Last Revised: Never

    "Maaan~...how unlucky can one guy get?" Yorukai moaned and laced his fingers behind his head. "First Ame-chan disappears, then David gets in trouble because of me, then my dramatic exit is ruined by being seen by those Senshi, and now I'm stuck in a dungeon with bad tasting food!" Yorukai growled as he jumped to his feet to pace back and forth in the tiny cell. "Maaan... I've never been trapped in one place this long! I've got to find a way out!" 

    "I doubt you're going to get out if you keep on talking so loudly." An irritated person in the next cell said, "Planning a secret escape means, you DON'T shout your plans at the top of your lungs!"

    "Yeah!" Somebody down the hall hollered, "And some of us are trying to sleep here!" 

    "Keep it down over there!" A heavy metal object clanged against the bars of Yorukai's cell, missing his fingers by a hair's breadth. "It's your fault that we're stuck in here! The least you can do is shut up and stop getting the rest of us in trouble!"

    "Yeah! You've done enough damage!"

    Yorukai shrunk back from the chorus of accusations and insults that erupted from the other captive warriors.  It was then that he realized that just maybe he went a little too far when he was trying to lure them to the mansion. Well, it was a little late for sorry's to work now, so he would have to think of some other way to redeem himself in their eyes.  

    "Or at least," he mused while laying down on the cot that was a nice safe distance from the bars, "I need a way to make them not-as-mad at me."

    Several hours passed before the last echoes faded away, leaving nothing but silence to decorate the dungeon's halls. The others had finally grown tired of insulting suddenly very silent and well behaved Yorukai. By now, they had all either fallen asleep or were too busy nursing sore throats from yelling at the people that were yelling at him to shut up. 

    It was quite fortunate for Yorukai that he had learned the fine art of when to be patient when it mattered the most. 

    While the others were creating a much needed distraction to occupy the poor overworked guard's attention, Yorukai had busied himself with studying the locking mechanism on the cell door in the flickering light from the guard's lantern. It seemed like it was a simple iron door with an simple lock that could be easily picked. In fact, if Yorukai had something to work with, he could have been free. 

    But, unfortunately, all of the necessary tools were still sitting in his jacket. On his desk. In his room. In Tokyo. He didn't think that escaping a locked cage would happen today so he didn't think to bring anything useful. After all, Amefuri was missing and all he planned to accomplish before beginning his own investigation was to help David find his mysterious brother. 

    Yorukai was content to behave himself for now. What else could he do? An impulsive senshi down the corridor had already tried to blast her way out of the cell but with no luck. She only managed to set herself and her neighbours on fire when her attack rebounded. Good thing a warrior with water powers was near-by. And since Yorukai was in no big hurry to burn himself to a flaming crisp, he had to wait for an opportunity to present itself. 

    Yorukai sighed and tried to make himself more comfortable on the lumpy cot.

    "Smart guards. What a total let down, but I knew it couldn't be that easy to escape." He pulled the blanket around his body in a vain attempt to keep warm. "The least they could've done was leave some clues about how to escape from this place or something. Honestly, what terrible hosts. These must be the most inconsiderate kidnappers I've ever had." 

    Several hours passed before something unusual drew Yorukai's consciousness back to his surroundings just as he was beginning to fall asleep.

    Not one to question instincts, he did have an unusual lucky streak that allowed him to escape unscathed many times in the past, Yorukai rolled out of bed and stretched his senses to their limits. He pressed his face close to the stone floor, hoping to find something useful. It was then that he felt the distant rumble of... something... vibrating though the stones. A tainted power.

    'Fierce winds... different from the ones ruling this place'

    Yorukai focused his full attention on the vibrations and the energy they were giving off. 

    'There. Someone surrounded by a burning aura... is struggling against the winds.'

    "And... something powerful just grew weaker." Yorukai rose slowly, carefully brushing the dirt from his hands before smoothening the wrinkles from his clothing. "To the West." Frowning, he crossed his arms and studied the walls of his prison once more. Before, he was content to wait for a chance to escape but now, he wasn't that certain that it would be a good idea. If something that powerful could be subdued by their captors, then what would they have in store for the captive warriors? Nothing pleasant, that was certain.

    "I have to get out of here."

* * *

    After completing another tour of the cell's interior, Yorukai was still no closer to an escape plan. "What I need to do... is to either trick a guard into opening the door... or get the door open myself. But neither one is going to be that easy..." He absently twisted his braid around his fingers while he thought. "If I do get the door open, I need to find a way to keep the guard from crying out for help or things could get really inconvenient." Yorukai paused when he heard the guards walking down the hall. It must be time for their evening meal. 

    An evil grin spread across his face. "Good things comes to those who wait." 

    He waited until the guards were occupied with somebody just around the corner before reaching between the bars of his cell to grab a nice sturdy spoon and one of large rocks that his companions were kind enough to supply him with. Since the doors were held on by a bolt through hinges, getting out consisted of the simple matter of getting the bolt out. He knew that it wouldn't long before the sound of attempted escape would alert the guards to his activity. 

    "HEY! You in there!" A rough voice shouted at Yorukai, "What do you think you're doing?" 

    'Right on time.' Yorukai gave them a winning smile. "Nooooo~thing," he answered brightly and returned to attempting to free himself.

    The guard looked over at his companion and they whispered to each other, uncertain about the protocol for a situation like this. What should they do? Stop him? Let him be? There wasn't anything in training that covered a situation like this. They failed to reach any kind of agreement, other than to try and get the disturbed man to stop wrecking the door. All the while, Yorukai merrily pounded away at the hinges while whistling a cheerful tune. 

    "Can I borrow this? Thanks!" Yorukai's arm flashed out of the cell to snatch a fork from a tray that one of the guards held. "I'll only be a minute!"   

    "St... stop that!" The second guard recovered and tried to retrieve the utensil. "Give me that!" He lunged for the fork, only to have his efforts rewarded by having said fork stabbed into his hand.

    "Hey, this is mine! Get your own!" Yorukai blinked innocently at the two and waved a finger at them. "And you were just going to give me the fork anyway, so does it really matter that I grabbed it myself?" He grinned and began trying to pry the bolt free. 

    Again, the guards were shocked into immobility. They had never encountered a prisoner that was so... graceless. He wasn't even trying to hide what he was doing! 

    "You know that won't work..." The second guard protested, "Even if you do get the door down, you'll have us and the rest of the castle guard to fight. We'll just catch you again, you know. Then you'll be in a far more unpleasant cell than you are now, so you might as well give up now and save both of us the trouble." 

    Yorukai paused and made a great show of thinking it over. "Well... okay." He obediently handed over the rock. The fork and spoon followed, but both utensils were now twisted beyond recognition. "But I'm only doing this because I just thought of a faster way to get out."  

    "And what way is this?" The guard asked warily. 

    "We~ell..." Yorukai smiled sweetly, "I can just ask that guy in the green cape to let me out!"  

    The guard twisted around in time to see a heavy metal tray before it connected with his face. 

* * *

    "Thanks for your help!" Yorukai said as he tightened the last rope around the guard's wrists. "My arms were really getting tired from all that hammering." 

    "Hey, no problem!" The young man with the green towel cape returned Yorukai's grin. "I'm Ryuno Tate! Defender of the innocent and source of trouble for the castle guards!" 

    "Tate, eh? Very happy to meet you. I'm Chikawa Yorukai," he shook Tate's offered hand and grinned over his shoulder at the unconscious guards. "I almost feel sorry for them..."

    Tate laughed and examined the dented tray in his hands. "They'll definitely have one killer headache when they wake up." He tossed the tray aside and looked around. "I thought I heard other voices down here, but you were the only one I found."

    "Nah, I bet they're all just sleeping."  Yorukai peered into the neighbouring cell. Empty. "...but they were just here..." He scratched his head in confusion. "Where could they have gone? They couldn't just disappear, could they?" 

    "Maybe they were moved when you were sleeping?"

    "Yeah, that's probably it," Yorukai nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've also got some trouble to cause and a friend to find."  

    Tate peered into the murky darkness stretching out before them. "I don't suppose you know where the guards keep their other keys, do you?"

    A wicked grin spread across Yorukai's face. "No.... but I've got a pretty good idea where to look," He winked at Tate and made a shooing motion. "Now why don't you run along and cause some trouble in another wing? I'm pretty sure I can keep them busy here." 

    Tate answered Yorukai's grin with one of his own. "Good luck!" He called out and waved to the man before running off. "And try to keep out of sight!

* * *

    "Hurry! There's someone trying to escape!"  

    Yorukai waited managed to duck inside a hidden alcove without being seen. There were too many people walking around for him to try and make a run for it, especially when he looks like he's just been rolling around in the dirt. The sound of footsteps echoed ominously in the darkened hall. 

    It was then that a muffled cry of pain followed by mild cursing drifted through the wall he was leaning against. Yorukai pressed farther back into the shadows, hoping that nobody would come looking for the noise. As he strained his ears for the sound of an alarm being raised, Yorukai thought that he could hear some snatches of conversation.

    "...What do you think we should do with her?" 

    "How should I know? The last time I tried to gag her, she bit me!" There was a long pause, followed by the sound of laughter. "It's not funny! She drew blood! See?" 

    "Well, it's your fault for taunting her, then getting within biting range." 

    "Just be thankful that we managed to tie her to the chair, or you'd be in REAL trouble!"

    Yorukai's interest was piqued. It sounded like the guard room was just on the other side with a hostage. A rather strong-willed girl. 'Maybe this is the girl I sensed...' he pressed up against the wall, hoping to catch more of the conversation. 

    Then the "wall" swung open and deposited him in a unceremonious heap on the floor. 

    Yorukai slowly picked himself up and took a look at the room. It was filled with dangerous men with sharp weapons, staring down at him. Just behind the tall guard nursing a sore hand was a grouchy looking girl, unaware of the blood dribbling down her chin as she glared defiantly at the room. Before Yorukai could get a good look at the girl, one of the men stepped into his line of sight. He slowly raised his eyes to meet his nervous reflection in the blade held by a glowering man dressed in the uniform of the castle. 

    "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

    "Ahaha...." Yorukai swallowed hard and forced a bright smile onto his face. "Don't mind me, I'm just looking for a friend of mine! I swear that I didn't hear anything or do anything. Really!" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as the guard pressed his blade a little closer. "Once I find her, we'll just be on our way and out of your hair! You'll never see us again! Promise!"

    The girl froze, dark amethyst eyes growing wide with disbelief. 'No. NO. It couldn't be. Oh god, please don't let it be him!'

    "Hey, perhaps you've seen her?" Yorukai continued quickly, "She's kinda short, has dark purple hair and eyes... is kinda violent...and she's normally looks like this." He put on a comical glower and made strangle motions with his hands. "Have you seen her?"

    "Well..." One of them began, "That sounds an awful lot like our pris..." But before he could finish his sentence, the girl cried out and kicked the nearest guard in the back. 

    "That guy's not one of you! Stop helping him and start trying to kill him or something!" 

    Yorukai's face lit up with a nauseatingly happy grin. "Ame-CHAN! I found yooou!"

    "No! You didn't find me! I'm NOT here!" Amefuri shook her head violently and shouted at the guards again. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! Catch him!"

    "B...but Ame-chaaan!" Yorukai's eyes welled up with tears. "I came all this way to save you! The least you could do is thank me!" 

    "No, the least I could do is it THIS!" Amefuri bellowed at the top of her lungs, "HELP! The escaped prisoner is in here! Hurry! Before he gets away!"

    "A..AME!" Yorukai yelped and whirled around to brace the door shut. "What're you doing? I'm on your side!" 

    "Yeah, isn't this guy your friend?" said one of the guards asked.

    "He's NOT my friend and I don't need his help to escape!" Amefuri snarled, "WHY aren't you attacking him?!" 

    The guards looked at each other and shrugged. Far be it for them to get in the middle of a lover's spat. What mattered at the moment was keeping the two of them from causing more trouble. As they moved to grab Yorukai's arms, he lunged past them and towards Amefuri, only to be stopped by several men inserting themselves between Yorukai and the door.  

    "Let her GO!"

    "Make me." A man dressed in a slightly different uniform from the others pointed at the guards next to Amefuri. "You two, come with me. We're going to take this troublemaker to the Cube. Everyone else, get that intruder!" The man picked Amefuri up, chair and all, and hurried out of the room while Yorukai watched helplessly from the other side of the room.

    "You heard him," One of them shouted. "Let's GO!" 

* * *

    Yorukai wiped his bloodied lip with a corner of his sleeve and pressed his back against the cool stone wall. 'At least I know that Amefuri is still alive.' He had underestimated the strength that those guards had and paid for it by allowing them to score a few good hits before managing to escape. 'But that's what I get for being overconfident.'

    A weak laugh escaped his throat as he gently poked at the purplish bruise spreading down his arm. This was truly turning out to be one of the worst days of his life. 

    "Hmm... I've had worse, but at least I learned something from this." he sighed and smoothed his hair back into place.  "I can't beat them with brute strength, so that means I've got to outsmart them. The question is... how?"