Mucho gracias, hombre. This one's just kinda exploding out of my head, and I've got to do something with it so I can clean up the mess.
On the side note, thanks for all this - it's been many, many months since I was this inspired to write something, and I am quite grateful for your part in breaking up the mental logjam. Domo Arigato, Clay-san.
Anyhow - here's so far.
A Funny Thing
Segment 1: The Set Up
"Kyah!" With an explosive yell, Turuko blasted through my defense; his Grinning Death Kick manouever had caught me completely unprepared, and I found myself flying backwards through the air. My flight, fortunately, was brief - the wall cut me short before I had gone more than a couple of meters.
Ouch.
As I lay there, fondly remembering the sensation of being able to breathe, Turuko walked up to me. "You forgot to block," he commented casually. The bastard. I gave him my best "If I weren't gaping like a fish out of water, I'd be giving you a spiteful glare" look.
He laughed at me.
Truth is, most of our encounters end up with him laughing at me. I don't understand why, but I seem to have that effect on people. I don't recall ever having anyone take me seriously, and I guess that's probably why the rest of this story happened, if truth compelled me to confess.
After we showered and changed back into our regular clothes, Turuko and I headed down the street towards the Drunken Dragon for a couple of drinks, as usual. He, as usual, was complaining about my 'lack of focus' and my 'balance of chi' and how I needed to 'learn to move and breathe as one' with the universe, and all that jazz. I was already thinking ahead to my date with his sister later on, and I admit I may have been paying him a little less attention than he deserved. But if you had ever seen his sister, you wouldn't blame me.
In any case, he was babbling, and I was fantasizing, and suddenly we both here a deep voice yelling, "Hey, Turuko! Dickie! You two got a minute?"
Breaking out of my thoughts, I glanced up. Coming down the street was a large and relatively frightening-looking man with the biggest bear I'd ever seen riding on his back. I sighed, groaned, and shook my head. Turuko called back "Sure thing, Bobo. We're heading for the Drunken Dragon - catch up with us there once you finish your delivery."
Bobo the Taxidermist/Weekend Warrior just nodded at us, and he and his son shuffled on past with his latest masterpiece. It had been a hot topic for discussion, a few weeks back. That bear had just kind of wandered into town and started snuffling around. No one had really paid much attention to him until he got to the square; then, suddenly, he had apparently gone berserk. No one knows why - Greensleeves, the local druid, was away on a camping trip - but for some reason, he had gone charging across the square and knocked old Sister Crackly down, and started trying to mount her. The poor old nun must have been scared out of her mind, 'cause after Dripp't (the local winged-elf hero - he's an Airborn Ranger) finally killed the thing and dragged it off of her, she was cussing and weeping about having been 'so close'. Which was actually not true at all - the bear hadn't even hurt her, much less nearly killed her. Anyways, Dripp't had wanted the thing stuffed and mounted in its dying pose, and given to Crackly. He said it was by way of apology, which only proves to me that he's as cracked as she is.
So anyways, Turuko and I walked in to the Drunken Dragon and sat down at our usual table. I smiled shyly at the barmaid as she came 'round to take our orders. She smiled back, and asked if we wanted our usual? We did, and she headed off to fetch our drinks. I sighed, and Turuko smacked me. By the time the throbbing stopped she was back, setting two foaming mugs on the table. I smiled shyly, and she smiled back, and asked if we needed anything else. She was looking me dead in the eye and fingering the hem of her skirt when she said it, and I blushed and stammered while Turuko let her know that everything was fine, thanks. She left. We picked up the mugs, nodded at each other, toasted to good friends and happy days, and drained them. Our usual routine finished, we started chit chatting about nothing in particular while we waited for Bobo to give Sister Crackly the stuffed bear.