Well, this is it: my first fanfic (and they said that it couldn't be done.)
Well, this is partially inspired by "The Bet" series, created by Gregg Sharp.
Thanks to Venkarel and his friends for help with translation help.  Credits
will be at the end of the fanfic.  For those fans of Maison Ikkoku, this
changes occur at the end of episode 60, so there are [SPOILERS] of a sort
here.  You have been warned.



"And now, for something completely different."
                        ---Monty Python


Side Bet: Shattered Dreams
          ---by James Holzhauer (aka Tobimaro [Ton-chan])


	Toltiir was pleased with himself.  The Bet had gone over well with the
various deities that had entered, and everyone had had a good time, including
himself.  *And to think that there were so many different things that could
have happened to those people,* he thought to himself.  *And that the gods
here had been civil through it all.*  

	Of course, had he invited HER to enter the Bet, all of the civility would
have been forgotten.  He did remember the last time that SHE had involved
herself in the other gods' business.  It was a shame that Troy had not
survived.

	"Toltiir!  Why was I not told of this contest?"

	*Oh no!  Not her,* Toltiir thought. "Why Eris, have I told you how lovely you
look?"

	"Can it, cat!  Why was I not told of your Bet," Eris yelled.  "Once again I'm
not invited to a gathering of the gods.  Do you know haw mad that makes me?"

	"Calm down, Eris.  Maybe you're invitation got lost in the mail?"  *I can't
believe that I said that,* Toltiir thought.  

	"Ha ha.  That doesn't even work with the humans," the goddess of discord
said.  "And I suppose that your little Bet is over, right?"

	"Sorry, Eris.  But the voting is over.  No more entries will be accepted,"
Toltiir said.  "The rules are the rules, and I can't go against them."

	By this time Eris had made her way over to Toltiir's scrying pool.  "Oh, I
wouldn't want to enter this contest, Toltiir.  With this bunch of
unimaginative entries, I would have won easily."

	"What makes you so sure," Toltiir asked.  "Many of these entries took a lot
of effort to put together."

	"Yes, but look at these," Eris indicated to the pool.  "Most of these involve
that martial artist created by Takahashi.  It seems to me that all of their
efforts were wasted, what with all of that chaos and conflict that surrounds
him."

	"You should know all about that," Toltiir said sarcastically.

	"Well, of course I do," Eris said proudly.  "Now, if I had been allowed to
enter, I would have used this time line."  And with that the scrying pool
shifted to an image of a run-down Japanese-styled apartment building.  In
front of the building was a young woman, clad in a plain dress and an apron,
sweeping the walk to the house.

	"What, this time line?" Toltiir asked.  "Besides being rather dull, don't you
know that this time line is under the protection of several deities involving
love and domestic relations?  I wouldn't go near this time line myself, and
you know how much I like to cause mischief."

	"Well, that's what separates us, kitty.  Just knowing that I'll make several
gods mad makes my day.  Or have you forgotten Paris and the golden apple?"
And with that, Eris pulled a small panel from out of nowhere.

	"And what is that for?" Toltiir asked.

	"Just for the change I need to make," Eris said.  "Helps me manipulate
people.  And as for the change I propose to make,  all I have to do is alter
the reactions to three people after that little incident involving that little
dog in the apartment."  And with that, Eris cast a small rock into Toltiir's
scrying pool.

	*I just hope that I don't regret this,* Toltiir thought to himself.

_____________________________________________________________________

	"And to think that I had a chance with her.  What a fool I've been."

	Yuhsaku Godai was walking that morning with Sakamoto as his friend was going
to a job interview, musing over the recent incident where Godai had seen Kyoko
Otonashi with Shun Mitaka at Shun's apartment.  The scene with him and a girl
looking for her dog, seeing Kyoko in Shun's arms, played itself over and over
in his mind, and he was still at a lost as to what he could have done
differently.  

	"Yo, Godai.  Still got that broken heart?"  Sakamoto asked his best friend.
"C'mon already, get over it.  You've been staying at my place for the last few
days, moping around and acting like someone died.  Look, you've still got a
lot to look forward to, and I'd like to get you out of my hair.  You're making
me feel depressed."

	"Sorry, Sakamoto.  I guess that I'm still feeling a bit down," Godai
confessed.

	"A bit down?!?  You've got the major blues.  Look, why don't you move from
Ikkoku-kan {1} and just forget about the whole damn mess.  It just might do
you some good."

	And with that last statement, Yuhsaku Godai stopped.  "You know what, buddy?
I guess that I should do just that.  Maybe I've been looking too much in one
direction.  I need to open myself to something new.  And that group back at
Ikkoku-kan has been more trouble than they're worth."

	"And what about Kyoko?" Sakamoto asked.

	Yuhsaku Godai shook his head.  "I'm still not sure, but I think that I lost
her.  Maybe I'm the odd man out.  But what I was after was what would make her
happy.  And if she's happy with Mitaka, so be it."

	Sakamoto looked at his friend, and wondered if he just might have lost his
mind.

____________________________________________________

	Shun Mitaka played the incident over in his mind.  He had invited Kyoko to
his apartment to check in on him due to the last run-in with Asuna Kujou and
her dogs, and he had been trying to talk to her about their relationship (and
the omiai with Asuna	{2}).  Everything fell apart when one of Asuna's dogs had
jumped onto his back, causing him to faint.  Just the thought that he had
displayed his weakness in front of Kyoko had distressed him.

	*Wait a minute,*  Shun thought to himself.  *What if I try to play this angle
up with Kyoko.  Maybe I can win over Godai by trying to get Kyoko to be more
sympathetic to me. It could be what I'm looking for.*

	Shun chuckled to himself, happy about the new idea.  *And maybe if this all
works out, I can get that Dog Woman out of my life.  Not that she isn't cute,
but her dogs are just too much.*

	*And maybe after the wedding, I just might convince Kyoko to give up that
dumb dog of hers.*

______________________________________________________

	Kyoko stared at the letter before her.  *No.  It can't be possible.*

	The letter had been sent to her, with no forwarding address.  And it was from
Godai.

	'Kyoko, I am happy for you and Shun Mitaka.  I am sorry that I came between
the two of you.  I hope that you are happy.  And so that I don't come between
you both, I have moved from Ikkoku-kan.  I am sorry that I could not be the
one, but I do hope that you are happy.

	Good-Bye,

	Yuhsaku Godai'

	*Why did this happen?  Why?*  But no answer came to Kyoko Otonashi.

	Everything that was normal in her life had collapsed after that fateful
meeting with Mitaka at his apartment.  He had just collapsed in her arms, and
right at that moment, Godai and that woman Asuna Kujou appeared at Shun's
door, both with a shocked expression on their faces.  She had pursued him
after that, but hadn't caught him before he had left.

	And now his things had been moved from Ikkoku-kan, and the movers had been
instructed not to tell anyone where their destination was.  The whole
situation was just too confusing.

	*Maybe I should give Shun a call.  Right now I need someone to talk to, and
since I don't really want to talk to any of the tenants about this, Shun is
the only one I can talk to,* Kyoko thought.  

________________________________________________________

	"So, there you go, Eris said.  "What do you think?"

	"As chaos, not bad.  But I wouldn't want to be in your position when it hits
the fan," Toltiir said.  "So, just what does happen in this time line you set
up?"

	Eris examined the scrying pool and her control board.  "Well, Shun Mitaka and
Kyoko Otonashi do get married, but it's not a happy marriage.  Seems that his
uncle gets angry over the failed relationship with that Asuna girl and her
subsequent mental breakdown, and cuts him off from the family fortune.  The
marriage doesn't last.

	"As for Yuhsaku Godai, he ends up giving up his desire to teach in a
preschool, and teaching in general, then he ends up marrying Kozue Nanao.  I
guess that he actually had feelings for her, but he really didn't want to have
any children.  Must've been the after-affect of the failure with Kyoko.  They
ended up getting a divorce, and he takes it rather badly.  Oh well, at least I
had fun."

	Toltiir looked stunned.  "You mean to tell me that you messed up four
lives..."

	"More than that, kitty,"  Eris interrupted him.  "The result of that mess-up
is that the other tenants of that place also suffered.  And that guy Sakamoto
also didn't escape."

	"As I was saying, you messed up all of those lives, just because it was
FUN?!?"  At this point, Toltiir, one for mischief himself, was at the point of
anger.  "Do you realize that those gods that were protecting this time line
will be royally pissed off at me?"

	"Of course, Toltiir.  But think of the fun I had.  Besides, what else did you
expect from the goddess of discord?  Well, I've created my chaos here.  Ta
ta!"  And with that, Eris left.

	*What has she done?*  Toltiir was dumb-founded.  *Well, I'd better get ready
for some more guests.  Gotta do some damage-control here.*

________________________________________________

	To say that Eros, the Greek god of love and romance, was mad was like saying
his mother Aphrodite was cute.  "Now let me get this straight, you let Eris
mess with your scrying pool, and there's nothing you can do about it?!?"

	"Sorry," Toltiir shrugged.  "There are rules that define the Bet, and she
seems to have followed those guidelines.  As strange that may sound about
her."

	"Nice.  Way to go, Toltiir," Eros shot back.  "And because of her, several
alarms went off, and those that were protecting that timeline are rather
angry."

	"Well, at least we won't be seeing her around for a while."

	Eros got up in Toltiir's face.  "That's not good enough.  We had invested
considerable time and effort in getting those two together, and we don't want
our good efforts going to waste.  There has to be something that can be done
that can undo her meddling."

	"Like I said, there are Rules that have to be followed when using my scrying
pool.  Only minor changes can be performed,"  Toltiir said.  "If that's not
good enough, then maybe they weren't fated to be married."

	"Well, did you look farther into the main time line's future?" Eros asked.
"Well if you had, then you would have seen that Kyoko and Yuhsaku's daughter
would have a hand in some major advance for the humans.  Not that I don't know
what it is, but it's enough for Prometheus to have helped us out in our
efforts.  Sound important enough?"

	Toltiir was stunned.  "Oh my."

	"So," Eros said while eyeing the god of mischief, "what are we going to do
about Eris's meddling?"

	"Well, let's see," Toltiir thought out loud.  "I can only make a minor change
to the time line, since I have to stay within the rules of my Bet.  Besides, I
like to do my work this way."  Toltiir then cast a pebble into the pool, only
to have the pebble fly back over his shoulder.  "That was unexpected."

	Eros looked confused over this last event.  "What happened?"

	"Well, it seems that Eris set her magic so that I couldn't alter any of the
people that she affected," Toltiir answered.  "And since all of the cast was
affected..."

	"What can be done to aid those people then?" Eros asked.

	Toltiir began to think again.  "Let me see, since I can't affect those lives
directly, maybe I can find someone who can help.  But it would have to be so
minor a change that Eris's magic wouldn't affect the change.  So, let's take a
look."  With that, the scrying pool shifted into a search mode.

	"Here's one.  And the change is the right one," Toltiir said.

	"Yea," Eros answered.  "But he's over in the United States."

	"So?  That's what makes it even better.  He's not very important, he's not
covered by Eris's changes, and with one change, plus some prodding on my part,
he could be put in the right place to help.  OK?"

	"That just might do it. But why these changes?"

	"Just call it a challenge," Toltiir replied while tossing another pebble into
his scrying pool.  "And besides, I do believe that I owe Eris some payback."

______________________________________________

	"Now, what should I do?"

	James Holzhauer was at this time looking over several brochures advertising
some of the colleges that he had been interested in attending, as well as
those that saw a prospective new student.  But the only ones that he was truly
reading were on his desk.

	"Let's see, I've been accepted by the U of I, as well as Illinois Wesleyan,"
he said to himself. {3} {4}  "They're both good academically, but since Debra
just graduated from IWU, I should have an easier time getting around.  I do
like the U of I, but Ed is still going there.  What should I do?"

	It took several weeks for him to sort it all out, but in the end, the papers
that would lead him to going to the University of Illinois were the ones that
ended up in the mail.

______________________________________________

	"This is too much."

	James's transition to university life was easier than he had expected.  The
class schedule was tough, but with the pass on most of his foreign language
requirements, he was able to take other classes that interested him, like
those computer courses. {5}  On this fall day James was wandering around the
Quad, looking for something interesting to do for the weekend, instead of just
loafing in his dorm room.

	One flyer caught his eye.  *Hmm.  The 'Japanese Animation Cartoon Klub. {6}
Sounds interesting.  Sounds better than my dorm room.*

______________________________________________

	"Thank you, sir."  And with that, James hung up the phone in his apartment.

	"I did it.  I got the job!"  James ran over to the fridge in his place, and
got out a can of soda.  After cracking it open he made a toast to himself.
"To me, and thanks to my friends.  If not for them, I wouldn't have this nice
job in Japan.  And to think that it was that anime that I saw with them that
got me in the position to get a dream job.  Well, time to make some calls."

______________________________________________

	"Well, is that it?" Eros asked.

	"Not quite, but it will do for a start," Toltiir replied.  "I just need to
get him to the right place to help out with the problem, and that will be
that."

	Eros looked relieved at this bit of news.  "I just hope that nothing will go
wrong."

	"No guarantees, Eros.  Remember, you're dealing with me, the god of mischief,
and with Eris.  Remember that."

	"I'd rather not.  But I will."

____________________________________________________

The End (of the beginning)



------------------------------------------------

Well, folks, what do you think?  BTW, I WILL be continuing this story, and it
does have a minor self-insert aspect to it as well.  I'm sorry that this might
turn off some people, but I like it.

As for the self-insert, there will be no all-knowing author in the story.  I
know very little about these kinds of relationships, and the number of dates
that I have been on can be counted on one hand. *sigh*  So my help will be
rather limited in scope.  (I may think that I know better, but do I?)

Maison Ikkoku is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz.
Toltiir belongs to himself (although Gregg Sharp has used him on occasion.
And I am myself.

---------------------------
Notes:
{1} Yes, the building that Maison Ikkoku is set in is called Ikkoku-kan.

{2} An omiai is an arrainged date, usually between to adults.  (It actually
has no english equivalent, but it lies somewhere between a blind date and an
arrainged marriage.)  In the case between Shun Mitaka, the arraingement was a
rather formal one (both families were wealthy), and was made by his uncle,
with the purpose of uniting the fortunes of the two families.

{3}  University of Illinois

{4}  Illinois Wesleyan University, in Bloomington (and just down the street
<literally> from Illinois State.  I'm class of 1988 from IWU.  And yes, I was
accepted by both schools.

{5}  And to think that the first computer class taught at IWU had as its
instructor a local person (not a university professor) who was a local
businessman.  Very limited teaching skills.

{6)  The original name for the Japanese Anime Club at the U of I.  After
getting to know about the club in recent years, I found out that the club was
formed while I was in college.  *sigh*

----------------------------

Let me know what you think.  (I'm only beginning with this, and I do have some
ideas where I want to go, but I could use some insight from the public at
large.)  As for most, C&C is greatly appreciated, but flames will be sent to
the trash.  (As for name-callers, you will be ignored, since I got lots of
that in school.)

James Holzhauer (aka Tobimaro [Ton-chan])
   ---And where's Yagami?  Not here (I'm not very partial to her.)