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"We lost him. It was just too dark," Tsuzuki said, relating the story of their chase the next morning.

"I wonder what Mat-gwas is up to?" Watari asked twirling a lock of long blonde hair between his fingers thoughtfully.

"I think there was someone else out there as well," Hisoka said.

"Yes, I can hardly imagine a rabbit playing the flute. Even a rabbit god," Watari said.

"What direction was he headed in?" Jarrett asked. Tsuzuki waved his hand in the vague direction.

"Well, I think we should try to find him. His strange behavior is the closest thing we've had to a lead so far," Watari said.

The group gathered their things, Byakko bounding ahead as they made their way in the direction Tsuzuki and Hisoka had headed the night before.

It was a strange part of the forest. The trees grew thicker, and the sunlight was all but obscured by the canopy of vegetation above them. It was the only area they'd encountered so far with thick undergrowth, and Byakko fearlessly crashed a path for them as he went. The ground was littered with strange, fleshy toadstools in unusual colors here and there, giving the air a heady, musty scent as they trod on them.

"I feel kind strange," Hisoka murmured, clutching his head. Tsuzuki was about to reach out to steady him when the boy fell to his knees. Tsuzuki knelt beside him as everyone else came to a halt. Hisoka's skin was burning to the touch as Tsuzuki placed a hand to his face.

"Are you all right, little one?" Watari asked with concern, pulling out a flask and holding it beneath Hisoka's nose. The boy drank greatfully, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and handing it back to Watari, his eyes dark and his breath coming quickly.

"He must be feeling pretty bad if he willingly drank something you gave him," Tsuzuki said, watching Hisoka's face closely.

Watari was about to respond, when they all turned, hearing laughter from the trees. Gazing upward, they saw a strange man with a boyish face, his hair in long braids that stuck out in every direction. He gazed down on them with sparkling eyes of an odd pinkish hue, holding a flute to his lips and beginning to play a hypnotic tune.

xxxx

"Where am I?" Tsuzuki heard Hisoka echo his sentiments from somewhere beside him. Hisoka's voice was joined by other disoriented groans, as Tsuzuki sat up and shook his head to clear his blurred vision. He and the others appeared to have been laid out head to toe in a large buckskin tent.

"Are you guys okay?" Byakko said, peeking into the tent, his light blue eyes reflecting red in the dim light.

"What happened?" Hy asked, sitting up from where he'd been laid near the tent's entrance. Byakko slipped in and sat beside him.

"The flute god guy, he played some weird little song that knocked you guys right out, only it didn't knock me out, and he and these weird little people started dragging you off and I told them not to but they wouldn't listen to me!" Byakko rambled in one breath, looking at the others anxiously. "I'm sorry."

"You could have stopped them if you wanted to, baka cat," Hisoka muttered, pulling himself onto his feet and grumbling something about a sorry excuse for a guardian shiki. Byakko's lip trembled.

"It's okay, Byakko. Or at least I think it is. Where are we?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Um -- he said his name was Kokopelli, and I guess this is where he lives," Byakko said. "Honestly, guys, if they'd done anything to hurt any of you I'd have attacked them, but well -- they're so cute!"

The five shinigami exited the tent, preceded by Byakko, and stood staring in wonder at the strange sight that greeted them. They were in the middle of what appeared to be some enchanted village built entirely above the forest floor. They stood on a broad walkway that continued around a perimeter of enormous trees, which each were each occupied by huts and tents that seemed to shimmer with eerie lights of every imaginable hue. There were strange little whispers and titters of laughter coming from all around them, though there was no one else to be seen among the trees or on the walkway.

"Okay, this is seriously starting to freak me out," Hisoka said with a shiver as the men looked around in vain for any source of the voices.

"Where did all the little people go?" Byakko asked sadly, scratching his head.

"Hello," a cheerful voice from somewhere above them spoke, startling them greatly. They turned and looked up to see the man from before sitting casually on a high branch, his pink eyes sparkling. He seemed to glide down from his perch as he landed before them, revealing his diminutive height. He looked up at them with a smile, and bowed deeply.

"Greetings! I am Kokopelli, and I welcome you most graciously to my kingdom!" the little man announced, his multiple braids framing his face from beneath a crown of leaves and wildflowers.

"Oh, I think I've heard of this fellow!" Watari exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands. "He's the god of love and lust in Native American mythology! He's also a bit of a pop culture icon to American neo-hippies!"

Kokopelli abruptly turned away, ignoring the men and began chatting away merrily in a language they did not understand to no one in particular.

"He's also a bit off his rocker, looks like," Hy whispered.

Kokopelli swung around back towards them, stumbling slightly and cackling.

"Come, come! The feast is this way!" the little god said, dropping over the edge of the walkway and floating to the ground.

"Now's our chance! Let's get out of here!" Hisoka cried, starting to bolt before he saw the others weren't behind him. He slowly made his way back, following the disbelieving gaze of his companions to where Tsuzuki was happily shimmying down a rope ladder in pursuit of Kokopelli.

"Come on guys! There's food!" Tsuzuki called, seeming puzzled by their hesitation.

"He's a complete idiot," Hisoka said in wonder, shaking his head. "Offer him food, and he completely forgets we were abducted."