Wow, I really didn't think I was going to get any reviews for this story.
A big thanks goes out to those who did review. I know I said last chapter
that the rating would go up during this one, but it's not going to yet
(Vash does get naked though :P). It won't be until next chapter that the
game finally begins either. Sorry, but I can't seem to stop dragging the
antics backstage out.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"But, I wanted to be red," whined Vash as he pointed at the sweatshirts Milly and Meryl were wearing. Wolfwood simply took a drag from his bent cigarette and ignored Vash's theatrics.
"Get over it Vash," Meryl said with a groan. "We were assigned our team colors, so there's no way for us to trade now."
"Green is a nice color anyway Mr. Vash," Milly commented while eyeing the sweatshirts which Vash and Wolfwood currently had on.
Vash simply sighed at her response and seemed to surrender to his fate as a member of the "green" team.
The four contestants had been herded into a small room just next to the stage. The redheaded woman who had earlier retrieved them from the lounge area had, soon after, introduced herself as Harmony. However, the woman's intrinsic nature seemed to defy her name, as her voice often seemed to take on a condescending tone and she had no tolerance for behavior or dialogue which she saw as "unproductive". Her initial friendliness towards the foursome had actually turned out to be a poorly maintained façade which had soon crumbled after she was met with task of finding Vash appropriate attire.
Vash hadn't expected them to make him change out of his long, red coat, so he had simply worn his usual clothing underneath. However, once handed the green sweatshirt he was obligated to wear he had realized that this new article of clothing might not go so well with what he currently had on beneath his coat.
The contrast of the baggy, green sweatshirt with his knee pads, tight black pants, and knee high leather boots made him look like something of an S&M freak gone sporty. Apparently, he shared this sentiment with just about everyone in the room, as he had gotten funny looks from both Wolfwood and Meryl after removing his long coat and putting on the sweatshirt.
"Don't you realize how inappropriate what you're wearing is?" Harmony had asked after noticing the blonde's lower half.
"I understand that this show obligates contestants to engage in a certain level of physicality, but this is a family show," Harmony had said with a moderate level of annoyance in her voice. "Some level of decorum is expected from the contestants, even in their choice of clothing."
"Uh, sorry," Vash muttered, unsure of exactly how he should respond, but not wanting to further upset the woman.
Harmony sighed. "I guess I'll just have to go find you something more appropriate. I think one of the stagehands is about your height and has some khaki pants on, so I'll just go borrow them," Harmony said revealing a smirk as she thought about how the poor stagehand would react when ordered to take off his pants.
"You mean you're gonna make me wear someone else's pants?" Vash asked, his discomfort at this prospect evident as he tugged at the hem of his sweatshirt.
"That's right," Harmony retorted as she walked out of the room. She turned her head back as a second thought seemed to enter her mind.
"Don't even think about leaving this room and wandering around," she said, the tone of her voice slightly intimidating. "That goes for all of you." She then turned and swiftly shut the door behind her.
Over the next few minutes the contestants all seemed to react in differing ways to their growing boredom. The poorly lit and badly decorated lounge now seemed quite inviting in comparison to the small, dingy, and inadequately furnished room they were currently being held up in.
Meryl had, in an unconscious display of her current agitation, begun to quickly tap her toe on the floor while she leaned against the wall with her arms across her chest.
Wolfwood continued smoking his cigarette, his eyes closed as he unrepentantly enjoyed the habit.
Milly was staring up at the buzzing, fluorescent lights which decorated the ceiling. A soft smile upon her face which seemed to indicate that she was thinking of something pleasant (maybe pudding?).
Vash was growing more restless with each passing minute and at just about the time he thought he could no longer stand being trapped in the tiny room Harmony had finally returned with the pants for him.
"Here you go," she said shoving them into Vash's hands. "Hurry up and change," she added as she crossed her arms over her chest looking annoyed.
Vash's face immediately took on an expression of distress. "Umm, where exactly am I supposed to change?" he asked the short woman in front of him while glancing around the small room.
"You're just gonna have to change in here. We don't have time for you to wander around backstage until you find a place where you're comfortable enough to strip down to your skivvies, so get on with it." the small women said with growing annoyance in her voice.
Vash's stared down at the floor self-consciously. "Well, you see that would be fine, but these pants are kind of tight so I'm not exactly able to wear much under them."
Harmony's eyebrows raised up as well as the right corner of her mouth. "Oh, I see. So, you're saying that you don't have any underwear on?"
Vash's cheeks became a bit more flushed, but his expression also seemed to change to one of mild relief. "Yeah, now you understand."
Meryl groaned and rolled her eyes. "Why am I somehow not surprised," she mumbled.
"Hey," Vash piped up defensively.
Just as he was about to go on a tirade about how Meryl had no right to judge his choices in apparel (or lack thereof), Milly interrupted Vash.
"I bet you don't wear them because they chafe your sensitive areas Mr. Vash." she said with an understanding smile.
Suddenly, everyone in the room (except Milly of course) blushed a bit. This last comment had actually caused Vash's face to progress toward a shade of near beet red.
Meryl quirked her eyebrow and began to examine Milly's face. "Uh Milly, just how exactly would you know about that kind of thing anyway?" she asked.
"Well, you see my big big brother was a ballet dancer for a while and one time he told me about how he had to wear some really tight tights and how they had made his--," before Milly could finish she was cut off by Meryl.
"Um, Milly never mind. Don't worry about it," Meryl said quickly, afraid to know just where Milly's little anecdote was going.
Harmony was growing tired of what she saw as entirely pointless discussion. After a bit on internal debating she decided to give in and allow Vash to change somewhere else.
"Hey Blondie," the pudgy woman called out to Vash. "Come with me."
It took Vash a moment to comprehend that she had finally decided to let him change his clothes in privacy, but once this realization hit he immediately trailed after her with a relieved smirk on his face. However, his relief was short lived as he was hastily introduced to his makeshift changing room.
Harmony led him across the hallway and a few doors down to a broom closet and then motioned for him to enter.
"What? You want me to change in there?" the disbelieving Vash asked.
"Hey, beggars can't be choosers," Harmony retorted, steering Vash by the shoulders into the dank and pitch black closet. Vash whimpered a bit, but finally accepted that these were the only private accommodations available to him and took several steps inside.
Once she judged he was far enough inside the closet, Harmony slammed the door on Vash and waited for him to emerge in the khaki pants. However, Harmony had not realized the danger of putting the Humanoid Typhoon himself in a small, dark, enclosed area with various hard and sharp objects surrounding him.
Over the next several minutes, many screams, yelps, and crashes were emitted from the closet as the lanky blonde attempted to cast off his constrictive pants and boots in exchange for the khaki slacks. Finally, after many painful encounters with the closet's cement floor, Vash had changed into the pants. He carried his tight black pants and boots out with him as he exited the tiny closet.
"Took you long enough," Harmony muttered as Vash emerged. In the back of her mind, Harmony thought she now understood why the blonde gunman felt a need to wear so much padding in addition to his close-fitting clothing.
It was then that Harmony noticed the state of Vash's hair. It was sticking up in various places, but fell flat in others. She assumed this was a result of his encounters with various objects within the closet. After making a quick decision in regards to the show's reputation, Harmony spit into her hands, rubbed them together, and then proceed to part Vash's hair with her hands.
Vash was a bit surprised as well as horrified by her action, but didn't move away from her for fear of being chastised once again.
"That's better," Harmony said, leaving Vash with the straight part that seemed almost the reverse of his usual, preferred hairstyle.
Vash badly wanted to run his hands through his hair in an effort to bring it back to its normal position. However, he decided to hold back until Harmony left him alone.
"I guess you'll just have to put your boots back on. It won't matter much since your pants will cover them anyway," she commented as they made their way back to the room where Milly, Meryl, and Wolfwood were waiting.
Once they reached the room Harmony glanced down at her watch. "I'll have to leave you people alone now, it's about time they start anyway. But, I'm warning you, you had better not leave that room!" Harmony said the last sentence with a threatening glare.
"Yes ma'am!" Vash replied, inwardly thanking a higher power that he would finally be rid of the woman. Harmony rolled her eyes and then swiftly walked away while Vash turned and opened the door.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This chapter ended having a lot more of Harmony than I initially meant. But, she probably won't be around much for the rest of the story. Next chapter the game (finally) begins and the mystery contestants are revealed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"But, I wanted to be red," whined Vash as he pointed at the sweatshirts Milly and Meryl were wearing. Wolfwood simply took a drag from his bent cigarette and ignored Vash's theatrics.
"Get over it Vash," Meryl said with a groan. "We were assigned our team colors, so there's no way for us to trade now."
"Green is a nice color anyway Mr. Vash," Milly commented while eyeing the sweatshirts which Vash and Wolfwood currently had on.
Vash simply sighed at her response and seemed to surrender to his fate as a member of the "green" team.
The four contestants had been herded into a small room just next to the stage. The redheaded woman who had earlier retrieved them from the lounge area had, soon after, introduced herself as Harmony. However, the woman's intrinsic nature seemed to defy her name, as her voice often seemed to take on a condescending tone and she had no tolerance for behavior or dialogue which she saw as "unproductive". Her initial friendliness towards the foursome had actually turned out to be a poorly maintained façade which had soon crumbled after she was met with task of finding Vash appropriate attire.
Vash hadn't expected them to make him change out of his long, red coat, so he had simply worn his usual clothing underneath. However, once handed the green sweatshirt he was obligated to wear he had realized that this new article of clothing might not go so well with what he currently had on beneath his coat.
The contrast of the baggy, green sweatshirt with his knee pads, tight black pants, and knee high leather boots made him look like something of an S&M freak gone sporty. Apparently, he shared this sentiment with just about everyone in the room, as he had gotten funny looks from both Wolfwood and Meryl after removing his long coat and putting on the sweatshirt.
"Don't you realize how inappropriate what you're wearing is?" Harmony had asked after noticing the blonde's lower half.
"I understand that this show obligates contestants to engage in a certain level of physicality, but this is a family show," Harmony had said with a moderate level of annoyance in her voice. "Some level of decorum is expected from the contestants, even in their choice of clothing."
"Uh, sorry," Vash muttered, unsure of exactly how he should respond, but not wanting to further upset the woman.
Harmony sighed. "I guess I'll just have to go find you something more appropriate. I think one of the stagehands is about your height and has some khaki pants on, so I'll just go borrow them," Harmony said revealing a smirk as she thought about how the poor stagehand would react when ordered to take off his pants.
"You mean you're gonna make me wear someone else's pants?" Vash asked, his discomfort at this prospect evident as he tugged at the hem of his sweatshirt.
"That's right," Harmony retorted as she walked out of the room. She turned her head back as a second thought seemed to enter her mind.
"Don't even think about leaving this room and wandering around," she said, the tone of her voice slightly intimidating. "That goes for all of you." She then turned and swiftly shut the door behind her.
Over the next few minutes the contestants all seemed to react in differing ways to their growing boredom. The poorly lit and badly decorated lounge now seemed quite inviting in comparison to the small, dingy, and inadequately furnished room they were currently being held up in.
Meryl had, in an unconscious display of her current agitation, begun to quickly tap her toe on the floor while she leaned against the wall with her arms across her chest.
Wolfwood continued smoking his cigarette, his eyes closed as he unrepentantly enjoyed the habit.
Milly was staring up at the buzzing, fluorescent lights which decorated the ceiling. A soft smile upon her face which seemed to indicate that she was thinking of something pleasant (maybe pudding?).
Vash was growing more restless with each passing minute and at just about the time he thought he could no longer stand being trapped in the tiny room Harmony had finally returned with the pants for him.
"Here you go," she said shoving them into Vash's hands. "Hurry up and change," she added as she crossed her arms over her chest looking annoyed.
Vash's face immediately took on an expression of distress. "Umm, where exactly am I supposed to change?" he asked the short woman in front of him while glancing around the small room.
"You're just gonna have to change in here. We don't have time for you to wander around backstage until you find a place where you're comfortable enough to strip down to your skivvies, so get on with it." the small women said with growing annoyance in her voice.
Vash's stared down at the floor self-consciously. "Well, you see that would be fine, but these pants are kind of tight so I'm not exactly able to wear much under them."
Harmony's eyebrows raised up as well as the right corner of her mouth. "Oh, I see. So, you're saying that you don't have any underwear on?"
Vash's cheeks became a bit more flushed, but his expression also seemed to change to one of mild relief. "Yeah, now you understand."
Meryl groaned and rolled her eyes. "Why am I somehow not surprised," she mumbled.
"Hey," Vash piped up defensively.
Just as he was about to go on a tirade about how Meryl had no right to judge his choices in apparel (or lack thereof), Milly interrupted Vash.
"I bet you don't wear them because they chafe your sensitive areas Mr. Vash." she said with an understanding smile.
Suddenly, everyone in the room (except Milly of course) blushed a bit. This last comment had actually caused Vash's face to progress toward a shade of near beet red.
Meryl quirked her eyebrow and began to examine Milly's face. "Uh Milly, just how exactly would you know about that kind of thing anyway?" she asked.
"Well, you see my big big brother was a ballet dancer for a while and one time he told me about how he had to wear some really tight tights and how they had made his--," before Milly could finish she was cut off by Meryl.
"Um, Milly never mind. Don't worry about it," Meryl said quickly, afraid to know just where Milly's little anecdote was going.
Harmony was growing tired of what she saw as entirely pointless discussion. After a bit on internal debating she decided to give in and allow Vash to change somewhere else.
"Hey Blondie," the pudgy woman called out to Vash. "Come with me."
It took Vash a moment to comprehend that she had finally decided to let him change his clothes in privacy, but once this realization hit he immediately trailed after her with a relieved smirk on his face. However, his relief was short lived as he was hastily introduced to his makeshift changing room.
Harmony led him across the hallway and a few doors down to a broom closet and then motioned for him to enter.
"What? You want me to change in there?" the disbelieving Vash asked.
"Hey, beggars can't be choosers," Harmony retorted, steering Vash by the shoulders into the dank and pitch black closet. Vash whimpered a bit, but finally accepted that these were the only private accommodations available to him and took several steps inside.
Once she judged he was far enough inside the closet, Harmony slammed the door on Vash and waited for him to emerge in the khaki pants. However, Harmony had not realized the danger of putting the Humanoid Typhoon himself in a small, dark, enclosed area with various hard and sharp objects surrounding him.
Over the next several minutes, many screams, yelps, and crashes were emitted from the closet as the lanky blonde attempted to cast off his constrictive pants and boots in exchange for the khaki slacks. Finally, after many painful encounters with the closet's cement floor, Vash had changed into the pants. He carried his tight black pants and boots out with him as he exited the tiny closet.
"Took you long enough," Harmony muttered as Vash emerged. In the back of her mind, Harmony thought she now understood why the blonde gunman felt a need to wear so much padding in addition to his close-fitting clothing.
It was then that Harmony noticed the state of Vash's hair. It was sticking up in various places, but fell flat in others. She assumed this was a result of his encounters with various objects within the closet. After making a quick decision in regards to the show's reputation, Harmony spit into her hands, rubbed them together, and then proceed to part Vash's hair with her hands.
Vash was a bit surprised as well as horrified by her action, but didn't move away from her for fear of being chastised once again.
"That's better," Harmony said, leaving Vash with the straight part that seemed almost the reverse of his usual, preferred hairstyle.
Vash badly wanted to run his hands through his hair in an effort to bring it back to its normal position. However, he decided to hold back until Harmony left him alone.
"I guess you'll just have to put your boots back on. It won't matter much since your pants will cover them anyway," she commented as they made their way back to the room where Milly, Meryl, and Wolfwood were waiting.
Once they reached the room Harmony glanced down at her watch. "I'll have to leave you people alone now, it's about time they start anyway. But, I'm warning you, you had better not leave that room!" Harmony said the last sentence with a threatening glare.
"Yes ma'am!" Vash replied, inwardly thanking a higher power that he would finally be rid of the woman. Harmony rolled her eyes and then swiftly walked away while Vash turned and opened the door.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This chapter ended having a lot more of Harmony than I initially meant. But, she probably won't be around much for the rest of the story. Next chapter the game (finally) begins and the mystery contestants are revealed.