Muraki and Touga landed with a soft whump at the edge of the Duel Forest. They abandoned their parachutes and Touga strode up to the gate with an air of immense confidence. Muraki looked around in confusion. The gate was one large carved white door with pools of water around it, and a large handle. He tried it; it was locked, and with no apparent way to get in.
"How do you open it?" he asked. Touga smiled. He flashed a rose signet ring on one of his fingers at Muraki, then held his ring in front of the carved handle on the door. A drop of water hit the ring with a light "plip" and suddenly water started pouring from the sides of the door. The door slid open slowly, while inside, many strange looking sillouhettes danced. The sillouhettes gathered together, forming a giant rose, and underneath it there was a choice: either the stairs to the arena or a path into the woods. Muraki was agog.
"That's amazing! You're telling me that's all done with that ring?"
"Yes. Only those selected as duelists have these rings. They operate this door so we can get into the duels." Touga motioned for Muraki to follow him and started into the woods. "This way to the castle, Muraki."
******
Akio finally stopped the Akio-car far back in the Duel Forest. He was grinning, his shirt ruffled and his hair mussed. In the front passenger seat, Tsuzuki looked equally frazzled, his eyes bloodshot. He thanked the gods for deliverance from the Akio-car horror, at least for a moment or two. Akio turned to Tsuzuki and laughed.
"Look at you… Why so stressed?"
"Don't talk to me," Tsuzuki said, his eyes wide and teeth grinding.
"Don't be that way! I brought you here so we can have some fun!"
"Fun…?" Tsuzuki's eyes popped.
******
Touga and Muraki walked down a dimly lit path in the forest, Touga leading the way.
As they walked, Muraki asked, "How is this a way to the castle? I saw stairs at the start of this walk."
"It's a shortcut for those duelists that refuse to use the stairs. This way is much less stress-inducing."
"That makes sense. What sort of shortcut is this though?"
"If we keep following this path, we should end up at a secret escalator."
Muraki sighed with relief. "That sounds much better than taking those stairs…"
"It is. I'm surprised the Victor of the Duels herself hasn't discovered it yet."
Before Muraki had a chance to reply, Touga stopped, listening for something.
"What is it, Touga?" Muraki asked. Touga "ssh"ed him and kept standing there.
"Do you hear that?" asked Touga quietly.
Muraki listened intently. He did hear a very faint sound. It sounded like an engine revving down, and then screaming.
"I hear it." Muraki replied softly.
Touga continued just as quietly, " Come on, Muraki. We're taking a small detour." Touga grabbed Muraki by the hand and led him into the bushes on the side of the path. Carefully making their way through the bushes, they soon came upon a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing, an evil-looking red car was parked, and Akio Ohtori had Tsuzuki Asato pinned to the hood. Tsuzuki was yelling his head off, while Akio smirked and told him things too soft for Muraki and Touga to hear.
"It's you!" Muraki pointed at Akio. The purple-haired man looked up abruptly, still holding down Tsuzuki.
"Do I know you? I don't think I do," said Akio to Muraki.
"You're my real E-partner." said Muraki.
"I think you're mistaken. Tsuzuki is the only one I've received from My E-Partner."
"OH GOD HELP ME! SAVE ME!!! ANYONE!!!" Tsuzu continued yelling. No one really paid attention to him.
"Let me explain," Muraki began, "I sent you an e-mail, and Tsuzu must have sent Touga an e-mail. Somewhere along the way they got mixed up I think. I wound up with Touga, and you got Tsuzuki."
Akio thought about this for a second, then said, "Well that would explain why Tsuzu seems so… reluctant."
"So…?" Muraki asked. He spread his arms, waiting for an answer from Akio.
Touga looked at the ground, rather disappointed that Muraki had to go. He was really starting to get used to and enjoy the doctor's company.
"But I'm having so much fun with Tsuzu here." Akio stated, grinning evilly.
"What?!" Muraki exclaimed.
Touga looked up, eyes a little wider than usual.
"WHAT??!!" Tsuzuki exclaimed louder. "No!!! I don't want to stay with him! Touga! Muraki! DO SOMETHING!!!!" Again, no one paid much attention to Tsuzuki.
"You heard me. I'm having much more fun with Tsuzu. You go run along and do whatever it is you do for fun," said Akio, turning back to Tsuzuki.
Muraki stuttered a few things, then angrily stomped off through the bushes again. Touga looked at Akio and Tsuzuki one last time, and followed Muraki. Once back on the path, Muraki just stood there, fuming to himself. Touga stood watching him.
"And I thought this E-partner thing couldn't get any worse! Whenever I try to find something that will make me happy, it blows up in my face!" Muraki kicked some dirt up, and turned his head to the ground. He muttered to himself, "Doesn't anybody like me?" Suddenly, Muraki felt something warm on his shoulder. Muraki looked up to find Touga standing there, hand on Muraki's shoulder.
"There is at least one person that likes you," said Touga. Muraki stared into Touga's eyes, not knowing what to say. The background around the two of them suddenly became very pink and sparkly, signifying the start of a mushy scene.
"T-Touga…?" Muraki stuttered. A small tear droplet formed in Muraki's real eye. Touga slowly pulled Muraki closer, embracing him. Muraki returned the hug happily.
Touga smiled and said, "Why don't we make the best of a screwed up situation?"
Muraki nodded and answered softly, "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
******
In another part of Ohtori, bongo drums started up and three shadowy figures appeared on a rose patterned wall.
Shadow Play Girls A-ko and B-ko were jumping up and down with glee. Shadow Play Girl C-ko sat dejectedly on the ground.
"We were right! We were right! Ha ha ha ha ha!" A-ko and B-ko jeered.
C-ko grumbled, "All right, all right. So they got together. You were right, I was wrong, let's forget the whole bet ever happened…"
A-ko held up a finger, shaking it, "Ah, ah, ah! You bet that Muraki was going to find Akio and get together with him! We bet he would choose Touga!"
B-ko continued, "You lost fair and square! Now pay up!"
"Oh all right…" C-ko muttered. She left the wall for a minute. Sounds of rummaging were heard, and C-ko came back carrying three large bags.
"What is all that?" asked A-ko.
"Marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. I don't have any money to give you. This is all I have," C-ko explained.
B-ko stroked her chin, thinking. Finally, she said, "They will do. Besides, I already know what they're useful for!"
"What, what?" asked A-ko, putting a hand to her ear.
"Helping us foreshadow the next bit of the story!" B-ko exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air.
"Oh yeah!" A-ko squealed.
C-ko stalked away, while A-ko and B-ko turned to the readers.
In unison, they said, "Can sweets really be useful? They can! They can! They really can!"
******
Nanami Kiryuu, Keiko Sonoda, Aiko Wakiya, and Yuuko Oose were somewhere in the middle of the Duel Forest, miserable. They sat cross-legged on the grass and were silent, all except Nanami of course, who was screaming and complaining as much as she could.
"I don't believe you, Keiko!! I thought you were gonna bring the tent!!"
"I'm sorry Nanami, but I forgot all about it on the way to—"
"Forget it! YUUKO! Did you at least remember our sleeping bags?"
"What?" Yuuko asked, staring blankly at Nanami. "I don't remember any…"
"EEEERGH! Aiko, did you AT LEAST remember the s'more stuff?"
Aiko revealed a small pouch of marshmallows, a bag of graham crackers, and some chocolate from out of a knapsack. She smiled nervously.
"Well, yeah… It wasn't too hard to remember."
Keiko sniffed and gingerly looked around and up into the trees.
"I can't believe we have to sleep on the ground with all those ANIMALS…ick…" Nanami shot her an evil glance and she was silent.
"At least I remembered the lighter and tinder so we could start a fire…"
******
Touga and Muraki sneaked quietly around in the woods on the way to the escalator. Muraki wondered secretly why there was a reason for all this snooping around, but then Touga put a finger to his lips and said, "Shhhh… Nanami and her little cronies were supposed to be camping here tonight. She has no idea that I know where they are." They continued to sneak around until they came to a clearing where they saw the girls sitting around a fire complaining in loud voices.
"Some camping trip," Touga muttered to himself. From the clearing they could hear Nanami yelling at everyone.
"STOP BURNING THE DAMN MARSHMALLOWS, KEIKO!"
"Yes, Nanami-sama."
"AIKO, HURRY UP WITH THE CHOCOLATE!"
"Yes, Nanami-sama."
"YUUKO, STOP EATING THE CRACKERS!"
"Yes, Nanami-sama."
It continued like this for about three minutes straight while Touga and Muraki tried hard not to let their eardrums burst from the sheer screech of Nanami's voice. After a moment Touga smiled craftily and said, "You know how I said we should make the best of everything?"
"Yes?"
"Well… shall we crash their so-called party?"
They sneaked into the clearing with barely a sound and walked over to the s'more supplies. Before any of the girls had noticed, they stole off with the ingredients, chuckling darkly all the way.
******
Five minutes later…
******
"HEY! WHO TOOK OUR S'MORE STUFF?!"
******
Muraki and Touga ran out of the clearing with the bags of goodies, stopping only momentarily to catch their breath and laugh over what the girls were probably thinking.
"Nanami can't stand it when things go wrong," Touga laughed. "She'll be at those girls' throats." He imitated his sister, saying in a high-pitched voice, "Oh Aiko, what did you do with our stuff? Oh Keiko, what did you see? Oh, Yuuko—"
"Yeah, that was pretty clever, I have to admit," Muraki replied, grinning. "Where do you plan on stowing this stuff, anyway?"
Touga smacked himself in the forehead. "Oh yeah, we were going to the castle, right? We can take it up there! C'mon, the escalator is just up ahead!"
******
The ride on the escalator was rather uneventful. The pair reached the top of the escalator and trailed into the middle of a large platform that seemed to hang in the air. The night breeze blew past and stars shone high above. But more amazing than the stars was the castle suspended in the sky, a huge structure hung upside down in the heavens, in muted shades of pastel. Touga plunked himself down on the platform with the s'mores and stared up at it. Muraki simply stood and let his mouth drop.
"Wow…"
"Yes, it is beautiful. You should see the newbies when they come up here," Touga replied. He turned to Muraki and patted the floor next to him. Muraki walked over and sat down, looking up at the structure in the sea of stars. They both simply sat there for a moment. Then Muraki spoke.
"Touga? About what you said earlier?… About 'at least one person liking me'…"
"What about it?"
"Did you really mean it, or were you just trying to make me feel better?"
Touga smiled and turned to Muraki, his eyes sparkling.
"Of course I meant it! I think you're quite likable, and I don't care what Akio thinks." The look on Muraki's face was priceless. He was stunned, speechless. Touga turned away for a moment, watching the castle again. Then he turned to Muraki and gave him a mischievous smile. The reverie was broken when he wagged the bags of s'more ingredients in front of Muraki's face.
"Shall we figure out what to do with these s'mores?"
******
Rob kept shifting in the bed, making Bob rather annoyed.
"What is up with you, Rob? Why can't you just stay still?"
"Agh! That noise, don't you hear it?!"
"Hm… now that you mention it, I do hear something that sounds like high-pitched complaining."
"It's coming from that Duel Forest next to us."
"What do you propose we do about it?"
Rob sat up suddenly, accidentally knocking over Bob. "Bob, to the lab!"
As Rob rushed from the room, Bob rubbed his bottom where he had fallen on it. "Owies…"
Bob wandered into the lab to find Rob (who was still very naked) looking intently into a computer monitor. Bob yawned and asked, "Watcha lookin' for?"
"Come take a look," said Rob, motioning to Bob. Bob came over and took a look at the screen. On the screen was a live-feed video window that showed Nanami and her cronies all yelling at each other at the so-called "campsite".
"Them again? I thought their last camping attempt scared them off for good." asked Bob.
Rob nodded.
"You gonna do the usual to 'em?"
Rob nodded again.
Bob shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll wait for you back in bed."
Rob smiled evilly, and pressed a big green button. Lights flashed and buzzers wailed as a violently shaking box was sent down a long tube, heading for the Duel Forest…
******
Nanami and her goons suddenly stopped their complaining when a box stamped with the Kakumei.com logo popped out of a hidden trapdoor in the ground.
"No… not again…" Keiko, Aiko, and Yuuko breathed in unison, frightful of the box. The three of them immediately up and ran, leaving Nanami alone.
"Hey, you can't leave me!" Nanami called after them.
She was about to go after them, when the box gave a huge jolt. Nanami slowly
turned her head to the box in terror. The lid popped open to reveal… squirrels.
Lots and lots of rabid, people-eating squirrels.