Okay, Here's chapter 3! I'm on a roll!!! WO0t!!!! My dog, Annie, is in here cheering me on!

Chapter 3

A New Family

As night fell, the group stopped to make camp under a broad tree.

"Kuro-pii, could you help me start this fire?" Fai asked.

Kurogane was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and his back against the tree trunk. He opened one eye. "Do it yourself."

Kyo sat down next to him. "Is he always like this?"

Kurogane sighed. "Pretty much."

Sayoran offered to help Fai start the fire.

Sakura, Mokona, and Moki played with Fai's frog. "It's so strange!" Mokona remarked.

"So, how did you get here?" Kurogane asked Kyo. "I see you have one of those things from Yuko."

"Yep, Moki brought me here. She can track Mokona's movement through different worlds and go there if she wants."

"I see." Kurogane mused.

"Mokona found berries!" Mokona exclaimed.

"Don't eat those unless you know they're safe." Sayoran warned.

Kyo stood. "Let me see them."

Mokona handed a berry to her. She took it and held it between her fingers. It began to give off a faint red glow. "They're fine. If there were any toxins, it would give off a green glow."

"Yay! Mokona found dinner!" Mokona said happily.

"So, you're a magic user." Kurogane said, slightly surprised.

Kyo sat back down. "Yeah. Both Yuko and I are. It runs in the family."

"You're related?"

"Yuko is my older sister."

"Oh! That explains why you look so much like her!" Fai commented while petting his frog.

Kyo shot him a venomous look.

"Why did you leave?" Kurogane inquired.

"Yuko and I are always fighting. I left because she was cooping me up in that house and I wanted to see the world. We got into a huge fight and I couldn't take it any more. You see, she's been training me to follow in her footsteps, but I don't want to. So, I took matters into my own hands and made my escape."

Kurogane didn't press her further.

"Warm Berries?"

Kurogane and Kyo looked up to see Fai offering them both handfuls of berries with a happy smile.

Kurogane took them, as did Kyo, though she did so grudgingly.

"I don't understand how you could treat someone of your own kind so harshly." Kurogane said with a wry smile.

"He called me Yuko." She said, "End of subject."

"I got it!" Fai suddenly exclaimed.

Sayoran, Kurogane, and Kyo were immediately on there feet. "What is it?!"

Fai smiled and held up his frog. "I'm going to call him 'McGoogles'!"

"Fai!" Kyo yelled in annoyance.

He laughed. She sighed. This was her new family.

Fai stared into the dying embers of the fire. He couldn't stop thinking about her. "Kyoko Ishihara." He thought. "I should have known." He couldn't understand why she couldn't get over his small mistake. "Now she hates me." It was like having a second Kurogane around. And on top of it all, she was beautiful. How could he, a male forever a slave to guy things, ignore her? He rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

The group left early the next morning. Sayoran seemed to know exactly where he was, even in the dense fog. However, by midday, they had arrived in a thriving city. Fai searched for someone to show them around and finally came across a thirteen-year-old girl.

"Guys, this is Megumi. She's going to show us around." He said, introducing the dark haired, brown-eyed girl.

"Welcome to Kichi!" She said.

"Kichi is the capital city of the country of Terraq." Fai explained.

Megumi led them around the city of rustic wooden houses and grand stone buildings. "The palace and government buildings." Megumi explained.

Finally, they came to Megumi's house. It was built in the same old style as the other houses. She opened the door. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" She called.

Megumi's mother came to greet her. "Megumi, who are your new…" She paused as she realized that the two oldest were at least twenty. "…acquaintances?"

She introduced her to the group. "They need a place to stay, so can they stay with us?"

"Oh, no, we couldn't ask you to do that." Sayoran said.

"No, please. I can tell that you are all trustworthy." She said with a smile.

"Mom can feel people's true personalities!" Megumi quipped.

"We have two extra rooms." She said, leading them inside.

Fai smiled. "Great! Kyo can room with Sakura and Sayoran, Kuro-rin, and I will stay in the other!"

"I'm not rooming with him." Kurogane said flatly.

"Any other arrangement would hardly be appropriate." Fai pointed out with an "and you know it" smile. "It's settled."

Suddenly, they heard screaming in the streets. Sayoran threw the door open. People ran panicked everywhere. He stopped a fleeing woman. "What's going on?"

Her eyes were wide with fear. "It's the giant toads! They're attacking again!"