~~~~

	Seki sat on the bed, Yashiko hovering around. He felt fine. But Yashiko
insisted that he rest longer. And ESPECIALLY don't go searching for Vanity yet. Where
Yashiko had gotten the black leather whip to enforce it from, he didn't know. He wasn't
sure he wanted to know.

	"But Yashiko. I promised," said Seki again.

	*whipcrack* "Not yet! You need to be at full strength!"

	The doorbell rang.

	Seki started to sit up, but a 'look' from Yashiko kept him down. "I'll get it!
You stay here and rest!"

	Yashiko left the room, leaving Seki alone. He took the moment of freedom to get
off the bed and do some stretches.

	He wondered what became of Lumi. She had been missing for some time. It had
only been a couple of hours, but that was enough for an unsupervised Lumi to do..... to
 do a lot. Wasn't she on a date? Perhaps things weren't as bad as he was imagining.
And Vanity... He didn't have the slightest clue where to start searching for her. Even
if he could get past Yashiko to do so. He had promised to protect her.

	Cautiously, slowly, he picked up his chair, expecting Yashiko to barge in
any moment. He untensed, when that didn't happen. Clearing his mind, he fell into
his favored stance, and started one of the combination exercise and training routines
he learned from the Big Tibetan Dojo. The physical instruction value had already
been learned, but the peace and focus of mind that executing it brought was invaluable
to him at the moment.

	Vanity was gone, kidnapped. Lumi was late. But that was probably nothing.
Yashiko was keeping him from searching for Vanity. Verily, he felt better, having
recovered enough from Ijima's final attack. Good enough to get on the hunt. But he
knew he wasn't at full strength yet. There were still slight aches, and he could
probably benefit from the extra rest. But he had promised to save Vanity. The way to
save Vanity was not to keep fighting these duels. What was the way?

	"Seki! What are you doing?" cried Yashiko, returning. Seki paused in the middle
of a slow movement with the chair, and in midthought. "I am-" Seki started, but
Yashiko interrupted him. Again. "It dosen't matter what you were doing. There was
noone at the door, but there was a letter on the doormat." Yashiko paused, hesitantly.
"It's addressed to you."

	Yashiko held out the envelope. Seki put the chair down, and took it. 'To Seki'
was all that was written on it, in a very professional hand. Seki opened it, and read
the enclosed letter aloud.

	'Seki. Lumi and Vanity are at the Secret Underground Chamber and Electrical
Closet. Directions below. Come alone.'

	The letter was written in the same proffesional hand of the one who had
written 'To Seki' on the envelope, and there was a faint watermark bearing the logo
of Hiroto High. And true enough, there was a small map indicating how one would reach
the SUCAEC.

	"Yashiko. Please, let me go."

	Yashiko looked to the floor, slightly ashamed. "I... I guess." There was a
moment of silence, then Yashiko looked up at Seki. Tears were starting to form in her
eyes. "Come back, okay? .... You better come back, or I'll hate you forever! Just
like Ryo!"

	Seki stepped back, the emotion on Yashiko's face surprising him. "Ryo?" he
asked, softly.

	"That's right.... I never told you about him. You're not my first big brother.

	Ryo ... was my real big brother. And... a Furniture Warrior. Like you. But
he went to this stupid contest four years back, and I never saw him again. He went
off to fight. AND I NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN! He promised he wouldn't leave me. He promised
he'd protect me." Yashiko stared evenly at Seki. "Come back."

	Seki nodded solemnly.

	"Now go." Yashiko turned around, so that her back was to him.

	"Thank you. I will return. With Vanity and Lumi." And then Seki was gone,
his chair in tow.

~~~~
]
]FURNITURE WARRIORS
]X PLUS SIGMA TURBO
]THALLIUM BATTLE 2002
]
]or more simply
]
]FURNITURE WARRIORS X
]
]FWX is an IFF fic started by Brain Stricklin.
]
]This part by Jexer, aka the commamonster.
]Who has nothing cool to say about himself here.
]Except maybe that ... Nope! Not that. Still nothing.
]Just plain ole boring partially insane Jex.
]
]Original concept of Furniture Warriors is intellectual property
]of Nihana-san. Whoever that is.
]And something bad will happen to me if I said this was mine.
]What? Let's find out!
]I, Jexer, part-time author, do hereby claim this whole darned thing
]is MINE AND MINE ALONE.
].... oh, dear. Being cast as the seme in a badly written yaoi slash.
].... Damn, this sucks.
]
]Chapter 14
]
]The final shaping of a chair.
]or
]Unstained Wood.
]or
]Dark Warriors that go Moo!
]
~~~~

Fight #1!

Seki vs Halo Chick Sexy.

	It was a fairly unassuming building. The Secret Underground Chamber and
Electrical Closet looked like all the other buildings on the street. The door was
slightly ajar, almost like a message that said, 'Come on in whenever you're ready.'

	Seki did that. The door opened the rest of the way quietly, leading into a set
of dimly lit downward stairs.

	At the bottom, there was a door left open. He could see someone on the far end
of the room, and the room was coated in expensive looking red shag. He stepped through
the doorway, and whirled around just in time to see the door shut on him.

	The whole thing smacked of a planned, dramatic fight to Seki. Eerily quiet, big
room with noone else in it, the door ominously slamming shut behind him.

	Oh yeah. The well dressed girl waiting on the other side of the room watching
him silently, in a stance he recognized as a variant of the classic Furniture Warrior
stance implied Dramatic Fight, as well.

	She had on a flowing red dress, low cut, with little shiny crystal things
making the whole thing sparkle. Her green eyes have the impression that there was
a hawk inside, watching his every move. And the four-post bed she carried lazily in
one hand, by one of the corner posts, confirmed it.

	Seki, for his part, knew just how to respond to the unspoken challenge,
advancing to the middle of the room, and crossing the invisible line of no return,
the one where the challenge was accepted, no matter what words followed.

	"We have been expecting you," said the girl. The words rolled off of her tongue,
in some exotic fashion, lending a charming quality to her voice that even the most
obtuse language professor would approve of.

	"Please get out of my way. My fight is not with you, I only wish to rescue
Vanity and Lumi," Seki responded, his voice far from meeting the same elegance that
he had been greeted with. "But I will fight you if I must," he continued,
unshouldering his chair.

	The girl spat. In a completey well mannered, lady-like way, of course. "I
have no qualms about beating you to death," she said, with that perfect,
distinguished control of her voice. "I assure you, your skills as a Furniture
Warrior will not help you against me."

	Seki stepped forward. "I will save Vanity," he said. A hint of Angst crept
into his voice.

	"You will lose," went the girl.

	"I will save Lumi," he continued, more Angst creeping in. His eyes
darkened with determination, and his hair got shiny in a very pretty way.

	"You will join them." There was definite menace in the girls voice, now.

	"I promised!" he finished, Angst full strength. Hard eyes filled with
determination, gleaming muscles, hair that would put a famous hair fashion designer
to shame, the Aura of Angst was a visible, tangible thing now.

	The girl stepped back, momentarilly awed by the Angst, and almost reduced
to a drooling fangirl like every other female sans Lumi in this fic by it. Almost.

	Her eyes narrowed, and she levelled her bed at him. "My name is Arijouya
Ganbatte, one of the Dark Warriors. You will not pass."

	Seki fell into his favored stance, offering no reply.

	Arijouya went first. She swung her bed over her head in a wide arc, spinning
on her heels once, making two complete revolutions, then leapt into the air, still
spinning, a smell of ozone and a crackling sound trailing behind her.

	"Stunning Bed Hurricane!"

	Seki rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the whirling bed. He wasn't
so lucky the next time. She had barely touched the ground when she did it again, with
next to nil startup time like the first attempt. The crackling bed collided with his
head, and his whole form convulsed with a momentary shock. Not to mention him flying
across the room.

	'So fast,' he thought to himself. It occured to him that the slower, first
iteration of the attack had been just a feint, so he wouldn't expect the second
iteration to be so fast.

	Arijouya smirked. "You were expecting something slow? I've studied at the
Big Tibetan Dojo. You might remember me." She paused for dramatic effect. "I was
called Sexy Halo there. They kicked me out because my style was corrupted. In truth,
they feared me, for I had managed to improve on their style."

	Seki thought back, the name Sexy Halo ringing a bell. A student had been there
by that name, yes. Ikea had recognized her personal touches on the style, however.
'She's fighting with the dark side of the Furniture Combat. It is stronger, yes, but
it will consume her.' 'How does one fight it?' 'By being true to the Furniture
Combat style.'

	He thought. Her bed was bigger and heavier, and just as fast as his chair. Her
chi level was extraordinarilly high. He had an advantage, though. .... Somewhere.
Seki wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but he was sure there had to be one somewhere.

	Musing complete, he stood up, signalling that the fight should resume.
Arijouya did a couple of mock jabs with her bed in Seki's direction, but not moving
any closer. It was his turn to attack.

	Seki ran at her, chair out. "Rising Chair Fire!" he yelled, raising the chair
in a chi-enveloped uppercut. Arijouya anticipated this, however, and swatted the
uppercut aside with her bed, nearly wrenching the chair out of Seki's hands. 'Or
something,' he mentally added, landing in a crouch.

	"Surely you can do better than that." Arijouya laughed. It really wasn't a
nice laugh. "Try again," she said, her voice changing to a quick, flat demanding tone.

	Seki frowned, examing her defenses, then started probing them, with quick
jabs. Arijouya blocked them with minimal effort. "Quit trying to hit me, and hit me!
Are you a Furniture Warrior or are you someone who hits people with a chair!" she yelled.

	Seki frowned, shifting his grip, and then he tried again. "Rising Chair Fire!"
he cried, jumping up. As she moved to swat it away, he reversed the grip with a shout
of "Falling Chair Fire!" The angle of the chair to the bed was just right, and it rent
a tear along the surface of the bed. Arijouya pulled back quickly, holding her bed in
front of her like a body shield, but Seki kept up the assault. A jab here, a slap
there, strikes and blows, all hit the bed, driving her further back, but none getting
past her formidable defense.

	"Burning Bed Strike!" came the yell, as the bed ignited with flames. Seki paused
in his assault, and that was enough for Arijouya to spin on one foot, making a
full revolution, bed and all, in a split-second, and slam the flaming bed into his
side, the flames transferring from the bed to Seki upon contact.

	A burning Seki flew across the room, lighting the carpet he travelled over,
and the wall he ended at, aflame.

	"Stunning Bed Hurricane!"

	Panickedly, Seki rolled to his feet and held his chair up in defense. The
bed collided against the chair, and rebounded. In a lightning-quick motion, as if
she had anticipated the block, Arijouya shifted the direction of the spin to the
other direction, and Seki barely blocked the same attack coming from the other side.
The bed rebounded off the block again, but now Seki wasn't there to block it.

	Seki rolled away, behind Arijouya, and delivered a solid crack to the back of
her head. Arijouya stumbled forward drunkenly, and caught herself on the wall that Seki
so recently had hit.

	The flames started to spread, casting everything in a dull red glow,
with flickering bursts of orange.

	Seki stepped back, to let Arijouya recover. He think he had her figured
out. She liked combos, to chain attack after attack. If the first one didn't hit. And
she frequently overextended herself on attack. But, he reminded himself, you still had
to survive the blows. And that seemed to be a formidable task in and of itself. Her
defense was formidable as well, but she hadn't seemed to have mastered the art of
a simultaneous offense and defense.

	He noted the flames were spreading, and glanced around. The door behind him
was still shut, and the now-recovered Arijouya blocked the exit onwards.

~~~~

	There were lots of pretty lights. There were beeps, blips, blinks, flashes,
lens flares, pointy needles, and a black shard held ominously in one of the various
pincers. And there was Lumi, strapped to a table, most of the abovementioned things
pointed at her.

	"Ano.... Ijima-san?" she asked confusedly, the last thing Lumi remembering
chasing her.

	"Moo."

	"Who said that?" Lumi asked, looking around, and then sitting up.

	First of all, note that those were hardened restraints that kept her pinned
down. Also note that these restraints made a sickening 'pop' sound when she did sit
up against them. Yet still, note that Lumi had been heavily sedated not 10 minutes
before. Yet again, note that the one who had greeted her knew these things. Then
understand that was why he was blinking in confusion when Lumi spotted him.

	He made a perplexed face, muttering stress equations to himself. This was
unseen and unheard, due to the the cow-head mask that he wore, and Lumi not paying
any attention to him at all. "So strong... and we haven't started the process
yet! Excellent..."

	"Ne... what are all these pointy things doing pointed at Lumi-chan?" she
asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

	The cow-masked one glanced to the left nervously. "Well, you see... We were
going to put that shard into you, and make you more powerful." He neglected to
mention the part about stripping her of free will.

	Lumi blinked. And blinked again. "Ano.... but I don't want to be more
powerful... I want o/~ ice ku ri muuuu! o/~"

	The cow-masked one sweatdropped. "Uh... if you'll stay still just a moment..."
He picked up a needle, filled with a clear liquid, and approached Lumi.

	"Ano.... the cow is trying to stick a needle in Lumi-chan.... He wants
to play doctor!"

	The one in the cow-mask would have been very scared if he knew what was to
happen in the next few seconds.

	Speaking of the next few seconds, they were filled with loud explosions,
screams of pain and terror, and Lumi yelling lots of attack names.

	Lumi always did liked to play doctor. One of these days she was going to
get the hang of them staying concious after she beat them up, so she could ask
what's wrong.

~~~~

	"So, why -did- you tell Seki where to find Lumi? Humor me."

	The End of the Rug cupped his hands in front of his face, and turned to look
at the one making the request.

	"Akai, dear friend. Seki has reached the level I desired." He paused,
thinking. "I distract him with saving Lumi and the lie that Vanity is there too, the
Dark Warriors defeat him or be defeated. Either way works. Leaving Vanity to us,
without interference. And either way, in the end....." The End of the Rug paused
to laugh.

	"He shall be mine. As a armrest to a chair. He does not realize the path he
is on, in his blind fight in Vanity's behalf."

	"You forget. There is one thing he could do to yet escape your
manipulation," interupted Akai.

	The End of the Rug smiled mysteriously. "Yeah, but what are the chances of
him doing -that-?" A touch of arrogance accompanied the spoken words.

	"You're nuts."

	The End of the Rug, aka Andy, aka The Dark Side of the Bed, merely shrugged.
"It runs in the family."

~~~~

	Lumi-chan looked around. Cow-man was out cold, on the other end of the
room. And there wasn't a single thing left intact. The abovementioned black shard
sparkled prettily, catching the light just right to attract Lumi-chans attention.

	"Ooh! Pretty!" Lumi snatched it up. "Ano... It's not ice cream... I know! I'll
find the pretty lady!" Lumi proceeded to skip out the only surviving exit, merrily.
	
~~~~

	Thrust with the chair, blocked by bed. Bed swung, roll out of the way. Block,
parry, dodge, counter, strike, dodge, duck, dodge, dodge, block, counter. The heat
from the still-spreading fire only made Seki sweat more, as he weaved a complex
dance of chair vs bed. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up, but, as
if some sign from the Furniture Gods above, his opponent was starting to tire as well.

	Burning Bed Strike met Rising Chair Uppercut, met Stunning Bed Hurricane
met Cross Chair Slash, met a overhead slam, met thin air.

	"huff... huff. Arijouya, let... huff... us end this fight now." The flames
were getting dangerouly close to blocking off the exit onwards. But they were still
in the background of the screen, so weren't a -real- danger yet.

	"I would be glad to. Just stay still and don't move." Arijouyas voice
betrayed a little of the exhaustion that Seki was so intensely feeling.

	The little brat wouldn't stay still! After the first few minutes, he had
taken a definite defensive bent. And occasionally he had managed to get a solid blow
in. Her left ankle was still sore from one of them. She was too fast to let him get
in more than a blow, though. Even if she ran herself to the ground in the process,
she wouldn't allow herself to lose.

	The thought scared her. It was a very real possibility she could run herself
into the ground, this time. 'And lose.' some distant corner of her mind said, that
she refused to acknowledge. And that would be the end of Halo Chick Sexy, aka
Arijouya Ganbatte. '... going to both die!' Seki's voice caught up to her, getting
past her inner thoughts. She noted that she had been fighting on autopilot, unaware
of the exhaustion she was running herself through. 'Then run away. And forget
about Vanity,' she heard herself say. With an effort, she shook off the glaze from
her awareness.

	Just in time to see Seki narrow his eyes. "I cannot do that." He paused
for dramatic effect. "I promised Vanity I would protect her."

	Arijouya grinned. "You are quite mistaken. Vanity is far from needing protection."

	"I must also protect Lumi. She is under my care while in Tokyo," continued
Seki, not missing a beat.

	"What about Lumi-chan?" came a familiar, cheerful voice.

	Arijouya and Seki turned to face the new voice, confused. "But you're supposed
to be sed-" "Lumi! But I thought-"
	
	"Beautifal Lightbulb Barrage!"

	Arijouya was quite rudely interupted by several exploding lightbulbs.
Seki reflexively dived to one side. And then there was an unconcious Arijouya Ganbatte
on the ground.

	As if on cue, the structural supports, weakened by the raging fire in
the background, started collapsing, and the entrance by which Seki had entered from
opened just as ominously as it had closed before.

	Seki frowned, in a broodish way. "I must save Vanity. Lumi, please take her,"
he pointed to Arijouya, "to safety?"

	Lumi cheered happily. "Sure, 'nee-san!" She picked up the unconcious form
of Arijouya, and commenced to skip outside, heedless of the impending danger of
the flames. Arijouya bounced and flopped around in Lumi's grip like a rag doll, her
red dress reflecting the firelight.

	Seki's gaze followed the two, trying (hard) to convince himself that
Lumi wouldn't accidently break or drop her on the way.

	"o/~ Lumi-chans happy! Beat up a cow! But there's no ice cream....
o/~" The haphazard semblance of a melody to her words shattered.
"Ice-ku-ri-moooo! Ice-ku-ri-mmmmoooooo!"

	He tore his gaze away, and narrowed his eyes, looking down the way Lumi had
came from. Vanity was doubtless that way. He shouldered his chair, and took off at a run.

~~~~

	The one in the cow mask sat up, looking past the haze of swirling stars to
survey his altered surroundings. The destruction caused by that girl.... His heart
skipped a beat. The shard was gone! That girl must have taken it. That could
be.... very bad.

	There was a crash, and a yell of 'Cross Chair Slash!', and the rubble
blocking one of the entrances burst inwards. Seki stepped in, looking around. "Vanity!
Where are you?"

	"Lumi was here..." Seki murmured to himself. Nothing else came to mind
that could leave an area so utterly wrecked.

	"Vanity!" he called out again, searching through the rubble. He paused,
noticing the previous occupant.

	"Moo," came the greeting.

	"Where is Vanity?"

	The cow-masked one laughed. "I'm sorry. But the Rosewood Bride... is in
another secret lab."

~~~~

Blah? Yeah, blah. Not near as much time went into this as I'd of hoped. Fun, though,
once I hit critical mass. n.n

Arijouya- One of da Dark Warriors. Think Akuma. I was trying to parody the difference
between Akuma's shotokan and Ryu's shotokan with her, but I don't think I did that
too well. ^_^;;

Cow-guy- Another one of them. Too bad he didn't see much screentime. Not 'nuff
time. ;_; Think King/Armor King. With a Furniture Weapon.

Ryo- Long gone. Chardev stuff for Yashiko! I don't expect to ever ever see him.
But then again.... this -is- Impro, and I -did- name him....

Dankies prereaders! I'll add you in here whence you respond. =p


Next! On FURNITURE WARRIORS X!

WILL Yashiko continue to be a possessive fangirl?
HOW MANY Ice Cream Stores will Lumi wipe out?
WILL Seki use the Angst again?
WHAT can Seki do to escape the End of the Rugs plans?
WILL Seki cop out and use The Bed again?
WILL there be more fanservice next time? (I hope so!)
WHERE is Vanity?
WHO is the last Dark Warrior?
and just WHAT are our heroes going to do with the SHARD? (see the next section!)

Find out next time!

On:

'Tortoise Shell Ladders'

or

'Eternal Varnish!'

~~~~

	Lumi-chan dropped Arijouya on the sidewalk, and sat down herself. "Seeeki!
Where are you?" she called out. No response forthcoming, she pulled out the black
shard she had gotten from all the pointy needle things, tossing it up and down.
"Lumi-chan wonders what this is... I don't think you eat it. I know! It's a knife!
... no, it's not a knife. It's a bird! ... but it dosen't have any wings...."

	Seki burst out of the building, looking slightly burnt, and a lot worse for
wear. "Huff... huff... Vanity's... huff.... not there..." That said, he slumped
against the wall, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.

	Lumi blinked. "Seki-oneesan, what's this?" she asked, holding out the shard.

	Seki opened his eyes, with some effort. "Lumi-chan, let me see that,
please?" he asked, holding out one hand. Lumi handed it over, watching curiously.
Seki looked it over. "This... ... I'm not sure. I have a suspicion as to what this is,
but I don't want to say until I'm sure." Seki looked at Lumi square in the eyes.
"I'm going to hold onto this for you, okay?"

	"Okay!" Lumi-chan chirped. And proceeded to chase a butterfly. Because
it was pretty.