Arubi ran through another corridor that led him into a big, round hall. As he entered, his friend dashed from the opposing passage. Together, they stopped their stride in front of a huge terminal around a wide column.

It comprised several floors connected with a ladder. Red buttons lit the panels around the central pillar, ready to be smashed, and it would be really a let down if one wasn't the Doom Day's Device launcher. Along the center ran cables, smaller pipes, and tubes, reaching to the ceiling. Apart from it, the balls of dust all over the room formed independent countries and cults.

The leader of the bandits, Goro, stood at the top floor. Kairo rubbed under his nose with a confident smirk like some blue pincushion. "Give it up, Fatman!" he shouted.

"This isn't over yet!" the bandit yelled and dug his left leg into the railing, bending it. A mass of bodies sprinted out from behind the main pipe. "One hundred gold coins to anybody who brings me his hand." His minions, while brainless, looked confused. "I mean, head! Head!" he barked, purple in the face, showering the bandits below with his saliva drops.

Kairo placed his hand on his chest and sighed. What a scare. Broad guys aren't my type. As the flood of bandits ran at them, the boy asked his partner, "Is he pulling them from a magic hat?"

"What am I? Alec Azam?"

Kairo would argue, but a more important matter hit his brain. Blood rushed into his body as his fists balled. A bear bandit lifted an ax to slash the boy. Kairo's eyes sparkled, and wide-sweep with his umbrella tripped the enemy.

"My head!" he barked as he kicked the next attacker. "Isn't..." He sprung into the air and let the groups under him clash. "That..." He landed on a heap of painful cries, leaping higher. His wagasa swirled through the air, slamming the free space among the bandits, sending a shockwave that knocked most of the bandits. "Cheap!" The boy's hair fluttered.

"Ninja~!" Arubi and his trusted pair of carrots took care of a good bunch while providing the rabbit with a tasty snack. Most of his victims ended up in somersaults, but some didn't go with the flow and face-planted themselves.

While the duo busied themselves with beating their path through, Goro was yelping and jerking in place of his unconscious comrades. His big hands came in handy when he needed to cover his eyes to not witness painful downfalls. After this fight, he'd have to do the paperwork to write off many of his dumb— ehm, valuable employees.

Despite the vast number of enemies, the bounty hunters finished their daily routine within ten minutes. Kairo rubbed the sweat from his forehead while Arubi nibbled on the green tops of carrots.

"I sure hope he doesn't have more of them in his sleeves!" huffed the boy despite the ogre having no sleeves. Before his partner could answer, the jumping, jerking, yelping Goro fencing with his arms brought their attention. His face twisted, darkening his features, and many uncomprehending syllables escaped through his bared teeth.

"Is he using some long-forgotten ritual to call dark forces?" the rabbit asked, munching his carrot like popcorn.

"No way."

"Why not?" Arubi's long ear twitched. "This looks like an ancient ritual to me."

"You can't remember or find something that's forgotten. It can't remain forgotten if you have found it." Kairo pointed with his thumb toward the ogre whose face turned purple. "It's a recently found ancient ritual."

Arubi's ears folded, and his eyes narrowed. Kairo had no appreciation for history.

Goro calmed down, putting his left leg over the right knee. Both his hands were holding it, and he blew on his toes. "I stubbed my little toe." Both bounty hunters collapsed on the floor.

"Enough of this!" shouted Kairo, jumping on his feet. The boy dashed toward the hugest terminal, springing into the air. He swirled his wagasa above his head with both arms before he slammed the spot where Goro stood. The ogre avoided the hit by rolling away.

The impact created a hollow in the panel. Kairo retracted his weapon as sparks danced around the opening, and the whole column started to light up a floor-by-floor. Cold sweat covered the young bounty hunter as a sense of great danger washed over him.

The entire room shook when a mechanical voice announced, "T-Thank you... oosing... travel agen... Please, fasten... belts..."

"What's this?" Kairo shouted, holding onto the nearest panel as the building leaned backward.

"I have no-no idea!" yelled the ogre, grasping the railing with his whole body.

A villain on batteries! Great! Kairo snorted as his partner slid down the floor despite the All-Paw-Drive. The boy jumped on the unstable floor. At the same moment, the whole building jerked, and he flipped on his face. With his red face, he slid to the nearest round window. He grabbed the frame and almost bit his tongue as the floor did another acrobatic trick under his feet.

"What's that?" he barked as he glimpsed of the outside world. Kairo had to press his face against the glass, as he couldn't believe it. "This place is moving! Is this... a desert cruiser?" He always thought they were all sold into the iron industry by metal diggers fifty years ago, but he couldn't deny the iron giant that sailed forward, leaving clouds of sand behind. "Arubi! We have to stop this!"

The rabbit pulled a grappling hook made of bananas from his bag and tossed it toward Kairo. The boy caught it and pulled his partner up.

"I may know how!" the rabbit noted once he latched on Kairo's shoulder. "I saw a big propeller with crystals around it!"

"Okay!"

Together, they dashed across the jerking floor that leveled itself, so gravitation didn't try to lead them astray. Kairo with Arubi rushed around groups of thieves; some individuals jumped off the windows with parachutes on their backs. The rat ones preferred their tea party at five. No wonder they were missing during fights. With everybody else leaving the vessel, they reached the big hall with the motor of the ship where the propeller whistled and hummed. One blade sent rays of sparks—a sign of defectiveness.

Kairo growled. This thing was huge. "Those jewels must be its power source!" He looked at his rabbit partner, and with a nod, they jumped into action.

The constant waves of sparks made their job annoying, but it wasn't a big problem. Kairo smashed the crystal in the left corner and avoided the rain of sparkles. He didn't need to catch fire; he was hot stuff.

Explosions caught Kairo's attention, showing that Arubi threw a pumpkin bomb at the top tier. The boy spread his umbrella to block the falling remains. His second gem was embedded in its socket with a metallic grid and glass under it protecting the main body.

"Like that will stop me!" He slashed his weapon across, bending the metal bars, and the third hit sent them flying. The glass case resisted Kairo's stabs until spiderweb spread over it. The next impact shattered the pulsating gem. Kairo watched it slowly die. Arubi, meanwhile, slashed his own crystal into pieces, and the shards rained on the boy.

"Dang it!" he hissed, rubbing them out.

He looked up, stepping aside from his spot. Arubi was in the middle of a jump, attaching a small mandarin on the crystal's surface. The rabbit retreated as the blast shattered the last power source into smithereens. With a few leaps, he stopped next to Kairo, and both observed their handy work.

"It's not slowing down!" Kairo snarled, biting his lip.

"We have inertia," Arubi reminded him, "the ship will stop on its own."

"That's good to know." He folded his arms.

Both of them bristled as the mechanical voice spoke once more, "...ext stop..."—The voice jammed for a moment—"... in five minutes. Please, gather..."

Both bounty hunters turned blue.

"Oh, crab!" the boy shouted, and Arubi latched on his shoulder.

They, or more precisely, Kairo dashed toward the nose of the cruiser. He busted the door open as he bolted through, and the lurching of the ship almost threw him over the railing.

"The city!" they yelled in unison as the boy caught his balance.

The evening and a front collision were upon it.

"We have to change the course! Now!" Kairo shouted.

Arubi jumped down and threw ten pumpkin bombs in front of the moving giant. The metal mass vibrated, and it perhaps moved an inch, but the collision was inevitable. The next batch of watermelon variants followed, but not even they helped.

"Don't you have anything better?" the boy snapped, sweeping with his arms. The city got closer by each second.

"Just a sec!" Arubi searched his sack for something more powerful. His ears twitched as his paws found a small strawberry.

"Seriously?" Kairo's eyes narrowed when he saw how Arubi raised it above his head victoriously. His partner smirked and opened his muzzle to explain when the ogre jumped at them.

"I got you now!" Goro clutched Kairo in the bear hug, crushing his bones. The Oni turned around, and the boy's leg kicked Arubi. The small berry fell out of his paw, landing off the ship's nose.

Goro's triumphant smirk lasted only for two and a half seconds as the tiny bomb exploded, lifting the ship in the air. The shockwave pushed it out of the way and tilted it.

The leader of the bandits let go of the boy, and his gaping mouth and wide eyes reflected his immediate concerns about his own safety.

Kairo wasn't any better. He caught his rabbit partner by his ears at the last moment, but his free hand missed the railing. They glanced at how the ground got farther and farther away.

The fact Goro was in the air with them didn't make either feel better about their airborne situation. If nothing else, the gravitation pulled fat Goro into its hug sooner. The landing was barely worthy of a point, but the triple somersault earned him nine points.

The sand wave washed over him as it consumed the buildings in its way. Goro barely kept his head above the layer of sand, with dust clouds around him.

His heart threatened to jump out of his chest. He couldn't believe his own eyes he'd met them! The Legendary Duo all villains, criminals, and thugs spoke in whispers.

With a trembling voice and tearing eyes, he mumbled, "It's them! The Greenest Ninja... and the Samurai with the red umbrella!"

Kairo coughed, wiping the sand from his clothes with his hand as the other held his backside. It was anything but a soft landing, but at least nobody saw him. His ego remained intact.

"The Albinos!" Goro yelled before he lost consciousness.

Kairo had a sheepish smile. "Yup, that's us. Want an autograph?"

His partner shook off most of the sand, but his fur was full of it. Before he could calculate how many baths he'd need, his partner yelled, "Zombies!" Kairo kicked in the air to free his leg from the sudden grasp, before he jumped on his legs, getting further from his spot.

More hands emerged from the sand, and the rabbit hopped on Kairo's head away from the prying fingers. Soon, whole bodies followed, but they weren't zombies; just angry citizens.

Kairo smiled widely. "Howdy? What lovely weather we have? Do you think the mushrooms will grow?"

"The Albinos, huh?" asked one man with a sharp twitch in his eyes, gripping an ax.

The boy stepped back. "I'd love to chat, but I... got the laundry to do." He pointed over his shoulder, the sheepish smile still plastered on his face.

"This is your doing!" shouted a woman with a frying pan.

"Let's not get too hasty here." He put hands in front of him calmly and to keep his distance from them. More people had risen from the sand, and it didn't seem they were eager to invite him for a coffee break. "I'm sure there are many young bandits who can help you clean."

Arubi made the saddest rabbits eyes he could with his ears drooping, but he scanned the area around, searching for an escape path.

"Hmmm!" a familiar voice called them.

They glanced to the left, as Principal Ehm ran toward them. Actually, it was less running and more bouncing like a ball.

"My Donut!" shrieked the cat ropewalker, running with her open arms. Her eyes sparkled with hearts.

"Retreat!" Kairo yelled and dashed away in the blink of an eye. Arubi latched his paws into his scalp to not fall.

"Catch them!" Half of the furious crowd shouted.

"Lynch them!" the other half yelled.

"Uuum!" Principal Ehm hummed.

Kairo took the small chest out of his pocket, jumped into the air, pivoting and threw the treasure box at the Principal. The chest hit the round man in the forehead in the middle of his bouncing. The box opened, showering Principal Ehm with paperclips.

"Unuad!" he shouted as his body rolled, knocking down the civilians.

"Hey!" another familiar voice called the duo but with no malicious intent. "Need a ride-e?" Old Goat caught up to them, driving a desert raccoon's trailer.

Arubi didn't wait and jumped inside. Kairo grabbed the edge of the cart. "Thanks!"

"It is one-e hundred of golden coins per mile, moo-e-e-e!" He laughed.

Kairo let go as the ridiculous price bewildered him. More sand invaded his hakama pants, but he didn't care. With the crowd refusing to give up the chase, he quickened his pace and caught up to the trailer. "Can't I get a child discount?"

The Old goat smirked. "That is ninety-nine-e gold coins."

"That's still expensive!" the boy argued.

"Then you can"—Old Goat looked over his shoulder—"ride-e with her."

Kairo needed only a glance to change his mind. A dashing araguma with a wildcat rider burst through the crowd. "My Donut!" the Konketsu girl yelled, her voice piercing the air.

"Fine!" Kairo threw his hands into the air and jumped inside of the cart. "Just step on it!"

"With pleasure-e!" Old Goat intonated, and the cart moved faster.

Kairo watched the crowd until only the floating dust remained above the horizon. He slid down the seat, allowing his body to relax, but his peace of mind lasted only for a few minutes.

"My Donut! I'm coming!" Her shriek would make even baldy bristle.

A peek over the edge told the boy the cat ropewalker refused to give up. A bathing sponge attached to a stick gave the araguma extra motivation to move forward.

"She's getting closer!" The boy grabbed Old Goat's shoulder, shaking him.

"Can not be-e helped"— The Old Goat nodded—"She-e is faster."

"We have to toss something out!" Kairo searched the small space for any worthless item. A sparkle appeared in Old Goat's eye, and with a quick push, he kicked Kairo off the cart. "Hey!"

"I'm coming, my Donut!"

"Oh, no, no!" he barked as a shiver ran down his spine and dashed after the cart.

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