Disclaimer: I don't own any of my characters in my fic. Some of them are copyrighted (*pout pout*), while other characters represent my friends. So, if you want to be technical, the only character I own is Arashi! 'Cause, after all, I do own myself......I think. Hey! Wait! Now I'm confused. *sigh* That happens all too easily. Anyways, um, enjoy the chapter!!
Oh, and in this chapter, two of my friends show up. Crystal (webmistress of The Maxwell Church-a great site!) and Gwen (she's the author of Juunana and Panny, a fic on ff.net!)! Soooo.....this chapter is dedicated to you guys!! Enjoy! Oh, just to let you know: If anybody tried to email me of my supersgtpan address.....I didn't get it. I'm now on aol. Here's my new address: TrunksXgokuSSJ@aol.com Ja ne!
Gotta Catch A Bishonen!
Chapter Eight
The next morning, Arashi was in a superb mood. She had been training hard lately, and it had begun to pay off. First, with what happened with the mugger and crushing his gun, then exceeding all of her previous levels last night. So when she woke up and found her portable CD player---with her collection of CD's--at the bottom of her large backpack, it seemed as if the day couldn't get any better.
As she hummed a song and searched through her CD case for the CD she wanted, Heero, Trunks, Goku, and Juunana slowly began to wake up. And for the first time in a long time, Duet was sleeping in. As was her three Bishonen. After several more minutes of searching, she found it, the CD she had been looking for. Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory. And, ignoring the curious looks her Bishonen gave her, she dug even deeper into her backpack, until only her legs were showing----the rest of her body was in the backpack.
She found what she was looking for after a short while. A boom box. Arashi grinned at her Bishonen as she silently crept towards Duet, who was totally oblivious to the world. Quietly popping the CD into the boom box, she turned up the volume.......full blast. Goku, Juunana, Trunks, and Heero exchanged nervous looks, and they began to back up.
And then Arashi pushed the play button.
"CRAWLING IN MY SKIN! CONSUMING ALL I FEEL!! FEAR IS HOW I FALL! CONFUSING WHAT IS REAL! THERE IS SOMETHING INSIDE ME THAT PULLS BENEATH THE SURFACE. CONSUMING.....CONFUSING. THIS LACK OF SELF-CONTROL I FEAR IS NEVER-ENDING.....CONTROLLING/I CAN'T SEE...."
Nothing. Not even a twitch from her sister. However, she did manage to wake up Vegeta, Duo, and Wufei; Duet's Bishonen. In fact, Wu-Wu jumped at least a foot off the ground, and Vegeta was awoken with a unmanly yelp. But all Duo did was roll over and crack open an eye. "Ish that Linkin Park?" he asked, his words slurring with sleep. At Arashi's nod, he grinned, muttered something about 'turning it up some more' and fell back asleep.
Arashi pouted when she saw that her music was having no effect whatsoever on Duet. She glared and quickly shut off the boom box. Then she brightened, as if a wonderful idea had just struck her. By now, Wufei and Vegeta were wary of her and they edged over to where Arashi's Bishonen were standing. Flipping through her CD collection once more, she found yet another one: blink 182, Enema of the State. She popped it in the player; and with one last glance at the Bishonen standing far away from her, she turned it on.
"IT'S UNDERSTOOD, I SAID IT MANY WAYS....TO SCARED TO RUN, I'M TO SCARED TO STAY. I SAID I'D LEAVE, BUT I COULD NEVER LEAVE HER. AND IF I DID, YOU KNOW I'D NEVER CHEAT HER. BUT THIS I ASK, IT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL, IF I SHOULD CHOOSE TO GO."
Arashi growled in frustration when she saw that the CD still wasn't working. All Duet did was snore a little and roll over. That was it. She didn't even twitch. By now, Arashi was getting annoying. She glared at her CD collection, and her eyes slowly turned red; turning color as if she had an inner fire burning inside her, determined to wake up her sister.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," the Bishonen heard her mutter before she pulled out a black CD. Trunks concentrated, his eyes narrowing, so that he could see the CD's title. And what he saw made him start in horror. Papa Roach, Infest. Slowly, Arashi put her CD into the boom box and pushed play. Quickly, she covered her ears. And the song 'Last Resort' began to play. Loudly.
"CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES! THIS IS MY LAST RESORT! SUFFOCATION, NO BREATHING. DON'T GIVE A F..."
Still, nothing!! Duet's forehead just crinkled and she began to reach blindly for a pillow, still soundly asleep. Once her groping hand found the pillow, she threw it over her head, muffling the song. Arashi watched this, dumbfounded. Once her sister's ears were covered by the pillow, she began to pound her head against the boom box, 'Last Resort' still playing.
"No......no.......no.......no......no......" each 'no' was punctuated by a head bang. Suddenly, she stopped. She thought for a moment and reached for her CD case, flipping past CD's carelessly until she came to the one she wanted. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! I'D LIKE YOU TO TRY TO AVOID THIS ONE!!" Arashi said, laughing crazily. Even Heero was terrified of her and what she was capable of.
She took out Papa Roach and quickly put in the new CD. "Heh heh heh heh.....let's see how you handle this, Duet....." Arashi muttered to herself, grinning widely. And then she pushed play, edging away from it as quickly as possible.
"I LOVE YOU, YOU LOVE ME, WE'RE A GREAT BIG FAMILY! WITH A KISS FROM ME TO YOU, BARNEY LOVES YOU, I DO TOO!! C'MON KIDS! LET'S SING! OKAY, BARNEY!! I LOVE YOU, YOU LOVE ME, WE'RE A GREAT BIG FAMILY! WITH A KISS FROM ME TO YOU! BARNEY LOVE YOU, I DO TOO!!!!"
And finally, FINALLY, Duet woke up.
"AAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" Duet screeched, sitting up quickly in bed, her brown eyes wide. "Arashi........what was that?!"
Arashi looked at her, her gray eyes wide, feigning innocence. "Whatever do you mean, Duet? I didn't hear anything......" Turning around, she asked the Bishonen, her eyes narrowed, "Did you guys hear anything?"
Mutely, they all shook their heads 'no.' Arashi grinned at them and turned her attention back to Duet. Once she was again paying attention to her younger sister, the six Bishonen let out a collective sigh. They were relieved that Arashi had her attention somewhere else. She sometimes even scared Vegeta. And that was saying a lot!
Duet was looking at her sister wide-eyed, her whole body shaking. "I dreamed.....I dreamed that there was a great big purple dinosaur, and he was trying to kill me!! It was so real, Arashi! I even heard the theme music as he was hunting me!! Now that I think about it......it sounded a lot like Barney. Hmmmm.....nevermind......But it was soooo scary!!"
Arashi comforted her, and once Duet was calm again, they packed up their things and started on their day's journey. And, amazingly, Duo slept all through that. Also, he wouldn't wake up once the group was starting their trip. So he ended up being carried by Vegeta, slung over a shoulder, still sound asleep.
A pair of observant black eyes watched them go. Slowly, the Bishonen smiled. Good luck, my daughter. And I'll tell your father how you're doing, Duet. Treize hasn't had any news about you in a long while.....I'll keep watch over you, my little one. My little Saiya-jin.....
* * *
Duo had finally decided to join the land of the living around noon....and that was only because his sleep clouded brain could sense that lunch was going to be served soon. The group found a nice campsite around one, and they left Duet and Duo there, to watch over the site as they went to hunt. Arashi took her Bishonen fishing, while Vegeta and Wufei went hunting. They said that they would be back in an hour.
Two hours had already passed. Duo sat on a log and pouted as his stomach rumbled loudly. He glared down at it, then tried to ignore it as best as possible. But his stomach didn't want to be ignored. And, unluckily, the sound it was emitting was masking the approach of an intruder. A Bishonen.
Fortunately, Duo did hear his approach, even with all of the noise his stomach was making. Quickly, so quickly in fact that his motions were a blur, he brought out his scythe and turned around, it's blade pressed against the Bishonen's throat.
And violet met violet.
"Oro?!" the well-liked (and well-loved!!) red-headed Bishonen from Rurouni Kenshin gasped, stopping so that he wouldn't get cut by Duo's very sharp blade. Kenshin blinked a couple of times, then smiled softly. "I was not planning to attack you or your trainer, indeed I was not," he said softly. "I've been wandering these woods for a long time, and I'm lonely. I was wondering if I could share your fire with you? I would love to have some one to talk to...."
Duo and Duet stared at him for a long moment. Then, as one, they nodded. Duo took away his scythe and patted the log next to him, encouraging the red-headed samurai to sit. Kenshin did so with a soft grin, happy to have someone to talk to at last.
The three talked for a long time, waiting for Arashi and the Bishonen to come back. As they talked, somehow they ended up discussing Bishonen and their trainers.
Kenshin nodded. "I had a trainer once. She thought that I was a failure, so she left me. I've been alone ever since. I miss people."
Duet scowled. "Some trainers don't understand their Bishonen. Bishonen aren't weak. Sure, some of them are weak minded, but never truly weak. Trainers must develop their Bishonen's abilities as far as they can. They must be fair......and loving." She lapsed into silence as she watched Duo and Kenshin converse. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I know! Kenshin! You can be MY Bishonen!! I can show you that not all trainers are like the one you had! I'm different, I'll prove it to you!"
Kenshin sat silently for a long time, staring into the fire. Finally, when he came to a decision, he looked up and gave Duet a bright smile. "I'll join you, Miss Duet. I'll be your Bishonen, indeed I will!"
Then he gave her his Bisho-ball. Grinning, Duet accepted it. Standing up, she held it out in front of herself. And then, merrily, she said:
"I've caught a Kenshin!"
*~*
Arashi slowly followed the river, Juunana and Heero slowly following behind her. Their were no fish in this part of the river, so Arashi had decided to check upstream. Goku and Trunks were checking downstream. And so far, the three friends were finding nothing. After about half an hour, Arashi plopped down in the shade underneath a tree. The day was extremely hot, and her black tank top was sticking to her.
Glaring at the river, she said, "Where are all of the stupid fish? I mean, we've been looking for twenty minutes, and we haven't seen hide nor scale from them! It's not fair."
She sighed, then leaned against the willow tree. She looked up at Juunana and Heero, who were still standing. Shading her eyes, she said, "C'mon, guys! Sit!" She patted the grass next to her, but the guys just stared at her blankly.
Abruptly, Juunana said, "Heero and I will go on ahead. If we find any fish, we'll come back here for you, okay?"
Arashi nodded her consent; and, together, they set off. Arashi watched them go, but her eyes slowly drifted shut. She was in the consciousness between sleep and waking when she felt soft lips press against her own. Slowly, she opened her eyes, her gaze heavy-lidded with sleep.
A pair of bright blue eyes stared into her own. The eyes were set in a youthful face, though Arashi knew that the Bishonen was hundreds of years old. His hair was mussed, and stood at different ends. And he had a staff. A magical staff. Arashi's gray eyes widened when she realized who it was.
"Clef!" she cried, her eyes going all sparkly, like they did when she was talking about Clef when she had caught Wufei.
"Hello, little one," Clef said, his soft voice gentle. "I have come here to help you, for I have sensed great evil coming for you in the near future."
Arashi blinked and woke up a little more. "What....?"
Clef smiled softly. He opened her hand and put a Bisho-ball in it. His Bisho-ball. He gently kissed her forehead while whispering, "Sleep, Arashi....sleep."
Slowly, Arashi's eyes again drifted shut. Clef gave her one more smile, then disappeared into his Bisho-ball. And hour later, Juunana and Heero returned back to Arashi. They had found nothing. No fish. None at all. When they found her still sleeping, Juunana gently picked her up, not wanting to disturb her sleep. Slowly, they made their way back to camp; on the way there, they met up with the other Bishonen. Goku and Trunks had managed to catch several fish, and Vegeta and Wufei had trapped a deer.
Once at the camp, they were introduced to Kenshin and Arashi was awakened. She didn't seem to remember meeting up with Clef at all. And she didn't notice the extra Bisho-ball on her low-slung Bisho-ball belt.
They quickly ate and then continued their journey through the forest, Kenshin leading the way this time. (It turned out that they were going the wrong way; and, indeed, they had been lost.....)
* * *
Several hours later, the group finally made it through the forest. A town greeted them, and they slowly walked through. Duet looked at the map and raised her eyes when she read the town's name. "It says here that the town is called The Maxwell Church: SSG.....I wonder what that means......" her forehead crinkled in thought as she continued to stare at the town's name. Also says here that the town has TWO Bisho-gym leaders. We can get our Crescent Moon Badge here, since we've already gotten our Soul Sword Badge. Should we go and see if we can defeat them?"
Arashi looked questioningly at the Bishonen. They grinned at her and nodded. Slinging an arm around Duet, Arashi grinned. "So, should we go and show these Bisho-gym leaders a thing or two about battling?"
Duet grinned back. "You bet, sis."
Quickly, they made their way to the Bishonen gym.
The two girls walked through the Bisho-gym's doors, looking around in awe. The gym was decorated with a church theme; stained glass windows depicting famous Bisho-battles covered every window. Even the arena was styled with church influences!
At first, when the girls walked through the doors, they thought that no one was there. But as they walked deeper into the gym, a small girl walked out of the shadows.
She was about 5'4, which was taller than Amy's 5'3, had dark brown hair that came to mid-back. Her brown eyes were the exact color of her hair, and her tanned skin accented her exotic coloring. Her jeans were dark blue and hugged her legs; her shirt was long sleeved and dark gray with a cow neck. As she walked closer to the two girls, Duet noticed that she wore the belt that held her Bisho-balls low on her hips, identical to how Arashi wore hers.
She stopped when she was ten feet in front of them. Grinning, she looked off to her left. Another girl appeared. This girl was taller; she was about 5'6. Her hair was a pretty reddish-brown, like auburn, and had natural blonde highlights. Her eyes were a pretty blue, and she wore a nice sweater that was identical to their color. Her cargo pants were baggy, and she, too, wore her Bisho-balls low on her hips.
"Hello, I'm Crystal," the first girl, the one with brown hair, introduced herself. "But I'm nicknamed Jade Akutenshi. I'm co-gym-leader of The Maxwell Church: SSJ Bisho-gym. This here is my co-leader."
The girl with auburn hair grinned at the two girls. "Hi! I'm Gwen. Like Crystal said, I'm co-gym-leader. And I welcome you to our gym. The rules are simple: You beat us in a three on three match, and you'll get a Crescent Moon Badge. Simple as that."
Crystal grinned. "I'll fight against you," she said, nodding at Arashi.
Turning her attention to Duet, Gwen looked her up and down, assessing her fighting potential. "And I'll go against you," she said brusquely, nodding her approval. "We'll go first."
Arashi and Crystal silently made their way to the bleachers, where they could watch the Bisho-battle and cheer on their comrade. As they walked away, the floor raised and lifted about twenty feet off the ground. Duet blinked and looked down. Wincing, she turned her back on the edge and returned her attention back to the match.
"First, we must say aloud the names of our Bishonen. We have a computer here, and it randomly selects which Bishonen will go against which." Then, she cleared her throat, her normally soft voice going hard. "Gohan, Vegeta, Juunana, Trunks, Yue, and Bardock."
//Recording complete.// the computer voice stated. //Opponent's Bishonen required for shuffle.//
Duet looked around nervously. "Duo, Vegeta, Wufei, and Kenshin," she managed to squeak.
//Transfer complete. Beginning shuffle.//
Several moments later, the computer was done. //Shuffle complete. Gohan VS. Duo. Bardock VS Vegeta. Yue VS Wufei.//
Gwen pouted for a minute, then grinned. Sitting down, she let out the Bishonen that weren't fighting; she patted the ground next to her, and they sat. She leaned back in Trunks and Juunana's arms, a blissful look on her face. Vegeta sulked in a corner, annoyed that the computer hadn't chosen him to fight. Gotta remember to 'fix' that damn thing next chance I get.... he thought, glaring darkly at the wall opposite him.
All too soon, the match began. Duo and Gohan eyed each other warily, trying to guess at the other's power. When Gohan thought that Duo wasn't paying attention, he came at the braided pilot. But Duo was ready for this. After all, he had been around Heero for a long time. He quickly ducked and whipped out his scythe. Swinging it, he just barely clipped Gohan.
Gohan touched his cheek and stared at his bloodied palm. He glared at Duo, his black eyes gleaming with suppressed rage. The air around him fractured, heat coming off of him in waves. Then, so quickly that Duo wasn't even able to anticipate it, Gohan came at him. His right fist flew and knocked into Duo's jaw. And Duo was knocked out. Cold.
Duet called Duo back into his Bisho-ball, a concerned look on her face. She checked the stats on the back of the ball, and was relieved to see 'normal--unconscious'. It meant that Duo wasn't hurt....well, he would probably have a couple of bruises, but nothing worse than that.
The next match began. The two powerful Saiyans eyed each other disdainfully; Bardock with spite, and Vegeta with arrogance. They were about evenly matched; Vegeta had the power and speed, but Bardock was able to anticipate his every move using his 'gift'. The match had gone on for several minutes; until they finally tied, due to the time limit.
And, finally, it was Gwen and Duet's last match. Wufei VS Yue. But what no one had realized was that Yue had been never observant and learned magic and marital arts from his fellow Bishonen. Plus, he wasn't exactly an amateur with his bow. Wufei had just barely managed to catch it......an inch away from his face. But the match finally ended when Yue used a Binding Spell and glued Wufei's legs together.
//Tie.// the computer announced emotionlessly. //Due to this fact, the challenger will still receive their badge....and the co-leader will receive the points needed to further her chance at becoming one of the Big Four.//
A Crescent Moon Badge fell from the ceiling and Duet quickly caught it. Once it was safe, hanging on her blue vest next to the Soul Sword Badge, Duet called Wufei back into his Bisho-ball. She knew that Bisho-balls speeded up spell/magical attacks recovery, and that he would be okay in a day or two.
The two young girls shook hands and walked to the bleachers, taking Arashi and Crystal's spots. Once Arashi and Crystal stood at either ends of the battle ground, they stared at each other, their eyes narrowed.
"Computer," Crystal started, activating the program once again, "my Bishonen will be: Kenshin, Shrio, Ashitaka, Chibi Trunks, Dart, and Vincent."
//Co-gym-leader's choices recorded. Program running.......Challenger's Bishonen?//
"My Bishonen are: Goku, Juunana, Heero, Trunks.......and Clef." Arashi blinked at this last Bishonen name. Clef? I haven't got a Clef? Why did I just say that?!
//Challenger's choices recorded.....beginning shuffle.// All too soon, the computer was done with the shuffling. //Matches confirmed. Kenshin VS Heero. Trunks VS Chibi Trunks. Ashitaka VS Clef. First match begin......now.//
And, with that, Kenshin and Heero popped out of their balls. They stared at each other for a silent moment. Then, they attacked. Somehow, Heero had managed to get a hold of a dagger....probably from wherever he kept all of his weapons. With Kenshin's longer sword and Heero's greater speed, they were about even. But there was a problem. Kenshin's technique depended on observing an opponent's style of fighting. But Heero was so well trained, he didn't have a style of fighting. He blended them all. As the match wore on, Kenshin found it harder and harder to keep up. Finally, the time limit bell buzzed.......just as Heero's dagger was at Kenshin's throat. So it was declared a tie, since Heero wasn't able to defeat Kenshin before the time limit bell rang.
Next, Trunks and Chibi Trunks faced off against each other. Their eyes narrowed as they looked at each other. They held unnaturally still...that is, until the bell rang. Suddenly, they both went Super Saiyan; their movements couldn't be seen, they were moving too fast. They exchanged a flurry of blows, somehow moving faster and faster.
Finally, near the end of the match, Trunks was able to get Chibi Trunks in a head lock. But, due to his small size, Chibi Trunks was able to squirm away. And then, the bell rang. Arashi had been watching her matches closely, and each time the bell rang, when she had been SO close, she hissed in annoyance. But once her Bishonen were over in her section, she congratulated them warmly.
And, finally, it was down to the last match. Arashi still didn't believe that she had a Clef, so she was extremely surprised when he appeared out of the extra Bisho-ball on her belt. She stared at him for several seconds, blinking rapidly. He just gave her a soft smile and winked; then he returned his attention back to the match. Clef VS Ashitaka. Like the others, they stared at each other. And once the bell rang, they sprung into action.
"Creature, I summon thee!" Clef cried, raising his staff in the air. A huge wolf, seemingly made out of wind, appeared above the staff and flew at Ashitaka. Ashitaka raised his arm, keeping the creature at bay with his curse. But it was costing him dearly. The muscle bulged and warped and the disease spread even further up and down his arm. He hissed in pain, then blocked it from his mind. He had to finish this fight, he could worry about the pain later.
Ashitaka was able to keep the Creature away from himself, and defend against all of the other magical Creatures that Clef summoned, until the very end. His arm was causing him much pain, and the muscle bulged more and more often. The black plague was spread down to his knuckles, and as he fought, he knew he would die soon.
He fought and fought......but he couldn't do it. Slowly, he collapsed to his knees, clutching his arm in intense pain. And then the bell rang.
//Clef is declared winner of this match.// the computer stated. //The challenger will receive her badge and Crystal will receive credit.// As the computer talked, a Crescent Moon Badge fell out of the ceiling and into Arashi's outstretched palm. Once she had her badge, she and Clef slowly made their way to Ashitaka and Crystal, who was kneeling next to him, trying to lessen the pain.
When they stood before the two, Clef and Arashi stopped. "Winds......of Healing!" Clef cried. Slowly, Ashitaka's arm was engulfed in gentle winds, turning golden with the working magic. His grimace slowly turned into a grin when he noticed that the curse was going away. Soon, the curse was completely gone. Once finished, Clef and Arashi stood to go.
Before they could leave, Crystal and Ashitaka stopped them. "Thank you," they said softly. "You've healed him. He was dying......but he isn't, not anymore."
Arashi and Clef shrugged. "No problem," Arashi answered, stepping through the door, Duet and her Bishonen trailing behind her.
"We'll met again, we promise you that!" the two co-leaders called out to the group as they entered the forest. Arashi turned around and waved at the gym-leaders; Duet followed suit.
"We'll hold you at your promise!!" Arashi called back. She stopped waving once the two girls were out of sight. Once the group was alone, she rounded on Clef. "And what are you doing here?"
Clef smiled sheepishly. "Being your Bishonen?"
Arashi scowled at him...then grinned. "I guess so! C'mon you guess, let's go! We have lots of adventures in store for us!!"
And so the group once again headed into the forest.