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It was a turbulent and tenebrous night.
The residents of a small brick house on Neopia
Avenue were settling down to a slightly unusual task: giving all the petpets
a flea bath. Erika, the mother and guardian of Yoko, the white Aisha; Jon, the
red Eyrie; and Gioacchino, the mutant Kacheek, was holding in her arms three
struggling petpets.
"Right," she said. "OUCH! Stupid Airax... okay,
on the count of... OUCH!"
"Three?" supplied Jon.
"Yes, three!" Erika shouted, narrowly managing
to catch the wing of rebellious Airax before it took flight.
"And after three, being the number which thou
shalt count?" Gioacchino added, sniggering slightly.
Erika glowered down at the Kacheek. "This is...
OUCH! No time for fun and OUCH! Games!" She hoisted an extremely wiggly Snowbunny
back into her arms.
"After I count to three, I will let go of OUCH!
These adorable little creatures... and you three will OUCH! Throw them into
the bath! YAOWWWW! Jon! What did you DO to this poor Airax that has made him
so hostile now?"
"I gave him basic defensive training against
crabby human mothers and sharpen his beak occasionally," muttered Jon to Gioacchino.
They both sniggered uncontrollably.
"Okay... OUCH!" Erika cried. She struggled to
hold on to the Mongmong, Snowbunny, and Airax, nearly suffocating the poor petpets.
"One... two..."
Gioacchino, Jon, and Yoko stood at the ready;
the warm bubbling bath of flea dip in front of them.
"THREE!"
A Mongmong, a Snowbunny, and an Airax went flying
through the air, out of Erika's outstretched arms. However, not all of them
landed in the flea dip as daintily as Yoko's pet Snowbunny did. Yoko watched
happily as her brothers fought with their petpets while she washed behind Scherzo's
dainty Snowbunny ears.
Erika blinked in confusion. "My instructions
were foolproof! What happened?"
"Well," said Yoko, watching Jon chase his madly-squawking
Airax around the kitchen, "when you say FOOL proof..."
Gioacchino's Mongmong was waving and making odd
'meep' noises while hanging from the ceiling fan. "A little help?" he whined.
Several hours later, and after much use of ladders,
dangerous explosives, and unnecessary bribes, the three petpets took their flea
dips.
Jon and Gioacchino trudged into the living room
where Erika and Yoko were lighting a fire in the fireplace. The Eyrie and the
Kacheek were covered from head to toe in thick soapy bubbles, and a strong scent
of lavender hung around them.
Yoko sighed loudly. "Whew, I was worried when
THEY were going to get their flea dips," she giggled.
The two growled.
"Now, now," Erika said. "Let's all just forget
about what's in the past with a nice story." She reached up to the top shelf
of the bookcase and pulled down the heavy volume that was the Neopedia.
Immediately, the suggestions came.
"Fyora! Oh, please read a story with a faerie
in it!"
"How about a nice innocent story about a evil
genius mastermind?"
"Blood! Gore! Unnecessary details about flesh
wounds! Please?"
Erika ignored all of these comments and simply
closed her eyes. Flipping through the pages absentmindedly, she jabbed her finger
in between two pages at random. "Niten Hiroru," she announced.
"Who's that?"
"Well," Erika said, "I guess you'll just have
to listen and find out." She cleared her throat loudly as Gioacchino, Jon, and
Yoko formed a circle around her, and began to read.
"The dying light of the sunset spread across
Neopia, casting a long shadow before the sharp-eyed Kiko. Under his black hood
are many scars - reminders of battles from the past," read Erika.
"What a picturesque visage," Yoko mentioned.
"It's like the millihelen," Gioacchino said.
"The face that launched one ship."
"He wanders ever onward, his eyes always vigilant,
his gaze never faltering."
"Some call him the wanderer," Jon said.
"As he comes to a cross in the road, he pauses
for only a moment. Then, he picks up a branch, and tosses it into the air. The
branch points South. His path, he decides, is South."
"I came to two forks in the road and I," Gioacchino
said, pausing dramatically, "took the one less traveled by."
Erika read on. "After an hour or so, he comes
to a city covered in dust and debris. The sign on the outskirts reads, 'Kokajuko'.
He says nothing, but continues his journey."
"Oooh... I wanna take you down to Kokajuko...
we'll get there fast, and then we'll take it slow," Jon sang.
"The people of the village look like the last
thing they had to eat was their hope. He will find little comfort here, let
alone information. He stops at a small tavern, the roof blackened and burned.
He pushes aside the wrecked door and steps inside, where the tavern keeper gives
him a sideways look."
"Wha-wha-what-what's the dealio? Dealio? Wha-wha-what-what's
the deal?" Jon sang again.
"Let's put it to a vote," Gioacchino snarled,
looking at his younger brother. "Whoever would like Jon to stop singing- say
AYE!"
"AYE!"
"That was just uncalled for. If you didn't like
my singing, you could have at least said it nicely," Jon pouted, wiping away
imaginary tears. "You've gotta have some respect, all I'm asking for... is foralittle..."
"JON!"
"...the tavern keeper gives him a sideways
look. 'Nothing here but old bread and warm water,' he says to the Kiko. 'That'll
do,' the Kiko says, and lands on a stool. The tavern keeper hands him a metal
plate with half a loaf of hard bread and a cup full of warm water. The Kiko
eats in silence."
"It just kills me, that old Kiko," Gioacchino
said. "How he just is sittin' there, eating all by himself. But it just depresses
me to watch him. I can't stand watching people eating by themselves. Phonies."
"'This town -- there's nothing left since
the bandits came in here and wiped everything out,' " Erika read. "The
Kiko said nothing, just ate his bread and sipped his water. The tavern keeper
kept talking."This town has seen its share of troubles, but this is bad. I've
never seen it this bad.""
"Even a shrubber like myself has been hit by
a fair share of troubles," Jon said.
"Just then, a door opens and three Grundos
move into the room. The tavern keeper shuts his mouth and goes back to wiping
down glasses."
"You can tell a simple thing like intimidation
wouldn't get in his way," Yoko giggled.
"'You look new,' one of them says. 'And pretty
tough,' another says. 'Not that tough,' the third says."
"DING, DING!" Jon cried out. "Begin round one!
Three Grundos versus the mysterious Kiko!"
"The Kiko doesn't say anything, just keeps
on chewing his bread, his back to the three Grundos."
"Apathy is scary!" Yoko shuddered.
"'I don't think he's all that tough,' says
the first. 'Not as tough as us,' says the second. The third opens his mouth,
but he's on the floor, unconscious, before he says a single word," Erika
read.
"Oh, he walks warily down the street, with the
brim pulled way down low. Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet, his fists
are ready to go! Are you ready, hey! Are you ready for this? Are you hangin'
on the edge of your seat? Out of the doorway the fists fly... to the sound of
the beat!" sang Jon.
"JON! What did I say about singing!?" cried Gioacchino.
"The Kiko spins like a whirlwind, little claws
flying. The second Grundo fell just as quickly, and the third stepped back,
raising his hands. The Kiko floated silently over the unconscious bodies, watching
the still-standing Grundo with those vigilant eyes."
"Big brother is watching," Gioacchino mused.
"'You aren't so tough,' the Grundo says, rubbing
its knuckles together. The Kiko reaches behind his back, and retrieves a huge
sword, almost four feet long. It's razor-sharp blade gleaming in the red light,
spilling in from the sunset."
"Fear always the intimidating sword descriptions
and sentence fragments!" Yoko giggled.
"'Um...' the Grundo says. 'Maybe I should
just leave...'" Erika read.
"Mr. Kiko presents his compliments to the three
Grundos, and begs them to keep their abnormally large noses out of other people's
business," said Yoko.
"Mr. Kiko would also like to register his astonishment
that such idiots would ever try and beat a NeoFu master, the ugly gits," Jon
said.
"Mr. Kiko bids the three Grundos good day, and
advises them to wash their hair, the slimeballs," Gioacchino finished.
"The tavern keeper leans over the bar. "Yeah!
Maybe you should! And take your friends with you!""
"Thank goodness that tavern keeper saved the
day!" Gioacchino said mockingly.
"The Grundo gathers up his friends, taking
them with him as he goes. He stops right at the door, looking back. "Farvor
will hear about this!" Then, he's gone."
"Gone... like yesterday is gone..." Jon sang
softly to himself.
"Who's Farvor?" asked Yoko.
"The Kiko opens his hand, and the katana disappears,
like a shadow melting between his fingers."
"What's a katana?" Yoko asked despairingly.
"Yoko," Gioacchino said kindly, "I know you're
my sister, but sometimes you can be so dense, I can actually see the light bend
around you."
Yoko smiled happily. "You think I'm bright!"
"'A magic sword, huh?' the tavern keeper asks,
reaching under the bar. The Kiko says nothing."
"Apathy is scary!"
"We know, Yoko..."
"The tavern keeper puts another plate on the
table: this one with meat, and cheese, and vegetables. Not many, but a few.
'This was my dinner,' the tavern keeper says. 'But the way you scared away those
Grundos... you deserve it.' The Kiko shakes his head, pushes the food back to
the tavern keeper, but he says nothing."
Gioacchino, Erika, and Jon all chanced a glance
at Yoko to see her reaction. However, she was temporarily distracted by a shiny
object.
Gioacchino clicked his tongue. "The gates are
down, the lights are flashing, but the train's just not coming..."
"The tavern keeper nods and begins eating
the food. 'Grundos rule this town,' he says. 'A gang of them. Farvor is their
boss. They burn down houses, steal food, and make all kinds of trouble. Someone
needs to do something...' The tavern keeper looks up. The Kiko looks back."
"For every reaction, there is an equal and opposite
reaction," Gioacchino hypothesized.
"You're brilliant," Jon said sarcastically.
"'Maybe someone already has,' the tavern keeper
says. He turns to get the water pitcher, and for just a moment, the Kiko...
smiles. It's gone when the tavern keeper turns back."
"He's not wearing the face that he keeps in a
jar outside of his door," Jon said.
"But what is it good for?" asked Yoko.
"The tavern keeper fills the Kiko's cup back
up," read Erika. " 'What did you say your name is, stranger?' The Kiko
sips more water, and says nothing."
"Apathy is kind of scary..." Jon said, shuddering
slightly.
Erika shut the book. "Wasn't that a good story?
Didn't you just want to pound those guys who teased that poor Kiko?"
"I believe his name is Niten Hiroru," Gioacchino
said.
"How do you know?" said Yoko quizzically.
"Erm... it's the title of the story, Yoko," Gioacchino
replied, staring at his sister with sympathy.
"Oh," she said. "Wow, you're really smart, Gee-Gee,
I could have never figured that out," she said, giggling.
Jon and Gioacchino exchanged worried glances.
Erika looked down at her watch. "Bedtime," she
announced. As they walked down to their bedrooms behind Yoko, Jon turned to
Gioacchino. "Wow," he said, nodding at Yoko, "she's really dense today. I wonder
if it was something in her cereal."
Gioacchino clicked his tongue. "Well, Jon, I'm
not sure, but this is my theory. Where some people have brains, Yoko has resonance."
Jon blinked, and then suddenly laughed loudly.
"Resonance, resonance! That's a good one." He then quickly walked off down the
hall and into his room.
Gioacchino sighed. "When will somebody in this
family be smart enough to understand my jokes?" he moaned, staring up at Erika.
Erika patted him gently on the head. "I'm sure
it will happen someday," she said kindly.
"How soon?"
"Well... whenever you're up to a visit to the
Adoption Center, I suppose."
The End
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