Please Teacher! Fan Fiction ❯ Onegai Bounty Hunter ❯ Herikawa Groceries ( Chapter 4 )

Koishi Herikawa busily took food orders over the phone and from the fax machine in the air conditioned office of her family's thriving supermarket. The deli was one of the biggest moneymaking parts of the store, catering to the many people who worked in the business district of the town. She would spend most of the morning doing just that then help the workers put the orders together for the delivery boys.

"Hey come out to the front," a voice said after she answered a call.

The lithe short haired brunette met her friend Ichigo Morino out in the shopping area near the middle aisle. The short, peanut butter haired ex class president held a shopping basket filled with odds and ends.

"Good morning," Koishi greeted her friend with a smile.

"Seems so," Ichigo grinned slighty. "Was it a good night last night?"

"I don't know what you're implying, girlfriend," the other blushed a bit. She knew better, though. Ichigo knew a lot of things about people, more than she let on, and she liked to torture people with that knowledge.

"Perhaps another personally delivered lunch to Mr Yamada, then?" she suggested.

"Oh," the brunette nodded. "Yes, he ordered something as usual. Tuna fish on rye."

"Are you dessert?" the older gal deadpanned.

"Let's not discuss my lovelife around here," Koishi requested. "I still haven't told my family about our relationship."

"Why keep it hidden now? You've graduated high school, it's perfectly legit now?" argued the shorter girl.

"Because then I'll have to lie about it not being okay during my entire senior year," she replied. "Now, enough about me, dear. Did you go to the mountain with Matagu last night?"

"No, I didn't," Ichigo admitted. "Why go there alone and have to rebuff his advances?"

"I think….You should have went," insisted the exasperated, younger girl.

"When Hyosuke and Kaede backed out, I knew it was a setup," the older gal answered matter of factly.

"Poor Matagu," commented the other.

"Just because the rest of you have paired off, doesn't mean Matagu and I have to," the shorter girl stated.

Herikawa frowned. "Why not?"

"Just because."

"Because he's younger? Age doesn't matter. You said so yourself with Masami and me!"

Ichigo knew her circle of friends was going in different directions in the near future since they had all graduated from high school. Hyosuke and Kaede were headed to Tokyo, while Kei and Matagu were looking into art school. Herikawa intended to stay local, going to community college to be around Yamada, while she herself had been offered a full scholarship in Kyoto. When it came to love, she did not want to commit. Her disease and having lost six years of her life caused her to believe that guys would be scared away. Matagu had shown some interest in her, but she felt he was an immature, sex starved pervert. A nice guy, but not boyfriend material.

"Hello ladies," a familiar face came into view.

"Miss Kazami!" Ichigo greeted her with a cat grin.

Herikawa wondered if their former homeroom teacher had heard the entire conversation.

"Do you have any paprika?" the teacher asked.

"Sure, aisle six!"

Matagu woke up with a start. At first wondering as to where he actually was then it dawned on him and his heart sank. He looked at his watch and saw it was mid morning. Obviously his memories of the night before remained intact. He recalled a tall beautiful woman named Zabaione had taken him into custody. He was on board a spaceship!

There was the sound of an energy field collapsing then the female alien stood just inside the entrance of his small cell.

"Mister Shidou, you're free to go," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I am?" he asked incredulous. In spite of himself, his eyes focused on her snug fitting tee shirt and cargo shorts. Those legs seemed to go for miles.

"Yes. Despite my better judgement, I am releasing you as my prisoner. You may resume your normal life."

Zabaione turned to Molly. "Prepare to transport him back to his campsite."

"Wait!" Matagu insisted. "What about you? Where will you go?"

"I have this whole planet to watch," she replied expressionless. "I can go anywhere."

"Please," he held up a hand. "Please let me show you around here. Just for a couple of days, it's really nice."

He knew he sounded like he was begging and probably sounded desperate and pathetic, but she was to die for and he had lost any chances with Ms Kazami because of an inability to muster nerve. Zabaione felt her heart lurch. As much as she tried to remain the stoic professional, his gentleness and amicable demeanor stirred something within her. Not many males were like this human; they were an intriguing species. He had openly accepted her alien nature and meant no harm. It couldn't hurt to say yes.

"Very well," she agreed. "What do you want to do?"

Matagu had to suppress hentai thoughts. "Well, the first order of business is to get breakfast or perhaps a late brunch," he suggested with a smile. "Then I could show you the town and Lake Mokuzaki. It's bound to be a nice day."

"I'm with you," she assented then gestured for him to follow her out of the detention area. "You're free to use my refresher and if you lack fresh garments, Molly can generate something for you."

He nodded at her and wondered how he was going to pass off Zabaione to his family and friends. It would strike them as odd for him to bring home a stunner like her, not to mention that she appeared a few years older. He was a poor high school grad looking to pass his college entrance exams. They would all wonder what she saw in him. Questions would be asked, but he intended to pass her off as a fellow astronomist friend. He would enjoy Hyosuke's good natured ribbing and say anything but reveal her alien heritage.

"The refresher is voice activated, it will respond to your specifications," Zabaione told him. Molly floated near her mistresses' shoulder.

"What exactly is that?" he asked curiously.

"Simply put, an interface with the rest of my vessel, an AI," the flame haired woman replied. "She controls the various functions and I think of her as a boon companion."

"What are her teleportational capabilities?"

"It's complicated. We can transport ourselves from anywhere on a planet to another locale on the same planet, but she can also open portals to other dimensions."

"So that's why you need a ship?" he asked.

"Precisely. It's not like we can jaunt from one end of the galaxy to the other. We still need ships and they can travel very fast," she cracked a small smile. He seemed fascinated by their technobabble.

"Well, I'm going to use your shower or whatever it is," he told her. "I hope you're hungry, I know I'm starving!"

"I'm anxious to sample your cuisine," she said then left the area to give him privacy.