Wet Blanket

"Teacher!"

"Teacher, please!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"I won't do it again, I promise!"

"Please let me in!"

Throughout the mountain, the sound of somebody pounding on the door reverberated in the morning air. In fact, that door is attached to a castle at the foot of the mountain and that somebody turns out to be a boy of maybe three or four years of age. A curious scene indeed, since this boy (who by the way is named Shiine), wearing only his pajama top is bawling his head out while pounding at the door. Near him, a blanket with a decidedly wet spot right in the center of it is hung dry. One can figure out what happened.

But not Shiine. He is still confused, not knowing what on earth happened to him. He was sure he can control his bladder and all before he went to sleep last night, and the following day he just woke up on a wet bed. Shiine was angry with himself. He had learned to walk without falling when babies at the same age were still learning how to crawl and he can strike up a decent conversation when those of his age were still saying "da-da-da". His teacher Dorothy was very delighted, calling him a "precocious child" (whatever that means). That is the reason why he is so mad at himself for not doing a simple thing as controlling one's own bladder.

"Please, Teacher Dorothy, I'm sorry!"

He sat down for a moment on the pave by the castle door, his legs getting cramped standing and his arms tired from pounding at the door. Though some may not believe it, Shiine adores the crabby, quick-tempered. loud-mouthed excuse of a sorceress called Dorothy. She is the most powerful wizard of them all to Shiine (but then, she is the only wizard he knew so far). Why, she raised him all by herself, totally without help from anybody. That made him think of his own parents. What do they look like, Shiine wondered. He thought hard, trying to remember something, anything about them. But all he can come up are the sounds of clashing armor and a half forgotten lullaby.

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"I promise, I won't do it again. Please teacher!"

Hearing the plea, Dorothy sighed, looking up from the book that she's been reading. She smiled grimly. Seravi would love it if he knew what on earth I'm reading right now. Not some powerful magical spellbook or even an incantation scroll. No, it has to be a darned self-help manual with a pitiful title of "Raising Babies for Dummies"! It's not even complete, she fumed, not even one paragraph on how to teach children to use the bathroom!

She paced restlessly, simmering, lost in her thoughts. It's all that blasted Silver Knight's fault! He knew it then, when he handed me the baby. He can see the fear in my eyes and see the way I awkwardly held Shiine.

As quick as her ire for Access came, and so it quickly it dissolved. Suddenly, unbidden tears welled in her eyes. My poor Shiine, he's been robbed of his parents by an evil nobody can defeat. Such hopeless fate... She began to despair, but then angrily, she rubbed the tears in her eyes. Dorothy marched down the stairs, towards the front door. She vowed, Shiine will not grow up without hope! He will grow up into a fine young man, so help me God...

But when she opened the door, Shiine was not there.

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"Stop crying. It annoys me."

Shiine blinked, forgetting his tears altogether. He was so engrossed in bawling his head off, he didn't notice the purple-haired girl who strode purposely until she was beside him.

For a moment, they stared at each other. Whoever she is, she looks like she's a year older than him, but as mean-tempered as Teacher Dorothy is. 

"Do you know where the Goro-Goro Mountain is?"

Shiine shrugged. "I don't know."

Before the boy could back away, the girl grabbed his arm.

"Let's go!"

"Where are you taking me?", Shiine wailed.

"You're gonna help me find my way to Goro-Goro Mountains," the girl announced, dragging the scared boy away from the castle. 

They reached a curve on the road and a sign is posted at the turn. He saw the girl squint at the sign for long while. She probably already know how to read stuff, Shiine thought, envious.

Well, Shiine thought wrong.

The girl straightened, in a seemingly disinterested tone, asked, "What do this say?"

He answered timidly. "I don't know."

The girl practically exploded. "Whaddya mean you don't know?! What kind of baby are you?!"

Before Shiine could state the obvious, she rushed, "You don't want to answer that."

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Dorothy is now totally frightened. At first, she was annoyed, thinking that the little boy is playing a joke at her, some sort of revenge hide-and-seek. But after an hour of searching the castle inside and out, she went from being annoyed to alarmed. Where on earth could that boy possibly be?!

An idea hit her. Of course, the crystal ball! She ran back inside, to her room, and came out with a small transparent ball cradled in her arms. Carefully placing it in a nest of cloth, she quickly muttered a spell. The ball glowed, then dimmed. A faint spot of light suddenly grew from its center, enlarging until it clearly showed the scared face of her beloved Shiine. He is with a strange girl with violet hair looking up a sign on a road that looked very familiar. After a few moment, they went off, following the road until they disappeared from her view. Curious, she focused on the sign the two kids were looking at. It is at this time that she felt the gut-wrenching fear, after reading that warning sign that says, "BEWARE OF THE CLIFF'S EDGE."

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Shiine and the purple-haired girl reached the end of the road. Whirling around, the girl demanded, "What next?"

Shiine shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Look here, kid. I have to go to the Goro-Goro Mountain even if it's the last thing I'll d---"

Whatever she is saying is lost, as she rolled down the cliff's side. Shiine, shocked as he is, rushed to the edge and peered. In a trembling voice, he called out, "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay", the girl answered. 

Relieved, the boy looked down and saw that the girl already standing up, brushing the dirt off her dress. Indeed, she looked okay, except for some minor cuts and bruises.

Shiine was about to call out to her again when he heard a strange rustling in the shrubs nearby. His nerves already high-strung, he backed up a step. The noise stopped. He exhaled, relieved that it's nothing more than the wind, making the leaves flutter. But the rustling noise began again, louder and louder this time. Frightened, Shiine's next actions will forever haunt him as the most embarrassing thing he ever did.

He peed. And then screaming like girl, ran like a madman back to the castle.

By the time Yakko had managed to climbed back on the cliff, she could still hear Shiine's girlish screams.

"That is one scandalous kid," she muttered to the rabbit that hopped from the shrub to her.

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An hour and a half ago, the morning air as filled with the sound of somebody pounding on a door. Now it's replaced by somebody shouting. In fact, this somebody is Dorothy and the person she is looking for is Shiine.

"Shiine...Shiine darling! Where are you?", she sobbed, running down the path that she saw the two children walked in her crystal ball.

"Teacher Dorothy! Teacher Dorothy!"

She hears the faint answer coming from straight ahead.

She quickened her pace until the magician reached the boy, who is now very dirty. But Dorothy wrapped her arms around the boy, dirt and all, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Oh, Shiine, I was so worried! My darling, I'm sorry I was so angry..."

"Mother...I'm sorry too..."

They clung to each other for a while. Then Dorothy murmured,

"Shiine darling, why is your bottom wet?"


THE END (2/9/2000)
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Author's Note: If you're an ACC fan, you probably know that this fanfic is based on one ACC episode where Yakko was telling the story when she met her "Prince Seravi". I wrote this story one night when I couldn't sleep (I got a mild case of depression, 'cause I've just watched Rurouni Kenshin OAV 1-4.... Tomoeeeee... ^__^; ...Gomen...). I dunno... I felt like the story has a mild somewhat bittersweet, melancholic tone in it....but then I might be wrong...

Dorothy and Shiine's picture above is taken from Michelle's site, The Native Land of Akazukin Chacha, which imho, is one of the best ACC sites around the 'net. Michelle, if you're angry that I took this picture please mail me so I can take it off.

Please e-mail any comment and reactions, violent or otherwise, to blackbody@mailcity.com.

"The world's greatest magician, drowned in a bathtub. What an ending." --Seravi