Chapter Seven- Meeting More Bishies

~*~

Anya glanced around as she, Lisa, Sano and Chibi Kenshin walked past two guard posts that stood as the entrance to the town. "This is a big town," Anya stated.

"Yeah," Lisa agreed. She pulled out her map and glanced at it. "It's got at least a couple thousand people here."

"Wow!"

"Yeah. It's a fairly populous place because it's got such a nice climate. According to this, I think we'll meet a lot of captured Bishonen around here, so we can, well, set our sights on someone or other." Lisa ^_^ed.

Sano grunted. "Whatever."

Lisa smiled at him. "Jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of some poor guy also being captured by her?" Sano jerked his head towards Anya.

"Hey, buddy, you want to eat and sleep, you shut up," she said.

He rolled his eyes.

"Well, this is where we part ways," Lisa said. "How about we trade Dex numbers? That way we can keep in touch..."

"Dex... Oh no! I forgot entirely!" Anya said.

"What? What's wrong?" Chibi Kenshin asked, alarmed.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, I just forgot to call everyone!" Anya said.

"Who?" Sano asked. "We're the only people you've seen in the past week or so."

"No, I met a bunch of other people before I caught you, Sano, and we traded Dex numbers and promised to call each other at least once a week. I can't believe I forgot," she said, half to herself.

"Well, they haven't called you," Sano pointed out.

"Maybe they forgot too," Lisa said.

"Still... well, anyway, sure, let's trade," Anya said. "Here." She pulled out her Dex and proceeded to tell her number. Lisa pulled hers out and did the same for Anya. When they'd managed to get the right numbers and names into their Dex addresses, they put the Dexes away.

"Well," Lisa said. "Maybe I'll catch you at the gym?"

"Yeah, maybe," Anya said. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here. Later." Lisa turned and nearly tripped over a rock.

Anya covered her mouth to hide a smile as she watched yet another acquaintance walk away. This one was particularly accident-prone...

/Well, time to get going,/ she decided when Lisa disappeared around a corner. /I'm not going to get any farther just standing here. I'll find somewhere to eat and try calling someone this evening. Who knows, maybe we went the same way./

"Excuse me?" said a male voice behind her.

"Eh?" Anya turned to see a grown Bishonen regarding her with an odd look. "Yeah?" She couldn't remember where she'd seen him, but he looked familiar.

"I wanted to ask..." He leaned closer. Sano growled.

"What?" Anya asked.

"Will you... bear my child?"

WACK!

Anya winced away as a girl with a huge hammer picked the Bishonen up by the collar of his shirt. She had a very exasperated and angry expression on her face. Even Sano was edging away from this new trainer.

"For the last TIME, Miroku, if ANYONE is going to have your child I am! STOP going around and asking random girls!"

Anya blinked as the girl dragged the unconscious Miroku away, then glanced at Sano. "Now I remember who he is, from Inu-Yasha, right?"

Sanosuke shrugged. "He's a friend of Inu-Yasha, if that's what you mean. Though not really a 'friend,'" he added, "but you get the idea."

"Yeah, very few people call Inu-Yasha a friend," Anya agreed. "Well, are we going to find somewhere to eat before we wander around, or should we wander around first?"

"Erm... I think we should find an inn and get a room or two," Sano said, glancing at Chibi Kenshin, who was in his arms. "Everyone's staring at us."

Anya caught his slightly worried gaze and followed it to the Chibi, who was staring around at everyone who was passing them on the street. "Yeah, you're right. We can always order room service. What do you say, Kenshin? Wanna get waited on hand and foot?" she joked.

The Chibi glanced away from a young man wandering around with a Filia and nodded. "Sure, Annie-dono!"

Anya winced at the nickname, glared at Sano for grinning at her, then turned towards the nearest street and said, "Let's start looking, then."

~*~

"Hey, yeah, we need a room with..." Anya glanced at the two Bishonen.

"Two beds," Sano supplied.

Chibi Kenshin was staring at a coffee-maker, trying to figure out where the coffee was coming from. His face was screwed into an expression of intense concentration as he became more and more determined to figure it out on his own. Anya noticed this and just grinned to herself.

The lady behind the desk nodded. "I see." She glanced at the Chibi and added in a low voice, "Will you need extra locks, miss?"

"Huh? What for?"

"Well... the young Chibi there..."

Anya blinked. "??"

"She wants to know if you want extra protection from his guardians, Missie," Sanosuke said. He snorted and shook his head. "Nah, we don't. I'm his guardian right now."

"Oh, uh, I see." The lady obviously didn't see, but she went on as though she did. "Well, you can take room seventeen, right down the hallway. It's got a nice setup with cable if you want to watch anything, and room service is available until nine tonight." She handed Anya a key.

"Thanks," Anya said. "Let's go."

In the room, Kenshin was enchanted with the TV first, and then the bathroom. He was particularly interested in the toilet, which he started to flush again and again, trying to see what it was for. Finally, confused and frustrated, he demanded Sano to tell him.

Sano refused, staying as far away from it as possible and muttering about ghosts.

Anya rolled her eyes, quickly explained to the Chibi, and ushered him out before he wasted more water.

The Chibi Kenshin returned to staring at the TV with a vacant expression on his face. Anya handed him the remote, and he began switching channels, turning the volume up and down. Finally Anya said, "Why don't we get something to eat?" and the two Bishonen agreed.

After lunch, Anya stood and said, "I think I'd like to wander around town again. You guys want to come with?"

"You mean we get a choice?" Sano asked, glancing up at her.

"Well, yeah, why not?"

"Usually it's a requirement."

"Well, I'm only going a few blocks away," Anya said. "So it's not that dangerous for you, is it?"

"Nah, it's just considered weird for a trainer to go out by herself," Sano said. "Sometimes it's for company, but in bad streets it can be for the trainer's protection. And as good as your punch is, Missie, it's not that good."

"What, worried about me?" Anya teased.

"Dammit, if you want to get beat up by a thug because I'm not there, be my guest," Sano said, and flopped onto the bed. Kenshin immediately crawled over to shove the remote in his face. Sano jumped off the bed and was at the door an instant later. "Y'know, on second thought a walk wouldn't be a bad idea," he added, glancing at the remote. He almost seemed to expect it to leap at him and attack him.

Anya frowned. "Sano, does technology really bother you that much?"

"I'll live. Let's just go."

"What about Kenshin?"

"Well..." Sano surveyed the Chibi for a moment. "Yeah, it'd be best if he came along. If anyone heard about a Chibi by himself in this room... kami save him and the room. And Kami help us, when we got back."

"Yeah. The trainers," Anya remembered, and winced.

"And all of our people," Sano reminded her. "They don't know that Kenshin gave you permission to take care of his kid, so they'll be keeping an eye on you."

"This would not be a problem if I were older, that it would not," a young voice cut in. Both glanced down to see the Chibi regarding them with a grave expression on his face. "And I will not be older until I train," he continued.

"How does a Chibi train?" Anya asked.

"We could get him a small sword," Sano suggested. At her murderous glare, he added, "I meant a WOODEN sword, Missie. I'm not that stupid."

"I hope not." She glanced down at the Chibi. "Well, would you object to a training sword, Kenshin? You could easily practice with that."

The Chibi didn't look too happy at the idea of a wooden sword, but nodded anyway. "Any training will help, that it will," he said.

"Well, let's just go and buy you one," she said. "Are there weapon stores?"

"Obviously. And item stores, too," Sano added.

"Cool. Let's go find a few."

~*~

The small group found a weapons store only fifteen minutes later, and wandered on in to see a few other trainers with their Bishonen and Bishoujo looking over various weapons. A Tifa was arguing with her trainer over what kind of gloves she wanted, while a Gourry was busy admiring a sword with a golden hilt. His trainer was standing nearby tapping her foot.

"Well, it seems to be a pretty good store," Anya observed.

"Most of them are. Just gotta watch out for prices," Sano said.

Anya frowned. "How do you know?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "It's the same as back home, only got different people and items."

Anya watched him for a moment- he wasn't telling her everything- but then shrugged back and turned towards a shelf with wooden swords. "Do they have small ones?" she asked, setting the Chibi down (she'd been carrying him) to look through them.

At the Chibi's somewhat injured expression she added, "Kenshin, it's just so you get used to using one a lot, that's all. You'll get a bigger one later, honest. Then you can get a metal one. Deal?"

Chibi Kenshin looked a lot happier at that statement and stood on tiptoe to look at a few of the swords at his height.

"Can I help you?" asked someone behind them.

Anya turned and flashed a smile at the older woman. "We're looking for a small wooden sword."

"Small wooden sword? ...Oh, let me guess, you're getting one for your Bishonen's new Chibi?" the woman asked, peering at Kenshin. "He's pretty cute."

"Yeah, um, you could say that," Anya said. "He wants to start training. So what would you suggest?"

"HIKARI NO KEN!"

Everyone ducked as a huge flash of light burst from one corner of the room. The light eventually faded, and Anya glanced over to see the Gourry was looking at the sword he'd been admiring with a sad expression on his face.

"It's still not as long as the Sword of Light," he muttered. "Five inches, and it'll be perfect..." He began rummaging through more metal swords, oblivious to everyone else around him.

Blushing in embarrassment, his trainer hit him over the head- which he didn't feel- and bowed in apology to the shopkeeper. "Sorry," she called, and went back to watching her Bishonen.

The shopkeeper sighed. "They're in here every week. Honestly, if that Bishonen would only keep his Light Sword he wouldn't be causing so much trouble here! Oh well..." She turned back to Anya. "Here's what I suggest..."

In about ten minutes, Kenshin was staring at a wooden sword in his hands with open awe and happiness. He hugged it to himself tightly as Anya paid the woman and they left.

Sano had an eyebrow raised. "Say, Missie, since when did you have money to spend, anyhow?"

"Lisa, remember? I won the match so she gave me money to help out here," Anya replied.

"Oh. I thought you were doing something and not telling us," Sano teased.

"Oh no, I leave thievery to you, Sano."

"Thievery! I do not steal!"

"Nor do I!" announced a voice at their feet.

Anya glanced down to see a young looking Bishonen with very long hair tied back in a topknot, with blue leggings, and an odd staff that had a pouch with belongings on it. The Bishonen was watching them cheerfully.

"I never steal, but people always say I do. I never! You know how that feels? It's so awful, and horribly annoying of people to blame their mistakes on someone else. Why, once someone claimed I stole their ring. I did no such thing! They dropped it! They were very lucky that I was there to find it!"

Sano edged away from the Bishonen, grabbing Kenshin and his sword and taking them with him. "Anya," he warned.

"What?" she asked.

"This is a Tasslehoff-"

"Tasslehoff Burrfoot! But you can call me Tas! My friends call me Tas! Well, Raistlin never did, but then again he never really was a good friend. Why, he tried to kill me once, and he killed a friend of mine. He was really nice at one point though, he magicked me into a duck pond. Have you ever just appeared into a duck pond? It's the most amazing-"

"Uh, no, I haven't," Anya said, overwhelmed by the Bishonen's constant talking.

"-and then he called me a doorknob! Oh well, at least I don't lose my daggers!" the Bishonen was continuing. "Oh well. Poor Flint. I'm sure he's having fun with Fizban, though. Have you ever met Fizban? He's a nice wizard, but he can't really remember his name, and he always forgets where he leaves his hat. It's funny though since it's always on his head-"

"Right..."

"TASSLEHOFF BURRFOOT!" hollered a woman nearby. "YOU GET OVER HERE NOW!"

"Coming!" Tas called cheerfully, and nodded politely at Anya. "See you, it was nice to meet you. Maybe next time you can tell me your names, then we can talk all about ourselves. Who knows, in my opinion trainers make pretty good kenders, and my trainer agrees with me, but no one else seems to..." He jumped as he heard his name hollered again. "Well, I must go!" he said, and ran off.

Sano quickly began looking over Anya. "Are you missing anything?" he asked, eyes on the Bishonen.

"Uh, I don't think so," Anya said, confused.

"Good." Sano settled back in satisfaction. "That was a kender Bishonen. They're a lot of trouble. Though they say they aren't, they ARE thieves. They're just so natural and good-natured, however, that they don't notice that they're stealing." He snorted.

"Kender...?" Anya questioned.

"Have you ever picked up a book?" Sano asked, sighing. "Never mind. Let's just get going. People are staring again."

As they wandered out of the store, they heard a couple Bishonen arguing.

"I don't see why ya gotta make fun of my talking, ya know?" one whined.

"Well, don't make fun of mine, and we'll get along fine, ya?" the other said. "You leave me alone, I leave you alone. Ya?"

"Well next time maybe you should be more polite, ya know," the first complained. "At least Fujin never complained about my talking, ya know? What's with people these days? Not used to hearing people talk differently I guess, ya know?"

Anya blinked. "Whoa, a Wakka and a Rajin together? What a weird idea."

Sano snorted. "Get them together with a Chichiri, a Kenshin, and a few others, and they'll have a holiday swapping ways to end a sentence- ITAI!"

Anya removed her hand from Sano's shoulder, which he rubbed gingerly. "Don't talk that way about Chichiri OR Kenshin," she said. "I'll have you know they're some of my favorite characters and I LIKE the way they talk."

"Great," Sano sighed.

"What's wrong with the way I talk, Uncle San?" the Chibi asked curiously. "Am I speaking wrong, am I?"

"No, no, it's just... er... damn," Sano swore. "I give up." He turned and headed down the street.

Anya watched the two arguing Bishonen for another moment, grabbed Kenshin's hand, and followed her older Bishonen.

"And another thing, ya know!" Rajin's voice floated through the crowd. "I'm tired of people saying I whine constantly, ya know?"

"That's because you do, ya?"

Anya sighed and tuned out of the two Bishonen.

/Some people,/ she thought. Then for fun, she added mentally, /No da./ Smiling, she kept following Sanosuke down the street.