Tsugi Tsugi To

tsugi tsugi to: Japanese for "one after another".

Warning: Do Not Read if Allergic to Randomness

Hello, and welcome to BlackMailer's tales from the Random House (bad pun.). This is where I write, you read, and you choose whether you live or die. Review, and you live. Don't review, and...well, you get the picture. MwaHAHAhahahahaHAHAHAH...

Anyway, all I do is think up a random word or phrase, the first thing that comes into my head at any time, and I have to write a fic about it. No matter how strangely strange the word is, the fic MUST be about it or related to it.

Sometimes I ask friends or relatives to say the first thing that pops into their head, and then write that down and make a fic about that. So it's not only me who gets to choose random words as topics—I might ask a bunch of YOU out there to send me the random junk that pops into YOUR head. Look out, FF-world!

So here is numbah one—(which, by the way, I got the phrase for while lounging in bed. The second, however, is from my sister, Ayumi-chan. Much thanks to you...) Hope you like it, y'all. :D

Disclaimer: DCnot mine. Okay? Okay.

Carpe Diem!

Random Phrases: Save me from the seal/ shark attack

"Good morning, Ran-chan!"

"Ermm-hmmm..." was the sleepy reply, as young Ran Mouri entered the living room, fully dressed, but not fully awake. "You're here way too early, Mom..."

Eri Kisaki, looking for all the world like a full-time mom in a regular dressy outfit, laughed and stooped to hug her daughter. "Well, I wanted to get a head start. There's a lot we have to do today. Carpe diem!"

"Carpet what?"

"Carpe diem. It'sLatin for 'seize the day', and it means you should enjoy the present and not think about the future." Eri picked up her handbag from the sofa and slung it over her shoulder. "Well, let's go, then, shall we?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Wide awake now at the thought of spending an entire Saturday out having fun, Ran followed her mother out the apartment door and down to the sidewalk.

The streets of Beika were alive and bustling with people, even at eight-thirty in the morning. Ran and Eri walked through the crowds and down a side street, stopping at the familiar black gates of the Kudo mansion. A recognizable four-foot figure could already be seen moving inside the walls, bouncing a soccer ball with clear impatience.

"Hi, Shin-kun!" cried Ran happily, as she ran ahead through the open gate, flinging her arm around his shoulder and twirling. Poor Shinichi was forced to spin around till he tripped over the soccer ball he'd left on the ground.

"Owwww!"

"Oh, no! Sorry!" gasped Ran, covering her mouth with her hands. "Are you okay?" Then she had to giggle at the sight of her best friend sprawled facedown on the grass. "Shin-kun, you look so funny!"

Shinichi sat up, rubbing his hip. "That hurt," he informed her, but he was grinning too. "What's the big deal anyway? You see me practically every day."

Ran shrugged. "I just feel so happy today! Don't you?" She made an unsuccessful attempt at a pirouette and ended up on the ground beside Shinichi.

Yukiko Kudo came out of the house then, dressed in a yellow blouse and jeans and looking especially pretty. "Well, hello, Ran-chan!" she said smilingly. "What is everyone doing down there?"

Eri ducked inside the gate too and helped the children up. "Not everyone," she said to Yukiko. "You're not getting me down there."

Yukiko laughed. "Okay, kids, no time to sit around! We'd better get going to the aquarium."

"Yeah!" exploded from the kids.

They headed for the bus stop and boarded the first one they could get, eager to be on their way. All the tourists smiled at the two children, who bounced down the aisle and into their seats. Unfortunately for the passengers who'd wished for a quiet ride, the start of the trip caused Shinichi and Ran to start singing happily (not to mention off-key) at the top of their lungs.

"Ninety-four bottles of beer on the wall..." Yukiko joined in after motioning to them to keep it down. Eri, however, just sat and watched, preferring not to sing any alcohol-related songs that reminded her of her husband.

"Ninety-three bottles of beer on the wall!" Ran belted out cheerfully. She thought the sky was bluer than ever, the clouds were big and fluffy, and the sun was shining bright yellow (although Shinichi insisted that sunlight was white and not yellow). Yes, it was a great day to be out.

By the time they reached the aquarium, they'd gotten down to seventy-one bottles of beer, and the other riders had gotten to the end of their ropes. The bus driver looked extremely relieved to see them get off.

"Look, you guys, there it is!" announced Ran, jumping up to see the sign better.

"Woo-hoo! We're at the Beika Ocean Center!" Shinichi joined in.

They presented their tickets at the turnstile and click-clacked on through—except for the excited kids, who just ducked underneath.

"All right, what are we doing first?" Eri brought out a colored map and unfolded it.

Yukiko bent over to see. "Oh, look. They have a touch pool! How about that?"

"A touch pool?" Ran was puzzled.

"It's where they let you touch fish and other stuff," replied Shinichi knowingly. "I researched on the aquarium."

"Ohhh..." Ran said, impressed by his knowledge.

The area around the touch pool was luckily not too crowded, and the four of them were able to make their way to the front.

"Hey Ran-chan," called Shinichi, "come here! This thing's soft!"

Ran peered through the rippled water. A strange, flat creature wiggled around on the bottom. "What is it?"

"A blue-spotted stingray," Eri told her daughter, "but it's safe, don't worry."

Letting her hand slip into the water, Ran reached down and stroked the ray tentatively. "Ooh, it is soft!" Then she spotted a big starfish, which she picked up and gazed at happily.

By now Shinichi had run over to another side of the pool. "Over here! Look, Mom, it's a shark!"

At this Ran jumped back, splashing drops of water everywhere. "A shark?"

He nodded vigorously. "Check it out! It won't bite, I promise!"

Ran sidled over beside him, biting her lip. It was a bamboo shark, all right—smaller, of course, and harmless according to the sign—but a shark nonetheless.

"Come on, Ran-chan, just put your hand in and touch it." Shinichi was patting its back bravely.

"Um..." Ran backed away. "No thanks."

"It's okay, really. It's not bad at all, just a little rough..."

"I don't..."

Shinichi turned to face her. "You're not scared, are you?" he questioned.

Ran frowned slightly. "No way!" She stared down at the shark and her hand trailed in the water. "I'll do it!"

Shinichi looked satisfied. "Okay. We'll do it together."

She nodded. "One..."

"Two..."

"Three—aaauugghhhh!"

Shinichi had suddenly poked her in the ribs and growled, at which Ran had screamed and fled to Eri's side.

"Shin-kun!" reprimanded Yukiko.

"I'm sorry!" he cried. "I was just kidding! I didn't mean to..."

But Ran had looked away and gone back to the side of the pool.

Yukiko nudged her son. "Go on, apologize."

Shinichi approached slowly until he was beside her. "Ran-chan...?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked back into the pool. "Don't talk to me, please."

He saw Ran's eyes flicker over to his reflection in the water for a second. Then she turned away, frowning harder.

Shinichi took a breath. "Um...Ran-chan, I'm sorry."

He thought he saw her soften just a smidge. "Really?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Then I almost forgive you."

"Almost...?" He barely had time to get the word out before a shower of water droplets descended upon his head. "Hey—!"

Ran, Eri, and Yukiko were all laughing. "I got you!" shrieked Ran hysterically. "You should see your face, Shin-kun!"

He laughed too, relieved that she was no longer angry. "You sure did," he admitted.

Yukiko calmed down enough to dry him off with a mass of paper towels. "Shall we be moving on? There's a lot more to see!"

The map said that the Underwater Tunnel was next, to which they headed quickly.

"I heard they have sea cows," Shinichi said excitedly to Ran.

"What?"

"Sea cows. They're like...big...oh, never mind. You have to see them for yourself!"

They got in line on the walkalator, and they slowly moved forward into the tunnel.

"Wow!" breathed Ran and Shinichi simultaneously.

There wasn't much light inside, but you could see the colorful fish schooling behind the glass in the bluey-greenish water all around. It really did look like you were swimming through the sea.

A gigantic fish swam by them just then, and they laughed at the comical look on its face as it opened and shut its mouth.

Ran looked up and saw a dark shape glide by. "A shark!"

"Another one? Where?" Shinichi glanced around. "Oh! Wow!"

Ran cringed. "This one's a lot bigger..."

He smiled. "It's okay. It's behind glass now. It couldn't get us, right Mom?" He turned to Yukiko for confirmation.

"That's right. It's a sand tiger shark, it says here. It doesn't eat people, Ran-chan." Yukiko patted her shoulder.

"It is pretty creepy in here. Hey, maybe we should ask Dad to write a murder mystery about the aquarium." Shinichi grinned hopefully. "The owner could be drowned in the tank, and then a shark swims by and—"

Ran clapped her hands to her ears.

Yukiko shook her head. "Stop it, Shin-kun...honestly, that father of yours. He's brainwashed you enough already with all of Holmes..."

Eri took out a camera then. "Wait, I need pictures of you all in here!" She snapped a couple photos of them looking at the fish swimming by.

"Sea cows!" yelled Shinichi suddenly, nearly scaring Ran to death again. She recovered quickly, though, and craned her neck over to see.

She thought they looked a bit like a whale with a walrus snout, and not like a cow at all. "They're so cute!"

The last few minutes of the ride were spent looking at the sea cows, and then they emerged back into the lit aquarium.

"That was awesome!" Shinichi's face was lit up.

"Yeah! Remember that big fish with the orange spots? And the one that looked like a rock..."

They chattered on, all the way back and through their lunch at the aquarium restaurant (fish and chips).

Eri sighed contentedly. "Having fun, Ran-chan?"

Ran nodded. "Oh, yeah! Carpen deemed!" she added proudly.

Eri and Yukiko gave each other a knowing aren't-our-kids-adorable smile.

Shinichi blinked. "Carpet what?"

"It means you should enjoy the present and not think about the future." It was Ran's turn to know something he didn't, although she'd gotten the words completely wrong.

Eri checked her watch. "Well, the show will be starting any minute now, so we'll just pay and go, okay?"

"Show!" the kids gasped in delight.

"Yes, they have a performance at three-thirty."

The waitress came over with a fishbowl filled with slips of paper. "Fortune?" she offered.

Shinichi plucked one from the top and read aloud, "'Your dream will come true'. Oh, cool! That means I'm going to become a great detective someday!"

Ran took longer choosing hers, rummaging at the bottom. She finally found one and dug it out, unfolding the slip.

You will receive your first kiss.

She clapped her hand to her mouth and stared at it, making sure she'd read correctly. Good thing I didn't read mine out loud!

"What's yours say, Ran-chan?" Shinichi peered over her shoulder.

She crumpled it reflexively in her fist. "Nothing, nothing!" she said, smiling, but even she could hear how fake her voice sounded. "Just something about having good luck today, that's all."

"Oh, yeah? Well anyway, we're going to the show now. Come on." Shinichi took her hand and led her to Eri and Yukiko, who'd already started on the way.

Although there was much to talk about, Ran spent most of the walk thinking. The minute she'd finished reading her fortune, she'd been a little confused. Who could it be referring to? There wasn't anyone she like-liked, not since little Hideki Yoshida in nursery school. And that had only been a one-week thing.

Come to think of it, she really didn't know any other boys. Save Shinichi, who, heaven knew, was not going to be hooking up with her any time soon...

"Raaan-chan, we're here!"

"Huh?" She snapped out of her reverie, blushing slightly, and saw the vast rows of seats below them, with the open round glass tank in front. "Oh!"

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Beika Ocean Center's Seal Show!" announced a voice from the speakers.

"Seals? Oh, wow!" they said for about the millionth time that day.

"Over here," said Eri, steering them to their seats near the aisle. "It's starting, look!"

"Please put your hands together and welcome...Kana, Sadako, and Shinn, the Beika Ocean Center seals!"

"Shinn?" Yukiko chuckled. "Hear that, Shin-kun? They have a seal named after you!"

"Arp, arp," Shinichi imitated, laughing and flapping his arms like flippers.

"Today our lovely seal trainer, Miyaka-san, will be showing you how seals can be trained to do all kinds of tricks," continued the announcer. "Such as jumping through hoops—"

One of the seals leaped out of the water and through a hoop held by the trainer.

"—Jumping for fish—"

Another swam up, bobbed as the trainer held a fish high over her head, and snatched it out of the air.

"—And even doing a handstand!"

The last of them crawled onto a rock, leaned forward and flopped over until he was standing on his head.

"But first, how about a member of the audience coming down to meet the seals?" said the trainer, as she started to walk up the aisle. "Hmm...how about..."

Then Ran was being tapped on the arm. "You? Come on down!"

"What? Me?" she exclaimed, looking back at Eri, who nodded encouragingly.

"Go on," whispered Shinichi, elbowing her and grinning.

Ran slid out of her seat and bounded down the steps after the trainer. When they reached the side of the tank, they climbed up onto a small platform.

"And what is your name?"

She cleared her throat nervously. "Ran Mouri."

"Okay, Ran, I'd like to introduce you to my friends Kana, Sadako, and Shinn."

The three seals struggled up on stage and extended their flippers for Ran to shake. They were almost as tall as she was. She giggled as she shook hands with each of them.

"Now, what I'm going to do is teach you some of the signals we use here to train the seals. First off, let's show them how to ask for a fish. Here's a fish—" the trainer placed one in Ran's outstretched hand "—and you just hold it out, okay?"

Ran dangled it by its tail, and immediately one seal held out its flipper politely to her.

"There you go! Good job!"

Ran stole a glance at the audience, and she could see Eri snapping photos and Yukiko and Shinichi waving at her. She grinned back.

The next few minutes seemed like the time of her life. Ran was taught how to make the seals lie down, give high-fives, and more.

"All right, now it's time to say goodbye!" Miyaka told them finally.

The seals waved at Ran, and she waved back shyly.

"Hey Shinn," said the trainer, holding onto Ran's shoulders, "don't you have something for our guest here?"

"It's not a fish, is it?" Ran asked.

A titter went through the crowd.

"Nope!" The trainer had a grin on her face. "It's something even better. Come on Shinn, give the kid her reward already!"

The seal waddled over to Ran's side—

--and planted a wet, fishy smack on her cheek.

The crowd laughed harder.

Ran laughed too, scrubbing at her face with her shirt sleeve. From the corner of her eye she could see Eri going crazy with the camera. Mooom! Please, no!

She hopped off the stage and ran back up to their seats, slinking through until she was back in between Yukiko and Shinichi.

"That was fun, huh?" chuckled Yukiko. "You looked so adorable from up here. I'm sure your mom will have a lot of memories of today."

Ran rolled her eyes at Eri, who was smiling as she stowed the camera back inside her handbag.

"So you did have good luck today, Ran-chan," Shinichi said on the way home, being too exhausted to sing any more (luckily for the other bus passengers). "I mean, it's not every day you get to help train seals, right?"

"Right," she replied with a sleepy smile. "I had a lot of fun today. Not just the seal show, but the rest of it too."

"Even the sharks?"

"Even the sharks," she agreed, closing her eyes and leaning back. Unknown to her as she drifted off, her head dropped onto Shinichi's shoulder.

So my fortune sort of did come true.

But that doesn't really matter. Today was just the best day ever...

Carpe diem.

Hee hee. And so ends my first random fic.

Yes, I KNOW the title is sorta unrelated, but come on. Try and think of a title for this fic that isn't corny-sounding—"A Trip to the Ocean Center"; "A Fun Day Out"; blah blah blah. Or maybe my mind's just not working enough to think of a title. If you can think of one then send it to me and I'll retitle it.

The stuff they did at the aquarium is based on my recent trip to Underwater World in Singapore, so if you've been there and this fic sounds familiar, you'll know why. XD They didn't have any fish 'n chips, though. And no, no seal show either. But there was a real touch pool (that ray was so SQUISHY). And the underwater tunnel with the sea cow (I got some good footage of it lunching).

But I just thought writing about Shin and Ran when they were kids would be fun—and heck, it was! I'm gonna keep writin' so don't stop reviewin'! XD