KFC Fanfic: Friday: Neon's Session by Bottou-chan Her Page

Shuusai carefully adjusted the overhead projector a few notches. "Does that look all right?" she asked, flipping the lights on.

A large square of light was projected neatly in the center of a large screen at the front of the room.

"Fabulous," said Neon, nodding her approval. She placed a stack of transparancies on the table next to it, and removed the top sheet, gently laying it on the top. It read, 'The Pro's and Con's to Loving The Villain', in large, bold type. "Perfect!" she smiled, absently wringing her hands together. "Ahhh, I'm so nervous! I've never done a presentation before."

Bottou-chan stood at the hutch in the corner, pouring herself a glass of ice water. "Don't worry about it," she said, trying to sound casual and reassuring. "Everyone here is attending because they like you, and they want to hear what you have to say." But inside, she thought, Ooooo... I hope this goes well... I want them to want to come back to another convention next year...

A small trickle of attendees began dragging in. It was still morning, and several looked sleepy and disheveled. They migrated immediately towards the hutch, where a large tray of danishes and an assortment of drinks had been placed for their breakfast consumption. After a few minutes' waiting for the stragglers, the room was respectably half-full, and Neon was ready to begin. Shuusai set the tape recorder rolling, and dimmed the lights.

"My topic is entitled: 'The Pro's and Con's to Loving the Villain'," Neon began, indicating the screen with her laser pen. "Now, some of you might think, 'Why can't you just love whoever you want to?' But it's not that simple. If you love the hero or the villain, there's always going to be someone who's ready to kill off your lover in a heartbeat. And it's much more dangerous, of the two choices, to be in love with the villain, since he's always viewed as 'the bad guy'. That makes it more difficult for bad guys to attract potential lovers, as the mortality rate is exceptionally high in both categories-- the villains, and the villains' lovers, that is.

"For instance, in Fushigi Yuugi, Soi-sama was in love with Nakago-sama. Both died by the end of the series." She placed a new image on the projector, one of Soi and Nakago, neither of them looking particularly pleased at the moment. "In Magic Knight Rayearth, Princess Emeraude-sama loved Sol Zagato-sama, and they both died." Soi and Nakago's image was replaced by a transparancy depicting Zagato looming over Emeraude. "Kurenai-sama was in love with Kurei-sama, and she was murdered." The Magic Knight Rayearth couple's picture was replaced by an image of Kurenai and Kurei sitting in a rose garden. Neon paused for a moment and took a sip of water.

"However, there are certain other con's against loving the villain which I'd like to address, before moving on to the pro's. The villain tends to be portrayed as a violent person, putting his fiendish plots at the head of his list of priorities. This includes the happiness and well-being of those who serve him. For instance, during the third Ura Butou Satsujin, I stopped by to give some advice to the Hokage concerning one of their opponents. Kurei-sama found out about it, and punished me enough to draw blood." Kurenai and Kurei in the rose garden was replaced by Kurei beating Neon. "But even though it might seem brutal, I didn't mind. The Uruha isn't milk-and-cookies. It's a deadly organization, and you need to roll with the punches. I had committed an infraction of the rules, and I was perfectly well-prepared to accept my due. That's something that isn't often understood...."

She rattled on, periodically exchanging one overhead transparancy for another, until her forty-five minutes of speech time had been exhausted.

Natsumi's free hand shot into the air; her other hand clutched a legal pad and pen.

"How hard is it dealing with your formerly unrequited love?" she asked bluntly.

Bottou-chan, standing to the side, silently agonized.

Neon stepped back a moment. "Ummm... could someone turn the lights on, please?" she asked. Shuusai obliged as Neon pondered the issue. "Well.... On one level, it's difficult, seeing as Kurenai-sama isn't exactly dead. Yes, she's dead-- but she's still present, in the form of his Flame," she explained. "On the other hand, I'm extremely happy that I was able to stand by and help Kurei-sama, even when she was around. The fact that I'm able to take her place in his life, support him in his troubles, and assist him when he needs it, is extremely comforting to me. So I tend to dwell more on the present and the future, rather than obsessing over the past." She watched as Natsumi scribbled the answer down in the notebook. "Next question?"

Mayumi, the girl with the purple-tinted glasses, raised her hand. "So were you always focussed on Kurei?" she asked. "I mean, living in Mori Kouran's mansion for such a long time, surrounded by a lot of verrrry handsome guys?" Mayumi grinned; one could almost imagine the impish fangs. "Were you ever distracted by Raiha, for instance? Or would you ever consider leaving Kurei?"

Neon's cheeks flushed. "I admit, Raiha's a very handsome individual, but he's not my type. So I can appreciate his aesthetics, but I wouldn't put myself into a hentai situation with him. Next?"

A girl, wearing round-lensed sunglasses, with curly dark hair and wearing a nice black dresscoat, held up a stick of chocolate pocky. It was Nekomi.

"So, tell us," Nekomi said casually. "What's your real relationship with Miki? Those things she was saying, about how her lips, her body, etc, belong to you during her fight with Mikagami. That sounds a little hentai to me..." She punctuated her sentence by crunching on her pocky stick.

"There's nothing between us," said Neon firmly. "Miki tends to be a little overdramatic that way, and she wanted to say something that would distract Mikagami, and perhaps annoy him. She succeeded at both."

A girl with dark, short hair and glasses raised her hand. "Ashley" was printed on her nametag, but in parentheses underneath was handwritten "whatever". "Two questions!" she said cheerfully. "First of all, how long have you been playing the flute, and secondly, could you play your 'Requiem' for us?"

"Errrrr," said Bottou-chan, hastily intercepting the request. "I doubt the second part would be very good. If anything happens to damage this room, the KFC's going to be in big trouble."

Neon reluctantly sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, all right. Perhaps you can catch me some other time, and we can go outside," she said, brightening. "But in regards to how long have I played, I've played the flute since junior high, and was in my high school's marching band and orchestra. I never thought it would come in such handy, though, and it really helped Raiha-sama when we were looking for the Elemental Weapon which was right for me."

Shuusai's eyebrow quirked. "But I thought your Fukyo Waon was destroyed," she intercepted. "So why would it matter if you played the 'Requiem' or not?"

"This is the Mutsumajii," explained Neon, producing a flute from a pocket. "It was the Fukyo Waon's counterpart, and while the notes are different, it still has equivalent attacks. Just as Mikagami-san's Ensui had its own equivalent weapon, which was wielded by Kai, the Fukyo Waon had an equivalent which is just as deadly." She smiled as she said it, and set it gently by the overhead projector.

Kid-O raised her hand. "You and Kurei haven't set a date yet, to get married, have you?" she asked uncertainly.

"Well, no," admitted Neon. "We've been so busy recently, with all this running around, that there hasn't been much time to ourselves recently." She frowned. "However, when it does happen, I'm sure his Fanclub will be notified in time for you to send flowers and cards and well-wishes."

Lynn-chan raised her hand in the air. "How are Miki and Aki doing, anyways?"

"They're off at college at the moment, trying to resume normal lives now that our situations have changed somewhat. Kurei-sama is sending them both on scholarship from Mori Kouran's fortune. Aki is studying theater; Miki is enrolled in a pre-law program. Both are very happy."

Julia, munching on a stick of pocky from Nekomi's endless supply, asked, "So, would you suggest any of us trying to land a member of the Uruha into our harems?"

Neon laughed. "It's always worth a try," she smiled. "But I doubt it would be very successful. Raiha is polite, but he's very reserved. It's difficult to get close to him, even working within the Uruha. And Joker-- well, you can never tell if he's going to be serious or joking. Not to mention, his attitude would drive anyone up the wall. So it's good to admire them, but I wouldn't recommend seriously pursuing anyone."

Ailin piped up, "So, when you and Kurei are alone, do you call him 'Kurei-sama'?" She was still clutching her scythe.

Neon gazed back at the younger girl. "He likes it," she said, and a secret smirk fluttered around her lips.

Natsumi raised her hand again. "So, what would you do to me if I wrote a fic resurrecting Kurenai?"

Neon's eye twitched. "I wouldn't recommend it," she answered, in a soft, dangerous voice.

But Natsumi persisted. "Would paying you of help? Or could I pair you up with some suitably bishonen character?"

Neon shook her head. "Your best bet would be to change your name and move to outer space," she said firmly. "Next question, please!"

"What kind of guy would take your mind from Kurei?" Natsumi persisted.Neon's hand absentmindedly reached for her Mutsumajii, only to discover it was gone. A girl with long moss green hair tied in the back, wearing baggy blue jeans and a black sweater, looked innocently up at her.

"Perhaps it rolled off the projector cart," Koichi suggested.

"The cart has a raised edge," objected Neon, looking around the floor for her precious weapon.

"Koichi," said Bottou-chan sternly as Neon was distracted. She had been watching from the corner of the room.

The girl looked sulkily back at her. "All right," she grumbled. She allowed it to slide from the confines of her sleeve, and it appeared as if by magic on the floor. "Oh, look! It seems to have rolled under my chair!" she said, in mock amazement. "Here you go."

"Ah, arigatou!" said Neon, rescuing her Mutsumajii.

Koichi made a mental note to reclaim the object later on, when no one was watching.

"Now, you were asking... what type of guy? I'm forever devoted to Kurei-sama

and would never leave him for another man. Or woman," she added, looking sternly in Nekomi's direction. "But my 'type', you might say... I like the strong, powerful type. Handsome, with a tragic past and all that." She glanced at the time. "One last question, and then we adjourn for lunch," she suggested.

BabySilve raised her hand. "Can we eat lunch with Kurei--- and you?" she amended.

"Kurei and I have some, ah, business that needs attending to during the lunch hour," Neon said, choosing her words carefully. "So I would suggest you go down to the hotel's restaraunt and grab a bite there. Perhaps you could recognize other celebreties," she added hopefully. "Be back here in an hour and a half, if you're interested in hearing Joker lecture on his subject: 'Anime Physics- Living and Fighting Under a New Set of Rules.' Thank you very much for your time and attention!"

The audience clapped enthusiastically, and began to disperse. Bottou-chan wandered over to where Shuusai was rewinding the recorded session.

"I noticed a few of the members were missing... have you seen Rei or April-chan? Even JiaXian is missing."

Shuusai shook her head. "Perhaps they're sleeping in," she suggested.

Bottou-chan still looked worried. "I'm just a bit concerned about Rei," she explained. "That katana of hers... her running around with it... Come to think of it, I haven't seen her since she left with Raiha. He came back alone... you don't suppose..." Her eyes widened in horror. A guest speaker disposing of a fan in a messy, sticky, icky way would certainly count as a dampener on any convention.

Shuusai shook her head. "She'll turn up," she promised. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yeah... I have an invite to eat with Tasuki and Kouji. Interested in joining us?"

"Sure thing," agreed Shuusai, and they departed.

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