Bottou-chan leaned against the side of the elevator, clutching her
giant blue-striped beach towel around her waist. The others were
still changing into their swimsuits. The elevator slowly crawled down
to the first floor, and the doors slid open with a "ping"!
It was almost midnight, and the lobby wasn't as crowded as it had
been before. It was almost silent, except for the low hush of
murmured conversation from some latecomers registering at the front
desk. Bottou-chan scurried over the cold marble floors until she got
to the nice, thick plush carpet. Oo, those tiles were cold on bare
feet!
I'll just get to relax, and soak all my stress away, she
thought happily, opening the door marked "Pool Area".
But it was not to be. She was greeted with the sound of Chaos
Running Rampant. There was one girl with short, dark brown hair
running around with a sickle in her hands, ignoring the signs that
said "NO RUNNING IN POOL AREA", and cackling, "Kakakakakaka!". She
was alternately chasing after and being chased by a redheaded girl,
whose hair was tied back and who waved a katana in one hand. There
also seemed to be some kind of fight going on by the hot tub…
flames were sporadically erupting. Fortunately, they were red flames,
so they weren't Kurei's. Phew! They hadn't made it here before she
did…
People weren't asleep in their beds, they had all come here to
hang out and have fun! Didn't they KNOW that if they didn't get
sleep, they wouldn't have enough energy to make it through the
sessions tomorrow? She sighed, hung her head sadly, then decided to
make the most of it. She purposefully strode towards the hot tub.
Natsumi pressed the little button on a small, round, red ball she
held in her hands. "I choose you, Mikagami!" she bellowed.
"Aiiii! Look out!" exclaimed Lynn-chan, ducking away to avoid the
giant SPLASH! of a Mikagami suddenly appearing from nowhere, and
falling into the hot-tub.
"Baka! You could have aimed it to the ground, and not in the
water!" spluttered Mikagami, standing up, sopping wet. "I certainly
hope you can beam me some new clothes…"
"Don't worry," said Natsumi, assuringly. "You'll dry off.
Eventually. Now, how about a backrub?"
"Baka," he replied scathingly, sitting on the edge of the hot tub,
pulling his sopping shoes and socks from his feet.
"TAMAHOME!" bellowed a voice, as a red-haired figure sprinted
across the pool area, catapaulting himself onto Mikagami. The two
were sent splashing in a tangled heap of arms and legs back into the
water.
"Who are you?" coughed and gasped Mikagami, standing up once more.
He removed his once-immaculate white jacket, wringing it out.
"Who are YOU?" demanded Tasuki, for it was he. "And why the hell
do you have Tamahome's voice?" A suspicious look crossed his face.
"Say, this isn't some Seiryuu plot to keep us from summoning Suzaku,
is it?"
"Who're they?" asked Mikagami icily. "I don't know who you're
talking about… I'm Mikagami Tokiya of the Hokage, age 17,
bloodtype A, Scorpio, born Nov. 13."
Tasuki paled. "You don't remember us, do you? We've gotta save
you! I'll save you! Hold on!" With that, he took a sloshing step
backwards, then punched Mikagami in the face for all he was
worth.
Mikagami was sent flying backwards from the hot tub. He skidded
painfully across the floor, almost knocking over a girl with
purple-tinted glasses.
"You did NOT want to do what you just did," he gasped raggedly,
picking himself up. He pulled the Ensui from his pocket, and removed
half the water from the hot tub to fuel it.
Tasuki grinned his fanged grin and pulled himself out of the
water. "You bet your sweet granny I did want to do that," he
answered, as his blue-haired friend came running up.
"Hey, Kouji, you found my tessen! Yeah, you left it by the pool
when you came barreling over to the hot tub. You know, I was just
thinking, 'Man, I could sure use my tessen!' Kouji, have I told you
how frickin' cool you are? Arigatou!" Kouji, the blue-haired one,
waved cheerfully at his friend as he finished his tirade, and then
disappeared back into the pool.
Natsumi and Lynn-chan stared at each other.
"What was that?" Natsumi asked.
"I don't know… but it looks like Mikagami's about to get
fried. You think you should summon him back?"
"Nahhh… Mi-chan's a big boy. He can handle himself."
The two girls sat and watched the exchange in silent admiration.
Mayumi, the girl with the purple-tinted glasses, went and joined
them. She had been detailed to protect unsuspecting fans from Kurei's
wrath, should it be accidentally triggered. There was nothing in her
contract about protecting a Hokage member from random seishi.
Bottou-chan arrived at this point and bent over, tapping Natsumi
on the shoulder. "Natsumi!" she said sternly.
"Ara..? Oh, hello, Bottou-sensei!" the younger girl said
cheerfully.
"Kurei, Neon, Raiha, and Joker are on their way down NOW,"
explained Bottou-chan. "Mikagami can't be here when they show up! Put
him back in his ball, please!" she begged.
"Oh, but it's so much fun watching them," explained Lynn-chan,
beaming. "See how gracefully they're trying to beat each other's
brains out."
"It's like a finely choreographed dance," agreed Mayumi, watching
Tasuki scrape his tessen across the floor, with a shout of, "Lekka
shien!"
"Natsumi-chaaaaaan," said Bottou-chan warningly, and the other
girl reluctantly raised the red ball.
"Mikagami, return!" she said, and suddenly, he was no more.
"Hey! Where'd you go?" demanded Tasuki, who hadn't seen where
Mikagami had disappeared to. He looked around frantically. "They
kidnapped Tamahome!" he bellowed, and then ran off in search of his
missing friend.
The girl with the katana had wandered over to the hot tub and was
now dangling her feet in the water. When Mikagami had been returned
to the ball, the water level had risen back up to its former
height.
"Err, Rei… you shouldn't have that in the pool area,"
suggested Bottou-chan cautiously.
Rei only gave her a Look. "You will NOT take my katana away from
me!" she answered, clutching it tightly (yet not tightly enough to
injure herself). A wicked evil grin spread across her face as she
added, "Do so…and...you...die....MuahHAhHAhHAhAH"
Bottou-chan flinched. "All right," she answered humbly, "But if
you try to kill ANYONE in this hotel-or even injure them---
I'll…I'll… send Ailin after you with her scythe."
Rei looked around. "Bring her on!" she bellowed. "I can take
her!"
"Um, I mean, if you were to kill or injure one of his fans, you
would offend Kurei," Bottou-chan hastily amended. "And you wouldn't
want to offend HIM, would you?"
Rei shook her head vehemently. "No!" she said. She would have said
more, except Kurei chose this time to show up, with Neon, Joker,
Raiha, JiaXian, and Shuusai close behind him. All were dressed in
their swimsuits, and ready for the hot tub.
"Kurei-sama!" exclaimed Rei, rushing over to his side. "I wish to
pledge my eternal loyalty to you!"
Kurei raised an eyebrow. Partly because one of his fans was using
an honorific, partly because he wasn't quite sure how to react to a
fan pledging eternal loyalty. Others tended to attract those kinds of
fans all the time… but not him. It usually wasn't healthy to
pledge loyalty to the villain of a series.
Neon had a better idea of how to react. "No," she said, clutching
Kurei's arm possessively. "He's mine, and you're too young for
him."
Rei shook her head. "Not like that," she explained earnestly,
wagging her katana to emphasize her words. The others around Kurei
took a step backwards. "I wish to serve him as the Uruha serves
him!"
Kurei looked at her. "Raiha," he said.
Raiha stepped in. "It's very difficult to get into the Uruha," he
explained, obviously beginning a formula which he had recited many
times before. "But if you've got what it takes, perhaps we can give
you a chance." He took her by the arm and led her gently away from
the hot tub.
Kurei slid into the water, with Neon perched behind him to rub his
shoulders. The others followed his lead, stepping into the hot tub.
Fortunately, there was plenty of room, and soon they were all having
a lively discussion.
After awhile, Joker nudged Bottou-chan, who was sitting next to
him. "Oy! Bottou-han, who's that girl staring at us?"
Bottou-chan looked around. "I see lots of girls," she said,
watching as Tomo and Tasuki wandered by, deep in an animated
conversation. They were followed by a horde of fangirls, one of which
carried a scythe. A small cloud of fluttering hearts trailed above
their collective heads.
"That one over there," he said, indicating the direction with a
nod of his head. The one with two eyes, one nose, two ears, one
mouth, and long hair."
"Oh! That would be Kid-O," said Bottou-chan, looking again. "She's
going to be helping out tomorrow. And she's admiring Kurei from afar.
She wouldn't mind marrying him, except it would mean she'd have to
deal with Neon. She's not ready for that yet," she explained,
confidentially.
"Who wants to marry Kurei?" demanded Neon, her ears picking up
that last bit of information.
"Oh! No one… no one… just you," Bottou-chan and Joker
hastily reassured her.
"Good," said Neon, now rubbing Kurei's shoulders with a
vengeance.
Raiha returned a short while later. Rei was gone, but a new girl
had attached himself to his side. She had black hair, tied up into a
ponytail, and glasses.
"Where's Rei Himura?" asked JiaXian, glancing up. He was passing
around an ubiquitous box of Kurei-shaped chocolates.
"Hey! I got one without charred flesh inside this time!" exclaimed
Shuusai delightedly.
"If he keeps this up through the whole conference, my girlish
figure will be ruined," Neon whispered confidentially.
"Rei-san is probably out for the evening," answered Raiha
cautiously. "Don't ask questions."
Kurei nodded impassively.
"Meet Julia," the ninja continued hastily. "She says she's putting
information about me on her webpage!"
"How nice," said Joker, scowling. "You know, I don't have a
special shrine dedicated to me. And I'm just as good-looking as
Raiha… and not half as girlish, either."
"The problem is, no one sees you without your mask, and you don't
have any lines in the anime until episode 30-something," explained
Bottou-chan, trying to avert a crisis.
"That mask you wear really does hide your face," agreed Shuusai,
adjusting a bubble jet. "So people can't see how um, truly handsome
you are."
"Perhaps you should come to my session tomorrow," suggested Raiha,
as he and Julia settled into the water. "It's 'A Guide to Being a
Mysterious, Bishonen Supporting Cast Member and Still Get Noticed.'
You could perhaps use some of my tips in the next series you
attempt…"
Joker only responded with an acid laugh. "My weapon is much, much
cooler than yours is, Raiha-han," he said. "The Taishaku Kaiten is
vastly superior to the Raijin. You want to know why? I'll let you
guys in on a trade secret." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial
whisper. "The real reason you never see what the Raijin does is
because it's such a lame weapon, he's embarrassed about showing its
powers."
A little vein popped out in Raiha's forehead. "That's not
true!"
Joker looked scornfully at him. "Well, then, why haven't you used
it yet?" he demanded triumphantly.
"The time isn't right yet," Raiha replied evasively.
"There you go," said Joker proudly. To himself, he added, "Teach
you to put ME down in front of our fans."
"Our fans?" asked Kurei, a slight hint of menace on the edge of
his voice.
"Your fans, that is," Joker replied, and everyone immediately
returned to their cheerful frame-of-mind.
Bottou-chan looked at the clock. "Everyone, it's 2 AM," she said.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to bed."
"I'm turning into a prune!" exclaimed Lynn-chan, raising her feet
from the water and showing them to Natsumi.
"You have to be refreshed for your presentations," agreed Julia,
trying to help Bottou-chan herd everyone off to their respective
beds. "Everyone needs their sleep."
With murmured protests, the hot tub's occupants trickled out, one
by one. Natsumi took the opportunity to lag behind, producing her
Bishonen Ball. When everyone else had gone, she pressed the button
and summoned Mikagami.
"You're still wet," she observed.
"What a brilliant observation," he returned scathingly.
"That's okay. You can wash off in my room and get some clean
clothes there," she offered generously.
"Hentai!" Mikagami growled.
Natsumi sighed. "Nahhh… it's been proven that I'm not a
hentai at all. Just kind of ecchi."
"Ecchi? I guess I can live with that," Mikagami reluctantly
agreed, and the two wandered off to get cleaned up.