"Bye, Kuni-samaaaaa!!!!" Cheery already . . . as if the film had been forgotten . . . but no, he took a peek at the black screen just to make sure it hadn't lit up with static or anything in the last five seconds since he last looked. "Right, those guys at the Embassy are toast when I find them." He...

"Oh thank you, Hotaru-samaaaaa!"

The fox plushy was scooped up lovingly.

"Oh wait until you meet my Ninetails plush. You two will go great together!"

The sheer amount of sarcasm finally broke through the Derp Shield. He blinked. "Oh . . . yeah. The Embassy guys would never make a plot like this with the Crab. You're not our allies. They must be trying to blame you for this and . . . . oops, did I just ruin a political plot?" He scooped up all his...

He was about to make one of the smortest replies of his life when another random lightbulb went off.

"Oh but . . . hey wait!!! Those guys at the Embassy totally sent me here to watch this . . . . "

Eyes widened and he slid as far from Sumie as he could.

"You're in league with them!"

O_O

He stared at the screen as if trying to figure something out. Then a lightbulb went on . . . perhaps not the lightbulb they expected.

"Hey you recorded it . . . so you're going to show it to someone else!!!!!"

Hinata stands transfixed staring at the Kitsune plushie.

"Oh I would love to give you a home, Kitsune-sannnnnn!!!"

"No I'm the voice for the Bunny Drop Trooper Nousagi."

He said it like he expected her to understand.

O_O

The revelation that there wasn't going to be a good ending was rather shocking to the Crane.

"I'm in that dog pilot show and it isn't lame . . . "

Was he actually pouting? No matter he continued to watch the movie with some hope as the narrative progressed.

Amazingly, that was one the little Crane knew the answer to, with the number of interplanetary shuttles he and Usagi Drop! used.

"Stupid rules that stop me bringing all the plushies I want on a trip."

Doesn't mean he could explain it well.

The rant on children actually distracted Hinata from the movie and he stared at her for a moment wondering what she was talking about.

Then they got shushed, so he went back to being scared by the movie.

"Oh, but the air kami would totally tell you that if they knew . . . "

"Oh perfection and artisans . . . "

He thought of the Kakita Daimyo and all the pressure she put on performers to excel. She didn't really push Usagi Drop! (she did, Hinata was just too dumb to notice) though.

"I guess I can see that."

Hinata was safe in the back of his seat, behind his wall of empty cartons.

"Kids are OK, if you can give them back at the end of the day . . . "

The plot continued on towards the happy ending. It has a happy ending . . . right?

"The chicken is sooo good there and . . . "

Then Jun heard them discussing the sauce of 'death'.

"Oh yes Hotaru-samaaaaa!!! Nightshade Sauce at Kochako Fried Chicken. It's really hot. I had . . . a bit too much my first time and it . . . it was really something."

O_O

Knees drawn up to chin and just two wide blue eyes staring at the screen now. But . . . was their hope?

"Oh the priest will solve it . . . "

O_O

Well that was Hinata avoiding all screens for a week now.

"Maybe I do have to learn Jade Strike now . . . "

"I have pollen???????"

This was news to Hinata . . .

He really tried to picture the monks on Harusame as neutral and it just didn't work. The world was sooooo Crane. "Oh." He twirled his umbrella idly why pondering on this . . . or his brain had overloaded and was air venting . . . one of the two. "So if you were brought up by former Spiders, how did ...

With part of his 'Wall' removed, Hinata had resorted to blocking out half the screen with one hand.

"This is horrible . . . . oh . . . . OH . . . . "

He looked at Sumie, eyes wide open.

"We've watched the tape on the screen now . . . does that count?"

"Flowers? Oh, what kind of flowers? . . . Not ones that make her sneeze?"

He tried not to bounce.

Hinata had been occupied trying all the foods . . . the Usagi Drop! Nutritional Advisor was probably sneezing a lot right now. He nodded enthusiastically when Yamako commented on the food quality on the World of Dreams, but finished eating before replying. "Have you tried Kochako Fried Chicken, Ide-...