"Yuki, Tohru, we're going to the beach today" Shigure announced as he entered the house.
"Why?" Yuki asked.
"Akito arranged a beach trip last night" Shigure explained. Yuki sighed, and finished his breakfast. After breakfast, Yuki, Shigure, and Tohru gathered their beachwear and headed to where they would meet up with the others going on the trip. They arrived at this destination, which was a 7-seat van with a capacious boot. Hatori was stood outside, smoking a cigarette. Shigure opened the side-door of the van, and the three of them entered. Akito, Kureno, and Ritsu were already in the van. Akito was sat in the front passenger seat, asleep, Kureno was in the central row, at the end, and Ritsu was at the far corner of the final row. Yuki and Tohru sat in the back row, and Shigure went to sit beside Kureno.
"You can't sit there" Kureno told Shigure.
"Why?" Shigure asked.
"Akito said that I have to sit alone" Kureno explained. Shigure sighed.
"So, Yuki or Ritsu will have to travel in animal form" he stated.
"Why can't you transform?" Yuki objected, before a burst of green smoke filled the back row as Ritsu transformed and climbed into the boot, loudly apologising as he did so. Shigure sat in the now vacant seat. Very soon after, not even long enough for the smoke to disperse, Hiro, Kisa, and Hiro's mother arrived.
"Hello, Hatori" Hiro's mother said, as she opened the side-door of the van.
"There doesn't seem to be much space" Hiro's mother mused.
"It'll be fine" Hatori lied.
"OK.." Hiro's mother said, as she left. At this time, Haru, Rin, Momiji, and Kagura appeared.
"This is getting ridiculous" Hatori sighed as he put out his cigarette. He shook Akito awake.
"Can't we just go in two cars?" Hatori asked, fed up with Akito's childish insistence on travelling together.
"NO!" Akito shouted. Hatori sighed, and lit another cigarette.
"Me and Rin will need to have seats" Haru stated.
"I guess so.." Shigure sighed, before suddenly grabbing Tohru and transforming. He, as a dog, ran up the van to sit on Akito's lap.
"Are you OK?" Yuki asked Tohru.
"Yes" Tohru replied quickly. Yuki and Tohru hugged reluctantly.
"My turn!" Momiji shouted, before hugging Tohru and transforming.
"What are we doing with the clothes?" Tohru asked, wanting a break from the hugs and smoky transformations.
"Just put them in the boot" Hatori said. Tohru picked up the clothes, and brought them to the boot. Suddenly, Hiro climbed over the back seat into the boot.
"Hiro, why are you in here?" Tohru asked.
"Just hug me" Hiro said, as he grabbed Tohru and transformed.
"Is everyone alright?" Tohru said after a short pause.
"Yeah" Hiro said.
"I'm fine too!" Ritsu said, allowing Hiro ample time to speak.
"OK" Tohru said, shutting the boot's door. When she returned, Kagura was sitting in the way of the side-door, Haru and Rin were sat in the back row, with the near seat being occupied by Momiji. Yuki was lying on Haru's shoulder. Strangely, Kisa was sat on the floor, in her tiger form.
"How did you transform?" Tohru asked.
"I want to sit you" Kisa said, as if it was an answer.
"Where am I going to go?" Kagura asked.
"Maybe just hide in the boot as a human" Hatori suggested, clearly tired of Akito's burdensome stubbornness.
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Kagura replied.
"Not much more than sitting in there as a boar" Hatori said.
"Maybe I could go in the boot?" Tohru suggested.
"Great idea" Kagura said. Tohru went to the boot, followed by Kisa, and entered the boot.
"What are you doing?" Hiro asked.
"I'm going to sit in the boot" Tohru explained.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Hiro continued.
"Hatori is a good driver" Tohru replied, as she sat down. They then waited for Ayame to arrive. Eventually he sauntered up to the van, and opened the door.
"There are no seats!" he stated.
"You'll just have to turn into a snake and travel like that" Hatori said.
"But how can I transform?" Ayame asked.
"Tohru's in the boot" Hatori stated. Ayame went out and opened the boot.
"Hello, Tohru" he said, before giving her an unnecessarily deep hug, transforming, and slithering over the back seats to find Shigure. Hatori got in to the van, and they finally headed off to the beach. During the drive Tohru fell asleep, and awoke later, cuddling something. This something was Kisa, who was now in human form, and naked. Tohru let go of Kisa quickly, embarrassed by what happened. This woke up Kisa, who soon realised she human, and blushed deeply. Thankfully, the van had arrived at its destination. Everyone changed into their beachwear/swimwear, and went onto the beach to set up their umbrellas. As this was a public beach, they set up an umbrella low down, and surrounded by a windbreaker, as a hasty way to hide if someone is about to transform. While setting this up, Shigure noticed that Akito was topless. While he enjoyed the sight, he knew that the others wouldn't, and so he concocted a plan to keep the peace.
"Why don't we have a sexiest one-piece-swimsuit contest?" Shigure suggested. As Kisa was the only person currently wearing a one-piece-swimsuit, this suggestion was met with many shocked and disturbed glares. Akito, however, was excited at this proposition. She immediately returned to the van, changed into her one-piece-swimsuit, and returned.
"Now, let's start this contest!" Akito said.
"Well, you're the only participant, so I guess you win" Shigure said.
"YAY!" Akito exclaimed.
"As a reward, I shall buy you an ice-cream cone" Shigure continued. While Shigure and Akito went to find somewhere to buy ice-cream, Ayame went up to the van, and soon returned. A short while later, Akito and Shigure returned. Akito went to the van, and looked through the boot. Her searching became more frantic and her face reddened, until she broke down and started to scream and cry face-down on the floor.
"What's wrong" Shigure asked, not wanting Akito to make a scene.
"MY SHORTS ARE GONE!" Akito wailed.
"You still have your swimsuit" Shigure said, "And me". He leaned in close as he said this last part. Akito stopped crying, and returned to the beach. She decided that first, she wanted to play in the sand. She went to play, but found herself feeling lonely.
"Hey, Tohru!" She shouted over, "Come here!". Tohru, not wanting to upset her, obeyed her request.
"What is it?" Tohru asked.
"Come play in the sand with me" Akito demanded. Tohru and Akito made sand-castles, and did other stuff in the sand. Then Akito had an idea.
"Tohru, Let me bury you in the sand!" she said, with an expression that told Tohru that this was not a good idea.
"Um, um" Tohru said, looking for a reason to escape, "Why don't I, um, get you some ice-cream?".
"Yay!" Akito said, as Tohru scuttled away to 'get ice-cream'. She then had an idea.
"Akito, do you have any allergies?" Tohru asked.
"NO!" Akito responded, feeling insulted that Tohru would even think that.
"I don't like nuts, though" she continued quietly.
"OK" Tohru said, and left once more. This left Akito with no-one to play with. She sighed, until she spotted a young girl and boy playing together in the sand. She stood up, and walked over to them, bringing with her an aura of fear.
"Hello!" Akito said, "Can I play with you?". The children, immediately scared by Akito's demeanour, ran away to their parents. Akito was annoyed by this, and foolishly went over to confront them.
"What are you doing?" the children's mother asked Akito angrily.
"Those brats won't play with me!" Akito said, her face red and her eyes teary. The children's mother was shocked.
"But you're a weird crossdressing creep!" she eventually said.
"I'M A WOMAN!" Akito screamed.
"Well, that makes all the difference" the children's mother replied.
"So.." Akito began, "Ca-".
"Get out of here before I call the cops!" the children's mother interrupted. Akito, not used to being interrupted, fell to the floor and started wailing. Fortunately, Hatori heard this commotion, and brought Akito away. Tohru returned with a peanut-butter ice-cream-bar. She had selected it after a discussion with the vendor over which bar had the least nutty flavour, which was quite suspicious to the vendor. She gave the bar to Akito, who immediately forgot her encounter with the children, and happily ate her ice-cream. Soon after finishing the ice-cream, Akito felt unwell. Her skin became red and itchy, and she found it harder and harder to breathe. She tried to alert someone to her plight, but the words were stopped by the swelling throat closing up.
"Are you OK?" Tohru asked 'obliviously'. Akito could not respond, and so Tohru pretended to assume she was alright. Akito tried to crawl towards Hatori, but fell to the ground weakly as her skin purpled. The sand scratched at her cadaverous skin, sending shocks of pain throughout her body. Before she could slip away from life, Kureno spotted her. He immediately looked through the bag until he found the epinephrine autoinjector he had secretly stashed away in case of an event like this. He ran over to Akito, and injected her with the autoinjector. The swelling in her throat soon subsided, and she took a deep breath, returning colour to her cyanosed skin.
"Good job saving my life" Akito said.
"Maybe you deserve a little reward" she continued in a seductive tone.
"Wouldn't you prefer to have a rest first?" Kureno suggested. At this time, Ritsu was reading a book. He felt a small hand tap his back.
"Hey, do you want to play with me?" the owner of the hand said. Ritsu turned around to see this person, who was a cute little girl. He suddenly turned to rest his arms on his lap, in a poor attempt to hide his nodose erection.
"You s-shouldn't talk to strangers" Ritsu said.
"What's that in your shorts?" the girl asked, ignoring Ritsu's advice.
"Nothing!" Ritsu exclaimed. The girl looked confused, and ran away. Ritsu sighed in relief, and returned to his book. A few moments later, the shadow of a large man loomed over Ritsu.
"Can I help you?" Ritsu asked the man. "What were you doing to my daughter?" the man asked angrily.
"N-nothing!" Ritsu exclaimed. Before Ritsu had a chance to apologize, or say anything at all, the man grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him off the ground.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" shouted the man, "DRE-". The man then noticed the crowd he was drawing. Before he could offer an explanation, he was punched in the face by one member of the crowd. Ritsu, now free of the man's grasp, scuttled away, and hid in the hiding structure in case he transformed. Tohru, who had seen the entire proceedings, was worried.
"Are you OK?" she asked Ritsu.
"Yes" Ritsu said, lying down in the hiding structure. His stomach suddenly gurgled loudly.
"Actually, I feel a bit hungry" he admitted.
"I'll get you some food then!" Tohru said.
"Thanks" Ritsu said, as he handed some money to Tohru for the food.
"What would you like?" Tohru asked.
"I don't mind what you get" Ritsu replied. At this, Tohru left to get Ritsu some food. She wandered around, until she found a place selling food. She entered this place, and bought a copious burrito for Ritsu. She returned, entered the hiding structure, and handed the burrito to Ritsu.
"Thanks" Ritsu said. He swiftly took the burrito and quickly ate it, his cheeks and throat inflating disturbingly with the incoming food. Once the burrito was gone, he swallowed it all in a single, grotesque gulp. Tohru just stared at this display, going slightly pale. Ritsu noticed then noticed the effect he had on Tohru, and started to apologise.
"I'M SORRY! I THO-".
"Ritsu, get out. We need this" Akito rudely interrupted, as she dragged Kureno into the hiding structure. Ritsu silently left, and Tohru was about to follow him.
"No, you can stay" Akito said to Tohru, in a tone that was supposed to be seductive but very much wasn't.
"It's OK" Tohru said, before quickly leaving. Outside, she saw Momiji lying on the ground, in clear discomfort.
"Momiji!" she exclaimed, "What's wrong?".
"I don't feel too good" Momiji responded.
"Do you feel like you are going to transform?" Tohru asked.
"Not really" Momiji said.
"Good. Akito and Kureno are doing some.. private activities the hiding thing" Tohru said. Momiji perked up at this news.
"Maybe I should go to the hider, just in case" he said, as he headed off to the hiding structure. When he arrived, he found Akito and Kureno inside, completely naked. Akito turned around to see the intruder.
"Momiji!" she said, "Why the hell are you here?".
"I don't feel well, so I'm hiding in case I transform" Momiji explained.
"Fine, but don't interrupt us!" Akito replied.
"Of course not!" Momiji said, as he secretly took out his phone to record Akito and Kureno's steamy activities. After some time, Akito had finished 'rewarding Kureno', and put on her swimsuit. She then spotted Momiji's phone hidden in his hand.
"Were you recording us?" Akito asked angrily.
"No" Momiji lied.
"Then what were you doing?" Akito asked.
"I was just checking my phone!" Momiji lied.
"Do you really think you can lie to me!" Akito shouted.
"I'm not lying!" Momiji said, "I-".
"Are you OK, Akito?" Kureno asked, "You seem a bit irritable".
"He was recording us!" Akito shouted, gesturing at the space from where Momiji had just lept away. Akito immediately left the hiding structure to look for the hare, but, after a few seconds, gave up and decided to go for a swim.
"Hatori!" Akito shouted, "Come here!".
"What is it?" Hatori asked, already being nearly at Akito's side.
"Get my arm floaties" Akito demanded. Hatori sighed, and looked through the bag to find the floats. He found the floats, and put them on Akito's arms. Akito then ran over to the ocean. Hatori sighed in relief to see Akito leave and give him even a short while of peace. At this point, Momiji had finished uploading his voyeuristic video. Seeing Akito go to the ocean, he decided to return to the hiding structure, as he was now feeling quite ill. He quickly stumbled over to the hiding structure, just before transforming into a hare in a puff of yellow smoke. He laid on the floor, until he found himself feeling far better in his more cunnicular form. He decided to leave the hiding structure, and spend some time on the beach as a hare. At this time, Kureno was taking a quick nap. Tohru saw him, his shirtless chest breathing. Tohru briefly wondered why she was so focused on his breathing, up she noticed that there was something terribly wrong with his manner of breathing. She stared transfixed at the nauseating motions of his chest, her face paling and gaining a slight green tint. Kureno soon awoke, and saw Tohru staring disturbedly at his chest. Kureno stirred, and opened his eyes. He saw Tohru staring, and quickly tried to cover his chest.
"Why are you staring at my chest?" he asked. Tohru was suddenly shook from her trance.
"Oh, well, um.. Your chest is kind of.. strange" Tohru stuttered out.
"Oh" Kureno said, "I get that a lot. It's because of the curse".
"Huh?" Tohru interjected.
"I have avian lungs but with a regular ribcage, so it just looks wrong" Kureno explained.
"Oh" Tohru said. Kureno returned to his nap, and Tohru, seeing Akito return from her short play in the ocean, decided to leave him alone. At this time, Haru was wandering along the beach, until he noticed something. That something was Momiji, in leporine form, getting his ears pet by a young girl. At the sight of such depravity, he turned Dark. He strode up to the sandy-hued hare, and grabbed him roughly by the throat. He then took him away to the van. A short while later, Tohru had an idea. She was alone with Akito near their umbrella setup. Akito was asleep, loosely holding a bottle of juice just outside the shade of the umbrella. If Tohru moved the umbrella in a 'good-natured' attempt to keep the juice bottle shaded and cool, then Akito's pale skin would certainly be burned before anyone discovered Tohru's trick. And so, Tohru picked up the umbrella, and moved it so that it shaded the juice, but left Akito completely exposed to the sun. Tohru giggled at her idea, but her hopes of sunburning Akito were quickly dashed by the appearance of Hatori.
"Have you seen Momiji?" he asked. Tohru thought about this, and realized that she had seen Haru carrying Momiji to the van.
"I think Haru took him to the van" she said. Hatori left towards the van, not noticing Akito's unshaded state. Hatori walked up back to the van. He heard what sounded like muffled screams coming from the boot. He opened the boot to find Momiji, naked, hogtied, and gagged with tape. Hatori looked around to see if anyone might have seen this, and noticed a man with his daughter looking at them.
"I-it's not what it looks like" Hatori choked out, looking like a deer in headlights. This assertion was in vain, as the man had already led away his daughter and was calling the police. Hatori quickly untied Momiji, and let him get dressed.
"OK, so what happened" Hatori said bluntly.
"Haru went crazy and tied me up!" Momiji said.
"OK" Hatori said, as they walked down onto the beach. Haru was in the ocean.
"Haru" Hatori shouted. Haru went over to Hatori.
"What is it?" Haru asked.
"Did you tie up Momiji?" Hatori asked, not wanting to run in blindly with just accusations.
"Yes" Haru stated.
"Why?" Hatori asked.
"He was forcing children to stroke him" Haru said. Hatori blinked in surprise.
"I admit that that's weird, but it's not a reason to leave him tied up in the van" Hatori finally said.
"Really?" Haru asked, "Then what is a good reason? How far will we let him go befo-" .
"I'm here, you know" Momiji interrupted.
"How did you escape?" Haru exclaimed at Momiji.
"Hatori untied me" Momiji explained. Haru looked disgustedly at Hatori.
"I didn't know what he did!" Hatori said in his defence.
"I still don't, really", he muttered to himself. Before this fruitless exchange could continue, a police officer arrived. Before Hatori could protest or explain, he was handcuffed and being led away. Momiji, not wanting Hatori to suffer for his acts, tried to explain what happened.
"He didn't do it! It was Haru!" Momiji told the police officer, gesturing towards Haru.
"He was being perverted with children!" Haru exclaimed in his defence. Momiji and Haru soon found themselves handcuffed as well. They were led back to a police car. There was another police officer.
"OK, so what the hell happened here?" the officer from the car asked angrily.
"These two were the kidnappers" the first officer said, pointing at Hatori and Haru.
"And this one is a pervert" they continued, pointing at Momiji. The other officer sighed as Hatori, Haru, and Momiji were shoved into the back of the police car. The first officer got into the car, and they drove away to the police station. Once they had arrived, Hatori, Momiji, and Haru were put into the holding cells. The cell that Momiji and Haru ended up in already had someone inside. This someone was a boy, appearing to be around the same age. He was very tall, and also appeared rather strong. He turned towards the newcomers to the cell.
"Do I know you?" he asked Momiji.
"I don't think so" Momiji replied.
"You're the guy who beat up my friend" the boy replied, as he stood up and walked menacingly over to Momiji. While Momiji was quite strong, this boy was clearly far stronger, and could easily defeat him. Momiji noticed a small, barred window at the top of the cell, which was mostly occluded by a large, dark fowl that was sat observing the boys in the cell. While it was clearly a fowl, Momiji noted that it had full, hairy plumage, a heavily arched back, long, pinnal earlobes, and a generally cunnicular appearance. Momiji clucked softly at the fowl, which turned its purplish, dubbed-looking head towards Momiji. It seemed that the fowl was leporine enough for Momiji to communicate with it. Momiji uttered another cluck, urging the fowl to protect him. The fowl lept from its perch, and struck Momiji's attacker with its great paws. The boy turned to face the fowl, but was met with a quick peck in the eye, which sent him to the floor.
"OK, what the hell is going on?" the custody officer said, after noticing the destruction happening in the cell.
"This bird flew in and attacked him" Momiji said, pointing to the injured boy on the floor. The fowl, with nothing else to do in the cell, lept and flew up to the window, before walking out and flying into the open air.
"Those birds don't normally attack people" the officer replied. The injured boy got up, still holding his bloody eye.
"That kid made the bird attack me!" he said. The officer sighed.
"Unless he has some sort of animal-controlling powers that he has withheld" the officer began, startling Momiji and Haru, "then there is no way that they could have controlled that bird". The officer then opened the cell door, to bring the injured boy away to have his injuries dealt with. At this time, Hatori was being interviewed.
"Did you kidnap the victim?" the interviewing officer asked.
"No" Hatori replied.
"What were you doing when the victim was kidnapped?" the officer asked.
"I'm not sure when the kidnapping took place, but I was on the beach with my relatives for most of the time since we arrived at the beach" Hatori explained.
"Why don't you know when it happened?" the officer asked.
"Because I wasn't there when it happened" Hatori said, confused by why he was asked such a question.
"Did the van in which the victim was held belong to you?" the officer asked.
"Yes" Hatori said.
"Where did the kidnapper get the tape from?" the officer asked.
"I had some duct tape in the glovebox, just in case we needed to do some quick repairs" Hatori explained. The officer had no more questions, and Hatori was brought back to the holding cell. A short time later, Haru was also interviewed.
"Did you kidnap the victim" the interviewing officer asked.
"Yes" Haru said.
"Was anyone else involved in the kidnapping?" the officer asked.
"Yes" Haru said.
"Who?" the officer asked.
"Oh, Momiji" Haru said. This intrigued the officer, as they had heard that Momiji was arrested for something else.
"How was Momiji involved?" the officer asked.
"He was the one getting kidnapped" Haru explained. The officer facepalmed.
"That isn't what I meant by 'being involved'" they explained, "So, did anyone help you to kidnap Momiji?".
"No" Haru replied.
"Why did you kidnap him?" the officer asked.
"He was doing depraved things to children!" Haru exclaimed angrily.
"What did you see him do?" the officer asked.
"I can't say" Haru replied. The officer had no more questions, and so returned Haru to the cell. Finally, Momiji was interviewed.
"Did you do anything inappropriate to a child?" the interviewing officer asked.
"No!" Momiji said.
"Did you do anything that might have been misconstrued as something inappropriate" the officer asked.
"No" Momiji replied.
"Well, there is no evidence of you doing anything, so I guess we may as well let you go" the officer said. Momiji was brought to a phone, and was allowed to call someone to pick him up. He decided to call Shigure.
"Shigure" Momiji began, "I-".
"Where have you been?" Shigure asked.
"I got arrested" Momiji explained.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Shigure asked.
"I'm being let go, so could you help me get back?" Momiji asked.
"How?" Shigure asked.
"Look, just walk back to the beach" he continued before Momiji could answer him. Momiji ended the call, collected his confiscated belongings, and left. Hatori, who had been released due to Haru's confessions, was then given an opportunity to call someone to pick him up as Momiji was. He declined, and decided to simply return with Momiji. He left the police station, and walked up to Momiji.
"The police here are quite quick" Hatori remarked.
"I guess so" Momiji said, and they began making their way back to the beach. A short while later, on the beach, Akito awoke from her long nap. Before she could even open her eyes, she was hit by a searing pain. She had somehow gotten a severe sunburn. She tried to call for help, but was unable to bear the fiery pain in her peeling skin. She threw up on the ground, alerting Shigure that she was not OK. He ran over, and looked down at her. Her skin was red, blistered, and peeling, and her nose and mouth were soaked in sick. She twitched painfully, even the slightest movements causing torturous pain. As their van had been taken by the police, Shigure decided to make a call to request another van. He made the call, and then tried to find ways to try and help Akito. But all he could do was simply wait for the van to arrive, and return home. Hatori and Momiji were making their way to the beach, unaware of Akito's condition. As they walked, they heard a voice.
"Hey, bird-boy, you think you could just walk away?" the voice said. Hatori and Momiji turned to see the source of this voice. This source was the boy who tried to fight Momiji. He had an eye-pad over his injured eye, and was wearing some sort of amalgam gauntlet on his left arm. There were two people with him. One of them was tall and ranine, except for the head, tail, and light-brindled, xanadu skin, which made them rather resemble a grampus. The third person was female, and around the same age as the boy. She was a little shorter than the boy, and seemed oddly pale.
"Who are you?" Hatori asked.
"That's the guy who attacked me!" Momiji shouted in shock.
"What?" Hatori asked.
"When I was in the holding cell, I got attacked by him" Momiji explained.
"But this time, you can't summon your little birdies to help you" the boy countered, gesturing to the hexed, birdless sky.
"Tisech" the boy said to the ranine being, "Do you mind fighting for me?". Tisech shook his blunt head, and hopped towards Momiji.
"I'd love to fight you, but I have to get going now" the boy stated before turning around and walking away.
"Why? are you scared?" Momiji taunted.
"Fine then. I'll fight" the boy said, which was not the response Momiji wanted or desired.
"You don't need to fight" Hatori said, "Let's ju-". He was suddenly interrupted by a heavy strike from one of Tisech's broad, brutal hands. He hurtled through the air until he struck the wall of a building. Hatori stood up, and took out his phone to call the police, but found that it was heavily cracked. Hatori was now angry. He walked over to the great hybrid, and produced a hypnotic burst, which simply deflect away harmlessly.
"What the hell?" Hatori exclaimed.
"It's the toadstone" Tisech explained, "The source of our power". Meanwhile, Momiji was the victim of many bursts of power from the boy's gaudy glistering gauntlet. While he had managed to somehow dodge most of them, he eventually faltered and was struck in the leg. The boy then suddenly supernaturally lept over to Momiji.
"I bet you regret that bird trick now" the boy gloated.
"Hatori! Help!" Momiji screamed in vain. Hatori was embroiled in his own brawl with Tisech, who had lowered into a quadrupedal, reptilian-looking form. Tisech had settled into a routine of quick lunges, which Hatori could barely outpace. Suddenly, he had a crazy idea. When Tisech lunged, he lept over them, and fired a hypnotic blast through the roof of his skull. The blast, rather than being deflected, simply knocked out the violent hybrid. He then walked over to Momiji, who was trapped on the floor, suffering a vicious assault from the boy. The boy turned to Hatori.
"So, you got through Tisech" the boy began, "But ca-". Hatori interrupted his speech with a quick hypnosis. He then walked over to the pale girl, who was now quite scared, and hypnotised her as well.
"Why did you do that?" Momiji asked.
"I don't want to get arrested twice in one day" Hatori said, "Now, can you walk?". Momiji stood up.
"Kind of" he said.
"Good" Hatori said, as they continued on their return journey. After a short and uneventful walk, they managed to get back to the beach. Hatori saw Shigure standing beside a very large, 14-seat van.
"Why didn't we come in this van" Hatori mused as he arrived at the vehicle.
"Akito didn't want to use it" Shigure explained, as he entered the van.
"Of course it's her" Hatori muttered, as he and Momiji followed Shigure into the van.
"Where's Haru?" Shigure asked.
"He's not been released yet" Hatori explained. Shigure, Hatori, and Momiji got into the remaining seats, and they left the beach.
"Why?" Yuki asked.
"Akito arranged a beach trip last night" Shigure explained. Yuki sighed, and finished his breakfast. After breakfast, Yuki, Shigure, and Tohru gathered their beachwear and headed to where they would meet up with the others going on the trip. They arrived at this destination, which was a 7-seat van with a capacious boot. Hatori was stood outside, smoking a cigarette. Shigure opened the side-door of the van, and the three of them entered. Akito, Kureno, and Ritsu were already in the van. Akito was sat in the front passenger seat, asleep, Kureno was in the central row, at the end, and Ritsu was at the far corner of the final row. Yuki and Tohru sat in the back row, and Shigure went to sit beside Kureno.
"You can't sit there" Kureno told Shigure.
"Why?" Shigure asked.
"Akito said that I have to sit alone" Kureno explained. Shigure sighed.
"So, Yuki or Ritsu will have to travel in animal form" he stated.
"Why can't you transform?" Yuki objected, before a burst of green smoke filled the back row as Ritsu transformed and climbed into the boot, loudly apologising as he did so. Shigure sat in the now vacant seat. Very soon after, not even long enough for the smoke to disperse, Hiro, Kisa, and Hiro's mother arrived.
"Hello, Hatori" Hiro's mother said, as she opened the side-door of the van.
"There doesn't seem to be much space" Hiro's mother mused.
"It'll be fine" Hatori lied.
"OK.." Hiro's mother said, as she left. At this time, Haru, Rin, Momiji, and Kagura appeared.
"This is getting ridiculous" Hatori sighed as he put out his cigarette. He shook Akito awake.
"Can't we just go in two cars?" Hatori asked, fed up with Akito's childish insistence on travelling together.
"NO!" Akito shouted. Hatori sighed, and lit another cigarette.
"Me and Rin will need to have seats" Haru stated.
"I guess so.." Shigure sighed, before suddenly grabbing Tohru and transforming. He, as a dog, ran up the van to sit on Akito's lap.
"Are you OK?" Yuki asked Tohru.
"Yes" Tohru replied quickly. Yuki and Tohru hugged reluctantly.
"My turn!" Momiji shouted, before hugging Tohru and transforming.
"What are we doing with the clothes?" Tohru asked, wanting a break from the hugs and smoky transformations.
"Just put them in the boot" Hatori said. Tohru picked up the clothes, and brought them to the boot. Suddenly, Hiro climbed over the back seat into the boot.
"Hiro, why are you in here?" Tohru asked.
"Just hug me" Hiro said, as he grabbed Tohru and transformed.
"Is everyone alright?" Tohru said after a short pause.
"Yeah" Hiro said.
"I'm fine too!" Ritsu said, allowing Hiro ample time to speak.
"OK" Tohru said, shutting the boot's door. When she returned, Kagura was sitting in the way of the side-door, Haru and Rin were sat in the back row, with the near seat being occupied by Momiji. Yuki was lying on Haru's shoulder. Strangely, Kisa was sat on the floor, in her tiger form.
"How did you transform?" Tohru asked.
"I want to sit you" Kisa said, as if it was an answer.
"Where am I going to go?" Kagura asked.
"Maybe just hide in the boot as a human" Hatori suggested, clearly tired of Akito's burdensome stubbornness.
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Kagura replied.
"Not much more than sitting in there as a boar" Hatori said.
"Maybe I could go in the boot?" Tohru suggested.
"Great idea" Kagura said. Tohru went to the boot, followed by Kisa, and entered the boot.
"What are you doing?" Hiro asked.
"I'm going to sit in the boot" Tohru explained.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Hiro continued.
"Hatori is a good driver" Tohru replied, as she sat down. They then waited for Ayame to arrive. Eventually he sauntered up to the van, and opened the door.
"There are no seats!" he stated.
"You'll just have to turn into a snake and travel like that" Hatori said.
"But how can I transform?" Ayame asked.
"Tohru's in the boot" Hatori stated. Ayame went out and opened the boot.
"Hello, Tohru" he said, before giving her an unnecessarily deep hug, transforming, and slithering over the back seats to find Shigure. Hatori got in to the van, and they finally headed off to the beach. During the drive Tohru fell asleep, and awoke later, cuddling something. This something was Kisa, who was now in human form, and naked. Tohru let go of Kisa quickly, embarrassed by what happened. This woke up Kisa, who soon realised she human, and blushed deeply. Thankfully, the van had arrived at its destination. Everyone changed into their beachwear/swimwear, and went onto the beach to set up their umbrellas. As this was a public beach, they set up an umbrella low down, and surrounded by a windbreaker, as a hasty way to hide if someone is about to transform. While setting this up, Shigure noticed that Akito was topless. While he enjoyed the sight, he knew that the others wouldn't, and so he concocted a plan to keep the peace.
"Why don't we have a sexiest one-piece-swimsuit contest?" Shigure suggested. As Kisa was the only person currently wearing a one-piece-swimsuit, this suggestion was met with many shocked and disturbed glares. Akito, however, was excited at this proposition. She immediately returned to the van, changed into her one-piece-swimsuit, and returned.
"Now, let's start this contest!" Akito said.
"Well, you're the only participant, so I guess you win" Shigure said.
"YAY!" Akito exclaimed.
"As a reward, I shall buy you an ice-cream cone" Shigure continued. While Shigure and Akito went to find somewhere to buy ice-cream, Ayame went up to the van, and soon returned. A short while later, Akito and Shigure returned. Akito went to the van, and looked through the boot. Her searching became more frantic and her face reddened, until she broke down and started to scream and cry face-down on the floor.
"What's wrong" Shigure asked, not wanting Akito to make a scene.
"MY SHORTS ARE GONE!" Akito wailed.
"You still have your swimsuit" Shigure said, "And me". He leaned in close as he said this last part. Akito stopped crying, and returned to the beach. She decided that first, she wanted to play in the sand. She went to play, but found herself feeling lonely.
"Hey, Tohru!" She shouted over, "Come here!". Tohru, not wanting to upset her, obeyed her request.
"What is it?" Tohru asked.
"Come play in the sand with me" Akito demanded. Tohru and Akito made sand-castles, and did other stuff in the sand. Then Akito had an idea.
"Tohru, Let me bury you in the sand!" she said, with an expression that told Tohru that this was not a good idea.
"Um, um" Tohru said, looking for a reason to escape, "Why don't I, um, get you some ice-cream?".
"Yay!" Akito said, as Tohru scuttled away to 'get ice-cream'. She then had an idea.
"Akito, do you have any allergies?" Tohru asked.
"NO!" Akito responded, feeling insulted that Tohru would even think that.
"I don't like nuts, though" she continued quietly.
"OK" Tohru said, and left once more. This left Akito with no-one to play with. She sighed, until she spotted a young girl and boy playing together in the sand. She stood up, and walked over to them, bringing with her an aura of fear.
"Hello!" Akito said, "Can I play with you?". The children, immediately scared by Akito's demeanour, ran away to their parents. Akito was annoyed by this, and foolishly went over to confront them.
"What are you doing?" the children's mother asked Akito angrily.
"Those brats won't play with me!" Akito said, her face red and her eyes teary. The children's mother was shocked.
"But you're a weird crossdressing creep!" she eventually said.
"I'M A WOMAN!" Akito screamed.
"Well, that makes all the difference" the children's mother replied.
"So.." Akito began, "Ca-".
"Get out of here before I call the cops!" the children's mother interrupted. Akito, not used to being interrupted, fell to the floor and started wailing. Fortunately, Hatori heard this commotion, and brought Akito away. Tohru returned with a peanut-butter ice-cream-bar. She had selected it after a discussion with the vendor over which bar had the least nutty flavour, which was quite suspicious to the vendor. She gave the bar to Akito, who immediately forgot her encounter with the children, and happily ate her ice-cream. Soon after finishing the ice-cream, Akito felt unwell. Her skin became red and itchy, and she found it harder and harder to breathe. She tried to alert someone to her plight, but the words were stopped by the swelling throat closing up.
"Are you OK?" Tohru asked 'obliviously'. Akito could not respond, and so Tohru pretended to assume she was alright. Akito tried to crawl towards Hatori, but fell to the ground weakly as her skin purpled. The sand scratched at her cadaverous skin, sending shocks of pain throughout her body. Before she could slip away from life, Kureno spotted her. He immediately looked through the bag until he found the epinephrine autoinjector he had secretly stashed away in case of an event like this. He ran over to Akito, and injected her with the autoinjector. The swelling in her throat soon subsided, and she took a deep breath, returning colour to her cyanosed skin.
"Good job saving my life" Akito said.
"Maybe you deserve a little reward" she continued in a seductive tone.
"Wouldn't you prefer to have a rest first?" Kureno suggested. At this time, Ritsu was reading a book. He felt a small hand tap his back.
"Hey, do you want to play with me?" the owner of the hand said. Ritsu turned around to see this person, who was a cute little girl. He suddenly turned to rest his arms on his lap, in a poor attempt to hide his nodose erection.
"You s-shouldn't talk to strangers" Ritsu said.
"What's that in your shorts?" the girl asked, ignoring Ritsu's advice.
"Nothing!" Ritsu exclaimed. The girl looked confused, and ran away. Ritsu sighed in relief, and returned to his book. A few moments later, the shadow of a large man loomed over Ritsu.
"Can I help you?" Ritsu asked the man. "What were you doing to my daughter?" the man asked angrily.
"N-nothing!" Ritsu exclaimed. Before Ritsu had a chance to apologize, or say anything at all, the man grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him off the ground.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" shouted the man, "DRE-". The man then noticed the crowd he was drawing. Before he could offer an explanation, he was punched in the face by one member of the crowd. Ritsu, now free of the man's grasp, scuttled away, and hid in the hiding structure in case he transformed. Tohru, who had seen the entire proceedings, was worried.
"Are you OK?" she asked Ritsu.
"Yes" Ritsu said, lying down in the hiding structure. His stomach suddenly gurgled loudly.
"Actually, I feel a bit hungry" he admitted.
"I'll get you some food then!" Tohru said.
"Thanks" Ritsu said, as he handed some money to Tohru for the food.
"What would you like?" Tohru asked.
"I don't mind what you get" Ritsu replied. At this, Tohru left to get Ritsu some food. She wandered around, until she found a place selling food. She entered this place, and bought a copious burrito for Ritsu. She returned, entered the hiding structure, and handed the burrito to Ritsu.
"Thanks" Ritsu said. He swiftly took the burrito and quickly ate it, his cheeks and throat inflating disturbingly with the incoming food. Once the burrito was gone, he swallowed it all in a single, grotesque gulp. Tohru just stared at this display, going slightly pale. Ritsu noticed then noticed the effect he had on Tohru, and started to apologise.
"I'M SORRY! I THO-".
"Ritsu, get out. We need this" Akito rudely interrupted, as she dragged Kureno into the hiding structure. Ritsu silently left, and Tohru was about to follow him.
"No, you can stay" Akito said to Tohru, in a tone that was supposed to be seductive but very much wasn't.
"It's OK" Tohru said, before quickly leaving. Outside, she saw Momiji lying on the ground, in clear discomfort.
"Momiji!" she exclaimed, "What's wrong?".
"I don't feel too good" Momiji responded.
"Do you feel like you are going to transform?" Tohru asked.
"Not really" Momiji said.
"Good. Akito and Kureno are doing some.. private activities the hiding thing" Tohru said. Momiji perked up at this news.
"Maybe I should go to the hider, just in case" he said, as he headed off to the hiding structure. When he arrived, he found Akito and Kureno inside, completely naked. Akito turned around to see the intruder.
"Momiji!" she said, "Why the hell are you here?".
"I don't feel well, so I'm hiding in case I transform" Momiji explained.
"Fine, but don't interrupt us!" Akito replied.
"Of course not!" Momiji said, as he secretly took out his phone to record Akito and Kureno's steamy activities. After some time, Akito had finished 'rewarding Kureno', and put on her swimsuit. She then spotted Momiji's phone hidden in his hand.
"Were you recording us?" Akito asked angrily.
"No" Momiji lied.
"Then what were you doing?" Akito asked.
"I was just checking my phone!" Momiji lied.
"Do you really think you can lie to me!" Akito shouted.
"I'm not lying!" Momiji said, "I-".
"Are you OK, Akito?" Kureno asked, "You seem a bit irritable".
"He was recording us!" Akito shouted, gesturing at the space from where Momiji had just lept away. Akito immediately left the hiding structure to look for the hare, but, after a few seconds, gave up and decided to go for a swim.
"Hatori!" Akito shouted, "Come here!".
"What is it?" Hatori asked, already being nearly at Akito's side.
"Get my arm floaties" Akito demanded. Hatori sighed, and looked through the bag to find the floats. He found the floats, and put them on Akito's arms. Akito then ran over to the ocean. Hatori sighed in relief to see Akito leave and give him even a short while of peace. At this point, Momiji had finished uploading his voyeuristic video. Seeing Akito go to the ocean, he decided to return to the hiding structure, as he was now feeling quite ill. He quickly stumbled over to the hiding structure, just before transforming into a hare in a puff of yellow smoke. He laid on the floor, until he found himself feeling far better in his more cunnicular form. He decided to leave the hiding structure, and spend some time on the beach as a hare. At this time, Kureno was taking a quick nap. Tohru saw him, his shirtless chest breathing. Tohru briefly wondered why she was so focused on his breathing, up she noticed that there was something terribly wrong with his manner of breathing. She stared transfixed at the nauseating motions of his chest, her face paling and gaining a slight green tint. Kureno soon awoke, and saw Tohru staring disturbedly at his chest. Kureno stirred, and opened his eyes. He saw Tohru staring, and quickly tried to cover his chest.
"Why are you staring at my chest?" he asked. Tohru was suddenly shook from her trance.
"Oh, well, um.. Your chest is kind of.. strange" Tohru stuttered out.
"Oh" Kureno said, "I get that a lot. It's because of the curse".
"Huh?" Tohru interjected.
"I have avian lungs but with a regular ribcage, so it just looks wrong" Kureno explained.
"Oh" Tohru said. Kureno returned to his nap, and Tohru, seeing Akito return from her short play in the ocean, decided to leave him alone. At this time, Haru was wandering along the beach, until he noticed something. That something was Momiji, in leporine form, getting his ears pet by a young girl. At the sight of such depravity, he turned Dark. He strode up to the sandy-hued hare, and grabbed him roughly by the throat. He then took him away to the van. A short while later, Tohru had an idea. She was alone with Akito near their umbrella setup. Akito was asleep, loosely holding a bottle of juice just outside the shade of the umbrella. If Tohru moved the umbrella in a 'good-natured' attempt to keep the juice bottle shaded and cool, then Akito's pale skin would certainly be burned before anyone discovered Tohru's trick. And so, Tohru picked up the umbrella, and moved it so that it shaded the juice, but left Akito completely exposed to the sun. Tohru giggled at her idea, but her hopes of sunburning Akito were quickly dashed by the appearance of Hatori.
"Have you seen Momiji?" he asked. Tohru thought about this, and realized that she had seen Haru carrying Momiji to the van.
"I think Haru took him to the van" she said. Hatori left towards the van, not noticing Akito's unshaded state. Hatori walked up back to the van. He heard what sounded like muffled screams coming from the boot. He opened the boot to find Momiji, naked, hogtied, and gagged with tape. Hatori looked around to see if anyone might have seen this, and noticed a man with his daughter looking at them.
"I-it's not what it looks like" Hatori choked out, looking like a deer in headlights. This assertion was in vain, as the man had already led away his daughter and was calling the police. Hatori quickly untied Momiji, and let him get dressed.
"OK, so what happened" Hatori said bluntly.
"Haru went crazy and tied me up!" Momiji said.
"OK" Hatori said, as they walked down onto the beach. Haru was in the ocean.
"Haru" Hatori shouted. Haru went over to Hatori.
"What is it?" Haru asked.
"Did you tie up Momiji?" Hatori asked, not wanting to run in blindly with just accusations.
"Yes" Haru stated.
"Why?" Hatori asked.
"He was forcing children to stroke him" Haru said. Hatori blinked in surprise.
"I admit that that's weird, but it's not a reason to leave him tied up in the van" Hatori finally said.
"Really?" Haru asked, "Then what is a good reason? How far will we let him go befo-" .
"I'm here, you know" Momiji interrupted.
"How did you escape?" Haru exclaimed at Momiji.
"Hatori untied me" Momiji explained. Haru looked disgustedly at Hatori.
"I didn't know what he did!" Hatori said in his defence.
"I still don't, really", he muttered to himself. Before this fruitless exchange could continue, a police officer arrived. Before Hatori could protest or explain, he was handcuffed and being led away. Momiji, not wanting Hatori to suffer for his acts, tried to explain what happened.
"He didn't do it! It was Haru!" Momiji told the police officer, gesturing towards Haru.
"He was being perverted with children!" Haru exclaimed in his defence. Momiji and Haru soon found themselves handcuffed as well. They were led back to a police car. There was another police officer.
"OK, so what the hell happened here?" the officer from the car asked angrily.
"These two were the kidnappers" the first officer said, pointing at Hatori and Haru.
"And this one is a pervert" they continued, pointing at Momiji. The other officer sighed as Hatori, Haru, and Momiji were shoved into the back of the police car. The first officer got into the car, and they drove away to the police station. Once they had arrived, Hatori, Momiji, and Haru were put into the holding cells. The cell that Momiji and Haru ended up in already had someone inside. This someone was a boy, appearing to be around the same age. He was very tall, and also appeared rather strong. He turned towards the newcomers to the cell.
"Do I know you?" he asked Momiji.
"I don't think so" Momiji replied.
"You're the guy who beat up my friend" the boy replied, as he stood up and walked menacingly over to Momiji. While Momiji was quite strong, this boy was clearly far stronger, and could easily defeat him. Momiji noticed a small, barred window at the top of the cell, which was mostly occluded by a large, dark fowl that was sat observing the boys in the cell. While it was clearly a fowl, Momiji noted that it had full, hairy plumage, a heavily arched back, long, pinnal earlobes, and a generally cunnicular appearance. Momiji clucked softly at the fowl, which turned its purplish, dubbed-looking head towards Momiji. It seemed that the fowl was leporine enough for Momiji to communicate with it. Momiji uttered another cluck, urging the fowl to protect him. The fowl lept from its perch, and struck Momiji's attacker with its great paws. The boy turned to face the fowl, but was met with a quick peck in the eye, which sent him to the floor.
"OK, what the hell is going on?" the custody officer said, after noticing the destruction happening in the cell.
"This bird flew in and attacked him" Momiji said, pointing to the injured boy on the floor. The fowl, with nothing else to do in the cell, lept and flew up to the window, before walking out and flying into the open air.
"Those birds don't normally attack people" the officer replied. The injured boy got up, still holding his bloody eye.
"That kid made the bird attack me!" he said. The officer sighed.
"Unless he has some sort of animal-controlling powers that he has withheld" the officer began, startling Momiji and Haru, "then there is no way that they could have controlled that bird". The officer then opened the cell door, to bring the injured boy away to have his injuries dealt with. At this time, Hatori was being interviewed.
"Did you kidnap the victim?" the interviewing officer asked.
"No" Hatori replied.
"What were you doing when the victim was kidnapped?" the officer asked.
"I'm not sure when the kidnapping took place, but I was on the beach with my relatives for most of the time since we arrived at the beach" Hatori explained.
"Why don't you know when it happened?" the officer asked.
"Because I wasn't there when it happened" Hatori said, confused by why he was asked such a question.
"Did the van in which the victim was held belong to you?" the officer asked.
"Yes" Hatori said.
"Where did the kidnapper get the tape from?" the officer asked.
"I had some duct tape in the glovebox, just in case we needed to do some quick repairs" Hatori explained. The officer had no more questions, and Hatori was brought back to the holding cell. A short time later, Haru was also interviewed.
"Did you kidnap the victim" the interviewing officer asked.
"Yes" Haru said.
"Was anyone else involved in the kidnapping?" the officer asked.
"Yes" Haru said.
"Who?" the officer asked.
"Oh, Momiji" Haru said. This intrigued the officer, as they had heard that Momiji was arrested for something else.
"How was Momiji involved?" the officer asked.
"He was the one getting kidnapped" Haru explained. The officer facepalmed.
"That isn't what I meant by 'being involved'" they explained, "So, did anyone help you to kidnap Momiji?".
"No" Haru replied.
"Why did you kidnap him?" the officer asked.
"He was doing depraved things to children!" Haru exclaimed angrily.
"What did you see him do?" the officer asked.
"I can't say" Haru replied. The officer had no more questions, and so returned Haru to the cell. Finally, Momiji was interviewed.
"Did you do anything inappropriate to a child?" the interviewing officer asked.
"No!" Momiji said.
"Did you do anything that might have been misconstrued as something inappropriate" the officer asked.
"No" Momiji replied.
"Well, there is no evidence of you doing anything, so I guess we may as well let you go" the officer said. Momiji was brought to a phone, and was allowed to call someone to pick him up. He decided to call Shigure.
"Shigure" Momiji began, "I-".
"Where have you been?" Shigure asked.
"I got arrested" Momiji explained.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Shigure asked.
"I'm being let go, so could you help me get back?" Momiji asked.
"How?" Shigure asked.
"Look, just walk back to the beach" he continued before Momiji could answer him. Momiji ended the call, collected his confiscated belongings, and left. Hatori, who had been released due to Haru's confessions, was then given an opportunity to call someone to pick him up as Momiji was. He declined, and decided to simply return with Momiji. He left the police station, and walked up to Momiji.
"The police here are quite quick" Hatori remarked.
"I guess so" Momiji said, and they began making their way back to the beach. A short while later, on the beach, Akito awoke from her long nap. Before she could even open her eyes, she was hit by a searing pain. She had somehow gotten a severe sunburn. She tried to call for help, but was unable to bear the fiery pain in her peeling skin. She threw up on the ground, alerting Shigure that she was not OK. He ran over, and looked down at her. Her skin was red, blistered, and peeling, and her nose and mouth were soaked in sick. She twitched painfully, even the slightest movements causing torturous pain. As their van had been taken by the police, Shigure decided to make a call to request another van. He made the call, and then tried to find ways to try and help Akito. But all he could do was simply wait for the van to arrive, and return home. Hatori and Momiji were making their way to the beach, unaware of Akito's condition. As they walked, they heard a voice.
"Hey, bird-boy, you think you could just walk away?" the voice said. Hatori and Momiji turned to see the source of this voice. This source was the boy who tried to fight Momiji. He had an eye-pad over his injured eye, and was wearing some sort of amalgam gauntlet on his left arm. There were two people with him. One of them was tall and ranine, except for the head, tail, and light-brindled, xanadu skin, which made them rather resemble a grampus. The third person was female, and around the same age as the boy. She was a little shorter than the boy, and seemed oddly pale.
"Who are you?" Hatori asked.
"That's the guy who attacked me!" Momiji shouted in shock.
"What?" Hatori asked.
"When I was in the holding cell, I got attacked by him" Momiji explained.
"But this time, you can't summon your little birdies to help you" the boy countered, gesturing to the hexed, birdless sky.
"Tisech" the boy said to the ranine being, "Do you mind fighting for me?". Tisech shook his blunt head, and hopped towards Momiji.
"I'd love to fight you, but I have to get going now" the boy stated before turning around and walking away.
"Why? are you scared?" Momiji taunted.
"Fine then. I'll fight" the boy said, which was not the response Momiji wanted or desired.
"You don't need to fight" Hatori said, "Let's ju-". He was suddenly interrupted by a heavy strike from one of Tisech's broad, brutal hands. He hurtled through the air until he struck the wall of a building. Hatori stood up, and took out his phone to call the police, but found that it was heavily cracked. Hatori was now angry. He walked over to the great hybrid, and produced a hypnotic burst, which simply deflect away harmlessly.
"What the hell?" Hatori exclaimed.
"It's the toadstone" Tisech explained, "The source of our power". Meanwhile, Momiji was the victim of many bursts of power from the boy's gaudy glistering gauntlet. While he had managed to somehow dodge most of them, he eventually faltered and was struck in the leg. The boy then suddenly supernaturally lept over to Momiji.
"I bet you regret that bird trick now" the boy gloated.
"Hatori! Help!" Momiji screamed in vain. Hatori was embroiled in his own brawl with Tisech, who had lowered into a quadrupedal, reptilian-looking form. Tisech had settled into a routine of quick lunges, which Hatori could barely outpace. Suddenly, he had a crazy idea. When Tisech lunged, he lept over them, and fired a hypnotic blast through the roof of his skull. The blast, rather than being deflected, simply knocked out the violent hybrid. He then walked over to Momiji, who was trapped on the floor, suffering a vicious assault from the boy. The boy turned to Hatori.
"So, you got through Tisech" the boy began, "But ca-". Hatori interrupted his speech with a quick hypnosis. He then walked over to the pale girl, who was now quite scared, and hypnotised her as well.
"Why did you do that?" Momiji asked.
"I don't want to get arrested twice in one day" Hatori said, "Now, can you walk?". Momiji stood up.
"Kind of" he said.
"Good" Hatori said, as they continued on their return journey. After a short and uneventful walk, they managed to get back to the beach. Hatori saw Shigure standing beside a very large, 14-seat van.
"Why didn't we come in this van" Hatori mused as he arrived at the vehicle.
"Akito didn't want to use it" Shigure explained, as he entered the van.
"Of course it's her" Hatori muttered, as he and Momiji followed Shigure into the van.
"Where's Haru?" Shigure asked.
"He's not been released yet" Hatori explained. Shigure, Hatori, and Momiji got into the remaining seats, and they left the beach.