InuYasha Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction / Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ *What* Insertion? ❯ One's Own Designs ( Chapter 3 )

[ A - All Readers ]

*WHAT* INSERTION?
by Curtis Wildcat


Chapter Three --- One's Own Designs

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(Cue theme)

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Place: Kaden residence
Time: Mid-evening, one day after the conclusion of Chapter Two

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Inuyasha glared at his opponent, his smirk clearly evident. "You're going down," he declared as he prepared to make his move.

Curtis didn't flinch, instead narrowing his eyes. "Better think twice, Inuyasha," he growled.

"I've already decided," the hanyou stated, taking one of the red pieces and tapping the blue piece in front of it. "Five."

Curtis's shoulders slumped. "Three."

Inuyasha pumped a fist victoriously, then flicked the blue piece off the board. "Ha! Why'd you bring out this game if you're just going to lose at it?"

"You still have to get my flag, so the game's not over yet." Curtis reached over and moved one of his remaining blue pieces a space over to the left.

It had been a rather busy day, all things considered. During the previous night Marcus had included a large drawing pad and colored pencils amongst the various supplies---both for school and not---that he had bought; after dinner Phibrizzo didn't want his "parasites" to see what he was drawing, so he suggested that they find something else to do. Agreeing to this, Curtis had opened up the second game he'd brought in a few nights previous: "Stratego".

It was going the way he'd thought it was going to: he'd taught Inuyasha how to play the game, and he was getting creamed ten minutes later.

I have to give you credit for not quitting mid-way through, Phibrizzo said. But why don't you just find something you're good at?

Curtis thought for a second, but Sylvia Kaden's voice took away his chance to speak before he could reply. "Phibrizzo, dear?"

Both Curtis and Inuyasha had to hold in laughter when they heard this. "Those two words don't mix well," Inuyasha chortled.

Tell me something I don't know, Inuyasha. And concentrate on your game! "Yes, mother?"

"Your father got his paycheck recently, so I think it's a good idea that you received an allowance."

"An allowance?" Phibrizzo's voice sounded confused.

"Of course! It's only fair that you have some spending money on hand when you're out and about."

"Oh. Okay." Curtis could hear Phibrizzo getting up and receiving his allowance. "Thanks, mom."

"Don't thank me. Thank your father."

As Curtis and Inuyasha's game continued and Phibrizzo eventually went back to his drawing, Curtis's thoughts drifted back to the events of the day. It had all started when Conan had caught up to them and questioned Phibrizzo about the events of yesterday...

-------

Flashback

Place: On the way home from Teitan Elementary
Time: After school

"Huh? What do you mean, 'where were you yesterday'?" Phibrizzo asked testily.

"Exactly that," Conan said, looking up at the taller kid as they walked down the street. "You said in passing that you were going to tour Tokyo, 'starting with the Nerima district'. Did you go over there?"

"Yes, I did," Phibrizzo said, folding his arms. "I said I was going there, and I meant it. Anything else?"

"Yes. Why?"

Phibrizzo shrugged. "Curiousity, I guess."

Conan wasn't quite convinced. "Funny. Why don't I believe you?"

"Because it's not the only reason, Edogawa." Phibrizzo brushed some hair out of his eyes as he walked. "I'd wanted to make certain whether or not Nerima was as crazy as advertised. Got my thoughts confirmed and then some."

"'And then some'?"

Phibrizzo kept an eye on Conan to gauge his reaction. "Yep. 'And then some', all right. I accidentally got hit with a large energy blast that induced heavy depression for a minute..."

Conan's eyes widened.

"My eyes were red for a while afterwards...anyway, I almost got attacked by an obsessed kendoist who thought I was some sort of monster..."

Conan's eyes narrowed, giving him that look of disbelief.

"Got into a petty argument with a noisy Amazon warrior regarding some ramen that I ate..."

One of Conan's eyes started twitching.

"An attempt was made by the kendoist's sister---whose laugh would give you nightmares the rest of your life (and if you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you)---to put me to sleep..."

By this time, Conan's face was a mixture of disbelief and amusement as he tried not to laugh. It was basically the kind of look he gave Rachel's father when he said something dreadfully obvious yesterday, although Phibrizzo wasn't aware of that.

"Finally, a girl carrying a giant spatula gave me my first taste of okonomiyaki. Really great stuff."

This time, Conan couldn't help it. He started laughing, almost to the point of falling over. Phibrizzo, very annoyed, had to wait nearly half a minute before his fellow classmate could recover. "Sorry, Phibrizzo, but those had to have been the funniest things I've ever heard in my life! Energy blasts? Those that cause depression, for that matter? Ridiculous!"

"The blast caused depression for me," Phibrizzo said seriously. "For anyone else, they'd have to get out of the way or risk getting caught in the explosion."

The laughter slowly stopped. "Wait a second. Are you really serious about this? Did you really take an energy blast and live to talk about it?" Conan's eyes became wider, indicating his shock level. "How?"

Phibrizzo smiled, trying to keep his eyes friendly. "That is a secret, Conan." His smile faded as he thought of the centuries prior to arriving at this point. "I don't want to mess up your work or Richard Moore's by making the impossible possible, so let's just say I'm not your average person and leave it at that, alright?"

Conan's eyes returned to their normal width. "Sorry," he admitted. "It's just that the things you're talking about sound like something out of anime."

If you only knew.

They spent several seconds walking in silence before the half-mazoku broke it. "Say, Conan, have you ever heard of the Kuno family?"

"I know they're rich, but that's about it," Conan said, shaking his head. "Why?"

Phibrizzo shrugged. "I met up with a few of them yesterday. That's all. Anyway, change of subject: remind me again why I'm going with you to wherever you're heading."

"We're friends, aren't we?"

Blink. "I'm not entirely sure yet, but why'd you bring it up?"

Conan smiled. "Well, if you're going to be hanging around me, there's someone I want you to meet."

His smile was met by curiousity. "Who?"

"Let's just say you're not the only nut that's fallen from the tree."

Curtis and Inuyasha, both of whom had been watching a hockey game inside Phibrizzo's head for the past few hours, couldn't help but snicker at this. Their host, though, didn't think it was funny.

-----

As it turned out, the person they got to meet was none other Doctor Agasa. The trio all agreed that he was somewhat of a wacko, although unlike several certain Neriman residents he had a firm grip on his sanity.

After Phibrizzo, Conan, and Agasa chatted for a bit, the half-mazoku said good-bye and left them on friendly terms. Actually leaving the neighborhood safely, though, was another matter.

No sooner had Phibrizzo reached the sidewalk and turned to find the library than a shrill voice caught his attention from down the street. "Julien!"

"Huh?" Inuyasha asked. "Who's that?"

Phibrizzo squinted in the direction of the voice, still walking. "It looks to be...a brown-haired teenage girl with a pink bow..." He glanced inside his head briefly; Curtis was on the edge of his seat, gritting his teeth. "Curtis, you're acting all antsy. What's with you?"

"She's heading right for you, you idiot!" Curtis shouted, catching Phibrizzo off guard and startling him into halting. The game that he and Inuyasha had been watching was forgotten. "Do you see any other people around here?"

Phibrizzo quickly looked around. "No, I don't..." It was then that the full impact of the situation hit him. "This is bad, right?"

"Julien!" the girl called, getting steadily closer as she ran towards him. "Sweet Julien, come here, please!"

"I can actually see her eyes from here," Phibrizzo groaned, getting more nervous by the second. He shivered violently, taking a few steps back. "Simply terrific---what is she planning to do? I---oh, forget talking," he snapped, panicking when the girl nearly closed the distance. "Run awaaaayyyy!"

And with that, he turned tail and split.

----

Conan and Agasa both heard an anguished scream and rushed to the window to see what was going on. They arrived just in time to see Phibrizzo tear past the house, trying desperately to stay ahead of a girl who simply screamed "cute".

Both viewers sweatdropped and declined to comment on the spectacle.

-----

Time: Twenty minutes later

And so on the chase went. Running as fast as he was able to without Inuyasha taking over, Phibrizzo had quickly left the residential area behind. He had thought briefly to double back and hide back home, but he didn't want the lovestruck girl knowing where he lived.

Phibrizzo risked a glance behind him, checking to see if the obsessive girl was still behind him. She was, and she seemed to be gaining. What's with this crazy girl?

"Talk later!" Curtis growled. "Find a place to hide, fast!"

"I think I see a woman down the street, about to get in her car," Inuyasha suggested. "Maybe that?"

At this point, I'll try anything!

-----

As the young woman prepared to get in her car and head off to her destination, her attention was caught by a commotion down the street. "Hmm?"

Squinting just a bit, she found out what it was: a young boy being chased by an older girl, and the boy was not enjoying it at all. If anything, he looked terror-stricken. "It isn't something you see everyday, that's for sure," she told herself.

"Hey, lady! Help!" the boy yelled. "Don't shut the door yet!"

Huh? He wants to hide in the car? Why?

Then she heard what his pursuer was shouting: "Julien! Wait, sweet Julien! Come back! Don't go!" Her thought pattern changed to accomodate a single word: Oh.

Stepping out of the way, the woman allowed enough room for the boy to propel himself over the front seat and into the back, bookbag and all. Before the other girl could follow, the woman had jumped inside and closed the door, quickly starting the car. Ten seconds later, the car was rolling at a decent pace down the road.

The boy got up and looked out the back window, then breathed a sigh of relief and buckled up. "Thanks, lady," he said thankfully. "You're a lifesaver." He fidgeted for a minute, picked up something that was on the floor, then shrugged and dropped it.

Wish I could say the same of myself... "Don't mention it, kid. Where should I drop you off?"

"The library, if it's not too far out of your way. I have some research to do."

"It's not. The place I'm going is just down the street, so I'll just take you there on the way." The woman glanced briefly at the rearview mirror, noticing the boy's raven-colored hair and large, bright eyes. "Glad I got you away from my wayward cousin, huh?"

The boy blinked. "Huh? That girl's your cousin?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. She's from another branch of my family, and she's the kind of person that everyone except her parents and her ice-skating partner stays away from. Her name's Azusa. Azusa Shiratori." She eyed the boy's incredulous expression in the mirror, allowing a smile to appear for the briefest of moments. "I don't suppose you could tell me who you are, hmm?"

"Okay, but don't say anything about the name," the boy said, his face less expressive than before. "It's Phibrizzo."

Funny, because as soon as he said this she had the sudden impulse to say something about the name. Common sense took over, though. "I see. It's nice meeting you."

"Thanks," Phibrizzo told her. "Who are you?"

She considered telling him for a moment, but decided otherwise. Besides, she had no idea if they were listening in. "I'm afraid that's going to have to wait," she said. "Personal reasons."

The boy turned away and stared out the window. "Oh," he murmured. "So that's how it is, huh?"

An uncomfortable silence reigned inside the car for several short seconds. She didn't really like engaging people in conversation, but she was rather curious about Phibrizzo's quiet remark. She slowed down and stopped the car at a red light. "What do you mean?"

"You just plain don't want me knowing who you are," the boy groused. "Am I right? Fine. I can respect another person's privacy, especially when they have secrets of their own to hide."

The young woman didn't even flinch when he said this, although she was wondering how a child like him could have such a viewpoint. "You seem to have quite an attitude."

"So do you," Phibrizzo remarked calmly, turning away from the window. Through the rearview mirror, she was a bit surprised to note that his expression looked vaguely sinister. "I've been meeting a lot of strange people recently. You seemed normal to me when I first saw you, but there's something missing here. Your cold attitude, even when talking about that crazy girl back there; the fact you didn't want to tell me your name; and for some odd reason, even the color of your jacket's on my nerves. Why do I have the feeling that there's something criminal lurking in your mannerisms?"

This time, she did flinch. "This isn't the place to be talking about this," she replied, accelerating a bit as the light turned green. "For someone as young as you to be thinking like this, there'd better be a good reason for it. For all we know, someone could be listening in."

There was a lingering pause, and for a moment the woman thought that the boy had gotten the hint. Before she could say anything, though, Phibrizzo started talking again: "So that's the thing that I stepped on when I sat down. Is it still going to work when it's crushed into pieces?"

Unseen by the boy, the woman smiled briefly. "I'd always wondered if they'd managed to bug the car."

Phibrizzo's face softened, and he actually managed to look rather sheepish. "Whoever put that thing there will probably be angry when they find out. Sorry about that."

"Don't be," the woman told him. "If they ask me about it I'll just tell them that I was helping someone escape from my cousin, and that it got stepped on by accident. Azusa's one of the few people that's actually scared them off." She turned the car at an intersection. "So, do you still want to know my name?"

"Yeah," Phibrizzo said. "I don't want to keep calling you 'miss' or 'lady' each time I see you."

"Well, I can't give you my real name just yet," she said. "And the name I'm giving you now should never be mentioned in public, understand? I'm hoping I can trust you with this."

"I can keep secrets," the boy said, smiling cutely.

The boy's a lot more mature than he lets on, the young woman thought, smiling grimly. Somehow, I feel I can trust him with this. "Very well then, kid. When you think of me from now on, think of a fine Spanish wine."

The boy nodded. "A riddle? Neat. By the way, you wouldn't happen to know of any small art studios around here, would you?"

"Not off the top of my head. Why?"

"Once I figure out how, I'm going to get an image of some kind silkscreened onto my T-shirt," Phibrizzo said, moping and indicating his olive-green T-shirt. "All my shirts are plain."

"I do know someone who may be able to help you out," the woman uttered calmly, trying not to sound phased; the boy's repeated changes in moods were beginning to puzzle her a little. "I haven't seen him in a few years, but I guess I could be willing to look him up after my meeting ends."

Phibrizzo perked up. "You'd do that?"

"You were having difficulties with my cousin. I should at least offer you something for your trouble. If you're not at the library when I'm done, meet me tomorrow at the park, noon sharp."

"Great! Um...thanks."

"Don't mention it, Phibrizzo." She stopped the car and indicated something out the window. "You wanted off here, right?"

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Phibrizzo stared down the road as the car disappeared from view, then slowly turned and paced into the library. Before we get started, do either of you know what she---um, Curtis?

"He disappeared again right after you got out of the car," Inuyasha explained. "Should be popping back in any second now."

He was right. The fat human reappeared in his chair seconds later, wearing a green flannel shirt in addition to his normal loose "Red Wings" T-shirt (Curtis had explained to Phibrizzo and Inuyasha what the design on his shirt was the previous night) and blue jeans. He took a look around him, quickly getting reacquainted with his surroundings before settling in. "Hi, guys," he greeted them, sniffling a little. "About that riddle that lady gave us?"

Yeah, what about it? Phibrizzo followed several signs until he entered a section with numerous art books, then began a slow and methodical check.

"When I was at my school's library, I checked to see what kinds of Spanish wines there were. Out of them, the only one I could think of that matched her was called 'sherry'. It matches up with what little I know about her."

"'Sherry', huh? Sounds mysterious." Inuyasha pretended to examine the buttons on the nearby wall, then resumed staring out at the viewport. "When they want to store information about something, they sure don't kid around, do they?"

Until you've seen my personal library back home, you haven't seen anything. Phibrizzo selected a few possible books. I used to wander the Desert of Destruction back on my homeworld for years at a time. Whenever I wasn't traveling or wrecking havoc, I was storing books and unbound materials in my underground cavern a mile beneath the desert; I had a lot of spare time on my hands after the War of the Monsters' Fall, so I spent a lot of it reading. Before I came here, I figure I must have had at least 80,000 books and a couple hundred manuscripts. Emphasis on 'at least'. He went to a nearby empty table and began browsing through his selection. Some of them I hadn't finished reading before I learned of Rezo's downfall.

"There's a library back home that has a lot more than that, and I think even you'd be impre---" Curtis sniffed for a second, then stifled a sneeze. Twice, then three times.

You sound a bit under the weather, fat boy. That's new.

"I've gone from miserable to pathetic," Curtis complained, sniffing again. "Outside of my other conditions, a full-fledged flu just kicked in. My mom thinks I should stay home from school tomorrow just to be on the safe side."

Just don't sneeze while you're in there, Phibrizzo warned. I don't want to start feeling sick, too.

"I don't think you can catch a cold from me, Phibrizzo," Curtis told him. "I don't think you can catch colds, period."

Maybe not, but I'm not going to risk it. Showing signs of weakness isn't something that us mazoku are too thrilled with.

"I just remembered---you never did take a bath last night," Inuyasha piped up.

Phibrizzo frowned while he was reading. I don't give off any sort of smell. What's the big deal?

"The deal is your parents noticing that you're not cleaning yourself off," Inuyasha said. "When they do notice, they're going to throw a fit. Just figure out how to use the stuff in there, would you?"

No way, Inuyasha.

Inuyasha eyed the buttons on the wall, grinning. "Do you want me to make you figure out how?"

There was a brief silence as Phibrizzo closed one book and opened up another. You drive a hard bargain, dog breath.

"I don't think real dogs eat ramen on a daily basis," Curtis muttered, causing a bottle with a dark-blue liquid to materialize in his hand. "So you think taking a bath's a sign of weakness?"

Well...

"That, and he's too scared to ask for directions. You think he's ever taken a bath before in his life, Curtis?"

Guys...

Curtis took a swig out of the bottle, which Phibrizzo could tell was labeled "Gatorade". "He's probably never needed to, what with the abilities to shape-change and teleport all over the place."

"Nowadays, he won't have a choice!" Inuyasha leaned against the wall. "Not with his new parents around."

Curtis smiled, attempting a falsetto. "'Phibrizzo, honey, did you use soap?' 'Wipe off the floor when you're done, okay?' 'Can't have you destroying things smelling like that, can we?'"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Oh, please. His mother doesn't sound anything like that."

"I have a lousy voice, okay?"

Phibrizzo was halfway to upset by now. Do you do this to everyone?

"Nah. Just to those who deserve it."

There was a four-second pause before Phibrizzo's mental voice hit an 11 on a 10-notch volume bar. I'll take the stupid bath every now and then! Are you dolts happy!? I'm sick of you guys teasing me!

"Great," Curtis said, rubbing his ears. "We'll start tonight. This way you'll be ready when Inuyasha takes us out on patrol. Keep your old clothes on hand so that no one outside Nerima---especially Conan---can connect the dots between the two of you."

Oh, yes, Phibrizzo replied sarcastically. I want to be squeaky-clean when we scare the wits out of some common criminal. The police are REALLY going to be impressed. He flipped through a few more pages before seeing something he liked. Now quiet down and let me read in peace for a bit, okay? I think I see something I like.

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Time: One hour later

Being an efficient reader, it wasn't long before Phibrizzo had gathered all the information he wanted. The next step was to decide exactly what images or phrases he wanted on his shirts. In the meantime, Phibrizzo figured as long as he was at the library he'd see what kind of fiction they had there. So, after putting the art books away, talking to the librarian and getting himself a library card, he began browsing the fiction sections to see if there was anything worth reading.

"To be honest, I didn't think you'd still be here."

Phibrizzo resisted the urge to spin around and yell at whoever had startled him, and instead nearly turned white. He slowly rotated his head and was greeted with the expressionless face of his rescuer from earlier, who said quietly: "Researching fiction, are we?"

Trying not to snap, Phibrizzo kept his voice down and hissed: "Do you sneak up on everyone like that?"

"I wasn't exactly being silent, kid," the woman said. "No matter where you are in here, you should've heard me come in." She folded her arms. "Now, keep quiet about this. Did you figure out my riddle?"

Phibrizzo put the book he was looking at away, then turned back to her. He smiled cutely and beckoned for her to lean closer, giving the outward appearance of a child wanting to tell a secret to an older friend. His voice dropped several decibels lower than it was before. "Sherry."

The woman straightened. "Pretty good. You're definitely a lot smarter than you look. Care to sit somewhere so we can talk a bit more?"

Phibrizzo caught a quick peek at a nearby clock. "I've got a few minutes before I have to go home. Sure."

--------

The two of them sat down at a desk near the back of the library. There were several teenage students who were going over materials for a class project, but other than that the general area was pretty empty.

Sherry got straight to the point. "I contacted the person I told you about earlier. He said that if you can give him the designs and one or two of your shirts, he can do the work for you. I've got enough money to pay for it myself if I need to."

"I'll try to come up with a few ideas tonight and get it out tomorrow, then. Where's the address?"

Sherry pulled a piece of note paper out of her jacket pocket and handed it to him. Phibrizzo gazed at the address for a moment, then crammed the paper into a pocket. "Great. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?"

She nodded, staring at him questioningly. "Yes. Apparently you're much more mature than you let on to everyone else. What kind of person are you, really?"

Phibrizzo abruptly turned serious. "You have your secrets. I have mine." He leaned back in his seat a bit. "I know that you trusted me enough to give me a name, even if it was fake. But if anything, the kind of secrets that I---whoa!"

If anyone had seen him lean back in his chair, they would've said that they somehow knew that it was going to tip over and deposit him on the ground. As it happened, Phibrizzo somehow hit the back of his head on the desk behind him as he went down. The school students they'd noticed earlier glanced up briefly, curious.

After several seconds the kid pulled both himself and his chair back to their proper positions, palming the back of his head afterwards and cringing a bit. Sherry stared at him, bemused. "I know this sounds like a loaded question, but are you alright?"

For his part, Phibrizzo showed remarkable self-restraint. "I'm okay. This happened to me yesterday, too. Maybe I'm getting hard-headed or something."

Several seconds of silence passed, during which Phibrizzo's eyes narrowed a bit and the other kids returned to what they were doing. He removed his hand, which started trembling for some reason, from his head. "I can't tell you more about myself. Not just yet. Please understand, miss Sherry."

Sherry's face turned from him to stare at the table. Just what is he hiding? What secrets could be so important that a child, even a downright mature child like this one, would not want to tell? Did something happen to him before? Have my associates used the pills I created on someone he knew? I wish he would just come out and explain to me what...

Feeling a sudden sensation from her right hand, Sherry looked down at it. Slowly, she turned her gaze towards Phibrizzo; his trembling hand had placed itself on top of hers, and he was looking at her with an expression that bordered on anxious. "Miss, please."

I guess I could hold off on questioning him. At least, for now. She nodded. "Very well. Consider yourself off the hook."

The kid looked relieved that she said that, and he smiled a bit. "Thanks a ton." He turned to face the clock...and paled. "Aw, crud..."

"What is it?"

"I've got to get back home, and fast," Phibrizzo moaned. "If I'm too late for dinner, mom won't let me out of her sight again!" He got up from his seat (unknowingly pushing Sherry's hand into the table as he did so) and bolted.

"Wait a second," Sherry protested, getting up and following him. "I can take you home." She turned a corner at a bookcase, seeing a form flicker. "I can---huh?" She abruptly ground to a halt.

Phibrizzo was gone! Not just disappeared from view, but gone! I knew he was moving fast, but that's ridiculous! She checked at the other end of the library near the entrance. Nothing.

Sherry shook her head. Slippery little runt. He's a bit of a puzzle, isn't he? Oh, well. I got him away from my cousin, and I gave him that contact information. As long as he doesn't tell anyone he was hanging around ME, I won't have a problem with him.

Expelling a breath, she took her time exiting the library. Hopefully, I'll never see him again.

----------

Phibrizzo looked up as he appeared behind his home away from home, then uttered a relieved sigh and headed towards the back door. Glad we made it back on time. I want to see what this stuff tastes like.

"I know you had to leave in a hurry," Inuyasha remarked, "but someone could've walked by and seen you teleport like that."

Well, no one did. I don't think that "Sherry" woman did, either. So there.

Phibrizzo stepped inside, removing his shoes as he did so. "Mom, I'm back!"

Sylvia looked up from where she was calmly making dinner. "Hello, Phibrizzo," she said, smiling. "Marcus has to work a little late at the TV station, so dinner's going to be a little while. I'd just started to make it now."

Phibrizzo went to look out the window so that Sylvia wouldn't see his annoyed expression. His foster mother noticed this action, but not his face. "So, where'd you go today?"

"Didn't get as far as I would've liked," he complained. "Walked around for a bit with the other new kid from school, got chased by a girl and rescued by her older cousin, and spent the rest of the time at the library looking at art stuff." And thanks to those books, I have an idea of what I want to put on those shirts.

"I see; at least you've managed to keep yourself busy." Sylvia turned back to her cooking. "By the way, Phibrizzo, my sister-in-law's going to be coming by for dinner tomorrow. I want you to be here so you can meet your new aunt."

New aunt? "Who's she?" Phibrizzo asked, looking away from the window.

"Well, she likes kids; but she can turn cold if you get on her bad side, so don't bother her too much. She's Marcus's older sister, Eva."

Inside Phibrizzo's mind, Curtis nearly fell out of his chair. "Eva Kaden!? I can't believe I didn't see that one coming!"

The half-mazoku idly rubbed his temples, responding to Sylvia's statement. "Oh. Okay." So what's the big deal, fatty?

'Fatty' sniffed. "The deal is, Phibrizzo, is that you're now related by adoption to Rachel Moore." After a brief pause, Curtis added in a deadpan: "Conan Edogawa's girlfriend."

Phibrizzo massaged his temples a bit harder, sweatdropping. Curtis, I'm really starting to dislike you.

"Get over it," Inuyasha said bluntly. "What's so bad about having a few friends? You can't hide in that little prison of yours forever."

My first and only attempt at friendship ended in disaster. Phibrizzo frowned as he thought of prior events from several centuries ago. Don't ask me to elaborate, because I won't.

"That's a stupid way of thinking," Inuyasha told him, standing up. "Just because it happened once isn't reason enough to forget about it all the other times." He smirked. "Take me, for instance. I couldn't have become what I am now without having friends to back me up."

Annoying, you mean?

"You know what I'm talking about, brat. Don't pretend I don't, so just go on and give it a shot."

Phibrizzo lowered his gaze. I'm telling you that it's not going to work out.

"Too bad. Forget about it."

...On one condition.

"What's that?"

That if things don't go well, neither of you will give me advice again. Alright?

Unaware that the other chamber's occupant was doing the same, Inuyasha and Curtis both nodded and spoke. "Alright."

Sylvia interrupted them before further conversation could be made. "Excuse me, but Marcus told me that you're having trouble with sugar drinks."

Phibrizzo smiled and faced Sylvia. Living for the present and future...at least I know I can deal with this situation in that fashion. "Yeah. I actually had to struggle to keep from going crazy when I had fruit punch the other night."

End flashback

----------

(BGM --- "Waiting for the Night", from Depeche Mode)

Curtis recalled that Sylvia had suggested that Phibrizzo try several diet sodas that were on the market sometime. They were okay, as long as they weren't consumed too often; having too much of them could actually cause a person to forget minor matters and the like.

After a bit, Marcus had came home; he had some breaking news to cover at the TV station before he could go. Neat that he works as a news anchorman. I'll have to remember that.

"Game over, Curtis."

The fat human looked down at the game board. Most of the game pieces were gone, although there were still about seven of them left altogether. One of them---Inuyasha's remaining red #6 piece---was occupying the spot where his flag used to be.

Curtis looked up into Inuyasha's grinning face, annoyed. "I don't know about you, Inuyasha. How'd you get so good at this on your first time?"

"You're upset, aren't you?"

"You bet I'm upset."

Inuyasha kept up his smirk. "Care to play again?"

"Gladly."

Well, guys, I've finished my designs. I think they look pretty good, if I say so myself.

The duo started taking back their respective pieces and began to arrange them on the board according to their liking. "Really?" Curtis asked. "What are they?"

Sorry, Phibrizzo said, sounding smug. You're just going to have to wait a few days to find out.

"You're trying to drive us crazy with suspense, aren't you?"

Just trying to keep your curiousity piqued, you overinflated pillow.

"Yes, I'd say your plan is definitely working," Curtis uttered calmly, trying to decide where to put his flag.

"I'm surprised you don't get mad when he calls you those names," Inuyasha said, continuing to set up pieces on his side of the board. "If I were another person right now, I'd be in his face and screaming at him."

Curtis shrugged. "Being insulted and teased by jerks and dislikeful people for thirteen years can prepare a person for a lot of things, and having time to think on it got rid of a lot of my anger. Besides, there's no denying that I'm overweight."

Phibrizzo snickered. You're not overweight. At least, not for a midget troll.

One of Curtis's eyes twitched for a second, but the human didn't retaliate. "See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."

Whatever the case, I like picking on you. So, what time is it now?

Curtis looked over at one of the monitors; the time on it was displayed in bright green numbers. "It's almost 9:30."

Inuyasha nodded. "I think it'll only be a few more minutes before Phibrizzo's parents go to bed. After this kid takes a bath, we'll be all set for some roof-hopping in an hour and a half. I'm going to change the patrol route a little."

Phibrizzo groaned, sticking his drawings inside a small desk drawer and putting his wristband and bracelet on top of it; said desk had been there when he'd moved in. I wish you hadn't reminded me about the bath... he moaned irritably as he got up to go out the door.

"Hey, you did promise. You go first this time, Curtis."

--------

Chapter Three concluded. Chapter Four soon to commence

Author's Notes

I know that the possibility of Azusa and "Sherry" being cousins is highly unlikely. That, of course, is one of the reasons why I did it. As for Azusa being able to scare away people from that organization? We'll find out about it some other time.

Phibrizzo becoming acquainted with Conan (and the good doctor) is going to come in handy for him later. Mark my words.

Heh, heh.