Lime and Goku prepared themselves .
They were seated at a table . In front of them were more than a few bowls of rice . The announcer
saw others preparing to sit down . The three judges were doing the same .
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Lirin was walking around when she saw a crowd nearby . She then saw Goku and Lime sitting down .the
She then walked up to the announcer and asked , " What's going on ? " The announcer then replied ,
" This is an eating contest . "
" Wow ! " Lirin squealed with excitement . " Can I join in ? "
One of the judges said , " Sure . Why not ? "
Almost immediately , Lirin sat down next to Goku . He and Lime both noticed her . " Lirin , " Goku
aked , "what are you doing here ? "
" You know me , I like eating as much as you do , " Lirin replied .
Some of the onlookers were rather puzzled . To them , Lirin must have been some sort of marionette
with a Maiden Circuit like Lime , Cherry and Bloodberry . But Lirin was not aware of all this nor was she
interested in such things . All she cared about at this moment was this contest .
" Begin ! "
Soon all twenty contestants were chowing down . Within ten minutes , five of them were forced to
quit . Five minutes later , six more did so .
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Otaru was walking around when he saw Cherry .
" Cherry , have you seen Lime ? " Otaru asked , to which Cherry replied , " No , Master Otaru . In
fact , I was looking for her myself because I wanted her to get a few things for me . "
It was in that moment that Hakkai showed up with Hakuryu on his shoulder . " Is anything the
matter ? " He asked . Otaru and Cherry then told him about Lime , then he said , " Well , I
haven ' t been able to find Goku . Maybe wherever he is , Lime might be there as well ? "
" That might be a possibility , " Cherry said .
Soon , the three of them were on the move .
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The nine remaining contestants were still at it . However , five minutes later , one bowed out . Still ,
Goku , Lime and Lirin continued stuffing their faces . Back at Otaru ' s apartment , Hanagata was at
the door when he ran into Bloodberry .
" Say , have you seen Otaru ? " Hanagata asked to which Bloodberry replied , " He left this morning ,
if you must know. A darn shame , really . There were a few things I wanted to tell him . "
It was at that moment that Gojyo showed up , asking , " Is this something I should know about ? "
" Not really , " replied Bloodberry . " I ' ll be looking for Otaru . "
" I ' ll join you if you don 't mind , little lady. "
" What about your friend the monk ?
" Sanzo ? He's upstairs meditating . I ' ll leave him a note . "
" Well , " Hanagata said , " if you 're going to look for Otaru . I ' ll join you and when I ' m with my
dear , dear friend Otaru , I 'll . . . "
Before Hanagata could finish , Bloodberry unceremoniously shoved him far , far away , much to
Goyjo ' s bemusement .
" Come on , you , " she told him , " at least you 're not as annoying as Hana . "
" I ' ll take that as a compliment , " he replied .
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As the contest wore on , the number of contestants was whittled down to five , with Goku , Lirin
and Lime among that number . Four minutes later , however , two bowed out .
" Amazing ! " One of the spectators said . " Now it 's down to Lime , that other marionette and that
young fella ! "
The three of them continued to chow down bowls of rice. Suddenly a fly began to buzz around
Lirin . The fly circled her for a while , but she swatted it away . A couple of minutes later , she
noticed something not far away . She then got up towards the object,which turned out to be a
mere button.
"She's out , " said the announcer , prompting Lirin to exclaim , "What?Just because I got up ?
Oh come on !"
But ultimately she had no choice but to leave . Now it was just Goku and Lime .
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Bloodberry and Gojyo met up with Otaru,Cherry and Hakkai . It was then that theyall noticed
a commotion not far away . A pouting Lirin walked toward them .
" Say , Lirin , " Hakkai said , " by any chance , have you seen Goku and Lime ? "
" Oh , yeah . They ' re over there . "
The five headed in the direction Lirin indicated and saw Lime and Goku stuffing their faces with
rice.
"How do those two pack away so much rice ? "Cherry asked , to which Hakkai replied , " One
of the great mysteries of life . Assuming , of course that Lime is anything at all like Goku . "
Suddenly both Lime and Goku stopped eating.
" That was good rice , " Goku said .
" You said it ," Lime replied.
The judges conferred among themselves.Then they quietly told their decision to the annoucer
who then declared , " Folks . . . we have a tie ! "
Otaru , Cherry , Hakkai , Gojyo and Bloodberry could not believe their ears . Apparently Lime
and Goku were both too full to continue .
" It you ask me , " Gojyo said , " I don 't think there would have been enough rice to feed that
little monkey , so maybe this is for the best ."
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In Otaru's apartment , Sanzo was meditating .
Ever since he and his companions came to Terra 2 , Sanzo tried to contact the Merciful Goddess ,
without much success .
After meditating for quite a long time , he heard a familiar voice in his head .
"About time I managed to reach you . "
TO BE CONTINUED
Sorry for the delay . I've been rather busy with many things .
In case you're wondering . . . yes,Lorelei will appear in a couple of chapters,be patient.