Chapter Eleven- Chi-Chibiness! ^_^

~*~

"Finally," Anya breathed in relief, slumping down to the ground for a moment of rest. "Eutriv City..." She stared ahead at the gates to the city.

"Well, what're you waiting for sitting down there?" Sano asked, peering at her. "You're not getting any closer to a hotel, you know."

"Shut up. My feet hurt."

"You don't hear Kenshin complaining-" Sano turned to point this out to Anya then stopped. He sweat-dropped when he saw Heero trotting up to him with a wry expression on his face, a sleeping Chibi Kenshin on his back.

"You were saying?" Heero asked quietly.

"Argh, never mind," Sano muttered.

"Kenshin has the right idea," Anya said.

"The answer is no," Sanosuke said.

Anya pouted at him for a long moment before struggling to her feet again. However, Sano wasn't against helping her stay on her feet, so he let her lean on him for a moment before making her way towards the gates. Then he rolled his eyes and followed her, with Heero right behind.

An officer stopped them at the gates. "What have we here?"

"Trainer Anya and her Bishonen," Anya replied with a small smile.

"I'll need to check your Dex for a confirmation, miss."

Anya raised an eyebrow. "Okay..." She pulled out her Bisho-dex and handed it to him. "Identify me," she said to it when it lit up.

"Trainer- Novice Anya. Bishonen- three. Names are- Sanosuke, Kenshin and Heero, in named order. Chibi caught by consent of parents." The Dex beeped for another moment before turning off again.

"Is that satisfactory?" Anya asked politely.

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Miss Anya. Welcome to Eutriv City. Erm..." He eyed the group curiously. "Will you be looking for a hotel?"

Anya gave him a blank look, and pointed to herself. "Yes, I at least can't wait to get all this road grime off."

"There's one just a couple blocks from this entrance. Just turn right and keep going, you can't miss it."

"Thank you very much." Anya turned to the others with a smile. "Shall we?"

~*~

"Aaaah..." Anya sighed and stretched her arms over her head. She'd changed into an orange tank top with black jean shorts. "It's so nice to be clean again!"

"Actually, I gotta agree with you," Sanosuke said.

Anya made a face at him. "Ew, though. You're still wearing those dirty clothes."

"Would you prefer I went around in the nude? I've heard some trainers appreciate that."

She turned beet red and threw a pillow at him. "Shut up! I didn't mean that- you need to get another outfit to change into or something until we can get that washed."

"I'm not wearing your clothes, if that's what you mean."

"What's wrong with her clothes, that is?" Kenshin asked innocently.

Trainer and Bishonen alike sweat-dropped. Heero, who'd been setting up a laptop (which had appeared out of nowhere), turned around and raised an eyebrow at the Chibi.

"Er... I'll explain some other time, 'kay?" Anya asked.

"All right, Annie-dono!" Kenshin ^_^ed.

"I hate this, but we'll have to go out clothes shopping," Anya said, making a face. "We'll get one extra outfit for each of you in case this happens again. Then we could wash the dirty ones without you having to, er, you know."

Sano smirked at that. "Hear that, Heero? She doesn't appreciate us."

"Indeed," Heero replied shortly. He was obviously ignoring them, only responding to his name.

However, Anya didn't realize that and blushed again. "Will you shut up, Sano?! Let's just rest a while, then go get you your damned clothes."

"Don't swear in front of Kenshin," Sano said, mimicking what she'd said to him a while ago.

Anya gave him a glare, threw another pillow at him, and lay down on the bed. Kenshin immediately turned his attention to the television. He began poking random buttons under the screen, and clapped his hands in delight when he found the power button. "I got it, that I did!" he announced to no one in particular.

"Swell," Sano muttered. He edged away from the television and closer to the door.

His trainer gave him a small smirk at that before rolling over to face the far wall.

Kenshin then walked over to where Heero was rapidly typing away on his laptop. "Whatcha doing?" he asked.

"Typing."

"What's typing, that is?"

Heero paused in his typing to raise an eyebrow at the Chibi, who was still smiling innocently. After a moment, Kenshin's smile faded and he gave the older Bishonen a clueless expression. "You don't know what typing is?"

Kenshin shook his head slowly.

Heero knelt down to put a hand on Kenshin's head. Now Kenshin looked even more confused. Curious, Anya sat up and looked over to see why the room was so silent.

"...You poor, depraved child."

Anya and Sano fell over. Kenshin remained hopelessly clueless.

However, despite his words, Heero returned to his typing without another word. Kenshin remained by his side, watching in amazement as pictures and words flew across the screen.

"Hey, Heero," Anya said after a few moments.

"What?"

"..." Anya glanced away for a moment before returning her gaze to her newest Bishonen. "Where did you get that laptop?"

"...I've had it."

/Had it? Had it WHERE?! Never mind. I don't want to know./ "Right. Okay then." Anya lay back down, and closed her eyes, determined to rest for a while.

~*~

"Alright, let's get this over with," Sano said, glancing around at the people passing them on the streets.

"I agree wholeheartedly," Anya said.

"I thought girls like shopping?"

"Sano, I'd like you to rephrase that. For one thing, you're being stereotypical. Some guys like to shop too."

"...Fine then. I didn't know you didn't like shopping."

"Well, we really haven't had the chance, have we? I mean, I've only battled a couple people in those woods back there, and we were in the middle of nowhere at the time." Anya shrugged. "In any case, I don't mind shopping. I just don't really care for the clothing shopping, that's all. Once in a while it can be fun, but that's when I'm with friends or something."

"Hn," was Heero's contribution to the conversation.

Kenshin, who was holding onto Anya's hand, peered through the crowds of people curiously. "This place is big, that it is!" he declared.

"It is," Anya agreed. "Don't worry, I grabbed a map when we were at the hotel. We should find our way back no problem."

"Whoa, you were smart for once?" Sano asked.

Anya hit him over the head with her free hand.

"Itai," he muttered.

"NO, NO DA! I REFUSE NO DA!"

"GET BACK HERE!"

"LET ME GO NO DA!"

"Eh?" Anya blinked. Then stars appeared in her eyes. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" she asked excitedly.

"I don't know, what did you hear?" Sano asked.

"I heard a 'no da'!" she exclaimed.

"I SAID YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE ME TO YROTCIV CITY AND YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE ME THERE NOW!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE NO DA!"

Through the crowds came a tiny figure with light blue hair and a huge hat on his back. His bangs were sticking up above his forehead, defying gravity. His arms were out in front of him as he pushed his way around people.

"A Chibi Chichiri?!" Anya said, looking amazed. "But-"

The Chibi was apparently looking for somewhere to hide, because his eyes locked with Anya's a moment later as he neared her. He lifted his huge hat over his head, and soon only the hat was there, flying towards her. "What the-?!" She blinked as the hat seemed to magically tie itself around her neck and rest against her back. "What on earth...?"

"HEY! THIEF!"

Anya lifted her head to see a furious young woman with amazingly long dark hair and forest green eyes stalk towards her, a Bish-Ball in her hand. "Who you calling a thief?" she asked.

"You, you idiot! How dare you try to steal my Chichiri?!" the girl snarled. "I caught him fair and square!"

"Watch how you speak to my trainer, kid," Sano said, stepping in between the trainers. Silently, Heero moved up as well, reaching into his shorts to pull out the handle of a gun. Kenshin pulled out his wooden sword, though he seemed a little confused about why his trainer was now wearing a hat.

"Get out of my way. This is thievery!" the girl announced.

"That's better than abuse," Anya said quietly.

"And what is THAT supposed to mean?"

"You treating a Chibi that way. How could you? Weren't you brought here because you love Bishonen?" Anya said.

The girl looked confused for a moment, then smirked. "You mean Chichiri? He's been refusing to do anything I say since I caught him. Of course I love him and all my Bishonen."

"Sure doesn't sound that way," Anya said. "And doesn't it occur to you that maybe he CAN'T do what you want because he's so young?"

"I'd hardly call him young."

"Idiot! If you don't call THAT young, what DO you call young?"

"Enough of this. Give me back my Bishonen or I'll be forced to send my Clef against you."

The two trainers had now caused a big scene, and other trainers and Bishies were circling around them, watching curiously to see how things would end up.

Sano snorted. "You're not very bright, are you? You can't send a Bishonen against a trainer directly."

"It's against regulations in the contracts," Heero stated calmly. "To disobey would not be wise at this point, seeing how many witnesses there are."

The new trainer looked like she was ready to attack Anya herself, but managed to restrain herself. "Very well. How about a battle, then? And when I win, I get my Bishonen back."

"And should you lose...?" Anya questioned.

"I doubt that'll happen."

"Hey, you set stakes for one thing. It's only fair you do the same for the other trainer."

"Is not. If I lose I'll call the cops on you."

"That's not right," someone shouted from the crowd.

The two trainers turned to see a Lina Bishoujo standing at the edge of the circle of people, folding her arms under her chest. "He was running away from you," she stated. "These circumstances would only be fair if you and your Chibi had a strong bond. Add stakes for this other trainer, or I'LL call the cops because you cheated on a match."

Anya smiled gratefully at this unexpected backup, then turned to the other trainer, who was still fuming.

"Alright, fine. Since he ran to you, you can have him if I lose. He'd probably make a fuss no matter what anyway- he always does when it concerns trainers." The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder and smirked. "Let's go."

"Who should I have...?" Anya wondered. She glanced at her two Bishonen.

"Let me," Heero said. "I haven't gotten a lot of experience since I evolved."

Anya nodded. "Alright, be careful."

Heero nodded back, and walked forwards. "I'm her Bishonen. I give full consent to fight until I am called back or are knocked out," he said.

The girl snorted and tossed a Bish-ball onto the ground. "A fighter, eh? I'll go with Clef, then, of course!"

With a flash of light, the magical Bishonen appeared. Heero blinked, and seemed to be holding back a laugh a moment later.

"Kami, he's SHORT..." Sano said.

"He's a powerful magician, Heero," Anya said quickly. "Be careful!"

Heero nodded.

Clef glanced around, then back at his trainer. "Mistress, we're battling?"

"What's it look like?"

The Bishonen sighed and ran a hand through his light hair. "Very well. I consent to fight- wait a moment, that's a fighter Bishonen-!"

"Attack!" the girl said before he could finish.

"But- urgh..." Clef slumped his shoulders in defeat, then pointed at Heero, who looked completely relaxed as he watched the magician. "LIGHTNING FLASH!" he shouted, and a beam of lightning shot from his staff.

Heero's eyes widened and he leaped to one side, dodging the bolt. Sano shoved both Anya and Kenshin out of the way, making the two fall over. Then Heero's eyes narrowed again. "Mission accepted," he said shortly, and dove at Clef.

"Again!" the girl shouted.

"LIGHTNING- ugh!"

Clef tightened his grip on his staff as Heero grabbed hold of it and tried to yank it away. A bolt of lightning shot out again, this time at the crowd. People dove for cover, shouting in alarm.

"You're gonna hurt someone!" Anya shouted.

"Itai," Chibi Kenshin murmured, rubbing his elbow.

Anya helped him up, and watched worriedly as Clef and Heero struggled with the staff.

"Let-go-" Heero said through gritted teeth.

"No," Clef said calmly. "SHOCK!"

A spark erupted from the end of the staff and hit Heero on the hands, making him yelp in pain, nearly letting go.

"SHOCK!"

Heero shuddered.

"This isn't fair!" someone declared from the crowd.

"Someone get the cops! That girl's a lunatic!"

"How can her Bishonen cast offensive magic against a non-magic one?"

"...She's gotta be using that runaway Chibi as her excuse. Defending it from a thief and all that."

Heero finally let go and rolled out of the way as Clef attacked with another lightning attack.

"Fire! Fire!" the other trainer shouted.

"You'll catch the town on fire!" someone in the crowd argued.

Clef sighed, and lifted his staff once more. "Flame-tongue!" he called.

A short blast of fire shot from the staff. Heero ducked again.

"WATER DRAGON!" someone in the crowd yelled. The crowd parted to see an Umi Bishoujo destroying the fireball with a water spell, and breathed in relief. She would make sure the spells wouldn't get too out of hand.

"Grr..." the other trainer gritted her teeth. "More power, Clef! You're not putting your heart into it!"

Her Bishonen shook his head slightly. "Rolling fire!" he cried.

Now a wave of fire erupted, and the crowd had to back away to dodge the flames licking at their feet.

Heero grunted in pain as a wave of fire hit his arm, biting back a curse. "I have to get that staff," he muttered.

"WATER DRAGON!"

The fire was doused again, and no one in the crowd was harmed.

"You alright, Heero?" Anya asked worriedly.

"This is bad," Sano stated. "She's using that Chibi as an excuse to use offensive magic against Heero. Otherwise it'd be blocked and Clef would be useless unless Heero gained magic."

"What can Heero do to get the staff back?"

"Be very, very quick, and twice as careful," Sano said. "That's the best he can do. He can't use his gun against another Bishonen unless it's the last of last resorts."

Anya gritted her teeth as Heero barely managed to dodge another lightning bolt. "At least Clef isn't putting his heart into those attacks, or we'd all be dead by now," she said quietly. Then she yelped and clapped her hands over her mouth, staring at the fight.

Heero'd been hit on the same arm with fire again, and clutched at it, giving a soft moan of pain. He sank to one knee, looking over his arm for an instant before returning his glare to Clef and his trainer.

Clef gave him an almost apologetic look before raising his staff again. "SHOCK!"

Lightning appeared, and hit Heero on the leg this time. He seemed to be unable to get up now.

"Damn," Sano swore. "We're losing this one bad. I should have gone in there."

"Unless you got magic I don't know about, you'd be just as badly off," Anya said. "Come on, Heero, just hang in there..."

"Finish him off, with your strongest lightning!" the trainer commanded.

Clef took in a deep breath, and nodded. He raised his staff again. "ROARING THUNDER-"

"KAI- HAA!"

Everyone blinked in astonishment as two small hands appeared from behind Anya's neck and pointed at the battle. The powerful lightning attack was blocked and destroyed by a magical shield that had appeared from nowhere. Heero looked at the shield around himself, dazed.

"What the-?!" The trainer glared. "You're using my Chichiri against me!"

"I didn't know that Chibis could magically attack," Anya said.

"Some Bishonen and Bishoujo learn amazingly fast," Sano said. "Kenshin's dad, for example, learned one of his first techniques when he was still a Chibi. But I never expected-"

"That's cheating! You're using my Bishonen against me!" the trainer announced.

"She is not, no da!" came a high voice from the hat. "Leave me alone no da!"

Anya blinked- it was very odd hearing a voice coming from a hat, though she knew it was the Chibi. "Why did you run from your trainer?" she asked the hat, feeling a little stupid because of it.

"Because she threatened to seal me away in the ball should I refuse to take her wherever she wanted to go, no da," came a small voice from the hat.

"And you don't like the ball?"

"Who does?" Sano questioned. "It's a matter of tolerance. And Chibis should definitely not have to be forced into a ball unless it's for their own safety. Poor kid."

"I'll fight you, no da!" came Chichiri's high voice. The hat twisted away from Anya's neck to deposit the Chibi on the ground behind her. He then ran around her and up to where Heero was.

"No need," Heero said. "I can fight alone."

"Not against magic, no da," the Chibi said worriedly.

Heero smiled faintly down at the Chibi, and put a hand on his head. "You should really be concerned about yourself, young one."

"But I'm-" the Chibi began.

"Enough! Get out of there and be quiet, Chichiri!" the trainer's voice rang out. "Stop trying to play pitiful. You know what happens when you try to run from a trainer!"

"Yes, no da," Chichiri said, and hung his head.

A sudden memory struck Anya, and she paled. "If he'd succeeded, he'd go mad and die, right?" she asked Sano. He nodded. "Was your treatment that bad?" she asked, kneeling down to look at the Chibi.

He turned and shrugged. "I figured it was worth a try, no da. I could find another trainer kind enough to capture and free me, so her power over me would be cancelled, no da," he said.

"Smart kid," Sano said wonderingly.

"Fine, if you want to get hurt, then it'll be a lesson for later on!" The trainer said this while shrugging. "Clef, attack!"

"...No. I refuse to hurt my fellow Bishonen," Clef stated, turning to look at his trainer.

"Oh, so YOU want the ball for a week. I understand," the trainer said in an icy voice.

Clef paled, and turned back to the Chibi and Heero, indecisive.

"NOW!" Heero whispered.

"KAI-HAA!" The Chibi hollered, throwing up a shield around Heero as the older Bishonen somehow managed to run towards the unsuspecting Clef.

A moment later, Heero knelt over Clef's limp body, the magician's staff in his hand. "I win," he stated.

"WHAT?!" the trainer demanded.

Heero gently laid the staff next to Clef before turning towards the Chibi and nodding once. The Chibi Chichiri nodded back just as solemnly before helping the older Bishonen to his good leg and helping him slowly back towards Anya.

"We win," Anya said, putting a hand on Heero's shoulder. To her surprise, he didn't shrug it off, but instead just turned to look at the trainer as well. She smiled faintly at him before returning her glare towards the unknown trainer. "Why don't you break that Bish-ball and let him go now?"

The trainer growled at them. Then she pulled out one of her Bish-balls. "Fine, be that way. He was a pill to deal with anyway," she said with a sniff, and threw the ball at the pavement. It shattered.

The Chibi blinked, and looked around wonderingly. "I... I feel light as a feather, no da!" he whispered.

The unknown trainer walked over to her Clef. "Up," she snapped.

He groaned and shook his head. A moment later, he staggered to his feet.

"Ball. Now."

Clef winced, and turned towards Anya and her Bishonen with the Chibi Chichiri. Anya gave him a sympathetic look. He gave her a faint smile before nodding once and disappearing into his ball.

Without another word, the trainer marched off into the crowds. The circle of people diminished almost immediately, as though nothing had happened.

Anya blinked, and turned to look down at the Chibi Chichiri. "Are you alright?" she asked. He nodded.

"A-are you going to capture me now, no da?" he asked. He looked a little uneasy about the idea.

"Do you want to be caught?" she asked gently, kneeling down. "You've been through a lot lately."

The Chibi raised an eyebrow. /Something odd about his face,/ she thought absently as he scratched his head.

"You mean I get a choice, no da?"

"I think Chibis should have a choice," she said. "At the very least."

Now both eyebrows were raised, and the Chibi blushed slightly. "Ah, I agree no da," he said. "Erm, I'd prefer not to be caught at the moment, no da."

"Alright." Anya nodded and stood back up. "Do you have anywhere to go?"

The Chibi slowly shook his head. "No, I haven't even got an idea of where I am no da," he admitted.

"Well..." Anya snapped her fingers and turned to the others. "That girl back at the last city with the Hotohori and Duo... she said Fushigi Yuugi Bishonen could be caught around here, right?"

"Right, territories and all," Sano said with a shrug.

Anya grinned and turned back to Chichiri. "How about we walk you home?"

"We just got here," Sano began to complain. Anya nudged him with an elbow and shot him a glare. "Eh, never mind," he said, rubbing his ribs.

"Walk me home, no da? So I am close to my old home no da?" The Chibi smiled. "I would be happy to go home no da. It's been a while."

"Well, how about this. You can stay with us tonight, and tomorrow we'll hit the road and find the general territory of your lands. We'll drop you off to be found by your buddies and you can go home, okay?" Anya said, winking.

"You'd really do that, no da?" Chibi Chichiri asked hopefully.

"Yep. I think you need to go home after that- your folks must be worried- what's the matter?" Anya blinked as the Chibi looked away.

"I'm an orphan no da," he said. "I was caught the day my parents died no da."

"Oh. I'm sorry. But you still have friends, right? So you still want to go home?" she asked.

He nodded. "Thank you, no da."

"No problem. Alright, guys." Anya turned to grin at the others. "You okay there, Heero?"

Heero smirked slightly. "I've only got a third degree burn on my arm and my leg probably won't work for an hour or so. Of course I'm fine."

"Heero Yuy, I do believe that was a joke from you," she said with astonishment. Then she remembered something and turned to the Chibi. "Um, earlier you used magic to protect Heero. Can you heal him?"

"Of course no da!" Chichiri said cheerfully, and walked over to Heero. He raised a hand to touch Heero's leg.

Almost immediately, the burn was gone, and Heero lifted his leg up experimentally. He nodded again at the Chibi.

"Perfect! Let's go get our shopping done and get something to eat, eh? We'll come back after we drop off our friend!" Anya said.

~*~

Chibi Kenshin sat on one of the beds in the guest room, fooling with the remote control to the television. Sano lay sprawled across the bed next to him, while Anya shared the bed he was on. Sano was snoring loudly- thankfully, Anya was fairly quiet.

As for the other Chibi...

Kenshin felt a new responsibility rest on his shoulders. Since he was the Chibi who'd been out of his ball a lot more than Chichiri, it was his job to point out the magical stuff that Anya took for granted. He'd already shown the wondering Chibi the bathroom, where they'd played with the shower and toilet for about a half hour before Anya stopped them. Now he was flipping through channels, pointing out the 'boring' stuff and the 'neat' stuff.

Chichiri tilted his head to one side as he listened for a moment to a news report about the weather on television before reaching over and pressing the 'channel up' button, or so Kenshin called it. "Technology is amazing these days no da," he stated.

The other Chibi nodded. "Have you had any of the sodas, that is?"

Chibi Chichiri shook his head.

"Maybe tomorrow at breakfast you can try it. Annie-dono's very laid back about food and stuff, that she is."

"Is she?" Chibi Chichiri turned to look at Kenshin.

"She is," Kenshin said with a ^_^. "She bought me my own sword so I could train, that she did." Then he made a face. "But she was worried I'd hurt myself so she only got me a wooden one..."

"If she is worried, that is good no da," Chichiri said. He turned and yawned, stretching. "Ah, I'm so sleepy no da. I think I'll get some sleep now."

"A good idea, that it is," Kenshin said. He turned off the television with one click of the remote- a fact that he was proud of- before turning and crawling over to where his trainer slept. He burrowed under the covers with her and attached himself to her arm. "Annie-dono doesn't mind, that she does not," he called quietly to Chichiri.

A small blush stained the other Chibi's cheeks. "Truly, no da? I could sleep on the floor, no da..."

"Oh, come on."

The Chibi Chichiri finally sighed and crawled in after Kenshin. "Alright, no da..."

~*~

"You know, surprisingly, it's nice to be walking again," Anya said. "I thought my feet would be killing me today..." She stretched her arms over her head for a moment. "But it feels good to be out here..."

"Wait a week," Sano instructed. "Then you'll be back to your old self."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "At least I didn't smell as much as you did."

"Psh. Yeah right. What's the saying? Right, women don't PERSPIRE, oh no, they GLOW," Sano said with a high voice. "Am I right?"

Anya sidestepped away from him. "You're scaring me with that voice, Sano. Stop it."

"Actually, you're scaring me too, that you are," Chibi Kenshin added.

"..." Sano fell silent again.

"So how far to we need to walk to get to the edges of your territory?" Anya asked the Chibi Chichiri. She pulled out her map and the group paused for a moment as she showed it to him. "This is where we are. Where does the FY stuff start? You don't have to be specific or anything- a general idea will do."

"Hmm, no da." The Chibi frowned as he looked at the map.

"Idiot, kids can't read maps," Sanosuke began.

"About a three day walk no da!" Chichiri announced.

Anya nodded and put away the map. "Alright, I got enough stuff for six days. We should be okay to get to your borders and back to town."

"Mission accepted," Heero said.

"Da?" Chichiri asked.

"He likes to say that," Anya explained. Then she grinned at the group of Bishonen. "Well, shall we?"

~*~

Chichiri watched the trainer Anya as she bantered with Sanosuke and made light jokes at Heero for the rest of the day. Sometimes she gently teased either himself or Kenshin.

/She's much nicer than my old trainer, no da,/ he thought. /She certainly treats her Chibi with respect. And she treats me nice too, no da. Home... I don't know anyway no da. Would anyone want me back there, no da?/ He stared up into the sky for a moment. /It feels like it's been so long since I left, no da.../

"Hey, Chichiri, you gonna stand there all day?" Anya asked teasingly.

The Chibi looked up and smiled faintly. "Course not, no da. Wouldn't get any closer to home, would I no da?"

"You're right. Come on, we'll walk for an hour or so more and then rest for the night."

~*~

"Sanosuke, let me do that," Anya said in exasperation. "You're just gonna ruin the wood without getting any fire out of it."

"Maybe I gotta rub the fire together first when it's wet..."

"It's wet?! Where did you find that wood, Sano?"

"Just beyond our camping ground, why?"

"You can't use wet wood! No wonder you can't get it lit!" Anya said, shaking her head. She looked at the two Chibis and mouthed, "Can you believe this?" at them. Chibi Kenshin stifled a chuckle and Chibi Chichiri merely grinned back at her. "I think we need more wood."

"Nah, just a little more..."

"Sagara Sanosuke, you leave that wood alone and get some new branches. Preferably dry ones." Anya smiled. "Maybe you should go too, Heero, and point out the difference between dry and wet branches."

"I can tell by myself," Sano retorted, and stood up to march off into the forest, mumbling.

Anya shook her head, and turned to Heero. "Hey, would you go and get some too? Make sure he doesn't get lost either, K? He tends to have that happen a lot."

"I've noticed," Heero murmured, and stood up. He walked off after Sanosuke.

"What about us, Annie-dono?" Kenshin asked. "How can we help, that is?"

"Hmm." Anya thought for a moment. "How about you two pick out a dinner for us, eh?" She pulled out a capsule- the refrigerator one- and tossed it at Kenshin. "Pick something good."

"Alright!" Chibi Kenshin threw the capsule at the ground and with a POOF the refrigerator appeared. He immediately walked over and started searching through it.

Chibi Chichiri, however, hesitated. He turned towards Anya and said, "Erm, can I talk to you no da?"

"Of course, Chichiri." She frowned slightly when he scuffed his toe against the ground for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"Well... I wanted to thank you again for helping me out with my old trainer no da..." He trailed off, and walked up so that he was right in front of her.

Anya pulled him into her lap for a quick hug. "No problem. Glad we could all help. Besides, you gave Heero a little more experience in battling magic, should he ever have to fight it again," she said.

The Chibi blushed. "But... You see... I haven't been completely honest with all of you, no da..." He looked up at her with his catlike eyes.

"Honest? Honest about what?" she asked.

"Well..."

Anya blinked. Then she yelped.

One moment, Chibi Chichiri sat in her lap almost like Kenshin would, though he looked a little unhappy about something. The next, he had changed into his normal adult size.

Anya's eyes widened and she turned a beet red when she realized she was holding a full-grown Chichiri in her lap. "You- you're grown up!" she stammered. Then her blush grew. "Why didn't I see it?! I should have noticed your eyes were different!"

Chichiri was blushing slightly too, scratching the back of his head. "Ano... sorry about that, Anya-dono no da. But I wanted to make sure I could trust you before I told you the truth. I figured you'd be more likely to help a Chibi than a full-grown me, no da... Da?!" He found himself being hugged again by the trainer.

"I was wondering how you could do magic so young and why your face was like that and how you sounded so wise- I'm sorry." She abruptly let go of the startled Bishonen, still blushing. "I'm babbling, aren't I? I- it's just you're really one of my favorite characters, know what I mean?"

The Bishonen reached up towards his face, and gently pulled off his mask. As Anya looked at his real face, entranced, he gave her a slow smile, something she'd never seen in the series. "You really mean that, no da?" he asked in a deeper voice than usual.

"Yeah," she said.

"...Thank you no da." The smile grew. "I was thinking, perhaps we could call this whole little journey off and head back to the city no da."

"Back to the city...?" she wondered.

"Yeah. I've been thinking about it since you offered to take me home no da. And I think... I'd like to try being someone's Bishonen again before making any more decisions about going home again no da."

"Well... yeah! I'd love to have you as a Bishonen!" Again, she hugged him.

"Da..."

"^_^," was Anya's reply.

"Hey, we got more wood! What was the deal sending Heero after- HEY!" Sano dropped the pile of wood in his arms and stared at his trainer and the Bishonen. "When did he evolve?!"

"Just now, apparently," Heero observed wryly, placing his wood on the ground near the fire.

"I picked some dinner for us, that I did- oh!" Kenshin stopped. "Did you evolve already, that you did?"

"And what's with sitting on our trainer's lap, eh?" Sano asked, crossing his arms.

"What happened to your eye?" Kenshin asked worriedly, hurrying over.

Anya and Chichiri, both beet red, raised an eyebrow at each other. This was going to be an interesting conversation.

But first...

"Eh, Chichiri. Not that I'm complaining, but you're a little heavy."

"Da! Sorry no da!"