Words in bold are in Spanish. Everyone else is speaking Japanese, not English.

---

Chapter 7: "The Winter Carnival" Pt. 2

I, Metalguru, do hereby give permission to turn Samurai Girl Kim Possible into a quack experimental fan-fiction, in the nature of Excel Saga. Signed, Metalguru.

"Is this the place?" After leaving the eba village, Kim, Monique, Rufus, and their new companion Ron, had headed for the docks to pick up supplies from a store that Monique mentioned. In the docks district of Hokodate, our intrepid trio was now standing in front of the store they had been looking for.

"Yeah, it is. How did you know?" Monique replied to Kim's question.

"Just a hunch."

Even though Monique hadn't told them which store they were looking for, actually it was pretty easy to tell which store they were headed to, as every store on the block utilized Japanese architecture except one. The one that stood out had been refitted from its original architecture to look like a beach-side shack, complete with festive palm trees and pink shutters. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

Port Banana. That was what the large sign on the shop stated. The trio went inside.

As they opened the door, a bell attached to it rang. They heard movement from inside and then a voice started shouting. Looking around, Kim examined the inside of the shop. It was filled from wall-to-wall with kimonos, obis, some fashionable armor, and other articles of clothing. There were even stylized versions of samurai armor and ninja clothing. Next to the Japanese items were western clothing and objects, from pantaloons and wigs to rapiers and buckled shoes. Near the back of the room were the most interesting clothes. Someone was in the midst of trying to sew a western cloak using the material normally reserved for a fashionable kimono, and they were doing a good job of it.

"Junior? Junior! Where is that lazy tailor? Junior! We have customers!" A heavily accented voice came from behind some racks.

Another voice responded back, this one from farther in the store. This voice sounded tired and annoyed. "I'm busy, why don't you get it yourself?

The voice was getting closer to the Kim. "You need some serious attitude adjustment, Junior! When I get done with these customers, we are going to have a talk, young man!"

The man came out into view of the trio. He was an older man, with brown skin and slicked white and gray hair covered by a wig. He wore the clothing of a Spanish gentleman, with a white tunic below a blue coat and tan pantaloons, stopping at the knee with white socks continuing down to his feet where he had buckled shoes. He walked with an ivory cane and exotic rings, hinting at his exciting life and travels. He took one look at the trio, saw Monique, and then burst into a smile.

"Monique!" He opened his arms wide in greeting and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her.

Monique returned the gesture. They kissed each other on the cheek.

"I am so glad to see you again, Monique. You have been gone for some time now. You made me very worried." He held her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake to prove his point. He smiled.

Monique smiled back. "I missed you too, Senor Senior, but I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

"Of course." He turned to look at Ron and Kim. "Ah, Monique, are these friends of you?"

"Yes. Senor Senior, this is Ron and Kim. Guys, this is Senor Carlos Miguel Senior, Sr. Senor Senior, I met Kim in the Ita district. She helped me stop that crazy prince from forcing Achika's daughter to marry him."

"I heard about that." He walked over to Kim and kissed her on both cheeks. "I am honored to make your slice of bread."

He spoke choppy Japanese and didn't exactly get all the words right, but his kind demeanor and sincerity put Kim at ease.

"And this is Ron. He's… um… new in town."

Senor Senior walked over to Ron and gave him the same courtesy he gave Kim. He kissed Ron on the cheeks. As he moved back towards the interior of the store, Ron stepped next to Monique and gave her a strange look.

"He's part Moor." Monique whispered. "The kissing thing is a tradition to his people. It's just his way of saying hello."

Ron nodded, clearly not understanding what the heck she just said.

Senior Senor clapped his hands together. "This is a joyous fish! We must celebrate! Junior! Get out here! Monique is back!"

Kim spoke up. "Actually, sir, we're here on business."

Senor Senior gave her a hurt look.

"But we can stay for dinner!" Monique came in with the save. Senor Senior immediately lit up with a smile.

"Excellent! What can I help you with? Mi Casa es su Casa."

"Well, we're going to enter Kim in the Winter Princess contest, and we need some supplies, you know, clothes, make-up, etc."

Senor Senior clapped his hands. "That is a great idea! It will bring large business to the cow!"

Ron tried to help Senor Senior correct his grammar while Kim gave Monique a funny look. "Hold on one second! Who said I'm the one entering? Why not you?"

"Because I called 123 NOT IT!"

"Oh come on, that's not fair! Besides, I'm a warrior, not some pompous princess prancing around on pretty pink petals."

"Try saying that five times fast," Ron chimed in. Rufus stuck out his tongue and twisted it at a weird angle.

"What is all the commotion, father?" Stepping out into plain view was Senior's son. He wore a white cotton shirt underneath a white tunic, with white pantaloons and black buckled shoes. His tan skin contrasted with the all white garb, and he wore his black hair in a ponytail.

"Oh, hello Monique. Welcome back." From first impressions, Kim thought he looked normal, except for the strange foreign garb. Then he spotted Kim. His eyes lit up, and Kim immediately felt uncomfortable.

"And who is this exquisite beauty?"

"Junior, this is Kim."

He wrapped one arm around his stomach and another around his back and bowed to Kim.

"I am Senor Carlos Miguel Senior, Jr. You, my dear, can call me Junior."

He took Kim's hand and kissed it. Kim laughed nervously. "Um, nice to meet you."

"And this is Ron."

Ron, remembering how the Senior Senior had greeted him, and seeing what the younger one had just done, hid his hands behind his back and gave Junior a little bow. "Hey, how's it going?"

Junior didn't take his eyes off Kim. "Charmed, I'm sure." Junior just blew him off. Ron puffed out a little air in anger, but otherwise kept quiet.

"Junior, where is your wig? How can you look like a gentleman without a powdered wig on your head?"

"But father I do not like the wig. It makes my head itchy."

"You will wear the wig. It makes you look dignified."

"But father, all of the men here wear the floptop. I look stupid in front of the girls with the wig."

"If you do not wear the wig…"

At this point, both Senior and Junior switched over to Spanish and began yelling at each other with a pace that was almost impossible to comprehend. To Kim and Ron it sounded like nothing more than gibberish, but as Ron watched Monique he would see her sometimes cringe as certain words were exchanged between father and son.

"You will become a gentleman, and that's final!"

"But, father I have ambitions and dreams! I dream that someday in Japan, there will be bright glowing lights filling the streets, with loud music being played from buildings! And boxes with arrows painted on them, and they light up in a sequence so you stomp on the arrows and they give you the impression that you can dance! And rooms that you go into and it is dark and there are flashing lights, and everyone shakes their behinds to the pulse-pounding music! It will be beautiful, father, beautiful!"

The others just stared at Junior with confused faces.

"…and I want to combine Eastern and Western clothing into a new fashion that will rock the world!"

"Oh, that makes much more sense," Kim said.

"I agree. I mean, what are the odds his first dream happening?

They all laughed.

After a few seconds of laughing, they quieted down and got back to business.

"So, you got anything for my home-girl, Junior?"

"For this pretty flower, anything." As if to prove his point, he looked deep into Kim's eyes and pulled out a rose. He started to hand it to her, then pulled it back and put it in his mouth. He quickly pulled it out again as one of the thorns caught his tongue.

"Ouch!"

"Junior, quit fooling around! We have work to do."

"Yes, father." The two seniors headed back into the shop. Monique nudged Kim.

"I think he likes you."

Kim just rolled her eyes. "Really? I didn't notice."

Kim walked out wearing a white European dress with beautifully adorned feathers and a teddy goose wrapped around the neck. The bottom was one of those large umbrella dress bottoms, which shot out and covered the legs all the way down to the floor. She looked like Cinderella.

In the back of the store, the Seniors had set out some chairs and were currently conducting their own fashion show, with Kim as the only model. Monique and Ron sat in the audience while the Seniors got up to pour over each dress

"Father, what is this?"

"I thought we could introduce the European court to these people."

"This is the Princess of Winter contest, not Buckingham Palace. Go back and try on the dress I marked with a number 4. I mean, seriously Father, you are too old fashioned…"

Ron was sitting in one of the chairs on the floor, obviously bored out of his mind. He was playing thumb war with Rufus, and after twenty games hadn't won one. This one wasn't going any better. Despite the fact that Rufus didn't have thumbs, Ron got pinned again.

"Hey, that's cheating!"

"Hmph!" said the little naked mole rat.

"Yo, Moan, what are we doing here? You still haven't told me anything since you busted me out of prison."

"First of all, it's Monique. Get it right, buster. Secondly, we're getting ready for this."

She handed him the bit of parchment detailing the event.

"Let's see, Princess of Winter contest, girl most like Princess Snow, yadda yadda yadda, first prize…" His eyes suddenly lit up. He looked over to Monique and realized that she had seen the gesture.

Monique smiled. "See something you like?"

He tossed the parchment over his shoulder. "Oh, you know; nothing important. Why should a guy like me care about a beauty pageant?" Ron tried to play it off cool, but, being Ron, his face gave away his true intentions.

Monique picked the paper up. "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of master thief?"

"I'm a treasure hunter! Trea-sureHun-ter I just, you know, dabble in banditry on the side."

"Uh huh. But I bet you wouldn't mind getting your hands on that necklace?"

Ron grinned. "Maybe."

"So how did you and Kim meet?"

Up on the stage, Kim came out wearing a Geisha outfit. Senior yelled at Junior and sent Kim back to change.

"Well, we kinda ran into each other. Actually," Ron assumed a dramatic pose on the chair, "she was running from a group of ten, no, fifty bandits! And when it looked like she was a goner, I rushed in, weapons flying, and saved the day." He was beaming.

"Uh huh. Sit down, Mr. Big Shot, Kim told me the real story. How she saved your scrawny butt from three goofball bandits."

Ron sat down dejected. "Yeah, that too. But I helped her out later on!"

Monique was resting her hands on the chair while looking dreamily at Ron. Ron lifted an eyebrow.

"What are you looking at?" he said, more in a cautious voice than a mean one.

Kim walked out on stage wearing a dress that looked like Princess Toadstool. Junior now complained to Senior and sent Kim back.

"Oh, nothing."

"C'mon, I've seen that look before. You're up to something."

Monique smiled. "I was just thinking at how great a couple you and Kim make."

Ron blushed and started chuckling. "Heh, no, not at all; really? How do you figure?"

"In my tribe, I was trained as a match-maker and mid-wife, as well as my warrior training. I can pick up sub-tle hints." She waved her finger like a pendulum while saying that one word.

Kim came out dressed in a cat-girl costume. Senior and Junior looked like they were about to get into an all-out brawl.

"So, what do sense from Kim? About me, that is?" Ron decided to push his luck.

Monique bopped him on the head. "That she loves another guy and hates you with all her guts."

Ron blew a raspberry.

"Attention! Attention!" Junior stood before the two spectators, his hands raised for silence. "We have finally come to a decision!"

Ron and Monique turned their attention to the stage. Junior bowed and pointed to a curtain, which Senior pulled back.

Kim walked out wearing a beautiful red kimono that seemed to glitter in the light. Several bows were attached to the back and streamers flowed down the front. Her face had some make-up, but just so much to make her look dignified yet accentuate some of her natural beauty. She looked like a princess.

Junior kissed his index and middle finger and sent it towards Kim. "Bravo!"

"Amazing!" cried Senior.

"Wow!" was all Ron could get out.

"She's ready!" Monique cried, pointing one arm in the air.

Monique went up on stage with Senior and Kim to work out some of the details. Junior walked off the stage

"What do you think, Monique? Is it not the most exquisite dress you have ever seen?" Senior was indeed amazed at how beautiful something he could create could be.

"It's good, sir, but the only thing I think we could change…"

Monique and Senor Senior began pointing out various places where they could add or take away small details. Kim didn't listen to them; she was too amazed at how she looked.

Kim looked down to Junior who had taken a seat below the stage. Alone.

"Uh, Junior, where's Ron?"

"Oh, he had to use the bathroom."

Kim drooped her head. "And did you take his chains off?"

"Yes I did. He had horrible chafing, so I told him to get some vanilla lotion from the counter. He hasn't come back yet." Junior obviously didn't understand the consequences of his actions. He looked around. "In fact, I saw him heading for the front door."

Kim's hands were visibly shaking. "He got away again!"

---

"Ladies and gentleman! Konichiwa! Welcome to the annual Winter Princess festival!"

Poppers fired white and blue confetti into the air. White lamps were lit, accentuating the white accumulation of snow. People filled the main street, walking from booth to booth as well as the restaurants and shops which opened their doors. Delicious smells of rice balls, teriyaki, sushi, and noodles filled the air. Saki vendors delivered delicious spirits that warmed the gullet on the cold night. Many of the restaurants had sitting areas with open fires, where people could sit and talk while staying warm.

A familiar blond haired boy carrying a pink naked mole rat on his shoulder strolled down the snowy streets. He had since hid his ninja gear underneath a colorful kimono he had swiped from a rich and greedy merchant in the rich section of town. He easily blended in with the wacky outfits of passer-bys and street performers.

He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "Ahh! Freedom! Well, little guy, what should we do first?"

Rufus rubbed his stomach. "Food!"

Ron's stomach growled. "Yeah, I'm hungry too. I wonder what there is to…"

Suddenly, a sweet smell touched his nose that quickly captured his hungry imagination. It was that disgusting but delicious smell of small clumps of rice, wasabi, soy sauce, and raw fish all clumped together into that scrumptious mush known only as…sushi!

Ron looked around quickly, searching for the source of that smell. There was only one thing he loved more than treasure, and that was sushi. Especially with saki. Ron looked all around the road, under every corner and on every rooftop, even getting bopped on the head for looking under a woman's dress. Finally, he realized that the sushi bar was right behind him, and he jumped down and rushed up to it.

"I'll take that, and this, and that, and some of this stuff (oohh, too salty!) , and your strongest saki to go with it!"

The vendor poured a little bit of saki for Ron. In a flash, he gulped it down and demanded more. As he drank, Ron began singing.

"One a saki,

two a saki,

three a saki four!

Five a saki

six a saki

gimme some more."

In only a few minutes, Ron was already plastered.

"More saki! Good saki! Warms the blood!"

The vendor, however, did not agree. "Hey buddy, I think you've had enough."

"Now you listen here," Ron said sluggishly, "I'll tell you when I've had enough. HIC!" Ron fell backward off his stool, landing in the snow. He giggled like an idiot, which made sense since that was what he was.

The vendor sighed. "Somebody call over the constables."

Shortly two of the town's constables came up to the boy.

"Well, will you look at this? We picked this kid up three days ago. He was completely wasted then, too! Got a criminal record a mile long though. Alright, hup to." They bent down to pick Ron up.

The other constable spoke up. "Ah, why don't we just leave him, let him have a good time? I mean, it's the festival, and you know if we show up at headquarters they're gonna stick us with jail guard duty, and we'll be the only one's there."

"Quit your whining. No matter what, we've got a job to do, even if it stinks."

They picked up Ron and started to drag them away. Little did they notice that Ron had slightly opened his eyes and was smiling sinisterly.

---

At the main meeting hall, the crowds piled in to observe the stage, built to represent the gentle nature of Princess Snow.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the contest!"

The crowd cheered as the formerly dark stage lit up from the light of a few hundred candles. Monique and the Seniors had grabbed a spot near the front of the stage and joined in cheering with the packed crowd. A portly man wearing a bandana with a red circle in the center walked to the center of the stage.

"I'm your host, Kochiban!"

"Who asked you?" someone yelled from the audience. Everyone laughed.

"Tonight, we have the loveliest girls from all over the eastern rim competing for the title of this year's Princess Snow! Let's meet the contestants!"

"From the illustrious Yamana family, Bonischi Yamana!" Bonnie came out wearing a white kimono with beautifully detailed purple flowers down the sides and peacock feathers on her back. The crowd loved it.

"Next, from the northern mountains, representing Port Banana, the beautiful warrior girl, Aisha Kimbre Possible!" The red dress was perfect as it matched Kim's hair color. Her face would have been red as well if it wasn't for the white powder which she and every other contestant wore.

"That's my girl!" Monique yelled out, cheering for her home-girl.

"I must say, Junior, we've outdone ourselves this time!" Senor Senior remarked, rubbing his chin.

"Next, representing the new Kleeg line of clothing, Japanese by nationality, a Chinese flower by birth, Ms. Adrena Lin!" Adrena had on a blue kimono with gold puffballs and a bottom that stuck out like an umbrella. Her blond hair was tied up in an enticing bun, and her fox-like eyes caught the attention of every male in the house.

"OOooo, ahhhh!" The females in the audiences glared at their male companions.

The MC continued on until every contestant was out on the stage.

"I present to you, this year's…" He was stopped in the middle of his sentence by a servant running up to him and whispering in his ear. The crowd watched as he nodded to the servant.

"Ladies and gentleman, it appears we have a last minute entry!"

A quiet murmur arose from the crowd.

"A late entry? Isn't that against the rules?"

The MC looked at the judges. They nodded back to him.

"Well, it doesn't look like there's any rules against a last minute entry, so let's bring out, um, well since she entered late, we really don't know anything about her except her name, so, well, let me introduce to you, Miss Mihoshi!"

The last girl walked out on stage and the entire crowd fell into a hushed silence. The last girl had stunning blond hair and a completely gold kimono that seemed to sparkle in the glow of the candles. She had a petite frame and innocent eyes that looked like they could have been taken from a deer. Strangely however, she carried a fan that covered most of her face except for her eyes. She batted her eyelashes at the crowd.

The crowd went wild.

"And how are you today, Miss Mihoshi?" asked the MC.

"Oh, I'm so happy to be here to compete. I hope I win!" She spoke in a very high, very cute yet also very annoying voice, at least to the other girls. The crowd seemed to eat it up.

All the other girls glared at this new arrival. They whispered amongst themselves, adding in choice names for the new arrivals.

"No problem," said Bonnie, flicking a strand of her hair, "she really shouldn't carry around such illusions, especially not in this crowd."

"Aw, c'mon," said Adrena, giving Bonnie an unwelcome smack to the shoulder. "The more the merrier, I always say!"

Kim was just too mortified at how silly the competition was becoming.

The girls left the stage as the judges climbed up and took up kneeling positions.

"The first contest," shouted the MC, "is the tea ceremony!"

Bonnie ran through the tea ceremony perfectly, delivering an excellent performance.

Kim flubbed a few details, but actually did very well for someone not used to pageantry.

Adrena completely screwed it up, spilling hot tea on the judges' laps and sending them running for cover.

Then it was Mihoshi's turn. She not only performed exceptionally, she made the best tea out of all the girls and even turned a almost-spill into a cutesy 'oops' which the crowd was more than willing to forgive. This angered all the other girls even more.

"Next, the talent competition!"

Bonnie, Kim, and Adrena all showed off their martial prowess with their weapons. They had changed out of their dresses for this particular event and were in their fighting garbs.

Bonnie used her nagimaka to maneuver and fill five teacups with a teapot, even serving the tea to the judges.

Kim blindfolded herself, then had a very brave audience member sit with an apple on their head. With two quick swipes, she cut the apple into four pieces, along with some of the brave showman's hair.

Adrena showed off her particular brand of fighting. Namely, she smashed everything in sight and sent the judges running once again.

Mihoshi did an impromptu Noh dance, awing the audience and once again pissing off all the other girls even more.

"And now, the swimsuit contest!"

"There were no swimsuit contests in feudal Japan!" Monique shouted.

"It's called fan service." added Junior.

All the girls came out in skimpy bikinis. All that is, except for one.

"Miss Mihoshi, why aren't you in a swimsuit." She hadn't bothered to change out of her golden dress. The fan still covered her face.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I couldn't bear to show off my body in such a shallow and sexist way."

The entire stadium grew silent. The MC spoke up.

"Pure and modest! What a great girl!"

The crowd started cheering for Mishoshi.

As the other girls returned to their dressing rooms, Kim felt stupid for going out there in a swimsuit.

"Hey!" Bonnie's voice spoke up behind her. "You see that girl out there?" She pointed at Mihoshi.

"Yeah, she's good."

Hmph! Bonnie crossed her arms. "Look, if we don't do something, she's going to win. Now, I don't like you, and you don't like me, but you and I are probably the closest behind her, so we've got to join together to try and pull something out of our butts."

"Like what?" Kim asked.

Bonnie grabbed her arm. "Come with me."

"And now, the judges are going to tally up the…"

"Wait!"

Kim and Bonnie came back onto stage in their fighting garments. Bonnie whispered to the MC, who walked over to the judges. They spoke for a second, then the MC walked back to the center of the stage.

"Well, this is most strange, but Miss Yamana and Miss Possible have asked to sing a song for the audience. There is no precedent for this, so we're going to leave this up to the audience. What say you, audience?"

"Yes!" the audience shouted back.

"Alright, girls, take it away!"

Bonnie and Kim walked to center stage and bowed. The music started up.

"That isn't love," Bonnie started.

"Love isn't that," Kim added.

"I am in love, but I am not loved

Definitely isn't love,

Derriere isn't love;

I want to be loved but I never seek it out"

Bonnie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around herself.

"I offer myself and throw my life away,"

Kim popped forward now.

"looking neither left nor right I will just earnestly

cheat weedle interfere

and tramp down and kick strangers"

"and we get the hell out" They both repeated that line several times.

Bonnie ate a banana peel and Kim slipped on it.

"Even if I slip on banana peel

it is all for his sake anyway

if anything it is probably

a kind of loyalty called love!"

They both ended with their arms out in the air, and the crowd went wild.

"And now the judgement!"

The judges came forward with their decision. The MC opened the envelope.

"The winner is: Miss Mihoshi!"

Mihoshi blushed as she walked to the center of the stage, waving to the cheering crowd.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!"

The mayor walked up to the stage with the same wooden box he had carried up the night before.

"And now, the mayor will present the award for the winner."

The mayor opened the box to reveal the Heart of the Princess of Winter.

"To the winner, we present to you…"

WHAM! The back of the stadium exploded in a rain of wooden splinters and bark. The last few rows scrambled for cover.

As the last of the sawdust settled, three figures stood in the hole in the wall. One was a large muscular African man, another a Japanese man decked out in a white karate gi, and the third an absolutely huge sumo wrestler who stood almost seven feet tall and must have weighed over four hundred pounds.

The black man pointed at the jewel. "That's ours, old man!"

"Run! It's the DFL!" The audience panicked, creating absolute chaos in the stadium. Jr. bounded over the crowd and threw a roundhouse at both the mayor and Mihoshi, missing them but sending them both flying for cover.

Kim, seeing Mihoshi falling backward, quickly ran forward and caught the contest winner.

"Are you okay, Mihos-"

Kim stopped in mid-sentence, shocked because she finally saw the girl's face. The large blond wig fell off her head, and Kim was staring straight into the giggling face of one Ron Stoppable.

"Ron?"

"Kim Possible, you're my hero." He said in a really childish and goofy voice.

"What the heck are you doing? Are you trying to steal the jewel?"

"Maybe. Oops, gotta blast." he said, flipping backwards and out of the way as a stool came crashing onto stage.

The DFL was wrecking the stadium, as a smattering of guards attempted futilely to stop them.

"You Japanese punks are nothing! Martial arts masters, my butt!" Vinnie shouted, boxing his way through the guards.

Jr. knocked down several more guards with his powerful roundhouse kicks. "I know kung fu, and I'm going to use it on you!"

"Big Mike, smash!" By merely crunching his feet into the ground, Mike made waves on the wooden floor, sending guards flying.

"That's it!" Kim stood up, ripping off the bottom of her dress, allowing herself more mobility. She grabbed her sword, which previously had been a part of her dress, and held it to her side.

"Bonnie! Adrena!" she shouted to the two other warrior girls, already going for their own weapons, "let's go!"

"Alright!" shouted Adrena.

"I don't take orders from commoners, but this time I'll make an exception!" Bonnie readied her mighty weapon.

Bonnie and Kim ran towards Jr., while Adrena headed towards Vinnie to help out Monique, who was already fighting hand to hand with the tall bruiser.

"Need some help, kid?" Adrena asked, running up to Monique and readying her weapon.

"Since you asked so politely." Monique responded, readying her tambas for some more action.

"Oh, please." Vinnie said, smacking his fists together. "Two girly-girls versus me?"

Monique and Adrena looked at each other and smiled.

Monique rushed Vinnie, pounding him with a long combo of attacks. However, Vinnie blocked every one and even countered, knocking Monique sideways.

"Is that the best you've got?"

"FORE!" Adrena rushed Vinnie and swung her hammer like a golf club, smacking Vinnie dead on and sending him flying through the roof.

"You go girl!" shouted Monique. Adrena gave her a thumbs up.

Kim and Bonnie rushed at Jr.

"You hit him high," said Kim.

"and I'll hit 'em low." responded Bonnie.

Using a sweeping motion, Bonnie knocked out Vinnie's legs, while Kim landed a punishing jump kick. Vinnie went flying through the chairs, stopping unconscious.

"Yeah!" all four girls regrouped.

"Now, all we have to do is stop the last guy!"

Big Mike, realizing that his two best friends had just been beaten, turned and stared at the four girls who had done the deed. Gripping his face into a wild and angry sneer, he smashed one foot on the floor, then the other, then got down into a crouch with one hand in front of him. He then charged straight at them.

"Easier said then done!" shouted Bonnie.

"Scatter!" shouted Kim.

Big Mike ran at them and missed them, but in the shock, Kim messed up her jump and got knocked into the air and went flying. As she looked down in mid-air, she saw that she was flying straight at some debris of the sharp and pointy variety.

Oh crud! She couldn't change her momentum in mid-air. All she could do was curl up and hope for the best. It would be soon now.

Suddenly, something slammed into her in mid-air, sending her flying away from the debris and towards the safety of the stage. Landing on the stage, she realized she was being cradled by two strong arms.

"Are you okay?" A very strong and sexy voice asked her.

She opened her eyes to find herself looking into the mask of the very same thief who had tried to steal the jewel the night before.

"You're that thief. But why-"

"Shh." He put one gloved finger up to her lips. She was blushing, she knew it.

"I watched you perform during the contest. You were amazing."

"Thank you." She was still cradling in his arms, but the reality of the situation came flying back as another banister flew by them as Big Mike fought the other girls.

"You need to get back to your friends. I'm not here to help you. I just wanted to tell you one thing." He moved up his mask to reveal only his mouth. Slowly he leaned close to her and gave her a short but passionate kiss.

He pulled his mask back over his face. "You're a very worthy opponent."

Then, as fast as he had appeared, the mysterious thief shot out of the stadium through the hole in the roof courtesy of Vinnie. He paused for a single moment to look back at Kim, then shot out the hole.

"Wow." Kim thought, touching her lips.

"Kim!" Bonnie shouted at her. "How 'bout you get out of la-la-land and help us out!"

Big Mike charged at Bonnie, who was caught in a corner.

THWACK! A chair landed dead center on Big Mike's head. It didn't drop the big man, but it was enough to make him stop his charge and look around at who threw the chair.

Kim stood defiantly across the contest hall turned arena. "C'mon, ya big doofus!"

"Grrrrr…" Big Mike did a sumo stomp and crouched down, preparing to charge at Kim. Bonnie, of course, got an amazing view of a full moon.

"Ew. Gross." Bonnie said, holding her nose.

"Rargh!"

Big Mike charged Kim, accelerating at every step, preparing to slam straight into the budding warrior girl and smash every bone in her body with his massive muscles. Kim held her sword, ready to draw. She only had time for one strike, and it had to be good or it was Kim sandwich. She readied her nerves. Every ounce of training she had ever done came down to this very moment. She was ready.

No. Wait. She wasn't.

Oh crud! Kim's mind flashed with fear. She had missed her opportunity.

"Kim! Somebody help her!" Monique yelled.

Suddenly, a chain flew out of nowhere, quickly wrapping around Big Mike's legs. The chain tightened, bringing his bulging thighs together and tossing the wrestler off-balance, sending him into a nose dive, crashing face first mere inches from Kim.

Big Mike let out a sigh and his body relaxed. Kim gave his head a little push. The sudden blow to the head had knocked the sumo wrestler unconscious.

She saw the chain wrapped around Big Mike's legs. Following it to its owner, she found herself once again looking at Ron Stoppable, back in his battle garments and crouching on the stage.

"Somebody call for me?" Ron grinned like he had just heard a great joke.

"Who the heck is he?" Bonnie yelled.

"Your timing stinks, Ron!" Kim yelled into his face. She then relaxed a little, surprising Ron. "But, then again, thanks." She gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"Yo, Kim!" Bonnie walked up to Kim and shook her hand.

"I was wrong about you," Bonnie said, "you really are a good warrior."

"You too, Bonnie!" Kim responded.

They chuckled awkwardly, yet there was actually no animosity between the two girls, for once.

The judge came up and looked around frantically. He held his hands to his face.

"Oh my goodness, where's Miss Mihoshi?"

"She, or should I say, he, is right there." Monique pointed out Ron.

Ron smiled a stupid grin. He was obviously enjoying all of this.

The MC took a look at him, and then shook his head.

"Well, since our winner was male, he is automatically disqualified. Therefore, the runner-up is the winner. And this year's runner-up was: Kim Possible!"

"I won?" Kim was dumbfounded.

"Way to go girl!" Monique patted her on the back.

"Wow, did you hear that Bonnie? …Bonnie?" Kim looked at the Yamana only to notice that the prissy girl was turning red.

"I can't believe this!" Bonnie started shouting. "Fraud! Cheat! I want a recount!"

"Sorry," said the nervous MC, "but that's the way the judges ruled."

Bonnie pointed at Kim. "THAT'S IT! From now on, we're rivals!" Bonnie stormed off with her servants behind her trying to calm the now hysterical girl.

---

The next day

Kim woke up and got dressed before Monique and Ron awoke. All three of them had stayed overnight to celebrate and relax, but it was time for Kim to leave and go home. She quietly gathered her things and slipped out the door. As the sunrise glistened over the damp new-fallen snow, Kim breathed in the fresh air, sighing as she looked back towards the inn, where her two new friends would awake in a few hours.

She really didn't want to leave them behind, but it was better this way. She needed answers, and to get them she needed some peace and solace. Ron and Monique were fun to hang with, but in the long run, Kim concluded that they would be distractions. It'd take her less time to get home without them anyway. She felt bad about that thought, but, then again, all the greatest masters she could think of were loners. Or maybe she was just remembering the tales of lone ronin her grandfather used to tell her.

Anyway, one of the first steps on the road to becoming a warrior was to understand oneself. That much she knew. It would take some quiet meditation and soul-searching, but she knew she'd find the answers eventually. She was the girl who believed she could do anything, right? And really, there's no time like the present to get started.

"Hey, Kim! Kim Possible!" A lone voice echoed through the empty streets.

Kim came out of her thoughts to watch Adrena Lin run up to her. Adrena was wearing a brown traveling cloak over her battle garments and her hammer was wrapped up in bamboo paper, so Kim guessed that she was probably leaving too.

"Hey, Adrena."

"Hey, Kim. I just wanted to tell you how cool it was how you took down those bad guys last night. I was, how do you Japanese say it, 'honored to fight beside you.'"

Kim smiled. "You weren't so bad yourself. I think you make a great fighter. Though I don't see you getting any modeling contracts soon."

The two girls got a chuckle out of that.

"So, where you headed, Kim? And where's your sidekicks?"

Kim gave her a defensive look. "Oh, no. They're not my sidekicks. I'm headed home, so I thought I'd save us from goodbyes, 'cause I'm really bad at them."

"Oh. I thought that guy was pretty cute. Nothing happened between you two, huh?

"No! No, no, no… besides, his personality is way too goofy for me."

"Well, I've got to go. It was nice meeting you, Kim. Maybe we'll cross paths again. I'd really like to test my skills against yours someday. But, whatever." She turned away and stuck up one hand in a wave. "Oh, and if you're ever in Kyoto, my dad owns a restaurant there. I work there in between bounties, so stop on by someday. See ya."

"Bye." Kim waved back. Adrena walked over to a few other people dressed similarly and mounted a waiting horse. With one last wave, they took off south.

Kim watched them ride off into the distance. As she did, she noticed two shadows come up behind her.

"And just where do you think you're going?" said a familiar voice behind Kim.

Kim turned to see Monique and Ron all packed up and ready to go.

"Monique? Ron?" She had expected Monique to follow her, but not Ron.

"Hey, we're friends now, girl. That makes us inseperable." Monique smiled, patting Kim on the shoulder.

"And you Ron?" Kim asked.

Ron smiled that big goofy smile that made him look so innocent and lovable.

"I've got nowhere else to go. Might as well hang around my friends. Dumplings are better with friends, anway."

Monique started up again.

"Besides, I want to see everything this country has to offer. I've been couped up in high society too long. I want to see some action!"

Suddenly, two constables walked around a corner and stared directly at Ron.

"There he is!" They pointed straight at him.

Kim looked at Ron. "Ron, what did you do now?"

"Remember when I disappeared from the clothing shop last night? And then I showed up at the contest? Well, I did a few errands between them."

"Like what?"

Ron scratched the back of his head. "I kinda broke out all the prisoners at the jail."

Kim grabbed Ron by the collar. "Alright. This time you're not getting away. You may be my friend, but you still broke the law and-"

"Those must be his accomplices!" the guards yelled.

Kim was shocked. "Wait, accomplices? No! Wait a second!"

"Get them!"

The constables were almost on them. There was only one thing to do.

"Run for it!" yelled Ron.

"So not the drama!" yelled Kim.

"This is what I'm talking about!" yelled Monique.

The three friends raced off north towards new trials and adventures, seemingly connected by fate (or dumb luck.)

End Chapter

The song is the opening theme from Excel Saga. I don't exactly know the name.

Yes! I finally updated! I'm trying to update all of my fics regularly from now, but first of all I have about six chapters for four different fics currently languishing in my hard drive since before Christmas, so here's the sitch, in percentages;

ASiT2: Chapter 10 60 done

Chapter 11 30 done

Chapter 12 50 done

For Maria Chapter 5 10 done

Final Fantasy Naval Tactics Chapter 2: Brainstorming

AJFA Chapter 3: 90

JiB: Chapter 2 Back on the drawing board

New stuff:

MMLAATR: Chapter 1 15 done

The False Prophet: Chapter 1 10 done

MGS4: In synopsis phase.

I also have a few more ideas, but I really want to say that I've finished some fics before I actually start on anything else. Oh, and if anybody needs an editor, or beta reader, or someone to discuss ideas with, feel free to drop me an email. I really need to get my creative juices flowing. Before the weekend is over, I hope to blow through some of the list above.

To all my reviewers: you ain't seen nothing yet.

Also, if I had to describe her, my version of Adrena is a cross between the Kim Possible version and Kitsune from Love Hina, hence the 'fox eyes.'