The Chief Puk, as the most respected member of his clan, always has to live in a house that somehow represents his status. He likes to inhabit the attics of big mansions.
Sadly enough, the only big mansion in Nerima was the residence of the three main lunatics of the neighborhood: The Kuno estate.
Still, the Chief Puk had good faith that the good fortune a Puk always brings into a house would sooner or later help the Kunos to live their lives as accepted members of society.
Yeah, right...
Still, the Kuno mansion had a really big attic, with a big amount of old boxes which contained all kinds of Kuno history remains. The Chief Puk just had to be careful when stumbling over a box that had been signed with: 'Kodachi - Old Chemistry Sets' or something like that.
The Chief Puk was just sitting in one corner of the big attic and contemplated Puk's history and customs, when Snooze Puk entered.
"Grits Greeting!" Snooze Puk said.
"Grits Greeting!" the Chief Puk replied with dignity.
And then Snooze Puk told him about the trouble his new family was in.
The Chief Puk stroked his big, bushy beard. "Now those are bad news," he finally said. "Those people need our help."
"Yes, that's what I thought too," Snooze Puk nodded.
The Chief Puk sighed and rubbed his nose. "But... what should we do?"
"We should hold an Extraordinary Puk Meeting!" Snooze Puk suggested. "So all Puks of the clan can think of a solution."
"Yes! Why, that's an absolutely splendid idea!" the Chief Puk said enthusiastically. He always was glad whenever he was able to call for a Puk Meeting, may it be ordinary or extraordinary.
"Tomorrow evening?" Snooze Puk pleaded. "It's really urgent, you know?"
"Agreed!" the Chief Puk said immediately. "And where do we meet?"
"In the library's reading room B, first floor," Snooze Puk suggested.
"Agreed!" the Chief Puk said again. "Such a reading room is a worthy place for an Extraordinary Puk Meeting. When do we start?"
"At midnight," Snooze Puk said.
"Agreed!" the Chief Puk said for the third time. "And now... Grits Greeting! I have some work to do!"
The Chief Puk always informed all of his Puks about any meeting by himself. He was riding on a pigeon with a white collar of feathers around its neck.
"Grits Greeting..." Snooze Puk murmured sleepily. The sun was slowly rising, and he didn't get much sleep the previous day. So he was intent on going back to his new home.
His pigeon was waiting for him on the roof.
"Well, that surely was a short visit," she commented.
"But a very important one," Snooze Puk explained. "Before I forget it: Tomorrow will be an important day! We will have an Extraordinary Puk Meeting, so it will be a busy night for you pigeons."
"Good thing you told me," the pigeon said. "So I won't plan anything else for tomorrow night."
They flew back to the Tendo Dojo, where Snooze Puk dismounted and gave the pigeon his thanks. After she left, he climbed down the roof.
Because he felt very tired, he decided to use the shortcut through Akane's room... her window was only ajar.
Carefully, he jumped onto Akane's desk and from there, to the floor. He heard the short-haired girl's gentle breath coming from her bed. She was sleeping deeply.
Luckily, her door wasn't closed completely, so Snooze Puk wouldn't have to use the 'Opening Spell'. As quiet as a mouse, he scampered through the room, towards the door.
But before he reached it, he became aware of some weird-sounding footsteps behind him.
He turned around... and faced a small, black piglet that was wearing a spotted bandana around its neck.
Well, it was small for a human. But... for a Puk, it was about as big as a bull.
"Bweeeee..."
Snooze Puk gulped. He realized the piglet was angry because of some reason, and he didn't think he would be able to calm it down before it...
WHAP!
The Puk winced as he flew out of Akane's room, into the dark hallway and collided with the wall. Yes... before it did that...
He rubbed his chin... the pig's hoof had really hurt. As he looked up, he saw how the pig once again approached him, with a grim look on its face.
"Will you cut it out?" he grumbled. "I'm really not in the mood for that. All I wanna do is to go back into my swinging bed and sleep."
The pig grunted aggressively.
"I assure you, I never wanted to 'peek' on Akane. If I knew she had such a protective guardian pet, I wouldn't have used her room to come in. Now settle down... or do you want her to wake up?"
With a surprised look on his face, P-chan plopped down on his behind. "Squeee?" / "You understand me?"
"Yes, I CAN understand you... all Puks can talk with animals. Now, can we continue our little conversation further down the hall?"
P-chan contemplated it for a while, then he nodded. He followed the Puk to a quiet corner of the hallway, where they would be able to talk undisturbed. But he made sure not to lose sight of the strange little person.
Luckily, he didn't have to follow him for a very long time, or else he would have gotten lost easily...
"Now..." he grunted in his piggish language. "Who are you, and what were you doing in Akane's room?"
"I already told you, I just wanted to go to bed, and I simply used Akane's room as a shortcut. And I am Snooze Puk... the Tendo's new House Puk!"
P-chan looked at him in irritation. "What's a 'Puk'?"
"Well, I am! Us Puks look out for the family in whose house we are living... as long as we are provided with our regular serving of barley grits." He showed the small piglet his grit pot.
P-chan tilted his head. "So... you are living with the Tendos now?"
"Behind their living room's wall," Snooze Puk nodded. "I've never talked to them directly... but they now know about me. They even filled my pot once." He licked his lips. "Kasumi really can turn barley grits into a piece of art."
"And why are you sneaking around like this?" P-chan asked, his doubts rising again. "Couldn't you face them directly?"
Snooze Puk winced. "You have to understand... my people have always been a little shy around humans. Think about it: Humans tend to not understand what they don't know. We are used to this way of life. And as long as both sides are happy, nothing else matters, right?"
"Well, if you say so..." P-chan still wasn't convinced.
"But what about you?" Snooze Puk asked the little hoofed mammal. "I didn't see you around the house earlier... are you Akane's pet?"
P-chan sighed. "Well, you could say so, but... I'm just a... friend, you know?"
Snooze Puk understood. So, this little fellow saw himself as Akane's guardian. The way he had acted when he saw a stranger in her room... Now that was really heart-warming, Snooze Puk thought.
He smiled. "You're a great little guy, you know that? And brave. But remember, you're just a little pig, not a watchdog, you know? Some time, someone bigger than me might break into Akane's room..."
P-chan sighed. Of course this 'Puk' wouldn't know about his curse or his martial arts skills... but he somehow didn't feel like explaining all of this to him.
Snooze Puk yawned. "Look, it's getting late... Early, I mean. Us Puks normally sleep during the day, so if you don't mind... Tomorrow, I've got a long night ahead of me. Perhaps I'll see you later."
"Maybe..." P-chan muttered. "Sleep well... and, um... sorry I attacked ya like that."
"Nah, it's okay!" Snooze Puk smirked. "You were just doing your job, eh? All right, I'm off to bed..." And he hopped down the stairs.
The pig looked after him. 'Strange...' Ryoga thought to himself. 'Here I thought I've seen everything, and then such a little guy shows up...' He then scratched his head with his little hoof. 'I wonder if I should tell the Tendos about him...' He shook his head. 'Naah... then I would have to explain to Akane what I've been doing in her room at night...' He shuddered. 'And she would find out about my curse...'
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(Posted Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:39)
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