"NOW may I PLEASE have my bad guy line?" asked Nakago impatiently in a VERY annoyed tone.

Hikaru nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you." He paused. "Hey. What's wrong with Kiri?"

Hikaru shrugged.

Nakago frowned and disappeared from view for a moment.

He reappeared in front of the group with a girl about fifteen centimeters shorter than him clutched tightly to him, sobbing.

"Hey, Kiri, it's okay," he was whispering.

This was the bad guy?

She sniffled and pulled away. "I shouldn't be crying. I should be back there helping them. Just because you're my brother doesn't mean I get a free ticket out."

He hugged her. "Do you want to go back?"

She took a shuddering breath.

"Mako-chan!" yelled Sakura and ran over to her. "What's wrong?"

Makoto almost started crying again.

Sakura gave her a quick hug. "Don't worry- I've got it all under control."

Makoto tried to force a smile.

"Go back to them," Sakura told her. "To him."

Makoto walked backwards to Nakago, nodding slowly.

He held her, disappeared, then reappeared in about five seconds. "Good. Now where were we again?"

"You were going to vanquish us," Yui reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. But now I don't feel like it."

Those in the group who were paying attention sweatdropped.

"I'm really worried about Kiri..."

"She'll be fine," Fiboshi assured him. "After all, she copes every day at school with me!"

"True... all right then."

"In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!" screamed Miaka, and raced at Nakago.

Yui put her head in her hands. "Doesn't she know that she's doing a different character now? Nothing against Araki-san, but..."

Tetsuya smiled at her, VERY glad he was dating her and NOT Miaka. Poor Tamahome-kun, he thought, but stopped that quickly. No, wait. He was wrong- they deserved each other.

Makoto reappeared in the dungeon.

"You're back no da!" said Chichiri.

She took a deep breath. "Yeah."

"Are you okay?" Hikaru asked her.

Makoto swallowed. "Yeah."

"We have to figure out a way to get out of here," Hikaru said, taking charge. "We have to help the others."

Makoto crept into the back of the room. Nakago had used a different locking spell to shut the door, so she couldn't open it. She sat down again and drew up her knees.

"Chichiri, can you get us out with your magic?" Hikaru asked the monk.

"No, na no da," he said. "Nakago is the god of war no da. I'm only a moon princess no da."

"Okay," Hikaru said, then turned to Suboshi. "How about you, Lego boy?"

"Legos..."

"Can you get us out?"

"Legos..."

"Bad word choice. Never mind. Let me see what I can do..."

"I've still got my lock picks," Keisuke offered.

"Hi," Amiboshi said to her again, sitting down beside her.

"Try them," Hikaru urged.

"Hi," Makoto replied, the same as before.

"Okay. Hang on a second." There was a rattle as the King of Thieves pulled them out.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, leaning back against the wall. "I'm not good with girls."

"I've got it," Keisuke announced.

Makoto didn't say anything, unsure if she even could.

"I think it's going to fit..."

"I didn't know you loved me... you do, don't you?" His voice was timid and unsure, almost childlike in its sweetness.

"It's turning..."

Makoto smiled ruefully and shut her eyes. "Yes. I do."

"Oh, no!" Keisuke groaned. "It's stuck."

Amiboshi was silent for a second. "That's never happened to me before."

"Let me try," Hikaru said.

Makoto again did not reply. What could she say?

"I... I think I got it..."

Amiboshi took a deep breath, steadying himself. He slowly and gently took her hand in his.

"Yes... yes, it's going!" Hikaru said, very pleased with herself.

Makoto looked up at him, surprise apparent on her face. "Amiboshi?"

"It's almost there! Wait... I can't turn it anymore." Hikaru's voice held disappointment.

"I... I'd like to try... to... to be more than... friends with you. If you can have such strong feelings, surely... there is something worth loving there?"

"Let me do it again," Keisuke said, and took it from her.

She stared at him. Had he just said...?

"I... no, hang on... just a little more..." the King of Thieves muttered.

He bent down and kissed her gently.

"THERE!" Keisuke exclaimed gleefully.

The door creaked open.

"Mako-chan?" asked Hikaru. "Are you-"

She saw them.

"Uhh... never mind," she said quickly.

Makoto buried her face in his chest, crying again, but this time from happiness. He put his arms around her.

"Kiri-chan, we need to go," he whispered.

She nodded. He helped her up.

"Ready?" Hikaru asked the two of them.

Makoto nodded her once more tear-stained face.

Keisuke grabbed Hikaru's hand. "Chichiri, come with us. Suboshi, go with Makoto and Amiboshi."

"Okay no da," said Chichiri.

"Legos..." agreed Suboshi.

They split up, Hikaru's group going one way along the hall, Makoto's going another.

Miaka tried to pound Nakago with her sword.

"Does she know how to use a sword?" Fiboshi whispered to Sakura.

Sakura shrugged. "Apparently not."

Nakago pushed her away roughly. She landed on her rear end and started wailing.

Nakago cringed, as did every other person in the room.

Fiboshi threw a muffin at Nakago. "Rum Raisin... EXPLODE!!!"

The muffin splattered all over the god of war.

"Eww..." he said, picking muffin guts off of himself.

Tetsuya pulled out his bank book. "I'm going to make him pay his income taxes..."

Nakago looked aghast at that.

Yui glared. "I'll get Miaka to sing."

Nakago visibly paled.

Tasuki didn't say anything, just patted his tessen and cackled.

Nakago did not look scared of Tasuki.

Fiboshi ate a muffin. "YUMMY!!!"

Nakago backed away from the youth.

Nuriko picked up Mount Reikaku. "I'm not kidding. This thing will hurt."

"Oh, Nuri-chan..." Sakura said dreamily.

He grinned at her, then turned his attention to the god of war.

"HEY!!" screamed Tasuki. "Put my &%#$%^@^*%*^%#$$$#@**^$# mountain down!!"

Fiboshi looked at Tasuki curiously. "What was that?"

"Huh? Oh, this? &%#$%^@^*%*^%#$$$#@**^$#? I'm not really sure..."

"Oh..." said Fiboshi, disappointed.

Miaka got up, done wailing. "What did you do with Tamahome, you big old meanie?"

Nakago snorted at her. "I didn't do anything. Kiri did."

"Kiri...?

"Makoto?"

"Ohhh... who's that?"

Everyone in the entire parody fell down.

"R... right... okay," said Yui, getting up. "I don't know her."

"I WANT MY TAMAHOME!!!" shrieked Miaka at the top of her lungs.

Makoto appeared behind Nakago, holding onto Amiboshi's hand.

"Oniichan?"

He turned. "Kiri!" he said, and his voice was relieved. "How are you?"

"You need to get better locks..."

He grinned at her.

Again, everyone in the entire parody fell down. Except Nakago, Makoto, and Amiboshi, but only because Makoto was holding the latter's hand still.

"Of course he can grin," Makoto said furiously.

Everyone got up VERY quickly.

"Are you almost done, Oniichan? I'm hungry..."

"Yeah, hang on. Just a bit more to go, I think." He gave her a covert look. "You two can go wait for Soi and me if you want..."

"ONIICHAN!" Makoto said warningly, because she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Amiboshi, sweet innocent Amiboshi, was completely lost.

"Is the next chapter the last one?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know," Makoto said. "That would be sad..." She gazed at Amiboshi.

He blushed.

"Oh, well," she said. "It's time for a new background color anyway..."

Hikaru really shouldn't leave me alone with the disk...

"So... remind me why we are fighting this guy again," pleaded Tetsuya.

"Um... I think because we need to rescue Hotohori-sama's daughter," Yui replied.

"Right... I knew that."

There was a silence.

"So... um... how do we do that?"

Yui looked concerned. "I don't know."

Makoto was absolutely perfectly content to stand in the background and hold onto Amiboshi's hand.

Suboshi curled up on the ground and proceeded to take a nap.

Meanwhile...

"I think we're lost no da!" Chichiri remarked matter-of-factly.

Keisuke nodded. "I think you're right. What about you, Hikaru?" He paused.

The brown haired girl did not answer.

"Hikaru?" Keisuke queried again.

This time she blinked and shook her head. "Huh?"

"Chichiri thinks we're lost," Keisuke explained. "And where was your mind off to just then?"

"Yeah, you totally spaced out no da!" Chichiri added.

"Makoto's okay now. She's not in a bad mood anymore." Hikaru looked around. "We're not lost, you know. I think I can find us a way to Nakago."

"How no da?" Chichiri asked.

"Oh, I figured just follow the maniacal laughter and painful screams."

"Painful screams no da?" Chichiri asked, paling.

Keisuke's eyes widened.

"Um, never mind, let's just go this way," Hikaru said as she led them off down an even darker passageway.

The scene faded back to the tension in the other room.

Miaka put her hand on the hilt of her sword and tried to draw it, but it wouldn't come loose. "Oh, gosh, darn it!" she whined. "I can't get it."

Yui shook her head as she drew the sword for the hopeless Warrior Miko. "You're helpless, aren't you?"

"Tamahome always does the hard things for me!" Miaka protested.

Nakago looked to Makoto. "Are we going to stand around here forever? It's getting unrealistic."

"There's a couple of things that still need to be done. Sorry, Oniichan, there's a few of scenes and jokes that we haven't worked in yet. We'll do the plot soon though!"

Nakago laughed. "You always leave things to the last minute, don't you?"

Yui shook her head. She still couldn't get used to him laughing.

Sakura was still clinging to Nuriko. "He's got such a scary voice!!!! Why did he have to do that?"

Nuriko stroked her hair and glared at Tomo. Tomo being the wonderfully mature person that he is stuck out his tongue at them both and said as loud as he could...

"AONO-KUN!!!!!"

Sakura shrieked and buried her face in Nuriko's chest again.

Nuriko gently pushed her aside and walked over to Tomo.

Two minutes later, Tomo was sailing quickly to the ground three stories below.

Nakago grimaced as he heard the statues and trees crack and break under Tomo. "Did you have to ruin the gardens? I mean, really, couldn't you just have pounded him?"

But Nuriko didn't hear him. By this time, he was staring at the bubbly little red-head who was, of course, barreling to him.

"Oh, Nuri-chan! You beat him up for me!!!!!!" she shrieked as she leapt into his arms. "Nuri-chan!"

Nuriko caught her as she leaped at him. "Of course I did!" he told her.

They stared into each others eyes.

"Oh, gag me!" Fiboshi said.

Sakura and Nuriko shot him Death GlaresŪ simultaneously. He yelped and fell backwards.

Suboshi, who was still dreaming, stirred and mumbled. "Legos! Gimme! They're mine! LEGOS!!"

Back among the lost...

"I wanna go back to my moon kingdom no da!!!!!!" Chichiri said, stomping his foot in a very princessly manner.

"For the love of Suzaku! You aren't the real moon princess!" Hikaru said tersely.

Keisuke shook his head. He felt lost more than just physically.

The scene switched back once more to Fiboshi, still lying on the ground. He bounced up gleefully.

Yui eyed him in a frightened manner. "If you are a seishi, why don't you have a symbol?"

"Hikaru, I can't do this joke without you!" yelled Makoto. She snapped and Hikaru, Keisuke, and the moon princess landed on their rear ends in front of her.

"Hi," Hikaru said cheerfully, being helped up by Keisuke. On her way up, she lost her balance and fell- into Keisuke's arms. (Sorry, Hikaru-chan! I couldn't resist! ~Kiri ^_^)

Blushing furiously, she pulled away. "Sorry," she stammered, her face burning.

He smiled gently and held her a bit longer than necessary. "It's not a problem."

She turned even redder, if possible.

Makoto loudly cleared her throat.

Hikaru turned a normal color and looked at her. "Yes?" she asked irritably.

"Oh, nothing. But it's time for the seishi symbol joke."

Hikaru brightened. One could almost say she sparkled...

"Really?" she asked happily. "Oh, this should be good..."

Yui glanced at Fiboshi. Again. "If you are a seishi, why don't you have a symbol?" Again.

He grinned. "I DO!!"

She backed off. "Where then?"

He stepped closer. Or rather, bounced.

"ON MY TAIL!" he exclaimed gleefully.

She looked at him, as did everyone else, in surprise and amazement.

"What tail?" Miaka asked.

Yui hit her.

"OOHHH!!" yelled Fiboshi. "LET ME HELP!!"

Yui again backed away.

"So, Fiboshi," Hikaru interrupted, trying to contain her laughter because she already knew the punch line, "what does your symbol say?"

He grinned again. "AOI!!!"

Makoto and Hikaru broke down into peals of laughter.

Everyone looked confused except Fiboshi. He looked grumpy.

"Why is that so funny?" he asked in a hurt voice.

Makoto struggled to regain her breath. "It's aoi. Get it? AOI?"

The two authors collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter.

Fiboshi also went to the ground, but started making faces at them.

Hikaru took a deep breath. "'Aoi' is pronounced like the English for 'owie.'"

"So he's got an 'owie' on his tail!!" Makoto cried, breaking down again.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Fiboshi began to cry.

Makoto went over to him. "Hey, Fiboshi-chan, we're sorry. We didn't mean to make you-"

"KIDDING!!" the owie-tailed boy jumped up and yelled cheerfully.

"R... right," agreed Makoto, unsure.

The room was silent for a second.

Then the two authors started laughing again.

"Owie on his tail? Get it?" Hikaru giggled.

Makoto gave Yui a mischievous look. "Yui will have to kiss it better..."

"Yeah," drooled Fiboshi.

Yui blanched.

"An 'aoi' on his tail!" repeated Miaka, grinning. "I don't get it."

Everyone now stared at her.

And because it was nearly midnight and Makoto was really tired, the chapter ended here.



Hikaru REALLY shouldn't leave me alone with the disk...


Now! I want the next part!

Kowai! Take me back to Tokyo Tower