We're coming to you live from the vacation front. All goes well as we just spent the whole day in the car. It's lucky this is getting up. Yay!
BATTLE FOR LOVE
Razor walked down the street at a slow pace. She loosened the collar of the boy's school uniform she was wearing. It was much more constraining than the Amazon clothing she was used to and she had had to take extra care to make sure nothing was, uh… noticed. Razor didn't want anyone else to discover that she was in fact a girl. Especially not after that disaster when Jatsuma found out. It didn't seem like he had told anyone her secret, but she couldn't trust him.
So far the weather had been fair in Nerima. The sun was hanging low on the horizon, waiting to pan across the sky as the day proceeded. Razor had been spending her nights sleeping in a tree in the park. She was used to sleeping in the forest, as she had spent a great deal of her childhood on training trips with her parents. But if the weather turned she might have to set up the tent she had brought, or find shelter somewhere until the weather changed again. Either way it was a pain.
But Razor's biggest problem was that she hadn't made any progress with Makoto. The Amazon Council had selected her to be the one to marry Makoto Saotome and restore their honor. But Makoto just didn't take 'him' seriously.
Razor sighed. This couldn't have been a bigger disaster if it had been planned it that way. Not only do I have to deal with Shampoo's prejudice against my family, but I haven't even gotten Makoto to take me seriously. What's worse, someone actually found out that I'm a girl. And it just happens to be the most egotistical idiot in the world!
"This is going to be a lot more trouble than I though." She sighed. "What would Mother say if she saw me now?"
About a moment later Razor felt the ground shake slightly, as if a stampede were coming towards her.
"Leave me alone! I can find it myself!" Iikiba went running by at top speed and Razor was able to step aside just in time. Makoto came running after him.
"Just let me take you to school Iikiba! If you keep running straight you're going to miss the turn!" Makoto yelled at him. Iikiba turned to run down an alleyway.
"Not here!" Makoto jumped into the air and tackled Iikiba to the ground before he made it around the corner.
"AHH! GET OFF!" Iikiba struggled to escape but Makoto held tight to the back of his shirt and started to pull him along. "Come on Makoto! I was actually going the right way until you told me to turn!" He continued to protest.
"Makoto!" Razor called in greeting as she trotted over to them.
Makoto looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, hi Razor." She said with an uncomfortable smile. Iikiba frowned and tried to take the opportunity to pull away, but Makoto held him fast. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to know if you would walk to school with me." Razor said with the most charming smile she could manage, which really wasn't much. The Council hadn't exactly picked the most romantic person to marry Makoto.
"Oh, uh…" Makoto searched her brain for a good excuse that wasn't too mean.
"Hmph. Why don't you just go with him?" Iikiba said snidely. Razor blinked in surprise.
Makoto glared at him. "Because I'm walking you there of course! That's what girlfriends do; they help their direction impaired boyfriends find places." She said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Are you making fun of me?" Iikiba asked with narrowed eyes. "I'm not your boyfriend, stupid!" He shouted.
H- How can she prefer him to me? Or anyone for that matter? Razor thought with growing irritation.
"Stop being so stubborn!" Makoto yelled angrily at Iikiba. "And stop acting like such a jerk!"
Iikiba stuck out his tongue. "Stupid."
"STOP CALLING HER STUPID!" Razor snapped suddenly, losing her temper. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She took a threatening step towards Iikiba, who was so surprised that he took a step back. But he quickly recovered.
"W- What did you say?" He stammered irately. "Don't blame me! She started it!" He pointed at Makoto.
"Only because you never cooperate!" Makoto shot back.
"Nope!" Iikiba took off running, having realized he was free. "Not with you I don't!" He shouted as he ran.
"H- Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Makoto chased him down the street.
"Wait Makoto!" Razor started to run after her. But Makoto turned around and gave Razor a cold stare that caused her to stop in her tracks.
"Razor! For the last time! I'M NOT MARRYING YOU! I DON'T LOVE YOU!" With that, Makoto turned on her heels and darted off after Iikiba, chasing him around a corner and out of sight.
Razor stood bewildered for a few moments. "Hmph. What's love got to do with it?" She huffed.
"You don't get much, do you?" Jatsuma ask, suddenly standing right next to her.
"YAH!" Razor cracked her wrist into Jatsuma's jaw, caught off guard by his abrupt appearance.
"YOW! GOD DAMN IT RAZOR!" Jatsuma held his hands over his injured face. "What was that for?"
"Don't sneak up on me!" She snapped.
"Duly noted." He responded sarcastically.
Razor glared at him. "What do you want Jatsuma?" She asked coldly.
"Well I woke up thinking, 'who would be the best person the punch me in the face this morning?' and I just happened to see you-"
"Oh, never mind!" Razor began to walk away angrily, her school bag swinging back and forth in her hand.
Jatsuma watched her go for a moment before following from a safe distance. Razor turned her head slightly so she could glare at him through her peripheral vision, but said nothing.
"So how long do you intend to keep skipping gym class?" Jatsuma finally asked.
Razor looked surprised. She hadn't expected that question. "I don't know. Forever?"
"Well you've been going to our school for a week." Jatsuma continued. "Sooner or later it's going to get back to the principal that you've been playing hooky. Then when he makes you go to the class and you have to change in the boy's locker-room, everyone's going to know you're a girl." He said, trying not to look too pleased. "So your little charade is going to have to come to an end sooner or later!"
"And I suppose you're going to turn me in?" Razor asked with an irritated frown.
Jatsuma narrowed his eyes. "If you piss me off I just might."
Razor snorted. "Well thanks for the heads up." She said as she rolled her eyes.
"What's your deal? Aren't you worried?" Jatsuma asked angrily. "Your secret is about to be out in the open and you don't seem to care!"
"Jatsuma, what are they going to do? Tie me down and force me to take my clothes off?"
Jatsuma tried to wipe that mental picture from his mind. "Look! All I'm trying to say is that Coach Oshiro is pretty tough! He doesn't put up with trouble makers and he certainly won't let you go without changing into the PE uniform!"
"I think I can handle it."
"You also think you have a snowball's chance with Makoto. That doesn't make it true." Jatsuma muttered.
That comment got Razor's attention. She stopped walking and turned around to look fiercely at him. "Hey! I thought you said you weren't helping me anymore!"
"I'm not!" Jatsuma snapped. "I was just saying-"
"Then why don't you just butt out and leave me alone! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't take care of myself! And I especially don't need any help from some big headed idiot!"
Jatsuma's nostrils flared. "You know, you're lucky everyone thinks you're a boy because you'd make one freaking ugly girl!"
Razor's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed as she shook with fury, clinching her teeth and fists. "YOU ARE SUCH A BASTARD!" She kicked Jatsuma away into the sky as hard as she could.
ELSEWHERE IN THE STREETS OF NERIMA
"Geez, Jatsuma can be so impatient." Daichi garbled, remembering how Jatsuma had run on ahead to find someone when he had tripped. It had taken Daichi a minute to reorient himself and by then Jatsuma was gone. "He's probably meeting some girl." He mused.
A second later Daichi noticed something in the sky. He squinted his eyes and tried to get a better look. But he realized what it was only moments before Jatsuma landed on top of him in a heap.
"GAH!" Daichi shouted, flaying around like a fish out of water. "Jatsuma? Get off!"
"I'm trying! Quit kicking!" Jatsuma stood up unsteadily, still shaken from his flight into the lower stratosphere. Then he helped pull his brother to his feet.
"Wh- Where did you come from?" Daichi asked, still dizzy.
"Razor punted me about a mile high! That's what happened!" Jatsuma answered in an irritated tone. "Can you believe the nerve of that guy?"
"Well maybe if you stopped bugging him then he wouldn't beat you up all the time." Daichi sighed.
Jatsuma scowled and had to grit his teeth to stop himself from saying anything. His moment of silence caught Daichi's attention. "Jatsuma?"
"Fine! I'll just leave him alone from now on!" Jatsuma started stomping up the street.
Daichi followed along with him. "Jatsuma, are you okay?"
"Just DANDY!" Jatsuma spat.
Daichi decided to drop the subject.
IN THE SCHOOLYARD
"Hello girls!" Luffa waved a pompom at a group of girls wearing the same cheerleading outfit as her. There were three of them congregated in a circle, giggling and gossiping to one another, but they stopped talking and turned to greet Luffa as she ran up.
"Good morning Luffa!" They cheered in unison.
"April, May, June, I've just had a wonderful idea of how to get Jatsuma back! Well, maybe it's not my idea. But it's a plan!" Luffa said happily.
The trio's faces fell and they looked at each other skeptically. "What?" Luffa asked.
April cleared her throat. "Well it's just… 1! 2! 3! 4! You couldn't stand that guy no more!"
"Yeah." May agreed. "Don't you remember? 5! 6! 7! 8! He's that guy you really hate!"
"Well now I'm over that!" Luffa explained in an annoyed tone. "I know he loves me and I'm gonna prove it! I'll battle that new guy Razor! And when he defeats me we'll be engaged by Amazon law! That aught to get Jatsuma's blood boiling!" With that, Luffa hurried off to find Razor.
May sighed with a hint of disappointment. "I knew she couldn't stay away from him."
"9! 10! 11! 12! Jatsuma's the one that we all…lewv!" June waved her pompoms around enthusiastically.
April and May turned to look at her. "You need more practice, June." April sighed in exasperation.
ELSEWHERE
Razor scowled down at the students walking into Bunraku High School from her perch in a tree. She was dreading having to go to class. "Maybe I could just call in sick today." She sighed, resting her chin on a hand and letting one of her legs hang off the branch. "But Makoto probably wouldn't think to highly of that." Razor gripped her fists. "And I can't start wavering now!"
With a new wave of determination Razor jumped out of the tree, only to realize she had misplaced her school bag. "What the-? Where'd that damn thing go?" She took a look around the area and in the tree, but it was nowhere to be seen. So with an angry groan she started retracing her steps.
This is Jatsuma's fault. He got me so mad I wasn't thinking. She thought irritably as she searched through some shrubbery near the gates to the school yard.
"Oh here it is. How'd it get here?" Razor wondered as she picked the bag up off the ground. "Hm, it was probably when I punched the wall." She concluded, looking at the indent in the wall she had left earlier that morning.
"Hey there." Luffa was suddenly right behind Razor.
Razor jumped in surprise but quickly recovered. How do these people keep sneaking up on me? "Uh, hi." Razor had the faintest inkling that she had seen this girl before. But couldn't think of when or where from.
"You're Razor aren't you? The new guy?" Luffa asked with a big cheerleader smile.
"Yeah. That's me."
He's actually a little cute. Luffa thought to herself. Not as cute as Jatsuma of course, but he'll do. "I just wanted give you a big Bunraku High welcome!" She said as she struck a pose with her pompoms. "We've got a big soccer game coming up tonight. Hope you'll be there!"
Razor raised an eyebrow. She wasn't quick sure what to think of this girl. "Uh, I guess. Okay."
Luffa quickly continued. "So what brings you from China? How long are you gonna stay? I heard you were a martial artist. A good one at that."
"I suppose you could say that." Razor answered after a moment with a reserved smile.
"Awesome! I'm one too! How about a sparing match?"
Razor blinked in surprise. "You? A martial artist?" She asked skeptically.
"Well, not all the time. I dabble in it for cheerleading mostly."
Razor snorted, trying to hold back a laugh. "Nah. I think I'll pass. I wouldn't want to hurt you." She started to walk away when Luffa grabbed hold of her jacket gruffly.
"Listen you! I-… I… I think it would be an honor to fight you." Luffa released the jacket as her anger quelled. "It would really test my skills."
Again, Razor wasn't sure what to think. "Okay, sure. If you really want to spar I guess it's not a big deal."
MEANWHILE, IN THE SCHOOL
Jatsuma flopped down in his seat in a bad temper. Hmph. I remember the days when I didn't have a care in the world and everything went my way. Stupid Razor and her stupid gender secret. From now on I'm just going to pretend like I don't know anything about it. As long as Makoto isn't falling for Razor it's not my problem.
"Hey Jatsuma, you okay?" A smarmy boy with bleached blonde hair turned around in his sear near the front to speak to Jatsuma. "You look really out of it."
"I'm fine, Yukio." Jatsuma said sternly.
"Razor just kicked his butt this morning." Iikiba said with a grin, intruding on the conversation.
Jatsuma splashed a bucket of water over Iikiba's head, causing him to turn into a small, fuzzy, black chihuahua. "Barkbarkbarkbarkbark!" Iikiba yipped angrily, standing on top of his desk.
"Still gets me, every time." Yukio stared at the little dog as the girls in the classroom cooed at its cuteness.
Jatsuma grumbled angrily. "Stupid Daichi. Blabbing everything all over the place." He slouched over in his chair, glaring at the chalk board. Iikiba growled.
"What's this? Are you losing your touch, Jatsuma?" Yukio asked with a slight laugh in his voice. "Razor beat you huh? That's pretty funny! I hear all the girls think he's cute too. Razor might just dethrone you, my friend."
"Can it, Yukio. There's no way that's going to happen. Besides, what do I care what Razor does? It's not like I can date all the girls." Jatsuma said, already implementing his resolution to pretend he didn't know anything about Razor.
Yukio grinned. "Same old Jatsuma. Price of the school."
"Hi there!" Yukio's girlfriend April made he way towards them. "Hey Jatsuma!" She waved her fingers at him with flirty smile. Yukio didn't seem to notice. "I'm surprised you're still here."
"Am I supposed to go into hiding just because Razor beat me? I'm trying to forget about it!" He snapped.
April blinked. "I just meant that Luffa is fighting Razor. She's about to have a new fiancée you know."
"Told ya he'd take all the girls. Snatch up as many as you can now, Jatsuma." Yukio sneered at him.
Jatsuma's face froze for a moment. "What? What'd you say April?"
"Luffa. She's trying to get Razor to defeat her so that you will be jealous." April huffed. "Personally I think you can do better."
"AND RAZOR AGREED?" Jatsuma shouted in a strangely high voice as he stood up from his desk.
Yukio and April drew back in surprise, as did several other people in class as they turned to see what the ruckus was. "W-Well I'm sure Luffa didn't tell Razor she was an Amazon." April eventually answered.
The pieces all fell into place in Jatsuma's mind. Luffa was trying to get Razor to defeat her, not knowing that Razor was in fact a girl too. And Razor had agreed, not knowing that Luffa was an Amazon and defeating her would bind their engagement. In other words… they were both doomed.
"Jatsuma? Hello? You still with us?" Yukio snapped his fingers in front of Jatsuma's face causing the latter to blink. "Heh heh. For a second I thought you were going to faint!"
"Are you okay Jatsuma?" April asked with more genuine concern.
"I-" Was all Jatsuma wheezed out.
"Don't be such a wuss." Yukio leaned back in his seat, folding his arms behind his head. "Who cares? You already dated Luffa so she's old news. Get a grip."
"I-" Jatsuma started again. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. It's not my business. "I'VE GOT TO STOP THEM!" He quickly opened the window next to his seat and jumped out. They were on the second story but he had done this many times before.
He hit the ground moments later and started running. I'm the only one who knows everything that's really going on! I have to find Razor and Luffa fast!
Gasp! Controversy! Just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean you are. Review!