((OOC: )) UGH. >< I can't believe how insufferably freaking late I am! Stupid everything! *sigh* Meh, oh well; I suppose I can't really do anything about it now. Sorry. If this isn't acceptable ina any way, feel free to bump me out.
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One, two, three.... One, two.... Three, four! One....
In a rythm all too familiar to him, Kerai's hands jammed in and out, blocking the "blows" of the wooden practice dummy. The polished wood, though in good shape, projected age; the wear and tear of years of use showing in what would otherwise be a flawless surface. It seemed that generations of people pounding on it had little effect.
Three, four.... Right side... above! Left, right... down.... Keep the feet moving.
It was almost like breathing to him, the way his hands flew about, gliding over the suface until a move was made. The quick movement halted abruptly by the reliable, ancient wood. The practiced routines drilled into his mind and body, Kerai certainly seemed most at home, here, in his grandparents' dojo. Everything, from the floors, to the smooth walls seemed to echo themselves in the boy.
One, two... right-and-three.... Down, one-- "TRASH!"
Three, right.... Four, trash....
Kerai halted and blinked. Wait, that wasn't right....
"Kerai! Trash!" called the elderly voice again, almost seeming to make the house shake.
"Right.... Coming!" he called back, brushing back his hair. He seemed to do almost everything about the house these days. Giving one last forlorn look to his sparring partner, he turned and left.
"Kerai! You! Trash! NOW!" shouted his grandfather from his stooped-over perch on the couch. His hooked nose and gaunt features were enough, but the way he was sitting made him look even more bird-like than usual. Kerai had to turn away to surpress a small laugh, but still smiled despite of himself.
"Well, go on! Get to it! Things don't clean themselves, you know!" his grandfather squawked.
Then why don't you do some work, thought Kerai. "Yes, grandpa."
"Oh, and make sure the garbage cans are upright this time," the old man's eyes narrowed, "If there are pests in there again, I'm blaming you."
That was Yuki, not me, and you know it.... "Yes, grandpa," Kerai responded, shuffling over to the kitchen. It seemed that his young cousin, Yuki, was always causing trouble for him. Unfortunately, with her innocent demeanor and cute-ish looks, she managed to dodge most of the bullets sent her way. It just figured that she was visiting when the lockdown was announced.
"I have some interesting luck," Kerai whispered to himself, twisting a heavy plastic bag closed. It was then that the bottom ripped. Kerai watched in dismay as all of the garbage exploded across the kitchen floor. "Great...."
"Guess what? I gotta present for ya! It's a punch in the face! You like it?" came a small voice.
Kerai's brow furrowed. "Yuki? Is that you?"
"Oh, you got me a present, too? Well, mine's better, so shut up," it continued. Kerai's wandering eyes eventually fell upon the pantry door. There were many more odd protests of the like issuing from behind the slab of wood, and it seemed to have a musical accompaniment of sorts.
"Yuki," Kerai sighed. He opened the door; there, sitting in the back of the pantry, was his cousin... with his Emerald Pokemon game. Kerai's mouth twitched a little, but he said nothing, even when her large hazel eyes gazed up into his deep brown ones. She smiled.
"Oh, hi Kerai! Guess what, guess what? I beat another trainer!" she beamed, pointing to the lit screen of the DS system. "Your team is amazing. I don't think I could ever do stuff like this on my games." She continued in this fashion for another minute, until most of Kerai's irritation had dissipated.
"Look, just go and play somewhere normal for a while. I have... a lot of work to do." He grimaced, afraid to turn and look at the mess again.
"Hm. I'd help, but I don't want to get attacked or something," she remarked casually.
"What do you mean?"
"There are animals in the garbage cans, again," she said, as matter-of-factly as though it was gobal common knowledge.
"Aw, not again!" Kerai groaned, hustling over to the kitchen window and tearing back the curtains. Outside was fairly dark, and was a stark contrast to the brightly-lit house, but it was just visible enough to see that the back yard was a field day. The cans were knocked over, whatever contents inside either eaten or spread hither and thither across the lawn.
All around the calamity, small forms scurried about, plucking up items and having the absolute time of their lives. These creatures had stripes like a raccoon, but seemed different somehow. They looked more like....
"Zigzagoon...?" Kerai breathed. Yuki perked up at this and toddled over as Kerai yanked the curtains closed. This is stupid. They're just ordinary, everyday pests that get me into trouble. Nothing different.
He opened the curtains a bit, peering cautiously out into the yard. The spikey brown fur... the paws... the tail. No mistaking it. Was this a prank, or--
"What is THIS?!" shrieked grandpa, gesturing wildly over the garbage mess in the kitchen. Kerai nearly jumped out of his skin. He whipped around, closing the curtains as the creatures outside all turned toward the sound.
"You've killed the kitchen!" his grandfather continued, "How is your grandmother going to make the special dinner she wanted tonight with THIS everywhere?!" His grandmother never was one to believe the news, and continued to leave regularly for food. It was difficult, as most stores were closed. The meal was most likely not going to be gourmet.
"I was about to clean it, grandpa," Kerai explained with a respectful bob.
"At least your fighting clothes weren't ruined." Grandpa suddenly turned suspicious. "What were you looking at out there?" he asked, "The neighbour girl?"
"No," replied Kerai truthfully, his cheeks hot nonetheless.
"Then what? Open that curtain," demanded grandpa.
"Yeah! I wanna see the cute raccoons again!" smiled Yuki, the DS still blaring battle music.
"What? RACCOONS?! Open it!" cried the grandfather, watching Kerai carefully as the boy slowly turned around to face the Curtains of Uncertainty once more. He swallowed.
Okay, time to show once and for all that I was just seeing things in the dark, and that these are just regular, annoying pests. Slowly, carefully, he parted the cutains from each other. Every miniscule bit seemed like another possibility of what it was waiting for him on the other side of this green and white fabric. He opened the curtains.
"Zigzagoon!"
"Ahhh!" Kerai leapt back from the face in the window, stepping on an unpleasant egg shell.
"Hey, it's a Pokemon!" cried Yuki, stepping over and pressing her face up against the glass. "Zigzagoon was the very first Pokemon I ever caught on my game, you know! And now, Shreddy's come to be with me!" She practically sparkled.
"'Shreddy'?" Kerai repeated blankly, shaking his foot clean.
"Enough!" shouted grandpa, "It's just a wierd-looking raccon thing, and one that happens to be wrecking the yard. Chase them away, and clean this mess up. I don't care what order." The old man stalked out of the room, grumbling something about 'irresponsibility' and 'music'.
"Grandpa's in a mood again," commented Yuki, her face still too close to the glass to properly see the raccoon.
"Yeah..." Kerai drifted off absent-mindedly, picking up the trash on the floor. Pokemon... were real? No, that couldn't be right. It was a dream, a prank... something!
"The news was right," said Kerai quietly, glancing back at the DS-holding giggle machine staring at the dubbed "Shreddy" through the window panes, "They do look like Pokemon...."
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((OOC: )) There. Maybe that lovely and longish post shall make up for it. I certainly hope so.
