Author's Notes: In a bout of update diligence, I will now write more.

Disclaimer: Suikoden is not mine.

The Great Easter Egg Hunt

Chapter 10: Last Few Minutes!!

           

            "Ladies and gentlemen!!" Rina waved at few spectators awaiting the results of the egg hunt. At the sound of her voice however, more people [mostly men] trickled towards that part of the castle grounds.

            "Did you remember appointing her as the official host?" Leona asked Viktor.

            "No. I didn't even know we were supposed to have one." Viktor replied.

            "Me either."

            "But they don't seem to mind." Viktor pointed at the swelling crowd. "Fu Tan Chen could never attract this many people."

            "Yes, as a matter of fact, they seem quite pleased." Leona mused. The lady and the bear turned their attention back to the gypsy girl.

            "We are in the last few minutes of the egg hunt." Rina informed them, her street performer's voice ringing out quite clearly over the growing crowd. "In a most exciting twist, the golden egg is yet to be found."

            "And as anyone who has read the rules knows, the golden egg is worth fifty eggs." Eilie said.

            "In the distance, you can see the Pretty Boys and the Pretty Girls frantically searching for the remaining eggs and of course, the ever-elusive golden egg." Rina gestured across the gardens and sure enough, the teenagers were running about.

            The two warriors seemed to be taking every care not to be near each other. The trickster girl and the dragonknight looked like they were having a pleasant chat, yet every now and then they'd elbow each other out of the way as they scrambled towards an egg. As for the magician, he was handing his blue eggs to the rather eccentric girl who exchanged them for her green eggs. He looked quite exasperated.

The ninja called Sasuke cut across the lawn with the speed of a wind. Unfortunately, he ran right past the martial artist, Wakaba. And then the martial artist was chasing the ninja.

            "Hey you!!" The crowd could hear Wakaba's shout as she ran after Sasuke.

            "Hey yourself!!" Sasuke yelled back.

            "What??! You stepped on my foot, you baka!!" The little orange figure that was Wakaba could be seen raising her hand threateningly.

            "Who told you to put your foot there, you female ahou?"

            "Urusai, ninja boy!!" Wakaba screamed as she overtook him. "I'll make you pay!!"

            "Put a sock in it, you board-chested tomboy!!" Most everyone in the crowd felt a bead of sweat slide down their foreheads as they saw the distant shape of the ninja boy freeze. Whether it was from the karate girl's ki or from the realization of his stupidity, they never knew.

            "WHAT DID YOU SAY??!" The spectators then saw the girl run back to the boy and launch herself in a spectacular flying kick.

            "Orooooooooo~"

            "Please note that this contest may have scenes not suitable for very young audiences," Rina said in a would-be cheery tone. "Parental discretion is advised."

            Eilie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, that was the Pretty Boys and the Pretty Girls for you. Apparently, these two teams are neck to neck and are the sole competitors for the first place."

            "Let us now check on the other teams." Rina said. She walked over where the two disciples of Mathiu were sitting under a tree. Blue Lightning Flik and the schoolgirl clutched unto his arm were listening as Shu talked.

            "Listen, the team of the young boys and the young girls already had a head start." Shu said. "The only question is who will win the first place and who can win the second place. We, however, still have a shot at the third place. This is what we do. The southeastern area of the grounds have not been searched yet. The girls' team and the boys' team hold the ground where we are now, the eastern part. So what you do is, make a run for the southeastern side. There you shall have monopoly over the search."

            "Well, so let's go now then." Flik said.

            "No, you go, I prefer to sit in the shade and think." Shu said. Apple stared at him incredulously as a bead of sweat slid down her forehead.

            Flik muttered under his breath and left in a huff, Nina, who clung unto his arm, swung unceremoniously as he made his way to the southeastern grounds.

            "Shu?"

            "Yes, Apple?"

            "This wasn't what I had in mind when I invited you to the egg hunt."

            "It looks as if our master strategist still practices his skills even while in leisure." Rina said to the ground. "How… dedicated."

            "HEY!!" Eilie suddenly yelled. "What are those two doing??!" She pointed a finger at Riou and Tomo who sat on the grass with their backs turned to the crowd, shading their eyes as they looked at cloud formations. Two baskets with a few eggs each lay forgotten behind them.

            As the crowd watched, the leader of the Alliance Army leaned closer to the girl as he pointed to a particular cloud and whispered something in her ear. The girl looked at the cloud and nodded. They looked at each other, smiled and then laughed.

            "Why that oriental sneak!!!" Eilie had veins popping in her forehead, she brandished her knives and stomped towards the cloud-watching pair. Fearing bloodshed and the loss of their beloved leader, several of the crowd ran to the gypsy and dragged her away.

            "Lemme go, lemme go, or I'll kill you all!!" Eilie threatened. "RIOUUUUU!! You jerk!!"

            Riou and Tomo started.

Riou turned to Rina. "Did somebody say something, Rina-san?"

"No dear." Rina waved her hand. "It was nothing."

"If you say so…" the boy leader then put his hand on the girl's shoulder protectively and they turned to the clouds once more.

"Oh, over there!!" Rina pointed to a dog and a griffin sitting amongst bushes and trees.

Rina walked towards them. "Hello!!"

"Awoooooo!!" Shiro howled.

"Kukukuku!!" Feather clucked.

"Where are your masters?" Rina asked.

"Awoooooo!!" Shiro howled, his snout pointing at the bushes.

"Okay…" Rina disappeared behind the bushes. The crowd heard her 'eek' then a second later, she reappeared, her usually heavy-lidded eyes wide open and her dusky cheeks tinged with crimson.

"Okaaaaay… stay right there." Rina told the crowd as they moved towards the bushes. "Trust me, you don't wanna see… Umm, suffice it to say that they are as preoccupied as Riou-chan and Tomo-chan, or more so. My, my, the contestants seem to be losing interest in egg hunting [and becoming interested in their egg hunting teammates]…"

The crowd followed Rina as she looked for another team to interview. Every now and then they could hear her mutter: 'Can't believe those kids…' or 'And I thought I was bad…' Sometimes she'd say: 'Oh the trauma…' and 'I'll never look at bows and arrows the same way again…'

Rina perked up however, when she saw Nanami walking a little ways off. "Oh, Nanami-chan!!"

Nanami looked up at her. "Oh… hello, Rina-san."

"How come you're not hunting for eggs anymore?" Rina asked. "I thought you were very excited about this event."

"Yeah? I guess I lost interest." Nanami said with an uncharacteristic sigh.

"Oh? What happened? You look rather lonely." Rina remarked.

"I don't really want to talk about it." Nanami looked at the crowd pointedly.

"Nanami-sempai!!" Everyone turned their heads to see the cutest cartographer in the world. Templton looked excited as he ran towards them, his blond hair bounced, robin's egg blue eyes shone and his hand waved a roll of parchment.

"Nanami-san, I made an excellent map of the castle grounds." Templton said proudly. He unrolled the parchment to reveal an intricate map. The ink was still wet. The crowd 'ooohed' and 'aaahed'.

"That's beautiful, darling!" Rina exclaimed.

"Oh, that's great." Nanami said in a dismissing tone.

"Sempai?" Templton looked at her questioningly. "You don't feel like the egg hunt anymore?"

"No."

"Oh…" Templton scratched his head then smiled at her, looking embarrassed. "That's good then. I was too busy mapping to gather any eggs and Riou-dono and Tomo-chan seemed to have forgotten all about it. They're, uh, cloud-watching."

"Really?" Nanami brightened up. "Good, good!! I'll see you later, Temply-chan."

Rina left with a slightly diminished crowd this time, some people opted to stay, and admire Templton's newest masterpiece.

"I won't let you catch up!!" Wakaba yelled. She ran swiftly past the crowd, but there was a pained wince marked on her features.

"That's what you think, baka!!" Sasuke yelled. He was barely gaining on her, if at all.

Wakaba ran on, despite the throbbing pain in her left ankle. It was getting much harder to ignore with each step. Every little impact jarred the tender flesh against her bone. And it hurt. It damn hurt.

Her trained eyes caught a glint of gold. It was fleeting, but she had seen it. It was among a clump of bushes, only a few meters away. So close!! Just a little bit more!!

Halfway there, her left ankle simply gave away. She fell on her knees. Wakaba let out a cry of frustration as Sasuke ran past her. The baka is going to get the egg!!

"Haha, sucker!!" Sasuke stuck out a tongue at her as he jogged. Then he stopped. There was something wrong. Wakaba was trying to get up, but her left leg won't seem to cooperate. Her breath came out in huffs and her face was pale. Then he noted the unnatural angle of her ankle.

"Wakaba-chan, are you alright?" Sasuke stepped towards her, holding out his arms. Genuine concern was etched on his face.

However, Wakaba was in too much pain to notice. Seeing her rival of sorts making his way towards her with a patronizing hand held out to her kicked in her shame.

"Go away." She said through clenched teeth.

"Don't be ridiculous." Sasuke looked annoyed. "You're hurt, aren't you? Let me help you—"

"I'm fine!!" Wakaba cried. "I don't need your help, ninja boy."

The demeaning nickname caused his temper to flare. The martial artist had that way with him. "Look here, you baka tomboy, I've had it up to here with your superiority complex. Now if you don't take my hand right now, I'll leave you here incapacitated."

Incapacitated?! "Teme!!" Wakaba drew back her shoulders and gave him a powerful push on the stomach. Sasuke skidded away, right unto the—

"The golden egg!!" Sasuke cried from among the bushes. He made a few gagging noises, and left his semi-digested breakfast on the ground [he would never admit it, but boy, could that girl push].

Then he appeared from the bushes, the golden egg clutched tightly in his hands.

"NOOOOO!!!" Wakaba screamed in anguish.

Author's Notes again: Aww, poor Wakaba!! And poor Sasuke too!! [They should make up and get over their differences and, well… =) What do you guys think?] Now the boys have a definite edge. But is it enough for them to win? Find out in the next chapter!!