Chapter 8

Pulling out a pair of pliars and some other tools that he had Nai secretly get him and promise not to tell anyone, he knew that the bathroom was one of the few places there weren't cameras. He'd have to quickly de-activate this sheep. "Bahh, unauthorized behavior detected," the sheep bleated. Shit, it was going to send out a distress signal. Karoku felt wires reach out from the sheep and try to snag him. He quickly dodged them. It wouldn't be long before a whole bunch of sheep came. He quickly tried to pop off the sheep's head. He hated to be medieval but there wasn't much time. The wires he quickly grabbed and he stabbed a man-made tazer into the back circuit box of the sheep. The sheep bleated, it's eyes going red and then the system overheated. The Sheep jerked and jolted and then went still. "Baah. Baah…. …" The sheep went still. He panted hard as the wires collapsed to the ground.

Karoku quickly dissembled some of the parts of the sheep. I need to make a key to grant me access to the main control room. No doubt these sheep are pre-programmed with the acess. With the parts he had, he quickly set to putting together a "scanner chip" that when pressed to the door, would read as the sheep and allow him entry. He had been on the ship long enough to study a few things. He just couldn't believe he was risking everything to get a stupid happy birthday across. Jeez.

He opened the door to the bathroom. There were more sheep. Well shit. They shot their wires at him but he dodged them somehow. This was bad. At this rate he wouldn't ever get to the computer room. He knew he couldn't just ask to use the control room. He'd get busted or they'd say no because he was untrustworthy. To be fair, disembowling their sheep probably wasn't going to look great on his resume but he didn't have a choice. Using his makeshift tazer he set it to a line function and the electromagnetic current stuck all the sheep to one another commically in one giant sheep ball. Great, he bought time. He ran off towards the control room pell-mell. God damn, the lengths he went to to for Nai.

Swiping the key to the door, Karoku made it to the control room. So far no one had come and there was clearly no one on camera duty. "Password." Shit. He hadn't thought of that. He dumbly wracked his brains. Then he leaned towards the voice function.

"Bahh?" He said.

The door was silent. "Access granted." Well, that was easy. Running into the control room, he was honestly amazed that no one was on duty. He remembered that this room had a big t.v. like screen because he had watched it with Gareki and Nai back during the fight going on at Kuronomei. He had put this room to memory as well. While the other two were idly watching, he'd memorized the keyboard. Clacking away, he learned quickly that hacking was going to be a problem. He cracked his knuckles. He better get this shit flying. Suddenly an alarm went off.

"Override password…. Alarm going off in 20 seconds"... A machine's voice warned him that it was going to alert the whole ship to the intruder trying to hack the system. Karoku grit his teeth. How much time had passed? He was shaking from the adrenaline. The sheep wouldn't be unglued for a good couple of hours and he quickly clacked away on the keys. "10 seconds." Shit. The password override wasn't working. "8 seconds." He had to get to Gareki. He knew that this computer could go to the internet. He wondered if it could call Gareki as well. "6 seconds." Karoku's fingers flew across the keyboard. He grit his teeth as he read codes and attempted to override the system. "2 seconds". Shit.

"0 seconds. Alarm activating." Balls.

A red light began to flash. It wailed loudly. Everyone at the dinner table shot up, except Nai. "Fuck!" Jiiki yelled. "He's in the control room!"

"He's trying to override the system?!" Tsukitachi looked to Hirato.

"Where are the damn sheep?" Jiiki hissed. Everyone, even Nai, ran into the hallway and gaped. In front of them, rolling around unable to come unglued was a comical sight of all the sheep bleating in one giant bowling ball.

"That takes some serious talent," Tsukitachi couldn't help but remark.

Hirato's face was torn between the ridiculous sight and the serious situation. He picked to go with serious. "Tsukumo, Kiichi, find a way to get those sheep apart. "Tsukitachi, come with me. Dr. Akari, keep an eye on Nai-"

Nai had already taken off running. Jiiki gecked and he ran after to grab the Niji but Nai was faster and he darted around the corner. "No! I'm going after Karoku!" Hirato huffed.

"Have it your way. Jiiki, follow. I'm coming up the rear." He looked to Tsukitachi and they ran towards the control room. Yogi in the meantime bit his lower lip and looked at his feet. Why was this happening now? On his birthday. Instead of sadness, he felt filled with something else. Rage. He scratched at his patch, standing in the hall with Dr. Akari. Iva had run off to help Tsukumo and Kiichi. Dr. Akari turned to see the patch slowly fall off his face. His eyes widened as Yogi's hair slowly turned Silver. A dark smirk spread on his face.

"Let's play a game, Ka-ro-ku chan 3 " His voice sounded dark.

Dr. Akari figured that this may help stop the kid from causing trouble in the future. He just watched as Silver Yogi took off down the hall with a cackle. Well, this has turned into an interesting birthday party. Dr. Akari walked in the direction of the others, towards the control room though not nearly as fast. It was just one kid. Granted this kid had managed to thwart their best defense system-the sheep. And now he was attempting to hack into the computer system. This kid had balls. Akari was almost sad to think that they'd be lopped off by Silver Yogi. For the most part, this was the most interesting thing to happen all day. Considering being here felt like a waste of his time in the first place and he was abducted against his will by Tsukitachi to attend this in the first place.

Karoku managed to get to the internet finally. The sirens stopped wailing. He quickly pulled up Kuronomei's firewall. His fingers were flying across the keys. Just a little more. He grit his teeth. He was so close. He got past the defenses barely. He knew he had only a few minutes. How could he buy more time? He quickly tapped into the security system. "Emergency locks, engaged" a robotic female voice answered. Just as Jiiki got to the door with Hirato and Tsukitachi.

Nai was there too. "Karoku!" Nai's voice yelled. Karoku flinched. Dammit, they caught up fast.

Tsukitachi jostled the door. "Shit! He engaged the emergency lock! How do we override it?" He shouted to Hirato, flustered. He wasn't amused anymore. He was seriously concerned. None of them knew that Karoku had this capability. He spent all his time in his room, reading. Where did he find the time to not only stop the sheep, but somehow hack the computer system? What was his end goal. "Where'd he get the tools for this?!"

Nai trembled. "Um...I…" He shook like a leaf. All three men turned slowly to look at him. Nai looked very guilty. And right now, that was a bad thing.

"Nai, what did you do?" Jiiki asked, grabbing the sniffling boy by the shoulders. Karoku could hear them outside but he didn't have time to get distracted. If he fucked up, then all this would mean nothing and he'd be thrown to the government to be torn apart. Shit. He hated that Nai was in the hot seat.

"K-Karoku looked s-sad and I...I wanted to make him feel better...h-he asked me to ...to just...g-give him some s-scrap metal a-and let him borrow...some t-tools…" Nai weakly admitted. All three guys mentally face-palmed. Honestly, Nai really was an animal sometimes. Hirato was not amused. He summoned his staff. He stabbed the door. Tsukitachi yiped. Hirato's face was furious. Karoku winced. He couldn't see that face, but he could only imagine what was in store from the sound the door made as it was gutted through the center.

Shit. He was pretty sure he was next. "Permission granted," the robotic voice continued. Perfect. Last leg. He connected to the school server. Luckily, their security was a cinch since it seemed to follow a similar formula to this ship's firewall. Kind of sad really but considering he didn't have much time left, Karoku was taking what he could get. This was the hardest hacking he honestly could remember doing. He was surprised he'd even gotten through. Suddenly, vines tore apart the door from the hinges. Jiiki yelped.

"The FUCK!" Jiiki yelled as he fell on his ass. Hirato and Tsukitachi quickly looked over their shoulder to see Silver Yogi nyooming towards them and then floating to the ground to crouch near them.

"Neh, Hirato, let me play with Karoku-chan," Silver haired Yogi eagerly said, smiling sadistically. Hirato paused. But then he stepped aside. He beckoned to the others to do so as well. Tsukitachi and Jiiki peered inside to see the blue haired boy still typing away, having pulled up some codes that weren't their forte. Nai however stared at the silver yogi, eyes wide with fear.

"Be my guest," he said, tone dead cold. Karoku's heart leapt to his throat. Shit. Shit. He found the IP address he was looking for. Quickly he tried to tap into the video part of the system.

"NO!" Nai shouted, blocking the door to everyone's surprise. "I won't let you hurt Karoku!" Nai shook like a leaf. Karoku hissed to himself. Shit! He didn't want Nai to get hurt. He was already balls deep. It was all or nothing. He pressed Enter.

" 15% until connection is complete." A robotic female voice informed everyone in the room.

At that moment Karoku heard Nai yelp as Silver Yogi grabbed Nai by his collar. Karoku whirled, avoiding one of the epees that Silver Yogi slashed towards him as he flung Nai towards Hirato and the others. Hirato caught Nai but restrained him from interfering. Nai struggled. "No! No! Mr. Hirato! Please!" The Niji struggled, tears streaming down his face. Karoku ducked out of the way and Silver Yogi shifted angle.

"25% until connection is complete."

Karoku fell to the floor with a grunt, on his back now from losing his balance. He found himself backed against one of the walls near the control panel, as Silver Yogi menacingly tipped his blade right under his chin, barely touching his Jugular. Karoku tensed, going very still. "You have been very naughty, Ka-ro-ku 3 chan 3." Karoku had no idea what was going on with this weirdo. But he had a sword tip at his throat ready to run him through. He could barely swallow.

"40% until connection is complete."

"I"m sorry, but he has infiltrated our system, disrupted our security sheep, and he is dangerous," Hirato said calmly. "Silver Yogi, don't kill him. We need him alive so he can be interrogated." He nodded to Tsukitachi and Jiiki who ran in to provide back up should Silver Yogi need it. Nai bit Hirato. With a surprised yelp, Hirato let go. Nai ran into the control room and he tackled Silver Yogi.

Hirato ran in to try to undo whatever Karoku had done, recovering from Nai biting him. However, he kept getting an "error" message. He grit his teeth. "I need more time!" he shouted. He was stupefied. How had this one kid overrode the entire system. This kid… was dangerous.

"Don't hurt him!" Nai sobbed as Silver Yogi paused trying to skewer Karoku to grab Nai and he slammed Nai into the ground. Nai cried out as a hand tightened around his throat. As fast as he had done this though, Karoku heckled him from behind. Putting all his weight into his body, Karoku slammed Silver Yogi into the wall by his face. Jiiki was instantly pulling the struggling boys apart. Tsukitachi had a firm hold on Silver Yogi and Karoku struggled as Jiiki began to smother his ability to breathe.

"Mmf!?" Karoku's eyes widened as he felt himself being suffocated by Jiiki's hand. The boy was a foot shorter, but he had managed to wrap his whip around Karoku's neck, yanking him to the floor as he choked him with his hand over his nose and mouth and his whip constricting on his throat as he sat on his stomach, otherwise, pinning his arms and shifting his wieght so that his opponent couldn't kick him off easily. Nai watched this unfold. He ran over to Jiiki finally, heckling him from behind. Jiiki didn't want to hurt Nai, but he found himself toppled off of Karoku as the Niji yanked on his hair. He yelped.

Tsukumo and the girls ran over just then. "55% complete until connection," the female robotic voice continued as Hirato was trying to do his best. Karoku bit Jiiki. Jiiki let go momentarily as Karoku did an underhanded crotch shot with his elbow. Jiiki sank to his knees letting out a pained yelp. Nai got out of the way as Jiiki staggered. Staggering back as well, Karoku didn't have time to catch his breath before Silver Yogi had him wrapped in vines with a cackle. He'd managed to throw off Tsukitachi. Silver Yogi smacked Tsukitachi so hard that Tsukitachi flew out of the room and smacked into the wall with a pained grunt.

"We can't untangle them. The electromagnetic current has them completely gl-" Iva stopped talking as she looked at the scene before her. Karoku could feel his head spinning. Iva summoned her diamonds.

"No one touches Karoku-chan, except for me," Dark Yogi cackled.

"S-Shit! Just let the feed load!" Karoku shouted to Hirato. "It's not dangerous!" Not that his words would mean anything to these crackers. Hirato's look to him said that he was a dead man. Karoku gnashed his teeth together. Nai trembled as Tsukumo quickly moved to Hirato's side to protect him and Kiichi grabbed Jiiki out of harm's way. Silver Yogi shoved Karoku against a wall ensnared in vines. They wrapped around his arms and legs and kept him immobilized against the wall. Karoku let out a small pained grunt, as he felt thorns begin to dig into his clothes. Shit. This was the worst. A vine slithered to his throat and he began to feel those thorns hug his bare neck. "Ngh…" He winced.

He couldn't bear to see Nai so upset though. Nai began to cry loudly. "Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him." Karoku looked weakly at the computer. The temporary "riddle" he'd encrypted into the code would stop Hirato from undoing his work, at least for a time.

"Almost cracked it," Hirato said confidently to the others. Karoku's heart was beginning to sink. All his work was about to go down the drain. "10 more seconds!" Hirato yelled.

"90% complete," The voice continued.

"5 more seconds and this hacker's work will be undone," Hirato said darkly. His fingers were flying. Tsukumo continued to cover his vulnerable spots though no one was attacking. Iva and Kiichi just pulled Tsukitachi and Jiiki out of the way. Silver Yogi had already subdued Karoku so there wasn't really a point.

"No one else touches Karoku-chan. He's my prey," Silver Yogi warned with a gleefully murderous look in his eye. Karoku felt the thorns starting to sink in painfully. He stifled another cry of pain. But he panted. "Do you enjoy ruining people's special day?" He crooned as he ran a finger under Karoku's trembling chin. He traced Karoku's jugular.

"Hey...silver h-haired...bastard," Karoku panted out, glaring at him with steely blue eyes.

Silver Yogi paused. "What?" he asked, tilting his head with a smile.

"Happy...fucking...birthday," Karoku managed to get out.

"Fuck!" Hirato frustratedly stepped back as the connection went through before he had finished putting in the code to override the override. His pride had taken a huge hit. He was going to beat the shit out of what was left of Karoku.

"Connection complete."

Gareki's face popped up in a video stream. "What...the hell" Were the first words out of the teen's mouth at the scene that unfolded before him. Everyone was in the control room, and Silver haired Yogi had Karoku pinned to a wall. Nai was in tears. Hirato was staring with Tsukumo at Gareki's big screen face. Tsukitachi was limping back into the room. Jiiki was recovering from being injured in the crotch. And Kiichi looked ready to murder Karoku with Iva.

*little poof back*~*~*~*

Gareki had no idea what was going on. Karoku called him out of the fucking blue then had ordered him to get to a laptop. Gareki didn't know what was going on but he figured he'd go to the library computer. Leaving dinner without returning at all, he'd headed to the library. It was open late anyways. He slipped inside and had been staring awkwardly at the computer for the past 30 minutes. He actually had no idea how long he should wait. What he had to do. Or if anything was going to even happen. He felt stupid for listening to Karoku. Just what was that guy planning?

Gareki propped his chin in his hand and began to read a book to pass the time. He had no idea what was going on. About 30 minutes later, he got a video screen popping up. His eyes widened as he looked to the screen. The little camera on his computer beeped to life and the next thing he knew, he was staring at the weirdest scene next to Lady Mine going Varuga on his ass. He suddenly realized exactly what Karoku had done. Holy fucking shit. That guy had balls. Respect. Though he wouldn't tell him that. He'd have to ask Nai how it got pulled off if Nai knew.

"What the hell is going on?" He stared stupidly at everyone. They all exchanged looks. Even Silver Haired Yogi looked surprised. Karoku panted, starting to slip. He was weak as it were from being punched around by Yogi and nearly suffocated by Jiiki. He managed to shout though mostly out of frustration.

"You know what to do, Gareki!" he said fiercely.

Gareki blinked. Everyone was staring at him. He saw how Nai looked at him with a tearstained face. "Uh…" Now really didn't seem like the mood for birthday wishes. More like, it felt like he was coming across a soon to be murder scene.

Hirato stared. Karoku had gone balls deep in shit to get a live video feed of Gareki? He turned his head slowly to look at the teen who was starting to lose consciousness. "Let him go, Yogi," Hirato commanded. Silver haired Yogi did, staring at Gareki.

Karoku slumped to the ground, rubbing his neck as Nai instantly ran to his side. "Karoku!" he knelt by Karoku as Karoku caught his breath. Silver Yogi looked to Karoku with stunned disbelief.

"What...why did you do this?" He sounded totally surprised.

Karoku leaned into Nai's hug, catching his breath. He'd had enough excitement tonight to last him a lifetime. He almost wanted to laugh. So he did. Nai was startled as Karoku began to laugh smally then it just grew and grew till he was laughing in Nai's arms. Nai was worried that Karoku had lost it. Everyone looked at each other. Karoku pulled back finally. "Oh man. You should see your faces. God. Damn." He kept laughing as he rested his head against Nai's neck and shoulder. "T-The sheep are probably still having a ball." He kept laughing, partly at his shitty pun, and partly because it was either that or crying and he wasn't going to fucking cry. His legs were jelly. He felt like a noodle. He was sure he'd have a heart attack from all of this. Silver haired Yogi narrowed his eyes. It'd been a while since Karoku's brain had done that much work.

"You didn't answer the question." Silver Yogi sounded irritated and impatient. Karoku shakily sat up, using Nai for support as he got to his feet.

"I did it because I'm tired of seeing Nai cry." He bluntly stated. He looked to Nai. He ruffled his hair before he turned to look at Gareki quietly. Gareki honestly had no idea what to do or say. He was at a complete loss for words. "Besides, I wanted to make Nai's birthday wish for you come true."

Silver haired Yogi looked to Nai. Everyone's eyes were on Gareki then those two and then Gareki and then back again.

"Nai's birthday wish?" Silver Yogi repeated.

"No. His wish was for your birthday wish to come true." Karoku pointed to Nai and then back to Gareki. "He said that you wanted to see Gareki. So I made it happen. If I had asked to video-chat Gareki there was no guarantee that it would work since you guys don't trust me, and from the walls I had to hack, I'm thinking your school actually doesn't really allow too much outside contact considering it was a bitch tracking the IP address to the library computers there."

Hirato sighed. "To be honest, we have a specific way of having students video chat," he agreed. "And typically, you have to get permission for that first." The look he gave Karoku reminded him that he was still in trouble. Karoku just sighed, and leaned his head against Nai. Nai tried to support Karoku's weight as he began to pull Nai closer to him. Gareki felt that Karoku was a little too cuddly with Nai but whatever. His life. He looked towards Silver Yogi who had floated in front of Hirato and Tsukumo to look at the screen. Gareki pulled back instinctively as Silver Yogi's face filled the screen and and his purple eyes took up the entire computer as he blinked at Gareki.

"Eh…." Silver Yogi smiled at Gareki. "I don't care for birthdays." He let that statement hang in the air. Everyone was a bit stunned to hear Silver Yogi say that so calmly. "Besides, you don't really care, do you?" That other statement really took the others,even Karoku by surprise. Silver Yogi gazed levelly at Gareki whose face showed actual surprise mixed with irritation.

"What the hell, Yogi. What are you talking about?" Gareki huffed. "I don't feel the need to be mushy!"

"Exactly. My birthday is no exception. I understand, completely," Silver Yogi clasped his hands behind his back, his epees disappearing along with the vines that had been snaked in the control room. Silver Yogi had managed to not actually destroy anything. Dr. Akari arrived with some medicine and stood in the doorframe with Iva and Tsukitachi. Everyone felt a bit awkward, except Nai and Karoku who both were feeling emotionally drained more than anything.

Gareki however glared. "That's not what I'm saying! Idiot!"

"You know something, Gareki?" Silver Yogi tilted his head, and he smiled hugely. "If you hate me. Tell me. Because leading me around the nose is really starting to piss me off. Even on my birthday you really can't stop being a real ass can you?"