Dream: So, yeah, the temporary fill-in chapter was for my amusement and so that I could get caramel from Winter, who's promised to give me caramel every time I update. I had trouble getting her to agree to give me caramel for that chapter.
Zero: As for the poll, the vote is unanimous: Harmony's going to be a sled dog.
Harmony: Oh, it's a dream come true for me! I've always wanted to be publicly humiliated!
Dream: Isn't it wonderful?
Zero: On with the humiliation!
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Last time
Indeed, the Loki was correct. Vlad's hair had become a vivid shade of hot pink, along with his clothing. Hiei's hair had also turned pink. Terminator and Youko suffered the same fate. Loki, Flash, and Harmony had pink speckles on their clothes from where the water Youko had shaken from himself had touched them.
The cat, fox, fire demon, and vampire let out a howl of remorse at the same time. Loki, Flash, and Harmony clamped their hands over their ears to block out the sound. Local dogs started barking. A neighbor's car alarm went off while another neighbor's car spontaneously burst into flames and halfway across the world some British men had tea.
Amazingly, everyone in Flash's house remained asleep.
Now
Iditarod, Demon Style:
"Calm down. I think I know someone who can help us." Flash said.
Harmony paled, "Oh no...not her! Please say you're not talking about her!"
"Her?" Loki asked in confusion.
Harmony waved her arms in the air frantically, "Flash! We promised never to speak of her ever again! There is no way I'm going back to visit that lunatic! Never ever again!"
"Come on, she's your aunt."
Loki looked to Harmony. The fox waved a hand dismissively, "Autumn's aunt. My aunt is dead...thankfully."
"Someone has family issues." Yusuke stated as he and Kuwabara walked into the bathroom.
Kuwabara stared at the whimpering Hiei and Vlad. He scratched his chin and looked at them long and hard. "Hmm...something's different about you two... Did you finally get hearts?"
"Dear lord of caramel and all that is sugary sweet! Did Kuwabara actually make a fair attempt at humor?" Harmony gasped.
"Huh? I'm serious, did they get hearts?" Kuwabara persisted.
Flash sweat dropped, "No, that's just his stupidity showing."
Meanwhile, Yusuke was glaring at Harmony. "I can't believe you died them pink while I wasn't here to watch!"
"Why is it that when someone gets their hair died or gets any sort of prank pulled on them everyone suspects me of doing it?"
"You're always the one that did it." Vlad pointed out with a glare.
"Not true!" Harmony protested.
Vlad crossed his arms, "Name one time that you didn't do the pranking."
"That time you locked Autumn in a small cabin with Kuwabara."
"That doesn't count, it was revenge." Flash stated.
Harmony scratched her head, "Well..."
Flashback:
Yusuke, Kuwabara, Flash, Hiei, Hinote, and Autumn were sitting in Kurama's living room waiting for him to finish getting ready for their mission. Kurama's stepbrother was dancing around all excited-like. Suddenly there was an ear piercing scream from the bathroom. The teens exchanged looks before dashing upstairs. Autumn went to push the bathroom door further open but it was slammed in her face.
"Don't look at me! I'm hideous!" Kurama's disgruntled voice came from the other side of the door.
"Oh come on! It can't be that bad, pansy! I mean, nothing can be more hideous than Kuwabara!" Flash's statement was met with mumbled agreement from her friends.
"Yeah! It can't be more hideous than me!" Kuwabara repeated before frowning, deep in thought. "Wait...FLASH!"
Autumn knocked on the door again, "Kurama?"
"I'm never coming out again!"
"Will you at least tell us what happened?" Hinote questioned.
Kurama managed to respond between sobs, "I'm...I'm BALD!"
Back to Reality:
"I wasn't responsible for that." Harmony nodded.
Vlad grumbled, "Well, that's just one time. Besides, I'm still not sure that you're really innocent of that crime..."
"Well, what about the time that..." Harmony began.
Flashback (years and years ago in the demon realm):
Youko was staggering around with a blindfold on. He had a large stick in his hands which he was swinging around like a maniac. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth in concentration. The stick finally connected with something that wasn't a tree. It was a squishy thing from the feel of it. Youko poked it. It jiggled. He lifted up a corner of his blindfold and looked at it. It was a large, furry, ape demon with goat horns on its head. It glared down at the fox.
Youko's ears dropped back, "Eep..."
Back to the present:
Vlad shook his head, "You forgot part of the story..."
Vlad's Flashback (demon realm):
Harmony was spinning Youko around by his shoulders. He was wearing the blindfold and clutching the large stick. "Now, just don't peek. I'm going to spin you in circles and when I let go..."
"I get candy?" Youko asked hopefully.
"No... You start swinging around until you hit the piñata."
"...And then I get candy?"
"Yes, Youko, then you get candy." Harmony finished spinning him.
Youko gave a small hop of glee. Unfortunately, this caused him to fall over since he was disoriented and dizzy. He quickly stood up with a determined expression and started waving the stick around.
"Let me guess, you told Youko that you got him a piñata again?" Vlad questioned the smirking Harmony.
"Yuup." Harmony responded.
Vlad rolled his eyes, "Fifth time?"
"Twelfth."
"How long will it take him to realize there's no piñata?"
"He still thinks the other eleven piñatas are out here somewhere."
Vlad sweat dropped, "How long will it take him to give up?"
Harmony shrugged, "Last time I found him hanging by his shirt on the side of a cliff two weeks later, still swinging the stick."
Youko was staggering around with a blindfold on. He had a large stick in his hands which he was swinging around like a maniac. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth in concentration. The stick finally connected with something that wasn't a tree. It was a squishy thing from the feel of it. Youko poked it. It jiggled. He lifted up a corner of his blindfold and looked at it. It was a large, furry, ape demon with goat horns on its head. It glared down at the fox.
Youko's ears dropped back, "Eep..."
The goat-monkey opened its humongous mouth and let out a deafening roar matched in deadliness only by the smell of its breath. Youko stood there with his eye twitching. The lifted corner of the bandana fell back over his eye. He screamed and started running away, the goat-monkey close at his heels.
Vlad stared with wide eyes, "Shouldn't we go help him!"
"WOOHOO! Go for the jugular!" Harmony was cheering after the beast.
Back to the present:
Harmony sweat dropped, "That's crazy talk! You must be crazy! I never did that!"
There were no piñatas...? Youko's jaw dropped in horror.
"You knew Youko when he was in demon world?" Yusuke asked Vlad.
Vlad realized his hidden identity was compromised, "Eh...no. No I didn't."
"Oh, ok. By the way, who are you?" Yusuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Vlad was about to respond when Harmony cut him off. "He doesn't need to reveal his name."
"Why not...?" Kuwabara blinked.
Harmony held up the end of Vlad's now pink cape, "Because he's wearing a cape, duh!"
Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged clueless expressions. Harmony sighed, "Everyone knows that any character in an anime, manga, fanfic, or etc. who is wearing a cape is automatically excused from revealing his true identity to those around him. It's a known fact that characters are more than willing to give their complete and total trust to a complete stranger wearing a cape but won't even dare to place that same level of trust in ordinary people that they've known for a while. Therefore, since Vlad is wearing a cape, you two don't have to know that his name is Vlad, he's a vampire, and he's the demon form of Hinote. You just have to know that he's the mysterious caped figure that this fanfic series has been lacking since the beginning."
Vlad sweat dropped, "But you just..."
"Wow, you know that makes a lot of sense. I'm sorry I asked what your name was, Mysterious Caped Stranger!" Yusuke bowed in apology.
Kuwabara followed suit, "Yeah, we'll never try and find out anything about you, ever again!"
Vlad's sweat drop multiplied. He turned to Flash, "You and Harmony were discussing Autumn's aunt...?"
Flash stared at the vampire blankly for a moment. "Oh yeah... Anyway, Autumn's aunt, Ellema, is kind of crazy."
"Kind of?" Harmony questioned Flash's use of words.
"Ok, she's extremely crazy and coming from us that means a lot." Flash pointed her thumb at her and Harmony.
"So...this Ellema woman can help us not be pink?" Hiei asked.
Flash shrugged, "Well, she's really good with potions and stuff so yeah..."
"Well then, let's get going." Vlad grinned with hope.
"First I want something to hide the pink of my hair." Hiei stated.
Vlad looked down at his pink clothes, "And I need some non-pink clothes."
"Hmm..." Flash scratched her head. She smirked and left the room. Moments later she returned with a box for Hiei and a box for Vlad. She ushered everyone out of the bathroom so that Vlad could change. Hiei simply held the box in his hands while he waited with the others in Flash's room. Since it had been given to him by Flash, he was afraid to open it.
Vlad stomped back into the room and pointed what appeared to be a ruler at Flash. "You expect me to wear this!"
Flash and Harmony tried to stifle their laughter. Loki, Yusuke, and Kuwabara didn't even bother trying to hide their amusement. Hiei stared in horror first at Vlad and then at the box in his hands. Youko let out a bark of laughter. Vlad glared at everyone. He was wearing a nun's robe and had his pink hair tucked under a nun's hat.
"Hey, it's either that or the pink." Flash snickered.
Vlad grumbled and crossed his arms. "Fine."
Everyone turned to Hiei. Hiei put aside the box, "I think I'll pass on the hat."
"Suit yourself." Flash shrugged.
"So, how are we going to get to Ellema's house?" Yusuke asked.
Flash smirked and her eyes shone with that 'somebody's going to hate me' light, "You'll see."
The group exchanged looks and gulped as one. Harmony shivered, "Kitty cat's planning something evil..."
"For the last time, I'm a lion, mutt! A lion!" Flash emphasized her words by hitting Harmony with a rolled up newspaper.
Harmony whimpered. The angered Flash led her followers down the stairs into the kitchen where the housekeeper was patching up the hole Yusuke had made in the floor. She looked up, "Good morning, everyone! Do any of you have any idea how this hole got here?"
"He did it." Yusuke pointed an accusing finger at Kuwabara.
Trish, the housekeeper, frowned, "What an awful thing to do, Kuwabara!"
"But..." Kuwabara began to protest.
"Yeah, yeah, it's horrible. How could you? Can we go now?" Vlad rolled his eyes.
Trish blinked, "I didn't know you were friends with a nun, Flash..."
"Oh yeah, I just met her yesterday. She's real nice." Flash grinned.
Vlad glared at her, "Flash, I hate you."
"Gasp! How un-nun-like of you!" Harmony feigned shock.
Vlad turned his glare to her, "But I hate you more."
Youko walked over to the door and pawed at it, waiting to be released. Terminator was sitting on the fox's head. Flash told Trish that she was going to run some errands for her friend and that she'd probably be back late. Then she and the others left the house.
Yusuke looked at the empty driveway, "Are we walking?"
"Nope. I've got a much better idea..." Flash entered her garage leaving the others waiting in fear. She came back out with a dogsled which had a small wheeled cart attached which looked like it could easily hold six or seven people. Yusuke and Kuwabara hopped into the cart and settled down followed by Loki and Youko. Hiei and Vlad eyed the cart uncertainly.
"Is it safe?" Vlad asked.
"Of course!" Flash nodded.
Hiei arched an eyebrow at the empty harness in front of the dogsled. "How is this thing going to move?"
"Harmony's going to pull it in her fox form."
"I'm what? No way!" Harmony shook her head.
Flash held up a bag of caramel, "Not even for a caramel?"
Harmony's eye twitched, "Curse my sweet tooth..."
Flash grinned as Harmony turned into her fox form. She was a bit smaller than Youko with pure black fur and eight tails. The fox stepped over to the harness and Flash put it on her. Hiei and Vlad climbed into the cart with the others. Flash took her place in the dogsled and attached a caramel to a fishing pole she had with her. She dangled the candy in front of the fox's nose. "Mush!"
And oh, did Harmony mush.
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Dream: Yeah, I know it's short but I'm going away to Boston this Friday for AnimeBoston so I wanted to get this done before then. I'll try and make the next chapter super long to make up for it. Oh, and if anybody's going to be at AnimeBoston as well, maybe you can try and find me. On Friday I'll be wearing feathery black cat ears and probably a Sesshoumaru shirt. On Saturday, I'll be wearing a black Chinese jacket with a peony in the center and Sunday I'll probably have a panda. So, yeah, I'd love to meet people. My badge is going to say Harmony. Ask if I'm Dream and once it registers in my brain that I am, indeed, Dream I'll be happy.
Zero: Review, please.
Harmony: I better get that caramel next chapter...