Disclaimer: Me no own Fushigi Yuugi characters. Yuu Watase does. Me only own Serap, Sir Crescent, the evil girl (name unknown to you as of yet), Kouji's girlfriend, and a few other characters... Oh, and the Felinalk. Well, actually, Sir Crescent owned it...


"'They won't attack us, I'm with you, I'm the leader!' You said! Ha! Never trusting you again." Destiny snapped at Tasuki, smirking slightly at the end of her sentence. "Not that I did in the first place."

"Oh shut up..." he grumbled, as they were being led to Kouji, down the hallways of the bandit stronghold. When they were heading up Mt. Reikaku a group of the bandits had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, taking the group by surprise, and capturing them. Destiny had gotten away from them once, even though there were about five men holding her; but, they had caught up to her again, and she gave in, realizing that if they were to go up to Mt. Reikaku, she would have to pretend to be captured. Tasuki had waved the fan around in the air, yelling at them to stop what they were doing, because he was the leader, but they had just laughed and told him firmly that Kouji was the leader.

"Well, from what Tasuki was saying before, there are traps set for intruders - at least we got escorted through those, right?" Serap said, glancing over at Destiny, who just rolled her eyes and grumbled something under her breath.

"I could've got us through those..." Tasuki snapped, glaring over at the female red head, who looked down at her feet, frowning.

"Right." she mumbled, and jerked her head back up, as her captor pushed her roughly forward, indicating for her to walk faster and pay attention. "Sorry, sorry!" she said, returning to the pace the others were walking at.

"I'm getting a strong sense of deja vu, here..." Miaka said to herself, remembering back when she, Hotohori, and Nuriko had been captured, and the bandits had thought that they were all women. She laughed slightly, and then shuddered, also remembering Eiken, who had tried to... Stop thinking about that, Miaka, you idiot! It's over. It's Kouji that's in charge right now - well, actually, it's Tasuki, but neither of them would try to do something like that! She mentally scolded herself, frowning.

They fell back into silence, until they finally reached the doors to the eating room (couldn't really call it a 'dining room' in a bandit's stronghold, y'know). Miaka's captor let go of her hands, and walked up to the door, knocking on it. "Hey, boss, we captured some trespassers! Can we come in?" he asked, and heard a 'yes' from the other side of the door. So, he swung them open, and led the others in. "See, we captured 'em, they was on their way up here, probably from Mt. Kaou or sumfin' like that..." he trailed off, noticing that Kouji was on his feet, and giving him a deadly look.

"I know several of those prisoners. One of them is the real leader!" he exclaimed, and the captors cowered slightly, except for the one who had been talking. He just stood there, gaping at Kouji, before looking back at Tasuki, who smirked at him. He quickly apologized, then turned and hurried out of the room, followed by the other bandits who had captured the group. Kouji continued to scowl until the incompetent bandits were out of the room, then he grinned widely, and rushed down, to Tasuki. "Sorry, buddy! New recruits, never seem ta' know anythin'." he said, untying the ropes around Tasuki's wrists.

"Yeah, I tried ta' tell 'em I was th' leader, bu' they wouldn't listen! I threatened to flame their asses if they didn' let go'a me, but, they took my - WAIT A MINUTE! They still have my fan! Dammit!" he cursed, turning around to go and chase down the one who had his fan. But, before he had even taken two steps, Kouji pulled him back, and pointed towards the floor.

"Th' fan's on the floor, Genrou." he stated, and Tasuki cheered, quickly picking up the fan, and holding it up in triumph.

"Yes!" he then grinned at Kouji, and without any more delays, they did their ritual dance. "It's great ta see ya' again, Kouji! Been waaay too long!"

"Yeah, how've ya' been, Genrou? I thought ya' ta' be dead, since ya' didn' return after ya' came back ta' meet my girlfrien'!" Kouji replied as they continued their dance, while Destiny and Serap stared at them with strange looks, having not seen such a thing as dancing bandits in their lives.

"Speakin' of yer girlfrien'..." Tasuki stopped in his tracks, and pulled away from Kouji, his mood switching to mostly serious. The blue-haired bandit halted, gazing at Tasuki in confusion. "We need ta' see 'er. Is sh' here?" he inquired, to which Kouji nodded his head, and turned to another bandit in the room, telling him to go get 'Lola'. The drunk underling nodded, and ran out of the room, stumbling as he did so.

"Why d'ya' need ta' see 'er?" he asked, walking over to the table, and motioning for everyone else to follow. They did so, each taking a seat at the long table, while watching Kouji. "I mean, 't's not like she's 'n trouble 'r anythin' like that, right?" he looked around the table with a slightly worried look.

"She's not yet, but she might be, because the idiot here says that you met her right around when Taiitsukun found out about this new evil that we're here to fight." Destiny supplied, and at Kouji's slightly confused expression, she gave him a half-grin and a nod. "I'm Destiny Lorelei, if you're wondering. And this's Serap - or Serenia Pottain, but she prefers Serap." She stated, placing a hand on Serap's head, and ruffling her hair, which produced a loud protest and much slapping of the older girl's hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know, 'don't touch the 'fro!'."

Serap gave her raven haired friend quite an irritated look, before she shook her head, turning away from Destiny, while smoothing out her hair. "It's not an afro. It's just my haaa-AAAAAH!" her statement trailed off into a scream as she caught sight of the door. She fell backwards out of her chair, then, popping chibi, scrambled up onto Destiny's back, shivering in either fear, or disgust, the ebony haired girl couldn't decide. "L... Lo... Loli... Lolinia!" she squeaked, pointing towards the door. Des's eyes widened, and her head snapped around so that her gaze rested on the door. Immediately, a curse left her lips, and she narrowed her eyes.

There, in the doorway, stood a girl of about 5'6", with boy-short golden-orange hair that was feathered (layered), and sparkling, large, optimistic lime green eyes. She was thin, with a slightly tanned complection. She wore a green, blue, and silver silk Chinese dress, with tall white leather boots, that obviously weren't normal for Ancient China; she wore a few necklaces, and a couple bracelets on each wrist. She looked as much like she belonged in Ancient China as Destiny and Serap did. She stuck out like a sore thumb.

When she glanced around the table, her eyes went right over the two girls, but swiftly returned to them, and a big smile broke out over her face. "Destiny! Serenia! How on Earth did you two end up here?" she exclaimed happily, trotting in their direction, until she stood beside Kouji, her hands resting on the table, palms flat. "I never would've thought to see you here in a million years!" she chirped.

Destiny surged to her feet, face-to-face with Lolinia Daudet, with the chibi Serap still on her back, peering over one of her shoulders at the golden-haired girl. "How did we get here? How did YOU get here! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be somewhere else? Shouldn't you be dead?" she snapped, slapping her own hands down onto the table-top, not noticing it crack beneath her palms.

Lolinia giggled, and shook her head, her hair bouncing slightly. "No, no, I shouldn't be dead - I haven't done anything dangerous, why should I be dead? That's just silly, Destiny!" she tittered, placing the fingers of one of her hands over her mouth as she giggled. Des could feel her eye twitch, and her already thin patience beginning to leave her.

Before she could punch a hole through the blonde's face, she heard a voice whisper in her ear. "Dessss, if she really is on the enemy's side, then we need to keep her alive, so we can find out information about who she's working for. But, feel free to kill her if she tries anything." Serap's voice hissed, and she rolled her eyes, before nodding reluctantly.

"Fine, fine..." she whispered back, still glaring daggers into Lolinia. "Hm. I had heard from someone that you were. They must have been mistaken. Oh well." she bit out sharply, before continuing, "So. You're here, too. And His Imbecilicness's friend's girlfriend. What happened to-?" Lolinia cut her off before she could finish her question, with a glare, cleverly disguised as a bright grin.

"Hehehe! Yes, I am Kouji's girlfriend now! We love each other so much! Don't we, 'Ji-'Ji?" she bubbled, skipping over to Kouji, and draping herself around his neck, nuzzling his cheek with her nose. He twitched in response, but tried desperately to conceal it - failing horribly, so instead making it look a bit like a shiver of cold. But, everyone but Lolinia seemed to know that it was not from the cold, from the irritated gleam in Kouji's eyes.

"Yes, we do, Lola... but, I thought I told you never to call me that?" he said, the question rhetorical, and amazingly, Lolinia seemed to understand that and didn't answer, just shrugging her shoulders, giggling, and nuzzling her nose into his neck. "Heh... not now, okay, Lola?" he mumbled to her, and she nodded her head, before straightening back up, and walking back over to where Destiny and Serap were.

"So!" she chirped, smiling brightly, and slapping her palms down onto the table again, looking between Des and Serap. "What were you two wanting of me?" her voice had a suggestive tone to it, and the two girls shuddered at the thought of what she was probably thinking.

"We were just wanting to find out where you came from. And now that we've found that out, since it's you, we want to know how you got here." Destiny said, giving the orange-haired female a deadly look, that told quite plainly what it meant. Lola just shrugged that off, like Kouji's rhetorical question, beaming brightly. She's just as dense as ever... Destiny thought to herself, with a shake of her head.

"I don't know! I was just going about my day, when all of a sudden, I was in this weird place, and this big, strong, handsome, noble..." Here, Lolinia sighed romantically, looking over at Kouji with a love-struck look on her face. Kouji noticed the look, and grinned slightly, although it looked a bit on the fake side. No one else noticed the fake tinge, but Tasuki could spot that 'If-you-say-so-I'm-not-gonna-argue-but-I-really-wish-you'd-shut-up-and-leave-me-the-fuck-alone' look a mile away. He narrowed his eyes, telling himself that he'd have to ask his friend about this later.

"Get ON with it..." Destiny sighed in impatience, glaring at Lola, who gave the raven-haired girl a slightly piqued look, before going back to her story, fixing her hair for no particular reason except to get on Des' nerves.

"Right. So, as I was saying, I was rescued by Kouji, who is now, as you know, my loyal, wonderful lover. And he brought me back here. The rest doesn't matter because it has nothing else to do with what you're asking." she stated, smiling brightly at the pair, and tilting her head slightly. "Anything else you wish to know?"

"Why are you here without Chelsea?" Serap broke in, and everyone but her, Des, and Lolinia lost track of what they were saying right there. None of them knew of any 'Chelsea' person - whoever it was, Lolinia did not look happy to have that question asked.

"That is none of your business, Serenia." Lolinia snapped, glaring at the chibi girl, who was glaring right back from her place on Destiny's back.

"Oh? Well you asked us if we had anymore questions. We kinda figured - I know, kind of stupid of us - that you would answer if you were asked. How could we dare ask questions when it clearly, undoubtedly wasn't our business! Oh! I am ashamed of us." Destiny snapped bitingly, with a roll of her eyes, and a slam of her fist to the table, causing it to crack and splinter in that spot. "We are so rude. Now, will you please forgive us by letting us slice your head off?"

Lolinia jumped in surprise at Destiny's outburst, and backed up a couple of steps from the table, a wide-eyed look plastered on her face. "Wh... y... no! 'Ji-'Ji, are you going to let her threaten my life like that!" she exclaimed, looking over to Kouji, who shook his head, with a frown on his face, and got to his feet, walking over to Lola and wrapping his arms around her protectively.

"Oh, no, you are in danger, better have dear Gigi come save you. Boo-hoo-hoo." Destiny snorted, a smirk coming to her face. "Well, better hope that little Gigi is Des-proof." she chuckled evilly, and Serap took this as her cue to get off of her friend, accidently landing on the table as she scrambled hastily off of Des. She mumbled an apology as she - still chibi - quickly crawled away from the action, and fell off the table, into a chair as far from the commotion as possible. Which, at the time, she didn't realize that the chair already had an occupant.

Tasuki stood up from his chair, with a scowl on his face, as he walked over next to Des, giving Kouji a slightly disbelieving look. "Kouji! I woulda tho't ya'd be smarter th'n this! In fact, I knew ya'd be smarter th'n this! Wha's gotten inta ya'? Why're ya' sidin' with her? Yer girlfriend w's jus' asked a simple question, sh' didn' need ta' blow up about i'!" he stated, giving a glare to Lolinia, momentarily wondering why the hell he was siding with Destiny. But, then he just ignored that thought, telling himself quite simply that it was because she was right. For once.

Destiny couldn't help but freeze in her spot, and turn to give Tasuki a look of great shock. "... We... agree... Oh Guardians, I think I'm going to shoot myself." she groaned, smacking a hand to her forehead.

Tasuki turned his scowl to her. "Oh shuddup, i's not THA' bad to have me on yer side." he snapped, to which Des just groaned again, smacking her other hand to her forehead.

"He can't even use proper English! Oh, Guardians, why did I have to get stuck with this lummox?" she cried, peeking through her fingers and glaring at Tasuki. "Would you please go sit down again, I've got it under control. With you here, I will lose control, and we'll lose. Go away. Please, just go away." she growled.

"I'm no' leavin', a'right? 'M tryin' ta' get m' bes' friend ta' see th' truth - wha' th' rest of us see abou' 'Linia!" Tasuki barked, motioning angrily towards the short haired girl, who bristled, and snuggled more up against Kouji, frowning over towards the 'Wing' warrior about that comment about her.

"Well, could you at least do it after I beat them both to a blood pulp? And do it in PROPER ENGLISH?" Destiny snarled back, taking her hands off her face, and leaning threateningly towards Tasuki, who growled back, and took a step forward, staring her right in the face. Obviously, the previous conflict was forgotten, and they only had eyes and ears for each other. Not in a romantic way, either.

"I'LL DO I' WHENEVER 'N' HOWEVER I WISH, DES'INY!" he hollered, his upper lip pulled back in a snarl, much like a wolf. Destiny hissed, sounding amazingly similar to a feline beast, as her claws emerged from her fingertips, and she drew her arms back in stance indicating she was ready to fight. Tasuki raised his hand up to grip his tessen, but before either could attack, they were interrupted.

"Boss! Boss! We caught an intruder on the mountain!" one of the bandits from before rushed in, looking as proud of himself as he had when he and his group had captured the group. Tasuki and Destiny growled at the interruption, and glared evilly at the disturbance (a.k.a. new recruit). They wanted to kill each other, now, and he was stalling them! How dare he.

Kouji and Lolinia turned around, and the dark blue haired bandit rolled his eyes, waving his hand as if to motion the new recruit to leave. "Bring the intruder in, then. I want to make sure they actually are intruding, this time." he sighed, and the younger bandit blushed, rushing out of the room to go get the intruder.

A few minutes passed - during which, Destiny had looked around to see where Serap was, and smirked when she saw the chibi red-head sitting in Chichiri's lap, but she didn't say anything (yet) - and then the group walked in, all of them struggling to keep a boy from escaping their grip. Then they all let go, dropping the boy to the floor, and rushed out of the room, closing and locking the doors behind them.

Destiny and Serap gasped in shock when the boy sat up, holding his head, and shaking it. He sat there, grumbling to himself, under his breath, before halting, and hesitantly looking up at the group at the table. He looked almost exactly like a male version of Serap, but with ever-so-slightly thinner hair, no magenta streaks, was a couple inches taller, and was dressed in all black with a cloak around him. He grinned nervously, and waved up at the table.

"Hiya, Seraph, Destiny. What're you doing here?"


A/n: Cliffie. I guess. ((shrug)) Anyway, that's the end of this chapter. Yep. This chapter is dedicated to my thirteen-year-old dog, Blondy. He died yesterday... :'( I really miss him. Well, I better stop now, my parents are bugging me about getting off the computer. Bai-bai, minna-san, see you next chapter!