Chapter 36: Wherein Allison Takes A Bath, And I Use Traditional Conventions of Chapter Naming To Spare My Readers Additional Confusion.

The crowd spewed into the streets, as if the gates had waited for a chance to burst open. We were dragged out whether we liked it or not. The lot of us had chilled down, then pumped up; just five minutes ago some of these roused fans had seemed like they were gonna tear me to pieces, but now I couldn't help but be swept up in the excitement!

"What a fight!" I laughed into the phone, making our way through the bustling streets.
"Yeah!" She nodded, walking beside me, "It started out a bit slow, but it really picked up by the end."
"I know, right?" I whooped, "Oh, and hey! You know how the Champ escaped his grip like his hands were made of noodles?"
"Yeah?"
"I figured out how she did that!"
"Oh, cool!" Bat Girl looked towards me curiously, "Was it magic?"
"No, it was... Huh, I forgot that was an option. But no. She slipped out of his hands! She was covered in oil!"
Bat Girl frowned, tilting her head, "Oil?"
I nodded, "Yeah, oil! She greased herself up before the match! You know how she was all shiney at the start, but we never saw her sweat? That was the oil! She probably thought something like 'through this whole ordeal, the one thing he's gonna want more than anything in the world is to grab hold of me and never let go. I'm gonna make sure he can't do that if he gets the chance. Keep capitalizing on my speed and mobility."
"Huh..." Bat Girl cocked her brow, "That's really, really dumb."
"I was gonna say!" I burst out, "She really didn't think through how bad the sun would toast her if her skin couldn't respirate!"
"That's so true!" Bat Girl yelled, "She clearly wasn't built for that kind of drawn out combat to begin with! And to stack all that on top of that? I guess being the Champ means you really don't know your limits."
"Sure. Or maybe she just didn't wanna face the Goldfish woman-on-man. I mean, you saw how it turned out! He had the fight in a bag, as long as he didn't mind all her tricks and diversions. And thank goodness for that! Can you imagine if I had to fight against the Champion Minerva?"

Yeah, I'm sure ya'll sickos want nothing more than to see that. Probably think you were ripped off just now. My pain is your entertainment, after all. But, listen; me vs. Minerva isn't all it's cracked up to be. She is all about being one step ahead of everyone, no matter what.
And me? My thing is preparing my equipment depending on who I face.
Together, that'd make for a fight where everything that matters happened before the fight began. I'd have to fix up some gadget specifically against an opponent who knows exactly what she's doing against whatever gadget I brought with me.
Imagine spending the whole day watching me going 'she knows what I know, and I know that she knows that what I know means that I know that...' and so on and so forth.
And that's me vs Minerva for you! The longest fucking day!
Trust me.
You were spared a headache just now.

The crowd had thinned out into the streets. At long last I found myself with enough room to stretch out! And let me tell you, that was not a minute too soon!
In fact, I was getting ready for heads to roll as we were looking forward to another hour wedged between adoring fan girls in the Stadium. See, the Goldfish's match lasted until the clock ran out, so then the next match would've started right away.
And since our good old friend Ziggy was up next, what with his incredible popularity, it didn't look like the crowd was gonna budge one inch.

But as luck would have it, the wackiest shit went down in the F -Bracket the day before. In a shocking turn of events, one of the contestants turned out to be the author of this very story in disguise! Apparently his opponent, who in a previous fight fused together into an amalgamation of two contestants, was a huge fan of his! They went on and on about all his previous work in excruciating detail. Then they pounced on him, swearing that they would teach him what a sexy story with sex looks like, and proceeded to have their way with him until he surrendered.
But somehow he didn't fancy being in the clutches of a pair of psychotically horny ladies, so he used his powers as the story's author to declare the match non-canon, leaving the fight without resolution.
Or winner.

Which suited me fine, honestly. This story is meta enough as it is.
Maybe I'd run into those gals one day though. Who knows? It might be fun!
Maybe we'll turn into the bestest of friends!

After Ziggy spent a while making fireworks and blowing kisses to an out of control audience, he plopped away: His seat as a Finalist remaining uncontested.
Not the most exciting conclusion to the F -Bracket I admit, but hey! I'd say he already proved himself as an eligible Finalist! Why risk disappointment by giving him a trial he doesn't need, and which no one can realistically provide? As far as I'm concerned, his fight against Valkyrie was the seminal way of introducing him to the upcoming arc.

Besides, that left me with a whole hour free before the two last Bracket Finals of the day. And after spending one hour in a fight to ****, working in a medical lab for another hour, and following that up with an hour crammed shoulder to shoulder in a torrent of greasy fans, what better way of using that free hour than getting a well deserved dip in the hot springs?

"Ahhh...."
When I first dipped my toe in the scalding hot water, I thought I'd burn myself. But once immersed, I melted into the bath instead.
Only my neck poked out from the steaming pool. I involuntarily trembled in pleasure. My eyelids slid closed as I sighed in an exaggerated manner. My neck whipped back, so as to not-gaze at the ceiling.
I couldn't check with my eyes closed, but I'm pretty sure my body turned into putty, spilling lazily across the ceramic surface at the bottom.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I slowly lowered myself deeper in the water, when...
Something heavy splashed in the pool next to me. A wave of hot water washed over my face.
Didn't make me flinch, though. I knew exactly who it was.
I took my sweet time, but opened my eyes soon enough to peer at my side. Sure enough, there she was. The Bat Girl, prowling around the steaming pond like an adorable little otter.
Her regular black and orange outfit did a great job accentuating her sporty and pragmatic side. Really made her come alive as a playful adventurer.
But she was still a tiny lithe girl. One with pigtails and a cute smile.
In her amber bikini though, any doubts of what a badass powerhouse she really was were thoroughly trashed by the firm muscularity on full display. Just in case the freaky strength she already showed off didn't drive the point home.

I let skulk around at her own leisure.
At that moment, nothing mattered. Nothing but taking it easy.
That bath was my sanctuary. My lifeline. No worries were allowed to tread upon these hallowed grounds. In this realm there was no deathmatch tournament. Neither were there any enslaved friends, or genocidal plagues, or homework.
...Or homework.
Homework...
Home... Work...

"Fffffffffffffffffffuuuu--uck..."
As dreadful as that realization was, it couldn't break me out of my tranquil stupor. Not even my groan managed to sound like anything but a relieved sigh.
Bat Girl stopped in her tracks, her head spinning towards me, "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"I just realized, I was supposed to be writing a book report." I answered without looking at her, though I had to **** my eyelids shut, "Was gonna have it done by the end of the week... And I haven't even read the book... My dad is gonna kill me if I fail this class..."
Estelle cocked her brow, "Book report? Girl, that's gotta be one hell of a book if you'd skip out on the greatest event in the Continent! Listen, if your dad's not proud of you even after you made it to the Finals of the Rasheul **** Tournament, then really, he's not much of a dad!"
"Nah, my dad's cool. Mostly." I shrugged, "It's just that where I'm from, this Tournament's not really that big a deal. But College? That's a huge deal. Newsflash, though: I get myself sidetracked all the time. And now I'm in hot water." I splashed the bubbling water before me for emphasis.

"Ah, come on! I've got no idea what kind of worries lurk around wherever you're from, but don't go bring them back here! Right here, right now, you're a superstar! One of the Finalists! More importantly, you're loaded! With that award money you probably wouldn't be able to spend it in your lifetime even if you tried! So... Don't you think you're putting the cart before the horse here?"
"You can keep your cart. This horse gotta be free. Sure, this place is awesome, but I wouldn't wanna stick around. In fact, I wouldn't wanna stick around anywhere. There are other worlds out there. So many more than you can imagine. And they all have something to offer."
"And yet you stick with this... Book report?" She snickered.
I turned around, leaning against the edge of the pool. I closed my eyes, responding lazily with a nod.
"Mhmm... I wish I could leave that behind. But... That's not how it works. It's like... It's like Leveling Up around these parts. Sure, it's not easy. And you'd rather do something else. Not the boring, borderline dangerous stuff you need in order to Level Up. But one day, you'd really like to be a higher level than right now. It's just that between then and now, all the boring, borderline dangerous stuff is in the way. One way or another, you gotta barrel through. And if you do so as soon as possible, and reach the highest level you can, you've got a whole life to yourself at the highest level ahead of you. And... When you look back one day, you'll probably find that some of the most memorable days of your life were when you worked tirelessly to reach yet another level. And that's College. Basically."
"Around these parts, your Level Up comes with a ridiculously massive orgasm. Is that what happens when you finish College?"
"...Just one?" I let out a brief laugh, "Let me tell you, that ain't no college I've ever heard of."

"Really now?" She smirked, resting her hands on her hips, "Yeah, then I'd say this 'College' of yours would be worth it, no matter how many 'book reports' you gotta write. Well then, ain't you the luckiest duck? Now you've got your very own slaves to write that report for you! Then you can indulge all you want in this College life of yours without worry!"
I opened my eyes, shook out of my stupor. That's right... I also inadvertently took a break from acting like my words alone could override her free will.
Am I okay with that, or...?

Turns out that yes. I'm okay with that. Not cause I'm suddenly fine with **** magic or anything. More like I've come to accept that Bat Girl was really strong.
Yeah, you'd think her hitting a railgun armature out of the park would've clued me in. But if there's one thing you really should've picked up throughout this Tournament, it's that there are different ways to be strong. For example, I defeated the Bat Girl in our match, but that doesn't mean being compelled to do something through **** magic would hurt her the way it would me.
By that time, she knew what the magic connecting us was about. And she knew what I was about too.
To her, that was all that mattered.

I still believed this whole slavery thing was messed up. But I also started believing in her.

"Oh, come on!" I scoffed, "If I wanted to cheat, which by the way, I don't, then I'd make a machine to write the book report for me!"
"Sure. But still! Now you've got slaves that can build your machines for you!"
"In your dreams!" I stood up, launching a splash of water in her direction, "Like I'm gonna let you get all the fun for yourself!"
She shielded herself from the spray, peering towards me with eyes glowing with playful challenge.
"Hey!" She splashed back, "Don't splash at me!"
After tanking the shower fired at me, I splashed her once more, "You made me splash you! And I'm gonna keep splashing until you submit! Mad scientists always get the last laugh, you know? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Aaaeeeeeh!" She splashed back, "Ahahahaha!"
I returned the splash again, "Mwahahahahaha!"
"Ahahahahahahaha!" More splashing! More!

We kept it up for a while, until Bat Girl decided to ramp our play fight up to eleven, and slammed her palm down on the surface with explosive impact. All the water in the pool ended up raining down across the room. We both stood there, dripping, exasperated and freezing. But laughing incessantly nonetheless.
"Ahahaha... And I guess that's cue for bath time being over." I said, looking back at the faucet dripping into the now-empty pool.

We both sighed in relief, agreeing to a draw. I wrapped a towel around my torso, getting just about ready to hit the showers. But then who should I spot if not the Goldfish Knight himself, stripped down to a towel around his hips for once.
Let me tell you though, that guy had nothing to hide under all that gold! His body seemed custom tailored for that jockish personality of his, having the tall build of a football player. Ripped abs, slab-like chest and shoulders that might as well have come directly from a Greek statue.

At least had the sense not to drag along his massive armor into the bath.
He made do with just the helmet.
The helmet he had just emptied out of vomit, mind you. You'd think he'd at least take some time to weather it out, though I suppose that's why he was there to begin with...

All right, fine. I admit it. The way he won the match? That was pretty damn impressive. Scratch that... It was awesome!
He stuck to his guns, even when it got so goddamn hard he started crying! Sure, he can be a bit of a tool, but... Come on!
You know what? I'd even go so far as to go up and congratulate him! If it ends up going to his head, I'd say I just let it. He'd earned this after all!

So while Bat Girl strutted back to the showers, I snuck up behind him while he was busy reading some signage.
"Yo! Hey there, you old Goldfish! Nice fight just now!"
He shuddered the moment he heard my voice, his massive shoulders sagging on the first syllable. He turned around slowly, shooting a deathly scowl through his visor.
"Do you have to follow me around... Just to make my life miserable? Yes. Fine! I admit it!" He barked, "I made a fool of myself before the entire Continent! I showed weakness, and cowardice! Every knightly ideal I've aspired to I betrayed in merely an hour's time! I know it! You know it! Everyone knows it! And you assume I will just stay around to hear you gloat!? Rest assured, Heretic, you are wasting your time! Nothing you say can possibly make me feel worse than I do right now!"

After that explosive rant he was left a panting mess.
"...Do you need a hug?" I offered.
He chilled out somewhat but didn't let down his guard, "Do not touch me."
With that he turned around and stormed away towards the pools.

Yeah... I wasn't gonna let him leave with that.
"Hey!" I yelled, which to my surprise made him stop, "You know, when someone finds a monster they really need to slay, sometimes they go to any length in order to slay it. In that case, they kinda start making their whole life about slaying that monster. It becomes the most important thing they do, if not the only thing they do. I think sometimes, that person might not slay the monster when they get the chance. Cause you know, if the monster is slain, then what next? That person can no longer live to slay the monster, if there is no monster to slay! And if that happens, they'd have to figure out something else to do. Something that's just as meaningful."
He didn't turn to face me. Just stood there in silence, lowering his head.
"Maybe there is nothing wrong with that person being who he is, Heretic." He finally retorted.
"Yeah," I shrugged, "Maybe. And maybe, you know, there's nothing wrong with him becoming who he becomes?"

He sighed, continuing towards the pools without another word.
Well... Looks like that guy got some personal demons to wrestle with. Some time alone would do him some good. I'm sure after a night's sleep he'd be back to his old self-righteous self!
He did promise to fight me in the Finals, and hey! It looked like he was gonna get a shot at me, after all!
So whatever he hoped to get out of it, I hoped it was gonna be worth it.

"Hey!" Bat Girl waved at me from behind the shower room, "You coming back here, or what?"
"Don't get your panties in a knot!" I headed towards her, "Just making sure I won't slip!"
We got into the shower rooms, getting ourselves ready for the upcoming afternoon!