The Bands of Seven 2: Ch. 2

The Bands of Seven: Transform Into The Next Generation!

Chapter 2

"It's now time," Genkai announced, "for our next band, Leafé Snow. Please give them a welcome!"

There was hearty applause, and loud cheers for "Sasame!"


Genkai⁵	Sasame¹

The curtains rose to reveal eight people on the stage. Four were tall young men, three were young boys, and one was a young woman. The youngest of the boys only appeared to be three or so, and looked daunted by the huge crowd. He had blond hair and green eyes.

Quickly, perhaps before the young child could burst into tears, the band started to play a song, "Lucky Star." The audience cheered in approval before and afterwards.


The Pretear and Leafe Knights¹	Shin⁶	Genkai⁵

The young woman, who had been singing during the song, again took the microphone and said, "Thank you all! I'd just like to take a moment to introduce our members!"

"Hayate," she said as she pointed to a tall young man with long blue hair, "is playing bass guitar."

Hayate waved to the crowd, and they cheered back at him.


Himeno⁷	Hayate⁸

The president of the Prince Yuki fan club, Motoko, restrained herself. Sure, this Hayate fellow was manly. Very manly. But Prince Yuki was just as manly.

She had to set a good example for the other members of the club. She was almost certain she could see the eyes of the junior members, like Goto, on her. They couldn't see their leader wavering like this.


Motoko⁹	Hayate⁸	Yuki¹⁰	Prince Yuki Fan Club¹¹

"Go," she gestured behind her to the man at the large drum set, "is on the drums!"

He struck several cymbals and some of the drums. He had short red hair and a ready grin.

"You know, that Go guy kinda reminds me of Jin," Yusuke commented. He began to reminisce. "It's been ages since I've seen him last. Maybe he could get a pass and come to the next concert. I bet he'd like it."

"I didn't know he liked concerts," Keiko said in surprise.

"He likes shouting, and there's plenty of cheering at these events," Yusuke explained.


Himeno⁷	Go⁸	Yusuke¹	Jin¹	Keiko⁵

"Kei is on the synthesizer," the young lady continued her introductions. There was a hearty cheer, which he accepted with a magnanimous nod, causing his long blond hair to move slightly. He patted it down delicately.


Kei⁸	Himeno⁷

Daisuke nearly had a heart attack when he saw Kei on the stage. Kei's long, blond hair, had reminded him so strongly of Krad that he had thought Krad was there on the stage. But now he could see it wasn't Krad. Kei wore his hair in a ponytail at the back and in a wave at the side. Krad had all his hair in a ponytail at the back, when he didn't wear it entirely unbound.

"Of course that's not Krad!" exclaimed a voice in Daisuke's mind as he fought to regain his composure. "You know where Krad is! So don't let your guard down."

"Stop squirming, it's distracting!" Riku told Daisuke with a frown. Daisuke nodded quickly.

Satoshi Hiwatari looked at them with cold amusement.


Kei⁸	Himeno⁷	(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹	Krad¹	Riku Harada¹	Satoshi Hiwatari¹

"Playing the guitar is Sasame," was the young lady's next introduction. Sasame was a tall man with grey hair and grey eyes. There was a huge noise from the crowd, and people began to leap out of their seats and applaud.

Motoko felt as though she were floating away. Sasame was so handsome. His features were so fine, and his hair coloring was almost the same wonderful shade as Yuki's.

She tried hard to think of Yuki, but that only carried her further after this Sasame and-

No! She couldn't give up! She had to stay strong!


Sasame⁸	Himeno⁷	Motoko⁹	Yuki¹⁰

"Mannen here is playing the xylophone," the young lady said, gesturing to a young boy with a rebellious expression and ice-white hair. The crowd applauded, and he gave a short, cool peace sign in return.

"Hajime is playing the flute," the young lady continued her introductions. The young boy with brown hair trilled the flute, and the audience cheered.


Mannen⁸	Himeno⁷	Hajime⁸

"Hey, you guys sensing any sorta weird energy coming off this band?" Kuwabara asked.

Miroku shook his head negatively, disagreeing, "I don't sense any demonic auras from them." Sango put in, "I don't either."

"Not that kinda weird energy," Kuwabara explained. "It's as though they're brim-full of plants, and birds, and nature stuff."

"You're not seriously suggesting they're all like Kurama here, are you?" Hiei said disbelievingly.

"They may have the ability to manipulate nature without being like me," Kurama spoke diplomatically.

"Well, it doesn't really matter," Yusuke decided. "as long as they keep good songs coming."


Kuwabara⁵	Miroku¹	Sango¹	Hiei⁵	Kurama⁵	Yusuke¹

"Shin is playing the triangle," the young lady introduced the blond toddler. He clutched the metal triangle tight in one hand, smiled nervously, and waved his free, tiny hand at the audience.

"Awww!" awwwed the crowd.

"My name is Himeno Awayuki!" the young woman finished her introductions.

The crowd cheered for her.


Shin⁸	Himeno⁷

In the audience, Himeno's family, their chauffeur Mr. Tanaka, and Sasame's date Takako, were all sitting near each other in the same row.

Kaoru Awayuki, Himeno's father, looked up at the stage and blissfully commented, "Himeno and the others are doing very well up there. I can't believe how fast she's growing up! Maybe Hayate and I should make a sculpture of this, Himeno's first concert."

"That sounds wonderful, dear!" Himeno's stepmother Natsue Awayuki agreed. "I'll have Mr. Tanaka put it on display in the garden when you're done."

Some hair wafted off of Mr. Tanaka's balding head as he contemplated having to move a giant, heavy statue.


Kaoru⁸	Natsue⁸	Mayune⁸	Mawata⁸	Sasame¹	Takako⁸	Tanaka⁸

"Now Shin will do our next number!" Himeno said, and the audience was filled with admiring coos and giggles.

Himeno came behind Shin and helped him to the center of the stage. Hajime and Mannen flanked Shin, Hajime looking pleased, and Mannen feeling bored, and demeaned by being stuck with this duty.

Shin tightly clutched the triangle and the stick, and swallowed deeply. The audience was delighted.


Shin⁸	Himeno⁷	Hajime⁸	Mannen⁸

"Oh, what a darling little boy!" Miaka gushed. She and the others had taken their places in the reserved row.

Suzaku Seven and Miaka²

Shin took a deep breath and started to bring the stick and the triangle together to make a note. But his resolve faltered, and he turned away from the audience and buried his face in Himeno's legs as he began to sniffle.

"He's so cute!" cooed some audience members, while others said warmly, "Don't be afraid, little boy! We like you!"

Hajime put an arm on Shin's shoulder encouragingly. Mannen crossed his arms and frowned, but stayed by Shin's side.

Himeno gently tousled Shin's hair as she knelt down. She said something encouraging in his ear and turned him around as she stayed crouched near him.

Shin took another deep breath and brought the triangle and stick together. The theater was immediately silent as the pure note filled the air. Slowly, Shin tapped, beat after beat, until he had played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

The audience exploded in thunderous applause and cries of, "He's adorable!" Shin wiped away happy tears and smiled and waved at the audience, increasing the cries of delight. Hajime squeezed Shin's shoulder in approval while Himeno hugged him from behind.

Mannen rolled his eyes.

Nevertheless, he and Hajime accompanied Shin back to their side of the stage. While they were getting settled, Himeno announced, "And now, it's time for the winner of the Sasame of Wordsgate Ultimate Fan Competition to come forward and take part in the next act!"


Shin⁸	Himeno⁷	Hajime⁸	Mannen⁸	Sasame¹

In the audience, Mr. Tanaka stood up on his seat, waved his arms, and shouted, "Ooh, ooh, that's me!" His voice was largely drowned out by the crowd's excited cheering, but his claim was noted by Himeno's family, who sat near him.

"Mr. Tanaka?" Himeno's stepsister Mayune, looked at their chauffeur Mr. Tanaka in astonishment.

Her mother Natsue and stepfather Kaoru Awayuki were just as stupefied. "I had wondered why you had gotten a ticket," Natsue finally managed to say. "I suppose it was free?" Mr. Tanaka had not realized she had spoken to him- he was still waving both arms at the stage.

Mayune looked at her younger sister Mawata, sure some sort of cruel joke was being played here. If anyone was a fan of Sasame's radio show "Sasame of Wordsgate," surely it was Mawata.

Mawata shrugged. After a moment she whispered, "It would've been too easy for me to win. I wanted to give someone else a chance."


Tanaka⁸	Himeno⁷	Mayune⁸	Natsue⁸	Kaoru⁸	Mawata⁸

Oblivious to all this, Himeno continued, "The winner of the Ultimate Fan competition has already had to name the last 50 pen names of writers to Sasame's Wordsgate, the cereal Sasame eats for breakfast, and submit a photo of him or herself cosplaying as Sasame."


Himeno⁷	Sasame¹

Mayune looked back and forth from the short, thickening, balding, bespectacled Mr. Tanaka to the tall, thin, fully-haired, bespectacled Sasame, trying to figure out how any costume or skill at role-playing could make them look similar. "How on earth did that work?" she exclaimed with aversion.

It suddenly came to her that Mr. Tanaka had been talking in his rapid-fire voice for some time, "...and as I'm driving all of you in the course of my duties as chauffeur, I of course have a lot of time to listen to the radio, I listen to 'Sasame of Wordsgate' every chance that I get, and then I found out that Sasame wears glasses as well, so I simply had to make a costume, decide on an appropriate pose, which is difficult because Sasame is so reclusive and most people only hear his voice on the radio, so I had to make some guesses..."


Mayune⁸	Tanaka⁸	Sasame¹

Himeno now came to the peroration, "The winner of the Ultimate Fan Competition has already proven his or her fandom, but now faces one last test. If the fan passes the challenge that I set, they will have the opportunity to cohost the next episode of Sasame of Wordsgate. If not, the fan has the consolation prize of CDs of Sasame's best broadcasts! So, will the winner please come forward!"

Mr. Tanaka ran at incredible speed up to the stage, and for the first time Himeno realized who the winner of the Ultimate Fan Competiton was. "Mr. Tanaka?" she uttered in utter shock.

"Hello, Ms. Awayuki, hello Mr. Sasame," Mr. Tanaka said rapidly, before turning to the audience and shouting, "Hello everyone!"

"Hello, Mr. Tanaka!" the audience shouted back, not realizing that Himeno was surprised by the identity of the competition winner.

This was largely due to Sasame's stage presence. He had little to be surprised about, although he did find it an odd coincidence that Himeno's chauffeur had won the prize. Therefore, he was as composed as usual as he came to Himeno's side and greeted Mr. Tanaka, "Good evening, Mr. Tanaka. Congratulations on winning the 'Sasame of Wordsgate' Ultimate Fan Competition. I'll be rooting for you as you face off against Himeno in this bonus round."

"Thank you so much! I'm honored!" Mr. Tanaka shouted, bowing deeply from the waist.

Himeno had now recovered from her surprise, and tried to forget her amazement and use a feisty but charming voice as she cried, "You must've been a formidable Sasame fan to get this far. I'm a fan of his too, though, so I'm not going to go easy on you!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Ms. Awayuki!" Mr. Tanaka agreed loudly. His great excitement and single-minded resolve had left his volume set at high.

Himeno found the next part hard to go through with, but continued, "Your bonus round is a karate match! I challenge you, Mr. Tanaka- and I warn you, I am a black belt!" Himeno tried to keep her misgivings off of her face. She had hoped for someone more intimidating, to fool the audience into thinking she was the one in trouble and about to be beaten. Instead it'd take care on her part to make it clear that she wasn't bullying Mr. Tanaka.


Himeno⁷	Tanaka⁸	Sasame¹

"My little tulip is going to use karate on him?" Himeno's father gaped at the stage.

Natsue took out her personal digital assistant. "Don't worry, darling," she assured him briskly, "I'll get word to our lawyers, and arrange a generous compensation for what family Mr. Tanaka has. They won't give us any trouble."

"Himeno is going to practice her unladylike arts on the stage in front of all these people! Our family will be tarnished by association!" Mayune fumed.


Kaoru⁸	Natsue⁸	Tanaka⁸	Mayune⁸

Unfazed, Mr. Tanaka fulminated, "I accept your challenge, Ms. Awayuki!! Haaa!" He stepped into a bad parody of a martial arts pose. It was an attempt at mimicking a defensive pose Tamahome had used some minutes earlier.

Himeno grimaced a moment, hoping she could get both their bodies intact out of this situation. She figured salvaging their dignity was a lost cause. Why had she let Sasame talk her into administering the bonus round?

Of course, maybe the better question was: What couldn't the fluent Sasame talk someone into?

Himeno assumed a proper karate offensive stance.


Tanaka⁸	Himeno⁷	Sasame¹

"Mawata, Mayune," Natsue asked, "What size do you think Mr. Tanaka's shoulders are?"

"What are you measuring him for, a suit?" Kaoru asked in confusion.

Mawata suggested, "Yes, he will need one for his coffin. And don't forget, mother: black roses."

"Oh, yes, a suit, and black roses! Thank you both, dears!" Natsue said sweetly as she tapped more information into her PDA.

"Don't bother," Mayune said dismissively, "I doubt there'll be anything left."


Mawata⁸	Mayune⁸	Natsue⁸	Tanaka⁸	Kaoru⁸

Himeno chopped through the air at Mr. Tanaka. As Sasame had explained it, the whole point here was to do stage fighting, basically, since the chances were slim that the winner would be a karate expert like she was. So she slowly chopped at Mr. Tanaka, taking care to ensure that her attack would fall short.

Unexpectedly, he ran straight into her chop, rebounded off her incoming arm, and fell to the floor, from which he quickly stood.


Himeno⁷	Tanaka⁸	Sasame¹

Hayate put his head in his hands. Go looked concerned, and Sasame was watching carefully but neutrally. Mannen, Hajime, and Shin were chuckling kindly at the fight. Kei had his mirror out again.

The Pretear and Leafe Knights¹

Despite the excruciating embarrassment, Himeno somehow managed to complete the demonstration without causing bodily injury to herself or Mr. Tanaka. The audience mistook the proceedings for a comedy bit and laughed. Mr. Tanaka seemed to be taking it in stride, single-mindedly focused on winning, although all of his attacks were fast and arm-wavingly inaccurate.

Himeno eventually declared, "You win, Mr. Tanaka!" She had to wait a moment as he rushed by her yet again in a frenzied charge before he heard and turned around. Himeno said quickly, "You win, you have the opportunity to cohost a show of 'Sasame of Wordsgate'!"

"Oh, thank you so much for doing your best against me, Ms. Awayuki!" Mr. Tanaka bellowed.

Himeno didn't know quite what to say, so Sasame smoothly stated into the microphone, "Congratulations, Mr. Tanaka, and thank you Himeno, for facilitating the final round of the 'Sasame of Wordsgate' Ultimate Fan Competition."

About five minutes later they'd convinced Mr. Tanaka to leave the stage, although he continued ambling about by its base and waving his arms in the air.


Himeno⁷	Tanaka⁸	Sasame¹

Himeno spoke into the microphone, "Thank you all for being such a great crowd, our last song will be 'White Destiny!'" The crowd applauded.

Himeno once again did the vocals, while Kei expertly manipulated the synthesizer. Sasame and Hayate played their guitars expertly. Go exuded passion through his drumming, keeping the rapid beat. The cold, pure notes of Mannen's xylophone reinforced the harsh but hopeful notes of the song. Hajime added his flute for a particularly poignant touch. Nobody could hear Shin's triangle, but neither it nor he was particularly there to be heard anyways - they were there because they were a part of the group.

The audience rejoiced and clapped, and the band took their bows and left the stage.

Genkai came onto the stage and said into the microphone, "We'll now be having an intermission. Please feel free to visit our concession area."


The Pretear and Leafe Knights¹	Genkai⁵

The Almost Mediterranean Middle School Band was among those who wanted to visit the concession stand. Some of its main members were the twin sisters Riku and Risa, the school newspaper reporter Saehara, and the two rivals Satoshi Hiwatari and Daisuke Niwa. Two of these band members, Riku and Daisuke, were selected to bring back food for Risa, Saehara, and Hiwatari. Hiwatari excused himself shortly after the two left.


(l. to r.) Riku and Risa Harada¹	Saehara¹²	Satoshi¹	Daisuke¹

Riku and Daisuke neared the group some time later, and distributed the food they'd brought back. Other than Saehara's complaints about the spices on his not being what he'd ordered, all was well.

Daisuke, pleased with his food, asserted, "Hm, this is really sweet!" After that, he had time to mutter a disconcerted, "Huh?"

Risa asked politely, "Is yours really very sweet, Niwa? Mine's a bit salty." As she turned to look at Niwa, she gasped.


(l. to r.) Riku and Risa Harada¹	Daisuke¹	Saehara¹²

Phantom Dark, not Niwa, was sitting in the chair next to her. "Good evening, Risa," he said suavely as he smiled and winked at her.

Riku demanded, "When did you get here?"

"Oh, just now," Dark told her unconcernedly. "I was really hoping to make it. I didn't want to miss your performance, Risa, especially since you've got such a big part, but I didn't want to overcommit and disappoint both of us."

"Mr. Dark, not that I'm not glad to see you," Risa asked demurely, "but how did you manage to sneak up on us like that?"

Dark laughed, "I'm not called the Phantom Thief for nothing!"


Phantom Dark¹	Daisuke¹	Risa Harada¹	Riku Harada¹

"Where'd Niwa go?" Saehara asked.

"I'm right here," moaned Niwa. He was unceremoniously scrunched into a ball at Dark's feet, uncomfortably squished between them and the next row of seats. He awkwardly clambered to his feet.


Daisuke¹	Saehara¹²

Dark and Niwa's minds were awhirl. With only a moment's warning, Daisuke and Dark had involuntarily split into two different bodies. They hadn't experienced anything like this before- usually Daisuke transformed into Dark, and Dark into Daisuke. Their inexperience with the current situation diminished the prospects of resolving it, or keeping their joint identity concealed. Daisuke, however, was far more worried about the situation than Dark. Dark was perturbed, but he was fairly sure that an explanation would be found, and he'd enjoy having control of a body of his own. Dark had been hoping to show up at this concert, and was not about to miss this opportunity.

(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹

A camera flash illuminated him for a moment, and he looked up. Saehara took another picture with the flash, and inquired hungrily, "Mr. Dark, could we please do a quick, exclusive interview?"

Dark waved his hand affirmingly and agreed, "That's fine, I've got some time. After the concert," he grinned slyly at Risa, "I was hoping Risa and I could have our own exclusive interview."

Risa joyously accepted, "Of course!" Riku simultaneously remonstrated, "Just a minute!"

It goes without saying that Dark was ignoring Daisuke's cry of, "Hey!" for asking Risa out.


(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹	Saehara¹²	Risa Harada¹	Riku Harada¹

Miroku craned his head. The whole theater was stirring over the unexpected appearance of the tall, lanky, handsome youth with long, black hair. "I wonder when he got here," Miroku thought aloud.

Kuwabara looked over and started to look away when he suddenly did a double-take as he uttered, "Whoa!"

"You could break your neck doing that," Yusuke said dryly.

Kuwabara explained, "That guy's got dark energy all over him!"

"How fascinating," Hiei said sarcastically. "Some of us can sense such things too."


Miroku¹	Phantom Dark¹	Kuwabara⁵	Yusuke¹	Hiei⁵

Kuwabara was so stunned that he didn't react to the sarcasm, and instead explained, "Yeah, but the weird thing is that guy in black has got the same energy I saw in the redhead, who was sitting back there before! I thought I saw something weird about his energy! That redhead actually had the energy of two different people, and now they've split!"

Yusuke looked at the lanky youth, then at Kuwabara, and declared, "I think your spirit vision needs spirit contact lenses."

"I'm serious!" Kuwabara insisted. "Have I ever been wrong about this sort of thing?"

In an ideal world, his friends, recalling he had never been wrong about this sort of thing, would, of course, have conceded the point at once.

"I'm not buying it," Yusuke shook his head. Hiei crossed his arms.


Kuwabara⁵	(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹	Yusuke¹	Hiei⁵

Kuwabara insisted, "Guys, come on! Yusuke, your hair grew really long when you accessed your Ma-zoku powers!"

"Yeah, but I didn't split into two bodies, one of which grows a foot taller with entirely different hair," Yusuke countered.

"Toguro's whole body changed color in his final form!" Kuwabara appealed to their shared experience.

"And you're trying to tell us that's a demon?" Hiei asked sarcastically.


Kuwabara⁵	Yusuke⁴	Yusuke¹	(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹	Younger Toguro⁵	Hiei⁵

"No, they're two humans with powers! Kurama, back me up!" Kuwabara pleaded.

Kurama stated equitably, "Kuwabara does have senses exceeding those of many demons, and he hasn't let us down yet. We trusted Kurama's judgment in Maze Castle; I think we owe it to him to accept his statements. Nevertheless, it is odd. I would have expected there to be some sort of transformation, such as when my body shifts to reflect my old demonic form. However, those two have split."

"Yeah, but their energy's still kinda joined," Kuwabara muttered as he peered at them, squinting, as though that would help his spectral sight. "And the redhead's still got some of the dark energy. Maybe they'll end up rejoining."

Yusuke shook his head and commented, "Now you're just making stuff up."

"Shut up, Urameshi!" Kuwabara retorted.


Kuwabara⁵	Kurama⁵	(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹	Yusuke¹

"Well, Mr. Dark," Riku said fiercely, "I'm afraid we all have to start our rehearsal now. Please excuse us."

"Why don't you come watch us, Mr. Dark?" Risa asked him.

Riku glared at her sister while Daisuke added another hurt look to the many he'd given Risa since Dark showed up.

"I'd love to, Risa," Phantom Dark agreed.


Riku Harada¹	Risa Harada¹	(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹

Nearby was standing Mayune, who had come to inspect Phantom Dark at closer range. She spread her fan, which had a huge swath of pink fringe on its outer edge, and she held the fan over her mouth. Mayune fanned herself slightly as she considered, "Rebellious, but I can fix that. There's enough good underneath that."

Mayune now moved forward and took Phantom Dark's arm. He looked curiously at her but made no other move, while Risa gaped at her. Mayune asked him, "Mr. Dark, I believe? I'm Mayune Awayuki. Very pleased to make your acquaintance. Wouldn't you like to see our our estate? It's one of the largest in the city, with an immense garden."

"Thank you, but I just flew in and I'm rather tired," Phantom Dark declined graciously. "I was hoping to relax here at the concert for awhile. I hear the Almost Mediterranea Middle School Band's got some great songs."

"Oh, of course they do," Mayune said while pulling on his arm, "you know, we have some great seats, farther up of course, you'll have a far better view."

Risa had now recovered from her shock and said indignantly, "Mr. Dark can decide for himself where he's sitting!"


Mayune⁸	Risa Harada¹	Phantom Dark¹

"Oh, of course he can," Mayune said patronizingly while dragging Dark along by an arm. She demurely held her fan over her mouth with her other hand as she said to Mr. Dark, "Really, Mr. Dark, you must come over and see our home. It's one of the most beautiful mansions and-" She stopped short. Her arm was empty. Mayune looked around peevedly, and finally located Phantom Dark, arm in arm with Risa, heading for one of the exits. Dark and Risa were closely followed by a seething Riku, a depressed Niwa, and an excited Saehara who was constantly taking pictures of Dark. Dark took a moment to wave back at Mayune and said, "Perhaps another time, miss. Right now I've been given a special offer to watch a rehearsal."


Mayune⁸	(l. to r.) Daisuke Niwa and Phantom Dark¹	Risa Harada¹	Riku Harada¹	Saehara¹²

Mayune stared after him in indignant shock and asked haughtily, "How did you do that?" Not even Himeno's superhuman friends Hayate and Go had been able to break her grip. They had instead escaped while she was occupied elsewhere. How could this Phantom fellow wriggle out of her grasp?

"What can I say?" Dark mischievously threw his words over his shoulder with a dashing grin. "I'm a thief and an escape artist too!" Then he and the others left through the door leading to the rehearsal area.

"How disappointing," Mayune huffed.


Mayune⁸	Hayate⁸	Go⁸	Phantom Dark¹

Satoshi Hiwatari walked up slowly and asked in a low voice, "I wonder where my friends have gotten to."

"Oh, you're with that Almost Mediterranea band, aren't you?" Mayune said impatiently. "They just traipsed off to rehearsal with that Phantom Dark."

"Phantom Dark was here?" Satoshi repeated aloud. He murmured, "No wonder I've been feeling worse." In a louder, commanding voice, he asked, "How did Dark arrive, and where did he go?"

"I don't know how he got here, and I just told you they went to a rehearsal," Mayune peeved. "What right do you have to question me in that tone?"

Satoshi said gravely, "I'm a chief of police in charge of apprehending the thief Phantom Dark."


Satoshi Hiwatari¹	Mayune⁸	Phantom Dark¹

In the Suzaku Seven's row, Tetsuya overheard and snorted. "If that boy's a police chief," he said dismissively, "then I'm the mayor of Tokyo."

Mayune was also highly skeptical, but pointed out the way so as to get away from him. "There, they went that way. Good evening, sir." She quickly left.

"Thank you ma'am," Satoshi said somewhat testily as he pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose and headed towards the rehearsal.


Tetsuya¹	Satoshi Hiwatari¹	Mayune⁸

Kuwabara shook his fist and demanded, "Take it back, Urameshi! I oughta give it to you good for insulting my spirit vision!"

Yusuke raised his eyebrows and told his friend, "Calm down. First off, you know I'm going to beat you. Second off, if we fight near here, Genkai's gonna make us do one of her penalties. There is supposed to be a general truce on her property, you know."

"Yeah," Kuwabara subsided into his seat, then bolted upright, "Hey, there's no rules against racing, is there?"

"I guess not," Yusuke decided.

"For once you have a good idea," Hiei said to no one in particular.

"Don't you start," Kuwabara told him.

Tasuki of the Suzaku Seven as he approached and hailed them: "Hey, you two are going to race to settle a grudge, right?"

They acknowledged this. Tasuki put his arms akimbo and told them, "Then I'm racing both of you. I've got a grudge against you two from last concert, when you two acted like my friend Kai-ka's song was killing you."

"Oh yeah," Yusuke said, putting a hand to the back of his head, remembering how he had received a beating from a most unlikely quarter for that prank. "Well then, let's go settle this outside."

The three left the theater.


Kuwabara⁵	Yusuke¹	Genkai⁵	Hiei⁵	Tasuki¹	Kai-Ka (Amiboshi)¹

Dark was watching the end of the rehearsal's first song when he sensed Satoshi's presence coming near. He quickly told everyone, "Thank you for letting me see this. But I just remembered that we left your seats totally unguarded. I'd better get back there and save them for you. I'll see you all tonight!"

Phantom Dark was gone only a few seconds after that, and a few seconds later Satoshi burst into the room. Satoshi murmured, "Gone. Probably flying too far for us to sense each other." He swallowed, feeling more himself.

Riku demanded, "Come on, Satoshi, we need your help for this number."

Satoshi nodded and took his place.