Author's Note:

This chapter is written from Anji's POV. Flein's POV will continue in the next chapter.

A special note to all of the readers: Team Musakui needs original characters to fight against!

If you'd like to see your own OC in the story, whether it is based on yourself or someone you made up, please PM me their bio (appearance, personality, powers, etc) and what you'd like their fate to be! =P (in other words, I won't shame or kill your character unless you're okay with it!)

CREDIT WILL BE GIVEN TO THE CREATORS!

Enjoy, and check out YYHTheLostChapters on DeviantArt for new pictures!

Chapter 25: Making Up

The second hand ticked away slowly, each one seeming more like a minute as the time passed by in silence. The only other noise in the former Team Kahojila's hotel bedroom was the rustling of Joka going through his bag of clothes and the occasional grunt from Talik, who was healing his small wounds one by one. Sweat rolled down his forehead and slid down the bridge of his nose as he moved his glowing blue hand from the cut on his side to the gash on his arm.

Anji watched him from the other side of the room, making no noise of her own. Her legs were drawn up to her chest, the soles of her feet planted on the seat cushion of the small red armchair that rested in the corner of the bedroom. Her arms circled her legs, and her chin rested comfortably on top of her knees. Her eyes drifted from Talik to the various clothing and other personal objects scattered on the otherwise immaculate carpet. Her heart clenched in pain- not all of them belonged to Joka and Talik. The deceased members of Team Kahojila would never be getting these discarded items back.

Just as she was examining a worn out and faded checkered knapsack, a sigh escaped Joka's lips, interrupting her thoughts. "You don't have to sit there silently like you don't even know me, you know."

Anji's eyes found a good spot on the wall to focus on and fixed upon it, refusing to budge or look at her friend. Truthfully, she had been waiting for the moment when Joka would finally attempt to break the silence- she hadn't uttered a word to him ever since her fifth failed attempt to convince him of Team Musakui's trustworthiness.

"Sometimes I wonder if I do know you." she finally said, after coming to the conclusion that remaining silent in the face of his comment was simply too awkward for all parties. She immediately regretted it, as she could feel her face growing hot in anticipation. She had never argued with Joka before- not like this. They had had their quarrels in the past of course, though none of them had lasted more than a few minutes at most. One trait they both shared was that they both hated conflict.

Anji heard Joka sigh deeply, scratching his head in contemplation. "You know how dangerous they are, Anji." he said. It sounded more like a plea than a statement. It was most likely the tenth time he had said it that day. "You should know that better than anyone."

She stifled a sigh. He was referring to her father.

When someone mentioned her father, the first memory that always came to her mind was not of his smile, his laugh, or the way he lifted her seemingly thousands of feet into the air, causing her to feel like a bird taking flight. Instead, her immediate memory was always of her mother, sitting on the living room couch in silence, a large blanket of dark blue fur spread across her lap, her hand resting on the soft, familiar hair. It was all they had left of him now- they were lucky, considering some wolf demons who had been killed in war with cat demons had never been found.

She supposed she was meant to wear her father's coat in pride, as most war victims' families often do. But she never could bring herself to wrap that warm blue fur around her.

"We're not in our village right now. Some rules don't apply out here." Anji said, bringing herself back to the conversation at hand. "Besides, that's not the point. I'm angry because you didn't believe me when I said Flein is fine. Like my judgment can't be trusted."

"Well, you gotta admit, your judgment is a little off sometimes." Joka said, a smile tinging his voice. Anji finally turned to look at him, and found that he did indeed have a grin on his face, to her surprise. "Remember that time you tried to pet that bear in the woods-"

"We're not going to talk about the bear now . ."

"-and you said it was fine because it was near its cubs so it was happy?"

"That was years ago . ."

"Or that time you tried to swim in the river and the current took you all the way out of the territory?" Joka's tail was wagging now, a familiar sight she hadn't seen since they were home. It almost made Anji want to smile too, even though there were parts of her that were still seething. "And then I had to jump in and get you and we had to walk all the way back to the village soaking wet?"

"Okay, I guess that one happened not too long ago . ." Anji conceded, still remembering the feeling of her head getting pushed under the cold water over and over again. At least on that day she gained the valuable knowledge that she couldn't swim very well. "But this is different. I know that Flein and her friends are good."

Joka's smile faded slightly, and he sat at the edge of the bed in heavy contemplation for a minute, his gaze focused on the ceiling above him. Talik had stopped tending to his wounds, and was now staring at Joka as well. Anji couldn't help but feel ashamed that their friend had had to sit there and listen to them either quarrel or ignore each other for the past few hours.

"So . . what exactly were you going to do if you stayed? Fight on their team?" Joka finally said, the smile returning. In seconds, the mood in the room had totally changed. She knew the smile was there to mock her for her abysmal fighting skills, but she knew she was getting close. Somehow, he now seemed to be more open to letting her stay- or at the very least, was finally considering the idea. "You came here to find me and you did, right? You wanna stay and risk your life just to help them out?"

"I agreed to help her and I want to follow through. Plus . ." This was it. He was giving her a chance to convince him- She had to succeed. "You're not the only one thinking about home, you know. If Team Musakui wins, I can wish to help the village too. Then we can take all of this-" Anji leaped from the chair, scooped up the checkered knapsack beside her, and started stuffing discarded clothing and other objects into the bag- wallets, hats, whatever she could find- and held it up high above her head. "- we can take all of this, hold it high in triumph as we walk through the village entrance, and say 'We did it. We lost people, but we did it. Their death was not in vain.'"

The male wolf demons simply stared at her in a mixture of confusion and hollowness, as if wondering if they should clap or not.

"You know, now we're not gonna know what object belonged to who now." Joka said, another wry smile spreading across his face.

Anji finally lowered the faded knapsack. ". . . Oops."

"It's all right." Joka said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. "We'll just dump all of it out on the table at the next village meeting and say 'Here, take your stuff'."

Anji rolled her eyes. She had to hand it to him- he could make any embarrassing situation change into something lighthearted. Either that, or he could easily make it ten times more embarrassing, depending on his mood.

"That's all inspiring, but I found one tiny flaw in your plan." Joka said, scratching the inside of his ear with his pinky nail. "Last time I checked, you suck at fighting."

Anji exhaled, dropping the knapsack back down beside the armchair. She knew the conversation would eventually steer in this direction. "I know that, but . ."

"That's just why I can't allow you to stay . ." he continued. Anji clenched her fists in frustration, biting her tongue. She was so close! She was so sure she had convinced him to let her continue being a member of Team Musakui- now she was back where she started. " . . . unless your cat demon friend agrees to let me help."

" . . . What?" Her body couldn't keep up- she still had an urge to grit her teeth in anger. She didn't even know if she could trust her own ears. "You want to help?"

"You were right- it is our village we're talking about." he explained. "I don't think I should leave its fate in your incapable hands." He grinned, showing good intention despite his light jab at her.

"You really want to join our team?! This is great! We needed another member anyway!" Anji exclaimed, trying to resist jumping up and down. She didn't want to get too excited- she wouldn't put it past Joka to have said this as part of an elaborate joke.

"I can help heal people!" Talik chimed in unexpectedly. Anji had almost forgotten he was there in her excitement. "I want to do what little I can to help the village as well."

Now they even had a healer- things were suddenly falling into place perfectly. "That's great, Talik! I'm sure Flein would be glad to have both of you helping!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, doubt crept in. She had never considered the idea that the cat demon might be angry at her after their parting. Perhaps she hadn't defended her nearly enough as she should have. More importantly, she was most likely angry with Joka as well- it wasn't the best first impression he had ever given.

Joka didn't notice his friend's complete change in mood. His back facing toward her now, he was sifting through the clothing in his bag. "By the way, I don't want you to think that I believe you're a hopeless case or anything. Like I've said before, you could fight well if you had more of a fighting spirit." He fished out a clean shirt. "But just in case you decide to jump in that river without checking the current again . . I'll be there."

He wasn't looking at her, but she attempted to hide her red face anyway. It was rare that he got sentimental- although she supposed he had been trying to keep her from getting into trouble the whole time, in his own way.

"Besides" he continued, now yanking out a clean pair of black pants from his bag. "I'm not a bad fighter myself."

Anji smiled and plopped back down onto the red armchair. "You don't even like to fight."

"Why fight when you can play?" He explained with a question, dropping his bag back down beside the bed. Anji snorted lightly through her nose and looked away. If it were up to Joka, the Dark Tournament would simply be a large soccer championship- with no winner, just aimless playing. "By the way, while I was unconscious . ."

Anji looked back to find Joka had unabashedly removed his shirt sometime when her eyes were elsewhere. Her heart skipped a beat in surprise and she quickly glanced away, her cheeks hot like fire.

"I was going in and out of consciousness for a while so I don't know if some things were a dream or what . ." Joka continued, unaware of her reaction. Anji kept her head stiffly in place, afraid to look back in case he was still shirtless. From her new point of view she could see Talik still sitting on the other bed, staring and listening to Joka as he spoke.

"Must be nice . ." she thought before she could stop herself. Of course it was allowed if a guy looked at another guy. Although she supposed Talik wasn't getting as much enjoyment out of it as she would.

Suddenly her train of thought was interrupted as a bare, muscular chest blocked her line of sight. "Hey, are you even paying attention?"

Anji whipped her head around while simultaneously covering her eyes. The palms of her hands were touching her cheeks, and she could feel the heat radiating through them. "Don't do that! I'm listening!"

"Just makin' sure, since you're not looking at me and acting kinda weird, like you don't want to listen to my amazing story." Joka explained from her right side.

"It's not that . ." she practically whimpered. She really was intent on listening to his story. Although now she wasn't even sure what it was about anymore.

"Oh, I get it." he said, smacking the bottom of his fist on his palm in realization. "Does me being like this make you uncomfortable?"

"Oh god." she thought, feeling her throat get dry. He was getting tauntingly closer to her. She was starting to realize that she wasn't going to be able to get through him getting dressed without him realizing why she was hiding her face.

"Just put your shirt on!" Anji ordered without answering his question, now comopletely turning her back to him. "Don't you even care you're half naked?"

"Hey, you said we're not in the village, so the rules don't apply anymore, remember?" She heard a belt clatter to the ground, followed by the rustle of cloth falling.

"Oh god." She thought again, pressing her hands harder onto her face. He was only using her line as an excuse- Joka never was one to care about the rules. Sometimes she thought he liked breaking them on purpose. Being forbidden to get undressed in front of the opposite sex- even if it was only one item of clothing- was one he thought was particularly pointless. He never seemed to care about being in various forms of undress around others.

"This is different!" Anji exclaimed, turning her head farther away until she was almost facing the back of the chair. Her heart felt like it wanted to hammer out of her chest.

"Anyway, as I was saying . ." Joka continued, ignoring her reaction. She could hear him getting farther away from her, and let herself breathe a bit. "I thought I felt something weird while I was unconscious, but I dunno if it was just some weird dream." A rustle of cloth indicated that the clean pair of pants had come on now- but she didn't dare look. She knew better than to think he was completely dressed yet. "Well, to get completely to the point . . did you kiss me while I was knocked out?"

Anji had to grip onto the sides of the armchair to keep herself from falling out of it. "WHAT?!" This time she couldn't help it- she ripped her hands away from her face and stared at him in disbelief, and was treated to another view of shirtless Joka. She covered her face again, although this time it was more to conceal the redness of her face.

"You totally did, didn't you?" he laughed. "Probably thought I was going to die . ."

"No."

". . So, as if in a dramatic soap opera, you lean over my lifeless form . ."

"No."

". . and as one tear escapes and lands on my cheek . ."

"No!"

". . Your lips touch mine in a final farewell . ."

"No no no! I didn't do anything like that!" Anji cried, rotating away from him to the right again. She could see Talik from between the gaps in her fingers- now even he was looking away, his face as red as an apple, trying hard to stare only at the bathroom doorknob.

"Poor Talik, he has to listen to all of this nonsense." Anji thought, feeling mortified. She hoped he wasn't having any second thoughts about healing for their team now.

"So how was it? The kiss, I mean." Joka was approaching her again, and she was pretty sure he still hadn't put his shirt on.

"It was like nothing, because there was none." Anji insisted. "Talik can tell you, he was the only one with you the whole time!" Talik seemed to try to shrink into himself in shame, his face somehow getting even redder than before. He was almost as easy to get embarrassed as Anji, but this reaction was extreme even for him. Then it hit her.

"All right then, Talik, she totally planted one on me while I was out, didn't she?" Joka asked, turning to his former teammate, who visibly gulped.

"U-um . ."

"I-I don't know, maybe I did." Anji stuttered, interrupting Talik's response. Talik looked at her in complete shock, his brown eyes wide. She simply winked at him quickly, concealing the gesture behind her hand.

"HA! I knew it!" Joka cried. She heard a slight thud of the floor being jumped on, and she knew he was most likely pumping his fist in the air in triumph.

"I said MAYBE I did." she corrected him sternly. "Oh god, what have I done . ."

Joka didn't hear her. "Anji, if you wanted to kiss me, you could have just asked."

"Just put your shirt on already!" Anji replied, starting to lose her patience. She was starting to sweat underneath the heat of her hands.

"Actually I think I'll go take a shower!" She could hear him retrieving the clean shirt that was left forgotten on the bed before turning to walk into the bathroom. Whistling, he closed the door behind him.

Anji uncovered her face and took a deep breath of fresh air. "What have I gotten myself into . ." she thought, as she heard the shower turn on in the other room. Her cheeks still felt hot, and she wondered if they'd ever be a normal temperature again.

"Thanks . ." It was Talik. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, looking slightly sheepish. ". . for covering for me."

"No problem!" she chirped, trying to recover her usual attitude. She felt like she should say more, but had no idea what would be appropriate."Smooth move"? "I guess now you're my rival"? "Wish I could have done it"? She had to prevent herself from violently shaking her head at the thought of saying any of them.

Before the awkward silence between the two of them could get any longer, Anji jumped up from the chair and started to drag whatever extra blankets she could find to set up on the couch in the living room. She wanted to claim the sleeping spot as her own, before Joka could accuse her of wanting to sleep in the same bed as him as well. The blush fought to creep back into her cheeks at the thought of it.

As she lay down on the couch, her thoughts began to wander, as they tend to do before sleep. "I have to make sure to go to Team Musakui's room early tomorrow." she thought, her back slowly sinking into the couch. She hoped Flein would accept them onto the team, and didn't slam the door in her face. Even worse, she hoped they hadn't already found someone else to replace them.

Her eyes drooping, Anji fell into a fitful sleep.