Lum was in a bad mood.
And only in part did it have to do with the flu that was running around, afflicting most of the class.
Sighing, she tries to relax as Onsen-sensei continues with his English lecture. It was hard to come to school these days, what with Darling in another classroom, one where she couldn't try to transfer into herself. That didn't mention the fact that Ataru no longer lived with his parents and that Lum was forbidden from moving in with him. It wasn't just the Intergalactic Tribunal's coming down on her like a meteor shower, the Oni princess muses. It was Tampopo Kamekichi, owner of Tampopo's Ramen and Beefbowl Bar...
...and now Ataru's legal guardian.
Lum had first met Tampopo shortly after she had come to live on Earth full-time. It wasn't an auspicious beginning, the Oni reminisces as Mendou answers a question. Ataru had been out trying to pick up girls and Lum was out to punish him for his betrayal when this GIANT pizza-sized spatula smashed into her face, knocking her out. When she woke up, there was this stocky woman Kinshou Moroboshi's age in an okonomiyaki-ka's gi looming over her, the look on her face loudly proclaiming Mess with ME, kiddo, and you're shark food!
From that day on, it was a running battle, one the Oni almost always lost. If Ataru wanted to be left alone -- TOTALLY alone -- all he had to do was go to Tampopo's. Megane and his friends trying to keep track of Ataru for Lum? They got a stove dropped on them! Mendou chasing after Ataru to play with him? He was swatted into the nearest river! Rei trying to get a meal from Tampopo? He nearly was turned into roast steak! Ten-chan? Tampopo called him a "naughty boy" right to his face! Cherry? No chance. Sakura? Ditto...
It seemed to calm down somewhat just before the Second Tag Race happened, but once that was over with, it got worse and then some! Tampopo made it no secret that she despised Ataru's parents to no end, publically accusing Kinshou of being "the worst excuse of a mother that had ever been born." Ataru's mother had tried to retaliate by forcing Lum to pressure Ataru into not visiting Tampopo's anymore. But all that resulted in was Ataru telling Lum in front of his parents, "Lum, you ever try to do that to me just because this bitch..." -- Fates, he actually called his own MOTHER that?! -- "...tells you to, I will NEVER speak to you again. And all the lighting you have will not change my mind about that! Kill me if you want, but it'll do you spit! I promise you that! All that'll prove to me once and for all how much of a BULLY you are!"
Lum had no choice but to agree; Ataru had never threatened her THAT way before. And when Kinshou started screaming at him, he just chanted "Grow old, die alone!!" again and again, which sent his mother into a wailing fit, burbling, "Who'll take care of me when I'm old and grey?!"
And now...
Lum sighs, then blinks as a folded sheet of paper is placed on her desk. Glancing at Onsen-sensei, she picks it up and opens it:
Lum-san,
Are you alright? You don't seem in a good mood today.
Aisuru Megane
Lum blinks, then glances up where Megane sat. The bespectacled student gazes concernedly at her, ignorant of the fact that Onsen might catch him and force him to stand in the hall. Oh, dear...! Why was it all the boys in class liked her so much? Much that she WAS quite flattered by their concern and interest, she WAS married to Darling...
...even if Darling didn't seem to care at all for her feelings.
Why?
Didn't he understand?
Didn't he care?
Why?
Oh, Lum-chan...
Megane shakes his head, turning back to his work, then he jolts as an itchy feeling warps through his nose before a sneeze rattles the classroom windows. Rubbing his nose, he takes a deep breath, then nods thanks as a neighbour hands him a handkerchief. Onsen gazes at him for a moment, then sighs. "Damned flu's getting out all over the place," he mutters, then turns back to his lecture.
Megane turns back to his work, trying to concentrate now that he had this damned bug now. But it was hard: what was happening now between Lum and that bastard Ataru -- rather, what was NOT happening! -- weighed heavily in his mind. It was bad enough that so many people had come crashing down on the Oni's head for what was, in the end, a simple mistaken blown a little out of proportion. But for Ataru to, in all effect, openly spit on Lum's desires and dreams -- that made Megane's blood boil. But there was little he, much less the other members of Lum's most loyal stormtroopers, could do about it. The new principal was making it very clear that even ONE small mis-step on Lum's part would see her sent home for GOOD this time. Ataru was now in a different class, one with no girls -- which was VERY good! Might finally teach the evil lech something! (1) -- but one whose members didn't -- gods, the HORROR of it all! -- care at ALL about Lum's feelings. Ataru no longer lived at home, but in an apartment above that damned monster Kamekichi's restaurant. And now...
A piece of paper lands on his desk. He blinks, then opens it up before reading the message, then nearly gags:
Aisuru,
Can you meet me in the clock tower at lunch? I need to talk to someone about Darling.
Lum
Clock tower? Lunch? Him with Lum? Alone? With LUM?!
He tries not to faint...
(1) Writer's Note: As you'll notice, the strange curse that makes members of Class 2-4 forget Chigaiko Inu's name also renders her pretty much invisible to people like Megane. So if Megane sees Chigaiko with Ataru, even inside their classroom, he won't be able to conclude that Chigaiko was Ataru's classmate. Neither would Lum for that matter.
Why did she just do that?
Yes, she considered Megane a friend and all that, but to actually go all the way to inviting him to the clock tower at lunch for a chat?
Oh, yes, he is a very handsome man and all that, what with that chiselled jaw, the stern yet warm eyes under those glasses which made him look like some wise sage. And he was very loyal to her, willing to set aside a lot of his time for her, especially when it came to making Darling behave himself and all that. Thinking on that now, the Oni frowns. Maybe Aisuru was sacrificing too much of his time for her sake? Didn't he deserve some sort of compensation for it? Didn't the others: Urayamu, Shitto and Daremo, even Shutaro?
Lum takes a deep breath, then seems to purr as a strange warmth surges through her body. Images of Ataru in all his many moods seem to vanish from her mind, they replaced by images of Megane. My, he was a handsome fellow, wasn't he...?
Eh?
Well, he was, wasn't he...?
Uh-oh! Looks like Lum's starting to fall under the influence of Moreau's flu! What now?
(Posted Wed, 15 Jan 2003 04:37)
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