"Well, don't just stand there." I say impatiently. "Read us the next clue!"
"It says, 'Used in a forest to cut down trees for fire and warmth. Wielded by a stuffed animal that likes to box.'" Natsume reads shortly.
"Mr. Bear!" Mikan cries excitedly. "My arch nemesis." In a flash, her bright face becomes dark, like a light had just been switched off.
Whoa there. "What's the history behind this?" I haltingly point at Mikan's 180-degree personality change.
Yuu says with a nervous grin on his face, "For reasons currently unknown, there is a stuffed animal living in the forest that really enjoys beating Mikan up."
"It's really quite enjoyable to watch." Hotaru says with a straight face.
"Um, stuffed animals don't usually…move." Mitsuki says bluntly.
"Mr. Bear was made by my best friend." Tsubasa says, smiling sadly. It seems out of the norm for him; there must be something wrong. I know that normal people usually smile when talking about their best friend. "He has the Alice of putting souls into stuffed animals, allowing them to come to life."
"That's right, Kaname-senpai!" Mikan says cheerfully. "We haven't seen him in a long time!"
"Kaname?" I look over at Mitsuki and Hana. "Is there anyone named Kaname in our class?" Mitsuki looks at Hana with a questioning look, and Hana shrugs.
"He's in our class." Tsubasa explains. "He just hasn't come to class because of his health." Tsubasa averts eye contact and looks down at the ground. "He had poor health originally, and whenever he uses his Alice, he just gets worse. But even though I tell him not to use it, he still insists on creating more stuffed animals for other people." Seeing Tsubasa look so sad makes my throat begin hurting. I would feel horrible too if Hana or Mitsuki were sick and in the hospital all the time. So horrible and helpless.
I change the subject quickly. "So, you guys know for sure where Mr. Bear is, right? Does Mr. Bear have an axe or something? That's the only thing I can think of that can cut down trees solo."
"Yeah. Every one knows where Mr. Bear lives." Yuu smiles. The smile slowly vanishes as he seems to remember something. "But Mr. Bear isn't exactly the most friendly stuffed animal…it may be a little difficult to get his cooperation."
"Don't worry, guys." Mikan says as she slams her right fist into her left palm menacingly. "I'll handle this. You can depend on me." Throwing one arm in the air triumphantly, she declares, "Today is the day Mr. Bear is GOING DOWN!" With that last statement, she starts running at full speed towards the forest.
"Let's follow her!" Hotaru runs back to her giraffe car and starts revving up the engine. All of us quickly jump back into the car, and Tsubasa manages to squeeze in next to Ruka this time, due to Mikan's absence.
"Can Mikan really do this?" Mitsuki asks all of us. Natsume shrugs while Ruka merely looks worried. Tsubasa has a small grin on his face as he's probably remembering previous encounters between Mikan and Mr. Bear.
"I highly doubt she can." Hotaru replies shortly as she maneuvers her giraffe car skillfully along a curve in the forest path, "She's never won against Mr. Bear before."
"Well, we'll see if Mikan can win this time." Tsubasa says, trying to hide his obvious grin behind his hand. "If it's hopeless, then I'll step in and negotiate with Mr. Bear."
"We're here!" Yuu is the first one out of the car. "Mikan-chan!" He runs towards her. Standing about six meters away from Mikan is a little stuffed bear, chopping firewood with an axe. It's kind of…cute. However, it seems to notice my observing stare, and I swear I see its eyes glint dangerously at me. This only serves to reaffirm my belief that there's always more than meets the eye.
Mikan does some warm-ups, reaching for her toes and stretching out her back. Yuu holds a towel and a water bottle taken from where? I know not. Hotaru whips out a microphone, hooks it up to a speaker (Once again, I don't know where these items have come from…), and begins her sound check. "Testing, one, two, three, a,i,u,e,o…" Her cute little voice booms out from the speaker at five times her normal volume. "Welcome everyone." She says, not sounding welcoming at all. "Today in the left corner of the arena, we have Sakura Mikan!"
Mikan stands up proudly, puffing her chest out, waving her hands in the air with a humongous grin splitting her face. Tsubasa and Yuu cheer heartily for her. Shrugging, I hop on the bandwagon and start clapping, shaking my head in exasperation. Mitsuki and Hana follow suit, although Hana giggles at the incredulousness of the situation. Natsume and Ruka are just staring unabashedly, with expressions saying, "So they really are crazies…"
Hotaru continues with her introductions. "And here in the right corner of the area, we have the crowd favorite, Mr. Bear!" To Mikan's surprise, Natsume, and thus Ruka as well, start applauding.
"Excuse me?" Mikan shrieks. Natsume sticks his tongue out at her. I stifle a giggle, sneaking a glance at Mitsuki and Hana. Mitsuki has a smirk on her face, while Hana rolls her eyes.
"Let's get ready to rumble." Hotaru declares monotonously. I have to fight my desire to laugh out loud. Goodness gracious, her voice and her words are totally at odds with each other!
A bell rings out of nowhere, and Mikan, clad in boxing gloves, begins her first attack. "YAH!" She screams her battle cry as she lunges forward.
"Mikan makes a daring strike." Hotaru narrates as Mikan aims a powerful-looking fist at Mr. Bear's cute head. "But, ooh! Denied." Mr. Bear dodges her fist nimbly and takes advantage of her unguarded face. BAM! Mikan takes one to the face, being knocked back into Mr. Bear's garden.
"Mikan-chan!" Yuu screams, running towards her. Mikan spits a pebble out of her mouth before taking a swig from the water bottle Yuu held out to her. Yuu dabs at the sweat on her face worriedly, acting more and more like a typical girl by the second.
"Challenger Mikan is knocked out of the ring. Will she return, or has Mr. Bear won this round?" Hotaru queries us. The last question earns her a squeal of indignation from Mikan.
She spunkily stands up, traces of any injury disappeared. "Sakura Mikan does not give up!" She declares proudly. She bounces back into the arena and surprise-attacks Mr. Bear with a snarl of "Hidden Citrus Kick!" Mr. Bear, being much smaller and lighter than a human girl, seems to suffer greatly, getting the stuffing kicked out of him. Launched into the air by Mikan's kick, Mr. Bear lands in front of Hana, Mitsuki, and me. As the small bear recovers his bearings and picks himself up, he shoots a murderous glare at us. I shiver with fear at the thought of that bear's powerful punches landing on my person. Mikan is so brave…
"Mikan…" I stutter. "I think you made Mr. Bear angry…" The ragged bear springs surprisingly high, landing on Mikan's head. Further scuffle ensues, with neither side appearing to give way.
Tsubasa, who had been standing next to me, sighs, takes off his beanie, and runs his hand through his hair. "Looks like I have to step in now."
I frantically grab his arm. "Are you sure, Tsubasa?" I ask him, feeling immensely worried after seeing Mr. Bear's boxing abilities. "Mr. Bear looks like he could beat Mohammed Ali!"
As Tsubasa takes my hand off his arm, he says with a mischievous grin on his face, "Don't worry, Rin-rin. Mr. Bear won't hurt me."
My jaw drops open. "What the HELL did you just call me?"
Tsubasa laughs at my reaction as he walks toward the center of carnage. "Mr. Bear," he calls. Mr. Bear turns his head slowly, eyes glinting in recognition when he spots Tsubasa. I cross my fingers behind my back and bite my lip nervously. Dude, if Tsubasa dies, I don't know how to deliver the news to the then newly-widowed Misaki. Mr. Bear runs into his log cabin and emerges with a bouquet of flowers.
"Think those flowers are poisonous?" Mitsuki whispers.
"Tsubasa-san!" Hana cries in worry, hand covering her mouth.
But, Tsubasa smiles sadly and kneels in front of the bear. "Are those flowers for Kaname again?" Mr. Bear nods, and hands the flowers to Tsubasa. Tsubasa turns and beckons for us to come closer. We cautiously walk towards the tiny bear of terror. He's surprisingly tame now, showing no violent tendencies towards us. Instead, he looks rather suspicious of us, and seems to be asking Tsubasa for an explanation in his quiet way.
"They're new classmates of mine." Tsubasa introduces us. "They're Kaname's classmates too." Upon hearing Kaname's name, Mr. Bear seems to stop being hostile and appears to tolerate our presence.
"I don't think he likes us very much." Hana whispers to Tsubasa.
"Don't worry; he doesn't like anyone much." Tsubasa grins. "The only person he loves is Kaname. He only tolerates me because he knows I'm Kaname's best friend." Mr. Bear had walked back inside his house and came out again with a large round table. He continues this process until he has four chairs set up around the table. He gestures for us to sit down.
"What about the kids?" I ask as I take a seat.
"Oh, we can ignore Natsume-kun." Tsubasa smirks. "He can STAND." I smother a laugh at Tsubasa's childish revenge. Natsume glowers, and looks as if he's going to roast Tsubasa's sorry ass, but seems to reschedule the barbeque for later when Mr. Bear returns from yet another trip to his house. This time, he returns with a large tray saddled with a nice, piping hot teapot with four little elegant teacups complete with saucers. Mr. Bear gives these to Tsubasa, who distributes it around to all of us. Mr. Bear even returns into the house to get more teacups for Natsume, Ruka, and Hotaru as well. This bear is really quite kind when it comes to his creator.
"Is Mikan alright, Yuu-kun?" I call over to him, suddenly remembering her.
Yuu answers me with tears in his eyes. "I d-don't know. She's not getting up from the ground."
Slightly concerned, I set my teacup down on the table and walk quickly over to where Mikan lies. Seeing her face, I smile wryly. "I wouldn't worry too much, Yuu-kun."
Mitsuki and Tsubasa had followed me over. "It looks like she's just sulking." Mitsuki points out bluntly. "She lost the fight after all. Tsubasa had to intervene." Tsubasa grins sheepishly, stuffing his beanie into his pant pocket.
"Hey, Mikan-chan." I try to strike up a conversation with her. "Want some tea that Mr. Bear's made for us?" Tsubasa runs as fast as the wind back to the tea table and returns with a steaming hot cup of tea. He looks crestfallen as Mikan shakes her head. I'm shaking with suppressed laughter at his sad puppy dog look, but I continue my pleading.
"How about a cookie? Aren't you hungry?" Tsubasa runs back again to the table and returns with the entire platter of tea biscuits Mr. Bear had brought out. Mikan shakes her head no again. "How about some fruit?" Tsubasa begins to climb a tree. Mitsuki is also desperately trying to hold her mirth in, hands clapped over her mouth. She totally knows what I'm up to now. "Or maybe you're in the mood for some hot roasted BEAR?" Tsubasa runs and picks up Mr. Bear, but gets socked in the face almost immediately. My stomach is hurting from holding back my peals of laughter. Finally, I can't stand it anymore, and just collapse on my knees, slapping the ground with my hand. I'm laughing so hard tears are beading up in the corners of my eyes.
Mikan sits up slowly, watching us with slight interest. However, there is still a disappointed expression on her usually smiling face. "I'm so useless." She starts, making us all stop laughing and Tsubasa stop tussling with Mr. Bear. "I couldn't defeat Mr. Bear even once." She mutters.
I ruffle her bangs affectionately. "Don't think so much about it, Mikan-chan." She looks up at me with some confusion in her eyes. "You're not useless." I continue, smiling at her with all I've got. "There are certain things that certain people can do. You just haven't found what special thing YOU can do yet. Besides," I surprise Mikan by lifting her light body up in the air, "as long as we work together, we can do anything."
Mikan laughs joyfully and urges, "Spin, Karin-senpai!" Seeing that contagious smile on her face makes me happy too, so I twirl us around together to the tea table, followed by Tsubasa, Mitsuki, and Yuu, who are smiling at the happy scene.
"Oh great. Another weirdo." I hear Natsume mutter under his breath. After I put Mikan down, I slap Natsume's head.
"Unfortunately for you," I say loftily as he holds his head in pain, "I possess extremely good hearing. You're getting another one of those if you insult me again."
"You're so macho, Rin-rin." Tsubasa grins, insulting me in a tone of adulation. Shivers of disgust ripple through my body as I slap Tsubasa's head too.
"What I said to Natsume applies to you too!" I shudder. "And stop calling me that name. So disgusting."
"Oh yeah, Mr. Bear." Tsubasa says, ignoring my command and insult. "We never told you what we came to visit for." Mr. Bear cocks his head questionably at Tsubasa. "We're on a scavenger hunt, and your axe is on the list of items to find." Tsubasa explains. "So we came to ask if you would possibly give your axe to us." He suddenly remembers something, and shoots a nervous look at Natsume. "I mean, it'd be totally cool if you didn't, in fact, I would prefer if…" His voice trails off sadly as Mr. Bear hands him an axe. He blinks dumbly as he stares at the sharp object in his hand.
"Oh no, Mr. Bear, I couldn't possibly accept this!" Tsubasa stammers. The rest of us just watch him slowly dig himself his own grave. "I mean, how could I possibly take the only way to obtain your source of warmth! It must get really cold at night for…stuffed…animals…" He trails off, probably realizing how stupid he's sounding right now.
"Tsubasa." I sigh, clapping my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Smarts aren't everything in this world." Natsume snatches the axe away from Tsubasa's frozen hand. "Better salvage yourself while you can." I mutter to him before moving away.
Tsubasa's head snaps up, and turns immediately to Natsume, who's examining the axe with Ruka. "Natsume!" He calls, a smirk starting to form on his face. "The breeze is quite refreshing today, isn't it?"
"What the heck is this idiot talking about?" Natsume asks Ruka, an I-don't-care-look on his face.
"What I mean is, wearing a skirt must be very refreshing, as you can feel the breeze everywhere, if you know what I mean." Tsubasa says with a cheeky wink.
I can immediately feel the temperature go up a couple of degrees. Natsume's glare is so filthy dark; Mikan and Yuu immediately latch on to my arms and don't show any signs of letting go soon. Ruka even slowly inches away from the soon-to-be crossfire. I'm praying Tsubasa knows what he's doing, because the only thing I foresee in the future if this continues is a large bonfire.
"And also," Tsubasa continues as if nothing had happened at all, inching closer and closer to Natsume's hand that is holding the axe, "you look better in a skirt than I would have expected. Who would've known that the infamous Hyuuga Natsume has such amazingly GIRLY, SHAPELY legs?"
"Hotaru-chan, do you have any marshmallows?" I turn my head towards her. I am now ONE HUNDRED percent certain that we're going to have a bonfire tonight. What a horribly idiotic way to distract Natsume. Even though I haven't been here for a long time, I can tell that Natsume has a really fiery temper and has basically no tolerance for insults to his person. "Anyone here opposed to making s'mores after Tsubasa perishes in battle?" Everyone is too absorbed in watching the battle between Tsubasa and Natsume to really pay attention to my half-hearted jokes.
"You…pervert…" Natsume seethes, a fireball starting to form in his right palm. Tsubasa frantically looks around for a shadow to control, but since the sun is high in the sky, the only shadows are pathetically small, and right under everyone's feet. Not the best time to pick a fight with Natsume in my opinion. Tsubasa turns to run for cover in the shade of the nearby forest, but is stopped by Natsume, who has jumped onto his back and wrestled him to the ground.
"Revenge…" Natsume whispers, and then proceeds to…OH MY GOOD LORD!
"My eyes! It BURNS!" I screech, sounding like a cat about to be given a bath. "Avert your eyes, children!" I cover Mikan's and Yuu's eyes with my hands. Mitsuki and Hana are roaring with laughter. Mitsuki is repeatedly yelling, "EWWWWW!" while Hana is just helplessly bent over laughing. Hotaru is covering her mouth with her hand and trying to stop the shaking of her shoulders while taking pictures of the scene continuously with a camera she seemed to always have handy.
Natsume has PANTSED Tsubasa. Yes, I'm not kidding. As fast as a small ember can escalate into a large flame, Natsume had pulled Tsubasa's pants down, whipped Tsubasa's belt out of the loopholes, and tied his hands to his feet using the belt, making Tsubasa look very similar to a pig about to be roasted on a spit in a fireplace. Tsubasa is now thrashing around on the ground like a fish out of water, his bottom half clad only in a pair of very worn-looking boxers. Upon closer inspection, his boxers have all the Sailor Soldiers embroidered on the cloth in their respective colors. I don't know what's creepier; seeing Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars on opposing sides of Tsubasa's butt cheeks, or finding out that Tsubasa is a secret otaku.
I let go of Mikan and Yuu, deciding that the sight Tsubasa made wasn't appallingly inappropriate. Once they see him, their jaws hang open. "Tsubasa-senpai…" Mikan whispers with horror.
Natsume turns around to face us, looking very pleased with himself. "Let's get all these stuff back to that perverted teacher." He says, heading back to where Hotaru's giraffe car is hidden.
"Yes sir." I gulp nervously, sneaking a look back at Tsubasa. Hotaru takes a couple of last-minute pictures, then starts walking quickly back to her car.
"What'll we do with the captured victim, sir?" Mikan asks fearfully, raptly standing at attention, self-preservation in mind.
"We'll take him back with us." Natsume says shortly.
"Yes sir! Any other orders, sir?"
"Don't call me 'sir'."
"Yes si-! I mean, Natsume." Mikan smiles sheepishly. Natsume turns away abruptly, and mutters lowly, "Idiot…" I stifle my gasp. Is that a smile I see on Natsume's face?
"Can we untie him now?" Mitsuki asks, feeling no intimidation at all. "There's not going to be enough room in the car for him to ride, and I would expect you want to make him walk back again."
Natsume ponders this a bit, and then nods his agreement. He holds up a hand for us to wait. We stop in our tracks, wondering what he's going to do. Looking straight into Tsubasa's eyes, Natsume smirks and says coolly while holding Tsubasa's pants up, "You're not getting these back until we get back to the school." Looking back at Mitsuki, Hana, and me, he commands, "Release him."
As I undo the belt restraining his hands and feet, I hiss at him, "You. Are. Such. An. IDIOT!" He bursts free and starts rubbing his chafed wrists and ankles frantically. With that wounded, puppy-dog face, he looks at me resentfully.
"How can you abuse an injured person, with no pants on?" He howls, nursing his injuries.
I groan as I help him stand up. "How can a person with no pants on still have so much self-confidence?" I shrug off my blazer and hand it to him, trying to control my voice and my face. "Here." He looks at me questioningly. "Haha-um, use this to cover up-snort, hehe, because seeing Sailor HAHA!-um, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars really makes me…BWAHAHAHAHA!" I start laughing so hard tears pour from my eyes as Tsubasa scowls, grabs the blazer from my hand and wraps it hurriedly around his waist.
"If you'll excuse me!" He says loftily to my laughing form, trying to preserve what little dignity he had left, "I'll get a head start back."
Wiping tears from my eyes, I call to his retreating figure, "Travel-HAHAHA! SAFELY!"
Once we've all finished our laughs, we pile back onto Hotaru's giraffe car and head back to the elementary school campus. Tsubasa seems to have thoroughly given up on obtaining his freedom, because we encountered no traps on the way back. I was personally expecting more attempts to sabotage the scavenger hunt, but I suppose losing one's pants really does make one's self-confidence wither like a rose in winter. Tsubasa is waiting for us in front of the school, looking around nervously for anyone who might witness his vulnerable state. Natsume smiles an evil smile of satisfaction as he throws Tsubasa's pants back at Tsubasa. Mouthing curses under his breath, Tsubasa hurriedly puts his pants on.
Narumi-sensei is waiting for us in the staff room of the elementary division. "Sensei!" Mikan screams in happiness, throwing herself on him. He picks her up and swings her around, making them both laugh. "Sensei, we've finished the scavenger hunt!" Mikan reports excitedly. "Are we the first ones back? Have we won?"
Narumi-sensei laughs at her excitement. "Yes, the scavenger hunt is over, Mikan-chan. And your group is the first one back. I think your group was the only one who made it past the second checkpoint." He puts one finger on his chin as he thinks. "However," He gently puts Mikan down. "I'm afraid I have to disqualify your group."
A pretty, blonde-haired lady steps forward and collects the items we obtained from the scavenger hunt from Natsume's and Yuu's arms. "Sorry." She says shortly.
"WHOO HOO!" Tsubasa begins celebrating, doing a happy dance. In my imagination's eye, I can see Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars rippling up and down. Oh my goodness. Bad thoughts! Disgusting thoughts! Get out of my head!
"Why?" Natsume demands. "Why were we disqualified?"
"Because it explicitly states in the rules that NO VIOLENCE IS PERMITTED, and you guys broke that rule." Narumi-sensei explains.
"Where does it say that?" Hana protests. Hotaru takes out the rules sheet and looks at it carefully. Hana rereads it over her shoulder. "Sensei, it doesn't say that anywhere!"
"Give that to me please, Hotaru-chan." Narumi-sensei holds out his hand for the paper. Hotaru wordlessly gives it over to him.
Narumi-sensei whips out a magnifying class and holds it over the rules paper. We huddle over it to look. There, in tiny print below the last rule, is 'No violence is allowed. Any forms of violence will result in disqualification and confiscation of all scavenger hunt items.'
"What the heck?" Mitsuki says in confusion. "How do you expect us to see that? It's TINY!"
"We didn't use violence." Natsume lies with his poker face.
"What?" Tsubasa bawls. "Yes you did!" Turning to Narumi-sensei with tears streaming down his face, he begins telling Narumi-sensei everything that had happened to him.
"Are you really going to believe him?" Natsume asks calmly, looking straight into Narumi-sensei's eyes. Natsume's scarily a really good liar.
"Why yes, Natsume-kun." Narumi-sensei smiles paternally at him, "And that's because I have proof that what Tsubasa-kun says is true. Serina-sensei, if you please." Narumi-sensei gives way to the blonde-haired lady, who steps forward holding a crystal ball in her hand. All of us lean closer to see what she's trying to show us.
The crystal ball shows us a montage of events that had occurred in the past. "No violence, huh?" Narumi-sensei says sarcastically as we watch me kicking Tsubasa behind the knees and Natsume trussing Tsubasa up like a chicken.
"Poor Tsubasa-kun." Serina-sensei murmurs softly. Guiltily, I realize that Tsubasa has gotten abused very often.
"Wait." Natsume says. "The rules say 'Confiscation of all scavenger hunt items'? You're taking everything?"
"Yup!" Narumi-sensei says perkily. "Everything but the high school student. Thanks a lot everyone!" He prances away happily with Serina-sensei, whispering to her, but failing horribly, "Good thing they succeeded! I was running low on bean whips…"
My jaw drops open. I look at Mitsuki and Hana with an expression of disbelief. "What…?" I splutter. "W-what just happened?"
"We've been had." Mitsuki says with a grimace.
"Damn that perverted teacher!" Natsume spits out. "He used us just to replenish his personal stores!"
"At least I'M FREEEEE!" Tsubasa runs out of the room in pure ecstasy, his proclamations of love of freedom echoing through the hallways.
"And at least we had a fun adventure together." Mikan says with a happy smile. Hotaru, Yuu, and Ruka smile back at her. The four happy kids leave together, with a disgruntled Natsume following suit. Mitsuki, Hana, and me are left behind in the now empty staff room.
"Do you understand what just happened?" I ask.
"Not at all." Hana shakes her head in disbelief.
"I think we just wasted our time." Mitsuki growls.
I sigh. "Whatever. At least we didn't have to go to class. Let's go back to the dorms."
We open the door of the staff room and begin to walk out. I walk backwards recklessly, talking to them. "I wonder what Howalon is." I change the subject. "Remember, Tsubasa mentioned it earlier?"
Mitsuki and Hana freeze in one place. "What's wrong?" I ask, turning around, only to bump into a wall of black.
"Excuse me." A deep voice says. I look up. Only one person would look like the personification of Death. Persona.