"Welcome back to the King of Iron Fist tournament!"

The audience cheered and Ami rubbed her ankle. Mami had related to her the depressing news of Yayoi's death and Ami had deemed her sister too upset to return to the arena, so now the twin at the tournament was Ami. It was the second day of matches and so far Miki and Yayoi had been lost, but Ami knew that they wouldn't be the last ones.

She looked over at Iori, sitting silently with Azusa and Lili, then went to go join them.

"Hey, hey, Iorin!" she greeted happily. "What's going on over here?"

"Just a silent grief session," Lili answered. "You could join up with us, or you could attempt to go over there with those two." She gestured to Makoto and Leo, sitting a little ways away. Ami had heard that Makoto wouldn't allow anyone near her, not even Yukiho. Leo had just barely avoided a punch in the face when she approached the shaking girl.

"Nah, you guys are cooler," Ami concluded. "Makochin's kinda creepy when she gets all depressed-like."

"I don't understand what her problem is," Iori huffed. "That was my best friend who died! I'm the one who should be grieving like that…"

"But you've forgotten that Makoto-chan also has to deal with Miki-chan's death," Azusa reminded her. "She blames herself for both of our losses, which is just as bad as losing a best friend."

"But still—"

"I will now announce the next match!"

Iori started at the sound of the announcer's voice. She looked out into the arena.

"The first competitor…Sergei Dragunov! His opponent…Asuka Kazama!"

Ami watched the two mentioned people walk into the arena. They stared at each other for a moment before launching themselves at each other. Ami watched them, amused.

"Kick that Kazama to the dust!" Lili yelled. She scowled, then crossed her harms and sniffed loudly.

"Uh…friend of yours?" Iori asked sarcastically.

"Not even close," Lili sighed. "Although, that isn't entirely true. You see, she's my rival. You could say…I respect her in a way, but we certainly don't get along."

"Hey, hey!" Ami yelped. "Lookit! That guy just beat that lady and now she's bleeding."

Lili stood to get a better look and frowned. "So he did," she muttered. "I'll miss that annoying little mediator."

Ami shrugged and sat. "Anyway, Ami thinks…we should talk about something less depressing."

"My best friend is dead…and we're supposed to think happy thoughts." Iori raised an eyebrow. "You're serious?"

"Well, Ami thinks we can't just sit around being depressed forever!"

"Try telling that to her," Iori snapped, jerking her head towards Makoto.

"Makochin's just being a downer," Ami decided. "Ami knows just how to cheer her up!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

Iori's warning was too late. Ami had already started off towards the two boyish girls sitting quietly in a distant corner. As she approached, Leo looked up and made motions for her to turn around and leave them alone. Instead of obeying, Ami sat on the ground next to Makoto and poked her shoulder.

"Hey, Makochin! Ami just wanted to come—"

"Get away from me!" Makoto yelled, looking furiously at Ami, her eyes red with tears. "Now!"

Ami squeaked. "Ami…Ami thinks you should loosen up…"

"Leave me alone!"

Makoto raised her hand in a fist and Ami yelped, frantically scrambling backwards. Leo reached over and grabbed Makoto's hand to steady her.

"Whoa, calm down," she cooed. "She was just trying to help. Hey, she's having a moment, so could you come back later?"

Ami nodded slowly and fled to the safety of Iori's pity group.

"Waah, Makochin is scary when she's angry," she complained. "Iorin and Azusa-neechan and Lilicchi are way cooler."

"Lilicchi?' Lili echoed. "…what does that even mean?"

"The twins give everyone nicknames," Azusa answered. "I think it's cute."

"Yeah, yeah! It's all part of Ami and Mami's 'Make Everyone Happy and Fluffy' campaign!" Ami laughed.

"Make everyone…fluffy?" Lili repeated. She sighed. "Children are so confusing and strange…"

Yukiho suddenly approached the foursome and sat beside them.

"I was with Haruka-chan," she said. "I-I came over here because Haruka-chan said that she wanted to be alone. Has…has Makoto-chan talked to anyone yet?"

"No," Iori said immediately. "Leave her alone. We don't need her. In the end she's been completely useless. She hasn't even fought yet."

"She talked to Ami," Ami told Yukiho.

"R-really? W-what did she say?"

"She said, 'get away from me now!' and 'leave me alone'!" Ami reported, grinning.

Yukiho blinked and squeaked loudly.

"Eh? Yukipyon, what does 'eep' mean?"

Yukiho squeaked again.

"Ah, so 'eep' means 'eep'. Huh…wait a second! Ami doesn't know what 'eep' means!"

Suddenly, the crowd cheered. Ami looked out into the arena to see that a big grizzly bear had just ripped a man with a black ponytail to shreds. She shivered.

"That bear is scary," she announced.

"I think it's cute!" Hibiki squealed.

"Hibikin, you think all animals are cute…"

"I know! I wanna keep that bear!"

Ami sighed. "Whatever, you can keep it if you want but—"

"Kumakiichi!" Hibiki squealed in delight.

"…but Ami will never go to your house again if you do."

"Eh? Ami, you've never even been to my house…"

"Well, Ami never will if you adopt that bear!"

"Kumakiichi…!"

"Whatever!"

"You're close," Lili said suddenly. "The bear's name is Kuma."

"Huh?" Hibiki blinked. "What the hey, who names a bear 'bear'? That's a horrible name."

Lili shrugged.

Ami looked out to the arena and the white-haired man in the unicorn vest viciously attacking his opponent, a man with short black hair and no shirt.

"Ami thinks those guys should be friends."

"Ami, this is the King of Iron Fist Tournament," Iori huffed. "No one is friends."

"Iorin, you're so mean!" Ami complained. "We're friends, right?"

Iori was quiet. The unicorn-shirt guy prevailed over his opponent and gave the crowd a thumbs-up. He said something, but the crowd was cheering too loud for Ami to hear what.

"Not for long, Ami," Iori suddenly muttered. "Not for long."

(A/N: This chapter—and this book—were almost completely lost to the world.

Guys, I would like to share a quick testimony because this just shook me to the core.

Me and my family were in Colonial Willamsburg. For some reason I decided to bring my thumbdrive (which has this book along with many others on it) along with me, and somewhere along the road it fell out of my pocket. Naturally, I had my family look for it.

You want to know what? We looked in a giant grass field in the pitch darkness with only our phones to serve as flashlights. And it was raining. There was no way we should have been able to find it. We searched for at least half an hour before I was about ready to give up.

I was devastated. My life's work was gone. I was on the brink of despair. And then, suddenly, my sister announced that she had found it.

Guys, I should not have found that thumbdrive. It was a real-life miracle. God really does exist and he's watching out for us. Really. I owe this chapter to him.

So for this chapter, the dedication goes to God. Thanks. :3

P.S.: Those of you who read MakoYukiSora will see this twice, but that's OK. Both chapters are dedicated to God. :3)