Summary: Nny shows up at the doorstep of Yuuko-san's shop...
Disclaimer: Johnny C. (aka Nny) and the Spooky Chihuahua belong to Jhonen Vasquez. Watanuki-kun, Yuuko-san, and the duck puppet belong to CLAMP. None of them are mine. I don't even own the Aisu Saaki name.
Notes: I kept Japanese culture references intact. You can skip this bit if you've read manga. "Gaikokujin" is a politically correct term meaning "foreigner." "Gaijin" is a derogatory form of this word. "-San" is an honorific that is used whenever politeness is required. "-Kun" is an honorific used to refer to a boy in a familiar or affectionate way. "-Chan" is used to refer to a girl in a familiar or affectionate way; it is also used to refer to pets. To refer to a person without an honorific means that your relationship with the person is extremely close (usually only spouses have this type of relationship); otherwise, it is extremely insulting.
Contest: You will receive a muffin if you can guess the non-JtHM, non-Holic references. There are five in total, but one is extremely geeky and obscure. Send guesses only by e-mail, please.
Now on to the reading!
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Slave to Hitsuzen, Chapter 1
I am in a room dimly lit by flickering candles. The scent of opium lingers heavily in the air. I hear a voice behind me; I turn around to face Yuuko-san, who must have been sneaking up on me. She shows me a subtle grin. "You're always a slave to something, Watanuki," she taunts me. I wince as she makes her awful duck puppet kiss me. She cackles loudly and horribly as her tall form and voice dissolve into those of someone I have never known.
A skeletal gaikokujin with a sickly beige complexion and violently violet hair stands where Yuuko-san once was. He stops cackling and flashes a terrifying smile at me. I nervously return it, because I can see the sharp scythe that he conceals behind his back. I can also see a smoky, black cloud tightly encircling the emaciated figure of the gaikokujin.
I must have done something wrong. He frowns at me and speaks. "I sense you laughing at my hair."
"No, wait, I wasn't," I protest. "You've got it all wrong!" I can see the scythe clearly hovering over me, as if searching for the perfect place to pierce. The gaikokujin doesn't believe me.
I scream as the blade descends, and I do not stop until all goes black.
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Watanuki Kimihiro awoke in nearly complete darkness, breathing heavily and sweating. He was cold, and perspiration adhered his clothes to his body. He groped in the darkness for his glasses and placed them on his face. The luminous digital clock on the table told him it was 2:09 AM. His parched mouth demanded a glass of water. His mind tried to convince him that it was only a nightmare. Shaking his head to rid himself of the troublesome dream, he rose from his bed to fetch a drink.
After a draught of water, a previously shaken Watanuki settled into a calm, dreamless sleep. By the time that he awoke several hours later, he had forgotten that he had experienced a nightmare at all.
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Dear Die-ary,
A few nights ago, I decided to leave the country. So far, I've gotten nowhere on this quest for the cold I need.
I'm on a flight to Tokyo. Perhaps Japan will hold the key to unlocking the secret to emotionlessness. It's a part of Japanese culture to refrain from public displays of emotion, after all. I'm trying to be emotionless right now as I'm hearing the incessant, open-mouthed chewing of some jerk to my left. The song coming through my headphones helps to drown out the disgusting sound. It's something about forgetting memories and possibilities in order to be alone. I like it.
I wonder if somewhere, my old high school teachers (rather than teaching their subjects) are still forcing students to watch unsubtitled anime? I wonder if the students are still being quizzed on the swear words...
I remember that I promised I wouldn't write here again until I was as cold as the moonlight that lit these pages. I lied.
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It was midday. Down a busy sidewalk in Tokyo strode a slim, violet-haired gaikokujin named Johnny C. (but you can call him Nny). He was clad in black and dark purple, with a long black trenchcoat closely embracing his slight frame. Into his head from tiny earphones poured Beethoven's Ode to Joy. He siphoned a red, cherry-flavored ice slush through a straw from a plastic cup that loudly proclaimed "AISU SAAKI" in brightly colored katakana lettering. It wasn't as good as a cherry BrainFreezy, but it was the next best thing. Damn, this stuff is good, he couldn't help thinking. Now go find a cheerleader and saw her legs off. He couldn't help thinking a lot of things, unfortunately.
"So…kore wa Nihon. This is Japan…" murmured Nny with a sigh. For the first time in quite a while, a small smile surfaced across his lips. Perhaps my quest will end here.
After pausing to take in the bright scenery around him, Nny felt an odd sensation, as if someone were watching him. He turned to face a stray chihuahua that seemed extremely interested in his leather boots. God, no. Not now.
For a few seconds, Nny froze. Then, with stiff movements, he about-faced and took several steps away from the small creature. Looking back, he found to his horror that the dog had countered his every step and scampered along behind him.
Shit. With eyes focused ahead, Nny took long strides toward no particular direction other than "away." Still, the chihuahua followed.
Fuck. Without a pause, Nny started running at a full sprint, accidentally toppling a shopkeeper's display of oranges and spilling the contents of his Aisu Saaki on an unwitting passerby. (Both of whom consequently swore loudly in Japanese before muttering, "Gaijin." Nny shouted back with a quick but articulate "Gomennasai!") He was running so fast that he had to swerve several times to avoid crashing into people or objects. Nny payed no heed to landmarks, street signs, or even the direction in which he sprinted. His only thought was to get away.
Panting heavily, Nny nearly fainted from exhaustion when he finally slowed his pace to a stop, hours later. The stray chihuahua was nowhere in sight. But where the hell am I? He had stumbled into a residential neighborhood, somehow. He sighed and thought, Just a day. Just an ordinary day. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes as he allowed his slight frame to collapse against the nearest solid object, a property's tall perimeter made of polished ebony wood.
Little did Nny know that this respite would last for mere seconds.
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A/N: R&R, please!