the endless chill. But then the tornado happened and here he was, trapped in a virtual hotel filled with people, like those British dweebs on that old show Mom watched. Was it Are You Being Served? Yeah, served a bad show lol.

Anyway, Johnny had been wanting his own space for a while, but now not having one was actually working to his advantage. He had a whole house of people to stalk and murder. He struck on a normal evening after dinner. He dressed as Kenshiro, the main guy from Fist of the North Star and then crept silently through the house, back against the wall like a ninja in a cartoon. Whenever he heard someone coming, he ducked into a hiding spot and watched them pass, weighing their life in his hands. He was the ultimate master of who lived and died around here, and he took great pleasure in this. They had no idea that as they skipped merilly through life, an avenging angel watched from the wings, the power of life and death in his hands.

They were all essentially safe anyway.

He already knew who he was going to kill.

Creeping to the end of the hall, he slipped quietly into Lori and Leni's room. Lori was face down on the bed, talking on the phone to one of her friends and eating expensive European chocolates from a box. Those chocolates, which she ate often, were the reason that Johnny had marked her for death. See…she never shared. Every week she'd have this box of decadent looking chocolate and when Johnny asked for one, begged for one, she'd tell him to scram, get lost, beat feet, little boy. If she was a little more generous, he would have passed her by like the Angel of Death in Egypt sparing Jews with blood on their door, but she was a mean, greedy, selfish teenager and for that, she would pay.

She would pay dearly.

Sneaking up behind her, Johnny curled his fists and took up a fighter's stance. "Your time has come," he said.

Lori let out a startled cry and turned around just as Johnny began to rain down punches on her. She screamed and covered her face…then uncovered it when she realized none of Johnny's punches were landing. He pulled every single one at the last second, hitting thin air and grunting like a character in an anime. She narrowed her eyes and favored him with a nasty glare. "Johnny," she said, "what are you doing?"

"Killing you," Johnny grunted. "How does it feel? I bet you wish you shared those chocolates with me now, huh?"

Lori casually picked one up and plopped it into her mouth. "So good," she said, her voice muffled.

Like a flash, Johnny reached into the sash across his waist, pulled out a vial of fake blood, as red and thick as paint, and splattered it across Lori's face. A startled gasp was dislodged from her throat and she put him in mind of a woman slowly sinking herself into cold, icy water. She held her hands up, palms facing her, and gawked at them as though she had never seen them before. "Ha," Johnny said, moving his mouth in a strange way to simulate a bad dub job, "you are dead now. Fatality."

Lori's face turned bright red and her eyes strained from their sockets. A fat vein appeared on her forhead, throbbing like an overfed worm, and Johnny could have sworn it spelled out the phrase I AM ANGRY.

Maybe "killing" Lori wasn't the best idea that he'd ever had. Maybe he should have just killed her so that she couldn't take her revenge on him.

"Johnny," she intoned dangerously and got to her feet, shoulders hunched and hands clawed; she reminded him of a big blonde gorilla getting ready to tear apart its prey and a shiver of cold, quiet fear went through him.

"I was just playing," he said with a sheepish little laugh. He felt back a step and raised one defensive hand in front of him. "It was just a prank. I didn't mean anything by it."

Red dripped from her face and splattered the front of her shirt, staning it. She looked down at her chest, then back to Johnny with murder in her eyes. Johnny gulped and looked around for some salvation, but didn't see any. Well, this was it. He had a good run. Not a long one, mind you, but a good one. As Lori advanced, his life began to flash before his eyes, and he was treated to a slideshow of all his greatest moments. There were too many to even count, honestly, and he felt a twinge of loss, not for himself but for literally everyone else. How would they manage without him? How would the world keep spinning and the sun keep shining if he were no longer around? What a loss he would be to the worlds of art, fashion, and academia. He wept for the world and its impending loss; he hoped only that it would find a way, some way, to manage without him.

Just before Lori fell on him and quite literally turned him into a human pretzel, Lisa materialized seemingly from the very ether with a spray bottle clutched in one hand. Showing zero emotion, she pointed the bottle at Lori's face and depressed the trigger. A fine mist shot out and seemed to envelope Lori as though it had a sentient mind. Johnny coughed and waved his hand in front of his face even though it was odorless and did not bother his lungs at all. It was more of a reflex.

When the mist cleared, Lori stood before him clean as a whistle, the blood gone. In fact, she was so clean that she seemed to sparkle, and when she moved, her feet squeaked against the floor. She looked down at herself in amazement, and then to Lisa. "I call it shower in a can," Lisa said. "It has the properties of both bathing and doing laundry. That is, it instantly cleans anything it touches. Well…flesh and fabric. For some reason it corrodes metal and splinters wood."

Lucy, as pale and spooky as ever, popped up out of nowhere. "Ah," she said, "so that's why you wanted fake blood." She looked at him funny. "What are you wearing, though?"

Suddenly, all of the Loud sisters were there, surrounding him in a big circle. He had lived in close promiexty to them long enough that he knew what was about to come. They did this when they were going to make fun of someone. Him, Lincoln, each other. It was weird. They'd surround and trap their victim and then shower them with abuse and insults. "You look like one of the Village People," Lynn said.

"No," Lola said, "he looks like he lives in his mom's basement and posts on 4chan."

"Go black to Japan, weeb," Luan spat.

"Japan is extremely racist and xenophobic," Lisa pointed out, "they would not fully accept him because of his African-American heritage."

Everyone laughed cruelly. "I don't really want to live in Japan," Johnny said meekly. Which was true. He thought it was cool and exotic and would like to visit it one day, but he also wanted to visit other places just as much.

That didn't matter to the Loud girls, however. They seized on the whole "weeb wishing he was Japanese" thing and ran with it. They laughed at and mocked him, saying that he would never realize his dream of living in Japan, having a real live waifu, and being accepted by society. They called him a neckbeard, a Dorito breath, a body pillow having loser who watched anime and thought it was real. "He'll never have a harem," Luna said.

"Yes he will," Lucy said, "a harem of fedoras."

They all shrieked laughter. Lori threw her head back, Lola slapped her knee, and Lana pressed her hands to her stomach as though she were trying to keep her insides from coming out. The only one who didn't laugh at him was Leni; she had made the costume for him and didn't look happy that it was being so mercilessly mocked. "I think it's cute," she said defiantly.

The girls ignored her and continued waging jihad on Johnny and everything he liked and stood for. The final straw was when Lori said he loved wrestling and should start wrestling under the name The Incel. "He can come out with a harem of women," Lori said, "they'll be called The Friend Zone."

"I HATE WRESTLING!" Johnny screamed. He whipped around, shouldered his way between Lynn and Luan, and ran into the hall and down the stairs. He met his Dad coming up. He was wearing a pair of wrestling tights with Mom's face on the crotch and a fake Freddie Mercury mustache. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Johnny screamed as he passed. He turned around and shoved Dad from behind, knocking him over. "You're not Rude!"

"Yeah, but you are," Dad called as Johnny stormed out of the house.

Outside, Johnny slammed the door behind him and stalked down the flagstone walk to the street, his hands clenching and unclenching. His brown face was tinged with red and his lips peeled back from his teeth in a sneer. How dare they say all that stuff about him becoming a wrestler? He could take the jabs about being a fedora loving incel because, but headcannoning him as a pretend fighter was going waaay too far. Johnny would rather be a slave on a plantation than a darn wrestler. At least a slave didn't pretend to be a slave. They were real. Wrestlers, on the other hand, were a bunch of carny fakes. He was not a fake. He was the realest dude you would ever meet. There was nothing fake about him.

Why would they say that? To a self-made man like him, being called fake was the worst thing ever. There was nothing phony or pretend about him. What you saw was what you got. Why -

Johnny was so caught up in being mad that he didn't realize he was about to bump into someone until it happened. He fell back a step and looked up to apoloigize, but froze when he saw three tall, muscular, men looking men in front of him. They all wore black and white striped shirts, black masks over their eyes, and black knit caps.

Oh no.

It was The Burgarlers.

The Buglarlers were a street gang that controlled a bench and half a basketball court at the local park. They roamed around Royal Woods stealing everything that wasn't nailed down, even candy right out of little babies's hands. They were so good at hiding their stolen loot that the police could never find it and thus couldn't prove anything, but it was well known in town that they would take anything at any moment. A few months back, the ACAB crowd successfully got Royal Woods to defund its police department, and ever since, The Burgarlers had been getting bolder and bolder. Now they were straight up mugging people in the street; they even carjacked the social workers who replaced the cops. Their government issue sedan was even now abandoned in the park, stripped down to the frame work for parts.

"Hey," the leader said indignantly and shoved Johnny, "watch where you're going, kid."

"Say, boss," one of the others said, "this kid looks like he wants to get robbed."

Johnny gulped and shook his head. "No. I don't. I swear."

"Yeah, youse do," the third one said. "Youse wouldn'ta bumped into us like this if youse didn't wanna get robbed."

The three men stood around Johnny much as the Loud girls had, only they, he was certain, were looking to take more from him than his dignity. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way," the boss said.

Again, Johnny gulped. "What's the easy way?"

"You hand us every you got and then walk away," the boss said.

The second guy poked Johnny in the chest. "And you don't rat us out."

"What's the hard way?"

A slick, sickly smile spread across the boss's lips. "We beat the stuffing out of you, take what we want by force, and leave you laying in the street."

The third guy punched his hand and grinned at Johnny.

Sigh.

Johnny was caught between a rock and a hard place here. On the one hand, he was a very proud guy who didn't like the thought of just rolling over and letting himself be victimized. He had his pride and self worth to think about here. On the other hand, he didn't particularly like the idea of being smashed into tomato paste by three burly man eaters. He stopped, stroked his chin, and pursed his lips in thought. "Hmmm," he said. "Both options have their pros and cons," he said at length.

"Well, we don't have all day," the boss said, "make up your mind."

The third guy cracked his knuckles. "I think we should make up his mind for him," he said.

Johnny's mouth went dry. "Wait…"

"Good idea, Sheldon," the boss. "Lionel, twist this guy's arm behind his back so I can work him over a little."

Grinning devilishly, the men all fell on Johnny.

Well, this was it. He had a good run. Not a long one but a good one. How, oh how, would the world manage without him? What a loss he would be? What a -

Just before the three goons grabbed Johnny and moiderized him, two figures spun and flipped out of nowhere like avenging angels come to enact ultimate justice. In a flash, the three goons were being punched, kicked, pushed, and shoved. A giant cloud of dust quickly formed around the melee, and all Johnny could see was the occasional fist or foot. It had happened so rapidly that he could hardly believe it. He rubbed his eyes and did a doubletake. The three goons lay in a heap, their faces bruises and little tiny X's crossing their eyes. WERE THEY DEAD?

His eyes went next to his saviors. He was stunned, shocked, and a thousand other words to see that they were literal superheroes. At least dressed like them. They were both dressed kind of like Spider-Man. One wore a white suit with a purple hood, top, and shorts. The other was dressed similarly, only their suit was golden and criss crossed with a black web design. Their shorts were black, and so were their gloves and shoes. They stood silenltly and heroically over the bodies of the muggers, their hands fisted proudly to their hips and their heads tilted off to the side, as if gazing into a bright future where thugs like these no longer roamed the streets. If this were a cartoon, the American flag would appear behind them, as big as life and twice and free, and a bald eagle would fly by screeching and clawing out the eyes of tyrants and Englishmen.

Johnny couldn't help himself.

He saluted.

Before he could properly thank them, however, they did a perfectly sychronized backflip and bounced off into the ether. "Wait!" Johnny cried and held up his hand. "Come back!"

They did not stop, nor did they come back.

Johnny frowned and looked after them until they were gone.

Okay…that was strange.

Who were those two masked madlads?

The boss let out a moan and began to stir. Panicking, Johnny kicked him in the face and ran.

Some questions, he figured, just didn't have an answer.

The sun crested slowly over Royal Woods, its light spreading through the stirring town like the tendrils of a creeping vine. Workers trudged out from their homes, climbed into their cars, and started the long commute to work, school buses prowled the streets, snatching up groups of kids like flying saucers abducting cows and rednecks, and the light mist that had leeched in from the swamp south of town rapidly burned away in the sun.

At 123 Ridgecrest Drive, the front door opened and two girls stepped out, identical in almost every way. They were both 5'1 with long purple hair held back in ponytails, the ends tapering off in pink. They both wore cowboy hats, boots, jeans, and western style jackets with fringes. They were both Japanese-American with light bronze colored skin and only the vaguest hint of Oriental in their eyes. The only difference between them was that one of them had massive bazongas. Seriously, they were so big that they looked like they had been designed by a 12 year old boy. You'd expect the poor girl to have back problems, but luckily for her, her spine was thick and strong.

They were Suki and Myuki Hotdogwater from Craterville, Oklahoma, a town near May. Their mother was a shrine maiden from the land of the rising sun and their father, rest his soul, had been a cowboy, living out on the plains like it was still 1875. He couldn't drive a car but, laws yes, he could drive cattle with the best of them. They had only recently moved to Royal Woods and today was their first day.

As expected, Myuki was a pit of nerves over it. Younger than Suki by 3.2 seconds (and bigger in the chest by a lot), Myuki was an anxious girl by nature and their mother kind of sheltered her because of it. Mom was always coddling her and trying to protect her from getting upset over things. In most social situations, Myuki would flush, stutter, and dart her eyes away because holding eye contact increased her nerves and made her feel super self-concious. In keeping with her personality, she was afraid of most things, suffering from myrid phobias. She wasn't afriad of her own shadow but you wouldn't be too far off in suggesting that she was.

Because of her…um…condition, she stayed home a lot, hiding in her room from the world. She never said it was hiding and would get a little offended if you said it was hiding, but let's be real, folks, that's exactly what it was. Sometimes Suki would walk in and find her sister peeking through the curtains at the world with a fearful little look on her face. Sometimes it was super annoying. Suki loved her little sister but the way she cringed at the whole world got tiresome. Suki was pulling for her to come out of her shell, and each day that she didn't was a disappointment, like Suki was doing something wrong, failing the little sister that she vowed long ago to protect.

Owing to her state of mind, Myuki rarely ever socialized with anyone unless Mom forced her to. Mom coddled and babied her little girl as much as she could, but she urged her to get out of the house and meet people from time to time.

"It'll be good for you to get out of the house," Mom would say, "I don't want you turning into some otaku."

That was Mom's biggest fear, that Myuki would turn into one of those weird shut-ins who were currently ruining Mom's proud and beloved Japan. She blamed them for the population crisis in Japan. Suki, on the other hand, thought that the cost of living had more to do with it than isolation and anime body pillows. Though maybe those things did play a part in it. Suki didn't know.

Mom loved her native land but had not been there since moving to America before meeting Dad. If you saw her, you would likely never know that she was Japanese. For one thing, she spoke perfect, accentless English - she had learned mostly from watching TV. Sometimes when she pronounced certain words, she sounded a little bit like different famous people. One minute she'd remind you of JLO, the next she'd slip into Tucker Carlson. Good thing Joe Biden wasn't president when she was learning, otherwise she'd stumble, bumble, and stutter. For another thing, she had long black hair that covered her eyes.

See, Mom was a goth. She was six feet, ripped wth six pack abs, and had even bigger breasts than her daughter. Her hair had a magenta sheen and purple stripes down the middle. Her skin was pale and she wore black lipstick. Her name was Hitomi.

Being a touch on the morbid side - because what else would a six foot tall goth be? - Mom liked the darker things in life. When she decided to move the family from Craterville, which had become infested with cattle rustlers and bandits around the time of the Pabstvirus, she had no particular destination in mind. She did know the kind of house she wanted. Something spooky. Something with a dark and morbid reputation, the kind of place that everyone shunned as haunted and crossed to the other side of the street when they passed.

Being dark wasn't the only reason she wanted such a house. She wanted privacy.

For good reason.

Mom, and her mother Izanami, who lived with them and looked almost exactly like her daughter except shorter and without the hair dye, were both sorceresses. They did ancient Japanese magic and needed a safe, quiet place to practice their craft away from prying eyes. That was one of the reasons that they had moved to Okalahoma in the first place. The prarriers there were so big, so empty, that you could call upon the full power of the gods right there in the open, and no one would ever be the wiser. Normally their dealings with magic weren't so grand and obvious, but they still needed a place where they could be private and conduct their rituals in secret. Mom was very conscious of how people would treat her if they thought she was a literal witch…and what might happen to her and their family if they discovered that she actually was.

Before leaving Oklahoma, Mom found a website called MurderHouse Dot Com, which listed houses for sale, each with its own dark and unique story to tell. There was a crumbling Victorian in rural California where a serial killer who dressed as his dead mother had lived; a homestead in Texas where a family of cannibals killed three dozen people in the sixties and seventies; a house in Mississippi said to be haunted by the ghosts of slaves and Civil War soldiers; and a cabin in the foothills of Eastern Tennessee where strange writing in Latin kept appearing on the walls, no matter how hard you scrubbed.

She settled on the Royal Woods Cemtory, a mansion that was once the Largest and most popular Funeral home in Royal Woods, being able to support up to 20 funerals a day, or even more. However, this led to problems of the cemetery being over filled with bodies. The Mansions owners decided to do some slimy practices to fix this issue, such as selling off bodies and skeletons, burying entire sections under some dirt, that sort of thing. It didn't take too long for people to figure it out, and business started to dwindle. In the end, they lost business and ended up with a large property that was overflowing with corpses.

The manor was traded owners multiple times over the years, each with their own crooked plans for the house, such as being used for bootlegging in the 20's.

Mom applied for a tour and it turned out that the house was owned by the city. They were looking for caretakers to deal with the…ahem…little problem unique to the house.

That is, the bodies of the dead that kept coming out of the ground.

Basically zombies.

The police couldn't handle the situation much longer and Mom jumped at the chance. They got the house for free, along with a lot of land to farm, and all they had to do was "re-dead" the undead.

Easy peasy.

"Have a good day, girls," Mom called as Suki and Myuki went down the walkway.

"You too," Suki called back.

Myuki flashed a nervous smile but didn't say anything. She clutched the straps of her backpack in a white knuckled death grip. "You shouidn't be so nervous," Suki said. "I mean, after all, you're a literal superhero. I don't get why you're this anxious."

"Being a superhero is easy," Myuki said, "the first day of school is not."

When the girls were little, they were playing and accidentally knocked over a cauldron full of magic witch's brew that their grandmother had bubbling over an open fire. It splashed all over them and imbued them with powers, turning them into literal superheroes, just like the ones in the ACU - Amazing Cinematic Universe. They were terrified of telling their mother and grandmother about the accident and managed to fill the cauldron with water so that grandma would never notice. They didn't realize that they had powers for a week afterward, then Myuki randomly started to float. It was crazy. They were so used to magic that they weren't scared or weirded out, they just accepted it and went on with their lives. They never told Mom and Grandma and became heroes in secret, honing their skills and identity.

Myuki was Golden Spider and wore a gold colored costume modeled off of Spider-Man. Suki was Violet Spider, and she wore white and purple. They moonlighted as superheroes on a part time basis, cleaning up the streets when they had time. School and socializing came first…at least for Suki. For Muyki, school and being a shut in came first.

The two sisters walked the three blocks to the school and went inside. They were walking around looking for their classroom when they spotted a familiar face. A black boy with a paper bag on his head. He was the one they had saved from muggers the other day. At that moment, Suki recognized who he was. "Remember how I said he looked familiar?" she asked her sister.

"Yeah," Myuki said.

"He and his family visited Uncle Tex's ranch way back."

Johnny and his family had taken a vacation to their uncle's ranch. That's why he looked so familiar.

A memory came back to Suki.

Suki and Myuki stood at the fence surrounding the dusty barn yard. The sun was high and blazing in the sky and the table top flat land around them stretched into forever, the grass dry, brown, and thirsty. It hadn't rained on the prarrire in close to a month and it was so dry that all it would take is little spark to set the whole thing on fire. Craterville was just a few miles from the Texas border, and the city slickers who came to the dude ranch to play cowboyfor the weekend were always surprised that here, in Oklahoma, you could feel the dry heat of the desert southwest. Being flat and treeless, dotted only by thistily scrub, the prarrire was essentially what came right before the desert. Hoof it south for about fifty miles and you'd eventually see the grass give way to sand and the scrub to majestic rock formations. Suki loved the area. One of her favorite things to do was to go on long walks and horseback rides through the plains, just going for miles and miles with nothing around but the peace and solitude of nature.

As Suki and Myuki watched, the family that was currently staying at the ranch came out. There was a mother, a father, and two boys roughly Suki and Myuki's age. The father and one of the sons were black and the mother and the other son were white. Suki and Myuki couldn't decide if the boys were biological brothers or not, but supposed that it hardly mattered, since they acted like it. One minute they would fight and tease each other, then next they would pal around like the best friends in the world. They were both kind of cute in a little boy sort of way, and Suki found herself wanting to pinch their cheeks off.

The black boy - Johnny - climbed onto a horse with their Uncle Tex's help and held onto the reigns for dear life. He clearly wasn't in his element and looked nervous as hek. The horse took off at a trot, and Johnny squeezed his eyes tightly closed, his lips moving as if in silent prayer. Either he did something wrong or fate conspired against him, because the horse spooked, bucked, and began to run. Johnny fell out of the saddle and hit the ground hard. Suki and Myuki scrambled over the fence and ran into the corral to save him. Tex got their first and grabbed the reigns of the horse, keeping him from trampling Johnny to death. Johnny lay on the ground wide-eyed and stunned, the wind knocked out of him. "You alright there, hoss?" Suki asked and helped him to his feet.

"I-I think so," he stammered after a moment. "For a second there, I thought I was a goner."

"Yeah, it didn't look too good there for a hair," Suki said, "I was sure you were gonna get trampled." She laughed. "You came thiiiiis close to dying today, friend."

Johnny gulped. "That's comforting."

"I reckon we haven't properly met yet," Suki said. "My name's Suki and this here is my twin sister, Myuki."

"I'm Johnny," Johnny said. He rubbed the back of his head and winced.

Suki brushed aside his hair and whistle. "Woooowee, you got yourself a mighty knot back there. You're gonna need to put some ice on that. Come with me. I got just the thing."

After assuring Johnny's parents that everything was alright, Suki and Myuki took Johnny, along with Lincoln, back to the small house they shared with their mother and grandmother. Grandma was in the kitchen making lunch and came out when Suki called her. She brought Johnny a special ice pack imbued with magic herbs and worriedly pressed it to the back of his head. "I knew that horse would try and kill someone," she fretted. "He's barely trained. I don't know why Tex thought putting someone on him was a good idea."

"He's not the brightest bulb in the shed," Mom said as she brought out a tray of sandwiches and drinks.

The swelling went down quickly and Johnny was beside himself with amazement. "I've never had an ice pack work so well," he mused, "what's in it?"

Mom and Grandma looked at each other. "Ancient Japanese secret," Grandma said with a sly smile. She wasn't lying.

Though Lincoln and Johnny tried to excuse themselves, Mom and Grandma insisted that they stay for lunch. Afterwards, they wound up playing a few games of Uno together. They had a great time and did a lot of bonding. Mom and Grandma both took a shine to the boys and though she wouldn't say so, Suki had the impression that Myuki had a little bit of a crush on Johnny. Suki was surprised at how far out of her shell Myuki came with both of them. Normally, it took her a very long time to warm up to new people, but within an hour, maybe less, she was laughing and kidding with them like she didn't have a care in the world, as though she had known them her entire life and was totally comfortable with them.

Suki honestly didn't think Myuki had it in her and was very pleased to find that she was wrong.

After the final game, Suki proposed that they go swimming and they all agreed. They got ready and then left the house.

The summer sun hung high in the sky, casting its warm rays over the picturesque landscape of rural Oklahoma.

The river flowed gently, its water rippling in anticipation of the approaching children. The riverbanks were adorned with vibrant wildflowers, adding a touch of color to the already picturesque scene. The kids couldn't contain their excitement, eager to immerse themselves in the cool embrace of the water.

With their swimsuits on and towels in hand, they took their first steps into the river. Johnny led the way, plunging into the refreshing current with an infectious grin. The others quickly followed suit, their feet sinking into the soft riverbed beneath them.

The water was brisk and invigorating, teasing their skin with a delightful chill. They splashed and frolicked, sending arcs of water into the air as their laughter echoed through the idyllic surroundings. Lincoln, the jokester of the group, pretended to be a merman, swishing his legs and singing sea shanties to the amusement of his friends.

Suki and Myuki, being the adventurous pair, decided to swim to a large rock jutting out of the water a little way down the river. Their arms cut through the water with grace as they propelled themselves forward, their vibrant laughter carried by the wind.

The river meandered peacefully, revealing hidden treasures along its banks. Myuki spotted a family of ducks gliding gracefully on the water's surface, their fluffy ducklings paddling eagerly behind. She called out to her friends, who swam over to witness the adorable sight.

Minutes turned into hours as the kids lost themselves in their water-bound adventures. They engaged in friendly races, their small bodies surging through the water with determination. Johnny showcased his impressive backstroke, while Suki attempted a daring handstand in the shallows. Laughter became the soundtrack of their delightful escapade, echoing through the scenic landscape.

As the sun began to dip lower in the sky, casting a golden glow across the river, a voice carried on the gentle breeze. It was Suki and Myuki's mother, calling them for dinner. Reluctantly, the preteens made their way back to the riverbank, shivering slightly as they emerged from the water.

With towels wrapped snugly around their shoulders, they trudged up the bank, their energy still buzzing with the excitement of the day. They bid farewell to the river, promising to return for more adventures soon.

With smiles on their faces and their clothes slightly damp, the preteens made their way back to the ranch. The fading sunlight illuminated their path, casting a warm glow on their cherished memories of an unforgettable day spent swimming in the rural beauty of Oklahoma.

For the resrt of Lincoln and Johnny's stay, Suki and Myuki were their constant companions, and both were sad when the boys had to leave.

Now here they were again, brought back together by fate. Suki and Myuki approached Johnny in the hall, and when he saw them, he did a doubletake. "I'm seeing things," he mumbled to himself.

"Nope," Suki and Myuki said in unison.

"We're really here," Suki said. "And so are you."

"Well, this is where I live, so…"

"Where's Lincoln?" Suki asked.

Johnny shrugged. "Around here somewhere."

They made plans to meet up after school, and at the end of the day, Suki and Myuki rushed home. About half an hour later, Lincoln and Johnny knocked on the front door. They were both creeped out by the house. Like all the kids in town, they went out of their way to avoid it. The door opened and Hitomi, Suki and Myuki's mother, swept them both into a hug, pressing their faces into her massive bosom. Izanami did the same, but her giant breasts rested on their heads. "It's good to see you boys again, Please, come in."

Suki and Myuki came out and Suki tossed something to Johnny.

A pack of Uno cards.

"Ready to get your butt whipped?" Suki asked. "Again?"

Johnny grinned. "You're on," he said.

They played long into the night.

And it was just like old times.