Deception 'tis Not the Way
A Rival Schools/ Pokemon X-over
By C-Dogg

In response to a challenge on the PFFML

Rival Schools is a video game.

Disclaimer: All unoriginal characters are property of Capcom Entertainment, 
Nintendo, and any other possible owners. Please don't sue me. My lawyer can 
beat up your lawyer.

An exact location of each of the high schools is never mentioned so I'm 
taking liberties here. My comments {}.
---

   Gorin High School's star soccer player, expert rifleman, and peacekeeper, 
Roberto, wandered through the downtown shopping district of Tokyo one 
Thursday afternoon. School had just ended and he was still wearing his school 
uniform since there was no practice. His ears rang of the constant bickering 
between his best friends, Shoma and Natsu. They had been going at it all day, 
even during class. The trio normally walked home together. But Shoma and 
Natsu happened to get detention and Roberto was not in a mood to wait for 
them. Roberto clutched his head.
   "Oh, Kami-sama," he said in an aggravated tone. "Those two like each. You 
know it. I know it. They know it. Why can't you rid me of their constant 
quarreling and grant me peace?" Why he waited for a response, he himself 
didn't know. He leaned against a brick building, staring across the street. 
"There must be some way to get them together."
   Suddenly, as if Roberto's prayers had been answered, a bright light beamed 
down over the establishment across the street at which he was starting. It 
was a pet store.
   "Is this a sign from the heavens?" he questioned, looking up to notice 
that his "sign" was nothing more than a street light which had inadvertently 
come on. Roberto was slightly upset, but he had a plan.

*   *   *

   Roberto entered the store. He saw many strange and rare animals. He read 
about them in Biology. "Pokemon,"
   "Welcome to my Owija's Exotic Pet Store," the owner greeted from behind 
the front counter as Roberto walked in. "I am Owija. How can I help you?"
   Roberto approached the man. "I looking for a pet for my friend," Roberto 
told him.
   "Trying to impress a certain someone at school?" the owner hinted with a 
wink.
   "No." Roberto denounced the idea, turning slightly red. "I have these two 
friends at school. All they do is argue perpetually. I thought that maybe if 
I bought them each a gift, they'd stop and admit to liking each other."
   "I see," Owija said. "Tell me, do they play any sports?"
   "Yes, they do," Roberto answered. "One plays volleyball and the other 
plays baseball."
   "Good. I have just the thing. Wait here." The man walked to the rear of 
the store and returned holding a jigglypuff and a cubone.
   "Cubone, bone bone."
   "Puff."
   "Thank you, sir. How much do I owe you." Roberto inquired.
   "I sympathize with your plight. No charge."
   "Thank you very much." He walked home with the two pokemon, further 
forming the plot in his mind.

*   *   *
Later that afternoon...

   A buzzing sound rang through Natsu's house.
   "I'll get it!" Natsu announced. She opened the door to see no one standing 
there.
   "Shoma! You better no be playing another one of your games!" The 
blue-haired girl looked down to see a beautifully decorated box with a card 
attached. Natsu picked up the card and read it.


Natsu,

   We may fight a lot but I want you to know that you're always on my mind.

                                                                       Love,
                                                                       Shoma


   She opened the box to see a cute jigglypuff with a red bow attached to it.
   "Aren't you the cutest little thing?" she said in a syrupy sweet voice. 
{you know how girls get} She picked it up and hugged it.
   "Jiggly!" it shouted with glee.
   "Can you sing?"
   Jigglypuff sang. {I'm not typing that out. Don't ask}
   "Ohhhh!" Natsu moaned. "Shoma is so kind." She failed to notice the 
handwriting in the card was not that of Shoma.

*   *   *
A little later than that...

*Bang Bang Bang*

   "Shoma, get the door," his big brother, Shuichi, yelled.
   "You only have one broken arm," Shoma shouted back. "You get it."
   "I have two good legs as well and unless you want me to use them, you'll 
get the door.
   Shoma stomped to the door, muttering things that would raise the rating of 
this fanfic to unreadable levels. He swung the door open and shouted "What!" 
To his surprise, and anger, no one was on the other side.
   Just as Shoma began to slam the door, he looked down at a package on his 
steps. It was wrapped in paper decorated with baseballs. On the top was a 
card.


Shoma,

   Just consider our constant arguing as a way of saying I really like you.

                                                      Love,
                                                      Natsu


   Shoma's face was completely red. He opened the package and pulled out a 
cubone with a black bow tie. It held its bone tight.
   "Cu cu bone bone."
   "Cool! Can you hit?"
   Cubone nodded and stuck out his chest.
   "Let's see how good you are." Shoma set cubone down. He picked up a small 
rock.
   "Ready?"
   Cubone got into a batting stance. Shoma gave him a soft pitch. Cubone 
swung mightily and hit the ball, sending it clear across the yard and into a 
neighbor's window.
   KA-CHINK!
   The two sweatdropped. Shoma picked up cubone and ran inside the house, 
slamming the door behind him. He, too, failed to notice the handwriting on 
the card.

*   *   *

   "Phase one has gone smoothly so far," Roberto said to himself in his room. 
"But tomorrow will be the real proof."

*   *   *
The next day...

   Roberto smiled a smug smile as he sat at the lunch table in the cafeteria 
waiting for his friends. His plan had gone over smoothly, maybe a little to 
well. Every time the two passed in the hall, they gave each other goo goo 
eyes. They blushed every time they made eye contact and flirted like Ash and 
Misty in a manga he had read. He couldn't remember the name and he didn't 
care either. He was just glad that he could get peace for once. The two 
finally joined him at the lunch table.
   "You both seem elated today," Roberto commented.
   "That's because I realized how great a guy Shoma is," Natsu told him.
   "And I realized just how wonderful and beautiful Natsu is," Shoma said. 
The couple nuzzled noses.
   "You two look so cute," Roberto told them. "Do you have any plans for the 
evening?"
   "Sho-kun and I are going out for dinner," Natsu announced.
   "Great."
   "Then we're going dancing," Shoma added.
   "Sounds like fun."
   The bell to end the lunch period rang.
   "Let's get back to class before the tardy bell catches us," Roberto 
suggested. He looked to see that the two were otherwise occupied. Roberto 
left without them.
   "They were very surprised when the tardy bell rang and the hall monitor 
dragged them to the office.

*   *   *

   "Kami-sama, I had no idea they liked each other that much," Roberto 
thought. "It seems as though my prayers were answered and then some."

*   *   *
That evening at the Koko Club...

   A slow song filled the air and many couples began to dance, Shoma and 
Natsu included.
   "Sho-kun?"
   "Yes, Natsu-chan?"
   "I want to thank you for the gift you gave me yesterday."
   "What are you talking about? I thought you gave me a gift."
   "No. I remember. You left a jigglypuff at my door."
   "No, you left a cubone at my door."
   "Wait a second. If I didn't send you a gift,"
   "And I didn't send you a gift,"
   "Then who was I?
   The couple stopped dancing as they thought.
   "Roberto!" they said in unison.

*   *   *

   Roberto looked up from the textbook he was studying. "I sense something 
bad has happened."

*   *   *
A little later...Miura

   Roberto's mother answered the door. "Hello Shoma and Natsu. You two look 
lovely this evening."
   They bowed. "Thank you Mrs. Miura. {Please don't ask me how to pronounce 
this.}

   "May we please speak to Roberto?" Natsu asked.
   Mrs. Miura hesitated. "I don't know. He's in his room studying..."
   "Pleeeeeeeease?" they pleaded, giving her large, anime, puppy dog eyes.
   She smiled. "Go ahead."
   Shoma knocked on Roberto's door. "Roberto, Natsu and I need to speak to 
you."
   Roberto opened the door. Shoma and Natsu pushed him back inside and 
slammed the door.
   "How could you set us up like that?" Shoma asked angrily.
   "What are you talking about?" Roberto retorted, feigning ignorance.
   Natsu held up the cards. "These and the pokemon were both your doing. This 
is your handwriting in the card."
   "Why?" Shoma boomed. "Why did you do it?"
   "You're both crazy. I never did anything like that."
   Shoma pulled his bat off of his back. He didn't have it with him earlier 
but they had stopped at their houses on the way. "Then I'll have to beat it 
out of you!"
   Roberto knew he pain of being hit by the bat as Shoma accidentally hit him 
during one of his brawls at school. "Ok, I confess it was I. But I did it for 
a reason. I'm sick and tired of you two arguing like little children. That's 
all you do. I thought if tricked you both, you'd admit to liking each other 
and cease the fighting. And I was right. You guys haven't fought all day and 
I finally got to have some peace."
   Shoma and Natsu looked at each other.
   "This giant? How could you think I like her?" Shoma yelled.
   "And why do think I like this midget?" Natsu yelled back.
   "Shut up!" 
   "You shut up!" 
   "You shut up!" 
   "You shut up!"
   "Why me, Kami-sama? Why me?" Roberto complained as the Shoma and Natsu 
argued backed back and forth.

The End

Kami- God in Japanese. Kami-sama is what they call him.

So, what do you think?

Questions? Comments? Flames?

E-mail me at 

bigc123485@aol.com

or

c_dogg@my-deja.com