Chapter 13

The group was just about to see the palace when all of a sudden, a small child ran in front of the caravan.
"WOAH!!" said Hotohori, stopping his horse just in time. The kid looked up at the Emperor, frightened.
"CHIRIKO, YOU'D BETTER GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW," some woman hollered from deep in the woods.
"Uhh.." Chiriko mumbled, "C-can you help me??"
"Sure, but you shouldn't walk right into the middle of the road when there are horses coming," said Nuriko dutifully.
"What's the problem?" asked Liana.
"Well you see," muttered Chiriko, "I just proved my teacher wrong about the quadratic equation, you know...x equals negative b plus or minus radical b squared minus 4ac over 2a?" Everyone just blinked.
"Uh sure, yeah we get that, go on," said Tamahome.
"Well she said it some other way, and I figured that was the wrong way to figure it. So, I proved her wrong, and now she's all mad at me. I ran from the school, but I guess she's coming to find me..she says she's gonna beat me with the YARD STICK," said Chiriko worriedly.
"Beating young children is a terrible crime," said Hotohori, "I'd like to see this teacher of yours." Well, speak of the devil, Chiriko's teacher stumbled from the woods onto the dirt path, carrying a yard stick.
"CHIRIKO, NO ONE PROVES ME WRONG!! I HATE TO BE HUMILIATED!! TWENTY LASHES, FOR YOUR MISTAKE!!" she hollered. She was about to bring the yard stick down right on Chiriko's head when Liana caught it in her hand. The teacher looked startled, and then yanked the yard stick away.
"Don't hurt him," said Liana, "He was right and you were wrong, now leave."
"Who are you to tell me what to do??" asked the teacher, "He's my student!! Get over here, Chiriko!!"
"No," said Liana, holding him back, "You don't have to listen to what she says. You should be going to a better school if you know the whole quadratic equation better than a teacher." Chiriko gulped.
"You stop that!!" yelled the teacher, "He deserves punishment!!"
"No he doesn't!!" said Liana. The teacher made to swipe at Chiriko, but Liana punched her in the face, and watched her fall unconscious. Everyone stared at her.
"Uhhmm." mumbled Clare, "I didn't know you could do that."
"It's one of my hidden talents," said Liana, wiping her hands on her sweater.
"Hidden talents?? Dude, that's not hidden. You could be the next Tamahome if you wanted," said Ginni.
"NO ONE IS REPLACING ME!! Especially a female," said Tamahome angrily.
"What? So you're sexist now??" asked Molly.
"SURE I AM," said Tamahome, "I hate you all. Females bug me now. You MADE ME THIS WAY."
"You take that back right now," said Molly, "You make your OWN opinions."
"NYAA NYAA!!" said Tamahome, sticking out his tongue. Molly leapt from her horse, onto Tamahome. Another fight ensued. Liana sighed. She turned towards Chiriko, who suddenly gotten big stars in his eyes.
"My..hero..." he said quietly.
"Uh yeah okay," said Liana, "I didn't really do anything I just- "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!" exclaimed Chiriko, "First you defied her, and then she SWIPED and then I dodged and then you PUNCHED HER IN THE FACE..WHAAAAMOO! And LOOK! She's STILL unconscious!! It was like WHAM BOOM BHAAAACCAAA! And then you were the winner!! You did it all for ME!!" Liana turned red.
"wham boom bhacca?" Clare asked Courtney, "I didn't hear that."
"Can I have your autograph?" Chiriko asked plainly.
"Well I don't really have anything to write on, so."
"Oh!! I do!!" said Chiriko, pulling out a thick and heavy bio- chemistry book from his schoolbag, and a pretty pen. He flipped open to the first page, and pointed to a space right under mononeucleosis.
"That's my FAVORITE part of bio-chem!!" he said, "And since you're now my FAVORITE person, you can sign right THERE!" Liana scrawled her name on the page, and stepped back a little. Chiriko examined the signature.
"Woaaaahh..." he said, "I've got a superfighter's autograph in MY book...and she protected me. Liiiiaaaaannaaaaaa...Liana..Heeeeefffllleeyyy..Hefflepuff?? Well last names don't really matter. THANKS SO MUCH, LIANA!!" He gave her a BIIIIIG hug. Standing on tiptoes, everyone could see his feet. There was a black kanji mark on his left foot, right below the ankle.
"Hey, you're a seishi!!" said Nuriko.
"A what?" asked Chiriko.
"A sieshhsapoaaleaaa," said Tamahome.
"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET," yelled Molly, punching him in the nose.
"A suzaku seishi," said Nuriko, "A warrior of Suzaku. We're all seishi, and these girls are our priestesses."
"Wooooow," gasped Chiriko, "So, Liana, are YOU a priestess???"
"I guess so," she said. Chiriko dropped to his knees, and bowed at her feet.
"I am forever totally in your debt!! How may I serve you?? Do you need a footstool? I'll offer my back!!" he said cheerily.
"No no that's okay, really, I don't need a footstool. Especially a human one," said Liana.
"I think you got a booooyfriend," said Clare slyly, grinning. Liana made a face at her.
"Oh shuttup," she whispered.
"Do you need a servant?? An extra pair of hands?? A HEAD FULL OF KNOWLEDGE?? Did you know that I'm so smart that I took the bar exam in the city?? I passed with the highest marks, and I'm still only 13! That's why I know so much, and my teacher doesn't! Is there anything YOU wanna know, Liana??? How long it takes for the moon to travel around the earth?? How many pounds in a ton?? How plants make their own food?? How-"
"No that's okay, I don't need any knowledge right now," said Liana, exasperated.
"What no da?? You don't need any knowledge no da? Okay!!" piped Chichiri. With a wave of the magical staff, Liana was suddenly as dumb as a grub.
"Woaaaaah," she said, almost falling over.
"CHICHIRI," yelled Clare, "Give her brains back!!"
"She WANTED no knowledge no da!!" said Chichiri.
"I COMMAND YOU TO PUT HER BRAINS BACK," yelled Chiriko, "She's my BEST FRIEND!"
"She ASKED for it no da!!" said Chichiri.
"Ooooh Monk-man, I TOLD you that you were going down," growled Nuriko.
"Bring it on no da," said Chichiri.
"FINE!!" yelled Nuriko, jumping off HIS horse and landing on the mule, which collapsed with the added weight. Courtney grabbed the magical staff, which was currently lying in the bushes after it was shoved out of Chichiri's hand, and ran over to Liana.
"uhh.bippity boppity boo..you have knowledge too!" she said. Some sparks flew out of the magical staff, and suddenly Liana was turned into a textbook.
"I don't think that WORKED," said Ginni, "None of my friends will EVER be textbooks."
"Okay okay," said Courtney, "Up up and away, your brains come back TODAY!!" Liana was turned into a balloon that looked like a brain, and almost flew up into the sky, had Chiriko not held onto the little white string attached.
"Do you know magic?!" asked Clare.
"Obviously I DON'T!!" yelled Courtney.
"Say..Goulash Woolash give her back her knowledge oka-OOOOMFPH" hollered Chichiri, just as Nuriko dived onto him. (So many fights so little time.) Mitsukake was still on Courtney's horse.watching the scene with an amused expression. Hotohori had snuck away, as not to get his clothes or hair tussled in a row.
"goulash woolash give her back her knowledge," said Courtney. The brain balloon turned into Liana, who fell from the sky into a mud puddle.
"OOOOH I WAS SO WORRIED!!" squealed Chiriko, giving Liana another deathly tight hug.
"OKAY!!" yelled Clare, "YOU CAN STOP FIGHTING, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GO!" Everyone stopped, and got back onto their horses. Chichiri had lost his mask to Nuriko, who had strung it onto a stick and was waving it around like a flag, saying "I HAVE YOUR FACE I HAVE YOUR FACE!!" Hotohori returned quickly, and got upon his noble steed. Molly, victourious over Tamahome, returned to her spot with Tasuki. Tamahome, whose head was bashed in, wearily got on HIS horse, but let Clare drive.
"I'll sit with YOU!" said Chiriko, getting on the horse with Liana, "OKAY best friend??"
"S-sure." sighed Liana. The horses trotted back to Hong-Nan.

!!!!!!! End of Chapter 13 Awwww poor Chiriko!! His teacher was so mean!! His part is A LOT different because there's no Amiboshi!! (Sorry, Amiboshi fans!) Next...THE FINAL CHAPTER!! .Until next time *runs off to watch Independence Day*