ObDisclaimer: They're Azuma Kiyohiko's, not mine.

"UOOOOOH! Chiyo-chan, you made all this yourself?"

UOOOOOH!  Bobbi-kun, you wrote all this yourself?

Sorry, sugar.  Couldn't resist.  ^_^  Besides, it's a beautiful sound you've
given 'em.

"Hai!"

"Sugee!"

Chiyo giggled and smiled at her friends. She knew it was showing off a

bit,

but she couldn't help it, and besides, it made everyone happy, didn't it?
Tomo and Yukari-sensei were trying to decide which cake to eat first,

Gee, I would have expected Tomo to just be plowing through all of
Chiyo-chan's delicacies with the speed of a starved wolfhound.  Of course,
it may well be like this...

TOMO:  I cannot decide which to have... I shall eat them all!

whack<

YOMI:  Enough with the Kuno imitation.  You're moron enough as it is.

while
Kagura already had a cookie in her mouth and was reaching for her tea to
wash it down. Osaka had speared an odango on a toothpick and was dipping

it

in her tea,

And knowing her, the thing slipped off the toothpick into the tea, splashing
herself and anyone unlucky enough to be within range.

while Yomi was trying to look casual about eating the chocolate
cake in front of her.

YOMI:  la-di-da, I'm not eating... much.

Kurosawa-sensei was daintily nibbling on a cute pink
mocchi shaped like a rabbit. Sakaki had one of these in front of her as
well, but was simply staring at it instead of eating it, and seemed a bit
flushed for some reason.

Yup.  That's our Sakaki.  I love these characterizations.

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Chiyo cried suddenly, drawing everyone's attemtion.
"Otousan is here today! You'll all get to meet him!"

"Eh? Your father's here?" Tomo asked.

"Un! He's getting ready for a party tonight with a bunch of business
associates."

"Ooooh," everyone said. For some reason, Sakaki turned even redder...

"Sakaki-san, are you alright?"

Oh, hell no.

"Eh? Oh...ah....hai." Sakaki sipped her tea.

Just then, the door leading to the study from the parlour opened. A deep,
rich voice called out, "Chiyo-chan, are you out there?"

*That voice...* Sakaki thought.

"Hai, Otousan! I'm having tea with my friends!"

"Sou ka. Would you mind helping me out for a minute?"

"Hai!"

"Is it okay if I come out, then?"

Out, or in?  Aren't they in Chiyo-chan's room?

"Hai!"

The door opened farther, and a form emerged from the room beyond. Everyone
turned to look...

"..."

"..."

"...na-nani?"

"...yappari..."

"...aa! Chiyo-chan no chichi ya!"

"UOOOOOH! Chiyo's papa is a weird space cat!"

For truly, what had emerged from the study was a large, broad yellow
creature, vaguely cat-shaped, with cat ears and cat eyes, tiny legs, and
thin arms. "Yo," the creature called, waving.

"This...is...your father, Chiyo-chan?" Kurosawa-sensei asked.

"Hai!" Chiyo giggled.

The cat creature turned as it walked into the room, motioning toward its
back with one of its spindly arms. "Chiyo-chan, can you help with this
zipper? I'm having trouble reaching..."

With those arms, he should really have no trouble reaching.  Of course, with
those paws, *grasping* would be a bit difficult, now, wouldn't it?

"Hai!" Chiyo stood and walked over. Everyone watched as she unzipped the

cat

creature's back, and it fell away, revealing a dark-haired,
fair-complexioned Japanese man in his mid-thirties, wearing square,
wire-framed glasses. He smiled and waved at everyone.

Keitaro Urashima?!  What are you doing here?
MIHAMA 'KEITARO':  Same thing that Narusegawa, Motoko-chan, and Shinobu-chan
are doing here.
YOMI:  Narusegawa?!
SAKAKI:  Motoko..?
KAORIN:  I'm not Shinobu, I'm Kaorin!
TOMO:  Where'd you come from?
KAORIN:  Where Sakaki-san goes, I go!  Erm... if that's okay with you...
SAKAKI:  I don't mind.  (KAORIN sighs in delight)
CHIYO:  That's fine; make yourself at home!
MIHAMA-SAN:  Mm.  I should have known better.  If it were really them...
they would have grown up, too.

"Ah, that's better. That costume is a little hard to breathe in."

"You forgot to open the airholes, silly!" Chiyo giggled."

"..."

"..."

"Nice costume!"

"...yappari..."

"So it's not a neko papa."

"Of course it's not a neko papa, baka!"

"Awww, and the space cat theory made so much sense, too..."

Yes, especially if you think of Chiyo-chan as a pod person.

"Anyway, it's nice meeting you all, but I have to finish getting ready for

a

costume party tonight. See you later!" With a wave, Chiyo's father headed
upstairs, cat costume under one arm.

"Otousan's really nice, don't you think?" Chiyo asked.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...un."

Very cute, Lurker-kun.  It almost explains things.  Now, about the
bulletproof aspect, and the whole flying thing...

~ELL at 66.6% efficiency~

So when you're up to, say, 90%, will we be seeing more of Aftermanga Daioh?

Itsu mo,
Ucchan  ^_^

(who's considering a citrusy fic based on the statistic that five out of
every seven Japanese girls are sexually active by their third year in high
school, leading the cast - individually, of course - to one conclusion: "So
that means the only ones left out are Chiyo-chan... and me.")


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