DUCT TAPE IX: What Do You Mean...Dragon?
by Ebonhawk

Rowen scratched at his head and stared down at his book. He'd been trying to read the same page for the past thirty minutes and hadn't gotten farther than halfway. Maybe it was bedtime?

He looked at the clock. Well past midnight.

Oh yeah, definitely bedtime. He was overcome by a large, whole-body yawn as he tried to climb up off the couch. Dropping back down onto the cushions, Rowen decided it was probably easier to just roll off like he usually did. His book flopped to the carpet a full second before he landed with a grunt. Rowen considered staying right where he was...then he recalled that Kento commonly crashed on Mia's couch Saturday mornings. He didn't really want to be in the way when his large friend barreled downstairs without looking in a few short hours. Being run over the one time had been more than enough to teach him better.

Rowen slowly shoved himself to his feet and stumbled out into the hall and toward the staircase. He'd just put a foot on the bottom step when Ryo sprinted past him for some unknown reason, almost knocking him down on his ass.

"Watch where yer goin'!" he muttered and proceeded to crawl up to his room. He shed his clothes like a snake would its skin and slid into his pjs before worming his way under the blankets. His eyes were closed before his head even reached the pillow.

"Rowen, wake up."

"Nuh."

"It's time to get up, Rowen."

"No it's not."

"Wake up now."

"Nuh-uh. Come back in the morning."

"Rowen, it *is* morning."

"No, no, no. Tomorrow morning."

Ryo sighed and watched as Sage continued to try and talk Rowen out of bed. He knew it wasn't going to work. It never did. Grabbing the box of cereal he'd brought upstairs with him, Ryo shoved a handful in his mouth then pegged Rowen in the face with one of the hard, o-shaped bits. He laughed when Rowen's face screwed up in annoyance.

Reaching into the box again, Ryo threw another piece of cereal at his sleeping friend. Then another. And another.

"Stop it!"

"Get up then," Ryo countered.

"No."

Another piece flew with unerring accuracy.

"Ryo!"

"Get up."

"No!"

Sage stood back and watched Ryo work. Yet another piece of cereal flew across the room.

"Get up."

"No."

Pegged.

"Get up."

"No."

Pegged hard.

"Get up."

"No!"

Pegged really hard.

"Get up."

"Go away!"

Ryo pushed himself to his feet and ambled over to the bed. "One last chance, Ro. Get up."

"Never."

"Sage, would you?"

"Of course."

The blond reached down and pulled the covers off the boy still in bed. He had an idea of what Ryo was up to and no doubt that it would work.

"Oh, looky here! Rowen's almost tossed himself right out of his pajamas, as usual. Let's have some fun." Ryo tipped over the box of cereal and smiled impishly as the bits cascaded down over his sleepy friend. He and Sage snickered and giggled as Rowen attempted to bat away the cereal, eyes closed, and rolled all over, crushing the pieces into his bed.

"Dammit!" Rowen roared, his eyes open and flashing a frightening blue. He sat bolt upright and glared malevolently at the two intruders in his room. "Both of you are *so* freakin' dead!"

Ryo dropped the empty box and shot out the door, Sage right behind him. A pissed off Rowen was almost as deadly as a pissed off Mia - although not nearly so devious as a pissed off Sage - and they were not about to be caught by him.

"I think we should all go downtown today. I mean, it is Saturday so there should be something going on," Cye said to Kento. They sat on opposite sides of the table, Kento mowing down plate after plate of breakfast while Cye had hardly even touched his first.

"Soun's goo'," Kento mumbled around his fork.

Hearing the terrible sounds from upstairs, Cye fixed up a plate and waited by the doorway. First, Ryo zipped past. Then, Sage. Sticking a foot out across the door, Cye braced himself as Rowen crashed to the floor. Leaning down, he held the plate, fixed just the way Rowen liked it, where the blue-haired boy could see it. Rowen's anger was suddenly pacified and he allowed Cye to lead him to a seat at the table, yanking his pajamas back into place.

As everyone took seats, Ryo and Sage far away from Rowen, Cye asked, "Anyone else for going downtown today?"

Yusuke tossed the bag to Kurama. "We got everything you asked us to get. When do we go after them?"

"Yeah, when?" Kuwabara added.

"I heard from my secret informant that they're all going downtown today," the youko replied.

"Downtown? Oh, like we're going to be able to find them there," Yusuke tossed back at his friend with all due cynicism.

Pulling his long red hair back and reaching for a band to hold it, Kurama pointed out, "Yusuke, Mia gave me a list of everywhere they might possibly be, so we shouldn't have a problem. Besides, we're going to wait for them in the park they always walk through on the way back. Don't worry yourself, we'll get them. We'll head out when Hiei shows up."

"I'm here," spoke the fire demon from his habitual spot near the window, having made his usual sudden and unannounced arrival.

"Good. Let's go, shall we?"

Sage looked around suspiciously. The air didn't *feel* right. It hadn't since they entered the park. "Hey, guys, do you get the feeling we're being watched?"

"Oh, that was a good one. What movie did ya have to watch to find that old line?" Kento sniggered.

They were headed back to Mia's place as their day of wandering was done. No one had found anything interesting, so they were actually going back much earlier than they'd anticipated. Of course, if they hadn't had to tear Rowen out of the bookstore and Kento away from the snack shop, they'd have gone back even sooner.

"No, I'm serious," Sage snapped. "Someone is watching us. I can feel it."

Cye paused to flit his gaze over the area, looking almost like a cat searching out its prey. ...There it was. Something *was* watching them!

"We've got company," Cye informed the others, pointing to where he'd spotted a shadowy figure that was undoubtedly smirking with evil intent. when the others turned to see, it was (predictably) gone.

"Do you think it's the Dynasty?" Kento asked, dropping into a defensive crouch.

At this, Sage stood tall and scowled at his friend. "OH! What's this? You believe *him* but not me?!"

Kento thought about it for a minute then replied, "Well...yeah."

They both watched as Rowen slowly, little by little, sank to the ground in his usual fit of snorts and giggles. He was so predictable anymore. Cye just shook his head and checked his watch. "What do you think, Ryo?"

Nothing.

Cye spun about on his heel and searched for the other. "Ryo?"

He was gone...vanished into nothingness.

Yusuke slapped the final piece of tape across Ryo's middle, strapping the Ronin firmly to a spot near the outer rim of the metal circle. Grinning, he leaned over the other boy and said, "So, tell me, how do *you* like it?"

Their captive tried to struggle but the tape was too much for him. He wasn't getting away.

"Spin it, Kuwabara," Kurama ordered, his mirth ringing loud and clear although his voice was calm.

Ryo's eyes went wide as the large boy leaned over, wiggled his fingers in greeting with an ear-to-ear smile, and then grasped one of several metal bars in his hands and pulled on it. The bright red and blue and yellow merry-go-round went flying into action, spinning round and round and round...

Kurama and his friends left their first victim as his face started to turn green.

"He's gotta be here somewhere," Rowen commented needlessly. They all knew Ryo wouldn't have left the park without telling them...would he?

"Maybe we should split up? Into pairs?"

"And do what, Fishy?"

"Look for him," Cye shot back sarcastically, throwing Rowen a look that told him just how stupid the question had been.

"I don't know about that...we've got a 'bogeyman' hiding in the park..." Rowen countered, with a smirk and all appropriate melodramatic effects. "It could be ...oh, dare I say it?!... the Dynasty, like Kento said!"

"Yeah," Kento added, in all seriousness, "Haven't you ever seen any horror movies? We'll only be playing right into the bad guys hands if we split up."

Rowen thwapped him upside the head and muttered, "Idiot."

"What?!"

"Let's just do it," Sage interrupted, "Cye, you and Kento are together. I'll take Blue Boy and keep him under control."

As Kento and Cye applauded, Sage dragged a protesting Rowen along behind him toward the far side of the park.

"Let's get 'em both..." Yusuke suggested.

"At the same time?"

"Yes," Kurama answered Kuwabara's question. "If you and Yusuke can take care of them," he turned to the final member of their team, "Hiei and I can take out the other two."

"But you'll be missing out on Cye and Kento, while we'll miss out on the other guys," Kuwabara pointed out.

"As much as I hate to say this, he's right," Hiei muttered.

"Fine. We'll stay together," Kurama amended. "Let's take these two first."

"I'm gonna go check the slide."

Cye turned around with an annoyed look to see Kento ambling over to the taller of two long metal slides. The larger boy was soon at the top of the apparatus, where he sat and pushed himself forward with a grin. When he stopped suddenly halfway down and wouldn't budge an inch farther, it occurred to him that maybe he'd underestimated how wide the thing was. This old model slide didn't seem to be made for those like himself. His thick, beefcakey build (okay, maybe it *was* a little soft in places) was stuck.

"Cye?" he called, trying not to whine.

"Yes?"

"Could you help me for a second?"

"Why?"

"Well..." he stalled, preferring not to be made the butt of a joke...even if it was his butt that had gotten him into this situation. "I...I seem to be...stmfhm," he mumbled that last word.

"What? I didn't hear that. And come down off that slide. We're supposed to be looking for Ryo."

"I can't."

"Why ever not?"

"I'm stmfhm."

"What?"

"I'm stmfhm."

"I can't understand you, Kento. Speak up."

"I'm STUCK, all right?! Are you happy now, Mr. I-can't-understand?!"

Cye snickered and felt his eyes tearing up as he attempted to hold back. "Y-you're wha-?"

"I'm *stuck*, dammit! C'mon, Cye! Don't laugh at me. This is *not* funny!"

"Yes it is!" the British boy howled as he folded into a hysterical heap on the grass.

"NOW!" cried out a new voice from the behind some bushes. Cye was tackled and held to the ground by two unseen assailants, who - with some quick glances to either side - Cye identified as the redhead he knew as Shuuichi and the little guy he'd heard called Hiei.

He looked over at the slide when he heard Kento growling out some rather serious threats and that terrible sound he'd know anywhere...

"Get his arms, Kuwabara! I can't get the tape over him with him swinging punches at my face!" Yusuke yelled at his cohort, who promptly took care of the matter.

"You're gonna regret this, Yusuke! I'll get you all back!" Kento hollered before tape was slathered across his face.

The duct tape was then quickly wrapped around Kento and the slide, strapping the Chinese boy tight against the metal.

Kuwabara turned to the others and said, "All right, we're done with him. Where do we wanna put the other one?"

Kurama conferred with Hiei and replied, "Well, we couldn't separate such good buddies, you know. I always see these two together. And, as the slide has *two* sides..."

Cye went very still. He had a bad feeling about what was on the brink of happening to him.

"Okay, where did Sage and Rowen get off to?" Kurama wondered aloud. Behind him, Kento had given up struggling against his grey, sticky prison. However, on the underside of the slide, Cye wiggled and squirmed, feeling dizzy as all the blood in his body seemed to be making a trip to his head.

"I don't see anyone. How about you, Ro?" He shot a glance over his left shoulder. Rowen wasn't there. "Rowen?" Sage tried to remain calm. Freaking out wasn't going to help the situation. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this.

Maybe Rowen had found something and forgotten to mention it before he took off to check it out? No. Not like him to do that. Hmm...

Sage wandered into a new part of the park. He'd never been here before. In front of him stood a jungle gym of massive proportions...and at the top - being taped spread-eagle to the bars by Yusuke and all his friends - was Rowen.

"Dammit, I need another roll," Yusuke muttered and started his descent back to the ground and a small, brown bag. He looked up and caught sight of the blond. "Hey, hey, hey! Lookit what we got here, guys."

His three companions turned away from their work for a moment.

"Well now, if it isn't our favorite flirt!" Kurama smiled.

Hiei sniffed, jumped from the jungle gym and snagged the new roll of tape from Yusuke's hand. "Don't worry, I've got this one." Then, well before anyone could even think to respond, he had Sage slammed up against an old, thick tree and had the tape covering him and the girth of the trunk from shoulders to waist.

"Let me go!" Sage cried on outrage.

"I need more tape," Hiei mentioned and then grabbed the roll Yusuke tossed him from the air. As he turned around to finish wrapping his victim, one of Sage's legs flew out and landed him a good one in the gut.

The fire demon scowled and glared at the blond. His eyes flashed and Sage paled. "Would you like to meet my dragon? Hmm?"

Sage was quiet for a moment, then he asked, "What do you mean...dragon?"

"Hiei, just finish with the tape. He's not worth it."

Nodding his agreement with Kurama's words, Hiei ripped a couple of short strips off his roll and smacked them over Sage's mouth. Then, he grinned and completed the job, wrapping Sage to the tree all the way down to the ankles.

Kuwabara whistled as he looked up at the finished product. Taping the blue-haired sugar-fiend had taken more work than they'd expected but the result was just too cool. "So, that's Ryo on the merry-go-round, Kento and Cye on the slide, Sage to the tree, and Rowen to the top of the jungle gym. I'd say this has been a good day," he commented.

"Yes it has," Yusuke agreed with a satisfied grin.

"Hn. Let's go," Hiei said, and he turned to walk from the park, Kurama right behind him.

"Wait for us!"

END