Chapter three
Daichi's guest.
The laughter had died down at some point, though Hiromi was sure it had something to do with the fact that Kai was forcing them to train like crazy as revenge. Grabbing her bicycle key, her bag and her purse, she quickly got ready to head into Bakuten City. Though it had been only an excuse to find out what Tala liked, she stood behind her idea to get some items for the Blitzkrieg Boys.
She passed them, finding them doing sit-ups. ''Hiromi… don't leave us. He's gone mental.'' Tyson begged desperately. ''Kai… will you take it a bit easy? You've had a rough night.'' she said calmly. ''Hn.'' Kai reacted, probably not going any easier. She turned to Tyson, ''Sorry, did all I could.'' she shrugged. ''Hardly.'' Tyson said, not impressed. ''Make sure he drinks enough water. I am heading into Bakuten. Anyone need anything?'' she asked.
''To take us with you?'' Ray asked, getting pretty tired too. ''My bicycle can only handle one more person.'' she replied. Kai gave Ray a challenging look, silently threatening him not to go with Hiromi. ''But company would be nice.'' she tried, at least she could save one person. It did look like it was going to be a rough training. ''Chief.'' Kai said, gesturing to Hiromi. ''What, why him?!'' Tyson complained, but Kenny was more than happy to take the opportunity.
''Have fun, boys!'' Hiromi wished them, quickly eyeing Tala as he worked out. Even sweating he looked pretty good. She turned red, and before her mind could visit other places he could be sweating, she quickly walked to her bicycle. ''Hop on.'' she told Kenny, patting her backseat. ''You have no idea how grateful I am. But it's interesting data how the aftermath of drinking turns him harsher.'' he told her.
'' Are you sure that's the reason?'' she asked, stepping on her bicycle before pedaling off. ''It must be. Only thing that changed.'' Kenny said earnestly. ''Well, and the fact his face got doodled on. But happy to help.'' she said. The ride to the city was filled with a lot of small talk, and though Kenny's words about data could be very technical and complex, Hiromi never really minded hearing them.
Something about the excitement it brought her friend, made her more than happy to listen. ''So, perhaps a bit selfish to ask, but do you have any data on Tala?'' she asked at some point. ''Tala. Oh, quite some. His bitbeast is quite fascinating, and so is his blading style. He's a strong player.'' he said. ''You can say that again.'' she laughed, but Kenny didn't seem to get her joke, droning on about statistics instead.
''And any data on his personality?'' she asked, after his lengthy explanation. ''Oh.'' Kenny must have caught on. ''Not a lot. I mean, Tyson did say he was suprisingly kind, and Kai mentioned his intelligence at some point. But other than that... Not a lot.'' Kenny replied. 'Not that I could have expected more.' she thought. ''He is a bit of a mystery.'' she answered instead.
''Well, there's no mystery you haven't been able to solve. So, why are we really going into the city? Because I know Ray already got enough groceries to last all of us two weeks.'' Kenny said. ''One day less, I burned some food this morning. But really, the Russians are staying with the dojo for quite a while, so I thought it'd be nice to get them something to pass time with, in case it would ever be necessary. Kai gave some tips about what they liked. Also, that training sounded like hell.'' she said.
''Come on, Kai… this is getting really unfair.. we didn't even draw on your face.'' Daichi complained, as they were just done doing sit ups, and now required to plank for at least ten minutes straight. ''We did.'' Ian admitted, and the bladebreakers gave him a look. ''Then punish them, not us.'' Max pleaded, but their stubborn captain didn't react to that.
Instead, Kai turned to Bryan, ''Was I really drunk last night?'' Bryan nodded and Ian added, ''So drunk you danced. You suck at it, but you did dance.'' he said. ''Anything else I missed?'' Kai asked. Tala looked worried for a moment, there was the entire Hiromi thing, and this would be a really bad time for anyone to remind him. ''Not really.'' he stated, but then Max piped up.
''You thought Hiromi was pregnant.'' Kai gave him an angry look. ''You were really drunk.'' Tala added quickly. Kai seemed to consider his words, and nodded, then focused on the task at hand. Grandpa who had been watching the entire scene, took some pity on his grandson, but even more so on Tala. He headed into the kitchen to make the boys some tea and his secret cure against Kai's likely hangover.
When he came back in, his timing was perfect, as Kai seemed ready to bark another order. ''I figured you all could use a small break.'' he said. ''Grandpa to save the day!'' Tyson all but cheered, getting up to collect his drink. Ray gave him a thankful nod, as Max also cheered and the others seemed thankful to stop what they were doing.
''I got you something for your headache.'' Grandpa told Kai, giving him the special drink. ''I am okay.'' Kai said, still taking the drink nonetheless. ''You were so drunk that you hugged the hag's tummy and cried about her being pregnant.'' Daichi reminded him. Kai frowned. ''Why did I think that?'' he asked. The Russians shared a look, already thinking of some story to feed their old captain.
Meanwhile, Hiromi and Kenny were happily browsing trough Bakuten on their way to the bookstore. ''I'd never have expected Ian to be into classical music. It's also a great way of getting to know them better, they are quite a bit nicer than I expected.'' Kenny said. ''Right? After all, they'll be staying a long time.'' Hiromi said happily. ''And you feel oh-so bad about that.'' Kenny commented. ''Is that sarcasm? From you?'' she asked.
''But?'' he asked. ''But, you are very right.'' she replied. ''How does it feel? To like someone?'' he asked. ''You know, right, you like Ming Ming?'' she questioned. ''Yeah, but like a fan crush. You like someone who at the very least likes you back enough to have kissed you.'' he said. ''That's true. It's something really special, because…'' she thought it over for a second. ''So remember the cinema yesterday and that you pointed out that I was red?'' she asked.
''Yeah, I was almost convinced you were feeling the movie just as much as we did.'' Kenny said. ''I've got way better taste then you guys. But, during the song I started thinking about him and it got me all giddy. I mean, for plenty of reasons. His kisses are truly nice, and his body, I mean, he's pretty good looking. But it also got me all tingly and feeling warm to just think about having conversations with him, and just spending time and…'' Kenny smiled at her.
''Even the mighty Hiromi can not stay a tomboy forever.'' he said. ''I guess. And I am getting ahead of myself, it's just been a kiss.'' she said. Kenny gave her a look, ''Okay, more than one. I may have lost count at some point.'' she admitted sheepishly. ''Well, at least you're not really pregnant. Other than that, your life, your choice.'' he told her, ''Hopefully Kai will see it the same way.'' he added.
''I hope so too. I feel sort of bad keeping it a secret from him. But Tala mentioned some rule or something.'' Hiromi said. ''If the drunk version reacts that extreme, imagine his normal reaction.'' Kenny agreed. ''But, far future and everything. It might just be nothing in the end. Let's first see how a date goes.'' she said.
''Any idea on a first date?'' Kenny asked. ''Not a clue. I called Mariah and she told me to pick something we'd both enjoy.'' she replied. ''And considering you were asking for data, you've got no clue.'' Kenny said. ''First date and all, I've never had someone interested in me before. But no, I was asking data for hobbies. Tala was the only one Kai had no ideas for.'' she said, oblivious to the unbelieving look Kenny gave her.
Kai gave a sceptical look once Bryan finished his story. He wasn't the only one, at some point everyone got really into the story that was clearly made up. ''Right.'' Kai said, turning to Ray to verify if there was any truth to the story at all. ''Not a clue. We were not there.'' Ray said, fascinated by the entire thing.
''Wait, so if they get to play with bears, why couldn't I keep the one I found as a pet?'' Daichi asked Tyson, clearly offended. ''According to the story, they were wrestling with them and not playing. But you wanted to steal them from the zoo. There is already plenty wrong with that.'' Ray explained, but it fell on deaf ears. Kai shook his head, pretty sure that despite being drunk, they didn't do something that crazy at all.
He gave Tala a look, who shrugged. ''We were all pretty drunk. He might remember something entirely different.'' he said. ''Right. And this explains Hiromi being pregnant?'' he asked, remembering the reason why Bryan started to tell his elaborate story. ''Not. But like I said, we were all drunk.'' Tala pressed.
''Them too?'' Kai pointed to the bladebreakers. ''Of course we were not.'' Ray said, offended that Kai would even suggest such a thing. ''Well, we could have been. I wanted to go clubbing too, and we could have done something with bears. Instead we went to the movie. A fun and good one, but still; Bears!'' Daichi exclaimed indignantly.
''You are not getting a pet bear.'' Tyson emphasized. Diachi huffed, crossed his arms before stomping off, clearly upset. Tyson shrugged it off and then turned to Kai. ''Is this the reason you are drilling us today? Because you still think she's pregnant?'' Tyson asked. Kai stared at him, harshly. ''I think Kai just wants to know why he was thinking that. And there is probably a solid reason.'' Ray said, trying to defuse any arguments before they could occur. ''And that is?'' Kai demanded to know, growing very impatient. The boys shared a look, waiting for anyone to give a solid reason.
''Okay, so we have three cookbooks for Spencer, different cd's for Ian, several books for Bryan.'' Hiromi listed. ''So, just Tala and we're good to go, right?'' Kenny asked. ''Right. So, for Tala… I still don't know.'' Hiromi said, frustrated she couldn't figure it out. ''You in a bra?'' Kenny offered, and she gave him a shocked look.
''You have spent too much time on the internet.'' she scolded him. ''Too much time with Tyson and Daichi really.'' Kenny said, apologizing. She softened a bit. ''They can get a bit much. I'll promise that we'll hang more, for the sake of your sanity.'' she told him. ''Good idea. Even Max can get corrupted by them.'' Kenny said, but Hiromi doubted that.
''But the issue at hand… He's clever, maybe like a go set? Something he can think about. Or Shogi?'' Kenny offered. Hiromi nodded. ''Mr Granger has a beautiful set, we can give it a try. I have always wanted to learn.'' she said. ''Well, there you go. Something he can occupy time with, and your first date type of thing.'' Kenny said.
She blinked a few times, nonplussed. ''That does sound kind of cool. Thanks Kenny.'' she said, excited. ''Happy to help. Do you think Kai has already mellowed down?'' Kenny asked. ''Well, he did seem pretty upset. Maybe we should give it a little more time, how about we grab lunch and then head home?'' she asked, and he nodded.
As they headed to a nice cafe to grab some lunch, Daichi had found solace deep in the woods, finally calming down from Tyson's harsh words. ''Stupid Tyson, I am mature enough for any type of pet, even a bear.'' he grouched, and then kicked a small pebble. ''The guests can play with them, but I am a guest too.'' he ranted.
Suddenly the pebble was thrown back. Daichi frowned, before looking ahead of him. There was an animal looking back at him, and then the pebble. Daichi picked up the pebble, and tossed it in front of the animal. The animal picked it up, holding it almost as a human, sniffed and tossed it back. ''Well, you're the strangest but most polite cat I have ever seen.'' he told it, as he bend down. The animal came closer, allowing Daichi to pet it as it sniffed his trousers clearly looking for food.
''Stupid Tyson told me no bear, but you are no bear, are you?'' Daichi asked it. Not really getting a reply, he picked it up, carrying it back home with him. ''Let's get you some food, buddy.'' he smiled, already knowing a secret way into the Granger family home so the animal could get to know it's new home without the others able to protest its presence.
Skillfully, he climbed through an open window, hearing Kai barking something, most likely orders, as he navigated his way to the kitchen with the new kitten. Daichi rolled his eyes, their captain was still going on about the hag being pregnant. At least he didn't cause as much drama as the others did. ''No worries, I'll make sure you find a nice home here too.'' he promised the kitten, petting it once more.
Kai's shouts could be heard outside as well, as Hiromi and Kenny could hear them quite clearly when they headed into the street. ''Maybe we should take a longer time, you know, really take the time to pick something for Tala.'' Kenny tried. Hiromi rolled her eyes, pedaling even faster. ''Heck no. At this rate, all of Bakuten is going to think I got knocked up. I can't start the new school year like that!'' she complained. She quickly parked the bicycle, leaving Kenny to carry the items inside, and ran into the dojo.
''Kai!'' she lashed out, gaining his attention right away. ''Ah, you're back.'' he said. ''Yes. And the entire neighbourhood can enjoy your rant. Can you stop before rumors start spreading?'' she asked. ''Sorry, but these guys… after last night..'' he started. She sighed, shaking her head. ''These guys are morons, most of them. It's simple, someone said I was regnant, and your drunken ass made it into something else.'' she told him.
Kai thought it over. ''That's the only sensible thing I heard so far. Better than supposedly bear wrestling'' he said, nodding. ''Bear wrestling?'' she shook her head. ''That's nonsense, so cut them a bit of slack. You are clearly in need of rest, something I told you to do when I left.'' she berated him, and Bryan made some mental notes, Hiromi was clearly well-trained in handling Kai. 'Wifey Material' he mouthed to Tala, who rolled his eyes.
''Great. I am sure the rest could use a break too.'' Hiromi said. ''Did our coach just say break? The magic word she never once used before?'' Tyson asked in disbelief. ''Just use it now, before I give you the next training.'' she threatened, and the bladebreakers nodded, happy to take their leave. Kai left too, to head into the kitchen to fetch more of Mr. Granger's hangover cure. The Russians were about to take their leave too, but Hiromi stopped them. ''I actually brought some things for you guys, one moment.'' she said, before quickly leaving to help Kenny carry the items.
She came back with Kenny and some bags. ''I had a talk with Kai before his tirade started today, and well, these are some items to enjoy yourselves, just in case the others ever get on your nerves. Believe me when I say that they will, I've seen even Max lose his temper at some point.'' she said, opening the bags to hand them their items.
''You didn't have to do this.'' Spencer told her, eyeing the cooking books eagerly. ''Ooh, Mozart. So cool, Boris never let me listen to this stuff.'' Ian said, already more than content with his gifts. ''You did your research.'' Bryan added, browsing through his books. She had found some pretty interesting stuff. ''Although, if you just wanted time with your boyfriend, you could have just said so.'' he added, seeing that there was no gift for Tala.
''Surely there is something you two can find to do.'' Spencer teased her. ''Actually, there is.'' she said, ignoring the innuendo. Tala however, turned red at that. ''It's also something we could do as a first date, as Bryan suggested.'' she added. Bryan wolf-whistled. ''So direct. You got yourself a keeper.'' he laughed. ''Hiromi-'' Tala started. ''It's something I want to do too.'' she promised. ''We'll see.'' Tala said, turning very red himself. ''Really, because I think you'll like it too.'' she smiled.
''Suuuuure he will.'' Ian said, still drooling over his lovely cd's. ''She doesn't mean that.'' Kenny piped up, ''Hiromi, please, there is a level of how dense-'' he added, but got interrupted by a shout from Ray. ''Hiromi, little help please!'' The urgency could be heard in his voice. ''Coming.'' she shouted. But before she could leave, Tala took her hand.
''Thanks. For this.'' he told her. She grinned, ''No problem.'' Despite that, he quickly leaned in, giving a small kiss to show his gratitude. Hiromi giggled after that. ''Well, I don't mind my reward. But really, your thing is probably going to be the best.'' she promised. ''Then that reward might be better.'' he replied. Before she could say something back, there was another desperate shout, though from Tyson this time. ''Hiromi, please! It's stealing all the food.'' ''I believe I am needed.'' she said, before bolting to the kitchen.
The Russians just grinned at Tala. ''Oh shut up. She doesn't mean that.'' he said, trying to calm his racing thoughts down. ''We'll see. But these are cool.'' Bryan said, flipping through the books. ''Right? I am so happy we are here, rather than at the Abbey. This place is so much better.'' Ian said happily.
''And way less chaos.'' Spencer added. 'Less chaos' Kenny wasn't sure about that, hearing Tyson shout, ''Daichi, it could have rabies! I told you, you can't have a pet!'' Daichi shook his head. ''Nu-uh, you only said I can't have a pet bear!'' ''To be fair, he did say that.'' Max shouted. ''Not helping, Max. No Daichi, you can't keep a pet raccoon either.'' Hiromi barked.
