GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! I've finally finished chapter 16!! Bet you thought I
wouldn't continue writing this, huh? *wink* Hehehe... actually, there was a
pesky computer bug, and it was an obstacle to opening Microsoft Word. Well,
now that I got rid of it... hehe... ^-^ Anyway, tell me if you like it, ok
(No, not the bug! The chapter!)? Yes? No? Tell me, pleeeeeease {tears
sprouting from eyes, with fish swimming}? *giggle* Enjoy, minna-san! ^-^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~   
        As if a split second had gone by, the monster pulled the trigger.
The continuous sound of gunshots surrounded the game center. The last thing
Sailoruranus heard before that, was Sailorvenus' voice: "Abunai!!!". Uranus
wanted to shut her eyes tightly. She wanted to block out what she was
seeing. Venus was taking every single blow! Her body was now bruised and
bleeding, but she still tried to stand.
	"I... won't let you...hurt Haruka-san!" She declared weakly. "Let
Haruka-san GO!!!"  
	"I don't think it's wise to fight," The man said. "If you stop resisting,
you won't feel any more pain." Then, Venus saw them; the letters on the
man's forehead. The letters...	
	And the monster fired again, making Venus utter a heart-wrenching scream.
She crumpled to the floor, her clothes and flesh torn. 
	Laughter escaped the man's lips. Uranus could not take it. She clenched her
fists, as a salty tear dropped from her eye, and wet her cheek. To her
horror, the monster was about to fire again!
	"YAMEROOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Uranus screamed, her voice echoing throughout the
building.  

__________________
Burning Heart Souls
Chapter 16
'Heaven and Hell'
__________________

	The monster fired.
	"YAMEROOOO!!! YAMEROOO TEME!!!!" Uranus yelled, till her tonsils were sore.
However, she could not move. She could not save Venus. Closing her eyes,
Uranus took in shallow breaths, then a long deep one. Her breath quivered,
as she felt a cold wetness trickling down her cheek. She cursed silently,
bowing her head in defeat. Useless. That was the word. She felt so useless. 
	It had happened twice now; she had let somebody die before her very eyes.
The first time was Michiru. It was the day they were supposed to find the
talismans. Michiru had been captured, but she still managed to save Haruka's
life. Michiru's heart crystal was revealed, thus taking her life. The deep
aqua mirror, one of the three talismans, was born from her heart crystal.
Haruka felt no purpose in going on after Michiru's life had been taken away,
so Haruka shot herself, freeing her heart crystal, another one of the
talismans, from her body. Thus, the space sword was born.
	"Minako... Neko-chan..." Uranus choked back a sob, her head still lowered.
Her hands began to tremble convulsively. Anger... rage... was invading her
system. Raising her head, Uranus gave the monster and the man a scornful
look. Her hands continued to shake. Suddenly, the jewel on her tiara began
to glow, and a bright aura surrounded her. She was still unable to move, but
the energy she was summoning was extremely powerful.
	"URANUS CRYSTAL POWER!!!" Her whole body started to glow furiously.
	The man and the monster took a step back. 
	"WORLD... SHAKING!!!" Uranus yelled, her fist ramming the wall she was
sprawled upon. The wall crumbled; fragments shattered everywhere, shattering
like pieces of glass. Something shined on her forehead, as her tiara
disappeared all of a sudden. It was an emblem of some sort. The symbol of
Uranus. She was free from the man's hold on her, as she stepped down from
the now-destroyed wall to face the two evils.
	"Ooh, you're going to pay," She said menacingly to them, then turned her
head to look at the courageous, unmoving Venus crumpled on the floor. 
	"This one has a nice strong feeling, boss," The monster informed the man
with the strange letters on his forehead, holding a ghost-like blue flame in
its hand. The man took it, as the monster handed it to him. He eyed it
carefully, a content smile forming on his well-shaped lips.
	"Strong feeling?" Uranus echoed, then demanded, "What do you mean??"
	The man raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't know?" He steadily held the
blue flame in his palm. "This is the soul of your lovely friend over there."
	"NANI??!"
	He laughed. "Don't act so surprised. Very soon Ningenkai shall be a
graveyard, and Makai and Reikai shall be ruled by Meikai!"
	"Say what?! Look, pal, I don't get what you're saying, but it would be real
cool of you to return my friend's soul!" Uranus said, placing a hand on her hip.
	"I'm sorry, you'll have to get by him first," The man replied, pointing his
thumb at the monster.
	"With pleasure!" Uranus shot back. Outstretching her arm, a long, shiny
object appeared. Gems sparkled at the handle, and its tip was sharp as it
was deadly. It was the Space Sword.
	The monster took a frightened step back. "W-where did that come from?"
	"Well, duh! Like where all the other attacks came from!" Uranus replied.
"Now, prepare yourself!" And she charged, yelling at the top of her lungs.
"HAAAAAAAA!!!!"
            The monster was too stunned to move. Uranus was headed its way
at lightning speed with the sword. Without thinking, the monster took out
another one of its weapons. But Uranus was quicker. "SPACE SWORD BLASTER!!!"
            Leaping into the air, she gave one final yell, and plunged the
sword down on the monster. The monster gave an ear-piercing cry of anguish,
and vanished in a dark cloud of haze. She faced the man who held Venus'
soul; and cracked her knuckles. "Your turn, Meikai scum!"
            The man put his guard up. "It is not that easy to defeat me,
sailor senshi," He said, as he took out something from his pocket, and put
it in his mouth. "Now come at me!"
            Uranus ignored the object he had placed in his mouth, and ran
towards him, her Space Sword ready. She was about ready to thrust the sword
into him. He knew what she was upto. In a gliding motion, he moved out of
the way to dodge her attack. 
            She knew he would do that.
            Instead of the blade of her sword slicing through him, her fist
found his cheek. It was a strong blow, making him fall to the ground, and
his lip bleed. The powerful slug made him spit out the thing in his mouth.
It fell to the floor with a soft 'thunk'. Uranus looked down at him in a
smug, arrogant way, and picked up the object on the floor. She knew she was
victorious. However, her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the
young man gone, to be replaced by a bratty kid, who was crying his eyes out. 
          "What the---?! You! Give back Venus' soul!" Uranus demanded in a
bullying tone.
          The kid continued to cry; louder this time. Uranus gritted her
teeth to control the irritation she was feeling. She grabbed the kid by the
front of his shirt, and lifted him off the ground, so that they were face to
face with each other.
           "You! Quit your crying if you know what's good for you!!" 
           "Put me down, and give me back my pacifier!" He bawled.
           "Geez, you're such a pathetic brat!" Uranus retorted, and put him
down none too gently. She took a look at the object in her hand, and choked
back her suprise. It _was_ a pacifier!
	The small child stopped his crying, and blinked. "Where am I?" His head
turned from left to right, surveying the destruction of what seemed to be an
arcade. The place was a complete mess! Eyebrows lowering, the boy got to his
feet, and expression of bitterness forming on his face. "The Meikai..."
	"Are you playing innocent to get away with this?" Uranus pointed at the
topsy-turvy area, and bonked him on the head. "Now either give back Venus'
soul, or I'll definitely mangle you!"
	The boy winced slightly as the tall girl's knuckles hit its target, but the
seriousness never left his face. "This is bad," He said in a low voice.
"What's happened to Reikai?"
	"Who's Reikai?"
	The boy groaned. "Never mind." Then he said, "Take me to where your friend is."
	"Why??" Uranus demanded. "So you can beat her up some more??"
	"No, so I can heal her damaged body. A soul is useless with---"
	"Hold on a sec... First, you want to kill us, now you want to help us,"
Uranus said in disbelief. "You know I have the right not to trust you!"
	"I know," He replied, not looking up at her. "But what choice do you have?"
	Uranus could not find the words to answer back. She knew she had lost this
time. Sagging her shoulders in defeat, she led the brat to where Venus lay.
Uranus despised the little urchin! Was he really friend or really enemy? 
	The boy outstretched his arms in front of him, as he stood before Venus.
Uranus did not know if it was her imagination or not, but Venus' body
started to glow a vibrant orange-yellow. Uranus eyed the child carefully and
suspiciously. She hoped he was nursing her, and not killing Venus off for
the second time. A strange sort of energy escaped the boy's palms, as he
continued the ritual of healing Venus' body. They heard a soft moan come
from deep within the golden-haired senshi's throat. The cuts and bruises on
her body were vanishing, much to Uranus' surprise. 
	"Haruka-san..." Came a soft, inaudible croak. 
	A surge of sheer joy rushed through Uranus' system. Venus was alive! MINAKO
WAS ALIVE! Uranus breathed out a sigh of relief. She was thanking the
heavens right there and then. She glanced at the boy who had just helped.
She did not understand how a vile, wretched being as he could actually undo
all his evil doing. He dropped his arms, and smiled shortly at Uranus.
	"She'll be all right now," He concluded, amusingly sounding like a
physician who had just finished seeing a patient for a medical check-up.
	Uranus swallowed her pride, and smiled back. "Thank you very much... a..."
She faltered, not knowing his name or how to address him.
	"Koenma," He replied.

***

	She inhaled sharply, making every head turn to look at her.
	"Doshita no, Botan-san?" Keiko asked worriedly.
	Botan stared into space for a few seconds more, and let out a long breath.
"It's nothing." She reassured them, smiling. "It's probably the weather."
The weather and climate had been drastically changing from cold to warm,
unbearably hot to freezing, due to the Meikai's attacks. Botan, the
blue-haired deity of death of Reikai, sat alongside Urameshi Yusuke,
Kuwabara Kazuma, Yukimura Keiko, Yukina, Kuwabara Shizuru, Sailormars,
Sailormercury, Sailorpluto, Tomoe Hotaru, Hinageshi, and a dead-weight,
lifeless Hiei, at the Hikawa Shrine .
	"Oi, Botan," Yusuke, the Reikai's spirit detective, eyed her lazily. "You
sure you're not being possessed or something?"
	Botan glared at Yusuke. "What's that supposed to mean?? Are you telling me
I have a weak will, and can be possessed that easily??" Everybody cringed,
as if they were seeing Botan with evil eyes and razor-sharp teeth.
	"So you're saying that this shrimp here," Kuwabara pointed to the stiffened
Hiei on the floor. "Had a weak will, and had his soul removed?"
	Yukina paled. "Ano..."
	"Don't you think we should be moving?" Mercury asked everyone, her visor
and mini computer still handy. "The gateway---"
	"Wakatta, wakatta," Yusuke replied, rolling his eyes. "I still can't
believe Hiei was defeated so easily. If so, the enemy shouldn't be
underestimated."
	"It was my fault," Yukina said softly, sadness contorting her lovely face.
	"It wasn't your fault, my dear," Came a woman's voice from out of nowhere.
Yusuke thought there was something vaguely familiar about that voice, but
apparently it was not his old sensei's, `Baasan Genkai. Everyone stood up in
alarm, their heads turning from side to side to find the person who spoke.
	Kuwabara eyed everyone carefully, his expression serious. "Anyone of you..."
Everyone stood still and silent, as they looked at Kuwabara. "...do
impersonations?"
	Everyone collapsed to the floor {with sweat drops}.
	"Oi, Kuwabara, you dimwit! Don't _do_ that!" Yusuke shot back.
	"Kazuma!" Shizuru chided to her younger brother in an exasperating tone,
and lit a cigarette.
	"But who said that?" Hinageshi asked, red hair bobbing up and down at the
toss of her cute little head.
	Mars readied a spirit ward in her fingers. "It must be some evil spirit."
	Pluto and Hotaru stood back to back, their eyes inspecting their
surroundings. And then they saw... Hiei's body was missing! 
	Everybody formed a circle, their backs towards each other. Their guards
were up, and their defenses ready. It was deadly quiet, as they waited for
that unknown and deep female voice to drift into the air once again. What
ever happened to Hiei? The fire youkai was right there where they left him
on the wooden floor just a moment ago. However, now he was gone. Did he
suddenly come back to life just as Hinageshi had? 
	They heard the voice; chuckling.
	"Oi! Kono ama! Show yourself!" Yusuke bellowed.
	"It's not good to insult me, Urameshi Yusuke," The voice said. "I'm
right..." A hard blow onto Yusuke's jaw sent him crashing onto the small tea
table, knocking it over into splinters, much to Mars' dismay. "...here."
	"Yusuke!" Keiko exclaimed, rushing to his side.
	"Who was that?? I didn't see snyone hit Urameshi," Kuwabara looked
panic-stricken.
	"The speed..." Hinageshi said.
	"...so fast..." Hotaru added.
	Yusuke sat up, his lip bleeding from the tremendous force of the slug. That
was some punch! Shaking his head to clear the fogginess in his brain, Yusuke
got to his feet. His legs felt wobbly, like cooked spaghetti, but he tried
his best to steady himself. He wiped the dripping blood from his mouth with
the back of his hand, as Keiko joined him by his side.
	"Yusuke, are you ok?" 
	He did not answer her, but gave a slight nod instead. His attention was
focused on the being who had landed that powerful sock to his jaw. Keiko
took a frightened step back, when she saw Yusuke's eyes: menacing, cold, and
ready for battle. Everyone's eyes traveled to the direction of Yusuke's gaze. 
	And gasped.
	Sitting cross-legged by a wooden pillar was the fire koorime, Hiei. Arms
crossed, and a smug smile playing on his lips, he looked up at them,
fighting the urge to burst out laughing at their gawking and gaping
expressions. He diverted his eyes towards Yusuke, and he gave out an amused
chuckle.
        "What are _you_ laughing at??" Yusuke burst out
	The fire youkai got up, a smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"You."
	"Hiei teme!!" Yusuke exploded, and ran towards Hiei, his fists clenched.
	Hiei did not move from his spot, even as Yusuke charged for him with
annoyance and anger. Instead, he motioned for Yusuke to stop by extending a
hand in front of him. That caught Yusuke off guard, and he stared wide-eyed
at the ghost-of-a-Hiei.
	Hiei laughed softly. "I'm not Hiei."
	Everyone blinked twice, looking at each other for some sign that they have
heard correctly. Evidently, everybody looked as bewildered as a mole in a
disco. There was an uneasy silence before Kuwabara decided to speak up, and
break the ice.
	"GAHAHAHAHA!!! You're actually saying that you're _not_ Hiei??" Kuwabara
laughed so hard, it rocked his body. He grabbed Hiei by the neck with the
crook of his arm, and his body shook with mirth once more. "When did you get
so witty all of a sudden, eh, you little shrimp?"
	Everyone groaned, as Kuwabara went flying into the air, hitting his back on
one of the paper doors, much to Mars' dismay (again). Hiei clapped his hands
together as if finishing a dirty task, and placed his hands on his hips.
	"That's not a proper way of handling a lady, Kuwabara," Hiei dictated
coldly to the orange-haired youth comically sprawled on the floor. 
	Whipping their heads back to Hiei, everyone had decided that they had
either gone deaf, or their minds were playing tricks on them. Did Hiei just
say 'lady'? 
	"Looks like you're gonna have to be calling him 'oneesan' instead of
'oniisan', Yukina-chan," Shizuru whispered to a dumb-struck Yukina, her
cigarette almost half finished. Yukina did not seem to like the idea. The
look on her face was evident enough.
	Pluto's serious expression never wavered, but she hung on to every word,
every action, every detail of what was happening, and seemed almost ready to
give way to a fit of uncontrollable giggling. Shizuru eyed her for a brief
moment, and took out the pack of cigarettes from her pocket.
	"Want one?" Shizuru offered to Pluto.
	The calm, mysterious, dark-haired senshi smiled shortly, but refused with a
slight shake of her head. Shrugging indifferently, Shizuru took out another
cigarette, placed it in between her lips, and lighted it.
	"You humans can't very well sit around all day," 'Hiei' said, folding 'his'
arms across 'his' chest. "We have a Meikai gateway to catch, haven't we now?"
	"Err... Hiei...?" Yusuke struggled with the words, and did his best to keep
a straight face. Kuwabara, who had finally seated himself up, choked back on
a snicker. Yusuke swallowed, and took a deep breath before continuing. "Are
you originally a woman?"
	Botan's, Mars', and Keiko's knuckles found Yusuke's head. "Aho!! Baka!!"

***
	When he had closed apartment door number 306 behind him, Kurama felt a
heavy burden of loss in his heart. Mako probably would not want to see him
again. Ever. She was the type of girl who was impulsive... and hit first
before listening to explanations. Kurama made a face, as a stinging
sensation burned his cheek. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Kurama
walked further and further away from room 306, stepped outside, and shuffled
down the empty street.
	"Yomi, you there?" Kurama asked in his head, but he continued down the street.
	"What do you think?" Came the calm reply.
	Kurama just needed someone to talk to at that particular moment. He did not
really care if the person was sadistic or not. And since Yomi was his old
partner... Kurama knew that reliving the past was impossible, but they could
always try to be friends.
	"I goofed up, didn't I?" Kurama said through telepathy. He walked on and
on, not knowing where he was going. He just relied on where his legs and
feet would take him.
	"You should have let her die."
	A small spark of anger ignited inside Kurama. "Say that again, and I'll..."
	"You'll what? Attempt to kill me? Would it be by your hands this time?"
Yomi mocked coolly.
	Kurama drew out a ragged breath. "I do not wish to argue nor fight with
you, Yomi. I know you are a good person."
	"You didn't think that before."
	"Drop it, Yomi! That was the past!"
	Yomi laughed softly. "Oooh, he's touchy... So what are you going to do
about the girl?"
	"I hardly think this is the appropriate time to discuss that. After all,
we're going to defeat Meikai by joining our powers, right?"

***
	The beast! The incorrigible, arrogant, foolish brute! So many names to call
him; so many, and yet, she was not sure if she meant them or not. 'But,'
Mako thought, as she narrowed her eyes, and lowered her brows... 'he took
advantage of me, the jerk! The insensitive...' Her thoughts trailed off.
Kurama was a very strange and unpredictable guy. But he was the sweetest,
kindest, and most thoughtful... like Kenji, her childhood friend. Kurama had
saved her from that monster made out of marble at the deserted mall. He had
introduced her to his family, and she remembered how warm they were to her.
He had carried her all the way home, strictly telling her to stay put. Mako
did not listen to him. She transformed into Sailorjupiter, and encountered a
being named... she tried to recall... Maja. 
	Mako was thinking back hard now. A frown appeared on her cheerful-featured
face. She remembered... a struggle. A battle. She remembered the pain. The
pain on her leg was shearing, and she could not fight back. While she could
not move, a hard blow rammed onto her chest, and sent her crashing off the
bridge she was on. 
	Mako closed her eyes. She had not felt the pain after that; just the
freezing cold, and the numbness that conquered her body. She had heard
somebody's voice before she lapsed into unconciousness... calling her name.
After that, she could not remember anything else, except that she kept
drifting in and out of sleep. And the cold... the unbearable, chilling cold.
And the words... the whispered words... "Sshh... I'm here. I'm here, don't
worry."
	Her eyes flew open. Could it have been possible that Kurama had saved her
life for the second time? She coughed. She forgot to breathe! Thinking back
made her see the truth. She lowered her eyes, and saw the thick dirty
blankets draped across her nakedness. Kurama had used the blankets to help
her keep warm. And knowing that they would not be enough... he... Mako
turned pink. He used his body heat to increase her temperature. 
	Mako did not even think twice. She hurriedly got out of bed, put on some
decent clothes, and headed outside the apartment.

***
	All eyes were on the spike-haired demon, with the white, star-like streak.
He looked impatiently at everyone, waiting for them to at least get off
their lazy butts, and say, "Let's go!". But there was none. Everyone was
still wide-eyed, and flabbergasted at the realization that... 
	"Hiei's a woman?" Hotaru whispered to Pluto.
	Pluto just looked at her from the corner of her eye, but kept quiet.
Everyone else did not have the nerve to speak. 'Hiei' looked especially
irritated by that.
	"All right," The female-voiced Hiei interrupted the lengthy pause. "I shall
do some explaining here. First of all, like I said, I'm not Hiei." He looked
up to see if there were any reactions from his ogling audience, then he
continued. "I am Mukuro. And If we don't act quickly, Hiei's body will be
damaged by my possession."
	Ears perked up. 
	"Mukuro?" Yusuke lifted himself up from the floor he sat on. "You're..."
	"Whaaaat!! You mean you possessed Hiei's body??" Kuwabara said in a
high-strung voice. "Do you know where Hiei is??"
	Mukuro shook her head. "He's probably in the depths of hell right now.
Suits him, don't you think? Though I'd rather he join me in Makai as my
right-hand-man." Her arms were still folded across her chest, as she leaned
on another wooden pillar.
	"I still can't get used to the fact that that's a woman in a guy's body,"
Mercury admitted to Mars in a hushed tone. "It reminds me of the Three Lights."
	At the mention of the Lights, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten who were in America,
Mars gave a sad sigh. She missed Usagi. She missed her infectuous laughter,
and her stupid, crazy antics. Odango atama Usagi... Mars smiled. Usagi was a
boke, a baka, a clumsy, ditzy crybaby. But she loved her because of that.
Recently though, Usagi had proven herself quite a heroine. She was indeed a
princess. Usagi/Sailormoon had fought with love, courage, and she always
stood by her friends. Mars hoped she would return to Japan soon.
	"Now," Mukuro continued. "I know I shouldn't be helping you on this, but
there is a hole here on Ningenkai that connects to Makai, which serves as an
entrance for youkai ."
	"Ah! That-- that's at Genkai-san's shrine!" Hinageshi half-exclaimed,
rising to her 
feet. Kuwabara grimaced, trying hard not to recall the devastating scene
that took place there.
	"Very good, little girl," Mukuro replied. "Some of you will have to stop
the youkai from entering Ningenkai vicinity, is that clear?"
	"Oi, Mukuro! We're not your military soldiers who'll do your every
bidding," Yusuke blurted. "Why are you helping us on this anyway?"
	Mukuro smirked wryly. "If I were going to take over Ningenkai, Urameshi
Yusuke, I wouldn't need Meikai's help to do it. I believe in fair play."
Then going back to the rudamentary topic... "A few of you are coming with me
to the Meikai gateway." She pointed at Yusuke, Botan, and Pluto.
	"Nani?? You mean I'm not coming with you guys??" Complained Kuwabara.
	"That's right, and it's better that way," Yusuke said. "It's gonna be too
dangerous for you."
	Kuwabara stood up, and faced Yusuke, grabbing him by the front of his
shirt. "What's that supposed to mean??! Are you saying that I, the manly
Kuwabara Kazuma, is a weakling???" 
	Yusuke brushed his hand away, and looked at him straight in the eye. "I'm
saying that if anything bad happens to you, then I wouldn't forgive myself.
You're much safer here where you can defend the girls from youkai. Botan and
Pluto... they are better off here, but they know the direction to the realm
of the underworld." A small smile replaced the hard thin line of a mouth. "Ok?"
	Kuwabara let his anger subside, and nodded. "Ok." Then without warning, he
slapped Yusuke on his back, making him lose his balance and stumble. Yusuke
steadied himself, and regained his composure. He looked up at Kuwabara, and
grinned, as his hand formed a thumbs-up sign.
	"Yosh, we'd better get moving," Botan suggested. It was followed by chorus
of agreement.

***
	The snow had vanished. Not that he did not notice it, but he was too
engrossed in his own thoughts to give it any importance. Kurama did not even
feel the pavement beneath his feet, as he kept walking down the street. Yomi
was not helping him feel any better. Lesson learned... Do not confide to
youkai about girl problems. 
	Snapping out of his dazed state, Kurama realized that he was by the bridge;
the bridge where he had rescued Mako from drowning. He was about to lean his
elbows and lower arms onto the bridge's cement railing, when he heard
footsteps behind him. Running. The enemy? He put up his guard, just in case;
the rose from his flaming hair ready. As soon as he was about to turn around
to strike out with the rose whip, a pair of feminine arms encircled his
neck, and pulled him down, making him bend. And the funniest thing happened.
Kurama's eyes widened in shock, as the girl who clung on to his neck kissed
him square on the mouth! To add to his surprise, the girl who was kissing
him was none other than the impulsive, bright-eyed Kino Makoto; the same
girl who had slapped him, and had called him all sorts of names. Kurama did
not quite know how to react, but he put his arms around her, and closed his
eyes. And kissed her back.
	The sun was sinking ever so slowly on the horizon. Red, orange, and yellow
hues filled the sky, as they pulled away from each other, and gazed into
each other's eyes.
	"Bright-eyes..." He said softly, his arms still around her waist.
	Mako smiled. "Thank you for..." She bowed her head to hide her flushed
face. "...for saving my life, Kurama-san."
	He chuckled softly. "It's nothing, really."
	"Looks like you scored, kitsune," Yomi cut through his thoughts, and
laughed quietly. Kurama rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. 
	"Oh, by the way," Kurama said, reaching into his pocket after he let go of
Mako. "I forgot to give you this." He took her hand, and opened it, placing
a somewhat small device onto her palm.
	Mako blinked. "Ara... it's my communicator!" 
	"You dropped it back at the shopping mall," Kurama explained. "You were
unconscious for quite a while, so I kept it in my pocket. It kinda slipped
my mind, gomen."
	"That's ok," She replied cheerfully. "I shouldn't have been so careless in
the first place." As soon as she tucked it in her pocket, a constant beeping
sounded. Hastily taking the communicator back out, Mako lifted its lid, and
a black cat with a golden crescent moon on its forehead appeared on the tiny
screen.
	"Mako-chan!" The cat on the screen said in surprise. "Oh, thank heavens! We
were so worried about you!" Came the anxiety-filled female voice.
	"I'm ok, Luna," Mako assured the cat named Luna. "Just a little... uh...
heated up." Mako giggled, then asked, "Where are the others?"
	Another cat, a white one this time, came into view on the screen. "Well, as
far as we know, Rei-chan and Ami-chan are back at the Hikawa Shrine. Haruka
and Mina said they'd be at the Crown Game Center to check out some things.
Better see if they're all right. I sense something terribly wrong." The cat
had a masculine voice.
	Kurama raised an eyebrow. Odd how cats these days could talk. But then
again, he had seen and encountered stranger and weirder things. Kurama
shrugged, and inserted his hands into his pockets again.
	"I understand, Artemis," Mako nodded, and kept the device. "C'mon,
Kurama-san," She said, as she tugged on Kurama's sleeve, and pulled him by
the arm. "We have to see what's happening at the game center!"

___________________
end of chapter 16.
To be continued?
C&C's welcome ^-^
___________________