"We... really shouldn't be talking about this anyway." he mumbled nervously, brushing his bangs out of his face. He turned away from them, gazing into the light blue sky.
"Long, I'm sorry." she apologized, taking a few steps closer to him and putting one hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright." he replied, moving one hand up to rest over hers. "I know, you were just trying to comfort me." he shook his head. "But it wasn't working." She set her free hand on his other shoulder and massaged deeply into their tense muscles. "Jannu... I know you hate these doubts I have about myself, but you cannot fight them for me." He broke from her grasp to turn and look into her face. "Although, I thank you for trying."
"Oh Long." she sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him until his face was next to her skin. She tenderly kissed his lips, wishing that there was something more she could do.
"Aw, go get a room you two!" Yugo teased. Alice elbowed him in the stomach. "Heeeey! Would you cut that out?" Shina and Long stoped kissing and Shina glared at Yugo.
"Maybe if you would stop being so obnoxious!" Alice complained.
"If you're trying to be funny Yugo, you're really doing it the wrong way." Kenji said.
"Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor?" Yugo demanded.
"Not as disgusting as yours." Uriko answered, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Anyways, we were supposed to be going to see the leopards, right?" Shina reminded Yugo.
"Yeah, yeah." he agreed. "Man, this sucks. How come the only animals they have here are you and Long's beast forms?"
"What are you asking me for?" Shina grumbled. "Do I look like the zoo's manager to you!?!"
"I wanna see wolves." Yugo whined.
"Cut it out Yugo!" Alice yelled in his ear. "Just lead the way to the leopards already!" Yugo groaned and reluctantly started off into the crowded walkway again, the others trailing idly behind him.
"You can be funny without being rude you know." Kenji pointed out.
"Oh shut up!" Yugo whined. "It's not like I'm trying to offend anyone! Why can't people just get used to it?"
"What a selfish thing to say." Alice complained. "You have more consideration for others than that Yugo... don't you?"
"No, I don't!" he stubbornly replied. "There, now do you hate me?"
"Come on Yugo, cut it out." Kenji pleaded, poking him in the side. Yugo ignored Kenji and silently stormed off, leading their way through the crowd.
"Why is he always so moody?" Uriko asked.
"He's just grumpy because he works too hard and doesn't get much sleep." Kenji explained. "He was so tired last night... he did the funniest thing..."
"What was it? What was it?" Uriko enthusiastically demanded, jumping up and down.
"Well, you see..." Kenji began. "It all started for me when I heard this noise from downstairs..."
Kenji shot up out of bed and rubbed the sleep out of his tired eyes, wondering why he heard the kitchen cupboards slamming. Yugo, why can't you ever go to sleep at a decent hour? I wanna get some sleep before tomorrow... He glanced over at the clock. Correction, today. He shakilly climbed out of bed and walked out of his room and down the stairs. Once he got down there he realized that there were no lights on at all, so he walked over to the kitchen and peered into the darkness. Yugo was standing over a counter, using a knife to spread something over something in his hand.
"Yugo... what are you doing?" Kenji mumbled, his voice creaking because of fatigue. He walked up to the leader of the WOC and discovered that he was spreading peanut butter directly over his own hand.
"I'm makin' a sandwitch!" was Yugo's sleepy reply.
"Yugo!" Kenji cried, snatching the knife from his hands and leading him towards the sink. "I told you not to keep staying up so late! Now we're gonna have to wash this off." Yugo stared down at his own hands, finally realizing the he had spread peanut butter over them.
"Heyyyy, where'd the bread go!?!" he demanded. Kenji turned the tap water on and started washing the peanut butter off of Yugo's slimy hands. Then Yugo let out a huge brup that smelled like wheat bread.
"Ugh! Yugo!" Kenji whined, backing away from the smell. He turned off the tap water and dried Yugo's hands. "You need to go to bed."
"But I'm hungry!" Yugo protested as Kenji tunred him towards the stairs. "I wanna sandwitch!"
"I'll tell you what." Kenji reasoned with him. "Why don't you just go lie down in your bed and I'll make you a sandwitch, okay?"
"Okay." Yugo agreed, stumbling up the stairs. Kenji watched him to make sure he sucessfully climbed the stairs and entered his room before turning back towards the kitcken. He spotted an open container of peanut butter and loaf of bread sitting next to the closed jar of jelly. Good thing I got here before he could get into that, Kenji thought. He took a few pieces of bread and closed the bag, putting it back in the fridge, and used the peanut butter and jelly to make a sandwitch. After putting everything back in it's place he set the sandwitch on a small plate and walked up to Yugo's room. Hm... I wonder if I should have also brought him a glass of milk? Nah, he is probably too tired to care anyway.
He climbed all the way up the stairway and peered into Yugo's room, only to find him snoring peacefully, wrapped in his blankets.
"I was tired!" Yugo defended while every else laughed until their stomachs were sore. "Kenji, you little runt! Come here..." Yugo stalked over to Kenji who hid behind Uriko.
"No kidding about being tired." Alice agreed, trying to supress the huge smirk that covered her face. Kenji ran off and Yugo chased after him, grabbing him by one arm and pulling him down into a headlock so he could give him a noogie.
"Stop it Yugo! I was tired too..." Kenji whined, struggling in Yugo's grasp as Yugo rubbed his fist into Kenji's hair. Finally Yugo released his struggling victim.
"How did that speech go anyway?" Long asked Yugo.
"Uh... it went." Yugo replied. "At least it's over. I think it would have went a lot better if I had been awake."
"It wasn't a bad speech though." Kenji complimented. "Who'd you steal it from Yugo?"
"Very funny." Yugo muttered.
"I helped him with it." Long admitted.
"He did a great job too, didn't he?" Shina asked.
"I knew it didn't sound like Yugo." Kenji commented.
"I didn't think so either." Alice contributed.
"Am I really that bad!?!" Yugo wondered.
"It's not that..." Alice comforted.
"It's just that we know you well enough to tell when you didn't write something." Kenji finished. "Thanks Long, you really helped."
"It really wasn't a problem." he replied. "I simply did what I could."
"Don't be so modest, tiger." Shina said, nudging him with one elbow. "You were great!" The two shared a smile.
"Yay, way to go Master Long!" Uriko cheered. Long blushed a bit and bowed gracefully to his student.
"Now, where are those leopards?" Shina demanded.
"This way." Yugo said, leading them through the crowd. "We're almost there." They shortly came up to another exhibit, this one was closed up inside a building and they walked in to peer at the leopards through walls of thick glass. The animals moved gracefully through the exhibit, their lean musclular forms delicately picking their way through the green foliage.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Shina stated, eagrely watching them.
"What's so great about cats anyways?" Yugo wondered.
"Everything!" Uriko shouted.
"They're got huge, sharp, claws and fangs!" Shina said, scratching at the air. "Not to mention strength, speed, power, grace, stealth... and anything else a great fighter needs. Cats are the ultimate killing machines! Unlike some other animals..."
"Aw, what have cats got that wolves don't!?!" Yugo pretested.
"Just about everything I mentioned." Shina argued.
"Wolves are very powerful and graceful creatures too!" Yugo retaliated.
"Not as graceful as cats!" Uriko argued.
"What about moles?" Kenji wondered.
"Uh, they've got really huge claws and powerful muscles for digging..." Uriko suggested.
"What about rabbits?" Alice asked. The room was silent for a minute while everyone tried to think of something. "Hey!"
"Well, rabbits have got really strong legs, right?" Yugo said. "So maybe they are good for kicking and jumping?"
"Thanks Yugo!" Alice cried, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek.
"Hey, knock it off!" Yugo whined, pushing her off of him and rubbing his head. "I think I'm starting to get a headache."
"What a lousy excuse!" Alice muttered.
"I'm not kidding!" Yugo grumbled, rubbing his forehead a little more and then letting out a big yawn.
"Why don't you go home and take a nap?" Kenji suggested.
"But, if I do that I'll be asleep all day." Yugo replied.
"Yeah, but you need the rest." Kenji persuaded.
"But if he goes home then we go home too." Uriko whined.
"I needed to get in some more studying for my medical course anyway." Alice shrugged.
"I thought you were already a nurse." Yugo said.
"I am." Alice answered Yugo. "But I'm taking a little refresher course just to keep up with the latest changes in the medical field, so I really should go home and study."
"But I don' wanna..." Uriko whined, Kenji cupped one hand over her mouth and whispered in her ear.
"You can come over if you want..." he offered. "just don't make a big deal about it, okay?"
"Of course." she smiled.
"But there's no point in hanging around here without you guys." Shina protested. "Although I guess Long and I could just go back to my place, you wanna do that tiger?"
"Just remember that I'm not spending the night again." he said. "I have work tomorrow you know."
"So what? I do too." she said.
"Oooo, spending the night huh?" Yugo teased.
"In the guest room you idiot!" Shina shrieked, leaning over to punch him in the jaw. "Ow..." Yugo whined. "I guess I really could use some sleep."
"Alright, everyone back to the car." Alice commanded, grabbing Yugo's shoulders and steering him in the direction of the exit with Kenji and Uriko folowing after her.
"What a waste of money." Shina grumbled, running after them. "Hey, next time get some sleep before deciding to let me take you out somewhere, Yugo!"
Long and Shina climbed into the sleek black sports car and Shina drove them down the highway towards home. He sat silently in the passenger seat, looking out the side window into the beautiful blue sky, an occasional cloud coming into view as they turned a corner.
"So, what is this strange fascination you have with the sky?" Shina questioned.
"I guess I don't see it as often lately as I did while I was a hermit, maybe I miss it." Long explained. "Some nights, when the weather was nice, I would just take my little bed of leaves outside and gaze at the stars before falling asleep. The ground was much softer than the uneven bottom of the rocky cave."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Shina agreed, thinking about how uncomfortable it would be to sleep on bed of jagged rocks.
"After ten years of living surrounded by nature's beauty, it is strange to be behind man-made walls again." Long continued. "If I am going to change my life, I'd better get used to it... but my heart will always yearn for the beauty of the Chinese wilderness..." Long trailed off, remembering his old life.
"The sky looks almost the same, no matter where you are. Especially at night, but also during the day..." He trailed off again, staring into the beautiful blue sky once more. It reminded him of how peaceful it had been to be surrounded by nothing but plants, animals, and the earth. "Ah, the bright, clear blue of the sky. Shining like the light of day into my lonely world," Just like my darling Jannu's eyes... "only to be broken by the fall of the glorious night, or bordered by a whisp of a cloud."
"Aw, how... romantically poetical." Shina muttered, keeping her eyes on the road. It sounds like it would be nice enough to try once or twice, but if I had to stay a hermit for any length of time it would drive me nuts! Speaking of which, sometimes I think Long stayed out there a little too long for his sanity... "So, what are you planning to do with your life anyway, tiger? Now that you're just another civilian?"
"I'm not really sure to tell you the truth." he answered. "But I do know that the last thing I'm going to do is waste anymore time. I'm going to make something of myself... although, I don't know exactly what." Shina laughed gailly at his indecision.
"Well then Long, maybe while you're out here, you will find something to make of yourself..." she replied seriously, changing to a joking tone, "Although, don't stick around Yugo too much, or you might end up making yourself into a jackass." Long let out a hearty laugh at that and Shina started laughing so hard that it took all her effort just to concentrate on driving her car along the road. Eventually they calmed down and enjoyed a quite ride back to her house. It was not long before they got there, parked the car and went inside.
"So, what do you want to do Long?" Shina asked once they got in the door.
"Uh... I don't know." he replied, remembering what had happened the last time he'd said that. "Just don't go stretching your back again."
"Why? You think we'll end up on my bed again?" she teased. "Maybe I should..."
"I really don't understand how you can joke about something like that."
"Yeah, well it was just a joke... Anyway I'm really sorry about that." Shina admitted, walking over to the couch and sitting down. "I mean, I guess I just got tired of all the talking you know? How come people always say one thing and think something else? I just had to figure out how you really felt... Anyway, I didn't mean to scare you off."
"You didn't." Long replied, smiling as he sat down on the couch beside her. "If anything my own lack of self restraint is what scared me..."
"Why does that scare you?" she wondered.
"I guess I am afraid I'll do something I'm not supposed to..." he answered, his face turning a little pink.
"Oh really? Like what?" she asked suspiciously. "Do I turn you on Long?"
"Uh..." his face turned bright red. "I'm not going to answer that question."
"I see." she muttered, grinning.
"I guess I didn't have to answer it." he moaned. "I've got such a guilty conscience..."
"What is so terrible about that?" she demanded.
"I just... shouldn't be thinking about you like that." he explained. He was about to say more, but she leaned over to stop his mouth with a kiss.
"I don't mind." she whispered in his ear, sticking her tongue out to lick at it.
"Ah!" he shouted, jumping back in his seat and giving her a startled glance. "What the...? What were you trying to...?" She burst into laughter, interrupting him.
"You can be so silly sometimes." And then the phone rang. Shina growled befroe running into the kitcken and picking it up. Long walked after her. "Hello? Oh, hi Dad... Yeah, everything's going fine... Okay, what is it? WHAT!?!" Shina slammed the phone down on the counter and pounded it with her fist before stomping away from the phone. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!!" she screamed.
"Jannu..." Long mumbled. "What is going on?"
"Ooo, the nerve of him!" she yelled. "How could he do that? Doesn't he have any consideration for others at all?"
"Jannu?" Long asked, walking up to her and tapping her softly on the shoulder.
"Do you have any idea what he did!?!" she demanded, trying to calm down. "He took her off to Vegas and they got married!"
"What?"
"By an elvis impersonator!" she added.
"Okay..." Long muttered, wondering why Gado would do something like that.
"Uh, I don't even want to talk to him right now!" she stomped back over to the phone, picked it up, and handed it to Long. "Here, you talk to him!"
"But, I wouldn't know what to..."
"Just do it!" she commanded.
"Um, alright..." Long put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"
"How is she doing?" Alan asked in a worried tone of voice.
"She's not taking it very well." Long replied.
"Don't tell him that!" Shina yelled. "Tell him I'm @%$#ing pissed off and that when he gets back here I'm gonna kick his @$$!"
"Uh, Alan..." Long began.
"Yes, I know, I heard her." Alan interrupted. "But I really don't see why she's so upset..."
"You ran off and got married without even saying anything to her, Gado! Of course she's going to be upset!"
"Not just upset, PISSED OFF!" Shina yelled at the phone.
"Would you like to talk to him?" Long asked, rubbing his ear.
"NO! You just tell him for me that he'd better @%#$ing watch his back!"
"Er, Alan?"
"Yes," Gado replied. "I heard that too."
"That makes me so mad!" she growled. "I'm gonna go into the training room and throw a few punches at the old punching bag..." she learned over to the phone. "while pretending it's my own DAD, who runs off and marries whores and DOESN'T EVEN TELL ME ABOUT IT!!!" That said she stomped off towards the training room.
"Yikes! Did you get all that Alan?" Long asked, cupping his free hand over his wounded ear.
"Yes." he answered. "I'm really sorry you had to hear that."
"Me too." Long agreed, switching hands and rubbing at his other ear.