The creaking of a door opening sounded from behind him. Shukaku quickly shook off his silly 'smile' and looked up to the east wing.
"Here she comes!" Kankuro excitedly said. A wooden like clopping came down the stairs showing it only to be a very nervous and guilty looking Deiara.
"Oh, uh konbonwa, master, Temari-san, Matsuri-san, Kankuro-san." Baki softly muttered to them as she bowed her upper body. The Ichibi went from somewhat pleasantly expected to enraged.
"Where *hic* is she?" Shukaku growled. The stout clock was looking at its stands/feet and popped up her head as ifs he were just then paying attention.
"Who?" Deiara asked, trying to stall, "Oh, the girl. Yes, the, er girl...Well, actually, she's in the process of...well, the circumstances, being what they are is that," The demon ferociously glared at him. "She'snotcoming!" Deiara quickly finished.
"WHAT!" the raccoon-dog's thunderous snarl echoed through-out the large room. The demon sprang out of his chair in rage, knocking it down, and ran up the wide set of stairs leading to the ballroom and then to the right to the East Wing. The objects struggled to follow him.
"Your Highness! Master, please! let's not be too hasty!" Deiara and Kankurou yelled to him, stumbling as he charged ahead. Jessica had been staring out her balcony when she heard noises coming from the hallway. She went inside her room and closed the balcony door. The beast came to the girl's door and banged on it with his sand-yellow fists.
"I thought I *hic* told you to come down to dinner!" Shukaku barked.
"I'm not hungry!" came a muffled female voice. He slowly and angrily exhaled.
"You *hic* will come out or I'll...I'll break down the door!" snarled the master of the castle. He felt a small tug on his haori and looked down.
"Master, I could be wrong, but I really don't think this is the best way to win a girl... this girl's affection." Kankuro said to him as Shukaku stamped out the fire on his black and red haori. Shukaku's eyes became all watery and shiny.
"But she's being so...difficult!" he excused.
"Please! At least try to be a gentleman. That ronin Orochimaru is more polite than you are!" Temari pleaded. He sighed, turned around to face the white double doors.
"Will you come down to dinner?" a dejected Ichibi asked. He heard a light thump against the doors.
"No!" Jessica yelled, she had thrown a pillow at the wooden obstacle separating the two. He looked down to the household objects looking like a chibi, his eye's saying 'SEE?!'
"Be suave, gentlemanly, charming..." Kankuro said with gestures of his arms with each word. Shukaku nodded and turned away.
"It *hic* would be to my honor and great pleasure if you would join me for dinner, madam." he said, bowing his upper body to the door.
"Ahem...say please!" whispered Deiara.
"...Please." he finished as a sweat-drop formed by his head. Several seconds passed before the Jessica replied.
"No, thank you." Jessica said, surprised that he said those things.
"You can't stay in there forever." he softly said, trying to be comforting.
"Yes I can!" she childishly said. Shukaku's 'nice' mask was obliterated within less than a second and he became his old usual self: bitter, cold-hearted, selfish, and angry!
"Fine then! Suit yourself! Go ahead and STARVE!" he snapped. He whirled around to the objects and ordered, "If she doesn't eat with me, then she doesn't eat AT ALL!" Shukaku ran down the hall, ate the prepared dinner, grew bigger, and then down the stairs, slamming the door shut with a loud bang behind him. A statue jiggled around and fell next to Kankuro who stood shocked in place before slowly scooting away.
"Well that went well, didn't it?" Temari sarcastically said.
"No it didn't!" said a shocked Matsuri. The other objects wavered to a side and would have fallen down if it will not have endangered their welfare.
"Kankuro-san, stand watch at the door and inform me at once if there's the slightest change!" Deiara ordered. The candlestick hobbled over to the door and bowed.
"You can count on me, teichou(captain)!" the 15 year old candlestick said.
"Well, it's best I should be going downstairs to clean up." Deiara said, turned around and waddled down the hallway.
-Shukaku's Room-
The sand-yellow beast was knocking down and destroying various things in his path of fury and of rage.
"I ask *hic* kindly and I practically bowed to her, but she still refuses! What a...what the hell does she want me to do--beg?!" he hissed to himself.
Shukaku turned to a large circular mirror that lay on its back on a table he had in the room. In the middle of the mirror was a small mound of sand. He picked up a dagger and slit it across his forefinger just enough to make it bleed a bit rather than a whole lot. He flicked his finger over the sand and as soon as a droplet of blood made contact with the broken down mineral, the sand began to swirl around the rose red liquid. The swirling sand spiraled into a sphere, faster and faster, and when the spinning stopped an eyeball with a brown iris took its place.
"Show me the girl." the raccoon-dog demon said to it. The iris and pupil contracted then dilated to normal. In the mirror the eyeball hovered over he saw the purple-haired beauty talking to her wardrobe.
"Why the master is not so bad once you get to know him," Akane, the wardrobe chided the young woman, "Why don't you give him a chance?" Jessica turned her back to the furniture piece and folded her arms.
"I don't want to get to know him and I don't want to have anything to do with him!" she bitterly remarked.
Shukuku tenderly mumbled, "I'm just kidding myself. She'll never see me as anything more than a... a raccoon-dog demon. Zetsubou. It's hopeless." A red petal brushed by his foot as he sadly looked down. He downheartedly fell to his knees before the short table and rested his face in his paws.
-Jessica's Room-
Jessica stood up from the bed and apologized to Akane for being rude and tip-toed to the door. She put her forefinger to her lips to signal the wardrobe to be silent as she slowly wedged the door open. She silently emerged from her room and walked down the hallway to her left. From under a table with a long cloth over it a light could be seen under it.
"Oh, dear!" giggled a mischievous female voice.
"Oh, yes!" said a familiar male's.
"Oh, no!" Anko childlishly said.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes my sweet dumpling!" laughed Kankuro.
"I've been burnt by you before!" the woman warned him. She swished out from behind the cloth followed by the candlestick. Kankuro looked up to see the young girl walking down the hallway. He punched the air, nearly catching fire to Anko's purple feathers as he brought his fist up.
"Sugoi! She has come out!" he exclaimed.
-Kitchen-
"C'mon Matsuri-chan, into the cupboard with your brothers and sisters!" Temari said as she nudged the teacup towards the cupboard.
"But I'm not sleepy Temari-oneesan!" yawned the girl.
"Yes you are."
"No, I’m...not..." she fell asleep. Temari shut the cupboard doors with her spout. A banging of pots and pans came from the frying board.
"I work and slave all day, and for what? A culinary masterpiece gone to waste!" it loudly complained.
"Shut up, it's been a long day for all of us." Temari said to her.
"Well, if you ask me," grumbled Deiara, "she was just being stubborn. The master did, after all, say 'please'."
"But if the master doesn't learn to control that temper of his, he'll never break the-," started Temari before she was cut off by Deiara. Jessica had somehow found the kitchen through aimless strolling.
To be continued...
