Not an Ordinary Game
A Team PikaFlash Fanfic, working on Fanfics for 10 Years
Disclaimers: All characters, Anime, Manga, Games and miscellaneous series mentioned or appearing in this fanfic belong to their respective owners. This fanfic is simply a medium to express ideas for non-profit entertainment purposes.
Summary: Eight Anime characters from different series are locked in a Convention Centre the night before an Anime convention and must leave before the doors are open to the public or face a penalty.
Category/Prompt: "Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well." quote by Josh Billings
A/N: This fanfic was submitted as part of the SMASH! 2012 Fanfiction Competition, using the above prompt. Though it didn't win, this fanfic does serve a purpose as a pre-cursor to an upcoming fanfic of mine. To be honest, the fanfic originally had a card game that had to be cut out due to the fact that its purpose would be better used in the upcoming fanfic.
It all began on a normal evening in Tokyo. Taichi 'Tai' Yagami was walking down a street in Odaiba when he received a text message on his cell phone. The message reads, 'There's a meeting for a discussion on a new fanfic. Please make your way to the Tokyo International Exhibition Centre at Midnight tonight.'
Tai finished reading the message. "A fanfic meeting at the convention centre? Something must be up. Good thing I'm nearby."
Konata Izumi was doing some window shopping in Akihabara when she received the same text message on her cell phone. "That's interesting. I was thinking of going there tomorrow, but I cannot pass the opportunity to go there a day early if it means a chance to stay over for the night."
Ash 'Satoshi' Ketchum and Hinata Hyuga were walking out of the TV Tokyo Broadcast Station when they received text messages on their phones.
Hinata read her message. "Satoshi-kun, is it possible for you to give me a lift to Ariake?"
Ash finished reading his message. "Yeah, I'm heading in the same direction as well."
Outside the prestigious Tokyo University, Keitaro Urashima was leaving when he received the message.
"It's been a while since I'm needed for a fanfic. I guess I should go."
At Narita International Airport, Li Syaoran arrived from Hong Kong. As he picked up his baggage at the Arrivals Hall, he received a text message on his cell phone.
"I'm invited to a meeting about a new fanfic? I guess being the main character in 'Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle' has its perks."
[11:45 PM]
The first people to arrive at the convention centre were Ash and Hinata. After being directed to a meeting room on the second floor of the convention centre, Ash and Hinata entered the meeting room, only to see two people waiting inside. One was a man with long blonde hair with an ahoge while the other was a brunette woman in her late teens.
"Are you here for the meeting?" asked the blonde.
"Yeah, we are," said Ash.
The blonde man gave Ash an envelope. "Alright, we were told to give this to the first person to arrive here."
Ash opened the envelope and read it. "Ah, so that's why we're being called here."
Not long after, Keitaro, Tai, Konata and Syaoran arrived at the meeting room. Unknown to the group, as soon as the last person arrived; all entrances in and out of the convention centre were immediately locked, preventing anyone from getting in or out.
The group of eight was now sitting around a meeting table.
"It has been a while since a few of us worked in a group together," said Ash. "I worked with Tai, Konata, Syaoran and Keitaro before. But this is my first time working with Hinata Hyuga in a fanfic. It's such an honour working with someone like you, Hinata."
Hinata bowed to her companions. "I'm happy to be of some help."
"And we would like to welcome two newcomers about to make their debut in a fanfic with us: Edward Elric and Yui Hirasawa."
"It's nice to be here," said Ed.
"Thank you for letting me join the group, Sempais," said Yui.
"And I'm Ash Ketchum, but you can call me Satoshi if you like. Before we start, are there any questions?"
Syaoran raised his hand. "I have a question, why was the ditz from 'K-On!' invited into this fanfic? No offense, Yui."
"After seeing the stuff in almost 80% of 'K-On!' fanfics on FFdotNet, I thought that it would be nice break for Yui if she joins us in a fanfic that doesn't involve any Shoujo Ai references," Ash explained.
Konata raised her eyebrow and then pouted. "That better not be an excuse to invite me into this fanfic."
Ash patted Konata on the head. "Don't worry, Konata. We had other reasons why we asked you to join us. Your skills as a gamer could prove to be useful later on."
Hinata decided changed the subject before the situation became awkward. "Konata-chan, it just got me thinking: in Pokémon, Ash has gone through a lot, more so than any regular 10-year old. For example, he cheated death multiple times, saved the world a few times, encountered aliens, traveled through time, went into another dimension, has special Esper powers and he cross-dressed a few times."
"It's called Aura, Hinata," corrected Ash. "And those times I cross-dressed was against my will."
"Anyway, what I want to ask Konata is what position would Ash be in if he was recruited into the S.O.S. Brigade?"
Konata rubbed her chin. "Let me see, 'a Cross-Dressing Time-Travelling Esper Slider who has encountered Aliens'. I think he'll be ranked the S.O.S. Brigade Commander, second only to the Brigade Leader, barely beating Syaoran's 'Time-Travelling Magician Slider born from a paradox'."
"Which would make Ed an alien if you were to compare his alchemy to Nagato's alien powers," Ash joked. "And Keitaro is immortal since he can survive being sent up so high and yet landing without so much of breaking any single bone."
Yui instantly raised her hand. "I vote for Satoshi-Sempai to take on the nickname as the Brigade Commander!"
"Thank you for the suggestion, Yui, but I rather prefer that 'Satoshi-sempai' stick to being Ash," said Tai. "Besides, I'm not letting him get such a title that would inflate his ego."
Ed leaned towards Syaoran as he pointed at Ash and Tai. "What's the story between those two?"
"As far as I know, they're rivals from two completely different series and it has gone on for the past ten years," explained Syaoran. "The only reason why the rivalry is still on is because of Tai's ego. Ash is over the whole thing but he chose to let Tai continue because he thinks it's funny."
Konata looked at Keitaro. "Speaking of you, Keitaro, you are the oldest among us, right?"
Keitaro nodded. "Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"
"Perhaps we should give you a nickname. Since you're the only one among us who wears glasses, we should call you Megane-sempai." (Glasses-wearing Senior)
Yui instantly raised her hand in agreement. "I'm with Konata-sempai!"
It didn't take long before everyone else but Keitaro raising their hands in agreement.
With any objection to the matter being in vain, Keitaro gave in. "Fine, I'll accept the nickname on the condition no one sends me flying 20 feet into the air."
Ash stood up and made an announcement. "Now that we are all acquainted with each other, I think it's time to tell you why we've all gathered here. I'm sure some of you are aware that there will be an Anime Convention taking place here tomorrow morning."
"I know," said Konata. "That's the main reason why I decided to come here straight away."
Ash nodded. "What you guys don't know is that the moment all of us gathered in this room, the whole place is in lockdown, so we can't leave the convention centre tonight."
Tai raised an eyebrow. "What? We're going to be here for the rest of the night?"
"And it gets worst. If we fail to leave before the doors open to the public, we have to face a penalty," said Ash.
Keitaro frowned. "I sure hope that word doesn't have the same level of effect like it did in 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'."
"So, how do we escape, Satoshi-kun?" asked Hinata.
Ash revealed the message in the envelope he received. "It looks like we have to play a game to escape. But first, we must to split into two teams. That means the losing team will have to face the penalty."
"How are we going to decide the teams?" asked Syaoran.
"It's going to be a battle between Tai and me," answered Ash.
Tai nodded. "I see. This is the perfect opportunity to settle the rivalry that existed since the early 2000s."
"I'll get the first pick," said Ash. "I take Konata."
Tai glared at Ash. "Alright, I'll take Ed."
Ash pointed at Hinata. "Hinata, you're on my team."
Tai rubbed his chin as he decided on his next teammate. "I could do with Keitaro's experience."
Ash looked at Syaoran. "And Syaoran will be the fourth member of my team."
"I guess that leaves Yui to be a member of Team Tai, then."
A very pitiful Yui looked down in disappointment at being chosen last.
[Team Ash Strategy Meeting]
Inside a room, Ash, Hinata, Syaoran and Konata sat on some benches waiting for their instructions. Ash received a text message on the team's cell phone.
"Alright, let's see what task we've been given," said Ash.
The team read the text message. "The game you're playing is Nyan Cat Race. First, teams must search the Exhibition Hall for the two parts of Nyan Cat (The Cat Body and Rainbow Fabric) hidden among the various stalls. Once both parts have been found, teams must next bring their Nyan Cat to the finish line on the top floor of the convention centre. The first team that reaches the finish line with all of their members and their Nyan Cat will win. The wining team will be allowed to leave while the losing team will face the penalty."
Ash looked at his teammates. "First, we need to find Nyan Cat. Konata, since you're familiar with this place, I'll let you be in charge of finding the Nyan Cat parts while I will run interference on the other team, since the message never mention anything about not sabotaging the other team."
"You have a point," said Syaoran. "With a penalty involved, I'm sure the other team will want to win at any cost."
"But in any case, if you do happen to run into anyone from the other team, you're free to do whatever you need to do. Once both Nyan Cat parts are in our possession, Konata, Syaoran and Hinata will run ahead while I clean the other team up."
"How are you going to 'clean' the other team up?" asked Hinata.
"You're just going to have to wait and see," Ash said, with a grin.
The four team members put their hands together. "Let's go!"
[Team Tai Strategy Meeting]
Meanwhile, in another room, Tai, Yui, Ed and Keitaro began to discuss their battle plan after reading the same mission they are given.
Keitaro read through the mission on the team's cell phone. "So, our job is to find pieces of Nyan Cat, put it together and take it to the finish line. That sounds simple enough."
Tai addressed his team. "Alright guys. We're about to enter a place that none of us can ever comprehend. An Anime Convention may look big, but in fact, the whole place is like a maze so it will be easy for us to get lost."
"It does make me feel small being here," said Yui.
Tai continued. "We should keep in contact with each other using our walkie-talkies. In hindsight, I realized that Ash has Konata in his team, so we're definitely at a disadvantage. But we have to find all the Nyan Cat parts and win this race. We do not know what the penalty is, but I definitely don't want to go through it."
[5:00 am: Nyan Cat Race]
The race finally began as members of the two teams split up to search for the Nyan Cat pieces within the exhibition hall of the convention centre.
Yui was investigating a row of stalls on the ground floor of the exhibition hall of the convention centre.
"Now, if I were Nyan Cat, where would I hide?" Yui asked herself.
As Yui was about to walk around a corner, she was suddenly surprised when she came face to face with a man wearing a red cap. The surprise caused her to trip over and land on her rear end.
"Satoshi-sempai, you gave me a huge scare," said Yui as Ash helped her stood up.
"Sorry, I was just exploring this place," Ash explained. "This place is huge and I've never been inside an Anime Convention this late at night when it's quiet and empty."
Yui looked around the exhibition hall. "It does have a bit of an eerie feeling being in a large place with barely any people around. So, are you searching for Nyan Cat as well?"
"Yeah, but right now I'm just taking my time exploring the place, looking at the stalls and finding out where stuff will be once this place is open," Ash lied. His real plan is to distract Yui, who is the prefect spokesperson for Attention Deficiency.
However, Yui wasn't the only person distracted from the main task. A short distance away, her teammates Keitaro and Ed were amazed at the emptiness and silence within of the exhibition hall.
"It is so peaceful without the other convention visitors," said Ed.
Keitaro nodded in agreement. "I know. It's rare to have a clear view of the stalls without anyone in the way."
Ed then looked at Keitaro. "We better start our search, Keitaro. I don't want to go through that penalty just because we decided to do some sightseeing."
"Good idea." Both Keitaro and Ed began to search through each stall.
Meanwhile, Syaoran was slowly investigating the stalls in another area. "I haven't seen anyone else yet, so I might as well help look for the Nyan Cat parts."
Syaoran walked past a stall and looked inside. The first object he spotted was a roll of rainbow fabric neatly placed inside an empty glass cabinet. Syaoran opened the cabinet and obtained the rainbow fabric.
"This is nice. I managed to find one of the Nyan Cat parts." Syaoran took out his walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Guys, I managed to find the rainbow fabric for the Nyan Cat."
At another part of the exhibition hall, Hinata and Konata were exploring the various stalls, hoping that they would find at least one piece of the Nyan Cat. Suddenly, Konata receives Syaoran's message through her walkie-talkie.
"Good job, Syaoran," replied Konata. She then looked at Hinata. "Now, all we need is the body."
Hinata nodded as she checked around the corner. As Konata tried to follow, Hinata quickly stopped Konata.
"Wait," whispered Hinata.
Around the corner, both Hinata and Konata spotted Tai searching different stalls for Nyan Cat parts. "If this place weren't so empty, I would have said that it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Instead, I'm finding the tiniest needle inside the largest empty box."
Tai walked past a table with a Nyan Cat plushie on display without giving a second thought. However, the sight of the Nyan Cat could not be ignored by both Hinata and Konata.
"I'm going to distract Tai while you take the Nyan Cat," whispered Konata.
"Understood, Konata-san," Hinata whispered back.
The girls made their move and ran towards Tai, with Konata performing a light tackle to knock Tai to the ground as Hinata grabbed the Nyan Cat before the girls made their escape.
"That was uncalled for." As Tai recovered from Konata's 'distraction', he saw the girls running off with the Nyan Cat plushie they took from the table. "But I have to admit that they got excellent teamwork. Well done, 'Nata Sisters."
Tai took out his walkie-talkie. "I've just been ambushed and got a Nyan Cat taken off me. Has anyone found any other Nyan Cat parts yet?"
At the other end of the Exhibition hall, Keitaro and Ed were checking through another row of stalls.
"Not yet, Tai, but we're still looking," Keitaro replied on his walkie-talkie.
"If this keeps up, we'll be sure to get the penalty," said Ed.
Keitaro look through a stall. "The best thing we can do right now is remain calm. We'll find it eventually."
Out of desperation, Ed decided to check under a stall table. It just so happened that under that table was a hidden Nyan Cat plushie.
"You're right, Keitaro. We did find it," Ed said, as he picked up the Nyan Cat plushie.
"Excellent," said Keitaro as took out his walkie-talkie. "I'd better check to see if anyone found the rainbow fabric."
The other roll of rainbow fabric happened to be at a stall selling cosplay costumes right next to Yui and Ash. However, Ash was still distracting Yui and he's running out of things to talk about.
"So, I hear that your friend Mio is doing Homura Akemi in that Madoka Anime."
Being naïve and gullible, Yui easily accepted Ash's words. "This is the first time I hear of this. Mio never tells anyone about such important things. Then again, she is shy, so guess it shouldn't be a surprise to me."
Keitaro's voice spoke out from Yui's walkie-talkie. "I found Nyan Cat! Has anyone found the rainbow fabric yet?"
Yui picked up her walkie-talkie. "Megane-Sempai, I'm talking to Satoshi-sempai right now."
Suddenly, Tai's voice screamed from the walkie-talkie. "What the hell do you think you're doing talking to the enemy? We're in the middle of a race!"
As soon as Tai mentioned the word 'race', Yui immediately remembered her task. "Oh no, I forgot we're in a race!"
At the same time, Ash received a call from Hinata on his own walkie-talkie. "Satoshi-kun, Konata-chan and I were following Taichi-kun and we found the Nyan Cat. And Syaoran-kun has found the rainbow fabric."
"Good job, guys. Meet me at the stairs." Ash looked at Yui. "Sorry, Yui, but I have a race to win."
Ash quickly ran off, leaving behind a panicked Yui. "Taichi-sempai's going to kill me."
Yui picked up the roll of rainbow fabric off a stall table. At that moment, Keitaro and Ed happened to walk around a corner with the Nyan Cat and were greeted with the sight of Yui attempting to disguise herself using the rainbow fabric.
"What are you doing, Yui?" asked Ed.
"I'm using this rainbow fabric to disguise myself to avoid Sempai's wrath."
Keitaro looked at Yui's disguise. "Yui, you do know that you're holding the rainbow fabric we're supposed to be looking for?"
Yui had a blank look on her face as she looked at the rainbow fabric. "It was right next to me all this time?"
Ed sighed as he took out his walkie-talkie to contact Tai. "Yui found the rainbow fabric."
Ash's team quickly converged near the stairs to the top level with both Nyan Cat parts.
"Let's put it together first before we run to the finish line!" ordered Konata.
A few seconds later, Tai's team arrived near with their Nyan Cat parts.
"It looks like they're putting their Nyan Cat together," yelled Tai. "We'll just have to put it together on our way up!"
At that moment, Yui quickly ran off with the rainbow fabric towards the finish line ahead of her team, much to her teammates' dismay.
"Come back, Yui! Even if you reach the finish line, all of us have to be there to win!" yelled Ed.
"This would be the first Nyan Cat to chase its rainbow," Tai quipped.
It took a few seconds for Ash's Team's Nyan Cat to have its rainbow attached. "Let's go!"
Yui ran up the stairs, followed by Ash's team with their completed Nyan Cat chasing her up the stairs. The remainder of Tai's team was in pursuit just behind Ash's team. Suddenly, Ash stopped at the halfway point up the stairs grabbed both sides of the staircase handles, causing a sudden collision with the remaining members of Tai's team behind him while his teammates continue on ahead.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Ed screamed.
"I'm performing an absolute defense against your team!" Ash answered as he resisted the other team from trying to pass him.
"It's three against one, Ash!" yelled Tai. "Do you think you can stop all of us?"
"I have no intentions of stopping you. I'm just slowing you guys down so that Konata and the others reach the finish line first."
"But all team members must reach the finish line," said Ed.
"That is why there's no point in stopping you. I just need to make sure I slow you guys down."
"Who cares? Just push!" Keitaro yelled as he and his teammates began to slowly push a very resistant Ash up the stairs.
At the finish line, Yui was the first to arrive with the rainbow fabric. "I did it! Our team won!"
Just behind were Konata, Syaoran and Hinata who crossed the finish line with their complete Nyan Cat.
"Yui, you need all members of your team with the complete Nyan Cat past the finish line to win, so the race isn't over yet," corrected Konata.
Yui's blank look returned to her face. "Oh."
Syaoran looked back. "Now all we need to wait for is Ash."
Meanwhile, Tai, Ed and Keitaro were slowly pushing Ash up the stairs, finally reaching the top floor. As soon as Ash stepped off the final step, he quickly bolted towards the finish line.
Tai looked back at his teammates. "Come on, guys! I don't want to face the penalty!"
Even after blocking three people from Tai's team, Ash still had the stamina to outrun his opponents despite the remainder of Tai's team chasing at full speed.
As Yui watched from the finish line, she suddenly had an idea that could potentially change the outcome of the race. Yui ran towards Ash and quickly grappled him in the tightest bear hug she could muster.
"What are you doing, Yui? This is no time for glomps!" yelled Ash as he used all of his strength to walk forward while dragging Yui who maintained an iron grip around Ash. Despite the added weight, Ash managed to reach the finish line ahead of the remaining three members of Tai's team. With all four members of Ash's team with their complete Nyan Cat first past the finish line, it was clear who the victor was in this race.
Tai dropped onto his knees in defeat, forcing Keitaro and Ed to drag a dejected Tai through the finish line so that they can face the music.
"My Team wins the Nyan Cat Race, which means we're is allowed to leave," said Ash. "That leaves you guys with the penalty."
Yui slowly dropped on her knees and kneeled for forgiveness from her teammates while wearing the rainbow fabric as a veil. "Forgive me. I did try to slow Satoshi-sempai down but he was just too strong for me."
"Well, that's just our luck, isn't it?" laughed Keitaro.
Ed frowned. "Well, the best team won, though they resorted to underhanded tactics."
"Ed, life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well," said Konata. "We wouldn't call it underhanded tactics. It's just simply playing the cards we had."
"Alright, so what's the penalty?" Tai asked.
Konata walked up to Tai's team and handed each member a costume and wig. "The penalty is for the four of you to wear this cosplay costume and give free hugs in the morning when the convention opens to the public."
"That doesn't sound difficult," Yui said as she looked at her costume, which happens to consist of a mostly white jacket with a blue scarf, brown pants and a blue wig.
However, each guy received a grey sleeveless shirt and black skirt, a pair of black detached sleeves, a pair of black knee-length boots, each with turquoise lines and a turquoise wig with twin tails.
"That's easy for you to say, Yui. You're used to cosplaying," Tai said. "The three of us have to cosplay as Hatsune Miku!"
The next morning, three unfortunate men exited the Convention Centre wearing Miku Hatsune costumes with wigs with one girl wearing a Kaito costume with the blue wig while carrying 'Free Hugs' signs. A chilly morning breeze greeted the four cosplayers.
"It's freezing, and I'm wearing a scarf and pants," said Yui as she clung onto her sign.
"I don't care if I'm humiliated because I'm wearing a skirt, but wearing detached sleeves and knee length boots on a cold morning is a good reason not to fail next time," Tai said, while trying to keep himself warm.
"Ash has cross-dressed against his will before, so I'm sure that's his main motive for his determination to win," Ed said while doing his best to keep himself warm. "Having both arms exposed to the cold is not a very nice feeling."
The only person who is unfazed with the punishment is Keitaro. "Let's get a warm drink before we'll start the punishment. It would be a while before anyone would come this way."
The four cosplayers entered a nearby café that happened just open up for the day.
"Can I help you?" asked a surprised barista.
Tai looked at the menu. "What's the fastest hot drink you can make right now?"
"A hot chocolate but it will take five minutes," the barista replied.
"Four hot chocolates!" the group ordered in unison.
"It will be ready in five minutes."
Tai, Keitaro, Ed and Yui looked at each other as they saw a few passer-bys making their way to the Convention Centre. At that point, Yui made a suggestion. "We might as well give some free hugs to warm ourselves up while we wait."
The remaining three agreed as the group walked out of the café with their 'Free Hugs' signs.
"Would you like a free hug?"
[End]