Time passed quickly in the city. The girl's planned and waited. Tsurai and Nikki kept an eye on the palace construction. The reconstruction went quickly. One day though, the palace of Konan had some surprise visitors. Tsurai, Nimue, and Nikki sat together watching the ball in Tsurai's hands. They could see the image of a fox, Tsurai's chosen image, sneaking around the palace. Inside the throne room stood seven people, four in clothes from 2001 AD.

"The Seiryuu seishi I'll bet…" Nimue said.

"Go for a full frontal view."

Tsurai moved the image around to the back of the throne and poked her head under it.

"No…way…" Nimue said, stunned.

"How…" Nikki moved towards the orb in Tsurai's hands. "Tyche, Garme, Nakuro, Ashitare, Amiboshi, Suboshi….and Bob…no way…them…Tyche…"

Nakuro was a short boy who always wore a hat. Even in this time, he still had it on. Tyche stood taller than everyone else, her arms crossed. Garme still had messy black hair and was still overweight. His eyes darted around at the men in uniform. Tyche whacked him again once she saw this act. Bob was looking around at the construction. Then there was the regular trio of the Boshi twins and Ashitare. They hung away from the group. Suboshi seemed to have the most dislike for the new four. That was when Bob looked at the throne.

"What's that?!" he yelled. Tsurai quickly grabbed the ball, closing the link. The image vanished from the palace as she pocketed the ball.

"Tyche is…a Seiryuu seishi?" Nikki asked, stunned. The other knew why. Tyche and Nikki had always been good friends, more like sisters than anything else. Tsunoiya was good friends with Tyche too, but she, Kai-chi, Chichiri, and Tasuki were out at the market.

"Nik…we can win this you know. Once we go home…I'm sure Tyche will go into her right mind. You never know. She might hate being a Seiryuu seishi anyway, with…THAT group." Nikki nodded at Nimue and smiled.

"It will be finished in midwinter. We'll plan an attack then. For now…anyone wanna ask Taiitsukun to send a letter to our parents?"

Winter hit in full force a few weeks later. Snow drifted down steadily and lakes froze over. Nikki stared outside, thinking and smiling.

"Nikki, why do you insist on looking out the window?" Tsunoiya asked. She had come over while the owners of the house she was at were out. Nimue was at Tsurai's. Nikki turned to her friend.

"I've never seen snow before."

"Are you serious no da?" Chichiri asked, amazed.

"Mm hmm," she nodded. "It never snowed where we come from. My parents never went up north for the winter."

Tsunoiya paused for a second. Then she stood up, pulled up Nikki by the arm and began to pull her outside.

"Tsu!" Nikki laughed.

"C'mon Nik. I know you'll love it!"

~A few minutes later…~

POW!

"I've been hit!" Tsurai yelled, laughing. Kai-chi grinned wildly. Then she got hit by a snowball as well, this one from Nimue. A snowball fight had started as soon as Nikki, Kai-chi, Tsunoiya, Tsurai, Nimue, Tasuki, and Chichiri had met. Snowballs were flying everywhere. Once the air cleared though, someone was missing.

"Hey, where'd Nikki go?" They all looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was covered with snow except for Chichiri. He'd had the most practice dodging in his life, and with his teleportation ability, it was too easy to avoid incoming snowballs. Suddenly, the group froze as they heard a thwack, then a thunk.

"Whoa…" Tsunoiya looked down at Chichiri, lying on the ground with a snowball on his face. "Battleship sunk." A bit down the road stood Nikki, Houki, and Boushin.

"The enemies have arrived," Nikki smirked. With laughter, the fight began anew.

~After the fight…~

"Fun!" Boushin giggled. He had pelted everyone's legs with small snowballs and glomped Nimue, making her fall face first into the snow. Tsurai and Tasuki had separated into their own team of snowballers. Nimue, Kai-chi, and Tsunoiya made up another team. Both of the teams went after Nikki and Chichiri. By the end they were both covered and Houki stood blinking after a snowball hit her (thrown by Boushin.)

"Yeah, that was fun…" Kai-chi agreed, grinning wildly. "But…now what?" As they pondered, Taiitsukun answered the question for them. Eight pairs of ice skates materialized in front of them.

"I…guess we're ice skating."

"Taiitsukun knows what we like!" Nimue exclaimed, grabbing her pair. Nikki took hers and ran after Nimue. Seeing that Taiitsukun had basically decided for them, not one of the others left the offered skate. Nikki and Nimue sat by the lake getting their skates on.

"What…are there for?" Houki asked, holding up Boushin's pair. Nimue stood up and stepped onto the ice. Then she was off across the lake, Nikki right behind her. Tsurai grinned and followed them. Kai-chi did the same. After Nikki went around once, she skated to the edge where the others were.

"C'mon you guys. It's fun."

"Tigers were not meant to glide on ice…" Tsunoiya said. Nikki glanced at Tsurai and nodded. Tsurai took out her ball from her coat pocket and sent a Suboshi image into the middle of the lake. Tsunoiya twitched a bit.

"No…it's not working this time! No way Tsurai"

Tsurai grinned evilly and nodded at Nikki. Nikki looked at her friend inquisitively. Tsurai then proceeded to remove the clothes of the image. Nikki covered her own eyes while Chichiri and Tasuki blocked Houki's line of vision. The next thing everyone else saw was a tiger girl gliding belly down across the ice. Tsurai vanished the image quickly. The men on shore relaxed and Tasuki walked over to the lake. He looked at the ice before stepping away. But when Kai-chi and Nimue glided by, grabbed his arms and kept on going, he had no choice, ice skates or not. Tsunoiya glided to a stop in the middle of the lake, looking around from Suboshi, confused. Then she realized where she was.

"TSURAI YOU ROTTEN LIL...!!!"

Watching Tasuki tumble all over the place, Chichiri flat out refused to try.

"Come on Chichiri, I'll help you…" Nikki offered. Chichiri shook his head.

"No way no da. You're not gonna get me out there no da."

Nikki shrugged and took Boushin from Houki and began to put on his skates.

"Alright then. Boushin will skate with me. Won't you, Boushin?"

"Hai!" the young prince replied.

Chichiri was on the ice a minute later.

"You play dirty no…DA!" Chichiri stumbled and fell, dragging Nikki down with him, again. Nimue was skating with Boushin instead, and Kai-chi and Tsurai were dragging Tasuki. Tsunoiya was still struggling to get off the ice.

"Damn it Kai-chi hand over the catnip!" she whined. She couldn't turn into her tiger form without the aid of catnip.

"I'm beginning to think he's doing that on purpose…" Nimue said, watching Chichiri and Nikki, stopping by Tsunoiya.

"I bet she hopes so!" Tsunoiya said grinning.

"That's not funn-ie!" Nikki fell this time, pulling Chichiri down.

"Yep, she definitely hopes so," Nimue grinned. Nikki glared at her as she got up.

"Just wait'll we get home…"

The girls, and basically everyone else paused. Nikki looked at them all before realizing what it was.

"The palace will be finished in two weeks. We agreed to attack then," Nikki said. "And then we go home." She looked at her friends. Tsurai and Tasuki were holding hands, and everyone had a look of disappointment. Chichiri put a hand on Nikki's shoulder.

"Then again," she smiled at up him, "perhaps it would work better if we waited til spring."

~At the palace of Konan…~

"What's taking them so long?! Those Suzaku fools should have either been caught of attacked by now!"

"Ya ever consider that you could be underestimating them Bobo?"

"Don't call me Bobo, ya whore…"

"Okay Bobo."

Bob glared at Tyche.

"Don't make me hurt you."

Tyche grinned evilly and clapped. Every light around, even sunlight, vanished. Her laugh echoed around the dark room.

"You'd never be able to find me. You even underestimate me of all people. I am the epitome of darkness...but with a face like mine you'd never be able to tell."

"Just turn the lights back on ya whore…"

Tyche clapped again and the lights came back. Tyche looked at her hands.

"Built in clappers, who woulda thought?"

Time passed all to quickly Nikki thought as she gazed out the window. All the snow was gone now, and everything was being reborn. She sighed as she turned to the completed battle plan. Action was already being taken. Nikki had sent a kind and brave man from the village to play the messenger and take a message to the capital city as a warning. Soon, when the moon was full, those who had died under Kutou sword would avenge themselves.

Thanks to some special effects and a lot of work from Tsurai's side… Nikki grinned. There was also warnings of a demon tiger roaming the woods near the city. Good old Tsunoiya will have fun with that… Nimue would be ready to heal anyone from the Konan side who got hurt. She was also making everything for the special effects, specifically smoke bombs and sound effects and such. Kai-chi would play the head spirit, throwing people out of the way from a distance and stuff like that. While all havoc was breaking loose, Nikki, Chichiri, and Tasuki would be going to reclaim the throne. Nikki looked up at the dimming sky. In one week, the moon will be full. And then the battle begins.

~At the palace…~

"A message? From the Suzaku seishi?" Bob asked the cloaked man. He stood tall.

"No, from Suzaku. The god of fire is angry, and his time, when his constellations are brightest, comes soon. Then, those whom under your hand have died will rise again to avenge their deaths and Suzaku will reclaim the throne! Also, you may be interested to know, a demon tiger was seen roaming the forest near here. My lords and lady, if you wish your lives, flee now! Before you unleash the grandest of his fury! For when the moon is on high, then shall the revenge begin!" there was a blast of light and swirling smoke, and the man was gone.

"Excellent job with the smoke and lightning bombs Nimue," Kai-chi applauded as Tsurai closed the orb.

"Well, that's it for today. We leave for the city in three days." One by one, the other four left. Tsurai stopped on her way out and faced Nikki.

"Nik, can I…ask you a favor?"

"Go ahead."

A few seconds later, outside the house, a passerby screamed as some inside shouted, "Oh my GOD!!"