EARLY WARNING!
REDICULOUSLY LONG CHAPTER AND MANY, MANY REFERENCES TO WARRIORS! EXPECT FIGHTING SCENES! LOLOLOL! :D ENJOY!
"Out of my way!" Naoto cried as a shadow stood in her path defiantly. In a single movement she'd ripped the shadow apart with her claws and had resumed her mad dash towards the shadow at the heart of all of this.
"Naoto! Wait!" She briefly heard someone calling to her but as she side-stepped another shadow she completely disregarded it.
"Leave me alone! Argh!" Suddenly something slammed into her side, bowling her over! "Oh, go to hell you lizard brained imbecile!" She cried as she destroyed yet another shadow. "I don't have time for this!"
The second the shadow dissolved another had latched itself into her shoulder. Dropping to the floor she crushed it underneath her as she rolled over several times before resuming her crazy sprint.
"Naoto! Just wait damn it!" That stupid person is still following her?! Oh well!
"No! Why the hell should I?!" spinning round a card appeared in front of her. "Phoenix! Agidyne!" In an instant the ground behind her was scarred in flames that barred any entry beyond it!
"Naoto! Souji isn't with me! I promise!" This time she recognised the voice of her cousin.
"I don't care!" Well she didn't... All she wanted to do right now, was to get away from anyone and everyone. "Argh! Get lost!" She cried as about three shadows combined an attack to knock her over! They succeeded... "Garudyne!" It did nothing! "Agidyne!" Again... Nothing worked!
"Naoto!"
"Damn it!" Rushing forwards she slashed one of the shadows apart with her claws whilst her Persona used its talons to wreck another. A second blow sent her flying into an oak tree before the shadow set the tree on fire, catching her in the flames!
Minato appeared not too far away as the she-cat was suddenly surrounded by fire! Damn... A lightning attack struck the still feline before the flames froze in blocks of ice.
"I told you to wait!" Noticing the shadow was no more she scrambled over the ice blocks, her panting making it all the more difficult.
"I'm... sorry..." She dropped to her belly to catch her breath as her cousin swiftly cast Diarahan on her before approaching her.
"You should be! Its too dangerous to be running around on your own!" He sighed before adding, "Anyway... are you okay?" Naoto nodded calmly before sitting up.
"I'm fine..."
"He said that I was the cause of the argument... Is that true?" She glared at him for bringing it up before shaking her head in denial.
"He's jealous of how much time I'm spending with you... So its more my fault then anything..." Her dull voice was followed by her head drooping.
"How so?" He sat down to.
"Well it's true that I've been spending rather a lot of time with you but you know as well as I do that I have other things to do. He doesn't seem to understand that..."
"Then its his fault for not understanding you in the first place. And from what I heard, he didn't even try!" He sighed at her hurt expression before continuing. "Look, do you love him?" Her head snapped up at the seemingly out of nowhere question.
"Uh, what?"
"Do you love him?" She seemed to be trying to see where he was going with this...
"Yes..."
"Then the next time he asks you if you want to go somewhere say yes. I can live without spending everyday with you. I don't anyway but still..."
"Will that make a difference?" He nodded reassuringly.
"He's jealous right? So take away what he's jealous of and problem solved!" His nonchalant voice earned a grateful chuckle from the young feline detective.
"I suppose I see the logic in that..."
"Well you'd best get comfortable. I left the team with Yosuke-san in charge so they may be awhile..." He shifted into a lying position with a cheerful expression. Naoto followed his example soon after.
"So... What now?"
"Dude! That was too far! An obsessed kid? What planet are you even on?!" Souji glared at Yosuke as he yelled at him.
"The same one as you! And she's clearly obsessed with him! Where else do you think she is everyday?!" He snapped back at him before he could add more to his comments.
"Working! Geez Souji-kun! Haven't you seen her? She's been to the station more times then I can count!" Chie explained with as much agitation in her tone as in her glare. "She's on a case! Naoto-kun's an ace detective! Remember?"
"What? A case?" He turned to her in confusion.
"Yeah! And it's a pretty damn hard one to! She was telling me about it before!" The steak loving girl looked as if she was going to eat him alive!
"I... I didn't know that... But still! Where is she when she's not working? With him I bet!" He was probably right... Right?
"Senpai... Do you love her?" Rise stepped forwards calmly as she spoke. The silver Husky stared at her as if she'd gone mad.
"Er... What?"
"Jus' answer the damn question Senpai!" Kanji seemed to know where she was going with this. If only Souji did.
"Do you, Souji Seta, love the, Naoto Shirogane?" She clarified just as calmly as before.
"Yes. Isn't it obvious? I would do anything for her. I love her." She nodded seemingly satisfied with that answer.
"Good. Now why are you jealous? Her cousin hasn't been seen for years now and even had her in tears about the mere thought of him. So, if you love her then why are you jealous?" She sat down patiently with a reassuring expression on her face.
"She spends as much time as possible with him when she promised we would spend that time with each other. Of course unless she was unable to in any way." He stood with the most dumbfounded expression anyone had ever seen on him until this day. She shook her head. What? Oh... "He makes her laugh... I've never seen her laugh like she does with him before. She hardly ever laughs when she's with me... He makes her happier then I ever could..." His mumble earned another satisfied nod from the idol.
"Do you know how happy you've made her before?" He shook his head before waiting in anticipation for her to continue. "She used to smile much more easily then before you became a couple. We could all tell! When I asked her about it she just said that she would tell us when she felt she could and she would blush like crazy!" She smiled jealously as he watched him perk up slightly.
"Yeah! I remember when that happened! She avoided us for a bit before she suddenly perked up! Naoto-kun always looked so joyful after that!" Chie had a look of nostalgia as she remembered what had happened.
"Oh yeah! I remember she came into Junes with you one time with a big grin and was like a tomato dude!" Yosuke smiled at him as he seemed to remember that as well.
"So, tell me. Does it make you happy to see her so happy?" The idol had spoke up again before anyone else carried on the conversation.
"Yeah. It does. Though it made me happier when it was me who caused her to be like that." He answered plainly.
"Then how can you make her happy?" Souji hesitated as he seemed to just consider this now. "Take your time senpai." He sat down with his gaze cast downwards. A few moments past as he thought deeply about how to please her before his head slowly rose to face hers questioningly. "Want some help?" He nodded before she smiled reassuringly.
"Okay then! All you have to do is understand that she doesn't want to choose between either you or Minato-kun. Let her spend as much time as she wants with him! Try to get to know him so you two can eventually become as good a friend to him as he is to Naoto-kun! Or at least get to know the person she is when she's with him. That way you keep your girlfriend and gain a new friend!" She paused as his gaze filled with hope, determination and understanding. "Also... Shouldn't you get to know her family if you want to marry her at some point?" She giggled at his astonished expression before she grinned in amusement. "I'm joking!"
"Good! I don't know what she'd say if she'd just heard that!" He sighed deeply before turning to Yosuke. "Are we ready to go partner?" At the use of the nickname the music loving feline grinned before nodding.
"Let's go partner!"
"I bet that was awkward." Naoto smiled as she commented on one of Minato's stories about him and his friends in the past. This particular one was the tale of how he met the anti-shadow suppression weapon known as Aigis. He just told her about everyone's reaction to the realisation that they'd all been flirting with a robot.
"It was! We didn't know that she was a robot when we were all hitting on her! That damn pick up contest had us get dropped by every other girl and that weird guy on the beach, and then the only one that successfully talks to me is a robot! An awesome robot with a heart!" She chuckled at his over the top exasperated tone. "Anyway, Yukari and the other girls all thought that she was this huge tank that fired lasers or something. That would be great and all but I think a robot that can fall in love with me is better. Don't you think so?"
"Wait, what? She fell in love with you?" Her disbelieving tone earned a staged hurt expression from her cousin.
"You don't think someone would want me?" His tone was teasingly hurt as if she'd just shot him with an imaginary arrow.
"No. I can't see it!" She joked as this time his expression turned painful.
"Aww, what?" They joked for a few moments more before he turned serious again. "So what happened on Christmas Eve then? Did you do something you shouldn't have done?"
"No! I swear it wasn't like that!" They seemed not to notice anyone else getting closer to them as their conversation continued.
"Then what happened then?" The others got closer and closer.
"All I did was wear the girls Yasogami High uniform. That's all!" Suddenly the pursuers froze, shortly before one of them screeched in excitement catching the pairs attention. "Oh, erm... Hello everyone! I was er..."
"You wore girl's clothes?! No way!" Rise had instantly raced forwards to stare at her intently waiting for an answer.
"Um... Yes. I-I did wear feminine clothing once before. I-is something wrong R-rise-san?" The idol grinned at her answer whilst for some reason Kanji's nose began to bleed. What was that about? Oh well...
"Oh my god! You'll have to wear it again sometime!" Chie was way to amazed to care how... weird, that sounded.
"Yeah Nao-chan! I-I mean your our Sensei and the Sensei has to set a bear-y good example for the other girls!" Stupid Teddie...
"Er... No thank you. I'd really rather not." Souji chuckled lightly at that.
"Why not? You looked cute in it." If she was still human her face would probably be a deep crimson at the husky's complement. She also noted the apologetic glint in his eyes as he approached her.
"Oooo! Well sorry everybody but I'd like to postpone this for a few more minutes as we are already behind schedule! Now are you ready for round two?" The silver Husky sighed in annoyance as the two cousins stood up. She threw an apologetic glance before leading the team into the next room...
"Welcome, one and all! To the Pets Gone Wild Competitions next round! A game of Flyball!" Naoto's eyes widened in confusion at the new area. A large open field reached forwards as far as the eye could see and two rows of ten white hurdles were set up not far from where they stood. Two white lines marked the starting line for each one and at the opposite end was what seemed to be a springboard that connected to a white and red striped box, that held two tennis balls in the specified slots in each of them. A shadowed crowd stood behind barriers as they cheered the contestants names in excitement.
"In this round, each of the contestants must cross each hurdle and jump on the springboard to release a tennis ball. The doggy must then take the ball and return over the hurdles to cross the finish line! The next dog can only cross begin his turn after their teammate has crossed the line and only when that hound has crossed the hurdles from each direction will they be counted as finished! Now good luck every doggy!"
The four canines instantly split into teams of two with Souji and Chie on one and Teddie and Kanji on the other.
"Ready... Steady..." The voice called out as the two starting dogs took their places at the starting line. "GO!" On cue a gunshot rang throughout the area, causing the shadowed crowd to cheer as the contestants swiftly raced forwards! Chie flew over the hurdles with ease before pounding the springboard with so much force that she sent the ball much further then intended. She raced after it as it hurtled towards Souji. The second she snatched it out of the air she returned to the springboard to complete her part of the race.
Kanji by this point had already crossed the finish line and Teddie was halfway towards the springboard causing Souji to launch himself forwards as fast as his paws could carry him! He glided easily over each hurdle as Teddie hoped up and down on the springboard with practically no force at all! By the time Teddie's ball had left the slot the silver husky was hurtling back towards the finish line! The golden splotched Collie flew hastily after them but by this time it was already too late.
"Whooo! You got owned again Kanji-kun!" Chie's excitedly smug voice made Souji grin as he realised they were the winning team.
"Congratulations! Souji-kun and Chie-chan are our Flyball winners of round two! Now on to the kitties next round!" That annoying voice sent unease rushing down Naoto's spine as she rose to lead the team towards the newly appeared door.
"Come on. The sooner we get our round other with, the quicker we can let you take a breather." Minato was quick to join her as he spoke with the others following them closely behind.
"Welcome! To round two of the Pets Gone Wild Competition! Are we all ready? In this round every cat must have a partner!" At those words Yukiko, Rise and Yosuke gave each other a look to say 'Lets own them!' "And each and every team must have one dog with them!" The two cousins watched as Teddie quickly dashed over to Yosuke's team before Souji threw them a questioning look. His gaze turned apologetic as it caught Naoto's before she nodded calmly. The second he joined them the voice spoke up again. "Great choice Naoto-kun! This means you can wreck your boyfriend!" She flinched before glancing nervously at her boyfriend.
Her eyes widened as a black fiery aura began radiating from his entire being. His expression changed from one of nervous yet calmness to something similar to what both Teddie and Chie had worn when they were chasing her before. This isn't good...
"In the Warrior's series Thunderclan had a huge dog pack problem. All you have to do is take your assigned canine down! The other goal is to not end up like Swiftpaw and Brightpaw did! And finally, no Persona's until the end of the game! Good luck every kitty!" As that stupid voice finished its sentence Souji launched forwards to snap at Naoto's head! She narrowly avoided the attack before the two cousins spun round and raced away from him. Rise's screech assured her that Teddie was now going after the other team as well but she had more important things to think about right now!
Throwing Minato a knowing glance she flicked her ears forwards in an attempt to tell him something. Her ears quickly pointed sideways and thankfully he seemed to get the message. The two of the raced forwards towards the nearest tree heading straight for it! They parted right at the last second causing the canine who was following close behind to smash head first into the massive oak tree. In an instant Naoto had leapt high above him and hastily dug her claws into his shoulders along with her teeth into the scruff of his thick skinned neck. She hoped beyond hope that he would act like the dogs in the books did!
The husky spun its head round to snap at her again but Minato was there in mere moments to slash at his snout after rearing up on his hind legs. Souji swiftly leapt back before sending the feline that still clung to his back hurtling towards the ground! She landed roughly on her side before she hastily raced away from the hound that was mainly after her. However Souji moved slightly slower as the new claw marks on his shoulders must have stung with pain at the movement. Uh oh...
The small feline had suddenly been pulled back sharply as something caught her fluffy tail. Spinning her head round she found that the silver husky had somehow managed to tread on her tail! His jaws suddenly clasped around her entire body before shaking her roughly.
"Minato!" She cried in pain as she felt her opponents fangs dig deeper and deeper into her fluffy fur.
"Naoto!" His cry came at the same time as she had impacted the ground after the dog had suddenly flung her away! Struggling to her paws she scrambled towards the hound that attempted to destroy her cousin! Naoto viciously attacked both of his hind legs with both her teeth and claws until one of them gave way! In an instant, her vicious assault shifted towards his neck! Souji could be healed with a Persona in this world so he would only be in pain for a few minutes! Hopefully... Minato seemed to notice her reasoning as he soon copied her with the underside of his neck and chin. It didn't take long before the husky fell to ground in utter defeat, coughing and spluttering up as much blood as possible!
"Naoto. Are you okay?!" Minato's worried tone just seemed to agitated the detective feline as she was much more concerned for her 'dying' friend. She didn't even acknowledge the fact that her entire body roared in pain as she moved to summon her Persona. "No!" He quickly nudged her away from the fluttering card. "He said no Persona's!" Oh yeah...
"Where are the others?" Naoto hastily glanced around for the opposing team until her gaze rested on the fleeing, panic stricken teammates. "Can we help them?!"
"Fine! You've obviously won!" With permission from the annoying voice the two of them raced forwards and instantly latched themselves onto Teddies two fore paws. The impact sent him tumbling, paws over head, allowing the other team a chance to lengthen the distance between them and the dog.
"Yosuke! Get over here!" Yosuke glanced back at Minato as he called to the music loving man in clear agitation. The two cousins had shifted away from the hound and were luring him away from the panicked team. Naoto quickly broke away from Minato before spinning round and pouncing onto Teddie's fluffy shoulders, locking both her claws and her teeth into his flesh. They repeated what they had done with Souji without Naoto getting caught this time and had beaten Teddie soon after.
The two of them panted in exhaustion whilst that annoying Kanji double's voice returned.
"Congratulations team Naoto-kun and Minato-kun! Persona's are now useable!" The second it's sentence ended both Minato and Naoto had summoned their best healing Persona's before Naoto healed Souji and Minato healed Naoto. They swiftly switched so that the detective feline healed her cousin whilst he healed the annoying Teddie.
Souji's head slowly rose as the two cousins approached him and Yosuke, Yukiko and Rise emerged from beneath some tree roots, nervously.
"The winners of round two of the Pets Gone Wild Competition are Souji and Chie for the doggies and Naoto and Minato for the kitties! Well I'll give you ten minutes before you have to move onto the next round so rest up!" With that the voice went dead before Naoto slumped to the floor lazily beside Souji.
"I'm sorry I hurt you..." She mumbled gazing up at him whilst Minato laid down in front of them.
"It's fine. You didn't have a choice. I'm sorry as well... For causing the argument and hurting you." His apologetic tone was aimed at both of the cousins. "Minato-kun? I'm sorry I'm so jealous... But I'm really glad that Naoto's happy so I don't care how much time she spends with you. Its clear to me now how much you mean to her. I –" Before he could continue both Minato and Naoto had gently swiped his nose with sheathed claws to shut him up.
"Honestly, there's no need for you to apologise. We have been talking." His calm voice was followed by Naoto's.
"Yes. I was in the wrong as well. Do you... still want to go somewhere later on?" Her nervous voice earned an affectionate lick on the head as a response. Minato smiled at them before padding away to join the rest of the team. She looked a little disappointed to see him go but she smiled up at souji all the same. "Shall I take that as a yes then?"
"Do you really need to ask?"
The two of them spent their whole break just talking and trying to rebuild what they could of their relationship. Naoto explained that after the murder case in Inaba she had a huge increase in requests to solve difficult cases, whilst Souj kept apologising for not realising sooner.
"Hey Naoto! We have to go!" Minato called to them in slight urgency before the two of them swiftly joined the rest of the group.
"Ready to go Ace?"
"I could ask you the same, Minnie."
"Now then! Are we ready for round three, of the Pets Gone Wild Competition! Its time for a game of Fetch, for our doggies! The hound that gets the most catches is the winner! Get to your posts and good luck every doggy!" The doubles voice echoed over the large open field that the team had arrived at after wandering through the forest trails again.
Souji hastily moved behind one of the white markings on the ground whilst Naoto and Minato took a seat nearby. Chie was at the marking a fair distance away, followed by Kanji and finally by Teddie. The second the gunshot fired a tennis ball launched over each of their heads into the open field and was closely followed by each of the canines.
The silver husky had only caught the ones that travelled a few feet whilst Chie managed to catch them a few feet further forwards, but only once they were directly in front of her snout. Both Kanji and Teddie had swiftly raced after each and every ball that flew by one after the over! Teddie was quick but clumsy and would often end up nudging the ball away from him with his nose instead of actually catching it. Kanji however, had managed to swipe almost every ball that was sent his way by running ahead of the ball and making jump catches.
The second the gunshot blared through the area once again the hounds all halted, panting hard as the voice returned again.
"Congratulations! Our winner of the Fetch competition is... Kanji-kun!" the Labrador's face lit up as he heard his name being called out and the look of shock and annoyance on Chie's face.
"Ha! How d'ya like them apples?!" He cried in excitement at the Shiba-Inu who was now glaring at him.
"Now it's time for the kitties next competition! Hurry up and move on!" With that both Minato and Naoto exchanged a nod before leading the others through the newly appeared door. Naoto's eyes widened in confusion as she stared around the brightly coloured room. It's walls were a hot pink and a wooden stage stood on the back wall with ruby red curtains draping down around it. A small door stood nearby with a golden star stuck to its centre with the word 'backstage' written in bold black writing on its glittery surface.
The two cousins stared at the room questioningly before that annoying shadows voice filled the room.
"And now its time for my version of the Crufts contest for round three! You kitties must make yourselves look as adorable as possible and Kanji-kun will decide the winner! Okay now! Back stage kitties!" The detective feline hesitantly followed Minato through the backstage door as a feeling of impending doom swiftly rose in her chest.
"Okay Ace. Lets have some fun with this." Minato gently nudged her before wondering towards a blue and golden rimmed wooden chest at the back of the room. Their names were imprinted above the chest on silver writing. What on Earth would they have to wear in order to please Kanji? This couldn't possibly be heading in a good direction... Could it? "Come on Ace! I'll need some help with some of these things!"
"Your too excited for this..." She hesitantly padded over to join him before her eyes widened in dread at the chest's contents.
"Here. Can you help me tie this round my neck?" His voice was muffled by the dark blue ribbon in his mouth. Glancing around, she noticed Yosuke rummaging through his props whilst Yukiko and Rise both helped each other with their own outfits. If you can even call them that...
"Fine... But it looks like we'll be a double act again." She sighed before using both her teeth and claws to tie the ribbon round his fluffy neck. After fixing it so it worked as a bow tie she glanced into the box. Atop everything in was Minato's MP3 player and headphones that she had only just now noticed he'd removed before her gaze settled on an icy blue ribbon. The colour perfectly matched Tantei's collar and it just seemed fitting for her to wear that instead of the other... Things available.
"And what's wrong with that?" She jumped as his paws were suddenly trapping her tail beneath them and the jingling of bell caused her to whip round to face him.
"What are you doing?" Her urgently nervous tone earned a slight chuckle from her cousin as he held a matching blue ribbon in his jaws with a golden bell hanging loosely from it. "What's that for?"
"Relax Ace. Your supposed to tie it to your tail like what over female felines do." She glared daggers at him as he just grinned smugly round the accessory he still held.
"No. I'm not wearing that!" Pulling the icy ribbon from the box she passed it to him before he could try and tie the other one to her tail again.
"Come on Naoto. Don't let me down like that. We're trying to win, right?" Damn it... Damn it all... Sighing with defeat she plonked herself into a sitting position before flicking her tail towards him in agitation.
"Fine... If you want to win then I should at least make an effort."
"Great! Lets get to work then!"
Before long the two of them were ready to compete against the others. They both wore blue ribbons round their necks in different styles and to Naoto's dismay she no longer wore her signature cap and instead wore – at Minato's personal request – a silver, sapphire jewelled tiara with a matching bracelet dangling loosely around her left forepaw. Her ribbon was tied to the side of her neck in as feminine a way as she could possibly get it and she still wore her special golden key round her neck but it was weaved elegantly around the ribbon with the key fitting perfectly over the knot in the bow. The bell was also tied to her tail and it jingled annoyingly every time she moved. She hated this...
Minato had abandoned his headphones for his ocean blue bow tie which overlapped his collar that he couldn't remove even if he wanted to. He to had a bell tied to his tail to match his cousin but his ribbons were all the same deep blue that complemented his eyes. A belt of some kind seemed to be strapped around his belly with a mock sword clinging loosely to its blue structure whilst a golden, sapphire jewelled, kings crown sat atop his fluffy head. The two of them had perfectly matching outfits for a prince and a princess appearance for the two felines.
Rise was wearing a small pink bow tied around one ear with pink jewels encrusted into both the knot on the bow and her earrings. She had what seemed to be the cat version of high heels on all of her paws and her heart locket had been replaced with a pink and silver necklace that looked like something from a Disney fairy tail. A royal cloak draped over her auburn pelt and dragged slightly on the floor, revealing only the very tip of her tail. She looked excitedly competitive.
Yosuke looked... different. His appearance had obviously either been tampered with by Yukiko or he honestly had nothing else in his box but others like it... He looked a lot like a stripy version of Simba! A fluffy 'mane' was in its place round his neck and the back of his head along with a small addition to his tail that made it look more lion-like. Huge lion styled gloves were covering his normal small feline paws to make them look more threatening but he hadn't done anything to the rest of his tabby pelt giving him the appearance of a liger. He still wore his signature headphones over the new mane but his collar and MP3 remained hidden beneath it as his expression was a mixture of nervousness and embarrassment.
Yukiko however, looked more elegant then the others. Her red and orange scarf remained tied around her neck and her pelt had remained unaltered (thankfully) very little had actually changed about her. Like Naoto a small bell was now tied round her tail but ribbon was a ruby red and the bell glistened a star-like silver. Two laced gloves masked her forepaws whilst her hind paws remained visible. She wore a calm expression until she noticed Yosuke of course, who she soon burst into a fit of laughter over.
"You guys look great! You know, I'm seriously impressed Minato-kun. I didn't think anyone could get Naoto-kun to look like a girl! Even with her cap!" Naoto glared at Rise as she mentioned her rather uncharacteristic appearance and the fact that she had left her cap behind.
"You'd be surprised at what I can make her do if I push the right buttons." Minato's smug voice earned a death glare from the feline detective.
"Wow! You'll have to tell me how to get her to do these things sometime! It would definitely come in handy at some point!"
"Don't you dare!" She growled at her cousin who was probably about to tell her why she had agreed to this. "Tell her and it won't be Souji-senpai and Rise-san that accidentally get hit with a water pistol!" Both the idol and her cousin laughed in amusement at her 'threat'.
"Ha well we should probably get going now. The shadow will shout at us again anyway." With that Rise turned and lead the two cousins towards the stage entrance.
"And now for the Pets Gone Wild Competitions third feline's round, Crufts! Our first contestant is... Rise Kujikawa!" As if on cue the shadows voice called Rise onto the stage.
"Wish me luck guys!" She squeaked in excitement before she bounded up the steps, slowed, then padded calmly on stage. Pausing in the centre stage she twirled playfully on the spot before stepping towards the back of the stage.
"Next we have... Yosuke Hanamura!"
"Good luck Kimba." He glared at Minato before padding on stage. His embarrassed expression bringing a smugly amused smile to Naoto's face. He mock roared in the centre of the stage for a dramatic effect before hastily joining Rise at the back of the stage as the sound of people trying to control their laughter was faintly heard backstage.
"Next up is... Yukiko Amagi!"
"Good luck you two!" Her gentle voice called swiftly back to them as she her paws softly padded on stage. She moved elegantly towards the centre stage before bowing to the audience as if they were royalty before joining the others.
"And finally we have the double act of... Minato Arisato and Naoto Shirogane!"
"Come on Ace! Don't let me down!" She growled at him before timidly padding beside him so the audience would have a hard time seeing her. Her expression was unbelievably nervous as the spotlights landed on them and she hid her face behind her cousin. He nudged her reassuringly as their tails intertwined with each other. The two stopped at centre stage and Naoto was forced into view as they turned to the rest of the team in the audience who were staring at them in a rather dumbfounded way. She bowed her head as she forced a smile onto her lips and Minato took a mock defensive stance and drew his fake sword with his teeth. The two of them soon arrived at the back of the stage with the others with their audience still staring at her feminine appearance in utter shock.
"Don't look so nervous Ace. Just imagine that their not paying any attention. Go on. Give them a smile and a head tilt." Her expression remained nervous despite his words. "Hey, if it helps, do you remember when I ate the dirt after I fell out of your tree house? Or the other day when you had to fish me out the Samagawa?" Now that brought a smile to her face as she remembered how stupid those moments of his were. Taking advantage of this she tilted her head to the side in the most adorable way she could think of and at that moment she noticed Souji's proud expression and her grin widened slightly.
"Okay! Now that our contestants are all on stage, will the judge please come and make his decision? Who, out of these adorable kitties will be the winner of this competition?"
At those words the Labrador joined the contestants on stage to look each one of them over before he stood back and nodded in agreement with himself.
"I think... Er... You're all cute an' all but... Yukiko-senpai looks the least over the top an normal an stuff..." His hesitant voice had a hint of apologetic-ness in it as his gaze wandered over each one of them. "I mean... It's either Yukiko-senpai or Minato-senpai and Naoto-senpai... but man... It don't suit ya!" Naoto sighed in relief at his words that were aimed directly at her.
"Good. I don't plan on sticking to this style of clothing for the rest of my life." Though she couldn't understand why she smiled at him as he continued.
"Oh... Er... Right. So Yukiko-senpai's the winner!"
"Congratulations Yukiko-senpai! So the winners of round three of the Pets Gone Wild Competition are Kanji Tatsumi and Yukiko Amagi! Your next challenge will be in a few minutes so rest up!" The voice echoed through the room again before both Naoto and Minato padded of stage to take of their ridiculous costumes with the others following close behind.
"At least that's over with... I wonder what'll be next..." Naoto mumbled as she swiftly swapped the princess tiara with her signature blue cap and practically shredded the bow as she tried to remove it with her claws. Moments later her jaws were pulling the golden bell from her tail whilst Minato just watched with an amused grin on his face. "What are you staring at? Aren't you going to take that ridiculous costume of?"
"Of course, but you seem more cat like then before you know." He responded calmly as he gently pulled the ribbon to untie the knot before it slid from his neck and onto the floor.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" She growled as the last of her new accessories were shoved into the box.
"Well... You just shredded a ribbon whilst trying to untie the knot. That is just what I'd imagine a cat to do. That's all. Nothing wrong with that I guess." Placing the rest of his costume into the box the two of them continued their conversation as they exited the room.
"Felines and canines! Welcome! To the Pets Gone Wild Competitions final round! Are we ready my little doggies? Our final round will be an Agua Dogs competition!" Naoto stared at the giant swimming pool in front of the team. This probably wasn't going to end well for them... Glancing round only Kanji seemed to be nervous at the thought of swimming as he seemed to avoid going anywhere near the edge as the team moved round. The pool was separated into lanes like they were in the Olympic events and the pool seemed just as long. "Each contestant must swim from one end to the other and back again and the first one to pull themselves out of the water, is the winner! Good luck every doggy!"
"Easy!" Chie's enthusiastic tone was followed by her taking the lane at the centre of the pool. Kanji timidly took the one closest to the edge whilst Souji and Teddie took up the two on the opposite side of Chie.
"Ready...? Steady...? Go!" On the shadows signal the canines all launched into the water desperately trying to get used to having paws instead of arms and legs. She sniggered as she watched Teddie spin round in circles and Kanji flailing like an utter mooron who probably hasn't noticed that at the moment the place where he stood was in shallow waters. He could definitely stand or at least touch the ground if he would just try!
Souji and Chie were the only ones to actually manage to adapt to the new style of swimming as they both seemed to pick it up within a few moments of failed attempts. In the end Souji was the first to reach the other side whilst panting heavily. The silver husky spun round before kicking of from the wall and launching himself into 'go for broke' mode! The sandy Shiba-Inu was close behind as her paws worked madly under the water.
"And Souji-senpai wins the final canine round! Congratulations! Now onto the feline's final round!" On cue another door appeared out of no where before the team plodded on through with some moving slower then others. Giving one last glance at Souji trying to rescue Kanji and Chie trying to stop Teddie from spinning the detective feline strolled with Minato through the blood red door. After all, cats don't usually like water do they? "Welcome to the Pets Gone Wild Competitions very own, clan cats vs dark forest battle! Each kitty will be paired with a dark forest cat to battle! The winner, is who manages to kill their opponent successfully with the least injuries! Oh and no Persona's allowed! That's cheating!" Her eyes widened at the thought of having to fight one on one against a cat from the Warriors version of hell with practically no experience! Looks like they'll literally have to play by the book in this round!
"Felines and gentle-hounds please welcome the dark forest cats!" On the stupid shadows cue five felines emerged from the opposite side of the forest clearing the team had found themselves in. She recognised every single one of them...
The first, was the one on the far left which she remembered was named Darkstripe. His long grey tabby fur was slightly matted in some areas and his amber eyes were narrowed as his gaze caught hers. As she could remember he was one of the weaker felines from the dark forest and had even had some difficulty defeating a starving cat by the name of Stonepelt. He was one of their leaders first accomplices in their original home known as Thunderclan.
Next to him was a brown tabby tom with an unnatural bend in his tail. This was definitely Brokenstar. His eyes were practically still scratched out and he still seemed blind but Naoto knew better then that. Once a cat dies any ailment like that is taken away and healed the best way possible. She knew that he was much stronger then Darkstripe as she remembered how it was him who ordered his clan to drive out another. He had killed young kittens who were supposed to be apprentices but were far to young to with stand their training methods and she also remembered that it was he who had lead a team of rogues to Thunderclan. He would be much more difficult to defeat then Darkstripe...
In the centre of the group stood a calico she-cat named Mapleshade. Naoto didn't really know that much about this feline but she knew that she was a twisted enemy that had been denied love several times and had turned cruel because of it. Another strong opponent.
Standing next to her was a tom cat she knew all too well. Hawkfrost. The brown tabby tom with an icy glare who had attempted to persuade his brother to turn evil so they could both rule four clans and complete their fathers legacy. He wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps and... well paw steps and have all the power he could possibly have. Taking any and all actions necessary to get there of course! He would be a though opponent in a one on one match... As the successor of a twisted, ambitious and selfish tom cat should be! Probably...
The final tom cat was shaded grey with amber eyes who was probably Breezepelt. He was always disregarded by his parents and so his anger had grown to the point were all he wanted to do was to gain their affection. He was fast like most of the cats from his clan were and he was no doubt another powerful opponent.
"Okay! So will our first two warriors please step forwards?! If you don't decide for yourselves then I'll have to choose for you!" The dark forest warrior that stepped forwards was Darkstripe with menacing smirk on his face. Naoto quickly turned to the other felines who were staring at her expectantly.
"Rise-san? I think you would be the best match for Darkstripe." Rise's eyes widened at the thought of fighting him. "You know as well as I do who they are. Are did you make me read those books with no knowledge of them yourself?" She nodded slightly before stepping forwards to face the tabby.
"Okay, Naoto-kun... Wish me luck!"
"Er... Naoto-kun? Do you know these cats?"
"Yes Yosuke-senpai. I know who each of them are. I think the best match for you would be... Breezepelt. He's just as fast as you are so you two would make a great opponents." She replied calmly before she noticed Hawkfrost challenging glare. Returning the glare she spoke again. "I think perhaps Minato should take... Mapleshade and Yukiko-senpai? Can you take Brokenstar? He's the brown tabby with the amber eyes."
"Are you sure you know what your doing? And who does that leave you with?" It was then that Yosuke seemed to notice the tom cat she was having a glare off with. "Oh... Er... Who's that?"
"Yes, I'm sure I know what I'm doing, and his name is Hawkfrost. I'm surprised his father isn't here. Though he did die twice... I wonder where that kittypets spirit ended up in the end..." At her words Hawkfrost's gaze sharpened as if her words had stung. Kittypets were the warrior cats equivalent of house cats and if you were a kittypet then were hated among all the clans. "Actually I wonder were these pieces of fox-dung will end up after we defeat them." She smirked as she watched her opponents face become contorted with fury at her as she sat casually next to her cousin.
"Er... Right..." Before he could ask what on Earth she was on about the battle between Rise and Darkstripe began!
"Goodbye kittypet!" The tabby mocked her as he seemed to know she would understand the insult.
"In your dreams!" Rise spat back in annoyance before he pounced forwards in order to pin her to the ground! She hastily bounced out of his way and swiped his haunches as she passed his flying figure! He spun on his hind legs and just caught her ear with his claws! The idol yelped before pouncing onto his back! Though her movements were easily anticipated as her opponent swiftly slashed her chest in an almighty movement sending her crashing into the ground! Before she could even recover he had pinned her to the ground and was about to deal the finishing blow...
"That's enough!" Just before his jaws could sink into her throat Naoto had bowled into him sending him tumbling away from her friend. "The battle is over. You've won." Darkstripe glared at her calm expression in agitation before the voice cut in.
"Congratulations Darkstripe! You've beaten Rise Kujikawa! That was quick... Anyway, if another contestant intervenes then the match is automatically won by the dark warrior! Now, you can heal Rise-san but you must choose the next challenger to fight as you do it!" The shadows tone was laced with impatience, boredom and disappointment as he prevented a second fight that wouldn't count for anything.
As Naoto helped Rise back towards the others the next dark warrior stepped forwards. Brokenstar was their next opponent.
"Yukiko-senpai? That's Brokenstar." Yukiko nodded determinedly before stepping forwards to face him. "He's strong, so good luck!"
"Hey! How come you didn't cheer me on?!" Rise squeaked in annoyance as Naoto sighed before healing her.
"Because I thought Darkstripe would have been a rather simple opponent to face, as he was defeated by a cat that had almost died from starvation. My apologies. I should have thought about it more." She grinned as her expression shifted to one of hurt agreement. If you could even call it that.
The two foes stared at each other in the centre of the clearing whilst both Minato and Naoto prepared to protect Yukiko if she was defeated. Brokenstar snarled at her as she stood ready to move in any direction she deemed necessary. In an instant her opponent had pounced forwards to attack her shoulders! She narrowly avoided the blow before attempting to deal one of her own to his face! Unluckily for Yukiko she lacked the experience and knowledge of how warriors actually fight so Brokenstar had easily managed to read her movements before her attacks hit the empty air! Suddenly he reared up onto his hind legs to swipe down at her face as she backed away after his claws had met her cheek!
"Yukiko-senpai! Aim for the belly!" Kanji called out to her but unlick him Naoto had noticed the soundproof barriers that shielded them from his advice.
"Aim for the belly!" Naoto called in his place and was greatly impressed at how quickly she had changed her tactics. Yukiko leapt forwards beneath the felines flailing forepaws and conducted a full assault on his soft underbelly! He slashed at her as she nipped his fore leg between her teeth sending her flying away from him!
Scrambling to her feet she raced forwards again before pouncing as high as far as she could onto his back only to come crashing into the floor again as the brown tabby side-stepped with an almighty slash to her side as she hurtled past! This wasn't going to well anymore...
"Yukiko!" Chie could only just be heard from where Naoto sat beside her cousin as Brokenstar suddenly pinned Yukiko to the ground before raking his hind claws into her silky fur.
In an instant both of the cousins had launched forwards with Minato knocking him away from Yukiko and Naoto slashing at his eyes blinding him completely. As the detective stood defensively in front of her cousin who was now healing her friend she once again noticed Hawkfrost's icy cold glare of amusement. She glared at him with as much malice she could muster but that only seemed to fuel his entertainment further.
"And the winner is... Brokenstar! That's two wins for the dark forest cats! Who will be next?" The brown tabby padded back towards his comrades to be replaced with the tom cat named Breezepelt.
"Yosuke-senpai? His main asset is his speed and strength. However what he lacks in the latter he makes up with the former. Good luck." Yosuke nodded to her as he padded past.
"Bring it on!" He hesitated before adding, "Kittypet!" Grinning the two of them leapt into battle! The two of them raced around the clearing with the exact same speed as each other! Yosuke swiftly launched onto his opponents shoulders landing squarely on them before he dug his claws and teeth into his scruffy pelt! Breezepelt rolled and flattened him beneath him with ease before pinning him to the ground! The music loving feline's hind paws raked through his underbelly before his opponent released him from the ground!
The second he had moved away Yosuke on his paws and slashing madly at his opponents neck and face! Breezepelt bounced backwards before tackling Yosuke back to the ground again! The two began to grapple with each other until finally Yosuke had pinned him to the ground!
"Ha! I win!" Breezepelt snarled at his nonchalant tone as the two of them panted heavily.
"Well? You don't win until you kill me! Can't do it can you?" His snarl earned a horrified stare from his captor.
"Don't worry Yosuke-senpai! They're all shadows of the real thing! Geez... I would have thought you'd pick up on that by now..." He grinned at Rise's words before he swiftly ended the feline beneath his paws. The shadow of Breezepelt suddenly dissolved just like the usual shadows do.
"Congratulations Yosuke-senpai! Now then... Who will be the next victim in our little game?" That stupid voice again... There was still something not quite right about it... Other then the fact that Kanji had never spoken like this before and it defiantly sound more educated then his delinquent way of speaking.
"Dude... That was tough!" Yosuke panted as he padded other to Naoto to be healed.
"I never said it would be easy. You two were just the most logical opponents for this round." Taking a seat beside the other felines the cats watched as the next dark warrior stepped forwards. Hawkfrost.
"Ah. My turn." She mumbled as she courageously stepped forwards to face him.
"Well then kittypet. It's time to show you that losing to a half kittypet like me isn't such a bad thing! After all, that's what's going to happen here!" He snarled at her as her expression remained calm. Was this supposed to scare her or something? She knew Hawkfrost's character too well to be afraid of him.
"I agree. After all, I count as a kittypet." Her tone remained calm as she flicked her cap of with her paws. It would only get in the way when she didn't have hands. Minato swiftly retrieved it before wishing her good luck. "Time to follow in your fathers footsteps Hawkfrost!" She snarled a taunt as she knew it would annoy him and she loved having the ability to annoy the people she despised.
Suddenly he grinned before launching himself forwards in an attempt to land on her shoulders! Naoto swiftly slid beneath him with claws unsheathed as he completely missed his target! In an instant she spun back around and raced passed him again, using her paw to knock his feet out from under him! As soon as his belly hit the ground she pinned him down only to be flung away by a tremendous force as Hawkfrost leapt to his paws!
She spun in mid-air to recover before landing skilfully on her paws! Though she lacked experience she had the knowledge to deal with the situation effectively! The icy gazed tom cat reared up onto his hind legs to swipe at her face only to miss as she copied him! The two of them suddenly leapt at each other skimming each other with their claws as they flew past each other! The second the two of them turned back to each other Hawkfrost had pounced forwards again, landing inches in front of her as she bounced backwards!
Damn it! They were at the edge of the clearing with Naoto being unable to step backwards because of a damn tree! A thought crossed her mind as she remembered another battle technique they had used in the books. As he swiftly closed the gap between them her hind paws climbed the trunk as discreetly as possible. The second he was close enough she launched herself straight over his back! She spun as she passed him with her claws outstretched leaving deep wounds along the tom cat's back! As her hind paws hit the ground she spun round and reared in front of him as she spun round to face her!
He claws only narrowly missed the tom as he struggled to avoid her rapid movements! Suddenly he bowled into her! Sending the detective flying across the clearing! Naoto scrambled to her feet as Hawkfrost bounded towards her! In an instant she saw her chance to end this battle!
The two of them hurtled towards each other at a tremendous speed before Naoto catapulted her hind legs under her forepaws sending her sliding beneath him as he pounced rather low to the ground! As she moved she had one claw raised above her head with her claws unsheathed as they tore through his underbelly! The deed is done.
She spun back onto her paws as his body crashed into the ground!
"Just like your father indeed..." She mumbled triumphantly as he coughed and wheezed before finally dissolving like the shadow he was. Naoto chuckled slightly as she turned to her friends with a satisfied grin on face. "Like I said. Just like his father." Rise nodded in amazement before turning to Minato.
"Looks like your next Minato-kun!" The idol encouraged him as Mapleshade stepped forwards.
"Congratulations Naoto-kun! You've earned yourself a win for the clan cats! Our next contestants will undoubtedly have a difficult time beating that! Will our next contestants please step forwards!" On the shadows cue Minato swiftly approached the calico ready for battle. She sneered as the tom cat drew near before she hastily pounced forwards missing him by a hair as he evaded the attack!
Minato swiftly slashed at her haunches before bouncing backwards to avoid another blow! The attack just caught his nose as his paws launched him of the ground and over the felines head with claws outstretched so that they still left wounds! However he attempted to mimic Naoto's move and ended up ignoring the spin altogether on an attempt to land on his paws! Mapleshade took advantage of this and quickly rolled onto her back before kicking her hind paws into his belly as he flew over her! He rocketed into the air before spinning to land on his paws!
The calico reared onto her hind paws as he sprinted towards her! She slashed as he got close but didn't come close to hitting him as he raced past before knocking her over from behind! As he pinned her to the ground she bit his forepaws and raked his belly with her hind paws! Completely weakening him! But not before he could slash at her throat! She coughed and spluttered before disappearing into nothingness. Naoto raced to his side as the second she disappeared her cousin fell to the ground!
"Valkryie! Diarahan!" The moment he was healed he sat up straight enough to gently lick her fluffy cheek with gratitude. She had retrieved her hat during the battle whilst making sure not to miss any of it.
"Congratulations Minato-kun! That means the winners of this round are... Yosuke Hanamura, Naoto Shirogane and Minato Arisato from the clans and Darkstripe and Brokenstar for the Dark forest cats! Congratulations!" The voice chimed in amusement before adding, "And that just about wraps up our Pets Gone Wild Competition! All that awaits is the final battle against me! Only the winners can proceed!" Wait what? Only the winners? Does that mean her and the other felines that beat the others or the winner of the most rounds out of everyone?
"Who are the winners?" The young detective called out to that annoying shadow.
"The winners of that will proceed will be... Naoto Shirogane, Minato Arisato and Yukiko Amagi for the felines and Chie Satonaka, Souji Seta and Kanji Tatsumi for the canines! Congratulations! I will allow navigation from Rise-san but no others are allowed to help the chosen team! No one else is allowed through this new door! Not even Rise-san! Good luck team!" The second his speech ended a new door appeared in the centre of the battle stained clearing.
"Are we all ready?" Naoto called to the group as Minato swiftly healed everyone in the party one last time. The others in the team nodded in response. "We will return here once the battle is over. If we need your help we will signal Rise-san."
"Rest up everyone! If we need you we'll let you know! Rise-san? Are you providing the back up?" Minato watched as Rise nodded calmly.
"Yeah! I have the same powers as Fuuka-senpai! So I'll be doing her job!" Her response brought a smile to his face.
"Ha, that's good to hear. Well! Lets get going shall we?" Naoto nodded before the cousins led the team through the door...
Authors Note!
Okay! So I have taken ages on this one chapter and I'm sick of it now! I love it but I'm sick of it! My normal laptop is broken so I've sent it in to get fixed and should have it back by Friday. My dads laptop didn't have Word on it so I had to install it but it doesn't have a damn spell checker does it?! Anyway I it's grammer is terrible blame this computer! Also, I'm going to Disney Land Paris on Sunday! YAY! If you want to come and say hi to me then feel free! I'll probably be the only one there with a Persona 4 Arena bag anyway so yeah! Just don't pester me and my friends if you do decide to talk to me. Back on subject! I will end this dungeon in the next chapter and then add in some... random ideas I had for out of dungeon scenarios. Anyway! Please Read & Review! I absolutely love hearring from you all and I'm genuinly touched by your comments! It's a true honour being able to entertain so many people even if just for a short amount of time! Thank you! :D :D :D :D :D :D
PS.
Expect some rather... different scenes in the next dungeon! :D Don't worry though! It's nothing inappropriate! :D :D :D