"Thanks Ed!" I grinned, and looked forward to the horizon. "Let's get a move on, we want to be in the next city by tomorrow night!"
3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3
I sighed, stretching my arms up above my head and cracking my back. We had been walking for what seemed like forever.
"Oi, Kashi kun, how much further to the next town?" I wasn't whining. I swear.
"Less than an hour." Was his reply. He seemed convinced I was whining because I wanted a piggy back ride. I had informed him that there was no way in the 9 levels of hell I'd ever take that ride again, but he just snorted and turned back to his book.
"But Kakashi this is so boring, let me see your book please?" I begged, holding my hands in front of me with a look of pure unadulterated, unashamed begging.
"Why should I? I'm not sure you're even old enough to read the book." Kakashi joked, holding the book just out of my reach.
"But I am too! And anyway, are you admitting that they're pervy books? Cause if you are, Im gonna take them away! You shouldn't be reading those in front of little kids!" I chided him, trying once more to snatch the elusive little orange book away. He just shoved it in a pocket on his vest and smirked.
"Onee san, I'm not a little kid!" Iruka pouted, glaring at me as he walked.
"Hai, hai. You aren't a little kid, but you are a minor sweetie. And Kakashi can show self control if he wants to. I hope…" I said with a sigh, glaring at Kakashi. I forgot how much I couldn't stand children. Don't get me wrong. Iruka was a sweetheart, and I loved him to pieces. But I just couldn't handle the mood swings and indignity children seemed to hold in abundance. I always told people I didn't like kids, that I didn't even like myself till I was 18, and it was true.
"Onee san, I'm a shinobi in training!" Iruka grumbled, crossing his arms and staring at Kakashi's back.
"Oh really? You're also a chibi. You're supposed to have fun!" I shot back, crossing my own arms and facing off with the pint sized bishounen.
"Training is fun." He insisted, with a less than enthusiastic tone, while he stared at the ground near my feet.
"Bull." I snorted, ignoring Kakashi's questioning look and Ed's concerned gaze, "You just don't want to admit you don't know how to have fun, huh pint size?"
A vein in his forehead pulsed, and his face turned bright red, "I'm not pint sized! And I do too know how to have fun!"
"Oh? Prove it, ochibi-chan." I teased him, leaning over to poke his forehead with a grin.
"Fine! Let's race! Just for the fun of it. Kakashi sensei, how far are we from town?" Iruka shot back, staring at Kakashi.
For his part, Kakashi just twitched at his new nickname, and shrugged, "Maaaa, about 2 miles. And don't be silly, chibi, she doesn't have the stamina to race you for that long."
Before he had finished talking I had my Ninja out of it's capsule and was handing my helmet to Ed.
"Don't count me out scarecrow." I grinned, thumbing the ignition and revving the engine to life.
"Sugoi… what's this?" Iruka asked, eyes wide as he looked at the metal monster growling in front of him.
"This is my ninja. And with it I can kick your butt in a race." I bragged. Iruka just eyed the bike distrustfully.
"Yea right. I'm a ninja. This is a hunk of metal," He scoffed, "Besides, it's too loud."
"Um… it's not a ninja in the job sense…it's just the name the manufacturer chose for it. And it's supposed to sound like that…" I explained patiently, swinging my leg over the seat and pulling it off it's kickstand.
"If you say so… I'm still going to beat you." He promised, facing the direction of town and tuning me out.
"Sure, chibi. C'mon Ed, cram the helmet on and hop on." I told him, pulling a pair of tinted sunglasses from my jacket that I kept for when I loaned a second rider my helmet.
Ed stood where he had stopped, helmet dangling in his hand. "C'mon c'mon, it won't bite, I promise!" I laughed, patting the seat. He shrugged, swinging his leg over and settling on behind me.
"Oof!" I cried, as the bike's forks bottomed out and the whole thing tipped dangerously to the left. Apparently the automail was a lot heavier than I had guessed.
"Ready, onee-san?" Iruka asked, smirking.
"Get moving pipsqueak." I laughed, and rolled on the throttle, taking off from our starting point and gaining speed quickly.
Ed didn't make a sound, to give him credit, but he did wrap his arms a little tighter around my midsection.
3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3
"No way!" Iruka pouted as he came into sight 20 minutes later. I unfortunately got a little competitive, and had taken off into high gear, leaving Iruka in the dust and nearly dropping Ed off the back.
"Gomen ne, Iruka kun…We'll go again soon and I'm sure you'll beat me!" I promised, smiling reassuringly at the small bundle of disappointment that had dropped to the ground to pout.
"Why?" He asked, staring at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Because Kakashi and your Tousan can beat me. It just…" I sighed, dreading saying it, "it just takes some training. You'll get faster, honest!"
He seemed to literally glow at the promise of being like his father, and hopped to his feet, nodding in agreement. "Hai, onee-san! Kakashi sensei, will you train me, please?" He turned to Kakashi with big begging puppy dog eyes and I couldn't help but snicker. Kakashi just sighed, snapping the book closed that he hadn't pocketed, even during the race, and nodded.
"Hai, hai, I suppose I have no choice, ne? Unless you'd prefer to be an alchemist." Kakashi snorted at the thought, and Ed twitched, hopping down off the bike and starting towards Kakashi threateningly.
"What's wrong with alchemy, huh old man?"
"Maa maa, nothing. It just isn't practical when our task is to protect Danny san, not make her a bunch of pretty little knickknacks out of dirt and wood." He teased the shorter boy, waving his hand dismissingly.
"Stop it Kakashi, Ed is an excellent fighter, even without alchemy, and you know from experience know how helpful alchemy is. So don't say stuff just to get a rise out of him." I sighed, grabbing Ed's jacket and digging my heels into the ground to try and stop him from beating Kakashi to a pulp.
3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3
"Ok, so we need to beat the gym leader here and get a move on if we want to make it in time for the tournament." I decided as we wandered up the main street. After capsulating my bike and explaining to the guard at the gate why I had a chibi with me, we were let into the city and told to enjoy ourselves during our stay. The first thing we had done was get lunch, as the sun was already high in the sky, and Ed and mine's stomachs were growling something fierce.
After nearly fainting from the bill, and realizing that if I wanted to catch more bishounen, and make sure they didn't starve, we would definitely have start using the monster feature that was built into my dex, we headed back out, and were deciding what needed to be done.
"Ne, if we're going to start using the monster chip, you should pick up some potions from one of the shops here. Or capture a healer." Kakashi said from behind his book.
"Worried you'll get hurt, Kashi-kun?" I teased as I spun on my heel, changing directions and heading towards the general store on the other side of the street.
"More like you'll get hurt." He fired back without missing a beat.
"Oi… for your information I won lots of fist fights back home, and you weren't there to protect me, so shush your face." I poked him in the forehead, snatching at his book in the process. Once again he held it just out of my reach, so I just shrugged and skipped through the door while I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Ooof!" Of course, maybe I should have focused on making sure there was nobody coming out of the store at the same time…
"Are you ok?" I asked the boy sprawled out in the entrance. He just nodded, rubbing the spot on his chest where my shoulder dug in and scrambling to his feet. "I'm so sorry! I should have been paying more attention to where I was going!"
He held his hand up to stop my apology and laughed, "Naw, it's all good miss. I wasn't paying much more attention than you were, so it's as much my fault as it is yours." He grinned, and accepted the bag that his Rouge bishoujo had snatched out of his hands just before he hit the floor.
"Still… I feel bad. How about I treat you to lunch after I go against the gym trainer here?" I offered, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment.
"Well shoot, if you're sure, I suppose that'd be cool." He smiled, and pointed up the street to a dinner a few blocks away, "How about there? I'll be at the gym too, so we'll go once you're finished."
"Sounds good! I'm Danny by the way." I stuck my hand out, and he took it with a smile, kneeling to kiss the back of it. His Rouge sighed, rolling her eyes and picking him up by the back of his shirt, while Kakashi cracked his knuckles threateningly and Ed just laughed.
"What a coincidence, my name is Danny too… although I'm pretty sure we spell the long versions differently," He said with a wink, "I'll see you a little later!"
With that, the other trainer was out the door, his bishoujo berating him about scaring poor trainers all the way.
"Aiya….ok…Ed?" Ed stopped laughing long enough to look up at me, "Since Kakashi is now useless as lookout, you're in charge of making sure I don't bowl over weirdos, ne?"
"Sure thing." He snorted, slapping Kakashi on the back as he passed him, worming his way past me and into the store.
"Useless?" Kakashi asked me, eye full of fake hurt.
"Maaah, if you hadn't been so busy protecting your precious book, my poor hand would still be unsullied." I grinned, poking his forehead again and, making sure nobody else was in my way, waltzed into the store and over to the shelves labeled 'First Aid'.
3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3
After spending what little gold I had left on potions and an alchemy book Ed had found and refused to put down, we found ourselves in front of the gym.
"So, how do these battles work?" I finally asked, looking in the windows at the trainers and bishis coming and going between all the different rooms.
"Usually it's a one on one or three on three battle between you and the other trainer. It's the same as the time I battled with that other girl's Mustang." Kakashi said.
Ed perked up, looking at us curiously. "You fought a Mustang-teme? Tell me you kicked his ass?"
Kakashi nodded solemnly, leading the way in the building with Ed following, demanding a play by play of the Colonel's defeat.
"Aiya…. Iruka, we surrounded by weirdoes, huh?" I sighed, scooping the chibi up and following the other two inside.
3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3
Kakashi and Ed had already been directed to where the gym trainer would be battling, with the promise that the receptionist would let him know we were there, so I followed them into a large room, laid out just like the one that we had been in the last time.
"Hey Danny! Good to see ya! You all ready to battle the gym leader?" I flinched at hearing Other Danny's voice, turning to see him sauntering in the room with his Rouge and a Katara from the Avatar : The Last Airbender series following him.
"Oh, hey Danny. Yea, we're just waiting for him to show up." I said. He just smiled, stepping purposefully to the other side of the room, standing in the trainer area and nodding to his Katara who stepped out into the arena.
"Well, he's here, so let's get started." He laughed at my shocked expression, his Rouge just shaking her head and snorting.
3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3
Bishi Dex
Rouge – A Bishoujo from the X-Men territory, she has the ability to take any other bishi's powers for her own through skin to skin contact. She's very protective of her trainer, but in San mode, is very emotional, as she can not yet control the powers that she takes from others and must wear all encompassing clothing to protect others from her touch. Once she evolves to Sama, she is able to recall any power she's ever used at any time, and has better control over her own power.
Katara – A waterbender Bishoujo from the Avatar-verse, she's very stubborn and won't take no for an answer once she's set her mind to something. She is a fairly balanced Bishoujo in that she is both a healer and a fighter, and is very motherly towards her trainer and other bishis.
3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3e3
A.N. I'm so sorry, this chapter absolutely did not want to be written. Hopefully the next one will be easier XD
Once again, if you'd like to be a trainer, please send me an email at sontsunami 06 aol .com without all the spaces, and let me know the name, appearance, age, how long in the bishi world, what bishis and how they interact. Please don't leave that info in a review, as the last time I wrote a story that let people create their own characters, it was removed because reviews aren't supposed to be used like that I guess.
Ja ne,
Tsunami