Gravity (Gravitation fic)

[Kawaii Filia]

Gravity
There are many strange coincidences in our life; some are good, others not so good. I don’t know where I can grade the sudden limousine accident sixteen years ago that stole the lives of Ryuichi Sakuma, and his wife Hanako Morita. It was very horrific, and they had everything to live for. Ryuichi was a vocalist genius – a beloved idol in Japan. Hanako was a creative voice actress who had a legion of anime fans worldwide, even the United States fans knew her name. Together they had met at a motel while hiding from their respective agents. Not knowing a thing about the other, it was love at first sight. In fact their love was so great they married within an hour of meeting each other. They even waited for their ceremony to find out who the other was, name and all! Ok, I know what you’re thinking…what flaky space case…that was uh, true. But their relationship survived, that’s all you have to know, OK!

Anyway, back to all their had to live for…Well, soon after Hanako fell pregnant and gave birth to a sensationally gorgeous baby girl. Oh how she was lovely, with those pink cheeks, soft skin and cute little tush. That’s what I hear anyway, from photos the baby lives up all these words – I feel more could have been said, oh well. She was only six months old when she lost both her father and her mother.

After the sudden death of the famous couple, much mourning from the entertainment industry, as well as the zillions of fans followed. It was hard for so many to face the loss. Japan was practically in a standstill. When reality sunk in everyone wondered what was going to happen to little Ryuko – yeah, it’s a bit odd of a name, want to make something of it?! Relatives from both sides demanded the sweet little infant. Even Tohma Seguchi, owner of the NG recording studio made bid to care for the child. However, there was a certain document that stood in the way for these people, it was a fully legal document stating who the parents had chosen as Ryuko’s Godparents. They were a lesser known couple, though world famous individually for their chosen fields – Eiri Yuki (actually it’s Uesugi, but I never really hear anyone call him that much), author of dozens of novels, and his partner, Shuichi Shindou.

Much outrage and frustration followed…mostly by Eiri. Then again I hear his little brother Tetsuha was much more outraged, destroying a part of his temple in an angst-bidden rage. He is so totally a baby! Hasn’t a changed a bit, I swear, him and his Ryuichi fetish is so creepy, I wish he’d stop trying to wrap up my boobs and make me sing…oh, Heh, where was I…? Oh, right, Eiri Yuki was very frustrated by what Ryuichi had done without his consent. He was the last person (he felt) who would be suited as a father figure. Shuichi would have liked to be over the moon, but he didn’t think he was worthy of the honour to take care in raising the daughter of his idol and good friend. Besides, would two fathers really be good for the little girl?

The lawyer for Ryuichi and Hanako requested that they take care of sweet, adorable little Ryuko until the courts decided who would be granted custody. It wasn’t easy having a baby in the apartment, drove them to the edge of their sanity. Even spunky Shuichi had a tough time keeping a smile. When the time came to hand her over before the hearing was to start, they felt a great sense of relief and knew once and for all Ryuichi had made a huge mistake.

As they listened to hearing, the testimony from the several parties as to why they would be best suited as the parents, many odd things raced through the mind of Shuichi. Such as, were any of them wanting Ryuko because they loved her? Was it all about the social status of owning the only child of Ryuichi Sakuma? And…what was that cold feeling in his back?! He was about to turn around when the voice of his manager K whispered into his ear, “What are you waiting for? Do you want to make Kumagoro cry?!” With that, Ryuichi’s beloved pink bunny toy was whacked over his head. After gathering himself, just as the judge was about to announce his decision, Shuichi ran in front of the judge and yelled into his withered old face that Ryuko was now his baby and he won’t let anyone take her away from him – or Yuki. Eiri was stunned, thrust into such a position - again, but as annoyed as he was, there are no reports of him protesting at the time.

After a long hard talk, and much embarrassing weeping and begging by Shuichi, Eiri agreed to allow her to stay on a month trial. That trial eventually turned into an adoption. What can I say; the baby was irresistible! Ha! And did she grow up with any mental disorders? NO!

“Plenty, but I doubt it has anything to do with having two dads, Ryu-chan.”

“Hey, I’m talking here Himeka-chan!”

“Yeah, but…” Himeka looks around the diner, embarrassed by the stares of the patrons and waitresses, “do you have to tell your story so loudly? I can hear you just fine without your yelling.”

Ryuko pouts, hugging Kumagoro. “Jeez you’re such a meanie! I’m telling your dad. And your mum…and the press!”

Himeka sips her vanilla coke, shrugging. “You know, for a sixteen year old bimbo you sure tell a good story. Though I’ve heard all this before.”

“Must you be so cruel?” Demands Ryuko, suddenly slapping an “evil be gone” enchantment scroll on the fourteen year old’s face.

Himeka Nakano quietly rips it off and slaps it as hard as she can on Ryuko’s nose. “You are such an IDIOT! Where the hell did that thing come from?!”

Ryuko throws on the table a rolled up ball of curse and enchantment scrolls. “I stole these from Uncle Tetsuha last month, been meaning to use them.”

Her friend pushes the ball aside and sighed, sipping her coke some more. “Honestly…what would happen if your Papa found out?”

“He’s the one who dared me to do it,” she sheepishly grinned, “Uncle pissed him off once again I gather. I couldn’t stop laughing when he dared me, it sounded more like something Daddy would dare me to do!” Ryuko erupted in a fit of laughter, falling off her seat, still laughing.

Finishing her drink, Himeka gets out of her seat and pushes her chair in, still noticing her older, and not so wiser friend was still laughing. Smiling to herself, Himeka clicks her fingers in front of Ryuko’s to wake her back to reality. “Come on girl, time to get back to the studio.”

Ryuko wipes happy tears from her eyes. “Er…studio?”

Himeka rubs her temples, “You really are unbelievable.”

“Thank-you!”

“Ugh…Remember, your Daddy, Mr. Fujisaki and my father have their final rehearsal for their reunion concert in oh…” she checks her watch, “twenty minutes! Do you WANT to miss it?”

Ryuko’s eyes bulge like an insect’s. She grabs Himeka’s wrist and begins to race out of the diner at lighting speed. “NO TIME FOR YOUR MINDLESS CHATTER, TIME TO GO!!!”

“Mindless WHAT - ?!”

A gust of smoky wind can be seen zooming through the streets of Tokyo. Men, women and children huddle together as they avoid this unnatural phenomena. The gust of smoke stops in front of a hall. Himeka falls flat on her face, exhausted. Ryuko jumps on the spot, pumped full of energy.

“I wanna go back to Kyoto,” mournfully sighs Himeka, rising to her feet, “Oh well, time to get in. We’re thirty minutes late, let’s hope our parents don’t notice our absence.”

As soon as the girls wander through the doors of the hall, they’re greeted with the angry, red face of Mr. Sakano, Bad Luck’s producer and every now and then, Ryuko’s unfortunate babysitter. The girls nervously smile, trying to pretend nothing has happened. “WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?! YOU PROMISED TO BE HERE AN HOUR AGO!”

Himeka grits her teeth, “Well it wasn’t my fault I assure you. The storyteller decided to blab to an audience her life story – “

“Hey, Papa says I have a gift for stories!”

“He meant you have a gift for lies, dumbass.”

Ryuko shoves Kumagoro into her friend’s face. “Call me that again, and Kumagoro will kick your ASS!”

“Bite me.”

“ENOUGH! HEY, RYUKO, STOP BITING HER AAAAAARM!” Sakano falls into one his standard panic attacks, readying for a faint.

“What’s all this noise” Comes a quiet, but stern voice. Ryuko instantly lets go of her hold on Himeka’s arm and beams a cute, kitty smile, pouncing onto the owner of the voice.

“Sorry for being late, Papa! Forgive me!” Begs Ryuko, rubbing her head affectionately into Yuki’s chest.

Yuki frowns, rubbing her back, “I am not the one to apologize to. You have an entire stage crew to apologize to, as well as cameramen, band members, an orchestra, recording crew…” as he trails off a list of people she somehow peed off, Ryuko’s pupils dilate, trying to comprehend the mass of mad people. “And of course there is Shuichi.”

“Ryuko will apologize to everyone!” She boldly exclaims, “But…how did I get them all so mad?”

Yuki’s eyebrow slightly twitches, “Shuichi has refused to begin rehearsal with you absent.”

“We are so behind schedule!” Pitifully wails Sakano.

Himeka hands Sakano a glass of water, “Calm down Mr. Sakano, think of your blood pressure.”

Yuki folds his arms, turning his back on them. “Go and clean up girls, I’ll tell everyone you’re back, so we can finally get this started.”

“Aye-Aye!” Salutes Ryuko as he walks off. Sakano quickly follows him, gulping down the rest of his cold water.

Himeka turns to Ryuko, glaring, “Why is it every time we meet I’m subjected to this sort of stupidity?”

Ryuko blushes, giggling, “Beats me!”

“Must run in the family,” she breathes out a sigh.

The two walk to the ladies room, and rinse their faces, which are dusty from their earlier speedy running. They then start to reapply their make-up.

“Say, Ryu-chan, what’s it…like?”

Ryuko blinks, “What’s what like, Hime-chan?”

Himeka quietly blushes, “Having two dads?”

“Um…but we know lots of people with dads, what do you mean?”

Himeka nervously laughs, closing her eye shadow case. “They have two dads because their mothers remarried. Your case is very different, if you hadn’t noticed, storyteller.”

Ryuko carefully applied her lip-gloss, kissing into the mirror cutely. “Hmmm, how should they be different?”

Her friend’s blush deepened. “Well…you know…they’re both men…and…they…do…er…stuff…together. Don’t you ever get weirded if you see them kiss or something?”

Ryuko beamed a smile, “Oh, sure I do.”

“Now you understand…”

“Who wants to see their parents kiss, yuck.”

Himeka falls back, exasperated at her friend’s naivety. Ryuko watches her squirm on the tiles and winks. “You’re a yaoi manga fan girl, aren’t you?”

Himeka blinks in confusion, and then hysterically laughs her nerves away; trying to turn from Ryuko’s not so innocent, dangerous eyes. “I know exactly what you’re talking about, fan girl, I’ve seen your collection in your cupboard.”

Himeka’s nerves shatter. “Er…er…er…”

Ryuko’s mood turns cheery again, returns to the mirror to apply some mascara. “ As I was saying, it’s so nice to know you’re such an open-minded person. But your stash seems to all be all R rated – do you actually get off on that?”

“Get off on that?!”

“Anyway, the truth is, my parents are no different to yours,” she quietly says, changing the mood, “I mean, they work, live together, they squabble, make-up, go on vacations, pay taxes, celebrate anniversaries, read, watch TV, and most importantly do everything in their power every single day to make sure I am the happiest I can be. That’s the way it should be, right?”

Himeka rises to her feet, nodding solemnly, “You’re absolutely right. Well…my yaoi loving days are over now, thank-you SO much for ruining my perfect vision you’re your wholesome life.”

“Kumagoro is sorry,” says Ryuko, holding up her bunny.

“Yeah, yeah. Time to get to the rehearsal; we don’t want Mr. Seguchi too mad.”

Ryuko pushes open the bathroom door; “I’d sure hate to get him mad, really.”

“I’ve noticed a distinct dislike of him radiating from you,” mentions Himeka, keeping away from the red aura radiating from Ryuko.

Ryuko flips her light brown hair, walking down the corridor. “Oh, him? That guy’s been eying my vocal cords before I could even speak. That jerk doesn’t even hide it. He’s been waiting for the day I’ll give in and decide to become a singer, like my father.”

“He wants you to become another Shuichi Shindou?”

Ryuko looks away, closing her eyes lightly, “No, not that father…”

“Oh, I see…”

“MY BABY!” Suddenly come two squeals as they enter the hall. The girls are pummelled to the ground; air tightly squeezed from their lungs.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Weeps Shuichi, hugging Ryuko. “I was so worried! Are you ok? Did a street gang molest you? Were you taken hostage by the Yakuza and forced to give secret government information? Stop by a candy store and guy French chocolates? See a talking giraffe? Meet a ghost???”

Ryuko weeps too as she struggles for air. “Just lost…track of…time! Ryuko is sooooorrrryyyyy!”

Himeka’s long thin stands of shiny black hair are messed up as her mother; Ayaka swings her around as she hugs her. “You naughty girl, don’t you ever worry me like that again!”

“I won’t…ow…promise!”

“Shindou,” cuts in Tohma Seguchi, “Are you ready now to begin rehearsal?”

“Oh yes!” Energetically replies Shuichi, “Let’s rock the joint, Bad Luck style!”

Hiroshi picks up his guitar and takes his place on stage. “Well, it’s about time. Ready to go, Suguru?”

Suguru’s already at his keyboard, “I always am, Hiro!”

Suguru’s twelve-year-old daughter, Sara, stands by the cameramen, clapping. “Oh, this will be so much fun! Do your best!”

Ryuko and Himeka join her to get a good view. “Long time no see, Sara-chan,” greets Himeka, “Where’s your mother?”

“She couldn’t get away from work today, but she’ll be at the concert tomorrow night, she’s really looking forward to it!”

Ryuko gives her a thumb up. “And so she should! For Bad Luck are making their triumphant return onto stage!”

Sara sweatdrops. “Well, Sempai, it is only a reunion special…”

“Ha, we’ll see about that!”

“We’re gonna what now?” Wonders Himeka.

Ryuko covers her mouth, “Shush! Daddy’s going to start!” Himeka frowns, her mouth still covered as Bad Luck begin their rehearsal.

‘I wonder what she did mean by her comment?’ Himeka quietly thinks to herself, forgetting about the sweaty hand over her mouth. ‘And now that I think about it…what the hell was SHE doing going through my cupboard?!’

[Kawaii Filia]

Ryuko cheerfully watches, humming along to Bad Luck’s song. She’s always loved to listen to her daddy sing. Music is the ultimate truth; it is a cry from the heart, and a rapture of the soul. When you write or make music, there is no way to lie. To be one with music is to be true to your heart. ‘I can’t make music yet, not till I know my truth.’

“Sempai, you look so cheerful,” notes Sara, with a kind smile.

Ryuko blinks, and then gives her a thumb up. “How can I not be happy? Bad Luck are in high spirits, so Ryuko is too!” She holds up Kumagoro and makes him wave. “And so is Kumagoro!”

“Idiot,” sighs Himeka. “Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask you at the diner, how did your date the other night go?”

Ryuko and Kumagoro droop their heads.

Himeka folds her arms, “No good? You didn’t take your toy along to the date, did you?”

Ryuko and Kumagoro shake their heads.

“Did you act like a six year old and order nothing but cake and ice-cream again?”

They shake their heads.

“So what did you do to stuff it up?”

Ryuko holds her head up again, putting Kumagoro away. “I honestly don’t know, he avoided me all night. He sat two seats away from me, barely said a word during dinner, and when we walked together he wouldn’t hold my hand or anything. He seemed like in a big rush to end the date too. It was so weird. I just don’t get it, after along so well with my parents too. It’s a mystery…”

@~WHAT RYUKO-CHAN DIDN’T SEE~@

Teijin (Ryuko’s date) sat quietly, as he waited for Ryuko to be ready. He sits opposite two men on another couch. One he recognizes as Shuichi Shindou, a famous singer, though Teijin wasn’t into pop music, so he didn’t find it as exciting as he knew he should have. For his age, he looked very young, almost like a twenty year old. The other he didn’t recognize, though he did feel familiar. He appeared to be older than Shuichi, but still young and handsome. Both scarily seemed to be glaring, looking him up and down. While they didn’t show any frowns on their faces, Teijin could feel their blazing intensity.

“So…” Teijin gulped, trying to break the tension, “are you Ryuko’s…brothers?”

They didn’t reply, however he saw Shuichi quickly frown.

“Cousins…perhaps – “

“Parents,” simply replied the older, blonde man.

Teijin’s eyes widened, not expecting such a response. ‘Ryu-chan’s parents are gay guys?!’

Shuichi bent forward, still frowning. “Where are going to take her tonight?”

“Ah…ah…” Teijin gulped again, “to that noodle house on – “

Shuichi bent forward further, deepening a dangerous gaze, “Not acceptable.”

“The ramen shop?”

“Not acceptable.”

“How about the Chinese – “

“Not acceptable.”

“The Italian restaurant?”

Shuichi happily smiled, sitting back. “Acceptable! Right, Yuki?”

‘Oh man…I’ll have to use all my allowance for the month! And it’s too crowded, how can I hit on her there?’

The other crossed his legs. ‘Yuki’, Shuichi had referred to him as. ‘Yuki…Yuki…ah, I see…’ “Are you Eiri Yuki, the writer?”

“Yes,” he sharply replied, “And after dinner?”

“Eh?”

“Where are you taking our daughter after you eat?” His light brown eyes almost screamed at Teijin.

Teijin wanted to say, “Well duh you fruits, to the movies to score!” Teijin nervously smiled, “We’re going to cinema…sir.”

“What are you going to see?”

Teijin smiled, he knew he couldn’t go wrong with his next reply, “I was thinking of that special screening of Schindler's List.”

“Ryuko doesn’t like that style of movie,” Yuki coldly told him, “she’ll be bored.”

‘That’s the idea!’ “She may find it enlightening, Mr. Yuki.”

“It’s a date, not a cultural excursion.”

Teijin’s heart pounded, god he was scary. What the hell was wrong with those guys? Why couldn’t they just get off his back?

“You will take her to see the new American action movie,” Yuki ordered. Teijin obediently nodded. He could take that; after all, there still was time after the movie to be alone with her. Teijin could just see himself now, taking her into the thick of the park trees, sliding his hand up her dress and –

“What are your plans for afterwards?” enquired Shuichi, now sitting beside him, directing staring into his eyes intently. Teijin pulled back in shock. He suddenly saw that Yuki was sitting on the other side of him, lighting up a cigarette. Yuki took a puff and blew smoke in his face.

Teijin blinked, “A…a…a…park…walk…park…walking…yes? No? Uh.”

Shuichi casually placed a hand around one shoulder, “That sounds very nice, what a good date you are!”

Teijin blew out a sigh, relieved. Suddenly, Shuichi’s arm was around his neck, choking him slightly. “What a good date you are! And you’ll stay in the middle of the path, won’t you? Where there’s plenty of light, won’t you? Because you’re such a good date, and respectable man who would never try to take advantage of such a sweet and innocent girl. Isn’t that right?”

Yuki took another puff of him cigarette. “Of course he is, Shuichi. He would never think to take advantage of Ryuko, knowing how naive she is.”

Teijin’s heart raced. These guys weren’t normal!

“Because if he did hurt Ryuko,” icily began Yuki, “I’d have to kill him.”

Teijin blinked, and then nervously giggled.

Shuichi beamed a smile, tightening his grip around his neck. “Oh, Yuki isn’t kidding. Did you think he was? Silly date!” He merrily laughed, very childlike.

Teijin’s heart stopped beating. “Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh.”

“You will return her promptly before 9:30pm,” Yuki instructed, putting out his cigarette. “If not – “

“You just don’t want to know,” Shuichi cheekily whispered into the young man’s ear.

“I’m ready!” Declared Ryuko, stepping into the livingroom. To Teijin’s disappointment she was dressed in a pair of three quarter pants and a long sleeved top that covered her entire upper torso. “Good thing Papa said it was going to cold tonight, otherwise I would have sillily worn a mini dress.”

“Yes,” almost sneered Teijin, “That would have been a shame.”

Ryuko beamed a smile, happy to see her parents sitting with Teijin. “I see you’ve been talking with my parents, is everything OK?”

“OK?” Wearily wondered Teijin.

“Sure it is!” Happily replied Shuichi, “We’ve had a great time, sweetie!”

As Ryuko grabbed her fluffy blue backpack, Yuki and Shuichi stood up, forcing Teijin to his feet. They returned to standing by the opposite couch as Ryuko joined Teijin, facing away from her doting parents. “I’m looking forward to tonight, where are going for dinner?”

“Do you…like Italian food?” Teijin nervously asked, eyeing the dangerous smiles of Shuichi and Yuki.

“I love Italian!”

“Great…uh…and then I thought we could see a movie.”

“Cool! Which one?”

“Schindler’s List?” He saw Yuki suddenly raise a sharp meat knife. “Just kidding! I know you don’t like that boring stuff! Hehehehe! How about an action movie? There’s an awesome one playing tonight!”

Ryuko clapped, “It’s like you read my mind, I’m so happy!”

“Me too, Ryu-chan,” Teijin’s eye wondered back to see Shuichi holding up a piece of paper with a rough crayon drawing of a knife through Teijin’s head, heart – and crotch! Shuichi grinned and nodded, scrunching up the paper.

“Have fun on your date,” said Yuki, giving her a hug.

Shuichi then hugged her, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“Gosh, I thought you guys wanted me to behave,” sweetly giggled Ryuko. “See ya later, don’t wait up.”

“Bye,” they both waved to her as she exited the room.

“Ah, what a nice date he’ll be,” beamed Shuichi.

Yuki lit up another cigarette, “Indeed.”

@~RETURN TO NOW~@

“Hey!” Gasps Ryuko, “So that’s why Teijin was so weird.”

Himeka folds her arms, “You’re not supposed to peer into flashbacks like that; you idiot.”

Sara ignores them, enjoying Bad Luck’s performance. “You know, I heard this performance was being dedicated to something or someone. But they’re keeping it hush-hush.”

Ryuko blinks, looking down at Sara with eager wide eyes, “Sara-chan! Please Ryuko! She must know! And so does Kumagoro! Tell! Tell! TELL!!!!”

Sara falls to the ground in fear. “Sempai, I’ve only heard rumours from the crew, my father hasn’t said anything.”

“Mine either, so it must be a rumour,” says Himeka.

“Maybe, maybe not,” comes a voice from beside them. The three turn, to see Tohma Seguchi, his eyes fixed on Bad Luck.

Ryuko coldly folds her arms and looks away. “Hello, Mr. Seguchi.”

Tohma slips off his shades and gives Ryuko Sakuma a kind smile. “There’s no reason to be so formal. You know you can call me Uncle Tohma.”

“Mr. Seguchi is just fine, thank-you,” replies Ryuko.

Tohma continues smiling, seemingly unfazed. “Has Shindou told you my idea for the concert, Ryuko Sakuma?”

“Yes.”

“And, what is your reply?”

Ryuko turns to face him, an unusual serious expression on her soft face. “I am not Ryuichi Sakuma, I will not perform a Nittle Grasper song with you and Mrs. Ukai. You know how I feel on the topic, so you were kidding yourself if you thought I’d agree.”

“That truly is a disappointment,” Tohma sighs, “Ryuichi would be very let down.”

“Them’s the breaks.”

“Especially since the concert will be dedicate to him. It just won’t be the same if his – “

Ryuko’s eyes widen, a cold-hot sweat runs through her body. “What did you just say?!”

Tohma nods, “That’s right. Shuichi Shindou feels he owes his career to Ryuichi Sakuma, so Bad Luck are dedicating their reunion special to his memory. I thought it may have been a nice touch if his only daughter were to perform with Nittle Grasper, I know the fans would appreciate it.”

Sara and Himeka listen in silent horror. Their friend stumbles back, numb from shock. “No…” she breaths, “I won’t.”

“What was that?”

“NOOOOOO!” Screams Ryuko, “I AM NOT RYUICHI!”

Shuichi stops singing, “Ryuko-chan?”

Ryuko pushes Tohma away and begins to cry into Kumagoro, running from the hall. “I’m Ryuko Sakuma, I’m…!”

Shuichi goes to run after his daughter, when Yuki grabs him by the wrist. “Let her go.”

“But - Yuki!”

“This is a situation that only she can deal with, we cannot assist this time – as much as we may want to.”

Tohma stands to his feet, fixing his rumpled clothes, “Such a boisterous person, she’s just like her father.”

Noriko rests an elbow on Tohma’s shoulder, “Yes, she is a lot like Shuichi.”

Tohma half smiles, “I meant – “

“I know who you meant.”

[Kawaii Filia]

Ryuko sits on a park bench, watching children play on the equipment. She recalls how much she used to love the park. Before she began kindergarten her papa used to take her every weekday afternoon. There they would feed the ducks in the pond (she’d even named each one) and make sand castles in the sand pit. But it was most fun when her daddy had days off to join them. Ryuko used to have swing contests with him to see who could go the highest. Each time one of them would end up fall off while at their highest, so her papa ha learnt to bring a first aid kit each time. She treasured the time she could play with them both in the park. When she began school they could only go on the weekend or late afternoon, it just wasn’t the same.

“I’m such an idiot,” she sighs to herself.

“Sa-ku-ma,” comes an eerie voice. Ryuko gasps, she peers up. Atop a tree stands a person dressed in a black ninja costume. His arms are folded, with a chuckle; he leaps off the tree and lands in front of her. Suddenly, he begins to do dramatic poses. Ryuko blinks, as she scratches her cheek.

“Do I know you?” she timidly asks.

The ninja continues to do poses. “Banished from the heavens, I clothe myself in darkness and steal the stars.”

“Wha…?”

“My tainted soul is dedicated to the god who stole my heart,” he continued, Ryuko has a good idea who she’s dealing with now, “My all belongs to you – Ryuichi Sakuma!” He points to Ryuko dramatically. Ryuko folds her arms and casually kicks him into the duck pond.

The ninja rips off his mask, to reveal her uncle Tatsuha. “What was that for?!”

Ryuko gets off the bench and looks down at him, “Ry-u-ko is my name. Ryuichi was my birth father, how many times must we go through this?”

She helps him out of the pond. Tatsuha begins to wring out the smelly water from his costume. “Ah, but you are my sweet Ryuichi reborn.”

“I was born before he died, now how is that possible?”

“IT JUST IS!” Tatsuha cries out. “Hey, where’s Eiri? He wasn’t home.”

Ryuko sits back on the bench. “At the hall with Daddy. Bad Luck is having their final rehearsal today before tomorrow’s concert. Is that why you’re down?”

Tatsuha rolls his eyes, “Who cares about Bad Luck. I’m here to see Nittle Grasper make their triumphant return to stage!” His eyes stream tears. “I’ve waited so long!”

“How did you know about that?!” She gasps.

“Mika told me over the phone. I can’t believe she left it to the last minute to tell me! My dear Ryuichi’s going to perform again and she has the nerve to wait till yesterday to say a thing.”

“You should have saved your money,” she tells him.

“Eh?”

“I’m not performing.”

Tatsuha’s heart shatters into a million pieces. He races around the park, chucking a hysteric fit while crying. The children in the park all stare in confusion. Ryuko sighs, “And people tell me to act my age.”

“He really is a weirdo,” she makes Kumagoro say.

“I doubt he’ll ever change,” she quietly says, with a sad smile.

@~RYUKO’S FLASHBACK THEATRE~@

ACT ONE:

Three-year-old Ryuko sat on the floor with Kumagoro, wiggling along and singing to her favourite Bad Luck DVD. She was enjoying herself, till it was suddenly switched off and replaced with a Nittle Grasper DVD. Uncle Tatsuha was now beside her on the floor.

“Bad Luck!” She sniffled, “Ryuko wants Bad Luck!”

Tatsuha beamed a smile, “Nittle Grasper are WAY better! Now shush, my Ryuichi is on stage!”

Little Ryuko took her DVD off the floor and turned the DVD player off. She ignored Tatsuha’s protested and replaced his Nittle Grasper DVD. Tatsuha growled, and pushed her aside, replacing it with his.

“You’re mean!” She wept, “Kumagoro hates you!”

“Oh boo-hoo,” he taunted, blowing a raspberry. “I’m the guest, what I say: GOES!”

Angry, Ryuko threw her stuffed bunny at Tatsuha and made a break for the DVD player. “Don’t you dare!” He yelled, racing for it. Ryuko threw herself over the DVD player. Tatsuha picked it and her up. She refused to let go. With his free hand, he tried to rip her off it. Accidentally pushing the eject button, his DVD fell to the floor. “Damn it.”

Tatsuha forgot about Ryuko and put her and the player on the floor. As he went to retrieve his beloved DVD, he heard a snap. Ryuko wondered where the snap came from. That’s when she saw – “BAD LUCK DVD!!! YOU KILLED IT!!!!!!”

Tatsuha blinked, looking down. He sweated, slowly turning around to face the sobbing little girl. Grimacing, he nervously giggled, rushing to her side. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll get you a new one! Promise! Don’t tell Eiri! Please! Please! Please!”

“Don’t tell me what?”

Tatsuha noticed Yuki had just walked in. Yuki frowned when he saw Ryuko crying. Ryuko ran to him, crying into his leg. “Uncle Killed Bad Luck DVD! Kumagoro hates him!”

Moments later ~

“But it’s an old DVD, where the hell am I supposed to get one?!” Demanded Tatsuha into the apartment intercom from downstairs. “Let me in Eiri, I’ll order one tomorrow!”

“You made her cry, you’ll fix it NOW,” he simply replied.

“But it’s cold, and I’m hungry,” he pathetically sniffled.

ACT TWO:

Ten-year-old Ryuko sat at her room’s desk doing the draft for her project. Shuichi lay on the couch in the lounge room preparing his speech for his music award. Yuki was in his office working on the ending of his novel. The three were enjoying the quiet of the afternoon.

“What I want to be when I grow up,” Ryuko read aloud from her homework sheet. Writing a report on what she wanted to be when she grew up shouldn’t have been too hard, though she didn’t actually know what she wanted to be. Maybe a professional food tester, she loved food. Or that person who hands out shoes at the bowling alley, being there all day would be fun!

There was a knocking at the door. Shuichi sighed; he’d just had what he was going to write (well, no he didn’t, he was just comfy ^^). He stood by the door. “Who’s there?”

“Tatsuha! Emergency! Let me in!”

Shuichi opened the door. “What’s – ack!” Tatsuha pushed him aside and ran to the couch, turning the TV on with the remote.

“What are you doing?” He asked, bewildered and annoyed to see him in his comfy spot.

“There’s a special on Nittle Grasper on!” He frantically yelled, holding up a TV guide he’d found in the street. “Don’t you care?! What sort of fan ARE you anyway?!!!”

Shuichi laughed to himself, turning the TV off.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Check the date of that guide.”

“Huh?” Tatsuha flips to the cover and shrieks in terror. “This is last week’s! I missed my honey! Noooo!”

Shuichi goes to the video cabinet and takes out a taped video. “Here you go Tatsuha, I taped it.”

Tatsuha held onto his legs weeping, “Oh, thank-you! Thank-you!”

Ryuko poked her head out the door of her room. “What’s going on? Oh, hi Uncle.”

Tatsuha grabbed the video. “Kawaii!”

Ryuko blinked.

“It’s a little Ryuichi!” Tatsuha tore into her room and hugged her. He hadn’t realized how much like his idol she was growing to look like.

Shuichi sighed, pulling him from his suffocating daughter. “You can do your fanboy routine late, she has homework to do.”

“Homework? What is she doing?”

Ryuko held out her paper. He read it with a grin. “Oooh! You’re writing about how you want to be just like Ryuichi when you grow up?”

Ryuko shook her head, “Ryuko doesn’t want to be a singer. Maybe a – “

“You’ll be just like Ryuichi when you grow up,” he cutely told her, rubbing her head.

Shuichi folded his arms. “Ryu-chan will be whatever she wants to be when she grows up.”

Ryuko nodded. “Can I even be a toadstool? They’re so pretty!” ^^

“If you’d like,” he cutely replied, beaming a smile.

Tatsuha lovingly rubbed his video. “If you and Eiri had your way, you’d let her grow up to be a fire engine if she wanted.”

“Broom-broom!” Ryuko made a sound like a car and ran around the room. Shuichi followed her, going, “Eeeeoooorrr! Eeeeeeoooooor! Time to get to that fire!”

“Idiots,” Tatsuha turned away, giving the video a kiss.

ACT THREE:

A month ago Ryuko and her parents travelled to Kyoto to visit her Grandpa, who was allegedly dying – again. As they entered the temple, Tatsuha greeted them, dressed in his Monk robes. He bowed to them. “It’s great that you made it Eiri, Dad’s really on his deathbed this time.”

“You sound so concerned too,” dully replied Yuki.

Tatsuha shrugged, “No big loss. Come this way.” He led them to a dimly lit room, where the head of the family shrine lay unmoving on a futon.

The four knelt beside the futon. Been through this a thousand times before, Yuki was unmoved. Shuichi and Ryuko couldn’t hold back their tears though.

“Ryuko-chan,” he softly whispered. “Come to me.”

“Yes, Grandpa,” she sniffled, kneeling beside him.

“How old are you now?” he quietly asked.

Ryuko rubbed her eyes, “Sixteen. Look, I’m wearing the necklace you sent me for my birthday.” She bent forward to show him, her loose shirt falling forward a little to show some of her E cup bra and cleavage. “Aunty Mika and Aunty Maiko say I’m practically a woman now.”

The old monk’s mouth drooled, “You sure are. My little Ryuko’s all grown up!” He rose to a sit and lunged himself onto her, rubbing his head in her chest. Ryuko wailed for help, trying to push him off.

Eiri Yuki slapped his father over the head, punching him off. “Oh look, you’re cured.”

His father nervously laughed. “I didn’t do anything wrong, I was just congratulating my granddaughter on her coming of age.”

“How would you like to see my coming of fist!” Shuichi warned.

Later ~

Ryuko stepped out of her bath. She’d forgotten about the earlier experience with her lecherous grandfather and was happy to relax in the temple’s bath. She wrapped a towel around her torso and another around her head. Humming to herself, she opened the door that led to the change-room. It was dark. She searched for the light switch, happy to find it from her growing chill. In the far corner of the room was her uncle; his hands were behind his back.

“Sorry for taking so long,” she apologized.

He presented his hands; in them was a roll of white bandages.

“What’s wrong?” She gasped. “Did someone get hurt?”

His eyes just sparkled. “Ryuichi-chan!”

One Minute Later ~

“Help me! Argh!” Came Ryuko’s muffled pleas.

Shuichi and Yuki opened the bath’s change room door to find her upper torso wrapped in bandages, while Tatsuha wrapped some more. He stopped as they angrily stared at him.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Shuichi demanded.

“My darling Ryuichi shouldn’t have breasts,” he simply said. “It’s an eye saw.”

“You’re insane!” Growled Ryuko.

“You’re such an idiot,” sighed Shuichi.

“You’re going to die,” warned Yuki.

@~END OF RYUKO’S FLASHBACK THEATRE~@

Ryuko laughs to herself. Her uncle sure is a bizarre fanboy, but he does come in handy every now and then. “I feel oddly cheered up, Kumagoro, let’s buy him a soda.”

Minutes afterwards, Tatsuha and Ryuko sit in an ice-cream shop with a banana split and soda each. Tatsuha isn’t in his ninja costume anymore.

“Come on Ryu-chan, why won’t you sing?”

“Because.”

“Do it for your favourite uncle!” He says, eating some vanilla ice cream.

“But you’re my ONLY uncle,” she sadly says, her disappointment of that fact clear. “Between you and Aunty Shouka, I don’t know which relative is more insane.”

Tatsuha scoffs, “Oh, did SHE tell you not to sing?”

Shouka Morita is her mother’s protective big sister, and was her agent. She’s never forgiven Ryuichi Sakuma for marrying her mentally unstable sister and getting her pregnant. The memory of him sickens her. Her bitterness grew stronger when the courts handed custody of Hanako’s only child to two men she didn’t know. The very idea of her little niece to be raised by two perverts enraged her to her soul. Shouka’s rights are limited, though she is allowed visitation like any normal relative. Whenever she meets Ryuko, she probes her for information to use against her so-called parents. As of yet she hasn’t been successful.

“No, I haven’t told her, no point. I know what she’ll say.”

“Want to go home after this and play some video games?” He asks, quickly changing the subject. “I got this cool new two player RPG.”

Ryuko nods, “Sounds like fun! But I really should give my parents a call; they’ll be so worried about me. I shouldn’t have run out like that, it was so selfish of me.”

“Meh, it happens. Right, Kumagoro!”

“That’s right!” Energetically replies Kumagoro.

Evening comes, warn out from hours of hard RPG playing, Tatsuha and Ryuko lay on the floor, snoring. The apartment door opens; Yuki and Shuichi see them and smile in.

Shuichi lays a blanket over them. “Thanks for taking care of her, Tatsuha,” he whispers.

“We were lucky he was in the city,” says Yuki, “Sometimes he can be of use.”

“Was it a mistake to dedicate the concern to Ryuichi?” Wonders Shuichi, rubbing his eyes. “I didn’t think Ryuko would react like this.”

“That isn’t the reason,” assures Yuki, wrapping his arms around him from behind, “She’s just concerned to be forgotten for who she is.”

“I’d never want that to happen. Never.”

“I know, she knows that too.”

[Kawaii Filia]

Morning light hits her eyelids. Warmed by the light, she opens her eyes, and hides under blankets to save herself from the rude awakening. “Morning,” she whispers, “But I’m not on the floor?” She puts her hand out to shield herself from the light and eyes her surrounding. “My room?”

“Good morning!” chirpily greets Shuichi as he opened the door.

“’Morning Daddy,” she sleepily muffles, pulling down her covers. “I’m so sorry about – “

He sits by her bed with a silver tray. She can smell food – tasty food. As Ryuko sits up, he sets the tray on her lap. On it are freshly cooked bacon and eggs, two slices of toast spread with blueberry jam, a cup of grapes and a glass of warm milk, hinted with vanilla essence. It was her favourite breakfast, and usually only made as an apology.

She looks at him cockeyed, “Did you kill another goldfish?”

“Can’t a dad show his love for child without her getting all suspicious?” He defensively demands.

“You’re a really bad liar,” she sleepily laughs, taking a bite of toast. “Yummy, so, Papa made me breakfast?”

Shuichi sweat-drops, he isn’t the greatest cook in the world and usually ends up as the happy little helper to Yuki or Ryuko. “Yeah, he did. But it was my idea!”

Ryuko finishes her toast, and sadly sighs, “But shouldn’t I be making this for you? I’m the brat who ran out on your last rehearsal. I should be grounded for a month! No, three months!”

Shuichi stuffs the other piece of toast in her mouth to silence her. “As long as you’re safe it doesn’t matter. And don’t worry about tonight, we said straight off to Tohma that it was your decision and he just has to accept it. So no worries about that, ‘k?” He playfully beeps her nose with a smile. “Are you ok with me dedicating the special tonight? Because if not, I – “

Ryuko counters by a few grapes in his mouth. She beams a smile and beeps his nose back, “It’s because of him that my favouritest band ever was formed. He inspired you to do your best and I’m happy to see you pay tribute to that fact. Knock ‘em dead!”

Shuichi and Ryuko raise their fists high in agreement.

“Oh hey, speaking of dead, where’s uncle?” She suddenly wonders.

In the loungeroom, Tatsuha is just waking up. He sleepily feels around the cold of the floor. His body is a little numb from the awkward position he’d slept on. “The floor?” He shoots up, wearily looking around the apartment.

“You’re finally awake,” says his elder brother, who’s sipping a cup of coffee at the table, as he reads the newspaper.

“Why didn’t you wake me up!” He rudely demands, “Or at least put me on the couch!”

Yuki turns a page of the paper, “You looked so peaceful, almost like you were dead.”

Tatsuha is about to spring into a fit when he smells a lovely scent from the kitchen. “Excellent, food!” Tatsuha runs to the kitchen, to unfortunately find only burnt eggs and toast. “Did that brat try to cook again?”

“I’m not a brat!” Shouts Shuichi from Ryuko’s room.

“Brat! Brat! Brat! Brat! Brat! Brat!” He cheekily yells, “You should learn to cook! You’re supposed to be the mother of the house after all!”

Shuichi bounds out of Ryuko’s room and landed in Tatsuha’s face. “Hey, I’m a grown man, I’m not a woman!”

Tatsuha ignores his protests, turning away to scour the cupboards for edible food. Shuichi follows him trying to get his attention. “Hey, are you listening?! Get back here! Waaaaah!”

Tatsuha opens a box of cereal. “You sure ***** like a woman.”

“Be nice to Shuichi, brother,” warns Yuki, turning another page.

Shuichi sticks out his tongue to Tatsuha.

“My wife is very sensitive after all.”

“YUUUUUKIIII!” Shuichi wails, streaming tears.

Ryuko walks out of her room, to see her uncle making funny faces at her daddy, as he makes angry squawking noises at him. She beams a smile, and gives her papa a kiss. “They’re so energetic!”

“Among other things,” he says, pulling her onto his lap. Yuki lays her head on his chest, just as he did when she was a little girl. Ryuko nestles into the warmth of his body, drowning out the chaos surrounding her.

The phone suddenly rings. Shuichi forgets his rage and answers it. “Hello? Oh, hi. Yes, she’s here. Ryu-chan, it’s for you!”

Ryuko pouts, jumping to the phone. “Hi there, Ryuko here!”

“Meet me at pier 10-A in an hour,” says the mysterious voice on the line.

Ryuko blinks. “Who is this?”

“Please, just do it.”

“Ok, but you better not be an insane murderer,” she sweetly warns, “Kumagoro may get mad if you try to hurt me.” Ryuko hangs up and grabs her coat. “See you later, I’m off to meet a mysterious stranger.”

“Have fun,” the three farewell. Ryuko cheerfully steps out of the apartment.

Tatsuha looks from Shuichi to Yuki. “Aren’t you two at all concerned?”

“Not at all,” replies Yuki.

Shuichi scratches his chin, “When she gets a call like that it usually means one thing.”

~@~

Salt taints the cool sea air, rising from the waves that crash against the wooden palings of the pier. With a hand-made, frail fishing line dangling lifelessly in the current, a lone boy sits cross-legged near the edge of pier. A straw hat covers his eyes, resting on his nose. His clothes are faded red shorts, and a loose white singlet. He can easily be mistaken for a street urchin, or strayed beach bum.

A shadow is cast over the boy; he doesn’t react. “So, you finally made it.”

Ryuko takes off his straw hat and whacks him over the head with it. “Why do you always have to do that, Slacker?!”

Slacker reels in his fishing line and casts it again. His wild blonde hair is thrust over his eyes, his face once again hidden. “I thought you liked games, cousin.”

“I don’t like your games, Slacker,” she pouts, “and nor does Kumagoro. For one quit being creepy.”

The one who is known as Slacker doesn’t reply, but gestures for her to join him. Growling to herself, she and her bunny sit beside him, taking in the calm of the ocean.

“This is a plot by Mr. Seguchi, right?” Laughs Ryuko loudly, “He actually thinks you can convince me to perform tonight?”

Slacker reels in a little, seemingly ignoring her.

“Hey, she’s talking to you,” says Kumagoro, “be nice and answer back.”

Slacker stops reeling, but doesn’t respond.

“Come on,” she cutely urges, “play fair, Setsuna.”

He turns to face her; the wind blows half of his long, thick fringe away from his face, to reveal a serene blue eye. An eye that looks everywhere, but is sees nothing. He is blind. Not that Setsuna Seguchi, aged fifteen, has ever seen it as a negative force in his life. If anything he values this so-called disability for heightening his other senses. His intellect is also second to none, and partly why he his nickname is “Slacker”. To be the best he has to the push himself to a new limit in each step he takes. Nothing he does ever satisfies himself, there is no such thing as “personal best” for Setsuna. He is the eternal slacker. His reputation as an intriguing figure among his school and the media has earned him numerous fans and enemies. He knows it. Whether he cares nobody knows for sure. One has to wonder if he even understands his own mind half the time.

“I hear Uncle Tatsuha is in town,” he quietly says, a small smile sweeping his face, “I take it he’s staying at your place.”

Ryuko grumbles to herself, “Yeah, he is. Why isn’t he at yours? Your family has that big mansion after all, it’s not like you’d notice him!”

Slacker sits back, resting his rod beside him. “You’d be surprised. Father doesn’t appreciate his constant Ryuichi questions, and especially the rummaging of his belongings from the days he was in Nittle Grasper. Then of course there is Mother, who feels she doesn’t need to explain her position on her kid brother.”
Ryuko scratches her head, “So you called me out here to ask about Uncle?”

Slacker silently rises to his feet, stretching his head out to catch the breeze. “No. I came to ask you I don’t want you performing tonight. It will ruin everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“The past should be left in the past. A person has to be left a person. But a god cannot be left forgotten. You will taint the memory of Ryuichi Sakuma if you sing. If you do, he will be just another dead singer; he will cease to be a legend. If you perform tonight with Nittle Grasper, you will regret it.”

Slacker brushes past her, leaving his straw hat and fishing rod behind. A shiny black limousine drives near the pier. Slacker enters it, leaving Ryuko alone, cold and numb from shock. What did he mean? She wasn’t even planning to perform!

“Jerk,” she scoffs.

“Meanie,” agrees Kumagoro.

“I’m with you,” concurs a third party.

Ryuko turns around, dazed from Slacker’s speech. Sara stands where the limousine had just been, it seems she’d gotten off as he had got on. She’s dressed in her private school uniform, barrette and all. She kisses her index finger and points it at Ryuko, “Bam!”

“Bam?”

“My love gun didn’t work?” She mockingly sighs to herself. “Oh well, you’d better come to Mr. K’s house to get – the treatment.”

“I’m gonna get what now?”

“Bam!” She giggles. “You’re going to love this.”

[Kawaii Filia]

(Is anyone on AB actually reading this?)

Claude K. Winchester – K for short, ex-chief head executive of the US’s Secret Service, Ryuichi Sakuma’s former manager and long-time manager of Bad Luck. Wherever Bad Luck is, you can bet he’ll be there, guns and all. Considering he was Ryuichi’s manager, one would expect him to be another crazy thorn in Ryuko’s side, however he’s never compared Ryuko to Ryuichi in any serious manner. His cheerful, caring and down-to-earth manner makes her think of him as an uncle, she wishes her real uncle, Tatsuha, could be more like that.

The taxi comes to a stop in front of a standard, middle-class house. Sara pays the fare, and nudges Ryuko to get out.

“For the amount of money he makes, he doesn’t look like it,” says Sara, putting away her purse.

“He told me once he has a bigger house in America. This house is mostly for long-term business trips,” Ryuko explains, as the two make their way up the driveway. “Now Sara-chan, what’s going on?”

Sara winks, pressing the doorbell. “It’s a secret.”

Ryuko sighs. The door slowly opens. The two shriek as a two-barrel gun is aimed at them. They hold each other, shaking. “Like my new gun? It’s an antique, I got a great deal on the Internet for it.”

Sara lets go of Ryuko and clears her throat. “Mr. K, don’t scare us like that.”

“God help us!” Wails Ryuko, shivering in fear on the doorstep.

K stands down his gun and laughs, “Sorry, I forget how she gets when a gun is aimed at her.”

Sara rubs her head, “Mr. K, that’s how everyone reacts when a gun is aimed at them.” Sara taps Ryuko on the head, to indicate the danger was over. The two are led into the modest home, which is eerily quiet. They continue walking through the house, until K stops at a door in the polished, wooden floor. He bends down and opens the door, pointing his thumb. “Cool, eh?”

Ryuko claps, “Just like you’re a mass murderer or something, who just hid the bodies and now will kill us!”

Sara’s eyes bug, she then turns to K and stares at him suspiciously. K cheerfully dismisses her, and pushes them toward the basement stairs. The two make their way down, followed by K who keeps his gun close to him. As they near enter the dimly lit basement, Ryuko gasps, realizing she’s joined a gathering.

“Welcome to the party!” Greets Saki Ukai, the grown daughter of Noriko Ukai, the former keyboardist for Nittle Grasper. Saki is a university student, studying to become a historian. She’s a fun-loving girl, however she can get a little too fun-loving and over-do it with the alcohol. Most people she knows try to avoid Saki, who’s made it a habit to hit the bottle at the most inopportune times.

“My favourite brat has joined the party, I’m so happy!” Saki throws her arms around Ryuko, who tries to wriggle from her grasp. “My, my, it takes more and more effort to put my arms around you each time we meet, your breasts have become so voluptuous!”

Ryuko blushes furiously, “It’s nice to see you two, Saki. Think you could let go? Kumagoro’s suffocating.”

“Oh, very well,” Saki loosens her grip, so Ryuko can spill out.

Nervously smiling, she takes a moment to look around. In the basement, she can also see Michael, K’s son, who’s been training to become a policeman. The young blonde man sits on an old couch, going over his manual.

“Studying hard?” She calls to him.

Michael looks up, “Yes, I’m going over when I cannot shoot and any loopholes.”

Sara and Ryuko gulp. Perhaps he wasn’t as gun sensible as they thought. Her eyes then wander to Himeka, who sits on the other side of the couch. Her arms are folded, and legs crossed, she’s frowning. Ryuko goes to hug her, when she puts her hand out to stop her. “Not now, Sakuma.”

Ryuko draws her hands back, and settles for a confused wave. Lowering her eyes, she sits by her feet on the floor, awaiting an explanation.

“You’re probably wondering why we’re all here,” begins K, walking back and forward, locking and unlocking his gun.

Sara raises her arm, as if she was in class, “To give Sakuma Senpai the treatment? Though I’m not quite sure what that means - ”

K points his gun at her, “No.”

“No…?” Sara lowers her arm. “But you said before - ”

Himeka takes out her nailfile from her handbag, rolling her eyes, “This had better be good. I didn’t appreciate being ambushed infront of my grandparents. Damn it, I am so going back to Kyoto tomorrow.”

“All will be fully explained, as soon as my special guest arrives,” K checks his wristwatch, “and he seems to be late.”

From above they can hear a frantic stampeding, like the sound of a herd of elephants. Their eyes turn to the stairs as a ball of dust races down and jumps beside K.

“You are late.”

His guest bows, “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!”

“Mr. Sakano,” they gasp.

Sakano falls to his knees, puffing and panting. “I apologize for being behind on schedule, I was delayed by a meeting with the orchestra.” Fixing his glasses, he bows to their guests.

Saki sits on the edge of the couch’s back, sipping an orange and vodka. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Sakano.”

“I am!”

“Good then.”

Sakano opens his briefcase and quickly hands each a sheet of paper. Ryuko yawns, looking over it. “Um…I’m a little lost and so is Kumagoro.”

Sakano smiles, bowing again, “After many discussions with Mr. Seguchi, we have decided it would be a good idea if the children of Bad Luck did a song together, and then the children of Nittle Grasper.”

They stare at him.

Sakano nervously laughs. “You see, since the special is a concert of nostalgia, it was considered to be a good idea if we had a, you know, wave of the future intermission.”

They still stare.

“Since Miss Sakuma has declined the proposal to perform with Nittle Grasper, we would be most honoured if the two bands could do a song each, as you each can play an instrument. So…how does this sound? Good? Right?!”

Their eyes don’t leave him. Sakano goes red; sweat rains down his head. “Please say something!”

Sara looks over the proposal on paper, “Why did you decide to do this now? A month ago at least would have been more feasible. We can’t work on these conditions.”

“You’re nuts,” scoffs Himeka, scrunching the plan into a ball, “I bet you guys came up with this plan this morning.”

Sakano’s glasses crack.

“Oh, so I was right,” she decides. “Well, forget it. I don’t play the guitar professionally; there is no way I am going to make a fool of myself infront of the world. Besides, the storyteller princess is definitely not going to sing, so what the hell is the point?”

“You seem mad today?” politely points out Ryuko.

Himeka folds her arms, “Oh, you want to know why I’m mad today? OK then, I’ll tell you why. Ever since I can remember, whenever I’ve come to Tokyo my dad has gotten me to baby-sit your bimbo sorry ass. And on this particular occasion, I thought things would be different. I thought I could enjoy myself, and not have to hear your name every ten seconds. But noooo, you decide to chuck a fit because they want to sing ONE stupid little song. Five minutes of your time, and you run away crying. Then for the rest of the day, when the band wasn’t rehearsing, I had to listen to them mope about how bad they felt and ways to cheer you up. And if that wasn’t bad enough, early this morning a sack was thrown over me and I was rushed here to be asked to play guitar just to glorify your image.”

Sakano wipes his sweaty brow, as he trembles, “No, Miss Nakano, that’s not what – “

“Shut up four-eyes!”

Mr. Sakano melts away into a puddle of despair. “I’m too old for this!”

Himeka rises to her feet, looking down at the wide-eyed Ryuko. She narrows her eyes in fury, “I don’t care anymore about your little issues. I’m not gonna put up with this crap anymore.” Without another word, she storms up the stairs, without looking back.

“Wait, Nakano Senpai!” Sara jumps to her feet, chasing after Himeka.

Saki finishes off her drink. “Short party, who’s up for a whiskey?”

Sakano’s puddle raises a hand.

Michael looks up from his reading, “Did something happen?”

“The children are being melodramatic again, I think,” says Saki. “Loud little thing that Hime-chan, ay, Ryu-chan?”

Ryuko sits there quietly.

“Ryu-chan?”

Ryuko stares at the floor. Saki thinks she is crying, until she tilts her head up to show that she is frowning. Ryuko forms a fist and punches the ground, breaking the floorboards. “How dare she talk to me like that,” she icily demands, “I won’t forgive her for this insult.”

Sakano bursts into tears, crawling along the long. “Everything finally goes for Bad Luck; no traumas, no arguments, no romantic crisis, no slumps – everything…perfect! And now…now everything’s going wrong for them! It’s all shot to hell! Wah! I can’t take this pressure! I’M ENDING IT ALL NOW!!!” Sakano snatches K’s gun and points it at his throat. He presses down on the trigger, closing his eyes. Nothing happens.

K takes it back, “It’s an antique. I haven’t got bullets for it yet.”

“Waaaaah!”

“There, there, I’ll get in some next week,” he cheerfully assures him, patting him on the back. “You can commit suicide then.”

Mr. Sakano wipes the tears from his eyes. “Tell me, Miss Sakuma, what did you think of the proposal.” She’s gone. “Waaaaah! It’s all falling apart!”

Saki waggles a bottle of red wine infront of him. “You need a drink.”

~@~

Draped over by a single white blanket, his body naked beneath, enjoying the sensations from the chilled wind that flows through his large opened window, Slacker Seguchi sits cross-legged in the middle of his king-sized bed. His eyes are closed, as if in meditation. The ringing of the telephone by his bed breaks his world of silence. Slacker falls back, and picks up the phone, pulling it his ear. “Did all go well?”

“Everything went as you predicted.”

“Excellent, K. All is secure. Give my sympathies to Mr. Sakano.”

“Will do.” K hangs up.

Slacker stretches his arm out, putting down the phone. He quietly sits up again, lowering his sheet so his upper torso can feel the full force of the wind’s ice. “The body longs for eternal warmth, without fire man would die. Why does he seek out the cold then? Why does he enjoy its pain? Ice can burn the skin, just like fire. Is it possible that fire and ice are one and the same?” Slacker falls forward, burying his face in his soft blankets.

[Kawaii Filia]

“And then she stormed out, making me look the like the bad guy!” growls Ryuko, kicking the door.

“If you break it, it’s coming out of your allowance,” responds Yuki, typing at his home office’s desk. He’s been listening to her ramblings for half an hour, the same story over and over of Himeka Nakano’s furious vilify. Her story changes each time to make it seem worse and worse, perhaps because it seems worse the more she goes over it.

“Who does she think she is?!” Barks out Ryuko, “Like she’s any better, she’s nothing but a perverted little hussy anyway. Did you know she reads yaoi manga? She has a big collection in her room too! She’d sure make good friends with Uncle Tatsuha. And you know what else? Himeka even wears short clothes in public just to turn on old men for kicks - she is so gross! I don’t know how I’VE put up with HER for so long. And she has a nerve to talk THAT way about ME!”

Ryuko goes to kick the door again, when Yuki turns around to face her. “Why are you really mad?”

“Because she called me a bimbo and made me out to be some sort of pampered princess!” She angrily replies. “That’s really funny coming from a rich snob like her!”

“If you’re going to answer me with lies, I have nothing more to say to you.” Yuki turns around and continues with his typing.

Ryuko rolls her eyes, “Whatever. I’m going out.” Stiffening, she storms out of the apartment, slamming the door.

Yuki looks back, narrowing his eyes.

@~ TEN YEARS AGO ~@

Fluffy white snow blanketed the land as far as you could see. The green of the grass was replaced by the frosty shower of snowflakes that continued to fall from the depth of the grey sky. It had snowed heavily for two days, and then slowed to a light shower.

Ryuko was excited to finally go out and play in the snow. She even dressed her doll Kumagoro in an identical pink parker just like her’s. Her parents took her to the park to play with the other children. Ryuko couldn’t spot any of her friends, so she decided to say hello to the others there. Before she left to make friends, she asked her parents for something to eat. Feeling peckish themselves, they asked some of the other adults to look out for her while they went to get something from a local café.

Dusting off some snow from Kumagoro’s face, Ryuko skipped up to three older boys who were making a snowman. She waved to them and said, “Hi! My name’s Ryuko! That’s a really nice snowman!”

“It’s a snow soldier,” one corrected her, “We’re taking on this brat who said we throw snowballs like sissies!”

“Hey, maybe we can get this girl’s brothers to help!” Laughed another, “Reinforcements!”

Ryuko and Kumagoro looked at each other, confused. “I don’t have any brothers, and nor does Kumagoro.”

“Who were those guys who left you here then?”

Ryuko beams a smile, nodding, “Oh! They’re my daddy and papa! They’re really nice and – “

“Excuse me?!” Barked out one boy, all of them turning to stare at her, “They’re what, both your dads?”

“Yep-yep!”

The boys all laughed, “Holy crap, her dads are fags!”

Ryuko blinked, scratching her head. “What’s that? Is it bad?”

“That is so gross!” Winced one boy, “Be careful guys, we may get AIDS if we breathe the same air as her!” The boys all mockingly backed away from her.

Ryuko squeezed Kumagoro close to her chest, her heart raced in a mix of anger and confusion. She didn’t understand the words, or the their meaning, but she could tell by their tones it was something horrible about her fathers.

“Don’t be mean!” She yelled, “Or I’ll tell!”

“Oooh!” They laughed, “Gonna tell those pansies? Like they can do anything!”

Ryuko went to hit one, when another slapped her across the face. She fell back. Her white face marked red by the slap. Ryuko felt her face, tears swelling in her deep emerald eyes. Gathering Kumagoro, she hastily ran from them, crying. The boys made noises and threw snow at her as she ran.

Racing away as far as she could from the park, she found herself blinded by cold tears. It wasn’t until she ran into something that she was able to stop. Ryuko, still crying, wiped away her tears to find she had run down a girl a little younger than her.

Dark blue eyes locked onto her’s in confusion. The girl beneath her smiled widely, and poked Ryuko in the nose, “Your nose is blue!”

Ryuko gasped, jumping to her feet. The girl still smiled, rising to her feet. She wore a cosy coat, blue leggings and a pair of black boots. On her head was a fluffy blue beanie, poking out the back was long shiny, reddish-brown hair. Ryuko’s eyes wandered to a pile of snowballs.

The girl noticed her staring at them, and beamed another smile. “I’m in battle! I’m going to kick butt, I am! No one makes fun of my hat! Stupid sissy boys!”

She blinked, realizing she must have been the girl those boys were talking about. Worried that she may be mean to her too, she began to walk away.

“Hey, wait!”

Ryuko turned away, clutching Kumagoro defensively. “Yes?”

“Could you…help me?”

Later~

Ryuko and the girl, who said her name was Himeka, stood behind the slippery dip with a plastic bag each full of snowballs. The boys had finished their snow soldier, and had readied at least six times as many snowballs as they had.

“Can’t we just tell the grown-ups?” Moaned Ryuko, “I don’t want to get hurt again.”

Himeka clutched a snowball. “Tell the grown-ups? What are you, a wimp?”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t worry about it,” she whispered, “I’ve got your back, and you got mine too, right?

Ryuko forced a smile, taking a snowball, “Um…ok…”

Himeka jumped out from behind the slippery dip, “HEY, SISSIES!”

The boys turned around, a snowball whacked the bigger one in the eyes. “Damn shrimp, get her!

Himeka blew a raspberry, throwing a few more snowballs from her plastic bag as she ran. The two shorter boys ran after her, throwing whatever snowballs they could carry. Ryuko ran in the opposite direction, running to the snowballs the boys has made, stamping them back into the snow. She didn’t notice the taller one coming up behind her. As he went to punch her, Himeka threw a large sludgy ball at his head. Ryuko turned around; gasping from surprise as the boy blindly wiped away the gunk covering his head and face. Clutching Kumagoro tightly, Ryuko headed toward the two boys were closing on in Himeka. Using Kumagoro, Ryuko jumped up and pushed the head of the snow soldier off its body. The head fell on top the boys, forcing them to the ground.

“Do you give up?” Demanded Himeka.

The taller boy, who was still dealing with gunk tried to laugh while sneezing, “Give up to some brat pre-schooler, never!”

“Lets just go,” said one of his friends.

“Fine then, I’ll tell your parents on you,” warned Himeka.

“Do that, and I’ll tell YOUR’S what did to us.”

“So…you’re going to tell them that their four year old daughter BEAT you up?”

The three boys stared at her through the snow and then looked at each other. Without a word they walked away. Himeka leapt in the air, laughing. Ryuko hugged Kumagoro, smiling.

“You’re only four?” Wondered Ryuko, “You’re really smart then!”

Himeka cockily put her hands on her hips, winking, “Yeah, I know, I know.”

“Hime-chan!” Called a man, “We got you lunch!”

“Ryu-chan, we’re back!”

Himeka and Ryuko’s ears expanded when they heard their fathers call them. “Yay, lunchtime!”

The two girls ran to meet them at the benches of the park. They were surprised to see their fathers talking to each other like good friends, until their eyes focused to see who the other was.

“Hi there Mr. Hiro sir!” Greeted Ryuko.

“Mr. Shindou, hello,” greeted Himeka, bowing, “I haven’t seen you in a long time. You too, Mr. Yuki.”

Himeka and Ryuko stared at each other in confusion. “You know my daddy?” They gasped, “Then you’re…oh wow…hi!”

Ayaka knelt down in the snow, rubbing their heads, “How cute, they’ve been playing together! I hope you two have been getting along well.”

“Yep!” Replied Ryuko, “And we beat up some mean boys!”

Himeka slapped her forehead.

Ayaka continued smiling, “We’ll talk about that later.”

@~FIVE YEARS AGO~@

Himeka’s E-mail:
Hey There Girl!
We’re having this festival next week at my school. My kendo club’s set to put a performance. I’m so excited! I think my mother’s more excited though; she’s been calling all the family to come watch. It’s sooo embarrassing! -_- Do you think you could come to watch too? I could show you around my school too!
~Himeka

Ryuko’s E-mail:
OMG! THAT IS SO COOL! I WISH I COULD GO, BUT I’M GROUNDED. I DIDN’T STUDY FOR MY MATH TEST YESTERDAY AND ONLY SCORED A 13, SO PAPA SAYS I’M GROUNDED FOR 2 WEEKS. THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAN!!!! AND MY KEYBOARD IS LIKE STUFFED! IT’LL ONLY DO CAPS, STUPID THING!!! SORRY, I’M REALLY PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW. KUMAGORO’S PISSED TOO. OH, HE SAYS HI BTW.

CATCH YA, I HAVE TO STUDY FOR MY SCIENCE TEST, IF I DON’T STUDY, THEY’LL PROBABLY LOCK ME IN MY ROOM OR SOMETHING. >.<

RYU-CHAN & KUMA-CHAN

Himeka’s E-mail:
Whoa,
You are one mad chicky! @_@ Did you get your keyboard fixed? I can’t say I’ve been grounded lately, though my father was disappointed that I only for 95% on my last English test. I was distracted by this cute boy outside; I think he was the son of one of the teachers. It’s so cool when boys come to the school; you’re so lucky to be in a normal school. Being in an all-girl’s school can be so lame.

The club’s been working hard to get ready for the school festival. A few have been whining that I’ve been pushing them too hard. What’s wrong with perfection? We’re going to be performing in front of our parents and some of the most important people in Kyoto after all! Hey, you SURE you can’t come up? Beg your dads!
~Himeka

Ryuko’s E-mail:
Hiya,
Papa got my keyboard fixed, he says I’m still grounded and can’t go up to Kyoto to see your festival. He says I can next year if I’m a good girl. I think he just doesn’t want to go up because of Uncle Tatsuha. I have more to worry about with that mega weirdo - he has it easy!

I passed my science test, but not by much. I don’t like science it’s boring. I love Japanese, it’s easy peasy. I’m coming third in my class. My teacher says I write really nice stories, and should be a writer like Papa when I grow up. What do you think?

Ryu-chan & Kuma-chan

Himeka’s E-mail:
Hey there!
We’re nearly ready, only three more days until the festival! Everyone’s been totally hyped about it, and decorations are already being hung up. THIS IS SO COOL! Oh yeah, and I dyed my hair black like a real Hina doll, I’ll send a picture next time!

You a writer? That wouldn’t be too bad; writers make a lot of money, right? Would you be a romance writer like him?

I got this cool DVD today, it’s a mix of music videos and I found of Bad Luck! Sweet stuff, it had a close up of my dad too, I screamed the whole house down! Have you seen it??
~Himeka

Ryuko’s E-mail:
Yay Hime-chan!
You got it too? Daddy bought it as soon as it came out! I had fun watching it, and screamed too! *^^*

Good luck with your festival, Kuma-chan and I will cheer the loudest for ya! Your hair looks…different. Seriously, it looks cool!

I don’t think I’ll be a professional writer like him, but if I were I’d like to write fairytales. And Kumagoro could be the star! He could go in and save princesses and battle evil queens! Yeah!

Ryu-chan & Kuma-chan

PS: Bad Luck Rulz!!!!!

Ryuko’s E-mail:
I haven’t heard from you in a week, everything go ok?


Ryuko’s E-mail:
You’re not answering your mobile! Do you hate me??

Ryuko’s E-mail:
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-CCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111

Himeka’s E-mail:
Hello Ryuko,
Sorry, been depressed lately. They kicked me out of kendo club the day before the festival. I was voted out of the club for being bossy or something. No one likes me. Why would they do that?

Ryuko’s E-mail:
They kicked you out??? *Hugs* Cheer up Hime-chan; I don’t want to mope about something like this! >.< Kuma-chan and I still love you! And we’re not grounded anymore, so we can come to Kyoto and give you a real hug! And some candy! So chin up, we’ll see you soon and you can show us your kendo!
Lots of Luv, Ryuko and Kumagoro!

Himeka’s E-mail:
Heya,
Really? You want to see my kendo? Thanks Ryu-chan. Just don’t eat the candy before you get here, ok? ^^

@~ NOW ~@

Ryuko presses the doorbell to the Nakano family home. Himeka’s family always stay with her father’s parents when they’re in Tokyo. She could easily guess her so-called best friend would be here, probably bitching about Ryuko to her family.

Himeka’s grandmother opens the door, “Oh, hello Ryuko. Have you come to see Himeka?”

“That’s right, is she here?”

She nods, allowing her to enter. “Hime-chan’s in her room watching TV.”

Ryuko smiles, “Thank-you ma’am!” She walks through the hall until she reached Himeka’s room, without knocking, she opened the door and quickly closed it behind her.

Himeka turns around, and then returns to her TV as if no one was there.

“Very mature Himeka,” Ryuko sarcastically says, “And to think, you’re supposed to be better than ME.”

Himeka folds her arms, “I don’t think I’m better than you – I know I’m better than you.”

“Is that so?”

“Unlike you, I earned my high status in society. When people look at me, they see an intelligent young woman who works hard for her grades and does everything to perfection. Unlike you, you’re just a buffoon who happens to have the DNA of a famous singer, and be raised by two famous guys. You’re nothing special. I don’t know why I bothered to be your friend.”

Ryuko narrows her eyes, gritting her teeth in anger. “Why are you saying these things? Why NOW?”

Himeka still doesn’t turn around. “Because after you ran out my dad began to worry about you too. And why? Because of you being a freakin’ baby.”

Ryuko walked up behind her and got her in a headlock. Himeka’s eyes bulge out, as they roll around on the bed.

“Baby am I? I must have learnt it from you then!” Growls Ryuko, “You always have to be the centre of attention, the one in charge! You drive people insane! You’re not better than anyone; you just think you are because you don’t bother to look at anyone else! You may as well marry your reflection!”

Himeka throws her off, and slaps her across the face. “SHUT UP! That’s not true!”

Ryuko slaps her back just as hard, “You know I’m right. You’re no better than me, you just hide your stupidity with fancy clothes and big words.”

Grimacing in anger, Himeka takes her by the hair, “You brat! You have no right to speak to me like that!”

Ryuko punches her in the cheekbone, Himeka falls onto the bed, taking some of Ryuko’s light brown hair with her. Ryuko feels the side of her head, tearing at the eyes. “Damn it!”

“That’ll teach you!” Laughs Himeka, feeling her cheek mournfully.

Ryuko and Himeka each out to hurt each other again, when their eyes turn to the TV. On it are a younger Hiroshi and Shuichi, singing and playing guitar at school. They didn’t sound very professional, in fact they were a little out of tune, but they were obviously enjoying themselves.

“They look so happy,” says Ryuko.

Himeka nods, “Yeah. I found this in the attic yesterday.”

Ryuko sits away, and begins to watch the video. Himeka sits at the top of her bed, nursing her pillow. They watch in silence, paying no attention to their bruises and bleeding. Their eyes wander to each other’s every so often.

Himeka decides to break the silence. “I’m glad they improved.”

Ryuko smiles, “Me too. Papa’s right, Daddy does have zero talent at lyrics.”

Himeka nods, “Yeah, not his greatest work.”

They return to silence. Ryuko turns her head to Himeka; “You’re so stuck-up.”

Himeka cockily smiles, “You’re such a baby.”

The door bursts open, Hiro and Shuichi look around in terror and scream when they see their bleeding bruised girls.

“Are you two ok?” Begs Hiro, rushing to see Himeka’s bruised cheek.

“What happened?” Demands Shuichi, rubbing the side of Ryuko’s head.

Himeka beams a smile, “We’re cool Dad, relax. Ryu-chan and I just had some talking to do.”

“You beat each other up!” Yells Shuichi.

“That too,” cutely adds Ryuko with a giggle. “There was some talking – technically.”

“Mum, why didn’t you come in and break them up?!” Demands Hiro, as his mother appears at the door, wiping a dish.

She shrugs, “They’re best to be left to their own devices to work tiffs out, even if their devices include trying to kill each other.”

“What sort of logic is that?” He cries.

Mrs. Nakano closes her eyes, grinning, “I do believe the scientific term is Hiro-Shuichi-ology.”

Hiro calms down and stares at Shuichi, both embarrassed. Himeka and Ryuko beam a smile, doing the V sign to the other.