Author's Note (1): I guess this shows you that I still really don't want to work right now. But at least I brought my memory stick today!
Author's Note (2): Just wondering about a reason why Ryoma doesn't want his father to come to the school.
Title: A Lesson in Vocabulary (or A Reason Why Ryoma Doesn't Brings his Father to School)
Nanjiroh looked at his son and crossed his arms. "So tell me again: why can't I go to your Parent Day Conference?"
"Because you're not a mom," replied his son, Ryoma. The six-year old boy looked up at his father and glared. "You're an oyaji and only moms come. So if Mom can't make it, you don't come."
"And what if I want to go?" Nanjiroh challenged.
Ryoma glared at his father. "You're not a mom."
"It says 'Parent Day Conference', Seishonen," Nanjiroh countered as he brought his nose close to his son's. "That means I can go because I'm a parent."
"No you're not," Ryoma countered. "Mom is a parent."
Nanjiroh lifted an eyebrow. "Then what am I?"
"An oyaji," Ryoma said.
"So you see, I am your oyaji so I am a parent," Nanjiroh crowed as he pointed at his son as he bounced around happily.
Ryoma shook his head vehemently. "No, you're not. You're a pervert that's what an oyaji means."
Nanjiroh stopped and stared at his son. "Say what? Where the hell did you get that?"
"Mom," Ryoma answered as he looked up at his father. "She always says, 'Nanjiroh, you pervert' whenever you do something stupid. So you aren't a parent, you're a pervert."
Nanjiroh closed his eyes. "Okay, kid. We're really going to work on your vocabulary here."
Prince
Of
Tennis
As the students lined up with their parents, Ryoma stood by himself in the line.
"Why, Ryoma, isn't one of your parents going to be here?" asked Ms. Yanaguchi. She smiled at her cutest student. "It's Parent Conference Day today, remember?"
"If Mom can make it out of work in time, she'll come," Ryoma answered happily.
"Oh, that's wonderful," Ms. Yanaguchi said. "But you do know that dads can come today as well, right?"
Ryoma stared at her then shook his head vehemently. "No- Oyaji won't-"
"Oi! Seishonen! Where are you? Seishonen!"
Ryoma's eyes grew huge as he stared at his father. "Oyaji!"
Nanjiroh turned and smiled hugely at his son and started to approach him. "Oh there you are, Seishonen! I couldn't see you with all the taller kids around-"
"I'm not short!" Ryoma said with a glare. "And I asked Mom to come-"
"And she called me to come," Nanjiroh said as he patted his boy's head. "Oi- Don't complain, Seishonen. At least one of us is here." He gave a huge smile to the pretty lady that was standing next to his son. "Hi there! You're a very pretty lady! I'm this kid's dad. Want to skip this and go out to have tea with me? Ow!" he glared at his son as he resisted the urge to check his toes. "Seishonen! What was that for?"
"Oyaji!" Ryoma shouted as he glared at his father. "That's my teacher- Ms. Yanaguchi!"
Nanjiroh stared at his son and then looked at Ms. Yanaguchi and back down again. "What? This pretty lady is your teacher? How come she's not the old bag like I used to have?"
"Oyaji!" Ryoma shouted again. He grabbed his father's hand and started pulling him towards the school's entrance. "Go home! I'll wait for Mom!"
"But I want to stay with the pretty teacher you have!" Nanjiroh protested as he pulled his son back then grabbed the tyke by the waist. He smiled hugely as he held on to his struggling son. "So, how about having some tea while we discuss my brat?"
Ryoma's teacher gave a nervous laugh as she stepped back. "Oh, no that's not really necessary, Mr. Echizen." She took another step back. "And I really have to greet the other parents. See you inside! Bye, Ryoma!"
As Ms. Yanaguchi left, Nanjiroh looked at the woman's trim figure. "Seishounen, you have a very pretty lady for a teacher."
Ryoma looked up and looked at his father angrily. He didn't know why but he could tell that his oyaji scared his teacher for some reason, just like he always did when they went to the stores together. The boy scowled and quoted his mother, "Oyaji, you pervert."