CHAPTER 9- THE NEW BEGINNING
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All characters used are either my friends or copyrights of the original
authors. In this one, only Rumiko Takahashi's characters appear.
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I woke up, still sore from my fall and being shackled for several hours.
I now want to know why people consider chains and whips to be arousing. I may
have to ask Lum about that, because I really don't think Shinobu would like to
talt about that subject. I still felt like sleeping, but Kitsune wouldn't let
me. He kept tickling me with his tongue until I got out of the bed. I limped
to my closet to pick out my outfit. It was cold today, so I decided on the
overalls Lum lent to me and a green turtleneck. I also decided that since
green hair was not weird in Tomobiki, I could wash this awful dye out of my
hair. I went down the stairs and asked Mrs.Moroboshi if I could use the sink.
Unfortunately, Mrs.Moroboshi was using the sink to wash the dishes, so I
wouldn't be able to for another hour. "Emiko-chan," Mrs.Moroboshi asked,
"did you have any breakfast yet? It's not healthy not to have breakfast." I
was hungry- I didn't get to eat anything since yesterday morning except for
that strip of sushi Megane gave me. A surge of hatred ran through my thoughts,
as the name Megane entered them, followed by a strange sense of pity. I
apoologized to Mrs.Moroboshi for not eating. "That's okay. I heard you had a
busy day yesterday." She continued. "Do you want some toast?" I thanked her,
then I thought to myself, "Why do I feel sorry for that slimeball! If he had
finished what he had tried to do..." I cold shiver went up my spine. I had
heard of what happened to victims of abuse, and I did not want to even think
about what it would be like. "Still," I thought to myself, "why was Megane
acting like this? He never even tried to do anything like this to Lum, and he
knew I wasn't her. What happened?"
Lum entered the house through the window. While most people would
consider this unusual, maybe even rude, you have to remember that Oni houses
usually do not have doors. Once you think about it, the reason beomes obvious.
Lum then asked, "Emiko-chan, are you ready to learn how to land, datcha?" I
nodded, which hurt several muscle groups. Lum then added, "I understand if
you want to rest today, you must have really suffered yesterday. However,
flying is a great way to relieve stress, especially when Dahling is
unfaithful!" There was a knock on the door. Mrs.Moroboshi answered. a
slightly smoldering Ataru and Cherry walked in.
"Hi Mom! Anything to eat!" Ataru said this right before he collasped,
still smoldering. It was now Cherry's turn to speak.
"Hello, Emiko-san. I sense you have been influenced by evil spirits."
Lum and Mrs.Moroboshi opened their mouths in surprise, I just frowned. Lum
then asked,
"What do you mean by evil spirits?" I was afraid. I was afraid that
Cherry would reveal how I became an Oni. Lum would zap me within an inch of my
life, the Moroboshis would kick me out, and Ataru would no longer be the
laughingstock of the town. Only Shinobu, Ten, and Ran knew my secret, and for
their own reasons, each of them decided to keep it a secret. Cherry then
explained.
"It is kind of you to listen to this old monk, and it is even kinder of
you to provide me with a meal." Of course, we hadn't PLANNED on making your
lunch- too bad Anita and her almost-toxic cooking went to that bookstore again.
"Emiko-san, remember what Megane was thinking yesterday?" I'm not a telepath,
but I could tell what Megane was thinking. Cherry continued. "That
unfortunate boy's thoughts were clouded, confused. He was posessed." All 4 of
us, even Ataru, were gaping at the suggestion. Mrs.Moroboshi then asked, "If
it's a demon, why hasn't it posessed my worthless son already?" Ataru stared
at his mother. Cherry then continued. "Good question, one which I'm not sure
about. Just be warned, this demon is dangerous and obviously unpredictable,
and it will be doubly difficult since my darling niece is on her honeymoon.
Maybe your roommate can be of use here." I nodded. Mrs.Moroboshi announced
that lunch was ready. After gulping down our food, much to the disappointment
of Mrs.Moroboshi, we all thanked her and prepared to go and do whatever we felt
like doing. Mrs.Moroboshi made a comment about never getting a day off, even
on Sunday. I guess one of bad things about being a girl is that you have to
get married one day.
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After I washed out the dye in my hair, I took off with Lum so she could
give me some advanced flying lessons. Never before had I felt such joy from
doing anything as flying in the air. While we were flying, I asked Lum the
question:
"Why do you love him?"
Lum thought about it for a second, then said, "Because he's Dahling!" I
shrugged. Then I asked, "Why is he darling?" Lum answered this question even
quicker than the previous one.
"Because I love him." Lum smiled as she said those words. I was tempted
to start asking "Why?" over and over until Lum used her 330 Mega Shock on me,
but knowing my luck, she would happily answer the question as long as I kept
asking. We continued our flying lesson. Lum was teaching me some advanced
flying techniques.
"Emiko, this is a loop." Lum did a 360 in the air. "This is useful for
quick turning, and for when you need to kick someone in the air." She showed
the manuever to me again. "Now try it." The first couple of times I tried it
I got dizzy and almost crash-landed, but the third time I was able to get it
down decently, and in ten minutes I was almost as good as Lum. Lum then said,
"Very good, Emiko-chan. You're learning quick. It took me a whole day before
I learned not to get dizzy. Now you need to practice your landing." My ankle
twinged at the thought of landing. "Now, Emiko, remember to land at exactly
the right velocity, not too slow, and not too fast like you did last time." I
began to descend, slowing down at a gradual rate, until I stopped. I thought
to myself,
"Yes! I can land without killing someone!" My joy was short-lived,
because I was still 10 feet above the ground. I fell, landing on someone. I
quickly apologized, then looked at his face. It was a handsome face, one I had
recognized before. Two anonymous-looking men in suits picked him up, then
stared at me. The young man said,
"No apology is necessary. I should apologize for being in the way of your
landing. You look familiar, are you related to Lum-san?" He then asked for my
name.
"My name is Emiko. As for being Lum's sister- I'm sorry. I'm just her
friend." After all the experiences I have had already, I was already beginning
to view the people of Tomobiki as my friends, especially Shinobu, who was kinf
to me when she didn't have to be. "I'm just wondering, are you Shutaro
Mendo-san?"
Mendo replied, "Yes, I am. I am honored that you know me." This guy was
smooth, I'll give him that. He was staring at me, just below my neck, in a
very subtle way. Lum landed near us, gracefully as ever. She waved to Mendo
and said,
"Hi Shutaro, how's Asuka?"
"Lum-san, good to see you again. As for Asuka, we are getting married on
Valentine's Day! I'm so happy!" I was surprised at how happy Mendo's voice
was. Maybe Asuka was a positive influence on him. "As for Asu-chan's problem,
her mother has it almost cured, just make sure that Moroboshi stays away from
her until the wedding!"
Lum was ecstatic over Mendo's announcement. "Valentine's Day! How
romantic! We're getting married on the day after Christmas! It's going to be
a lovely wedding on my homeworld! We're going to be so happy and I'll have
Dahling's babies and... Emiko-chan, what about you?"
I was shocked at the question. No one had asked me yet about my love
life. "Ummm, I don't have anyone. I guess I'm still looking for the right
one." Lum then said,
"It's good to wait until you find your perfect love like Dahling!" Mendo
shook his head in denial, then told me:
"Emiko-san, it's good to have ideals, but you have to enjoy yourself.
Without pleasure there is no joy, no fulfillment in life. Find yourself a good
boyfriend, you don't have to get serious with him unless you really love him."
I was a little irritated at Mendo lecturing me on how to get guys. I know what
guys want, I used to be one! I then told Mendo,
"Living for pleasure- isn't that Ataru-san's philosophy?" Both Mendo and
Lum looked annoyed at me. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Mendo than
shouted out, "What makes you think I'm like that idiot Moroboshi!!! I'm
nothing like him!!" Now Lum was really upset. I backed off, I hadn't
suffered Lum's electric attack before, and I was not sure if it would even
affect me, but I did not want to be the guinea pig in an impromptu experiment.
Fortunately Lum shot the blast at Mendo.
"SHUTARO NO BAKA!!! Don't speak that way about Dahling!" Mendo was on
the ground, slightly charred. I walked off with Lum on our way home, then we
run into Cherry again.
"Do not go that way, it is unlucky for you." As much as Cherry irritated
me, and probably the rest of Tomobiki, I was smart enough to know the wisdom in
his words. So I asked Lum if there was another way home.
"Hai! There's a shortcut over here!" We started to take the shortcut,
then we heard
"Also do not go that way, it is even more unlucky." He was really getting
annoying, but I held back the urge to zap him. I then said, "I'm staying
right here then. Cherry, do you have anything to eat?" While this was not
very likely, I figured that the best way to avoid bad luck was not to go
anywhere. Cherry was getting a little irritated himself.
"If so stay here, it is also unlucky for you. I do have some boiled
cabbage and rice if you want to steal this dinner from an impoverished monk."
I was now really upset, so I wanted to see if there was any way out of
this. That would really ruin Cherry's day.
"Let's see, Cherry, if I walk that way, then that way, fly around in a
circle seven times, since the theme song, and eat dinner with you, then would I
still be unlucky?"
Cherry was now REALLY getting upset. No one had ever tried something this
elaborate to get out of his predictions of doom. "If you did all that, you
would be crazy, and you still would be unlucky. If you don't mind, could you
just accept your unlucky fate?" Now I was getting mad. Lum was giggling at
the entire argument, then she said,
"Hey, Cherry, am I lucky today, datcha?"
Cherry then said, "Aside from the fact that you are engaged to the
unluckiest and most worthless man alive, today is a normal day for you." Lum
was furious. She nodded at me, and I nodded back. Cherry was going to pay. I
then said, "Hey, Cherry. I think this is a really unlucky time for you."
Cherry then said, "Oh shit."
"DOUBLE DIVINE RETRIBUTION!" Two blasts, one from the ground and one from
the sky, struck Cherry flat in the chest. Cherry crumpled over, saying "I
guess today wasn't as lucky as I thought." We both said "Gomen na sai! Bye
Bye!" in our cutest voices, though I still need to work on mine, then we flew
back towards the Moroboshi home, not caring about Cherry's stupid predictions.
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END CHAPTER 9
