Derailed preview
No writing today. Had an allergy attack while getting stuff in and out of the shed this morning at work. Stuff like this is why I don't do NaNoWriMo. As an apology, "Derailed" preview.
It was surprisingly easy for Kevin to adjust to DenLiner. Two Imagin pulling crazy stuff all the time-not all that much different from the guys he used to hang out with back when he was a kid, only without the danger of running afoul of the 39th Street Gang. Owner was a little creepy at times, but he figured that the old guy must have had a point to popping up everywhere-after all, someone had to scare Momotaros and Urataros straight. And Naomi? Naomi was hot. That made it so much easier.
It was Ben who was the weird one there, with the way he knew everything about him. Even the part where he got possessed by the loud, fight-happy idiot or the lying pervert every five minutes wasn’t as bizarre. Julie had handled the explanation about him being friends with them in an alternate timeline, but it still made his head hurt, especially the way it all felt right. Ben was way too easy to get along with, and Kevin found it easy to find his buttons and push them.
Like the way he asked, “So tell me again why I have to come shopping with you?”
Right on cue, Ben rolled his eyes. “Because it’s Julie’s birthday tomorrow and I forgot.”
“And that’s my problem how?”
Ben sighed in frustration. “Because she’s your friend too.” As Kevin was about to bring up parallel timelines, Ben interrupted, “And you can’t say it’s in another time and place because all week, the two of you were ganging up on Urataros.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Kevin said. “Guy’s a perv. I can’t exactly let him gawk at her boobs.”
Ben gave him a flat stare. “Says the guy who can’t stop staring at Naomi’s butt.”
“That’s different!” Kevin insisted. “It’s only when she’s bending over!” Ben continued to glare. “I can’t not look at what’s right in front of me!”
“Perv,” Ben answered.
“I prefer ‘hot-blooded teenage male,’” Kevin said with a smirk.
“Right,” Ben deadpanned. “But anyway, you at least need to get her a card.”
“And if I don’t?” he challenged.
“Then you’re going to make her cry,” Ben argued.
In retrospect, it was the worst possible choice of words for the moment, but it did accomplish something. Suddenly, they heard a disembodied voice ask, “Cry?” before Ben’s body jerked. In the blink of an eye, his hair grew out until it was in a ponytail with a yellow streak running through it, and his eyes were the same startling color.
Getting into a sumo stance, the newly possessed Ben declared, “My strength will make you cry!”
And only in this bizarre new world of Imagin could Kevin deadpan, “It’s just an expression.”
For a moment, the Imagin did nothing. His eyes were closed, and he didn’t move out of his stance. Then Kevin heard a sound come from him, which prompted him to pull out his phone and call Julie.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Hey, Julie, it’s me.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Maybe. You know what to do when one of the Taroses falls asleep in Ben?”
Derailed
Chapter Six: “Let Sleeping Bears Lie”
It took some effort, but between the two of them, Kevin and Julie managed to get the unconscious Imagin-possessed Ben through the door onto DenLiner and into the dining car. Once they saw what was going on, Momotaros and Urataros were quick to jump up.
“Ben-chan?” Urataros asked in surprise, trying to help carry him.
“Aw, no, Bear!” Momotaros complained, shaking Ben’s head. “This isn’t the time for a nap!”
As she and Kevin hefted him into a booth, Julie asked, “You know this guy?”
“Kintaros,” Urataros explained as Ben’s head flopped back. “He must be hibernating again.”
“He’s always sleeping,” Momotaros argued. Grabbing Ben’s head, he yelled, “You hear me, Bear? Wake up!” But the moment he let go, Ben’s head just flopped down onto the table.
“Don’t hurt him,” Julie warned, cringing at the way Kintaros was completely oblivious to all the shaking and head-flopping.
Kevin groaned and rubbed at his arms. “I think he can stand to get a little roughed up, after how much it hurt getting him here. For such a scrawny guy, he weighs a ton!”
“I think it’s Kintaros more than anything,” Julie reasoned, massaging her own arms.
Kevin raised an eyebrow. “You know what you’re saying…”
“Completely violates the law of conservation of mass, yes,” she answered dryly. Thumbing in the direction of the Taroses, she asked, “You think they’re going to listen to any rules, let alone laws of physics?”
Momotaros and Urataros had decided to try a double-jump into Ben’s body to try to jostle Kintaros out. There was a brief flash of red and blue light before Ben’s body stretched, and they were thrown out and against the wall of the dining car. Any hope for waking him was dashed when Kintaros shifted position and began snoring louder than before.
“No,” Kevin sighed.
It was surprisingly easy for Kevin to adjust to DenLiner. Two Imagin pulling crazy stuff all the time-not all that much different from the guys he used to hang out with back when he was a kid, only without the danger of running afoul of the 39th Street Gang. Owner was a little creepy at times, but he figured that the old guy must have had a point to popping up everywhere-after all, someone had to scare Momotaros and Urataros straight. And Naomi? Naomi was hot. That made it so much easier.
It was Ben who was the weird one there, with the way he knew everything about him. Even the part where he got possessed by the loud, fight-happy idiot or the lying pervert every five minutes wasn’t as bizarre. Julie had handled the explanation about him being friends with them in an alternate timeline, but it still made his head hurt, especially the way it all felt right. Ben was way too easy to get along with, and Kevin found it easy to find his buttons and push them.
Like the way he asked, “So tell me again why I have to come shopping with you?”
Right on cue, Ben rolled his eyes. “Because it’s Julie’s birthday tomorrow and I forgot.”
“And that’s my problem how?”
Ben sighed in frustration. “Because she’s your friend too.” As Kevin was about to bring up parallel timelines, Ben interrupted, “And you can’t say it’s in another time and place because all week, the two of you were ganging up on Urataros.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Kevin said. “Guy’s a perv. I can’t exactly let him gawk at her boobs.”
Ben gave him a flat stare. “Says the guy who can’t stop staring at Naomi’s butt.”
“That’s different!” Kevin insisted. “It’s only when she’s bending over!” Ben continued to glare. “I can’t not look at what’s right in front of me!”
“Perv,” Ben answered.
“I prefer ‘hot-blooded teenage male,’” Kevin said with a smirk.
“Right,” Ben deadpanned. “But anyway, you at least need to get her a card.”
“And if I don’t?” he challenged.
“Then you’re going to make her cry,” Ben argued.
In retrospect, it was the worst possible choice of words for the moment, but it did accomplish something. Suddenly, they heard a disembodied voice ask, “Cry?” before Ben’s body jerked. In the blink of an eye, his hair grew out until it was in a ponytail with a yellow streak running through it, and his eyes were the same startling color.
Getting into a sumo stance, the newly possessed Ben declared, “My strength will make you cry!”
And only in this bizarre new world of Imagin could Kevin deadpan, “It’s just an expression.”
For a moment, the Imagin did nothing. His eyes were closed, and he didn’t move out of his stance. Then Kevin heard a sound come from him, which prompted him to pull out his phone and call Julie.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Hey, Julie, it’s me.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Maybe. You know what to do when one of the Taroses falls asleep in Ben?”
Derailed
Chapter Six: “Let Sleeping Bears Lie”
It took some effort, but between the two of them, Kevin and Julie managed to get the unconscious Imagin-possessed Ben through the door onto DenLiner and into the dining car. Once they saw what was going on, Momotaros and Urataros were quick to jump up.
“Ben-chan?” Urataros asked in surprise, trying to help carry him.
“Aw, no, Bear!” Momotaros complained, shaking Ben’s head. “This isn’t the time for a nap!”
As she and Kevin hefted him into a booth, Julie asked, “You know this guy?”
“Kintaros,” Urataros explained as Ben’s head flopped back. “He must be hibernating again.”
“He’s always sleeping,” Momotaros argued. Grabbing Ben’s head, he yelled, “You hear me, Bear? Wake up!” But the moment he let go, Ben’s head just flopped down onto the table.
“Don’t hurt him,” Julie warned, cringing at the way Kintaros was completely oblivious to all the shaking and head-flopping.
Kevin groaned and rubbed at his arms. “I think he can stand to get a little roughed up, after how much it hurt getting him here. For such a scrawny guy, he weighs a ton!”
“I think it’s Kintaros more than anything,” Julie reasoned, massaging her own arms.
Kevin raised an eyebrow. “You know what you’re saying…”
“Completely violates the law of conservation of mass, yes,” she answered dryly. Thumbing in the direction of the Taroses, she asked, “You think they’re going to listen to any rules, let alone laws of physics?”
Momotaros and Urataros had decided to try a double-jump into Ben’s body to try to jostle Kintaros out. There was a brief flash of red and blue light before Ben’s body stretched, and they were thrown out and against the wall of the dining car. Any hope for waking him was dashed when Kintaros shifted position and began snoring louder than before.
“No,” Kevin sighed.