Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction / Saiyuki Reload Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Great Glare-Off ❯ The competion ( Chapter 1 )

Let me just say this; never discuss ideas for fics at four in the morning. `Cause what follows could be the result. Of course, watching seven episodes of Rahxephon, followed by City Hunter, and reading other peoples fics probable didn't help. I could be wrong though. Anyways, I don't remember which one of us first came up with this idea, but my sister and I decided to sleep on it before we began to write it. Enjoy!

Standard disclaimer: we do not own Weiß Kreuz, nor do we own Gundam Wing or Saiyuki. Much to our dismay.

Kanzeon Bosatsu sat in her garden, watching her nephew and his friends as they continued their journey west. Her nephew was currently yelling at two of his companions as the third one drove. An idea suddenly popped into her head and she began to grin. "This ought to liven things up," she muttered to herself, causing her ever present assistant to look over at her, worried.

"What was that, Master Bosatsu?"

She looked over at him, still grinning. "Just something to relieve the boredom. Get me some paper, a pen and three envelopes." He bowed and headed out to fetch the required items, still trying to figure out what his ever scheming master had up her, er, his, er, um, sleeve.

Kanzeon headed over to her viewing pool, calling up two images. One was the inside of a flower shop, manned by four rather attractive young men. The other was a living room, in which could be seen five young men, two of which were currently engaged in some sort of a battle while a third was trying to placate them, the other two merely watching. "Oh yes," she chuckled to herself. "This will definitely liven things up."

***

"Ken, you got a letter!" The cheerful voice of the youngest member of Weiß echoed from the kitchen. Ken hurried over, wondering who he knew that would send a letter here of all places. He grabbed the envelope from Omi, looking it over.

"I already checked it for bombs," Omi assured him. "And it doesn't look like anything the fan girls would send us, so I think your safe from that."

Ken frowned as he read the return address. "Yeah, but who's this Kanzeon person?" Omi shrugged as he finished getting ready for school.

"Guess you'll just have to open it to find out." Omi grinned reassuringly at his teammate as he left. Ken continued to frown as he walked into the living room. Throwing himself into his favorite chair, he tore open the envelope and began to read. His eyebrows arched up as he started, eyes nearly bugging out of his head. Ran looked over at him, concerned, as Ken began to chuckle, then laugh, the letter clutched in one hand.

"What is it?" Ran softly asked.

Ken managed to gasp out, "You'll find out later," as his peals of laughter continued.

***

Duo bounced over to the mailbox and grabbed the numerous envelopes therein. "Bill, bill, bill, credit card offer, hey, what's this?" He paused at an innocent looking envelope, addressed to him. He frowned in suspicion, not recognizing who it was from. He held the envelope up, letting the light shine through it. "Nope, not a bomb." He delicately sniffed it. "And no perfume, so it's not from Hilde." He shuddered at that thought, his frown deepened as he contemplated. Shrugging, he left the rest of the mail on the kitchen table as he walked into the living room. He fell backwards onto the sofa, the plain envelope still in his hands. "Well, only one way to find out what's in it." He tore open the envelope and began to read. A smile started to form and a chuckle escaped him as he finished reading. "Oh yeah, we'll be there. But how do I get Heero to agree to go with me?"

***

"Excuse me, which one of you is Cho Hakkai?" Four heads turned to look at the innkeeper.

"I am." Hakkai stood up from the table.

"This just arrived for you." The innkeeper handed over an envelope before leaving the room. Hakkai looked at the envelope, his name the only thing written on the outside.

"Oh, got an admirer already?" Gojyo smirked, ever present cigarette dangling from his lips. "Damn Hakkai, that was even faster than me."

"I'm sure it's nothing like that," Hakkai reassured his friend as he opened the envelope and read the letter. The expression on his face didn't change as he folded that letter back up, tucking it into his shirt. He sat back down and sipped his tea.

"So what was in it?" Gojyo leaned forward. Hakkai smiled.

"Oh, nothing dangerous." He then pulled out his deck of cards, shuffling them. "Anyone up for a game of Oicho-Kabu?"

***

Kanzeon smiled as she watched the reactions of the young men. "Part one done. Now on to part two." Her assistant sweatdropped. "Get me more paper and two envelopes."

***

Manx looked at the four members of Weiß. "I have a mission that will only require two of you." She held up a folder. "It's an infiltrate and gather data."

"I'm in." Ran pushed off of the wall he was leaning against and took the folder from Manx. He opened it up and started to read through the information. One eyebrow arched up as he read.

"I need one more." Manx looked at the remaining members.

Ran snapped the folder shut. "Siberian is coming with me." Ken looked at him.

"Huh? Don't I get a say in this?"

"Yeah Aya, why is Ken going with you.?" Yohji looked up at the redhead.

"The target has an interest in particular men; Siberian and myself are the only ones to fit the criteria. We leave on the next available plane for China." He handed the folder over to Ken before heading upstairs to pack. Yohji walked behind Ken, patting him on the back.

"Better you than me." Yohji smirked before disappearing upstairs.

"Will you need anything, Ken-kun?" Omi asked, concerned at the expression on Ken's face.

"I, ah, think I'll be fine. Thanks Omi." Ken smiled. "I'll be up in a bit; I just need to look this over." He waved the folder at Omi. Omi smiled back as he, too, headed upstairs; he had a test coming up that he needed to study for. Manx looked at Ken, the two of them now alone in the briefing room. They smirked at eachother. "You realize that this could get the two of us fired," Ken whispered at her. Manx walked over to him, leaning down.

"That's the beauty of it, Ken. This person," she tapped the folder, "really does exist." She grinned as he started to sputter. "Enjoy your side trip." She left before he could form a coherent sentence.

***

Heero and Duo walked into Lady Une's office; Wufei was already there, looking over some papers in a folder. He looked up as they entered, closing the folder when they got close.

"Agent Yuy, Agent Maxwell, as you know, Agent Po was injured on her last mission and is still unable to perform certain tasks. I need the two of you to accompany Agent Chang and assist him on this mission. The details are in that folder." Lady Une gestured to the folder that Wufei was holding.

"Let's go to your office to discuss the details." Wufei handed the folder to Heero before walking out. Heero followed, leafing through the folder as he walked. Duo looked at Lady Une, giving her a wink before he followed his friends out. Lady Une smiled at the now closed door.

"Wonder who'll win?" She shook her head before getting back to her work.

***

Ken dumped his bag on the bed in the hotel room he would be sharing with Ran for the duration of their mission. He was slightly disturbed, still, that they really did have a mission, but also giddy that the invitation in the letter was about to be realized. He looked over to Ran, fighting to keep his lips from forming a smile. "Shall we get started?" Ran nodded and the two of them headed out; Ran not noticing the doorway glowing as the two of them left their room. They both stopped at the sight that now greeted them. They were most definitely no longer in the hotel. They stared at the other young men, almost all just as shocked.

***

Duo checked his gun, making sure it was loaded and clean. He put it back into it's holster, located in the small of his back. He ran a hand through his hair, checking his lock picks before turning around. Wufei was leaning against the wall by the door. Heero had already checked his gear twice and was now glaring with impatience at Duo. "Are you finally finished?" Heero growled.

Duo grinned cheekily at him. "Yup! All set! Let's go!"

"Baka," Heero muttered under his breath as he walked through the doorway, quickly followed by Wufei.

Duo was the only one to notice the glow as the two passed through. His grin grew wider. "Oh, this'll be soooooo good!" He bounced over and walked through the door. He bumped against Heero's back and looked around, noticing the other young men that were now standing in what was most definitely NOT the hallway of the safe house they were just in.

***

Hakkai drove along, smiling at the antics of Goku. The teenager was doing his best to get Hakkai to tell him what was in that letter Hakkai had received the other day. So far, nothing had worked. Goku was going nuts. Gojyo, on the other hand, was enjoying the fact that the saru was annoying someone other than him. Sanzo's hand was twitching; Goku might be bothering Hakkai instead of Gojyo, but he was still whining. After another five minutes of listening to Goku's persistent questions, he twisted in his seat, paper fan out, and thwacked Goku. "Urasai!" he yelled. He turned back around, paper fan still out, just in case. The canyon they were driving in passed by as a calm settled on the occupants of the jeep. It only lasted ten minutes.

"Ne, Hakkai?" Sanzo's eyebrow twitched as Goku spoke up.

"What is it Goku?"

"Can you tell me now?" A vein in Sanzo's forehead that had settled down started to throb again

Hakkai chuckled. "Don't worry Goku. It's a surprise and one that I think you'll enjoy." With that mysterious announcement, Hakkai drove around a sharp corner and the canyon came to an abrupt end. In front of them was a modest sized temple. No one was in view. They stared at the temple. Hakkai got out of the jeep. "Shall we see who's about?" he asked as he walked towards the temple.

"What?" Sanzo scanned the area as he left the jeep. He didn't sense any youkai in the area, but they had lately been running into ones that could disguise their aura. Goku and Gojyo scrambled out of the back; Hakuryu using the opportunity to change into his dragon form and flew over to land on Hakkai's shoulder. Hakkai boldly strode up and into the temple, disappearing from the others sight. They looked at eachother and cautiously walked into the temple, each one expecting an ambush. What greeted them instead made each one doubt their sanity.

They had entered the temple from the south and were now standing in the main hall. Just as they had entered, two young men had appeared from the east, one a redhead wearing a black full length trenchcoat, holding a sheathed katana in his left hand, the other a slightly shorter brunette wearing an open leather jacket that revealed a dark blue t shirt, an orange sweater wrapped around his waist, an odd leather glove on his right hand with a pair of goggles pushed up on his forehead. From the west, simultaneously, three young men had also appeared, each of them in similar clothing: a black jacket with a tan bar across the top and a quarter of the way down the left arm, with a stylized "P" on the upper left arm and a star on the opposite arm, black pants and black shin high boots. The only differences, other than their hair, was that one of them was wearing a tan shirt underneath the jacket while the other two were wearing a gray button down shirt and black tie. As for their hair, one had short, unruly dark brown hair, one had chestnut brown hair, pulled into a braid that ran down his back and brushed the small of his back; he was also the one in the tan shirt. The third was of obvious Chinese descent with straight black hair pulled tightly back in a small tail. The boy with the long braided hair seemed to be bouncing on his heels, trying to contain his energy. The rest, with the exception of the brunet from the east, all tensed. An ominous aura started to permeate the hallway as the young men stared at eachother. Then the sound of footsteps started to echo, coming from the north. Kanzeon strode in.

She looked at the young men gathered in the hallway. "Yo." They all stared at her, Sanzo, Hakkai, Goku and Gojyo recognizing her immediately. The Chinese boy from the west, after a few seconds, started as he, too, recognized her.

Sanzo folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Kanzeon. "This is your doing."

Kanzeon smirked at him. "Of course. Did you really think anyone else would be able to pull this off?" She smiled at the others. "Thanks for coming, the contest will begin in an hour." Heero glared at her, his right hand slowly sliding to his back and his gun.

"What contest?" His voice came through clenched teeth. Ran merely narrowed his eyes as he also glared at her. Kanzeon seemed unimpressed.

"A contest being held exclusively for Genjo Sanzo," she pointed at him, "Heero Yuy," her finger swiveled over to her new victim, er, contestant, "and Ran Fujimiya." Her finger was now pointed at the redhead from the east. She smiled at the three. "Don't worry boys, it won't hurt." Duo started to snicker, unable to contain his laughter any longer. Heero turned on one heel, now facing the braided boy.

"You knew." He glared. Duo looked at him, eyes sparkling.

"Yup!" His grin grew wider. "Come on, Hee-chan, it'll be fun!" Heero's hand, the one reaching for his gun, twitched, before firmly wrapping around the grip. His eyes narrowed; unknown to him he was mimicking Ran's current expression.

"Fun." Heero ground out. "Being interrupted on a mission is not my idea of `fun'." Ran twitched at the mention of a mission.

"Agreed." Ran looked at Ken out of the corner of his eye. "You and Manx knew." Ken sheepishly grinned, his left hand scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, you see, that letter was the invite to this. And I knew you wouldn't go unless it was a mission so…" he shrugged. Duo looked over at him.

"You too?" They shared a grin.

"Yeah, but this is kinda a side mission; when we get back we need to go…"

"Urasai! You do not give out mission objectives to civilians!" Ran turned his full glare on Ken.

"Hey! Who're you calling a civvie? I've been sent on more missions by Lady Une than the…" His voice was abruptly cut off as Heero covered his mouth with his left hand as he pulled out his gun, putting the barrel against the side of Duo's head. Duo's eyes widened.

"You had better tell me everything. Now." Heero removed his hand, allowing Duo to speak, gun not moving.

Duo kept looking out of the corner of his eyes, watching the gun in Heero's hand. "Jeeze Hee-chan, lighten up. I couldn't tell you anything and still can't `cause that letter told me not to. You should ask that lady over there since I'm pretty sure that she's the one who wrote those letters."

"Letter?" Sanzo asked, then turned to Hakkai, "You received a letter."

"What was that letter about, Hakkai?" Goku asked, one last time.

Hakkai smiled, glancing over at Kanzeon for permission. She nodded. "Well, the letter asked me to bring both you and Sanzo to this temple for a special surprise. I believe Kanzeon will tell us what this contest is in her own time."

"So the bouzu and the saru get to participate in this thing and we don't?" Gojyo stared incredulously at Hakkai. "You gotta be kidding me!"

Wufei looked over, scornfully. "You're in a temple, I'm sure that you'll find something to do." Wufei turned towards Kanzeon and bowed. "Honored Kannon, my humblest apologies for my companions behavior. Is there someplace you would like us to wait before the start of your contest?"

Heero glanced at Wufei, gun still pressed against Duo's head. "Chang, we are not moving until this is explained. I don't care who that person is; if she's the one responsible then she had better provide it." Duo was starting to nervously shift from one foot to another.

Kanzeon smirked. "Just how do you plan on getting me to provide that explanation without your little toy?" She gestured and a katana, a silver revolver and semi-automatic pistol appeared at her feet. Ran's left hand closed suddenly, no longer holding his beloved katana. Sanzo quickly searched the armfolds of his robes, not finding his Smith and Weston revolver. Heero blinked, eyes focusing on the empty space that his pistol once occupied. Duo looked Kanzeon in the eye, mouthing a thank you. Heero whirled around and upon seeing his pistol at Kanzeon's feet, dove for it. Unfortunately, Ran and Sanzo both decided to dive for their respective weaponry at the same time. Kanzeon gestured, and the weapons all vanished. She smirked at the young men. "I'm so glad the three of you decided to step forward. Ken Hidaka, Son Goku, Duo Maxwell, if the three of you will accompany him," she gestured with her head towards her assistant, "I'll be with you as soon as I get these boys to their rooms." The three boys in question glared at her. Her grin widened. "Oh yes," she purred, "this will definitely liven things up."

"Um, Kanzeon, Kannon, Ma'am? What about Wufei and those other two?" Duo gestured to Hakkai and Gojyo.

Kanzeon glanced at them. "There's a garden out back. I'm sure that they can meditate there." She smirked as Gojyo started to sputter.

"Meditate? MEDITATE? You expect me to MEDITATE?!" His face was become as red as his hair.

"Then play some Mahjong. I don't care." Kanzeon turned and headed back down the hallway she had initially appeared in, gesturing for Heero, Sanzo and Ran to follow her. When they failed to move, she made a further gesture. All three now found themselves floating in the air and following after the barely clothed bodhisattva. Numerous curses, all in Japanese, followed as they disappeared from view. Duo winced at one that Heero sputtered off, certain that he would be paying for deceiving Heero. Wufei lay a comforting hand on Duo's shoulder.

"I'm sure that Lady Une will find someplace for you to hide while his temper cools." Duo weakly grinned at Wufei.

"Thanks, but I don't think I can hide long enough for that to happen." He looked over at Kanzeon's assistant. "So, where're we supposed to go?"

Her assistant bowed. "If you will follow, please." Ken and Goku headed over, the four walking down a different corridor, disappearing from view. Wufei glanced over at the remaining two people.

"Since we seem to be unnecessary now, perhaps an introduction is in order. I am Chang Wufei." Wufei looked at the two, expectantly.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Cho Hakkai and this is Sha Gojyo. Anno, do you know how to play Mahjong?"

Wufei's eyes lit up. "Which rule system will we be playing by?" A very small grin now decorated his usually calm face.

***

Kanzeon walked along, flinging each young man into a separate room, barring the doors from the outside. Once done, she quickly headed over to where her three judges were waiting. She found them sitting in the specially designed room, each one relaxing in an overstuffed armchair. The room had a main entrance, three doors lining one wall and another door on the opposite side. Duo was the first to notice her arrival.

"Hiya Lady Kannon! So are the three contestants ready for us?" Duo grinned at her, bouncing in the armchair, eager to see how the other two measured up to Heero.

Goku looked at him. "Just what are they competing in?"

Duo looked over, flabbergast. "You mean you don't know? We're supposed to judge their glares!"

Ken started to chuckle. "From what I saw out there, it'll be close." He looked over at Kanzeon. "So, when will they be ready and, umm, are we going to remember any of this?"

"More importantly," Duo interrupted Ken, "will they remember any of it. I don't know about you, but Heero's ready to kill me over this and he still doesn't know just what this contest is!"

"I have a feeling that Ran is going to be chasing me around, waving his katana at me while shouting `Shi-ne' for a while." He looked at Kanzeon. "I think he's raised a good point."

Goku sank a little lower in his chair. "But I don't want Sanzo to forget." The other two stared at him, mouths open with shock. Ken and Duo glanced at eachother, still shocked.

"Kid's got a death wish," Duo whispered. Ken nodded in agreement.

"Relax, those that need to forget will and those that don't need to won't. Which means that the only ones who will be forgetting about this little contest will be," she held up a closed fist, "Heero Yuy," one finger went up and Duo sighed in relief, "Ran Fujimiya," another finger went up and Ken copied Duo's sigh, "and Wufei Chang," a third finger rose to join the other two. "Everyone else will have a clear memory of what went on here. Now then," she leaned forward, her star pendent swinging, "are the three of you ready to judge their glares?"

Goku looked at the other two young men. Both seemed eager to start this, and he had to admit that it would be nice to see Sanzo glaring at him for a reason, rather than the random glares he usually received. A grin started on his face, a near mirror of the grins that decorated the other two people. "Yeah," he leaned back, placing his hands behind his head, "I think we are."

Kanzeon smiled. "Good. I'll be watching from elsewhere. Make sure they go into that room," she pointed to the lone door. "Only one contestant at a time will be allowed in here with you and they are to wait in that room for your decision. Don't worry, they won't be able to hear you. Good luck." She turned and left the room, her assistant following. The moment the door shut behind her, the first of the three doors opened, allowing a very irate Genjo Sanzo into the room.

Sanzo looked at Goku, his paper fan clutched in one hand. He slowly looked at the other two men, finally noticing what color their eyes were. The one with the leather jacket, discarded somewhere along the way along with that orange sweater, goggles and gloves, had brilliant green eyes. The one with the long braided hair, who had also discarded his jacket, had deep blue eyes. Sanzo glared, arms crossed across his chest. "And just what," he ground out, "are the three of you supposed to be judging?" The vein on his forehead was throbbing, still angry at the way he had been treated by Kanzeon.

Duo looked at him and grinned, no sign of fear in his eyes. "Not bad, not bad at all. But I'm sure that you can do better."

Sanzo narrowed his eyes, the hand holding his fan spasmming. Ken was the next to speak. "Good control of the eyebrows; I like how the blond hair brings out different highlights in the eyes. It gives a different depth."

"Hmm, yes. And you can definitely see the anger in them. A nice fire burning in those eyes." Duo looked over to Goku. "Is this the one you usually receive?"

"No, I'd have to say that this is a little better than his usual ones," Goku reluctantly stated, refusing to look at Sanzo as he spoke. Sanzo slowly stalked over.

"Just what are you doing?" His voice rose with each word.

Duo grinned up at him. "Judging. Now, if you'll please wait in that room, we'll let you know our decision." At those words, Sanzo felt himself forcible moved towards the now open door in the opposite side of the room and he was once more unceremoniously thrown into a room. The door slammed shut behind him.

The instant the door shut behind Sanzo, the next of the three doors opened to reveal Heero Yuy. Duo scrunched down in his chair, trying to make himself as small of a target as possible. He should have known from past experiences that this was not possible. Heero stalked out of the room, his hands closed in tight fists. They were shaking. He walked over in silence, his piercing gaze never once leaving Duo.

"Wow," Goku breathed, breaking the silence. Heero flicked his eyes over, momentarily looking at the dark haired teenager. Goku's eyes widened as he almost felt that gaze.

"No kidding," Ken agreed, thankful that he wasn't feeling the full effect. Unfortunately, his speaking brought that gaze upon himself and he, too, momentarily felt the fury being directed by Heero's eyes.

Heero now stood in front of Duo, fists quivering as he fought to control his anger. "What is this about?" His voice came out icy and controlled, each word carefully enunciated. Duo looked up, a shaky grin on his face.

"Sorry Hee-chan, still can't tell you." Heero's eyes narrowed, causing both Ken and Goku to whistle in admiration. "Um, could you wait in that room?" Heero started to lunge for Duo when he felt a force, similar to the one that had dumped him in that first room, propel him towards a door on the opposite side of the room. It quickly opened to admit him, slamming shut just as he passed through it. The last of the three doors opened to reveal Ran Fujimiya, arms already crossed, looking at the floor. When he heard the door open, he slowly raised his head, his cold gaze washing over them one at a time.

"So that's what Sanzo would look like if he had red hair." Goku stared in wonder at Ran. "I'm impressed. Brings out different highlights than blonde hair."

"And it's just as cold as Heero's," Duo piped up, getting over the effect of Heero's glare. Ken squirmed in his chair, not wanting to meet Ran's eyes. Duo glanced at Ken. "So, is this his usual or did he also up the voltage?"

Ken glanced up and quickly returned his gaze, shuddering. "No, more like he put more ice into it." His voice was barely audible.

"'Kay then, if you could please join the others in that room, we'll let you know our decision soon!" Duo grinned as Ran was forced to the room that now held Sanzo and Heero. The door shut behind him; the other two had not managed to get back out. Duo leaned back with a sigh and looked at his fellow judges. "And now the tough part."

***

"What is taking them so long?" Heero paced back and forth, Sanzo was leaning against one wall with Ran against the opposite one. They had been stuck in this room for an unknown amount of time. During that time, they had managed to figure out that their respective glares were being compared against one another. Heero gazed at the door, willing it to open. To his surprise, it finally worked. In filed Goku, Duo and Ken, each one looking a little sheepish. Duo spoke up, evidently their representative.

"Well, we finally reached a decision. The person with the best glare is…"

***

A/N

Okay, before you send an email screaming at us, let me explain something. My sister and I couldn't decide who had the best glare sooo, we're asking you guys to vote. Once we reach a certain number of votes, and we're not gonna tell you how many (grin), we'll post the result. Who do you think should win, Sanzo from Saiyuki, Heero from Gundam Wing, or Ran/Aya from Weiß Kreuz? Post a response and let us know! Thank you! (ducks behind cover, waiting for the barrage to start) H