Or perhaps more then one Car did...
Newly painted, polished, and gleaming. He looked as good as he ever had, even certain other - camrades in arms - of his had said so, and -
So just why did he look so - so unbalanced, now?
Jadite sighed, then. He knew that all too well, he was afraid...
Damn you, Zoicite. This really is all your fault.
Except that it wasn't, not really. He was the one who'd first challenged Zoi-Zoi the girly, after all. Zoicite's birth color had appearantly been a bright vibrant vermillion, and once he'd heard that, he hadn't been able to resist the urge to call him out into the dueling ring for a duel and a wager - the wager being that Zoi would get painted a bright screaming red and stay that color for a month if he lost. He'd expected Zoicite to set up some kind of counter-wager, but he hadn't counted on Zoicite actually having the resources - or more to the point, enough of an imagination - to think of checking up on him, and that had been a stupid mistake, because -
The second stupid mistake, that is. The first had been to challenge Zoicite of all people to a duel in the first place, technically 'friendly' or not. He should have known that a Car who was at court in the position he was in spite of his - family connections, just to begin with - had to have more then a few tricks up his sleeve, apart from the obvious, that is...
Ahh, well, hindsight was wonderful, wasn't it. Jadite groaned, eying the molded contraption lying on his desk. This particular version was the one Nephrite of all people had made, just for him, and it had the temerity to fit him like -
Well, like it had been born with him, actually.
...Almost.
"Hello? Jedite, are you still - "
Well hello, camrade-in-arms person. Jedite looked at the big Car poking his front into his room, and sighed.
"...Jedite. You look fine. Just come now, even Kunzite has managed to get ready."
"What, Zoicite got behind him and pushed?" Jedite jibed, though his heart wasn't really in it.
"Well, something like that." Nephrite smiled. " - Even the Prince is ready, oddly enough..."
"Well all right, all right..." Jedite sighed, then, eying the thing on his desk. He didn't miss in already, he did not. It wasn't like he hadn't lived perfectly happily without it for most of his life, or would have worn it at all if it wasn't for that stupid wager, and -
"Um." Nephrite coughed. " - I could carry it for you, if you wish?"
Jedite gave him a glare. "What?"
"The - " Nephrite waved his wheels about. "Basket. I've got plenty of room..."
And I on the other hand have almost no luggage carrying capacity at all. Except for what - that...
"I..." Jedite groaned for real, then. "I can't tell if I look worse with the stupid thing on or off anymore, damnit!"
There, he'd said it. Nephrite could laugh if he wanted, hell,just a few scant months ago, he probably would have laughed his roof off if anybody he'd known had been in such a situation -
Nephrite didn't laugh, though, oddly enough.
"I think you look good with it, especially after we managed to get the shape right and get it color-coordinated - you look more...balanced, somehow, I think."
We? Jedite snorted. Nephrite had been the one who'd been calling after housewives and delivery people and servants in the streets and corridors and measuring their baskets, though it probably was Kunzite that had actually made the darn thing...
"But you look fine the way you do now, too, so stop worrying about it, all right? - Here, I'll take the basket with me, so you could wear it on the way home. I know it's annoying to not have something like this at hand when you've gotten used to it..."
"-Oh, alright, I'm coming, I'm coming..." Jedite grumbled, looking at himself in the mirror again. A one-seater scooter looked back, windshield curving, as usual, with sporty outlines if he said so himself. Well, he looked as good as he ever was going to look, he supposed. Unbalanced-ness and all.
"Hey, Neph? Is it raining?"
" - Just a little. It'll stop soon, they say..."
"Well, alright." Jedite muttered, making his windshield curl out, forming a transparent roof. He could enclose his entire seat area in a transparent shell, too, when the urge took him, but the weather didn't seem that bad for the moment.
Oh, how his father had hated seeing him do that...
And his father was going to be there at this particular event, not to mention several siblings and other family members, and -
Oh, who the hell cared any more. Jedite smiled a bit, thinking of his father, and how he'd probably react if he ever actually had to lay eyes on his son wearing a - shopping basket in front.
Oh, who cares, they can call me a shopping scooter if they wish - And they did, too, Jedite knew, but somehow, it didn't really matter all that much any more.
"Jedite..."
"Yes, yes, coming..."
The Car slept on.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:13)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.