It's been awhile since I've updated, and I sincerely apologize. Trust me; the life of a college student/procrastinator is a lot tougher than you might think. Without further ado, let's continue on!
(For some reason, I can't add rulers, so this will have to do until otherwise)
Ibuki, who had awoken before everyone else, peeked at her wrist watch with an evil smirk. It was almost time. "Let's see…it should start in 5…4…3…2…1!" In the next instant, a wave of horrifying shrieks of terror resounded throughout the entire inn, followed by shouting and the sound of rapid movement. The chaos was now set in motion.
The girls of team 1, trying hard to hold back their snickers, saw the first wave storm towards them, fuming with anger. Kojiro and Kosaburo had their faces painted in such a horrible fashion it would make clowns cringe. Following them were Shuu, Leo and Kenji. Leo, since he wasn't inside the room at the time, managed to emerge unscathed, unlike everyone else. Shuu had a ton of eye shadow, eyeliner, and lipstick plastered on his face, making what used to be his good looks terrifying to look at. Kenji had strange markings all over his face and orange headband resembling either a strange cactus with a face or an eye insignia.
"Nice work with the make up boys…" Yamato turned her face and covered her mouth, failing miserably to cover up her laugh. Musashi just outright laughed in the boys' faces.
"This is no laughing matter! We're hideous!" Kosaburo cried with his gravelly sounding voice.
"My beautiful face…ruined! Ruined I tell you!" Kojiro sobbed pathetically on Kosaburo's shoulder.
"What's with these strange markings? Did someone place a curse on me?" Kenji referred to the odd marks all over his face.
"Those are the markings of—mmph!" Su's mouth was quickly covered by Shinobu's hand, who laughed the subject off nervously.
Leo eyed the targeted males worriedly. "I suppose I should count myself lucky that I wasn't anywhere nearby during this incident."
Moments later, another wave of screams echoed through the halls. Everyone in the first floor ran to the upper floor and stared in absolute shock. Kosaburo, Kojiro, Leo, Shuu and Kenji, with one look, were glad they weren't on the second floor. Both Takeshi and Shigeru were dressed with a pink, frilly dress, a fake halo, and fairy wings. Everyone witnessing the two sweat-dropped fiercely. It was a scary sight.
"Well…I knew you two liked girls…but never thought you would go as far as to dress like one. I shudder to think what your nights are like…" Leo released a small shudder at the thought.
"This is wrong on all levels…" Kojiro and Kosaburo shook their heads in shame.
"Kojiro, you have no right to criticize and you know it." Kenji reminded.
"It was only that one time! And the dress looked so comfortable too…" Kojiro admitted weakly.
"This is no time to joke around! This stuff is actually GLUED to us!" Shigeru emphasized urgently, tugging at his clothes to prove it. Takeshi ran to the bathroom, using all means necessary to remove the shameful clothes glued to his pajamas.
"I think it's a rather nice look." Sakura chuckled.
Shigeru tossed his girlfriend a glare. "You've been planning this entire time, haven't you?"
Sakura sweat-dropped in fear, not liking the look on Shigeru's face. "Eheheh…look at the time, I should start freshening up about now…" She speedily ran away, quickly pursued by Shigeru.
As soon as the two left, everyone saw Anji step backwards out of the room, a look of worry and fear in his eyes. "N-now now Ryu-kun, let's settle down and not do anything rash."
"NOT DO ANYTHING RASH? DO YOU NOT SEE THE PROBLEM?" Ryuga's voice roared violently, sending chills down everyone's spine. Though Anji's hair and clothes were dyed in bright rainbow colors, everyone, except the knowing Duplica, feared what made Ryuga so angry. However, their expressions changed once Ryuga stepped into view.
There was nothing out of the ordinary wrong with Ryuga.
"Alright, who is responsible for this tragedy?" There was a fierce fire in Ryuga's eyes. His eyes turned to Duplica, who was chuckling under her breath. The angered mage stormed up to Duplica and pointed accusingly at her. "You did this to me, didn't you?"
"Aw, come on. It ain't that bad…" Duplica reassured.
Ryuga exploded. "AIN'T THAT BAD? LOOK AT MY HAIR!"
Everyone looked and blinked. "Uh…Ryuga? Hasn't your hair always been like that?" Musashi pointed.
"Look closely you fool! My hair was never like this!" Ryuga pointed to his blue hair. Confusion was still in the air.
"Teehee, I made his hair more summery, like mine." Duplica pointed out.
"I'M A WINTER DAMN YOU! A BLOODY WINTER!" Ryuga collapsed onto the floor, a wave of despair going over him. "Do you not realize how many hours I've spent making every detail perfect?"
"I clocked it at 18 hours and 24 minutes." Anji picked up the sobbing mage and helped him to the bathroom. "Now, now, everything will be alright. Let's get you fixed up."
The girls of the Hinata Inn stared strangely at the scene unfolding before them. "This is going to be a very lively 6 days…" Motoko said with slight fear in her voice. The rest could only nod in agreement.
"Hey, is everything alright? We heard a lot of yelling." Kenta, Hiroshi and Keitaro ran from the third floor. The remaining men stared in surprised at the three boys while the girls chuckled madly. On each of their foreheads, the words "Super pervert" was written in ink. The three boys blinked in confusion. "What's so funny?"
There was a moment of silence. "…Nothing!" Everyone answered in unison.
"Alright, that's enough fun for the moment. Let's settle down." Ibuki ushered.
"What fun? Did something happen?" Satoshi asked, followed by Kabushi climbing down the stairs.
Everything stopped as a stunned silence permeated the air, followed by shocked stares. "Oh…my…god…" Everyone murmured simultaneously. Kasumi and Ayane pretended not to notice.
"What's with the looks? Is something behind us?" Kabushi glanced backwards, but saw nothing. Something struck him as odd once he faced everyone. "Why does my voice sound so…young?"
"Huh, now that you mention it, it feels as if everything suddenly got bigger. Maybe it's just me." Satoshi mentioned.
Shigeru, who recently returned to the second floor, nearly fell over in surprise. "Satoshi! What on earth happened to you?"
"Shigeru? Is something wrong with me?" Satoshi asked, feeling worried.
"I always thought your head was slightly off…but…" Kabushi whispered to himself.
"You…you two are…how should I put it?" Shigeru looked around for something to use. "Hmm…ah, take a look at this." He unsheathed his steel sword and flashed it at the two.
"Huh? It's just your sword. What's so bad that you have to show us?" Satoshi questioned.
"Uh…Satoshi…I think you should take a closer look…" Kabushi suggested, paling at the realization. Satoshi did as suggested and stared closely at the blade's reflection. This was when Satoshi noticed something very strange.
"Hey, those two kids in the reflection look like a younger version of me and Kabushi…….wait a second…I know what's going on now…!" Satoshi put on a look of surprise and pointed to the reflection. "That sword can show the past versions of ourselves!"
Everyone face-faulted. How slow was this kid?
"You idiot! Those kids ARE us! We've been shrunken to the size of little kids!" Kabushi yelled.
"WHAAAAAT? How can that be? How did this happen?" Satoshi panicked.
Kasumi and Ayane had slightly nervous looks while everyone else continued to stare in shock.
From the bathroom, Ryuga, with his hair in its normal shade, and Anji emerged to see the scene. Curious, the two approached Kabushi and Satoshi and knelt in front of them. "Kabu-kun? Is that really you?" Anji asked. Kabushi nodded regretfully. Anji remained stupefied, but Ryuga was trembling. Anji tossed Ryuga a worried look. "Uh…Ryu-kun, are you alright?"
At that moment, Ryuga lost it.
"OMGZ! TEH CUTENESS!" In a burst of emotions, Ryuga embraced the two minimized samurais tightly.
While everyone else had horrified looks on their faces, Ayane lowered her head in shame. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten Ryu-kun was a fan of cute things, especially chibis. Whenever he sees them, he just explodes….like now." Anji could only slap his forehead in mortification, silently questioning whether suicide was the only way to reduce the shame now bestowed upon Team Rocket.
In a few seconds, Ryuga regained his sanity and glanced at everyone giving him bewildered stares. His face flushed with embarrassment as he dropped the two kid samurai's and rubbed the back of his head. "Ahaha….errr, sorry about that. I was just….umm….kinda…yeah…." Before Ryuga could continue, Anji started pushing him away.
"Let's go away before you bring us more shame." Anji suggested. Ayane picked up Kabushi before fleeing with the rest of her team.
Everyone was still in shock over Ryuga's little episode.
"…You know, of all the things I've seen, THAT was by far the scariest." Takeshi said, breaking the silence. Everyone agreed with a slow nod. He faced Leo. "I wonder…did the same thing happen to you at some point, since you're really…"
SLAM!
Takeshi's face was promptly implanted onto the wall, courtesy of Leo's fist. "Could we please get on with the day?"
"I don't see why not, seeing as how much chaos already happened." Ibuki agreed, having a bad feeling about today's events…
Team Rocket stashed themselves in one of the guest rooms to get away from the rest of the group. As soon as they found the coast to be clear—
SMACK!
"OW!" Ryuga hissed, holding his head.
"How many times have we told you not to do that in public?" Anji reprimanded, punching the mage at the back of his head.
"I couldn't help it! I mean, look at him!" Ryuga pointed to the bite size version of Kabushi, who had a deep scowl on his face.
"I don't know who is responsible, but I'll be sure to give that person a painful death!" Clenching his fist, he had a murderous look in his eyes, which made Ayane reasonably nervous.
"Uh…Kabu-kun, as much as I love the look of murderous intent…you're just not cutting it at the moment. I mean, look at Ryu-kun, and you'll know." Anji pointed to the mage, who kept staring at Kabushi with a hypnotized expression.
Ryuga blinked after noticing the odd looks he was getting from his teammates. "…What? Did someone say something?"
"Dammit Ryuga! Stop staring at me like that! It makes me feel uncomfortable!" Kabushi demanded. With a sigh, he sat on the floor cross-legged, trying to calm himself down.
Anji glanced back and forth between Kabushi and Ayane, still trying to figure something out. After some consideration, he pulled Ryuga off to the side so Ayane and Kabushi couldn't hear them. "Hey, Ryu-kun, I've been thinking about something."
"Oh? Like what?" Ryuga asked.
"You know how we have our suspicions about those two being together and all? During the festival later today, we should try to get the answer out of Ayane."
"Uh…Anji-kun, do you remember the last time we tried that? It still hurts where she threw that kunai!"
"Look, that's in the past. I really think we can pull this one off."
"Only if you're sure…" Ryuga, though having no idea what was going on through Anji's head, was hesitant about approaching Ayane about the subject. Ayane tended to act the same way as Kabushi, except she was more physical in her denials.
"What are you two being so secretive about?" Ayane asked, eyeing the two oddly.
"Nothing!" They answered quickly.
"Anyway…" Kabushi took a deep breath and sigh, wearing a sour look on his face. "You guys get to go to that festival today while I get to hang around Arcadia's number 1 idiot. The ratio of luck is greatly in your favor…"
"Well, did you even want to go to the festival?" Ayane asked.
"…No, but I would rather be there than be here with Satoshi, the king of morons. But…I can't help but wonder what madman would go so far as to chibify me and Satoshi, and dammit Ryuga, if you don't stop staring at me, I'm going to impale you and set you over a fire!" Kabushi flashed his katana, which had also shrunk with his size, at Ryuga, who laughed nervously.
"Hmmm…come to think of it, the only ones who were pranked were the guys, which makes me think the girls were the ones who pranked us." Anji pondered.
Ryuga's fists were clenched furiously at the memory. "And next chance I get, I'll send that hair-destroying wench to hell!"
"Hmmm…if the girls were the ones, then…" Kabushi glanced at Ayane, who was sweating nervously under his gaze. "Ayane…"
"U-umm…y-y-yes K-Kabu-kun?" Ayane answered uneasily.
"Do you know who did this to me and Satoshi? I would like to know who my victim will be."
If Ayane wasn't nervous before, she surely was now. She shook her head furiously. "N-n-no, no one."
"Huh. It looks like I'll have to see if he knows." Kabushi took out a Pokéball and summoned Raijin.
"Hey, Kabu-kun—whoa…" The Raichu blinked as he stared at Kabushi in shock. "What happened to you? You're all…cute and small!"
A vein appeared on Kabushi's head, frustrated with the whole ordeal. "Yes, I'm quite aware of that. Anyway, were you keeping watch last night?"
"Huh…? Oh…oh yeah, I was!" Raijin remembered.
Ayane paled. 'Dammit, I forgot Raijin keeps nightly watches on Kabushi sometimes! I should've remembered!'
Kabushi grinned with killing intent, hoping to catch the person responsible for the chaos. "Good, good, now, do you remember what they look like?"
Raijin tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…not a 100 percent, but, I do know there were two people who entered your room. It's kinda vague since I only caught a glimpse. However, I noticed that they were also going through your stuff…and saw that thing."
"THEY DID?" Kabushi yelled, livid. He noticed Anji and Ryuga's confused stares and immediately recovered his composure. They could easily tell he was still angry due to the several veins appearing on his head. Ayane nearly fainted. She knew if Kabushi found out it was her, being beheaded would be the least of her worries. "Raijin…I understand that you were able to see this, and I'm grateful, but…if they were doing all of this…WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THEM?"
Raijin looked up in reminiscence, and then shrugged. "Didn't feel like it."
"What kind of Pokémon are you that would let your partner be afflicted with…this?" Kabushi gestured his shrunken state with pure disgust.
"Honestly...I don't think it's that bad. It's pretty cute with a strong twist of funny in it."
"That's not the issue here!" Kabushi exasperated loudly.
Ayane sighed with relief. 'Good, they're getting off topic. Maybe Raijin will forget, and I'll be safe.'
"Anyway…" Anji stated, interrupting Kabushi and Raijin's argument. "Tell us Raijin, did you happen to get a good look at the intruder? Maybe something like class preference, or hair color—OW!" The Team Rocket fighter screeched as he felt Ayane's foot slam on top of his. "What was that for?"
"Oops, sorry, foot slipped." Ayane lied. She was mentally glaring daggers at Anji.
Something about what Anji said rung a bell in Raijin's head. "Hair color…I don't remember exactly, but maybe if I saw a glimpse of it again, I would remember…"
Ayane was sweating bullets. Once Raijin got a good look at her, he was bound to realize it was her. "U-u-umm, hey, I'm gonna go see Ibuki-sensei about the festival thing. I'll see you guys after!" She quickly left through the sliding door, soon followed by Anji and Ryuga. With a long sigh, Kabushi fell back and lay on the floor.
Kabushi had a feeling this was going to be a very long day.
With the rest of the group, Ayane, Anji, and Ryuga found Satoshi on the verge of tears as he talked to Ibuki. "But…But…I wanna go! It's not fair!"
"Sorry, but that's the rules. That'll teach you for peeking into a girl's bath. I must say that I'm surprised. You never struck me as the kind of person who would do that." Ibuki gave Satoshi a disappointed look.
"But…it's free food…free barbecue food…." All of the sudden, Satoshi burst into tears. "WAAAAH! I WANNA GO! I WANNA GO!" He wailed, flailing his arms in protest.
Ibuki groaned inwardly. Satoshi could be a real child sometimes. "Someone do something. He's giving me a headache…"
Shigeru, who was used to this, sighed and walked over to Satoshi. He knelt in front of Satoshi and turned his head so they could look eye to eye. "Satoshi. Don't make such a fuss. I promise to bring you plenty of food from the festival, but only if you calm down. I'll give you my big brother promise, okay?"
A moment passed before Satoshi felt convinced. "Okay. I'll be good."
Ryuga started twitching slightly as he watched the cute scene before him. However, the do-any-crazy-and-you-die look he got from Ayane and Anji kept him at bay.
Ibuki, sensing the atmosphere calm itself, decided to lighten the mood. "Alright, now if you're all ready, we shall get prepared for our festival?"
"Ibuki-sensei? What is the occasion of this festival? It sounds a bit elaborate for it to simply welcome us." Shuu mentioned. Some of the teams grew curious upon Shuu's comment.
"I'm glad you asked. I suppose I shall let Keitaro-san answer that question. He knows more about it than I do." Ibuki gave the notion for Keitaro to speak.
Keitaro nodded and stepped forward. "Today's festival will celebrate the week of the Trinity Moons."
"Trinity Moons?" Everyone asked in unison.
"Yes. You see, there are three phases of the moon has, some of which could only be viewed during this week. The most common phase, which we see all the time, is the Yellow Moon. When the Yellow Moon is full, is it said to give emotions an extra boost, which can be both a good and bad thing. The next phase is the Blue Moon, which can only be seen during this week. It is around this time the waves are calmest and perfect for romantic outings. And then, there's the Red Moon. This happens only once during the event. It is said that this moon is the most powerful of the trinity. The reason for this is because whenever the moon is red, romance levels are at its peak. I suppose you can look at it as a week dedicated to lovers everywhere."
"A week for lovers…" Hiroshi whispered to himself. He glanced at Furuura at the corner of his eye, who was flushing at the thought. One could only wonder what was on Furuura's mind.
Keitaro continued. "For reference, these moons have names given for what they represent. The Blue Moon is known as the Ocean Moon, the yellow being Romance Moon, and red the Lover's Moon. According to the schedule, today and tomorrow is the Romance Moon. The three days after is the Ocean Moon, and then it's the Lover's moon." There were resounding "oohs" and "ahhs" from the classmates, as well as murmurs. The news seemed to have sprung up some interest.
"I didn't think it was that special of a week. I'm surprised." Ibuki said, also interested in the idea.
"Of course this week is special! It's all the more reason to party, party, party!" Mitsune cheered.
Satoshi was found sitting at a corner, feeling depressed. "Don't remind me…"
"Alright everyone! Hopefully you remembered to bring your festive clothing, because we're going to be wearing it to the Romance Moon festival! Please get ready immediately!" Ibuki instructed. Everyone scrambled to their rooms to put on their other clothes. It wasn't too long before the class and Hinata residents were properly dressed in their respective kimonos and yukatas. The clothes fitted them very well.
"Okay, if everyone's ready, let's get going!" Ibuki was about to leave when Kasumi called out to her.
"Hey, I was wondering, wouldn't we be leaving Satoshi and Kabushi all alone in here? Given that they're rivals, I'm not sure if that's the healthiest thing to do."
"Hm…you're right, Kasumi. I suppose one of us should stay to watch over them. If anything, we'll need someone who could take charge…"
"Hey, I know! Let's have Keitaro the invincible watch over them!" Su suggested.
The Arcadian students blinked. "Keitaro…the invincible?"
Keitaro sweat-dropped. "Come on Su, how many times have I told you I'm not invincible?"
"But you are invincible, and I'm gonna prove it with my ultimate-Keitaro-invincibility-buster cannon!" From out of nowhere, Su pulled out a complicated looking rocket launcher, which by the oversized look, showed the ability to easily pulverize anyone. On the side had a picture of Keitaro's face with an X on it. "And…FIRE!"
BOOM!
"AAARG!" Keitaro took the full brunt of the blast and was blown out of the front door and down the very long flight of stairs. Everyone's jaws dropped at the sudden action taken.
Su ran over to where Keitaro was blown to and pointed at him excitedly. "See? See? I told you he was invincible! He's still alive!"
The Arcadian students blanched in shock. It was harder to tell what was more shocking: Su's drastic behavior or Keitaro's endurance. Both were scary…
"Well. Su has certainly made a point. I suppose we shall let Keitaro watch over Satoshi and Kabushi. We certainly can't keep him near Su…" Ibuki decided, keeping in mind to stay a good few feet from the young foreign girl.
Everyone waved goodbye at the smoldering heap once known as Keitaro. "Have fun watching over the kids, Keitaro!" Narusegawa waved, heading out with the rest of the group.
Keitaro's hand reached weakly for everyone. "Don't…don't I have a say in this…?"
To say Keitaro was disheartened would be an understatement.
Inside the Hinata Inn, the disgruntled and bored mini Satoshi shuffled through the halls, releasing a sigh every now and then. Raigeki, walking along side of him, could feel Satoshi's misery. "Come on Satoshi-kun, cheer up! I'm sure the day will be over before you know it!"
"I just wish I can convince myself that. My poor barbequed food…so tasty, and yet so far away. Why must the finer things in life be so hard to get…?" He cried, feeling depressed again.
Raigeki, though astounded Satoshi could feel so strongly about pieces of meat, realized a clever way to cure Satoshi's depression. He let go of a dramatic sigh. "It's too bad. I really wanted to see you finally go through with it…"
Satoshi peered at the Pikachu curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Obviously your confession to Kasumi."
"WHAT?" Satoshi jumped, taken aback by the comment. "Why would I do something like that?"
"Oh, get a grip on yourself. Don't you realize how far this whole thing's gotten? Have you?" Raigeki interrogated, looking serious.
"But…the thing is…"
"For crying out loud Satoshi, it's been 21 chapters! 21! And during all of our zany episodes, you haven't even ONCE realized your feelings for Kasumi or done anything about it!"
"But Raigeki…"
"Don't you realize how many readers you've pissed off with your denseness? I'm surprised people are STILL reading this and haven't beaten you to death for wasting their time!"
"If you can give me a minute to explain…"
"Why don't you get it through your head already? Enough with the filler chapters, lame suspense, and cliché scenes! Get your brain into gear, stop waiting and pull out the big moves already!"
"RAIGEKI!" Satoshi finally shouted, annoyed with the mindless banter.
Raigeki stumbled back in surprise, but recovered a calm composure. "Yes?"
Satoshi looked around and sighed before continuing. "The thing is, I've been thinking about that whole thing for awhile now…"
"What, wasting precious chapters with cool action scenes and pointless humor?"
"Quit talking like that! You make it sound like this is some type of fiction or something! I'm talking about real life here!" Raigeki rolled his eyes at Satoshi, but continued to listen. Satoshi's gaze was cast downward. He looked serious. "The truth is…I just don't know anymore. I've been trying to determine how I feel about Kasumi, but it ain't as easy as you may think. Sure, I like Kasumi, but…I'm not sure if I just like her as a friend, as family, or something more. I've never experienced this before, but I'm afraid to look for answers. I feel as though if I see something I won't like, it might make me run away. I'm not trying to run away, but the whole thing is kind of scary. Do you have any idea how scary it feels to not know how much you care about that person, and that person has been your friend for months and months? Not only that, but…Kasumi's been hurt in the past. She said it plenty of times: She doesn't like guys. If I were in her shoes, I would probably feel the same way. Also, now that I've thought about it more, there's also the fact that she might not feel the same way about me. What if I went out of my way and said I like her as more than a friend, and then she reminds me that she doesn't like guys or me?"
"Uh…" Raigeki faltered, seeing Satoshi's point.
"Exactly. It would end pretty badly. And in the end, we wouldn't be able to see each other the same way, ever. Besides…I kinda like what we got going now. I feel we've become the best of friends. I'm not in a rush for those fuzzy feelings, but rather, I like being best buds with Kasumi just the same."
Raigeki stared at his partner in surprise. He didn't nearly think of those possibilities, which proves Satoshi's been putting in a lot of thought. "It…sounds like…you really care about Kasumi-chan…"
"Huh?"
"I mean, it doesn't have to be in a romantic way, but from what you told me, it seems like no matter how you look at it, you really like being with Kasumi, whether it be as friends or something more. To be honest, I've been thinking that getting together with someone romantically was the best kind of love there is. But…I think, you've somehow discovered one better than that." Raigeki looked Satoshi in the eye. "I think you've found a way to combine every love imaginable into one, pure form."
"Combining loves?"
"Yeah. I mean, there are so many kinds, but I think you found something better than all of that combined! Now I'm more convinced than ever! You just have to tell Kasumi how you honestly feel, regardless of what you think she might say!"
"But…what if…" Satoshi looked away, feeling unconfident.
"It's not like anything will change if you tell her you like her! You're just being honest! Also, it's not like you are asking her to marry you or anything. All you're saying is that you like her, and you like being her best friend!"
Satoshi stared long and hard at Raigeki. As he thought about it, Raigeki had a very good point. Would it really matter as long as he and Kasumi stay good friends? "Hmm…you're right. I'll probably feel better if I'm just honest, even if I'm not a 100 percent on how I feel."
"That's the spirit!"
"Thanks for the pep talk, Raigeki. I feel much better."
"No problem. What else am I here for?"
"To annoy and wake me up in the most irritating way possible?"
"Hey!"
There was a sigh at the end of the hallway, which captured the attention of Satoshi and Raigeki. "Are you two done? I'm already bored of this place. I don't wish to feel sick too." Kabushi shot.
Satoshi and Raigeki stood ready and glared at the red haired samurai with narrowed eyes. "What do you want?"
"Tch, that's simple." Kabushi walked until he was a few feet away from Satoshi. "…I want to mop the floor with you."
Satoshi's hand twitched, preparing to get his sword. "I won't hold back."
Kabushi did the same. "Either way, you will surely…huh?" He took a glance to the side, where the window was, and paled in horror. "S…Sa…Satoshi? L-l-look out that window…"
Satoshi huffed. "Nice try, but there's no way I'm falling for that trick!"
Raigeki looked at what Kabushi was referring to and started trembling with fear. "Uhh…I think you better listen to him this time. You REALLY need to see this…"
"Not you too Raigeki! What's so strange that you—" Satoshi's sentence was cut short as Kabushi gripped his head and turned it out the window. Satoshi's jaw dropped in astonishment.
It was a van.
The van was heading towards them.
…Yet everyone was on the second floor…
CRASH!
"WAAAAH!" Everyone leapt out of the way, avoiding the lethal collision with the flying van bulldozing into the hallway. Satoshi and Kabushi gaped in horror, noting the utter destruction of the hallway.
"W-well…t-that wasn't something you see everyday…" Raigeki quipped shakily, still trembling. He would never trust another van again.
Suddenly, the side door opened, and out emerged a man, who from Satoshi's viewpoint, looked like a walking corpse. The van driver was dressed in a simple red shirt with brown slacks, black shoes, and a white lab coat. His skin was sun tanned and he had short black hair. Strangely, the man smiled sheepishly as he waved at the two shrunken samurais. "Hey kids! Sorry about mess, my van slipped on a banana peel on the road."
The two rivals sweat-dropped fiercely. Mess was putting it mildly. Satoshi, who at the moment was loss for words, pointed at the man. "Uhh…excuse me sir, but do you realize that you're bleeding from the head? And it's not a small amount either…"
"Huh? Oh, this? Don't worry about it, it's just a scratch!" The care free man waved off. The 'scratch' was more like a deep gash in his head, which release a large amount of blood, which went over the man's face like a river.
Kabushi, more stunned than ever, decided to make another point. "You know your back is on fire, too right?"
The man glanced back, noting the bright flames emitting from his back. "Ah, well, nothing that a little patting won't fix!" Taking off his coat, he repeated patted on the flames, slowly putting it out.
There was a tired sigh behind the shell-shocked students, coming from Keitaro. "Seta-san, we just finished getting the inn repaired last week, please don't go crashing here when they're guest around."
"Wait a minute…this happens occasionally?" Kabushi asked in surprise.
Keitaro nodded. "Yeah, somewhere between 3 to 4 times a month. Everyone's used to it by now, though it certainly took us by surprise at first."
Satoshi, Kabushi and Raigeki paled. Just what kind of freaks where they staying with?
"Don't worry about the damage. Let the insurance take care of it. But that's a story for another day. Anyway, Keitaro, I really need your help! We've found a great ruin nearby, but I need your help!" Seta grabbed the young manager's hand as he pulled him towards the still-implanted van.
"Hey! Seta-san! Wait a minute, I can't leave these two here by themselves! They're guest!" Keitaro informed.
Seta stopped and considered it for a moment. "Hmm…you're right, they should come along with us."
"That's not what I said!" Keitaro cried.
"Come on! There's no time to lose!" Excited, Seta grabbed the two samurais and Pikachu before hauling off in his van, which miraculously landed on the ground.
Before driving off, Keitaro wanted to make sure he properly warned the two Arcadian students. "Um…you two might want to put on a seatbelt and hang on tight. Seta-san isn't exactly the safest driver…"
'Like that wasn't obvious…' The two thought dryly.
"Hey, Keitaro, how bad will this ride be?" Satoshi asked.
"Um…well…I'll put it like this…I just hope your life insurance have been updated…" Keitaro smiled sheepishly as Seta began to drive off.
The three victims in the back seat paled.
That couldn't be good news…
10 minutes later, the group made it to the ruins Seta mentioned. It resembled an underground mine, having cart tracks trailing into the interior. The van parked roughly, though not as horrifying as Seta's earlier entry into the Hinata Inn. Keitaro looked back the backseat riders, grinning apologetically. "Sorry if the driving seemed a little…rough. At least I could tell he was trying to be safe. After all, he only crashed through three buildings this time."
With the three wide eyed passengers, their blood ran cold as they blanched, all of the blood draining from their bodies. Kabushi's eyes were twitching madly while Satoshi had fainted dozens of times. Raigeki couldn't look any more terrified. "A-a-a-are we still alive…?" Raigeki asked dizzily, looking very freaked out.
"I can't tell anymore. I've lost count at how many times I've seen my life flash before my eyes. I shall never complain about walking for the rest of my life…" Kabushi answered, shaking violently.
Satoshi had no ability to speak, seeing that his soul was scared out of him long ago.
Seta looked back at the ghostly threesome worriedly. "Huh, you all seem to have cold feet. Now that I think about it, it might be better if you two went back to the inn. Oh, I know! I'll quickly drive you—" Before he could finish the sentence, Satoshi and Kabushi jumped out of the van, instantly recovering.
"N-n-n-n-no need for that! W-w-w-we'll be fine, honest!" Satoshi said quickly, not wanting to experience the ride again.
Seta looked unsure. "Are you positive? It's not a problem."
"T-t-that will not be necessary! L-l-l-let's go! We've got to work on those ruins!" Satoshi, carrying the fainted Raigeki, and Kabushi dashed into the ruins with ungodly speed, leaving Seta and Keitaro behind.
"My, we have some very eager future archaeologist on our hands." Seta laughed.
Keitaro sweat-dropped fiercely. "Actually…that was more like fear…"
Inside the dark caverns, the five explorers began their excavation. The darkness started getting thicker as they traversed deeper into the nexus of tunnels. Satoshi had the perfect solution to illuminate the darkness. "Raigeki, brighten up the hallway for us with Flash." Satoshi requested. Raigeki nodded in charged electrical energy from within his body, emanating a bright glow.
"Wow, that's pretty handy! Now we can see a lot more!" Seta said.
Kabushi grunted as he took out Raijin's Pokéball. "Raijin, show them a real Flash." After being summoned, Raijin did as instructed and released an intense shine that was easily twice the brightness as Raigeki's Flash attack. Keitaro and Seta almost had to cover their eyes to prevent being blinded.
Raigeki scoffed at the rivaling Pokémon. "Tch, show off." With the lighting problem solved, the group pushed onward.
Seta couldn't help but notice some tension in the group. If he dared to step in between the two children swordsmen, he would probably regret it. Keitaro had a discouraging look on his face, murmuring something about Narusegawa killing him later…which gave him an idea to relieve the depressing air.
After all, excavating is never fun unless everyone is having a good time.
"Hey guys, so what's going on in the world? Any new girlfriends lately?" Seta asked loudly, causing Keitaro and Satoshi to choke a little.
For some reason, Kabushi found the archaeologist's random talk of girls to remind him so much of Ryuga and Anji. And, if memory served correctly, that meant this was about to be a very annoying conversation. "Who cares?" He questioned back.
Seta wasn't going to get downed so easily. "Come on, I'm sure each of you has that special girl in mind, especially Keitaro-kun!"
"M-m-me?" Keitaro stuttered.
"Of course! Don't tell me you haven't hooked up with Narusegawa by now! It's been ages!" Seta patted Keitaro's back heartily, enjoying the already dissipating tension.
Keitaro choked at Seta's comment, blushing lightly at the thought. "S-S-Seta-san! It's not like that with us!"
"Now, now, no need to be shy! Mind you, she's quite the catch! You better hurry before someone else gets her!"
"Ah…but I…what I mean is…we're not…" Keitaro fumbled over his words, feeling pinned down by Seta's words. After a pause, Keitaro's shoulders slumped. "I just don't know…"
Kabushi decided to intervene at this point, growing irritated by Keitaro's shyness. "Just get over yourself already. Do you or do you not like Narusegawa?"
"I…I don't know. I mean, kinda do, but at the same time, I'm not sure."
"Idiot, don't you know yourself in the least? How could you not know how you feel about something as simple as a woman? It's not a complex question. You either like someone or you don't. If you go on and act like you're not sure, then all you are doing is denying yourself, and if you have to resort to lying to make yourself feel better, not only are you the biggest moron in the world, but you can't even call yourself a man. Why don't you stand up for yourself and be honest for once in your miserable life?"
Keitaro wanted to deny Kabushi's statement, but hesitated once he started thinking about it. He couldn't think of anything to say in his defense. Was he really just denying his true feelings for Narusegawa? Maybe Kabushi was right, and he was just lying to himself to prevent possible embarrassment.
Kabushi caught Seta's attention, who replaced his surprised look with a knowing one. "Something tells me you know that from experience. You're quite mature for your age."
"I'm 16. I'm supposed to know this kind of stuff by now." Kabushi stated flatly. Even though he spoke the truth, given he had recently taken the shape of a 6 year old version of himself, it didn't look to convincing to Seta.
Seta only laughed. "16 you say? Well, you sure act like one, just like my daughter, Sarah." He walked up to Kabushi and patted on his head playfully. "I know you want to grow up, but that's something you can't rush."
"Listen you old coot, I'm really 16 years old. Don't take the fact I'm this short into account."
"Hehe, whatever you say!" With that, Seta walked ahead of the group, Keitaro walking next to him. Satoshi stole a glance at Kabushi, remembering what he said earlier. He had his doubts, but also, something told him that Kabushi's words weren't totally true. He could relate though.
"Hey, Kabushi. About what you said earlier, I—ACK!" Satoshi tripped over something on the ground and fell flat on his face.
"Satoshi! Are you alright?" Raigeki asked. As Kabushi, Keitaro and Seta peered over the fallen child, the Pikachu noticed the object Satoshi tripped over. "Hm? What's this thing?" He pointed to a small, oval object with octagon patterns and grey, steel coating. It was embedded into the ground.
"Hey, smart guy, look at this." Kabushi directed Seta to the object Raigeki pointed to. As Satoshi got up, he grew curious.
"Hmm…this could be an excellent find! Let's dig it up!" Seta pulled out the shovel he brought with him to dig.
"Err…should you really dig that up? It could be dangerous…" Satoshi inquired suspiciously.
"Nonsense! It's perfectly fine!" Before anyone else could comment, Seta plunged the shovel into the earth and scooped up the object. The unknown item, as now could be seen, had a hole on the front, back, and two on each side. From the shape, it looked as though it was…
"…It's a turtle?" Everyone pondered. Before they could start questioning its existence, a mechanized head popped out suddenly, scaring everyone. Startled, Seta dropped the shovel and stepped back. Surprisingly, the metal turtle sprouted boosters from its back and started flying. The four excavators ducked to avoid the flying turtle.
"Can someone tell me why a turtle is flying?" Kabushi took out his minimized katana and start swiping at the turtle.
"I don't know, but it'll be cool if it had weapons!" Just as Satoshi said the comment, the holes where the turtle's arms would be had guns appear and shoot at the group. They sprinted into a run to escape the gun totting, mechanized flying turtle. "You know what else would be cool? If there were more of them!"
SLASH!
Kabushi managed to cut the turtle in half. Just as he did, the ground started vibrating violently. It wasn't too long until a swarm of the turtles emerged from the ground and attacked them. "Dammit Satoshi! Stop jinxing us!" Kabushi growled, swiping at Satoshi with his sword.
"I wasn't trying to do that! I swear!" Satoshi defended.
"Never mind, just keep running!" Kabushi snapped, deflecting gun shots with his sword. Raigeki and Raijin shot a string of Thunderbolt attacks at the flying menaces, but their magnetic coating absorbed the electricity and shot it back. The two rodents resorted to dodging the attacks rather than waste electricity.
"Hey everyone, look ahead!" Keitaro pointed to an opening in the tunnel. Up ahead was another path that led deeper into the cave. Unfortunately, the path was broken and separating the path was a bottomless pit.
"Everyone, make sure to long jump over the pit! If we do, I'm sure we can make it across. Whatever you do, do not fall!"
"Okay!" Satoshi and Kabushi nodded and notion for Raigeki and Raijin to do the same. Once the group reached the chasm, they took the plunge. Keitaro and Seta made the first leap. They managed to make it with no problems. Next were Raijin and Raigeki, who were faster than their partners. Using their light bodies and quick agility, they easily made it across.
"Alright, now give it all you got!" Seta cheered on.
"Jumping? This will be easy!" Kabushi grinned victoriously. After his years of training exercises, making a simple jump would be cake. He was about to make the running jump when Satoshi stopped him.
"Wait a minute! I don't think this is such a good idea!" Satoshi warned.
"Are you mad? We got a freaking army of super turtles flying at us, yet you want to start doubting yourself now? Come on before you get us killed!" Kabushi grabbed Satoshi's wrist and took a few steps back.
"But you don't understand. If we jump, we'll—"
"Enough with your excuses! No one is allowed to kill you except for me! Now shut up and jump!"
"No, wait!" It was too late because Kabushi jumped with all his might, bringing Satoshi along with him.
As the two were flying in the air, Kabushi immediately noticed something strange. They had been in the air for a few seconds, yet they didn't land. As a matter of fact, it would seem as though the chasm was longer than he predicted. He extended his hand to grab the ledge.
Only to missed by mere inches.
And that's when Kabushi finally realized what Satoshi was trying to tell him. They were too short.
"DAAAAAMMMIIIIIIITTTT!" Kabushi's voice echoed as he and Satoshi fell into the endless abyss…
With Ibuki's group, everything was set up for the Romance Moon festival. The area was filled with cherry blossom trees, smooth grass, festive lights hanging on a long line, and plenty of food. It was a fun time for everyone to enjoy, as they either played games or had special shows for the Arcadian student's entertainment.
Of course, there were those with their own sense of entertainment, namely Ryuga and Anji. Currently, they were conjuring plans on how to find out Ayane's feelings for Kabushi. They were in the middle of discussing their plans when the blue haired ninja from Team Tenshi approached them. "Hey guys! Whatcha doing?" Duplica asked cheerfully, sipping on her drink.
Anji turned to face Duplica. "Huh? Oh, hey, you're that ninja with Hiroshi's team, right? Don't mind us. We were just talking about—"
Ryuga, upon seeing Anji converse with Duplica, instantly stepped in between them. "Anji-kun! What are you doing?"
Anji blinked in confusion. "I'm talking to Duplica…" He answered flatly.
"Don't speak to that beauty-wrecking woman! She's the enemy!" Ryuga proceeded to point at Duplica, who was fuming at the comment.
"Who are you calling a—"
"Enemy!" Ryuga yelled, interrupting the girl.
"What are you—"
"Enemy!"
Duplica's brow was twitching in anger. "If you say that one more—"
"ENEMY!"
POW!
Both Anji and Duplica slammed Ryuga over the head, causing the mage to fall face first into the ground. Anji released an aggravated groan. "Please, just ignore him. He's still sore over that little prank you pulled on him."
Duplica shrugged. "I had a feeling it was something like that. Anyway, what were you two talking about earlier?"
"You know our two teammates, Kabushi and Ayane? We suspect that something's going on between them, and for the last few days, we've been trying to find out. Got any ideas?"
"Hmm…" Duplica tapped on her chin while looking up thoughtfully. After a minute of thinking, an idea came to her. "I'll help you guys out. So, you want to know how Ayane feels about Kabushi, right?"
"Right."
Duplica nodded. "Alright. Just leave everything to me, alright?"
"Sure. We'll leave it up to you. Just be subtle about it, and make sure Ayane doesn't know that it's us asking about it."
"Okay." Duplica turned around in time to see Ayane passing by. She walked up to the ninja, neglecting the fact Anji and the recovering Ryuga was only a few feet away. "Hey Ayane, could I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"How do you feel about Kabushi? Do you like him?"
Ayane raised an eyebrow at the still-nearby Anji and Ryuga, who had pale looks on their faces. "Did anyone get you to ask me that question?"
"Anji and Ryuga wanted to know, so they asked me to ask you."
"Oh. Well, to be honest, he's okay, but I don't like him like that. He's a teammate, and that's where I plan to leave it."
"Okay. Thanks for your time." She turned around and flashed a thumbs up at the two Team Rocket members, who blanched considerably. "Huh? Is something the matter?" She asked, walking towards them. Though Duplica couldn't see, Ayane made a stabbing motion at her teammates with her kunai, promising a painful death.
With one look at each other, Ryuga and Anji retreated swiftly, leaving Duplica confused.
With Shigeru, something had been on his mind ever since he arrived at the Hinata inn. The entire trip seemed all too convenient. Ibuki was not only a teacher, but a top class elite guard of the school. If anything, she had an idea of what was going on.
However, a few minutes later, his jaw dropped like dead weights at the sight before him.
Mitsune, Sakura and Ibuki stood on top of a table, dancing in what had to be the most horrifying fashion in the world. They were laughing and stumbling over each other. The fact they each had a cup in their hand clearly stated one thing.
They were drunk.
"Hey everybody! We're going to have a fan service contest and you guys are the judges! Don't be shy!" Ibuki cheered in a drunken stupor.
"Just what is in those drinks?" Shigeru cried. The situation grew even worse once he realized the resounding wolf whistles coming from behind him.
"Alright! I'll be the bestest judge ever!" Takeshi proclaimed, raising his cup in the air. The members of Team Isuka joined Takeshi in the judging section.
"Let's get this show on the road!" Su shouted. She, along with Musashi, Yamato and Marina shot their fist in the air.
"Hey…wait a minute…" Shigeru walked over to the punch bowls and took a small sip of the contents. He blanched once he realized what was in the drinks.
Sake was poured into all the drinks.
"Dammit, this is bad! Who else is drun—what the hell?" Shigeru stared in shock as Sakura, Ibuki and Mitsune started taking of their clothes little by little, still dancing horridly. In a panic, the Class S samurai lunged and attempt to wrestle their clothes back on, only to make the situation worse.
"Hey, no guys allowed!" Takeshi yelled.
"Dammit, I'm not trying to be in it! I'm trying to stop it!
"Oh, I know! I bet he wants to dance with us! Alright, let's boogey!" Sakura yelled. The three girls started bumping Shigeru back and forth between them, making the helpless samurai dizzy and strangely satisfied. It took a minute before he escaped the dance of the drunks.
"Good grief…is there anyone who hasn't succumbed to the sake?" Shigeru noticed that Ibuki somehow disappeared from the out-of-their-minds threesome and was currently sitting in front of Haruka, Shuu, Hiroshi, Furuura, Shinobu, and Leo. It looked calm enough, and Ibuki seemed to be telling a story. Hoping to get away from the current group of nut jobs, he walked and peered over the conversation. He couldn't help but wonder why everyone listening to Ibuki had such red faces…
"…But the thing you have to remember is that if you're a guy, you should do—and—and also—that way, the woman will be at your mercy. And girls, you don't want to give them too much too quickly so you should—and—and finish off with—and that's how men and women should REALLY communicate!" Ibuki finished. There was a wave of oohs and ahhs from the 'students'.
Shigeru's eyes couldn't be any wider. "IBUKI-SENSEI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TEACHING THEM?"
"Shush! This is very educational!" Leo hushed, making sure to pay close attention to Ibuki's speech about life facts.
"What the hell? Not you too!" Shigeru gasped. This day was already starting to get out of hand.
"Huh? Hey, Shigeru-kun! Why don't you come here and help me let these growing boys and girls know about the facts of life? Tell us about your wild times with Sakura-chan!" Ibuki yelled loudly. The 'students' all glanced at Shigeru with curious intent.
Shigeru's face was overcome with embarrassment. "T-t-t-t-t-that's not anyone's business! Stop telling them such weird things!"
"Aw, don't be shy! It's for educational purposes!
"Yeah, educational! Educate us!" Hiroshi and Furuura pleaded. The other three nodded enthusiastically.
"That's not the education you guys should be learning!" Shigeru shouted. He was about to say more when he felt something drip on his nose. Looking up, he noticed dark clouds gathering in the sky.
It was going to rain.
Thank goodness.
"Alright people, listen up! It's gonna start raining soon, so everyone pack up and let's return to the inn!" Ibuki shouted, catching everyone's attention. The fact she was drunk seconds ago seemed non-existent.
Shigeru was amazed. "Ibuki-sensei…where you really drunk earlier…?" He asked.
Ibuki gave him a long stare. "…What are you talking about? I never drink!"
"You lair!" He accused, pointing at the teacher.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we should hurry. There have been reports of heavy rainfall coming." Motoko warned, picking up Kasumi and Narusegawa, who had fallen unconscious due to influence.
"That's pretty strange…" As everyone started packing up the supplies, Ibuki glanced at the quickly approaching clouds. "It was clear a moment ago. Is this…a sign?"
Back in the ruins, Satoshi slowly opened his eyes, regaining consciousness. The last thing he remembered was falling into a bottomless pit. He was grateful for still being alive, but couldn't help wonder why he had such a huge headache.
"It's about time you woke up! I've been trying to wake you up for over a half hour!" Kabushi yelled, sounding irritated.
Satoshi sighed as he started standing up. It was now obvious why he had his headache. He couldn't help but wonder why Kabushi's voice sounded so…distant. "Huh? Kabushi?" He looked around, but didn't see the red haired rival. "Hey, where are you?"
"Up here moron!"
"Wha?" looking up, Satoshi saw Kabushi hung on the wall by his shirt, which was stuck onto a sharp rock. It was amusing to watch Kabushi pout and thrash while being hung. Satoshi's cheeks started to puff as though he was holding his breath.
Kabushi scowled once he saw the look on Satoshi's face. "What's with you?"
All of the sudden… "PFFT! HAHAHAHA! YOU LOOK LIKE A CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT!" Satoshi started rolling on the ground in laughter.
Kabushi's eyes glared furiously. "DAMMIT, THIS IS NOT FUNNY! JUST GET ME DOWN RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"
It took a moment for Satoshi to recover, or at least have his laughter reduced to snorts. "Alright, I'll get you down…" Satoshi stood back to prepared a wind attack when he stopped suddenly. "Hey…wait a minute…why don't you just use your own wind attacks?" There was a stunned silence. Kabushi glanced away, leaving a long pause. "…Hold up…don't tell me you don't know any wind attacks."
"…No, I don't…" Kabushi admitted.
There was another pause, until… "HAHAHAHA! YOU'RE A TOTAL IDIOT!" Satoshi insulted.
Kabushi immediately glowered at the laughing samurai. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM A DUMBASS LIKE YOU!"
Satoshi instantly grew serious. "You know, I'm getting sick and tired of everyone calling me an idiot. Right now, I have half a mind to just leave you hanging."
"Half a mind is exactly what you got! Stop with the crap and get me down!"
Satoshi took a moment to think about, and then thought of a response. "Sure, but only under one of my three conditions!"
"Are you out of your mind? Stop acting so full of yourself!"
"So…I guess you won't do any of my conditions."
"Never!"
Satoshi sighed. "Fine…" He slowly turned around and started walking away.
"…W-WAIT!" Kabushi yelled suddenly. "…What are the three conditions…?"
"Glad you asked!" Satoshi beamed, grinning widely. This was going to be good. "Condition 1 – Say "Please get me down!" and it has to be with a nice tone."
"HELL NO!" Kabushi yelled.
Ignoring Kabushi, Satoshi went on. "Condition 2 – Apologize for every rotten thing you've said!"
"You're insane." Kabushi said flatly. Given what the first two conditions were, he would most likely go for three, which couldn't possibly be worse than the first two.
"And finally, condition 3 – Let's be good friends!" Satoshi finished cheerily.
Kabushi paled in disgust. '…Alright, so that means it's either one or two…' He thought miserably. Today would mark the most humiliating moment to date.
"Come on, don't be shy."
Kabushi growled under his breath. Why did it have to be Satoshi of all people to torment him like this? He looked around closely, making sure no one was watching him be humiliated. "…Fine, I'll choose a condition. BUT! If you say a word of this outside this cave, I'll wring your idiotic little neck!"
"I promise!" Satoshi sang, giving his rival the thumbs up.
Kabushi took in a deep breath and exhaled, calming his raging nerves. He was going to make sure to put Satoshi at the top of his blacklist. "P…p-please…please get me d—huh?" The suspended samurai felt his collar ripping.
This wasn't going to end well.
RIP!
"AAAH!" Kabushi yelled as he started to fall.
Satoshi gasped with a start. Kabushi was set high above the ground. The height was enough for him to get seriously injured, or even die. "Aero Strike!" With a swipe of his sword, Satoshi sent a small cyclone of wind to cushion Kabushi's fall. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Yeah, just taken by surprise. However, that's besides the point…" Storming up to Satoshi, Kabushi glared murderously. "How dare you try to blackmail me like that? I should kill you for trying to shame me like that!"
"From what I've seen, you do that just fine by yourself…" Satoshi mumbled under his breath.
Hearing the comment, Kabushi unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Satoshi. "I don't take kindly to insults. The next one I hear from you will be your last…" Kabushi spoke coldly, narrowing his eyes.
Satoshi's hand slowly went for his own blade. "…Was that a challenge, Kabushi?" Satoshi's lips curled into a small smirk.
Kabushi smiled the same. "Take it as you like. Either way, you'll always lose to me!"
SLASH!
The two skilled samurai's sliced the two mechanical turtles that were behind their rival's back, destroying them. "I don't think it's a good idea to stick around for too long. I suggest we postpone our battle for now. Agreed?" Kabushi asked, glanced back at Satoshi.
"Agreed. I don't know how to navigate through caves that well, so I'll have to call Zohl for help." Satoshi fiddled his pockets for Zohl's Pokéball. A few seconds past, and he had yet to find it. "Huh? Where did my Pokéball go?"
"…Perhaps I should've warned you about that earlier. When we fell off the cliff, I think our Pokéballs fell off. Trust me, if I had my Pokéball with me, I wouldn't have needed your help getting down."
"Oh. I see. Let's try to find everyone." Satoshi immediately grew serious as he started off in a direction. Kabushi shrugged, but followed.
Far from Satoshi and Kabushi's location, two Pokéballs lay motionless on the ground. One of the sentry mecha turtles flying around noticed the two balls and approached them. Noting the curiosity-provoking button, the metal creature pressed it. Suddenly, the ball cracked open and summoned the creature inside, causing the creature to fly away with alarm.
"Ugh…where is this place?" Zohl questioned, glancing around at the dark and rocky area. Looking down, he saw another Pokéball next to him. Being he is separated from his partner, might as well discover who his companion may be. Pressing on the button with his bone club, a ground-type Pokémon appeared before him. Her back had a thick trail of brown spikes. Her skin was tan and stomach white. The Sandslash turned around to notice Zohl staring curiously at her. There was a moment of silence…
"AAAH! A MOLESTER!" The girl cried.
The Marowak face-faulted in surprised. He's been called many things before, especially by Raigeki, but that was taking it a step too far. "I am NOT a molester! We've been separated from our partners, so I thought it might be a good idea if we could search for them together."
"Oh…I see…" Another period of silence… "AAAH! A THIEVING MOLESTER!"
"WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT?" Zohl exasperated loudly. "Look, I'm not going to do anything to you. All I'm trying to do is look for my partner."
"Okay bonehead!" The Sandslash piped.
A vein appeared on Zohl's forehead, twitching aggravated. "I'm not a bonehead. My name is Zohl. What is your name?"
"It's Shizuka! Nice to meet you!" Shizuka greeted cheerfully.
"Likewise. Let's start excavating and find our comrades."
"You got it bonehead!"
Zohl gritted his teeth, but only sighed rather than say anything insulting to the Sandslash. Walking ahead, Shizuka followed obediently.
While the two walked, Zohl couldn't help but grow slightly annoyed with his female companion. Whether it was because she was constantly talking about nothing, or the fact she always referred to him as bonehead, he felt his patience wear thin. It also didn't help that the girl was jumpy and always clung onto him at the smallest sound, accidentally pricking him with her claws and spines. He lost count on the amount of holes puncture into his skin.
He was moments from snapping at the motor-mouthed Pokémon when he decided to take the calmer approach first. "Shizuka, may I ask why you are talking so much? No offense, but it is getting on my nerves." While the last comment was an understatement, he was trying very hard to be polite about it.
Shizuka's ears dropped guiltily. "Oh…I'm sorry. When I get nervous or anxious, I tend to talk a lot to calm myself and take my mind off whatever's bothering me. I-I'll stop talking if I'm bothering you…"
Zohl sighed. How he hated to be the nice guy. "No, no, you don't have to stop talking. If it makes you feel better, you may continue talking."
Shizuka was taken by surprise. She honestly felt she was getting on Zohl's nerves, but the Marowak was trying to be considerate to her feelings. "Um…t-thank you, bo—Zohl."
Zohl smiled a little. It felt great to hear his name rather than being called bonehead for the rest of his cave ventures. "It's not necessary to thank me."
"But it is! You're the first Pokémon to ever be that considerate of me! It makes me happy to know that someone out there cares about how I feel!"
Zohl flushed meekly, feeling embarrassed. "It's not that big of a deal."
Shizuka calmed down and smiled at Zohl. "But it is to me. I was actually the weakest Sandslash in my clan, so I was looked down on a lot. Even when I'm in Kabushi's group, I'm still the weakest Pokémon. I don't have a lot of respect or good points about myself, and even though I try really hard to get strong, I always forget something or mess up really bad." She stopped walking and gazed at the ground in front of her. "It seems like no matter how much I try, I always lag behind everyone else. I want to be strong and get people's respect. But…I don't know where to start…or even what my good points are. Maybe I don't have any, and my dream is just that, a dream and nothing more…"
Zohl had listened intently to Shizuka's story. He knew how it felt to be the weakest link. He stepped in front of Shizuka, catching her attention. "Shizuka, listen. Not every strength is clear to see at first. Power isn't something always measured in battle. As a matter of fact, I can see where one of your strong points very well. It is here." He poked at the middle of Shizuka's chest. "In your heart is a power with infinite potential. All you need to do is unlock it. It won't be easy, but I have a feeling that you can do it. Don't stop trying. That's what I feel is the key to unlocking your strength."
Staring blankly at Zohl, Shizuka still couldn't believe what had just transpired. Zohl was encouraging her to keep trying her best. She yearned to hear such encouraging words all her life, yet Zohl said it perfectly. "…You're nice."
"Huh? Ah…well…." Zohl whipped around, trying to keep a cool posture, though his face was reddening under his bone helmet. "A-anyway, let's press on and continue our search."
"You got it, Zohl-sempai!" Shizuka piped.
Stopping in mid-step, Zohl could've sworn he misheard Shizuka. "Did…you just call me –sempai?"
"Yep! Lead the way, Zohl-sempai!"
"…Oh. Alright then." Zohl was about to start walking when Shizuka's hand grasp onto his, startling him.
"U-u-umm…Zohl-sempai? C-c-could I please h-hold your hand? It would make me feel less nervous…" Shizuka blushed timidly.
Zohl tensed immediately, blushing hard. He didn't expect something so out of the blue. He slowly turned his head to see Shizuka staring at him with what had to be the most adorable puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. 'No! Anything but the puppy dog eyes!' He turned away and closed his eyes, only to crack an eye open and look back. Shizuka was still staring at him. Zohl sighed. That was a battle he was never going to win. "Fine." Tightening his hold, he guided the Sandslash into the depths of the ruins.
Back at the Hinata Inn, everyone lay about either lazily or in suffering from their major hangover. Shigeru, who had taken in the most stress, was purely exhausted and asleep. Though everyone was relaxed one way or another, two girls remained restless.
Ayane had been rummaging in Kabushi's belongings again, looking for the marvelous collection of arts. After finding Kabushi absent, she immediately wanted to look again, hoping to see the rest of the collection. Once again, she passed by the 'glorious' picture of herself swearing obscenities. At least she felt better about casting the Chibify spell on him. Turning the next page, she was witness to the picture known as "The Dream". It tugged hard at her curiosity. Who was the woman Kabushi was cradling into the kiss? Kabushi's expression felt so content and warm as his hands clasped over the woman's hand as he embraced her from behind. The girl looked as though she melted at his touch, resting against his chest and smiling in bliss. For some reason, Ayane found the woman on the picture to be vaguely familiar. From the title of the artwork, it was easy to tell it somehow related to a dream, most likely Kabushi's. She couldn't help but feel sappy over the picture. It really made her want to experience it. Alas, she didn't want to go that route. Too troublesome. She was about to turn the page when—
"Ayane?" A voice called from behind.
"I'M INNOCENT!" Ayane yelled in surprise, jumping out of her skin. She regained her composure once she realized it was just Kasumi and Narusegawa. She would've been dead if it was Kabushi. "Oh…I mean, what's up?"
"Me and Kasumi-san can't seem to find Keitaro, Satoshi and Kabushi anywhere. We were wondering if you had seen any of them." Narusegawa answered, trying to forget Ayane's outburst.
"Oh…no, I haven't. You haven't seen them anywhere?" Ayane was surprised. Kabushi sometimes went out by himself, but for both Satoshi, his rival, and Keitaro the manager to leave was slightly troubling. "Did they leave any messages?"
"Actually, there's one message. It's down the hall." Narusegawa pointed to the wreckage that used to be a hallway.
Ayane's jaw dropped. She hadn't noticed it since she never crossed that hallway today. She was wondering where the draft was coming from. "So…just what does that message mean exactly?"
"It means Seta came over. If that's the case, then that means they are with him." Narusegawa sighed. "I should've known something would happen with Keitaro around…"
"Sounds like he's a handful." Kasumi chuckled.
"You don't know the half of it! Not only is he a pervert, but he can never do anything right! He's got to be the most troubling guy in the world!"
Kasumi patted on Narusegawa's shoulder. "Hate to break it to ya, but Satoshi's got Keitaro beat. Satoshi, to put it lightly, is probably the biggest idiot in the world. His sense of direction has a world record for being the worst. And don't even get me started on his eating habits…"
"Good grief! If those two are as bad as you two claim, they could cause a lot of havoc if left alone for too long." Ayane commented.
The two girls began to reminisce their experiences with the boys they knew. From it, they could conclude two things:
1 – Keitaro will somehow get himself killed.
2 – Satoshi will somehow get everyone killed.
Kasumi turned to Narusegawa. "…I'm ready when you are."
"I'll lead the way." The long haired brunette said, leading Kasumi out the room.
Ayane sighed with relief. "Good, they're gone." She was about to go back to looking through Kabushi's art book when a hand held fast onto her shoulder. "I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" Ayane yelped, being scared out of her wits.
"Stop screaming and let's go! Kabushi's with them as well." Kasumi ushered, dragging the ninja with haste.
"No, wait, you don't understand, I have to—AH!" Ayane couldn't break out of Kasumi's grip as she was dragged out of the room, dropping Kabushi's artwork.
A minute passed by when Ryuga and Anji had entered the room looking for Kabushi, only to find a book with Kabushi's name on the floor…
Hours passed for the two samurais traveling through the cave. Along the way, they had encountered several groups of robot turtles. Though they proved difficult to defeat, they were still no match for the two swordsmen. They had arrived at an underground river, which seemed to run endlessly with a powerful current.
"It's getting late. We should rest here." Kabushi suggested. He sat by the river and exhaled with relief.
"But we should keep going so we can find everyone else! They could be in trouble or something with those turtles flying around!" Satoshi said urgently.
"Think for a moment. If we continue to go in our injured state, we could wind up losing all of our stamina and dying before we meet them. Also, there could be a chance that we might pass them and never meet up with them, being that this cave is as dark as they can come. Just sit down and get some sleep. We'll continue our search tomorrow."
Satoshi wanted to argue, but Kabushi had a point, unfortunately. "You can go ahead and get set up here. I'm going to look around a bit more."
"Fine, but don't get yourself killed. I want to be the one to kill you first." Kabushi scoffed. He lay on his side and faced the river.
'Sheesh! Talk about violent!' Satoshi thought, tossing the red headed swordsman an awkward glance. He left the area to search deeper into the cave.
Satoshi had been walking for a good 10 minutes, hoping to find any signs of life. He didn't find anyone, which made him slightly dispirited. Feeling weariness coming over him, he felt it was the time to take Kabushi's advice, no matter how much he disliked it.
"Huh…? What's that…?" Satoshi whispered to himself, feeling a nearby presence. The figure was creeping along the shadows. 'Who could that be? It might be Keitaro and Seta, but there's only 1 person, and I don't recognize this person. I should ambush to see who it is…' Thinking quickly, he submerged himself in the water to hide, being there was nowhere else. After a few intense moments, a lone person could vaguely be seen in the darkness. When the person was in range, Satoshi jumped out of the water and lunged at the intruder.
CRASH!
"OOF!" The intruder and Satoshi grunted as they began rolling along the ground, wrestling with each other. However, when they took a good look at each other, they gasped in surprise.
"Kasumi?" Satoshi asked, blinking in surprise.
"Satoshi, what are you doing?" Kasumi interrogated, lying on her back.
"I thought you were…ah…" Satoshi felt something round under his palms, which unfortunately was Kasumi's chest. Curiosity struck him as he squeezed it. "Sheesh, and I thought your mallet was hard…"
POW!
Satoshi was sent flying into the wall and implanted their by the said mallet. Kasumi glared murderously at Satoshi. "HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME AFTER I CAME ALL THIS WAY? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" The enraged red head was about to slay the minimized samurai when a blood curdling scream emanated from down the river's path. The voice belonged to Kabushi.
"Something's wrong with Kabushi! Let's hurry!" Peeling himself from the wall, Satoshi raced with Kasumi towards the origin of the scream.
(End of chapter)
I apologize for the long update, but nonetheless, I finally did it. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I was kinda pressed for time since this chapter was getting too big. Hopefully, my next update isn't as delayed. More goodness next chapter, so stay tuned and review!
Oh, and if were wondering about Ryuga's outburst statement, yes, the spelling was intentional.