Cat's Eye Part 1 (edited out of necessity)

Note: Removed reference to Epitome's nose.

Adventures in Parodyverse - Cat's Eye Part 1

    Al B Harper awoke suddenly in his lab, finding that he fell asleep drooling on his desk. He'd been working all night again and at some point his body reqested sleep so insistently that he simply dozed off.

    He reached for a tissue to wipe the drool off the desk and saw someone sitting there waiting. The Psychic Samurai, staring at him patiently, legs crossed, her sword lying on her lap. "Uhh..." Al B Harper mumbled, unable to think of what to say.

    "I hear you've been breeding nekojin with my DNA," she accused quickly.

    "Well, they're not really...I mean...they're...I can't say for sure--"

    She rose to her feet, and Al was surprised at how small she looked considering how intimidated he felt. Amy, Hallie, or Lisa looked much more imposing. "Why did you do this?"

    "It...it was an accident," he said quickly. "Do...do you want to see them?"

    Chiaki nodded and waited for Al B Harper to open a sliding door which led to the main lab. A large area of the room had been cleared where the three teenage cat-girls in question sat on the floor giggling and looking at photos.

    "They don't look like me," she noted.

    Al didn't realize she was joking until he turned around and looked at her.

    "Sensei!" one of the three called out. All three scrambled to their feet and bowed, though not quite in unison.

    He looked at Chiaki and noticed that she didn't seem at all amused. "Um...girls, this is Chiaki."

    Chiaki bowed slightly without saying a word. She barely seemed to notice when the three cat-girls knelt and bowed with their faces nearly touching the ground. "You've trained them to be too formal," she scolded Al.

    "I didn't--" He blushed as he struggled to come up with an explanation.

    "Forgive us," the dark haired one said. "I am Minx, and these are my sisters Ginger and Anastasia. Sensei says you are the Master--"

    "You may refer to me as Chiaki," the Psychic Samurai told them. "I allow everyone else in this house to call me that. It would be unfair not to extend you the same courtesy. Besides, I am not your master."

    "Chiaki!" Ginger blurted out suddenly, "You have to see what we can do!"

    "I've seen it." Chiaki replied calmly seeming unsurprised. "You three are skilled but sloppy. You've triumphed because you have fought opponents that don't wish to injure you."

    "Show us what you can do!" Anastasia demanded. She then quickly added a very small, "please."

    Chiaki shook her head. "You must polish your skills first." She glared at Al B Harper in particular as she added, "And be aware of what you eat." She looked at them again and added, "And you three are much to young to be picking fights."

    "Aww, you're not going to teach us?" Minx asked.

    "When do we get swords?" Ginger blurted out at the same time.

    "You must earn one," Chiaki replied calmly. "I will not teach the three of you until you learn discipline. It is the cornerstone of all my knowledge."

    "I'm willing to learn," Minx said, bowing politely.

    "Let's see what she's got first!" Ginger interrupted. "C'mon, take us all on and see if you can beat us!"

    "Without the sword if you don't mind." Anastasia added warily, sounding afraid that Chiaki might get annoyed with her braver sister and carve them all up.

    Without speaking a word Chiaki handed Al B Harper the sword and walked forward calmly. The three cat-girls steeled as she approached, but Chiaki seemed as calm as if she were going for a walk in the park.

    Ginger screeched and flipped in the air, intent on knocking Chiaki down. But Chiaki stepped aside calmly and grabbed the brown haired cat-girl as she went past, hurling her into the two others coming to her aid. In an instant the three of them were lying in a pile on the floor, uninjured but groaning.

    "Mr. Epitome-san didn't--" Minx began.

    "He went easy on you," Chiaki told them, "As did I. Not to mention Dominic is too often impatient. I told him as much myself."

    "Excuse me," Al B Harper asked sheepishly, "Is this the same Dominic who has super speed and strength? I mean...couldn't he just smash you like an ant at a picnic?"

    "I suppose." Chiaki shrugged, sounding unconcerned. She looked at the three cat-girls now composing themselves again. "Patience is the key. You wait as long as it takes, and strike only when you must."

    "Why?" Ginger asked.

    "Have you seen martial arts movies?" Chiaki asked them, "how there is always one guy who just stares with furrowed brow and narrowed eyes while the hero fights off a horde of minions? And that guy is usually the most dangerous of all?"

    The three of them looked at each other and nodded.

    "There is a lot of truth to that," she continued. "That person who watches...that's the one to look out for. You want to be that person, the one who expends almost no effort."

    "Why is that better?" Anastasia asked.

    "Because there will always be someone stronger and faster," Chiaki told them. "I've taken on platoons of Avawarriors. Any one of them could have killed me in an instant. I survived because I waited...I waited until I had the advantage. Until they never had a chance to fight back."

    "It's true," Al B Harper added. "I read the report."

    All four females in the room stared at him until he retreated behind his desk.

    "I must go now," Chiaki told them as she bowed slightly. "If you wish to practice patience go somewhere noisy within the mansion. Sit very still, and don't allow anything to attract your attention or startle you. But you must also be aware at all times."

    She then left the three of them to ponder that as she headed back to Al B Harper's desk. He either was trying to hide behind it or had dropped something and was spending a lot of time searching. "Feed them rice and fish," she told him. "Cereal does not provide the nutrition they need."

    "How did you...?" Al looked at his desk and nearly blushed as he noted the box of Cinnamon Crunch cereal. "Oh. Okay." he said sheepishly. He watched Chiaki leave, completely oblivious to the three cat-girls conspiring to tie him up in yarn just for fun.


TO BE CONTINUED?

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2006 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
-- Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
-- Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

Post By Anime Jason Mon Nov 13, 2006 at 02:06:26 am EST	Subject Cat's Eye Part 1 (edited out of necessity)

	[New] [Email] [Print] [RSS] [Tales of the Parodyverse]	Next In Thread >>