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Chapter 9 - It's About That Time...!

Junior awoke to the new day, complete with a piercing headache. Judging by the amount of sunlight that filtered through the nearby windows, he guessed that it was close to 10 o'clock; on the morning of his Senior Prom day, no less.

"I can hardly contain myself," Junior groaned inwardly, and a bit outwardly, as well. In other words, it wouldn't be too much longer before Wendy would come to claim him, and take him through the start of "the gauntlet" that described preparing him for Prom. With that much in mind, he slowly started to stir, hoping he didn't rudely wake anybody else in the process. To his surprise, however, his brother and wartortle friend were not in their sleeping places. The twins, too, for that matter.

The safe assumption to make was that Roy and company wanted to allow Junior to catch a few more Z's for his "big day". But putting all that aside, Junior had the feeling he was missing out on something. And Junior HATED missing out on anything with every fiber of his being. Especially if it there was a possibility of food being involved!

So, Junior gently slinked his way off of the sofa he was lying on, and onto the floor. Taking a cue from his reptilian ancestors, he gently crept along the carpet, until he was presented with a nice vantage point between the sofa that Roy slept on, and a small table stationed by the near-by wall. Once he was able to get himself relatively comfortable, he wiped his eyes, allowed them to adjust and peer at what was going on across the room.

By the exercise equipment, the group had rolled out a fairly large gym mat and were actively training in proper martial arts attire. The blue wartortle, in a silver-colored gi, was leading the way. Looking at the twins, one clad in blue, the other in bright red, it was easy to see why the kids were able to take Junior down so easily on their first meeting: Billy and Jimmy were already quite accomplished martial artists. Seeing them both nail front snap-kicks that soared above their horns, right alongside their mentor, was a sight to behold.

On a sadder note, seeing the kids being so proficient in martial arts, at their tender ages, immediately brings to mind a folly on Junior's part. All the time that he had an opportunity to learn quite a bit from Roy and Hanbei himself over the last few years, and squandered it by not seeing the need for self-defense. After all, for many of his younger years, if Junior ever had a problem that needed to be solved by force, he could count on Roy and/or his "second-in-command" to handle it for him. But after so many years of being spoiled by practical invulnerability on school grounds, the shock of having that safety blanket ripped away (following the duo's High School graduation), didn't actually hit the young Koopa until later. Specifically, with the "Calvin Incident" that occurred his Freshman year.

Calvin Delaney. Now THAT was a name that Junior would never forget, even if he wanted to.

It all started rather innocently. Junior lucked out by getting into Weight Training class in the first half of his Freshman year. Such meant that not only would he stand to get one out of two Physical Education classes required for graduation out of the way almost immediately, but he would also get out of the more traditional Phys-Ed. Class, where the Senior and Junior jocks were REALLY brutal. In Weight Training, it was basically a thing that you got to work at your own pace, and meet whatever "assignment" that the coach, a grizzled Weregarurumon, set out for the day. After that much was done, you were free to chat it up or do whatever else you wanted to do in the class, as long as you didn't piss off the coach.

It was through this that Junior met Calvin, a third-year Fire Brother. The older, crimson-colored turtle and Junior became fast friends, following the two being assigned as each other's spotters and work-out partners. Junior being young and impressionable as he was, he was all-too eager to try and prove himself to his older peer, and ended up being pleasantly surprised when Calvin did more to take him under his wing. Soon, for Junior, getting to 3rd period, and getting to see more of his new pal, became a highlight of going to school everyday. Before too long, it developed into a sort of one-sided "puppy love", on Junior's part.

But as much as Junior's affections for his decently-built older friend started to grow, he had no intentions of actually putting himself out there in such a way. Which made things all the more interesting when Cal actually started to broadcast ambiguous signals his way. First came the various "Looking good..." comments that were tossed Junior's way more than usual. That was soon followed by how, every few days, Cal wore gym outfits that he claimed to have "started to shrink a bit in the wash", which allowed Junior to see a bit more of Cal's chest and bulge as the red-colored turtle started bench-pressing. Before long, Junior was sure that the older teen was sneaking glances at him in the locker room, as well as in the bathroom, where the small dividers between urinals did little to prevent the roving eyeball from checking out your neighbor's equipment.

This bit of "covert flattery" between the two went on for a couple of months. Eventually, it was Junior's original plan to bide his time, then try hitting Cal up over Christmas Break. Ideally, the two could get "to know each other better" outside of the locker room, and away from everybody else.

However, those plans were quickly torn asunder, a week or so before Thanksgiving. Apparently, Junior and Cal's little "game" had not escaped the eyes of Cal's 4th year cousin, Ronnie, and his Flareon friend, Sven. When Junior came into the locker room after school that day to seek Cal out, the Fire Brother was waiting for him. And he certainly wasn't alone.

The spiked shell that Junior was wearing on his back was quite tough, however, even it wasn't enough to cushion the full-force of the blow on Junior's back, as Ronnie slammed him roughly against the lockers.

"Wh-what the fuck...!?" the stunned koopa could barely stammer out.

"Couldn't put it better," the yellow-colored Hammer Brother answered with a snarl, hate clear as day on his face. "WHAT THE FUCK, FAGGOT?!"

Ronnie then shoved Junior into Sven, where the canine held Junior tightly in a full-nelson. Junior was then powerless to prevent the Hammer Bro from wailing away on his gut. For after all, only the dumbest of would-be bullies would risk leaving marks that could easily be seen by a teacher, or otherwise. Junior knew that much, because Roy did similar things in his past.

Eventually, Junior's legs were unable to support his own weight any more, and he started to collapse. Sven kept him fairly upright, which allowed Ronnie to grab him by his shirt. It took everything Junior had to not want to toss up his lunch.

"WHAT THE FUCK , FAGGOT?!"

"What are you guys...talkin' about?!" Junior gasped out.

"Turns out my pal Sven, here, saw what looked like YOU were checkin' out my cousin's piece in the bathroom, yesterday! Ain't that right, Cal?!"

"Pft. Wouldn't blame him," Cal said fairly casually, with a smirk. "Y'know how kids can be, checkin' out 'the competition' and all that. It happens, even if he ain't a real fag. He's probably just curious."

At that point, it was only the utter rage that Junior felt in his heart, that kept his feelings in check. Frustration for being rendered so helpless. Indignation from being betrayed by some one he thought was cool, and looked up to. But some how, back then, he mustered the will to not break before their eyes, and give Cal or his posse the satisfaction. At the least, Junior still had his pride, even if there wasn't much else left in him.

"But for real though, guys, this is good enough. Just give him a lil shake up, and we can squash this," Cal offered. "I'm sure he's learned his lesson by now that you don't DO these types of things in the High School level."

"FUCK YOU, YOU TRAITOROUS SON OF A BITCH!!!" Junior wanted to shout out, but held his tongue all the same.

"...Fine," Ronnie agreed at long last. But before he let go of Junior's shirt, the Hammer Bro got right up in Junior's face. Junior could even smell the tacos Ronnie had for lunch. "But if I EVER catch you looking at my cousin again, or ANY ONE ELSE in these damn lockers?! I won't just stop with giving you the beating of your life, next time. Do I make myself clear, you lil shit...!?"

"Crystal," Junior gritted out, with a small note of submissiveness to sate the bigger turtle. Satisfied with that, Sven let Junior fall unceremoniously to the ground with a thud and departed with the two cousins. It was minutes before Junior would muster the strength to pick himself up and take his pained body home, after calling for an escort. But not before heading to the bathroom, and offering up his lunch to the porcelain god.

That evening, in his own room, Junior allowed himself to rage in a matter that might have made Roy take notice. Cal turning out to be a Benedict Arnold that played him and his feelings like a song was one thing. But being made so vulnerable and weak? That was absolutely intolerable. And furthermore, it drove the point home that Junior couldn't expect Roy and/or Hanbei to come running to his rescue anymore, much less expect the likes of Larry or Morton, who still went to the same school with him, to even give a rat's ass.

Instead, following a small over-the-phone pep-talk with Roy, Junior was allowed to use his brother's extensive "arsenal" of exercise equipment for himself. Junior despised weakness, and intended to never be put into such a predicament ever again. From that day forward, he set for himself a personal muscle-building regiment. He intended to be strong, just like his two "big bros", Roy and Hanbei. Building up his muscles turned out to be a therapeutic way to help him get over the pain that that Cal left in Junior's heart, as well as gave a boost to his own self-esteem later on. By the following spring semester of his Freshman year, the two never saw each other again and it was for the better. Those last two weeks before Fall semester ended were among the most awkward moments in his life. Especially when it seemed like Cal wanted to come back and apologize a week or so after the fact that his older cousin wailed away on him. Junior, needless to say, was not amused in the least.

Looking at the muscle definition he had on his arms now, as a Senior getting ready to graduate from High School, Junior could clearly see the results of his training. He had come a long way from the formerly lanky build he used to have as a Freshman. Even his former weight training coach started to recognize Junior's transformation, which played a part in Junior trying out for the school's Track 'N Field team the next semester. That increased arm strength lent itself well to Shot Put, after all.

If he kept it up, Junior wouldn't have been surprised if he was able to have more muscle on his frame than Hanbei. Of course, being able to actually physically overpower the wartortle in question was something else altogether. Snickering to himself, Junior imagined that attempting to do anything of the sort likely would reward him in the periwinkle-colored turtle effortlessly tossing him to the ground.

Speaking of which, Junior turned his attention back to the group. The upcoming summer was the last bit of foreseeable free-time that he would stand to have. It would serve as the best, or possibly only opportunity to try and take care of a few things that had been on his mind. Among them was getting a little refresher from Roy and his best pal, so that Junior would be fully able to take care of himself, should the need arise. But until then, observation was fine.

The twins were standing off to the side, while their mentor and Roy were engaged in a bit of practice, or "Kumite". One thing that Junior had picked up enough from watching the two practice over the years was that what Hanbei had said about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu had proved correct over and over again. The best way to get better at BJJ, was to actually practice the techniques on a live target. And for a full-contact martial art that focused on proper grappling and ground-fighting? That actually meant two bodies having to physically intertwine with one other, possibly rolling along the floor together in a variety of different positions, all for proper training purposes.

Seeing such antics play out only served to directly cater to Junior's dirty mindset. More often than it should.

"Now, boys, here is your final lesson for the day," the wartortle began. "Looking at me and then looking at Roy, you would probably conclude that the advantage is in Roy's favor. He is bigger than me. His reach goes farther than my own."

"Yeah!" Roy agreed. "Not jus' wit' my fists, but also my di-!"

"ROY!" Hanbei glared.

"Sorry~! Couldn't resist!" Roy guffawed. The twins soon joined in kind.

"NOW!" Hanbei began again. "The fundamental aspect of Jiu-jitsu relies not so much on pure muscle strength, as it does on proper leverage and technique. With that much on my side, even some one like me...! "

Hanbei interrupted his speech with a loud shout, with a volume that Junior would not have expected from the normally-quiet sea turtle. But before the shout could even fully register in the ears of those present, Hanbei had already rushed in and grabbed Roy by the lapels of his dark-purple gi. Then, in a swift, fluid motion, the wartortle held everyone present in awe as he tossed Roy over his left shoulder. As resounding as Roy's impact on the mat was from Junior's distance, part of him wondered if anyone else on that side of the house felt it, too.

"...can toss a man who is practically double my mass, at 313 pounds," Hanbei concluded with a confident smile.

"Wooooow!" the twins chorused in amazement.

"I'm with you guys!" Junior said to himself. So much for the thought of possibly being able to overpower the periwinkle wonder. Between that display of might, and immediately recalling what he had just heard last night, Junior would have to settle for the fact that he was able to defeat his "nii-chan" in a fighting game.

"This shall conclude today's lesson," the wartortle smirked at his two charges. "You may now hit the showers. Be sure to leave the bathroom as it was found, when you are done."

"OK!" the twins said, as they departed the training area, and made their way to the bathroom.

"I'm first this time, Jimmy!" Billy laughed as he shoved his brother out of his way.

"Nuh-uh! I am!" Jimmy said as he made an attempt to grab his younger brother by the tail, but missed.

"Boys! The bathroom is certainly big enough for both of you! Cease such immature nonsense, immediately!" Hanbei warned.

"Yes, sir..." the twins chuckled nervously, before disappearing into the bathroom, now leaving the still flat-on-his-back Roy, and the one who put him in that position, alone.

"Shit, Diogo! Did ya had to throw me dat hard?!" Roy groaned in pain. "Gyat damn, GYAT DAMN!"

"Sorry. I just could not help myself," the sea turtle chuckled in mild amusement. "You will be fine, in any case."

"Says you! Any way, I can see already dat you've been doin' da damn thing with da kids. I just hope ya ain't workin' Billy 'n Jimmy too hard. Let 'em be kids, y'know?"

"If your concern is about trying to convert them into composites of me? You have nothing to fret about, my friend. Besides, I have no desire to teach them how to kill, much less do anything that may impede them on their own paths to becoming men. After all, there is certainly no need for more than one Satsujinki on this side of the world."

"Aight, guess dat works. They ya lil bros, after all. Though dat didn't stop ya from tryin' to tell me what to do wit' MY lil bro...!" Roy smirked.

"Hah hah," Hanbei smirked back. "And yet, you were the one who always were asking me for my advice for any little thing. Saying things like: 'BJ jus' called, askin' me what he should do in dis situation! Help a brutha out!'"

Roy chuckled. "Yeah...all da same I did 'preciate da input. Jus' like wit' everything else ya do."

"And you are welcome to do likewise with me. After all, you are the one who has a bit more experience in being a big brother on a 24/7 basis than I."

"Truth. Now ya gonna help me up or what, Diogo?" Roy extended his right arm upward.

"Fine, you big baby..." Hanbei said as he extended his own right arm. Ruddy yellow hand soon met a corresponding light blue. Roy then tugged Hanbei down to the mat, using his strength and mass to quickly pin the smaller turtle beneath him.

"Gahahahaha! Can't believe ya fell for dat shit AGAIN, Bei-Bei!"

"Onore...!" Hanbei hissed.

"To think, ya was ridin' my ass 'bout how I was 'outta practice'. But nNow I got Diogo Hanbei Kagami, dat Sax-Suit-Jenkins himself, at MY mercy! I gots skills!" Roy leered at the wartortle with a widening grin, showcasing his trademark fangs. .

"Keep playing with me, Roy," Hanbei offered a cunning smirk in retaliation. "Remember that I just did throw your oversized rear end. And I am certainly capable of doing far worse."

"I'd like ta see ya try. 'Specially from your position! Ya can't even move ya hands now, can ya?"

Hanbei stayed silent, with the smirk never leaving his face.

"So, how 'bout it? Think I can finally get ya to say it?"

"Say what, Kumquat?"

"I dunno...'Uncle'? Finally admit dat I gotcha but good for once? Sumthin' like dat? Anythin' else ya may say, like sayin' how fresh I'm is, would jus' be da icing on da cake!"

"I have no intention of saying such. Especially for such an ill-gotten 'victory' like this," Hanbei would not relent.

"Well, then, I guess ya gonna have to get comfy down there, cuz I ain't movin' for NUTHIN' ELSE!" Roy continued to smile. "This will end when ya ready to tell me sumthin, Sax-Suit-Jenkins! C'mon, now!"

Hanbei, however, proceeded to look over back towards the direction of the sofas where Junior was currently located.

"Junia-kou...?" the wartortle said with a bit of surprise.

"Aw, shit...!" Roy's eyes widened as he sprang up almost immediately, looking out for his younger brother. When his copper-topped younger brother was nowhere to be seen, Roy quickly deduced, albeit too late, that he was duped. That brief moment was all that the wartortle needed to quickly turn the tables on Roy. His hands now free, Hanbei delivered a quick fist to Roy's solar plexus, the nerve group just below the rib cage. This succeeded in having the large Koopa reel even further back in pain, which was enough to free the sea turtle's legs. In a matter of seconds, it was now Roy that was rendered helpless with Hanbei mounted on his chest, via a Judo-inspired technique aptly called a "Turtle Turnover".

"Sunuvabitch...!" Roy growled out as best he could. "I fuckin' HAD you!"

"Now, turn-about, as they say, is indeed fair play," Hanbei smiled, as he sprang upright to a standing position. "And thus, YOUR lesson is now over. Hopefully, you will do better to remember it this time."

"What's dat?" Roy said, as he picked himself up this time.

"Fundamental rule of all martial arts! NEVER take your eyes off of who or what is in front of you! The moment you lose sight of that, you almost immediately set yourself up for failure."

"I'll keep dat in mind..." Roy mused with a small smirk.

"Mornin'!" Junior shouted out from across the room, peeking from above the couch he was sleeping on.

He knew that there was no literally no way for the wartortle to have seen him from his former location. All the while, being used for part of Hanbei's earlier ruse made him chuckle inward all the same.

"What up, lil lover boy!" Roy smiled at his little brother. "Today's da big day!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Junior waived off. "Right now, I'm much more concerned about breakfast."

"Speaking of which, it is a bit odd that nobody has sent for us, yet," Hanbei mused.

"Dun worry 'bout it! It's Saturday, and dat means we gonna have pancakes on in a bit!"

"From who?" the wartortle asked.

"Yours truly!" Roy winked. "Why else d'ya I think bothered to ask for Wendy to include a fully functional kitchen at the bar?"

"So, wait. You are trying to tell me that YOU are going to be cooking our breakfast today?" Hanbei said with an unbelieving look on his face.

"Well, yeah!" Roy continued to smile widely. "Jus' lemme get outta my fightin' togs, first!"

Hanbei looked over to Junior. "Should I be fearful for the sanctity of my intestinal tract? Much less those of my boys?"

"Oh, no!" Junior guffawed. "These last few years, Roy's become a different beast altogether when you get him in the kitchen!"

"Ya damn right! Say what ever da fuck ya want about me otherwise, but nobody in dis family can throw down like I can behind a stove!"

"...Exactly how did this development occur?"

"Aight, see, what had happened was dat one day when I was loungin' around the house, I was able to find what ended up bein' a whole bunch of Mama's old recipe and cook books. Readin' over da books, it was almost as if she was right wit' me, explainin' how she used to make some of dem dishes I loved so much when I was a kid. I got inspired, and so dat's when I just started gettin' in da kitchen 'n tryin' to make 'em for myself!"

"Furthermore, surprising EVERYONE, he did quite well for himself after a good number of months' worth of experimenting! Even Dad was impressed!"

"How interesting," Hanbei mused . "You would have come a long way since a certain accident in Chemistry class, our Junior year in High School..."

"Hey, HEY!" Roy protested. "I dun told you once, I told ya a thousand times! It ain't my fault dat Bunsen Burner spazzed out on me. Or dat da tongs weren't made for hands my size..."

"So you continue to say," the wartortle chuckled. "I am just glad you did not get burned."

"All I know is that I wish that you had learned about your latent culinary skills early on, Roy! You WOULD pick up such skills when I'm getting ready to off to college!" Junior said with an air of sarcasm.

"Well, put it like dis, lil man! Ya got like three months of summer to do whatever da hell ya want. If dat includes wantin' to learn from da 'Master', fine by me."

Junior smiled broadly. A chance to develop a nice survival skill for his upcoming college career was a nice thing itself. After all, if he could help it, Junior would prefer to avoid the infamous "Freshman Fifteen" on the road to continuing to build himself up through his college years. Junior loved his father, but he had no interest in ending up with a build similar to the senior Bowser Koopa by the time he left college.

But more over, this also presented a welcome opportunity for he and Roy to be well on their way to rekindling the brotherly ties they once had.

"After much deliberation, I believe you make a most compelling proposal, big bro. And I do accept!"

"Thought as such! 'Sides, pro-tip! Chicks love a man dat can cook for dem, too!" Roy winked. "Babs'll love dat, I'm sure!"

"Hah!" Junior laughed it off. Of course, the koopa had other plans in mind. Like perhaps making it up to Jojo with a candle-lit dinner, made by his own hands, some time in the near future. He knew the feline loved swordfish steaks and salmon after all, and that could serve as a nice springboard to try and patch things up in that area after all the mess that was High School was behind both of them.

"But any way! Jus' wait, Bei-Bei!" Roy went over to the closet. "Ya gonna get ya first taste of what happens when Chef Roy steps in the room!"

"This should indeed be interesting..." Hanbei smirked.

"Trust me, you won't be disappointed, nii-chan," Junior smiled back. "Now, pardon me while this Koopa goes about draining the lizard."

"Ah, yes. It is high time the boys get a move on any way, and stopping dawdling in the bathroom. They always take so long polishing each other's horns."

With that, Junior made his way over to the bathroom door, and lightly knocked with two knuckles.

"Hey, guys, it's B.J.! You guys done in there yet, or what?"

No answer came to him, but he could hear the sounds of a lot of water running and what seemed to be a mild bit of giggling from one of the Dracomon.

"Seriously, guys, I kinda need to use the facilities!" Junior pleaded once more, with a bit of urgency. Still no answer. Either the running water and possibly AC units were making too much of a clamor for Junior to be heard, or it was possible that the twins were pulling one of their tricks. He did get a first-hand glimpse of just how sneaky the two could be a mere few hours ago, after all.

In any case, Junior's "pressing need" outweighed any sense of possibly being the butt-end of some gag, and so, with a quick cry of "I'm coming in~!", the Koopa came into the bathroom.

What immediately caught Junior by surprise was how steamy the inside was. The twins, being closer to true dragons than he or Roy alike, must love their hot showers. The humid, sticky air made it feel less of a sauna, and did more to remind Junior of when he and his family went to see Old Faithful erupt ten years ago.

However, following his eyes and body getting used to the radical climate change in the bathroom, his eyes went wide as saucers as they fully registered the scene that played out a few mere feet in front of him. The twins were making ample usage of the large throw rug in the middle of the floor, as their nude, marine-colored bodies were locked together, corresponding muzzles engulfing offerings from opposing crotches.

It made part of Junior feel bad, but the sight did turn him on quite a bit. "Polishing each other's horns, indeed!" he laughed to himself. For Billy and Jimmy being younger than he was, Junior was almost jealous of how they had built themselves quite nicely for their respective ages. They will be something else by the time they get to his age, if they kept at it.

Speaking of keeping at it, the two were still going at it, seemingly oblivious to the intruder upon their private moment. Or at least, that much was true until a quick blast of cold air from the slightly-ajar door wafted into the muggy room, and it apparently was enough for at least one of the twins to turn a dark-red eye his way. Then it was his turn to have a look of shock on his face, as his brother's member flopped out of his mouth.

"What's wrong, Billy...?!" the other twin asked before turning around, and spied Junior himself. "Oh. Well...fuck."

Junior, however, was all smiles as he turned around and closed the door behind him. Then without much fanfare, he simply traipsed right by them and made his way over to the reason he entered the bathroom in the first place. While doing his business, he some times glanced from the corner of his eyes, and saw that the twins were looking right back at him. Maybe they were trying to check him out. After flushing the toilet and then tucking his member back within his boxers, Junior then proceeded to wash his hands and sat down on the toilet. His shit-eating grin never left his face.

"Well," Junior began. "I guess that's one interesting way to make a 'dragon helix'. Bravo, boys!"

"You're not going to tell on us, are you? We haven't quite told Dee about this yet..." Billy smiled nervously.

"Nah, I'm not that kinda guy," Junior answered. "Though it is a bit interesting that you guys are already doing things like this."

"Eh, don't look so shocked. We come from a region of the world where the legal age of consent ranges from 12-15 , depending on where you are," Jimmy replied matter-of-factly. "If Dee hadn't saved us street-rats when he did, three guesses where we would likely have ended up, still hanging around that dick, Zong, and his posse."

"Ouch," Junior visibly winced.

"Uh-huh...but at least now, our pleasure is ours, and ours alone," Jimmy said.

"Yeah!" Billy agreed with a shy smile. "Of course, we wouldn't at all be opposed to having a playmate... hint, hint..."

Junior laughed out loud, in the fitting Koopa fashion. "Thanks, but no thanks, boys."

"Awww," Billy fake-pouted with disappointment. "Is it because the laws are different here? Or are you just not...?"

Junior just continued to chuckle.

"Well, I don't see what's the problem. It's not like you Americans don't do such things, any way. Having sex clearly under the legal limits and all that," Jimmy asserted.

"True, but as I'm sure you guys will find out, the longer you stay in this country? Outright hypocrisy does do a lot to rule the roost. It's the American way, y'know."

"Ahhh..." the boys understood.

Satisfied, Junior stretched a bit as he rose to his feet. "Any way, your secret is safe with me. But another pro-tip: Yes, almost getting caught can be quite a turn-on, but you got lucky this time. I wouldn't continue pushing it, if I were you two. I'd also hurry up and start getting decent, as nii-chan was already getting suspicious as it is."

"Right, right", the twins chorused, and rose upright in unison, to boot. Junior still thought that the way twin siblings could do such coordinated things was cute and cool at the same time. It made him again ponder about what life could have been like if he had a twin brother of his own. Or at least a doppelganger from another dimension. But if Junior was the one already sporting a goatee, what would the 'evil' twin sport? A full beard? Or maybe a wicked-ass mustache like Dick Dastardly?

At times, Junior even amazed himself how much in the way of critical thought he gave to such silly things, when he allowed his mind to wander. He quickly brought himself back, and then headed for the door to make his exit.

"See you guys outside!" Junior smiled as he left the two alone, and stepped back out into the cool air of Roy's room. He could smell the bacon and pancake dough clearly now.

"Everything alright in there, Junia-kou?" Hanbei called out from the bar/kitchen counter.

"Yeah, yeah, they'll be out in a few seconds. The boys were showing me their horn polishing techniques. I also gave them a few tips of my own!" Junior smiled back.

"Hmm," the wartortle snorted with amusement, before turning his attention back to the large Koopa working at the stove. Roy had since changed from his gi into a more lax ensemble consisting of some light-pink sweatpants and a white T-shirt. His trademark sunglasses were back on his face, as well. Additionally, Roy did wear an apron, which was a custom model that the elder Koopa brother bought online. It was dyed a very light shade of pink, with dark red letters in the chest area that read "I Got Your Low Carb Diet Right Here", and a big arrow that pointed downward at his crotch. Junior could imagine Hanbei's eyes rolling as soon as he saw his friend donning it, and snickered at that.

The front door to the room then opened, with an already-dressed Wendy coming into the room.

"Morning, losers. Morning, Bei-by," she addressed the males present.

"'Loser'? I see how it is, Ms. Thang! But nobody says ya gotta come to da Muthafuckin' Skyland for breakfast! Ya can jus' as easily take ya ass to McDonald's!" Roy called back, as he flipped a flapjack in the air with dramatic flourish.

"Ugh, as if!" Wendy said as she sat on a stool next to Hanbei's. "I'd like to think of myself as more down-to-earth than most girls my age and status, but there ain't that much down-to-earth in the world that would get me to eat at that horrid place. Besides, in case you've forgotten, I'm the one who helped put all this shit together so you can play Chef Roy-ar-dee as much as you like, in the first place! The least you can do is let met taste the fruits of my labor, as well as your own!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Roy laughed. "So what will it be, Ms. Thang?"

"Chocolate chips, if you please. And don't be stingy with the Nestle, if you know what I mean!" Wendy smiled.

"All good," Roy nodded. "Wha cha want, BJ?"

"Hmmm," Junior thought it over. "Let's go with my stand-by. Wholewheat. With lots of honey on top, if you got it."

"Aight den. Y'all two be right up after blue boy, in dat order!"

"And just what did you order, Bei-by?" Wendy asked.

"I do not know," Hanbei answered honestly. "I have never had pancakes before, so I just told him 'surprise me'."

"...Never had pancakes?!" Wendy and Junior said in disbelief.

"See, blue?! Glad I ain't da only one dat said dat!" Roy chuckled. "On da other hand, it means mine will be da first ya ever taste! Hope ya like it!"

Shortly, the large koopa produced a large red plate, with a 3-layered stack of blueberry pancakes sitting in front of periwinkle-colored turtle.

"Are those...blueberries?" Hanbei chuckled mildly.

"If nuthin' else, I thought a mo' 'natural' sweetness would be to ya likin'! If I did it right, ya shouldn't even need syrup!"

"If you say so....utensils, please?" Hanbei asked.

Roy rushed to provide his friend a fork and knife. "Sorry 'bout dat!"

All eyes were on the sea turtle as he curiously examined the pancakes that blueish-colored specks that sat in front of him, before then taking a knife and fork in hand and making delicate, precision cuts into the pan-fried slices of dough.

Junior cut a quick glance at Roy, just to see the look on his brother's face. It was the same nervous, yet very hyped look that the pink-capped Koopa had on his face when he went and made a special cake for their father on his 50th Birthday, presenting it actually the day after, when the large scale bash was long over. Roy's cake certainly wasn't as grand and glorious as the utterly huge cake that Bowser would later have presented to him during the party. But by the patriarch's own words, "I can see why you waited! You would have put that monstrosity to shame, because it just couldn't hope to compare to your and Peach's recipe! Well done, son!" Roy was positively beaming for the rest of that weekend.

So now, it was just a matter of seeing how Roy's best friend would take to his cooking. Piercing a small section of a pancake on his fork, Hanbei took into his mouth and proceeded to chew it for a while, as if trying to analyze it as he tasted it. And then, it was gone after being swallowed.

"...Well?!" Roy finally asked, barely able to contain himself.

"Quite delicious. Not too sugary, the fruit really does a lot take center stage and everything seems to mesh well on my pallet," Hanbei stated in a rather scholarly tone, before a smile dawned on his face. "Furthermore...it tastes like more."

"Awright!" Roy shouted triumphantly to the ceiling. "Ya son's FINALLY doin' sumthin' right, Mama!"

"Itadakimasu!" Hanbei said quickly as he resumed eating his breakfast.

"What did I say, nii-chan? When have I ever led you astray?"

Hanbei swallowed the bite that was in his mouth and then started to speak once more. "Well, there was certainly that time when you-"

"Hey! You're not supposed to answer that!" Junior interrupted with a smile.

"Oooo, FOOD!" the twins chorused as they emerged from the bathroom, now fully dressed in a matching ensemble of dark blue t-shirt and jean shorts.

"Hi, cuties!" Wendy smiled at them.

"Hi, Ms. Wendy!" they said as they came up to the bar, and took their own respective seats.

"There ya guys are. Was worried dat you guys fell in the tub or sumthin'," Roy chuckled. "I'll be takin' ya orders in a minute, k?"

"That's cool!" Jimmy answered.

"Any way, Junior, I think should inform you that your tux is now nice and steam-cleaned. That leaves you only with the notion of taking care of your mop, your lil wanna-be soul patch, your hoop and getting yourself presentable for this evening."

"Whoopee~!" Junior said with a bit more sarcasm than he probably should have. And he would immediately recognize his error as his sister's look at him soured.

"Look here, you little ingrate. I did most of the work for your triflin' ass, as it is, so that you could focus on school work! Got your measurements. Picked out the suit for you. Booked the limo reservation for you, Babs and a few of your little friends. Pretty much the only thing I didn't have a distinct part in making your Senior Prom go swimmingly was getting your photographer, as that was Dad's area, and lo and behold, Hanbei's sitting right next to us. So, I don't even want hear you whining about 'so much work', or whatever, when you haven't even done that much!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Junior quickly apologized. "Let it never be construed that I'm not thankful for your efforts, dear sister of mine!"

"Damn right," Wendy smirked.

"I guess...I dunno, maybe I have a few...nervous jitters?" Junior offered. Technically, it wasn't a lie, although for different reasons that Junior was not quite ready to admit to.

"Like I said, lil man, I wouldn't even worry if I was in ya place! All ya gotta do is just do what comes naturally, 'n show Babs a good time this evenin'!"

"Exactly," Wendy offered, ruffling Junior's red mane with her fingers. "Just be yourself and have a good time. After all, you're a Koopa. We just got it like that!"

"Heh, yeah!" Roy agreed as he slid Wendy's plate of chocolate chip pancakes her way. "But we can def understand, right, Bei-Bei?"

"Regarding...?" Hanbei asked, looking up from his meal.

"Ya know! Senior Prom jitters 'n all dat shit!"

"No, I honestly can not say that...and neither should you for that matter."

Roy could only offer a puzzled look.

"You must have forgotten, I take it? Neither of us went to our Senior Prom."

"...For realz?" Roy said, unbelieving.

"Why, yes. I had no interest in going to such a thing from the start. Meanwhile, for you, such was only what could be expected when you found out that your prom date, Regina, was cheating on you, by screwing that dingo, Darnell, behind your back" Hanbei said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, yeah...fuckin' two-timing ho'!" Roy growled with bitterness. "But, why do I remember dat night bein' so much fun?"

"As I recall," the wartortle continued. "after you were allowed to vent your frustrations from that ordeal for about an hour, we then started watching the Mortal Kombat movies back-to-back, ripping on them the entire while. That then inspired you to pull out your favorite game in our collection, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and we played that for several hours on end. Before the night was through, the two Bowsers stopped in, and then we hooked up the Nintendo 64, playing Goldeneye's multiplayer mode until 3 in the morning, or there-abouts."

"Oh, yeah!" Junior laughed. "That was so awesome! I remember when I blew up Dad with a rocket launcher from all the way across the hall in the Temple level! He was on my ass for the rest of the night, but it was so worth it!"

Roy was brought to laugh himself as he was mixing up another round of batter. "Y'know what, Bei-Bei! As Junior goes off 'n gets his life on at Prom tonight, as well as Pops promised to show da boys 'round town? We should do it ALL OVER AGAIN."

Hanbei smiled. "That would be nice. Maybe can hook up the GameCube again and play Phantasy Star Online split-screen."

"Fuck yeah, that's an idea! 'Course, I did just get da boxset for da first series of Kaa Sobekberry's Archosaurs!" Roy smiled with glee.

"Archosaurs, you say?" Hanbei smiled to match.

"All 102 episodes wit' Darkthunder 'n MY LIZZA, Grell, remastered in all their digital glory!" Roy then stopped mixing up a new batter batch, and started to speak with a much more dramatic tone. "No matter how hard I try, I can never please you! So, what's it gonna take, Commander Darkthunder? For the love of Mother Maia, WHAT?!"

"...What the FUCK are you talking about, Roy?!" Wendy said. It took every thing that Junior and the twins had to keep from laughing outright. But what was more surprising was when Hanbei chimed in, using his vocal mimicry to adopt a much harsher and shriller tone than normal.

"Damn the cursed egg that spawned you, Sergeant! Remember that you are an Archosaur soldier, above everything else!"

"That does it. I quit," Wendy threw her hands up in the air. "Y'all both are bunch of God damned nerds! Reminds me of that girl I used to know in my Chemistry class group in college. She was the one who used to have the lil keychains and plushies, as well as made numerous Slash fics of those 'Blackthunder' and 'Knell' guys..."

"DARKTHUNDER and GRELL, woman! Get it right, already, damn!" Roy bellowed as he finished up Junior's pancake batter.

"Whatever! I don't care about the specifics of your stupid little sci-fi drama TV series!" Wendy shouted back.

"Good! Cuz nobody invited such a hater to our lil marathon, any way! Us 'Archies' like me and Bei-Bei be just fine if y'all left us alone for the rest of da night! In fact, I prefer it dat way, thank ya very much!"

"...Rest of the night?" Wendy said aloud. "Oh, shit! Fuck me now!!"

"What's wrong, Wendy?" Junior asked.

"Ummm...Roy, dear big bro of mine? We may have a bit of problem, here."

"'Oh, shit' is right! When ya start addressin' ME like dat, it can't be good. What's up?"

"Alrighty," Wendy began after taking a deep breath. "I know you already had plans for this evening with Bei-by to rot your minds out watching your TV show and all, but..."

"But, what?" Roy's brow started to knit together with concern.

"The truth is..."the female Koopa could only squeak out in embarrassment. "I already signed you over to River Hill as a Chaperone for Junior's Prom, tonight."

"Whaaaaa....?!" Junior said in sheer shock. This was certainly the first time he had heard about such.

A few seconds of silence passed, following Roy dropping the ladle that was in his right hand to the floor. He then rushed to the counter, his sunglasses-obscured visage bearing down on his little sister. "YOU DID WHAT?!"

"I'm sorry, OK? I put you down for this months ago, because I thought it would be good to give you a reason to get yourself out of the house for a while! I didn't know that Hanbei was coming back early at the time! And by the time I did, I got caught up with so many other things, including getting after YOUR little brother, that it just completely escaped my mind! I'm only one person!" she shouted exasperated.

"Damn...DAMN... DAMN!!" Roy groaned in defeat. "Would it hurt ya to run it by me, first, at least?!"

"I'm so sorry, big bro...I meant well, and all," Wendy said sadly.

"Is it too late for him to opt out?" Junior offered.

"It would be rather in poor taste to call out on the day-of, BJ. Plus, the school actually was delighted to have Roy as a chaperone, as it would be something special for your Senior class. Since your class was the last one that grew up in their class's shadow, after all. They're expecting him at this point more as special guest than anything else."

"Well, I do still have dat tux," Roy said, crestfallen. "Not like it was gonna be used for anything else..."

"Hm," Hanbei mused. "Let me ask you this, Wendy. Would it be in poor taste to add on another chaperone on the day-of?"

"Well, one of their complaints was that they still didn't have enough. Wait, you mean-?"

"In case you have forgotten: a Kagami always comes prepared," Hanbei smirked confidently. "I had my own suit ready, in preparation for Roy's upcoming wedding. Now, if I could just get it pressed and..."

"Say no more!" Wendy hugged Hanbei tightly around the neck, even giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're a life-saver!"

"Think nothing of it, imouto," Hanbei smiled at who he looked to as his own little sister. "Besides, I was just going to be bored around here by myself, any way. I might as well be bored with my best friend. We can perhaps resume our plans for this evening after his 'civic duty' has been completed."

"Dat's wassup! ...I think, at least," Roy's smile returned. "But good lookin' out, Bei-Bei! Comin' through AGAIN in a Koopa's time of need!"

"Simply put: I am the best at what I do," the wartortle's self-satisfied grin persisted.

"Oh, there can't be any doubt about that!" Wendy smiled graciously. "Just tell me where your suit is, and I'll have yours and Roy's ready for you in an hour!"

"I will have it in your hands after breakfast."

"Speaking of which!" Junior smiled as he slammed his palm down on the bar counter a few times. "Hey, Chef! Your crisis may be averted, but ours certainly isn't!"

"Yeah, we're still hungry!" Billy chimed in.

Roy grinned back as he picked up the ladle from the floor, dumped in the sink and retrieved a fresh one. "Comin' right up!"

*****************

Eating a hearty helping of Roy's pancakes was able to satiate Junior's hunger, as well as give him a nice morale boost. Or at least, enough to make it so that he was able to put up with the next few hours' worth of "torture".

First up, was a return trip to his room for a nice, hot bath, where he removed his nose-ring for the first time in quite a while. Its absence honestly made his face look naked without it, but such was another price to pay for what Junior thought was formal nonsense. He can definitely understand Hanbei's reasons for skipping out on both of his proms.

In any case, next on the itinerary was heading to another part of the house, where Wendy's personal stylists, the "Pidgit Brothers" were waiting for him. The trio of Middle Eastern ravens were admittedly nice guys. Quite eccentric in an almost stereotypical "fashion designer" sense, but nice all the same. Their job was to take care of all thing relating to shaping up Junior's appearance.

And, boy, were they were thorough. Not only did they take care to clip Junior's hair and shaved his soul patch, but they also gave his fingernails, toenails, horns and even his smaller tail spikes a manicure. After all was said and done three hours later, even Junior had to take a step back and admired how shiny his horns and nails were. And though his hair was now cut back to the traditional, "Father-approved" style Junior had sported often when he was a kid, even that much was seemed to be done with more flourish, thanks to the Pidgits' stylings.

"Thanks a lot, boys! You'll be seeing me in another week!" Wendy smiled as she saw the trio off. "Now, BJ, it is time to get you in your suit and shell!"

"Shell, too?" Junior asked.

"Yes, BJ. In case you forgot, this is indeed a formal affair we're talking about here. And it's only fitting for a man of the Koopa family to be wearing a shell to such an event. This time, though, it's not just any shell! I've ordered you a hot designer shell that matches your suit!"

"Interesting," Junior mused with a grin.

"You're gonna like the way I hooked you up! Trust me!" Wendy winked as she pat her younger brother on the back. "Everything's set up and in your room! We'll be waiting for you down-stairs. And don't dawdle! The idea was to try and get an array of pictures taken by yourself, before your date arrives."

"Alrighty!" Junior called out as he returned to his room.

A half-hour later, Junior emerged from his room and started to make his way back over to the main staircase. As soon as he started to get near, he heard the voices of Roy, his father and others at the bottom. As soon as Junior psyched himself up a bit, he came around the bend and started to strut down the steps.

He had to give Wendy credit. She had him decked out in all-white tuxedo, white shirt underneath, with a shimmery white tie to match. And true to her word, even the shell was a smooth, ivory color, with smaller spikes sticking out in the Koopa family style.

"Well, I said it before, and I'll say it again! 'I make this look good!'" Junior chuckled.

"Will Smith called! He wants his line from Men In Black back!" Lemmy called out, meeting with much laughter from his younger siblings.

Junior panned his eyes to most of the room and its populace. He looked at Roy briefly, who was clad in his own black tux, with a purple tie to compliment the large purple shell on his back. And though he couldn't see his older brother's eyes through the golden-rimmed sunglasses he was wearing now, the wide smile was enough to showcase how delighted he was to see his youngest brother looking sharp. Junior gave him a wink and a smile to respond to Roy's silent compliment.

He then turned to spy his father amongst his "audience". To his surprise, his father wasn't wearing the broad smile that Junior practically expected him to have. Instead, it actually seemed as if the elder Bowser had an utterly spellbound look on his face, as he just stared at the son bearing his name. At first, Junior was wondering if something was wrong, like if something was on his face. But then, he saw Wendy, all smiles as well, elbow her father.

"How about that, Daddy-dearest? Junior cleans up rather well under my supervision, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh...oh yes, yes, yes! Thank you very much, my lil Kootie Pie!" Bowser smiled in earnest. "Again, you demonstrate a magic touch all your own! Oh, if only Peachy could see our baby now!"

"I'm sure she would be delighted if she was here! And I'm willing to bet that she would agree that the 'all-white-like-in-a-Brian-McKnight-music-video' look fits BJ like a glove!" she continued to grin.

Surprising even Junior, as he continued to look around, he actually saw his eldest brother, Ludwig, present amongst the family; albeit still quite removed from everybody else by standing near a table on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, he wouldn't even grant Junior the privilege of eye contact, as his eyes were glued to the Blackberry in his right hand.

"Hey, firstborn son-of-mine!" Bowser called out to Ludwig.

"Yes, father?" Ludwig answered, not looking upward.

"Wha chu doin' over there? Are you textin' your own hot date for the evening?" Bowser smiled.

"No," Ludwig said flatly.

"Then come on over here, and be with your family! This is a special occasion! After all, your youngest brother is the last Koopa of this household to experience one of the milestones of his High School career!"

"Father, you are free to indulge in these proceedings as you so wish. That is a parent's joy, after all. But I remember that there is a job to do, with important deadlines to meet. I would like to think that you would appreciative that some one is trying to make your workload a bit easier."

"And I DO appreciate it. But not NOW, you get me?" Bowser urged, as a last warning. Ludwig uttered a low sigh, but eventually switched his PDA off and gradually approached the others.

"Alrighty! I believe I'm available for pictures!" Junior smirked.

"That's good, cuz our favorite blue boy has just finished setting up in the other room!" Bowser smiled.

"Hey! Just realized! Where's Gram-?!" Iggy was quickly shut up by Lemmy and Larry covering up his mouth.

"For right now, it seems like a certain old guy and his date are still back in their room, and haven't come out yet. We're hoping it stays that way for at least a little while longer, right boys...?" Wendy said through an uneasy smile.

"Right!" a majority of the other males agreed, Bowser the loudest.

As everyone made their way over into the next room, Junior spied Hanbei. The wartortle was now dressed up in a black tuxedo similar to Roy's, albeit he was sporting a silver tie instead that matched the silvery-colored shell on his back. A very expensive camera was mounted on a tripod, with Hanbei making what seemed to be some last minute adjustments to the camera itself.

"Alright, Billy. Please move that small cushion on the couch an inch to the right. I desire to make things as symmetrical as possible. Meanwhile, Jimmy, please close the blinds some more. This late afternoon sun is still a bit too bright."

"Yes, sir!" the dracomon mock saluted, and saw to their duties.

"Are we about ready in here, Mr. Cameraman?" Bowser asked.

"Indeed. If the subject is ready, I am ready."

"That's your cue, sharp-looking son-of-mine!" Bowser smiled widely as he patted Junior on the shell, and prodded him forward.

"Alright, alright, Pop-a-roo! Calm it down!" Junior smirked as he came out in front of Hanbei's camera. "OK...so what should we be doing first, nii-chan?"

"Start with something casual, and then we shall work out way up from there. After all, this should be something that allows you to express yourself. Furthermore, I can not hope to have fun shooting you if you are not yourself!" Hanbei gave a small snicker..

With memories of last night's revelations about Hanbei still fresh in his mind, it unnerved Junior a bit to hear the wartortle talking about having fun "shooting" him. But nevertheless, he relaxed and complied with Hanbei's suggestion to start off casual. Junior relaxed his shoulders, with his arms at his sides, and offering his photographer a small smile.

"That shall do for starters..." Hanbei said, giving Junior the cue to stay still while he took his first picture. It would be the first of many.

For as Junior's "photo-shoot" went on, it really started getting good to him. And soon, what was supposed to be an array of ten poses, had multiplied into fifty. Junior figured that as long as he was wearing this get-up, why not let his vanity show up for a while and indulge itself.

Speaking of indulgence, the senior Bowser was enjoying the show, as well. He had even thrown out a few suggestions for poses, which Junior readily complied with.

"Yes, yes...!" Bowser smiled with pleasure. "And Hanbei? I want 20 copies of each of these!"

"As you wish. I will make sure that you have enough for your family, friends and office staff."

"Oh, yeah...yeahyeahyeah!" Bowser nodded quickly.

"Again, it must be said...what a ham," Wendy groaned from the side.

"Which one?" Roy chuckled.

"Hell, BOTH of them!" Wendy answered. "It's just like that Juvenile song! You can definitely say about BJ that 'He get it from his Papa!'"

"What's da scouter say about their egos, Vegeta?" Morton asked.

"IT'S OVER _ NINE _-!!" Lemmy started to say, but was quickly cut off by Wendy brandishing her tazer in his face. "Eep."

"NO. JUST NO. We are NOT starting that shit up again, you hear me?!"

"Wendy, dear, you really shouldn't be threatening your brothers with your tazer," Bowser said.

"But Daddy! Your exact instructions to me, upon receiving this gift, was that I should be using it 'for self defense, or whenever a stupid boy is acting out in my vicinity'. If there's any thing I know all too well, is that I don't have to worry so much about the stupid boys out on the streets! It's the ones in THIS HOUSE! Including the biggest one of them all!" she pointed at her father.

"Hahaha!" Bowser guffawed. "Well, you got me honest. But for real, though, don't threaten your immediate family like that."

"THANK YOU!" Roy said as he glared at his younger sister. "My ass still fuckin' hurts a bit from that..."

"Really? Or was it a lil sumthin'-sumthin' Bei-by did after he waxed that ass last night in Guilty...?" Lemmy snickered.

"Hey! SHUT UP!" Roy shouted to his smaller, yet older brother. Hanbei chuckled with amusement as he continued to work.

"Hey, Roy! Join your little brother! We'll get a few more nice shots, with the two Koopa men getting ready to go out on the town!"

"Hah," Roy chuckled. "It ain't like I'm actually goin' out to Prom. I'm jus' one o' dem chaperones."

"Still! I paid good money for that suit you're wearing, so I might as well get a few nice pictures to remember it by! Humor your old man!"

With that said, Roy stood behind Junior, as the two young men posed for some pictures of their own.

"Good, good! You'll see! These will make for fine memories down the road!" Bowser assured.

"Speaking of memories!" a slightly-wizened voice shouted out from the other entrance to the room.

"Uh oh..." Billy whispered slightly.

"Here comes trouble!" Jimmy replied back.

"Hey, Bow-wow!" Rufus replied as he stepped into the room. "I thought you said you were going to come get me when the festivities began!"

"Gee! In all the hustle and bustle, I must have forgotten you again!" Bowser said sarcastically. "But can you blame me? I did it by watching you, OK?!"

"Pft!" Rufus snorted. "And THAT is your specialized cameraman? Can he even see into the camera, with dem slanty eyes of his?"

Except for Bowser, most everybody else turned to look at Hanbei. But the wartortle continued to work with his camera, seemingly ignoring the interloper.

"One more shot, you two. Then we shall be finished," Hanbei said calmly.

"Rufus. DON'T EVEN," Bowser warned. "NOT TODAY. We can go right back to 'business as usual' after I celebrate my baby's day!"

"Fine, fine..." Rufus smirked, and then turned his attention towards Junior and Roy. "Hey, Pink-head! That reminds me, where's da missus? Didn't you get married?"

"No," Roy said glumly. "We called it off. Irreconcilable differences 'n such."

"Well, ain't that a shame. But don't worry, Bow-wow! Just because one son is a fuck-up who ain't produced any grandkids for you yet, you still got six others to go through!" Rufus chuckled.

Bowser soon became so furious, Junior could see the pulsating vein on his father's forehead even from his distance. "YOU GODDAMN-!"

But before Bowser could take a step forward to close the gap between himself and his father, a light-blue blur soon appeared between them.

"What?!" Rufus sneered downward at the periwinkle turtle before him. "So, you ain't so hard of hearing after all, huh, Jappy?!"

"Indeed, sir," Hanbei replied with a smirk, as his right hand reached underneath his left lapel.

Bowser's eyes widened in alarm. "Whoa, there, Hanbei!!"

But to everyone's shock, shortly after the immediate one of Hanbei stepping forward, what the wartortle had pulled from beneath his suit jacket was....a Brazil Nut seed?

"Riddle me this, dear sir," Hanbei continued to smile. "What do this seed and I have in common?"

Rufus chose to remain silent, staring intently at the wartortle.

"No answer? Well, I would have accepted any of the following: a) we both hail from Brazil, b) we are both quite 'nutty' in our own respective ways and, of course, c) we BOTH are quite hazardous to your health."

"I- I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Your last medical transcript tells a quite different story, I would believe," Hanbei said calmly, as he held the nut deftly between his pointer and middle fingers. He then took a small step forward.

"KEEP THAT AWAY FROM ME!" Rufus screeched as he took several back in fright.

Hanbei continued to step forward. "Oh, now you choose to remember. You have a very, very nasty allergic reaction to these things, is that right? Imagine the look of amusement on my face, when it turned out that one of my favorite snack foods, was something that was the bane of one of my personal nemeses? The irony was as delicious as one of the seeds themselves."

"STAY AWAY!!!" Rufus said, a look of sheer terror plastered on his face. Hanbei chuckled mildly, before his face turned deadly serious.

"Now, listen to me very carefully, you worthless pile of excrement," the wartortle began. "Up to now, I have done more to tolerate your mere presence, at the behest of your son and my father's kyoudai. But make no mistake. The limit of my patience is not one to be trifled with. Especially for some one in your position. For of this world, there are three people that I absolutely despise. Two of which, I could certainly stand to see...removed. You, Rufus Koopa, are the undisputed top of that list."

Rufus could only grit his teeth in anxiety, as Hanbei continued on.

"So, if I were you, Rufus Koopa? I would take care to watch my mouth. Otherwise, one of these itty-bitty seeds might eventually find a way into it. Do I make myself clear?"

"You little blue monster...!" Rufus spat out in spite.

"Kagami, stand down. You've made your point," Bowser calmly ordered. "Arigatai."

Hanbei put the Brazil nut back in its proper place on his person, and made his way back towards his camera. "As you wish."

"Now, as for you, Rufus," Bowser said as he turned his gaze back to his father. "I would just go back to your room. We have business to discuss later, any way."

"Damn right, we do, Bowser! Especially after you choosing to side with the blue hell-spawn who threatened my LIFE!" Rufus then stormed out of the room in a huff.

"That act again, huh, nii-chan?" Junior mused to himself. Much like with the "Archie incident" years prior, Hanbei chose to get in the middle of what could have been an ugly situation, as a Koopa's temper was about to flare up and out of control. In essence, the wartortle took the reigns of appearing as the bad guy once more, in order to save face for the one he wished to protect. It was that kind of selfless behavior that both Roy and now his father, as well, definitely appreciated. And Junior himself admired all the more.

A few brief moments of awkward silence ensued in the room, before Morton, the "Big Mouth" himself, broke it.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYUM!!! Han-bizzle dun did it AGAIN!" He ended up getting a few chuckles amongst his sibs, as a result.

Perhaps in some other families, seeing Hanbei act as he did might have been something much more scary. Or at least, some thing that would be seen as much more outrageous. But Bowser's branch of the Koopa family, as Junior knew all too well, was not like most other families. Even those who didn't interact with him on a largely day-to-day basis like Wendy, Roy and himself, had seen enough to know just what Hanbei was capable of, when pushed too far. Hell, such a thing could be described as Junior's earliest and most vivid memory of the wartortle. But that's a story for another time...

In any case, Bowser himself perhaps put it best: "Unusual people have a habit for attracting those just as unusual as themselves." Such a thing described his family, and its close-knit friends and associates like Hanbei, all too well. Even the twins seem to be fitting in just fine, because of this very aspect.

And yet, as Junior allowed himself to relax a bit, following the end of his photo session, he could only be painfully reminded of how unhappy his life had become. He was Bowser Koopa, Junior; the son bearing the namesake of one of the world's most powerful and charismatic individuals. Junior, in his own right, was a charming young man, who was fearfully and definitely wonderfully made. So, why was he so unhappy? Was it just because he was missing Jojo?

No. It couldn't be that simple. Yes, Junior missed his kitty very much. That much still hurt him deeply. However, even when he still had Jojo, and Babs was nowhere in the picture, he wasn't entirely happy back then. And it had everything to do with how he was living a life denied. Junior just saw how a guy like Hanbei was able to step out in front of the opposition without any trace of fear in his being. And yet, as much as Junior hated to admit it, fear held him ever captive.

His father also had another saying that rang in the recesses of Junior's mind at that very moment: "The best way to live, is to live a life untamed and true to yourself. As a Koopa should never settle for anything LESS than the best, that makes it the ONLY way a Koopa should be living!!"

"But he's absolutely right," Junior thought to himself. "If I don't turn this puppy around, and take control of my own life NOW, while I still can, it's only going to get worse. And I can't think of any better way to assert my control than at this very moment!"

"Hey...!" Junior started to speak.

"Oh, Junior!" Wendy spoke up, after closing her cellphone. "The limo, with your date inside, is coming up right now!"

"Well, shit," Junior cursed to himself. "Guess it is a bit too late for that now..."

"You was sayin' sumthin', lil man?" Roy asked his little brother.

"Nah. Just was thinking about something that I gotta do. Sooner or later."

"Ah, I gotcha. Still...I'm here if ya got sumthin' ya need to get off ya chest. Aight?" Roy patted Junior on the shell.

"Yeah. Thanks, Roy," Junior smiled.

Roy snapped his fingers, and then started to reach into his own pockets. "Oh, shit! Almost forgot!"

"Forgot what-?" Junior uttered, but was quickly interrupted when he felt Roy stuffed something into his back pocket.

"NOW, you're ready for tonight!" Roy chuckled.

Junior stuck his right hand into the back pocket, and felt what seemed to be a grouping of small, square-like package, with distinct "round" shapes in the middle of it. The unmistakable packaging of a condom.

"...Really?" Junior chuckled lowly.

"Strap twice, youngin'!" Roy snickered as he whispered. "Hope I picked da right size for ya..."

"In any case, it's certainly the thought that counts, big bro," Junior smiled.

Well, so much for Junior being able to assert himself right here and now. But now that the youngest of the Koopa clan had the idea rooted in his mind, it was going to be impossible to dislodge it. Let tonight be the last time he would have to lie to himself! And deny himself!