I just thought I'd make a statement. Don't Duke (from Yu-gi-oh) and Koga (Inuyasha) look like they could be twins? I mean seriously, they're like identical! And that's my statement.
HAPPY REUNION
"Get your fresh fish here! Caught fresh just this morning!" A man yelled at the passersby. His little stand was set up in the harbor where tourists getting off ships could buy souvenirs and get a bite to eat. It was crowded with people talking and laughing with friends on their shopping day.
"Come now! Only 100 yen a trout! 50 for a perch! This is super cheap people!" He waved a large fish at a young woman. But she sped on by him, giving him a strange look. The man sighed. In hindsight it probably wasn't a good idea to set up his stand next to a McBurger Queen. He glared at the restaurant. Curse them!
"Excuse me, sir?" Makoto walked up to the man through the crowd.
"Hello young lady! Would you like a fish?" He shoved the large fish near her face.
"No." Makoto pushed to fish back to him. "I'm not familiar with the area and I just wanted to ask directions."
"Oh." The man said, disappointed. "You are from Japan, right? Most of the tourists in this harbor come from Japan."
"Yeah." Makoto had spent the last few days taking a long train ride and then a longer boat ride with smelly old people in Hawaiian shirts who wanted to buy tacky Chinese souvenirs. It had been a really expensive trip that left her with seriously depleted savings, but she was finally in China!
"I'm from Japan too." Then man said. "I thought I'd come and make a living for myself selling fish, but no one wants fish anymore!" He glared at the McBurger Queen.
"Yeah that's too bad. Listen," Makoto took out her Iikiba tracker and showed the man the screen. "Can you tell me how far away this is?" She pointed at the blinking red dot.
He looked at it for a second. "I'd say about a two hour drive, don't know how long by foot. But I'm not sure you should go there."
"Why?"
"Well, these are just rumors, but I have heard a lot of strange things happen there." The man said. "People go missing and bizarre creatures wonder the lands." He said eerily. "It really creeps me out."
"Well I have to go! I'm looking for someone."
"I once had a friend whose second cousin swears he was chased off by a monster during a hike!" The man continued. "A huge horrible bull thing with tentacles!"
"Monsters?" Makoto said wearily. "Darn it! I should have know Iikiba would end up in a place like that!" and with that she took off running down the street. "I'm coming Iikiba!" She screamed.
The fish man watched her go. "Strange girl."
SOME TIME LATER
Iikiba kicked at a tree then jumped back and started punching it. The tree looked worn and beaten, like Iikiba had been using it to train for days, which he had. Ever since his run in with that freaky Amazon, Mascara, Iikiba had been trying to find his way back to Japan but he still hadn't managed to find any civilization. So he thought he might as well train.
"Hiya!" Iikiba kicked at the tree and used it as a spring board to jump back. He took a few heavy breaths and whipped some sweat off his forehead. I wonder what everyone's doing right now.
Iikiba sighed. He hated to admit it, and I mean he REALLY hated to admit it, but he was getting kind of lonely out here by himself. Plus he was starting to worry about how he was going to find his way back home.
His stomach growled loudly, it had been doing that a lot lately. Probably due to his new diet of nuts and berries; whatever he could find on the forest floor. Makoto was usually stuffing him full of food.
Iikiba's attention suddenly snapped to his right. He had heard something coming towards him through the bushes and it was getting closer.
"You came back for more you stupid panda?" He yelled. Just then a figure sprang into view and tackled Iikiba to the ground.
"Iikiba! I thought I might not find you! Are you okay?" Makoto said all this very quickly as she crushed Iikiba with a bone shattering hug.
Iikiba was so surprised it took him a few seconds to react. He pushed Makoto away and stood up. "Wha… how…you…HOW DID YOU FIND ME!" He yelled angrily.
"Are you sure you're okay? I brought a first aid kit! You weren't attacked by a monster were you?" Makoto said, still panicked.
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard this area was dangerous." Makoto said.
"Well I was doing just fine till you came along!" Iikiba lied.
Makoto glared at him. "I came all the way to China just to get you!"
"No one asked you to!" Iikiba walked over and stomped out what was left of his pathetic campfire then started to walk away.
"Where do you think you're going?" Makoto hurried after him.
"To find a less crowded place to train!" He stuck out his tongue at her.
"You are so ungrateful!"
"I don't have to be grateful for something I didn't ask you to do!"
Makoto's eye twitched in anger. "That's it! I'm taking you home right now!" She grabbed the back of his shirt and started dragging him back the other way.
"Hey! Wait! I'm not done training yet! I can't go back until I'm stronger!" Iikiba yelled.
"Well I don't want to force you to go! But if you're going to be such a-" Makoto looked down and found that she wasn't dragging Iikiba, but a stick. Iikiba was bounding away. "Iikiba! Get back here you idiot!" She ran after him.
Being much faster, Makoto quickly caught up to him. But Iikiba avoided her by jumping into a tree. "Ha! Missed me stupid!"
Makoto growled. She picked up a rock and threw it at Iikiba. It bounced off his head. "Ow! That hurt!"
"Listen! I won't force you to go home if you just let me stay and help you!" Makoto yelled up at him.
"Forget it!"
"Think about it! I can help you get home when you're ready! And I brought some food! I see you lost your backpack!"
Iikiba jumped out of the tree and gave her a stern look. "I don't want you tagging along and bothering me!"
"I'm not trying to bother you! I'm trying to help!" She said, frustrated.
"You can't come!" Iikiba started to walk away again.
"What's the big deal? Is it because I'm a girl?" Makoto followed.
"No, it's because you're you!"
"Come on!"
"No!"
"Why!"
"I just told you why!"
"You're so stubborn!"
MUCH ARGUING LATER
It was starting to get dark out. Iikiba and Makoto were still making such a racket that it was scaring away the creatures that lived in the forest.
"Everyone knows pandas can climb trees!" Makoto said, frustrated.
"It's not that common a knowledgeable fact…thing!"
"ARRGH! This is so pointless!" Makoto yelled. "Let's just set up camp!"
"What? Right here?" They were in a particularly rocky area.
"It's a good area to start a fire." Makoto pointed out.
"I don't have a sleeping bag anymore, remember?"
"I packed some extra blankets, you can use those." Makoto started unpacking.
"Well don't you have all the answers?" He said grudgingly.
"Stop being so difficult!"
"Hmph." Iikiba sat down a few feet away, stubbornly trying to ignore Makoto.
A few minutes later Makoto had a fire going and had a large pot with a chicken in it boiling over the fire. She also had sweet potatoes stuck to the ends of sticks and she was holding one over the fire. It was all starting to smell pretty good.
Iikiba's stomach growled again. He looked over at Makoto who was sitting with her knees together, letting the sweet potato just touch the top of the flames. Makoto looked back at him and he quickly looked away, trying to pretend he hadn't looked in the first place.
"You want one?" Makoto indicated the sweet potatoes she had already finished.
"No thanks." His stomach growled again, betraying him.
"Just eat one."
"Alright already! Geez! If you want me to sooo badly." Iikiba snatched up the nearest potato and ate half of it in one bite.
Makoto smiled as Iikiba continued to eat. She knew this was his own strange way of saying he was sorry. "The chicken should be done soon." She said cheerfully.
"Great!" Iikiba said through his full mouth.
Makoto smiled even more widely as she took the pot off the fire so it could start cooling.
Iikiba watched hungrily as Makoto cut the chicken away from the bone. How long had it been sense he had had a good meal? A week maybe?
When Makoto had finished Iikiba lunged for the chicken leg but Makoto quickly moved the plate out of his reach. "First, admit it!" She said.
"Admit what?" He asked suspiciously.
"Admit that you're glad I came!" Makoto said triumphantly.
"I'm not glad you came!" Iikiba said stubbornly.
"Yes you are!"
"Nu-uh!"
"You don't get any chicken until you admit it!" Makoto said, still holding the chicken out of reach.
"Do you want me to starve?"
"No, I want you to say you're glad I'm here! Or…" Makoto suddenly got an idea. "Or you could kiss me instead!"
"I'd rater die!" Iikiba yelled.
"Fine. I hope I'll be able to eat all this chicken. I wouldn't want it to go to waste." She waved the plate in front of him.
"Give me that!" He tried to grab the chicken again but Makoto pulled it away.
"You have to kiss me first!"
Iikiba looked like he was about to say something else but instead he suddenly grabbed Makoto and jumped back several feet with her in his arms.
Makoto was really frazzled. What had just happened? "Wha-"
"It's not what you think!" He said, dropping her on the ground. "Look!"
Makoto got up and saw that there were several daggers where she had been sitting a few seconds ago and a girl with green hair standing in a tree overhead.
"There you are!" Mascara yelled, brandishing her sword.
Heh…panda.
