Tetrominon !qIDtlWKoxU 2008/06/07 (Sat) 22:15 No. 2223 ▼ File 121287694370.jpg - (283.23KB, 809x504 , e001fde67af115cd4addffa03a537fcb.jpg)
Keeping your eyes on the item in question, you shout over your shoulder, "Nitori, where'd you get this lighter?"
"I dunno. Which one?"
"The, uh..." There are quite a few of them here, now that you look again. "...the metal one."
A pause. "That... doesn't really narrow it down much." Her voice sounds closer, so you turn around to see her come back through the door, a tray balanced in one hand and a small folding table in the other. As she whips the table open with the one hand and sets it down in the space between the center table and the door, you hold the lighter out for her to see. "Oh, that one? Fell in a stream right by me while I was pla-- I mean, uh, gathering samples the other day." She sets the tray down on the table; two tall glasses with straws in them, holding some lightish-red liquid, and two white bread sandwiches, crustless and diagonally cut. Straightening up, she faces you and finishes her thought. "Why do you ask?"
Your grip on the lighter tightens involuntarily. "I'm pretty sure it's mine. I... sort of dropped it while I was climbing up the mountain."
Nitori's face looks shocked. "Are you serious? That means you must've come in right above me. Aw, damn, if I'd know that, I'd have flown up and met you. Coulda gotten a whole lot done." She sighs and shrugs, c'est la vie. "Well, you want it back, go ahead. I've got plenty." Thanking her, you drop the lighter into your pocket. Your hand freezes there as she turns around and bends over to clear off a chair. Mmmm... and you thought she was a little girl? The smile you didn't realize was on your face is quickly wiped off of yours and onto hers when she turns around and notices the hand in your pocket. An eyebrow is added. "Anything *else* you'd like to ask me?"
Poker face, poker face! And get that hand out of there! "So, uh, how old are you, anyway?"
...smooth. She smirks, but doesn't laugh. "Let's just say, I'm old enough." She shifts her weight to one leg and puts a hand on the portruded hip, still smirking at you. "Y'know, I brought you down here for an examination, but it seems more like I'm the one under the microscope."
"Oh! Er... sorry."
Now she laughs, dispelling your concerns as she stands back up straight and moves the now-empty chair up to the tiny table. "Just clear off a chair and sit a spell. And don't you worry about where the stuff lands, 'cause I sure won't." Looking around behind you, you spot another set of legs sticking out from under a pile and move over to it. On a sudden brainwave, you stop half a body length away and bend down low, sweeping away the detritus with one hand, shaking your hips around just enough to be noticeable while you do it. Her eyes move back up to yours when you turn around. She grins at you, you grin right back, and she giggles while you push the chair over. "Mr. Chulainn, I do believe I like you," she says, giving you the old 'bedroom eyes' routine. "It really is too bad I couldn't have met you yesterday..."
"One day? You sure don't mess around," you joke as you move the chair into place and sit.
"We kappa don't believe in letting opportunities pass us by." Then, clapping her hands to signal a subject change, she picks up a sandwich half and one of the glasses. "But enough fooling around. Dig in!" As you pick out your share, she adds, "We'll get around to you after lunch. Anything else you want to get off your chest, go ahead."
You think about this as you take a bite of sandwich. Some kind of fish paste with cucumber. Not bad at all. The drink is still unknown, but really good: the taste is fruity, not too sweet, very refreshing. Another question occurs to you when your mouth is clear again. "Hey, I saw these weird veins in the rock earlier, you know anything about that?"
Nitori stops chewing for a second as she looks at you, speaking around the food. "You saw those? Where?"
"Yeah, in the hall on the way to Lord Tenma. Had to kind of squint to see them, but they were there all right. You do know something, don't you?"
She finishes chewing and swallows, thinking for a moment before she answers. "Those... those are a secret."
You grin easily and lean across the table. "A secret, eh? C'mon, you can tell me."
"No. I'm serious." Whoa. She looks it, too. "Thank you for telling me where you saw them, I'll pass that along without mentioning your name, but don't. Tell. ANYone else about this. All right?"
You back up and raise your hands, . "All right, all right. I understand. I didn't see anything." While Nitori relaxes, standing down from alert mode, you include a "Sorry."
"No need to apologize," she says, smiling at you. "You had no way of knowing. I'm just glad you told me. But, hey, don't be afraid to ask about something else."
"Hm... I think that's all I got, actually." You finish off one sandwich half and reach for another. "Lunch is good, though."
"Thanks. I make the fish stuff myself." She pops the last bite of her first half into her mouth and washes it down before continuing. "Drink's the creation of a friend. Gotten really popular all down the river. She'd really like to sell it in the human village, but, well..." Her expression turns sad as she takes the last piece of sandwich and chews on it slowly.
"But what?" You ask with gentle concern.
Nitori shrugs and shakes her head. "They're afraid of us. We're youkai. Humans and kappa used to be on such good terms, but somewhere along the way, they forgot about us. But we've never forgotten about them." She looks up at you, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. This sudden display of emotion has you kind of off guard. "Have you ever been there, to the village? No, never mind, of course you haven't. But if you ever do go there, you'll see a big statue of a dragon in the middle of the market square. Kappa built that and gave it to the humans, right after the Hakurei Border was erected, a symbol of our everlasting friendship." She laughs mirthlessly. "Last I heard, they'd taken it as some kind of idol and started worshipping it daily. They really have no idea where it came from anymore."
Man. This is serious business to her. Frankly, you're at a loss for what to do, but feel you have to do something. "Hey, hey, cheer up." That was lame. Uh... "Tell your friend from me, she ever gets this stuff out there, she'll have to triple production to keep up with the demand."
She laughs and wipes her eyes. Looks like that was the right thing to say. "Thanks, Chu. I think that'll mean a lot to her, too."
"No problem," you smile at her. "And friends call me Ku-chan."
"Thanks again... Ku-chan." She smiles back at you. Then, a light goes on behind her eyes. "Hey, hey. You wanna help test out something else for me real quick?"
Oh? "Sure, why not. Guinea pigging's why I'm here, right?"
Without another word, Nitori drops her half-eaten sandwich and dashes through the door. A second later, she's back, holding what looks like an old glass cola bottle filled with something green and carbonated, stopped up with a small cork which she removes before offering it to you. "Here, here, try this, and tell me what you think. Be honest."
Glad to see her mood so improved, you take the bottle with a smile. "Okie dokie, then. Down the hatch!" You put the bottle to your lips, throw your head back and drink... and immediately throw your head back down and get the bottle as far away from your mouth as inconspicuously possible. The liquid is still fizzing in your mouth. You taste cucumbers. You taste sugar. And. That's. It. Forcing the concoction down your throat while maintaining a straight face brings sweat to your brow.
Nitori is watching you closely, face alight. "Well? Well? How is it?"
[ ] "D... delicious."
[ ] "It could, um, use a little work."
[ ] "YUK."