CHAPTER 6-KEEP THE LOVERS APART! EMIKO'S FLYING LESSON!
All characters used are either my friends or copyrights of the original
authors.
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I got up at noon the next day. What do you call jet lag when you've
travelled across dimensions? I got dressed- picked a simple outfit- blue
jeans an orange blouse, and my beret, and went down the stairs to be Moroboshi
kitchen. I saw Mrs.Moroboshi doing her housework, and said, "Ohayoo gozaimasu!
How are you today?"
Mrs.Moroboshi replied, "Oh, typical! That idiot son of mine messed up
the toilet again, and no one ever helps me out. If you're looking for your
friends, Anita and Shinobu went out to lunch. You slept really late, are you
feeling alright? Ataru went to his classes, and Lum and Ten went out to the
park."
I felt kind of guilty watching Ataru's mother do all this work, so I
offered to make her some lunch. I looked in the kitchen and found some rice,
chicken, and vegetables, so I mixed them together and made a quick stir-fry.
We enjoyed the meal, and I had scraps for Kitsune, who was in Shinobu's
luggage. Shinobu said her parents still refused to allow a pet fox in their
home, so it stayed in the Moroboshi houosehold. We really didn't have a
choice, most kennels do not take foxes, and with Kitsune's shapeshifting
abilities it might be dangerous. Mrs.Moroboshi said that my cooking was pretty
good, but I need to learn how to use spices better, and she taught me the exact
recipes used by her mother, and the mother before her. I took notes- this may
be useful. Then someone knocked at the door. Mrs.Moroboshi answered. Two
people came in. One was dark-haired, kind of handsome, and wearing a business
suit with a cloak. The other was a midget whose face was fortunately concealed
by a cavernous hat. Cherry turned to me and said,
"Your face is cursed, one of the most cursed I have seen. I come to ask a
favor of you."
I repsonded, "Do you know that telling someone that they are cursed is not
the best way to get a favor from someone? However, what do you want?" I was
kind of bored, so I wanted something to do other than help Mrs.Moroboshi with
the housework. Cherry then introduced Tsubame to me (not that I needed an
introduction) and said:
"As you know, my niece is getting married to this man tomorrow. I think
you are one of the bridesmaids." I cringed at the thought of being a
bridesmaid. "Tradition states that it is unlucky for a couple to see each
other the day before the wedding, so I want you and Mr.Ozono to spend the
afternoon together. If you see this woman-" He showed me a picture of Sakura.
"run. Also pick up your dress here." Cherry hands me a detailed map of the
bridal shop. "be there at 4:00. Sakura won't be there until 5:00, and there
may be some alterations needed. Son-in-law, no magic, please." Tsubame
introduced himself to me in perfect English, with a south British accent.
"Hello, my name is Tsubame Ozono. Glad to meet you. What is your name?"
I responded by saying, "I go by Emiko. Emiko Morisato." I still have a
hard time accepting that as my name. "So you spent some time in England?"
"Yes. Could you tell by the accent?"
"I remember that accent. Where exactly was it? Cambridge, Huntington?"
"Close. Petersboro. That's about fifteen miles north of Huntington." I
remembered that place from my childhood. Some of my best friends came from
Huntington, and I rembered going to the Gypsy festival there when I was seven.
"Are you ready to go? I'll take you a couple of places, then we will get your
dress." Tsubame seemed to be a nice guy, which was not what I expected. We
said good-bye to Mrs.Moroboshi, and left.
First we went to a restaurant, since neither of us had anything to eat
today. We found a local beefbowl establishment, and ordered two beefbowls. I
noticed four rather ugly young men staring at me. I glanced with the corner of
my eye, and I recognized them. Megane, Perm, Kakugeri, and what was the fourth
guy's name? It didn't matter because they were losers. Now I remember, the
short one's name is Chibi. I then remembered their low intelligence and how
much I looked like a certain idol that they worshipped. I was really nervous.
Tsubame looked at me and asked, "Is something wrong?"
I replied, "No. It's just that the bowl is a little hot." This was an
obvious lie, but I guessed correctly that Tsubame would be a little thick about
things like subtlety. I then said, "Do you want to go anywhere else?"
Tsubame said he could show me a few other places, and so we left after
paying the bill. We headed toward the bridal shop, thenI noticed one of the
stormtroopers following us. It was Megane. I told Tsubame that he was
following me, and that I shouldn't worry about it. I then said,
"What if he tries to take advantage of me?" That was cheesy, but I just
can't stand that loser. Tsubame then said,
"If he tries anything- I'll handle him." The way Tsubame said this, he
almost sounded like he would enjoy hurting Megane. Tsuabme then asked if I'd
like to come in here for a while. It was a weird bookstore, full of unnatural
jewelry and weaponry. It was called the Golden Beaver. We went inside. i met
the shopkeeper, who looked really strange. He asked me what I was doing here.
"I'm with him." I pointed at Tsubame.
"Oh, he's one of our best customers. Him and his fiancee."
"They're getting married tomorrow."
"That's great. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I'm just looking." I looked around the store. Lots of books. There
were books on demon recognition, palmistry, ritualization, and even some manga.
I also found some jewelry and clothes. I decided to get some manga, the book
on demons,jewelry, and this black cloak, because it looked cool. I went to the
register along with Tsubame who had several items. Tsubame then asked,
"Why are you getting these items?"
"Simple, I like them and think they're interesting. Why are you getting
what you bought?"
"I need them for my line of work. I'll pay for your items, they're not
too expensive."
"Thanks, Ozono-san."
Overall, the price was about 10,000 yen. It was 3:30, so we were behind
schedule. As soon as we left the store, we ran into Shinobu and Anita.
"Hi, Emiko, ready to get your bridal dress?"
Shinobu then said Hello to Tsubame and congratulated him on his wedding
with Sakura. Then Shinobu told me how cute the dresses made us look. I looked
at Anita, and she nodded at me. We both hated being cute. Anita then asked me
what was in this store. I told her that there was a bunch of cool books and
other stuff. We then headed to be bridal shop.
I grudgingly entered the bridal shop and met the shopkeeper. She was a rather
large woman,but she seemed to be really nice. She took me to the dressing room
and gave me my dress. It was a red dress, very formal. She said, "Try it on."
It felt soft, but it was a little tight at the chest. I told the shopkeeper,
who made the necessary alterations. Then she game me my accessories, heels,
gloves, and undergarments. I asked,
"Are there undergarments for bridesmaids?"
She then noticed my head, and said,
"You have pretty horns, just like the girl who came in here yesterday.
Are you two related?" I then said,
"No. I guess we just both have horns."
"If you're asking, for weddings of this type, the bridesmaids have to wear
exactly the same clothes. that includes undergarments." I thought it was kind
of stupid, but who am I to argue with tradition?
It was 4:20, and I remembered what Cherry said about not seeing Sakura
before the wedding. So I made sure that Tsubame left quickly, and we raced
home, clothes in hand. As we entered the Moroboshi household, I see Ataru and
Ten watching FPWL (Female professional wrestling league). Ataru then asks me,
"Are you related to the lovely Emika Morisato? Your names are so close you
must be related." I became furious. Even with my name change I could not
escape my fate of having similar names to wrestlers. I zapped Ataru. Ten then
said,
"Two idiots fighting. This is more interesting than the match." Just as
I was about to send Jariten to the place where all little dead Onis go,
Mrs.Moroboshi announces that it's dinnertime. Everyone, including Tsubame,
rushed to take a seat.
A lot of the conversation that evening focused around tomorrow's wedding.
I still think having to wear red panties is kind of ridiculous. Anita then
came up to me and said
"Thanks for telling me about that store. It's so cool! I was able to get
power bracelets, wards, spellbooks, and all other sorts of cool stuff!" She
then showed me her haul. Then she took out a BIG sword. "I got this on
special for 200,000 yen. I finally got my own soulsword. I love big swords!"
This was the happiest Anita had been since she came into my life. This was
also the most afraid of her I've ever been in my life, including those times
she tried to kill me. I then asked,
"That store was real? I thought it was a joke shop. Well, at least I got
this lovely cloak." I showed Anita the cloak.
"Cool! You know what that is? That cloak magically protects you from
fire." Jariten then floated over to us. He then asked,
"What's all this junk?" I just wanted to get that brat away from me, or
make him Chibi-Usa's plaything. I told him,
"You wouldn't understand. This is girl talk." It wasn't, but I just did
not want to talk to that brat. Jariten began to get increasingly angry.
"I'm not a little kid. I know about these things. Now tell me what it is
you're talking about."
My rage was increasing. I remembered thae he was partially repsonsible
for my current form. "Get lost, you brat!" Normally I am not that rude, but I
will make exceptions sometimes. I felt this flame coming at me, and I turned my
back, half expecting to become charcoal. I felt the heat end. I checked
myself. No burn marks, no pain. I felt good. Now I turned toward Ten-toast
and smiled. Then, in my best demented voice, I said,
"Now that wasn't very nice. Little kids who are not nice deserve to be
spanked." I got up, still smiling, and headed toward Ten-toast. Ten-toast
flew away as fast as he could, crying "Lum-chan, Lum-chan! Help!"
A minute after scaring Jariten away, an angry Lum came to me and said "Why
did you try to kill Ten-chan?" Her battle aura was up, and I had no desire to
start a fight. Not that I'm afraid of her, it's just that I don't- enough with
the bullshit. Lum is scary when she's mad! So I said
"I wasn't goint to hurt him, just spank him. He did try to burn me to a
crisp."
Anita then agreed, saying "He's such a brat. Does anyone ever teach him
some manners?"
Lum still looked angry. This could be painful. I tried to distract her.
"Lum-chan, what's flying like?"
Lum looked amazed at me for a moment. Then I gave her a warm, friendly
smile, trying to get her to think of something other than fried Oni. She then
said, "You've never been flying? It's the biggest thrill in the world! I'll
show you. It's much easier if you change into this." She handed me a
tiger-striped bikini. I still had the bikini Ran-chan left for me, but I never
used it. I went in the bathroom and put on the bikini. With the exception of
hair color and facial expressions, I looked almost exactly like Lum. We headed
into Ataru's room. Fortunately, for both Ataru's and my sake, he had a night
class, so we wasn't there to glomp on me. Lum left through the window, telling
me to jump out. I do not need to explain how reluctant I was to jump out the
window, since jumping out a window in my old body would equal pain and maybe
death. Lum had to drag me out the window.
Lum then taught me the basics of flying; how to climb, how to steer,
how to react to wind currents. Flying was much easier than I expected it to
be, especially because it was dark. We played in the air for over an hour,
each minute more enjoyable than the last. The only problem was that I was
slower than Lum, but I was faster than that brat. I looked at my watch, it was
midnight. I then said to Lum, "This was great! But I have to get to sleep,
we have a busy day tomorrow!"
Lum then said, "Oh, yes! Sakura-sensei's wedding. Now, you can practice
your landing. For safety, you should land on the ground."
Flying was now fairly easy for me. Landing was another problem. I tried
to do it as gracefully as possible, but I landed wrond and slightly twisted my
ankle. It hurt, but it was nothing serious. Lum-chan then landed and asked if
I was OK. I said yes, only a little pain. Then she told me next time to slow
down more before I land. We went inside, took showers, then went to bed.
Tomorrow was Tsubame's wedding, and I want to get a good night's sleep.
END CHAPTER 6
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Note:
I took plenty of liberties with Tsubame's character. The part about Tsubame
going to England is not in UY, but he was in Europe for a while, so I assumed
England. I hope this doesn't earn me an OOC flag.
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