Work in Progress meme
Stolen from people on my f-list: "When you see this, post an excerpt from as many random works-in-progress as you can find lying around. Who knows? Maybe inspiration will burst forth and do something, um, inspiration-y."
He wasn’t running away. And really, it’s not like one could run away from the yakuza, although the Oedo group had made him uncomfortable in a decidedly different manner than by threatening him with physical beatings or burning his home to the ground if he didn’t leave town. No, it was more...hair ruffles. Hair ruffles and kind words and Yankumi standing in front of him with this overeager willingness to help him no matter what, this innocence that made him want to-
As anyone could see, Shin would never admit his real reasons for going to Africa. It wasn’t that anything was pushing him away to leave but rather he knew how powerful the draw would be if he stayed, and the temptation to remain with circumstances as they were to hold onto what good he had while alternately hoping things could change between him and Yankumi.
Before he left, he asked her: “What do you think I will be in the future?”
Yankumi had smiled brightly and spouted off another inspirational speech, about how he could do anything he tried because he was a good person who took care of his friends and how she would always support him because he was her beloved student and that would never change. And because it was Yankumi he knew she believed it with every fiber of her being. So he nodded politely, let her ruffle his hair, and then responded that, yes, indeed he would try to fulfill his dreams and he hoped that she would be able to help him when it came to that.
The next day Shin bought his plane ticket.
----
"Anyway, to begin this exercise you'll need to learn the rhyme. Now, repeat after me..."
"Wait a second!" Yamada interrupted, "Is this going to be in English?"
"Yes," Ueda said with a weary sigh.
"Yes!" chirped Ishihara.
"Don't start repeating me now, wait until I give you the rhyme!"
"Don't sta-"
Yabe clapped a hand over his mouth. "Wait until it's something you can't understand." Ishihara looked up at him with a kind of frank honesty and Yabe amended it. "Something that sounds like English."
"It's going to be stupid," Yamada grumbled.
"You," Ueda snapped, "Don't be-"
"You!" Ishihara shouted gleefully. "Wait, the rest of that was in Japanese."
Ueda gave Yabe an annoyed stare and the older policeman just shrugged as if to say, 'Hey, your fault, not mine.'
The physics professor sighed and, shooting Naoko a silencing glare he continued. "Look, I'll just explain it without the repeating part. It's a conversation rhyme. The first person, that's me by the way, says 'Apple core.' To which the second person responds, 'Furthermore?' Then I continue by saying, 'who is your friend?' And then you tell me who your friend is."
"That doesn't rhyme," Yamada pointed out blithely.
"Maybe English names end in lots of '-ore' sounds?" Ishihara guessed.
"Roger Moore," said Yabe, inordinately pleased that he could be helpful after watching a Bond marathon for his pick up lines.
----
“Fuuoh, this will be fun now that Chiaki-sempai is here to share it!” Nodame giggled. “Poor Sempai had to miss the anime festival to play at his Panini competition instead of going to that pretty castle...”
“It’s Platini and how are they even comparable?”
“Nodame thought you said the Au Bon Marche had a castle in front...”
“A castle front, not in front of it. It’s a toy store so they dress it up to attract children,” he grumbled, looking askance as she merrily cuddled up to him, “or the immature.”
“Ooh, so it’s like that. How romantic! Sempai, will you carry Nodame across the drawbridge like a good husband?”
Chiaki groaned. “That’s a threshold of their home, not a castle.”
“A man’s home is his castle, isn’t it...” Nodame mused before the first display caught her eye. There was no warning as she practically tugged his arm out of its socket to press them both against the window. “Look, they’ve made a village for those dolls to live in. Isn’t it pretty?”
----
When Prince Mytho and Princess Rue arrived at the castle steps they did not expect the welcoming committee to be made up of rabbits. Mytho did not feel surprised at the greeting, except that he was used to sparrows and doves. Birds were prominent in his kingdom and they made for the fastest messengers. Often he only had to extend his hand and one would fly to him, singing sweetly of the prosperity that spread upon his return.
Rue on the other hand had not been long in Mytho’s kingdom before coming here. Although she had grown up within the confines of a story she was still a girl born of flesh and blood, and as such lacked the natural interwoven acceptance her prince had to this odd narrative. So she did not know quite how to react to a herd of brown hares scampering around her dress in synchronized bounds. And apart from gripping the cuff of Mytho’s sleeve, she thought she was doing well to conceal her shock.
At least until they burst into song.
---
Today wasn’t cold for Kyoshi Island but it was enough to make Ty Lee glad for the extra clothing. She was running late, but thankfully it seemed she wasn’t the only one as she spotted Ren along the path with both hands trying to tie the buns in her hair. The gold and emerald headband that dangled around her wrist flickered light through the mist and caught Ty Lee's eye as she was running. From a distance and with her face tilting just so she could have been mistaken for Mai.
Ty Lee blinked then shrugged it off, because fog always makes things fuzzier. It didn’t matter anyway as she bounded over to meet her, happier to have someone to walk with on the way to the training grounds.
“Don’t wait for me! You’ll be late enough as it is,” Ren said stubbornly as she tied off the last of her black hair. “And since Suki is the pushiest drill sergeant in the history of the Kyoshi warriors, she’ll make us regret not being on time.”
“Yeah, she’s definitely strictest I’ve known,” Ty Lee giggled. It abruptly stopped when she saw the small flicker of discomfort in Ren’s eyes, or at least disbelief. She pretended not to notice and pulled the metal band from Ren’s hands to set it on her forehead, adjusting it until it was just right.
“Ty Lee, I...”
“Hurry up and finish,” Ty Lee scolded in a mock tease. She made sure her tone was bright because she was a morning person. “Or she’ll make us run laps around the whole island.”
Ren quickly tied it off, a guilty look hidden under the shadow of her bangs that Ty Lee would never comment on. They both began trudging toward the rendevous in a familiar silence, Ty Lee bouncing along the way but not as sprightly as she could have.
---
“We have to put some distance between us and this place,” Azula said right on the heels of a respectful silence, “as soon as possible.”
The earthbender knelt and rested her hand at the foot of the grave, willing the earth to even itself and coalesce over the body. She hoped whatever spirit or afterlife that existed would accept him the way the earth did. “I know.”
“So remove my chains.”
“Excuse me?” Toph snorted incredulously. “For a second there I thought you were talking crazy.”
“They slow me down, we both know it. And if someone manages to overtake us or word gets out about his murder faster than we can travel don’t you think I’ll look a little conspicuous with these?” She held them up for inspection, not bothering to conceal the loud rattling the cuffs made.
“No way.”
Azula took a step forward. “You’re going to end up risking both of our lives because you’re afraid I’ll slip out of your grasp?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” Toph said evenly. “But that doesn’t mean I’d trust you.”
Suddenly, the plaintive gesture became a weapon, the chain looping around the earthbender’s arm and twisting to make the iron pull her hands tightly behind her. Azula’s face was close enough that her breath could move the loose strands of Toph’s hair. But even closer was a three inch piece of slate, sharpened like a blade and pressed along the underside of her jaw by the prisoner’s steady shackled hand.
“What does this tell you?” Azula asked slowly.
Toph didn’t dare swallow but kept her voice steady. “That you’ve got a bigger chip on shoulder than up your sleeve.”
For a tense moment nothing happened. There were a dozen ways to disarm and incapacitate the firebender before she could try to draw blood but-even though she really wanted to-Toph held herself back. If Azula was seriously attempting to kill her she would have gone for the throat already, quick and without preamble. Toph was confident enough to believe she wouldn’t have succeeded, but she might have done enough damage to make it hard to go on alone.
“It should tell you that if I really wanted to escape into the wilderness of the Earth Kingdom I wouldn’t let you get in my way. I’d been watching-there were times where you were much more vulnerable than this when I could have struck.”
Toph clenched her teeth, thinking of Azula stooping over, shoulder to shoulder with her as they laid Roi Se’s body into the makeshift grave. And she silently had to admit, she let her guard down that time. “Here’s a hint. Threats aren’t the way to get people trust you. Ever. I’m sure Mai gave you the message before.”
The point of the weapon touched Toph’s cheek briefly, hesitating. Then Azula withdrew, releasing her arm and the lingering threat. “It’s not about trust. I’m proving to you that you can believe me. That you need to believe me, otherwise we’ll both fail.”
“Believe you, got it.” Toph nodded. Then turned around and slugged Azula in the stomach, sending the prisoner reeling. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are seriously messed up?!”
---
Clearly I need to work on not falling behind in my schoolwork if only to complete some writing prompts for my own sanity and so the people I need to write for don't hunt me down for flaking on them.
He wasn’t running away. And really, it’s not like one could run away from the yakuza, although the Oedo group had made him uncomfortable in a decidedly different manner than by threatening him with physical beatings or burning his home to the ground if he didn’t leave town. No, it was more...hair ruffles. Hair ruffles and kind words and Yankumi standing in front of him with this overeager willingness to help him no matter what, this innocence that made him want to-
As anyone could see, Shin would never admit his real reasons for going to Africa. It wasn’t that anything was pushing him away to leave but rather he knew how powerful the draw would be if he stayed, and the temptation to remain with circumstances as they were to hold onto what good he had while alternately hoping things could change between him and Yankumi.
Before he left, he asked her: “What do you think I will be in the future?”
Yankumi had smiled brightly and spouted off another inspirational speech, about how he could do anything he tried because he was a good person who took care of his friends and how she would always support him because he was her beloved student and that would never change. And because it was Yankumi he knew she believed it with every fiber of her being. So he nodded politely, let her ruffle his hair, and then responded that, yes, indeed he would try to fulfill his dreams and he hoped that she would be able to help him when it came to that.
The next day Shin bought his plane ticket.
----
"Anyway, to begin this exercise you'll need to learn the rhyme. Now, repeat after me..."
"Wait a second!" Yamada interrupted, "Is this going to be in English?"
"Yes," Ueda said with a weary sigh.
"Yes!" chirped Ishihara.
"Don't start repeating me now, wait until I give you the rhyme!"
"Don't sta-"
Yabe clapped a hand over his mouth. "Wait until it's something you can't understand." Ishihara looked up at him with a kind of frank honesty and Yabe amended it. "Something that sounds like English."
"It's going to be stupid," Yamada grumbled.
"You," Ueda snapped, "Don't be-"
"You!" Ishihara shouted gleefully. "Wait, the rest of that was in Japanese."
Ueda gave Yabe an annoyed stare and the older policeman just shrugged as if to say, 'Hey, your fault, not mine.'
The physics professor sighed and, shooting Naoko a silencing glare he continued. "Look, I'll just explain it without the repeating part. It's a conversation rhyme. The first person, that's me by the way, says 'Apple core.' To which the second person responds, 'Furthermore?' Then I continue by saying, 'who is your friend?' And then you tell me who your friend is."
"That doesn't rhyme," Yamada pointed out blithely.
"Maybe English names end in lots of '-ore' sounds?" Ishihara guessed.
"Roger Moore," said Yabe, inordinately pleased that he could be helpful after watching a Bond marathon for his pick up lines.
----
“Fuuoh, this will be fun now that Chiaki-sempai is here to share it!” Nodame giggled. “Poor Sempai had to miss the anime festival to play at his Panini competition instead of going to that pretty castle...”
“It’s Platini and how are they even comparable?”
“Nodame thought you said the Au Bon Marche had a castle in front...”
“A castle front, not in front of it. It’s a toy store so they dress it up to attract children,” he grumbled, looking askance as she merrily cuddled up to him, “or the immature.”
“Ooh, so it’s like that. How romantic! Sempai, will you carry Nodame across the drawbridge like a good husband?”
Chiaki groaned. “That’s a threshold of their home, not a castle.”
“A man’s home is his castle, isn’t it...” Nodame mused before the first display caught her eye. There was no warning as she practically tugged his arm out of its socket to press them both against the window. “Look, they’ve made a village for those dolls to live in. Isn’t it pretty?”
----
When Prince Mytho and Princess Rue arrived at the castle steps they did not expect the welcoming committee to be made up of rabbits. Mytho did not feel surprised at the greeting, except that he was used to sparrows and doves. Birds were prominent in his kingdom and they made for the fastest messengers. Often he only had to extend his hand and one would fly to him, singing sweetly of the prosperity that spread upon his return.
Rue on the other hand had not been long in Mytho’s kingdom before coming here. Although she had grown up within the confines of a story she was still a girl born of flesh and blood, and as such lacked the natural interwoven acceptance her prince had to this odd narrative. So she did not know quite how to react to a herd of brown hares scampering around her dress in synchronized bounds. And apart from gripping the cuff of Mytho’s sleeve, she thought she was doing well to conceal her shock.
At least until they burst into song.
---
Today wasn’t cold for Kyoshi Island but it was enough to make Ty Lee glad for the extra clothing. She was running late, but thankfully it seemed she wasn’t the only one as she spotted Ren along the path with both hands trying to tie the buns in her hair. The gold and emerald headband that dangled around her wrist flickered light through the mist and caught Ty Lee's eye as she was running. From a distance and with her face tilting just so she could have been mistaken for Mai.
Ty Lee blinked then shrugged it off, because fog always makes things fuzzier. It didn’t matter anyway as she bounded over to meet her, happier to have someone to walk with on the way to the training grounds.
“Don’t wait for me! You’ll be late enough as it is,” Ren said stubbornly as she tied off the last of her black hair. “And since Suki is the pushiest drill sergeant in the history of the Kyoshi warriors, she’ll make us regret not being on time.”
“Yeah, she’s definitely strictest I’ve known,” Ty Lee giggled. It abruptly stopped when she saw the small flicker of discomfort in Ren’s eyes, or at least disbelief. She pretended not to notice and pulled the metal band from Ren’s hands to set it on her forehead, adjusting it until it was just right.
“Ty Lee, I...”
“Hurry up and finish,” Ty Lee scolded in a mock tease. She made sure her tone was bright because she was a morning person. “Or she’ll make us run laps around the whole island.”
Ren quickly tied it off, a guilty look hidden under the shadow of her bangs that Ty Lee would never comment on. They both began trudging toward the rendevous in a familiar silence, Ty Lee bouncing along the way but not as sprightly as she could have.
---
“We have to put some distance between us and this place,” Azula said right on the heels of a respectful silence, “as soon as possible.”
The earthbender knelt and rested her hand at the foot of the grave, willing the earth to even itself and coalesce over the body. She hoped whatever spirit or afterlife that existed would accept him the way the earth did. “I know.”
“So remove my chains.”
“Excuse me?” Toph snorted incredulously. “For a second there I thought you were talking crazy.”
“They slow me down, we both know it. And if someone manages to overtake us or word gets out about his murder faster than we can travel don’t you think I’ll look a little conspicuous with these?” She held them up for inspection, not bothering to conceal the loud rattling the cuffs made.
“No way.”
Azula took a step forward. “You’re going to end up risking both of our lives because you’re afraid I’ll slip out of your grasp?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” Toph said evenly. “But that doesn’t mean I’d trust you.”
Suddenly, the plaintive gesture became a weapon, the chain looping around the earthbender’s arm and twisting to make the iron pull her hands tightly behind her. Azula’s face was close enough that her breath could move the loose strands of Toph’s hair. But even closer was a three inch piece of slate, sharpened like a blade and pressed along the underside of her jaw by the prisoner’s steady shackled hand.
“What does this tell you?” Azula asked slowly.
Toph didn’t dare swallow but kept her voice steady. “That you’ve got a bigger chip on shoulder than up your sleeve.”
For a tense moment nothing happened. There were a dozen ways to disarm and incapacitate the firebender before she could try to draw blood but-even though she really wanted to-Toph held herself back. If Azula was seriously attempting to kill her she would have gone for the throat already, quick and without preamble. Toph was confident enough to believe she wouldn’t have succeeded, but she might have done enough damage to make it hard to go on alone.
“It should tell you that if I really wanted to escape into the wilderness of the Earth Kingdom I wouldn’t let you get in my way. I’d been watching-there were times where you were much more vulnerable than this when I could have struck.”
Toph clenched her teeth, thinking of Azula stooping over, shoulder to shoulder with her as they laid Roi Se’s body into the makeshift grave. And she silently had to admit, she let her guard down that time. “Here’s a hint. Threats aren’t the way to get people trust you. Ever. I’m sure Mai gave you the message before.”
The point of the weapon touched Toph’s cheek briefly, hesitating. Then Azula withdrew, releasing her arm and the lingering threat. “It’s not about trust. I’m proving to you that you can believe me. That you need to believe me, otherwise we’ll both fail.”
“Believe you, got it.” Toph nodded. Then turned around and slugged Azula in the stomach, sending the prisoner reeling. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are seriously messed up?!”
---
Clearly I need to work on not falling behind in my schoolwork if only to complete some writing prompts for my own sanity and so the people I need to write for don't hunt me down for flaking on them.