Chapter Thirty-three- Troubles

~*~

Rhia and Pixie were almost done with their match.

It had been a fairly long one, considering that the matches were only one on one. Pixie's Milliardo was winning at this point, using his sword as both an effective weapon and shield from the Quatre's attempts to attack. At first, both had been about to summon their Gundams, but had decided that it may be too dangerous for the other Bishies and trainers watching (not to mention their own trainers). Thus, the battle dragged on, man to man.

Quatre was out of breath, with a few new bruises. He had a knife to fight with, but since they weren't really fighting to the death or to protect something, he couldn't do much with it. Thus, he had almost always been on the defensive.

Milliardo blew some of his hair out of his face, readied his sword, and raced at him.

The other Bishonen realized this, and also noticed that this could be the last blow he could take before he collapsed. Glancing around, he finally decided to take a risk. Quatre fell on the ground and rolled at Milliardo's legs, causing the older Bishie to fall on top of him.

The crowd (and Rhia) cheered at this. Quatre managed to roll out, due to his momentum, from under Milliardo. Then he jumped on top and proceeded to punch the other Bishie.

After a few punches, however, he stopped. "Okay. I don't want to hurt you much more unless I have to. Do you surrender?" he asked sweetly.

Milliardo snorted and hit him on the head with the hilt of his sword. "Please."

That, indeed, was the last blow Quatre could take. He @_@ed and promptly fell to the ground, this time unconscious.

LSS raced up. "One, two, three... and the winner is Milliardo! Great job, you two! Pixie, you rest up your Bishonen and get ready, your next match will be tomorrow afternoon. Rhia, great job as well; rest up your Bishonen too, and please hang around. We give out participation prizes as well as top three prizes!"

Both trainers nodded, and hurried over to their Bishonen. Then, after eyeing each other, they shook hands quickly before hurrying off the field with their respective Bishies.

"All rightie! Who's up next... let's see... ah!" LSS held up a paper. "The next two trainers to battle are... MorTae and Megan! Come on out, you two!"

Kimiko jumped up as the crowd cheered and the two trainers appeared on the field. "MorTae! Thank God, she's okay! MORTAE! UP HERE!" She waved frantically.

The trainer somehow managed to hear Kimiko, and looked up. Her eyes searched the crowd for a moment, then her eyes widened when she spotted Kimiko. She waved back, mouthed, "Talk later" and then walked over to LSS.

LSS turned to her. "Well, MorTae, I hear you're a Yu-Gi-Oh fan."

"Yup. I got three Bakuras that do the job for me." MorTae ^_^ed.

"Three Bakuras? Which kind?"

"Well, I have a Ryou Bakura, a Yami Bakura, and Thief Bakura. The thief one is a previous version of Yami, though, so it's only technically two kinds of them."

"Cool!" LSS grinned. "Got anything to say before your match?"

MorTae thought about that for a moment. "Um... Bakura's awesome?"

"That works. At least it's sane... ahem, anyway... now, let's talk to Megan! Megan, what's up?"

"I got a Ryou Bakura, too, as well as a Gohan and a Yahiko. I also had an Ascot at one point."

"And have you got anything to say to the crowd, or a friend or something?"

"Actually... Yeah. I'd like to shout out to my friend Reyana Draconis, who's out in that crowd somewhere. Good luck to ya, and wish me luck too!" She gave a thumbs up and smiled.

Far up in the crowd, said trainer waved back frantically.

"All right. Good luck to both of you. Now, let's get the match started!"

A cheer rose up from the crowds as both trainers grabbed their Bish-balls and threw them.

An instant later, a Ryou Bakura and a Yahiko were circling each other warily. Ryou was weaponless (not including the Sennen Ring, of course), though Yahiko carried his usual wooden sword around.

Anya made her way up to a seat with her Bishonen as the match began. She winced as Yahiko almost immediately landed a hit on Ryou's side. "That's gotta hurt."

"It's only starting. I love it when weak pacifists fight!" Sanosuke announced eagerly.

"Yahiko," Kenshin murmured.

"Yup. He looks about the same age as in the show, so I'm guessing he's only San?" Anya asked.

"Yes," Heero nodded at that.

"You're going DOWN!"

"Da?" Chichiri asked. A question mark appeared above his head.

"Oh no, YOU are the one who's going down!"

"How dare you, you, you Bishie-stealer!"

"Whaaat? I didn't steal your Bishonen! I saw him first!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Anya and her Bishonen turned to see two female trainers sitting next to each other, squabbling. Next to one of the trainers sat a very embarrassed looking Yuki. He was sweat-dropping and trying to edge to the opposite side of his seat, away from the two trainers, but the one sitting next to him had a rather firm grip on his arm.

"Did NOT!"

"DID TOO YOU Bishonen STEALER!"

"Why, I never! I will defeat you in... Time!" Both trainers whipped out their watches. "In twenty minutes, or whenever this battle ends! Or my name isn't Hildi-chan!"

"Hah! No, you're mistaken girly! For I, the great RONI, shall defeat you!" Said trainer stuck out her tongue.

Thus began a rather long and odd-looking contest to see who could stick their tongue out the longest. At the end, however, both trainers seemed to get bored with that. Thus, they proceeded to resort to making funny faces until they were both laughing like their argument had never happened. Hildi-chan, the one holding Yuki, absently hugged him.

"Aah!" With that, he promptly turned into his rat form.

"Kawaii," Anya breathed.

"What, the rat? I thought girls didn't like rats... Kaoru always hates 'em..." Sano muttered.

Anya hit him on the head. "You're being stereotypical again, Sanosuke. Stop it."

He grumbled and nudged her.

Thus started an ELBOW war.

Chichiri turned SD and sweat-dropped. "Guys! Can't we calm down and watch the tournament like we're supposed to na no da?!"

Anya and Sanosuke blinked, then slowly nodded and stopped their war. Apparently, the trainers Hildi-chan and Roni had heard him too, for they stopped laughing and began to make small bets on who would win said current fight.

As for the fighters themselves...

Ryou had suddenly become very violent after Yahiko managed to bruise his face. Anya hadn't expected him to get angry over a bruise, but now he had his Sennen Ring in one hand, swinging said ring as though he knew how to use it like an actual weapon. Yahiko himself seemed surprised, and due to this let down his guard momentarily.

In a very short time, Yahiko was bloodied and bruised into unconsciousness, lying with a @_@ expression on his face. "Wah, wah, wah, wah..."

Ryou calmly pulled out a rag, wiped off the Sennen Ring, ^_^ed, and walked back to his trainer.

LSS picked up her microphone and ran into the battle scene. "It seems we have a winner! Congratulations, MorTae! And great job to you too, Megan. Better luck next time!"

Suddenly, Hildi-chan and Roni were racing down towards the battlefield, arguing at the top of their lungs about who won the bet and who would win the upcoming battle. Hildi-chan was yanking along Yuki, who had transformed back into his human form during the battle and once more looked more than a little nervous about what was to happen soon.

~*~

MorTae hugged her Ryou Bakura and offered him a potion. Once he'd obediently swallowed it, she sent him back into her Bish-ball. Her eyes searched the crowd, and she found Kimiko once again. She smiled, and made her way up to her friend.

Kimiko grinned. "MorTae, she's okay! Thank God!"

Tasuki suddenly turned to Hiei. "Pay up."

Kurama and Kimiko face-faulted. "Nani?!" both wondered.

Hiei sighed and pulled out some coins. After counting them, he handed them all to Tasuki. "Fair's fair," he sighed.

"What? What?" Kimiko asked.

"We had a bet goin' on 'bout whether she was really kidnapped or if she jus' left cause she was bored travelin' with us," Tasuki explained. "I won!"

Kimiko sighed. "What am I going to do with the lot of you?"

"Love us like you always do?" Tasuki suggested, picking up one of her arms and slinging it around his shoulders.

"Now, Tasuki, perhaps love is too strong a term for our dear trainer," Kurama said smoothly, doing the same to Kimiko's other arm. "Maybe... admire us? After all, you'll only serve to make her blush, and it doesn't befit her color with that outfit."

Kimiko -_-ed. "Why me?"

"Why you what?"

Kimiko looked up, and immediately her expression became delighted. "MorTae, you're okay!"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Why? Did I worry you by leaving?" she asked.

The other trainer nodded.

"Sorry. After I found Bakura, I checked into a nearby Center since it was so late. By then, I thought you'd have moved on. I didn't even think to call you. Sorry again..." MorTae bowed her head and clasped her hands together above said head.

Kimiko blushed and waved her arms. "It's okay, really! Just sit down and tell me what you've been up to!"

"Sure thing!"

The friends sat together and proceeded to catch up, as a new battle proceeded below.

~*~

Logan paced through the hallways of the laboratory, chewing on his lower lip.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. She won't talk to anyone, not even me, and Hiei's gone off somewhere... No, I certainly can't say I like this new development."

He stopped to peer at the door down the hall, where Kara was 'busy' with something. Another conference with the Bishies? A call with someone? Dare he think she was experimenting already?

Logan shuddered at that. "I just wish I could go in there and know what she was doing," he murmured.

~*~

Kara took a look at the trainer profiles at the tournament, smiling. "Now, let's see... Anya's are a must, simply because now I know her Sanosuke's strength and the other's loyalty. I need more trainers and Bishies like that. Hmm... how about..." She sweat-dropped. "No, that professor Steve is a little beyond me. How about... Yes, she'll come, and maybe him too... After I talk to Anya, of course..."

~*~

Kara's Hiei made it through the crowds, glancing this way and that. So far he hadn't any clue as to where Anya or her friends were- he hadn't spotted them. After all, so many trainers with many of the same Bishies she had were milling around the place, so it was hard to find any one person here.

He yawned and looked up at the sky. It was starting to get late, anyhow. He should probably check into a Center and pretend he was lost or-

/Home. Kara./

The sudden need came upon him out of nowhere. Without thinking about it, he had stopped in his tracks, turned around, and was now heading in the direction of-

/The mountains. Home. To Kara. Trainer. Must go home soon./

Then he forced himself to stop, shaking his head. "This is stupid. I've only been away for a few hours. I shouldn't need to go back so soon."

/But the farther you stray and the longer there you stay, the quicker the time your brain runs away,/ an old rhyme warned him.

"I should still..."

"Go back to your master."

Hiei looked up, and his eyes widened. "Eclipse...?"

The other demon shrugged. He was leaning against a nearby chair casually, as though he'd every right to be there amongst trainers and their captured Bishies. "You're captured. You can't fight that."

"I shouldn't have to fight this need to go back. I shouldn't have to go back so soon..."

"Look, kid, as much as I appreciate you acting like you're stronger than other Bishonen and giving us demons a good name. But what good are you to your master- oh, sorry, trainer-" he smirked "-if you're not there to help us? Go back. You can look for our victims- er, AIDES- tomorrow."

Hiei sighed. "Fine. And for your information, I am not a kid."

"Sure you aren't." With that, Eclipse disappeared into the crowd surrounding them.

The demon Bishonen blinked at the sudden disappearance, then shrugged. The movement only caused him to realize that he was once again moving in the general direction towards Kara's mountain range.

/All right, fine, you win,/ he thought irritably. /Stupid madness... Kara should look into that, too.../

Keeping that suggestion in mind, he made his way to the nearest alley, then he too disappeared.

~*~

"Wow, so many matches today!" Anya said, stretching. "There were what, four or five?"

"Four, actually. We're the first tomorrow," Sanosuke said. He clenched one fist. "Ya better be prayin' for any trainers we're up against tomorrow!"

Anya chuckled and went over to Kenshin, who was holding the remote in his hands, turning it over and over as though he'd never seen one before. She took it for a moment, causing the now San-staged Bishonen to look up in question. She turned on the TV. Then she handed it back to him. He blinked, then smiled at her. She smiled back.

"So we're fighting tomorrow, Annie-dono?" Kenshin asked quietly.

"Yup."

"And I'm gonna be the one to fight in the first match," Sanosuke announced.

"Doesn't that depend on our trainer?" Heero asked, glancing up.

"Quiet, spandex boy. You're not even in the tournament!"

Anya blinked, then laughed. "Spandex boy? Where did you think that one up, Sano?" She flopped on the bed next to Kenshin, watching as he absently flipped through a few channels. "Anyway, I'm sure whoever fights tomorrow will do awesome."

"And actually, I think it was wise you chose to have one of us not battling, no da," Chichiri said.

"Why's that?"

"Well, if the battles do move up to multiple Bishonen, and we get beaten up for whatever reason, you'd still have someone around while the rest of us were in the hospital."

Anya smiled at him. "Chichiri, since when would I leave you all alone in the hospital anyway?"

He promptly turned SD and poked his index fingers together. "Well it's just that we're all still worried after what happened a few days ago an' it was just a thought no daaaa..."

Kimiko poked her head in then. "Can we come in?" she asked.

"Yup, come on in. It's your room too," Anya said, waving at the other bed.

Kimiko smiled and came in. Soon after came Kurama, Hiei and Tasuki.

Anya then blanched. "Kimiko, you know I love you and your Bishies but WHY did you let Tasuki in here with sake? I don't want him getting my Bishonen drunk, and aren't you battling sometime tomorrow anyway?"

"Probably," Kimiko admitted. "But he insisted."

Said drunk Bishonen fell onto the bed where Kenshin and Anya were and slung his arms around both sets of shoulders. "Naaa, let'sh get drunk ash hell an' have shome fuuuun," he drawled.

Kenshin's eyes narrowed and flashed gold, while Anya merely -_-ed and shoved Tasuki off of her. "Tasuki, I think you've already had enough."

"Naa, you're no fun," He complained. He then wandered over to the table, where he picked up a couple bowls.

"Oh, God," Kimiko, Chichiri, and Anya all said at once. Chichiri looked away in embarrassment of his fellow Seishi, while the trainers watched in mild amusement.

"Look, I'm Miaka!" he said, putting the bowls to his head. "Whee!" Then he stuck them on his face. "An' now I'm Nuriko wit' them big-ass eyes!"

Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he's lost it. Sad. I'll bet he only had one bottle, too."

Kenshin continued to watch. However, now that Tasuki was nowhere near his trainer with that odd behavior, he was fascinated with the other redhead.

"Daaa, I don't know him no da," Chichiri mumbled, disappearing into his hat.

Anya shook his head. "You all are too much sometimes."

Heero glanced up at her and lifted an eyebrow at her.

She grinned. "Yes, you too Mister Computer Guy."

"Mister Computer Guy? There goes what's left of HER IQ," Sanosuke joked. He grabbed Tasuki's bottle of sake and took a swig of it. "Aah."

"Hey, no drinking!" Anya reached over to grab it away.

He held it up in the air above her. "Try it, Missie!"

"Kenshin, help me here!"

The redhead blinked at her, then looked at Sanosuke. Then he tilted his head to one side like he had when he was a Chibi. "Oro?"

"You're no help." She attempted to jump up, but failed. Sano took another swig, and she shoved him onto the bed. Sano yelped in surprise, and the bottle went flying.

Tasuki, however, caught it and continued his impressions of people with the bowls without missing a beat.

"Are we going to get any sleep?" Kimiko asked, sitting next to Anya on the bed. "Our Bishies are turning more and more into Abby and Paul here!"

"Ooh, don't give them any ideas, Kimi-"

Tasuki had already overheard them. He ^_^ed and promptly tossed the bowls into the air. He started waving one arm frantically. "I can do 'em, I can do 'em! Pick me, pick me!"

Both trainers sweat-dropped. "Ano..."

"Ah, forget you." Tasuki then clasped his hands together and widened his eyes until they sparkled. "Whee, where is my darling Vallie-poo? Come to me my love! Wai, let's meet Illpallazo-sama Excel-Excel! I WANT CARAMON! No, he's MINE!" Tasuki proceeded to do a whole conversation between the two trainers.

Chichiri sighed from inside his hat. "Nope, don't know any of them no da..."

Kimiko laughed. "Oh, you guys. Let's try to get some sleep, shall we?"

"Yeah, anyone who's planning on getting drunk can go outside." Anya picked up a pillow and threw it at Sanosuke. "That means you, buddy."

"I ain't drunk," he retorted, but he made his way to the door anyway.

Tasuki soon followed after him, though he wanted to know if one could stay if they were already drunk before he left.

Anya slipped into one bed, Kimiko the other. Kenshin started to join Anya, then recalled he was no longer a Chibi and turned crimson. Muttering apologies, he went to the couch. Chichiri wordlessly set himself up on the floor, while Heero disappeared into his Bish-ball. Kurama and Hiei did the same as Heero.

The trainers both said their goodnights, then turned off the lights. Anya stretched out on her bed, grinning at the ceiling.

/Tomorrow we'll have a big battle going on. I can't wait. I'll just have to pick which one of my guys... I'll let the other trainer pick who to fight with first, then I'll choose. I guess since I haven't used Sanosuke.../

With that, she trailed off...