Episode 7: "Serena - A Sacrifice Girl? What about Momiji?!"
Momiji walked furiously along that Sunday morning, Serena and Darien following her from behind. But she would not give in - she REFUSED to and she kept walking as Serena continued on pleading to her.
"Come on, Momiji! I'm sorry!" Serena called to her. "I really didn't mean to upset you!"
"I'm not listening!" Momiji called.
"But I was just trying to help!" Serena insisted.
"Maybe you really ought to just wait until she cools down…" Darien suggested, but Serena, as usual, ignored Darien's good and wise advice.
"Will you leave me alone?!" Momiji then cried when they reached the park, turning about in anger. "Yusuke's right! You ARE nosey!"
"What?!" Serena could not believe her ears.
"You are!" Momiji declared firmly. "All you do is get involved in everyone else's business!"
"That's because I want to help!" Serena insisted. "I didn't mean to make you mad!"
"Well…you did!" Momiji told her truthfully. "And - and you think that you know what's best for everyone, too! I mean, I don't even LIKE Kusanagi!" Momiji turned abruptly from her then.
"But I KNOW you do! It's so obvious!" Serena persisted.
"It is not!" Momiji snapped. "You think EVERYTHING'S obvious! And you think that you have the right to spy on other people -"
"I don't spy!"
"Yes, you do! You were spying on Yusuke, even if you refuse to admit it!"
"Well…" Serena frowned. "I don't MEAN to! It just sort of happens!"
"And you don't take anything serious either!" Momiji went on.
"I do, too!"
"No, you don't!"
"Yes, I do!"
"No, you -" Momiji stopped herself, however, when her blue seed unexpectedly began to glow. "Again…?" Suddenly, a white light appeared behind Serena and from it emerged a man in black armor. He grabbed Serena from behind, placing a hand over her mouth and restraining her struggling arms with the other.
"Serena!" both Darien and Momiji cried and stepped forward.
"Who are you?" Darien then questioned indignantly.
"I am King Korenaga of the Keiki Kingdom!" his voice boomed. "And this girl must die!"
"But you can't!" Momiji protested. "She didn't do anything wrong!" But the man just laughed and took her into the void of white light. "No, wait!" she cried after them. "I'm sorry, Serena! I'm not angry anymore! You have to come back!" Darien's face filled with a fierce determination and he turned to Momiji.
"Find Yusuke," he instructed and then jumped into the fading light himself.
"What?" she asked in bafflement. Then, realizing he, too, had disappeared, she cried, "No! Don't go! I'm not angry at you either anymore! Darien!" But the light closed up and she frowned in utter despair. "Now, what…?!"
Yusuke was surprised to see Momiji plodded toward him as he walked down the street, a look of somber anger in her fiery eyes as she dragged along a duffel bag.
"Momiji…?" Yusuke asked.
"We have…to find…Serena," she told him as she approached, speaking through her harsh breathing.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"We have to find her," she repeated, dropping her bag to the ground.
"Well, where is she?" Yusuke asked.
"This man - he took her. He said he was King Korenaga of the Keiki Kingdom and he was going to kill Serena." Yusuke's eyes widened. "They disappeared into some strange white light - Darien followed them. And he told me to find you."
"But - why does he want to kill her?" Momiji shook her head.
"I don't know." She then felt tears burning in her eyes. "But we have to find her! We have to find her so I can tell her I'm not angry at her any longer! So she knows that I don't hate her."
"'Angry at her?'" Yusuke questioned.
"It doesn't matter why I was…it was stupid anyway!" Momiji exclaimed, tears flinging from her eyes. "But we have to find her before King Korenaga kills her!"
"All right, all right!" Yusuke told her, putting his hands on her shoulders to settle her down. "Just calm down." She swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay, you said it was the Keiki Kingdom?" She nodded again. "Fine. I'll go find out where this place is and I'll go and rescue her, all right? She'll be just fine."
"I'm coming too," Momiji told him.
"What?" Yusuke asked.
"I said, 'I'm coming, too,'" she repeated.
"But you can't."
"Yes, I can," she said, nodding her head vigorously. "See - I even packed!" She lifted up her duffel bag. "I have an extra set of clothes, and then my school uniform, just in case I have to get to school right away, and an extra pair of shoes, and my hairbrush, and…and you're not even packed yet, so you can't say anything to me!"
"But -"
"You have to let me come!" Momiji then cried desperately, lifting her head so her fiery eyes met his. "You have to!" Yusuke squinted his eyes as he stared into her desperate ones, a pit of guilt forming in his stomach. He glanced away.
"All right; you can come," he gave in. She grinned excitedly.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.
"Yeah, yeah…" Yusuke muttered. "Just try not to get in my way."
"I won't! I promise!" she said sincerely, and then released him. Then, she smiled and said, "Let's get going!"
"Fine…we have to first stop at the Spirit World so we can find out where the hell this Keiki Kingdom is,"
"Okay!" she stated enthusiastically. She then frowned.
"What is it?"
"Well…it's just that…my bag's kind of heavy," she told him in a hesitant voice.
"So? What do you want me to do about it?" Yusuke asked flatly.
"Well…I thought that you might carry it for me," she suggested with a sweet smile. Yusuke scoffed.
"You're the idiot who packed so much," he told her, crossing his arms.
"Oh," she replied, looking down at her feet. "So you won't carry it at all?" Yusuke sighed in frustration.
"Just give me the stupid bag," Yusuke muttered, reaching his hand out for it. Momiji grinned again.
"Thanks, Yusuke!" she exclaimed, handing him the bag. "You're the greatest friend a girl could ever have!"
"Yeah, whatever…" Yusuke mumbled, slinging the duffel bag over his shoulder. "What you pack in this thing, anyway? Rocks?"
Momiji warily followed Yusuke toward the office of Lord Koenma, the head of the Spirit World. She remembered Yusuke mentioning him once, but her memory was very vague. As they were walking, she noticed two boys standing at the end of the hall, leaning beside the doorway of what she assumed was Lord Koenma's office. Nervously, she made sure to stand behind Yusuke as if trying not get noticed.
"Long time no see, Yusuke," the one with the long red hair spoke first.
"How's it going, Kurama?" Yusuke said in response. He then glanced down at the short one and said, "Hiei?"
"You killed a Baken-Ai, I see," Hiei commented coldly, glaring up at the scar on Yusuke's forehead. Yusuke frowned awkwardly and rubbed the scar.
"Oh, yeah, that…" Yusuke shrugged slightly and said no more. Hiei let out a grunt then, looking beyond Yusuke at Momiji, who was still desperately trying to hide herself behind him.
"Who's the girl?" he questioned.
"Oh…her name is Momiji…" Yusuke answered awkwardly and Momiji's face flushed.
"Hi," she said quickly, popping her head a bit over Yusuke's shoulder. Kurama now stepped forward with a smile.
"How rude of us," he began pleasantly. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Kurama." He then gestured toward the short boy. "And this is Hiei."
"You're friends with Yusuke?" Momiji inquired sheepishly.
"Yes. I suppose you could say that," Kurama amiably answered.
"By obligation," Hiei added coldly and Momiji frowned.
"Well, HE doesn't seem too friendly," she whispered into Yusuke's ear and Yusuke began to snicker.
"Is something funny?" Hiei questioned, obviously annoyed.
"No…no, of course not," Yusuke replied through his snickers and then cleared his throat. "ANYWAY, is Koenma in? We need to talk to him."
"Yes, he is," Kurama answered. "But if you don't mind me asking, what brings you here with this young girl, Yusuke?"
"Yes - what would a weak, useless child like her have any reason to speak with Lord Koenma?" Hiei questioned harshly and Momiji scowled, pushing past Yusuke and marching over to Hiei.
"Hey!" she began furiously. "At least I'm not so short -" Her last word was muffled, however, for Yusuke had hastily cupped his hand over her mouth, chuckling nervously.
"Um…well…it's kind of a long story, actually," he said and laughed awkwardly again. Momiji now pulled away from hom.
"Our friend Serena has been kidnapped!" she exclaimed. She then corrected herself, saying, "Well, at least she's MY friend anyway…"
"Kidnapped?" Kurama asked curiously. Momiji nodded.
"By this evil man named King Korenaga!" she further clarified. "He's King of the Keiki Kingdom and he says he's going to kill her!"
"Well, that doesn't sound very good," Kurama commented with sympathetic eyes. "Although the Keiki Kingdom does sound familiar…"
"So you've degraded yourself to becoming the knight in shining armor who must rescue the damsel in distress, Yusuke," Hiei remarked bitterly. "That sounds like the pathetic role that idiot Kuwabara would take on." Yusuke became defensive.
"Hey! It's not like that!"
"I'd at least think the girl would be Keiko," he added.
"She's already got her knight in shining armor, all right?" Yusuke stated angrily.
"That's right!" Momiji exclaimed and then exclaimed, shooting her right arm up in the air, "We're the cavalry!" Hiei snorted.
"Don't make me laugh," he began. "What can a pathetic girl like you do?"
"Lots!" she answered hotly, turning to Yusuke for some defense. "Tell him!"
"She's coming for moral support, all right?" Yusuke remarked, crossing his arms and averting his eyes.
"You mean - I'm just your cheerleading squad?!" Momiji questioned in horror. Hiei merely chuckled sinisterly.
"Apparently," he callously muttered and walked past them. "Come on, Kurama. Let's get out of here." He then began coolly walking down the hall.
"Coming, Hiei!" Kurama called back. Then he gave Momiji a sympathetic smile, placing a hand on her shoulder, and kindly said, "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll be a fine help to Yusuke." He then left with Hiei.
"At least one of them was nice," Momiji mumbled to herself with a frown.
"Let's get going," Yusuke told her then and the two stepped into Koenma's office.
"King Korenaga…I see…" Koenma said after hearing the whole story and placed a hand to his chin.
"So you've heard of him?" Momiji asked hopefully. Koenma nodded.
"Yes, I have. The Keiki Kingdom, too," he replied.
"Then maybe you'd know why they took that stupid blonde ditz then," Yusuke remarked.
"You mean Serena?" Koenma asked. "That's an easy question."
"Well, why then?" Momiji asked anxiously.
"For a sacrifice, of course!" Both Yusuke's and Momiji's mouths dropped open.
"A sacrifice?!" they questioned simultaneously.
"Yes, a sacrifice," Koenma repeated. "You see, every year the King of the Keiki Kingdom must sacrifice a virgin princess to the demon Zenko."
"Well, I guess that explains it," Yusuke muttered.
"'Demon Zenko?'" Momiji questioned.
"He's a very powerful demon," Koenma began to explain. "And he has lived in the bowels of the Keiki Kingdom for centuries."
"But why does the King give this stupid demon a sacrifice every year?" Yusuke interrogated. "Why doesn't he just say no?"
"Because then the demon will transform into a dragon that will devour the entire city," Koenma answered.
"That's horrible!" Momiji exclaimed.
"You bet it is," Koenma remarked matter-of-factly.
"But why does it want a virgin princess so bad?" Yusuke now asked. "And why every year?"
"Another easy question," Koenma stated haughtily. "The demon must rape and then eat the flesh of a virgin princess - who's not so much a virgin anymore once he rapes her - every year if he hopes to keep his powers."
"Rape and eat?!" Momiji cried in horror.
"But then why don't they just NOT give him a sacrifice then?" Yusuke questioned. "Then he won't have his powers and then he won't be able to turn into a stupid dragon."
"And then they won't have to torture and kill poor innocent girls!" Momiji cried.
"Because, his powers don't just wear away that quickly," Koenma answered. "If he doesn't get his sacrifice by the time the year is up, he keeps his powers for three more days, which is plenty of time for a giant dragon to destroy an entire kingdom." Yusuke growled angrily.
"So now what are we going to do?!" he questioned. "If we go in and rescue Serena we'll be destroying an entire kingdom!" Momiji frowned and then added:
"And if we don't Serena's going to be raped and…eaten…" She turned pale at this.
"It is a predicament," Koenma agreed.
"Well, can't we just screw the stupid kingdom?! I mean, if they're all that selfish enough to allow an innocent princess to die -"
"We can't do that!" Momiji protested. "There are probably innocent people there, too! Innocent children who don't even know what's going on!" Yusuke sighed in frustration and turned from her. Momiji frowned again. However, after a moment of thought, an idea suddenly hit Momiji and her eyes lit up with eagerness. "I know!"
"What is it?" Yusuke asked, turning back to her.
"We'll make a deal with King Korenaga!" she declared.
"'A deal?'" Koenma inquired curiously. "Do explain."
"We'll go and tell King Korenaga that if he frees Serena, we'll - or, well Yusuke will - kill this Zenko demon for him before he has a chance to destroy the entire kingdom! I mean, you destroyed that giant snake, right?"
"Yeah…" Yusuke answered reluctantly.
"Well, a giant snake's almost like a dragon! And you being so powerful and all should be able to beat it! And that way, both the Keiki Kingdom and Serena will be all right - everyone's happy, right?"
"I guess so…" Yusuke agreed. "Except what if I don't 'beat' it, as you say? Then what? The whole kingdom will be destroyed anyway."
"But you WILL beat it!" Momiji insisted. "As long as you don't think about it like THAT, anyway! Besides…uh…we'll keep Serena around as backup, just in case you don't win."
"To be eaten or to fight the demon?" Yusuke asked.
"Uh…both, I guess," Momiji answered. "But it'll work! I KNOW it will!" Yusuke sighed and turned to Koenma.
"The idea does have merit, Yusuke," Koenma replied. "And I can have Botan take you two the Kingdom rather quickly."
"But what about King Korenaga? How are we supposed to convince him to let us even see him? I mean, he is a king and all," Yusuke further questioned.
"I'll write a summons to him that you will take and give to the guards upon entering the castle," Koenma began. "With my signature on it, you should most definitely be allowed into the castle and be able to plea your case before the king." Yusuke sighed.
"Well, I guess it might work…" he finally gave in and Momiji grinned. "I just hope that this Zenko demon isn't all that powerful."
Serena sat in her prison feeling very bored and confused. Although the prison was made up lavishly - fit for a princess, really - the door was thick and locked, the windows were narrow and barred, and the walls were made of heavy, dull stone. Furthermore, she had no idea why this King Korenaga had chosen to kidnap her and supposedly planned to kill her as well. She had simply been dragged up to the highest tower of the castle and thrown into her extravagant prison the moment she had arrived.
And then - voices. She lifted her head and listened carefully to make sure she hadn't been imagining things. But when she realized she hadn't been, she hastily rushed to the door and pressed her ear against in hopes to hear things better. She listened attentively.
"She's in here," Korenaga's voice came to her through the door. "If you'd like to see her -"
"No, no; that won't be necessary," a male voice that she did not recognized intervened. "I believe you. After all, I don't want her running away, now do I?" Both men chuckled heartily.
"That's funny," Serena whispered aloud to herself, as a realization suddenly hit her. "That's the only other man I've heard in this entire castle. Everyone else has been women…" Then, she continued listening.
"Here's some gold for your troubles," the unfamiliar male voice said and Serena could hear the heavy sound of jingling coins. "10,000 pieces."
"Oh, no trouble. No trouble at all, really," King Korenaga insisted, although his voice seemed to be in awe of the money that it had been laid before him. "I needed a princess anyway for tonight."
"Yes, well…still, it's much appreciated," the other voice said. "And this is only a portion of your reward."
"'A portion?'"
"Yes…the rest - the bulk of it is, that is - will be given to you tonight, when the girl is dead. And the other two -"
"Yes, the other two," the king interrupted. "Say if they don't arrive?"
"They will - I promise you that," the other man said confidently. "It isn't in their blood to do otherwise."
"Yes, but if they don't -"
"You will still receive a hefty sum of money anyway, I assure you, just for the girl's death. Not as much, but still quite a lot…" The man then cleared his throat. "Which reminds me, have we had any visitors?"
"No, none at all," the king answered. "No, wait - we had one."
"'One?'" the man questioned.
"Yes, a man in a tuxedo - he's in the dungeon now." Serena gasped.
"Darien!" she whispered. She bit her lip, however, and continued to fervently listen to the conversation.
"But he's not important now, is he?" King Korenaga asked slyly.
"No, he's not," the other man replied with a bit of a snicker. "When the other two arrive - you do know what to expect from the other two, don't you?"
"A girl and a boy. About fifteen -"
"Yes, well. They should try and break into your castle sometime during the course of the day to rescue the precious moon princess," the man interrupted. "When they do, and your guards have captured them and brought them before you as they did with the young Tuxedo Mask, order your guards to execute them that instant. And then bring me the bodies. I'd like to hang them both up on my wall."
"That will be an easy enough task to do," King Korenaga replied. "You should just see how many rescue attempts there have been over the years! Knights riding in on horses to save their dear maidens who they were betrothed to! And assassination attempts, too! You don't know how many fathers and brothers have come to try and slay me as vengeance for their daughter or sister! Not a one has every succeeded, rescue attempt or assassination! I have yet to be scarred once!" The king laughed loudly then.
"Yes, I do applaud you on that," the man replied. "You do have capable guards and a rather interesting defense system, as well. It may be said you are overly cautious, but I believe that caution is the only way you can survive, is it not?"
"Yes, well, none can ever be TOO cautious, I always say," King Korenaga said with another laugh. "And that is why I have put this in your hands," the man replied. "For you are cautious and have never failed because of it."
"I must apologize, however, that I will be unable to give you the girl's body as well. I hope that doesn't mean I will lose out on some gold…"
"No, no, of course not," the man answered quite sympathetically. "It's completely understandable. I would simply like to have the pleasure to watch and that will be satisfaction enough for me."
"I can give you front row if you like -"
"No, that won't be necessary," the man insisted graciously. "I would much rather stay in the shadows for the show."
"Yes, well - it can be a grotesque sight."
"Oh, it's not that," the man stated calmly. "That's probably the best part." King Korenaga chuckled a bit nervously.
"You are a very strange man to say such things," he began. "But I cannot judge, for I have done some terrible things in my own life. And I suppose such hatred can cause a man to see any horror and smile down upon it as if it were joy."
"I suppose you are right," the other man replied. "And I do have a deep hatred for all three, I must admit. It brings out the worst in me, I guess." There was a pause. And then, "I should be going now. But I will be back at sunset tonight."
"With the gold?" King Korenaga asked eagerly. The other man chuckled.
"Yes, yes, with the gold," he told the king.
"Oh, you are a good man!" the king exclaimed joyously. "A very good man, Danjuro!"
"Danjuro…?" Serena wondered aloud in a whisper.
"Well, I do try to be," the man called Danjuro replied modestly. There was a few seconds of silence again before the king spoke up once more.
"If you don't mind my asking," he began. "Where do you get such beautiful gold? With all the riches I have, I still do not have as much as you and I am king! And to throw it all away -"
"It's just a little simple magic called alchemy, really," Danjuro stated. "It's nothing compared to what else I can do." And then Serena heard footsteps; they were loud at first and slowly they faded into nothing.
Yusuke and Momiji walked along the dirt streets of the marketplace toward the King Korenaga's castle. The kingdom was like none other that Momiji had ever seen, like a medieval city of fairytales, and she took it all in wide-eyed and excitedly. Yusuke, on the other hand, still carrying Momiji's duffel bag, remained casual about it, walking along at a leisurely pace.
"Wow!" Momiji exclaimed finally. "I've never seen anything like this!" Yusuke shrugged, but this did not daunt Momiji in the slightest. Instead, she continued on, "And look at that castle! It's magnificent! I've never seen a real castle before!" Yusuke shrugged again.
"It's all right," he apathetically remarked. Momiji frowned.
"Well, have you ever seen a castle like that before?"
"Once or twice," he answered indifferently.
"Oh." A silence fell between them then as Momiji lowered her head. She glanced down at her watch. "Hey, it's noon."
"Already?" Yusuke asked. Momiji nodded and they were silent again. She then perked up slightly. "Just look at all these shops," she said. "Everything is handmade…it's all just so beautiful!"
"I guess so…" Yusuke muttered, fairly interested.
"They're like…antiques! Except they're all brand new! Isn't that funny?" Momiji asked. Yusuke shrugged for a third time.
"I think we'll get to the castle in a couple of hours…" he told her, changing the subject.
Momiji became forlorn, realizing that he was changing the subject and she replied sadly, "Oh."
They walked alongside each other in silence for another few minutes, Momiji's head bowed, although her eyes kept glancing at the many decorated stores and versatile village people, while Yusuke continued walking as if he were nowhere special. However, suddenly Momiji scrunched her eyebrows in a sad puzzlement, frowning in dismay.
"Yusuke?" she began hesitantly.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Does this make Serena a sacrifice girl?"
"Well, I guess she's a sacrifice," Yusuke replied honestly.
"But I thought I was a sacrifice," Momiji answered.
"So? You are," Yusuke told her.
"But…so's Serena now," Momiji explained.
"So…what's your point?" Yusuke inquired in bewilderment.
"My point is that if she can be a sacrifice girl, too, than I really am a useless nothing," Momiji told him.
"Not necessarily…" Yusuke answered. "I mean, you're both going to be sacrificed for different reasons, right?"
"But, still…that was the only thing I had going for me," Momiji reasoned. Yusuke almost laughed out loud.
"You're trying to tell me that BEING SACRIFICED was the only thing that you had going for yourself?" he questioned.
"Well…I didn't mean it like THAT," Momiji began. "What I meant was…that that's the only thing that makes me really special. I mean, you're a spirit detective and Serena's Sailor Moon and all. All I am is a sacrifice."
"You've got that blue seed," Yusuke tried to assure her. "That SORT of helps…" He grimaced a bit.
"And Lord Koenma said that the sacrifice had to be a virgin princess!" Momiji suddenly declared, raising her voice so loud that people had begun to stare and Yusuke cringed because of it. "I mean, I'M a princess!" Momiji reasoned. "And I was right there, too! There was no reason he couldn't pick me instead of her!"
"Well -"
"I mean, I don't hold anything against Serena, but it doesn't seem fair!"
"That you're not going to be raped and eaten?" Yusuke asked.
"No!" Momiji exclaimed. "It's just the principle of the matter!" She further clarified. "I mean, it's MY job to be the sacrifice! If I don't have that, what do I contribute to the team?!"
"Serena isn't exactly 'contributing' to the team by being a sacrifice…" Yusuke commented. "In fact, she's just causing us problems."
"So that means I'm really just a burden?!" Momiji cried in fear, nearly sobbing, and Yusuke winced.
"I didn't say that…"
"But it's true! I really AM useless!" Yusuke groaned, placing a hand to his forehead in annoyance.
"MOMIJI, you're over exaggerating," he told her. "You're not useless. You're the one who came up with this plan, didn't you?"
"Yeah…I guess I did do that," she said, smiling slightly.
"And I'm sure that blonde idiot Serena could never come up with it," Yusuke added.
"Well, that's not very nice," Momiji replied with a frown. Yusuke just scoffed. "Still, I do fit the qualifications of this sacrifice, though. So, I mean, I could take Serena's place if worse comes to worse, right?"
"I guess so."
"I mean, like I said, I am a princess," Momiji replied once more.
"Yeah, you are," Yusuke agreed. "Of nothing, but you're still a princess."
"Do you think that's the problem?" Momiji inquired. "That I don't have a kingdom?"
"Well, Serena doesn't actually have a kingdom anymore either," Yusuke reminded her.
"That's right!" Momiji recalled. "And furthermore, not only am I princess, I'm also a -" She stopped however, and suddenly blushed wildly. Yusuke began to snicker.
"A virgin?"
"That's none of your business!" Momiji snapped, her face turning redder. Yusuke laughed harder. In her anger, she then shouted, "Well…it's not like you're not one either, right?!" and Yusuke was quick to shut up.
Awhile later, when Momiji and Yusuke found themselves closer to the castle although still in the marketplace, Yusuke suddenly felt his head begin to hurt. He groaned slightly, placing a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.
"Your head hurt?" Momiji asked sympathetically, but Yusuke just shook his head.
"No, I'm fine…" he told her.
"Are you sure?" she questioned. "You look pale…" Yusuke let out a cry of pain then and stumbled backwards, the scar on his forehead burning immensely. Momiji gasped, putting her hand on his shoulder as if to try and alleviate his pain, crying, "Yusuke!"
"What's happening…?" he asked, and then let out another scream.
"Yusuke!" Momiji cried again as she tried to keep Yusuke from falling. Unexpectedly, Momiji's blue seed began to glow. "Huh…?" She then thought, where is it coming from? Turning her head to the left, her eyes widened in shock at the sight of a little smiling boy with careless blond hair falling over his forehead - a boy that Momiji recognized almost immediately. "That's - that's that boy!" she exclaimed, although Yusuke was in too much pain to even listen. "The boy from the first day we met! The boy who the first Baken-Ai was trying to kill!"
And the boy turned to her with his smile and gave her a wink and a wave. Momiji gasped a bit, blinking her eyes. But in the quick blink of her eyes, the boy had suddenly disappeared from sight, her blue seed's glow fading. Yusuke now fell to his knees, breathing harshly, and Momiji returned her attention back to him at once.
"Yusuke!" she cried. "Are you all right?" He nodded.
"I think so…" he answered and then lifted his hand from his forehead to reveal blood on his fingers.
"Your scar…" Momiji's voice trailed off with a gasp at the sight of blood trickling down on Yusuke's forehead from his scar. Yusuke shook his head, brushing it off and wiping the blood from his forehead with his arm, and then rose to his feet.
"I'm fine," he told her sternly. "Your blue seed - it was glowing again, wasn't it?" Momiji nodded.
"It was that little boy…the one the Baken-Ai wanted to kill."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know," Momiji answered solemnly. After a moment, she asked again, "Are you sure you're all right?" Yusuke nodded once more.
"It just took the wind out of me, I guess. Whatever it was, anyway."
"Do you think it could have been that little boy?" Yusuke shrugged.
"Beats me," he remarked casually, not seeming to want to discuss it anymore. The two then started walking again in silence, Yusuke looking pale and severe and Momiji feeling suddenly very worried. And she thought to herself, just who is that little boy, anyway?
Coming Attractions:
Yusuke: So we finally get to the stupid castle just to find out we still have one problem - we're not allowed in!
Momiji: What?! But why not?! We have the summons!
Yusuke: Its not the summons that's the problem.
Momiji: Then what is it?!
Yusuke: I'm the problem.
Momiji: You?! But why?!
Yusuke: Uh…
Momiji: Oh! I see! That IS a problem!
Serena: Well, you guys better hurry up and solve that problem fast! My hours are numbered, you know!
Momiji: Don't worry; I come up with another GREAT plan!
Yusuke: I still think it's a stupid one!
Momiji: Well, it worked, didn't it?!
Yusuke: Yeah, yeah, yeah…I can't believe I'm going to go through with this just to save that blonde idiot…
Serena: Hey!
Momiji: Anyway, after some quick negations and major convincing on my part, we finally get into the castle…
Yusuke: Just to find out that this King Korenaga ass is really out to kill us all!
Serena: Not only that, but he's working with the bad guy, Danjuro!
Yusuke: Wait - you've met him, too?!
Serena: Well, not PERSONALLY…
Momiji: And what about that little boy?! There's just too many questions!
Yusuke: I think we should be more concerned about the damn dragon I'm going to have to fight than your stupid questions!
Momiji: They're not stupid!
Serena: And we're going to help fight, too - naturally!
Yusuke: As if you two didn't already make my life a living hell…
Momiji: So stay tuned for the next episode of "What's My Line Again…?," Episode 8:
Serena: "Yusuke and Momiji to the Rescue!…
Yusuke: "…Could it get any more embarrassing?!" Do I really have to go through with this episode…?
Serena: Well, I know I can't wait!
Momiji walked furiously along that Sunday morning, Serena and Darien following her from behind. But she would not give in - she REFUSED to and she kept walking as Serena continued on pleading to her.
"Come on, Momiji! I'm sorry!" Serena called to her. "I really didn't mean to upset you!"
"I'm not listening!" Momiji called.
"But I was just trying to help!" Serena insisted.
"Maybe you really ought to just wait until she cools down…" Darien suggested, but Serena, as usual, ignored Darien's good and wise advice.
"Will you leave me alone?!" Momiji then cried when they reached the park, turning about in anger. "Yusuke's right! You ARE nosey!"
"What?!" Serena could not believe her ears.
"You are!" Momiji declared firmly. "All you do is get involved in everyone else's business!"
"That's because I want to help!" Serena insisted. "I didn't mean to make you mad!"
"Well…you did!" Momiji told her truthfully. "And - and you think that you know what's best for everyone, too! I mean, I don't even LIKE Kusanagi!" Momiji turned abruptly from her then.
"But I KNOW you do! It's so obvious!" Serena persisted.
"It is not!" Momiji snapped. "You think EVERYTHING'S obvious! And you think that you have the right to spy on other people -"
"I don't spy!"
"Yes, you do! You were spying on Yusuke, even if you refuse to admit it!"
"Well…" Serena frowned. "I don't MEAN to! It just sort of happens!"
"And you don't take anything serious either!" Momiji went on.
"I do, too!"
"No, you don't!"
"Yes, I do!"
"No, you -" Momiji stopped herself, however, when her blue seed unexpectedly began to glow. "Again…?" Suddenly, a white light appeared behind Serena and from it emerged a man in black armor. He grabbed Serena from behind, placing a hand over her mouth and restraining her struggling arms with the other.
"Serena!" both Darien and Momiji cried and stepped forward.
"Who are you?" Darien then questioned indignantly.
"I am King Korenaga of the Keiki Kingdom!" his voice boomed. "And this girl must die!"
"But you can't!" Momiji protested. "She didn't do anything wrong!" But the man just laughed and took her into the void of white light. "No, wait!" she cried after them. "I'm sorry, Serena! I'm not angry anymore! You have to come back!" Darien's face filled with a fierce determination and he turned to Momiji.
"Find Yusuke," he instructed and then jumped into the fading light himself.
"What?" she asked in bafflement. Then, realizing he, too, had disappeared, she cried, "No! Don't go! I'm not angry at you either anymore! Darien!" But the light closed up and she frowned in utter despair. "Now, what…?!"
Yusuke was surprised to see Momiji plodded toward him as he walked down the street, a look of somber anger in her fiery eyes as she dragged along a duffel bag.
"Momiji…?" Yusuke asked.
"We have…to find…Serena," she told him as she approached, speaking through her harsh breathing.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"We have to find her," she repeated, dropping her bag to the ground.
"Well, where is she?" Yusuke asked.
"This man - he took her. He said he was King Korenaga of the Keiki Kingdom and he was going to kill Serena." Yusuke's eyes widened. "They disappeared into some strange white light - Darien followed them. And he told me to find you."
"But - why does he want to kill her?" Momiji shook her head.
"I don't know." She then felt tears burning in her eyes. "But we have to find her! We have to find her so I can tell her I'm not angry at her any longer! So she knows that I don't hate her."
"'Angry at her?'" Yusuke questioned.
"It doesn't matter why I was…it was stupid anyway!" Momiji exclaimed, tears flinging from her eyes. "But we have to find her before King Korenaga kills her!"
"All right, all right!" Yusuke told her, putting his hands on her shoulders to settle her down. "Just calm down." She swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay, you said it was the Keiki Kingdom?" She nodded again. "Fine. I'll go find out where this place is and I'll go and rescue her, all right? She'll be just fine."
"I'm coming too," Momiji told him.
"What?" Yusuke asked.
"I said, 'I'm coming, too,'" she repeated.
"But you can't."
"Yes, I can," she said, nodding her head vigorously. "See - I even packed!" She lifted up her duffel bag. "I have an extra set of clothes, and then my school uniform, just in case I have to get to school right away, and an extra pair of shoes, and my hairbrush, and…and you're not even packed yet, so you can't say anything to me!"
"But -"
"You have to let me come!" Momiji then cried desperately, lifting her head so her fiery eyes met his. "You have to!" Yusuke squinted his eyes as he stared into her desperate ones, a pit of guilt forming in his stomach. He glanced away.
"All right; you can come," he gave in. She grinned excitedly.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.
"Yeah, yeah…" Yusuke muttered. "Just try not to get in my way."
"I won't! I promise!" she said sincerely, and then released him. Then, she smiled and said, "Let's get going!"
"Fine…we have to first stop at the Spirit World so we can find out where the hell this Keiki Kingdom is,"
"Okay!" she stated enthusiastically. She then frowned.
"What is it?"
"Well…it's just that…my bag's kind of heavy," she told him in a hesitant voice.
"So? What do you want me to do about it?" Yusuke asked flatly.
"Well…I thought that you might carry it for me," she suggested with a sweet smile. Yusuke scoffed.
"You're the idiot who packed so much," he told her, crossing his arms.
"Oh," she replied, looking down at her feet. "So you won't carry it at all?" Yusuke sighed in frustration.
"Just give me the stupid bag," Yusuke muttered, reaching his hand out for it. Momiji grinned again.
"Thanks, Yusuke!" she exclaimed, handing him the bag. "You're the greatest friend a girl could ever have!"
"Yeah, whatever…" Yusuke mumbled, slinging the duffel bag over his shoulder. "What you pack in this thing, anyway? Rocks?"
Momiji warily followed Yusuke toward the office of Lord Koenma, the head of the Spirit World. She remembered Yusuke mentioning him once, but her memory was very vague. As they were walking, she noticed two boys standing at the end of the hall, leaning beside the doorway of what she assumed was Lord Koenma's office. Nervously, she made sure to stand behind Yusuke as if trying not get noticed.
"Long time no see, Yusuke," the one with the long red hair spoke first.
"How's it going, Kurama?" Yusuke said in response. He then glanced down at the short one and said, "Hiei?"
"You killed a Baken-Ai, I see," Hiei commented coldly, glaring up at the scar on Yusuke's forehead. Yusuke frowned awkwardly and rubbed the scar.
"Oh, yeah, that…" Yusuke shrugged slightly and said no more. Hiei let out a grunt then, looking beyond Yusuke at Momiji, who was still desperately trying to hide herself behind him.
"Who's the girl?" he questioned.
"Oh…her name is Momiji…" Yusuke answered awkwardly and Momiji's face flushed.
"Hi," she said quickly, popping her head a bit over Yusuke's shoulder. Kurama now stepped forward with a smile.
"How rude of us," he began pleasantly. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Kurama." He then gestured toward the short boy. "And this is Hiei."
"You're friends with Yusuke?" Momiji inquired sheepishly.
"Yes. I suppose you could say that," Kurama amiably answered.
"By obligation," Hiei added coldly and Momiji frowned.
"Well, HE doesn't seem too friendly," she whispered into Yusuke's ear and Yusuke began to snicker.
"Is something funny?" Hiei questioned, obviously annoyed.
"No…no, of course not," Yusuke replied through his snickers and then cleared his throat. "ANYWAY, is Koenma in? We need to talk to him."
"Yes, he is," Kurama answered. "But if you don't mind me asking, what brings you here with this young girl, Yusuke?"
"Yes - what would a weak, useless child like her have any reason to speak with Lord Koenma?" Hiei questioned harshly and Momiji scowled, pushing past Yusuke and marching over to Hiei.
"Hey!" she began furiously. "At least I'm not so short -" Her last word was muffled, however, for Yusuke had hastily cupped his hand over her mouth, chuckling nervously.
"Um…well…it's kind of a long story, actually," he said and laughed awkwardly again. Momiji now pulled away from hom.
"Our friend Serena has been kidnapped!" she exclaimed. She then corrected herself, saying, "Well, at least she's MY friend anyway…"
"Kidnapped?" Kurama asked curiously. Momiji nodded.
"By this evil man named King Korenaga!" she further clarified. "He's King of the Keiki Kingdom and he says he's going to kill her!"
"Well, that doesn't sound very good," Kurama commented with sympathetic eyes. "Although the Keiki Kingdom does sound familiar…"
"So you've degraded yourself to becoming the knight in shining armor who must rescue the damsel in distress, Yusuke," Hiei remarked bitterly. "That sounds like the pathetic role that idiot Kuwabara would take on." Yusuke became defensive.
"Hey! It's not like that!"
"I'd at least think the girl would be Keiko," he added.
"She's already got her knight in shining armor, all right?" Yusuke stated angrily.
"That's right!" Momiji exclaimed and then exclaimed, shooting her right arm up in the air, "We're the cavalry!" Hiei snorted.
"Don't make me laugh," he began. "What can a pathetic girl like you do?"
"Lots!" she answered hotly, turning to Yusuke for some defense. "Tell him!"
"She's coming for moral support, all right?" Yusuke remarked, crossing his arms and averting his eyes.
"You mean - I'm just your cheerleading squad?!" Momiji questioned in horror. Hiei merely chuckled sinisterly.
"Apparently," he callously muttered and walked past them. "Come on, Kurama. Let's get out of here." He then began coolly walking down the hall.
"Coming, Hiei!" Kurama called back. Then he gave Momiji a sympathetic smile, placing a hand on her shoulder, and kindly said, "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll be a fine help to Yusuke." He then left with Hiei.
"At least one of them was nice," Momiji mumbled to herself with a frown.
"Let's get going," Yusuke told her then and the two stepped into Koenma's office.
"King Korenaga…I see…" Koenma said after hearing the whole story and placed a hand to his chin.
"So you've heard of him?" Momiji asked hopefully. Koenma nodded.
"Yes, I have. The Keiki Kingdom, too," he replied.
"Then maybe you'd know why they took that stupid blonde ditz then," Yusuke remarked.
"You mean Serena?" Koenma asked. "That's an easy question."
"Well, why then?" Momiji asked anxiously.
"For a sacrifice, of course!" Both Yusuke's and Momiji's mouths dropped open.
"A sacrifice?!" they questioned simultaneously.
"Yes, a sacrifice," Koenma repeated. "You see, every year the King of the Keiki Kingdom must sacrifice a virgin princess to the demon Zenko."
"Well, I guess that explains it," Yusuke muttered.
"'Demon Zenko?'" Momiji questioned.
"He's a very powerful demon," Koenma began to explain. "And he has lived in the bowels of the Keiki Kingdom for centuries."
"But why does the King give this stupid demon a sacrifice every year?" Yusuke interrogated. "Why doesn't he just say no?"
"Because then the demon will transform into a dragon that will devour the entire city," Koenma answered.
"That's horrible!" Momiji exclaimed.
"You bet it is," Koenma remarked matter-of-factly.
"But why does it want a virgin princess so bad?" Yusuke now asked. "And why every year?"
"Another easy question," Koenma stated haughtily. "The demon must rape and then eat the flesh of a virgin princess - who's not so much a virgin anymore once he rapes her - every year if he hopes to keep his powers."
"Rape and eat?!" Momiji cried in horror.
"But then why don't they just NOT give him a sacrifice then?" Yusuke questioned. "Then he won't have his powers and then he won't be able to turn into a stupid dragon."
"And then they won't have to torture and kill poor innocent girls!" Momiji cried.
"Because, his powers don't just wear away that quickly," Koenma answered. "If he doesn't get his sacrifice by the time the year is up, he keeps his powers for three more days, which is plenty of time for a giant dragon to destroy an entire kingdom." Yusuke growled angrily.
"So now what are we going to do?!" he questioned. "If we go in and rescue Serena we'll be destroying an entire kingdom!" Momiji frowned and then added:
"And if we don't Serena's going to be raped and…eaten…" She turned pale at this.
"It is a predicament," Koenma agreed.
"Well, can't we just screw the stupid kingdom?! I mean, if they're all that selfish enough to allow an innocent princess to die -"
"We can't do that!" Momiji protested. "There are probably innocent people there, too! Innocent children who don't even know what's going on!" Yusuke sighed in frustration and turned from her. Momiji frowned again. However, after a moment of thought, an idea suddenly hit Momiji and her eyes lit up with eagerness. "I know!"
"What is it?" Yusuke asked, turning back to her.
"We'll make a deal with King Korenaga!" she declared.
"'A deal?'" Koenma inquired curiously. "Do explain."
"We'll go and tell King Korenaga that if he frees Serena, we'll - or, well Yusuke will - kill this Zenko demon for him before he has a chance to destroy the entire kingdom! I mean, you destroyed that giant snake, right?"
"Yeah…" Yusuke answered reluctantly.
"Well, a giant snake's almost like a dragon! And you being so powerful and all should be able to beat it! And that way, both the Keiki Kingdom and Serena will be all right - everyone's happy, right?"
"I guess so…" Yusuke agreed. "Except what if I don't 'beat' it, as you say? Then what? The whole kingdom will be destroyed anyway."
"But you WILL beat it!" Momiji insisted. "As long as you don't think about it like THAT, anyway! Besides…uh…we'll keep Serena around as backup, just in case you don't win."
"To be eaten or to fight the demon?" Yusuke asked.
"Uh…both, I guess," Momiji answered. "But it'll work! I KNOW it will!" Yusuke sighed and turned to Koenma.
"The idea does have merit, Yusuke," Koenma replied. "And I can have Botan take you two the Kingdom rather quickly."
"But what about King Korenaga? How are we supposed to convince him to let us even see him? I mean, he is a king and all," Yusuke further questioned.
"I'll write a summons to him that you will take and give to the guards upon entering the castle," Koenma began. "With my signature on it, you should most definitely be allowed into the castle and be able to plea your case before the king." Yusuke sighed.
"Well, I guess it might work…" he finally gave in and Momiji grinned. "I just hope that this Zenko demon isn't all that powerful."
Serena sat in her prison feeling very bored and confused. Although the prison was made up lavishly - fit for a princess, really - the door was thick and locked, the windows were narrow and barred, and the walls were made of heavy, dull stone. Furthermore, she had no idea why this King Korenaga had chosen to kidnap her and supposedly planned to kill her as well. She had simply been dragged up to the highest tower of the castle and thrown into her extravagant prison the moment she had arrived.
And then - voices. She lifted her head and listened carefully to make sure she hadn't been imagining things. But when she realized she hadn't been, she hastily rushed to the door and pressed her ear against in hopes to hear things better. She listened attentively.
"She's in here," Korenaga's voice came to her through the door. "If you'd like to see her -"
"No, no; that won't be necessary," a male voice that she did not recognized intervened. "I believe you. After all, I don't want her running away, now do I?" Both men chuckled heartily.
"That's funny," Serena whispered aloud to herself, as a realization suddenly hit her. "That's the only other man I've heard in this entire castle. Everyone else has been women…" Then, she continued listening.
"Here's some gold for your troubles," the unfamiliar male voice said and Serena could hear the heavy sound of jingling coins. "10,000 pieces."
"Oh, no trouble. No trouble at all, really," King Korenaga insisted, although his voice seemed to be in awe of the money that it had been laid before him. "I needed a princess anyway for tonight."
"Yes, well…still, it's much appreciated," the other voice said. "And this is only a portion of your reward."
"'A portion?'"
"Yes…the rest - the bulk of it is, that is - will be given to you tonight, when the girl is dead. And the other two -"
"Yes, the other two," the king interrupted. "Say if they don't arrive?"
"They will - I promise you that," the other man said confidently. "It isn't in their blood to do otherwise."
"Yes, but if they don't -"
"You will still receive a hefty sum of money anyway, I assure you, just for the girl's death. Not as much, but still quite a lot…" The man then cleared his throat. "Which reminds me, have we had any visitors?"
"No, none at all," the king answered. "No, wait - we had one."
"'One?'" the man questioned.
"Yes, a man in a tuxedo - he's in the dungeon now." Serena gasped.
"Darien!" she whispered. She bit her lip, however, and continued to fervently listen to the conversation.
"But he's not important now, is he?" King Korenaga asked slyly.
"No, he's not," the other man replied with a bit of a snicker. "When the other two arrive - you do know what to expect from the other two, don't you?"
"A girl and a boy. About fifteen -"
"Yes, well. They should try and break into your castle sometime during the course of the day to rescue the precious moon princess," the man interrupted. "When they do, and your guards have captured them and brought them before you as they did with the young Tuxedo Mask, order your guards to execute them that instant. And then bring me the bodies. I'd like to hang them both up on my wall."
"That will be an easy enough task to do," King Korenaga replied. "You should just see how many rescue attempts there have been over the years! Knights riding in on horses to save their dear maidens who they were betrothed to! And assassination attempts, too! You don't know how many fathers and brothers have come to try and slay me as vengeance for their daughter or sister! Not a one has every succeeded, rescue attempt or assassination! I have yet to be scarred once!" The king laughed loudly then.
"Yes, I do applaud you on that," the man replied. "You do have capable guards and a rather interesting defense system, as well. It may be said you are overly cautious, but I believe that caution is the only way you can survive, is it not?"
"Yes, well, none can ever be TOO cautious, I always say," King Korenaga said with another laugh. "And that is why I have put this in your hands," the man replied. "For you are cautious and have never failed because of it."
"I must apologize, however, that I will be unable to give you the girl's body as well. I hope that doesn't mean I will lose out on some gold…"
"No, no, of course not," the man answered quite sympathetically. "It's completely understandable. I would simply like to have the pleasure to watch and that will be satisfaction enough for me."
"I can give you front row if you like -"
"No, that won't be necessary," the man insisted graciously. "I would much rather stay in the shadows for the show."
"Yes, well - it can be a grotesque sight."
"Oh, it's not that," the man stated calmly. "That's probably the best part." King Korenaga chuckled a bit nervously.
"You are a very strange man to say such things," he began. "But I cannot judge, for I have done some terrible things in my own life. And I suppose such hatred can cause a man to see any horror and smile down upon it as if it were joy."
"I suppose you are right," the other man replied. "And I do have a deep hatred for all three, I must admit. It brings out the worst in me, I guess." There was a pause. And then, "I should be going now. But I will be back at sunset tonight."
"With the gold?" King Korenaga asked eagerly. The other man chuckled.
"Yes, yes, with the gold," he told the king.
"Oh, you are a good man!" the king exclaimed joyously. "A very good man, Danjuro!"
"Danjuro…?" Serena wondered aloud in a whisper.
"Well, I do try to be," the man called Danjuro replied modestly. There was a few seconds of silence again before the king spoke up once more.
"If you don't mind my asking," he began. "Where do you get such beautiful gold? With all the riches I have, I still do not have as much as you and I am king! And to throw it all away -"
"It's just a little simple magic called alchemy, really," Danjuro stated. "It's nothing compared to what else I can do." And then Serena heard footsteps; they were loud at first and slowly they faded into nothing.
Yusuke and Momiji walked along the dirt streets of the marketplace toward the King Korenaga's castle. The kingdom was like none other that Momiji had ever seen, like a medieval city of fairytales, and she took it all in wide-eyed and excitedly. Yusuke, on the other hand, still carrying Momiji's duffel bag, remained casual about it, walking along at a leisurely pace.
"Wow!" Momiji exclaimed finally. "I've never seen anything like this!" Yusuke shrugged, but this did not daunt Momiji in the slightest. Instead, she continued on, "And look at that castle! It's magnificent! I've never seen a real castle before!" Yusuke shrugged again.
"It's all right," he apathetically remarked. Momiji frowned.
"Well, have you ever seen a castle like that before?"
"Once or twice," he answered indifferently.
"Oh." A silence fell between them then as Momiji lowered her head. She glanced down at her watch. "Hey, it's noon."
"Already?" Yusuke asked. Momiji nodded and they were silent again. She then perked up slightly. "Just look at all these shops," she said. "Everything is handmade…it's all just so beautiful!"
"I guess so…" Yusuke muttered, fairly interested.
"They're like…antiques! Except they're all brand new! Isn't that funny?" Momiji asked. Yusuke shrugged for a third time.
"I think we'll get to the castle in a couple of hours…" he told her, changing the subject.
Momiji became forlorn, realizing that he was changing the subject and she replied sadly, "Oh."
They walked alongside each other in silence for another few minutes, Momiji's head bowed, although her eyes kept glancing at the many decorated stores and versatile village people, while Yusuke continued walking as if he were nowhere special. However, suddenly Momiji scrunched her eyebrows in a sad puzzlement, frowning in dismay.
"Yusuke?" she began hesitantly.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Does this make Serena a sacrifice girl?"
"Well, I guess she's a sacrifice," Yusuke replied honestly.
"But I thought I was a sacrifice," Momiji answered.
"So? You are," Yusuke told her.
"But…so's Serena now," Momiji explained.
"So…what's your point?" Yusuke inquired in bewilderment.
"My point is that if she can be a sacrifice girl, too, than I really am a useless nothing," Momiji told him.
"Not necessarily…" Yusuke answered. "I mean, you're both going to be sacrificed for different reasons, right?"
"But, still…that was the only thing I had going for me," Momiji reasoned. Yusuke almost laughed out loud.
"You're trying to tell me that BEING SACRIFICED was the only thing that you had going for yourself?" he questioned.
"Well…I didn't mean it like THAT," Momiji began. "What I meant was…that that's the only thing that makes me really special. I mean, you're a spirit detective and Serena's Sailor Moon and all. All I am is a sacrifice."
"You've got that blue seed," Yusuke tried to assure her. "That SORT of helps…" He grimaced a bit.
"And Lord Koenma said that the sacrifice had to be a virgin princess!" Momiji suddenly declared, raising her voice so loud that people had begun to stare and Yusuke cringed because of it. "I mean, I'M a princess!" Momiji reasoned. "And I was right there, too! There was no reason he couldn't pick me instead of her!"
"Well -"
"I mean, I don't hold anything against Serena, but it doesn't seem fair!"
"That you're not going to be raped and eaten?" Yusuke asked.
"No!" Momiji exclaimed. "It's just the principle of the matter!" She further clarified. "I mean, it's MY job to be the sacrifice! If I don't have that, what do I contribute to the team?!"
"Serena isn't exactly 'contributing' to the team by being a sacrifice…" Yusuke commented. "In fact, she's just causing us problems."
"So that means I'm really just a burden?!" Momiji cried in fear, nearly sobbing, and Yusuke winced.
"I didn't say that…"
"But it's true! I really AM useless!" Yusuke groaned, placing a hand to his forehead in annoyance.
"MOMIJI, you're over exaggerating," he told her. "You're not useless. You're the one who came up with this plan, didn't you?"
"Yeah…I guess I did do that," she said, smiling slightly.
"And I'm sure that blonde idiot Serena could never come up with it," Yusuke added.
"Well, that's not very nice," Momiji replied with a frown. Yusuke just scoffed. "Still, I do fit the qualifications of this sacrifice, though. So, I mean, I could take Serena's place if worse comes to worse, right?"
"I guess so."
"I mean, like I said, I am a princess," Momiji replied once more.
"Yeah, you are," Yusuke agreed. "Of nothing, but you're still a princess."
"Do you think that's the problem?" Momiji inquired. "That I don't have a kingdom?"
"Well, Serena doesn't actually have a kingdom anymore either," Yusuke reminded her.
"That's right!" Momiji recalled. "And furthermore, not only am I princess, I'm also a -" She stopped however, and suddenly blushed wildly. Yusuke began to snicker.
"A virgin?"
"That's none of your business!" Momiji snapped, her face turning redder. Yusuke laughed harder. In her anger, she then shouted, "Well…it's not like you're not one either, right?!" and Yusuke was quick to shut up.
Awhile later, when Momiji and Yusuke found themselves closer to the castle although still in the marketplace, Yusuke suddenly felt his head begin to hurt. He groaned slightly, placing a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.
"Your head hurt?" Momiji asked sympathetically, but Yusuke just shook his head.
"No, I'm fine…" he told her.
"Are you sure?" she questioned. "You look pale…" Yusuke let out a cry of pain then and stumbled backwards, the scar on his forehead burning immensely. Momiji gasped, putting her hand on his shoulder as if to try and alleviate his pain, crying, "Yusuke!"
"What's happening…?" he asked, and then let out another scream.
"Yusuke!" Momiji cried again as she tried to keep Yusuke from falling. Unexpectedly, Momiji's blue seed began to glow. "Huh…?" She then thought, where is it coming from? Turning her head to the left, her eyes widened in shock at the sight of a little smiling boy with careless blond hair falling over his forehead - a boy that Momiji recognized almost immediately. "That's - that's that boy!" she exclaimed, although Yusuke was in too much pain to even listen. "The boy from the first day we met! The boy who the first Baken-Ai was trying to kill!"
And the boy turned to her with his smile and gave her a wink and a wave. Momiji gasped a bit, blinking her eyes. But in the quick blink of her eyes, the boy had suddenly disappeared from sight, her blue seed's glow fading. Yusuke now fell to his knees, breathing harshly, and Momiji returned her attention back to him at once.
"Yusuke!" she cried. "Are you all right?" He nodded.
"I think so…" he answered and then lifted his hand from his forehead to reveal blood on his fingers.
"Your scar…" Momiji's voice trailed off with a gasp at the sight of blood trickling down on Yusuke's forehead from his scar. Yusuke shook his head, brushing it off and wiping the blood from his forehead with his arm, and then rose to his feet.
"I'm fine," he told her sternly. "Your blue seed - it was glowing again, wasn't it?" Momiji nodded.
"It was that little boy…the one the Baken-Ai wanted to kill."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know," Momiji answered solemnly. After a moment, she asked again, "Are you sure you're all right?" Yusuke nodded once more.
"It just took the wind out of me, I guess. Whatever it was, anyway."
"Do you think it could have been that little boy?" Yusuke shrugged.
"Beats me," he remarked casually, not seeming to want to discuss it anymore. The two then started walking again in silence, Yusuke looking pale and severe and Momiji feeling suddenly very worried. And she thought to herself, just who is that little boy, anyway?
Coming Attractions:
Yusuke: So we finally get to the stupid castle just to find out we still have one problem - we're not allowed in!
Momiji: What?! But why not?! We have the summons!
Yusuke: Its not the summons that's the problem.
Momiji: Then what is it?!
Yusuke: I'm the problem.
Momiji: You?! But why?!
Yusuke: Uh…
Momiji: Oh! I see! That IS a problem!
Serena: Well, you guys better hurry up and solve that problem fast! My hours are numbered, you know!
Momiji: Don't worry; I come up with another GREAT plan!
Yusuke: I still think it's a stupid one!
Momiji: Well, it worked, didn't it?!
Yusuke: Yeah, yeah, yeah…I can't believe I'm going to go through with this just to save that blonde idiot…
Serena: Hey!
Momiji: Anyway, after some quick negations and major convincing on my part, we finally get into the castle…
Yusuke: Just to find out that this King Korenaga ass is really out to kill us all!
Serena: Not only that, but he's working with the bad guy, Danjuro!
Yusuke: Wait - you've met him, too?!
Serena: Well, not PERSONALLY…
Momiji: And what about that little boy?! There's just too many questions!
Yusuke: I think we should be more concerned about the damn dragon I'm going to have to fight than your stupid questions!
Momiji: They're not stupid!
Serena: And we're going to help fight, too - naturally!
Yusuke: As if you two didn't already make my life a living hell…
Momiji: So stay tuned for the next episode of "What's My Line Again…?," Episode 8:
Serena: "Yusuke and Momiji to the Rescue!…
Yusuke: "…Could it get any more embarrassing?!" Do I really have to go through with this episode…?
Serena: Well, I know I can't wait!