So sorry for the long wait, everyone!
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Ichigo stepped up onto the platform in the arena.
Each team now had an even number of players – three. The finale was slowly drawing closer.
The Yellow Penguins walked in, followed by the Green Monkeys.
Ichigo grinned, and raised the megaphone to his lips.
"Yo! Today, we'll be doing something completely physical. An obstacle course!"
There was racous cheering from the males, and groans from the females.
"But first, a few rules. No use of shikai, bankai, kidou, shunpo, shunko, etcetera is allowed. Use of aforementioned techniques will result in an immediate disqualification, and subsequent elimination for a member of the disqualified team," Ichigo droned, looking at a list of rules Ishida had drawn up and chucked into his face.
"Also, the entire team must gather together after completing each obstacle. You are only permitted to conquer the next obstacle after your entire team has completed the previous one."
"There will be cameras installed everywhere on the course. Try not to destroy them, or risk facing the wrath of the twelfth division captain."
"Okay, you ready?"
"YEAH!"
Ichigo picked up a whistle.
"3…2…1…"
PHWEE!
The whistle blew, and the six shinigamis headed to the first obstacle.
The Hall of Mirrors.
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Matsumoto peered at the mirrors.
"I see me!"
Urahara rolled his eyes.
"Duh. It's a mirror."
Matsumoto sighed.
"I knew that."
Rukia stood in front of a mirror, hands on hips.
"I am not that fat!"
"Trick mirror, doofus."
"What are we supposed to do?"
"Find the exit, I guess."
Renji's eyes lit up.
"I bet it's somewhere…there!"
He pointed to a random corridor lined with mirrors.
He ran towards the direction he had pointed.
Five seconds later, a loud THUNK was heard.
"OW! Dead end!"
The other five sweatdropped.
After Renji had helped them determine that all corridors led to dead ends, Gin had a sudden brainwave. He went up to one of the mirrors, and knocked on it.
Rukia stared at him.
"What are ya? Nuts?"
Gin sighed.
"The door's hidden behind one of the mirrors. I'm knocking each one to see which one sounds hollow. That one hides the door."
They split up, and began knocking (or kicking,) their way through the mirrors.
Half an hour later…
"YESSSS! It sounds hollow!"
Everyone turned to Yoruichi, standing in front of a squarish mirror.
"AWWRIGHT! Stand aside, I'll break it down with my ultra super-duper amazing karate kick!"
Renji raised his leg, and kicked the mirror hard.
"OW! My toe!"
Urahara whacked his face with his palm.
Pushing Renji (still nursing his throbbing toe), and pushed the mirror gently. It slid sideways, like a sliding door.
Matsumoto whooped, and ran towards the light at the end of the tunnel that the door had opened to, dragging her teammates Urahara and Gin along behind her. Rukia, Renji, and Yoruichi followed closely, Renji hopping on one foot.
The next obstacle was a wall with oddly-shaped rocks protruding from it.
Rukia looked at it.
"Eh?"
Urahara sighed.
"It's a rock-climbing wall. You climb it."
He began to climb, followed by Gin.
Yoruichi looked at the two guys climbing steadily higher.
"Hmm…shouldn't be much of a challenge."
Renji and Rukia began to climb as well.
Matsumoto rolled her eyes. She walked around the wall, and somehow (amazingly) managed to worm her way through the small gap in between the rock-climbing wall and the wall of the corridor they were walking through.
"They never said you had to climb it."
Once the Green Monkeys had gathered at the foot of the wall, they began their sprint to the next obstacle.
The Yellow Penguins soon followed, slowed down by a hopping Renji and a panting Rukia.
Yoruichi stopped stock-still, staring in shock at the newest obstacle.
"It's a swamp."
Renji stared.
"It's a frickin' swamp."
Rukia peered at the surface of the gurgling yellow swamp.
"There are stepping-stones. If we use them, we can get to the other side."
She pointed to the opposite bank, about 5km away, where there was a grove of sakura trees
Urahara sighed.
"Can't we wade across?"
He began to wade across the sickly yellow swamp. Five steps in, he began to sink.
"AAAH! It's quicksand! I'm sinking! I'm –"
He was cut off abruptly, as he sank below the surface with a gurgle.
He reappeared on the bank, next to Matsumoto.
"I think they've cast some kidou on the quicksand. When you sink in it, you get transported to the beginning point. Looks like we have no choice but to use the stepping-stones."
Ten minutes later, the shinigamis were hopping from stone to stone.
Urahara attempted to do a graceful swan leap. Gin, deluded into thinking that he was Odette from Swan Lake, did the same thing at the same instant. They crashed into each other, and sank (not very) gracefully into the quicksand.
Renji wobbled rather precariously on one foot in the middle of the swamp. He stuck out his arms, trying to gain balance, when a wind began to blow. A single sakura petal dislodged itself, and flew past his face.
"Eee! Sakura!"
Arms flapping like a headless chicken, Renji fell off, and descended into the murky depths of the quicksand swamp.
The three females stood on the opposite bank, watching their male teammates try (and then fail) to cross the quicksand-swamp.
Yoruichi shook her head slowly.
"The incompetence of men…"
Another fifteen minutes saw the Green Monkeys team charging off. Gin and Urahara had finally managed to do their swan leaps without crashing into each other.
"Come on, Renji!"
"Don't think about the sakuras!"
"Please!"
Renji stood, once again, in the middle of the swamp.
"Mummy…help me…I'm scared of sakuras…"
Rukia stared at him for a second, before proceeding to roll on the ground, shaking in spasms of laughter.
Yoruichi groaned, as a cheer of "YESS! We win!" came from somewhere behind her.
"We've lost."
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Matsumoto stretched happily on the deck of the cruise. They had won, as a reward, a day-long river cruise trip on the Rukon river.
She noticed three figured in black in the swamp next to the river.
She tapped Gin on the shoulder.
"Isn't that Renji?"
Gin squinted (if it is actually possible for him to squint harder than he already is) and affirmed that yes, Renji was in the swamp. Swiping Urahara's binoculars, he announced that Rukia and Yoruichi were there too.
They were cleaning the swamp.
Matsumoto blinked. And then started waving frantically.
"Yoo-hoo!"
Yoruichi turned. She saw Matsumoto, standing on the deck of a river cruise, camera around her neck.
She groaned.
Ichigo…you really had to rub it in…
Urahara nudged Matsumoto.
"Hey! If you take pictures of them, you can give them to Nanao to put in the Shinigami Women's Association yearbook!"
Rukia panicked. The SWA yearbook was a yearly publication by the SWA, full of juicy gossip, and demeaning pictures. Every year, once it was published, it sold like hotcakes. It was more popular than even the Seireitei News. If pictures of them clearing the swamp were featured, they would never be able to live the shame down.
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At five, the very disgruntled Yellow Penguins made their way to the arena for the elimination challenge. They had been unable to stop Matsumoto on her phototaking rampage, and she had captured various pictures of them in the swamp. Not to mention that when the cruise swerved off, t had created a miniature tidal wave, drenching the three of them.
The arena held three target boards. Ichigo grinned, rattling a small box.
"Okay, people. You know the drill. Voting slips in here, please."
He looked at the three slips.
"Renji. Rukia. Renji. Renji and Rukia, please step forwards."
He gestured to the target boards.
"Today's challenge is rather simple. To win, simply place your marker higher than your opponent's on the target board."
The target boards had been divided into three zones, from the bottom to the top. The lowest one read (from the bottom) 1, 2, 3. The middle board read 4, 5, 6. The highest one read 10, 20, 30.
Ichigo opened the box he was holding, to reveal six Velcro pads. Three red, three blue. He handed the red ones to Rukia, and the blue ones to Renji.
"We will start with the lowest board. When I say 'Go', run to the board, jump as high as you can, and place your Velcro marker onto the board. Got it?"
"Yep."
"Then…Go!"
Rukia and Renji took off. Rukia jumped, and landed with a splat (the target boards had slime balls stuck to them) at the bottom. Renji managed to pin his to the top, before sliding down on a trail of slime.
This sticky process was repeated twice more, Reji placing his marker higher than Rukia each time, due to Rukia's height (or lack of).
Predictably, Rukia lost.
And Renji gained a new colour for his previously-white t-shirt – puce green.
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Yay! Finale is drawing closer! Please review, as always!
Also, the poll on my profile is still up. Please go vote!
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I have decided to create a mini-competition! All you readers out there can try and guess the eventual winner of the Seireitei Game Show, either via review or PM. Simply state the shinigami you think will win, plus a reason why you think he/she will win. Only one entry perperson is allowed.
There will be two winners. One winner will be the one who accurately predicts the winner, complete with a valid other is the one who comes up with the funniest/most interesting/most unique reason for any of the remaining shinigami to win.
Winners will be announced at the end of the finale chapter. The winners will each get a oneshot by me dedicated to them, featuring a fandom of their choice, and a character and pairing (optional) of their choice.