The next day, everything went wrong.
At first, ChibiChibi got sick. Her crying woke up every member of the Cat Household. Kasumoo assumed she came down with a cold, so she prepared her some hot tea with some honey.
Wrapped in a warm blanket, ChibiChibi watched how the others then sat down for breakfast (except for Lilith, of course). It was then when they realized: The coffee was bad!
Ranko noticed as soon as she took her first sip: No coffee would taste like this.
"Tastes like toothpaste," she frowned. "Who cleaned his teeth in the kitchen this morning?"
"That was me, Miss Ranko," Lunch said bashfully. "You gave me my own toothbrush, but as the bathroom was occupied this morning, I decided to just brush my teeth in the kitchen. That's when ChibiChibi's crying startled me... and the toothbrush slipped out of my hand. I couldn't find it afterwards."
"Well, I suppose we all now know where it ended..." Skuld muttered and used a spoon to fish the toothbrush out of the coffee pot.
But the worst thing was, Ranko had received a call from Mr. Yamaki the previous evening. He sounded pretty upset: "Expect me for a thorough talk by tomorrow, 10:00 sharp!"
It made Ranko feel very nervous, as she still hadn't been able to put enough money aside to pay the rent.
"We have to make him feel welcome and at home," Kasumoo decided. "Even the grumpiest man on earth can't stay mad for long with a nice cup of coffee... and I mean coffee without any toothpaste!"
So everyone got a job, to prepare the house for Mr. Yamaki's arrival. Penpen stood at the door, waiting for Yamaki to arrive. He would open the door and welcome him... well, with a squawk. Then he would accept their guest's coat and hat, would he have any.
Lunch would be putting up some potted plants in the hallway. That would leave a nice impression. Lunch also dressed in Kasumoos best apron for that occasion.
The garden looked a little bit ravaged after the rainstorm a few nights ago. So Skuld decided it was time to bring in her newest invention, a Garden Raking Machine. While the others were busy in the house, her little machine wheeled up and down the garden, Skuld sitting on top.
Tomoyo made sure to play a nice tune on the piano. She already had a nice piece in mind that she was busy practicing. ChibiChibi and Totodile would stay with Ranko, so she could make sure they would start no mischief. Well, ChibiChibi was hardly in a condition to pull any pranks, but still...
And so, they were all awaiting their visitor's arrival tensely.
----
But Yamaki didn't arrive at 10:00. He arrived at 10:30.
He had a bad day as well. First, he had a quarrel with his girlfriend, then his superior at work had called him.
So it was no wonder that he was quite angry when he arrived in front of the Cat House, in his brand new car. Today, he was wearing an elegant white cap.
At first, he was angry at his boss and girlfriend. Then, he was angry at ALL the people, and finally his anger got directed at the inhabitants of the mansion.
"Three months have passed," he grumbled. "And what did they pay me? Some lousy 20.000 yen!"
He looked up at the house. "But not anymore. I'll show them that they can't do this to me, no sir!"
And he firmly strode up to the front door.
He was a little surprised when the door got opened by a cheerful penguin.
"Wark!"
"Oh, now they have hired a doorman," Yamaki grumbled. "But the rent, they don't pay."
PenPen blinked at him in confusion, then he shrugged. He then looked if Yamaki had any clothes he could take off.
He saw the white cap, nodded, and snatched it off Yamaki's head with a powerful hop.
"No, give that back!" Yamaki shouted. "With the BEAK? Is that penguin crazy? That is fine linen!"
He attempted to snatch it back, but PenPen knew hat he learned, so he waddled over to the wardrobe to put the cap there.
"Stubborn bird!" Yamaki snarled. "Why, I'll..."
His angry words made the penguin nervous, and so he decided to leave for now. In a panic, he waddled down the hallway and vanished behind one of the doors. The cap was still in his beak.
Yamaki silently counted to ten and then looked at the puzzled face of Lunch, who was just busy sorting a few tulips standing in a vase in front of the mirror that was hanging in the hallway.
"Where is that cat?" Yamaki asked angrily. His loud voice startled Lunch as well, and so she accidentally snapped one of the tulips in two. Nervously, she gestured at the kitchen door. Yamaki didn't even wait for an explanation and walked in, not realizing that Muzusa stood in his way.
The dog-girl yelped in pain when the businessman stepped on her foot. "OW!!" she screamed. "That hurt!"
"Oh, there you are," Ranko said with a nervous smile. "We thought you wouldn't come at all. Please, have a seat."
After staring at the cat-girl intently, Yamaki let himself fall down on one of the chairs.
But, sadly, that chair wasn't exactly one of the newest models, as Yamaki himself should very well know. And when he let himself fall down in the chair with all his weight, one of the legs broke in pieces, and the whole chair collapsed under him.
"Oh my!" Kasumoo said in a worried voice. "Are you hurt?"
Yamaki shook his head. "Oh for the love of..." he muttered.
When Totodile suddenly started croaking in his goofy voice, Yamaki angrily glared at him.
"How dare that reptile laugh at me?" he shouted.
"Please, he did NOT laugh at you. He was just startled, that's all!" Ranko tried her best to calm the angry landlord down.
But it was to no avail. He looked at the broken chair, then at the cat-girl in front of him. "So, you think it's funny to saw my chair, huh?"
And in his rage, he just grabbed one of the broomsticks standing next to the kitchen door and raised it above his head.
"OUT! Out, I say, every single one of you!"
And when he swung his makeshift weapon at Muzusa, the dog-girl was totally taken by surprise. With a startled yelp, she stumbled backwards, out onto the terrace, where she fell down to the ground.
The others stared in disbelief at the furious man that was swinging his broom around like it was a warrior's lance.
"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" he screamed. "OUT, NOW!"
He ran out of the kitchen, into the hallway, where a startled yelp could be heard. Lunch came running through the kitchen, followed by Yamaki. Luckily, he changed his course when he saw the Raking Machine coming around the corner.
He angrily stabbed the machine with the broom's stick.
"Whaaah!" Skuld shouted as the machine tipped over, sending her rolling over the grass. "What's your problem, man?"
Ranko suddenly got very nervous. "He has gone crazy," she muttered. "Kasumoo, take the children and get out of here. I'll see what I can do."
Kasumoo nodded, took ChibiChibi and Totodile with her and went over to where Muzusa and Lunch were standing, in the garden.
Meanwhile, Yamaki had found his way back inside, where he followed the music coming from the piano. Tomoyo was still sitting there and played, unaware of the chaos in the other parts of the house. PenPen was with her, nervously sitting at her side. Yamaki's cap was still in his beak.
Suddenly, Yamaki stormed into the room, with his broomstick. Tomoyo gasped and quickly jumped up, then climbed out of the window. PenPen followed her, his tiny flippers fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird.
But he still wouldn't let go of the cap.
"So, that's it!" Yamaki grunted in satisfaction. "Everyone's outside!"
And then he walked into the living room, where it was dark and cool. With a heavy sigh, he collapsed in one of the cushioned armchairs. This chase had been tiring.
He gasped when suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared over the hammock that was hanging above him. He hadn't even noticed it was there.
"Hey, what's with all the racket?" Lilith mumbled sleepily. "Can't a girl get some sleep in here?"
"There... there's another one!" Yamaki wheezed. "Another freak... one with wings!"
Lilith got really angry when she heard that and would very much teach that insolent human a lesson.
But she felt mischievous today, so she glided out of her hammock with a wink and shouted: "Catch me if you can!"
And yet another chase started.
Ranko watched curiously as she saw Lilith coming out of the living room, chased by Yamaki. She shook her head when she saw how the little succubus lured him up the stairs.
"I wonder if I should worry more about Lilith... or about Yamaki," she wondered.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Sun, 01 Apr 2007 18:05)
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