A/N: It's me again. Obviously. Well, here's the fifth chapter of my story...most obviously. Yeah, well, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captors, but I do own Kei! He's a personal favorite of mine. Such a cutie. Yeah, anyways...


Chapter 5: Have you no dignity...?


I stared at the sleek, silver phone in my hand, the message of the caller repeating randomly over and over in my head.

"Tomoyo?" I blinked and forced myself out of the daze and stared at my friends. Sakura, Chiharu, Rika and Naoko all had curious and worried expressions on their faces. Hmm, they almost looked like poker faces...except they were all showing emotion.

"Hey," Sakura began worriedly, "what's wrong? Who called?" Ding ding! Kei Inasu...that's who. Who the heck was he?

"Was it...Eriol?" Rika asked delicately. Thank heavens no. I shook my head silently. Naoko shifted on my bed and frowned.

"Was it related to Eriol in any way?" Oh yes. I nodded slowly. Her brown eyes looked deep in thought for a minute. Sakura was frowning and appeared frustrated.

"Tomoyo, who was it?" She demanded. I breathed and sighed, looking down at my hand-sown coverlet. It had flowers all over the place, but I (yes, I made it) originally wanted Winnie the Pooh characters. I am a little strange...

"Some person named Kei Inasu," I answered absent-mindedly. Chiharu and Rika perked up considerably. Sakura looked just about as confused as I felt. We were both so alike I wondered why we weren't sisters.

Chiharu looked at me brightly. "Tomoyo, don't tell me you don't know who Kei Inasu is!" Uh, no, I don't know him... She paused briefly to let her eyes shine. "Kei Inasu is the President of the entire junior class AND head of the school newspaper!" With all those italics Kei Inasu could be the King of Europe. She switched on her angel-mode, clasping her hands and looking up with a revering expression.

Oh, I see.

"Plus," Rika added dreamily, "he's almost as hot as Eriol and Syaoran." Oh gag. Sakura and me both made an outraged face.

"Oh, he's not that good looking," Naoko muttered. She was only loud enough for me to hear, so I was the only one surprised at the hint of scorn in her usually polite voice.

"Rika," Sakura began ominously, "I thought you knew better than to look at a person's physical appearance instead of their personality." I decided to think about Naoko's change of tone later and nodded. My cousin eyed the ceiling gleefully. "If looks were a person's heart, Li would be ugly and gruesome as a...a rhinopotomus!" We all blinked. Naoko cocked her head, her short hair swaying.

"Sakura, isn't it 'rhinoceros'?" Sakura waved it aside sagely.

"Same thing, same thing." She looked at Chiharu, who was still staring out my window with a starry expression. "Some people just can't help it," she said with a sigh. I nodded sadly. Poor Chiharu. She didn't understand that the people we were dealing with had no dignity like we had.

Dignity...humiliation...bet...Hiiragizawa. Ack. My current mood went down the drain as worry, anxiety and perplexity took place. What did Kei Inasu have to do with this whole bet? Well, he said he was the secretary of some Hiiragizawa club...so he must be helping Eriol...

Oh. My. Holy Moly. Did I just say that...that jerk's name...by itself? I said it casually...just like that!

My mind quickly added in different names to the 'E' word so that saying it in my mind wouldn't taint me. Wait, why am I wasting time like this? I frowned again and pushed the current mental fight aside. I took a deep breath.

"That Kei Inasu guy said that I was supposed to meet Hiiragizawa again," I said. Sakura, who had been trying to explain to Rika the importance of not only seeing someone's sexiness, turned to me and widened her emerald eyes.

"What? When! Where! Why? No, cross the why, WHEN!" Talk about getting excited. Naoko looked at me curiously as Rika swiveled the chair around to face me. I swallowed.

"Er, he said I had to meet him at the shrine tonight at nine o clock..."

"That sounds like a date," Chiharu said suddenly, apparently out of her daze. I ignored her dutifully and continued.

"He said I could bring up to four people with me, and that I was supposed to show up no matter what happens..." I frowned. "I wonder why he said I can bring other people...?" Why did he want me to bring people with me? Was he...did he want me to battle him? As in, a real, physical war! Then that meant he would bring his own people! Was that it?

An image of Hiiragizawa and me trying to slap each other made me burst out laughing. Sakura and the others looked at me strangely, not knowing the cause of such amusement. I stopped laughing. Eh... Some people just didn't understand...they should already know that I was crazy by now.

"Tomoyo," my cousin said, punching her palm. She winced and shook her hand, and then continued, "I'll go with you and make sure nobody messes with you! I'll pulverize the person who bothers you in any way!" The glint in her eyes made me believe without a doubt. Chiharu nodded solemnly, her red pigtails bobbing.

"I'll come too since there's nothing else for me to do..." She looked at Sakura's face and hastily added, "Not that I don't want to go! I'm just saying that I'm totally free tonight!" Sakura nodded with satisfaction. I stifled a smile and nodded in thanks to Chiharu.

Naoko, who had been staring up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on her face, said, "I wouldn't mind going either. I want to see how this challenge will turn out...and to protect my friend." She looked at me with a smile. I smiled back. Great! Already three people out of four on my side! "Besides, I heard there were strange sightings near the shrine during the night."

Uh oh.

Sakura's green eyes dilated, her honey-colored bangs nearly sticking out. "Wh-what?" She stammered. I glanced at her and back at Naoko, wondering if I should interrupt. Sakura was terrified of superstitious and out-of-this-world things, a phobia she had since she was little. But there was a familiar flash in Naoko's eyes (or was it her glasses?) and I knew she wouldn't stop for anything.

Hmm, this reminded me of that one time back in fourth grade when the class went on a trip to the beach. All us girls were in one room like we were right now, and Naoko had told us the story of when a class went into the caves and disappeared. Although I didn't show it much, I was freaked out. It didn't help that Sakura was terrified and couldn't even sleep. She even slipped outside because she kept tossing and turning. But I never knew what she did outside...

Anyways, Naoko was settling on the mattress comfortably and began telling her story.

"Yes, yes... Only a few days ago some workers near the shrine heard some strange wailing noises and weird lights coming from the new garden. There's a huge maze in the garden and not many people go there, so when rumor went around that there was something strange going on in the garden, people stopped visiting altogether." Naoko's voice faded away as she looked at all of us with intense eyes. Sakura, totally white in the face, could be heard gulping. The rest of us were too shocked to say anything or move.

"...Is it true?" Rika asked in a small voice. Naoko shrugged as she leaned back.

"I heard there were...things left behind. Like, one of the workers saw a shadow near the maze hedge and hurried to investigate it, but when he got there he didn't see anything... except for a tattered piece of rope." Shivers went down my spine as this new image loomed in my mind. Sakura drew in a deep breath and Chiharu let out a nervous laugh. I felt sorry for them. Naoko looked spacey, like she was thinking about the strange happenings at the shrine. She enjoyed mysterious things like that, obviously.

"Um," Rika began timidly, "I-I'll go too..." I turned and gave her a concerned look. She was very valiant to volunteer to go after what our storyteller said. But she sounded really scared...like she'd rather just not go at all. Which would be perfectly sane for her.

"What's the matter? You don't have to go if you don't want," I said amiably. After all, Rika wasn't the kind of girl who met boys at night and battled in a possibly ghost-infested shrine. Come to think of it, I wasn't either, but because of fate I turned into one. How sad.

"Oh, well...no, I do want to go, but..." Rika drifted off with an uncertain tone.

"But what?" I persisted gently.

"Er...I'm on my period," she said embarrassedly. All of us blinked, stared at her bowed head, and then pounced.

"Oh no, don't feel bad, sweetie!"

"We feel for you, don't worry!"

"You don't have to come, okay?"

"Hey, it's all right, we'll take on those monkeys in your place!"

Rika shook her head with a smile, her short curls swinging. "I want to go. I'll be by Tomoyo's side even if the odds are against us." We all cheered at her brave words, key word being 'brave'. Now that my friends were coming with me I felt much more confident and less anxious. But I was still curious about what would happen tonight.

"I wonder why Eriol-kun wants to meet you at the shrine," Chiharu said wonderingly. The rest of us nodded, but I noticed Naoko was still spacing out. Her glasses didn't shield the sparkle in her eyes or the apparent excitement whirling around in her mind.

I am so perspective.

"Hey, you guys, why don't we do something really fun?" I suggested. Thinking about the bet stressed the others and me out, so I wanted us to forget about it momentarily and have fun. Besides, the bet was all my own trouble and I didn't want anybody else to be bothered by it.

"Yeah!" They all agreed cheerfully and thought of things we could do. Finally, after crossing out the ideas of going to the Water Theme Park and the zoo, we decided on going to the amusement park, the mall and then the movies.

I called my mother before we went, wanting to make sure she didn't need me. She granted me permission to use the limo and some money and said she wished she could go but had a conference meeting. I was glad that she at least sincerely wanted to go. She said the meeting would last until late at night, so I could spend the night at someone's house if I wanted to. I, of course, had other plans, but I didn't tell her that. If she knew her only daughter was going to meet some potentially dangerous boys at night she would have a heart attack.

Then, we were off to the park. Sakura and I chatted most of the time in the limo, but my thoughts always returned to the same questions.

Why in the world did Hiiragizawa want me to meet him at a haunted maze? Was there something up his sleeve...?

Whatever was going to happen tonight I was sure it would be out of the ordinary.


"I'm exhausted," Sakura sighed as we walked out of the movie theatres.

"Yeah, me too," Chiharu admitted.

"Yes! The Queens of Fun and Energy are admitting defeat!" Rika grinned as she skipped out of the theatres and toward the parked limo. "That was fun! Can we go to the amusement park again?" Naoko sighed.

"No, Rika, we're not going back there again. At least, not tonight." At the park Rika had inhaled too many cotton candies and caramel and developed sugar-high. We'd forgotten she was very sensitive to sweets, much like Kero.

"Hey, what time is it?" Sakura yawned as we climbed into the limo. Naoko looked at her watch.

"It's 6:50," she answered tiredly. I nodded as I told the driver to take us to the mansion. As we traveled in silence, my mind wandered back to the meeting at the shrine for the first time since this morning. But now that I was too tired to care, I decided to sleep before going to the shrine. I would be anxious and nervous by then.

"Let's have a pillow fight!" Rika exclaimed as we trooped tiredly into my room upon arriving home. We all groaned and fell on my bed. The sugar-high girl jumped on my mattress, something she would dare not do if she weren't drunk on sugar. My bed was mega-king-sized, so we had no trouble lying down comfortably. But soon Rika started to grow bored and jumped around my room, shouting over little things...like my pillow.

"I'm bored!" she whined. "Let's have a pillow fight!" Her suggestion was met with Chiharu's snores. I sighed and tried to sleep.

Rika took a big pillow and smacked Sakura's head wildly, starting a pillow fight of her own.

It was a one-sided battle, for once Sakura was challenged she never backed down.

"Now go to sleep," my grumpy cousin commanded, forcing the defeated Rika to lie down. The latter pouted for a while, but then fell asleep before all of us, excluding Chiharu, who could knock out like a log in five seconds flat. Very soon, everyone fell asleep. I made sure to set the alarm at 8:30 before drifting into a dreamless sleep...

BRRIIIIIIINNG!

What? Was it time already? I bolted up from the bed and stared dumbly at the clock.

8:30.

No way. It felt like I just fell asleep! Hmm...oh well. I guess there's no help for it. I sighed and stretched, looking around. Sakura was curled into a cute ball, holding a pillow as a teddy bear. Chiharu was lying flat on her back, her snores still audible but quiet. Naoko was on her side, her glasses in her fingers, and Rika was calm, quiet and sleeping very peacefully near the end. I smiled at them; glad to see they were at peace and rest.

Hey...how come they didn't hear the alarm! We had to get to the shrine by nine and it took nearly twenty minutes to walk there!

I grimaced with reluctance but leaned forward and belted out with all my might, "WAAAAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUUUUUP!" All four sleeping beauties were up in a snap.

"Whaaa?" Sakura looked around dazedly, still half-asleep. "Aw, five more minutes Dad!" Chiharu laughed and poked her head.

"Sakura, we're at Tomoyo's house," Naoko said with a sleepy smile. "And we have to go to the shrine very soon." At this Sakura woke up completely and hopped out of bed.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The cherry-blossom girl ran out of my room and tripped. "OW! Stupid carpet...Tomoyo, do you have spare pants I can borrow?" Sakura eyed her loose skirt in disgust. I smiled brightly at the thought of giving her clothes and nodded.

"I have just the thing, Sakura!" Then, a great idea hit me. "Hey, why don't we all dress up? That way we can be presentable and impressive!" I looked at the rest of the girls and they all nodded slowly, not knowing what I meant.

Rika blinked and tilted her head. "Tomoyo, do you mean we should play dress up? Like, wear pretty dresses and stuff?" I could tell the sugar hadn't completely left her system, but her words got my blood pumping. The thrill of designing and making clothes was in my blood, and I loved matching designs.

"Okay, wait here just a minute," I said eagerly, running toward the closet in my room. It was pretty big, considering it was almost as big as my whole room. Inside there were racks and racks of outfits and separate clothes, all from my own design. I grabbed just the ones I needed and hurried back out.

"Tomoyo," Sakura said with misgiving in her voice. "Don't tell me you're going to do it." She didn't elaborate, but I knew what she meant. I used to make outfits for her all the time when she caught the Clow cards. She was never very fond of dressing up, even if she looked so cute. I still remembered asking Syaoran how he thought Sakura looked in one mega-cute outfit, and I never forgot how he stared at her with those red cheeks. It was just...too cute.

Anyways, back to the present. We didn't have much time to waste (though I don't call dressing up a waste of time) so I hastily gave each girl her own outfit. And, being the clothes-lover I am, I will take the precious time to describe my friends' outfits.

Rika got a white dress with long, flowing sleeves (I made those sleeves painstakingly perfect) and a low neckline. The hem drifted around her knees and showed off her lovely legs. White tennis shoes and white jacket finished the look.

Naoko wore a light blue tennis outfit with a dark blue jacket. Deep navy stockings went up to her knees and cute white sneakers fitted her feet. I gave her a blue headband for her hair and decided not to give her the belt. Very nice.

Chiharu donned a black turtleneck sweater with black shorts. Black boots that went up to her ankles graced her feet and gloves covered her hands. Her reddish hair contrasted from the black attire wonderfully. I like it a lot.

And last but not least, Sakura. She wore khaki Capri pants and a green tank top. The light gray jacket had an adorable hoodie that fit her outfit along with (tada!) combat boots. I sigh with admiration at my own skills. I was just so good that I didn't know what to do. Eh heh, trust me, I'm not usually like this, physically and mentally.

They all looked so beautiful and perfect. Just as long as it didn't get too cold tonight they would be fine. We were ready to face Eriol Hiiragizawa. Well, most of us...

I wore a plain skirt and a knitted sweater.

I could tell the girls were not pleased with this.

"Tomoyo, you made us wear pretty clothes so now you have to dress up." Oh, I'm so flattered, really. But that's the sacrifice a designer makes...

"Tomoyo," Sakura said firmly, "you're going to wear something flashy today, just this once! Here! I picked it out for you!" She shoved some cloth into my hands. "Hurry! We have only a minute before we gotta go!" I gave her one last look of despair. She didn't relent, nor the rest of the girls. They were so cruel.

Well, I got to admit; Sakura had some pretty good taste. I looked down at myself and smiled reluctantly, remembering the hours I spent making it. I wore a reddish-violet dress with intricate gold designs that streamed around mid-calf and a tight bodice with shoulder sleeves. A sash went around the middle and flowed down my back...er, bottom. At my neck was a little collar and violet scarf. I had a pale lilac-colored jacket that warmed me up considerably.

Sakura...made me proud. She learned the arts of designing...ah, it brought a tear to my eye! But I wasn't very happy wearing it myself. Yet I knew this would be presentable enough to show Hiiragizawa that we had dignity. Oh yes. "Prepare yourself, Hiiragizawa! I will show you what true dignity is!" Oh. Did I say that out loud? The girls all stared at me with weird expressions. I smiled nervously. "Er, let's go, shall we? Hehe." I hurried out before they could stare at me any longer.

With that, and a little trouble sneaking around the maids and the butler, we were hurrying down the streets toward the shrine.

The sky was dark and only the half moon was out. I shivered, not from the cold but because I suddenly remembered Naoko's story about the strange happenings at the shrine garden. I glanced around, looking for any suspicious shadows or sounds. Beside me, Sakura was looking around nervously also.

"...You can't get to me...oh no you can't...I will never let you defeat me...I will be strong and brave...there's nothing to be scared about...nothing scares me..." Sakura's chants reached my ear even though she was barely whispering. I took her hand and squeezed it, hoping it would comfort her. She squeezed back and smiled at me, if a little nervously. I didn't blame her. I was shaking out of my wits.

Naoko was leading the way confidently, her back straight. Obviously there was no fear of ghosts and strange noises for her. Chiharu and Rika were walking behind Sakura and me, whispering quietly. I kept peering ahead, alert for any noise. Sakura was straining to keep calm.

...This was ridiculous. I am a practical person. I do not believe in ghosts or whatnot... just because of some rumor. I am Daidouji Tomoyo, owner of the Daidouji charm. This was going too far. We were ladies of dignity-Not fear!

Suddenly, a strange twinge tweaked in my chest and a warm feeling swarmed my senses. I had a sudden urge to do something...

"I will never let fear conquer..." I sang out quietly. Sakura looked at me, surprised. I was surprised as well... but I squeezed her hand and kept singing. "...it is not what I need..." I had a feeling this was what I had to do.

Yeah, it may sound like some girl-power inspiration, but I seriously felt a strong need to do what I loved best: singing.

Chiharu and Rika stopped talking behind us. I could see Sakura smiling as I sang more loudly. "Let the light come through..." Naoko sighed softly ahead of us. Yes! It was working. Hopefully singing would clear our consciences and be more confident.

"Every day it comes to my heart...the true strength to overcome..." I smiled slightly. "To overcome the fear...and find peace." We all looked at each other, smiling.

We were relaxed. Success!

SNAP!

Suddenly, the snapping of a twig made us jump and alerted us. Again the feeling of awkward silence and cold foreboding filled the atmosphere. Damn that stupid piece of wood! JUST when I was getting things under control.

Nobody said anything, the snapping twig on everybody's mind.

GHOST! LATE-NIGHT MURDERER! AAAHHH!

Yup.

We were nearing the shrine. Sakura was now clasping her hands together in an effort to control her mind-wandering phobic fears. I kept my eyes straight ahead and tried to seek out any hidden objects or beings in the dark gardens to the front. Naoko silently lead us to the shrine where the moonlight gleamed on its roof.

There was nobody there.

This was stupid. It was nine o clock and we were at the shrine like we were supposed to...why wasn't Hiiragizawa here? I know...he ditched!

"AAHH!" We all whipped our heads to face Naoko, who had just let out the scream.

"AHHH!" Sakura screamed. I stared at her in confusion. Why was everybody screaming? Something was not right here. Obviously, I thought grimly, somebody was pulling a prank.

Well, I wouldn't fall for it.

I saw Naoko using her jacket to smack whatever had surprised her, smiling with satisfaction as a masculine voice yelped. Chiharu and Rika, who were standing behind me, ran forward to tackle a shadow that moved near the shrine. Sakura had recovered and was fighting her offender—literally. I sweat dropped as she punched furiously and did a splendid roundhouse kick. A muttered curse could be heard throughout all this chaos.

I realized there were about three new people—most likely guys. Naoko was still whapping her person with the handy jacket, and Rika was helping her, spurred by sugar. Sakura and Chiharu were still taking care of their own guys. Hah, by the dim looks of it, my girls were winning. Yeah!

But there was something strange...something not quite right.

I was the only one not doing anything. Wasn't I supposed to be the main person here? I was the one in the bet.

So why was I standing beside the shrine all dumb and non-active? I wanted to fight too! Or, well, not exactly fight...but I wanted to do something!

...I shouldn't want that...I shouldn't bewanting that at all.

"So you did bring your friends," a deep, familiar voice said from my right. I turned quickly and spotted a lounging shadow near the edge of the shrine. I frowned at his words, trying to understand what he meant, as well as wary of what he was going to do. Time to click on my sharp intuition! Click.

"Yes...I did," I answered shortly. I grew more cautious as the shadow moved and the blue-eyed boy stepped into the moonlight. He stopped just five feet away from where I was standing. Oh-ho-ho...now I've got mental measuring skills..."Excuse me, why are there people trying to attack my friends? Would they happen to be your friends?" I eyed him carefully, ready for any sudden attack.

"Hey, Syaoran," Hiiragizawa said, not taking his eyes off mine (I stared determinedly back as if it were a staring contest), "hurry up." And just like that, as if he were Commander, the sounds of fighting stopped and Syaoran walked past me to stand by my enemy. Not long after, Yamazaki walked by, followed by a tall boy I didn't recognize. The four boys lined up and took their poses under the shadow of the moonlight.

I took the chance to study the new boy. He was as tall as Syaoran and had a tough build. His face was handsome featuring brown eyes and reddish brown hair, with a glinting earring on one ear. He looked familiar...my mind clicked. He was one of the four boys with Hiiragizawa on that day I dropped my ice cream at the café. Yes...but who was he? The four guys were undeniably good looking, and I couldn't help but realize they were the epitomes of perfect male.

The cloud uncovered the moon and the light became brighter.

I blinked. Why did all of them look so handsome all of the sudden?

Was it the effect of the moon? Yamazaki caught my eye and winked, flipping his short, black hair. Syaoran-kun and Inasu studied their nails as Hiiragizawa continued to stand beautifully under the ray of light.

What was this, Sailor Moon?

I realized Sakura and the rest of my powerful group of friends were lined up beside me, similar to the males. For a while, we just stood there, staring at each other. Well, Sakura and Syaoran were glaring at each other.

"...Well," I finally said, deciding this was getting us nowhere.

"Yes," My Enemy agreed.

"Hmm..." I sighed.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Uhh," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure," he said amiably.

Tension abounds.

As I've said before...this was getting us nowhere. I cleared my throat and stood straighter. "I received a call today from a guy named Kei Inasu—"

The new boy waved a hand lazily, "That's me." Ah. I barely fluttered an eyelash and continued, pretending not to find this news surprising.

"I was informed that there was to be a...meeting tonight?" I looked carefully at my Enemy. He looked back at me with an unreadable expression. Stupid unreadable face. Stupid unreadable, handsome face. Gah.

"You were informed correct," he said with an amused tone. I frowned, not liking his humor. This was to be about serious matters, most likely, and he found it humorous? No dignity, I tell you. His glasses glinted off the faint light and he offered me a smirk. "We'll start Round Two of this bet...shall we?"

I blinked. Sakura made a slight surprised noise. Great. Now all of my friends were to be included in my bet.

"Let's see..." The blue-haired lad had a thoughtful expression on his face as he continued to gaze at me. It was a little unnerving that he never looked away from my face for even a second, but I didn't let my discomfort show. "I suggest that we have a little...game." I raised an eyebrow. "Hmm...see that maze over there?" I nodded slowly. Who wouldn't see the ten-feet high hedge walls? "We'll play a game of hide-and-seek...or more appropriately, cat-and-mouse..." I found myself immediately distrusting of this plan. "You and your friends go into the maze and find the exit...got it?"

I nodded again, frowning slightly. We were going to enter the haunted maze running from four guys in the dark... lovely. Beside me, Sakura swallowed and quickly huffed impatiently, "Oy, hurry up and tell us the catch!" I blinked. So that's what was missing. Hiiragizawa smiled and nodded.

"Of course. You ladies get to go into the maze first and we boys will follow soon after. We will try and stop you ladies...gently. And if we catch you before any of you finds the exit, we'll, oh, let's see..." He paused and looked at his friends. "What should we do?" The guys immediately started calling out ideas.

"Let's dump them in the lake!" At this suggestion, Sakura hissed ferociously at Syaoran, who looked slightly daunted by my cousin's feline behavior.

"I know, we can make them our slaves for the entire week!" Both Sakura and Naoko hissed at this idea, looking at Inasu dangerously. I blinked.

"How about we do fun dares each?" This came from Yamazaki and seemed the most reasonable idea so far, however Chiharu threw a heavy rock at his head. He barely dodged in time.

I glanced at the quietest girl, Rika, and looked at the boys, who were grinning quite sadistically. She seemed a little pale. I gazed at her worriedly.

"Rika," I whispered lowly. She turned to look at me nervously, her brown eyes wide. "Are you okay?" She nodded vigorously, the wide, anxious look still on her face.

From the corner of my eye I saw Hiiragizawa move forward. I turned abruptly and watched him cagily. Who knows what he might do.

He merely stopped in front of me and held out a hand. I frowned and looked at the outstretched hand, and then his face, which was devoid of any emotion. "We'll seal the second part of the bet..." he informed me. I blinked, hesitating. He raised an eyebrow and continued, "Unless you're reluctant. I can always win the bet automatically...I wouldn't mind."

At this, a surge of adrenaline fired my spirit, as well as my heart, and, forgetting about Rika's fear, I took his hand boldly. It felt quite warm and strong... I could almost imagine what it felt like to be held... AGH! I quickly let go before any further emotions could enter my head. Looking up at him I smiled slightly, void of any previous emotion.

He gave me his trademark amused smirk/constipated smile (I think) ...and patted my cheek before turning away towards the dark maze entrance.

I immediately got over the surprise of this unwanted action and glared at his back. I was determined not to let him get the best of me. And then, I turned to look at my friends, all of them glaring at the boys who were following Hiiragizawa. Except one.

Rika was looking pale, as if she was going to faint. I realized she hadn't really talked much after arriving here. Well, I couldn't blame her anxiety...we were about to enter a dark maze during the night...with the possibility of getting lost and never coming back out again.

Great.

Round Two was on.


A/N: My fifth chapter! Wow, I'm really excited. I hope there's an understandable plot here...I'm as determined as Tomoyo to make this story clear as possible. Well, please review and give me your thoughts! Thank you!