An uneventful chapter, really. Don't worry. Stuff's gonna start happening in chapter 15. I couldn't even think of a decent title except for one that explains what this chapter does.

Chapter 14: Setting the Stage

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The child shivered and growled, backing up against the wall. Cronos came in closer, while the Ryu went to a drawer to look for a towel.

The young prince looked at him nervously and reached out one hand, whispering, "Hello there..."

"Grrrrrrr..."

When he heard a scream, Ryu ran over with a towel in his arms. "Prince Cronos?!"

"He bit me!" he cried. He held one hand with a bite mark close to him and he pointed at the child with the other. The boy, still growling, glared at him in a defensive position.

"Why were you doing?"

"I was just trying to be friendly!" he yelled, "And for no good reason, this stupid little booger - Ouch! He bit me again!"

Ryu walked up to him and looked at him seriously, telling him he should not bite people. The child examined him, and then turned his head away, deciding he was not worth his time. The former Young Dragon decided to ignore this and he threw the towel over his head and dried him off. "There, now you're dry. Can you talk? What's your name?"

The child looked at him curiously.

Cronos told him he had an idea for a great name. "I know! We'll call him Bitey! Ouch! You little monster! Ouch! I knew it. You got those demon eyes. Ouch! See, Ryu? Bitey's a perfect name. Ouch ouch ouch!"

The two got into a wrestling match, with "Bitey" performing his namesake and Cronos trying to pull him off. The brown haired child weakly told them to stop, but they would not listen. He looked around and saw a plaque that had probably been on the tank. It had been broken in half, but there was something written underneath the fragmented identification number. He walked up to the two of them and showed them the plaque, asking, "Is this your name?"

The boy stopped attacking and took the plaque in his hands. He cocked his head, looking a it up close and far away, and carefully took in what was written on it. After a few minutes of turning it around in his hands, he stood up and hit Cronos over the head with it.

"I don't think he can read, Ryu!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The boxer unlocked the top and bottom locks and swung open the door to his humble abode. He motioned to the kitchen, in which they were standing, the shower in the corner of the kitchen, his room, and Kenji's room, where Alice would be staying. She chuckled at how neat and quaint the child's room was compared to the rest of the house that bore the messiness of the typical bachelor pad. She was glad to be sleeping in a room that actually looked sanitary. Yugo stuck his head in the mess that was the interior of the refrigerator and wondered what he could make for something that could pass for a meal. After all, he had company, female company.

"Now, I'm not really the best cook, you know," he told her while refrigerating his head, "Kenji was pretty good, though."

She approached from behind to see what Yugo had in his stores. "You made your brother cook?" she asked in a disapproving tone.

"No, but he read my cookbook a lot and he started making stuff all of a sudden. I'd let him cook every once in a while 'cause he could do that really good. I mean, just give the little guy a recipie and..."

"...And what?"

Yugo's tone suddenly became somewhat sad and he continued, "...He'd follow it exactly..."

Alice shrugged and peered inside the refrigerator. She looked through the containers of ancient food and leftovers and asked, "Where are the vegetables?"

"Vegetables? I think I have some corn in the freezer."

The nurse wrinkled her nose. "Frozen corn?"

"Well... Yeah."

"And look at what's here! You have some awful eating habits. It's a good thing I came along when I did!"

The man, somewhat insulted, gave her an odd look and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Yugo Ogami, we're going shopping."

"What?! Sh-shopping?"

"That's right," she told him, "You've been in the hospital for a while. Some things might have turned in that time. Besides, I'm a nurse. I know what's best for you."

"Uhh... I guess so..." Yugo grunted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Fox, pleased with himself, strolled towards the table to partake in yet another daily habit pertaining to his perfect looks.

"Beauty is as Beauty does. Constant vigilance is needed to keep my natural beauty at its highest possible level."

He glanced at a reflective surface and whispered, "And I think I've been putting on a few pounds lately..." then he continued in his usual voice, "And now, to sit down to my fat-melting lunch of..."

His pretty gaze transformed into an annoyed glare when he saw an essential element missing from his meal.

~~~~

"Nyow? Niyaaaa...."

The prince opened the door to his room when he heard the mewing and paws of his one and only. "Kitten, how wonderful you are so eager to see me!" he cooed.

"Nyu?" The half beast was seated on the floor, looking up at him. She moved her head upward a little to show him the flat cylindrical object in her mouth. The young man extended his hand to retrieve the item.

"Tuna? Oh, you want me to open it?"

"Nya!" The cat girl mewed excitedly.

"Anything for you, my dear Kitten," he sighed, patting her on the head. On all fours, she ran circles around him, making more cute cat noises.

Cronos happily pulled back a chair for his kitten, setting down the can on front of her. He told her he could order fine fresh tuna from the cleanest waters just for her, but she impatiently shoved the can in his face. He chuckled and opened it, neatly placing its contents on a small gold rimmed plate. She let out another loud "Nyaaa!" and immediately set upon devouring the canned fish. His emerald eyes gazed at her dreamily before he got up to answer a very angry knocking on his door. While he was going to get it, Ganesha entered the room, giving the girl a strange look, as she was seated like a human at the table, yet at the same time gobbling up her food the way a cat would.

"Can I help you?" Cronos asked upon opening the door.

"You took it," growled the feminine man on the other side. He was dressed in his usual ensemble: short denim shorts, purple guards above his black boots that did not fail to still show off the curves of his legs, long hot pink finger less gloves that nearly spanned his whole arms, and a skimpy pink top composed of straps that held his pectoral muscles like a woman's breasts. The prince jumped back with a sickened face.

"Eeew! Oh, it's just you, Fox."

"Where's my tuna? I know you took it, you snot nosed brat."

Cronos stepped outside his quarters, shutting the door. "Look," he told him, "I don't know where your damn tuna is."

Fox then grabbed him and shoved him up against the wall.

"'Fess up. I know you took it, chicken-wuss."

Cronos narrowed his eyes angrily and sternly took Fox's hands off him. "Now listen here," he ordered, "I ain't no chicken and I ain't no wuss, femmy boy."

"Oooh, you're askin' for it..."

The door opened and Ganesha approached the blond man, placed a tuna can in his hand, and left. Fox puckered his lips and moved the tightness to one side of his face, almost disappointed, looking at the can. Cronos turned around and went back to the door to his quarters.

"Wait a minute. CRONOS!"

"Yes?" Cronos dipped down in turning around, unknowingly dodging the flying can aimed for his head. However, when he stood back up in facing him, the can, having ricocheted off the door, forcefully met the back of his head.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"This tuna," the blonde growled, "isn't dolphin safe."

He held the can in his bronze fingers and said, "Now let me get this straight: You're the assassin who revels in blood and the shrieks of brutal agony of his victims before they finally die..."

"Well, I don't like to brag..."

"...So why do you give a fuck about the damn dolphins?!"

"That's nonna yer goddamned business!"

The two moved in for the attack, but Cronos lightened up when the door opened and a questioning "Nyu?" was heard.

"Kitten... Perhaps it would be best if you took a walk..." Cronos told her, not taking his eye off Fox. He motioned with his head to his opponent that they were going to take this argument elsewhere. They walked off and his kitten eagerly ran out down another hall on all fours.

Transformed to a human form, Uriko carefully crept through the halls until she reached an overpass of cold, blue metal over the main area through which that strange scarred man had dragged her. The room below was sort of a crossroads, in a way. There was a lot of open space, and a number of computers, devices and shelves lined the walls. There was a creepy-looking table that bore straps, one of many she had seen in her wanderings, and a messy desk sat against one of the walls.

A light tapping echoed from behind her and then under her and she leaned over the railing to see a figure in yellow walk through the room. Leaning over even more and squinting, she wondered if this was a certain ninja she had not seen in a while. Suddenly, his head snapped in her direction. She jumped back, surprised, then leaned over the railing to see him again. The room was empty once more.

"Uriko?"

She only let out a short shriek when she turned around to find him standing directly behind her. "K-K-K-Kenji!" she exclaimed. The boy's eyes had changed somewhat from when she had last seen him.

"Uriko... Is something wrong with my face?"

"Ah... Nothing," she stuttered before turning her head away. Though he still more a certain "look" she had from right after his brainwashing, something was ever so slightly different in his eyes.

"This outfit," he whispered awkwardly while pinching a little of the sleeve, "... looks..."

"Oh, this?"

She opened her arms and looked back down at the flashy gi-style outfit she was wearing. The top bore a gold trimmed bright blue vest with tassels hanging down from it and a gold Niku House logo over the left breast. Underneath it was a clear white top with overly long sleeves that became very wide at the ends, covering her hands with a blue and gold border adorned with paw prints. Both the shirt and the vest were open in the back, baring her skin. Her top extended into a long cloth in front that hung down on front of her legs, which bore blue shorts that tightly hugged her figure. The gold and blue scheme was even reflected in her sneakers, sporting more paw prints on their tongues.

She smiled slightly and explained, "Yeah, he gave it to me."

"'He?'"

"Some guy," Uriko told him with the wave of a hand, "He's letting me live in his quarters and he buys me all this stuff. Forgot his name, though... Oh!"

"What's wrong"

She eagerly placed her hands on his shoulders, "He's got a lot of influence. I wonder if he could get me out of here. If so... What if he can get you out of here, too?"

The Young Dragon cocked his head and looked confused. "Me? Leave? I can't do that. Almost nobody leaves this place."

"Really?"

"Even those who can don't leave permanently. They always come back."

She looked downcast and then tried to lighten up, suggesting, "Still, if I can work the old Uriko charm, who knows what I can get out of him? He's got this big crush on me, and melts like butter when I do my cute act. It's kind of funny, to tell the truth. So don't lose hope."

Kenji turned around, downcast, and gazed onto the room below them. "I don't want you to leave," he told her, "You... really made things different. I didn't like it these past few days you were gone."

She explained this person did not want her wandering around the dangerous labs too much because of the doctor. She still told him she could get him out of Tylon and they could leave together.

"What are you saying?" Kenji still kept his quiet voice, but an almost choked sound was creeping into it. "What about my duty?"

Uriko let him have it then. He said he did not like killing, so why did he want to continue doing that? Besides, he was not that reluctant to quit his job when she knew him. In fact, he was scared to death of going back! Would he not prefer to live a normal life with his big brother?

"This is my home, Uriko. This is where I belong."

With an angry stomp on the cold metal she yelled, "You don't belong here! You belong with someone who loves you!"

Her words brought him to look at her desperately. Uriko looked back nervously and took a small step back. "Kenji..." she squeaked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Uriko... Uriko, I..."

He glanced to one side at the large clock that hung where all could see.

"I have to go."

He began to walk away, but Uriko ran up and rested her hand on his shoulder, tell him, "Perhaps we can spar again sometime in the future?"

He responded with a simple positive sound and a nod of his head, relieved his attempt at hypnosis seemed to have had some effect despite the sleeping drug she was on at the time.

He then wore a slight smile and faced her fully. With a graceful wave of his fingers, he disappeared from her view in a shower of lively green leaves and a flash of an illusionary log. The youth blinked at his flashy vanishing act, probably something only good for showing off.

What's with that guy...

She put her palms her face.

And why am I blushing like this?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HAJIME!" The rich voice of a scarred man ordered.

"What is it now?" Busuzima groaned.

"Where the hell are my pants?"

"Eh? What do mean- NYARGH!"

The scientist had turned around to see Shenlong standing there naked, holding his shirt over one shoulder. "Shenlong, why aren't you wearing anything?"

"Do not address me so curtly! I am the mighty Shenlong!"

"I can see that..."

"Now get me my pants!"

"Yeah, yeah yeah... In the meantime," he suggested with a nervous hand motion, "Can't you put on some underwear?"

With his hands on his hips he proclaimed, "Shenlong has no need for undergarments."

"Then... Stand behind something before someone sees you," he sighed before leaving the room.

"Shenlong does not sink to the low of hiding. Let them look, I say! Let them gaze upon perfection!" he continued to proclaim, despite the fact Busuzima had left at that point.

"Nyo?"

Shenlong cast his bored gaze over to where a wide-eyed Uriko was standing. "What are you staring at?" he rudely asked. The girl stared a little more and then shook her head and snapped back to reality. "Er, nothing!" she quickly told him, now looking upwards to his face. She continued to look at him and he glared angrily back at her. "Now what are you staring at?"

The braided girl furrowed her eyebrows and looked at his face curiously.

"You look like..."

"Shenlong, your pants!" a voice called in an overly loud voice. Shenlong turned to find his favorite deep blue pants tossed into his face. He violently pulled the garment off his face and gave the green haired man another piece of his mind before putting it on.

"Anyway, you were saying..." he lazily requested after donning his pants. He took the maroon shirt off his shoulders so he could wear it as well.

"You look like..."

The so-called doctor interrupted yet again while lightly pushing her away, "Oh my! Look at the time! You really should get going now-"

"Eeeek! You're that pervert!" She shrieked before proceeding to repeatedly bat him over the head, "Getoffgetoffgetoffgetoffgetoff!" The bored Shenlong slammed his fist into Busuzima's face. Uriko blinked nervously watching him fall to the floor. He looked at her seriously while tugging on the sides of his open shirt before slipping his hands into his pocket. He made a slight coughing noise in his throat to tell her to continue.

"Well... Now you look like a pimp."

"...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the garden, the heir to the Clan of the Soil looked up towards the glass ceiling, squinting against the artificial sunlight coming from behind it. He lay on the grass with his head near the areas of loose soil that held the flowerbeds. He breathed in the comforting smell of the soil and pondered the absences. He had only encountered Uriko once. She was barely around anymore. He would have asked the Prince Cronos for advice, but he was nowhere to be seen lately, either. He only interacted with his clan on missions. They rarely sought him out and he barely knew the members himself. Besides, they were all much older than him and at a lower rank. He was special. He was the heir, after all. He was the future Bakuryu.

"Master..." he whispered to the air.

Those people were fickle. The only person on whom he could count was his master, who would someday leave him in death.

Fool, his soul told him, Quit being that immature child and grow up. Let your eyes be further dragged down by the weight of the knowledge of your actions and allow yourself to go back up to par once more.

That is what Master wants. But then I become brainwashed once more because I revert back and become worse. I don't want to forget her.

This time, use your true self to do what is best for you.

I can't do that, the child argued.

Are you still trying to get some sort of affection?

....

You still remain a child, and he still rests. I warn you: You have conceived a bastard child. If I could fear, I would fear for what happens should you be betrayed. We're messed up, all of us. You cannot deny this, even with amnesia. After all, you are talking to yourself, no?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is it with these stupid crunchy vegetables?" Yugo yelled over the dinner table. Alice glared upwards with one angry eyes. "I. Like. Crunchy vegetables. Besides, eating a salad with every dinner-"

"Salad!" Yugo grunted, slamming the table with one hand, "Why are you making me eat this... this... this rabbit food?"

"For your information, Ogami, that 'rabbit food' is good for you."

The boxer leaned over the table and mumbled nasty comments about just what she could do with her healthy food.

He glared at her with squinty eyes and asked, "Are you trying to make me a vegan or something?"

"Actually..."

"Argh!"

Keeping her dignity, the pigtailed woman stood up and checked the oven. "You said you liked having someone cook for you, didn't you? And you said you like my cooking, didn't you?"

He looked at the floor, which was now deemed "sanitary" by the nurse's standards. She was not a bad roommate, as she kept up her end of the deal, but she could be rather annoying sometimes. Just so long as she did not mess up anything in Kenji's room, he would not kick her out.

He then reminded himself that just last week, she was messing around with Loopy, getting a stain off his ear. His ancient fur looked so matted an weird after that! She did not even ask; she just took him! Loopy survived that traumatic event, thankfully, but if she were to "improve" his gift from his late father for the worse... She would pay dearly. Then again, she did give him a nice spot on the shelf overlooking Kenji's room, so at least she was paying him his deserved respect.

Yugo decided to lighten up and he sniffed the air hungrily. "Somethin' smells good!" he exclaimed.

"I made quiche. We can refrigerate the rest and eat it on different nights."

"Like all the other stuff you make?"

"I'm a busy person," she told him while cutting slices for the two of them. Yugo licked his lips, despite the fact the dish was swirled with green and shoved forkfuls of it into his mouth hardly a second after he got his serving. "Alice, this is great," he tried to say through the partially chewed food, "What's in it?"

His face fell when she started listing, "Tofu, soy sauce, lots of spinach..." and he dully gulped it down with a sour expression. His next bites were not so excited after this. Alice herself was rather pleased with what she had created. She stopped eating to ask him whether they could go stargazing someday.

Yugo's face lit up. "You like the night sky?"

"So you'd like to-"

"The eighth! Let's go the eighth!"

Alice was taken aback. Not only did he agree on her planned date, but he eagerly suggested it. It was risky, but she wanted to find out his secret. The night they picked was a night of a full moon.