Ankoku: Chapter 3 should be shorter, Dan. Happy?

Dan: Not if I'm not in it.

Ankoku: You'll be in the next one.

Dan: You've already said that, and Marucho did too. Am I even going to be in this?

Ankoku: Heck yeah! This will be one long story, and this is just the third chapter.

Dan: Shit. You know how I am, Ankh. Not patient.

Ankoku: Patience is a virtue. I don't—wait, did you give me a nickname? What the hell?

Dan: No, I didn't. That was Marucho's idea.

Ankoku: Well, you decided to mention it in the wrong story.

Dan: That's Marucho's story, though! And it's not even up yet!

Ankoku: Couldn't you just have waited until then?

Dan: What did I tell you? I'm not patient.

Ankoku: Whatever. I'm not either.

Dan: Yeah, I noticed. *sees Ankoku's glare* Okay, I'll shut up!

Ankoku: Damn right you should.

Dan: Ankh doesn't own Bakugan, or—*gulps* I don't know what would happen.

Ankoku: I thought I told you to shut up. Wait—did you use it again? Are you—

*Dan shakes his head and makes random gestures with his hands. Ankoku rolls her eyes and smacks him on the head as Dan yelps in pain* Goddammit, you're worse than Runo! Back off!

Ankoku: You know you're not supposed to develop feelings for me, right?

Dan: I thought I was...

Ankoku: Not me, me. 'Me' me.

Dan: What?

*Ankoku facepalms* Just freaking forget it, Dan.

Anrui's POV

"Aaa—" (Forgive me for the incredibly pathetic screaming that was coming out of the mouths of my two friends.)

Then a hand grabbed my shirt. Panicked, I kept a firm grip on Sakura, who clutched Marissa's arm.

"What was that for?" Marissa yelped as we staggered back from the cliff's edge.

"I think I had a heart attack," Sakura gasped.

I shook my hair out of my eyes, but then realized that my hair was a dark blue. Sakura held a strand of bubblegum pink hair out of her face. "I'm spazzing out again, aren't I?"

"Nope," said Marissa. She tried to tuck some of her thick red hair behind her ear, but it slipped out again. "At least I don't need glasses."

Sakura looked at me, then at Marissa, then back at me. "Maybe we should, you know, walk around and try to see where we are."

"There might be a school," Marissa added.

"A school. You're kidding. I thought I was done with school last night." I hooked my headphones into my ears, took my iPod Touch out of my pocket, and turned on "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry. The volume was on low because I was pretty sure that they would somehow end up talking me into this, and I knew that if I turned on the music too loud, Sakura would pull out the sugar. And it's never pleasant when Sakura has had her sugar.

Marissa: "We aren't going to get anywhere."

Me: "Who said we were going anywhere?" (Note to self: That has got to be one of my best and most simple comebacks. Go figure.)

Marissa: "We're not, but we're trying to, right?"

Me: "I would have helped, but I'm not going to fry my brain more than I have to."

Marissa: "Sometimes I marvel at your extreme immaturity."

Me: "Well, isn't that why we're friends?"

Marissa: "No, that's why you and Sake are friends."

Me: "You do realize I'm just stalling, right?"

Marissa: "Yes, but you didn't have to tell me."

Me: "And you know that I'm really enjoying this pointless argument?"

Marissa: "Yep. I knew that one was coming."

Sakura: "Sitcom number one!"

Marissa: "You see? This is why I'm surrounded by little kids."

Me: "Yep. Fanfiction-crazed little kids that enjoy everything that is pointless."

Sakura: "Yeah! Do I get my sugar now?"

Marissa sighed in exasperation and turned to Sakura, who started to go for her bag.

"Oh, hell no, Sake, let's not turn this into a fistfight."

"I couldn't care less." She took a sugar cube out of a container and popped it into her mouth.

I got up and ran.

Marissa's POV

This is wonderful. Just wonderful. The one time I let Sakura have her sugar cube, Anrui gets to run away and I'm the one left to deal with her.

Sakura turned to me with an (expected) wild look in her eyes. "Oh, hi Kyoya. Have you seen Hikaru?"

"Nope." I figured that I was better off just going along with it. Why me? Why me?

"How about Mori?"

"No."

"Sasuke?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Naruto?"

"Absolutely not."

"Syaoran."

I was physically exhausted. That's not a good excuse to leave an SSQ (Sugar Sake Question) open. In case it isn't apparent by now, Sakura's the crazy girl of our group. And when she gets on a sugar high, let's just say the most random things happen. There was this one sleepover when we were playing Truth or Dare, and Anrui dared her to eat a sugar cube. And then Sakura dragged me into her room and started throwing her clothes at me. Then she dragged Anrui into the room and tried to throw empty Sprite cans at her. Then she jumped up and down on her bed screaming "Hikaru! Over here!" and stuff like that for 30 minutes straight. And then... you get the idea.

That was one sugar cube. One. So now you know why it's such a bad idea to give Sakura her sugar. (She isn't really that crazy, but sugar gives her enough hyper energy to really get acting. This is why I claim to be surrounded by little children.) Hopefully Anrui comes back before Sakura throws herself off a cliff, which ALMOST happened once.

Anrui's POV

When I had pressed deep into the woods, I stopped. The leaves overhead threatened to suffocate the sunlight. I liked autumn, but spring was second best.

"Who are you?" I turned and nearly smacked my head on a low branch, cursing under my breath.

"Dull, aren't you," the voice concluded. "Up here." And I felt a small marble fall on my head.

"That hurt, you know," I said, reaching up to grab the marble that was balanced precariously on my head. As I opened my hand, the marble rolled off the front of my head and into my other hand. I stopped and stared.

It wasn't a marble. It was a Bakugan. A Darkus Bakugan.

And how would I know? They belong to the one anime I like. Long story. It's like how Sakura is a die-hard Ouran fan, but that's off topic.

So I was staring at the Bakugan and it opened up into some sort of cobra.

"You'll catch flies like that." He hopped a bit closer. "What's your name?"

"Er..." I sat down cross-legged and set the Bakugan down on the ground.

"Don't tell me that you forgot that. You must be dumber than I thought."

"Iruna Rika, but I go by Runai." Where did that come from? Oh yeah, my OC would always introduce herself like that in my fanfics. Never mind.

"Darkus Fearpent." The marble jumped to my knee. "Don't need a nickname there."

We sat in silence for a while.

"Maybe I should head back," I said. "Hopefully Sake hasn't polished off the rest of her sugar cubes."

I got up as Fearpent jumped down. "You are not leaving without me!"

"Who said I was?" I scooped him up in one hand and placed her on my shoulder. "Just try not to talk. Marissa would freak out and I don't know what Sake would do to you."

Dan: Your chapters are getting shorter.

Ankoku: You're welcome.

Dan: So are your responses.

Ankoku: Yeah.

Dan: Are you trying to make this short?

Ankoku: Yes.

Dan: What's with all the italics and dashes?

Ankoku: Emphasis.

Dan: And the swearing?

Ankoku: That too.

Dan: Do I get to talk more?

Ankoku: Sure. What the heck.

Dan: Really?

Ankoku: Maybe if you shut up after that.

Dan: Nope. You brought me here for commentary, so you had better not confine me to saying disclaimers and other crap.

Ankoku: Your fault. Please read and review, and sorry if the language is a bit much. Bye!