MY MOMMY IS HOME! YAAAAAAY! I don't care if most people shun their parents! I love mine and I'm not afraid to admit it! XD

Anyway, I am really enjoying this story (possibly more than Niji Meets Neko) and I hope that you like it too!

Enjoy Chapter 3: Hide-and-Seek

"I was born twenty-one years ago in a relatively small country called Rimhakka," Yogi began slowly, "I was the king's first born. He was a good man and I always tried to be like him." The young man smiled bitterly at the painful memory, "When I was four years old my little sister, Miumarie, was born. She was absolutely adorable and I loved spending time with her. We always used to go searching for Miumanai flowers. She had a knack for finding them whenever she wanted." Yogi chuckled, as a few tears formed in his eyes. He brushed them away in embarrassment.

"Everything was perfect, up until a few months after my tenth birthday. That was when they came…" Hirato leaned forward in anticipation, "Miumarie went missing first. I went to go find her with two other servants. They were killed and I was knocked out." Yogi paused and covered his face with his hands. Gareki frowned a little. Seeing his hero troubled made him feel angry. Not at anyone in particular but just in general. The dark-haired boy looked at Yogi and felt his heart twinge. He could see tears leaking through the older man's fingers and his shoulders were shaking slightly.

"Nii-chan…you don't really need to-"

"It's okay, Gareki-kun," Yogi slid a hand into his multicolored hair and smiled sideways at the worried boy, "I might as well." He exhaled and collected himself before continuing, "When I woke up I was lying on a bed in the middle of an empty room with a large screen on one side. After a bit a variety of voices began speaking to me.

'Oh! You're awake! Are you hurt anywhere?'

'You've endured it well!'

'You must be grateful to your parents for giving you such a healthy body!'

'Father…mother,' I suddenly remembered what I had been doing before passing out, 'I…when I was looking for Miumarie on the hill when suddenly there was…!' I stopped as the screen flickered on, revealing a group of scary looking people. They were congratulating me and telling me that I had successfully evolved and that I was now their comrade. Then they told me something that made my blood run cold.

'Everyone in Rimhakka was weak. Not even one of them survived.'

'Hey. Let him see that. Once he sees the difference he should understand how much better he is.'

The screen flickered again and I heard a childish scream, 'ONII-CHAN!' The video footage showed a large tornado ripping through Rimhakka. The camera focused on my baby sister as she cried for help." Yogi lowered his hands and placed them in his lap. His breathing was even, posture relaxed, expression neutral. He locked his feelings away and was simply running on facts now.

"You're thinking that I must have been screaming at them to help her, right? I didn't. Sure, it horrified me, but I didn't scream or cry or whimper or…anything. I just watched. Eventually they stopped playing the video and asked me what I thought about it. I didn't answer. They kept asking me what was wrong and saying that now that I was one of them everything was going to be okay and they would take care of me. I simply blocked them out.

"Instead I listened to a different voice I heard when I saw Miumarie die. It was gentle and harsh, sweet and cruel, happy and sad. When I closed my eyes I could see him. He looked just like me, but…silvery." The former prince twiddled with a strand of silver hair, "He told me that we would use his power to protect us. He said that if we worked together we could protect our loved ones, or at least any new ones we might have later," Yogi gave a small smile and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling, "I trusted him and said so. He disappeared after that and I noticed that I could feel his presence inside my own soul. He had become a part of me.

"When I opened my eyes again I knew exactly how to get out. I won't go into the…um…gruesome details but I got out without dying and was able to run away to the nearest town." He sighed before reaching over and ruffling Gareki's dark hair, "After a while I ended up in Karasuna where I found this guy!" His demeanor had brightened considerably when he began speaking about his precious little brother, "He had been on a sla-"

"Nii-chan," Gareki cut him off quickly, "They have no need to be informed about that. Besides, they didn't ask about me they wanted to know about your past." The teen frowned. Nai noticed that his new friend had turned a sickly white at Yogi's final comment.

"A-ah, that's right! Sorry, Gareki-kun," Yogi winced a bit. He hadn't meant to start talking about that but he just couldn't help talking about his little brother!

"Thank you, Yogi-san," Hirato cut in before anyone could say another word, "I have a few questions about your account. If you don't mind, that is." Yogi nodded with a smile.

"Very well then, about this group of-"

At this point Tsukitachi grew tired of all the tension (plus he didn't really like being ignored for such a long time), so he said, "WAAAAH! This atmosphere is so heavy! Everyone is waaaaay too formal! Be more friendly everybody! You three are going to be here for a while, right? So cut loose a bit, have fun!" He stood and spun around happily, a wide grin on his face.

"Oh, I forgot you were here, Tsukitachi," Hirato glared coldly at his subordinate. His comment made the red head start sniveling, "Hm…now then, where was I?" Hirato put a finger to his chin, "Ah! Yes that's right, Yogi, about this group of people who were on the screen, did you see any of their faces, if so, do you remember them?"

"Sorry, but I don't remember their faces. They were in a dark room and I was too…upset to focus on them." Yogi crossed his legs and reached his hands behind his head, "If you have any other questions about the details, I'm afraid I won't be much help. I've tried to forget most of it." Hirato nodded in understanding, before standing gracefully. He stretched out an arm and grabbed hold of a blubbering Tsukitachi by the ear.

Tsukitachi yelped and tried to wriggle his way out of the iron grip. His efforts worked against him though, because as soon as he started Hirato pinched down harder. Again the red head shouted in pain.

"Hiraaatooo!" He cried in pained indignation, "Let goooo!" Hirato huffed and yanked him over to the door, motioning at the others to follow him. The three boys did as they were told. Gareki couldn't help but chuckle under his breath at the sight of a grown man being punished like a child. In the hallway–the poor soul who had been captured by the vicious ogre–Knock it off Tsukitachi! This is my story, get outta here!

Ahem…

In the hallway Tsukitachi was released and, as he crept away cradling his violated ear, he shouted over his shoulder, "That hurt, you BAKA!" He then dashed quickly to his room and slammed the door (his words may have sounded outraged but his heart was a-quiver with fear). Yogi chuckled as Hirato glared in the retreating man's direction.

The dark-haired man huffed and turned back to his guests, "I apologize for my subordinate's actions. He is quite incorrigible." Hirato pushed up his glasses, "If you would follow me please, I shall show you to your room. I hope you don't mind sharing."

He led them down the hall and into a large room with a bunk bed and a twin bed. Gareki immediately dashed over to the bunks and flew up the ladder to the upper one (he loved being up in the air). Yogi laughed and asked, "Nai-chan, do you want to sleep on the single bed?" The young albino shrugged. He didn't really know the difference so he figured he would do as he was told instead of actually deciding anything. Yogi smiled and said, "Well you can try it for tonight and if you don't like it we can switch. Does that sound all right?" Nai nodded and bounced over to what he figured was the 'single bed' Yogi had mentioned.

Yogi giggled when the younger boy jumped on the lower bunk (Nai guessed wrong). After the little boy mussed up the blankets, much to the annoyance of the bunnies and sheep, the two loud girls from earlier appeared in the doorway. Tsukumo, and a charcoal haired boy who was around Gareki's age, were with them. The blue-haired girl spoke first, "Hiro-chan! Who are these brats and why haven't they been introduced to Kiichi-sama?" She flipped her curly hair over her shoulder, haughtily, "You!" She pointed at Yogi (who couldn't help but wince at the shrillness of her voice), "What's your name, trash, and why are you on Kiichi-sama's ship?"

Gareki growled from the upper bunk, "Don't you dare call Nii-chan trash, you little…"

"Gareki-kun!" Yogi chided him gently, "Don't make me wash your mouth out with soap!" The dark-haired boy frowned (after turning just a shade paler) and settled with simply glaring angrily at the blue-haired girl, who appeared to be referring to herself by name.

The blue-haired girl, or Kiichi-sama as she seemed to call herself, sneered at Gareki and stomped her foot at Yogi, silently demanding an answer. Yogi sighed and said, "My name is Yogi, that is Gareki and this is Nai," he motioned at each of them in turn. Kiichi 'humphed,' turned to Tsukumo and began chattering about clothes, or some other useless topic.

"Now, now, Kiichi-chan. Be nice to our guests!" The charcoal haired boy nudged the babbling girl lightly, "It's nice to meet you all. My name is Jiki, welcome to Circus." He seemed like nice person but Nai sensed that there was something fake about him.

Hirato cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and said, "Why don't you all get to know each other a little better before we have dinner. You could play a game. I would recommend hide-and-seek; there are many places to hide on the ship. Enjoy yourselves!" With that he spun and waltzed gracefully out the door, leaving the guests and crew members in an uncomfortable silence.

The green-haired woman broke the silence first, "Well…why don't we do as Hirato suggested? Tsukumo could be the seeker and everyone else could hide." Her companions all nodded happily. They loved hide-and-seek.

Gareki wasn't as enthusiastic about preforming such childish antics, "Hang on a second! Why do we have to play such a dumb game?" He wasn't against the game in general (he used to love playing with Yogi) but he didn't really like that Hirato had been the one to suggest it.

The woman huffed and said, "We play it because it's fun. Now, why don't I introduce the rest of us. My name is Iva. The blonde cutie is Tsukumo and this little sweetie," she hugged the little blue-haired girl, "is Kiichi. It's nice to meet you three." She grinned at the boys.

Yogi blushed a little, "It's nice to meet you too." Nai also greeted the crew members. Gareki stubbornly refused to speak to them. All he did was nod brusquely in their direction.

Kiichi didn't like that very much. "Hey, Gomi*-kun! You had better greet us politely! We are going through the trouble to take you guys in and this is how you thank us?! Brat!" She spat every single word, like she couldn't wait to get them out of her mouth. Gareki bristled in anger. He leapt off the bunk bed and went to stand right over the haughty little girl. She glared up at him as he glared down at her. Yogi tried to placate his little brother by putting his hands on Gareki's shoulders and pulling him gently back. It worked, sort of. Gareki was still staring furiously at Kiichi but he felt less like he needed to strangle her. Yogi smiled and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.

Jiki chuckled at the two's bickering before saying, "So? Are we going to play hide-and-seek? Or is Gareki-kun too scared about losing to a bunch of Circus freaks?" He looked right at the dark-haired boy when he said this. Jiki loved teasing people. He got a real kick out of the reactions his victims gave when he did. Gareki did not disappoint.

His expression went from angry to murderous in 0.5 nanoseconds. Yogi, with a great deal of trouble, had to keep the boy from wrapping his fingers around Jiki's neck and tightening, never to come undone. Gareki was squirming violently, trying desperately to reach the object of his rage. Jiki smirked. This was going better than he had anticipated. He leaned toward Gareki, hands resting arrogantly on his hips, and flicked him right between the eyes.

That did it. Gareki wrenched himself away from Yogi's grip and threw his body at Jiki in an insane frenzy. Jiki yelped as they fell to the ground. They suddenly became a shouting, punching, angry mass of whirling 'masculinity.'

Yogi tried to disentangle his brother alone, but his efforts went unnoticed. Gareki just kept attempting to throttle Jiki. Iva and Kiichi just stood there, cackling at their fight. Tsukumo, who, at the time, was feeling sympathetic, helped Yogi pull the two apart. With her help the blonde/silver-haired man was able to yank Gareki away from Jiki and back onto Nai's bed, where he restrained the still struggling boy until he had calmed down a bit.

The raven haired boy was a mess. He had the beginnings of a black eye; his clothes were practically in tatters; his lip was split and bleeding; one of his fingers felt a little stiff and he still looked like he was ready to commit homicide, regardless of the consequences.

Jiki had fared no better. His previously nice clothes had been shredded (Gareki had been particularly pleased when he had gotten a hold of the charcoal-haired boy's tie; he had immensely enjoyed the purple hue Jiki's face had taken on when he pulled) and he looked just as, if not more, beat up as Gareki did. The only reason he hadn't attacked Gareki again was the fact that Tsukumo (the one-sided love of his life) was hanging off his arm, in an effort to keep him away from the boy. The two restrained boys decided to glare at each other crossly, rather than continue to fight against their captors. If one hadn't hated the other beforehand they certainly did now.

Of course, Iva and Kiichi were still laughing hysterically at the sight of the two beat up boys. "Oh my, what fun!" Iva chuckled gleefully as she wiped tears of joy from her eyes, "That was even more fun than hide-and-seek! However, we really should start playing now before it gets too dark." Kiichi, Tsukumo, Yogi and Nai nodded their agreement while Gareki and Jiki stayed stonily silent. So now that everyone, or almost everyone I suppose, was ready to play Tsukumo released Jiki's arm, covered her eyes and began to count. All of those present quickly left the room and proceeded to find their hiding places.

Gareki hid on top of the Ship's air ducts, Yogi hid in a small props room with a silly little mushroom hat over his head, Jiki hid in the library (or rather he was lured there by the enticing smell of unread books), Kiichi hid under her bed and Iva hid in her enormous closet (it took Tsukumo almost fifteen minutes to just to find her in there). While the blonde seeker was looking for the others, Nai was crawling through a vent he found in one of the walls. Gareki had told him that hide-and-seek was a game where you tried not to be found. Nai thought that was a little strange but he figured that he could trust that everyone would make it a fun game and that he would be found soon and that he didn't have to worr-

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nai screamed as his hand connected with air rather than the cold metal he had been expecting. He fell a long way before landing on the ground outside of the ship (it had anchored for the night at a town a few dozen miles away from Karasuna).

As the poor albino child rubbed his sore rump he heard a gravelly voice say, "Well, well! If it isn't another little seedling. I wonder what color of flowers this one will grow into, hm?" Nai scooted away from the tall egg headed man whom he had landed in front of. The man gave off a scary vibe and Nai wanted to get as far away from him as possible. "Your actions aren't very consistent." The man took a few steps toward Nai, revealing a dead body gripped tightly in his hand, "You are the one who came to me. So why are you running away now?" Nai began to cry as the scary man walked closer. Bloodlust seeped out of the man's very gaze. The one thought that went through Nai's mind was: I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!

DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!

*'Gomi' means 'trash' in Japanese.

Thanks for reading! :)

Later!