Miro peeked his head up over the edge of a dusty box which he'd made into an impromptu shelter. He could see Rikura across the room, looking around one of the shelves. Their eyes met, then dashed down to Theodore, who lay prone on the floor. From behind him, Miro heard Kimihiko whimper slightly. He stood up and slowly, carefully crossed the room. "Uh... is he okay?" /Yes, he's fine. Just a little overwhelmed - power does not come lightly./ "I have no idea," responded Rikura. She walked out from behind the shelf. "Maybe we should check his pulse?" She took a few steps closer, before an arc of electricity shot between Theodore's horns, which sent both her and Miro diving back for cover, and sent Kimihiko back into a fresh bout of whimpering. On the floor, Theodore's eyes opened, revealing a feline pupil and a bright yellow iris. Theodore moaned. "Ugh... I feel like I've been jamming forks into wall sockets for the past hour." He put his hand to his forehead and was rewarded with a gigantic spark for his trouble. "OW! Hey, what the heck?" His hand ran up his hair, reaching his horns, and his eyes grew wide as he remembered. Theodore shot to his feet, looking down at the trenchcoat which moved with him, at the new horns on his smiley face button, and at the claws which curled out of holes in his sneakers. The other three people in the room stared as well. Then, almost as one, Kimihiko, Rikura, and Theodore all turned to look at Miro. Miro gulped. **************************************************** ONE OF THOSE SHOPS An Improfanfic Production This Chapter In Collaboration with: Trans-Dimensional Llama Productions Started by Farsan de Arnibia Written by: Chamelaeon Wombatowski Branch B - Chapter 3: Ice Cream & Cleaning **************************************************** Miro had closed the old, half-rotted blinds on the windows and was idly running a cleaning rag over the counter, while Kimihiko and Rikura poked and prodded at Theodore. "Wow, look at his hair! It's straight up!" "And these horns, it's like they're made out of metal, almost." Rikura tapped one with her fingernail, and it gave off several small sparks. "And the trenchcoat - I mean, wow, Theodore!" For his part, Theodore was sitting down on a disused box of unknown purpose, looking like he was about to cry. "Aw, can't you two just leave me alone? I mean, I feel bad enough about this as it is. What am I gonna tell my dad?" The three continued talking while Miro wiped. He was more focused on talking to the shop than on paying attention to their banter. "So how long is he going to be like that?" he muttered to himself. /Oh, the effect only lasts for a few hours or so. He'll be back to normal before you know it. In the meantime, though, I'm getting quite a bit of energy off his reaction to this. Perhaps you should try and convince the other girl to buy something as well?/ "Later, later. I'm more worried about the look of this place. I mean, a vending machine might get people like Rikura and Theodore to buy something, but people like to browse, right? And the certainly won't like it if it's this dirty and dusty." He tossed the rag onto the counter, causing a large cloud of dust to erupt violently into the air. /I'm afraid I don't have the energy to stock the entire store with goods - filling up this vending machine is about all I can do at the moment. But the store's image doesn't take too much energy to make. All you've got to do is concentrate hard, and maybe give the shelves a lick and a promise, and we'll be as good as new./ Miro leaned against the wall and thought. "Do you, uh... have a name? I mean, I don't think it sounds right to go around calling you 'Shop' all the time." /I have no official name. Most of the owners named me after childhood pets.../ From the other side of the room came hysterical female giggling, accompanied by Theodore's low moan. "Maybe we should paint them teal instead of magenta," laughed Rikura. Kimihiko bounced back with "Or alternate them." Theodore moaned again, and Miro chuckled as he grabbed the rag. "Well," he murmured, "I guess I'll just call you Pochi, then. I never really had a pet." He chuckled. /...whatever you feel is best, Master,/ responded the shop with distinct disdain. "At any rate, it's time to give this a shot." Miro closed his eyes, concentrated, and rubbed the counter a few times in a circular motion. A split second later, Rikura looked over. "Hey Miro, what do you think we should do to his hor- hey, you really did a number on that counter!" The section of the store containing the counter looked quite literally transformed. The walls were a bright yellow, trimmed in red, which faded gradually into the pale grey of the rest of the store. The counter itself was done in the same garish colors, and topped with a long glass piece. Beneath the glass were a series of pictures, most of them of items in the vending machine. Sweat beaded on Miro's brow as he opened his eyes and looked around. "Yeah, I did." He grinned. "Guess all it took was a little elbow grease." /And a little imagination. Good work, Master, though it might be a good idea to shoo out your friends before working on the rest of the place./ Miro nodded. "I've got to get working on the rest of the place - why don't you girls take Theodore out for some fresh air?" He walked over and started rubbing the cloth along one of the shelves. "Okay, Miro," said Kimihiko, grabbing one of Theodore's arms. "We'll be back in a few hours, okay?" Rikura grabbed the other one of Theodore's arms, and started pulling. Theodore was propelled towards the door with a surprised "Guh?", still holding the book in one hand. Miro leaned out of the door, calling after Rikura. "Remember to put a hat on him or something!" Then he turned around and surveyed the dusty old shop. "Funny how natural this feels already." ------------ Theodore was marched along the street, one girl on each arm, book clutched in his hand. His brain was working overtime, trying to determine whether he was the luckiest guy in Tokyo at the moment, or the unluckiest. Conforming to Miro's suggestion, the girls had slapped a baseball cap at a jaunty angle over Theodore's horns, and were leading him along towards a nearby ice cream parlor like taking an oni for ice cream was the most natural thing in the world. "Look, Rikura, isn't it dangerous for me to be out here? I mean, someone might notice I'm not exactly... well, normal." In answer, Rikura turned around and pushed Theodore into a seat. "Of course it's dangerous! That's half the fun!" She sat down next to him, and Kimihiko mirrored the motion on the other side. "I mean, what sort of adventure would it be if you just hid in that shop?" "A safe one," moaned Theodore. He scrunched down in his seat as the server approached. "May I help you?" asked a young man. He eyed Theodore for a moment, which made the new Oni shrink farther into his seat. Kimihiko nodded. "We'll take three banana splits, two strawberry sundaes..." She looked at Theodore. "And a small vanilla cone." Rikura nodded, and the server forcefully shut his mouth, then backed away. Both girls turned back to Theodore - he slunk even farther down under their combined gaze. "Sooo," said Rikura, a dangerous glint in her eye. "What else does it say in the book?" Theodore blinked. "I have no idea. I kind of just read the first spell I came to." He placed the book on the table, gingerly. "I'm not so sure I want to go digging into it now, though. I mean, look what it did to me!" He idly fingered his horns under the baseball cap. Grabbing the book, Rikura began to flip through the pages rapidly. "Well, if there's a spell in there, there's got to be a counterspell, right? Something that'll change you back?" "Yeah! I mean, that's the way it works in all the stories, isn't it?" Kimihiko asked. She peered over the top of the book as Rikura stopped and started running her finger down the page. "It sure is. Ah, here. 'The transformation will last from between two to three hours, at which point the caster may begin again...' Hey, that's pretty cool! It's reusable!" Theodore rolled his eyes. "Great. So I can turn into a freak whenever I want. Just ..." He trailed off as the server reappeared, struggling under the burden of an immense amount of ice cream. Both the girls giggled in delight as the veritable ton of ice cream was lain before them. Rikura handed the book to Theodore. "Keep reading, Theodore. This is fantastic stuff." Resigned to his fate, Theodore picked up the book while he worked on his cone. "... If you insist." ------------ Miro stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the shop. Gone were the dusty boxes and cobwebbed shelves - gone was the dust and the gloom that had formerly populated the place. Instead, bright yellows and reds adorned the walls, and the floor was laid with shiny black tiling. The shelves shone with a polished gleam, and the boxes from the floor were neatly stacked on them, though Miro had discovered all the boxes were actually empty. A small display sat in front of one of the windows, with a few of the items that had been in the vending machine. The vending machine itself was nowhere to be found - Pochi had transformed itself into a smart-looking cash register, which was sitting on the counter. Nodding, Miro said, "Well, that turned out better than I'd hoped." /Very impressive. You can't fail to drag in some customers now. At least, as soon as you hang out a sign./ "I did forget the sign, didn't I?" Miro closed his eyes and concentrated again. "Right. For now, at least, we're known as 'Just What You Need'." He smiled, and nodded. "That sounds just perfect." ------------ Once again, Theodore was being dragged along the street, girl on either arm, and once again, it was quite against his will. The transformation had worn off about a half-hour ago, which had made him feel much better, but Rikura had insisted on escorting him again, under the excuse that they had no idea if he would revert into oni form, and it could happen at any time. It had taken the girls quite a while to polish off the ice cream, and Theodore had gotten the chance to look through most of the book while the girls kept up a constant stream of conversation. There were a few other oni spells in there, though none so spectacular as the first. He'd idly wondered if he would ever get the chance to use one of them, but about that time Kimihiko had finished the last sundae, and it was off to the shop again. As they approached the place where the store was, Theodore happened to look at the plain brick wall where Rikura had first tried to lead them. Only it was no longer a plain brick wall. The short span of masonry had been replaced by a Chinese-looking storefront - the large picture windows on the front showed thousands of small trinkets and devices on display, with the promise of thousands more inside. A placard beside the door identified the store as "The Mysticism and Power of Ancient China". Theodore wrenched his arm away from Rikura and pointed. "Hey, girls, look at that. When did they put a store there?" But the shop was gone. Rikura poked Theodore in the ribs. "Now who's misremembering? Miro's store is over there." Miro's store was indeed across the street, still recognizable despite the new yellow and red paint job and the new sign that proclaimed "Just What You Need". "No, really! I saw a store over there!" Theodore craned his neck around to eye the brick wall as Rikura grabbed his arm again and dragged him into the store. "Oh, Theodore," sighed Kimihiko. "You never know when to stop teasing, do you?" ------------ Author's Notes: Hoo, Impro part, Impro part! Just when I thought I didn't have to do anything because I'm an admin. ;_; It's kind of short, yeah, but things conspire. Thanks to Guido for prereading, and good luck to Merior, who's next up. - Chamelaeon Q.K. Wombatowski