***
Disclaimer:
Ranma 1/2 and all the crazy characters are copyright
to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi (bow down and worship!).
Don't sue us, we have nothing, we've spent it all on
our anime obsession!
Miyuki, Sorata, Yoiko, Haruhiko and Yajima are copyright
to us - don't touch without permission!
***
C & C is welcome, but NO FLAMES! Email us at either:
jaelle@ihug.co.nz or ladyorla@yahoo.com
***
Read the rest of our Ranma fanfiction amongst others at
our website: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~jaelle/Jaelle_Orla.htm
***
This occurs 16 years after the end of the Magical Mystery
Hibiki Tour.
***
#Cue poppy, fast paced music (think Ranma 1/2 and Slayers
opening themes):
'Run, run, run
Run further be free
Watch me take charge
Watch me be me.'
Episode 3: Afterwards! Rivals? Friends?
***
Tendo Dojo: evening
Sorata lay on the floor of the dojo and stared moodily
up at the roof. The Hibiki family had left two hours
ago, but Sorata could still hear Miyuki's parting words:
"Hey, Sorata! Next time, I'll teach you a few moves so you can
defend yourself!"
Sorata groaned and put his arm across his face. *I wish
I was dead!*
"You've been here for two hours, your mother and I are
getting worried." Ranma's voice broke through his son's
turmoil.
Sorata lifted his arm and glared at Ranma. "I was just
beaten by a cute girl! You guys have no idea how I feel!"
Ranma let out a short laugh and sat down beside Sorata.
"I DO know," he said. "I've _been_ where you are!" Ranma
recalled his initial defeats to Piccolet, to Ryoga, and
finally the terrible time when Happosai had taken away his
strength. "But I didn't sit around and whine about it!"
Ranma told his son sternly. "I trained very hard to learn
how to defeat my opponents."
Sorata winced. "Demo..."
Ranma got to his feet and glared down at the boy. "I hate
to say it, Sorata, but Miyuki Hibiki's pounding of you was
just what you needed."
Sorata stared at his father, openmouthed.
Ranma continued. "I guess it's partly my fault, I let your
mother and your grandmother coddle you, I didn't force you
to train like I did at your age," he sighed. "I wanted you
to have a better upbringing than me, and look where it got
you!"
"Well... well, at least I'm not scared of cats or turn into
a girl!" Sorata snapped as he leapt to his feet.
"But you're a _pathetic_ martial artist!" yelled Ranma.
"I'm the best in..."
"Nerima? Not anymore!"
Sorata flushed angrily and fell silent. Ranma took a deep
breath and laid a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
Sorata reluctantly went over the humiliating details of
his battle with Miyuki. Ranma listened closely and nodded
once Sorata had finished. "You could've done better, you
pulled yourself back."
"I gave it everything I had!" Sorata protested.
"Oh, I'm not saying you could've _won_," said Ranma crushingly.
"But you do have more ability than you showed today, I've
seen you fight properly, and I suspect that you were pulling
yourself back unconsciously because Miyuki's a girl."
Sorata mulled this over. "Perhaps." he acknowledged. He
clenched his fists. "I gotta beat her, dad! I don't want
to hurt her, I like her, but I'm Sorata Saotome! I've gotta
be the best!"
Ranma grinned. "Now that's what I've been waiting to hear
for a _long_ time! And when it comes to defeating tough
opponents, Ranma Saotome's your man!" he winked at Sorata.
"Remember, I've defeated Miyuki's dad a hundred times over.
Miyuki fights like him and I know his weak points!"
Sorata frowned. "Miyuki doesn't have any weak points."
"She's a Hibiki, she relies alot on stamina and strength.
What you need is speed and that's where the amaguriken
comes in."
"So you'll teach me?" Sorata's eyes were large with hope.
"As long as you are committed to the training, and you
don't flake out - no matter HOW tough it is or whatever
your mother and grandmother say!"
Sorata nodded emphatically. "I promise!"
"Good," Ranma smiled broadly. "Don't worry Sorata, I _want_
you to defeat Miyuki. There is no way MY son is going to
lose to RYOGA'S daughter!"
Sorata looked at the battle aura flaring around his father
and sweatdropped. "I have a feeling that this has just
become very, very personal." he muttered.
***
Hibiki household: next morning
Ukyo laid down her bowl and cleared her throat loudly.
The rest of the family paused in their respective meals
and looked at her.
"Now that we're all moved in and the furniture is in the
right places," Ukyo said, ignoring Ryoga's heavy sigh as
he recalled just how many times he'd had to move the
couch. "We have to get you two girls enrolled in school.
Yoiko, you'll be going to Furinkan elementary, and Miyuki
you'll be going to Furinkan High School."
"Is that the school you went to, mum?" Miyuki asked.
Ukyo nodded. "That's right," she then smiled fondly at Ryoga.
"That's also where I met your father for the first time."
Ryoga frowned. "Was it?"
Ukyo narrowed her eyes. "Yes, anata. You almost killed me,
don't you remember?"
Ryoga laughed nervously. "Ahhaha... yes, you were defending
Ranma and I thought you were a boy! How _could_ I forget?"
There was a clatter as both Miyuki and Yoiko dropped their
chopsticks at the smae time.
"How could you mistake mum for a boy??" Yoiko asked. "She's
obviously _not_."
Ukyo blushed faintly. "I was... er... prone to wearing the
boy's school uniform and binding my chest at that time -
for reasons I will _not_ go into."
"She looked very boyish." Ryoga confirmed. Ukyo turned a
steely glare on him and he sweatdropped. "Not that you do
now, at all, darling."
Miyuki said nothing, but there was a speculative gleam in
her brown eyes. Yoiko noticed this and began to worry
slightly.
Later, Miyuki knocked on the door to her parent's bedroom
and entered. Ukyo turned from her mirror, she was in the
process of binding up her long hair in preparation for
going down to work in the restaurant.
"What's up, Miyuki-chan?" she asked with a smile.
Miyuki fidgeted on her feet for a moment. "Uh... well,
Mama... I have a little request."
Ukyo braced herself. Miyuki's requests were hardly ever
'little'. "Yes, sweetie?"
"Can you buy me a boy's uniform, for school?" Miyuki
blurted.
There was a long silence, Miyuki hovered in the doorway,
her eyes shining and her hands clasped. Ukyo sat at her
mirror, her hands poised in the act of pinning her hair.
Finally, Ukyo drove the pins home and got to her feet.
"No. I am NOT going to buy you a boy's school uniform."
Miyuki's face crumpled. "But..."
"No!" cried Ukyo. "You are a _girl_! You will get a girl's
school uniform!"
"But you wore a boy's..."
"I had _reasons_." Ukyo interrupted. "They were... good
reasons."
"Well," Miyuki persisted. "I have very good reasons too!
I can't fight in a skirt!"
"Good!" retorted Ukyo. "It will be good for you not to
run around and get in these silly fights."
Miyuki's lip trembled. "You don't like me fighting? You
don't approve of me doing martial arts?"
Ukyo sighed. "Miyuki... I am very proud of you. You are
an excellant martial artist - a credit to your father's
training. But you have to learn that there's more to life
than martial arts and that it's not so terrible to be a
girl." Ukyo stepped over to the girl and kissed her cheek.
"Believe me, I know."
Miyuki watched her mother leave and bit her lower lip.
She hadn't imagined that her mother would object to
what Miyuki had seen (and still did) as a very practical
idea. Her reasons were surely just as good as mum's had
been! Skirts hampered your legs, you couldn't kick properly
and when you did... well, the audience found out what
colour your panties were!
Miyuki reviewed her mother's word and suddenly hit on an
important fact. Mum had only said she wouldn't _buy_
Miyuki a boy's uniform! She had not forbade Miyuki to
_wear_ one! Miyuki grinned, showing her fangs, there was
a way! Now all she had to do was find out if it was
possible.
An hour later Miyuki opened the back door and stepped into
the garden. "Finally!" she muttered - no longer grinning.
"Why's the garden sooo hard to find?" (Miyuki had wandered
into the linen closet, Yoiko's bedroom, the bathroom and
the restaurant - twice, in the past hour).
She looked around and spotted the very person she needed.
Ryoga was at the far end of the garden, intently chopping
wood with his bare hands, it looked like fun. Yoiko was
seated by the ornamental pond, reading. She looked up as
Miyuki passed her. "That's a frightening expression on your
face, sis. What do you want from Daddy now?"
Miyuki looked at her innocently. "Whatever do you mean? I
just want to ask him a simple question."
"Simple questions are the only kind you CAN ask!"
"Ssssh... Daddy..."
"Hai..." said Ryoga warily. *Oh no, what does she want now?*
"Daddy's very busy now, Miyuki. Why don't you go ask Mummy?"
"Daaaaaad..." Miyuki whined. "I'm not a little girl anymore."
"I'm well aware of that sweetheart."
"Why do you think he bought that replica shotgun?" Yoiko
muttered.
"And I was wondering..."
Ryoga martialed his forces. *No Miyuki, you can't have a
tank. No, I will not be your second in command and help you
take over the world. No, three hours of martial arts training
after school are more than enough. No, you absolutely,
positively, totally, utterly and completely cannot get
engaged.*
"Can I have a pony?"
"No!"
"How about a puppy?"
"No."
Ryoga was on easier ground now. Miyuki was beginning to pout.
"How about a kangaroo?"
"No!"
Miyuki stamped her foot. "Well, if I can't have a kangaroo,
can you at least tell me where Mum's old school uniform is?"
"It's in the box in the top of the linen cupboard!" Ryoga
said crisply. "Now go and help your mother in the
restaurant!"
"Okay!" Miyuki bounced away. Ryoga frowned. Wait a minute...
He looked at Yoiko with a growing sense of dread.
Yoiko shook her head in disappointment. "You walked straight
into that one, Dad, impressive given your sense of direction."
Ryoga groaned and covered his eyes. *Ucchan's going to kill
me.*
***
"Akane dear, what do you think of the Hibiki family's
return to Nerima?" Nodoka took the last sheet from the line
and folded it.
Akane blinked. "Well, I'm happy about it. I really have
missed Ryoga and Ukyo. And the girls are... interesting."
"Miyuki is... not what you'd call a normal girl though."
Nodoka's eyes were worried. "If she's to marry Sorata, she'll
have to calm down a bit."
Akane almost dropped the washing basket. "MARRY Sorata???!!!
What are you talking about?"
Nodoka looked serene. "Well, Sorata needs a nice girl whose
into martial arts to help him run the Anything-Goes school
one day. With a little training I think Miyuki would be
perfect."
"Please, mother Saotome, DON'T pursue this idea, or if you do,
don't tell the kids OR Ranma OR Ukyo and Ryoga about it!"
Akane stalked into the house.
Nodoka smiled. "Of course not, Akane dear."
***
Sorata moped. And moped. And sulked. And sighed.
"That's IT!" yelled Ranma "I told you we'd work on it
and we've made some progress and we'd make more if you'd
stop obsessing! You're radiating enough depression to
rival Ryoga. GO AWAY! Have some FUN, and don't come back
until you're smiling!"
Sorata lurched to his feet and glared sullenly at his
father. He hunched his shoulders and shuffled towards the
door, resentment in every step. He walked outside,
cursing the fact that he lived in Japan, which meant that
he couldn't slam the door in a satisfactory manner.
"Old fart." he muttered under his breath.
*WHAP*
A shoe hit him in the back of the head.
"I heard that." said Ranma. "Now go!"
Sorata grumbled his way to the mall.
At the mall he stared moodily at a window display.
"Hey, Sora!"
"Haru!" Sorata turned to see the familiar form of his classmate
Haruhiko waving at him. "What's up?"
"Me and Yaji are going to check out the new ice cream
parlour, see if there's any cute girls there." Yajima looked
up from his manga and smiled at Sorata.
Sorata flinched.
"Come on," Yajima urged. "It'll be fun."
"Oh okay," Sorata grumbled. "Why not?" He stared at his shoes
while they walked. Girls. Huh! Who needed em!
"You look pretty down Sora," said Haruhiko. "Your dad give
you another lecture?"
"Don't ask," Sorata said. "Just don't ask." They reached the
ice cream parlour, ordered three spiders (although they
really liked the looks of the triple chocolate deluxe
gateau, but, being young men, were too afraid of ruining
their manly reputations to order it) and were seated.
Yajima and Haruhiko immediately began to scan the crowd for
babes. Sorata repressed a yawn.
"What about her?"
"Whoa... hot stuff... But a little old maybe."
Haruhiko adjusted his glasses. "Hey, look over there."
"What? She's just a kid!"
"No dummy, her big sister."
"Whoa..." Yajima began to sweat. "Now she's something else!
Look at those hips! And such a cute butt!"
"Yeah yeah," said Sorata, leaning his chin on his hand and
staring out the storefront.
"Ohmygod... she's looking this way! She's coming over!!!"
Haruhiko snatched his glasses off and swept his brown
fringe back. Yajima tried to straighten out of his
habitual slump. Sorata paid no attention as, apparantly,
the woman of every teenage boys dreams approached. He took
a sip from his spider.
"Sorata-kun! It really IS you?"
"PTAH!" Sorata spat and began to cough.
"Oh man!" Haruhiko futiley mopped at his shirt. "Sorata!"
Miyuki leaned over the table. "Are you alright?"
Sorata continued to cough. Miyuki looked concerned, drew
back her arm and slammed her hand onto his back. Sorata
was thrown forward and his head bounced off the table,
upsetting his drink into Yajima's lap.
"Yipe!"
"Ooops, sorry about that." said Miyuki. "I guess I just
don't know my own strength. I have a handkerchief somewhere..."
"Are you TRYING to KILL me?" Sorata shouted, levering his head
off the table. Blood trickled from his nose. "You damned
psychopathical muscle-bound maniac!"
The store went dead silent. Yajima and Haruhiko stared at
Sorata. Sorata glared at Miyuki, who was staring at her shoes.
Her shoulders began to shake.
*Uh oh.*
"*Sniff* *sniff* I... *sniff* I'm sorry!!! WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Uh... uh..." Sorata jumped to his feet. The entire parlour
was whispering to each other and casting glances in his
direction.
"Uhm..."
Yoiko glared at him. "NOW you've done it!" she yelled. "How
DARE you insult my big sister you great BIG BULLY!!!!"
"Shut up!" he yelled in desperation.
Yoiko's face screwed up into a ball.
*Oh no... nooooooooo...*
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Sorata looked at the two sobbing girls. "I didn't mean it!"
he yelled. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! What else could
go wrong?"
*DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!*
The distorted face of Ryoga Hibiki loomed behind the two
crying girls.
"SO...RA...TA....!!!"
"It's not my fault!" Sorata yelled.
Ukyo walked into the parlour and didn't have to look
round to see her family.
"Oh for goodness... Miyuki! Yoiko! Stop crying this instant!
And Ryoga... get ahold of yourself."
Miyuki sniffed. "But..."
"NO!"
"But he..."
"I don't care! You can't cause a scene like this in a public
place!" Ukyo scolded.
"YOU HATE ME!!!!!" screamed Miyuki, and ran from the ice
cream parlour.
"Miyuki! Come back!" Ukyo yelled. "Miyuki!"
"I'll get her," said Sorata. "Hey... Miyuki!" He ran after
her.
Ukyo looked at the mess facing her. One crying daughter, one
furious husband, and two boys covered in cola and ice cream.
"Ah... it's nice to be back in Nerima," she said. "And you
boys are...?"
***
"Miyuki, wait!" Sorata chased after Miyuki, but she wasn't
stopping.
*SMASH*
Not even for walls.
Sorata sprinted after her as fast as he could. If he lost her
now, it was likely that she'd never be seen again. He chased
her up the down escalator, into the mens toilets (briefly),
around the fountain, through the travel agency, over the
statue, back into the travel agency, down the up escalator,
and finally into the carpark, all the while calling after
her to wait.
Finally...
"Miyuki! Matte! Matte kudasai! MIYU!!!!"
Miyuki screeched to a halt. *Sniff?*
Sorata gasped for air. *How does she do that?* he wondered.
"I'm sorry..." he puffed. "I didn't mean it, I was just
having a bad day."
"Oh no... and I made it worse!" Miyuki started to sniffle
again.
"No! No! Seeing you again was great!" Sorata said. "Really!"
"Really?"
"Yes really."
"You're not mad about me beating you anymore?" Miyuki looked
at him shyly.
*Deep breath, lie damn you, lie!* "Of course not. In fact,
it was just what I needed. I've decided to dedicate myself
to training even harder so that one day..." Sorata tried
to get into the mood of life on planet Miyuki, "I can
help you take over the world!"
"YAY!!!!" Miyuki cheered. She ran towards him and engulfed
him in a warm hug.
"I'm so glad we could be friends Sora," she said.
Sorata was surprised, then freaked, and then... happy. This
wasn't so bad. He put his arms around her. "Me too." he
said, surprising himself when he discovered that he meant
it. "Now we better get back before your father comes
looking for us and gets lost." *And then kills me,* he added
mentally.
***
Ukyo was waiting for them outside the parlour.
"Uh... where are?" Sorata began.
"I sent Yoiko home with her father."
Sorata mentally reversed the subjects of that sentence.
"And your two friends said they'd see you later, and that they
looked forward to 'getting to know' your new friend at
school." Ukyo looked at her daughter. "Miyuki, can you go
over to the bookstore?"
"Of course!"
"No, I meant _can_ you?" Ukyo helped orient her daughter.
"Okay, now go straight..."
They watched and breathed a sigh of relief as Miyuki entered
the store. Sorata turned back to Ukyo with a sense of
foreboding.
Ukyo looked at him. "Sorata, I was going to say that I expected
better from a son of Ranma, but then I remembered who I was
talking about. Your father's never been the best loser in
the world, but that's no excuse for you to emulate him.
On the other hand, Miyuki and Yoiko overreacted. For that,
I ask you to excuse them, they're nervous about starting a
new school tomorrow, and the move has unsettled... Yoiko."
Sorata nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Please don't call me that," said Ukyo. "I feel old now.
I think we should just pass today off as being one of those
days where nothing ever goes right, and start anew tomorrow.
Okay?"
Sorata nodded.
"Now, have you patched things up with Miyuki?"
"Yes ma... Aunty Ukyo."
"Good. Then I'll see you around. You're always welcome at
Ucchans." she smiled and headed for the bookstore.
Sorata watched her go.
"Aunty Ukyo?"
Ukyo turned. "Hai?"
"Could you please pass on my apologies to Yoiko?"
Her radiant smile told him that he'd just passed some sort
of test. "Of course I will." she said, and walked away.
***
Next morning:
The clock ticked over onto the hour and the alarm sounded.
'Running love song
Halle.. Hallelujah...'
Miyuki sat up in bed, her eyes snapping opening instantly.
She smiled and began to sing along with the music.
'Groovy love song
Halle... Hallelujah...'
Ukyo groaned and pulled the covers over her head. Ryoga,
of course, slept on completely oblivious. Ukyo felt this
was unfair and therefore thumped him awake.
Ryoga woke with a start. "Wha...? Eh... oh no... not Card
Captor Sakura AGAIN!"
"You're the moron who bought her the CD." Ukyo growled as
she poked him in the ribs.
"I WAS asleep you know."
"Yes, but why should I suffer alone?"
"Thank you SO much, dear."
Yoiko was awoken by her sister's off-key voice singing in
her ear.
"ARRRRGGHH!!!" she hit out, but Miyuki caught her fist and
pulled her out of bed. "C'mon sis... time for school!"
"Is NOT! Want to sleeeep..." Yoiko grabbed for her blankets
but missed completely as Miyuki was dangling her in the
air.
"We have to get to Sorata's remember?"
"You go, I want my beauty sleep."
"You're ten years too young to worry about that!"
"Bakayarou!" Yoiko managed to snag her pillow and belted her
sister with it. "Take it back!"
"Make me, squirtle!"
"If I'm a squirtle, you're a psyduck!"
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Noooooo!!! Not that!!!"
Ukyo hit Ryoga again. He yelped. "Hey! It's not MY fault
that they watch this stuff! YOU'RE the one that dumps them
in front of the TV and tells them not to wander off!"
"If it wasn't for your genes, I wouldn't have to DO that!"
"Well pardon my genes! I can't do anything about that!"
"You can PAY!" Ukyo belted him with the pillow.
Ryoga grabbed his own. "Right, you asked for this!"
Miyuki paused on the landing. "Are Mum and Dad okay? There's
alot of squealing going on in there."
"Maybe Mum tipped her glass of water on dad again."
Miyuki thought about this. "Maybe. C'mon let's go before
they get up."
"Oooh... afraid that Mum will get mad?"
"Of course!" Miyuki sighed. "Mum's temper is the one thing
standing in the way of me and the domination of the world!"
"Well, one of the things."
They sneaked downstairs. And met Konatsu, who was coming in
the front door.
"Ohayoo, Miyu-chan, Yoi-chan, you're up early." he said
brightly. "Eager to... OH MY GOD!!!"
"Yoiko, I think it's time to run!"
"*sigh* Fine..."
*Zoom!*
Konatsu blinked. "Perhaps I'll pretend I didn't see that."
he mused.
"Konatsu? Are you okay?" Ukyo stumbled downstairs clutching
her yukata around her.
"Sure, sure... I just thought I saw a... a... rat."
"WHAT?????!!!"
*Shoot, bad thing to see in a restaurant.*
***
"Ohayoo," Sorata yawned as he stumbled into the dining room.
"Ohayoo," Nodoka beamed and handed him a beautifully prepared
breakfast. Sorata looked at it suspiciously. "Did mum prepare
this?" he asked warily.
"_I_ made it!" a chirpy voice sounded behind him, but before
Sorata could turn around, hands covered his eyes. "Guess who?"
"Oh _puh-leese_!" Sorata heard another voice drawl. "That is
sooo cutsy-wootsy."
Sorata sighed. "Ohayoo, Miyuki, Yoiko."
Miyuki pulled her hands away and pouted slightly. "You guessed!"
"As if it was hard." muttered Yoiko, she entered the room and
sat down opposite Sorata. "Ohayoo!" she said brightly and
began to help herself to the food. Nodoka smiled indulgently
and excused herself to go and wake the other members of the
household (It always took a _least_ ten minutes to wake up
Genma, Ranma was almost as bad).
Miyuki sat down next to Sorata, he stared at her in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Don't you start school
today?"
Miyuki grinned. "Your grandma invited us, she said it would
be nice for us to walk to Furinkan High together. Yoiko and
I got up especially early to get here..."
"And only jus' made it 'cos you _kept_ insisting you knew
where you were going." muttered Yoiko (she was _not_ a
morning person, unlike her big sister). Miyuki glared at
her.
"Wretch." she growled and skillfully snagged a rice ball
with her chopsticks. "Eat up!" Miyuki stuffed the rice ball
into Yoiko's mouth before the younger girl could stop her.
"Anyway," Miyuki continued her conversation with Sorata,
ignoring Yoiko's glare as she chewed the rice ball. "We're
all ready to go. What do you think of my school uniform?"
she got to her feet.
Sorata looked. And dropped his bowl. "Th-that's a BOY'S
uniform!"
"Yeah... isn't it sooo cool?"
"B-but you can't wear a _boy's_ uniform to school!"
Miyuki tapped him on the nose. "Uh-uh... there is no specific
schoolrule which doesn't allow a girl to wear a boy's
uniform, or a boy to wear a girl's uniform for that matter,
although he'd be considered a complete hentai, whereas on
a girl _either_ uniform looks good. I guess it means that
girls have much better style than boys, and besides, my mum
wore this very uniform when she went to Furinkan!" Miyuki
smirked smugly as she finished her lengthy explaination.
Sorata struggled to find a fatal flaw in her logic, or at
least something that would sound convincing. He _really_
tried.
"Well... everyone's going to think you're really strange."
he said lamely, then he realised that Haruhiko and Yajima
would probably have spread the events of the previous day
around. "Ummm... okay, maybe it's too late for that... but,
well, I'm sure the principal won't like it."
Miyuki looked a teensy bit alarmed. "Honto? Is he really
strict about the dress code?"
Sorata thought about Principal Kuno... and sighed. "Well,
to be honest... no." he grinned at her. "So I think you'll
be okay."
Miyuki laughed. "But are _you_ okay with it?"
Sorata raised an eyebrow. "You mean if I said I didn't like
your uniform, you'd wear the right one?"
Miyuki stuck out her tongue. "Nyah!"
"Nyah back!"
Yoiko put down her empty bowl. "And just _who_ is supposed
to be more mature in this room?"
Miyuki picked up her chopsticks in a threatening manner.
"Are you quite sure you're finished, Yoi-chan? I can stuff
your mouth _again_ if you like!"
Yoiko sweatdropped. "Oneesan!"
"Come on," Sorata got to his feet. "Let's go, before my
parents see you... they might disagree with your uniform
more than me!"
Miyuki shovelled some rice into her mouth and swallowed.
"Hai!"
"Itte 'rasshai!" Nodoka called as the trio passed her as
she came down the stairs.
"Itte mairimasu, Obachan!" Sorata called.
They strolled down the street. Yoiko skipped along in front,
Sorata and Miyuki trailed her.
"So... are you nervous about starting a new school?" Sorata
asked.
Miyuki shook her head. "Iie, it's always fun to meet new
people, and also, Mum has told me soooo much about the
things that went on at Furinkan that I'm really, really
looking forward to it!"
Sorata remembered some of the things his parents had told
him. "Uh... what exactly _did_ your Mum tell you?"
"Oh... about the fights, the betting, the insane principal
and Miss Hinako! It all sounds GREAT!"
"Aha... I think I see now."
Miyuki then sighed. "If I'm nervous about anything it's
Yoiko."
"Oh?" Sorata frowned. "Why?"
"Well... Yoiko had a rough time at our old school." Miyuki
said softly. "A lot of her classmates teased her about
her 'weird' family." she looked at Sorata. "But I don't think
we're that strange!"
Sorata scratched the back of his head as he tried to think
of a good reply. "Well..." he said. "I wouldn't say you were,
but this is Nerima and things are a bit different here - from
Kyoto, I mean."
Miyuki considered this. "Hmmmm... maybe you're right." she
smiled, her usual bubbly self coming back. "Arigato, Sorata!"
Sorata blushed. "Doo itashimashite... I..."
"NIHAO!"
Sorata tensed and sweatdropped. "Oh no..."
***
End of episode 3.
Next episode:
"Ohhhhhh! I've heard of you - you're the daughter of the
stupid Chinese bimbo!!!!"
Episode 4: Schooltime! Miyuki makes friends... and enemies.
GLOSSARY:
anata = dear/darling
demo = but
Doo itashimashite = you're welcome
hentai = pervert
Itte mairimasu = So long (said by the person leaving)
Itte 'rasshai = so long (said by the person staying)
matte = wait
obachan = grandma
ohayoo = morning