"Hide and seek? That sounds like fun." The group agreed that hide and seek would be an appropriate activity to enjoy with their new friend.
"I wanna be seeker!" Hamtaro exclaimed. No one had any objections to his proposal. Finding the ham-hams never ceased to thrill him. He felt like he was rescuing them from dungeons or he was discovering some live, hidden treasure. It made his imagination go wild.
Boss, having decided to relax and take pleasure in the game, released a haughty laugh. The kind of laugh he often did when he felt the need to show off.
"I'm an expert at this game! You'll never find me!" he started moving towards the door, where he would find a place to hide in the tunnels.
Kiki stepped to his side, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "Oh yeah? I bet I'll be the last one he finds."
He was shocked at this strange change of personality in Kiki. Before she was so sweet and carefree, now she actually dared to challenge him! Now he was starting to feel that she was no better then Stan. "We'll see about that." He snarled in retort. The pair began racing to the tunnels, until a nosey voice called for them to "wait!"
"That's an unfair advantage," Dexter had interjected, "If you two, especially Boss, are going to hide in the tunnels, then we all should."
"That's totally true. Plus, we've never done that before!" Sandy added, "It would be tons of fun to try something new."
Boss and Kiki exchanged disappointed glances, but they really had no choice. The rest of the hams took the liberty of filing out the front door. Bijou moved daintily in front of Boss and smiled. He returned it with a large grin, holding the door open for her. As she left, he completely forgot that Kiki was standing behind him and closed the door in her face. Shocked, she pouted angrily while letting herself outside.
Hamtaro began counting to a number sufficient for the others the find a good hiding place. When he was done, he rushed to the door, swung it open and bellowed, "Ready or not! Here I come!" into the warrens. The only response he got was his own voice echoing back at him.
Meanwhile, Kiki had begun nestling herself into a cubby hole in the side of a tunnel, that she discovered, lead to a dead end. She figured that no one would think to come back there since it directed to no where. She was relieved that she was alone now with plenty of time to stay that way. Though previously she was glad for the attention, it was too much now. All she wanted was for it to be her and Boss like the night before. She felt comfortable around him alone, even though he was grumpy and namely bossy. This hadn't really dawned on her until she saw how he acted around that Bijou girl.
Kiki's heart sank again. This whole "clubhouse" experience was something genuinely new. It was nothing like her life at the pet shop. Her whole life she waited around, sleeping, eating, and watching her siblings and friends being taken to new homes one by one. She heard other hamsters talk about how she was awfully big for a girl hamster, or that her large, strangely colored eyes turned buyers away from her. One day she overheard the store managers talking about how they'd have to get rid of her soon because she was getting to old to sell. Terrified, Kiki escaped that night. She never went back, knowing she was unwanted there.
Honestly, all Kiki desired was a home. A place where she was welcomed. A place where she felt she belonged.
Sounds of something approaching broke her chain of thoughts. Curled up in a ball, she waited to see if they would spot her. She remained as still as she could, eyes fixed on the entrance of the cubby. A glimmer of shiny green eyes met hers in the dark, and white fur stood out like a diamond amongst colored gems. Bijou was now looking back at her.
"Oh! I am zo sorry Kiki, I had no idea zis was your hiding place." She said somewhat shyly. Kiki groaned.
"I was hoping no one would be able to find this place." Kiki replied with a sour tone. "You can stay here if you want, though…"
Bijou smiled unsurely and climbed in next to her. There was a stifling silence between the two because of Kiki's attitude. She wasn't sure what was coming over her, or why she felt so angry and jealous around this Bijou girl. She decided to get off on a better foot with Bijou.
"I like your ribbons…" she began awkwardly. Bijou's smile brightened a little, placing her paws onto one of her pigtails.
"Zank you! I like your… neck kerchief."
"Aha, thanks…" Kiki grinned sheepishly. "Um, don't you think it's taking Hamtaro a long time to find us?"
"You're right… Maybe we should find a different hiding spot."
"Let's go then." Kiki crawled past Bijou, popping out of the cubby. The small, fair hamster followed her suit and the two began to journey throughout the labyrinth of tunnels. They turned in this direction and that, gradually getting more and more lost with each step.
"Is it just me, or are these tunnels getting bigger?" Kiki looked back at Bijou, who tilted her head to the side.
"I notized it too…" she said in concern. "I do not zink Boss made zese tunnels."
The pair began to feel a rumbling beneath their paws. Kiki stepped back to avoid some debris crumbling from the roof of the tunnel and grabbed onto Bijou in shock. Both hamsters were now clasping tightly onto each other in fear of what was now heading in there direction. What could it be that could cause tremors of this caliber? Anxiously, they gazed ahead at their fate…
Lalala I love cliff hangers xD