Chapter Seventeen- Battle
~*~

Anya stretched her arms over her head, grinning as she looked up at the sky. "Ah, it feels so good to wake up in a human city!" she announced to no one in particular.

"Totally," Jacky agreed. "Sleeping on dirty cots with barely any cushioning was getting really old, really fast. So was the lack of decoration."

Sanosuke sweat-dropped. "Your lives were in jeopardy and you worried about the paint job?"

"Essentially," Jacky said with a smile.

"Why am I stuck with the trainers who are obsessed with home decoration?" the Bishonen complained, looking up at the sky dramatically.

"Because you're lucky?" Anya suggested.

"I wouldn't call it lucky," Inuyasha grumbled. Jacky nudged him with her elbow.

"So where are we off to first this morning?" Abby asked. She was now wearing her own Bish-belt, with Valgaav's Bish-ball displayed on it. A big sticker with the letter 'V' was on top of it.

"The gym," Anya said. "I've gotta get more money, definitely. Even though we found a good enough hotel that didn't cost too much, I need more to keep us there until we want to leave. As opposed to being kicked out of there when I run out of money."

"That's sound logic, no da," Chichiri said. He was walking alongside Anya, his staff giving off a soft jingling sound as he moved.

"I thought so." Anya grinned at him.

"And after?"

"If we win any money, I'll buy us all lunch."

"ALL of us?!" Sanosuke demanded.

"Yep." Then Anya gave him a thoughtful look. "Well, except you I guess. After all, you don't want to be seen with trainers that are... what did you call us? Oh yeah, 'obsessed with home decoration'. So you can just go back to the hotel and wait for us instead, since you were so concerned about it."

Jacky stifled a laugh at the look on Sano's face.

"And after that," Anya continued, "I want to get my Bish-Dex checked out." She pulled out the Dex in question and poked it with a stick. "It didn't react to me capturing Chichiri, the way it reacted to the rest of my Bishonen, and I want to find out why."

"Sounds like a plan," Jacky said.

"Yep, and it's a good one too!" Anya announced.

"Aren't they all," Sano muttered.

Anya hit him.

"I STILL don't know any of you, if anyone asks no da..."

Heero rolled his eyes, while Inuyasha muttered to himself.

As the group wandered down the street, they had to pause occasionally while Jacky pulled Miroku by the ear away from whichever female (Bishonen OR human) they came across. Anya had to pause once as well to drag both Kenshin and Sanosuke away from a shop selling weapons.

Finally, they reached the gym.

"Well, it seems open," Jacky said. She gestured to the double doors. Inside, the group could see a couple people moving around. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" Abby said.

Anya and Jacky gave her odd looks while sweat dropping. "Right..."

Once inside, the three trainers walked up to the desk while the Bishonen wandered around the lobby. Chibi Kenshin headed off with Chichiri to figure out how the darned coffee makers worked while Sanosuke peered into the door with the workout area. Inuyasha leaned against a wall with his sword in one hand, already tapping his foot in impatience. Miroku peered out the double doors to the streets, gazing thoughtfully after every female that passed. Heero sat down, pulled out his laptop, and proceeded to continue typing.

"May I help you ladies?" a man behind the desk asked.

"Yes, we'd all like to check out the gym for a while," Jacky said.

"No problem. Are you all aware we have a guest trainer here today?"

"Really?!"

"Yep. She came in last week, but she's thinking of heading off. No one's challenged her at all this week. You see, she's only using magical Bishonen for now."

"Ah." Jacky nodded as though she understood.

"Eh?" Abby questioned.

Jacky turned towards the newest trainer. "You see, magical Bishonen are supposed to only fight other magical Bishonen. Fighters go against fighters, while those with supernatural powers- say a Yusuke- can only fight against others like them. And so on."

"Ooh." Abby nodded. Then she grinned. "My Valgaav has magic!" she announced.

Anya sweat-dropped. "We're aware of that."

"And Inuyasha's kind of got a magic sword," Jacky murmured.

"Chichiri's definitely magical," Anya said. "So is the trainer here right now?"

"Yeah, been here all morning. You guys gonna fight her?"

"Definitely! Hey, Chichiri!"

The Bishonen looked away from the coffee maker, which was overflowing with the dark liquid. "Yes?"

"Would you mind fighting someone today?"

"Not at all, no da- KENSHIN!" Chichiri picked up a coffee-covered Kenshin, who was blinking in surprise, a half-filled pot of coffee in one hand. "Daaaaaaa..." Chichiri hung his head.

"Oh, dear," Anya said, running over.

"Is Kenshin alright?" Jacky asked.

Anya knelt down with a bunch of napkins to wipe some of the coffee out of the Chibi's hair. "Yeah, he's fine."

"Oh, good." Jacky turned back to the man, who was sweat dropping. "Sorry about that. We're all going to have a try against this trainer."

"Great! I'll let her know right away!" The man smiled. "In the meantime, why don't you go on into the workout rooms? Please give me your names so we can call you when the trainer is ready for you all."

"That'd be awesome!" Jacky quickly gave the man their names before thanking him and running over to help Anya clean off Kenshin.

The Chibi was now looking thoroughly embarrassed, as soon the other Bishonen noticed his coffee-covered condition and came over to see what happened. Sanosuke, Miroku, Shippou, Heero and Chichiri were nice enough about it, hiding smiles behind their hands.

Inuyasha, however, had no such qualms. One look at Kenshin and he burst out laughing.

"Oh, shut up," Anya muttered. "There, I think that'll do... Erm, how about you go and wash up in the bathrooms, Kenshin? I can't get any more off of you."

Kenshin nodded, and glanced at Sanosuke. The older Bishonen nodded and both walked off towards the restrooms.

The half-demon Inuyasha continued laughing at the Chibi. "Ha! What a little idiot! He-"

"SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!"

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Inuyasha groaned as his necklace pressed him repeatedly into the ground. "Damn it, woman..."

"You do NOT make fun of a Chibi, no matter what!" Jacky said hotly. "Especially a friend's!"

"I don't know what the fuss is about," Inuyasha said, looking annoyed as he sat up. "I'M not her friend, after all..." He noticed that the others were snickering. "What are YOU all laughing at?"

Jacky laughed and pointed at him. "You're covered in coffee, Inu-chan!"

"What..." Inuyasha lifted a hand to touch his face, and the expression he gave was priceless. "I...ano... DAMN IT WOMAN!" He ran off after Sanosuke and Kenshin.

Anya wiped a tear from her eye and took a few deep breaths to stop laughing. "You guys are a treat, you know that?" she asked Jacky. "Come on, let's go on to the workout room."

The guy behind the desk breathed a sigh of relief as the group left the room. "I thought they'd NEVER get outta here. Great, now I gotta clean up this mess..." He looked at the spilled coffee with distaste. "But, ah, first I have to go and tell the trainer she's got challengers at last! Heh, heh. Yeah. Giving messages are MUCH more important." He laughed nervously before running off.

~*~

Anya leaned against a wall, watching Chichiri as he found a spot on the floor and sat cross-legged. The Bishonen lifted a hand to his face and frowned slightly in concentration.

She smiled faintly, then turned her gaze to where Heero was practicing against some kicking bags. He was amazingly skilled at the martial arts, though she wasn't really surprised about that. After all, in the show one had to be physically fit as well as mentally fit to deal with a Gundam.

Then her gaze turned to Jacky, who seemed to be debating about whether she should use Miroku or Inuyasha for her battle. She was walking around in little circles, sometimes wagging her index finger at something unseen. Other times she shook her head or waved her arms, as though trying to make a point to herself. Finally, her eyes locked with Anya, and she came over.

"I'm going with Inuyasha," she said when she got within hearing range.

"Cool." Anya grinned. "He should do well."

"Well, I don't know for sure. After all, we've got no idea what types of Bishonen we're going to be up against."

"Hmm... Let's see. What other kinds of Bishonen have magic...?"

"Magical ones, of course," came a voice from behind them.

The two trainers yelped and turned around to see a Duo Bishonen laughing at them. "Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist," he said, waving a hand. "Anyway, so yer goin' up against Pyra? 'Bout time. She's gotten so bored just sitting here watching us train."

"You're the trainer's Bishonen?" Jacky asked.

"Yep. The one and only Shinigami!" he said, puffing out his chest and lifting his head proudly. Then he spotted Heero. "Heeeeey, it's HEE-CHAN!"

Heero visibly winced. Then he looked at the door, which Duo stood in front of, and he sighed. "Hello, Duo Maxwell."

"Ne, Hee-chan, how you doing?" Duo asked, grinning. "Ain't come across a Heero in MONTHS, I tell ya! You know how WEIRD that is?"

Jacky grinned. "Good thing you're not fighting with Hee- er, Heero. If you did, he'd be annoyed by Duo to death," she murmured.

Anya nodded in agreement.

"So you're the trainers I'm going to be fighting?"

The two trainers turned again to see a young woman standing behind them. She was leaning against the doorway, watching the two of them interestedly. Her arms were crossed, her head cocked to one side as she watched them. Behind her stood another Bishonen.

"A Mirai Trunks?" Jacky whispered.

"Yes, that's who I am," the Bishonen replied with a grin.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I know that, it's just, er..." Jacky turned red and glanced away.

"That's the best response I've gotten from a girl in weeks," Trunks commented. "Sorry, just messing with you."

"I'm Pyra," the new trainer said. "And you two are...?"

"I'm Anya."

"And I'm Jacky."

"There's another trainer here to fight you too, but..." Anya glanced around. "I dunno where she went..."

Jacky sighed. "She probably ran into another Bishonen somewhere and is glomping the poor guy to death."

Pyra laughed. "So I've got three challengers! Awesome! I was worried that people were losing the competitive streaks this world usually has." She dropped a hand to her Bish-belt, smiling. "Well, it's nice to meet you two. And I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to meet my third challenger. Now, how about we get to battling?"

"Sure," Anya said. "Just one thing... I noticed you've got a Duo and a Mirai Trunks... but neither of those are magical Bishonen, are they?"

"No, but they prefer staying out with me." Pyra shrugged. "I've got two magical Bishonen too. I don't suppose you've heard of Legend of Dragoon, the video game?"

"Huh?" Anya blinked. "Uh, I can't say that I have..."

"Well, they're from there. We'll be fighting one on one only, though. Who's fighting me first?"

Anya and Jacky glanced at each other. Then Jacky grinned. "Inu-chan's still not back from the bathroom."

"So I guess I'm up first, eh? Okay then." Anya glanced over at Chichiri, who seemed to be meditating still. "Let me get my Bishonen real quick."

"Alright. No prob," Pyra said.

"NO, YOU CAN -NOT- TOUCH MY LAPTOP!"

"Aw, Hee-chan, please?"

"NO!"

Anya jumped and turned to see that Heero was actually -shouting- at Duo. /Whoa, / she thought. /That's amazing. I've never seen Heero lose his composure that much before. Duo must be pretty darn annoying today.../

"DUO!" Pyra said loudly. "What do you think you're doing? Leave that Heero alone!"

"But..."

"No. Get over here and leave him alone."

The Bishonen pouted at his trainer before obeying.

"Sorry about that," Pyra apologized to the two trainers.

Anya glanced over at Heero, who was still seething at the thought of a Duo even TOUCHING his computer. Then she sweat-dropped. "He'll be alright... I guess... I hope..." She gave Heero another nervous look before heading over to Chichiri and gently touching his back. "Chichiri?"

"Ready, Anya-dono no da?!"

She blinked. "Yeah."

"Then let's get it going na no da!" Chichiri jumped off the floor, turned SD, gave her a victory sign and wandered over towards Pyra, who was watching him in fascination.

"Wow, that's so cool!" Pyra exclaimed. "I didn't know Bishonen could turn Chibi at will!"

"Ano... it's SD no da," Chichiri said. He returned to normal. "You're the trainer, I take it?"

"Yep."

"I'm Chichiri no da!"

"Hello, Chichiri no da."

"Actually, it's just Chichiri," Anya said with a small grin. "Shall we?"

"Anytime. The fighting room is right over this way." Pyra gestured to a room behind her. "Let's get going!"

"Right!" Anya turned to Jacky, who was looking at the door to the restrooms uncertainly. "Hey, can you keep an eye on the guys? Whenever they come out of there, can you send them in to watch if they want?"

"Sure, no problem! But I'm not taking responsibility if Abby suffocates a Bishonen."

"Well neither am I. Maybe she just dragged her Valgaav into a corner and is glomping HIM... After a few times you'd think he'd become a little resistant to it."

"Yeah, really. Good luck!" Jacky waved and leaned against the wall to watch the other Bishonen.

~*~

"OH MY GOD! IT'S NAK-NAAAAAK!"

"AAAAAAAAAAH.... Ugh..."

"I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO! NAK-NAK IS SOOO COOL AND NEEDS A HUG!"

"Ack... Erg... can't... breathe... help... gleah..."

"GET OFF OF MY NAKAGO!"

"NEVER!"

~*~

"So what Bishonen are you using in the match?" Anya asked when they got into the fighting room. The room vaguely resembled a huge school gym, including the bleachers, only everything was new and in good taste.

"I've decided that I'm going to use Dart."

"Who?"

"Right, you've never heard of him. Dart, come out!"

There was a flash of light, and a Bishonen appeared. He had spiked blonde hair with bright blue-green eyes. His hair was held away from his face by a red headband. Actually, his armour was red, and he had black leggings and boots to finish off the outfit. A sword rested against his hip.

"Whoa," Anya said.

"Isn't he?" Pyra laughed. "I only planned to capture anime guys at first, but I saw him and another Bishonen from L.O.D. and I couldn't help it! So I've been trying to get their experience levels up by challenging people at the gyms and being challenged. But they haven't had a good fight in a whole week."

"Well, I'll try and be the first good one," Anya promised.

Chichiri poked her lightly with his staff. "Of course we'll be the first good ones, na no da!" he said, sounding offended. "And here I thought you had faith in me, Anya-dono no da."

She laughed and shook her head. "Go get 'im, 'Chiri."

"I thought you'd never ask." Chichiri stepped forward; his staff jingled slightly as he did so. "I give full consent to fight for Anya-dono no da!"

"And I give consent to fight for Pyra's behalf," Dart replied, drawing his sword. It made a satisfying hissing noise as he pulled it out, and it flashed in the light filtering in from the windows.

Duo, who had wandered in during this, whooped and gave a victory sign. "In that case, LET'S GET IT ON!" he hollered.

Trainers and Bishonen alike gave him odd looks.

"I've always wanted to say that," he said with a shrug and a sheepish smile.

Pyra shook her head. "That's Duo for ya. Dart, transform into Dragoon!"

Dart nodded.

"Chichiri, start preparing your spells!"

"Already done so no da!" Chichiri's hands were at his face again as he began to murmur incantations to himself.

Meanwhile, Dart held up what seemed to be a ruby as though showing it to anyone who cared. Then he clasped it in both hands and screamed as a burst of fire erupted from the ruby.

"What the?!" Anya demanded.

"It's alright," Pyra said quickly. "Here, you'll see."

Anya watched, amazed, as the Dart Bishonen was covered in flames, but not harmed. Those flames soon turned into full-body armour and wings on his back, which also held a touch of emerald on them. The ruby was gone, as though it was never there. Dart clenched his hands and held up his sword in challenge. Chichiri lifted his staff to acknowledge that, still muttering.

Then he finally shouted, "HAA!"

"FLAME SHOT!"

Fire met ki energy in two huge blasts, and there was a small explosion. Anya covered her eyes- the blast was extremely bright- and hoped that Chichiri wasn't going to push himself too hard for this fight.

After a moment, she could open her eyes again and found that Chichiri and Dart were clashing staff and sword. Dart was still in that strange, fiery armour, and Anya worried that it might burn Chichiri. However, it didn't seem to be bothering him.

Then it hit her; Chichiri had protected himself with a magical barrier that fit right up against his body. One could only see it if he was hit by Dart- the sword would bounce off of him, thankfully not mortally wounding her Bishonen. Nor did it seriously wound Dart when the monk Bishonen hit him, say, square in the stomach with his staff. Dart would double over for a moment, gasping for breath.

Flashes of magic and ki lit the room as though someone had released fireworks. Time and again, one of the Bishonen seemed about to lose. Then they would dodge what was to be the other Bishonen's last attack and the fight would continue.

Anya watched, amazed at how fast both men were going. /I guess it's a good thing Chichiri was a wanderer. He walked all the time... now he can keep up with that Dart guy. That's definitely good, or we'd have lost the match a long time ago! /

Pyra, who was on the other side of the battle, was also watching with wide eyes. Her arms dropped to her sides- she had had them crossed over her chest- and Anya could see her tense in anticipation of who would win.

It seemed as though the battle was drawing to a close at long last. While Chichiri was loping around, occasionally pausing to wipe sweat off of his forehead (or check a new bruise), Dart seemed to be having trouble staying up in the air. His first few attacks had been his best; now, they were barely good enough to blast near Chichiri, much less at him.

Finally, Dart was bathed in fire once again. Chichiri stepped back, uncertain as to what was going to happen. But all worries were quelled once Dart reappeared in the armour Anya had seen him in before the match. Now he only had his sword to depend on.

Chichiri saw his best chance at winning the match, and went for it. Instead of using magic, however, he returned to using his staff as his weapon. He lunged in, then did a sweep. Dart went over with an "OOF!" instantly.

And he didn't get up.

"Stop the match!" Pyra called. "We forfeit the match to you!"

From his spot on the floor, Anya could see Dart waving a small handkerchief in surrender. Otherwise, he didn't move.

Anya grinned and danced around in place, saying, "YES! You got 'im, Chiri! Awesome fight!"

The monk Bishonen dropped to one knee, panting for breath. He pulled off his mask to wipe his face with a hand. "Da, that was tough na no da," he breathed.

His trainer rushed over and hugged him. "You did great, Chichiri!"

Chichiri blinked and smiled sheepishly at her. "Thanks. After all, who wouldn't want to be treated to a good dinner at a restaurant after a fight like that, no da?"

She chuckled, and looked over to where Pyra was pulling out a potion of some sort. The trainer held it to Dart's lips, and a moment later the Bishonen was sitting up, groaning.

"SOA! I haven't hurt this bad for weeks..." He grinned. "It feels good."

Pyra hit him on the head for that.

"Your Dart all right?" Anya asked.

"Yeah, he's great. How's Chichiri?"

Anya glanced at Chichiri, who shrugged. "I'm alright no da."

"Cool. That was AWESOME!" Pyra danced around a little, waving her arms. "That was the BEST fight I've had in weeks. Hah, wait until I fight your friends. I will so win, thanks to the experience Dart's getting. And then I still have Albert... heheheh..."

Anya sweat-dropped. "Uh, glad to help..."

"Well, here you go." Pyra reached into her pocket and pulled out some money. She walked over and handed it to Anya. "That should be enough to last you for a month, if not more."

"Really? Thanks!" Anya grinned and shoved it into her own pocket. "That's great!"

"Don't tell me we missed it," said a voice from the door.

Anya turned. "Sano! Kenshin!"

The two Bishonen stood in the doorway, looking vaguely disappointed. Sano in particular looked crushed.

"You mean you DIDN'T ground him into a pulp?" Sano asked Dart.

Anya reached up and hit him on the shoulder, glaring at him. "Be nice, Sanosuke!"

"Whatever," he muttered. "So we won?"

"Yeah." Anya smiled.

"Great, my turn!" Jacky ran into the door with Inuyasha. She grinned at Pyra. "We ready to go for the second turn?"

"But of course!" Pyra said. "Dart, how about you recover more in your Bish-ball? You got one more fight today..."

"Assuming Abby shows up." Jacky sighed. "I hope she's okay."

"I hope whoever she's glomping is okay!" Anya exclaimed.

~*~

"IT'S KURAMA!"

"What on...?!"

"HEY! THAT'S MY BISHONEN!"

"KURAMA-CHAN, YER HAIR IS SO PURDY..."

"AAAAAAH!"

~*~

"Maybe you should go look for her," Jacky suggested.

"What, me?"

"Yes, you, Anya," Jacky answered. "I don't see any other trainers who aren't going to be fighting in a moment, do you?"

"I guess not..." Anya's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I'll go with you... Anya-dono no da," Chichiri offered.

Anya shook her head. "You crazy? You'll wear yourself out like that. Erm... Hey Sano, mind coming with me?"

Sanosuke shrugged, though there was a hint of smug satisfaction on his face. "The hell not? Now that I missed the most interesting of the battles..."

"Then let's go. Jacky, please keep an eye on Chichiri and Kenshin, okay? And if Heero comes in here..."

"Gotcha. No problem."

"Thanks! Come on, Sano!" With that, Anya ran out of the room with her Sanosuke close behind.