A PikaFlash's World 2013 project

The Anime Games: An Urban Action Variety Fanfic

A Team PikaFlash Fanfic, working on Fanfics for 12 Years

[Produced by the SOS Brigade]

Disclaimers: All characters, Anime, Manga, Games and miscellaneous series mentioned or appearing in this fanfic belong to their respective owners. This fanfic is simply a medium to express ideas.

[03: Tai Hard - Crypton Future Media's Tokyo Office]

Ash, Hinata, Konata and Ed were in the lobby of the building where Crypton Future Media's Tokyo offices were located.

"Are we on standby?" Ed asked.

Ash simply shrugged. "It doesn't matter right now. Anyway, Ed, do you mind standing by my left side?"

"If you insist," said Ed as he stood on Ash's left while Hinata was already at Ash's right. "But why do you need me to stand here?"

"I like being in between my henchmen," Ash explained. "It makes me feel all important while we wait for the others to arrive. Anyway, I should begin the introductions since we're already here. Welcome to The Anime Games. Today's chapter has taken us to Crypton Future Media's Tokyo Offices. Crypton is a company that is involved with audio products since its founding in the mid-90s but they are best known for the creation of the most well known Vocaloid software program around the world: Hatsune Miku."

"By the way, Satoshi-kun, where's everyone else?" asked Hinata.

"Tai and the others are on the way here while doing their penalty game," Ash answered.

Meanwhile, an SUV arrived a block away from Crypton Future Media's Tokyo offices and four unfortunate individuals disembarked the vehicle.

Yui was cosplaying as Kaito in a blue wig; Keitaro was cosplaying as Luka Megurine in a pink wig; Syaoran was cosplaying as Rin Kagamine in a blonde wig and finally, Tai was cosplaying as Miku Hatsune wearing a turquoise wig.

The arrival of the four cosplaying Anime Characters attracted the attention of the various passer-bys on the street, with three of those characters only feeling embarrassment from the attraction as they walked towards the Crypton Future Media Tokyo Offices...

As Tai's group entered the lobby, Konata spotted them. "Oh, here they are!"

"Wait, we're starting the chapter while wearing our penalty cosplays?" Tai asked. "But I haven't changed yet."

"I give you guys a 5/5 for walking through the streets in Cosplay to get here," Konata said, giving the thumbs up to the group.

Tai frowned. "Speaking of the penalty, Konata, Ash and Hinata have managed to evade the penalty three times in a row."

Ash grinned. "We're the lucky ones. Anyway, our guest has arrived."

At that moment, a brunette man in his late-teens joined the group.

"Welcome to The Anime Games, Kyon," greeted Tai. "As you can see, we have quite the crew here. We have a Digimon Tamer, an Alchemist, a Sorcerer, a Ninja, a Musician, a scumbag, a Todai Graduate and an Otaku.

Ash picked up on the 'scumbag' comment. "Seriously, Tai, Do you have to be so childish?"

Tai ignored Ash. "By the way, Kyon, I heard that tomorrow's a public holiday, so you might have a hard time heading back to your hometown in after the fanfic is done."

Kyon sighed. "When I was invited into the fanfic, I thought it was because Haruhi didn't have time to get anyone else. But when I found out that we're doing the chapter today, I realized she was too lazy to get anyone else."

At that moment, Koizumi made an announcement. "By the way, I would like to add that Miss Suzumiya was pleased with the events of the last chapter, especially with the capable actions of Mr. Ash Ketchum. For his efforts, she has decided to bestow upon Mr. Ash Ketchum the title of the S.O.S. Brigade Commander.

Tai was in a complete shock as everyone else cheered for Ash's 'promotion'.

Tai glared at Ash. "Why do you get to be the Commander?"

Ash smirked. "Well, you know me. I want to be the very best, like no one ever was."

Yui suddenly raised her hand. "Speaking of being the best, I heard a rumor about Satoshi-sempai..."

[There's a rumor about Ash?]

"I heard that Satoshi-sempai's handlers must always have a T-shirt prepared for him whenever he needs to take his jacket off..."

However, before Yui could finish, she received a furious glare from Commander Ash as he stood next to her. Yui bowed towards Ash for forgiveness. "I take that back, sempai."

[Incriminator Yui: Failed.]

The group of nine relocated themselves inside a conference room where the characters sat at three tables in groups of three, with the first table having Yui, Konata and Keitaro, second table with Ash, Tai and Kyon and the final table with Ed, Syaoran and Hinata.

(It was around this time that Tai, Syaoran, Keitaro and Yui changed out of their cosplay into their casual clothes...)

Tai began the introduction. "As you can see, we're at Crypton Future Media's Tokyo offices. Currently, we're in one of their conference rooms, where staff would decide on their next project involving Hatsune Miku and her friends."

Producer Koizumi then made an announcement. "There has been a minor change in the game format. In recognition for having Miss Suzumiya being put in charge of the fanfic, we have renamed the lottery balls as the new SOS Balls."

"Does anyone here think there's something wrong with the new name for the Lottery Balls?" asked Syaoran, though it was completely ignored.

"It's now time for the first game: Catch the Thief!" Tai announced.

Rules: In Catch the Thief, each player will receive a card and one of the cards is marked as the Thief. The object of the game is not to have the Thief card in your hand. During each round, each player must exchange cards with the player next to them. When each round ends, mini-games will be played to and the winners will be exempt from playing Catch the Thief and give their card to another player of their choice. After the second mini-game, the seating arrangement can be mixed up among the remaining players. At the end of the game, everyone except for the holder of the Thief Card will each win an SOS Ball.

"As you all know, this game is about having a poker face, so I'm going to deal the cards now," Tai said as he distributes the cards out to everyone. "And don't forget to check your cards to confirm that you don't have the Thief card and make sure no one else sees your card."

As everyone received their cards, the players looked at their cards to confirm what they received. As Tai looked at his card, his face froze. For the second chapter in a row, Tai has received the Thief.

"So we don't show everyone else our cards?" Kyon asked.

"Of course, you can't simply show anyone your card like this," Yui said as she revealed her card as an example.

"No!" Ed screamed. "You played this game before, Yui! How could you make such an amateur move?"

Sensing an opportunity, Tai took Yui and Kyon's cards. "Alright, everyone hand back their cards and we'll deal it again!" As soon as Tai collected all the cards, he revealed his card. "By the way, I had the Thief with me."

Thanks to Yui, Tai had managed to get a second chance.

Ash groaned. "Just shuffle the cards properly."

Tai shuffled the cards. "Seriously, why do I have to be the thief again?"

"How about this, Tai: Take a card out of the stack and Ash will deal the cards," Keitaro suggested.

"Good idea." Tai took a card as Ash dealt the cards.

As the cards were dealt, everyone checked their cards. Yui checked and confirmed that she's does not have the Thief. Hinata checked hers and it's not the Thief card. Tai checked his card and breathed a silent sigh of relief as he isn't holding the Thief Card. As Ash checked his card, his face froze at the sight of the Thief.

"Alright, time to begin. Yui, give your card to Konata," said Tai.

Yui gave her only card to Konata. Konata then turned towards Keitaro with her cards. "Go ahead, Sempai. Pick a card."

Keitaro cautiously took one of Konata's cards, not knowing if she has the Thief card or not. But only Ash and the fanfic readers are aware of the Thief Card's location. And now, it's Ash's turn to pick a card from Keitaro.

"Are you sure you want to take a card from me, Ash?" asked Keitaro.

"I'm willing to take the risk," Ash said as he simply took a card from Keitaro, as the Thief Card is already in his hand.

Now it's Tai's turn to pick. "Can I trust you, Ash?"

"Of course, Tai," Ash said as he maintained his composure while holding out his cards for Tai to pick.

"Alright," Tai took a card from Ash. "But seriously, what really annoys me is that your series last for almost 15 years is beyond my comprehension. I mean, you were 10 years old for 15 years straight. How do the writers come up with such an absurd idea and yet remain popular with the kids for so long?"

"Get on with it!" Ed yelled. "If you keep on talking, we'll never end this fanfic!"

Tai looked shocked. "I'm wounded, Ed. I was just trying to lighten the mood as the host of this fanfic."

"Just check your card and get on with it," said Keitaro. "We want to read your facial expression when you check your cards."

"Fine," Tai said as he checked his cards. No one noticed that Ash was hiding a grin as Tai checked his cards. Tai was greeted by the Thief card he took from Ash. Tai remained stone-faced as he lowered his cards.

Now it's Kyon's turn to pick a card from Tai. "I want the card in your right hand."

"Are you sure?" asked Tai

"Of course," said Kyon.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"I've made up my mind and I don't intend to change it anytime soon," Kyon said as he took the card from Tai's right hand. As Kyon checked to confirm his cards, he was greeted by the dreaded Thief card. Kyon restrained a bitter smile as he looked up.

Now it's Ed's turn to choose a card from Kyon. "Do you have the Thief in your hand?"

Kyon maintained his straight face. "Yes."

Ed was disturbed with Kyon's straightforwardness. But Ed knew that he still had to pick a card, so he took one of Kyon's cards. Unfortunately for Kyon, Ed did not take the Thief card and took the other card instead, leaving Kyon with a bitter smile on his face for the remainder of the round.

At the end of the first round, everyone prepared themselves for the first mini-game.

"Our first mini-game is Giant Jenga," Tai announced. "The winner of this mini-game will give their card to another player and earn an SOS Ball."

Once the giant Jenga blocks have been set up (made from rectangular cardboard boxes), the players prepare themselves to decide the order of drawing the blocks.

"All of us will be playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide the order of drawing. Let's do this in three, two, one!"

The players showed their hands, with Ash, Keitaro and Ed showing Scissors while everyone else had Rock. The players began to split into two groups to decide the order again, with the Scissors representing the group going last. Keitaro, Ed and Ash played again and this time, both Ash and Keitaro have paper against Ed's rock, causing Ed to fall into last place as he collapsed in defeat, leaving a match between Ash and Keitaro. As Ash and Keitaro played another game, Ash had Rock while Keitaro started with scissors before changing to paper at the last second. The order of play had been decided, except for Ash and Keitaro's debate for the second and third last position.

"I saw that, Megane-sempai!" said Ash. "You had scissors!"

"No, it was paper!" Keitaro retorted.

At that moment, everyone began to clap their hands and chant, "Make Peace! Make Peace! Make Peace! Make Peace!"

Ash glared at Keitaro. "When I see this chapter online and if I find out that that I won, I won't let you get away with it."

Keitaro looked at Tai. "Will it hurt?"

Tai sighed. "At times like this, I think it's best if Hinata-san steps in and said, 'Please stop fighting, Satoshi-kun, Keitaro-san.'"

Keitaro glared at Hinata. "Quiet, you."

Hinata feigned being hurt from Keitaro's words.

"Let's begin pulling out the first box," Tai said, changing the subject.

[Giant Jenga Rules: Players each take turns in removing a box from the tower. The person who successfully removes a box before the tower collapses is the winner.]

Tai was the first to remove a box from the tower. He slowly and carefully removed a middle box from a part of the tower that was slightly taller than Tai. However, Syaoran subtly walked up to Tai and tickled him under the armpits.

"Waaa." Tai quickly jumped away from the tower, sending a furious glare at Syaoran. "What was that for?!"

"To see if you were keeping your guard up," Syaoran said as he smirked.

Tai kept his armpits closed as he removed the box. "Done, so who's next?"

The next person to attempt to remove a box was Syaoran. As Syaoran made up his mind to remove a box of his choice, Tai decided to sabotage Syaoran's attempt, but Syaoran quickly saw through Tai's trick and subtly used his left foot to push out a middle block near the bottom of the tower close to Tai's leg. It was only when Hinata looked down when she pointed at the exposed box in between Tai's leg.

"Taichi-kun, there's a box between your legs," Hinata pointed out.

Tai looked down to find an expose box near between his legs. "Noooo."

Syaoran rolled on the floor, laughing at Tai's embarrassment. After regaining his composure, Syaoran calmly removed the box.

Soon, it was Kyon's turn. Kyon picked a box and slowly pulled it out with a huge amount of focus. Tai noticed Kyon's huge concentration in his attempt. "Kyon, are you playing Jenga or trying to disarm a bomb?"

Suddenly, Kyon wiped some sweat off his brow. "I think I would say that dealing with Haruhi is way easier than playing this game."

Kyon managed to successfully remove the box. Over time, more boxes were removed. As it reached Ed's turn, Ed tried to push a box out. Tai began to interfere with Ed's attempt by putting his hand in front of the box, preventing Ed from pushing the box further out.

"That's weird. I think it's stuck." As Ed walked around to check why the box wasn't moving, Tai quickly moved his hand away, pretending to act innocent. As Ed tried to pull his box out from the tower, Tai walked around the other side and slipped his hand in to pull the box, preventing Ed from pulling the box out. This time, Ed noticed Tai's sabotage attempt through a hole in the tower.

"Why must everyone have to be so petty when we're playing these games?" screamed Ed. Despite the interference, Ed successfully removed his box.

It didn't take long before there was only one section of the tower that still had three boxes intact.

"I think I should take the offensive," Yui said as she carefully pulled out a side box from a level that still had three boxes keeping the tower standing. Yui successfully removed the box, leaving only one final box on the opposite side of the tower that could be removed.

"It's now Kyon's turn. If he successfully removes this last box, he'll win the mini-game."

Kyon slowly puts his hands on the remaining side box. With steady hands, Kyon slowly pulled the box out, completely focused on the task while ignoring his surroundings.

"Wow, you're really sweating, Kyon," said Ash.

As Kyon pulled the box out, the tower began to wobble. Kyon held his breath, hoping that the tower remains standing. Fortunately, the tower remained stable, causing Kyon to breathe a sigh of relief.

Now it's Konata's turn and unfortunately for her, there are no other boxes for her to pull out because the only box that could be taken out was at the very top of the tower where Konata couldn't reach.

"Our only option is for someone to punch out the remaining box and hope that the tower remains standing," Syaoran suggests.

Konata sighed. "I think its moments like these that I wish I had that Ash Ketchum voucher."

Ed sighed. "I'll do it for you, Konata."

Ed calmly walked up to the Giant Jenga tower and punched the single block out of the tower, but the tower collapsed from the effort.

"Kyon wins the Giant Jenga mini-game!" Tai announced.

At the end of the game, Kyon received his SOS Ball and looked at the other players as he decided which player will receive his card.

"Just in case anyone is wondering, this is the Thief card," Kyon truthfully said.

"Really?" Keitaro asked as everyone else was confused at Kyon's revelation, unsure if Kyon's lying or not.

Not willing to take the risk, Tai looked at Kyon and began his brown nosing. "Congratulations, Kyon."

"Kyon is an awesome main character," praised Syaoran.

"Sempai, I want to give you a Jenga game set," said Yui.

"If you have time, I would like to invite you to my place to play a Jenga game," said Tai.

"Alone?" Kyon asked.

"Who else do you want to come?"

"How about some friends of yours?" suggested Kyon.

Tai smiled. "Of course," he said.

"How about some of my wife's friends?" asked Keitaro.

"I'm not interested in a harem, Sempai," said Kyon.

"Ed has been quite all night," Ash pointed out. "Do you have anything to say?"

"Alright, it's like having Yusuke Urameshi with us," said Ed.

Kyon nodded as he contemplates who to give his card to.

"Alright, Kyon, who do you plan to give your card to?" asked Tai.

Kyon placed the card in front of Tai, effectively handing the Thief card back to its previous holder.

Not long after, it became time to pick the next cards. Eventually, it was Tai's turn to pick a card. He calmly picked his card as it became Ed's turn to pick a card.

"Now I'm nervous."

Kyon nodded. "Choose wisely."

Ed picked a random card from Tai's hand. "You know something I don't, Kyon?" asked Ed.

Tai remained calm. "Who knows what this guy is thinking."

With the Thief Card's location currently unknown, the characters began their next game.

Koizumi introduced the next game. "Our next game is DIY Amidakuji to determine the next two SOS Ball recipients."

Koizumi revealed a white board with eight lines with the bottom part of the lines completely covered.

"The object of this game is to create legs between the vertical lines and hope that the line you choose will give you your SOS Ball."

The characters designed their legs connecting each vertical line after adding their names on top. As everyone traced teach line and determined each character's destination. With the results determined, the cover was removed, revealing that both Yui and Keitaro received SOS Balls, enabling them to escape from the game.

Tai frowned. "We should have added a few more lines at the bottom for a twist. At least one of us will be able to escape."

It was time for Yui and Keitaro to give away their cards.

"Okay, so who should I give my cards to?" asked Yui.

"How about giving it to Keitaro and make it a double blow?" Tai suggested.

Keitaro frowned. "You're getting my card, Tai."

"Give Taichi-sempai mine as well," Yui then gave her card to Keitaro and Keitaro gave the cards to Tai, giving Tai a total of four cards.

After the cards were given, Keitaro, Yui and Kyon now have the job of deciding on the switching of seats.

"One, two, three!" Keitaro managed to get paper while both Yui and Kyon ended up with rock.

Keitaro stood up. "Alright, let's do this. Tai, what do you think of your Sempai?"

"You're the best, Sempai," said Tai.

Keitaro raised his hand. "Kiss my hand."

Tai immediately kissed Keitaro's hand rapidly before Keitaro pulled it away. "That was too excessive, Tai."

"Sorry," Tai apologized. "If it means anything to you, Sempai, I'd rather stay where I am."

Keitaro nodded. "Alright, you can switch seats with Ash."

Tai switched seats with Ash.

"And while I'm at it, Hinata can switch seats with Konata," ordered Keitaro.

Konata and Hinata switched seats.

"Finally, Ed can switch seats with Syaoran."

Syaoran and Ed switched seats. Now, none of the players except for the former Thief card holder knows the location of the Thief Card.

"Alright, Ash, since you have three cards, we'll let you reveal your cards first.

Ash, sitting at Tai's former seat calmly picked a card from the three and revealed it. Everyone cheered as Ash had revealed the card. Ash quickly checked his card, only to find that he had revealed the Thief Card to everyone.

"How did this happen?" asked a surprised Ash.

"I had Thief Card for a second time and it never left my hand," Tai explained. "But my desperate move did manage to pull me out of danger."

"Why do I sense that Ash will go all-out in the next game?" said Keitaro as he noticed that Ash had a fired up look in his eyes.

Then, Koizumi made an announcement. "As Mr. Ash Ketchum has failed to earn an SOS Ball, he will decide on the teams for the next game."

"I've already decided who I want on my team: my three trusted henchmen," Ash said as he cracked his knuckles.

Tai sighed as he, Keitaro, Konata, Yui and Kyon formed the other team.

This is a fanfic that involves two characters from two different Anime series, but despite being bitter rivals, they have a good friendship. One is a character who had remained at the age of ten for more than 15 years, while at the same time proving to be somewhat of a ladies' man. The other is a character who represents Courage and is known for his leadership skills but he ended up falling into obscurity. But now, these two characters must face off against each other...

[4:55 AM]

At the ground floor lobby of Crypton Future Media's Tokyo Office building, Tai, Kyon, Konata, Keitaro and Yui were sitting at a café table having a strategy meeting.

"Kyon, I don't want to alarm you, but our track record hasn't been pretty good recently, especially since three people among us were easily caught by the other team," said Keitaro.

Kyon looked at his teammates, focusing on Tai, Keitaro and Yui. "I can pretty much guess who."

Konata noticed that the team's cell phone has received a message. "It's the instructions from Koizumi-san."

[Team Tai: Your mission is to find and collect four marked Vocaloid CDs and bring them to the PA system Control Room on the 8th Floor before 6am]

[Locations:]
[1: 2nd floor: CD Store]
[2: 6th floor: Recording Studio]
[3: 9th floor: Sound Library]
[4: 15th floor: Production Office]

Yui picked up a CD case with an S.O.S. Brigade sticker. "This is what we have to find. At least with the sticker, we'll know that it's the right CD."

Tai stood up. "Alright guys, let's go find some CDs."

The members of Team Tai put on their red Brigade armbands.

Meanwhile, at Team Ash's strategy meeting, the discussion wasn't about strategy...

"Well, since Ash has managed to get himself an awesome nickname, let's come up with our own nicknames," Ed said. "And since I want to take advantage of the dying Twilight fad, I want to call myself Ed-bert Patterson."

"I'll be Hina-lina Jolie," said Hinata.

"I don't want a nickname," said Syaoran.

"You'll get a nickname, whether you like it or not," said Ed. "And since your family name is Li, let's call you Bruce Syaoran."

Syaoran sighed and gave up in frustration. "Fine, I'll take it."

Team Ash had received their mission on their cell phone. "Team Ash: Your mission is to remove the other team's armbands."

Each member of Team Ash attached a bell onto their shoes before leaving the room.

Then, the group put their hands together for a team cheer. "Alright, let's do this: Commander Ash!"

"Hina-lina Jolie!"

"Bruce Syaoran!"

"Ed-bert Patterson!"

"Let's Go!"

[Time: 5:01 am]

Team Tai had split up with Tai and Yui beginning their search in the CD Store on the second floor.

"There's a lot of CDs here, Tai-sempai," Yui said.

Tai searched the shelves. "You need to be observant. We'll eventually find it."

Yui calmly checked behind the cash register and found a CD case hidden under a register. Yui pulled it out and noticed that it is marked with the S.O.S Brigade sticker. "Sempai, I found one."

"Good. We'd better get moving or we'll be easy targets here." Tai took out his walkie-talkie. "Guys, we found a CD on the second floor."

[Locations:]
[1: 2nd floor: CD Store - Collected]
[2: 6th floor: Recording Studio]
[3: 9th floor: Sound Library]
[4: 15th floor: Production Office]

On the 15th floor, Konata was searching through the production office. She picked up her walkie-talkie. "Tai-sempai, there are a lot of CDs in the office up here and none of them are even Vocaloid related."

As Konata desperately search through the piles of CDs, her search was immediately interrupted by the ringing sound of bells. Konata held her breath. 'Someone's coming.'

Konata quickly went to a hiding spot as she spotted the source of the ringing sounds entered the office.

Hinata was slowly stalking around the corner of the office cubicles, Konata prepared herself to make a run for the exit.

"Come back here!"

Konata ignored Hinata's calls as she ran towards the front exit. As Konata ran around the corner of a cubicle...

"Kyaaaaa!"

It was Konata's unfortunate luck as she ran straight into Ash Ketchum, who happened to enter the office by chance. The shock caused her to collapse onto the floor.

"And I didn't even have to do anything," said Ash as he smiled at his good luck. "So, Konata, have you found what you were looking for?"

"Nope," Konata answered before she quickly realized her mistake.

"Aha, looks like we can stage an ambush here," Ash said.

"That's not true. I got a CD," Konata lied.

"So, your team is looking for CDs," said Hinata.

Konata became pale. "Well, there's lots of CDs here...I give up. Please give me another chance, Satoshi-sempai!"

Ash and Hinata looked at each other. Ash suddenly had an idea. "Alright, we'll let you go if you lure one of your teammates here. Just one person and we'll let you go."

Konata began to hesitate. 'Betraying one of my teammates? This is like that one time I was playing an MMO and I'm being ganged up by others in a PvP match. Who knows what might happen if I betray my teammates like that time?'

Konata sat up as she picked up her walkie-talkie. "I'll get Tai-sempai."

Tai and Yui were sneaking through a meeting room towards their next location when Konata contacted them through the walkie-talkie.

"Tai-sempai, could you come up to the 15th floor?"

Tai replied, "The 15th floor? Sure, I'm on my way, Konata."

"I need your help."

Both Tai and Yui stopped walking. 'Help?' Tai spoke into his walkie-talkie. "Did you get caught, Konata?"

All Tai received was silence in reply.

Yui could sense something is wrong. "I think Konata-sempai is in trouble."

Tai nodded in agreement. "Konata, have you been caught yet?"

Konata: "No, I haven't been caught, Sempai. I just need you here, Sempai."

"Just me?" asked Tai.

Konata: "I have something to tell you."

"Can't you say it through the walkie-talkie instead of asking me to go to you?"

Meanwhile, Ash and Hinata were relaxing on the office chairs as they watched Konata desperately trying to lure one of her teammates to the 15th floor.

"If you can't get Taichi-kun, perhaps we could settle for Yui-san," Hinata suggested.

Taking the opportunity, Konata followed Hinata's lead. "How about Yui-san? Can she come up here?"

Yui was already suspicious of the situation. "What do you need me for, Konata-sempai? I've already found a CD so why me?"

Konata: "Just come up here quickly!"

Tai sighed. "What exactly are you doing if you're not searching for the CDs?"

Suddenly, Keitaro's voice was heard through the walkie-talkie. "Erm, guys. I know this is embarrassing, but I completely forgot which CDs we're searching for."

Tai performed a facepalm in frustration as Yui spoke to Keitaro over the walkie-talkie. "Sempai, how could you not know which CD we're looking for all this time when we were shown what it looked like earlier?"

"What kind of ragtag team did we put together?" Tai mumbled. "We have a useless Sempai who can't even find anything and a possible Otaku betrayer."

"Come on, guys! I need some help here," cried Konata.

Back on the 15th floor, Konata was desperately trying to get at least one of her teammates up to the office, but no one was replying. "I give up..."

"Looks like you've been busted, Konata," Ash said as he stood up. "It's bound to happen sooner or later..."

Konata stepped back. "No, Sempai, Yui said she's on her way up," she lied.

Ash crossed his arms and asked, "When?"

Konata sighed as Ash removed Konata's brigade armband, eliminating her from the game.

"Sorry, Konata-chan," apologized Hinata.

[Konata Izumi - Eliminated]

Meanwhile at the 9th floor Sound Library, Keitaro and Kyon were searching for the marked CD case among the shelves of various disks.

"There's no way we can find that CD among all these stuff," said Keitaro.

Both Kyon and Keitaro carefully checked the shelves when Kyon spotted the familiar S.O.S. Brigade symbol among a stack of CDs. "Keitaro-san, I found it!"

"You did? Great!" Keitaro contacted his teammates. "We found the CD on the 9th floor."

Suddenly, the celebration was cut short when the ringing sound of bells echoed through the hallway outside, forcing both Keitaro and Kyon to quickly find some hiding places. Keitaro quickly hid behind a blind near the window while Kyon hid under a desk. Suddenly, Ed and Syaoran entered the Sound Library.

"I saw someone in here," said Syaoran.

"Who did you see?" asked Ed.

"I'm not sure, but it was definitely someone from the other team."

In his hiding spot, Keitaro held his breath, hoping that his opponents would walk past without noticing him, but suddenly, the blind was opened, revealing Ed and Syaoran. "Are you enjoying yourself there, Keitaro?" Syaoran asked.

"Nothing to see here, I'm just a glass window."

"It's very dangerous to be right next to the window, Keitaro," said Ed. "Come on out here where we can talk."

Keitaro sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, you got me."

Ed removed Keitaro's red armband, eliminating him from the game.

Meanwhile, Kyon kept silent in his hiding place under the desk, knowing that he can't afford to get caught as well.

Keitaro took out his walkie-talkie. "Sorry, guys. I've been caught."

[Keitaro Urashima - Eliminated]

[5:26 am]

[Locations:]
[1: 2nd floor: CD Store - Collected]
[2: 6th floor: Recording Studio]
[3: 9th floor: Sound Library - Collected]
[4: 15th floor: Production Office]

With almost half an hour remaining, both Yui and Tai took a service elevator up to the 15th floor.

"If it's only Hinata, Ed or Syaoran by themselves, I think we can deal with them as long as Ash isn't with them," Tai explained.

Yui nodded. "You're right, sempai."

Both Tai and Yui walked out of the lift. They opened a back door and peeked into the office. It appeared to be empty. "We need someone to check if anyone is in the office."

Tai looked at one of the SOS Brigade crew members. "Junpei, you go take a peek."

Tai pushed his Kouhai from a different Digimon series out in front of him to explore the office.

As Junpei made sure that the coat was clear, Tai, Yui and Kyon slowly entered the office, only for Tai to notice Kyon's sudden arrival behind him.

"Whoa, I didn't see you there, Kyon," said Tai.

Meanwhile, Ash and Ed arrived at the 15th floor via the front end elevators. Ash took a peek from his location.

"I think I saw some heads over there. Come on, Ed," ordered Ash as he snuck towards the glass doors that leads into the office. Ash pulled out a keycard to unlock the door.

However, as Ash unlocked the door, Tai, Yui and Kyon could hear the beep coming from the other end of the office.

"They're here! We need to get out of here!" Tai whispered.

Kyon, Yui and Tai quickly escaped to the back staircase and took the lift down to a lower floor while Ash and Ed entered the office, only to find it deserted.

"It must have been your imagination, Ash," said Ed. "I didn't see anything."

"That's because you have a slight disadvantage compared to me," said Ash. "Anyway, according to Konata, there's a CD that they need to look for here, so I need you to set up an ambush because there's bound to be someone on the way here."

"What are you going to do?" asked Ed.

"I'm going to chase after them. You need to hold this position because they have to come back here." Ash left the office, leaving Ed behind to stand guard.

As Ed waited in the office, he began to feel bored. "Why do I have to set up an ambush here? It's so boring. But I want to win this game..."

Ed picked up a large cardboard box and hid inside it.

[Time: 5:35am]

With 25 minutes remaining, Tai, Yui and Kyon arrived on the 4th floor to plan their next move.

"Since both of you have a CD each, it's best if you guys move together. As long as I do not have a CD, it's alright for me to get caught."

"But, Tai-sempai, what would happen if the both of us get caught?" Yui asked.

"You know, we could hide the CDs in a safe location first. That way if anyone gets caught, the survivors can collect them here once all the CDs have been found," Kyon suggested.

"I'd better check to see if the others have any CDs," Tai said as he took out his walkie-talkie. "Megane-sempai, have you found any CDs?"

Keitaro: "One was found on the 2nd floor and the other was found on the 9th floor. But Konata and I have been caught."

"Forgive me if I'm mistaken, Sempai, but didn't I get the CD on the 2nd floor while Kyon-sempai found the one on the 9th floor?" Yui asked.

Keitaro: "I was with Kyon when he found the CD on the 9th floor. But have you checked the 6th floor Recording Studio?"

"Not yet, but we'll check that out before heading the 15th floor," Tai replied.

Both Kyon and Yui took the service elevator to the 6th floor while Tai opted to take the stairs. As Tai walked to the stairs, he felt something is off.

"I don't know if it's just me, but something feels off." Tai opened the stairwell door and hears the echoing sound of bells from above. At that moment, Hinata was running down the stairs to the 6th floor.

"This way's definitely not a good idea. I'd better take the other way." Tai immediately ran off to the other side of the building to the other stairwell. However, Tai could hear the echoing sound of bells in the other stairwell as well, forcing Tai to take the service elevator to the 6th floor. "Oh no, I better hurry..."

At the same time, Ash was running down the other stairwell towards the 6th floor.

At the 6th floor, Kyon and Yui were searching through a box of sample CDs. "When we find the CD, I'll block them while you take the CD to safety," Kyon suggested.

"Alright, sempai," said Yui.

The search was interrupted by the distant ringing sound of bells. "Time to go now, Sempai," said Yui as she pulled Kyon away from the box. As Yui and Kyon head to the back door towards the staircase, as they opened the door, the first person they meet is a man wearing a red cap who was about to open that very same door.

"AHHHHHHHHH! IT'S ASH KETCHUM!"

Before Kyon could react, Ash immediately grabbed Kyon's arm while Yui managed to slip away, but before she could escape, her path was blocked by Hinata, the original source of the ringing bells.

"I'm sorry, Yui-san." Hinata quickly caught Yui as Ash removed Kyon's armband.

Just seconds earlier, as the service elevator reached the 6th floor and the lift doors opened, Tai witnessed the horrific scene from behind Ash's back.

"AHHHHHHHHH! IT'S ASH KETCHUM!"

Tai collapsed in shock before quickly pressing a random floor button to get away from the scene. He can't afford to stay or it would be a complete annihilation by Ash Ketchum.

Tai was in complete shock from the horror he saw. "I saw Ash Ketchum. I saw Ash Ketchum."

[Kyon, Yui Hirasawa - Eliminated]

Ash checked the service elevator and saw that it had reached the 14th floor.

"I don't think Tai will head straight to the 15th floor. He'll try to sneak to the 15th floor by another way once he reached the 14th floor."

On the 14th floor, Tai decided to try to reach the 15th floor by switching elevators.

"I should be able to get there before seeing anyone else."

As Tai reached the 15th floor, he was suddenly greeted by Hinata waiting outside the doors. "I got you, Taichi-kun!"

However, Tai noticed that Hinata was completely alone. "You're alone, right?" Tai looked at Junpei and said, "Hold the door, Junpei."

"What are you doing, Taichi-kun?" asked Hinata.

Tai closed in on Hinata. "Desperate times call for desperate measures! I'm sorry, Hinata."

"No, Taichi-kun!"

Tai proceeded to tickle Hinata until she was unable to stand up. With Hinata temporary incapacitated, Tai quickly dragged Hinata into the elevator and sent her to the ground floor.

"If it's Hinata or Ed alone, I can handle them as long as Ash isn't around," said Tai. "Anyway, I better find that CD quickly before Ash gets here."

Tai entered the office. As he walked around the corner, Tai noticed a suspicious box that wasn't there the first time he arrived. Tai checked the contents of the box and quickly made a run for it as Ed jumped out of the box.

"GOTCHA!" screamed Ed as he began to chase Tai.

"Noooo!" Tai ran towards the front exit. Tai quickly closed the glass door on Ed. Tai might be able to handle Ed alone, but Ash Ketchum isn't far behind as he entered the office from the back staircase.

Seeing no other choice, Tai looked at Junpei. "Press the button, Junpei!"

Junpei quickly pressed the lift button and the elevator doors opened. "Alright, hold them back, Junpei!"

"What are you doing?" screamed Ash. "Come back here and face me like a man!"

As Junpei helped Tai hold the door closed, Tai took Junpei's camera and quickly entered the elevator, abandoning his handler as he escaped from Ash and Ed.

Once Tai has successfully escaped, Junpei opened the door, allowing Ash and Ed to enter the elevator lobby. At the same time, Hinata arrived after climbing up the stairs, missing Tai by seconds.

Ash immediately gave his orders to Ed and Hinata as he watched the elevator travel to the lower floors, passing the 10th floor. "Hinata, contact Syaoran and tell him to wait on the 9th floor. Ed will stay here and I will go after Tai on the 6th floor."

[Locations:]
[1: 2nd floor: CD Store - Collected]
[2: 6th floor: Recording Studio]
[3: 9th floor: Sound Library - Collected]
[4: 15th floor: Production Office]

On the 6th floor, Tai had arrived and quickly began his search for the hidden marked Vocaloid CD inside a recording studio. Tai quickly checked the equipment, hoping to find the hidden CD.

At the same time, Ash had arrived on the 6th floor. As he exited the elevator, he saw Junpei and a few crew members in the hallway, immediately deducing Tai's location. "Tai is on the 6th floor!"

In the recording studio, Tai noticed an empty CD case next to a machine used to record the songs onto CDs for editing. Out of curiosity, Tai ejected the CD from the machine, revealing a marked Vocaloid CD.

"Got it." Tai quickly kept the CD in the empty CD case and quickly exited the room with Producer Koizumi following him towards the elevator on their way to the 15th floor.

Seconds later, Ash had arrived at the recording studio. He had no idea that he had just missed Tai.

[Locations:]
[1: 2nd floor: CD Store - Collected]
[2: 6th floor: Recording Studio - Collected]
[3: 9th floor: Sound Library - Collected]
[4: 15th floor: Production Office]

Tai was silently walking up the staircase to the 10th floor when he remembered that Yui and Kyon had stashed two Vocaloid CDs on the 3rd floor.

"You're kidding me." Tai looked at Koizumi and gave Koizumi the camera. "Hey, could you return this to Junpei when you get the chance?"

Tai decided to take a quick break on the 9th floor before resuming his search. As Tai walked through a hallway, he noticed something down the other end of the hallway. He immediately turned tail and ran back to the stairs as Syaoran jumped out of his hiding place.

Syaoran relayed Tai's location to his teammates on the walkie-talkie. "I found him! He's on the 9th floor!"

As Syaoran ran to the staircase door, only to find it jammed. On the other side of the door, Tai was using his body to keep the door closed.

Ash had arrived on the 9th floor via the elevator and quickly made his way to the staircase door. "I'm not going to let him slip through me again!"

Tai held the door closed and looked at Koizumi. "Sorry to put you through this, Koizumi, but do you mind if you could block the door?"

As Koizumi held the door closed, Tai took the camera back from Koizumi and ran down the stairs, making his second close escape for the night. Not long after, Koizumi opened the door, letting Ash and Syaoran into the emergency staircase.

Syaoran sat on the floor in frustration. "He's not making this easy for us."

[Tai's POV]

Thanks to Producer Koizumi, I've barely escaped. I've ran down the 3rd floor break room where Kyon and Yui stashed the CDs they found. I quickly took the CDs from the cupboard and collapsed onto the floor out of sheer exhaustion.

I have three CDs in my possession and my team of five had been reduced to just one man. All I need to do is collect one last CD from the 15th floor, take all of the CDs to the 8th floor and end this game. But I cannot deny the fact that the odds were against me.

I looked at my watch and noted that the time was 5:47 am. How ironic. It is said that the darkest hour of night comes just before the dawn. It's only 13 minutes to six and I only have those 13 minutes to win this game.

Feeling that I had enough rest, I stood up. As long as I'm still in this game, I have to win and beat Ash Ketchum.

[End Tai's POV]

Tai arrived on the 8th floor with the three CDs. As he walked into the PA room, a crew member was waiting.

"I'm sorry, but do you mind if I leave these three CDs with you? I know I should have brought all four, but it would be easier if I leave what I found here first."

As Tai walked out of the PA room, he began to walk to the elevator and make his way to the 15th floor. However, Tai noticed the arrival of a few figures walking towards him. He instinctively began to run, only to see that it was Junpei with some of the crew members.

Tai was reunited with his Kouhai from Digimon, who quickly resumed his role as Tai's handler. "Where were you Junpei? Never mind. I'm glad to see you here."

Tai and Junpei ran to the service elevator. "So, how did you go in blocking Ash?"

"I managed to block him, Sempai."

Tai smiled. "Good. I really missed you, Junpei."

[5:54 am]

With almost 5 minutes remaining, Team Ash began to intensify their search for the elusive Tai.

At the 15th floor, Tai quickly entered the Production Office and began his search for the final Vocaloid CD. Tai crawled his way to one of the computers used for programming the newest Vocaloid software and saw an empty CD case. Recalling how he found the third hidden CD, Tai ejected the CD, quickly acquiring the final marked Vocaloid CD.

Keeping the CD in the safely of the CD case, Tai quickly tried to make his way to the exit, however, at that moment, the sound of bells entered the production office, forcing Tai to hide under one of the desks inside a cubicle near the window.

Ash had entered the Production Office, creating a nearly impossible obstacle for Tai to pass.

Ash checked the various cubicles until he finally reached the cubicle where Tai was hiding. Ash sighed.

"You have been quite the worthy opponent, Tai."

Tai slightly flinched. 'Did he see me?'

"I know you're good at hiding, but how good is hiding if I can see your legs in the window's reflection?" Ash said as he clearly saw Tai's legs on the reflection on the window.

Seeing that he has been found, Tai stood up, facing his oppressor. "Alright, you got me, Ash."

Ash took out his walkie-talkie. "Guys, come up to the 15th floor. I've found Tai. But come up through both exits. I don't want to take any chances.

With barely a few minutes remaining and Tai's only chance of winning is getting past Ash, who was blocking the cubicle exit.

"It's over, Tai. There's no need to keep this going. Be a man and accept your defeat gracefully."

"Does it have to end this way? If only if I was up against Ed or Hinata by themselves, I wouldn't be going through this humiliation."

"Let's just stop here and end this game."

At that moment, Hinata and Ed arrived.

"You two are nothing without Ash! If he wasn't here, I would have taken both of you down easily. And where's Syaoran?"

"He's in the bathroom. He was waiting in ambush on the 9th floor for so long that he really needed to go," answered Ed.

Tai noticed that Ash, Ed and Hinata have dropped their guard, since it's a three-on-one situation. Seeing the opportunity, Tai pushed Ash aside and made a run for the exit.

"Stop him!" screamed Ash.

Ed tried to stop Tai at the exit, but Tai easily evaded Ed and reached the rear exit.

"Slow them down for me, Junpei!" Tai had Junpei block the door once again as Tai quickly escaped through the service elevator.

"No!"

Team Ash had lost their captured prey. With no other option, Ash, Ed and Hinata quickly began to search the building for Tai with only minutes remaining on the clock.

Meanwhile, the four eliminated members of Team Tai were in the Detention area in the
ground floor lobby with only seconds remaining on the clock.

"Tai, are you still alive?" asked Keitaro.

Suddenly, Hatsune Miku's voice echoed through the building's PA system.

"Congratulations. You have succeeded in collecting all four hidden Vocaloid CDs. Well done!"

Tai had succeeded in handing the final Vocaloid before 6 am.

"Yes! Tai-Sempai did it!"

"We won!" Konata cheered.

A very weary Tai arrived at the lobby to the cheers of his teammates. "I am the champion!" Tai cheered.

Also there to cheer for Tai's glorious arrival was Digimon Frontier's Junpei, who had helped Tai out of two of his close escapes. "You did it, Sempai!"

Tai hugged his Kouhai in celebration. "Thanks to you, Junpei, we won!"

With Team Tai's victory, each member had earned an SOS Ball for the final lottery while at the same time, denying Ash a single SOS Ball, effectively guaranteeing him an instant penalty.

[6:30 am]

The characters have gathered in the lobby with the SOS Brigade's Lottery machine ready to decide their fates (except for Ash, since he doesn't have a single SOS Ball to save himself from the penalty).

"It's all thanks to Tai that our team won," said Keitaro.

Ash crossed his arms. "Just tell us what the penalty is," said Ash. "I want to get this over and done with ASAP."

Tai nodded. "Alright, since we won the game in Crypton's Tokyo Offices, it has been decided that this chapter's punishment will involve the losers to travel home using public transport with the guys wearing Rin's hot pants while the girls will wear Kaito's cosplay with a fake mustache," Tai explained. "Now, let's begin the lottery! Only five people will be safe from the Penalty Game!"

The SOS Balls were put into the lottery machine and the machine began to toss the balls around. The first name to be revealed was Yui.

"Yes! I win!" cheered Yui,

The next name to be revealed from the lottery was Ed, despite the odds of having only one SOS Ball.

"Yes!" cheered Ed.

"Ed gets exempted from punishment even with his one lottery ball," grumbled Ash.

The third name revealed was Konata, exempting her from the penalty game for the fourth chapter in a row. (Note: Konata managed to avoid every penalty game so far, including the pilot chapter.)

"Only two spots remaining. Let's see who's the lucky two remaining?"

Tai revealed the next name: Tai Yagami.

Tai dropped to his knees as he held his SOS Ball in his hand. "Yes! I'm safe! I really am the champion today! After three punishments, I finally got what I deserved today!"

Meanwhile, Ash looked around. "I'm sure it would be refreshing to wear hot pants today, right?"

Tai resumed his duty at the lottery machine. "And now, let's see who's going to be lucky last?" Tai revealed the final SOS Ball from the machine: Keitaro Urashima.

With his name revealed, Keitaro took his SOS Ball and showed it in Ash's face. "Kei-ta-ro Wins! In-your-face, Ash!"

Ash only frowned in frustration as Hinata, Syaoran and Kyon could only accept defeat as they received the penalty.

[7:00 AM]

With barely any time to clean themselves up and brush their teeth, Ash, Hinata, Syaoran and Kyon exited Crypton's Tokyo Offices while in their penalty outfits. Ash, Syaoran and Kyon could barely hide their embarrassment while wearing black hot pants with a yellow belt while Hinata had a fake mustache on her face in her Kaito cosplay outfit.

The quartet boarded the first bus that arrived at a nearby bus stop. As the group boarded the bus, they were greeted by weird stares from the commuters, some taking photos and videos using their cell phones. The group quickly found seats to sit on as they take their trip 'home'.

"I apologize if I smell. I didn't get a chance to clean myself up. Do you mind opening the window?" Syaoran asked the passenger next to him.

The passenger calmly opened the window.

As Ash endured his punishment, he clenched his fists as he sat in his seat. 'Next chapter, I will have my revenge...'

[Preview of Next Chapter:]

The next day, Ash met up with Koizumi in Koizumi's office.

Ash sighed as he sat in front of Koizumi's desk. "Koizumi, I am not happy. I didn't even win a single SOS Ball during the previous chapter and what made it worst was that I've been humiliated by Tai."

Ash placed his hands together. "So, here's my proposal..."

Ash and Koizumi discussed the proposal.

Koizumi nodded. "Very well, I will talk to Miss Suzumiya about it and we'll come up with something for you to enact your revenge. After all, you are Miss Suzumiya's designated Brigade Commander."

[To be continued next chapter]

[Coming up next on Project V: Search for the Next Vocaloid, 10 contestants have been given the task to run a Maid Café for a month. Will these potential Vocaloids be able to tell the difference between a meringue and a mess?]