.Back to the Past and the Kitties are playing [Penny/Quest]

I hop out of the car, sling a book bag of provisions onto my back. Kyouya is sighing as he steps out and gazes at me. "We'll be fine, Kyou," I say, trying to reassure him, but he isn't convinced. He looks at Penny.

"Apparently the Kinomoto women are known for adventure and danger. You should meet Shiori-sama's younger twin, Shioriko. Same need to get themselves killed," he quips and I roll my eyes.

"Better not let Shioriko hear that, Kyou. She'll skin your hide with her sythe," I say and pluck out the travel mug of coffee I brought. Its not too late into the morning. I had texted my twin this morning to reassure her I was well and that I was going on a trip to the past to train a bit more. She was worried of course.. Then I got a text back ranting about not taking her. "Also. My mother was quite the docile woman. THank you very much," I add, since he mentioned my mother's maiden name. Well.. Sorta docile. Mother was known for her kendo skills also. She was from one of the old blood families. But my grandparents on her side died before I was born. She was there only child.. So I don't really have any family from her.

"You know..I wonder if I can find my mother's family in the past... Mother did say there clan was ancient.." I mutter, more to myself than to them. I begin to walk off the road, knowing the path to the portal by heart now.

Kyouya looks at Penny. "Wiseman. Watch her. Don't let her out of your sight in that place. She sometimes gets lost in thought and then no telling what may happen," he says and out of the car hops the large tom cat known as Ghost. Kyouya blinks in surprise and watches the cat trot after its Mistress. "Also.. THe cat. Odd creature. Way too smart for a house cat. Well.. Good luck I suppose, Wiseman. Just.. Get her back alive and unmaimed."

-344

Kyouya was driving, although that was to be expected. He sat in the backseat with Mittens perched on his shoulder like some sort of strange parrot. She didn't want to move down and onto his lap. That would mean it was too close to that other cat. The male. Shiori called him Ghost, and it brought back a faint memory of one of their meetings before. A comment that ghost wouldn't like the smell of another cat on her. Amusing if nothing else. But she seemed to be right. Mittens yellow eyes seemed to be focused purely on that Tom cat. She didn't hiss. She didn't paw. She just stayed quiet. Unnaturally quiet. He rose up a finger and poked her lightly on the nose. Breaking her stare on the tom cat for only a second. Looking at Penny in a rather annoyed manner before returning her gaze to him.

The car stopped and out hopped Shiori. Pennywise was less energetic about jumping out the car. Akward parrot cat on his shoulder or no. Slowly he got out of the car. After the Tom cat of course, Mittens pretty much refused to cooperate until it was out of sight. He got out of the car. The kitten keeping hold of his shoulder with her tiny thorn like claws. But It didn't pain him. Shiori and Kyouya were having a conversation about her mothers side of the family. Adventurous women. Well. That certainly explained a lot. However it was news to his ears that Shiori had a younger sister. One of these odd facts of life that you didn't really know till a stranger brought it up. Shiori countered the statement about her mother. Yet Pennywise simply thought.

" Women who see adventure also see tragedy. Usually that is enough 'adventure' to last them a life time".

He stepped out next to Shiori. Mittens jumping from his shoulder to hers. She was curious about whether or not she would be able to see her family in this past time. Perhaps she would be able to. He gave another look at her. Remembering the thoughts he had in the glass forest of Onitoshi. Kyouya breaks him out of his little trance with a reminder. "...I promise it will be as if she is under your own constant supervision.....". He gave a slight nod. Then looked at Mittens. " If you think that Tom Cat is smart...try...spending a weekend with mine....".

Word Count: 408
Total Word Count: 408

I pet Mittens, the kitten on my shoulder. Ghost sends her a jealous glare and I laugh softly. Both of them just don't like one another it seems. But then.. Female cat and male cat. They don't always get along. Unlike dogs.. Cats are like people. They are picky when it comes to liking one of their own kind. I roll my eyes and head into the forest terrian, knowing Penny will catch up. Ghost keeps up with me, knowing the way. He changed so much in the past. Odd really. The old sage did a number on him. Kyouya says he got creepy. Which I think is mean. Ghost is my baby. Hell.. He chose to live with me over Jyn. Cat has some good potential with that choice alone. Will not think about Jyn.. Will not. Happy thoughts now.

I take a calming breath and Ghost mews up at me and I smile. "I'm fine, Ghost-chibi," I say warmly. Though refering to him by his full name 'Little' Ghost, is a bit odd with how big he is. If he keeps this up he is going to look like a small panther or something.

Kyouya's eyes flick to Mittens on Shiori's shoulder before she heads off the road and into the forest for the portal. He knows of it from her. He looks at Penny and nods a bit. It was a good answer about keeping Shiori safe. He frowns as Penny speaks of Mittens. He's not big on animals in general. Its the fur. He hates it on his clothes. He sighs. "Better go catch up, Wiseman. If your not careful. She'll leave you behind," but there was more to his words than simply just being left behind physically. Kyouya then got back into the car to head back into the city.

"Come on Penny!" comes the call of the female who has become his boss of sorts.

-665

" Understood".

He simply said that to the assistant before taking off in the other direction to follow Shiori. Her voice came shortly afterwards, closer now telling him to hurry up. Good advice. He didn't really know much about this opening gap between the past and the future, or...present. Whatever. But he did know that if he didn't go there with Shiori. He wasn't getting there at all. And blast it all the woman was one to just take off without him. However, she wasn't that far away and a quick jog later he had caught up. Shiori talking to her own cat. Mittens was continuing to give Ghost ye olde stink eye. One thing about cats Pennywise understood, whether it was because his beast form itself was a rather large sinister looking cat. Or because of his connection with Mittens. He couldn't tell. Was that cats were rather solitary animals. And like humans it took them awhile to get used to new faces.

Ghost in this sense. Mittens would likely see as another cat invading on her territory. And wouldn't like it. Particularly because she was small. And would always be small simply because of her existance. Being part of him. That in itself was an odd one. When he had caught up to Shiori, he flicked a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket. Took out one and then popped it in his mouth. Lighter in the other hand, all it took was one small wrist movement and the stick was alight. He took a draw. And continued walking. He hadn't had a cigarette in a long time. This was actually the same packet Shiori had bought him in that 24 hour market. Being around the girl a lot, knowing she was trying to quit. Made him cut down. But he couldn't help himself on this occassion. Call it a guilty passion.

Besides. He was an Oni. Not as if smoking was going to do him any harm.

"...Just a heads up Shiori, if we do meet your family we don't want to do anything foolish like you know....disturb the time line....unless of course....we are supposed to disturb it....in which case we'll have to make sure that we-....oh my head hurts....".

Word Count: 376
Total Word Count: 784

I hum softly as I move along the forest with an ease that comes from doing this alot. I love being in the forest. Though the past forests are a bit.... I shudder. Filled with gaint fucking spiders that like to pop out of fucking nowhere! I hate spiders so much. Ghost trots ahead and I swear the little bastard is smirking as if he heard my thoughts. Jerk. He tends to watch when I get attacked by the giant spiders.

I sigh softly and avoid a tree root. Finally Penny arrives beside me and the sweet scent of cigarette smoke drifts intot he air. I lick my lips. No. Will not give into the temptation. Won't do it. Won't. Won't. Even though the stress of yesterday makes me desparate for one. Oh fuck it. I reach over and snatch the box and lighter from him. I pluck out a cigarette and put it between my lips. I hand him the box then lift the lighter and light the end of it. The lighter is returned also and I take a light drag to taste the smoke first so i don't cough. I roll the taste around then bloow a faint trail from the side of my mouth.

I then nod at what he had said. I pull the cigarette away and a larger cloud leaves my lips. "We won't harm anything. It seems the realm has become its own timeline in a sense. The things that are happening there have not appeared in our history books. So the theory is that a parallel timeline was created."

-932

new it there was a slight movement in the corner of his eye. At first his instinctive reaction was to move, dodge an put in a hold. Kind of funny considering that only a few weeks before he'd been almost inept at martial arts. Now he was progressing through Judo and Muay Thai faster than his instructors had ever seen anyone. Almost as if he had a natural talent for that kind of thing. Well he upposed it might be an Oni thing. Naturally good at the arts of death and pain. But of course he noticed that it was just her. Making a grab for his cigarettes. He'd never really seen someone make a grab for something so quickly in his life. It seemed that, temptation had now finally broke her. And with all the stress of her life. She was finally giving in and cracking under the pressure.

Oh well. These things happened. The stress of yesterday and this an that. Along with the fact she was going to become the boss of the Kyro corperation. She could have prbably used a bit of a stress reliever. And thats when she brought up the od complexities of the whole traveling into the past thing. So apparantly even if they screwed the time line it wouldn't effect how things were in the present. Creating a srt of alternate, or parallell universe. Interesting.But it didn't make his head ache go away. One idea was as complex as the other.

" Interesting...".

He puffed out his own cloud of smoke following her. Gesturing to the cigarette in her hand. " Couldn't resist eh?".

Word Count: 274
Total Word Count:1058

The taste on my tongue. The sweet peace I feel as the nicotine invades my body. Oh this is just what I needed. I know I quit a while back. But fuck.. Even I deserve this little sin of mine. Though I'm a bit more partial to slender Muriel cigars. They are also a bit more healthy than cigarettes. But I can't be picky right now. I put the cig back to my lips as he suddenly teases me. I give him a glare, though its more playful than anything else. I flip him off and continue walking.

"Shut it," I grumble around the cigarette. I pull it free from my lips as I finally come to a stop near the portal. I look around, seeing if any Div12 are around. I blow out the smoke from my lips before replacing the cig back between them. "Coast is clear it seems," I say, getting use to having a cigarette in my mouth and talking at the same time. I move closer and point to the pool ahead. "Come on," I say as I approach. Ghost is at the edge of the water. He looks like he doesn't want to. But he knows this is the way back to the place with the fun things to chase and prey on. I stand with him and finish my cigarette. I savor the last of the smoke in my mouth then release it into the air. I drop the cig and grind it under the heel of my boot. I hold out my hand to Penny then. "We can go at the same time if you want. Its a bit of an odd sensation when you travel."

-1216

He gave out the slightest of smirks as the girl told him to shut up. Clearly this wasn't something that she was particularly happy about breaking. But at the same time had a sense of needing it. No. Deserving it.And he couldn't blame her for something like that. He was still awfully confused about this whole time travel business and had no idea how they were going to go about it. However. Shiori seemed to have an idea of how it was going to work. So he stopped, she was finishing her cigarette and looked as if she was savouring it. Pennywise had to wonder. Would this be her last cigarette. Merely a bump on the road or would she like to start smoking again? Only time would tell. Penny took one last draw of his own and tossed it to the ground. Time to get serious and start the jump it would seem.

Mittens was rather nervous about this whole thing, she would pace back and forth on Shiori's shoulders before dropping down to the ground. She travels around Pennys feet before satting between them. Pennywise looks over at Shiori's hand. " Going at the same time as you?...". He smirked and took her hand.

" Tempting offer...Very tempting...But alas boss lady...business to attend to...".

Word Count:218
Total Word Count:1276

He slips his hand into my own and I find myself laughing softly at his perverted tease. He is always making me laugh it seems. "Oh hush," I say to him and my eyes flick down to Mitens. She is not going to like this. Ghost hated it the first time also. I sigh softly and without realizing I lace my fingers together with Penny's. I reach down and pluck up Mittens by the scuff of her neck. "Ghost. Go." Is all I say to the large tom cat. He looks at me and its almost as if he nods. I then toss Mittens to the center without warning and Ghost leaps through the air and follows her falling form.

I tug on Penny and then leap, probably dragging him by our linked hands toward the spot I know will take us back. [HAerial] My feet hits the water and instantly I feel the pull and I gasp as we are sucked in through the portal and leave our world behind us. I try and hold onto Penny as long as I can. But then I am surfacing and spitting out a mouthful of water. I stand, the water hardly waist deep. I shake my head and begin to head out of the water, the sun shining warmly above us. Ghost is on the shore, shaking out his fur. "Well... That was one hell of a trip," I chirp, already happier now that we are here in this lovely place.

-1466

Mittens!

He didn't get a second to really respond to what shiori had done before she pulled him in after her. For a second he suddenly felt very wet. And cold. He didn't open his eyes. He just kind of floated there for a few secons. Thinking that, in part of his mind, this past few weeks must have just been another part of the dream and that he'd never really woken up. That he was back within the ocean. Falling. Falling down. He was scared to find out the truth of the matter. However, he then realised how foolish he was being by refusing to open his eyes. He did so and then felt even more foolish as he popped up above the water. There was water in his mouth that he pooled at his lips and then shot out in a mild stream.

He felt a sudden minor stabbing pain in his back. Arching it slightly as Mittens crawled up his back. Claws into his clothes and skin up onto his head. "....Ouch...". The kitten was shivering. Shaking. Fur all wet. She was looking accusingly at Shiori. Penny pulled out his cigarettes. Packet was soaked. Ruined. And he doubted he'd find anymore till they got back. " Well....that was...fun...". He trudged towards the shore where Shiori's cat was waiting for them. " Mittens doesn't seem to impressed though....". He lifted the kitten off his head. And then put her down on the beach. Looking wet and miserable.

"...Awww....poor girl...".

Word Count:251
Total Word Count:1527

I step onto the shore and wring out my hair, the sun warm on our backs. Its was a good day to come. It feels like summer here. Which means we won't get sick from this little 'dip'. I giggle as Ghost continues to shake out his fur and then begins the job of using his sandpaper tongue to smooth his fur back out. I turn to look at Penny and cover my mouth as I snicker at the look Mittens is giving me. Both of them look so miserable.

"Oh please.. You both will be fine. Its water.. Mittens you're a tough girl," I say and put my back pack on the ground. There is a reason I had gotten water proof gear. I tug off my shirt and wring the water out of it then snap it out to make sure I don't wrinkle it too much. I crack my neck and go into my bag for a dry shirt. I turn my back to Penny and I don't even see as Ghost comes closer to me and glares at the oni.

I get my bra off and quickly change myself. At least I'm dry on the top. My jeans with dry in a couple of hours in this heat. I sling the back pack onto my back again and hang my shirt and bra off of it so they can dry. I smile. "There is a change of clothes in your pack. Just change your shirt. Jeans don't take long to dry," I say to him and turn away from him to give him a bit of privacy.

-1736