Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction / Samurai Deeper Kyo Fan Fiction / King Of Bandit Jing Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction / Detective Loki Fan Fiction ❯ Seductive Snake's Shop of Secrets ❯ Tuesday of Terror ( Chapter 2 )

Kero flies on stage with a bowl the size of his head carefully balanced in his small toy-like hands. "Pudding! Pudding!"

"Kero-chan! You're not supposed to say that!" Sakura calls out from her place carefully hidden behind the curtain on the side of the stage. "Now hurry and say your line before Tomoyo-chan comes back."

"But," Kero looks down at the bowl in his hands, "It's Pudding!"

"Kero!" Sakura cries frantically. "You only got that if you did this for me. Now hurry, she will be back any minute! And remember, you interrupted me because you wanted to be in the spotlight."

Kero reluctantly lowers his bowl of pudding to the stage and returns to his position hovering a few feet off the ground. Sakura runs to the camera balanced on a tripod, which was placed some distance from the stage, and hits the record button.

"Ok, everyone here at…" Kero looks at Sakura. "What is the name again?"

"Flaming Duck! Now, hurry!"

"Ok, ok. Everyone here at Flaming Duck would like to remind…you…" Kero's voice trails off as his eyes lock on something behind the camera. "CAKE!"

Kero zooms from the stage in a puff of smoke and rockets into the center of a large cheesecake Tomoyo is holding. She looks up at Sakura with a sad look on her face. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura fidgets nervously at her hair, an awkward half smile on her face. "I'll be right back!"

Tomoyo watches as she runs off the stage and back behind the curtain. The only things she can hear is a faint, "Release!" followed by, "Mirror!"

A moment passes and then Sakura can be seen, calm and composed, walking out in the blue skirt suit Tomoyo made for her. She smiles brightly at Tomoyo, then at the camera.

"Flaming Duck Productions would like to thank you for your interest in this project. They would like to remind you, not only, do they not retain the rights to any of the characters used in this project, but that both Neechan #1 and Neechan #2 extremely love reviews and would appreciate it if more people would submit them to help further encourage the continuance of this project. Thank you."

Tomoyo tilts her head and lets out a content sigh. "Sakura-chan is too kawaii when she is shy."

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Ayame stared at the bundle of green cloth Tomoyo was diligently sewing on the counter. "Tomoyo-chan, what is it you are making? I don't remember having any orders in right now and that is definitely too big for Sakura-chan."

Tomoyo giggled and smiled up at Ayame. "This isn't for Sakura-chan, I have hers finished already. This is for her oniichan, for the movie. He and Tsukishiro-kun will be coming in soon for their fittings."

"Ah, I see. So you finally persuaded them to act out Alice in Wonderland?"

"Well, all I had to do was convince Tsukishiro-kun. Once he was willing, Sakura and her oniichan both agreed, and when Sakura agreed, so did Li-kun. Kero-chan was easy enough to bribe, so my only problem is I don't have a Cheshire Cat. Hiragiizawa-kun isn't here anymore, and according to what Sakura-chan said about her time in Alice in Wonderland, he was the Cheshire Cat. I am not sure what I will do about that, I do need someone for that part."

Ayame looked up in thought, his slender fingers placed at the edge of his chin. "Well, if it is a cat you need, we could always try and use Lucky Kyo."

Tomoyo's brown eyes sparked with excitement. "Do you think he would agree?"

"Well, if I ask him, no." Tomoyo looked down disappointed. "But! If we get Tohru to ask for us I bet he would agree."

Tomoyo spun in her chair letting the giddiness roll off her in waves of yellow, red, and pink. "And the Cheshire Cat's coat is orange. It will go with his hair perfectly!"

Suddenly, Tomoyo stopped her chair and stared off into a far section of the store. "Ayame-sama, when did that customer arrive?"

Ayame followed the young girl's gaze and found a man dressed in a shinobi outfit browsing the section of women's kimonos. Neither of them remembered hearing the bell above the door ring, yet he was definitely standing there. Ayame gracefully made his way over to the man and tapped him on the shoulder, startling him. Some shinobi.

"May I help you with something?" Ayame asked, curious as to why he was in the women's section, though he had had stranger requests before.

The man straightened the blue cloth tied around his head and nodded slightly. "I need to get a woman's kimono for someone."

"I see, and do you know what size she is?"

The man looked down and fidgeted with the sleeve of a particularly flamboyant red kimono. "Well…he is…I mean, I am not….no."

He.

"I see." Ayame gave an internal sigh; this was going to be a more difficult customer. "Do you happen to know if he ever shopped here before? We may still have the measurements on record."

"Hai."

Ayame headed back to the counter and motioned to Tomoyo who was already at the computer.

"May I have the customer's name please?" she asked with childish sweetness.

"Hai, Sanada Yukimura."

"Sa...na...da, Yuki...mura. We still have his measurements on file, though it was only for a coat. You may have to improvise a little, Ayame-sama."

Ayame waved it off. "No worries, Tomoyo-chan, I remember Yukimura-kun. I simply loved how well the gold and red coat he ordered turned out. A personal design of mine." He added the last statement to the shinobi next to him.

"Then you have a kimono that will fit him?" the man asked.

"Of course. If it isn't right, I can make a few quick adjustments. Now, if I can ask one more thing before we begin. What is your name?"

"Oh…right…Saizo."

"Very well Saizo, what type of kimono does Yukimura-kun want? Red? Blue? Perhaps purple or a bright fuchsia, I always thought that would accent his eyes nicely. Maybe with a gold obi with white embroidery. He definitely will turn a few heads that way." Ayame said with a wink.

Saizo's face immediately reddened. "It is…I was thinking…something simple maybe…as long as it is cute."

Ayame's eyebrow twitched; there was something in his shop that wasn't cute? He took a deep breath and led Saizo back to the kimonos, carefully looking through the selections for more…simple tastes.

"You know, of course, even the most unadorned piece in my shop has its own kind of charm," he said as he searched. He pulled out a light green kimono with a darker forest colored obi. The only decoration was a small leave pattern at the edges. "Is this the style you were looking for?"

"Well…that is…umm…" Ayame's brow twitched several more times as he waited for a response. "that's…I mean…bland."

Bland!

Ayame remained silent for several moments, jaw locked shut in a friendly smile. Behind the counter Tomoyo adjusted her chair so she was hidden from their sight. She definitely didn't want to get involved in this. After he took a moment to compose himself, Ayame slowly replaced the green kimono and went searching again. He smiled as he found one of his favorite, yet simpler, patterns.

True, it wasn't anything special, but it was the attention to detail that made it sparkle, quite literally too. It was a pale blue with a white obi, but the thread used was translucent with faint pieces of glitter in it, making the seams reflect the light into a myriad of colors. It was both tasteful and catching…and definitely not bland. He pulled it from the rack and held it up for Saizo to admire.

"Well, now, how about this one. Fairly versatile, lightweight, simple, yet appealing."

As Saizo looked at it his nose scrunched up and his brow furrowed. "It is…well, I mean…I think…isn't it a bit annoying to look at? I mean…the light….makes it annoying."

Annoying!

Ayame's whole head twitched this time, though since his teeth were grinding together he managed to hold his smile.

"Um, are you alright?" Saizo asked, taking a step back from the terrifyingly pleasant shopkeeper.

"Just fine," Ayame coughed.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself once again. He would just have to try again. Saizo had to like something in the store. With each kimono brought out a vein no one knew Ayame had on his forehead pulsed even harder.

Too bright. Too dull. Too gaudy. Too plain. What color do you call that? Do you really think that is a woman's? Yukimura-sama will never fit in that. Is that even a kimono? Didn't you show me that one already? What, aren't there anymore?

Ayame's normally perfected silken hair was standing on end as he looked at the clothes strewn about the racks, cabinets, counters, and shelves. He had shown Saizo every kimono in the store and he had liked none of them. Tomoyo kept herself hidden behind the counter, not even sewing anymore since she had long ago ran out of thread but not dared to venture out.

Ayame took a deep breath and smoothed his long silver locks. "Tomoyo-chan."

"Hai, Ayame-sama." The small girl hesitantly raised her head and peered over the counter top.

"Tomoyo-chan, please go into the back and get that for me."

Her brown eyes widened in shock. "Not that!"

"Yes, I want that."

"But, Ayame-sama, you were saving that for…"

"Tomoyo-chan," Ayame interrupted, "I will not believe that there is not something that he will like in my entire store. Please go get me that."

The small girl nodded and went to the back room only to return with a large white box. She carefully placed the box on the counter she was previously working at and removed the lid. Ayame gently pulled out a two-layer kimono made of the softest silk. The inner layer was a gentle yellow, the shade seen in the setting sun. The outer layer was completely white except for two flowers the blue of the ocean depths. One was placed at the bottom of the kimono, while the other was positioned on the right shoulder. The obi was the same brilliant hue as the flowers.

"So, what do you think of this?" Ayame asked with baited breath.

Saizo looked over the kimono, his face giving away none of his thoughts. Finally, he glanced up at Ayame and stated, "It won't work."

Tomoyo watched as Ayame's usually cheerful face became trance-like just before a loud `poof' was heard accompanied by a cloud of silver smoke. Tomoyo left Saizo staring at the cloud in confusion as she raced after the frantic snake slithering into the back room.

"What…what was that?" Saizo asked to the empty room.

Bing!

Ayame remained curled in Tomoyo's lap whimpering about losing his touch, which meant that neither Tomoyo nor Ayame was going to tend to the customer who just entered. Luckily for them the one who entered was not there to shop.

Postino looked from the shocked shinobi, to the disarrayed kimonos, to the unattended counter, and back to the shinobi. He let out a frustrated sigh and opened the door again, this time to drag in a very large box nearly his own height. He turned to Saizo as he left.

"Remember when searching for something, always make sure of the details." He was about to close the door when he stopped and called to the back room. "And remember to order separately next time!"

With that said Postino left the silent store. Saizo mind tried to figure out what the odd postal worker was talking about. Make sure of the details. A deep scarlet flush covered the shinobi's face as he realized he hadn't told the shop keeper one very important detail.

"Umm, I forgot…I mean…well…Yukimura-sama has to be able to fight in the kimono."

Two golden slits were locked on the shinobi in a deadly glare that Tomoyo could only guess Ayame learned from the multitude of times Yuki had glared at him. The body of the silver snake was coiled around the shinobi's neck, firmly squeezing.

"He has to fight in it! Don't you realize that changes the entire design!"

"What the hell is this!" Saizo cried as he tried to remove the talking snake from his neck.

Ayame left Saizo of his own will and went away grumbling about people who don't understand the intricacies of fashion. The snake slid in and out of various racks and clothing piles searching for a kimono suitable for fighting in that was also simple, but not bland, nor plain, nor bright, nor gaudy. Tomoyo just laughed at both men.

"That is Ayame-sama," she explained to Saizo. "See when he gets too stressed or when he is hugged by a member of the opposite sex he turns into a snake. It is quite ok, and he doesn't bite."

Tomoyo heard more grumbling from the exasperated snake.

"Well, it isn't like he is poisonous…I think he isn't at least."

She could see Saizo tense up slightly at her last statement. Her brown eyes traveled from the worried shinobi to the huge box next to him. Her face lit up with glee as she quickly climbed to the top of the counter so she could open it. Once open, she pulled out a number of smaller boxes of various shapes and sizes. Saizo retrieved the ones too far down for her to reach.

"Ayame-sama! They are here!" Tomoyo cried happily.

"You don't mean those?"

"HAI! The wigs, the hats! They are all here!" Tomoyo removed a green top hat from inside one of the boxes and held it up. "The Mad Hatter top hat for Kinomoto-kun! And the rabbit ears for Tsukishiro-kun!"

Another loud poof was heard and Tomoyo immediately used the top hat to cover her eyes. Saizo began to turn to find out what had happened, but upon seeing Ayame's bare chest above the cloud of smoke quickly forced his gaze elsewhere.

Ayame hurried to put on his red ankle length dress jacket. He hand snatched up a long pink wig and examined the style and cut for imperfections. All the annoyance and tension were gone as he playfully picked up the new accessories one by one.

Saizo held out a hesitant hand. "Um, I still need…"

Ayame's head snapped towards the shinobi, but his face didn't appear as angry as the last time Saizo looked into it, even if it was his serpent form. A restrained sigh left Ayame's lungs and he returned to the pile of clothing he had been searching in earlier. Now with arms he was able to pick up a two piece teal kimono.

The skirt was loose and had a slit up to the upper thigh to allow easy movement. A red and yellow flower adorned the bottom corner of the front. The shirt was the same teal and fell to the upper hips. It was sleeveless so there was no trouble with any arm motions. The same red and yellow flower was on the front, just above where the mauve obi would be tied.

"How is this?" Ayame asked, a challenging glare in his eyes.

Saizo admired the kimono before him and smiled. "That will suit him nicely."

"Thank God!" Ayame turned to Tomoyo and pointed to the back room. "Will you go and get a black body suit for Yukimura-kun to wear beneath this, and also a black wig."

"Wig?" Saizo asked.

"Well if he is dressing like a woman then he will need a wig to complete the part. For this outfit I would say short hair, and straight."

"Hai, Ayame-sama." Tomoyo dropped down from her chair and hurried into the back.

"Now then, that will be $187.46 all together," Ayame said, hurrying Saizo to produce his payment.

Once paid for and boxed, along with the wig Tomoyo managed to find, Saizo turned to leave, but Ayame's voice stopped him.

"Saizo, be sure and tell Yukimura-kun that if he ever needs any more clothes he better come for them himself."

The shinobi blushed slightly and disappeared before the shopkeepers' eyes. Ayame collapsed into Tomoyo's chair and sighed.

"Now I have to clean up this mess. Why couldn't we have had an easy customer today, Tomoyo-chan?"

The girl just smiled. "Well, one good thing happened today."

"Oh, what was that?"

"This came!" Tomoyo held up a small plush toy shaped like a gray rat. "I ordered it for you."

"It looks just like Yuki!" Ayame cried and snatched the toy from Tomoyo's hands. Ayame's eyes lit up even more as he ran over to the register and placed the small toy atop it. "Now he can watch the store, if only the real Yuki were that willing."

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Hello, Neechan #2's turn at the story here. Hoped you liked it. Here are a few notes for references.

Saizo and Yukimura are both from Samurai Deeper Kyo and this actually takes place in episode 6, when Yukimura requests Saizo get him a woman's kimono. This is probably the only one that will occur inside of a series.

Yuki is Ayame's brother and therefore they both, as well as Kyo, are from Fruits Basket.

The Alice in Wonderland reference is from episode 55 of Card Captor Sakura, and Sakura, Kero, Li, and Tomoyo are all from CCS. Hiragiizawa-kun, Tsukishiro-kun and Kinomoto-kun refer to Hiragiizawa Eriol, Tsukishiro Yukito and Kinomoto Touya. Tomoyo is more proper and refers to them by their last name.

And of course our favorite Postino is from King of Bandits Jing.

Japanese Translations

Hai = Yes

Kawaii = cute

Shinobi = ninja

Oniichan = older brother

-kun = japanese suffix that conveys some closeness though still maintains a term of respect, similar to -chan or -san