Dura's Growing Problem


Started on: July 11, 2000
Starring: Dura Materyo, Michiru/Sailor PeaceKeeper, Nephrite, Zoisite Tashande/Knight Nuclear, Queen Beryl, and Rikko/Earth Knight.

Kenchi Ahirakato walked down the hall to the teachers' lounge, craving a cup of coffee. He had to go over the quiz he was going to spring on the history students. He wondered why he didn't see 'Melvin' try to sneak in before the school officially opened; he usually made his way in from the other students to read in the library. Since the guy was an easy target for school gangs, and never caused any trouble (at least until the speeches), the teacher usually looked the other way. He wondered why Melvin had missed his third day this month... he'd have a valid excuse note, as usual, but any absence from school was highly irregular. Then he heard heavy footfalls dash down the hall. Looking out, Mr. Ahirakato thought he saw a student's skirt dart off to the girl's restroom.


"So anyway," Michiru said fixing her hair in the mirror, chatting with another girl who was in the bathroom with her. "After that he just stiffened up and won't even tell me what's wrong with him. Shame, too, cause he was really good in bed." She put her brush away and took another glance in the mirror.
The other girls in the bathroom just nodded and muttered a few comments. Michiru started for the door and accidently hit the person coming through. "Oh, sorry aobut that." she said.
The bumpee didn't respond or even pause. She kept going and dashed into the nearest stall. Then Michiru heard her drop on her hands and knees and vomit violently with a "Blreahrrahg!"
As she knelt and heaved, a small brown bottle fell and rolled to her sneakers. Finally, she stopped, and let out a small groan, and still hovered over the bowl just to make sure. When nothing else came up, she slowly rose. And rose. Finally upright, the girl stood at six feet, two inches tall. Wiping off her mouth and chin, she turned to Michiru. "I'm sorry myself," she apologized, as she reached for the brown bottle and picked it up. Then she ducked out and headed for class. She ducked down the halls, and finally let herself into the classroom. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "Felt a little queasy." Mr. Ahirakato looked at her. "Just don't make it a habit, Dura." He turned to the class. "Students, we have a new transfer student with us." She turned to face them with a shy smile. She stood a notch or four taller than the teacher. "Hello, my name is Dura Materyo. Glad to be here." And she bowed her top-heavy frame a bit in salute.
Jeremy kept his one eye level and calm, expressionless... yet another transfer. He wanted to sigh, but that went against the image he projected. Between youma attacks, fights, and everything else he kept forgetting just how many students kept transferring in. He flexed his single gloved hand and simply focused pass the attention and to his mission, defeat the Dark Kingdom and protect the Senshi.
Michiru entered the classroom just after the introductions were given. She looked at the new girl and sighed. She wasn't going to tell the new girl's secret, but this couldn't be ignored. She sat down beside Dura. "Hey, meet me at lunch so we can talk," she said and smiled warmly.
Dura stopped staring inconspicuously at Jeremy (he looked sort of cute in his own way... from his neat side, anyhow), turned to Michiru, and nodded appreciatively. The teachers came and went, and classes went by fairly typically. Dura wrote down the notes thoroughly, as if every burp and sneeze they said was going to be on the test. Finally, lunch came. Everyone took off for the cafeteria or outside quickly. But not Dura. She trudged off, as if she were just sentenced to the gallows. Picking a nearby shade tree to sit by and lean on, she pulled a water bottle from her lunch kit, and started gulping. Then she spotted Michiru. She called out, and beckoned to her. "Hey! How about some free goodies? I can't finish it all off!"
Michiru sat down and shook her head. "Listen, I'm not going to lecture you about this, but I'm not about to let this pass without something being said." She then took a deep breath. "You are thinner than I am, what the hell do you need to diet for!"
Zoisite slumped down on a bench, yawning tiredly. One hand rose to scratch at the bite marks lining his shoulders and throat, well concealed by the high necked shirt he wore. He was going to have to say something to Kunzite or Nephrite about the teeth... whichever of them it was that bit him this time. Raking back his crimson blonde locks of hair, he frowned faintly at the two girls. Something about them was familiar.
"Thinner?" Dura demanded. "Thinner?! Are you lying, stupid, insulting me, or all of the above?" She stood up, and from the ground Michiru saw how massive her new acquaintence really was. Her body was curvy, and heavy. While hourglass-shaped, pleasantly proportionate, and not at all like Roseanne's, it was definitely thicker than Michiru's. Dura was no Calvin Klein waif. "My legs are as thick as Greek columns!" she groused. "My dad says you could build an empire on them! And look at my hips and bottom! I've been jogging, doing aerobics, drinking nothing but water and vitamins, and they won't go away!" She slid down to a seated position. "I've tried every diet under the sun, starving myself, I've even gone to the temple and prayed to every god... but nothing works!" She started crying. "I just keep getting bigger and bigger!"
Michiru shook her head. "That's your problem." she replied, motioning her to sit. "You've got it stuck in your head that you are unattractive and that you'll never loss weight. Once you stop worrying about it... stop thinking about it and living then it will turn out for the better." she said taking a swallow of her drink. "Now, know what you need...?" she asked with a smile.
"Ten million yen and a plane ticket to a spa in L.A.?" Dura answered, trying to smile. "And attractive, shmattractive. Boys are the least of my worries. I just want to stop bumping into the walls and door jambs wherever I go."
Tashande sighed, standing in front of his locker. His face was dull and sagging from lack of sleep. To say he lacked it wasn't really accurate; he actually got plenty of hours in. The problem was the dreams. He couldn't stand them. The flash of light followed by a blistering wall of heat mixed with sheer kinetic force... a pillar of ash rising high intothe air... people giving birth to mutated babies... His hand hovered in front of the locker for a second, fearing that it would melt beneath his touch. He held his hand up in front of his face before reality came crashing back down around him. People were snickering and making retard jokes. He fought the urge to glare at them and looked away. Half he was embarrassed. Half he was afraid that their shadows would end up burned into the wall.
Michiru shook her head. "No silly. You need a tatoo! and I know this great guy that will do it for you really cheap!"
Dura's eyebrows shot up. "Tattoo?! Nuh-uh, no way, fuggeddaboudit! If my mom and dad ever found out, they'd kill me! Besides, I hear those things hurt!" She snapped her lunch kit closed. "And anyway... even if it was OK, I couldn't make up my mind which one."
Rikko opened his eyes to a splitting headache. "Now where did I end up?" he muttered. He yawned and stretched his back. He suddenly felt himself lose balnace and fell off of his perch in the tree branch over the two girls. He landed face down in the grass, just behind Dura. He felt like he broke one rib and the rest felt like they were just gone. He looked up and saw last night's bed and said, "I should have known. A tree." as he chuckled in pain. He saw the two girls next to him and said, "Sorry for dropping in like this."
Michiru looked over her shoulder and giggled. "look, Dura, its raining men!" she exclaimed and pulled Rikko over to them. "Now, give me your honest opinion..do you think my friend here is attactive?" She then put her arms around Dura and gave Rikko a look that said *Answer wrong and the tree will be your breakfast.*
Rikko brushed himself off and thought, *Yeah, for the Jolly Green Giant's Daughter..*, but saw Michiru's look and said, "Well, she's the best looking girl I've seen since I've gotten in this country." He hoped that his comment wouldn't increase his fiber content for the morning. He never was very good with women and had never been very lucky with the ones that he did get. Memories of Terri and Sarah flood his mind and the hell returned to him. He shook his head and returned to reality and said, "If I had any money, I'd ask if she was doing anything tonight."
Dura twitched a little by Michiru's draping her arms on her like that. And her face didn't mask the smirk that said, *Uh-huh. Who you kidding, Rikko?* Still, she dried her eyes from crying. "Thanks. Well, I'll tell you for free. Right after school, I gotta truck right home and help my mom and dad around our garden shop. We need to unload some stuff that came in on delivery." She folded her arms with a smile. "Of course, if you could use a little quick cash, I think my dad MIGHT spare some yen for some extra help." *Hard work,* she thought. *As my dad says, it sifts the good folks from the riff-raff.*
"Well, if it will help you, then I'll do it even if I don't get paid. Besides, if there is one thing that I'm used to is hard labor. I'll meet you around here at that gate after school. Then, that way, if you don't want to see me, just leave. I'll hang for a while and then if I don't see you, I'll leave." said Rikko. His stomach growled so loud, that people turned to look at the monster... "I just wish I had something to eat..." he said as his face truned red from all the attention.
"Well, try this," said Dura, offering her lunch kit. "I'm so tanked up on water, I can't finish it off." It was a miniature treasure trove of rice, with strawberries, green beans, carrot sticks, bean sprouts, small orange slices, and all sorts of other fruits and vegetables. "I hope you can show up, too," she said to Michiru. "I'd like to take a look at your tattoo guy when we're done. JUST a look, OK?"
Rikko looked at the lunch, drooling about a gallon a minute. "Thank you," he said as he took the kit and started to inhale everything. He looked up as they mentioned tattoos and said, "Tattoos? Heh, been there done that." He pulled his arms out of his jacket and let it fall to the floor with a flop and lifted his shirt to reveal his back to them. A rather large tattoo of a demonic looking jester riding a black winged pegasus on his shoulder. The entire thing was about a foot square. "What ya think?" he asked.
"Not as cute as mine." Michiru replied. She pulled down the shirt of her uniform to show just the top portion of her breast and a cute panda sitting in a tree. "And of course I don't mind taking you by to meet Bubba. And right now he's having a two for one special so we can both get tattoos for the price of one." she said with a large smile.
Zoisite tilted his head curiously. A tattoo might not look bad on him either. Of course, he'd have to pay a visit to the man earlier than this little group. Slipping behind a wall, a burst of sakura and the lingering scent of cherry marked his teleporting out. Glancing up at the parlour, a grin surfaced on the angelic features. Perfect. Slipping through the door, even he was surprised at how clean the place was inside compared to the exterior. Smirking faintly, he looked over the drawings they had on the walls, trying to decide on one. Bubba finally emerged, eyeing the little pipsqueak that was in his shop. Tiny fella, pretty like a girl. Probably going to be a bleeder too. Why would someone that looked as if he barely weighed a hundred pounds want a tattoo? The sakura glanced up at the man, pointing to one of a starfield. "Can you do this one? With ice shards mixed in with the stars? And an outline of a heart in the centre?" The tattooist peered at the design and nodded. With the black background, that was going to hurt like Hell, something he informed the little guy of. The male merely shrugged. Heading into the back, he began to work... constructing a picture of a night sky full of falling stars, ice crystals raining with them on what looked like a darkened heart shape. Very pretty all in all as it sat across one shoulder of the boy's back. Odd that he insisted on baring so little of his skin, the rest of his shoulders kept hidden, something under there pushing at the material. A back brace or something of the like the artist assumed. Small punctures dotted the boy's shoulders with the outlines of teeth. Seems whoever pretty boy's bedmate was, he liked to play rough. Caught up in the exotic scent of fresh cherries about the boy, Bubba leaned down to brush his lips across the silken seeming skin. Zoisite smiled darkly. This had been what he'd been waiting for. Few could resist the pheremones mixed with his scent when he wished it. As contact was made, dark energy surged... the artist would make a lovely youma for when the others came. Rising and checking over the bandage across the new tattoo, the sakura brushed a single kiss across Bubba's rough lips. Even a youma deserved a bit of a reward... especially if he collected those kid's energy. Stepping out of the shop, he whistled happily to himself, on his way to the garden shop to get some flowers for dinner... and show his new tattoo to Kunzite and Nephrite.
Rikko put his shirt back down as he peered at Michiru's panda. Not so much of a look of 'Nice breast' but more of, 'didn't that hurt like hell?' He caught himself staring. "Well, mine was more of a rite of passage, but I don't think that it matters to them anymore..." he trailed off, remembering his dead gang members. His eyes were shaded by his hair as he stared down at the empty tray. He realized that everyone was looking at him and then looked up and said, "But I couldn't impose on someone to pay for me like that, free or not, besides, I don't think I could pick just one." He noticed her ear and nose peircings. "You got those peircings too. Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before? There can't be two people with those things like that?" he asked Michiru, "And by the way, I didn't even catch your names."
"Dura Materyo," said Dura. "And yours is?" That's when the school bell rang. "Yikes! Gotta get back to class! Catch you later!" And she bounded off for the main building to her room.
Michiru smiled. "That's not the only thing I got pierced, but I'm not allowed to show you on school campus." she said proudly. "Anyway, I'm Michiru..gotta get to class. See you after school?" she asked and was gone.
Rikko's eyes nearly popped out when he heard what Michiru said about her piercings. He regained himself and yelled, "The name's Rikko Saki. See ya later!" He watched Michiru leave and thought, *I wonder if she's that chick from '50 Bucks' that has the hoop in her.....* *That's sick man!* thought Keikko. *Yeah, you're right, but it would be fun to see 'em.* thought Rikko. Keikko thought, *Here I am working all night making money, and you want to go chase some chick you just met?* *Well, why not, you do?* thought Rikko in rebuttal. *Well, just check you pocket, dumbass.* retalliated Keikko. Rikko slowly reached in his inside jacket pocket and pulled out six wallets. *No wonder I can't feel my ribs.* thought Rikko, *So when did you start this?* *Well that movie was right. If you gonna toss 'em in the river, may as well rob they ass.* thought Keikko. *Oh. Well, looks like I can at least get a bath after I train a bit.* thought Rikko. *You gonna train here?* thought Keikko. *Well, actually I'm a bit surprised that some truant officer hasn't seen me. I mean with my backpack, my age and my rouge look, I'm a dead ringer for a deliquent.* thoguht Rikko. *Look again, baka.* thought Keikko. As Rikko snapped back to reality, he saw a man with a bamboo sword over his shoulder, dressed in a suit. *Tme to leave!* thought Rikko as the man started to ask about Rikko's tardyness. He took off to his right in a dead run. *WRONG WAY STUPID! THAT GOES INTO THE SCHOOL!* thought Keikko. Rikko ran into the school and was ducking halls left and right. *I could take this guy, but I don't want to cause a scene.* he thought. *QUICK, IN THERE!* thought Keikko. Rikko dashed into a tiled room. As he looked around, he saw bathroom stalls and sinks, but no urinals and thankfully, no girls. *Don't tell me I'm in the girls room! Hey, Keikko. Can you read Japaneese?* thought Rikko. *Hell no!* he thought in a matter-of-fact voice. Rikko was ready to leave when he heard the truant officer saying through the door, "I think he went down this hall." Rikko's eyes widened and he dashed into the last stall, closed the door and stood on the toilet. *Oh great, now what?* thought. *I dunno about you, but I'm taking a nap.* thought Keikko, and his presence was gone, leaving Rikko near crying and nervous.
While Rikko waited out his dilemma, Dura waited out hers. She knew that she hadn't eaten anything since the breakfast she tossed earlier, but her stomach was still pretty unsettled. At least it would stop her from eating anything else. She wished she could refill her bottle. She waited out the clock, listening to the lessons, waiting for the day's last bell.
Michiru primped her hair just as the last bell rang. She quickly made her way outside and waited for Dura or Rikko to show up. She put on a large smile as she waited.
It took a few minutes, as the majority of students filed out. About one Merrie Melodies cartoon later, Dura dashed up. She'd changed from her school uniform to her street clothes: a relaxed fitting flaxen long-sleeve blouse, forest green shorts, and brown-black hiking boots. She carried a duffel bag with her books and other clothes. "Sorry, had stop at the gym," she apologized. "Thanks for accompanying me. Where's Rikko?"
Rikko had heard the commotion outside the room and sat tight. He decided to just run as he heard the last of the crowd go past. He dashed out the stall and out the door and pushed through the tail end of the crowd and made his way toward them and said, "Sorry, I got lost inside the school." He was out of breath a bit and bent over. He caught his breath in a few seconds and said, "Ready to go?" He looked at Dura and thought, *And who says that a voice in a head only tells people to kill other people?*
"Been there," Dura said to Rikko. "Well, better get back home, maybe we can beat my Dad home." And with bag slung over her shoulder, she started to run.
Rikko nodded and said, "Yeah, maybe we can suprise him." He looked at Dura and thought, *Why does this seem so weird? It's just like that Martial Arts lesson at that Dojo.*
Michiru grabbed Dura's arm and started pulling her in the opposite direction. "Not so fast, remember. You said you'd go to the tatoo place with me." she said with a smile.
Dura smiled back. "I also said I had to go STRAIGHT back to my folks' shop and unload stuff first. Priorities." And she kept running, carrying Michiru behind her like a tote bag. She was quite strong. It was quite a few blocks, but they finally arrived at a modest greenhouse with a variety of flowers and vegetable plants. Inside, a gruff-looking man in overalls and a baseball cap glanced up at Rikko and Michiru. "No change without purchase," he muttered curtly. "Oh, Sho, you got the manners of a goat!" said the woman seated at the register. "They're with Dura, anyhow." She brightened up. "Hi, kids! What can I do for ya?" "Mom!" Dura beamed as she went behind the counter. Dura's mom rolled over to her daughter. That was the students saw her in the wheelchair.
Rikko looked at the scene for a second. "Hmm, in a wheelchair?" he said in a low voice that only he and Michiru would be able to hear. "Any thoughts, Michiru-san?" he whispered.
Michiru hurriedly whispered back. "Don't make any indication of it. treat her normally." She then walked up to Dura's mother. "I'm Michiru, its so nice to meet you." she said with a bright smile extending her hand.
"Same here," said Dura's mother, as she gave a motherly grip and lively grin back. "I'm Yumiko. Yumiko Materyo. Welcome to the shop. You must be Dura's classmates." Dura's dad harrumphed a little as he eyed the two, particularly Rikko's hair and Michiru's piercings. "You'll have to excuse Dura, kids," he said. "We got a big load of stuff in from the highlands, and we gotta unload it while we got daylight."
Michiru smiled. "That's why we're here sir. To help out. Dura said she could use a hand after school so we tagged along." she replied.
Rikko pulled his hair into a ponytail and walked up to Dura's mother and said, "My name is Saki Rikko, nice to meet you." he said as he extended his hand to her. "Don't worry about unloading the stuff, with us working together, we should have it done in no time."
"We?" Dura's dad asked testily. "I don't recall asking for any help." Dura's Mom looked over after shaking with Rikko. "Aw, come on, sooner they get it done, the sooner Dura can go study." With a long sigh, he thumbed to the back. "O.K. Michi, you can help with the lighter potted stuff, Ricky, you can help me carry the bags of mulch and fertilizer." Dura sashayed over to her father and gave him a big hug. "Thanks, Daddy!" Going back to the truck trailer, he cautioned them. "Oh, remember, if you gotta pick up something heavy, keep it close to your body, and bend at the knees when you do. Don't bend at the back if you don't wanna break it. Ricko Suave, how about giving me a hand with this peat moss." And as he said that, Dura took two 30 kilo bags, shouldered them lightly like boom boxes, and toted over to a pallet.
Rikko facefaulted a bit at the butchering of his name, picturing himself with castanets and kissing a redhead, but didn't say anything about it. He went over to the truck and dropped his trenchcoat, sword and daggers inside, on the ground. He grabbed 4 bags and followed Dura's father's instructions and laid them gently on another pallet. He had never noticed it before, but his arms were stronger than the last time he had to work in the garden department before. *Must be that sword. Hell it weighs almost as much as I do. I must be getting stronger as I keep using it.* he thought as he went for more bags. This was his style of working, especially when he didn't have to count, work hard and keep your mind on something else while the work was repetitious. After finishing the fertilizer, he went to help Dura with the bags that she was carrying.
Michiru grabbed a few pots and went over to Dura. "Hey, everything alright. your dad's acting really weird." she whispered.
Dura whispered back, "How so? He's usually a grump. Ma says he really misses living out in the farmlands, and hated having to move here. Say, need me to get that pot?" And before Michiru could say yes or no, Dura picked it up and set it on top of the large bale of pine straw she held. She continued. "Also, I think he might be a little, uh, apprehensive about your, um, choice of facial decor." Just as they entered the shop's front area, they heard her backturned father mumble to no one, "Nose rings... that's kids nowadays... too many holes in their heads." Then he turned to Rikko. "Mm-hmm. Right over there. Okay, you three, one last thing, and you'll be squared away." He pushed a cart with three sacks of lawn seed. "This office complex needs this carried over to them right away. Be sure they sign the invoice, and come right back as if getting paid depended on it. 'Cause it does." Michiru recognized the office's address. The tattoo parlor was just one block away.
Michiru giggled softly to herself. "My parents said the same thing when they saw me, but they got over it very fast. Come on!" she said taking a load of seed and heading out the door.
Rikko shook his head and grabbed the rest of the seed, one over each shoulder. He followed Michiru out the door and looked back to see how far behind Dura was.
"Come on, you guys," Dura said. "You don't have to shoulder the seed all the way. Use the cart, that's why we got it. I need someone to show me around." And she pushed the cart out to the street. After the threesome pounded pavement for a while, she checked the city map she had, and examined the address. After squinting, she turned to Michiru. "Hey, guys, I think we're one block off course."
Rikko, who was still shouldering the two bags that he had, looked around and said, "Hey, don't look at me, I'm new here myself." He looked around at his surroundings and saw the tattoo parlor down the road. He felt memories comming back of when he got the jester on his back and what the circumstances around it were. He stood there for several minutes as memories came flooding back to him.
Michiru just smiled. "Oh don't worry, we'll get there. I just thought we'd go by the Tattoo place first and take a lookie so Dura can think about it while we deliever the stuff and then come back and get our new tatoos." she said.
Dura looked the tattoo parlor over. "I have an extrememly bad feeling about this," she muttered, as she walked over to it.
From the outside, the tattoo parlour looked like any other, a place where perhaps bikers or college boys would hang out. It was an odd clashing of cleanliness and leather decor. Inside, the tattooist was a festering youma, needles starting to grow from his fingers, a myraid of tattoos covering his flesh. Scenting food outside, he merely waited.
Zoisite wandered into the garden shoppe the senshi had so recently vacated. Eyeing Dura's parents, a dark grin touched his angelic lips. The male fairly pulsed with negative energy... the female unfortunately having the positive waves that brought the deceased Sailormoon to mind. Plotting silently, he began to look through the selection of roses.
Michiru waved away the worry with her hand. "Oh it doesn't hurt much." she said entering the shop. "Hi Bubba, I brought in a new prospective customer." she greeted.
"Uh," said Dura, "it's not the pain." She looked around at the side of city life her father had warned her about several times over... the leather, the designs, the previous clientelle... and a simply very bad premonition. "Guys, my parents would kill me if they knew I was here. This was not a good idea."
Back in the garden shop, Dura's mother looked up from the register to note Zoisite. Seeing her husband close in, she simply wheeled over to the books and the phone. Dura's dad came in from behind. He was more friendly this time, especially since Zoisite appeared neater and better groomed, if leather-clad. "Hi, there, little lady," he said very nicely. "Anthing imparticular I can help you find?"

Michiru waved away the worry. "Don't worry Dura, it will be alright." she said with a giggle. "Loosen up just a tad."

Part II