Topic: Side-storyline: Ryouko-chan's Sweet Seventeen Spectacular

[Lum-chan]

By Parias on Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 09:53:
(RP ON)
Moments after Terra recovered, she became innately aware of a hole in her memory. Oddly enough, she couldn't remember anything that had happened for the past 20 minutes. Figuring something was up, she headed off for the school.

When she arrived, she marched right to Sakura's office. She was about to knock on the door, but the voices she heard beyond it gave her reason to pause. She listened for a moment. There appeared to be some form of story being told. And she could've sworn that was Ryouko in there..

"Why Ryouko's hanging around Cherry willingly is beyond me. Why she's hanging aroud Cherry listening to him babble old war stories is an even greater mystery...."

Sighing, Terra eventually came to the conclusion that she needed some rest, and spun around to head back down the hallway.

Inside of the room, Cherry had paused a moment to devour another bowl of ramen. Ryouko was thinking a moment to reflect on what had been told thus far. She couldn't help but smile a little at how lively Hudson sounded at the time.. not that he was any slower today.

She was suddenly jarred from her thoughts by a loud crashing coming just from beyond the door, followed by 2 voices letting loose a long string of obscenities.

"WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHERE THE HELL YOU'RE SWEEPING YOU IDIOT?" yelled the female voice.

"BORIS TIRED OF LISTENING TO RAMBLING CRAZY WOMEN!" yelled another, with a heavy Russian accent.

"CRAZY WOMEN?! I'LL SHOW YOU CRAZY!"

"Hey! Give mop back to Boris!"

*THOCK!*

Sakura and Ryouko gritted their teeth in unision as the unmistakable crunch of a large, blunt object connecting with a skull was heard. Sakura looked at Ryouko questioningly.

"Is that....?"

Ryouko simply sighed and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it. She was greeted by the sight of Terra, rubbing her elbow whilst completely drenched in soapy water. In front of her was one of the school's janitors, lying unconscious with a large red mark on his face.

"Terra, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Uhm...... just.. passing through?" replied Terra, shrugging and standing up while trying to shake off some of the water. Aside from causing everything within a 2 meter radius to also get drenched (aside from Ryouko, who smartly stepped back), not much was accomplished. She let loose a shiver and turned to leave.

"Hold on Terra.." called Sakura. "You'll probably catch a cold wandering home like that. Get in here, I'll get you a towel so you can dry off."

"I wouldn't want to intrude...."

"Did I ASK you to stay? No, I TOLD you to stay!" she said sternly, throwing a towel at her. "Now get in here!"

"Yes ma'am!" Terra said, scurrying in. Sakura and Ryouko returned to their respective seats.

"Is it alright with you Ryouko?" asked Sakura.

"What? Oh, yes, of course."

"Alright. Cherry, lets continue."

No response.

"CHERRY!" she barked, grabbing a spare bowl and smacking him upside the head with it. He spat out the noodles he was contently chewing on and returned to the book. Terra leaned in closer, curious.

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

By Jocko on Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - 21:34:
(RP ON)

"What's this for?" Cherry blinked.

Sakura scowled, "forget that for now, back to the story."

Although, to be honest, Sakura was trying hard to remember exactly why a Russian was working at Tomobiki.

Ryouko leaned close to Terra, "Cherry is telling a story about Hudson-sama and he delivering a barrel of Chinese honey back in 1949."

"Oh," Terra nodded, becoming entranced. Was Cherry as annoying when he was young as he was in old age? She would find out soon...

...The US Jeep happily rumbled and bounced down the cobblestone streets of Tomobiki; approaching a small temporary bridge across the Tomobiki River in the distance. Because of various foot traffic and other vehicles, the Jeep was limited to a speed of between 10 and 15 mph.

"No, Cherry!" Hudson blared at the monk in the Jeeps' back; riding along with the honey barrel.

"Why not?" Cherry chortled; trying to sound like a mischevious little boy.

Hudson turned to look back at him. "Well gee," Warren made a face, "I dunno, maybe something being perversely wrong about a holy man stealing something he was charged with protecting?!?"

Cherry frowned; put on another face. "You westerners and you're funny ideas about Priestly obligations! And I am not stealing it!"

Hudson grinned sinister, "don't trifle with me, Cherry. I've talked to Ishikawa; he says you need to be good."

Cherry always recoiled at the mention of his old mentor, Toshio Ishikawa.

Hudson chuckled, and glanced back at their driver, Captain Gatewood.

Gatewood was obviously making an unfavorable judgement of Hudson. Whether he was sent here for that specific purpose, Warren could not currently say.

They were driving at about 15 mph; slow enough to see a happy young couple out with a young child at their side.

A relatively common sight, yes. But Hudson could see that Gatewood clearly saw that the man was in US military uniform; a Lieutenant. Gatewood subtly lost his composure as the man looked at the Jeep to see Hudson.

Hudson waved, "Mornin' Lieutenant, I see Reiji's walking now!"

The woman, in a traditional kimono and probably in her early 20s, blushed with motherly pride.

The Lietenant smiled, hollered back, "He's making his parents proud everyday, Colonel! Thanks, and good mornin'!"

Gatewood, still not paying enough attention to the road, threw an angry glare at Hudson: "What exactly was that, *Colonel*?"

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Jocko>
(RP ON)

Cherry cleared his throat, "it was on that day that Captain Gatewood would find his world view rocked forever by fate, Col. Hudson, myself, and a big delicious barrel of Chinese honey..." the old monk salivated.

*insert cool time flashback effects*

"Wow, cool!" Terra whistled.

"Exquisite," Ryouko breathed.

Sakura groaned, "Get on with it, Uncle!"
_________________

..."what do you mean, Captain?" Hudson looked back at him. "Is there something you'd like to report?"

Gatewood swallowed, and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

Hudson put on a thin smile, crossed his arms across his chest as Cherry piped up in the back seat by the honey barrel.

"What are we stopping for, Occupier-san?"

Hudson glanced back at the monk, "letting the Captain here learn something about life here in Tomobiki-Cho."

Hudson looked at Gatewood, "begin any time, Captain."

"Colonel, permission to speak freely?"

"Granted," Hudson smiled without humor.

"Do you realize how improper it is for intermarriage and mingling between the local population and the soldiers?"

Hudson looked him square in the eye, "now look, *Captain*, in *my* district we follow the laws and regulations set forth by Washington, the military, the occupation forces, and the Japanese officials. When there is room for my interpretation, I give it."

"And that extends to intermarriage with the--" Gatewood stopped himself.

Hudson sneered, "do watch yourself, Captain. I run a completely integrated operation here. You see soldiers here who are white, black, and practically everything in between."

Gatewood locked his gaze at the road ahead.

Hudson continued, "so what if some of my men have fallen in love? Who am I stop something as wonderful as love? Are you someone to get in the way of love, Gatewood?"

Gatewood, a hard line visible at his jaw, sighed, "understood, Colonel. Shall we be on our way?"

"Of course, Captain." Hudson settled back.

Cherry, eating something, spoke: "Captain Gatewood, I am on a quest to find the Occupier here a proper woman, I was wondering--"

"CHERRY!" Hudson shouted, landing a fist to the top of the monk's bald head.

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Parias>
(RP ON)
Lum was becoming depressed. Practically the entire city had been turned upside-down by now (through a combined effort of Lum and Ataru, a large Oni military force, and a small group of Kuroko willingly lent out by Mendou) and there was still no sign of Ten. The same was said for the space-bound search going on by almost the entire Oni fleet.

Even Ataru was starting to become slightly concerned. The little brat had vanished at least once or twice before, but never without leaving some kind of trail behind... right now, there was absolutely nothing. There was that odd hooded figure they had bumped into earlier, but searching tirelessly for him turned up nothing either. It's as if Ten, and all evidence leading to his abduction has somehow vanished into thin air.

Ataru and Lum were sitting on a bench at the side of the road, trying to figure out where to look next when they heard some loud pleading coming up the road. Normally this wouldn't have caught his attention, except for the topic of their conversation....

"C'mon Megane, what's in the box?"

"Yeah, tell us! What'd you find up there?"

"Ah ah! That is for me to know, and you to find out.... at Ryouko's birthday party."

"Awwww, come on, just a little peek? You wouldn't have it in the first place if we weren't there to distract him!"

"NO! Keep your hands off of it!"

Quite miffed, Ataru stood up and walked into Megane's path, expecting them to stop before trampling all over him. They stopped indeed, but Megane was so caught up trying to keep his package away from the grabbing hands of the rest of the stormtroopers that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and it wasn't untill he was stepping all over Ataru's face that they finally paused and looked down.

"Woops, sorry Ataru...." started Megane.

"You idiot! Get off my face!" yelled Ataru, before shoving him off and standing up, footprints plastered across his forehead. "What have you been doing?! Didn't you hear, Ten is missing!"

The stormtroopers just stared.

"B-b-but.. we were preparing for Ryouko's birthday party!" stuttered Chibi.

"And, uh, besides, we already looked for him... we couldn't find him." Megane glanced uncomfortably at Lum, the wrapped package he was holding, and back to Lum again. "Can we go now?"

Everyone turned to Lum as she started sniffing. "Darling can't find him.. daddy can't find him... even you can't find him!"

"Uh oh..." breathed Ataru.

"WAAAAAAAAA! I'LL NEVER FIND TEN!!"

The waterworks started. Megane, his spontaneous loyalty to Lum overriding anything else he had planned at the moment quickly flung the package over his shoulder (where it landed in the middle of the road) and sprung to the aid of his fallen Princess, along with the rest of the stormtroopers. A very audiable "ouch!" was heard as the package landed on the pavement. Everyone froze and stared at it. Lum slowly rose to her feet and blinked.

"Um... Megane? What's in the package?"

"Oh! Uh, haha! Just some, uh.. things I gathered..."

Lum slowly began walking towards the package, curious. Beads of sweat fell down Megane's forehead.

"Oh god, she's going to find out the secret behind her missing things...... what kind of toy does she have that goes 'ouch' anyways? She's almost there! I need to think of something, fast!"

Megane was about to call for a general retreat, when the humm of motorized vehicles filled the air. Before Lum could place a single step onto the road, a large tank rolled passed, not even slowing down to honk. It was quickly followed by another with two large missile racks mounted on it, then three more of a slightly different variety. Then a group of APCs rolled past, filled with yelling troopers. The long line of units was finished by a large squad of marines themselves, marching on after the vehicles.

"What's going on?" yelled Ataru over the loud roar.

"Some kind of stakeout! We think we have a lead on who took the kid!" yelled back one of the marines, before being poked by one of the higher-ranking officers and being told to get back into formation.

"They've found Ten!" squealed Lum in joy, grabbing Ataru's arm and taking off again in the direction the vehicles were heading. Ataru's screaming rapidly faded away, but the stormtroopers took no notice, they could only stare in disbelief as the miliary column marched on by. Finally, it ended.

"Our present! It's ruined!" moured Kakugari, holding his hands against his head.

"What'll we get for Ryouko now?" asked Chibi.

"Wait, you idiots, where is the gift? I can't see it anywhere!" Megane started looking around.

"There it is!" yelled Chibi, pointing up the road. "It must've been kicked up there!"

They quickly ran to it's location and stared down, still in further shock. Although slightly dented, the package still appeared to be in pristine condition.

"Wow..." breathed Kakugari. "How much did they wrap that thing?"

"I told them to do it 'as much as possible' if I recall correctly..." Megane straightened his glasses, bent down, and retrieved the package. "Now then, where were we? Ahh yes, my impending richness from the Mendou family..."

"You mean our impending richness!" cut in Chibi.

"Uh.... right. 'Our' impending richness..."

They continued on their path up the sidewalk, stopping a short ways down to devolve into another argument over who should hold the package.
(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Jocko>
(RP ON)

Ryouko looked at Cherry, "Did Hudson-sama punish Gatewood?"

"Er, no..." Cherry shuffled his feet, "Gatewood eventually went back to the United States and lived a normal American life, whatever that is..."

The story continued...

The Jeep was crossing the temporary bridge across the Tomobiki River with the arguing Hudson and Cherry.

"First of all, it wouldn't be proper!" Hudson blared at the passenger monk, "and stop fondling the honey barrel!"

"Hudson-sama, I know many young women who are 16 years and older who need fondling--I mean, husbands," Cherry grinned a grin not unlike that of a lecher.

Hudson smiled smartly, "Then why don't you renounce your vows and have at it?"

To Warren's surprise, Cherry seemed to consider it. It was then that the Jeep blew a tire.

Stopping in the middle of the bridge, Gatewood and Hudson jumped out to look at the tire.

"Lordy! Another bolt," Hudson said in dismay at the three inch wide bolt sticking partway out of the front-left tire.

"Captain, get on the radio and get a tow truck out here real ricky-tick," Hudson looked around; they were blocking an entire lane on the two lane bridge, "let's get out of here before the factory worker's go on lunch break."

Gatewood got back behind the wheel, picked up the radio receiver, tried a few channels, "Colonel, the radio is dead."

Outside the Jeep, Warren threw his hands up in defeat. Perfect, just fucking perfect, here he was on a temporary bridge with a crazy monk, a racist driver, a broken radio, and the biggest barrel of honey he had ever seen.

Quickly, he glanced around. Hudson knew there was a guard post just up the road and over the hill; luckily, there were only a few wagons of rice sellers waiting for the jeep to get out of the way. A problem easily solved by the lack of oncoming traffic.

Warren was about to start running when he noticed Cherry rummaging around in the back of the jeep.

"Aw Shit..."

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Parias>
(RP ON)
"You're sure this is the place?" whispered the leader over the radio.

"Yup, I'm sure!" replied the second in command.

"Then this is it. We'll wrap it up here and get off this miserable rock so I can get back to my girl. Three, four, head around the back. Six and eight, you take the upper windows. Nine, ready with that charge. Remember, we just want to knock the wall down, not nuke everything within a 5 mile radius!"

The squad began splitting up as the Colonel barked out the orders. After an impressive 10 second's delay, everyone signalled they were ready.

"Charge ready sir!"

"Alright... on my mark..."

Meanwhile, inside of the giftshop Megane had visited earlier, the saleswoman was conversing with a customer.

"....So this odd looking fellow with a grin wider than Hong Kong appears and slams this package onto the counter, then tells me to wrap it up as much as I possibly could!"

The customer rolled his eyes. "So?"

"Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, see, I mean, who can turn down the extra cash? But the really wierd thing is, this package kept going 'Ouch' whenever I moved it too quickly or slammed it on something..."

The customer was now wide-eyed. "Maybe there was a person inside?"

The saleswoman shook her head. "Nope, the package is way too small, no normal person could fit in there. But it really freaked me out. Strangest thing I've ever seen."

"Hmmm... is the package still around?"

"No, the kid came by already and-"

They were startled by a loud yell from outside, as the front wall to the store suddenly disconnected itself from the rest of the building and flew inwards. The couple smartly ducked under it as it embedded itself in a mess somewhere at the rear of the store.

"What in god's name..."

Another loud yell was heard, this time from above, as the windows shattered and armoured soldiers started to pour in. More burst in from the back, and a large group, plus an APC pushed their way in through the front. They stopped in front of the pair and aimed their weapons at them.

"Wha.. what the hell is going on here?" said the customer, shocked. The saleswoman fainted.

The second in command, unnerved by the saleswoman's sudden movements, yelled out. "SHE'S GONNA BLOW! OPEN FIRE!"

Approximately 548,300 ejected shells and 60 hand grenades later, the smoke began to clear, revealing one unconscious woman, one scared-to-death customer who's eyes were trying to jump out of their sockets, and one piece of a lavish countertop, reduced to rubble from the firing. Somehow, through sheer luck, both of the innocents were untouched.

"LIEUTENAAAAANNNT!" yelled the leader, poking his head in. Scared, the second in command scurried over to the Colonel.

"Uh, sir.. I can explain...."

"I spend 30 months of my miserable life training you pathetic excuses for a hand-picked crew, and what do I get?"

"I.... I don't know sir, what DO you get?"

"A bunch of worthless lowlifes who couldn't aim properly if their lives depended on it! See that wall over there? It's supposed to be over HERE!" The Colonel pointed to his feet. "I gave you strict instructions as to how that wall should be knocked down! KNOCKED DOWN Lieutenant, not BLOWN ACROSS THE ROOM! Now I want you to retrieve the wall, place it back into position, and do the whole thing again untill you get it right! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Sir, yes sir!" yelled the second in command, sweating bullets. He quickly began ordering the demolition squad to set the wall back up again.

"As for the rest of you, split up and find the objective!" The Colonel pointed to a pair of young soldiers wielding little more than handguns. "Take these 2 prisoners in for interrogation!"

They saluted and grabbed the innocents, piling them into the APC and driving away. The Colonel watched with approval and lit a cigar.

"I hate my fucking life." he whispered.
(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Jocko>
(RP ON)

"Uncle!" Sakura shook her fist in anger.

Cherry gave his niece a look. "Really Sakura, you knew before the story began what I did..."

"That isn't an excuse for your gluttony! Even if it was 36 years ago!"

The argument was about to continue when Terra laughed, "now, now Nurse Sakura, people in rock houses shouldn't throw glass..."

Ryouko looked to Terra, "Terra-chan, I believe the phrase is 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.'"

"Well, I'll be damned."

Things calmed down, and Cherry continued with the narrative...

******

"Cherry!" Hudson shouted as he ran for the Jeep.

Alas, inside the vehicle Cherry was busy handling a tire jack and attempting to open the honey barrel.

"Come to Fate," Cherry slobbered, rocking back and forth; balancing on Hudson's attache case. Seeing he wasn't making any progress, the Buddhist monk gave it all he could.

"Damn you Cherry!!!!" Hudson reached the Jeep only to see the honey barrel rock and tip over, hitting the side of the Jeep.

Cherry climbed on top of the barrel, teetering over the side of the Jeep, and was continued trying to open the barrel.

The monk looked up at Hudson just standing there next to the driver's side, looking stunned.

"Mr. Occupier! Mr. Bigot! Honey for us all!" Cherry slobbered as he stood up and promptly caused the rest of the barrel to tip over out of the Jeep.

CLANG! SPLASH!

"'Tis Fate!"

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Parias>
(RP ON)
Shutaro was still pacing back and forth. Shingo watched from his seat as the indentation in the floor continued to grow deeper. Discarded utensils and drink containers littered the floor. Apart from the soft sound of Shutaro's boots marching back and forth through the room, it was absolutely quiet, to the point where one could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly, Shutaro broke the silence by snapping his fingers. "I've got it!"

Shingo's head shifted up from it's near-asleep position in eagerness. "What?"

"Well, Hudson is a very attractive person, correct?"

Shingo blinked. "Well, uh, I wouldn't know Shutaro...."

"Shut up! I didn't mean it THAT way. But my dear sister finds him so attractive, so imagine what others would think of him!"

"......What are you saying?"

Shutaro began snickering. "Hee hee, it's brilliant! YES! This will do it once and for all! HAHAHAAHAH!" Shutaro became serious for a moment. "But I'll have to be fast, before he wakes up...."

Before Shingo could inquire further, Shutaro was already out the door and sprinting down the hallway. Confused, Shingo followed.
(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Jocko>
(RP ON)

Sakura sat completely still for a moment. She spoke, "it doesn't matter how many times I hear the damn story, I'm still ashamed at my family..."

"Oh come on Nurse Sakura," Terra snorted. "Everyone has a black sheep in their family-"

"No, no, no Terra!" Sakura's expression become exasperated, "it's practically a trait in the male side!"

"Well," Ryouko took a sip of tea, "you should be happy that Cherry is a monk."

Cherry, opening another bag of potato chips, chomped down on some and said, "anyways, continuing..." for once seeming to sidestep a chance to annoy his Shinto Priestess niece.

***

Hudson wasted no time in running over to the other side of the Jeep, he only wasted half a second looking at the smashed-down guard rail before jumping into the Tomobiki River after Cherry.

SPLASH!

Upon surfacing and looking around, Hudson was greeting with the sight of Cherry on the, thankfully, floating and mostly undamaged honey barrel of steel.

"Mr. Occupier!" Cherry squealed, still holding the jack in his hand.

Hudson held his anger in check until he was on the honey barrel with Cherry.

Once on the barrel, Hudson let loose with a nice punch to Cherry's jaw, stunning the monk and flattening him on the barrel.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Hudson screamed, "LOOK AT THE TROUBLE YOU'VE CAUSED!!!" Warren picked up Cherry by the collar and forced him to look at their surroundings.

Hudson calmed down somewhat, "We are currently in the river all because you can't keep your goddamned hands off any opportunity for a free snack! Shit, I wonder sometimes if you'd have anything against stealing candy from a baby!"

Cherry smirked; his only real way of admitting wrong doing. "Hudson-sama, we seem to be drifting away from the bridge."

"Wha-?" Hudson looked back to the bridge. Yes, there was Gatewood looking back at him.

"Do you think he's going to help us?" Cherry asked.

Hudson ignored the monk; raised his voice as loud as he could, "Gatewood! Go to the check point and tell them I need a Navy patrol boat, on the double!"

Gatewood, getting smaller as the current got a little faster, nodded and began running.

Hudson dropped Cherry to the barrel. "You little freeloader," Hudson muttered, "why do you always cause trouble in this town?!?"

Not realizing what Hudson had invited to be said, Cherry took the initiative.

"FATE!!!"

"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to be telling this to a shrink when I'm forty-five?"

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Jocko>
RP ON)

Sakura cast a glance at her Uncle, "A Navy patrol boat? I never heard this part..."

Ryouko giggled.

***

Hudson and Cherry sat at opposite ends of the barrel; not speaking.

The Tomobiki River was getting wider now, at the rate they were drifting, Cherry estimated about another hour before they reached Tokyo harbor.

"Hudson-sama, how long until your Navy's patrol boat arrives?"

For a moment, Hudson held his silence. Then, "assuming Gatewood doesn't want to spend the rest of his tour in the brig...I'd say about thirty to forty-five minutes."

"And if Gatewood-sama wants to spend the rest of his tour in the brig?" Cherry kicked the water in a hang dog manner.

"A fishing boat will help us, or we can just ditch the barrel and swim," Hudson shrugged.

Cherry shuddered at the thought, looked back down at the wonderful honey barrel beneath them, and the water...at the shore only two or three hundred feet to either side of them...

The monk heaved a heavy sigh, "Hudson-sama, I am responsible for the spiritual welfare of all who live in Tomobiki-Cho...why do you insist on living like you do?"

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Parias>
(RP ON)

"Shutaro?"

"What? What is it?"

"Uh... two questions.. why are we trying to break into one of your rooms, and why can't you get in already?"

"I told you already idiot, this is Ryouko's room! And she has all kinds of damn locking mechanisms installed on her doors.."

Shutaro struggled futily with the door knob for a few more seconds before pulling out a small, pin-like device and sticking it in the keyhole. He jiggled it for a moment, then withdrew it as the door made a clicking noise. He opened it a touch and, sticking his hand in, he carefully made sure there weren't any tripwires set to release the ever-reliable buckets of paint onto his head. Finding none, he cautiously opened the door.

"Shutaro, maybe we shouldn't......."

"SHH!" Shutaro hissed at Shingo. "Stay out here and keep an eye out." And with that, Shutaro dissappeared into the darkness of Ryouko's room. Shingo rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

After narrowly dodging the spring-up surprise he had planted much earlier in the day, Shutaro snuck over to the bed where Hudson was sleeping. He cackled quietly to himself as he saw Hudson roll into a particularly interesting position. He pulled out a small ultraviolet camera out of his pocket and quickly snapped a photo. It was too risky to use a normal flashbulb, and the image could easily be reconstructed and enhanced as necessary later. Still snickering, Shutaro spin around faster than was wise and started scurrying out of the room.

*CLANG!*

Shutaro rubbed his skull from the sudden unexpected obstacle in his way and frowned as he saw his spring-loaded surprise begin hurling bad insults at him. A small door opened on the pop-up puppet and a boxing glove came out end-first, as if offering it to him. He froze and held his breath.

"Nugga... wha?" murmured Hudson groggily, rolling over. Shutaro kicked the puppet in an attempt to get it to shut up, but to no avail. Out of options, he panicked and took off out the door. Shingo, surprised, rushed to follow him.

"What happened in there?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Shutaro seethed.

Back in Ryouko's room, Hudson sat up in his bed, wondering where the noise was coming from. He threw on a housecoat and switched on the lights, noticing with some annoyance that the door was open a crack. He bent down and examined the strange object which was pretending to be Shutaro and making quite the mockery of his parents. Allowing himself a small smile, Hudson retrieved the boxing glove and delivered a swift blow to the puppet's noggin, sending it smacking against the wall, silenced.

"Shutaro is getting wierder and wierder all the time. I don't think anyone else would've planted this.."

He turned to go back to bed, untill a small object on the floor caught his attention. He picked it up and examined it, curious. Determining that it was a camera, he set the item aside, resolving to check into it later. For now, however, he was damn tired. Hudson locked the door and crawled back into bed, quickly drifting off to sleep again.

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Jocko>
(RP ON)

Sakura, Terra, and Ryouko drew in closer to the monk as he grabbed another handfull of potato chips.

"And Hudson-sama said..." Cherry glanced around, "anyone got some dip?"

"Later," Ryouko said firmly, "after you finish the story, I'll see you get an entire barrel of dip!"

Cherry grinned with determination; a monk on a mission. "For Fate...and the dip!"

****

Hudson kicked the water again, "why do you want to know, Cherry?"

"Maybe I can help," Cherry offered.

Hudson chuckled dryly. "What? To blackmail me into letting you into the base mess hall at night?"

"No, Mr. Occupier, I really do want to help in anyway I can..."

Warren sighed, there were times when Cherry was serious and honest. This might be one of them.

"Well..." Hudson began.

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Parias>
(RP ON)
4:22 PM
Moroboshi Residence, Tomobiki.

"YEARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

Ataru covered his ears as another piercing scream floated in from the open window that led to his backyard. "Do they have to torture people so loudly?" he grumbled. "I'm trying to think here!" He continued listening in, despite his best efforts to avoid doing so.

"Where is my Ten-chan?!" yelled a female voice.

"I... I already told you... I was just there... to pick up.. my order! I had nothing to do with it!" replied a weary male voice. "I.. don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

BZZZZZZZZAP!

Ataru closed his eyes and sighed as the screaming resumed.

Meanwhile, in a closed tent set up in the Moroboshi backyard...

"Please! No more! All I heard about down there was about some kind of wierd package that went 'Ow!' whenever it was touched! That's all! Please, for the love of god, get her away from me!"

Lum was about to resume a barrage of energy, but the interrogator waved his arm and stepped forward. "And where did this package go?"

"How the hell should I know?! Ask her!" The man pointed his head towards the still unconscious woman lying nearby. "She's the one who wrapped the thing!"

"Interesting....." The interrogator turned to Lum. "That'll be all for now ma'am, we'll take it from here. The Colonel will advise you if we find anything."

After a brief scowl at the slightly singed man tied to the chair in front of her, Lum nodded and turned to walk out, just as the Colonel was walking in. They bumped and fell into a heap, with the larger and much heavier Colonel lying on top.

"Oh, uh, sorry.." he started.

"Get off of me!" Lum yelled. The Colonel looked down and noticed his large hand had landed on a most unfortunate location of Lum's upper torso. He quickly rolled off her and stood up, staring as she stomped away. The interrogator stared as the Colonel began chuckling.

"Heh heh heh..... HEY, what're you staring at? GET TO WORK!" he yelled, grabbing his mug (which had somehow avoided being spilt during the incident) and leaving the tent again.
(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Jocko>
(RP ON)

"Is this where Hudson-sama explains where the scars on his back came from?" Ryouko asked, almost a whisper.

"No, my child," Cherry shook his head, "I already knew...he didn't tell me, but I knew and Hudson-sama did not resent my knowing."

***

"You know what I am, Cherry?" Warren asked as he watched the Tomobiki farmlands float by.

"Baka!" Cherry laughed.

Warren smiled sadly, "yes, that I am. But I'm also a fool. In fact, I'm the worst kind of fool. The kind who still knows and allows the pain of dreaming."

Both were silent for a moment, Hudson continued. "I honestly thought that I'd stop dreaming after all the time that's past..."

Cherry shuffled his feet, "what do you mean?"

"For years and years," Hudson sighed, "I believed if I just *survived*, day to day, I'd find myself in a place where I'd have a home...a wife...and no memory of my Uncle."

"That doesn't make you a fool, a cynic maybe, but not a fool."

Hudson kicked the water, laughed darkly, "But I still, sometimes, when I'm halfway between sleeping and wakefulness, I still have these dreams. They're romantic dreams, really..."

"She must have broken your heart bad," Cherry looked off into the distance.

"Yeah, she did, Cherry. In fact, she damn near destroyed it beyond repair. And I have doubts about those 'damn near' and 'beyond repair' parts," Warren sighed, "there are times I hope Jessica Daniels' is an unhappy war-bride bitch caring for three selfish fucked-up brats who aren't going to even care for her in her old age. Other times I sincerely wish I had never known her and just suffered in the darkness and silence...but I wonder if I could've survived my teenage years without the goal of her love, or my naive delusion of it..."

The monk nodded, "what are your dreams like, Hudson-sama? If you don't mind my asking..."

Hudson looked up at the clear sky above, "they're feelings, Cherry. Feelings of love, lust, security, and comfort. Like a woman, yes...I know it's a woman, embracing me...only I can't see her."

(RP OFF)

[Lum-chan]

<Parias>
(RP ON)

Back at Stormtrooper HQ (aka Megane's house), the group was staring at the package they had placed on the table intently, as if their sheer concentration could unveil the deep secrets within. As of the present, the package wasn't doing much except making noises that vaguely resembled snoring.

"This has got to be the strangest present I've ever seen!"

"What do you think it is anyways? Maybe some kind of animal?"

"If it's some kind of animal, maybe we should open up the package and give it some food! It's probably starving...."

Megane walked back into the room, arms full of various suger-infested foodstuffs. He tossed them at his guests and sat down, sighing.

"No! I spent the majority of my savings on getting this package wrapped, do you want to undo that now and waste all of that good money?"

"But Megane, what did you wrap inside of it anyways?"

"I told you already, I don't know!"

"But if you don't know, how do you know that Ryouko will like it?" asked Chibi.

Megane stared at him coldly a moment, as if in deep, deep thought. The entire room went silent, save for a band of marines marching loudly up the road.

When they passed, Megane opened up the bag of chips he was carrying and started pigging out. The rest of the troopers followed suit. The T.V. was soon turned on, and nothing more was said for the next 3 hours.
(RP OFF)