Kurama grabbed a towel on the way to the spare room and stuffed it under the door to keep the ants our once they were inside.
"Hey, what the?" Yusuke suddenly cried as he opened up the game board and set it on the ground. Their pieces had stayed put, as if they were glued to the board, but that wasn't what had surprised Yusuke. On his path, three spaces behind his black elephant was a white ivory lion that most definitely not been there before. Yusuke reached out a hand and tried to take the piece off the board, but it wouldn't budge.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from down stairs, accompanied by someone yelling "Go on! Get out!"
"What now?" Kurama asked with a sigh as he opened the door and started downstairs again.
Once again, he, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke descended the stairs to see what was happening. The front door was opened and they all saw half the monkeys run from the kitchen and scamper outside.
"I said GET!" the voice sounded again and a girl emerged from the kitchen, chasing the last of the monkeys out the door. Once they were all gone, she closed the door, turned around, and froze, having not realized she was being watched.
Keiko had now descended the stairs as well and was staring, along with the boys, at the strangest girl she had ever seen. She had bright blue eyes and blond hair that was long and dirty. For clothes, she wore what looked like a bikini top and bottom made completely from leaves. Keiko resisted the urge to slap Yusuke as she turned to see him practically drooling over the girl.
"What are you wearing?" Keiko asked her finally, annoyed at how revealing the leaves were. "What were you, raised by wolves?"
"No one raised me. And anyway, wolves live in forests, I'm from the jungle," the girl said simply. This caused Keiko's jaw to drop, and there was another moment of silent staring.
"Um...did someone roll a five or an eight?" the girl asked after a moment.
It took a moment for it to register in the dumbfounded groups' minds that she was talking about the game.
"I rolled a five," Kurama said.
The girl smiled, her eyes sparkling brightly. Then she rushed forward and locked her arms around Kurama in a tight embrace.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!" the girl cried over and over again.
"Um...your welcome?" Kurama said, a little shocked at the girls actions.
Yusuke happened to glance down and realized that he now had a fairly good view of the girl's semi-naked butt. He stared for about thirty seconds before Keiko caught on.
"You pervert!" she yelled, slapping him across the face so hard that he stumbled down the rest of the stairs. She then grabbed the girl and dragged her back up stairs and into the bathroom. She spent the next hour giving the girl a long lecture on what's appropriate and what's not as well as giving her a good cleaning.
Finally, she and the girl entered the spare room where the boys were waiting. The girl was now wearing a long T-shirt and jeans that Keiko had borrowed form Kurama's mother's closet. Her wet, clean, and considerably shorter hair, since Keiko had insisted on cutting all the spit-ends off, had been pulled up in a tight pony tail. She smiled at the group.
"So...who are you?" Yusuke asked.
"Neioko, but you can call me Neiko," she said with a smile.
"Wait, Neioko Tagahashi?" Yusuke asked.
The girl nodded.
"Man! You know, the whole town thinks your dead," he informed her.
"They do?" she asked.
"Yep. Everyone thinks your dad chopped you up and buried you in the back yard or something."
"YUSUKE!" Keiko yelled.
"What? It's true! You've heard the rumors too!"
"My father? Is he still here, in town?" Neiko asked hopefully.
Yusuke shook his head. "No, he moved to America after they couldn't find you and everyone started thinking he'd killed you or something. His house is still for sale."
Neiko sank to here knees.
"Damn," she breathed. Then she laughed, "Figures. I get trapped in the friggin jungle for ten years, I finally get our, and my father isn't even in the same country any more."
"What do you mean 'trapped in the jungle?'" Kurama asked.
Neiko sighed. "Ten years ago, when I was five, I found this game..."
"Jumanji," Yusuke said.
"Yeah," Neiko answered. "Anyway, so I was board on day when I heard these drums coming from the attic. I went up and found this game and decided that playing by my self was better then doing nothing. I set my piece down and rolled a three, my piece moved, and then words appeared in that black thing in the center."
"What did they say?" Kuwabara asked.
Neiko sighed again, then recited the phrase from memory. "In the jungle you will wait, till someone rolls a five or eight. Next thing I know, I'm in the jungle. I was totally screwed, too. I mean, since I was playing alone, there wasn't anyone else to roll a five or eight. It's been ten years since then." Now she paused and looked sheepishly at Kurama. "Sorry for invading your personal space or whatever. I was just really happy."
"It's alright," Kurama assured her.
"Alright, now that that is out of the way, can we please get on with the game?" Yusuke asked.
"What? You want to keep playing?!" Neiko asked incredulously.
"Look, none of this will go away until we finish it, so we don't have a choice," Yusuke said.
Neiko thought it over for a minute then said, "Fine, but I swear, if I end up in the jungle again someone is going to pay!"
"Hiei, it's your turn," Kurama said, handing him the dice.
Hiei casually flicked the dice across the floor, following them with his crimson eyes until they rested on five and six, totaling to eleven. His black rhino moved eleven paces and stopped. They all leaned in to see what doom the board would bring upon them this time.
Neiko read the message out loud. "Need a hand? Why just you wait; we'll help you out, we each have eight. Oh, no."
She turned to see a huge spider crawl out form under the bed. Keiko screamed and they all jumped up. Neiko backed up against the wall, only to have a spider as big as her head land on her clean hair. She screamed and knocked it off. Keiko was cornered by two more spiders, and Kuwabara was battling with a fourth that had latched onto his leg and refused to let go.
"Get them out into the hall!" Kurama called, opening the door. Yusuke kicked the spiders coming after Keiko through the door like two, hairy soccer balls. Neiko did the same to the spider that had been on her head and Kuwabara finally managed to shake the spider of his pants with enough force to cause it to roll out the door on it's own, without him having to kick it.
Kurama promptly shut the door, and they all stared at if for a moment, Keiko letting out another scream as on long, hairy leg pushed the towel aside to feel under the door. Kurama stepped on the leg, and it retreated. He then replaced the towel.
"Neiko, it's your turn," Yusuke said, once he had managed to calm Keiko down.
Neiko grimaced, but took the dice. She let them drop half-heatedly onto the board. They landed on a four and a six, totaling to a ten. The white lion moved ten spaces, seven past Yusuke's piece, and stopped. She was almost afraid to see what the board would say this time.
"These purple lovelies you'd want to grow, if it weren't for the poison barbs they throw," Yusuke read out loud.
"Neiko! Look out!" Keiko cried.
Neiko turned just in time to get a dart in the neck from a purple plant that had sprouted from the wall. She immediately collapsed. Kuwabara severed the plant from it's stem before it could shoot anyone else in the room.
"Is she alright," Yusuke asked Kurama as he hovered over the collapsed girl.
"She's only asleep," he concluded finally, laying the sleeping girl on the bed.
"My turn, oh joy," Yusuke said sarcastically as he took the dice.
"Hey, what the?" Yusuke suddenly cried as he opened up the game board and set it on the ground. Their pieces had stayed put, as if they were glued to the board, but that wasn't what had surprised Yusuke. On his path, three spaces behind his black elephant was a white ivory lion that most definitely not been there before. Yusuke reached out a hand and tried to take the piece off the board, but it wouldn't budge.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from down stairs, accompanied by someone yelling "Go on! Get out!"
"What now?" Kurama asked with a sigh as he opened the door and started downstairs again.
Once again, he, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke descended the stairs to see what was happening. The front door was opened and they all saw half the monkeys run from the kitchen and scamper outside.
"I said GET!" the voice sounded again and a girl emerged from the kitchen, chasing the last of the monkeys out the door. Once they were all gone, she closed the door, turned around, and froze, having not realized she was being watched.
Keiko had now descended the stairs as well and was staring, along with the boys, at the strangest girl she had ever seen. She had bright blue eyes and blond hair that was long and dirty. For clothes, she wore what looked like a bikini top and bottom made completely from leaves. Keiko resisted the urge to slap Yusuke as she turned to see him practically drooling over the girl.
"What are you wearing?" Keiko asked her finally, annoyed at how revealing the leaves were. "What were you, raised by wolves?"
"No one raised me. And anyway, wolves live in forests, I'm from the jungle," the girl said simply. This caused Keiko's jaw to drop, and there was another moment of silent staring.
"Um...did someone roll a five or an eight?" the girl asked after a moment.
It took a moment for it to register in the dumbfounded groups' minds that she was talking about the game.
"I rolled a five," Kurama said.
The girl smiled, her eyes sparkling brightly. Then she rushed forward and locked her arms around Kurama in a tight embrace.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!" the girl cried over and over again.
"Um...your welcome?" Kurama said, a little shocked at the girls actions.
Yusuke happened to glance down and realized that he now had a fairly good view of the girl's semi-naked butt. He stared for about thirty seconds before Keiko caught on.
"You pervert!" she yelled, slapping him across the face so hard that he stumbled down the rest of the stairs. She then grabbed the girl and dragged her back up stairs and into the bathroom. She spent the next hour giving the girl a long lecture on what's appropriate and what's not as well as giving her a good cleaning.
Finally, she and the girl entered the spare room where the boys were waiting. The girl was now wearing a long T-shirt and jeans that Keiko had borrowed form Kurama's mother's closet. Her wet, clean, and considerably shorter hair, since Keiko had insisted on cutting all the spit-ends off, had been pulled up in a tight pony tail. She smiled at the group.
"So...who are you?" Yusuke asked.
"Neioko, but you can call me Neiko," she said with a smile.
"Wait, Neioko Tagahashi?" Yusuke asked.
The girl nodded.
"Man! You know, the whole town thinks your dead," he informed her.
"They do?" she asked.
"Yep. Everyone thinks your dad chopped you up and buried you in the back yard or something."
"YUSUKE!" Keiko yelled.
"What? It's true! You've heard the rumors too!"
"My father? Is he still here, in town?" Neiko asked hopefully.
Yusuke shook his head. "No, he moved to America after they couldn't find you and everyone started thinking he'd killed you or something. His house is still for sale."
Neiko sank to here knees.
"Damn," she breathed. Then she laughed, "Figures. I get trapped in the friggin jungle for ten years, I finally get our, and my father isn't even in the same country any more."
"What do you mean 'trapped in the jungle?'" Kurama asked.
Neiko sighed. "Ten years ago, when I was five, I found this game..."
"Jumanji," Yusuke said.
"Yeah," Neiko answered. "Anyway, so I was board on day when I heard these drums coming from the attic. I went up and found this game and decided that playing by my self was better then doing nothing. I set my piece down and rolled a three, my piece moved, and then words appeared in that black thing in the center."
"What did they say?" Kuwabara asked.
Neiko sighed again, then recited the phrase from memory. "In the jungle you will wait, till someone rolls a five or eight. Next thing I know, I'm in the jungle. I was totally screwed, too. I mean, since I was playing alone, there wasn't anyone else to roll a five or eight. It's been ten years since then." Now she paused and looked sheepishly at Kurama. "Sorry for invading your personal space or whatever. I was just really happy."
"It's alright," Kurama assured her.
"Alright, now that that is out of the way, can we please get on with the game?" Yusuke asked.
"What? You want to keep playing?!" Neiko asked incredulously.
"Look, none of this will go away until we finish it, so we don't have a choice," Yusuke said.
Neiko thought it over for a minute then said, "Fine, but I swear, if I end up in the jungle again someone is going to pay!"
"Hiei, it's your turn," Kurama said, handing him the dice.
Hiei casually flicked the dice across the floor, following them with his crimson eyes until they rested on five and six, totaling to eleven. His black rhino moved eleven paces and stopped. They all leaned in to see what doom the board would bring upon them this time.
Neiko read the message out loud. "Need a hand? Why just you wait; we'll help you out, we each have eight. Oh, no."
She turned to see a huge spider crawl out form under the bed. Keiko screamed and they all jumped up. Neiko backed up against the wall, only to have a spider as big as her head land on her clean hair. She screamed and knocked it off. Keiko was cornered by two more spiders, and Kuwabara was battling with a fourth that had latched onto his leg and refused to let go.
"Get them out into the hall!" Kurama called, opening the door. Yusuke kicked the spiders coming after Keiko through the door like two, hairy soccer balls. Neiko did the same to the spider that had been on her head and Kuwabara finally managed to shake the spider of his pants with enough force to cause it to roll out the door on it's own, without him having to kick it.
Kurama promptly shut the door, and they all stared at if for a moment, Keiko letting out another scream as on long, hairy leg pushed the towel aside to feel under the door. Kurama stepped on the leg, and it retreated. He then replaced the towel.
"Neiko, it's your turn," Yusuke said, once he had managed to calm Keiko down.
Neiko grimaced, but took the dice. She let them drop half-heatedly onto the board. They landed on a four and a six, totaling to a ten. The white lion moved ten spaces, seven past Yusuke's piece, and stopped. She was almost afraid to see what the board would say this time.
"These purple lovelies you'd want to grow, if it weren't for the poison barbs they throw," Yusuke read out loud.
"Neiko! Look out!" Keiko cried.
Neiko turned just in time to get a dart in the neck from a purple plant that had sprouted from the wall. She immediately collapsed. Kuwabara severed the plant from it's stem before it could shoot anyone else in the room.
"Is she alright," Yusuke asked Kurama as he hovered over the collapsed girl.
"She's only asleep," he concluded finally, laying the sleeping girl on the bed.
"My turn, oh joy," Yusuke said sarcastically as he took the dice.