At Belle's... I mean... Ko-

(NOOR: Dammit, Kogure, can't I just call you Belle?

KOGURE: *shakes head* Gomen...

NOOR: *sigh*)

At Kogure's cottage…

"Otousan! Are you alright? Where are you?" Kogure called out as soon as he entered the cottage. His eyes widened when he took in the sight of the upturned furniture and cracked walls.

"I'm here!" an arm suddenly shot out of a pile of charred metal.

Kogure hurriedly ran towards the waving arm and proceeded to tug his father out of the mess. The coach was a fat man with white hair, sporting a white moustache and a pair of glasses, its stem hanging on one ear. If he was a bit slimmer he'd look like the KFC colonel.

"What happened?" asked Kogure as he helped his father to his feet and began dusting some soot off of him.

"I was trying to make a machine which can pass basketballs at a speed and random style where the person using it can practice his reflex skill very effectively," replied the coach straightening his glasses to settle back on his nose.

"And…" prompted Kogure waving at the chaos which was their home.

"And…umm…Ho! Ho! Ho!…I miscalculated the strength and speed of the machine," replied his father, looking rather abashed, "some nuts must be loose."

Kogure sighed as he started picking the balls up one by one before putting up the furniture back in place.
As he was sweeping up the cottage he asked Coach Anzai, "So, are you still going to that Unconventional Basketball Convention?"

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Of course I am, my boy! 'Never would miss it for the world!"




*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day was a wet day when Kogure bundled his father with enough food and drinks and warm clothes before sending the coach away for the convention.

Later:

Coach Anzai sat silently as he thought about things other people, especially other coaches; wish they know of, as the cart rolled down the pathway leading away from the town and his cottage. Then up ahead he was surprised to see that the path forked. One leads to a sunny, safe looking area while the other looked gloomy and dangerous.

"Hm, appearances can be deceiving and so it won't be what it is meant to be. So let's pick the dark path, eh, boy?" said the coach, leading his horse towards the dark path.

Unfortunately for him, for that situation appearances is what it is meant to be. The path kept on being gloomy and dark and the wind started to pick up, blowing the coach's cloak all around his body. Coach Anzai clutched his cloak tighter as he urged the horse faster along the path until they soon reached a looming castle which was surrounded by a tall metal fence. The tall building looked dark and forbidding but since a storm was about to come and there were no other houses in sight he decided to stop and see if he can find shelter there. Jumping off of the cart, he began to push the front gates open when suddenly a loud thunderclap filled the air and the skitterish horse galloped away in fear.

"Wait! … oh, dear," he said in dismay. Seeing that he was stuck there at the moment he went back on working the gates to open and when it did with a squeak of rusty hinges, he ran to the castle for the rain has started pouring. Reaching it, he began knocking on the door. No answer came and so thinking it might be abandoned, he pushed at the heavy door, surprised that it wasn't locked. Opening it wide enough for him to enter, he cautiously walked in.

"Hello, anybody here," Coach Anzai called out as he walked along a dark corridor, even under the assumption that no one was there besides himself.

Unbeknowest to him, just around the corner of the corridor, a group of objects were clustered together peeking at the stranger in their dwelling.

"Who can that be?" asked the first object, a feather duster.

"Maybe it's a burglar," whispered the second object, a teacup.

"Oh dear," gasped the feather duster.

"Don't worry Haruko! I'll protect you!" declared a loud voice.

"SHHHHH!!!"

"Wh-who's there?" demanded Coach Anzai in the darkness. When he heard no reply he continued to grope for any object that he can light to guide his way through the darkness.

A few metres away, a candelabra was quickly turning blue before the other objects released their…er…hands from his mouth.

"Will you shut up!" hissed the teapot.

The candelabra scowled.

"Oh, I haven't served a visitor in ages!" the teapot remarked, a little teacup jumping excitedly beside it. "Let's make him at home, shall we?"

"Do you think we should?" said the feather duster worriedly.

"Yeah! The prince wouldn't like it at all," said the small teacup.

"Oh, he won't have to know! Come on, it'll be fun to have a guest in this castle again," the teapot said happily, "isn't that right, Rukawa-kun?"

The clock just shrugged in reply.

"Alright, so let's get to it!"

Coach Anzai was still groping for something to light when suddenly he saw a dim light just starting to glow behind a corner. He quickly, but carefully, walked towards the source of light and was relieved to see a candelabra perched on top of a wooden shelf.

He gratefully picked it up but he nearly dropped it when a voice greeted him, "Konbanwa!"

"Who's there?" demanded to old man again swinging the candelabra around to see the speaker.

"Hey! Fat, old man! Over here!"

"Where are you?"

"HEY…I'm HERE!"
Then he felt a knock on his head and looked up. He was, of course, totally unprepared to see the candelabra in his hand grinning at him smugly. The object opened its mouth to greet him again when its eyes suddenly went wide as he gasped, "Oh my GOD! It's the KFC Colonel!!"

"Ahhh!" Coach Anzai cried out dropping the candelabra for real.

"Ow!!" the candelabra yelped as it bounced once on the floor. Picking itself up from the hard ground, it rubbed its waxy and sore head and demanded, "Hey! Watcha do that for?!"

"I…I…" stammered the white-haired man.

"Oh, for cryin' out… Sakuragi!! Oh, I-I'm really very sorry, sir!"

In amazement, the old man watched as other objects begin to crowd around the candelabra. The one who had just spoken was a porcelain china teapot. It curtsied (as near as how a teapot can bend itself) and apologised again, "I am sorry for the rudeness. We really tried to find a way so that you can be less 'surprised' to see us."

"Do'aho," said the clock looking at the candelabra.

"What did you call me?!" demanded the candelabra angrily.

"Do'aho."

"Teme!!"

The teapot just sighed as the candelabra tried to hit the clock and the clock counteracted by kicking the candelabra's metal body with its wooden 'foot'.

"Let us introduce ourselves," started the teapot cheerfully.
"I am the chief maid in this castle and my name is Ayako. This one here is Haruko, my assistant." She mentioned towards the feather duster which also curtsied.

"Those two are the ministers, Rukawa Kaede, the clock and Sakuragi Hanamichi, the candelabra," the teapot continued, looking at the still fighting pair. Hanamichi was now attempting to poke the clock's eyes with its candle arm.

The teapot felt a nudge and looked down to see the teacup peering at her, "Oh yes, and this is Noor, the kitchen girl…"

"Girl? But it's a teacup," pointed out the confused man.

"Huh? Oh…er…um… Well, y'see… look, it's a long story and I'll tell it to you later."

"Ohoho! Fine."

A few minutes later, the teapot had easily made Coach Anzai feel at home. She had him sit on an armchair, his feet propped on a foot chair as she poured some warm tea from her snout into the hollow insides of the teacup's body. The candelabra was trying to tell some jokes to his amused audience as the feather duster giggled. The clock just… tick-tocked.

"Hihihihihihihii..." giggled Noor, "his moustache tickles!"

"Oh! Ho! Ho! Ho!" laughed Coach Anzai putting the china cup away from his mouth.

Suddenly a growl rumbled nearby. The feather duster shook with fear while the candelabra stood in front of her trying to look brave but failing miserably as his knees (actually the stem of the candelabra) shook. Hanamichi wasn't afraid - it's just that he is only less than 2 feet high at the moment. The clock merely raised and eyebrow and continued to tick-tock. The teapot and the teacup groaned, "Oh shit…"

Coach Anzai turned around and saw in the shadows a pair of fierce looking eyes glaring angrily at him. Suddenly the thing bounded out of the shadows and to his horror, he came face to face with a terrifying looking beast.

"What are you doing here?!" roared the beast circling the white-haired man like a tiger to a deer.

(NOOR: A 'fat' deer

HANAMICHI: *snicker*

MITSUI: Oi! Give some respect for Anzai-sensei!)

"Wait a minute…" started the beast, stopping in front of the man, his eyes growing wide, "I think I know you. Aren't you…"

"The KFC Colonel!"

"Shut up!" roared the beast.

The candelabra humphed but did shut his mouth.

(HANAMICHI: I would never cower before Micchy!

NOOR: Of course not Hana-kun *pats Hanamichi's arm*, but it's just how the story goes, ok?

HANAMICHI: *blush* Hmph!)

The beast turned back towards the man and continued, "You're Coach Anzai, aren't you?"

"Why, yes I am," the coach replied, smiling slowly as he extended his hand towards the beast, "and you are…"

"Oh wow!" the beast gushed shaking the man's hands vigorously making Coach Anzai's spectacles to slip down his nose, "I have heard so much about you! Your unconventional basketball techniques are amazing and brilliant!"

(MITSUI: I gush?

NOOR: You really do respect the coach a lot.

MITSUI: yeah, but… GUSH?!)

Suddenly the beast remembered his manners and introduced himself, "Oh! I'm sorry! My name is Prince Mitsui Hisashi. I am a big fan of yours! Since I've heard about you I've dreamed of meeting you! I've seen your pictures in the newspapers' sports column!"

The coach laughed, "Ho! Ho! Ho! I'm pleased. Do you play?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Hm… when the weather lets up, you can show me your skills and I'll give you my advice in areas you might be weak in," suggested the white-haired man.

"You will? That would be great!"

Pulling up a chair beside the one his guest was occupied in, the beast began to go on and on to talk about basketball while the living objects looked at their master's animated behavior in wry amusement.

"Whell…" said the teacup finally, "that went well than what we had expected…"

~to be continued~

P/S: Hmmm... I think Ansai-sensei's behaviour is kinda off in this fic *ponders*