N1 Grand Prix, part 3


Will

Probably one of the most exciting things to happen was when Lan and Chaud got partnered against those stuck-up solo Navis!

But I'm getting ahead of myself a little. Something happened before that.

We were having a picnic outside for the hour before that match. Lan couldn't relax.

"Hey, chill," I punched Lan's shoulder. "You'll win! Those creeps are so stuck-up that they won't see what hit them!"

He gave me a funny look. "This from the girl who decided to dye her hair black for once."

I pushed my hair off my neck so that they could see underneath. "Hey! I call this style Hidden Rainbow – it's not completely black!" I actually don't do black that often; the temporary black hair dye I have comes off pretty easily.

"Whatever," Yai commented, "what Lan should be worried about is that big brat Chaud."

Um…since when is she not a big brat herself?

She got into a bit of a rant about Chaud. I ignored her and looked right past her.

Chaud was coming up behind her. Gee, I wonder how long she'll keep talking before she notices that…

"He's right behind me, isn't he?"

Bingo.

"Yep," he answered her. It's annoying yet funny how he answers stuff about himself!

Then he suddenly got rude to Lan. I was considering getting up and slapping the creep, only that would involve tripping over Yai.

Why does Chaud so enjoy baiting Yai like he does?

Though he had a funny finishing line to her: "Be careful, or that vein on your forehead's gonna pop. See ya, Miss Big Forehead."

I winced as he walked away. One thing Yai didn't like getting referenced was her forehead.

Then I managed to slip into Yai's limo-taxi as we both went away. "Gee, you sure take offense to Chaud's comments easily."

"AAH! When did you get in?"

"You were occupied. Since I don't have any Net Battles anymore in the tournament, and since you were going to get some strawberry milk anyway, could you maybe order me a chocolate?"

My weakness, right there: chocolate. It's as big a deal to me as strawberry anything is for Yai.

"Will would sell her soul for a triple-chocolate sundae," Avatar remarked.

"I would not!"

"Oh, right, my mistake: she'd tell them to drown it in hot fudge and then she'd consider it."

I face-palmed. It wasn't that I was particularly mad or anything; it was that she was almost right.

Almost.

Yai laughed. "Okay…maybe not that magical sundae, but I could order you a chocolate milk."

I matched her strawberry milk for chocolate milk, just because I could. Then, wonder of wonders, Chaud walked by with a couple security guys!

"What's he doing here?"

She and I slipped pretty close. He was sitting with a woman, security guys were standing all around them, and it looked to me like some business exchange. Can't his dad give him a moment's peace in a tournament?

I was pretty amused at how Yai's 'cover' – a cart – got moved away. I was choosing to hide in plain sight by lollygagging around a short wall, pretending to read a hotel flyer.

I found her again next to an elevator. "Maybe I'm mistaken about what's going on, but that seemed to cause you more stress than your last encounter." My casual way of saying, "Be more careful."

"Whatever. How did you avoid notice anyway?"

"Ain't telling."

Then, right after we decided to head back, Chaud started coming our way!

Yai dragged a cart into an elevator and hid behind it. I rolled in after and sat down on top of the cart, choosing to ignore her by reading that flyer again.

It almost worked. But Chaud got into the elevator, too!

This is going to be interesting.

I swear, we went up two or three floors before Chaud said anything, and that wasn't to me. "You can come out now. With that big forehead, you might as well try and hide the moon back there."

Oooh…

She popped up and started shouting.

At that moment, I was more a fan of Chaud. After all, he hadn't tried to snoop, and he wasn't making a fool of himself by yelling.

Right after Yai protested that she needed milk, Chaud glanced at me. "So…why are you here?"

I closed the flyer. "Beats being bored."

"Is that your answer to everything?"

"Does it matter?"

Then the elevator stopped and the lights went out!

Yai jumped and grabbed hold of Chaud's arm.

"Um…Yai? You're cutting off the circulation to my hand."

"Yeah?" She jumped back, though. "Well, it's not like I was scared or anything!"

"Of course not, and I totally believe you!"

"Riiight, and I have a rare battle chip to sell you," I remarked sarcastically, as he walked over to the elevator door. "I think I love you right now, though."

He pushed a red button a couple times. "Gee, another addition to my fan club. I'm honored."

"You can quit messing with the call button, by the way, the power's totally out in this elevator."

Yai started yelling at Glyde. "I'll die if I have to stay in here with this big jerk!"

"He's not his normal charming self?"

"Why, Glyde," I glanced down with a grin, "was that sarcasm?"

Yai declared that Chaud was making her nauseous.

I rolled my eyes. "She's making me nauseous. I'm out of here." I carefully climbed up onto the cart and started fussing with the ceiling panel, bracing my roller-blade stops so I wouldn't move.

"I won't tell you to stop," Avatar remarked from my hip, "but you'll climb faster without your roller blades on."

"Good point. They're staying on until I get on top, though."

I sensed Chaud watching me work. Probably better that than listening to Yai, I guess.

According to Protoman, the match would start in twenty-three minutes.

Then, while I was on top of the elevator and tying my roller blades around my neck by their laces, I heard Chaud say softly, "Not a bad idea, Will." When I glanced over, he was climbing onto the cart after me.

A few entertaining comments back and forth between Yai and Chaud, one of which had Chaud throwing her comment about nausea back at her, and then he looked up at me. "Oh, you're still there?"

I rolled my eyes and grinned. "Sure." Then I held my hand out to him. "Need help?"

He ignored me and pulled himself up. Then we both looked up at the ladder. "Who goes up first?" I asked.

Chaud bowed slightly at me, gesturing at the ladder. "Ladies first. I insist."

He seemed to be finding all the right things to say to get me grinning. "Why thank you, sir." Then I started mounting the ladder quickly.

I did hear him start climbing after me. Mostly I was ignoring him. "Avatar? Tell me when I hit the emergency exit, will you?"

"Okay." A moment later, she added, "I still don't think this is a good idea. Take a note of that, okay?"

"Sure, but aren't you the one who keeps the records?"

"You're right! I think I'll take that note right now."

She's funny sometimes.

Then Yai came out of the elevator to follow us. If I had to guess why, it was because she needed a bathroom. I could take the same amount of milk she could, for longer, I guess; I was fine.

I ignored them until suddenly I heard a loud Yai-scream. It nearly made me fall off the ladder.

Below me, I heard Chaud say, "Man, you are one high-maintenance little girl."

If the fading voices behind me were anything to go by, Chaud had gone back down to help her up the ladder! He could be a really sweet guy when he wanted to be!

When I reached the level with the exit, I glanced down. About the time I could easily see Chaud and Yai, the door opened.

We got out and I got my roller blades back on and opted to go with Chaud. Yai still seemed petrified, and staying with her would just be boring.

Yai sent her taxi-limo to pick us up, and we both started back.

He looked at me. "Why are you coming along again?"

"Beats being bored."

Oh! I got him to smirk!

"Oh, and by the way? You're going to have very little time to get to the field, so I'm going to offer you a lift on my back. I have longer legs than you, I can run faster, and I have wheels."

He considered that. Then he shrugged. "Whatever. Your choice."

We got there, two minutes were left. I leaped out of the limo and started rolling, not too fast. Chaud ran next to me, set his hand on my shoulder, and vaulted onto my back like I was a horse. I yelled, pulling into high gear, "Make way for the Wilhelmina Express!"

I made it to the doorway to the arena in under a minute. "Thank you for riding the Wilhelmina Express, please don't stand until the ride has come to a complete stop!"

Chaud leaped off my back and landed on his feet while I skidded around and stopped.

"Whoa! Okay, Cat-boy, you've got to teach me how to do that!"

"Thank you. I owe you one…Wilhelmina?"

I touched the back of my head sheepishly. "Um…yeah, that's my actual name." Then I grinned at him. "And as for owing me anything, find time later to give me a kiss, and I'll call it even." I was, um, only partly serious. I really was considering kissing him for all his remarks at Yai's expense.

He gave me a weird "are-you-kidding?" look right before he went out.

I watched him walk and looked at my hand, which now had black on it. "You think I should tell him he has some black dye on the right side of his face?"

"He's gone, Will. Don't worry about it. Go find your seat."


A/N: Four episodes? Did I say four episodes? I meant one: episode 20. :}