Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to akemi akibi and your great suggestions.

Double Trouble

"'It's your turn to get the food', she said! 'I'm busy doing work', she said! 'You need to do something useful', she said! Hmph, of all the nerve!!" Despite her ranting, Ayeka couldn't shirk her responsibilities, nor could she avoid the tasks she had been assigned to. With Ryoko diligently working on cleaning up the mess that the hurricane left, it was up to the princess to gather food for dinner.

Ayeka eventually got over her sour attitude by the time she entered the heart of the jungle. Deep in the steamy mass of trees and wildlife, she began to grow a little more relaxed. She even began humming a song to herself as she stepped over roots and rocks.

Upon further investigation, Ayeka stumbled across an orange tree that had fallen during the storm. It was laying horizontally, which meant that the fruit it had been carrying was easily accessible. Smiling happily, Ayeka walked over and began to scoop up oranges as she continued humming.

Stuffing the oranges into a makeshift sack, Ayeka couldn't help but notice that the wind had gotten a little more stale recently. There was a certain stink in the air, and a very low growling sound could be heard. Still, she ignored it all and continued gathering fruit. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks, noticing a pair of hooves before her. Warily, she raised her head to see what she had bumped into, and laughed fearfully as she was formally introduced to a big, smelly, ornery, angry warthog.

Normally, the jungles of the island were very peaceful--and with the exception of the hurricane, they had always been serene. But now, there came something from the jungles, something very sharp and piercing, like the sound of a bell, or perhaps a horn, or a bird, or maybe it was the sound of a princess of Jurai screaming bloody murder as a warthog chased after her. It was debatable.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Ayeka screamed her lungs out as she bolted through the jungle, her arms and legs flailing frantically as the mighty beast charged after her. Snorting and blowing steam out of its great snout, the boar chased after the princess wildly, its tusks begging to poke her. Ayeka continued scurrying, praying for her feet to go faster, and broke several records as she blazed through the jungle.

"GEEEEEEEEEET AWAAAAAAAAAAY FROOOOOOOOOM MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" She shouted back to the boar, who was obviously deaf and dumb to her pleas. The beast continued to charge, slowly gaining an advantage as it pursued Ayeka all across the island. Ayeka suddenly faked a left, and dove to the right with all her strength. The stupid animal continued charging, leaving Ayeka flat on the soiled ground, panting and wheezing like she had never done so before. With a weak smile, she managed to laugh.

"Ha," she gasped, "I… suppose… I showed… you… who's… boss!" Still panting and wheezing, Ayeka did not notice the being that crept up on her; she was far too engrossed with catching her breath. The being snarled and hissed, forcing Ayeka to shriek and turn around slowly. Her eyes turned to the size of dinner plates as she beheld a wicked-looking Komodo dragon sitting next to her.

Normally, the jungles of the island were very peaceful--and with the exception of the hurricane, they had always been--

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

…serene.

Huffing and puffing her life away, Ayeka jogged as fast as she knew how to. Overturning trees, branches, and rocks, she tried everything she could to deter the monstrous lizard from snapping at her heels. These mighty reptiles, though not quite as fast as boars, were speedy in their own right and probably thrice as dangerous.

"Why me, why me, why meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!?" screamed the princess, literally burning the soles of her shoes off as she sped through the jungle. Her lungs burned from the sprinting, but injured lungs were the least of her worries.

Finally, Ayeka leaped up and grabbed a low-hanging branch, just barely avoiding the dragon's jaws. It completely passed her by and continued running, unaware that its prey was safely hanging above. After making sure that the lizard left, Ayeka let go of the branch and collapsed on the floor.

For about a minute or so, she stayed down on the muddy ground, panting and wheezing so hard that her throat began to ache. Her breath had nearly died back there (and so did she), but at least she was safe and free from her tormentors.

A sudden snorting sound caused Ayeka to spin around slowly, and to her utter horror, the boar was back and meaner than ever. However, the snarling sound behind her turned her blood to ice, and Ayeka nearly fainted upon seeing the Komodo dragon on the other side of her. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, the only thing Ayeka could do was cry, and hope that she could somehow get away…

"HEY!! Get away!!" Ayeka jumped up for joy as the voice pierced the air, and she was so happy to see Ryoko fly by that she could have kissed her. The pirate glared, and stood between Ayeka and the two animals surrounding her.

"Oh, Miss Ryoko!" cried Ayeka, hugging the pirate from behind. "Bless you! Bless you!! Oh, you are so noble, coming to save my life--"

"Save your life?!" spat the pirate. She turned around and pushed Ayeka to the ground. "Are you crazy? I'm not here to save your life! I'm here to chase you away from my dinner!"

"WHAT!!!!" Ayeka screamed again, but before she could get any response, Ryoko grabbed both brutes in her arms, and snapped their necks with two deft twists. Triumphantly, the pirate held her trophies high in the air, and dragged each away to be cooked and eaten.

"Miss Ryoko!" called Ayeka bitterly. "You cannot mean to actually eat those things!"

"What, you want some?" Ayeka sneered, and turned down the offer with a disgusted face.

"Ugh, if you are eating them, leave me out of it!!"

"Fine, more for me," shrugged Ryoko, and the pirate left Ayeka to catch her breath.

"Drat!" blurted Ayeka. She had ripped her tunic again. Even though it was made out of very fine and tough fibers, her clothes were not indestructible. They had experienced years' worth of wear-and-tear while on the island; in fact, it was a miracle that they had lasted even this long. Ayeka sighed in defeat, knowing that there was really nothing she could do about it.

"What's wrong?" asked Ryoko, who was hammering the walls into the new house. Ayeka frowned and showed her the ripped suit. "Ah, I see you need new clothes!"

"Give the lady a blue ribbon!" snorted Ayeka. Ryoko merely smiled coolly.

"Those aren't going to last you, Princess Pain-in-the-Butt. You're gonna need some new threads."

"And how do you propose I acquire these 'new threads', you lazy good-for-nothing slob?"

"Well, you've got three choices," said Ryoko, holding up that number of fingers. "One, you can make them yourself, using animal skin or leaves. That pig I killed will make the perfect ensemble for a hoggish Hellraiser like you!"

"WHY YOU--!!"

"Hey, just kidding!" smiled Ryoko brightly. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you can make clothes yourself, or you can just let the ones you have on now rot away."

"And what, dare I ask, is your third suggestion?" demanded the princess. Ryoko's eyes glimmered mischievously, almost as if she had been praying for that question.

"Simple," she said. "You can go without your clothes."

"WHAT!!!"

"Yeah, sure! Run around naked! Nobody's gonna mind, and I pwomise I won't make fun of poow widdle miss Ayeka!!"

"Grrr…!" Poor little miss Ayeka--that is, the princess--began fuming madly. She was well beyond enraged, she was infuriated--first from the nerve of Ryoko's childish coddling, the second out of her sheer audacity.

"How DARE you have the nerve to suggest something so barbaric!!!!!!!!"

"Jeez, no need to make me deaf, your royal annoyanceness! I'm just saying that if you got it, flaunt it! I know I will."

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!!!!" By now, the whole entire island shivered under Ayeka's enraged voice, and Ryoko had to hold her ears so she wouldn't grow deaf. Even so, an annoying ringing sound ached her skull for a minute or two.

"Well then, you can just make your own!!" yelled the pirate. "And I'm not going to help you!!"

"HA!! I won't need your help!! You've 'helped' me enough, you savage barbarian!!"

"Hey, at least I'm not afraid to show off what Nature gave me!"

"That is horrible! Disgusting! The absolute audacity of it!!"

"What is wrong with my body?!"

"It just happens to belong to YOU!!!"

"WHY YOU--!!!"

"OUCH!! Stop pulling my hair!! …All right, you want to play it that way?! FINE!!"

"YEAAOOOWWW!!! OW, hey, leggo'a me!!"

"Monster!"

"Spoiled brat!"

"Barbarian!"

"Flat-chested hag!"

"Brainless savage!"

"Royal twat!"

"Horse-faced space dog!!"

And so…

CRASH!! BANG!! BOOM!!

…another peaceful day on the island…

SMASH!! POW!! WHACK!!

…came and went.

Muttering curses that would have made Tenchi green in the face, Ayeka continued threading her needle through the skins of the boar. In the span of a day, she had learned how to cut and sew animal skins so as to make clothes, and now she was already making good progress. The big pig that had attacked her the other day had now been recycled as a warm and fuzzy tank top and skirt--although they did itch considerably.

As she was threading her future skirt, Ayeka looked up from her duties to see Ryoko walking across the beach. Her tanned face turned as white as clouds as she realized that the pirate was wearing a necklace made out of seashells… and nothing more.

"AAAACCCCKKKK!!!!" Ayeka covered her eyes in horror, and tried her best to repulse the approaching woman. "Miss Ryoko, PLEASE!!! For the love of all things good and sacred, please put some clothes on!!"

"Aw, but it feels so good!" sang the pirate. "Besides, my original outfit got shredded. I don't have anything to wear, anyway."

"You can borrow my kimono!" blurted the princess. "I don't care! It's yours! Please, just… have some decency!!" Ryoko suddenly gasped sharply and drew back, a shocked look on her face.

"OH NO!!!!!!" she screamed. "You… you used the 'D' word on me!!! Noooo!! I'm melting!! Melting!!" Ayeka roared out in a horrible anger at her companion's behavior, and demanded in no calm terms that Ryoko behave herself and/or get dressed.

"I will even make the clothes myself!!" blurted the princess. "Just… PLEASE!! Have some common decency, please!!! I beg of you!!" A pause followed, a very unsure and somewhat difficult intermission between their conversations. Ryoko smiled warmly, and leaned on her knees as she bent forward.

"Well, if it's really that important to you, cow-face, then I guess I can borrow your tunic until I get some new drags." She smiled, and tapped Ayeka's hand playfully, and the princess removed her kimono. Ryoko silently took it in her arm, but did not drape it over herself just yet. Ayeka dared not peek through her fingers until several minutes had gone by, and not until she was certain that Ryoko had left. She sighed with relief, and shook her head in ghastly confusion. Suddenly, a very interesting thought hit her.

"Wait a minute!" she exclaimed to herself. "Did Ryoko just do what I asked her to?" She smiled, and realized that she had, and silently continued sewing the rest of her new clothes, a proud smile on her mouth.