**********************************************

Dark Heart High
Netherworlds Educational Institution For The
Universal Propagation of Evil

Started by Mads
This Chapter by: Smlee

Chapter Fourty-nine: Reservations!

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	Friday afternoon (Two and a half days left before Ki dies a horrible 
horrible death at the hands of his clan or just suffers the penalty of many 
years of torture...)

	Yuri clutched her sides as the laughter continued.

	Ki tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Yuri to stop her now three 
minute long fit of laughter. He went through one of his breathing techniques 
for the thirty-sixth time in the attempt to calm his embarrassment and drain 
the red from his face. Again, he failed.

	As Yuri entered her fourth minute of laughter, she began to calm down a 
bit. A few more small chuckles and she was finally finished. "Ha...He 
he...That was a good one, Ki." she said, while wiping the tears from her 
eyes.

	Ki facepalmed. "I'm serious."

	"You...you're serious?" Yuri repeated.

	Ki reached out, grabbed Yuri's hand, and placed her fingers upon his arm. 
"Feel that?"

	Yuri looked confused. "Feel what?"

	"I have a pulse!" Ki hissed loudly.

	Yuri's face dawned with understanding. "Oh! So?"

	Ki facepalmed again. "I'm not supposed to have one! Part and parcel of 
removing one's heart!"

	Yuri looked confused again. "You act like...you didn't know?"

	It was Ki's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

	"Amy noticed you had a heart a while back." Yuri stated matter of factly.

	Ki's eyes bulged. "What?"

	"Told everyone. Me, Bala, Leilei..."

	"She told Leilei? That chatterbox?" In Ki's mind, his chances for survival 
had just dropped a few percentage points.

	"Oh, Leilei hasn't told anyone. We just figured we'd keep it our secret in 
case we ever needed to blackmail you for anything."

	Ki nodded. Yuri might not look it, but she truly was a master manipulator. 
Ki's face reddened again...but for a different reason. Ki cleared his 
throat. "I still need your help."

	Yuri nodded. "Come inside then. It's quite a bit less...open than out 
here." Yuri pointed up into a tree further down the road.

	Ki blinked. "Is that Craig?"

	Yuri sighed. "He's up to something...and I don't think he realizes I know 
he's up there..."

********

	Craig looked through his binoculars. "I knew it! Yuri's plotting something! 
First, she rejoins the fencing team...then she sets up an attack on Dark 
Heart...and now she's going to use the confusion afterwards to plan a coup! 
Kashin...Bala...Amy...and now Ki..."

	"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" A feminine voice came from above.

	"Aw, buzz off Yasuko. I'm not in the mood." Craig said dismissively.

	Yasuko dropped down onto the branch Craig was balanced on. "Oh come now 
Craig. You know as well as I that Yuri is up to nothing."

	Craig shook his head. "I don't believe that. Remember. I've had Yuri as a 
tutor. Some of her ideas about villainy are...unconventional...but quite 
innovative. She's got a keen mind under that unassuming exterior..."

	Yasuko snorted. "She's got nothing. The only one you have to watch out for 
is Amy."

	Craig turned around to look at Yasuko, and blinked. "Amy?"

	"Oh? Haven't you noticed? She might be an ex-magical girl, but she's 
certainly...developing...some interesting...assets." Yasuko grinned.

	Craig waved his hand dismissively. "She's got that funky aura reading 
thing, and she carries a big gun."

	"Oh, she's so much more...She sees things, Craig. Things that are unseen. 
Things that are hidden. Things that are secret. If she continues at this 
rate...we might have a fully developed psychic on our hands."

	Craig's eyes widened. "A psychic? Aha! And Yuri has a tight leash on Amy. 
That only proves that Yuri's up to something."

	Yasuko licked her lips. "Leash...on Amy..." She muttered.

	"Huh? What'd you say?" Craig prompted.

	"I said you're an idiot, Craig." Yasuko loudly spoke.

	"Sure. Whatever. You'll see I'm right. In fact, there's Amy right now. 
Heading straight for Yuri's like a good dog. But who's that with her?" Craig 
brought up his binoculars, squinted through them, and gasped with 
recognition.

	Yasuko snatched the binoculars, and peered through as well. "Isn't 
that...?"

	Craig nodded. "Demon Slayer Princess Andrea Angeleye. But what's she doing 
with Amy?"

	Yasuko bashed Craig in the head with the binoculars. "Her name is Angeleye 
for a reason."

	"You mean...Andrea is...Amy's...?"

	Yasuko nodded.

	"But...but...that doesn't make any sense!" Craig stuttered. "She's...good!" 
Craig put emphasis on the word 'good'.

	Yasuko shrugged. She herself wondered as much...

	Craig muttered. "This just proves Yuri's got a lot more influence than we 
think..."

	Yasuko sighed.

********

	Yuri pulled Ki towards the stairs. "My parents are busy preparing dinner, 
so we'll have to go up to my room. Don't you dare touch anything."

	Ki nodded. It wasn't like he really wanted to see Yuri's parents anyways. 
And, most likely, they wouldn't want to see him either.

	"Wait here a minute." Yuri told him, before dashing into her room.

	Then Ki realized something. Yuri. Was. Taking. Him. To. Her. Room. A 
hawkish grin made its way onto his face for a moment, before he shoved that 
line of thought from his mind. No way would she go for any of that...

	"Ok!" Yuri fully opened to door to admit Ki.

	Ki looked around. The room was...fairly...girlish. Somehow, Ki had expected 
Yuri's room to be more...not...girlish...

	"Have a seat." Yuri motioned towards the table.

	Ki nodded, and sat down.

	"I don't have a lot of time to spare. Amy's going to be here any minute 
now." Yuri informed.

	Ki nodded again, before breaking out into his story. He told her the 
truth...or at least as much of it as she needed to know. The cologne...the 
hammer...the heart...he told her almost everything, choosing to edit out 
much of his plans for...her in particular. Although some was unavoidable 
with the story of the cologne....

	Yuri absorbed the information. "So...you have until Monday to set 
everything straight before your clan meets, right? Hmm..."

	Ki heard the faint chime of the doorbell.

	Yuri snapped from her thoughts. "Oh! They must be here early. Darn. 
Look...Ki...I need time to think. Maybe you would like to stay for dinner? 
I'm sure my mom's made enough for a few extra servings...and I don't think 
my father'll give you too much trouble. Plus, Amy'll be here. She might be 
able to help."

	Ki pondered. "I...guess I can stay. Providing it's alright with your 
parents." He really didn't want to get Hellstorm mad with him on top of 
everything else...

	"I'm sure it'll be fine. Come on!" Yuri grabbed him by the arm, and dragged 
him from the room.

********

	"Andrea." Troi stated.

	"Troi." Andrea similarly greeted before stepping by his mass and entering 
the house. "Nice base of operations you've set up here. Much cozier than the 
last one."

	"I wouldn't have had to move if you hadn't tried to blow me up." Troi 
venomously spat.

	Amy still stood in the doorway. "Are you two going to be like this all 
night?" She asked.

	"Oh, we're just catching up on old times." Troi vaguely stated.

	Andrea looked into the kitchen. "And you must be Yuri's mother. I've heard 
so much about you. I'm sorry to say I only vaguely recall meeting you once 
or twice back when you were an active Magical Girl."

	Yuri's mother smiled. "Oh, that's alright. I was still young back then. I 
hadn't developed my reputation yet."

	Andrea laughed. "You were young? Now you're making me feel old. Need any 
help with anything in here?"

	"Feel free to help."

	"I brought pie!" Andrea put the apple pie she held down on the counter.

********

	"What are they doing now?" Yasuko prodded Craig.

	"Not sure. I don't happen to be able to see through walls." Craig 
sarcastically replied.

	Yasuko pointed to a white van parked below the tree. "That's why you 
brought all that, isn't it?"

	"Oh. Right." Craig slipped out of the tree, unlocked the rear of the van, 
and stepped inside. He started up the equipment.

********

	Yuri crept quietly down the stairs. She passed by the kitchen, knowing full 
well her mother would say 'yes' to another guest at the dinner 
table...meaning that the only obstacle she had to tackle was her father.

	"Yuri!" Amy exclaimed from her seat on the sofa furthest away from Troi's 
glaring red eyes. "What took you so long to get down? I baked some 
cookies...what's he doing here?" The change in Amy's tone as she recognized 
Ki was quite noticeable.

	"Oh. Ah. Well. He wanted to study history, and he found out about our 
studies later...and I um..." Yuri turned to her father. "Can he stay for 
dinner?"

	Troi's red eyes focused in on Ki, and glanced him over. "You two just came 
from upstairs?"

	Yuri nodded.

	"What ever happened to mummy boy?"

	Yuri's face took on a confused look for a moment, before the light of 
understanding dawned in her eyes and her face reddened. "Dad!"

	Troi chuckled. "He's welcome to join us. I'll feel less outnumbered then."

	Amy snuck up behind Yuri in the meantime, and once Troi had granted his 
permission, she grabbed Yuri and dragged her into the hallway. "Just what do 
you think you're doing?" Amy hissed.

	"Well...uh..." Yuri smartly responded.

	"You know you're a horrible liar at times." Amy sighed.

	"Um...remember how you told me about Ki's heart problem?"

	Amy nodded. "Don't tell me. You've decided to blackmail him into doing 
something for you?"

	Yuri shook her head negatively. "No...he came to me earlier...because he's 
in deep trouble."

	Amy nearly broke out in laughter. She managed to keep it contained by 
slapping her hand over her mouth. When she'd calmed down, Yuri continued.

	"That was my reaction exactly. It turns out he's serious. He actually 
hadn't known about his heart until just yesterday. And now he's come to me 
for help...I couldn't turn him away. Even after all he's done." Yuri sighed.

	A knock at the door interrupted Amy's response.

	"Who could that be?" Yuri wondered aloud. 'Could it be Craig?' She wondered 
in her thoughts.

********

	"So."

	"So..."

	"Hmmm."

	"Not going to turn me into a rabbit again, are you?"

	"Probably not."

	Awkward silence.

********

	Craig peered at the monitor in front of him and squinted. Over a general 
layout of the house were colored blobs indicative of heat sources. "I'm 
fairly new to this technology...but I'm almost certain that this," Craig 
tapped his finger on top of a particularly bright colored blob, "is Yuri 
here, in the oven, rotating slowly. Her body temperature is up over 400 
degrees. She's literally stewing in her own juices."

	Yasuko thwapped Craig in the back of his head. "Although the thought of 
Yuri being cooked is appealing to me, you should really learn to think 
before you talk. This," Yasuko indicated one of two blobs moving into the 
hallway, "is Yuri."

	Craig squinted at the screen again. "Huh...how do you know that?"

	Yasuko laughed. "I know a few things about body heat."

	Craig peered at the succubus. "I shoulda known."

	"Just one of my many talents...what is that light?" Yasuko cut herself 
short as a red light began to blink.

	"Proximity alert." Craig stated. A screen flickered to life. "Who is that? 
I don't recognize her."

	Yasuko stared at the monitor. "Ah! Look at her ribs. It can only be Ryuji."

	"They are sticking out at odd angles...woman must have taken a massive blow 
to her chest. And she's heading straight for Yuri's house. I knew there was 
something up." Craig quickly typed some commands into the keyboard in front 
of him.

	"Hmm. At least you're a good typist. After you drop out of high school you 
can always get a job as a secretary." Yasuko observed.

	"Will you shut up already? At least I know better than to go out with my 
brother."

	"I should hope so." Yasuko snickered. Craig raised his fist, but put it 
back down again. "Anyways. It's not like we're dating. Just...lets just say 
I have my sights set on another target right now."

	"Uh...huh. Lemme guess. Yuri?"

	Yasuko snorted. "Hah! Yuri is beneath my attentions!"

	"Is that so? Then what are you doing here?" Craig pressed.

	Yasuko frowned. What was she doing here anyways? Better things could be 
done than pestering Craig. The red light blinked again, snapping her from 
her thoughts. "What now?"

	Craig blinked at the screen that had just flickered to life again. "Hey, 
isn't that...?"

********

	"Mom?" Yuri called into the kitchen. "Ryuji's gonna join us for dinner. Has 
a message for me from the Unbidden. Doesn't need to eat though, so don't 
worry about it."

	Yuri turned to come face to face with Ki. "So you had to get permission to 
invite me to dinner, but not Ryuji?"

	Yuri nodded. "The world really works in mysterious ways, don't you think?"

	Ki was about to respond, but the doorbell rung.

	Yuri blinked.

	"We usually aren't this popular." Troi joked.

	Yuri ran to the front door and pulled it open.

	A bouquet of flowers was thrust into Yuri's other hand.

	"...Kashin?" Yuri asked, quite confused as to what was going on.

	"I heard you needed help in history class. As the team captain, I can stand 
no less than perfection (or close enough to it) from my teammates. So I'm 
here to offer my services as a tutor." Kashin finished off with a flourish 
and a bow.

	From behind Yuri, Amy clapped, and then a sour expression leapt onto her 
face. "Great performance there. But she already has a tutor."

	"Ah, so she does." Kashin swept past Yuri, into the house. "But you have to 
remember. My views on history are untainted by the light."

	Amy twitched. "Untainted? Is it my fault I get to have a unique perspective 
on it?"

	"No, no. I'd like to take the opportunity to learn from you as well. It's 
so rare to have access to the knowledge taught at Sakura Arts." Kashin 
grinned.

	Amy grumbled.

	Ki's eyebrows raised as Kashin strode into the room. "..."

	Kashin bowed low before Troi. "Always a fan, Hellstorm. I've come to tutor 
your daughter in the ways of our dark past. Plus, your wife's cooking isn't 
to be missed, or at least that's what the rumors say."

	Troi shifted his mass. "I like you even better than this guy already." 
Troi's eyes darted to Ki, then back. "Have a seat. Dinner will be prepared 
shortly."

********

	Andrea glanced out into the other room. There were quite a number 
of...uninvited guests. It would make her plans all the more difficult to 
pull off. She sighed.

	"Something wrong?" Yuri's mother inquired.

	"Do you even know all these people?" Andrea asked.

	"Hmmm. No. But I trust Yuri enough to know she chooses her friends 
carefully." Yuri's mother brightly smiled.

	Andrea sighed. "But these people..."

	"In fact," Yuri's mother continued, "that's one reason why Yuri really only 
had two friends throughout her Junior High years..."

	"...Oh?" Andrea suddenly got an idea. "Who are they? The mummy boy? The 
heartless assassin kid? The corpse thing?" Andrea was trying to recall what 
Amy had told her of the people she knew.

	"Oh? No. Nothing like that. She didn't make friends with any of those 
people until she transferred into Dark Heart High at the beginning of the 
school year."

	Andrea pondered a moment. "Transferred?"

	Yuri's mother nodded. "Most students currently attending Dark Heart High 
moved up from Dark Heart Kindergarten together. Yuri was attending one of 
those 'normal' schools up until then."

	"That's certainly interesting...I've never heard Amy mention any of this 
before..."

	Yuri's mother moved over to the fridge, and looked at a list of phone 
numbers hung there. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Atsuko or Reika for 
the longest time. I wonder what happened to them?"

	Andrea peered over the other woman's shoulder at the phone list. Sure 
enough, there were the home phone numbers for Yuri's other friends. "Umm...I 
just remembered I have to make an important call. Is there a phone I can 
use...?"

	Yuri's mother pointed her upstairs. "Just use the phone in the master 
bedroom. It'll be quieter in there. Second door on the left."

	Andrea nodded, before taking another look at the two numbers she was going 
to call and heading up the stairs. There was always a Plan B.

********

	Liza flopped down onto a stone ledge, taking the pressure off her feet. For 
the better part of the day, she'd been going door to door, attempting to 
peddle her latest wares. So far, she'd managed to sell one love potion, two 
Do-It-Yourself Voodoo kits, and a small killer robot. It wasn't exactly her 
best day.

	"I think we should head home, eh Tokiko?" She asked her mostly silent 
companion.

	Tokiko shrugged and glanced about the area. She blinked as her eyes latched 
upon Kashin's car. "Kashin..." She muttered.

	Liza jumped back up to her feet. "Ohh? Where? Where?"

	Tokiko nodded in the direction of his car.

	Liza clasped Tokiko's hand. "This is your big chance!"

	Tokiko took a step back in surprise. "Chance for what?"

	Liza sighed. "To admit to him your love! What else?"

	Tokiko stared a hole in Liza's head, contemplating weather or not to make 
her fantasy a reality. "What are you talking about now?"

	"Y'know, track him down! You and him'll be alone...mostly...and you can 
reveal to him your true feelings!" Liza was starry eyed by this point.

	Tokiko drew her Ingram, and pointed it over towards Kashin's car. "I don't 
much care for that fool."

	Just as Tokiko was about to pull the trigger, Liza pushed her arm upward. 
"No, no, no. Can't do that. Weeks of planning will have gone to waste."

	Tokiko raised her eyebrow.

	"I mean...lets go find him!" Before Tokiko could speak again, Liza was 
dragging her off down the street.

	"...Did you ever stop to think about why he is here? Or where he is for 
that matter?" Tokiko questioned.

	"Hmm..." With her free hand, Liza dug around in her pocket, and pulled out 
a small, round device. "Tada! Kashin-locator version 2.63!"

	"..." Tokiko didn't really feel like wasting the ammo to blow a hole in 
Liza's head...but she was seriously tempted at this point.

********

	Craig glared at Yasuko as he backed out from underneath the console to 
retrieve a loose component.

	Yasuko laughed nervously. "How was I supposed to know it was built to be so 
fragile?"

	Craig slapped his forehead. "I dunno...the fact that this is sensitive 
electronic equipment might have tipped you off at some point. You're just 
lucky I could scrounge the parts I needed to fix this from some of the other 
equipment. You still owe me for the damaged goods though."

	"Well, at least you did seem to get it working again." Yasuko pointed out.

	"Next time you feel like smashing something, do it outside." Craig's 
muffled voice came from below as he made the final few connections.

	Yasuko blinked. "Hey, I just realized something."

	"Hmm?" Craig responded as he screwed the casing back in place.

	"How did you know how to fix it anyways?"

	"Oh. Um. Er." Craig worked his way out from underneath, and sat in his 
chair. "I might have read a book or two on electronics."

	Yasuko barked out a laugh. "You read books?"

	Craig grumbled. "What's so hard to believe?"

	"But you never read the school texts." Yasuko prodded.

	"...Look, I just got sick and tired of mechanical contraptions blowing up 
in my face." Craig explained.

	Yasuko's face turned serious, starkly contrasting the mocking face she'd 
had on most of the day. "You're actually pretty good."

	Craig's face reddened. "No I'm not."

	"No. Seriously. I hate to admit it, but I don't think I'd be able to pull 
off something like that myself." Yasuko admitted, in a rare moment of 
weakness.

	Craig grumbled. "I'm a swordsman. Not a TV repairman."

	"Consider a change in profession." Yasuko joked.

	Craig shook his head. "Do you ever get tired of mocking me?"

	"Not really." Yasuko replied, before beginning to file her nails, bored.

********

	"Dinner is served!" Yuri's mother called from the dining room.

	"Finally. I'm hungry enough I could devour a planet." Troi stated before 
getting up and moving to the table.

	Yuri leaned over and whispered into Amy's ear. "He's done it before, too. A 
small one though."

	Ki shuffled silently to the table. At this rate, his problem wouldn't be 
solved any time soon.

	Kashin and Ryuji made small talk about their respective clubs along the 
way.

	Amy scanned the crowd at the table. "Where's mother?"

	"Up here!" Andrea called as she came down the stairs. "I just had to make 
an important phone call."

	Amy shrugged.

	Kashin's jaw dropped. "You are...Councilwoman Andrea Angeleye?"

	Andrea shrugged and sat down next to Amy. Then a vicious smile crept onto 
her face. "I'm not going to try anything tonight. Consider yourself lucky."

	Kashin tried to hide his fears, but paled slightly. He muttered, "Dinner 
with the enemy. Yuri just leads into one surprise after another."

	Yuri's mother passed out the first course of the meal, and they sat in 
silence, eating. It was one of those really awkward silences wherein 
everyone stares at everyone else, but nothing big developed from it.

	As they cleared the table for the next part of the meal, the doorbell rung 
once more. Yuri sighed. "Who is it this time?"

	Yuri, flanked by Amy, went to open the door.

	"Hey...I know you. Yuri, right?" Liza's smiling face peered into hers.

	Yuri grumbled. "Whatever it is you're selling, we don't want any."

	"Actually...we," Liza pulled Tokiko into Yuri's vision, "were wondering if 
Kashin was here."

	Yuri blinked. "Um..."

	Kashin peeked out from the dining room. "Liza? Tokiko?"

	Liza brushed passed Yuri in a split second. "Kashin! We've been looking all 
over for you!"

	When the two reached him, he leaned over and whispered something. Yuri 
blinked.

	"You're more than welcome to stay for dinner." Kashin said loudly.

	Yuri's mouth moved, but no sound came out.

	"Hey!" Andrea called from the table. "Enough's enough! How many more people 
are just going to show up uninvited?"

	Ki just silently glared daggers at Liza.

********

	Bala walked down the street towards Yuri's house. Or at least he would 
have, had Leilei not been clinging to his arm and pulling in the other 
direction.

	"Bala! We weren't invited! We can't just show up for dinner!" Leilei 
yelled, unaware of the irony.

	Bala pressed on, despite the added weight.

********

	Craig blinked as another one of his monitors flared to life. "We have more 
incoming. It's Bala this time."

	Yasuko nodded. "I think it's about time I found out what's going on. I'm 
going out to talk with Leilei."

	"...If you go out now, the location of our van will be compromised." Craig 
vainly tried to stop Yasuko.

	"...It's the only van parked on this street. Idiot." Yasuko was quick to 
point out, before opening the rear and hopping out.

	Craig grumbled before setting the equipment to automatic and following.

	Yasuko was already over at Leilei's side, chatting her up. Bala had 
stopped, and was eyeing Yasuko suspiciously before his eye fixated on Craig. 
Craig froze a good few feet out of Bala's reach.

	"...strange over at Yuri's house?" Leilei asked.

	"Yeah. Craig's got this wild theory that Yuri's plotting to take over the 
school or something." Yasuko informed.

	Leilei blinked. "Really? About time too..."

	"..." Yasuko sighed.

	Craig displayed his notes prominently. "Well, I do have all the evidence 
right here..."

	Leilei perked up even more. "Eh? Lemme see! Lemme see!"

	Craig and Leilei moved off to the side to exchange notes, leaving Yasuko 
and Bala behind.

	"So...on your way to Yuri's house?" Yasuko asked Bala.

	Bala just stared at Yasuko.

	"Hum...of course you're on your way there..." Yasuko stupidly responded to 
her own question.

	Bala stood unmoving, while Yasuko shuffled her feet slightly.

	"Ki's over at Yuri's house right now..." Yasuko informed Bala.

	That was all it took to get Bala moving again.

********

	Andrea checked her watch. It had been over an hour already since she'd 
placed the call to draw in Yuri's other friends. Where were they?

	"So...I hear you purge evil...how's that working out for you..." Ryuji 
asked Andrea, in an attempt to make conversation during what had turned out 
to be just a glaring match between most parties.

	Andrea sighed. Not only had her backup plan not arrived yet, but her main 
plan was failing worse than she'd thought. The Mikagami's just weren't doing 
anything...evil. How was she ever going to get Amy sidelined at this rate?

	Yuri's mother hopped up from the table. "Who wants dessert?"

	As if on cue, the front window smashed. Everyone (sans Troi and his wife) 
got up to look at what happened.

	There, on the floor, Yasuko, Leilei, and Bala were tangled in a heap. Craig 
stepped in behind them.

	"Sorry to intrude." Craig bowed. "Bala just seemed to really want to get 
inside..."

	Yuri's mother poked her head out of the dining room. "Oh! More of Yuri's 
friends have arrived. If I'd known you wanted dessert that badly, I would 
have just left the front door open."

	Andrea's eye twitched. "What is it with you people? I thought you were 
evil?"

	Kashin arched an eyebrow. "Are we not evil?" He asked Tokiko.

	Tokiko shrugged.

	Andrea brought a hand up to her head. "I'm really..."

	She was cut off by a pie to the face.

	Troi's laughter echoed from the dining room entrance. "Whoops. Hand 
slipped."

	"...You are soooo in for it now." Andrea threatened, before diving into the 
dining room past Troi, grabbing up another pie and tossing it at Troi.

	The pie passed harmlessly through Troi's side, and splattered Liza directly 
in the chest.

	Liza's eyes flashed. "Tell me you didn't just do that. You've asked for it! 
Time to test my latest invention! Pie replicator version 6.397!" Within a 
matter of moments, the room had filled with pies. Liza picked one up, 
intending to throw it back at Andrea, but she was pied in the face by Ki 
first.

	"Serves you right." Ki dusted off his hands, before receiving a pie to his 
own face at the hands of Bala. The force behind the pie tossed Ki backwards 
into a pile of pies.

	Soon, pies were flying all over the place.

********
Author notes:

Yay! Late again.

Last minute pre-reading cheers for Jex and Sharyna! Lotsa thanks to Jex, 
Sharyna, and The Apprentice for idea bouncing. Lots more thanks to Chu! 
Patience is a virtue.

What happen. Someone set me up the bomb. Craig gets a semi-spotlight. Yahoo. 
I wanted more to happen with Yasuko, but then the mob would break my legs. I 
did make some interesting insinuations in the growing Yasuko/Amy 
relationship. :P

Liza's back! Or not.

Pie! Lotsa pie!

Tuesday, March 11, 2003
(Thinking too much makes my brain wrinkly.)

********

	Atsuko dragged Reika along behind her.

	"Why? Why are we going?" Reika whined.

	"Didn't you hear the mysterious woman? Yuri's in trouble!" Atsuko repeated 
for the hundredth time.

	"And you believed her?" Reika asked.

	"Meh. I had nothing better to do anyways. Besides. I think Yuri mentioned 
that she was having a dinner party tonight." Atsuko pointed out.

	Reika's eyes turned into stars. "Ah, it's been a long time since I've had 
her mother's cooking..."

	The scene that greeted them at Yuri's house was...quite gooey to say the 
least.

	"Is that..." Atsuko started.

	"...pie?" Reika finished.

	"I think I'm going to turn back now." Atsuko stated, before doing so.

********

	Ki stood in the washroom, peeling layer after layer of pie from his 
clothing and hair. Although getting Yuri to help him had turned out badly, 
he couldn't help but get some satisfaction out of the evening.

********

	"What? Even after all that, you still didn't tell him?" Liza, who sported a 
black eye from the corner of a pie tin that had hit her in the face, whined.

	Tokiko sighed. "Tell him what? There's nothing to tell."

	"You were supposed to tell him you love him!" Liza pointed out.

	"...But I don't." Tokiko retorted.

	"...Are you sure about that?" Liza asked, all confused.

********

	Ryuji slapped her forehead, dislodging an eyeball. "I forgot to deliver the 
message! The Unbidden's going to have my corpse hanged for this..."

********