Hi! I'm SO happy that you guys responded to the survey! I really need some input! Arigatou!! Well, here you are. The next chapter to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". I hope you enjoy it (because I still haven't a clue what I'm going to write!). Rest assured, my friends. This WILL be a good chapter…I hope!

I want to thank all these wonderful, lovely peoples for their reviews and help!

nathania: Thank you! Okaaaaay…*pouts*…I guess I won't make Meilin a spinster. ^_-

Jesus Freak: Thank you thank you thank you!!! You have been a great help to me! I'm dedicating this chapter to you and crystalblossom! Ooh, and maybe dev, too!

dev: I know! Isn't the Heat Card adorable? I love it. You'll see more of it in this chapter…I think! Yeah, I was thinking about Meilin. Poor girl. I haven't developed her enough yet. Emiko needs more character, too. Thank you for your input and suggestions.

faline: I was almost thinking of not having Syaoran kiss her. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Did I do that right? (hums theme song of "Never Been Kissed"). Heh. Ummm…Happy Birthday?? ^_^ I do NOT mind long reviews. Not at ALL. In fact, I adore them (as long as they're nice, you know)! Thank you for your support, it means a lot to me!

Manda-Chan: I know…It's so depressing. But I hope I get well-known soon! *_* I'd just love to have more reviews. Yup. I'm a greedy person when it comes to reviews. ^.^ I'm glad you like my fic! And thank you so much for doing the survey thingummie!

crystalblossom: Thank you! I'm so honored that you enjoyed it! And I'm honored to be on your favorites list. It really made my day when I found out! P.S. You aren't killing Syaoran, are you?? I-I don't know if I could handle it! Sob! *coughs down some pills* I need to renew my prescription… ^_^

silver_crescent: Hi! Thanks for reviewing my ficcy! I'm glad you did the survey. (can't believe it took me an extra chapter to draw attention to it…oh well.) I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Sakura Kinomoto: Thanky uo for the energetic review!! *laughs* That was fun to read! *hands Kero a twinkie and winks* I was tempted! Really tempted to leave Meilin alone and forgotten!

Emerald Eyes: Hmmm, good idea! Ohhh…(my imagination's running away with me again) I just got a vivid picture of…but I can't give it away! Your idea has been officially considered! Arigatou! Oh, and you may borrow the Condiment Woman as long as you mention her creator (she's my product of my over-indulged imagination, and…and I just can't bear to see her torn away from my name!) ^_-

hanako: Thank you!!! Um, I'm not sure where that song came from. I heard Charlotte Church sing it and I thought it was beautiful. The title is "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" You'll find out that in most of my fics I twist songs to make them work. I know, I know…I'm a very naughty girl.

ccsfan: Thank you for reviewing and answering the survey. I have reached the decision and…you'll have to find out! Anyway, I'm honored that you chose to read my fic. I love getting reviews! Arigatou!

Well, on with the show!

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow

by Zenin

Chapter Five: More Revealing Revelations

This chapter is dedicated to my good friends, Jesus Freak, dev, Manda-Chan, and crystalblossom

Thank you!

Hakaru dodged the pillow thrown at him. "C'mon, Syaoran! Was I hallucinating or was I actually seeing a gigantic, flying, talking lion?!

Syaoran groaned. He rolled over pulling the blankets over his head. "Hakaru…I need sleep! I'll tell you in the morning."

"It IS the morning!"

Syaoran pushed the blankets from his face. "It's exactly 2:30. I am going to sleep!!" He rolled over with a groan. "Where'd my pillow go?"

Hakaru continued talking. "Maybe I wasn't hallucinating…Or I could have been. I don't know. What do you think, LI? Did I just imagine it or were you in Kinomoto's cabin tonight?"

Syaoran sat straight up. He struggled to free himself from the blankets and toppled over onto the floor with a thud. Rising up on his elbow, he rubbed his head and glared at Hakaru. "What did you see?"

Hakaru slowly smiled. Gotcha. "Well, I can't exactly tell you…until you clarify a few things for me."

Syaoran removed the tangled blanket from himself and stood with a sigh. "What do you want to know?"

"First things first: What was the flying lion and was it real?"

Syaoran sighed. "I might as well tell you everything. The lion is Keroberos, the Guardian Beast of the Seal. He guards a book containing a bunch of magical cards called Clow cards. Sakura and I captured the cards a few years ago and then we competed to see who would become their master. Sakura—" he turned red. "Sakura won, and now she's the Mistress. There is a new set of cards loose called Rainbow Cards." He held up his hands as Hakaru opened his mouth. "Don't ask. I've no clue. Anyway, she needs my help to capture them, and last night, the second one attacked. It was burning her up, so I froze her. Then I had to figure out a way to thaw her to her normal temperature. That was…solved, and she captured it. That's all."

"So…that would explain why I saw you kiss her."

"WHAT?! You saw THAT?"
Hakaru stumbled backwards nervously. "Yeah…I mean…um…heh…Well, I was curious!" he said, holding up his hands defensively as Syaoran gave him an ultimate death-glare.

Syaoran groaned. He ran his hand through his dark, tousled hair. "What am I going to do now?" he questioned despairingly. "I've never…If she remembers—" He sank down on his bed and held his head in his hands. "I'm dead. So dead."

"Do you love her?"

Syaoran whipped his head up and stared hard at Hakaru. Hakaru remained smirking from where he was safely sitting on his bunk. Syaoran ran a nervous hand through his hair again. "I—I—ano…hai. Yes, I—I do."

"It's about time you realized that."

"Oh Kami-sama…" Syaoran moaned, burying his head in his hands as Akashi got out of his bunk. "How long have you been listening?"

"Long enough." Akashi said, quietly smiling.

"You. Are. EVIL." Syaoran said tightly, lifting his head to glare at Akashi.

"I know. Well, Li, what are you going to do about it? I mean, your love for Sakura." Akashi said.

"Please. Don't bother me. I can do this on my own time."

"What about the kiss?"

Syaoran sighed. "Hopefully, she will have forgotten."

"So, it meant nothing?" Hakaru asked confusedly.

"Nothing to her. She was unconscious at the time. I did it because it was the only way to save her."

Akashi's smile faded. "You've got to tell her, Syaoran."

"I'll do it on my own time," Syaoran repeated resolutely. "Just don't tell her what happened. The less she knows, the better."

"If you say so," Hakaru said, shaking his head.

"Well…since we're already awake, let's get Chen and Yamazaki up," Akashi said with a grin.

It took sometime waking Chen and Yamazaki, but they finally dragged themselves out of bed. Chen rubbed his eyes. "Oh great. Let's all have a slumber party, ne?" A piece of wayward golden hair flopped into his eyes as he stretched.

Akashi smiled pleasantly. "We have to prepare for Medieval Day."

Yamazaki grinned. He climbed on top of the cabin's only table and struck a pose. "In medieval times, no one took baths. This was because of the water shortage in those days. A patrol would go along the rivers and lakes to make sure no one took more water than to drink. This patrol became known as the—"

Everyone glanced at one another in mutual agreement. "One…Two…Three…"

They took the edge of the table and pushed it over.

*CRASH!*

All four boys grabbed Yamazaki and dragged him outside.

"Hey! Where are we going? Guys? Guys?? Wait! Not the—"

A large splash broke the silence. A few yells and screams rent the evening air as the four guys ran, laughing, back into the cabin.

"There's your bath for ya, Yamazaki!"

"Argh!!!"

+=+=+=+=+=+=+

"I am NOT wearing tights. I don't care if they wore them in those days…I am not going to wear them."

Syaoran shook his head fiercely as Akashi presented a blue and gold tunic. "C'mon, Li. You'll stand out if you don't wear it."

"I don't give a damn. You can wear it for all I care."

"Whoa, watch the language, Syaoran. I don't think that Sak—"

"Shut up."

Yamazaki laughed. "You'll have a hard time, Akashi. Syaoran's like a rock. Once he makes up his mind, it stays that way."

Akashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I'll have to dance with Sakura tonight."

Syaoran glared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they're not going to let someone who's not dressed in medieval style clothing go to the dance tonight. I mean, no lady would want to dance with someone who's not even dressed for the occasion."

Syaoran's glare darkened. "I hate you."

"I know."

"Well, if I have to wear this stuff, I'm going to choose what I'll wear," Syaoran said firmly. He walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a uniform.

"You have one of your own?" Hakaru said, shocked.

Syaoran sighed. "Sakura's friend, Tomoyo, sent this with me. I was not going to wear it, for the obvious reasons, but I guess I'll have to."

The uniform consisted of dark gray breeches and a lighter gray tunic. The edge of the collar and sleeves were lightly embroidered with gold thread.

"At least I don't have to wear tights."

Hakaru smiled and began marching around in his own dark green uniform.

"We're men, We're men in tights. We roam around the forest looking for fights. We're men, We're men in tights, We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that's right!"

Yamazaki joined him. Putting their arms on each other's shoulders they began singing uproariously.

"We may look like pansies, BUT DON'T GET US WRONG OR ELSE WE'LL PUT OUT YOUR LIGHTS! We're men, We're men in tight, TIGHT, tights! We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that's right! Wherever there's trouble, just look for the men in tiiiiiiiiiights!"

(There you go, Emerald Eyes. ^_^)

Syaoran rolled his eyes. Chen looked at them, his eyebrow raised and his arms folded across his chest. He glanced at Syaoran, his black eyes rueful. "It WAS the ice cream, wasn't it?" he accused. "I KNEW that you guys were doing something weird in the kitchen."

Akashi emerged from the dressing room wearing a gold tunic. "So, who's doing what in the competition?"

"I'm going to do hand to hand combat," Syaoran said.

Chen stretched his arms. "I'm going to fence."

"I wanna do archery!" Hakaru said eagerly. "I'm a great shot!"

"Did they have track in those days?" Yamazaki asked hopefully.

"I don't think so," Akashi responded. "I think I'll fence, too. My sister and I have been fencing since we were five."

"And who usually won?" Chen asked.

"Heh…"

"I guess I'll try archery," Yamazaki said thoughtfully.

Akashi stood, strapping on a thin rapier. "Well, it's about," he checked his watch. "7:45. We have to be in the athletic field by 8:30. Not to mention eat breakfast first. Let's go."

+=+=+=+=+=+=+

"I can't BELIEVE we're doing this," Meilin said. "But since we are, how do we make it happen?"

"Well, I could cut your hair…" Sakura said thoughtfully.

"NO!" Everyone said forcefully.

"No?"

"No."

"Alright."

"How 'bout we just tuck our hair beneath hats?" Emiko suggested sensibly.

Sakura laughed. "Oh, I forgot about that!"

Xiefa frowned. "What about the gowns?"

"We can just change," Meilin responded with a snort.

"Um…"

"Well I can't think of everything!"

"Yeah, well, That was a pretty simple conclusion, Xiefa. I thought you'd be fast at things, being Syaoran's sister and all—"

"Um, guys—"

"Let me tell you something, Meilin! I may not be as fast as Syaoran, but I'm certainly not an idiot!"

"Guys—"

"HA!"

(A/N: Can you say, PMS?)

"GUYS!"

Everyone turned to Akemi. "WHAT?"

She cleared her throat. "We don't have any boys clothes."

"WHAT?!"

"What are we going to do now?"

Akemi and Emiko plugged their ears as Xiefa and Meilin began arguing again. Sakura placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly.

Everyone stopped. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "That's better. Um, I can take care of that problem."

"You can?"

Sakura smiled mischievously as she brought out the Key.

"Oh Key of the Star,

With powers burning bright,

Reveal the Staff,

And shine your light! Release!"

The wand swirled into her hand. She brought out the Create card.

"Create card, create for us five medieval suits of boys clothing! Release!"

There was a bright flash of light, and five uniforms dropped to Sakura's bed. The card returned to its card form and flew into Sakura's hand.

"There. That problem is solved."

"Sugoi!"

+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Fifteen minutes later, five boys emerged from Cabin Four. They spoke in low voices glancing furtively about as they walked to the recreation field. A man in the sign up booth looked at them suspiciously as they approached. A small, fine-featured boy with silvery blond hair smiled softly at him, his hazel eyes dancing as if he knew some mysterious secret.

"My name is Emito and I'd like to sign up for the archery division."

The man shuffled through some papers and handed the boy a form. The boy cleared his throat. "Um, could I also get four more forms for my friends?" Emito gestured behind him to the other boys.

The man looked up, annoyed that the boy was still there. "Here a bit early, aren't you, kid?"

"Yes sir, demo I don't want to be late for the tournament."

"Whatever stripes your zebra." The man muttered as he pushes four forms across the desk.

The boy bowed politely. "Arigatou."

"Good luck, kid."

Turning, the boy handed the forms to his friends and they walked over to the bleachers to fill them out. A slender boy with a hat jammed firmly in place, turned to the blond boy, a slim eyebrow raised.

"'Emito'?"

"You're going to have to find a new name to go under too, Akemi."

"Hmm…how about 'Akashi'?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Aw…"

Sakura looked up at the sky. "I think my name shall be…Ganji."

Another raised eyebrow. "Ganji?"

"I can't think of any other!"

"I'll be 'Mikiya'," Akemi remarked. "I've always liked that name."

"And I'll be 'Kaito'," Meilin said.

"I'll be 'Haru'," Xiefa added.

Sakura straitened her yellow tunic. "I'm going to sign up for the hand combat."

Akemi grinned. "You all know what I'm signing up for," she said. "Fencing. Did I ever tell you that I beat my brother? That was a glorious moment."

"Figures." Meilin replied. "You always seems to love to compete against guys."

"Well, what can I say? They're so much fun to beat."

"I think…I think I'll also fence. It can't be too hard." Meilin murmured.

Xiefa laughed. "Well, Emmy and I are going to do archery."

"You mean, 'Emito and I'," Emiko said, grinning.

"This is going to be so confusing!" Sakura moaned.

Akemi looked at Meilin with a slight frown. "You sure you want to do fencing? It's a bit hard…"

"I think I'll do fine. Besides, I most likely will be out in the first round."

"Whatever you think is best," Akemi relented.

The five girls (guys…girls…ummm…whatever) looked over the field. On the far end of the field (north) the archery division was set up. In the middle of the field, four tall, thick posts were driven in the ground to make a fencing ring. Four more posts formed the karate enclosure in the southern part. The field fitted snugly against the line of trees and bushes beginning the forest.

"Spacious," Meilin remarked.

"They like to have plenty of room," Akemi informed. "After all, people from other towns come for the competitions held here. It's always very crowded."

"Hoe? So the camp has a competition every summer, not just for the Medieval Day thing?"

"Hai."

Emiko glanced at her watch. "We have twenty minutes before the competition begins."

Bet you guys haven't eaten, have you?

"Who said that?" Meilin asked quickly.

I did.

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated. A wisp of an orange aura floated to her. Her eyes opened wide. "It's the Heat Card!"

An orange cloud wisped from her pocket to the ground and formed the adorable mink we all know and love, the Heat Card. Greetings, Card Mistress.

Sakura frowned. "What are you doing here? How did you release without my command? How did you get in my pocket?"

Whoa! One question at a time, my Mistress, the Heat Card replied smugly. And I do have a name, you know. Other than "Heat Card", I mean.

Sakura blinked confusedly. "Hoe? Ano…What is your name then?"

My mother calls me Kaijuu, but my real name is Hoshi.

"That's a very nice name."

Arigatou.

Akemi sighed expressively. She had recovered from the shock a lot faster than the other girls. "Well, why are you here? And how DID you get in Sakura's pocket? And—"

Xiefa finally snapped out of her daze. "It's so KAWAII! Kawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaiikawaii!!!"

Hoshi shrank against Sakura's leg. Who is SHE?

"That's Li Syaoran's sister, Xiefa."

Oh, the kid's sister. Keep her away from me, onegai.

Meilin snorted derisively. "Enough chit-chat. What are you doing here, and did you mention food?"

Hoshi glanced at her appreciatively. Now this human actually seems to be intelligent. I'm here to warn the Mistress, and also tell her that breakfast is picked over, so your chances of eating something nutritious is next to nil.

Sakura picked Hoshi up and gazed into his amber eyes. "What did I need to be warned about?"

Oh, just that. Hoshi pointed a tiny paw at a horde of boys running towards the field.

Akemi mumbled a curse under her breath and jammed her hat further down. Sakura dropped Hoshi with a squeak and scrambled to find her hat, which she had taken off. Meilin rushed over and shoved a hat down on Sakura's head. Sakura glanced at Meilin curiously. Meilin scuffed her feet and muttered, "You were about to blow our cover."

"Arigatou, Meilin."

"Right."

The boys flooded towards the registration booth, clamoring for forms and shoving each other out of place. Yukio strutted from the booth with a few of his Cabin Seven friends, his blue eyes smug and his sandy hair windblown as he approached the girls.

"Quick! Turn back into a card!" Sakura whispered anxiously.

Don't worry about it, Mistress.

"He's going to see you!" Meilin whispered fiercely.

"See what?"

The girls turned slowly and faced Yukio warily. "Nothing."

Yukio stepped closer. "I haven't seen you before," he murmured as his eyes swept over their group. He turned to his friends. "They won't be any trouble anyway. Scrawny geeks."

Akemi straitened. "Who you calling geeks?" she hissed angrily. "Why, I'll te—"

Sakura moaned. "Ake—Mikiya! We do not need to get in fights before the competition! Besides," she said, lowering her voice. "They're nothing but cowards, anyway."

Yukio pushed Akemi roughly aside and examined Sakura. "Who are you?" he growled.

Sakura's voice trembled slightly as she answered. "G-Ganji."

He stepped closer. "I'll wager you won't find us to be such cowards during competition, Ganji. Maybe you and I shall compete against each other," he murmured softly. "And then we'll see who the coward is."

He turned and left, laughing with his friends as they glanced back at the girls.

The Heat Card twitched it's long tail and looked at Sakura. So, I see you already have enemies, even in your disguise.

"How come they couldn't see you?"

I'm only visible to those I choose.

"That would have been nice to know before they came."

You never asked. And you never even said sorry for dropping me, the Heat Card sniffed and huffed his tail around himself.

"Gomen, Hoshi. But I need you to return to your card form, or go to the cabin. Please? Kero's probably bored and I'm sure he'd like some company."

As you wish. Hoshi stretched lazily and trotted across the field towards the cabins.

"Well," Emiko said briskly. "We need to turn in the forms now."

+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Syaoran fought his way through the crowd, his amber eyes beginning to glow dangerously. Proud parents, excited children, and nervous teenagers swamped the area; and he was in the middle of it.

"I SWEAR, if one more person bumps into me I will wreak destruction on the entire camp! I will—" Someone jarred him from behind. He turned, his eyes blazing, prepared to hurl obscenities at whoever was there. A small, rather delicate-looking boy clad in a yellow tunic stared back at him with wide, frightened eyes. All anger drained from him when he saw those green eyes, so very like Sakura's.

"Gomen." The boy whispered breathlessly.

Syaoran was surprised to hear himself answer the boy gently. "Daijoubu. My bad."

The boy simply nodded and looked down.

"What's your name?" Syaoran asked curiously. This boy seems so familiar…

"Ganji."

A boy of very, very few words. Syaoran thought, smiling. "Are you signing up for the tournament?"

"Hai." Ganji kept his face lowered, inspecting the tips of his boots.

"Which division?"

"Karate."

"Well, we'll be in the same division then. Good luck, Ganji."

"Arigatou. Same to you." The boy whispered, then swiftly escaped through a space in the crowd.

"Arigatou," Syaoran muttered dazedly.

"Hey, Li!"

Syaoran looked towards the edge of the field where Chen was waving energetically, a thin sword strapped to the belt he wore, complementing his deep red breeches and tunic. "It starts in ten minutes! Go to the karate division and hand in your form, otherwise you will be disqualified."

"Arigatou, Chen!" Syaoran shouted over the din. He began to shove his way through the crowd and finally made it to the bleachers lining the west side of the field. The crowd finally began to thin out around the bleachers and he made his way easily along them till he reached the karate division. A relatively small group of boys was gathered in front of the judges' stand. Some were seated in the front row of the bleachers and others were in a line in front of the judges' stand, handing in their forms. Syaoran got in line and noticed Ganji sitting on the bench, warming up. The small boy was very lithe, Syaoran noted as Ganji stretched.

"Your form please."

An elderly man looked at Syaoran expectantly, tapping his fingers on the table in a bored fashion. Syaoran bowed and handed in his form, eyeing the old man curiously. The man glanced up from Syaoran's paper and smiled when he saw Syaoran staring.

"You probably want to know whether I am experienced enough to judge," he said with a chuckle. "I get that look all the time. My name is Master Motobu. I assure you, I am fully qualified for this position."

Syaoran relaxed and allowed a smile to escape his features. The master resumed looking over Syaoran's entry form as Syaoran sat down on the first row.

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

"Hmm…"

A girl sat in the air, her legs crossed as she lazily floated and watched the tournament's festivities from her position in the forest. A filmy, emerald green dress clung to the full curves of her body, a slit going up to her thigh, revealing the creamy color of her skin. The neckline was generously scooped, giving a hint of cleavage. Green hair hung past her waist in several braids, two thin braids on either side of her beautiful face where green eyes gleamed mischievously. Her lips were full, colored a soft, pearly pink. An emerald adorned the center of her forehead. Her feet were bare; the toenails painted a minty green. She suddenly laughed musically, clasping her hands together gleefully.

"I don't believe it!"

She leaned forward to catch another glimpse of the thing she'd seen. A young boy was sitting on a bench in the hand combat division, a hat jammed firmly around his ears, oblivious to all but a certain dark haired boy sitting a little ways away.

"I don't believe it. It just can't be." she whispered to herself. "Just one more looksee…"

She watched as the dark haired boy turned and looked at the small boy. The small boy's aura flared with a strong emotion that was hard to decipher. The girl took no time to try to figure out the emotion. She saw only the color before she burst into another fit of laughter.

"Sis would just die laughing! I never, ever, saw a boy with a pink aura. I believe that…(smothered giggle) this is the 'almighty' Card Mistress—dressed like a boy."

She watched for a bit longer. Two minutes was enough. Floating to the ground, she stood, her dress pooling around her.

A smile crossed her lovely features.

"I've got the perfect plan."

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Chen swung his sword up, testing the weight. He was to be in the second pair of contestants. They would have four pairs fencing in the ring at the same time. It saved time, and there was plenty of space for it. He glanced across the ring to where the other four contestants were, pinpointing the one who was to be his partner. A relatively small boy, dressed in dark brown breeches and tunic with a matching hat. He held his rapier masterfully. Chen set his jaw with determination as a judge stood and said, "Commence."

He strode across the ring to the far side and touched rapiers with his opponent. They circled each other, staying to the southeast of the ring. He thrust in, only to have his thrust parried by the boy. The boy slid inward, sweeping his sword out and up in a half-circle towards the head. Chen blocked, using his strength to force his opponent down.

"What's your name?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Mikiya," the boy answered, breaking away. He swung his blade in a butterfly pattern towards Chen's chest.

Chen parried, spun away and back in, with a strike towards Mikiya's solar plexus. The boy blocked smoothly, and struck to the side.

Chen smiled. Mikiya was giving him a work out like he hadn't received in years…but Chen had had a few more tricks up his sleeve.

Chen blocked the boy's strike and slid in to slash the boy's sleeve. Mikiya's steely eyes held an expression of shock as they beheld the long rip. The boy's attention diverted, Chen flicked his blade up and knocked the hat off Mikiya's head.

Red hair shone light a beacon in the sunlight as it tumbled around Akemi's startled face. Chen's black eyes widened, then narrowed. He grabbed the hat and shoved Akemi into the forest and behind a tree. Grabbing her by the shoulders he gave her a small shake.

"What do you think you're doing! Do you realize that we could have been disqualified if the judges had seen that? And what would everyone think if they saw you dressed as a boy? At least the judges didn't see anything."

"Look, no one asked you to go knocking other people's hats off!" Akemi retorted, snatching her hat back from Chen.

"And no one asked you to go around crossdressing and meddling with boys' competitions!"

"Hey, at least I know the proper way to wield a sword is not by shredding people's hats!"

"Get off the stupid hat thing, will you!"

"Back off, yourself!"

He groaned and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, he saw a tear slide down Akemi's cheek. That shocked him most of all. Akemi was crying. He brought his hand up and gently wiped the tear away, feeling remorseful that he had made the "unbreakable" Akemi cry.

"Gomen, Akemi."

"It's my fault. I—I just thought that it would be fun, you know? B-but I—I just made things worse."

Chen shook his head. "Akemi, I've known you for ten years. Well have you lived up to the nick-name 'Demon chick'. But summer would not be the same if you weren't here meddling in my business and knocking my ego's pedestal down. You never make things worse, at least, not for me. You only make things more…interesting."

His voice faded as he gazed into Akemi's eyes. There was a vulnerability there that he had never seen before. "Turn around."

"Why?" Akemi asked, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest.

"I want to fix your hair."

She raised an eyebrow, but turned obediently. He placed the hat on the ground and smoothed Akemi's fiery hair, then neatly coiled it on top of her head and placed the hat over it firmly. She turned, patting her head to see if there were any stray strands.

"How'd you learn how to do that?" she asked incredulously.

He grinned. "Well, I do have three sisters."

"Oh. Well, then I guess you don't really need anyone else knocking over your ego's pedestal, do you?"

"Not really, but you're free to do it if you want."

Akemi grinned. Chen straitened and turned to leave, then stopped and turned back to Akemi. He tilted her chin up, said, "This is to remind you what gender you are," and gently lowered his lips to hers. She tensed, then relaxed and leaned her back against the tree. He broke the kiss, and watched her for her reaction. Akemi sighed blissfully, then punched his shoulder.

"You really ought to ask a girl first."

Akemi went back out to the ring, with a shocked Chen following her.

"Well, you certainly didn't say 'no'!"

+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Master Motobu stood. "Next pair will be…let's see…I seem to have lost my glasses there…ah yes…The next pair of fighters will be: Ganji and…

(A/N: Let's guess, shall we?)

"Yukio. The first person to receive five points wins. Kicks are two points each and punches are one point each. Ready? Begin."

Ganji bowed shakily and waited as Yukio returned the gesture. Yukio smiled fiercely and they circled each other, waiting for the first strike to fall.

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*Gasp!* Could it be? A CLIFFHANGER?? Bwahahahahahahahaha!!! Please review! I'd really, really, really, really, really, appreciate it if you REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! Arigatou. Tell me what you think of this chapter.