Hi guys... welcome to chapter three of this hellhole... honestly, I was a lot more positive a minute ago, but I did the whole author's note and review reply thing, only to somehow not save it...

I had been planning to alternate between this story and DMT, but the most recent chapter still has two scenes, and it is taking forever... hopefully I'll have it up this weekend.

In the meantime, enjoy!


After School: the Motivated went to clubs and the Lazy went home… however, these three students hunched over a desk in the 2-B classroom were on a mission, despite forming part of the former.

"So are we okay with this?" Chihiro swivelled the paper to Elsie, who was a few feet on her right. The girl read the amended part and nodded.

"What about you, Nii-sama?" Elsie moved the page toward him. Unlike the other two, who had their heads close, like they were in some basketball pep-talk huddle, he was further away and absorbed in something much more important…

Namely, why Haruka was being so distant, despite the fact that he was already two thirds done with her route…

"Nii-sama…" Elsie repeated. Chihiro had less patience, judging by the way she snatched the paper out of Elsie's hand.

"Pay attention, Otamega!" she slapped the paper on his PFP. If he was surprised, he hid it well, "Now, are you okay with this this?"

His eyes scanned through the text, which just summarised the last half an hour of his life he'd wasted… unfortunately, this was just the start of it.

Contract

This document is to certify that Kosaka Chihiro and Katsuragi Keima of class 2-B of Maijima Academy's high school division are now participating in "The Bet", which will ensue following the signing of the document by both parties and "the Witness," who is a classmate and sibling to both parties respectively, Katsuragi Elsie.

"The Bet", as agreed upon by the aforementioned parties, is for either person to engage with students outside of this contract, and eventually pursue a romantic relationship with one of them. The person whom either party is interested in pursuing will be referred to as "the Partner," from here on. The first party to reach that goal will reign victorious.

The following terms allow for victory:

‒"The Partner" suggests a more serious relationship, or requests to be either party's girlfriend/boyfriend.

‒"The Partner" instigates a kiss.

For either of the previous clauses to hold true, neither party may instigate, or even hint at, any of the clauses mentioned. Doing so will automatically disqualify "the Partner" from being eligible in terms of "The Bet".

People who are eligible to be "the Partner":

Any person who is in high school.

Any person who is NOT related to either parties, be it siblings or cousins.

Any person who is NOT a close friend to the party in question.

Any person who has NOT read this document.

Any person who has NOT previously gone on a date with the party in question.

Any person who has NOT been discounted by the 3rd clause for victory.

The rules of "The Bet" are:

If one party has a date, they must inform the other party of the place and time, and must do so truthfully. If any changes are made closer to the time, the second party MUST be informed.

The parties stipulated in this contract are allowed to ask out "the Partner" with regards to the first date, but any further dates must be decided by "the Partner", and any action done by the party in question will result in "the Partner" being disqualified, as per the 3rd clause for victory.

Sabotage by the other party is allowed.

The rules in regard to Sabotage are:

In any given date, only one trap may be planned.

The trap must be executed in three minutes, and whether it is successful or not, the sabotaging party MUST leave.

Sabotage can include anything. But physical violence against the other party or their partner is highly discouraged.

These terms and rules can be brought up anytime, and if any party feels their partner was unjustly disqualified, both parties must attend a meeting with "the Witness," who makes the final calling.

Only one person may reign victorious. If Chihiro is to win according to the terms previously stated, Keima will be her slave for a week (seven days), commencing on any day of Chihiro's choosing. If Keima is to win according to the terms previously stated, Chihiro will refrain from referring to him with any rude names, and keep communication between the two to a minimum.

The duration of the bet is from the moment this paper is signed until one party achieves victory according to the clauses stated previously. However, if the dating and sabotaging cycle continues, and no winner has been found by the last day of the school year, (i.e. the last day of Second Year), "the Witness" will be crowned the winner and both parties will become slaves to "the Witness" for a week.

Signed on 13/05/2010

Kosaka Chihiro Katsuragi Keima Katsuragi Elsie

When his eyes surfaced up from the paper, both Chihiro and Elsie were watching him expectantly. He cleared his throat.

"Firstly, when did the terms of this change? I thought that the first person who scored a date would be the winner?" Chihiro rolled her eyes.

"Actually, I said that the first person to get in a relationship would be the winner…" Chihiro raised a finger to correct him, "just getting invited on a single date doesn't mean that the other person will remain interested and still want to go out with you, so that's why it'll need to be at least two dates…"

Keima frowned… this had only begun, and it already looked like it would get bothersome.

"So Nii-sama, what do you think of Chihiro-san's contract?" Elsie asked. Chihiro just seemed more puffed that she'd written something as weighty as a contract.

"The legalese is awesome, isn't it?" Chihiro piped. Keima looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Sure…" he spoke, obviously not meaning it, "I do have one more query…" Chihiro nodded, "why do I have to buy you lunch once a week?" he pointed at some fine print a little below the body of the text. Elsie took it back, shocked that she'd missed that detail.

Chihiro, the one who had actually written that unfair clause, pulled a face. Damn him for actually reading this paper properly. That contract was nearly 600 words long, yet he still picked it up.

"You could have ignored the fine print like normal people, you know?" she said in a disgruntled tone. Keima smirked.

"Once you remove that clause, I don't have any problem with this…"

Well, other than its whole existence... still, he was never going to get any peace unless he won this...

With a nod, Elsie cut through Chihiro's precious fine print… the girl let out an anguished wail…

She'd worked really hard to sneak that in, you know!?

With that, the paper was passed around and signed. Chihiro got over the disappointment of not getting her free lunch pretty fast, and was now admiring her handiwork… the contract looked pretty darned professional, in her opinion.

As Elsie was getting to leave, Chihiro put her hand up.

"Thank you very much for your participation, Ma'am…" she said solemnly. Elsie was a little shocked, but once she gained composure fast.

"And you as well… I will be in your care," she shook Chihiro's hand enthusiastically, causing the normal girl to smile.

As Elsie walked out, Katsuragi was behind her, but both his hands were stuck on his PFP buttons.

"Thank you for your participation, Sir," she spoke out, a bit more boisterously than before, "I look forward to our bet."

Keima's eyes drifted up, noticing she was waiting for a handshake as well.

"What are you even doing?" he asked, exasperated.

"This is the correct way to close off every business transaction, Otamega-san…"

Well, putting san after an insulting nickname wasn't very professional, but whatever…

"Sure…" he replied shortly as he walked off, ignoring the hand,

He was about two metres away when she started calling him again with that same pseudo-polite nickname.

"What!" he yelled. She was at the door, holding a backpack that very much resembled his. He then realised that his back was lighter than usual.

Elsie stopped a few metres further as her brother groaned and walked back to the door.

He had nearly grabbed the strap Chihiro was holding out when she jerked the bag back.

Then, with a smirk, she held out her right hand again.

Keima's eyes narrowed, but he grabbed her hand for the damn shake which she was so insistent on.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Sir," she passed the backpack to him properly. His head jerked slightly in what may have been a nod, which only made her small smile grow bigger. She closed the door on his retreating back and flexed her right hand for a moment before returning to her desk, just intending to finish her homework before she went home.

Of course, with the books on the table and her mechanical pencil balanced on her upper lip, it was obvious that homework was the last thing she wanted to do. She moved the book to reveal the Contract again, now with everyone's signature on it…

Chihiro couldn't deny it… she was damn excited for this bet!

Something had been niggling on her mind since the day she'd confessed to Katsuragi… it was definitely that overly confident declaration that had irritated her, and she hadn't confessed to a guy since.

Or was it just that she was irritated in herself?

It took a few days, but she accepted the truth… she was getting nowhere with this method of confessing that she'd adopted. If she was serious about getting the guy, she would really have to want it… she would need to challenge and motivate herself…

She told him she hated losing… now, she had a rival to not lose to.

This was precisely why she thought up this idea for a bet.

The door slid open, and Chihiro quickly slid the contract under her Japanese History book. From the door entered her best friend and another classmate.

"Ayumi… Terada-san…" Chihiro gave them a smile.

Takahara Ayumi and Terada Miyako would have fallen under that 'Motivated' group of students, as both were active members of Maijima's Track and Field club. Chihiro definitely admired them for their dedication and stamina, but it wasn't something she particularly wanted for herself.

She wasn't a masochist, after all…

"Yo, Chihiro…" Ayumi gave her a little salute as she went to her desk, "Whatcha doing here?"

"Homework…" Chihiro replied unenthusiastically, "what about you?"

"Forgot my water bottle… Miyako just came to keep me company," she pulled a bottle from her desk, "I'll be off then…"

"Have a safe trip," Chihiro replied in that same flat tone. Almost as fast as they'd come, they were gone…

As exhausting as Ayumi's life sounded, Chihiro was a little jealous… at least Ayumi wasn't wasting her youth away like how she was…

Still, her eyes scanned the document yet again… this contract might be the start of an interesting year…

The door opened again, and Chihiro hurriedly shut the book, which covered the Contract. It was Miyako again.

"Did you forget something, Terada-san?" Chihiro swivelled around, her eyes following Miyako, which was a pretty clear sign that her presence wasn't welcome.

Miyako was no stranger for social cues. Still, most of her was curious, because she knew Chihiro wasn't normally a secretive person.

"Not really… I just wanted to say that you can call me by my first name… we are classmates, so it just seems too polite…"

"Really?" Chihiro rested her hand on her Japanese History book, "I figured you'd be used to it, considering that you're in a sports club…"

"Clubs and classes are a different setting…" Miyako shrugged, seating herself backwards on the chair in front of Chihiro, "for one, I do want to be friends with you…"

"Oh…" Chihiro said, for lack of anything better. Her body adjusted again, now with her arms holding down the book.

"Also, I wanna know what's the deal with the paper you're hiding…" an impish grin came onto Miyako's face as Chihiro's cheeks took on a red tinge, "is it a love letter?"

"I wish…" Chihiro mumbled.

"What is it, then?" Miyako leaned forward. Chihiro sighed, but opened the book and pulled out the paper and passed it to her.

"Wow," Miyako teased, "you must've been itching to tell me, considering how easily you gave that up…"

Chihiro wouldn't lie… a small part of her was pleased that Miyako was curious about her. Besides, it wasn't as if showing one person would be the end of the world.

"Lessee lessee…" Miyako turned the paper to face her. Miyako's eyes widened as she read further.

"What do you think?" Chihiro asked, her stomach doing small flipflops.

"Wow!" Miyako passed the paper back, a broad smile on her face, "man, am I glad I came back for this…"

"So you like?" Chihiro asked, still a bit hesitant.

"This bet would have been interesting if it was with any student… the fact that you made it with Katsuragi makes this the story of the freakin' year…"

Chihiro's mouth turned up…

"You really think this could be the story of the year?" she asked, looking at the paper.

"Uh huh… Trying to see Katsuragi first getting a girl then actually keeping her there may be the most interesting thing in the world."

Miyako's excitement started to catch on with Chihiro…

"Actually, I wrote it gender ambiguously, so if Otamega wants a guy…" Miyako paused at that.

"You think he's gay?"

"You never know… and in any case, if he does score a date, I also have the power to chase them off…" Chihiro said, her smile now just as big as Miyako's.

"With that whole sabotage thing, right?" her smile grew till it was nearly from ear to ear, "I thought this story couldn't get any more perfect, but it just did…"

"I know, right!?" Chihiro exclaimed, "But you can't tell anyone about this."

Miyako nodded understandingly.

"The school's newspaper would have a field day if they heard this, which is precisely why they shouldn't…"

Chihiro gave a grateful smile.

"Besides, anyone who knows about this paper is automatically disqualified, so it would cause problems for us… though I guess that disqualifies you as well…" Miyako laughed, before something occurred to her.

"Would it be evil of me if I flirted with Katsuragi and got his hopes up to only tell him at the end?"

"You should totally do that…" Chihiro agreed, "it is evil, but that would be hilarious…"

Miyako stood up, and put a hand on Chihiro's shoulder. From glancing up, she could see that her face was devoid of that smile now.

"It may be evil and against my morals," she spoke solemnly, "however, I will do anything for a friend…"

Suddenly, that smile returned.

"Though also because it'll be the most interesting thing I'll have done all year…" she started heading to the door again, "I'll be off now… be sure to keep me up to date."

"Sure thing, Miyako," Chihiro grinned, standing up, "not a word of this to Ayumi though…"

"I promise," Miyako nodded, "and of course, good luck on your bet."

With a cheery wave, Miyako left. Chihiro wondered if it was alright having told her, but she was certain Miyako was a trustworthy person…

Also, she'd gained a new ally… Sweet!


Like I said... deleted the last three hundred words I wrote, and I am not a happy chappy. Hopefully I remember the most of it.

I know including the actual document of what their bet entails may be clumsy, or just plain bad writing, but it was a necessity, because they needed defining rules, and the paper itself has some relevance too.

So reviews:

xellos540- God, yours was the longest... hopefully, this chapter answered some of your questions regarding the rules... also, the sabotaging clause kind of levels out the playing field (though in a pretty brutal way), and both of them would need to work pretty damn hard to keep their dates interested...

This bet is pretty much the backbone to the story, and it will remain relevant throughout... I'm not one for excuse plots.

About Chihiro's paper... I just took it that she was joking... maybe on a more psychological train, it was more of a "fake it till you make it" declaration, especially when her inferiority complex comes a bit more into play.

With Keima's harem, I think your second point is more on the mark... Keima doesn't know any of them by this point, and his criteria for choosing them is more game related... we, as the people who've read the hell out of that manga, will know the girls he'll choose very well.

Shawn Raven- eh, this was almost guaranteed to be OOC, just because it's fanfiction, and I don't have the same understanding of Keima's character that Tamiki Wakaki has... still, hopefully the story will make up for that.

NotAnAuthor504- weirdly, you have the same number choice as xellos... but thanks, I hope this hasn't disappointed, and I will hopefully see you for the first story arc starting next chapter.

Esgee99- Welcome aboard... indeed, let the games begin!