Well, I finished part 4, so here's part 3. E-mail me if you missed prior
parts, as I can't put this up on my web page yet (my web access is a little
limited- I'm temporarily accessing my e-mail from a computer without a
GUI... a 286 which sometimes has some scary bugs in it, but I'll keep using
it until I can set up my real computer, which may take a while, as part of
it is being serviced...) I'll be sending out part 4 either when I finish
part 5 or in one week, whichever comes first (my guess is the latter). I
hope I'm not rushing this, now- my girlfriend (as is explained in the
author's notes (which, along with the disclaimer, are in part 1) she is the
person who told me to write this fic, with some of her own specifications)
had basically said that we aren't going to see each other outside of the
one class we share until I finish this thing, so I'm really trying to work
on this thing much faster. By the way, I would dearly love some C&C, an
MST, or something- I've gotten little less than a half dozen people telling
me they like this thing, but no-one has said anything useful, and I KNOW
there's room for improvement, even if its just to pick up on some grammer
point- I don't proofread, check for cohesion, or even spellcheck until
after someone else has seen what I've written (stream of consciousness
theory) and I know that I had to have messed up SOMEWHERE in this.
Anyway, enough ranting and raving. Here's part 3:
------------
The next day, at Ucchan's Okonamiyaki, seven people showed up to discuss
the duel.
"Can I talk to all the representatives?" Nabiki asked. Ranma, Desaix, and
Mikado all walked up to the table Nabiki sat at, while the three girls sat
in various seats along the counter. Desaix was sporting a rather nasty
bruise from when he turned Buriko into B.B. that morning ("I told you to
bring me back last NIGHT, dammit!" B.B. complained) but was otherwise
pretty relaxed. Ranma was his usual self- fairly bored with the goings on,
since things didn't involve him to much at that point. Mikado, on the
other hand, was eying Ranma nervously- at the last Charlotte Cup, Mikado
had been sent to the hospital for three months, in part by Ranma's blow to
his ribs (cracking several of them) and in part for a fight that had
occurred a few days beforehand, where Ranma had successfully hit him 501
times, and Mikado definately didn't want that to happen to him again. He
looked over at Akane and sighed. 'I guess I shall never be able to give
her my special greeting- not while this ridiculously overpowered warrior
stands in my way....'
Konatsu came up to their table, pen and pad in hand. "What'll be your
orders today?" he asked.
"Uh, where's Ucchan?" Ranma asked loudly. Akane, within hearing distance,
hmphed. "I want to find out if she's all right after that conversation we
had," he said a bit quieter.
Konatsu frowned. "She wasn't happy at first, but... well... I think she's
okay now. She's making some deliveries across town." Ranma frowned a bit.
"Ah... I suppose that's okay. Um, I'll have a deluxe special."
"Pork okonamiyaki for me, thanks," Desaix ordered. Nabiki and Mikado both
declined.
"Okay, on to business," Nabiki said. "First off, has anyone decided to
withdraw from the competition before it even starts?" There was silence.
"Very well. Now, each contestant is supposed to have come up with two
different competitions for the 2nd Charlotte Cup competition, and I'm
supposed to have come up with one. I will announce mine first, and then
you each will announce your associates in turn." Everyone around the table
nodded in comprehension (well, Ranma may have been nodding off, but he did
seem to respond as if he understood) allowing Nabiki to continue. She
pulled out a pencil and paper and started writing down the contest ideas,
starting with her own. "Okay, as it turns out, I've very recently bought
600 sets of designer post cards for 50 yen each- I got a huge discount for
buying bulk. My contest will have each competitor attempt to sell 200 of
these sets at 500 yen each- the person who has sold the most at the end of
the day, or, if there is a tie, the first person to sell out, wins first,
second most or second sold out is second, etc. Okay, who wants to go
next?"
Mikado raised his hand first, and Nabiki nodded in his direction. "The
first competition Azusa wants is a cuteness competition. The person who
dresses up the cutest and who is judged, by a panel, to be the cutest, will
win." B.B., hearing this, smiled devilishly, but Akane frowned anxiously.
Mikado continued. "The second competition Azusa wants to ask for is a
cooking competition. The person who is able to make the best meal, from
scratch, is the winner. This, also, is to be judged by a panel." Akane's
frown grew greater, and Ranma suddenly snapped awake, and started to look
nervous. 'Oh, man,' he thought, 'Akane'll want to win that one so badly
that she's going to push her so-called cooking at me until she kills me,
just so as to get some practice. This is not good...'
Desaix went next. "Okay, I really don't like this, but B.B.'s insisting,
so..." Desaix sighed in resignation. "The first contest she wants to have
will require nine special judges- three Catholic priests, 3 Buddhist monks,
and 3 Shinto priests- I'm afraid I'll have to disqualify myself on that
one. The contest is..." Again, he gave that sigh. "A contest of Virtue.
One representative priest of each religion will follow each of the three
girls around all day. At the end of the day, the priests will come
together, and they will all vote on who is most virtuous, who's second
most, and who's least. More competitions may be held at the same time as
this is happening, but her second contest may not." And, once again, he
gave his dispaired little sigh, following it up with a blush, and
continued. "At least I managed to convince B.B. to tone down the second
contest she thought of, which is... the most seductive girl. This is
decided two-fold: first, the amount of time it takes to get each girl to
kiss her partner, and second, a judgement call based on points, where a
panel of judges will decide which kiss is apparently the most...
passionate. The timing part, the first couple gets 5 points, second 3,
third 1. The judgement call is on a scale of one to ten points." By that
point, everyone in the room who had heard except for B.B., Mikado, and
Nabiki were blushing badly.
Ranma broke the ice, deciding to get his mind off of the unusual turn of
thought he was having. "Um, uh... I-I guess that just leaves Akane's two
contests. The first one is a singing competition- everyone sings the same
song, solo with the same tape accompanyment, and a panel of judges decides
who sings the best. The second contest Akane came up with was to perform
traditional Kata' and have a panel of expert martial artists judge. I'm
afraid that I, like Desaix in B.B.'s first contest, will have to withdraw
myself from consideration for judging that contest."
Nabiki nodded, making a few last notes. "Okay, people, hold on a moment.
I'll look things over and arrange the contests. I'll be back soon." She
stood up and headed to a separate table, and laid several sheets of paper
in front of her, and started reading them, occassionally taking notes.
While Nabiki was making decisions, Akane looked over at Ranma with an
expression bordering on despair. 'For that Most Seductive contest, you and
I are going to have to kiss, Ranma.... Even if there was someone else who
I would... our parents would never allow it. No, Ranma, its just you and
me. Are you going to... to... to be willing to... to... to-' She never
completed the thought as Nabiki returned to the table that the men were
around, and began speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"Okay, people, this is what I've decided. The first day of the
competition, which I'll tentatively schedule for tomorrow with the hope of
being able to find the appropriate judges in time, these three contests
will be held- two of them all day, and the third will be held at lunchtime:
My 'Sell the Cards,' B.B.'s 'Most Virtuous Girl' competition, and Azusa's
'Best Cook' competition."
B.B., who had moved closer to hear better and was now right behind Desaix,
whispered in his ear "Look's like you'll be happy tomorrow. I'll let you
keep me Buriko all day." Ranma, meanwhile, was thinking 'Well, at least
that means Akane will only have one day to practice poisoning people on
me.'
"The schedule of the second day is as follows: First, we will have Akane's
'Best Singer' competition, followed by her 'Best Performed Kata's'
competition. Then we'll have a break to freshen up, and allow people to
prepare for the next event- Azusa's 'Who's the Cutest' competition."
Several people nodded. "The final day of the competition will be a very
short day, as it will have just one contest- B.B.'s 'Most Seductive Girl'
competition." This was said looking straight into Akane's eyes, and she
blushed and looked down, embarrased. Nabiki smiled devilishly- LOTS of
people would pay lots of money to be paired up with Akane for that one.
"Okay, people, that's all I have right now. I'm off to find some judges-
I'll let you know if there are any changes." And with that, the little
assembly broke up.
* * * * *
Ranma and Akane went home in complete silence, not really wanting to talk
about the duel, but not being able to think about anything else. When they
came home, however, they were mobbed by their parents and Kasumi.
"Ranma, Akane- Nabiki told us about the contest you are about to engage
in!" Soun cried enthusiastically, dancing up and down waving little fans.
Kasumi smiled.
"When is the happy day?" Genma asked, dancing with Soun. He was
immediately punted into the koi pond by Ranma, to become an instant panda.
Soun quickly followed him, sent there by Akane's fist.
"Is that any way to treat your fathers, you two?" Nodoka scolded. Akane
looked down- Nodoka had always seemed like a mother to her, almost as much
as Kasumi had, and to be berated by her this way hurt. Ranma looked down
as well- but not for the same reasons. "Now tell me about this contest
that I heard about- Nabiki wasn't very clear about it."
Ranma sighed. "Ask Akane about it. Its her duel." He walked past his
mother as she watched him. Everyone, even Kasumi, was shocked at Ranma's
attitude. Ranma didn't care much at that point- he wasn't even aware of
what he had said or the way he had acted. He was barely aware of the fact
he had kicked away his father. He had a lot on his mind. He went up to
his room and sat on his futon. A pig squeeled for his attention, but he
just ignored it.
* * * * *
Akane, while not quite as out of it as Ranma, also had lots of things to
think about. She also started to go to her room to think about the
contest, but then she stopped herself. 'Bah!' She thought. 'I don't have
time to think about this- I have several nights to do that. Right now,
I've got to practice my cooking!' And, with that, she headed to the
kitchen.
* * * * *
Back in Ranma's room, Ranma was lying on his cot, his eyes wide open. The
pig had long ago quit trying to get his attention, and was now dozing in
his cage. Ranma's door slid open, and Desaix walked in.
"Hey, Ranma... Kasumi told me you've been acting wierd since you got home.
Are you alright?" Desaix closed the door behind him.
Ranma sat up. "You could have warned me," he croaked.
"Sorry about that," Desaix shook his head. "She didn't tell me until after
you guys had left for school. At least I managed to get her to change her
original idea." Ranma looked at him with a question in his face. Desaix
smirked. "I don't have a clue how, but I did."
Ranma was loathe to ask the question, but he did anyway. "Um, what was her
original idea?" The pig woke up when it clearly heard Ranma's voice.
"Well... see, she wanted to come up with things that Akane and Azusa
wouldn't be as good at as she was- I'm pretty sure those two did as well.
The first one, the most virtuous girl, she is obviously able to do well in
by becoming Buriko. However, while she might yell at people or smash them
if they tell her she can't do something, she doesn't honestly believe she
can herself. In some cases, she really is good at it- she can sing and
cook a lot better than she gives herself credit for, for example,- but she
doesn't think she can, and so whenever she can avoid doing those things she
does. One of the few things which she really is good at and she KNOWS that
she's good at is... well... sex and seduction." The two humans in the room
blushed, and the pig tried to. "She also knew that some things which some
people might be able to do in private well cannot do it well in public...
so, her first idea was to have a contest for the most... er... 'passionate'
PUBLIC sexual encounter. It took a bit- basically, my saying that I would
leave for home without her if she insisted on keeping that set of rules. I
was worried she was going to call my bluff, too- she just stared at me
angrily for about five minutes before she finally relented to the 'most
passionate kiss.' I suppose it was a victory, of sorts, but I'm afraid she
will never look at me the same when B.B. again- at least she would act as
my friend SOMETIMES in that form... but now..." Desaix sighed very sadly,
looking depressed, and a light blue aura surrounded him. Then his face
brightened, and his eyes shined mischievously, and the aura collapsed into
a small ball the size of a marble, and disappeared inside him. Ranma
started to open his mouth, but Desaix spoke first. "At least there's one
advantage for YOU from all this." There was a tease in his voice. "YOU
get to kiss Akane without getting into trouble with all of your friends!"
The pig squealed loudly, and Ranma stuttered angrilly. "What- you! I...
Who said I would want to kiss that tomboy anyway? My friends have nothing
to do with whether I kiss her or not!" Desaix looked at him smiling him,
knowing otherwise, but he just shook his head and left the room as Ranma
continued to sputter out nonsense and the pig continued to make piggy
protests.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Akane was battling some gelatinous monster in the kitchen.
'Unbelievable,' she told herself. 'Practice has made my cooking WORSE!'
The monster was fighting very well, and Akane was uncertain she could
defeat it.
Desaix, walking outside, heard a massive crash of pans coming from the
kitchen. He rushed in, and saw Akane battling something... wierd.
"What... the...." Desaix was dumfounded. The grey-green blob was about to
engulf Akane in its arm-like appendages.
"SHUT UP AND GET IT OFF ME!" Akane shouted. Desaix just shrugged.
"Uh, okay, fine..." Desaix pulled out his walking stick, extended it, and
proceeded to splatter the mass of rice, bean paste, and meat over the
floor. "Now, what was that?" Akane blushed.
"That... uh... was me practicing my cooking."
Desaix laughed. "Do you really think you can go from making something like
this," he gestured to the still twitching remnants splattered across the
kitchen, "to something which can beat out Azusa- who obviously picked
cooking for a reason, and Buriko- who, I can assure you, is a remarkable
chef despite her reluctance to make meals- in ONE DAY?" Akane's blush
became filled with anger in addition to the normal embarassment. "Look, I
know you probably really want to be thought of as a successful cook, but...
if I were you, I'd be thinking about the other contests." At the thought
pf the other events that were planned for the duel, her embarassment once
more overtook her anger. Desaix grabbed a towel and wiped his walking
stick clean. "Come on, let's clean this mess up before Kasumi or Nodoka
see it."
Akane smiled a friendly smile, but the concern was still in her eyes as she
opened the kitchen closet to pull out a mop.
* * * * *
B.B. was sitting in silence on her futon, which had recently been located
to Nabiki's room, wrapped up in a blanket. It had surprised everyone when
Nabiki had offered her room for FREE, but since the offer was made B.B.
accepted it.
At the moment, she was staring off into space blankly. Nabiki walked into
the room and looked at her. 'Hmm, I think I've seen that expression on
Akane before... but that doesn't strike me as a B.B.-like expression.
Maybe she's in her cursed form?' "Hey, Buriko," she verbalized.
B.B. snapped out of her thoughts. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" She did a
demon-head that reminded Nabiki a lot of her father.
"Er, sorry," Nabiki said. 'Desaix was right. Her cursed form and her
uncursed form REALLY don't like being mistaken for each other...' She
raised her hands defensively. "Uh, you looked for a moment like you were
in your cursed form..."
B.B. sighed. "Well, I suppose I did. Someone recently... did something I
never thought they'd do, and it shocked me." She laughed sourly. "I
suppose I'm acting like an idiot..." 'What's bugging her?' Nabiki thought.
"Anyway, Nabs," B.B. continued, "You shouldn't call me by any name until
you know which personality I am." Nabiki wasn't sure she liked being
called 'Nabs' by this girl, but she decided she should accept it if she
wanted to deal with her.
In fact, Nabiki wasn't quite sure how to deal with this seemingly calmer,
friendlier B.B. She normally was very good at character assessment- that
was how she was always one step ahead of everyone else, normally- but the
B.B. she saw right now didn't seem anything like the B.B she was expecting.
But, she had offered free use of her room for a reason, so she'd better
spit it out.
"Say, you're new here... You wouldn't, by any chance, want a scouting
report on your competitors, would you? It might cost a little money,
but... since Akane and Azusa know each other somewhat, it would eliminate
at least some of their advantage..."
B.B.'s eyes sparkled, and she smiled wickedly. "Oh, probably. However, I
don't think it would help enough- especially if I become Buriko, which I
will tomorrow. Buriko would try to stop me if I tried to use that
information. HOWEVER, if I didn't know that information, but acted on it
anyway, what could I do to stop it?"
Nabiki blinked. She wasn't expecting something like this. "Er... I'm not
following you." She really hated admitting that.
B.B. laughed. "Lets just say that... I'm not worried about Azusa- talking
to her, I can tell she's too much of a ditz to be a threat. And if someone
were to bribe the judges on my behalf- not that I would do such a thing, of
course- the results of the competition could be voided. Now, if someone
was to stop Akane from performing well in tomorrows contests... AND if I
couldn't be connected to it... I might be willing to pay someone who could
do that plenty. Of course, I would only pay after she failed, but it might
be worth it. However, I doubt I'd pay if anyone got hurt, however- I may
want to win this contest, but I'm not ruthless... I'm not goingto kill my
friends, or you sister, in order to steal a pig." Her smile went from
wicked to delirious. "Now, if it were that cute little Happy-chan... ooh,
I just want to squeeze his little cheeks..."
As B.B. babbled about 'Happy-chan,' Nabiki turned green. "Uh, yeah..." She
broke in. "I can't do anything about... Happosai... but I think I just
might be able to do something about Akane." 'What can I do? I don't
really need to worry about the cooking contest- Akane's just a horrendous
cook. I'd need to worry about the 'Virtue' contest and the 'Selling'
contest.' Hmm, that might work. I'd need to get some help, though...'
B.B. nodded. "Buriko will try to stop this tomorrow, so we'll negotiate
terms right now. There's a possible 9 points available tomorrow... I'm
willing to pay 18,000 yen. Every point Akane gets tomorrow, I'll deduct
2000. Deal?"
Nabiki grimaced. She prefered setting terms, but... "Okay, deal." She
could always overcharge for expenses...
"Oh, yeah, any 'expenses' you want to try and charge me I will cover...
provided you have a RECIEPT and I accept the REASON for that expense."
Buriko smirked. 'Damn,' Nabiki thought. 'There goes that idea.' "Ah,
well, I think I'd better get to bed. I've got a long day tomorrow," B.B.
continued. Nabiki nodded, and picked a jacket out of her closet as B.B.
settled into bed. She had the judges picked already, though when Akane
asked her where she was going that's what she said. No, she needed to make
it to the Nekohantan. Mousse owed her a favor...
* * * * *
Desaix relaxed in the hot water of the bathtub, eyes closed. He was, in
fact, half asleep. He probably would be entirely asleep, but he couldn't
get completely relaxed- his brow was furrowed in thought. 'B.B. will never
treat me the same, will she? I forced her to choose between something else
and me... at least she thought enough of me to choose me over a pig... but
I made her choose- she'll never forgive me for making her choose... why do
I care about B.B., though? Buriko is the personality I really love, B.B.
is just someone who shares her body... oh, what am I saying? I love B.B.
just as much, and I know it- that's why I can't help but do what she tells
me to do... aaargh!'
Unknown to Desaix, an escaped pig had slid open the door to the bathroom he
was in, and was jumping into the tub to change back into a human. The
splash startled him fully awake, and the sudden appearance of a Hibiki
surprised him. Seeing someone suddenly appear in his bath, Desaix
unleashed a furious blow at Ryouga's unprotected chest.
"OOF!" Ryouga gasped, eyes wide in surprise as Desaix's palm made contact.
He sailed back into the wall behind him, cracking the tiles.
"Oh, sorry Ryouga! Didn't recognize you! Are you okay?" Desaix said,
offering his hand, worried.
Ryouga, breathing in painfully, groaned as he was helped off the wet floor.
"Just fine. What was that?"
Desaix grimaced. "A Hard Iron Palm fist- the only technique with any power
that I can do without my weapon. Its normally just a conditioning
technique- you throw a palm into a tub of water a thousand times a day, and
after a couple of years your palms are 'as hard as iron.' I increased my
hand's toughness, though, through chi focusing and manipulations which I
read about in my temple's library. With these additions, it was supposed
to be a hard enough attack to shatter every bone in your body- are you sure
you're okay?"
Ryouga massaged his chest. "Uh, yeah, I've actually taken a harder
pounding without injury, but rarely has it been with just one blow- it
usually takes hundreds, and its usually Ranma with his Tenshin Amaguriken
or his Cat Fist."
Desaix raised his eyes. "Cat Fist? Ranma's trained in the CAT FIST?"
Ryouga nodded. "Yep. Most powerful fighting technique ever- it would make
him even more untouchable than he is now, if only he could control it,
but-"
"He can't use it and keep his senses. Yes, I know," Desaix interupted. "I
was doing a study of the sub-conscious, and ran across an analysis of its
strengths and weaknesses. Whoever taught him was either a complete fool or
was desperately looking for new techniques."
Ryouga smirked. "A bit of both I think- his father's a complete fool,
except when it comes to a desperate attempt to train Ranma every martial
arts technique and principle he can."
Desaix nodded. "Um, so why are you here, anyway?"
"Oh, just trying to stretch out a bit, and its a lot easier stretching when
I'm human and not pig." Ryouga stretched for show. Then his expression
got serious, and a little angry. "But... since you're here, what is this
about Ranma getting to kiss Akane?" As he said it, he moved from being a
little angry to very angry.
"Huh?" Suddenly, Desaix remembered that he'd made that joke to Ranma in
front of a certain squeeling pig. "Er... well, the final part of the duel
over you is the 'Most Passionate Kiss' contest. Akane's going to need a
partner for that..."
Ryouga's anger failed to leave him. "And just WHY does RANMA have to be
that partner? Why not, say, me?"
Desaix blinked. "Um... you're the prize."
"So?"
"Uh..." Suddenly, Ryouga was blasted across the room by a stream of cold
water. Desaix carefully turned the water back off (he didn't want to
change himself) and hung the nozzle back up on its rack before catching a
black bolt that was attempting to jump back into the bath. Carrying the
squeeling and scratching pig with him, Desaix moved into the changing room
and pulled on a robe (wincing when the pig bit him as he was changing
hands) and ran over to Ranma's room, locking the pig in its cage. As he
headed back into the bath, he sighed. 'Oh, gods, what next?'
* * * * *
"Let's see what you found..." A girl in the closest forest outside of
Nerima approached something her beloved pet and protector had discovered.
"Hmm, this seems familiar," she said as she picked up the scraps of
clothing. Then she saw the pack.
"OH! Katsunishiki, help me pick this stuff up." Akari and her giant sumo
pig slowly lifted the pack and the two hundred pound umbrella onto the
pig's back. "Now, Ryouga honey, I know you're lost- where did you go now?"
Then she smiled. "OF COURSE! You always end up at the Tendos' when
you're lost! Come on, Katsunishiki, we need to return Ryouga his
clothes..."
* * * * *
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dtatum@capaccess.org
desaix@sysnet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7872