Within the dark control room of NBN's 
Efficiency Readjusted Vanguard programming control 
center (spell it out for yourselves folks), a 
terminal illumined the face of the director manning 
her station. She was monitoring the video feed from 
the house. It was fairly interesting so far, but she 
would have to trim it and edit it down to something 
that would fit into an hour long episode... 
preferably one that made sense. And she definitely 
needed to talk to the cameraman about this constant 
panning down to look at the girl's behinds and their 
cleavage. It just wouldn't be right to put that on 
primetime TV... regardless of how many ratings points 
it was probably worth. Besides which. Her boyfriend, 
or rather her ex-boyfriend, one of the network 
executives, would probably enjoy it just a little bit 
too much.
	The director was an attractive, leggy brunette 
with long, straight hair. Despite the over efficient 
air conditioning of the NBN building, she liked 
wearing short dresses, although conceded to the cold 
enough to wear a red jacket. She also wore a cross on 
a thin cord around her neck.
	"How is it going so far?" Came a cold voice 
behind her.
	The girl turned nervously to face the producer, 
an imposing man in dark glasses, with a neatly 
trimmed beard, but no moustache. His gloved hands 
were clasped behind his back.
	"Er... it's going... um... smoothly, sir."
	The producer nodded, "That's alright. Be sure 
to leave those cleavage shots in. The ratings points 
will be worth it."
	The director sighed, "Yes, sir."

=====================================================
==================
=The Surreal World=
The 2nd Season

Second Episode: Settling in seconds

Written by the Scriviner
Based on the Surreal World 
by RpM
Written with his permission.
=====================================================
==================

	Ukyou cast a cautious backwards glance at 
Kasuga Akane, who was still following her around, as 
she checked each of the ground floor rooms in turn. 
She wanted a room which had a good view of the back 
lawn and easy access to the kitchen. Akane wasn't 
exactly helping much, pressed as she was against 
Ukyou's back. 
	"Um... Kasuga-san..." Ukyou began.
	"Please! Call me Akane." Akane chirped smiling 
at Ukyou.
	"I'd rather not." Ukyou continued frowning.
	"Why not?" Akane asked pushing a bit more 
against Ukyou's back.
	"It's a long story," Ukyou grumbled.
	"We've got all summer," Akane replied 
cheerfully.
	Ukyou sighed and entered a room, this one 
looked okay.
	Akane said, "Ohh... this one looks unoccupied. 
Need help unpacking?"
	"Oh, alright, I give up." Ukyou sighed again. 
She forced her voice to be a bit more jovial, "Sure, 
why not. Thanks." 
	Akane smiled, "No problem..."
	Ukyou began to unload her luggage, putting the 
clothes into the closet. Akane was surprisingly 
enough, of some actual help. Akane stood up, holding 
one of Ukyou's restaurant aprons up. "Hey, you cook?"
	Ukyou flashed a grin, happy to be on a more 
comfortable subject, "Best okonomiyaki in Japan, 
sugar."
	Akane smiled back, "Really? Wow. You don't 
often find guys who do." Ukyou was about to correct 
her when Akane read aloud the logo silk screened onto 
the apron, "Ucchan's Okonomiyaki."
	"My restaurant," Ukyou answered the unvoiced 
question.
	"You run a business already?" Akane asked 
surprised. Good looking, athletic, and already owned 
a business... definite possibilities.
	Ukyou nodded, "Yeah. I'm having a friend of 
mine run it for the summer while I'm here. I probably 
should've closed it down, but it didn't seem like 
such a good idea."
	Akane conceded, "I guess." She looked at the 
silk screened logo again, "so you're Ucchan?"
	"Yeah," Ukyou replied distractedly as she dug 
into her bag.
	"Do you mind if I call you Ucchan?" Akane asked 
with a wink.
	Ukyou winced and looked at her. "I'd really 
rather you didn't.
	Akane looked disappointed, but folded up the 
apron and put it into the closet.
	Ukyou reached into her bag and pulled out a 
pair of picture frames, setting them up on the 
dresser. One showed Ukyou, an attractive long haired 
girl, and a short, pretty red head with a braid. They 
were all wearing Ucchan's Okonomiyaki aprons posing 
behind a counter. The other was a picture of Ukyou in 
a high school uniform, standing next to the red-
headed girl from the first photo, who was now in a 
Chinese-style, red shirt. Ukyou was in a winter boy's 
uniform and both of them were smiling.
	Akane glanced at the pictures curiously as 
Ukyou arranged them, a bittersweet smile on the 
okonomiyaki chef's face. 
	"Who are they?" Akane asked.
	Ukyou seemed startled. "Oh. This." She said as 
she pointed to the first photo, "Is Konatsu Kenzan. 
Konatsu's taking care of my restaurant right now."
	Akane looked slightly disappointed. Oh. He 
already had a girlfriend... or did he? 
	"You two seeing each other?" Akane prodded 
slightly.
	Ukyou looked at her in surprise, then laughed 
heartily, "Oh no. No, of course not. We're just 
friends. I..." she glanced uneasily at the other 
photo, "I... maybe I shouldn't have brought this one 
along." She sighed.
	"What's the matter?" Akane asked worriedly, 
putting an arm on Ukyou's shoulder, "Who's the girl 
in the other photo anyway?"
	"That?" Ukyou smiled grimly, "That's Ranma... 
we were... we used to be engaged. It was our parent's 
idea... but I always thought someday it would be..." 
she tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat. 
The tears were beginning to well in her eyes. But she 
had to steel herself. She HAD to. Show no weakness.
	"Oh. What happened?" Akane looked at Ukyou. A 
broken heart... despite herself she felt a surge of 
joy. He would be so vulnerable. He'd need someone to 
rely on. Akane knew just who that someone would be. 
She smiled inwardly.
	"Ranma fell in love with someone else," Ukyou 
said bitterly.
	"I'm sorry to hear that," Akane said 
sympathetically.
	"It's alright," Ukyou said forcing a grin, "I'm 
trying to put it behind me."
	Akane nodded, putting a friendly arm around 
Ukyou's shoulders, "That's probably for the best. 
Besides," Akane added meaningfully, "You never know, 
you might just find something here to help you 
forget."	
	Ukyou shied away from the touch slightly, 
feeling more than a little worried, "Er... that's 
very nice of you to say Akane..."
- - -
	Junta hastily unpacked his few possessions. 
He'd taken one of middle bedrooms on the second 
floor, since it looked like the four bedrooms 
downstairs had all been taken. He put the radio on 
the bedside table and placed his clothes neatly in 
the closet, as he knelt down, stuffing his shirts 
into the little cubby hole he noticed an odd little 
hole in the center of the back wall of the closet. 
	"Mice?" he asked aloud. He looked around for 
something he could stuff the hole with, but there was 
a sudden loud banging from the opposite wall of the 
room. He stood up putting his ear to the opposite 
wall worriedly. Something worse than mice? He 
thought.
	There was another loud crash as what appeared 
to be a large wooden log smashed through the thin 
wooden wall. Junta cried out and leapt back onto the 
bed. The mice in this place were obviously on 
steroids!
	The wooden log slipped quietly back out, 
leaving a large hole in his wall right next to 
dresser. Junta tentatively stepped off the bed, 
bending down cautiously to investigate. He found 
himself suddenly face to face with a long faced man 
with slicked back hair, lightly dusted with plaster, 
who had stuck his head and shoulders through the 
hole.
	"YaaHHH!!" Junta screamed, leaping up on the 
bed, trying to use his sheets as some sort of shield. 
"Whu-whu-what are you?!"
	"Well, now. That's certainly no way to greet 
your new housemate," The man replied peevishly in a 
precise, cultured voice as he somehow slithered the 
rest of his body through the hole. Junta would swear 
he was boneless. The man seemed almost to flow to his 
feet, and Junta noticed that the man was in a 
somewhat dusty three piece suit.
	"I am Yotsuya. It is a pleasure to make your 
acquaintance. I have the room next to yours," the man 
said.
	"Um... Momonari Junta. Why'd you bust a hole in 
my wall?" he demanded.
	"It was the most expedient means that I could 
think of, of getting to something without stepping 
into the hallway," Yotsuya replied, idly dusting off 
his shoulder. "As I have been expelled from the room 
I had initially intended to utilize, I find I shall 
have to slip into your room to achieve my goal."
	The spiky haired youth nodded slowly, "Okay... 
but what were you looking for?"
	"Through here, young man." Yotsuya beckoned to 
him, sliding the closet open.
	"The mousehole?"  Junta asked as Yotsuya knelt 
down, placing his eye level with it.
	"Is that what it is?" Yotsuya asked slowly, a 
slight grin on his face, "How interesting. It is 
merely that I realize that this 'mousehole', as you 
put it, makes for a rather convenient means to look 
into the next room."
	Junta dropped to a cross legged sitting 
position, crossing his arms and frowned at Yotsuya, 
"It's a peephole? What are you some kind of pervert?"
	Yotsuya raised an eyebrow at Junta, "I'm not 
the one whose room the peephole is in."
	Junta sputtered, "Hey! I didn't put that in 
there!"
	"Nevertheless, it is in your room is it not?" 
Yotsuya continued reasonably, "Therefore, it seems 
likely that perhaps YOU are the one with the penchant 
for peepholes. Now please do not disturb me as I must 
make my observations in peace." With that, Yotsuya 
placed his eye firmly to the hole.
	"Observations! You ARE a pervert!" Junta 
shouted at Yotsuya's back.
	Yotsuya replied in a perfectly level tone as he 
continued to look through the peephole, "I believe we 
had established that it was in fact you who possessed 
the deviant tendencies... ahh... now... let us see... 
who has taken this roo--" Yotsuya pulled his eye away 
from the hole. There was an expression of obvious 
distaste on his face. "What a disappointment."
	"What're you talking about?" Junta said to his 
face.
	"Well, see for yourself." Yotsuya said amiably, 
pulling Junta down until his eye was level with the 
hole.
	"Hey! Let go of me!" Junta struggled with 
Yotsuya, but couldn't help seeing what was going on 
through the hole. There was a fairly good view of the 
next room through the hole. 
	Through the peephole, Junta could see a fairly 
handsome blonde man who was in the process of 
shrugging off his coat and muttering loudly about the 
unfairness of it all. No wonder the pervert snaky guy 
was disappointed, Junta thought. 
	Next to Junta's ear Yotsuya murmured, "Now you 
understand my disappointment. It would appear that we 
are all men on this floor."
	Junta continued struggling to get out of 
Yotsuya's grip just as the man slipped his tie off 
and began to unbutton his shirt. There was something 
odd about the way the shirt contoured itself against 
his chest, particularly since some of the blonde's 
sweat had soaked through the shirt, making it 
somewhat transparent. Junta, despite himself 
continued to stare, not even realizing that Yotsuya 
had already removed his grip and was now watching the 
spiky haired teen with a raised eyebrow.
	The blonde turned away from the hole for a 
moment as the shirt was finally opened and tossed 
onto the bed. Junta blinked in confusion as he 
noticed a strap running across the man's back. Which 
was attached to two other straps which seemed to loop 
over the shoulders. Like... a bra?
	Junta recoiled slightly, the guy next door 
wears women's underwear?! He thought to himself. Just 
his luck to be stuck with the room in between a pair 
of deviants. As he was about to straighten up, the 
blonde turned again, facing the peephole frontally as 
the blonde struggled with his belt. That bra was 
certainly filled out pretty well for a crossdresser. 
No. Wait. That's flesh curving down into the cups of 
that bra. That's the definite swell of... those are 
breasts!
	Fascinated despite himself, Junta continued 
staring as the blonde WOMAN began to remove her 
slacks. Yes... panties... those were definitely 
panties... and none of what one would normally expect 
a guy to have down there. It IS a girl! Staring 
slack-jawed as she stripped down to her underwear, 
Junta felt a familiar queasiness and tightness in his 
stomach. 
	He turned away quickly, rushing for the window, 
his face a sickly palor.
	Yotsuya nodded sagely as Junta threw up his 
lunch out the window. No doubt making a huge mess in 
their back lawn. He noted with some degree of 
admiration the quantity of material that the boy 
vomited out. "Yes, Junta. I agree totally. Were I of 
a less hardened sort, I suppose I too would be 
suffering from the same reaction at seeing a man 
undressing where I would've expected a woman."
	Junta would've replied with something snappy, 
but at the moment, the orifice necessary for repartee 
was engaged in something else. Whoops. There went 
breakfast.
	Yotsuya gave a slight wave as Junta finished 
hurling, "Well, I shall leave you to your miseries, 
young Junta. If you find anything of promise, be 
certain to inform me." And with that, he slithered 
back in through the hole he had made.
	Junta finally managed to recover, wiping his 
mouth on his sleeve. He frowned. One thing was for 
certain. He wasn't telling the pervert Yotsuya that 
his next door neighbor was a woman. A woman with a 
rather nice set of curves... she was even now still 
in her underwear... and with that mental image, Junta 
bent over the window sill and went into dry heaves.
- - -
	Ryuunosuke stepped out of the room, after 
having changed shirts. It was really too hot to keep 
wearing the same one for longer than a few hours. The 
shirt had the New Hama Teahouse logo on the front and 
the back. The elder Fujinami had insisted that his 
'son' wear it as often as possible.
	As Ryu stepped out of the door, Shun also 
stepped out, also having changed shirts. The pink 
haired teen was wearing a T-shirt with the logo of 
the Kisaragi Inn.
	Staggering down the stairs, which were right 
next to Shun's door, was a weak kneed Junta, who was 
still wearing the shirt that had the advertisement 
for his family's teahouse.
	Ukyou stepped out of her room. She wanted to 
check out the kitchen, and hopefully ditch Akane 
somewhere. Akane on the other hand was still pressed 
uncomfortably against Ukyou's arm, smiling goofily at 
her. Ukyou had one of her aprons slung over her 
shoulder. The kanji for Ucchan's Okonomiyaki was 
still quite easily seen.
	The cameraman, who was still in the hallway did 
a slow pan as everyone looked at everyone else and 
read the various ads and notices on each other's 
clothes. Akane snickered.
	Ukyou asked, "Um... what's the TV station's 
stand on free advertising?"
	Shun grabbed Ryuunosuke's hand, "Come on, let's 
check the house out!"
	"Er... sure," replied a little uncertainly, the 
camera was still on them.
	"Well, I want to find the kitchen, see what 
they've got," Ukyou declared.
	A tall, slender blonde in a t-shirt and jeans 
came down the stairs, and demanded in a grumpy voice, 
"Alright, who's yattai is that in the driveway? I 
can't get my car into the garage properly."
	Ukyou looked mildly embarrassed. "That's mine." 
She raised a hand.
	Junta took one look at the blonde behind him 
and made a strangled exclamation as his face turned 
greenish. He rushed off to find the bathroom
	"Could you please move it out of the way?" the 
blonde glowered.
	"There's no need to be so pushy, about it, 
Haruka. We're all in this together," Shun said.
	Haruka merely snorted and climbed the stairs, 
calling down to them, "Just get that thing off the 
driveway!"
	Akane put her hands on her hips, glaring up 
after Haruka, "What a grump!"
	Ukyou shrugged, but was frowning slightly, "I 
can see he's going to be a little tough to live with. 
May as well get the cart out of the way, though."
	Akane chirped cheerfully, "I'll help! Let's 
go."
	Shun and Ryu traded glances as Ukyou and Akane 
left the hall.
	"Well, they look like she latched herself onto 
him pretty quick," Ryu noted.
	"I guess so," Shun answered. "Hey come on, 
let's see what this place is like..." as the pink-
haired teen pulled Ryu.
	The cameraman was torn. To follow Shun, or to 
follow Akane. Well, there were cameras in the other 
parts of the house. There wasn't one in the driveway. 
Besides, Akane was wearing less than Shun was. He 
leered under his mask and took off after Ukyou and 
Akane.
- - -
	"Hey this place is cool! Look, there's even a 
videoke machine!" Shun declared cheerfully.
	Ryu nodded noncommittally. "Yeah, it does look 
nice. Big TV too."
	"I guess we can watch ourselves when the show 
airs, huh?" Shun grinned.
	Ryu chuckled, "Yeah, I guess so."
	Shun eyed the videoke machine with a grin, "You 
know this gives me an idea."
	"What?"
	"Why don't we use it? I mean we're going to be 
living here, so why not have a housewarming party 
tonight? We can even use the videoke machine!" Shun 
smiled.
	"I dunno," Ryu replied, "I mean we'll be on 
national television, wouldn't it be kind of 
embarrassing?"
	"Come on, it'll be fun!" Shun prodded.
	"It sounds like an excellent idea," came a 
voice behind them.
	They both turned around to find Yotsuya 
standing there, quite close to them.
	"Gah!" Ryu took a step back, "Don't sneak up on 
us like that!"
	"Hello, Mr. Yotsuya," Shun said politely.
	"Leave everything to me, I shall make the 
necessary preparations." Yotsuya called to them as he 
walked out of the living room and into the kitchen.
	Ryu suppressed a shudder, "I don't think I like 
that guy."
	"I don't know he seems like a nice enough guy." 
Shun replied.
	"Yeah... but he gives me the creeps." Ryu said.
	"You probably just don't know him that well." 
Shun patted Ryu's shoulder.
	"Did the perv just pass through here?" Junta 
asked as he walked into the living room.
	"What perv?" Ryu and Shun both asked 
simultaneously.
	"Yotsuya." Junta said flatly.
	"Looks like its a majority opinion, Shun." Ryu 
smirked. "He went thataway." The brunette teen 
pointed at the door Yotsuya had left through.
	Junta scowled a little, "Better keep an eye on 
that guy."
	"Hey, we don't know your name!" Shun said 
suddenly, hopping in front of Junta, leaning forward 
and grinning.
	Junta recoiled but was surprised that he didn't 
feel the familiar clutch at his innards that this 
sort of proximity to a girl. Certainly he would be 
close to hurling from being so close to a girl THIS 
cute. He blinked in surprise. Could his allergy to 
women be clearing up? No, he just finished throwing 
up all over the back lawn after seeing the blonde 
change her clothes. Then he threw up all over the 
bathroom again when the blonde came near him on the 
stairs. That wasn't it. He tentatively bowed, "Um... 
I'm Momonari Junta."
	"I'm Shun Kisaragi." Shun gestured. "This is 
Ryuunosuke Fujinami. Nice to meet you."
	"Hi," Ryu greeted Junta diffidently.
	"N-nice to meet you too..." Junta forced a 
smile. Still no nausea. None whatsoever. There was 
something about Shun that wasn't triggering his girl 
allergy! This was great!
	Junta looked at Ryu and felt his stomach give a 
slight twinge. Now what? His insides were reacting to 
guys now?! What was wrong with him?
	"Hey, are you okay? You look kind of sick," 
Shun asked, putting the back of one hand on Junta's 
forehead.
	"Er... ahh..." Physical contact and still not 
so much as a twinge. Nothing whatsoever. Junta was 
both ecstatic and worried by this development. "Um... 
it's nothing. I just have these allergies. They act 
up a lot." He smiled apologetically at both of them. 
As his gaze settled on Ryu, he felt his insides 
clutch and a wave of nausea hit him. That can't 
possibly be right, he screamed to himself as his grit 
his teeth.
	"Scuse me!" he muttered through clenched teeth 
as he scuttled off, heading for the bathroom again.
	Shun and Ryu traded glances.
	"Are we the only normal ones here?" Shun asked 
with a suppressed giggle
	Ryu glanced downward, "Now there's a scary 
thought."	
- - -
	"Okay, Akane, push slowly." Ukyou called back 
as she manhandled the yattai over to the side of the 
garage, leaving more room for Haruka's car. What an 
arrogant... nevermind.
	Akane wiped her sweat on the back of one 
forearm, "Wow. You're pretty strong, Ukyou. I'm dying 
back here and you don't even look winded."
	Ukyou gave a half embarassed grin, "Yeah. 
Thanks."
	The cameraman gleefully panned down to Akane's 
bare arms and legs which were still glistening in the 
afternoon light with sweat. Not to mention the now 
soaked tanktop. Oh, how sweet life is!
	"Hey, anyone home?" A voice called out from the 
driveway.
	"I thought everyone was here already?" Ukyou 
said to Akane.
	Akane shrugged, "Let's find out."
	They stepped out of the garage to find a brown 
haired young man of about sixteen carrying a long 
bundle, like a rolled up carpet, wrapped in manila 
paper and uncomfortably balanced on one shoulder.
	He turned to face them and narrowly missed 
hitting Akane and Ukyou with the bundle on his 
shoulder. But that was because they ducked. The 
cameraman, who's visual capabilities at the moment, 
particularly due to the mask, were next to 
nonexistent, was less fortunate. He got whacked on 
the side of the head and was sent sprawling.
	"Ack! I'm sorry!" the brown haired boy said 
apologetically. As he moved to set his burden down 
and tried to help up the cameraman.
	"Kyosuke!! Don't put it down there!" Akane 
shouted at the boy.
	"There you are." The brown haired boy, Kyosuke, 
said to Akane sourly, as he turned, Akane and Ukyou 
had to duck again to avoid the rolled up package.
	Akane rushed and almost effortlessly snatched 
Kyosuke's burden from him, "Don't you go waving that 
around like that! It's very important to me!"
	Kyosuke frowned at her, "Look, I didn't HAVE to 
haul that damn thing on my bike all this way you 
know, you could show a little appreciation!"
	Ukyou helped the cameraman back up to his feet, 
"Hey, you okay?"
	"I'll live..." he said woozily. The camera 
still seemed okay, as he set it on his shoulder 
again.
	Ukyou noticed Akane's distraction as she argued 
with the brown haired boy, and very cautiously tried 
to slip away.
	Akane noticed the movement and quickly reached 
an arm out, snagging Ukyou before she got to far, 
"Oh, by the way, I don't think you've met my cousin. 
Kyosuke Kasuga, this is Ukyou Kuonji."
	Ukyou bowed awkwardly, Akane still latched to 
her arm, "Er... nice to meet you, Kyosuke-san... 
er... say, weren't you on this show last season?"
	Kyosuke gave an embarassed laugh, "Ahh... yeah! 
That was me. Heh... um..." his eyes slid to the side 
and noticed the guy in the kuroko outfit finally. "Is 
that thing on?"
	The cameraman, camera and all, nodded.
	Kyosuke waved to the camera uncomfortably, 
"It's been a while. Hi, again everyone."
	"Do you remember Ranma Saotome?" Ukyou asked 
Kyosuke.
	Kyosuke seemed thoughtful for a moment, "Hey, 
yeah... he was with me in the cast last season's 
show, you know Ranma?"
	"Yeah... pretty well."
	"How's he doing?" Kyosuke asked.
	Ukyou replied flatly, "Making wedding plans." 
	"Oh, so he finally got his multiple fiance 
problem sorted out, huh?" Kyosuke asked cheerfully.
	"Yeah." Ukyou said uncomfortably aware of the 
camera.
	Both Akane and Kyosuke noted her unease. Akane 
raised an eyebrow. Hey... Ukyou's fiance was named 
Ranma... ouch... wrong topic to ask... She shot 
Kyosuke a look which read 'how could you ask such a 
sensitive question?' which Kyosuke more or less 
missed, but Ukyou's expression was arriving loud and 
clear. Akane cuddled up against Ukyou again, but this 
time more protectively.
	Kyosuke cleared his throat awkwardly, "What's 
in that thing anyway?" He pointed at the rolled up 
bundle.
	Akane grinned and leaned forward, "Well if you 
really must know..." as she whispered something into 
his ear.
	"It's a WHAT?!" Kyosuke said, eyes bulging, 
"What are you doing with something like that! She'd 
be embarrassed to death if that gets shown on TV!" He 
made a grab for the package.
	Akane grabbed the other end to prevent Kyosuke 
from taking it from her, "Hah! You just want it for 
yourself! It'll be on my ceiling so no one will know! 
Now let go! It's mine!" She shouted at him. The two 
ended up locked in a tug of war over the rolled up 
package.
	Ukyou stepped away from the two. She glanced 
over her shoulder and asked the camera, "Is it 
genetic, you think?"
	Akane grinned at her cousin, her eyes flashing 
slightly. Kyosuke blinked in surprise as he realized 
that the person holding the other end of the package 
was now his self-proclaimed girlfriend, Hikaru. She 
had a one of her cute pouts on as she suddenly 
shouted at him, "Darling! Why do you want to keep 
Madoka's poster for yourself? Don't you like me 
anymore?"
	Kyosuke jumped back in surprise, dropping his 
end of the package, "No!" He made very conspicuous 
warding signs, waving his arm, "It's not like that 
Hikaru! I... that is..." He blinked as he realized 
that she had vanished. He'd been suckered by Akane. 
It was her telepathic illusions again. He simmered, 
realizing that the only people still around were the 
cameraman and the Ukyou person.
	As far as those two were concerned, nothing too 
strange had happened. The two Kasugas tugged on the 
package for a while, then Kyosuke fell back, shouting 
something unintelligible, and Akane ran into the 
house with the package on her head and giggling all 
the way.
	"Why that dirty little--!" Kyosuke seethed. He 
whirled angrily on Ukyou and the cameraman. He looked 
directly at the camera and said, "Just remember, keep 
an eye on her. If you get any kind of trouble, any 
kind at all, it's probably her fault!" And with that, 
he stomped off.
	"Oh boy." Ukyou said.
	The cameraman could only nod in agreement.
	Akane peeked her head out of the door after a 
few moments, "Is he gone yet?"
	"Yeah he is, what's in the-- Hey!" Ukyou began 
to ask, but Akane dashed out of the house and grabbed 
her by the arm, dragging the okonomiyaki chef back 
in.
	"Well, come on! I helped you fix up your cart, 
you help me fix up my poster!" Akane giggled.
	The cameraman only sighed happily and chased 
after them.
- - -	
	"My, the people letting us use this house 
certainly are stingy... a payphone, of all things? Ah 
well, I may as well use my own money to place the 
call."
	Plop. Click. Whirr. Dial tone.
	"Yes... Dominion pizza? I would like to order 
two extra large pizzas with everything. Of course. 
Yes. Yes, that is the address. Thank you."
	Yotsuya put the phone back on its cradle and 
said a touch self righteously, "I sincerely hope they 
appreciate my generosity in this matter."
- - -
	Akane was standing on top of the dresser in her 
room as she started fastening the poster to the 
ceiling. It certainly wouldn't feel like home if she 
didn't have Madoka's poster on the ceiling. Below, 
Ukyou held onto the dresser, keeping it steady for 
Akane.
	"Akane, you know... it's all very nice of you 
being so nice to me and stuff, but ah... I really 
think you should stop hitting on me.
	Akane grinned as she looked down at Ukyou, 
"Have I been hitting on you?"
	"Sure looked like it," Ukyou replied.
	"Well, I'm sure you get it a lot so you WOULD 
be able to recognize it. Nearly got it..." Akane 
called down merrily. Ukyou WAS definitely cute. Kinda 
shy too, but that was alright in her book. Slightly 
distracted by these thoughts, she took a step to the 
left to affix the corner of the still rolled up 
poster. Unfortunately, there wasn't any more dresser 
where her foot came down, as she slipped. "Ack!"
	Ukyou was surprised, but thought fast. She move 
quickly, positioning herself under Akane to catch her 
as she fell. Akane extended her hands in front of 
herself and had managed to catch herself in mid-air 
with her telekinesis, but noticed Ukyou underneath 
her. She grinned. No point in letting him miss a 
chance to save me, she decided playfully and let 
herself drop on top of Ukyou. Besides, she thought to 
herself as she fell, this gives me a legitimate 
excuse to thank him.
	Akane crashed inelegantly on top of Ukyou, 
causing Ukyou to fall to the floor, Akane straddling 
her. Akane's hands rested on Ukyou's chest as she 
heaved a sigh of relief, "Oh thank goodness you were 
there to save me, Ukyou, I don't know what would've 
happened if you--" her prepared speech of thanks 
suddenly petered out as she realized something about 
what her hands were pressed on.
	Ukyou was blushing madly, her teeth clenched.
	Akane gave a couple of tentative squeezes, 
still in shock. That was definitely NOT standard 
issue on a guy. It sure as heck didn't feel the way 
normal pectoral development should feel. Those felt 
like... breasts?! Akane blinked at Ukyou who blushed 
even more. "You're a..."
	Ukyou shouted at Akane, her voice embarrassed 
and angry, "I've been trying to tell you for the past 
half hour!"
	Akane grabbed Ukyou's collar and ripped open 
the top couple of buttons, just enough to reveal some 
cleavage, "Oh my goodness..." Akane blushed slightly. 
All those sterling qualities AND a girl. Akane could 
almost feel herself melting.
	"Hey, don't rip the shirt!" Ukyou shouted. She 
tried her best to get her voice under control, "Look, 
like I said, it's pointless. You really shouldn't hit 
on me cause I'm a girl."
	Akane leaned closer to Ukyou, their faces only 
inches away from each other. Ukyou became very much 
aware that Akane had her pinned down and was 
straddling her hips. She also became uncomfortably 
aware of the warm interest in Akane's eyes as she 
caught Ukyou's gaze. Looking at her almost... 
hungrily? She also noticed idly the poster, which had 
fluttered open and was lying resting against the 
wall. It was the picture of an attractive brunette 
woman who had a slight resemblance to Ukyou.
	Ukyou gulped nervously, "Whu-why are you 
staring at me like that?"
	"Because, I don't really have a problem at all 
with your being a girl..." Akane whispered back 
hoarsely, her breathing was getting a little ragged.
	Ukyou pressed her back against the floor, 
trying to dig herself free. For some reason she 
couldn't move and Akane was getting closer... and 
closer...
	The okonomiyaki chef looked suspiciously at 
Akane, "You're not a boy in disguise are you?"
	Akane was flustered by the question, stopping 
with her lips just inches away from Ukyou's own. 
"What kind of a question is THAT?!" 
	"It's just..." Ukyou tried to explain, but 
Akane angrily grabbed Ukyou's hands and pushed her 
chest into them, "You trying to tell me you've seen 
measurements like THIS on a guy?!"
	"You'd be surprised," Ukyou muttered nervously 
to herself, blushing as Akane held her hands... where 
they were being held. She felt whatever it was 
holding her down let up for an instant and she tried 
to move her hands away so she could pull Akane off of 
her.
	The door to the room burst open suddenly, with 
Shun and Ryu rushing in, both wearing worried faces, 
"We heard a crash--" Shun started to say then noticed 
the couple on the floor...
	Ryu also noticed and immediately turned around, 
slapping a hand over Shun's eyes, "Well, we realize 
we probably interupted you two at a critical moment, 
so we won't be bothering you..." Ryu's face was 
blushing terribly, and so was Shun.
	"This is not what it looks like!" Ukyou shouted 
helplessly from the floor.
	Shun lifted Ryu's hand up slightly to catch 
another look at the floored couple, Ukyou lying on 
the floor, Akane straddling Ukyou, Ukyou's hands on 
the Akane's chest, Ukyou's shirt looking as if it had 
just been savagely torn open, Akane looking all 
flushed and breathing heavily. "I dunno, it looks a 
heck of lot like what it's not supposed to look 
like," Shun said teasingly.
	"Shun, we really should let these two have 
their privacy, let's go..." as Ryu proceeded to drag 
Shun out of the doorway, the cameraman arrived. The 
copious trickle of drool from under his mask quite 
conspicuous as he panned the camera, one would almost 
say, lasciviously, down the couple's bodies.
	"Get that camera out of here!" Ukyou roared.
	Akane grinned, "What's the matter, don't you 
want to share this with everyone?"
	"Help." Ukyou muttered weakly. The cameraman 
definitely was enjoying himself. What a learning 
experience.
	Shun and Ryu hurriedly managed to get away from 
the door, while the cameraman was being pelted by the 
now free Ukyou with any nearby bric-a-brac. Akane on 
the other hand was trying to keep Ukyou from tossing 
any of her more important bric-a-brac.
	"They seem to be getting along... um..." Ryu 
blushed, "Really well."
	"Yup. Definitely getting along." Shun agreed 
also still blushing.
	The two suddenly burst into a fit of giggles.
- - -
	Yotsuya picked up one of the teflon coated pans 
from the cupboard in the kitchen, and observed it 
with a critical eye. Yes. It certainly seemed 
acceptable enough to him. Quite. He rummaged through 
the drawers and after long moments extracted a 
particular spatula. He gave this instrument a 
critical look as well, holding it up to his eyes, 
comparing and contrasting it with the pan. Yes... 
yes. They both seemed to be in perfect harmony for 
what he intended to do. Having placed the order for 
the pizza, it was now a matter of preparing other 
matters for the party. And with that thought he 
lifted the pan just above the skillet, drew the 
spatula back with ease. Then brought them together 
with a resounding CLANG, beating the spatula against 
the pan repeatedly as he walked around the kitchen, 
"Hello! Everyone! I would like everyone's 
attention!!"
	It took a few minutes for all of the members of 
the household to assemble. Ukyou was still blushing 
furiously. Akane was smiling sweetly at Ukyou. Shun 
and Ryu both looked slightly puzzled. Junta still 
looked nauseous. Haruka just looked pissed.
	Yotsuya favored everyone with a pleasant smile. 
Or rather it would've been pleasant, but there was a 
certain... something in his gaze which disturbed the 
female members of the household, "Yes, it is good to 
see everyone here. I would just like to inform 
everyone that we will be having an house warming 
party this evening to celebrate our new home for the 
time being."
	There were a few mumbles of interest, and an 
unpleasant scowl from Haruka. 
	"It would be the perfect means for us to... 
cement... our friendship, as we will need to get 
along, living in such close quarters, as it were," 
Yotsuya continued. "I will handle all of the 
preparations and no one need worry about a thing. 
Merely assemble in the living room within the hour."
	He smiled at the camera, "Rest assured it is 
all taken care of."
	For no reason whatsoever, Junta felt he should 
get really, really worried.

End Ch. 2
- - -