Fu yawned widely. He scratched his head a few times before complaining.

"I'm bored."

Kojima looked over at him. She had been drawing God knows what on her arm with her ink pen. Yumi looked too. She had been trying to tug on Rai's jacket to make it look like Saruwatari or Matsuo had done it.

"So?" the girls asked simultaneously.

"Why do we care?" Saruwatari followed up.

Matsuo nodded. Rai sighed.

Just then the most unlikely thing happened: an arrow shot from the treetops in front of them. Stunned, Fu didn't have time to react. The arrow pierced his lower chest, almost straight enough to have hit his spine.

Fu growled. With one jerk he pulled the arrow free and threw it into the bushes as he forced the horses to a stop. Kojima quickly looked away, Yumi was staring dumb-struck at the falling arrow, Rai looked paler than usual, and the last two were making such a racket they shook the cart.

Yumi looked at Fu's reddening back. The blood was soaking through the material from where the arrow just slightly made it through Fu's skin on his back.

Kojima looked back at Fu. Worried, she lifted the back of his shirt. Yumi stared in awe. The small hole she knew had to be there was gone.

It makes sense...Yumi thought to herself. No wonder he survived that sword in his head! He regenerates quickly.

Fu nudged Kojima away at first, but then moved close to her, reaching his arm back to grab hers. Yumi lunged at Kojima, clinging to her kimono. Fu did the same with Yumi as he had done Kojima, but with his other hand. He glared furiously at the treetops trying to figure out where their attacker was. Kojima clung to Fu's back.

"What's happening?!" Saruwatari demanded in a bit of a panic.

He and Matsuo were making a bit too much noise for Fu to concentrate well enough to do anything. Rai noticed this. He slipped behind the cousins and clasped a hand on either of their mouths, hissing in their ears, "Can it if you want to live!"

Whimpering, the boys nodded. Rai did not move an inch.

"There," Yumi whispered to Fu.

He followed her gaze to one of the darker trees on their left. He could see it too. Still, there wasn't much they could do from there they were at.

But they didn't need to do anything. Whoever was in the tree jumped down onto the ground in front of the group. A young man in green with a bow in his hand and arrows on his back. His brown hair was untidy and unkempt. Truthfully, he fascinated Yumi.

A second later two people landed beside the man. One was in blue, the other in black. Not much longer after that another boy appeared beside them in white and then a girl in pink.

"Prepare to face--" The one in green began, but he was cut off quickly.

"What the hell is this? The Gay Brigade?!" Kojima shouted with inpenatrable anger.

The group of five almost lost their balance. They all looked shocked and irritated.

"What did you call us?!" The one in blue snapped.

"You heard me," Kojima replied with no fear. "I oughta kill all of you!"

"Back up!" Yumi urged. "She's a psycho bitch, especially cause you hurt her man!"

Fu gave Yumi an evil glance. Yumi giggled. The frightened atmosphere had vanished.

The girl of the attacking group spoke up, "We are the Freedom Fighters of these parts! I am Freedom Fighter Pink, Komara Meiky. Fire style. You all are too suspicious, evildoers."

"Hotaru Omyasaka Kojima," Kojima replied. "Pyro maniac. You all are too retarded, you asshole."

"Pyro maniac? You gonna throw a match at me?"

Kojima hopped down from the cart. She pulled up the sleeves of her kimono and raised her right hand. A small ball of flame appeared in her palm.

"That all?" Meiky teased.

Kojima hesitated, but then her entire arm went up in flame. Meiky looked a little scared at first, but then a smile crossed her face.

"Nice trick." Meiky shrugged her shoulders. "But what can you do with it?"

Kojima huffed. She drew her arm back and then let it swing forward at a lightning fast speed. The flames shot out at Meiky. Meiky, shocked and unprepared, hurriedly rolled to the side to avoid the attack. Her comrades leapt to the sides of the road and watched the scene.

Meiky did her own little trick as she whispered something beneath her breath and a wall of flames shot up from the ground, moving from Meiky to Kojima. Kojima avoided the attack as quickly as it came. She re-positioned her glasses on her face and focused her attention on Meiky.

It was a definite face-off: Kojima vs Meiky.