AUTHOR'S NOTES (Wait, these are actually just Kayhera's notes since I'm the one posting them on this stupid website—I didn't say is stupid, you just read it wrong—so why do I even bother calling them Author's Notes if Ravyn doesn't comment?! My logic does not make any sense at all…)
To my only reviewer (Hopefully you know who you are ;) ): Your review cracked me up! It made me laugh, which sort of hurt because I got bottom braces today (damn those dentist people!) but whatever, laughing is a good thing! Did you mean Tamika and Keitaro when you said, "I like her friends"? Well, I liked writing them, they were fun to write! I'm hoping I'll get to write them again really soon as soon as Ravyn finishes up with her part—she's having way too much fun writing some Yoshiko/Sesshomaru junk so I don't think I'll ever be able to write any more—or update for that matter because she just won't stop! And chapter ten was where InuYasha pretty much did get over Kagome… now we just have to wait for him and Sueko to pair up. But they're so stubborn I don't think that'll happen for a while. Laughs Ow… STUPID BRACES!!! Talking is so much fun… I want to write more but Ravyn's not done yet!!! Um… continues to stall Let's see here… Oh, whatever. I was going to say/write something but I forgot what it was, damnit! Oh well, here's the stupid disclaimer—erm, I mean, it's not stupid, it's a very wonderful thing really—oh, whatever…
DISCLAIMER
When the eighth Harry Potter book comes out I will own InuYasha. Since there is no eighth Harry Potter that means I'll never own him—I won't even be married to him. DAMNIT!!! Oh well… maybe I could write Sueko marring him and that'd be good enough. By the way, I actually own Sueko. She's mine, all mine, and you can't steal her!!! Same with Yoshiko, and the old dude that shows up in this chapter that I forgot the name of and I'm too lazy to look up, and… I think that's all the new characters that show up… Oh, wait, Yoshiko's aunt shows up! I think… whatever, I own that too! Actually, I don't… Ravyn wrote this update. I was in the same room that she was in when she wrote this chapter, but still, I don't own her. Or Yoshiko. Yeah… maybe the mocha wasn't a good idea. Anyways, anything that you don't recognize from the show or manga we own, got it? Good! Damn computer…. MANGA IS SPELLED RIGHT!!!! Um… and I don't think I've ever said this before but I'll say it so I don't get sued: I stole Keitaro's name from Love Hina—I needed a guy name and the main character's name is Keitaro so I just used that. There… happy now? Good… now read the update, because at the rate Ravyn's going it's the last one you'll get for a year and a half!
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Chapter Eleven: Girl Talk
The wind rustled their clothing as the gang sat on the grass eating a small lunch they had packed. Yoshiko stood a little ways off, looking down off the hill toward the mountain cave where she knew the Fire Shrine to be… and where the Tiger Demons lived. The only part of her family that still lived and the part that she wished she could expel permanently. Her foul mood had seemed to rub off on the others for they were quiet, munching away at the bread without looking anybody in the eyes.
She sighed, pulling her long orange hair back and tying it out of her eyes. This obnoxious wind always caused her to pull her hair back (or chop most of it off) because it got in the way of one her best senses: sight. Where InuYasha could distinguish different smells and hear pretty well she too could pick up the tiniest of noises and could see things miles off… even in the dark. But the wind always made it difficult for her to see and hear which made her irritable anywhere near the Fire Shrine.
"I thought this was the Fire Shrine, not the Wind Shrine!" cried out Sueko, trying yet again to put her hair behind her ears. But the wind still took it and flung it in her eyes.
Sango took pity on her and handed the girl a tie for her hair. For a minute Sueko just looked at it, unsure what to do with it. Then Yoshiko rolled her eyes and pulled Sueko's hair back in a tail.
"Thanks…" said Sueko sheepishly.
"What do you use in your world to keep your hair back?" asked Sango.
"Well, if I do pull my hair back I use something called a rubber band," said Sueko as Yoshiko walked back to the edge of the hill.
"We can't sit around all day! If it becomes nightfall before we leave than we can just forget going down this hill alive!" snapped Yoshiko.
Everybody fell quiet as they rushed the rest of their lunch. The half tiger demon hadn't touched a bite of anything and Sueko was starting to worry. She walked over with half a sandwich and stood by Yoshiko's side. At first she didn't seem to notice Sueko but finally she looked at her.
"Yes?"
"Would you like a sandwich?" asked Sueko, a bit boldly.
"I'm not hungry."
"You've got to eat something!"
"Demons can go months with out food. Half-demons can go weeks."
"I still don't like that you're not eating! Normally you eat as much as InuYasha!" snapped Sueko.
"He didn't eat that much."
"At least he ate!" cried Sueko.
At this time the group was done with their food and staring at the exchange between Yoshiko and Sueko. The older girl took a step back, a bit shocked at Sueko's out burst.
"Are you mad at me or something?" asked Sueko.
"No…" said Yoshiko, not meeting the girl's gaze.
"I don't believe you! You've talked to me once, once! since Sesshomaru left. What did I do wrong? I hate having people mad at me!" Sueko half shouted.
"I'm not mad at you!" snapped Yoshiko, looking Sueko in the eyes. Then she looked away. "It's just… You wouldn't believe me that he wasn't that bad anymore and then you got hurt!"
"Oh, so you're blaming me!" cried Sueko.
"You're so stupid and stubborn!" snapped Yoshiko. "But I don't just blame you, I blame myself! If you… got killed…"
She stopped and turned away, taking deep breaths. Suddenly she felt arms around her neck as Sueko hugged her.
'I haven't had a hug in… ages…' mused Yoshiko silently.
Before she could hug her back beyond the distance of the wind she heard something in the trees surrounding the top of the hill. Quickly she pulled away and looked around, trying to catch sight or sound of whoever was spying on them. Before that happened though a group of tigers jumped out of the bushes and surrounded them. Then up the hill laughing came a very familiar demon.
"I thought you had learned your lesson last time you came, Yoshiko," laughed the tiger demon. She wore orange and black robes, had hazel eyes and long, silky black hair that seemed untouched by the wind. Her claws were slightly longer than Yoshiko's and she had tiger stripes on her cheeks and hands.
"It's nice to see you too, Aunt Rheda," snarled Yoshiko.
"So much for getting in undetected," muttered InuYasha, having stood up along with Miroku and Sango. Shippo was cowering in fear behind Kirara, who had changed into her larger form.
For a minute the tiger demon's eyes just wandered over the unusual traveling party and an amused smile pulled upon her lips. Finally she threw her head back, laughing right out. The sound made Yoshiko's blood go cold as she thought of the many other times she had heard it. She couldn't have been much older than 12 when she had come to the Demon Tiger Tribe and learned how to use her sword. Every time she so much as took a wrong step her aunt would laugh. Back then she had felt ashamed. Now it only caused her to hate the women more.
"May I ask what joke I've missed?" hissed Yoshiko.
"How ironic that you should become part of a group of outcasts! Another half-demon. A demon slayer without a village. The monk who once had the Wind Tunnel in his hand and made a habit of touching women. A young fox demon probably without parents. Then a young girl in strange clothing, probably the 'Last One' who can't go near demons without them wanting her for power," laughed Rheda.
"How it is that everybody seems to know something about me but me!?" cried Sueko in frustration.
"How sad. She doesn't know. Yoshiko, have you've been keeping that knowledge away from her? You, the person that has done more research on it than your mother and father combined, have said nothing!?" inquired Rheda, still wearing an amused expression.
Guilt and anger coursed through Yoshiko as she felt everybody's eyes wander on to her but snap back onto the tiger demon. Hopefully they knew that if she had kept something it was for a good reason. But… she had been awfully secretive about everything before. Besides, Miroku and Sango probably didn't even trust her yet. Silently she tried to tell them all that it had been for a reason. But the hurt in Sueko's eyes was unmistakable.
Suddenly her aunt pointed one of her fingers toward the ground, a fire started to grow at that point. In a blink of an eye it had surrounded the group. The gang huddled in a group in the center but the fire started to move toward them.
"I see no point in taking you as prisoners. You're no use to me alive," said Rheda, shrugging.
Through the fire Yoshiko watched her silhouette walk away, followed by her tiger slaves. Sueko started shaking in fear and Kirara had to shrink to not get burnt. Even though nobody said anything out loud, Yoshiko knew they were all trying to think of some way to get out. There had to be away…
With a sudden hunch she pulled out her sword and stuck it in the flames. They moved away, leaving a gap between the flames and the sword. She sheathed her sword and then…
"What are you doing?" cried Sueko, grabbing Yoshiko's arm.
She didn't stop but continued to stick her fingers, her hand and then even her whole arm into the fire. The half-demon let out her breath in a sigh and then pushed Sueko through the flames. InuYasha cried out and made a grab for her, but the girl just fell through to the other side. They saw her stand up and look herself over.
"I'm fine!" she cried.
"You have to go through this way," said Yoshiko, pointing at the place that Sueko had gone through. It had also been the place where she had stuck her sword in. "One at a time!"
The next to go was Shippo and then Kirara. Miroku and Sango soon followed after. InuYasha took one look at Yoshiko and stepped outside the ring of flames. Finally she was able to cross the threshold as the fire finally came into a circle small enough for one person. Then they came to a point where it was just a column. Eventually it burned itself out and disappeared.
"That was a close one," exclaimed Shippo.
But nobody was thinking about what had just happened. What they were all thinking about was what Yoshiko knew and wasn't telling. In an attempt to make them feel better she looked Sueko straight in the eyes.
"If I thought you needed to know, I would have told you," muttered Yoshiko.
"I know…" muttered Sueko, looking away. "But couldn't you have told me something!"
"I'm going to tell you 'something' now!" said Yoshiko firmly.
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The sun had started to set by the time Yoshiko had finished explaining about the legend of the 'Last One.' She left out the whole love relationship the girl had had and the fact that if the same thing happened Sueko would die. At this moment that wasn't very important and if she had said it InuYasha would probably become pissed. It almost seemed like Sueko was undisturbed by the fact that she was probably the reincarnation of some powerful priestess from who knows how long ago. InuYasha, however, was unnerved not only by that but by the fact that because of her Kikyo and Kagome had been very powerful priestesses.
"Why didn't you tell any of this to us sooner?" asked Miroku, sitting calmly.
"I wanted to have all the facts first," said Yoshiko. But it was only half true. She just didn't know any of them would take it since they had all become very fond of Sueko. Which was why she left out half of the legend.
"At least she told us at one point!" said Sueko.
"But how long was she planning on keeping this information to herself?" said InuYasha, moodily.
"I want to know how she knew all of this…" muttered Sango.
"I'm sitting right here you know!" cried Yoshiko.
"Then maybe you should have said something earlier," stated Miroku.
"You've been talking as if I wasn't here. Or, more importantly, like I couldn't understand you!" glowered Yoshiko.
"They didn't mean it!" said Sueko, hurriedly.
For a minute Yoshiko just sat there glaring at everybody. Then suddenly she smiled. That soon turned into a laugh. Everybody else glanced at each other, wondering if she was okay. Before anybody could say anything though, Yoshiko pulled Sueko in for a hug. At this everybody's eyes went wide in shock.
"I bet you could make friends with anybody!" laughed Yoshiko.
"Huh?" said Sueko.
"Well okay, maybe not with people like Koga and Sesshomaru because you think they're jerks," added Yoshiko, letting the girl go.
Sueko reached up a hand and set it on the half tiger demon's forehead, causing Yoshiko to laugh even more.
"I'm feeling just fine, okay!" she said.
"Are you sure? You're not acting like… well… yourself," muttered Sueko.
"I guess I don't do a whole bunch of smiling and laughing anymore… In fact I don't think I've done much since my father died," said Yoshiko thoughtfully.
"You've never mentioned your father before," said Sueko quietly.
"Because it's such a depressing topic. You don't hear InuYasha talking about his family do you?" shrugged Yoshiko. "Now we should probably get moving because if I know my aunt she'll be coming to check on our 'dead' bodies soon."
"I almost forgot about her!" said Sango, jumping to her feet. The rest followed suit.
"I guess we can forget about procuring a Fire Stone today…" mused Miroku.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that…" muttered Yoshiko.
Before anybody could get an answer out of her, Yoshiko hurried everybody into the trees, taking them on a long route down into the valley of the Tiger Demons. Once the cave was in sight they crouched down in the bushes, watching the mouth. Not too long later a figure emerged from the shadows, pausing long enough to leave two tigers to guard the entrance. She then started up the hill where she expected to find six dead bodies… and a dead Kirara as well.
"Rheda will only linger up on the hill for a maximum of ten minutes. But she rarely goes anywhere with out her personal guard so there will only be those two tigers at the entrance. If she's smart there will be a couple inside, but that's it!" explained Yoshiko.
"So what do you expect us to do?" asked Sango.
"Wait here while InuYasha and I go in and steal the Fire Stones," said Yoshiko.
"So I'm supposed to wait here! I'm the one with the sword that senses the stones!" cried Sueko.
"Fine, you can go too," sighed Yoshiko.
"I don't think—" started InuYasha.
"We can't waste anymore time. Let's go," muttered Yoshiko, sneaking out of the bushes and creeping along the stonewall toward the silhouette of the tigers.
When the three were just beyond the view of the guard, InuYasha stepped forward, using his Iron Reaper Soul Stealer to do away with them. They started to cry out but Yoshiko silenced them quickly by decapitating them. Sueko raised her eyebrows at the two half-demons but said nothing as they entered the cave. The girl pulled out her sword but a first it stayed a dull blue. As they traveled deeper into the dark tunnel it suddenly became a blinding blue light. Despite that when they noticed it the sword's glow had all ready started to diminish.
"I guess it was back a little ways," whispered Yoshiko, keeping her hand on one of the walls as they headed back. Sueko followed suit on the opposite wall.
"I'm not—" started Sueko before she suddenly fell sideways through solid rock.
"SUEKO!" cried InuYasha, reaching out for her.
He missed her hand entirely and found himself falling after her. Yoshiko shook her head as the two disappeared and she followed after them, stepping silently through the barrier made to look like a wall. On the other side InuYasha was picking himself up, almost completely red in the face. Sueko was blinking so furiously it almost seemed as if her eyes were closed. Yoshiko stifled a laugh as she helped the young girl to her feet and gave InuYasha wink behind her back.
"What!?" cried InuYasha, going even redder.
"So, Sueko, where does your magnificent sword say that the stone is?" asked Yoshiko jokingly.
"I don't know! It just glows brighter, it doesn't tell me where they are!" cried Sueko.
"Pick it up, close your eyes and concentrate on the sword," said Yoshiko simply.
"Huh?"
"Just trust me," said Yoshiko.
"We don't have any time!" snapped InuYasha.
"I doubt my aunt knows about this place. She doesn't explore all that much; I on the other hand used it as an excuse to not be around her or the other Tiger demons," said Yoshiko bitterly.
"I haven't seen too many other Tiger demons…" muttered InuYasha.
"Because they were so stupid they either died or left then died," snapped Yoshiko.
"I can't concentrate if you two are talking!" cried Sueko.
Yoshiko gave a half smile but stopped talking as Sueko took three deep breaths and then closed her eyes. InuYasha rolled his eyes as the girl stood there looking extremely ridiculous, gripping her sword with her eyes closed and breathing deeply. Suddenly her eyes flew open and she pointed a little bit to the left with her sword.
"It's somewhere down that way!" said Sueko excitedly.
Without saying a word the three headed off in the direction that Sueko had pointed out. At first the only light was Sueko's sword. But as they progressed a faint red glow could be seen at the end. When they finally reached the source they figured the light to come from a barrier. InuYasha made to pull out his sword but Yoshiko stopped him by holding up her hand.
"The shrines can't protect themselves anymore so the barrier is weak. We'll be able to walk right through it," stated Yoshiko.
"Why is the barrier weak?" asked Sueko.
"Because demons have been taking away the power sources so they can find the Spirit Shrine," explained Yoshiko.
Silently the trio passed through the barrier and came upon a dais upon which stood but one perfectly formed red rock. Yoshiko picked it up and handed it to Sueko.
"I guess you'll have another stone for your necklace," muttered Yoshiko.
"We should get out of here before your aunt shows up," said InuYasha.
"Follow me!" said Yoshiko, rushing down the tunnels.
She recalled her childhood memories of exploring the endless tunnels and caves within the mountain as she ran, Sueko just barely keeping up. Muttering InuYasha picked her up by the back of the shirt and carried her the rest of the way. When they exited the mountain they were right behind Sango and Miroku. Quietly the group snuck away from the valley of the Tiger demons, hearing Rheda screech out foul curses behind them, InuYasha still carrying Sueko.
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"I can walk! Put me down, put me down, put me down!" cried Sueko.
The gang had been walking since nightfall and the sun was now high overhead. Everybody was completely exhausted except, apparently, Sueko and Yoshiko. InuYasha rolled his eyes and paused long enough to let the flailing girl off his back. When her feet reached the ground she straightened out her clothing and ran to catch up with Yoshiko who was striding almost feet in front of the group. Twenty minutes later Miroku and Sango stopped.
"We can't stop! I don't know if he's even in the same place anymore!" snapped Yoshiko.
"You're in a bad mood again," sighed Sueko.
"We've been walking for almost twelve hours. We're all exhausted," said Sango.
"I bet even InuYasha is somewhat tired," said Miroku, sitting down.
"Feh."
"Well we should probably get this over quickly so we can find more stones," said Sueko reasonably.
"Exactly!" said Yoshiko. "So you guys can stay here and rest and me and Sueko will meet up with you later."
"Last time you went off alone you met up with Sesshomaru," said InuYasha.
"That's why I'm going with!" said Sueko stubbornly. "Besides, it is my sword!"
"If you don't find this mysterious guy by nightfall come back and you can try again tomorrow," said Sango, sitting down against a tree as well.
Giving a backwards wave to say she heard, Yoshiko headed off followed closely by Sueko. The two girls walked silently for a half hour before Yoshiko seemed to notice that the younger girl was in deep thought. She smiled.
"What's on your mind?" she inquired.
"What?" said Sueko, startled, looking up. "Oh, nothing."
"You have a glazed expression so obviously you're thinking about something. Now spill!" said Yoshiko.
The young girl was silent for five more minutes pondering what to say and how to say it. Finally Yoshiko got annoyed.
"Does it have to do with InuYasha?" she sighed.
"No!" said Sueko a bit too quickly.
"Uh huh…"
"Oh fine!" cried Sueko. "Well, when InuYasha picked me up I felt all weird and it was kind of strange and… well… it was just all weird!"
"Helpful," said Yoshiko sarcastically. 'At least she tried,' she added silently. She smiled and put an arm over Sueko's shoulder. "Don't worry. Sooner or later it'll all make sense."
"Helpful."
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Waves crashed against the rocky cliff near the beach as the two girls looked around for any sign of humans. Suddenly Yoshiko started off down the beach heading toward something that only she could see. Sueko tried to keep up but she soon lost sight of the half-demon. Around a corner she came upon a small hut and inside came the sound of metal hitting metal.
"Takeno? Is that you Takeno?" cried Yoshiko as Sueko finally caught up, panting.
The flap on the front door moved as an old man stepped out into the sunlight. A smile crossed Yoshiko's face as she apparently recognized him. The old man appeared to be Takeno and nodded at Yoshiko, turning his eyes upon Sueko. She shifted from one foot to the other nervously and looked at Yoshiko.
"Sueko, this is Takeno. He used to be a great samurai but he retired and decided to make swords instead. Lately he only makes them for a select few," explained Yoshiko. "Takeno, this is Sueko, also referred to as the 'Last One' by many demons."
"I figured as much," said Takeno, reentering his cabin.
Yoshiko followed after the old man and Sueko soon followed after hesitating for a split second. Inside Takeno was serving tea as if he had expected that Yoshiko was going to show up. In fact three cups were waiting on his small table. He poured the tea into each of these as the two girls sat down.
"So what brings you, Yoshiko? Did you break your sword again?" asked Takeno, glaring at her through narrowed eyes.
Yoshiko laughed nervously.
"Actually no, Master Takeno. I haven't broken my sword lately. No, I wondered if maybe you could tell us a bit about her sword," said Yoshiko, nodding in Sueko's general direction.
The half-demon was gripping her teacup tightly and hadn't taken a single sip out of it. This led Sueko to believe that she was just as nervous as her. It almost seemed like Takeno was reading their minds.
"I don't bite! Well, at least I don't bite anymore. When I was younger I could bite with the best of them," laughed the old man.
Sueko raised her eyebrows and glanced at Yoshiko who just looked simply confused.
"Then I guess you haven't had little kids to threaten to pull their ears off lately," said Yoshiko stiffly.
"Huh?" muttered Sueko.
"Anyways, will you look at her sword?" asked Yoshiko.
"You didn't really think that I would pull off your ears did you? That was just a way of disciplining you. But yes, I'll look at this sword," said Takeno, taking a drink of tea.
Sueko unsheathed her sword and set it down on the table. At the first it seemed like the old man had no interest in the sword at all. Then he picked it up and turned it around in his hands, appearing to examine it closely. Finally he set it down and shrugged.
"It's a sword. What do you expect me to tell you?" he said.
"But this sword glows blue whenever a stone of one of the elements is around!" cried Yoshiko.
"Yet it doesn't glow now and you have at least three with you," said Takeno, shrugging.
"H—how did you know?" stammered Yoshiko.
"I may be old but I'm not blind! She carries two: one around her neck and the other in her pocket. You have one in your knife. Now tell me why the sword does not glow."
"I… I don't know…" muttered Yoshiko, looking down at the ground.
"What about you? You haven't said a word," said Takeno, turning to Sueko.
"That's not true! I said 'huh'!" said Sueko.
"That's not what I meant!" said Takeno, waving this aside. "Why do you believe the sword doesn't glow blue?"
"Well… to tell you the truth… I have no freakin' clue!" said Sueko.
Takeno sighed and shook his head sadly. He took another sip of his tea before looking at the two girls again.
"Because the stone has come into contact with the 'Last One' it stops calling out for the sword in a sense. It has all ready been found and doesn't need to be found again so the sword looks for those that are still lost. That is why it doesn't glow blue!" snapped the old man.
"If you knew that all ready why did you ask?" cried out Yoshiko, slamming her cup on the table, spilling cold tea on the table.
In a flash the old man reached out and grabbed a lock of the girls hair, pulling her head down onto the table with a thump.
"You still have a lot to learn!" he snapped. "Until you know all the facts do not question me."
"Hey! What did you do that for?" cried Sueko.
"Stay out of this, Sueko," said Yoshiko, gritting her teeth in pain.
"But…"
"This doesn't involve you," hissed Yoshiko.
"Fine!"
"You still act like a little kid. Thinking you're strong enough that you don't need help," said Takeno, releasing her hair and sitting back down. "She offered you help and you refused it. Sooner or later that will get you killed."
"I… I was helping her?" said Sueko timidly.
Before Takeno could say a word Yoshiko got to her feet and stormed out of the hut. Sueko blinked rapidly and looked from the doorway to Takeno.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
"No, it wasn't you. Even when she was a little girl Yoshiko thought she was invincible because she was half-demon. She would spin long tales about how she would become the greatest sword master ever and that she wouldn't need anybody to help her. That's why her father would bring her with when he would come to see me, hoping I would talk some sense into her. But it seemed that she could only be frightened of me and took me a bit too seriously. I guess she still hasn't learned any of her lessons," sighed the old man.
"She seemed really excited to see you though!" said Sueko.
"Because I'm her only connection to the life she once had," said Takeno. "What she needs to realize though is that life goes on and having friends and caring about them is not a weakness. Also needing help is not a weakness either. It just proves that she knows her limits and won't work past them if she doesn't have to."
"I thought she was comfortable being my friend," mused Sueko.
"Just let her know that you're her friend and will help her when she's in trouble. Maybe sooner or later she'll get over feeling weak," said Takeno. "Of course feeling weak is no fault of hers. Demons always tell half-demons that they're weak and humans say they are monsters. In the end they can't trust anybody and must live on their own."
"Yoshiko must be very lucky then," muttered Sueko.
"She is. Sooner or later she'll figure that out."
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"Ready to go?" asked Sueko as she exited the cabin her sword back in it's sheath.
Yoshiko stood on the beach looking over the ocean toward the setting sun, the small waves lapping at her ankles. She stood silently making no sign that she had heard Sueko. She sighed and ran up behind the half-demon putting her arms around Yoshiko's neck and pulling her backwards. They both cried out as they fell down on the sand. Yoshiko sat up and glared at Sueko.
"What did you do that for!?" she snapped.
"You weren't paying attention to me," whined Sueko.
"Well, you can tell the old man that I'm not going back in there!"
"So you just want to stand here on the beach all depressed like while I go off and meet up with the others?" said Sueko slyly, grinning.
"Huh?"
"Well, if you had listened to me I asked if you were ready to go! You know, leave. See the others. Not be here anymore. Walk in the general direction that we came from. Retrace our—"
"I think I get it," laughed Yoshiko dryly, standing up and brushing off the sand. "Okay, let's get going."
As they started off in the direction they had come from Sueko cried out: "Great! Now I have sand in my hair!"