'First Love'
By: Reki-Chan
Vibrant colors swam about the room. Brilliant pinks, purples, reds, greens, yellows, and blues... all swirling together in an almost frightening manner. Colossal faces leered with sappy smiles and brilliant eyes, void of emotion stared. What sort of hideous, vile, evil beings could these be? Minions of a greater evil, no less, but who was their master? What did the face of their sadistic master look like? What sort of foul beings with an aura so frightening that these... these horr--
"NUMBUH FOUR! What are you doin' here?" Came terribly girlie and slightly accented voice. The sound of running feet shortly followed this exclamation; it had to have been the one Miss Kuki Sanban.
The announced Numbuh Four, or Wally, who had ventured into this rainbow flecked plane of existence, also known as Numbuh Three's room, stumbled back at Numbuh Three's shrill cry. The blond headed boy wore the expression of rather frightened creature that was being cornered by it's most feared of predators. Stuttering and mumbling words that was nothing more than nonsense to the quickly approaching Japanese girl.
"Well...?" Continued a lanky young girl with ebony hair, as she came to a screeching halt before the rather short Numbuh Four. "What are you doin' here? Is it some fantastic secret?" She squealed, leaning down a bit to peer genuinely at his face, which was growing into a reddish hue rather quickly at this point. Numbuh Three blinked at him expectantly, waiting as patiently as a hyperactive ten year old could.
"I... er... uh... That is t'say, I wanted... um..." The boy stuttered through a heavy Australian accent, green eyes stared down at his feet, wishing frantically that if there was a God the floor would swallow him at that moment. Suddenly, it struck him; he wasn't in Numbuh Three's room to stutter like an idiot! Numbuh One had quite clearly told him to go into Numbuh Three room to distract her! Taking a deep breathe, he began in a much clearer tone, "My room's bein' fumigated." A blatant lie, of course, but Numbuh Three wasn't known for being clever, and he doubted she even knew what 'fumigated' meant anyway; her sure didn't until Numbuh One explained it to him.
Kuki was silent for a few moments, visibly trying to understand what this strange new word meant, and after a few seconds she simply smiled cheerfully and nodded. "Oh! Okay! I see! So... Why are you here?" She flopped down on a rather large Rainbow Monkey plush and snuggled back into it, inviting Wally to join her.
The boy with the pudding bowl cut, sighed and rolled his eyes. Just as he thought, when faced with a word she did not know, Kuki would simply continue asking that same question until she got an answer she understood. How cute. Throwing himself onto the floor, he refused to even consider sitting near one of those... those horrid Rainbow Monkey things, Numbuh Four gave an answer that he hoped the girl could understand; "I just can't go into my room for a little while, okay?"
"Oh! Okay! I see! So..." At this point Wally was once again praying, this time hoping she would not ask the same question yet again—"Why aren't you staying with the others?"
"...Um. They don' want me in their rooms?" was his amazingly stupid reply. Of course, he thought he was being rather suave about it.
"Oh! Okay! I see! So..." Kuki began only to be cut off by a sudden thundering sound that caused her to jump up into the air in fright and land on an unpleasantly surprised Wallabee's lap. Groaning in pain at suddenly being knocked flat by Numbuh Three's unexpected movement; he tried to control his increasingly reddening face and a few choice words of pain from being shouted.
"Wha... what was that, Numbuh Four?!" Stammered the Japanese girl as she clung to the red faced boy, quivering like a leaf. It sounded like thunder, but a quick look outside would quick prove there was no storm upon them. Wally tensed a bit, hoping the weight in his lap would be too thick to think of checking the rest of the tree house, not to mention he sort of liked Kuki's sudden closeness, despite how awkward it was beginning to be.
"Nothin' Numbuh Three, don' worry 'bout it. It was probably just Numbuh Two screwin' 'round in 'is room, yanno 'ow 'e can be 'bout that stuff," he said calmly, remembering the plan he had been told by the others in case such an event occurred. Even so, he wished the others could go about their jobs in a more quiet fashion, not even Numbuh Three was that slow, eventually she would catch on if the sounds continued.
"A... are you suuure?" She questioned, suddenly realizing how close she was to him and slowly beginning to pull herself from his lap, much to Numbuh Four's dismay. Why did her heart suddenly start beating? She was probably just scared still. Yes, that was it. Because she was scared, her heart began to beat faster than usual... but it was rather strange. Her heart didn't begin to beat like that until after she realized her closeness to the Australian.
Wally nodded silently, watching her as she once again nestled back onto her large Rainbow Monkey plush. Now that the sudden excited of the pseudo thunder was over, he wondered vaguely on how he was going to further keep her in her room until he received the signal from the others.
A long silence followed, and as each minute ticked by, the uncomfortable aura the room had began to grow. Kuki felt that if there was much more of that mind numbing boredom of staring at the boy across from her, she would surely go mad. Valiantly she stood up and crossed over to Numbuh Four, suddenly lifting him up by means of a tight hug, and dragging him over to her small tea table.
"IT'S TEA TIME, NUMBUH FOUR!" She announced brightly, setting him down on a small wooden chair. Immediately she began prepare some tea, which was simply some leftover green tea from her own home. Taking out a thermos and pouring it's contents into a dainty looking teapot, the Japanese girl began serving the tea to the guests, which consisted of only the most well- mannered and refined of her stuffed animals and, of course, a rather annoyed looking Numbuh Four.
Upon receiving his tea, Wally stared into the murky contents of his cute little cup; it was a rather cute little thing, covered in sickeningly sweet kittens that were chasing a ball of yarn. Naturally, he hated it, but for the sake of Numbuh Three, he valiantly raised it to his lips and sipped; good, he only flinched once. He was quite the little trooper, wasn't he?
"One lump, or two for Numbuh Four?" Asked Kuki, standing at his elbow holding a small jar, looking rather silly in the big, frilly apron that she had put on only moment before. Hiding smile at his comrade's rather... interesting attire, he slouched down further in his seat and bowed his head so to hide his face as his replied, "Three."
Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.
In went three cubes of sugar, only a little bit of tea splattered onto Numbuh Four's orange sweat jacket, not that he cared. He had managed to get the thing covered in worse and it was still, miraculously, stain free. Skipping to the only remaining chair at the table, Kuki plopped herself down, and began passing out small cookies to all her guests, be they stuffed animals or simply embarrassed looking little boys. The girl smiled widely as she passed Wally his cookie and the smile only widened as he blushed yet again. Of course, Numbuh Three was a bit to slow to catch what the blush meant, or was she? After all, being considered 'the Flirt' had to have meant something, right
"Numbuh Four! How come you're bein' so nice? Usually all you do is... is this!" She began to perform a rather crude impersonation of her fellow Kid Next Door by stomping her feet and waving her arms about, using an awful Australian accent, "BLARG. CRUDDY DOLLS! CRUDDY GIRLS! YOU'RE STUPID AND STUFF LIKE THAT! CR—" She stopped due to finding Wally had quickly leaped up from his chair and was by Kuki's side with his hand over her mouth.
Looking a bit nervous, he hissed at her in an annoyed tone, "Cruddy girl! Shut up! D'ya wanna get everyone in here? They'll all think I'm pickin' on ya!" He shuddered at the thought of Numbuh Five's reaction if she thought he was picking on the team's youngest member, it was not a pleasant thought in the least.
Kuki found it was her turn to blush, looking slightly abashed she looked down at her feet and kicked at the floor from her chair. When Numbuh Four trusted her enough to remove his hand, she mumbled out an apology. Getting Numbuh Four in trouble was really the last thing she wanted to do. Looking at the now quiet Numbuh Three, Wally was inwardly smiling at her fondly, but he wasn't about to let her se that. She was, after all, the last person he wanted knowing about his... his feelings about her. Instead he pretended to shrug it off and mumbled a cool 'Whatever,' before going back to his own seat.
So the tea party dragged on, Numbuh Three no longer felt the awkwardness of the situation and Numbuh Four was slowly beginning to discover that maybe tea parties so quite so bad, well, provided a certain Japanese girl was involved. Giggling, Kuki would offer him more tea, which he would bashfully accept, and the two were getting along quite fine. A few times, she would offer him a dress to borrow, just in case he felt too casually dressed, Wally would only glare at her, mutter something that sounded like 'Cruddy girl' and angrily sip at his tea. Of course, Kuki would only giggle more at his reaction each time.
Just as Kuki was about to offer Wally his fourth cup of tea, three loud booms like before sounded. Wally sat straight up, that was the signal saying that it was time for him to take his place. If he could find a way to sneak out of Numbuh Three's room, that was; at the moment she had positioned herself on the table, regardless of the spilled tea and crushed cookies, with her arms wrapped around Wally's neck, quivering in a very frightened manner.
"Wha... what was that, Numbuh Four?" She managed to ask in a very frightened tone.
Was there any surprise that he was blushing? No? Well that was to be expected he was Wallabee Beetles, no less. Patting the frightened girl on the head with a surprising tenderness, he managed to wriggle out of her grasp and stand up. "Don' worry 'bout it, Numbuh Three," he said in a confident voice as he backed away, inch by inch, towards the door.
Kuki noticed his movements and leaped off of the table and rushed back over to the blond-headed boy, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "Are... Are you le...leavin' me?" She asked, eyes beginning to water as she stared at him pathetically.
Feeling that by now all too familiar heat creep into his face, Wally cleared his throat and turned away from her, heading onwards to the door; trying to ignore Numbuh Three's loud and heart wrenching sobs. When he made it to the door, past the numerous and equally hideous Rainbow Monkeys, he turned and said in a slightly regretful voice, "Don' worry, I'll be back in a tick!"
As he exited her room, Numbuh Three stared at his fleeting back. Sighing heavily, she skulked back to her chair at the table. Laying her head upon the rough wooden surface, she stared with glittering brown eyes at a pink bunny plush toy. "Why do I feel all sad?" She asked the toy in a confused voice, the bunny simply replied by staring back at her with a most blank expression.
"You're not bein' very helpful, Mr. Fluffy Tail," said the girl, straightening and sternly reprimanding the toy's lack of an answer. "Now, Miss Laurel is bein' very, VERY helpful," she motioned to a large elephant plush that was dressed in a charming pink party dress. Forgetting her previous distress over Numbuh Four's absence, Kuki began to continue with her tea party, apparently not noticing the empty chair with the spilled tea and knocked over teacup.
Just outside Numbuh Three's door, the blond haired boy with the pudding bowl haircut leaned, trying to calm down a bit. Once his heart had stopped that irritating fluttering that it seemed to do when he was around Numbuh Three. Upon his heartbeat slowing, he made it way to the main room in the tree house, where the other three Numbuh currently were, each going about their own business.
Numbuh Five was setting up a table of various sweets, including a large cake with the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY NUMBUH THREE" written on it in a bright green frosting. Humming a tune, Abby stuck in eleven candles and beamed at the cake proudly. She had made it herself, and it was quite a tasty cake, if she did say so herself.
Numbuhs One and Two were each standing on separate ladders, attempting to put up a large banner that read the same at the cake that Numbuh Five had made. They two had been trying to get the thing up all day, but Numbuh Two kept loosing his balance and falling over, until they decided they might as well get Wally to help, even if that meant risking Kuki discovering them. As they spotted the blond haired member of the team, Hoagie waved to him, causing himself to fall over in the process.
Hurrying towards the two boys, Numbuh Four looked at them, arms crossed over chest and a smug look on his face. "Need any 'elp?" He asked, a smirk creeping upon his normally scowling features.
"Actually, we do. So if you would please be so kind as to help put this banner up, that would be wonderful," said Nigel, peering down at the shorter boy from over his sunglasses.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Wally, darting up the ladder and assisting the leader of the Kids Next Door in putting up the banner. Surprisingly, they finished the task faster than previously thought, of course, it was easier to do now that Numbuh Two was falling down as he was previously.
As the two boys climbed down from their ladders, Numbuh Five waved at them saying, "Numbuh Five is done with all her stuff over here; do we need t'do anythin' else?"
Nigel rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he surveyed the room; streamers all seemed to be in place, banner was up at long last, the cake was in the center of the room all eleven candles accounted for. Nodding to Abby, he spoke, "Just get those candles lit and we'll be ready for business! Numbuh Four, you go get the birthday girl, but don't tell her what's up! Numbuh Two, once Numbuh Five has lit the candles, turn off the lights and into hiding!"
The three other children nodded in affirmation, and went about their tasks just as Numbuh One had instructed them. Wally was well on his way to Numbuh Three's room, and as soon as the light's clicked off, he knocked.
Numbuh Three answered the door almost at once, "Hello? Oh! It's you, Numbuh Four! You're back! Want you finish you—Hey! Where're you takin' me? Numbuh Four!" Wally had grabbed her by the hand and was leading her to the room where the party was to occur. Upon arriving, the two stood side by side, blinking into the darkness at the eleven lights that glowed mysteriously in the dark, they were still holding one another's hands, though both were too distracted to notice.
"What's goin' on in here?" Asked Kuki at last, as she tilted her head.
At the sound of the youngest member's voice, the lights were flicked on and the three members that were in hiding jumped out to call "SURPRISE" to her. Squealing in surprise, Numbuh Three let go of Wally's hand to raise her hands to her mouth as if to contain her girlish squeals of happiness. Hopping from one foot to the other, she giggled happily. "Sankyuu everyone! This is great!" She cried, skipping to the middle of the room where the cake was located to admire it.
Grinning broadly, Numbuh Five jerked her thumb in the direction of a very pleased looking Numbuh Four. "It was his idea to throw you this thing, you know. You better thank him," she said with a wink.
"Oh!! I will, I will!" Cried Kuki, rushing over to Wally, who found himself suddenly enveloped into a tight hug. "THANK YOU, NUMBUH FOUR!"
The boy found his face growing in heat yet again, torn between trying to wriggle out of her grasp as he had previously done, or simply enjoy her closeness... But to do the latter would have meant showing the others how he felt, so instead she brilliant shoved Numbuh Three away. Dusting off, as if to be rid of her cooties, he huffed, "Yeah, yeah. Make a wish on yer cake already, Numbuh Five made it just fer you!"
"Really?! Oh! Thank you, Numbuh Five! Thank you!" She squealed now hurrying over to hug Numbuh Five, who carefully sidestepped the bouncing girl.
"No need for that, we all helped. Just blow out your candles already, girl! Make a wish!"
Nodding happily, Kuki skipped over to her cake and took a deep breath in. Bright brown eyes stared down at the eleven flickering flames and then were shut tightly as she blew on the candles as hard as she could, thinking of her birthday wish fervently. Opening her eyes again slowly, she glanced at her four friends, each staring at her expectantly.
"Well? What did you wish for?" Asked Hoagie.
Smiling widely, Kuki simply shook her head and said in an almost teasing tone, "If I tell you, then it won't come true!"
"All right, Numbuh Three, whatever you say," said Numbuh Five, moving towards the cake to pull off the eleven candles so she could slice the cake. The girl got a cake knife and began to five cut large slices out of Numbuh Three's birthday cake and handed them to the five members. "Here ya go! Now, let's dig in!"
The five friends continued with Numbuh Three's birthday, each giving her a present, most of which was Rainbow Monkey related... With the exception of Numbuh Four. He said he had no present for her and apologized. Kuki didn't mind; she just smiled and shrugged saying it didn't matter, he had done so much already. Though her words were kind, it wasn't enough for Wallabee Beetles, he felt guilty about his lack of a gift for her, and left the party early to sit outside to think. He was hoping to be unnoticed, but a certain birthday girl watched him walk off.
"I'm sleepy you guys, niiight!" She chirped to the others, waving to the others. She followed the path that Numbuh Four had taken, and continued on that way until she was outside on the porch. Kuki smiled when she saw him, legs dangling in the air, arms behind him, his head tilted upwards towards the heavens. Why did her heart start that funny way of beating again?
The lanky girl walked towards him slowly, and once she was close enough, Kuki slipped down beside him. Wally jumped in surprise at seeing Numbuh Three arrive just as his mind was beginning to think of her, it was a bit of a startling coincidence. Neither of the two said anything as they sat in the simple silence, watching the twinkling city below.
After some time past the younger child spoke, her voice quite calm and thoughtful, "Wanna know what I wished for?" Wally turn slightly to look at her as she continued staring at the ground below, at his lack of response to her inquiry, she continued, "I wanted to be able to talk to somebody... 'bout somthin' kinda important."
"Er... Ya did?"
"Yeah... But now I don' think I need to! 'Cause you're here, Numbuh Four!"
After Kuki said that, neither child spoke, the silence wasn't awkward like before, it wasn't suffocating or looming unpleasantly overheard; it was a comfortable sort silence, which they both basked in as one would bask in the sun after a long winter. Simply sitting together as they were seemed to fill them both with a strange sort of happy feeling. As shy children do when confronting these strange feelings for the first time, their hands nervously moved towards the other, inching painstakingly until they her clasped together after what seemed a millennium. Wally and Kuki both looked in the direction opposite of the other, the color rushing to their faces. After a moment they both looked to each other, and smiled, slow, happy and shy smiles of realization of a first love.
They shared that feeling together on her eleventh birthday, over the city and under the stars that twinkled overheard.
fini
Right! So! What do you guys think of that? ; I'm sorry if everyone seems a bit out of character, I tried! It's hard to write Kuki being serious and yet still be the happy-go-lucky character she is. I like seeing Kuki happy... not angsty. oO
Um, any comments, flames, cookies would be more than accepted. Mind you, this is my first time writing in their section, so please be nice? It was inspired by Utada's song 'First Love', but you probably wouldn't figure that out until the end, I guess.
I write too much in this section. Um, my friend, Kasei, who is a grammar Nazi and can pick out my MANY typos, edited it. That is all.
-wanders off-
DiSCLAiMER: Sorry, but I don't down Kids Next Door! Shocking, I know. Don't sue me. oo; I'm just a weird little fan girl.. ..
By: Reki-Chan
Vibrant colors swam about the room. Brilliant pinks, purples, reds, greens, yellows, and blues... all swirling together in an almost frightening manner. Colossal faces leered with sappy smiles and brilliant eyes, void of emotion stared. What sort of hideous, vile, evil beings could these be? Minions of a greater evil, no less, but who was their master? What did the face of their sadistic master look like? What sort of foul beings with an aura so frightening that these... these horr--
"NUMBUH FOUR! What are you doin' here?" Came terribly girlie and slightly accented voice. The sound of running feet shortly followed this exclamation; it had to have been the one Miss Kuki Sanban.
The announced Numbuh Four, or Wally, who had ventured into this rainbow flecked plane of existence, also known as Numbuh Three's room, stumbled back at Numbuh Three's shrill cry. The blond headed boy wore the expression of rather frightened creature that was being cornered by it's most feared of predators. Stuttering and mumbling words that was nothing more than nonsense to the quickly approaching Japanese girl.
"Well...?" Continued a lanky young girl with ebony hair, as she came to a screeching halt before the rather short Numbuh Four. "What are you doin' here? Is it some fantastic secret?" She squealed, leaning down a bit to peer genuinely at his face, which was growing into a reddish hue rather quickly at this point. Numbuh Three blinked at him expectantly, waiting as patiently as a hyperactive ten year old could.
"I... er... uh... That is t'say, I wanted... um..." The boy stuttered through a heavy Australian accent, green eyes stared down at his feet, wishing frantically that if there was a God the floor would swallow him at that moment. Suddenly, it struck him; he wasn't in Numbuh Three's room to stutter like an idiot! Numbuh One had quite clearly told him to go into Numbuh Three room to distract her! Taking a deep breathe, he began in a much clearer tone, "My room's bein' fumigated." A blatant lie, of course, but Numbuh Three wasn't known for being clever, and he doubted she even knew what 'fumigated' meant anyway; her sure didn't until Numbuh One explained it to him.
Kuki was silent for a few moments, visibly trying to understand what this strange new word meant, and after a few seconds she simply smiled cheerfully and nodded. "Oh! Okay! I see! So... Why are you here?" She flopped down on a rather large Rainbow Monkey plush and snuggled back into it, inviting Wally to join her.
The boy with the pudding bowl cut, sighed and rolled his eyes. Just as he thought, when faced with a word she did not know, Kuki would simply continue asking that same question until she got an answer she understood. How cute. Throwing himself onto the floor, he refused to even consider sitting near one of those... those horrid Rainbow Monkey things, Numbuh Four gave an answer that he hoped the girl could understand; "I just can't go into my room for a little while, okay?"
"Oh! Okay! I see! So..." At this point Wally was once again praying, this time hoping she would not ask the same question yet again—"Why aren't you staying with the others?"
"...Um. They don' want me in their rooms?" was his amazingly stupid reply. Of course, he thought he was being rather suave about it.
"Oh! Okay! I see! So..." Kuki began only to be cut off by a sudden thundering sound that caused her to jump up into the air in fright and land on an unpleasantly surprised Wallabee's lap. Groaning in pain at suddenly being knocked flat by Numbuh Three's unexpected movement; he tried to control his increasingly reddening face and a few choice words of pain from being shouted.
"Wha... what was that, Numbuh Four?!" Stammered the Japanese girl as she clung to the red faced boy, quivering like a leaf. It sounded like thunder, but a quick look outside would quick prove there was no storm upon them. Wally tensed a bit, hoping the weight in his lap would be too thick to think of checking the rest of the tree house, not to mention he sort of liked Kuki's sudden closeness, despite how awkward it was beginning to be.
"Nothin' Numbuh Three, don' worry 'bout it. It was probably just Numbuh Two screwin' 'round in 'is room, yanno 'ow 'e can be 'bout that stuff," he said calmly, remembering the plan he had been told by the others in case such an event occurred. Even so, he wished the others could go about their jobs in a more quiet fashion, not even Numbuh Three was that slow, eventually she would catch on if the sounds continued.
"A... are you suuure?" She questioned, suddenly realizing how close she was to him and slowly beginning to pull herself from his lap, much to Numbuh Four's dismay. Why did her heart suddenly start beating? She was probably just scared still. Yes, that was it. Because she was scared, her heart began to beat faster than usual... but it was rather strange. Her heart didn't begin to beat like that until after she realized her closeness to the Australian.
Wally nodded silently, watching her as she once again nestled back onto her large Rainbow Monkey plush. Now that the sudden excited of the pseudo thunder was over, he wondered vaguely on how he was going to further keep her in her room until he received the signal from the others.
A long silence followed, and as each minute ticked by, the uncomfortable aura the room had began to grow. Kuki felt that if there was much more of that mind numbing boredom of staring at the boy across from her, she would surely go mad. Valiantly she stood up and crossed over to Numbuh Four, suddenly lifting him up by means of a tight hug, and dragging him over to her small tea table.
"IT'S TEA TIME, NUMBUH FOUR!" She announced brightly, setting him down on a small wooden chair. Immediately she began prepare some tea, which was simply some leftover green tea from her own home. Taking out a thermos and pouring it's contents into a dainty looking teapot, the Japanese girl began serving the tea to the guests, which consisted of only the most well- mannered and refined of her stuffed animals and, of course, a rather annoyed looking Numbuh Four.
Upon receiving his tea, Wally stared into the murky contents of his cute little cup; it was a rather cute little thing, covered in sickeningly sweet kittens that were chasing a ball of yarn. Naturally, he hated it, but for the sake of Numbuh Three, he valiantly raised it to his lips and sipped; good, he only flinched once. He was quite the little trooper, wasn't he?
"One lump, or two for Numbuh Four?" Asked Kuki, standing at his elbow holding a small jar, looking rather silly in the big, frilly apron that she had put on only moment before. Hiding smile at his comrade's rather... interesting attire, he slouched down further in his seat and bowed his head so to hide his face as his replied, "Three."
Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.
In went three cubes of sugar, only a little bit of tea splattered onto Numbuh Four's orange sweat jacket, not that he cared. He had managed to get the thing covered in worse and it was still, miraculously, stain free. Skipping to the only remaining chair at the table, Kuki plopped herself down, and began passing out small cookies to all her guests, be they stuffed animals or simply embarrassed looking little boys. The girl smiled widely as she passed Wally his cookie and the smile only widened as he blushed yet again. Of course, Numbuh Three was a bit to slow to catch what the blush meant, or was she? After all, being considered 'the Flirt' had to have meant something, right
"Numbuh Four! How come you're bein' so nice? Usually all you do is... is this!" She began to perform a rather crude impersonation of her fellow Kid Next Door by stomping her feet and waving her arms about, using an awful Australian accent, "BLARG. CRUDDY DOLLS! CRUDDY GIRLS! YOU'RE STUPID AND STUFF LIKE THAT! CR—" She stopped due to finding Wally had quickly leaped up from his chair and was by Kuki's side with his hand over her mouth.
Looking a bit nervous, he hissed at her in an annoyed tone, "Cruddy girl! Shut up! D'ya wanna get everyone in here? They'll all think I'm pickin' on ya!" He shuddered at the thought of Numbuh Five's reaction if she thought he was picking on the team's youngest member, it was not a pleasant thought in the least.
Kuki found it was her turn to blush, looking slightly abashed she looked down at her feet and kicked at the floor from her chair. When Numbuh Four trusted her enough to remove his hand, she mumbled out an apology. Getting Numbuh Four in trouble was really the last thing she wanted to do. Looking at the now quiet Numbuh Three, Wally was inwardly smiling at her fondly, but he wasn't about to let her se that. She was, after all, the last person he wanted knowing about his... his feelings about her. Instead he pretended to shrug it off and mumbled a cool 'Whatever,' before going back to his own seat.
So the tea party dragged on, Numbuh Three no longer felt the awkwardness of the situation and Numbuh Four was slowly beginning to discover that maybe tea parties so quite so bad, well, provided a certain Japanese girl was involved. Giggling, Kuki would offer him more tea, which he would bashfully accept, and the two were getting along quite fine. A few times, she would offer him a dress to borrow, just in case he felt too casually dressed, Wally would only glare at her, mutter something that sounded like 'Cruddy girl' and angrily sip at his tea. Of course, Kuki would only giggle more at his reaction each time.
Just as Kuki was about to offer Wally his fourth cup of tea, three loud booms like before sounded. Wally sat straight up, that was the signal saying that it was time for him to take his place. If he could find a way to sneak out of Numbuh Three's room, that was; at the moment she had positioned herself on the table, regardless of the spilled tea and crushed cookies, with her arms wrapped around Wally's neck, quivering in a very frightened manner.
"Wha... what was that, Numbuh Four?" She managed to ask in a very frightened tone.
Was there any surprise that he was blushing? No? Well that was to be expected he was Wallabee Beetles, no less. Patting the frightened girl on the head with a surprising tenderness, he managed to wriggle out of her grasp and stand up. "Don' worry 'bout it, Numbuh Three," he said in a confident voice as he backed away, inch by inch, towards the door.
Kuki noticed his movements and leaped off of the table and rushed back over to the blond-headed boy, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "Are... Are you le...leavin' me?" She asked, eyes beginning to water as she stared at him pathetically.
Feeling that by now all too familiar heat creep into his face, Wally cleared his throat and turned away from her, heading onwards to the door; trying to ignore Numbuh Three's loud and heart wrenching sobs. When he made it to the door, past the numerous and equally hideous Rainbow Monkeys, he turned and said in a slightly regretful voice, "Don' worry, I'll be back in a tick!"
As he exited her room, Numbuh Three stared at his fleeting back. Sighing heavily, she skulked back to her chair at the table. Laying her head upon the rough wooden surface, she stared with glittering brown eyes at a pink bunny plush toy. "Why do I feel all sad?" She asked the toy in a confused voice, the bunny simply replied by staring back at her with a most blank expression.
"You're not bein' very helpful, Mr. Fluffy Tail," said the girl, straightening and sternly reprimanding the toy's lack of an answer. "Now, Miss Laurel is bein' very, VERY helpful," she motioned to a large elephant plush that was dressed in a charming pink party dress. Forgetting her previous distress over Numbuh Four's absence, Kuki began to continue with her tea party, apparently not noticing the empty chair with the spilled tea and knocked over teacup.
Just outside Numbuh Three's door, the blond haired boy with the pudding bowl haircut leaned, trying to calm down a bit. Once his heart had stopped that irritating fluttering that it seemed to do when he was around Numbuh Three. Upon his heartbeat slowing, he made it way to the main room in the tree house, where the other three Numbuh currently were, each going about their own business.
Numbuh Five was setting up a table of various sweets, including a large cake with the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY NUMBUH THREE" written on it in a bright green frosting. Humming a tune, Abby stuck in eleven candles and beamed at the cake proudly. She had made it herself, and it was quite a tasty cake, if she did say so herself.
Numbuhs One and Two were each standing on separate ladders, attempting to put up a large banner that read the same at the cake that Numbuh Five had made. They two had been trying to get the thing up all day, but Numbuh Two kept loosing his balance and falling over, until they decided they might as well get Wally to help, even if that meant risking Kuki discovering them. As they spotted the blond haired member of the team, Hoagie waved to him, causing himself to fall over in the process.
Hurrying towards the two boys, Numbuh Four looked at them, arms crossed over chest and a smug look on his face. "Need any 'elp?" He asked, a smirk creeping upon his normally scowling features.
"Actually, we do. So if you would please be so kind as to help put this banner up, that would be wonderful," said Nigel, peering down at the shorter boy from over his sunglasses.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Wally, darting up the ladder and assisting the leader of the Kids Next Door in putting up the banner. Surprisingly, they finished the task faster than previously thought, of course, it was easier to do now that Numbuh Two was falling down as he was previously.
As the two boys climbed down from their ladders, Numbuh Five waved at them saying, "Numbuh Five is done with all her stuff over here; do we need t'do anythin' else?"
Nigel rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he surveyed the room; streamers all seemed to be in place, banner was up at long last, the cake was in the center of the room all eleven candles accounted for. Nodding to Abby, he spoke, "Just get those candles lit and we'll be ready for business! Numbuh Four, you go get the birthday girl, but don't tell her what's up! Numbuh Two, once Numbuh Five has lit the candles, turn off the lights and into hiding!"
The three other children nodded in affirmation, and went about their tasks just as Numbuh One had instructed them. Wally was well on his way to Numbuh Three's room, and as soon as the light's clicked off, he knocked.
Numbuh Three answered the door almost at once, "Hello? Oh! It's you, Numbuh Four! You're back! Want you finish you—Hey! Where're you takin' me? Numbuh Four!" Wally had grabbed her by the hand and was leading her to the room where the party was to occur. Upon arriving, the two stood side by side, blinking into the darkness at the eleven lights that glowed mysteriously in the dark, they were still holding one another's hands, though both were too distracted to notice.
"What's goin' on in here?" Asked Kuki at last, as she tilted her head.
At the sound of the youngest member's voice, the lights were flicked on and the three members that were in hiding jumped out to call "SURPRISE" to her. Squealing in surprise, Numbuh Three let go of Wally's hand to raise her hands to her mouth as if to contain her girlish squeals of happiness. Hopping from one foot to the other, she giggled happily. "Sankyuu everyone! This is great!" She cried, skipping to the middle of the room where the cake was located to admire it.
Grinning broadly, Numbuh Five jerked her thumb in the direction of a very pleased looking Numbuh Four. "It was his idea to throw you this thing, you know. You better thank him," she said with a wink.
"Oh!! I will, I will!" Cried Kuki, rushing over to Wally, who found himself suddenly enveloped into a tight hug. "THANK YOU, NUMBUH FOUR!"
The boy found his face growing in heat yet again, torn between trying to wriggle out of her grasp as he had previously done, or simply enjoy her closeness... But to do the latter would have meant showing the others how he felt, so instead she brilliant shoved Numbuh Three away. Dusting off, as if to be rid of her cooties, he huffed, "Yeah, yeah. Make a wish on yer cake already, Numbuh Five made it just fer you!"
"Really?! Oh! Thank you, Numbuh Five! Thank you!" She squealed now hurrying over to hug Numbuh Five, who carefully sidestepped the bouncing girl.
"No need for that, we all helped. Just blow out your candles already, girl! Make a wish!"
Nodding happily, Kuki skipped over to her cake and took a deep breath in. Bright brown eyes stared down at the eleven flickering flames and then were shut tightly as she blew on the candles as hard as she could, thinking of her birthday wish fervently. Opening her eyes again slowly, she glanced at her four friends, each staring at her expectantly.
"Well? What did you wish for?" Asked Hoagie.
Smiling widely, Kuki simply shook her head and said in an almost teasing tone, "If I tell you, then it won't come true!"
"All right, Numbuh Three, whatever you say," said Numbuh Five, moving towards the cake to pull off the eleven candles so she could slice the cake. The girl got a cake knife and began to five cut large slices out of Numbuh Three's birthday cake and handed them to the five members. "Here ya go! Now, let's dig in!"
The five friends continued with Numbuh Three's birthday, each giving her a present, most of which was Rainbow Monkey related... With the exception of Numbuh Four. He said he had no present for her and apologized. Kuki didn't mind; she just smiled and shrugged saying it didn't matter, he had done so much already. Though her words were kind, it wasn't enough for Wallabee Beetles, he felt guilty about his lack of a gift for her, and left the party early to sit outside to think. He was hoping to be unnoticed, but a certain birthday girl watched him walk off.
"I'm sleepy you guys, niiight!" She chirped to the others, waving to the others. She followed the path that Numbuh Four had taken, and continued on that way until she was outside on the porch. Kuki smiled when she saw him, legs dangling in the air, arms behind him, his head tilted upwards towards the heavens. Why did her heart start that funny way of beating again?
The lanky girl walked towards him slowly, and once she was close enough, Kuki slipped down beside him. Wally jumped in surprise at seeing Numbuh Three arrive just as his mind was beginning to think of her, it was a bit of a startling coincidence. Neither of the two said anything as they sat in the simple silence, watching the twinkling city below.
After some time past the younger child spoke, her voice quite calm and thoughtful, "Wanna know what I wished for?" Wally turn slightly to look at her as she continued staring at the ground below, at his lack of response to her inquiry, she continued, "I wanted to be able to talk to somebody... 'bout somthin' kinda important."
"Er... Ya did?"
"Yeah... But now I don' think I need to! 'Cause you're here, Numbuh Four!"
After Kuki said that, neither child spoke, the silence wasn't awkward like before, it wasn't suffocating or looming unpleasantly overheard; it was a comfortable sort silence, which they both basked in as one would bask in the sun after a long winter. Simply sitting together as they were seemed to fill them both with a strange sort of happy feeling. As shy children do when confronting these strange feelings for the first time, their hands nervously moved towards the other, inching painstakingly until they her clasped together after what seemed a millennium. Wally and Kuki both looked in the direction opposite of the other, the color rushing to their faces. After a moment they both looked to each other, and smiled, slow, happy and shy smiles of realization of a first love.
They shared that feeling together on her eleventh birthday, over the city and under the stars that twinkled overheard.
fini
Right! So! What do you guys think of that? ; I'm sorry if everyone seems a bit out of character, I tried! It's hard to write Kuki being serious and yet still be the happy-go-lucky character she is. I like seeing Kuki happy... not angsty. oO
Um, any comments, flames, cookies would be more than accepted. Mind you, this is my first time writing in their section, so please be nice? It was inspired by Utada's song 'First Love', but you probably wouldn't figure that out until the end, I guess.
I write too much in this section. Um, my friend, Kasei, who is a grammar Nazi and can pick out my MANY typos, edited it. That is all.
-wanders off-
DiSCLAiMER: Sorry, but I don't down Kids Next Door! Shocking, I know. Don't sue me. oo; I'm just a weird little fan girl.. ..