Xtreme Dating Challenge
Chapter 3: Last but Not Least. . .
By Seabreeze
A/N: Eeeh. Eeeh. I love Kenshin. And just so everyone knows, I really DO hate reality T.V. Other than Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, I can't stand it. But because this is with Kenshin characters, and I'm writing it. . . I can deal.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
~*~*~
The fighter for hire, Zanza, looked over his hunched shoulder quickly and shoved his hands into his pockets. If he wanted to get away with this, no one could see or recognize him. He pulled his dark jacket tight over his back, tight over the symbol for bad which was so characteristically his, and entered the building.
"Can I help you, sir?" a feminine voice asked from behind a desk. He smirked. The receptionist was hot.
"I'm sure you can," he drawled, and the girl blushed. The whole "secretary" thing was pretty sexy. Coughing, Zanza focused his mind back on the goal. Right, the goal. "I need to talk to the Japanese Intelligence and Protection Service." The girl, despite her blush, stared at him for a moment.
"They're different organizations, you know?" she said, looking a little disbelieving. "Japanese Intelligence and Japanese Protection Service." Zanza bristled at being corrected.
"Right, whatever. I need to talk to somebody from either of those." He waited as the girl shrugged and picked up the phone. She pushed the number "3".
"Hello, Mr. Yakamichi. Yes, I've got a man down here who needs to talk to. . . either J.I. or the J.P.S. He's not sure which." She listened for a moment, then set the phone to her shoulder and turned to Zanza.
"And why do you need to talk to Japanese Intelligence or Protection Services?" the receptionist asked. Zanza looked around to make sure no one would hear him.
"There's a conspiracy that may or may not result in a girl's death." The girl nodded as if she heard this often, and repeated the information into the phone. Listening, she nodded, thanked the man on the other end, and hung up.
"You want Japanese Intelligence. Fourteenth floor, sixth door to the left, they'll be expecting you." She smiled reassuringly and went back to her paperwork as Zanza nodded in thanks and headed towards the elevator.
When he arrived on the fourteenth floor, he took a left and counted the doors till he reached the sixth one. He raised his fist to knock, but a sharp looking man opened it before his knuckles hit the wood.
"Ah. Hello. You must be the man from downstairs. And you are. . .?"
"Call me Zanza." Zanza answered, nodding. The man looked a bit surprised.
"The infamous hired assassin? Zanza. Hmm. Well, I am Mr.Yakamichi. Welcome to Japanese Intelligence. Now. What have you come to discuss with us? A planned murder, so I heard? Come in, sit down." Zanza followed him into yet another door within the one he had just entered, finding a room with a couch and 3 lounge chairs. He took a lounge chair.
"Something like that." Zanza answered slowly. "You see, Tokyo Television Network is starting a new dating show called Xtreme Dating Challenge. The object of the game is for one of the 25 most eligible bachelors in Japan to win the affections of a girl. I am one of the 25. TTN's president explained to us how much is riding on this show. Takana, the president, said that we must have this woman fall in love with one of us. If not. . . for entertainment's sake. . ." Zanza made a motion with his hand across his neck to emphasize.
"They. . . they're going to kill her if she doesn't fall in love with one of you?" Yakamichi exclaimed. "That's crazy!" He rubbed his forehead. "Do we know who this girl is?"
Zanza shook his head. "Not a clue." Yakamichi frowned, and poked his head out the door.
"Kappei!" he called.
"Yes, Mr. Yakamichi?" Zanza heard a voice from outside.
"Find out who the female contestant for TTN's new reality show 'Xtreme Dating Challenge' is."
"Hai, sir." Yakamichi turned back to face Zanza.
"He's our resident hacker. We should know soon enough." He sighed and looked at Zanza. "The question is, how do we get an agent in there to protect her?"
"As of right now, there are only 24 bachelors." The spiky headed fighter replied. "The last one, I heard, still hasn't signed. If you can find the right guy soon enough, I figure he can get in."
Yakamichi wrinkled his nose in thought, and a small blonde man, Kappei, poked his head in.
"Mr. Yakamichi?"
"Hai."
"The girl's name is Kamiya Kaoru."
"Arigato, Kappei." Yakamichi turned again to Zanza. "Well. Now, with your help, we can find an agent in Protection and send him with you to TTN. . . this is perfect. I can't thank you enough, Zanza."
"No big thing. Are we going to go find this guy now?"
"Sooner, the better." Yakamichi stood, motioning for Zanza to follow as he left the room with all the comfortable seating, then the 6th door, and headed towards the elevators. The men stepped in, and Yakamichi pressed the button for the 16th floor. Both men waited in impatient silence as the elevator moved slowly upward. Zanza cleared his throat.
"Things work pretty fast around Japanese Intelligence and Protection, don't they?" he wondered aloud. Yakamichi nodded. "Good. That's how I like things." The elevator dinged and there was a shuffling noise as the heavy silver doors opened. Zanza and Mr. Yakamichi headed out, Yakamichi in the lead. He led them to the right, walking all the way down the long hallway to a door on the right. '478', the door read. Yakamichi let himself and Zanza right in without a knock or anything, and was immediately greeted by a male secretary.
"Yakamichi! How can JPS serve you?" the man asked, sickeningly cheerful, in Zanza's opinion.
"I've got a job for one of your boys." Yakamichi replied.
"Ah. Let me find you the boss." Before he could even pick up the phone, a tall man, taller than Zanza, even, came forth.
"Yakamichi," he said, his voice deep. "Who or what is in need of Japanese Protection." It wasn't a question. Zanza got the feeling that this man made people nervous, though not himself. People did not make Zanza nervous.
"Yes, Mr. Seijiro." Yakamichi began to unfold the information he and Zanza had come up with together, including the last opening spot for a bachelor, and Zanza's part in the whole story. Seijiro's face was blank for a minute afterward, and then he nodded abruptly.
"Very well. Agents!" he yelled suddenly, more to the entire building than the fighter for hire and the president of Japanese Intelligence. Immediately, around 12 extremely fit men assembled, each looking fiercer than the next. Each was dressed in comfortable looking black slacks, a black t-shirt, and a navy bulletproof vest. Turning with a smirk to his two guests, Seijiro motioned towards them. "These, friends, are the 12 best Protection Agents in Japan. They work under me, and the one best fitted to the needs of this case... he is yours."
Zanza was silent for a moment as he sized each agent up. 'Too short, too fat, too bulky, too stupid, too ugly, too clean.' He thought in disgust. He turned to Seijiro.
"Well, which one's the best?" he asked bluntly. Yakamichi covered his face with his hand, and Seijiro merely raised an eyebrow. Shrugging, he snapped.
"Baka deshi," he said. It was an order. 'Perfect,' Zanza thought in annoyance. 'His best agent is an idiot student. Perfect.' To his surprise, the shortest, smallest, most red-headed agent stepped forward. He had a cross-shaped scar on the left cheek, and seemed somewhat annoyed with Seijiro.
"Must you introduce me like that?" he asked his boss, who gave a sinister grin.
"'That I should.'" He replied. 'Baka Deshi' scowled, and then turned to Zanza and Yakamichi with a genuine smile.
"Hello, my name is Himura Kenshin." He held out his hand to Zanza.
"Zanza." Zanza replied slowly, reluctantly putting out his hand. Kenshin shook it, and then turned to Yakamichi and bowed.
"Mr. Yakamichi. It's good to see you again."
"And you, Mr. Himura."
"So, what are the qualifications?" the man named Kenshin asked amicably. Zanza looked sideways at Yakamichi and cleared his throat.
"Well, if you're the best, than obviously that's good enough. But I'm not sure if you quite cut it, physically, I mean. . ."
"I can assure you that my size gives me no disadvantage during battle." Kenshin looked a bit miffed but entirely serious. Zanza laughed.
"That's not exactly what I meant."
~*~*~
No one reviewed my first chapter. . . how sad. Does reality tv turn y'all off? I hate it, but the idea for this fic was too priceless to let pass. . .
BUT! For my second chapter reviewers:
The-Lone-Lemon- It is weird. . . I know. It has to be, since I wrote it. Thanks for reviewing and I hope to see you back (
RK-128- Thanks much, Scarf-Kidnapper. It means a whole lot coming from you. I know you're busy, but when the next chapter of Liquid Dreams is out I'm throwing a frickin' party. Anberlin! Yay! Also- WE FOUND DDR MACHINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * flips out * No, but really, thanks a lot for reviewing and doing it in such a flattering way!
Chapter 3: Last but Not Least. . .
By Seabreeze
A/N: Eeeh. Eeeh. I love Kenshin. And just so everyone knows, I really DO hate reality T.V. Other than Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, I can't stand it. But because this is with Kenshin characters, and I'm writing it. . . I can deal.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
~*~*~
The fighter for hire, Zanza, looked over his hunched shoulder quickly and shoved his hands into his pockets. If he wanted to get away with this, no one could see or recognize him. He pulled his dark jacket tight over his back, tight over the symbol for bad which was so characteristically his, and entered the building.
"Can I help you, sir?" a feminine voice asked from behind a desk. He smirked. The receptionist was hot.
"I'm sure you can," he drawled, and the girl blushed. The whole "secretary" thing was pretty sexy. Coughing, Zanza focused his mind back on the goal. Right, the goal. "I need to talk to the Japanese Intelligence and Protection Service." The girl, despite her blush, stared at him for a moment.
"They're different organizations, you know?" she said, looking a little disbelieving. "Japanese Intelligence and Japanese Protection Service." Zanza bristled at being corrected.
"Right, whatever. I need to talk to somebody from either of those." He waited as the girl shrugged and picked up the phone. She pushed the number "3".
"Hello, Mr. Yakamichi. Yes, I've got a man down here who needs to talk to. . . either J.I. or the J.P.S. He's not sure which." She listened for a moment, then set the phone to her shoulder and turned to Zanza.
"And why do you need to talk to Japanese Intelligence or Protection Services?" the receptionist asked. Zanza looked around to make sure no one would hear him.
"There's a conspiracy that may or may not result in a girl's death." The girl nodded as if she heard this often, and repeated the information into the phone. Listening, she nodded, thanked the man on the other end, and hung up.
"You want Japanese Intelligence. Fourteenth floor, sixth door to the left, they'll be expecting you." She smiled reassuringly and went back to her paperwork as Zanza nodded in thanks and headed towards the elevator.
When he arrived on the fourteenth floor, he took a left and counted the doors till he reached the sixth one. He raised his fist to knock, but a sharp looking man opened it before his knuckles hit the wood.
"Ah. Hello. You must be the man from downstairs. And you are. . .?"
"Call me Zanza." Zanza answered, nodding. The man looked a bit surprised.
"The infamous hired assassin? Zanza. Hmm. Well, I am Mr.Yakamichi. Welcome to Japanese Intelligence. Now. What have you come to discuss with us? A planned murder, so I heard? Come in, sit down." Zanza followed him into yet another door within the one he had just entered, finding a room with a couch and 3 lounge chairs. He took a lounge chair.
"Something like that." Zanza answered slowly. "You see, Tokyo Television Network is starting a new dating show called Xtreme Dating Challenge. The object of the game is for one of the 25 most eligible bachelors in Japan to win the affections of a girl. I am one of the 25. TTN's president explained to us how much is riding on this show. Takana, the president, said that we must have this woman fall in love with one of us. If not. . . for entertainment's sake. . ." Zanza made a motion with his hand across his neck to emphasize.
"They. . . they're going to kill her if she doesn't fall in love with one of you?" Yakamichi exclaimed. "That's crazy!" He rubbed his forehead. "Do we know who this girl is?"
Zanza shook his head. "Not a clue." Yakamichi frowned, and poked his head out the door.
"Kappei!" he called.
"Yes, Mr. Yakamichi?" Zanza heard a voice from outside.
"Find out who the female contestant for TTN's new reality show 'Xtreme Dating Challenge' is."
"Hai, sir." Yakamichi turned back to face Zanza.
"He's our resident hacker. We should know soon enough." He sighed and looked at Zanza. "The question is, how do we get an agent in there to protect her?"
"As of right now, there are only 24 bachelors." The spiky headed fighter replied. "The last one, I heard, still hasn't signed. If you can find the right guy soon enough, I figure he can get in."
Yakamichi wrinkled his nose in thought, and a small blonde man, Kappei, poked his head in.
"Mr. Yakamichi?"
"Hai."
"The girl's name is Kamiya Kaoru."
"Arigato, Kappei." Yakamichi turned again to Zanza. "Well. Now, with your help, we can find an agent in Protection and send him with you to TTN. . . this is perfect. I can't thank you enough, Zanza."
"No big thing. Are we going to go find this guy now?"
"Sooner, the better." Yakamichi stood, motioning for Zanza to follow as he left the room with all the comfortable seating, then the 6th door, and headed towards the elevators. The men stepped in, and Yakamichi pressed the button for the 16th floor. Both men waited in impatient silence as the elevator moved slowly upward. Zanza cleared his throat.
"Things work pretty fast around Japanese Intelligence and Protection, don't they?" he wondered aloud. Yakamichi nodded. "Good. That's how I like things." The elevator dinged and there was a shuffling noise as the heavy silver doors opened. Zanza and Mr. Yakamichi headed out, Yakamichi in the lead. He led them to the right, walking all the way down the long hallway to a door on the right. '478', the door read. Yakamichi let himself and Zanza right in without a knock or anything, and was immediately greeted by a male secretary.
"Yakamichi! How can JPS serve you?" the man asked, sickeningly cheerful, in Zanza's opinion.
"I've got a job for one of your boys." Yakamichi replied.
"Ah. Let me find you the boss." Before he could even pick up the phone, a tall man, taller than Zanza, even, came forth.
"Yakamichi," he said, his voice deep. "Who or what is in need of Japanese Protection." It wasn't a question. Zanza got the feeling that this man made people nervous, though not himself. People did not make Zanza nervous.
"Yes, Mr. Seijiro." Yakamichi began to unfold the information he and Zanza had come up with together, including the last opening spot for a bachelor, and Zanza's part in the whole story. Seijiro's face was blank for a minute afterward, and then he nodded abruptly.
"Very well. Agents!" he yelled suddenly, more to the entire building than the fighter for hire and the president of Japanese Intelligence. Immediately, around 12 extremely fit men assembled, each looking fiercer than the next. Each was dressed in comfortable looking black slacks, a black t-shirt, and a navy bulletproof vest. Turning with a smirk to his two guests, Seijiro motioned towards them. "These, friends, are the 12 best Protection Agents in Japan. They work under me, and the one best fitted to the needs of this case... he is yours."
Zanza was silent for a moment as he sized each agent up. 'Too short, too fat, too bulky, too stupid, too ugly, too clean.' He thought in disgust. He turned to Seijiro.
"Well, which one's the best?" he asked bluntly. Yakamichi covered his face with his hand, and Seijiro merely raised an eyebrow. Shrugging, he snapped.
"Baka deshi," he said. It was an order. 'Perfect,' Zanza thought in annoyance. 'His best agent is an idiot student. Perfect.' To his surprise, the shortest, smallest, most red-headed agent stepped forward. He had a cross-shaped scar on the left cheek, and seemed somewhat annoyed with Seijiro.
"Must you introduce me like that?" he asked his boss, who gave a sinister grin.
"'That I should.'" He replied. 'Baka Deshi' scowled, and then turned to Zanza and Yakamichi with a genuine smile.
"Hello, my name is Himura Kenshin." He held out his hand to Zanza.
"Zanza." Zanza replied slowly, reluctantly putting out his hand. Kenshin shook it, and then turned to Yakamichi and bowed.
"Mr. Yakamichi. It's good to see you again."
"And you, Mr. Himura."
"So, what are the qualifications?" the man named Kenshin asked amicably. Zanza looked sideways at Yakamichi and cleared his throat.
"Well, if you're the best, than obviously that's good enough. But I'm not sure if you quite cut it, physically, I mean. . ."
"I can assure you that my size gives me no disadvantage during battle." Kenshin looked a bit miffed but entirely serious. Zanza laughed.
"That's not exactly what I meant."
~*~*~
No one reviewed my first chapter. . . how sad. Does reality tv turn y'all off? I hate it, but the idea for this fic was too priceless to let pass. . .
BUT! For my second chapter reviewers:
The-Lone-Lemon- It is weird. . . I know. It has to be, since I wrote it. Thanks for reviewing and I hope to see you back (
RK-128- Thanks much, Scarf-Kidnapper. It means a whole lot coming from you. I know you're busy, but when the next chapter of Liquid Dreams is out I'm throwing a frickin' party. Anberlin! Yay! Also- WE FOUND DDR MACHINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * flips out * No, but really, thanks a lot for reviewing and doing it in such a flattering way!