Chapter 6b: Concluded
A-ko and C-ko had gone to about four more stores before Myles had finally
felt that he could follow them into one again. He noticed that two girls
were following them around like he was and was certainly getting annoyed by
it.
A-ko had gotten enough underwear to last her for her entire college
career...some were a little more "intimate" than others. Now she just
wanted to get some new outfits. Unfortunately, not too many went with her
arm-bands, but she had promised her parents after the last time she took
them off, that she would never do it again, unless she *had* to, and the
sake of fashion was not one of those circumstances. She found that
earth-tones seemed to work well wtih them...and of course, black. She
decided that since it was becoming fall, she should get darker colored
clothes anyhow. And after a week of wearing blue jeans, she was beginning
to like the feel of them, even though she usually wore loose, comfortable
clothes. The best part was, she would never have to wear a school uniform
anymore. C-ko came trotting over to A-ko with a very small and tight black
dress.
"Try this one, A-ko!" she said, holding it up. A-ko took it from C-ko's
hands and looked at it.
"Um, C-ko...I don't think it's my size," she replied.
"Sure it is! That's what the tag says."
"Then why is it so...small..."
"Just try it on," C-ko said, pushing her friend toward the dressing room.
Myles stood by a rack of clothes, drooling. _I should 'ave brought a
bloody camera! Dammit Myles, what'n the hell's the matter wit'ye?_ Myles
scolded himself mentally.
A-ko came out of the dressing room wearing the outfit that C-ko had chosen
for her. A-ko was trying to cover her scantily-clad self.
"This is embarrassing," she mumbled.
"Come on, let's see what you look like," C-ko said, pulling A-ko's arms to
her sides. A-ko walked in front of the mirror. The dress was low-cut, in
that it just barely covered her breasts. It was also high cut, coming no
less than nine inches above her knees. Two spaghetti string straps came up
over her shoulders. The sides were cut into slits running horizontally
along either side of the dress. A-ko, now redder than crimson <if that
were possible>, covered herself again.
"Knock that off, A-ko!" C-ko scolded. "Be proud of your body! With a
body like yours, you *have* to show it off." A-ko was not sure how exactly
to take that. She probably would have been at ease if it were anyone but
C-ko saying it. Hell, even her own mother would do. But taking advice
like that just did not fit somehow. Alas, A-ko did finally feel better
about herself and let her arms hang freely to her sides. She did look
good, <as if we didn't know> and the best part was that her arm-bands
matched the dress perfectly. The reflection of C-ko practically drooling
over her did not seem to help any though.
Myles could not believe how A-ko looked. A-ko walked back into the
dressing room and came back out holding the dress in her hands. She was
actually going to buy it! Which meant that Myles would see her in it
again! Myles went to follow but slipped on something. He got himself up
and felt a little wet. He looked down only to see a puddle of drool the
size of the Pacific Ocean on the floor. He brought himself back to reality
when he heard someone snickering. He looked up to see who was laughing at
him. Except, it was not him that they were laughing at. The two girls
that had followed A-ko earlier.
"I-I can't believe she's actually going *buy* that God-awful thing," Ine
laughed. Mari was actually laughing as well. "Di-did you see how it
looked on her? Oh, B-ko's gonna have a field-day with this one!"
Myles felt his ire burn through him. He was going to kill them for that.
Myles jumped from behind his hiding place and growled, striking an
offensive pose. Ine and Mari jumped back, because of startlement. Mari
then towered over Myles and looked down, growling and cracking her
knuckles.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" he screamed, running out of the store
across the hall and into a sports store. Ine and Mari followed him, only
to rush back out, being chased by an enraged Myles wearing football
shoulder pads and a hockey helmet, swinging an aluminum baseball bat wildly
at them. He chased the girls into a hardware store only to be chased back
out by the two girls brandishing axes. They chased him into an electronics
store only to rush back out, being chased by Myles with a cattle prod. He
chased the girls into a antique shop, only to be chased back out by Ine and
Mari swinging broad swords at him. They chased him into the hardware store
only to be chased out again by a deranged Myles with an active chain saw.
Myles began to laugh demonically as he chased the girls. He stopped
suddenly, growling louder than the chain saw, stiriking a dramatic pose.
The girls ran down the hall as far and as fast away from him as they
possibly could. He then felt hundreds of eyes on him. He turned to the
right and revved the chain saw. The people screamed and went about their
business. He then turned to the left and revved it again. Those people
did the same as the others.
Myles shut off the chain saw and wiped his brow. A-ko stood off to the
side with C-ko hiding behind her. _Good job, ye bloody asshole! Ye've
just showed the lass yer true nature...to an extent. What'n the hell's the
matter wit'ye?_ A-ko smiled and walked over to Myles, C-ko happily
skipping behind her.
"You're the first one ever to scare off B-ko's goons!" A-ko said. "And
you did it for C-ko, didn't you?" Myles dropped the chain saw.
_C-KO!?!?!?!_ he shrieked, mentally.
"N-nae, la--!" he was interrupted as two mall security guards knocked him
to the ground and cuffed him. They began to drag him off. "I DID IT FER
YEE, LASS!!!" he screamed. A-ko turned to C-ko.
"You want me to save him?"
"Let's go do some more shopping."
"But..." she started, but was literally dragged by C-ko to the next
store.
Myles was struggling with the handcuffs as the guards dragged him along
the floor.
"It will be easier on you if you don't put up a struggle," one of them
said.
"But then, we like it when we have an excuse to beat the shit out of punks
like you," the other added.
"And I think that it'll be easier on you both if you let him go," a voice
off to the side of them said. The guards looked over to see a young man
with unruly brown hair and a leather trench coat standing before them with
his hands on his hips revealing that he wore a tee-shirt with an image of a
psychotic smiley face on it.
"Stay out of this, civilian."
"Ooo, I'm scared. Rent-a-cop's gonna hoit me...shake, shake, chatter...I
want my mommy," Craig said sarcastically.
"Craig! Ye buffoon! Don't be stoopid!" Myles yelled.
"You want to join your friend here?"
"No, my friend will be joining me, thank you," Craid said, walking over to
the guards. One of the guards drew his side-arm and fired at Craig as he
covered himself with his trench coat. Craig went down to the ground and
did not get up. The guard walked over to the body and looked down. Craig
jumped up off the floor.
'THAT HURT, ASSHOLE!!" he yelled. The guard jumped back a mile and then
took aim at Craig again. "Ooo, that's nice...you know something? MINE'S
BIGGER!!" Craig reached into his coat and wiped out a rather large-ish
handgun. Craig fired, severing the hand-cuffs off of Myles' wrists. The
guards pissed their pants.
"They don't pay us enough for this!" they screamed as they turned tail and
ran down the hallway. "RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!" Craig laughed and
then took a deep breath as he put his gun back into his coat.
"That's what you pulled on the dorm super, wasn't it?" Myles asked,
picking himself up off the floor. Craig nodded. "Where'd you get that?
Now where'd the lass go? Ye were shot! Where's she at, dammit! Are ye
alright? A-KO!! How'd ye survive? WHERE THE 'ELL IS ME A-KO??" Craig
lifted his hand up to stop Myles and then shook his coat. The bullet slugs
clattered to the ground.
"Kevlar-leather mesh. My cousin gave it to me when I graduated from high
school. Her 'business partner' said it wasn't his style, so she gave it to
me as a graduation gift. As for the gun, that's a CZ-75 semi-automatic.
They don't make 'em like that anymore. My cousin gave *that* to me for my
eighteenth birthday. Okay, your turn, what the hell was that all about?
And I don't know where *your* A-ko went."
"I was defending me lass's honor!" Myles replied, clutching his fist over
his chest. He then realized that he was no longer wearing the hand-cuffs.
He looked down to see them lying on the floor. He looked at Craig who only
sighed.
"It figures," Craig mumbled.
* * *
"I'm hungry, A-ko," C-ko said, as the two girls left yet another store.
"Let's go get some burgers," A-ko suggested.
"Okay," C-ko replied. The two friends walked over to the mall's food
court. C-ko picked the place, of course. A-ko was not happy about her
selection, but did not mind too much. Her first job was at Mod Burgers,
but not this branch in particular. It still brought back some
memories...bad memories... A-ko walked up to the counter and a young girl
with short, blue hair behind it bowed and smiled at her.
"Welcome to Mod Burger, I'm Akane, how may I help you?" she offered.
"I'd like two number four combos and..." she started and then turned to
C-ko. "What do you want, C-ko?"
"I'LL HAVE A KIDDIE MEAL WITH A CHOCOLATE SUNDAE AND COLORED SPRINKLES AND
A COLA TO DRINK!!" C-ko exclaimed, he mouth twice the size of her head, as
usual. Akane was a little more than stunned.
"Uh...ah...um...like, you want fries with that?" After a few moments,
A-ko and C-ko had their orders. Akane bowed again as they turned to leave.
"Arigato, come again," she said. A-ko and C-ko walked over to a booth and
sat down. They sorted out the food and began to chow down.
"What would you like to do next, C-ko?" A-ko asked.
"I dunno, maybe we can take a break from shopping and go see a movie,"
C-ko suggested.
"That'd be cool. There's a romantic movie playing today, you want to go
see that?" C-ko grinned from ear to ear.
"Sure," she said. A-ko studied C-ko's grin. _There's definitely
something different about her, I just wish I knew what it was. I wish
Myles would make a move...any move. You'd think the way he was so excited
when I asked him to date her, he'd be all over her. Although, I'll admit,
he has been hanging around us alot. Speak of the devil, there he is,_ A-ko
thought as she looked up to see Craig and Myles walking into the
restaurant.
They stepped in line. A blond-haired girl walked over to the other
register and turned it on.
"Like, I can help whose next," she said. Craig grinned from ear to ear
and zipped over in front of the open register. "Hi, like, welcome to Mod
Burger. Like, I'm Cherry, how may I help you?"
"Um, I'd like a cheeseburger, but hold the lettuce, hold the onion, hold
the cheese, hold the bun, hold the burger and hold it between your legs,"
Craig responded, grinning and moving his eyebrows up and down. Cherry
smiled.
"Cute joke," she said. The next thing Craig knew he was on the floor with
the biggest, reddest hand mark on his face that he had ever received.
"Now *that* he deserved," Myles muttered, shaking his head slowly. Craig
got up, walked over to Myles and handed him five hundred yen.
"Get me a number six combo," he said. "I'll go find us a place to sit."
Craig turned to see A-ko gesturing for him to come over. _Myles is going
to owe me *big* time!_ he thought, as he walked over to the booth.
"What's-a happenin', ladies?" he said, sitting down next to C-ko.
"Mind if you guys sit with us?" A-ko asked.
"Not at all, ah, here's Myles," Myles sat down next to A-ko, <it was
conveniently the only seat left in the booth>. He then looked at Craig and
smiled gratuitously. A-ko took notice of the smile. Craig grabbed his
drink and began to gulp it down.
"How'd you get away from those men?" C-ko asked, glaring at Myles. She
was a little annoyed that A-ko allowed two boys to sit with them and
interrupt their private lunch.
"Uh, Craig, here, saved the day," Myles said, pointing at Craig, who
laughed and then leaned back in his seat, putting his hands behind his
neck. His coat opened, revealing a that he wore a blue shirt with a big
red "S" in a yellow diamond. A-ko dropped her burger at the sight. She
then stood up and moved past Myles. _What a closeup of her ass!_ he
thought, grinning.
"Craig, is it?" she asked, Craig nodded. "Could I have a word with you?
In private?"
"Um...sure...I guess," he replied. A-ko took him by the arm and dragged
him across the restaurant to another booth. "Let go! Geez! What do you
want?"
"Would you mind explaining that?" she asked, pointing at his tee-shirt.
"This?" Craig laughed. "You wanted to talk to me in private about this?"
"Humor me," she retorted, flatly.
"Ahem. Don't tell me you've never heard of Superman."
"I-I've *heard* of him..." she lied.
"I should say so, judging from your strength, I'd say he's your father,"
Craig joked. A-ko looked at him, Craig realized that he must have said
something he should not have. The look that A-ko had given him was one of
hurt. She then quickly averted her attention to C-ko and Myles.
"They make a nice couple, don't you think?"
"NANI?!?!" Craig exclaimed. A-ko looked at Craig, confused.
"Myles...and...C-ko?" A-ko blinked. "You-you're kidding, right?"
"No."
"Um...heh heh...uh...no...er...mm...*snort*..." Craig looked over to his
friend who was sitting at the booth with C-ko. Myles was hunched over and
kept glaring at Craig. Thunder rolled from somewhere. C-ko was looking
out the window, not even acknowledging Myles.
_C'mon, A-ko...I wanna go...NOW!_ she thought.
"A-ko, there's something that I need to tell you," Craig said, looking
into A-ko's eyes. Myles had had enough. He stood up, made a bee-line
right for Craig, and dragged him out of his seat and out of the restaurant.
"That's quite enough," he said, with Craig in tow. A-ko stared in utter
amazement as Myles dragged someone at least twice his size across the floor
and out of the restaurant.
"[MYLES, WILL YOU FUCKING LET GO OF ME! YOU'VE JUST KILLED YOUR FUCKING
CHANCES, YOU PRICK!]" Craig yelled, in English. Myles released his grip.
_Shit, I've goon and pissed the lad off,_ Myles thought. _He only uses
English when he's pissed._ Craig stood up and brushed his coat off. "You
just ruined your fucking chances with A-ko, you moron!"
"What'n the hell are ye talkin' aboot?" Myles demanded.
"A-ko thinks you like C-ko!"
"NANI!?!"
"Exactly what I said. I was going to tell her that it was her that you
liked until you waltzed over and dragged me out of there! What'n the
hell's the matter wit'choo!" Craig yelled, waving his arms frantically up
and down.
"..." Myles stood there for a moment. Tears began to trickle down his
face as he dropped to his knees in front of his friend. "GOMEN NASAI!!!
I'M SO BLOODY SORRY! KIN YE EVER FORGIVE ME? PLEASE...YE GOTTA SET ME
LASS STRAIGHT FER ME! PLEASE!!!"
"Myles, you're attracting a crowd..."
"I DINNAE CARE! YE GOTTA DO IT FER ME! PLEASE!!!" Myles continued to
babble on until Craig could no longer take it. "Sorry about this pal,
but..." Craig wiped out his CZ-75 and butted Myles in the back of the head
with the handle of it. Myles began to see...
"Och! Look at the wee fairies..." As Myles fell to the ground, his last
word before blacking out was..."BEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" <--for all you "Dragon
Pink" fans...a bit of trivia...> Craig picked his friend up and walked
over to the nearest lounge. He set his friend on the couch, he was going
to stay with him until he saw the cutest pink-haired girl, wearing a
dispatcher uniform, he had ever seen and then followed her.
* * *
A-ko and C-ko walked in front of the theater. C-ko was happy again, she
finally would have A-ko all to herself...in a dark room...watching a
romantic movie. A-ko walked up to the ticket stand and ordered two tickets
for "The Day We Loved". C-ko was already at the concession stand ordering
two tubs of popcorn and two large colas. A-ko handed C-ko her ticket and
they entered the theather. C-ko skipped down the aisle and then plunked
herself in a seat that was far from the rest of the crowd. A-ko sat next
to her friend and accepted the popcorn and pop that C-ko had bought for
her.
After about five minutes, the room darkened and the movie started. The
credits rolled and the music was that of some classical overture. A-ko, of
course, did not recognize it. After about a half hour into the film, A-ko
was already getting whet. She was imagining herself in place of the
actresses on the screen, being wooed by the handsome actors. Her favorite
actor, Hiroe Shimazuki, was on the screen now and was beginning to make
love to an equally gorgeous actress. As the actress bent forward to kiss
Hiroe, A-ko closed her eyes and pursed her lips, imagining that it was she
who was being kissed. As Hiroe caressed the actress' breasts, A-ko felt as
if she too were being caressed by his strong-looking hands. A-ko looked
down to see a pair of small hands feeling her breasts out. A-ko's eyes
went wide. She followed the arms that were connected to the hands and
found that the arms were connected to...
"C-KO!" she cried, tossing her popcorn into the air, and spilling her pop
onto the floor. C-ko jumped back into her seat and gave A-ko an innocent
look. "What the hell were you doing?" she demanded, panting rather
heavily.
"I-I don't know what you mean," she replied, as if she actually believed
her own statement.
"SHHHHHHHHH!!" the crowd responded to the commotion. A-ko sat down and
glared at C-ko.
"Yes, you do!" she whispered, still frantic.
"Gomen...I..uh...got caught up in the moment," she said, smiling sweetly.
A-ko sat perplexed through the rest of the movie, her eyes wide and her
mouth like a straight line cracking across her face.
"You need a boyfriend, C-ko..."
"Gross! Why would I want a boyfriend with I got you, A-ko?"
"Uh...er...ah...um..."
"SHHHHH!" A-ko leaned back in her seat. _Could it be? No...she
isn't...no way... is she? Sure would explain a whole helluva lot..._ A-ko
thought. She did not watch the rest of the movie. In fact, even after the
credits rolled and the crowd had left, A-ko was still in shock.
--
Oni a.k.a. Greg Thompson
<AkoMagami@usa.pipeline.com>
Member, Red-Head Anime Girls Fan Club
Co-Founder and High Priest of The Holy Order of A-ko
-----Folder of the Holy Fuku-----
Co-author of Project A-ko: The College Years