Sorry I haven't been replying to anyone's reviews. I really meant to, but then time slipped away from me and I'm heading to camp. Thank you to everyone who reviews, especially Story Weaver1 who has keep reading all this time.

MASCARA'S CHALLENGE

Daichi walked out of the boy's locker room wearing his smelly old gym uniform. It had taken a lot of abuse over the past two years and rarely ever got washed. But it had served him well.

The gym was slowly filling with boys wearing the same white shirt and blue shorts. Girls were also strolling out of their own locker room wearing female versions of the same outfit. Daichi looking around the room trying to spot Jatsuma, but didn't see him anywhere.

"Where the heck could he have gotten to?" Daichi asked himself.

"Looking for me?" Jatsuma stuck his head out from between the bleachers. Daichi jumped back in surprise and fell over on the ground.

"J- Jatsuma? You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing under there?" Daichi got up and peeked in between the wooden planks, as Jatsuma had retreated back into them.

"I'm hiding! You'll never believe what happened!"

"You got yourself in trouble with a girl. Again." Daichi answered confidently.

"I accidentally defeated Luffa!" Jatsuma continued, ignoring Daichi's comment. "Now she thinks we're engaged! After all those years of avoiding it, she's got me cornered! What do I do?"

Daichi blinked in surprise. "What? What do you mean you 'accidentally' defeated her? Tell me what happened." He insisted.

"Do I have to explain every little detail?" Jatsuma hissed. "She was fighting Razor and I stopped the fight! Is that okay with you?"

"You stopped it? Why?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?" Jatsuma huffed.

"Well it's just that if Razor was engaged to Luffa then Razor would be out of Makoto's hair and Luffa would be out of your hair. So I don't really get why you stopped the fight. Unless you still like Luffa."

"I don't!" He snapped. "You don't get it! Luffa was trying to trick Razor! She was going to fight him without telling him she was an Amazon! She was trying to- to-" He searched for the right word. "to ensnare him!"

"And you decided to help him out of the goodness of your heart?" Daichi asked with his eyebrow raised in suspicion. "I thought you hated him."

"I DO! And I'm never helping that jerk again!" Jatsuma crossed his arms and slouched over angrily.

"Alright, alright. Whatever the reason, you defeated Luffa. But she's not an official Amazon anyway. So the rules shouldn't apply to her, right?" Daichi suggested.

"I don't know. Do they?" Jatsuma perked up.

"Surely not." Daichi smiled. "I'm sure Lotion wouldn't abide by that law. Luffa's just using it as an excuse to force you to date her."

Jatsuma breathed a sigh of relief. "That makes sense. I guess your logic does come in handy sometimes." He said as he climbed out of the bleachers, he hadn't changed into his gym uniform yet.

"Yeah, who'd have thought?" Daichi asked sarcastically.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Iikiba sprinted over towards them looking irritated.

"Oh yeah. Iikiba's looking for you." Daichi said to Jatsuma.

"Gee, thanks for the heads up." Jatsuma answered sarcastically as he stood in a fighting stance. Iikiba looked like he was raring for a fight.

"You've humiliated me for the last time!" Iikiba declared upon reaching them.

"What'd I do now?"

"You splashed me cold water! I couldn't take notes or anything because I spent the whole class as a dog! Dogs can't open books or hold pencils! Then you got counted present when you weren't even there!"

"I got counted present? Sweet. Sorry you didn't have opposable thumbs though." Jatsuma laughed loudly. Daichi snorted, trying to hold back a laugh as well. Iikiba was ticked off enough as it was.

"YOU FIND THIS FUNNY?" Iikiba yelled angrily, grabbing the attention of everyone in the gym.

"Little bit." Jatsuma snickered.

"Why you!" Iikiba jumped at him, ready to attack. But right at that moment a red blur swept by and tackled Iikiba to the ground.

"Iikiba!" Makoto sat up, looking stern. "How many times have I told you not to fight in gym class? Coach Oshiro will bite your head off! And I hate having to wait after school when you're in detention!"

"Can't I have just a moment without your nagging!" Iikiba snarled. "Don't you have your own class to get to?"

"I've got study hall this period." She answered.

"Then go to the study hall!" Iikiba pushed her off and stood up gruffly.

"As soon as you promise not to pick any fights!" Makoto insisted.

"I don't have to do what you tell me to!"

Makoto folded her arms and glared. "You do if you want lunch."

"Ahh! That's just cruel!" Iikiba shouted. But Makoto stood unyielding. He considered for a second. "…What did you make?"

"You're so weak." Jatsuma said with a smile.

"Shut up!" Iikiba snapped.

"Jatsuma! There you are!" Luffa ran across the gym floor towards Jatsuma at top speed and caught him a hug. He had seen her coming but wasn't quick enough to escape. "I was looking all over for you! It's not nice to hide from your future wife!" She giggled.

"GAH!" Jatsuma pulled away from her and grabbed her wrists in his hands. "See here Luffa! We are not engaged! That fight didn't count! You weren't even supposed to be fighting me!"

Luffa crushed his hands between hers. "Doesn't matter! You defeated me, and according to Amazon law that binds us to be married."

"But you're not even a real Amazon!" Jatsuma insisted.

"Hold on. You're engaged to Luffa now?" Iikiba asked.

"Jatsuma! How did that happen?" Makoto took a step forward curiously.

"It- It was an accident!" Jatsuma cried. "I was jumping towards her and Razor and I accidentally landed on top of her!"

Daichi blinked. "Isn't that the same way you got engaged to Mascara?"

"Uh… I suppose." Jatsuma stammered.

"Jatsuma, you're completely hopeless." Makoto sighed. "Don't you watch where you're going?"

Iikiba sniggered. "Man you're dumb!"

Jatsuma narrowed his eyes. "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, Iikiba."

Iikiba looked confused. "What do pots have to do with anything?"

"Jatsuma…" Luffa whispered in a soft voice as she leaned her head on his shoulder and twirled a finger on his chest. "Don't be upset. Our marriage was inevitable after all."

"How do you figure that?" He groaned.

"We just love each other too much!" She was about to kiss him again, but suddenly he was gone and running. "Jatsuma!" Luffa took off after him, chasing him out into the hallway.

"My, my. This turned out even better than I thought it might." A shiver ran down Iikiba, Makoto and Daichi's spines as Yuri arrived behind them in her box carrier carried by her entourage of fan boys.

"Yuri! What are you doing here?" Iikiba snapped. "Don't you have a class to be in?"

"Study hall, dear brother. Can't you even remember your own sister's schedule?"

"Don't mess with me!"

"Hold on." Daichi interrupted. "Yuri, what did you mean 'better than you thought it might'?" He asked suspiciously. "You wouldn't have had anything to do with this, would you?"

Yuri faked looking shocked. "Daichi, I can't believe you would accuse me of such a thing. I am appalled." The fan boys looked sickened and glared at Daichi.

"Save it, Yuri. What did you do?" Daichi persisted.

Yuri shrugged. "Very well. I may have suggested to Luffa that she fight Razor to make Jatsuma jealous. But that's all. I didn't think Jatsuma would actually stop the fight."

"Oh Yuri, how could you? Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?" Makoto said, and then she sighed. "Don't answer that."

Yuri smiled and Daichi looked perturbed. Iikiba held a hand to his chin as though he were thinking. "Seriously guys. Why was Jatsuma talking about pots?"

IN THE HALLWAY

Jatsuma had managed to lose Luffa somewhere between the math hall and the third floor stairwell. But he kept his eyes open for her as he cautiously made his way back towards the gym. The hallways were starting to thin and he didn't want to be late if he could help it.

"Can't that girl just be content with a date? Why's it got to be marriage or nothing?" He grumbled as he whipped a lipstick mark off his cheek.

"Jatsuma?"

Jatsuma jumped in surprise. But it wasn't Luffa, it was Razor. She was standing a few feet away and looking much more docile than usual. Jatsuma rubbed more furiously at the lipstick on his cheek.

"Look," Razor gritted her teeth as if what she was saying were a cause of great pain. "I didn't know…" She stopped talking and stared at the floor.

Jatsuma narrowed his eyes angrily. Then he turned around and started to quickly stomp away down the hall.

Razor looked up. "H- Hey! Where are you going? I'm talking here!" She stomped after him.

"Hmm. There seems to be an annoying buzzing in my ear." Jatsuma stated to an invisible companion as he stuck a finger in his ear.

Razor's eye twitched angrily. She reached out and pulled him back by his pony tail so that he nearly fell over backwards. "WHAT WAS THAT?"

"I'm doing what you told me to do! Butting out!" Jatsuma huffed as he stood up strait again.

"I didn't tell you to ignore me!"

"Well I am! And you know why?" Jatsuma then began speaking in a squeaky, bad imitation of Razor's voice. "Because every time I listen to you things get worse. All it accomplishes is making me angry."

Razor growled and clutched her fists furiously. "Oh never mind! I was trying to apologize! But forget it! You don't deserve the effort!"

"That's real nice!" Jatsuma shouted sarcastically. "Thanks to you Luffa's been chasing me around all morning! She thinks we're engaged! Do you have any idea how long I've been working to not defeat her!"

"Then why did you?" Razor snapped. "If the price is SO HORRIBLE, why did you stop the fight?"

"Because I'm a flaming moron and tried to save you!"

Razor blinked in surprise and felt her breath get caught in her throat. After a moment of silence she started speaking. "So I'm a cross dresser who wants to marry your sister, fool everyone into thinking I'm a guy, and has personally told you not to help me anymore on pain of death. But you still came running when I was in trouble?"

Jatsuma's mouth hung open. "God! I'm an IDIOT!" He cried in agony.

"No…" Razor looked at the floor again. Jatsuma turned to look at her curiously. "Well yes, you are." She conceded. He glared at her.

"But you're also kind of nice…in your own way… when you want to be." Razor continued.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" He asked with a slight smile forming.

"Jatsuma!" Before Jatsuma could move he was caught in a hug. But it still wasn't Luffa, it was Mascara. "Oh Jatsuma, I've been looking everywhere for you! Luffa called and told me you were engaged! But you won't marry Luffa will you? She's an awful girl!" Mascara cried into his shirt.

"Mascara? What are you doing here?" Razor asked, surprised to see her.

"Razor, I have to stop Luffa from taking Jatsuma away from me! WE were engaged first! Luffa can't have him!" Mascara shouted, having just noticed her fellow Amazon.

"Uh…" Razor stammered.

"Mascara!" Everyone turned to see Luffa running down the hallway towards them. "Step away from my fiancée!" She pointed towards them threateningly.

"He's my fiancée, Luffa!" Mascara yelled back angrily.

"You have another fiancée! Go hang out with Iikiba!" Luffa shouted.

"The Council hasn't decided who I will marry yet!"

"Well now that Jatsuma has a new fiancée, I think the choice is pretty clear!"

The two girls stood and glared at each other furiously. Angry energy waves were visibly radiating from their bodies as they stood tall and unmoving.

"Ladies! Please!" Jatsuma yelled, he was irritated but couldn't help being flattered. "I can set up a date night for each of you! I'm free all week! …Except Thursday."

The girls turned to glare at him instead, including Razor. "What?" He asked.

Luffa huffed and turned back to Mascara. "I've know Jatsuma much longer than you have, Mascara! And we were going to get married eventually anyway!"

"That's not how it works! You're not following the marriage law right!" Mascara shouted.

"Well Luffa and I aren't really engaged. She's not an official Amazon." Jatsuma said. They turned to stare at him again. Jatsuma blinked and started to look worried. "We- We're not really engaged. It doesn't work like that. She's not a real Amazon! It doesn't work like that, right?"

Razor coughed. "Yeah, it kind of does."

"Even a banished Amazon must uphold the ancient traditions of our tribe in order to lift some fraction of their shame." Mascara explained.

"Our engagement is for real Jatsuma!" Luffa shouted happily as she jumped forwards to hug him. "We can really be together!"

Mascara grabbed hold of Luffa's arm to stop her in midair. "Don't you dare!" She threw Luffa away and stood in a fighting stance. Luffa landed on her feet and did the same.

"I challenge you to a fight!" Mascara pointed at Luffa. "An Amazonian duel! Winner gets to marry Jatsuma!"

Luffa smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Fine by me."

"W- WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?" Jatsuma shouted as he ran away from them as quickly as he could.

"Jatsuma!" They both shouted with concern as they ran after him.

Razor frowned and scratched her head. "Geez, what a mess."

See you in a week! (Like that's any different from normal.)