Disclaimer: All the authors and readers that appear in this side story own themselves.  Original characters that appear belong to their respective creators.  And all anime characters that appear belong to their respective series, companies, and creators as well.  Any nods and references mentioned over the course of this document belong to their original sources.

Author's Notes: Yet again, I have another double effort on my hands, so I hope that you can read through it and not poke your eyes out.  Kidding, kidding.  With the loss of the romantic tension meter, we've been left to our own devices. (Yes, the bad pun was intended.) Sit back and enjoy!

The Mole 2: AE - Side Story 5

Manny Edwards looked before the next cameo prospect before him.  He didn't want to say or do the wrong thing before the man, or else he would probably lose the AA some money over it.

It was Iori Hida, and he was armed with his suit case.

"Mr. Edwards, I'm sure some of the other Digidestined have been trying to contact you after Yamato, Sora, and Ken's appearances.  I wouldn't want to bother you, but I'd love to make an appearance.  It would mean so much to my daughter.  She just loves the show, especially last season's mole.  For a while, she kept hiding some of my important papers as a way to 'sabotage' the 'game'."  Iori chuckled and then composed himself as he waited for the answer.

Manny did not have the time for this.

"Look, Iori, Koushiro came by a while ago asking me for an appearance and he mentioned his daughter as well.  Do you see him making an appearance on the series yet?  No.  We can't set asides just because a member of your series was on last season."

"There are members from our series on the game this season."

"They don't count.  They're not from the same canon universe."

As Iori was resigned and ready to leave, Mike Storch entered.

"Manny, we have the Digiworld challenge coming up, but we don't have a digivice with us.  Do you know a way we can get in there?"

This was a perfect opportunity for him.  Iori turned back around.

"If I could be of some assistance, I have a digivice with me.  I can even be your guide to the Digiworld!  All I ask for is a cameo."

Manny raised an eyebrow skeptically.  "That depends.  Do you have your digivice with you right now?"

Smiling, Iori set his brief case on the table and opened it up with a click.  He reached inside and pulled out his yellow D3 digivice, presenting it to the series producer and host.  "So Mr. Edwards, am I in?"

Manny's answer was a quick punch to the face, knocking him out immediately.  Before the digivice could hit the floor, he reached out and grabbed it.

Mike looked at him in shock.  "What did you do that for?!" he asked incredulously.

"It's okay.  He's a lawyer."  He tossed the Fox Kids owner the D3.  "Here, you can use this for the Digiworld challenge."

A bit unsurely, Mike pocketed the digivice and said a shaky thanks as he left to resume his hosting duties.

===

"So how's little Tomoyomon doing today?" Sakura asked Togepi.  Togepi chirped merrily in response.

"Isn't it great, you've got such a cute little thing in your arms... and it's named after me so it's even cuter!"  Tomoyo petted Tomoyomon on the head.

Watching this was Kasumi, bent over and fuming.  How on Earth could Satoshi be so stupid?  She would have to figure out some way to get Togepi back.

As Kasumi sulked, a frying pan was set gently on her head, as Yamato cracked an egg on it and started frying it.

"Wow... it does work!"  Taichi was obviously impressed.

"Hey... what the?"  Kasumi tried to look up, but Yamato kept her head in place.

"Don't move- we missed breakfast."

"Just stare at Tomoyomon and keep fuming," Yamato added.

Satoshi approached the kitchen.  "Hey, what's going on?"

"We're cooking some eggs off Kasumi's anger, want some?"

"Okay, make mine scrambled."

===

With the loss of the romantic tension meter thanks to Kasumi and Satoshi's fight, there was need for another AA device to make things all the more fun.

While breakfast went on outside of the trailer, Adam sorted through the compartment under the passenger seat and brought back out the bag of devices.

Finding the object of his search, he pulled out another remote device.  It was like the tension meter in that it was handheld, box-like, and had a small antennae point out at one end.  Other than that, there was a dial with three settings and an activation button.

"There you are!" he cried as he held up the thing.

"What is that Arp-san?" asked Shinju as she leaned over his shoulder.

"It's another AA toy.  The sub-dub-manga device.  A device that instantly takes a character from dubbed to subbed personas... with an extra manga feature!"

"Really?"

"I'll give you a demonstration!"

The two peered outside to see Naru giving Satoshi a little pep talk.

"Satoshi, you can't be so insensitive to Kasumi.  I mean, she's your girlfriend-"

"She's not my girlfriend!  She's just a girl who's following me around cause I wrecked her bike.  But, I guess you could say she's a friend."  Satoshi shrugged.

"Well, okay.  She's your *friend*, so you can't be negligent and not pay attention to what gets her angry.  You have to pay attention so you don't do it again... or ever!  You can't be- be- be like Keitaro!"

Satoshi thought about things for a second.  "I guess I should say I'm sorry."

Naru smiled.  "Good."

While watching this exchange, Adam set the dial to the manga mode and aimed at Satoshi.  Everyone already knew the difference between sub and dub 'Toshi, so why not check out manga mode?  He pressed the button.

"Thanks Naru."  Then with a jolt, Satoshi suddenly turned to face Naru.  He looked at her and said suggestively, "So... ever been interested in younger men?"

In the blink of an eye, Satoshi's clock was cleaned, thanks to a well placed and powerful right hook.

===

Having helped Daisuke win the ramen war, Sana had gotten off quite well, with five percent of the profits, and all the ramen she could eat for  the rest of the trip.  She was happy as can be, and she was merrily skipping around with V-mon.  They passed Takato, who was looking a bit depressed.  Sana skidded to a stop and asked him what was wrong.

"Hm... nothing I guess.  I just kinda miss Gillmon."

"Gillmon?  Who's Gillmon?"  Sana was confused, as usual.

"My Digimon."

Sana responded by picking up V-mon by the ears.  "Like this?"

"Sort of.  It's a red dinosaur though."

Whle V-mon broke free and carted off, Sana tilted her head.  "Where'd you find that?"

"It was somewhere in Shinjuku."

Sana smiled.  "Where, where, where?  I want one!"

"Um... no.  It was somewhere in some gutter."

Sana perked up even more.  "Oh, like where I found my Rei-kun!!"

"Your... Rei-kun?"

"Yeah!  I found him in the gutters of Shinjuku too.  Hey... maybe that's like some magic spot where you can find all sorts of neat stuff.  If so, we should tell the whole world about all the wonders in the gutters of Shinjuku!"

"Why, because two idiots got lucky there?" Hayama interrupted.

Sana looked irate.  "Did I hear a fart, or was that Hayama?"

Hayama stepped into the conversation.  "It's called a coincidence.  There is nothing special there.  Just because you found your pimp or he found his dinosaur doesn't mean anything.  Even if a million idiots found something there, it's still all a coincidence."

Sana scoffed.  "Well, if that's how you're going to be about it, I'm  going to go talk to my new bestest friend Takato-kun and talk about all  the magical places in Shinjuku."

Hayama remained silent as Sana took Takato by the arm and started  walking off with him.  They walked for a ways... then dived under a bush.

"Scary Lady..." Takato paused to count on his fingers, "...Eleven, what are we doing here?"

"Shh... let's watch."  Sana observed as Hayama remained still and silent for a moment, then started kicking the trailer in frustration.  Sana loved it.  "Ha!  He's letting his anger out on inanimate objects again!"

"So what's this about magical places in Shinjuku?"  Takato wasn't all too thrilled about being dragged into this.

"There's all sorts of magical places in Shinjuku!  But stay away from City Hall!"  Sana looked over at Hayama and turned back to Takato.  "There's kiss devils there..."  Sana shuddered at the thought of the time Hayama stole a kiss from her on the top floor.

Takato shuddered too at the thought of that freaky Hypnos building.  "There's a lot of stuff worse than kiss devils there."

"Hmm... like what?  Nothing's worse than kiss devils!"

"Um... never mind."  Takato shook his head.  Same town... very different series.

===

While continuing their journey on the open road, Koushiro's cell phone started to ring.  He shifted in the seating space he was assigned to in the Porsche and answered his phone.

"Hello? *pause* Iori!  Why are you calling me? *pause* Manny Edwards mentioned me when you went to get a cameo... and you got turned down.  Join the club. *pause* He punched you for it and stole your digivice?!  Well, if we can make a side trip, we can pick you up. *pause* We as in the authors, former players, and executees following the AA across Europe.  And Yamato and Daisuke are with us too."

"Hey!" was Yamato's cry of resentment of merely being mentioned in passing.

Holding a hand to the speaker, Koushiro addressed the driver.  "Hey Daisuke!  Iori needs a ride.  Seems there's another one who's after the Animation Alliance."

Smiling at the grand adventure already happening, Motomiya responded with, "Sure!  Anything to help out a friend.  Ask him where he is and we'll be there in a jiffy.  Tighten your seat belts, everyone!"

The grown Chosen males enjoyed the thrill of the speed, which they had gotten used to by now, and whooped like the young boys they were as they diverged from the path to retrieve their fellow ditched friend.

===

That afternoon, everyone was ready for another helping of "noodles fresh today, it's ramen made by Daisuke!!!"  Damn, that was one catchy jingle.  But to their surprise, he, V-Mon, Taichi, Yamato, and Koushiro were missing.

Shampoo curiously looked around the motor home.  "Shampoo wonder where new Daisuke no airen go."

Ranma scoffed as he leaned against the RV with his arms crossed.  "You're not actually going to consider making him your new fiancée?"

The Amazon looked at him with hope and smiled cutely.  "Ranma jealous because he love Shampoo?"

He blanched at that and balked back.  "It's not like that!  Geez, I'm just saying you shouldn't take that stupid tradition so seriously.  Then I wouldn't be engaged to you, which would make my life so much easier."

The purple haired girl stepped back and looked like she was about to cry.  "Aiya!  Ranma no love Shampoo!  Shampoo try and try so hard but Ranma no like!"

Saotome couldn't stand to see her cry, what with her high pitched voice and the fact that this was beginning to become a scene.  "I didn't mean it like that!  I mean, I'd rather that you didn't go around engaging yourself to the every guy who showed some superiority over you..."  That earned him a louder bawling.  "I mean you shouldn't cling to me so much!"  Not working.  "I mean..."

Off to the side, Tenchi and Keitaro watched in sympathy.

Both winced as they heard the loud sound of impact and craned their necks to catch sight of Ranma Saotome's airborne body.

Both of them shook their heads and offered their commentary.

"I think for this incident, he's gonna fly as far as the next rest stop," inferred Keitaro.

"She may not talk intelligently, but she's got him cornered," observed Tenchi.  Then he thought about the circumstances involving the engagement.  "I wonder, if a man gets defeated by a woman, does that mean he's engaged to her instead?"

Keitaro pondered the answer.  "Well, if it's that way, I'm probably engaged to Naru, Mitsune, Motoko, and Kaolla!"

Masaki wondered aloud, "I wonder how one gets out of that."

"Suicide!" the two cried together and shared a laugh.

They were quickly silenced as they were both on the receiving end of a flying scissor kick and mallet.

"Don't make fun!" Naru and Kasumi cried as they sent both of them into orbit to catch up with the aquatransexual.

===

Manny had unexpectedly arrived for a check-up on the executee trailer.  But fortunately, all he was able to see were some of the executed players and a few members of the Players Panel.  He was a bit confused at how they were there, but he didn't have time for that.  He spied that Tomoyo was there, and this would be quite convenient.  He also spied the Mole trainer/driver, Nabiki.

"Nabiki!  Tomoyo!"

"Uh-oh... we're busted... and even before I could sell them out," the middle Tendou muttered.  She walked up to the producer and Tomoyo joined her as well.  "Yes, sir?"

"I don't have time to ask questions, but it's convenient that you're here Tomoyo."  He looked a bit distraught.

Tomoyo looked up cutely and played innocent.  It was better that she not let anything slip as to how she got there.  "Why is that?"

"It involves the new group and how much money they made.  Can you believe it?  One hundred and fifty-seven thousand yen. One hundred and fifty-seven thousand yen and we aren't even halfway done.  At this rate... we're going to have to pay..."

"Much, much less than last year.  We are using yen instead of dollars remember," Nabiki replied calmly.

"Even so, those players are on pace to..."

"They hit the five hundred thousand mark last time.  The new group isn't even close to halfway there," Tomoyo added.  Given the nature of the discussion, she was an important part of the conversation.

"So you think the new Mole's doing better than you?" Manny shot Tomoyo an odd look.

"Whoever it is, they aren't as cute."

"The Mole's doing fine, Mr. Edwards.  You have received the request?" Nabiki said.

"Yeah.  That was smart.  But besides that, too much money is being won."  Manny allowed that, "The Mole..."

"Hey, Manny, can we get rid of this kid so we can use names?"  Nabiki looked at Tomoyo.

"I won't tell anybody!" Tomoyo said, anticipating the possibility of hearing the big secret.

Sakura ruined that when she approached with Togepi.

"Hey Tomoyo..." Sakura started.

"Togeprii!!" Togepi chirped.

"Not you, Tomoyomon.  Tomoyo, what's going on here?"

"Oh they're all saying how the Mole's not doing as good as me," Tomoyo replied.

"Oh cool.  Nobody could be a good a Mole as you!  I'll just listen in."

"Anyway, the Mole has a few tricks up their sleeve for..." Nabiki was interrupted.

"MANNY!!!"  Unfortunately, Barb was headed Manny's way.

"Can we at least tell her who the Mole is?"

"Sorry," Manny replied.

"Not even for a price!?"

"Barb, aren't you supposed to be with the Mobile Suit pilots?"

"They're with Lt. Noin.  But I'm supposed to get them to the Digital World.  I don't have a Digivice!" Barb was frustrated.

"I gave one to Mike!  You mean I have to find another one?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, let's see..." As luck would have it, the Porsche pulled in with Daisuke, Taichi, Koushiro, Yamato, and new passenger Iori.

"Hey!  Taichi!  Get over here!" Manny called him over, then turned to Barb.  "Problem solved."

"What do you...?"

Taichi didn't even finish his sentence before Manny had punched him in the face.  Nabiki started searching through Taichi's stuff- not just for a Digivice, but any loose change or blackmailable items.

"Wh... why'd you hit him?"  Sakura was confused.

"It's okay.  He's a politician," Manny answered.

Sakura was pacified as Nabiki found the Digivice and handed it to Barb.  "Here you are."

Barb looked at it a second.  "Wait a second- I thought only the second season Digivices could open a gate."

Manny thought for a second.  "Oh yeah... Daisuke!"

Daisuke approached, but didn't even get a word out before he was socked in the face.  Nabiki went to work on him.

"So what about..." Sakura started.

"It's okay.  He's Daisuke."

Sakura and Tomoyo nodded.

"Toge-toge-priiii!" Togepi chirped.

===

Jim Slica was waiting impatiently. It seems that he was dropped into Venice just a day after the RV had pulled out.  Sure the canals of Venice were all fun to boat in, but he was getting a bit impatient.  This troubled him, though since he had arrived only yesterday morning.  It's been 30 hours, and already he was impatient.

Suddenly his phone rang.  "Slica."

Sam was on the other end.  "Jim, we have a problem."

"Oh great," Jim sighed.  "What is it?"

"Well... it seems that I haven't located the RV yet.  It's completely off my monitors."

"WHAT?!"

"I just can't see it, Jim."

Jim was frustrated.  Sure Donald wasn't a tycoon, but Donald's main personal focus were odds, weather, and geography.  Surely he would've devoted funding to proper tracking scanners.  Suddenly a thought occurred to Jim.

"Sam, the trackers for the RV only work if they're moving to a new location, right?"

"Right.  We can only track them while in motion.  We also have a tracker for the Mole Vans that works the same way."

Suddenly, a sonic boom was heard in the air.  Looking off in the direction of the boom, Jim saw a speck in the sky.  He motioned the camera-drone to look at it.  "Sam.  Download the real-time images from my camera drone and enhance."

"In progress.  It'll take about an hour for me to get the results."

"Then call me back."

Later, it was revealed that the cause of the sonic booms was a Taurus Mobile Suit.  Which meant that the Mole contestants were still in the area.  Which meant that either the RV was there too, or it was seeing the sites in Northern Italy.  Jim thought it wasn't such a bad idea, so he decided to do the same.  Heck, maybe he'd find them.

===

Ruki Makino was obviously not in a good mood as she was dropped off.  She did not take kindly to losing.  What was worse was all these losers she'd have to deal with after being executed.

"I've died and gone to hell," Ruki muttered as she headed into the fracas.

Takato had seen that Ruki was executed, and decided to sneak away from Sana to talk to her.

"Hey there, uh, Ruki.  Sorry about getting executed.  Hey, wait a minute, what am I sorry for, you did a lot better than me.  Anyway, I hope you like it here.  There's a lot of weird people... so I guess you'd fit right in, huh?"

Ruki remained silent.  She was barely listening.

"Anyway, you already met Scary Lady Nine.  Nice Lady Number One... Miss Star... will get you set up.  Uh... over there is Scary Lady Eleven and Hayama..." Takato waved to Sana, who smiled back and flashed him a peace sign.  "And other than that..."

Ruki couldn't take it anymore.  She was tired of listening to him, and responded the only way she could... with a karate chop to the forehead.  In an instant, the goggle boy was down.

"Whoa... just like you Hayama!" Sana responded.  She looked over at Hayama, whose eyes were wide open.  "Hayama?"

"Sana... I think I'm in love," Hayama deadpanned.

===

Ruki was headed to the trailer when she found Hayama standing in her path.  She glared at him.  He glared back.

"Uh oh... we may have a problem."  Takato and Sana arrived at the scene, but didn't dare interfere.

Of course, nothing was happening.  They were just... staring at each other.  Occasionally, he would glance away or she would shake her head, but they just stared at each other.

"Um... Takato-kun... what's going on?" Sana asked.

"I... I think they're having a conversation."  After three minutes with no speech between either Ruki or Hayama, Takato grew concerned.  "I think we're going to need a translator.  Do you know anyone who speaks Hayama?"

"I know somebody.  Leave it to Sana-chan!"  Sana ran off quickly while Takato continued to observe the two quiet loners.

"So what's going on?"  Sana led Ruri Hoshino to the scene.

Takato turned to Ruri.  "Ruri!  You're perfect!  Do you speak Hayama?"

"I haven't used it in awhile, I'm probably a bit rusty.  But I could try."

"Please do."

Ruri stepped into the fray.  Ruki and Hayama shot Ruri a disapproving look.  Ruri instantly returned that disapproving look at them.  Sana and Takato were confused, until Yamato came up to explain.

"Ah... she's getting accepted into the conversation.  Ah... the golden days."

"You used to be a Hayama, Rock Star-san?"

Yamato sweatdropped.  "Yes, Sana, I used to be a Hayama.  I also used to be a rock star."

"Cool, you can help us out Rock Star-san!"

Ruri, Ruki, and Hayama continued to glare at each other as Yamato explained, "I can't pick out the conversation, but it seems that their consoling each other about something."

"Consoling?"  Takato was confused.  "What happened?"

"Hold on..." Yamato observed as Hayama and Ruri stared at each other for an extended period of time.  Hayama raised an eyebrow and Ruri turned her head away.  "I see... it's about their mothers.  Hayama and Ruri must not have gotten to know theirs very well."

"Yeah!  Hayama's mom died while giving birth to him.  What about Ruki?" Sana asked.

Yamato watched Ruki closely.  She glared at both Hayama and Ruri interchangeably, then looked down.  Yamato smiled.  "See, Ruki has strained relations with her mother."

After a few more minutes, Ruri broke the silence, "Baka baka."  In an instant, Ruki and Hayama were watching her again.  After half a minute, they nodded in semi-approval.  Hayama then turned to Ruki and blinked.  Ruki scoffed and walked away.  Hayama walked away in the opposite direction, apparently ending the conversation.  Ruri turned back to the group.  "That was actually quite refreshing.  I haven't had a conversation like that in a long time."

"So was it really about your mothers?" Takato asked.

"Um... no... Hayama was asking her out on a date.  Ruki had to go check her schedule."

Takato and Sana shot Yamato a strange look.

"Hey- it's been awhile since I was introverted!  You start to lose your touch after a few years!"

===

As Jim was sitting having lunch near Verona, his contact phone rang.  It was Sam.

"This had better be good news, Sam."

"It is.  I've detected two vans going from Vicenza and headed towards Ferrara."

"The contestants?"

"Most likely.  They might be headed towards Bologna."

"All right, so how do I get from here to there?"

"Go to the town of Castelfranco.  I'll have instructions for you there."

"All right.  You'd better be right about this."

A few hours and a few dozen dollars later, he was in Castelfranco.  The main features of this town included a train station, an old castle, and an automotive plant.  The last two were just outside of town.

Jim called Sam.  "Ok, I'm here.  Now what?"

"You've got a decision to make.  You can either rent a car, or take a train.  Both will take you to Bologna."

"The RV?"

"On its way to Bologna now.  The train will get you there a few hours after it arrives."

"But then I'll have to find the RV on foot.  What about the car?"

"Most likely, it'll be a 'smart car'.  If it is, then it'll be slow, but you'll probably be able to keep it.  The factory does produce sports cars though."

Jim thought for a moment.  "Well, I wouldn't like to be caught behind.  But I'd be able to keep up better in a car, no matter how slow it is."

"Ok, Jim. I'll tell the Pagani Auto Factory you're on your way."

"Right."

As Jim hung up, he saw the oddest sight.

It was a girl with long brown hair and in a green dress covered with an orange apron.  She walked along the street, carefree and in her own little world, but she seemed to sway back and forth, threatening to fall at any moment.

Just when she was about to collapse, Jim ran from his seat to catch the girl.

"Miss?  Are you alright?"

She looked up at the gentleman and smiled.  She spoke so softly as she introduced herself that Jim had to strain to hear her.  "I'm Otohime Mutsumi.  I was wondering if you know where I can find Urashima Keitaro?"

That name rang a bell in his head.

"Of course Mutsumi.  I was also on my way to meet a few friends of mine, and it just so happens that he's with them."

Mutsumi was helped back onto her feet and she folded her hands over her lap.  "How convenient!  I hope you don't mind letting me join you."

"Not at all.  I just hope you're not too inconvenienced by slow travel."

"Oh, not at all."

The two then entered the factory.  A receptionist was just getting off the phone.  After Jim identified himself, the receptionist said, "Yes, we've been expecting you.  Your car is this way."

When they reached the car, Jim's eyes went wide.

===

That evening, the RV crew had just arrived outside Bologna to spend the night.

It was dinner time, and all were set up to eat.  Once again on the menu, ramen by Daisuke.  For some special flavour, treats specialty of Neko Hanten.

Star grumbled, "I'm getting sick of this food..."

Shinju looked at the selection with her stomach doing a bit of a flip-flop.  "I can't take anymore as well.  Need.  Sweet.  Now."

Mei looked over at Star.  "Don't you know a few certain special someones who might help us out in this jam?"

Getting the drift, Star pulled out the DP3.  She scowled at it as she set the coordinates for who to call.  "Operator, information," she mocked in a nasal voice, like those automated answers.  She turned around to have a private conversion, and in less than a minute...

It seemed like the a white portal opened up and two familiar dimension-hopping furries stepped out.

One tall Golden Lab morph and one albino kitty morph...

"Fetch and littlekitty!" cried Shinju in recognition.

Then they noticed Fetch was carrying a girl with glasses and brown French braided hair.

"And guest," added Mei.

The girl, dressed plainly in a somewhat dirtied T-shirt and jeans blinked.  "Um, name's Nikara."

littlekitty winked at everyone.  "Oh, you know we'd never miss out on a chance to help you guys out!  Especially when there's hunger involved!"

With whatever power this furry was granted, the anime girls suddenly found themselves dressed like roller waitresses while holding up trays of assorted sweets and desserts.

Nikara was let down on the ground by Fetch and she looked around a bit confused.  "I did have the intention of coming here..."

"Oh, you were going to come here, but I'm saving you the trip," the dog morph reassured her.

"Really?  How?"

"Can't say."

"Why not?"

"Oh... Temporal Prime Directive."

Nakara blinked and decided not to push further.  "Well, that explains things.  I'm gonna jump in and have some dessert now."

The characters dismissed this bizarre display of conjuring of a different kind when they heard a zoom coming down the road.

Daisuke, with his flair for expensive cars, recognized it.  "I know what that is," he stated.

Nabiki looked at him skeptically.  "Wanna bet on it?"

"Pagani Roadster... gray."

Sure enough, a gray Pagani Roadster came barreling down the road stopping alongside the RV.  The door opened to reveal Mutsumi driving the vehicle, and Jim Slica along with a camera drone in the passenger's side.

Nabiki crossed her arms and huffed while Daisuke sent a gloating smile in her direction.

He got out, stumbled a little, and said, "Man!  Makes me feel young."

Iori quirked his head to the side and asked, "Don't you mean young again?"

"Possibly.  But then, my childhood never involved racing down highways at mach one like normal kids."

"Racing down highways at mach five is for the childhood of anime kids," Adam quipped.

Mutsumi also stumbled out of the driver's seat and wobbled a little on her feet.  Regaining her balance, she tilted her head and squinted at the motley group.

"I seem to have forgotten my driver's license as well... oh, wait, I don't have one."

A collective facefault went all around.

===

Motoko Aoyama stoically arrived at the aforementioned drop off point with Mike driving.

She begrudgingly bowed to the man who played host to the show and watched him drive off.  Leaving her to stand around the late streets of Bologna, waiting for whoever it was to pick her up would show up.

The streets were dark and that made her a bit agitated, so she placed her hand on her kendo sword, hilted handily at her side.

Suddenly, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Special technique succession - Zanzuuken!" she cried while drawing up a powerful gust of wind with her kendo sword.

"Motoko!!!" was the pathetic cry heard from Keitaro Urashami as he flew down the block.

She looked in surprise at the approaching person that followed after Keitaro.  It was Naru.

Seeing a friendly face, she holstered her weapon and met up with her friend.

"Motoko, I'm sorry that you're the next one to get executed."

"I was defeated by someone who was very cunning.  Unfortunately, my training hasn't taught me any of that.  But I put my faith in Mitsune to win this."

Naru held up her pointer finger and winked.  "Takes one to know one, eh?  Speaking of which, I must show you where you'll be staying.  It's a bit small, but I'm sure you won't mind."

"I won't mind as long as I'm not stuck with that pervert Urashima."

"There might be a problem then," start Naru as she began to lead Motoko to the already crowded trailer...

End of Side Story 5

Notes from Donald: I tried to do an "The Amazing Race" tribute, but I got hampered by two things. 1: Lack of a Partner for Jim. 2. Lack of movement for the group. So I did the next best thing. One of the Roadblock challenges in "The Amazing Race" involved one member of the team to drive in a "smart car" (which doesn't have an onboard computer) from the Pagani auto plant to the next "pitstop" or resting place. The other member got to ride in a roadster.

Also, the decision that Jim had to make regarding the train or the car resembles many of the "Detour" challenges, where you had to choose one of two ways to get to the next route marker.

Additional Author's Notes: Thanks Adam and Donnie for the scenes, I'll try not too mooch off your genius. ^_^ And so, we continued with Tomoyomon, the aftermath of the ramen war, and some Ioroyo (Iori-Tomoyo) thrown in for kicks! *bows* Gomen I took so long for this... ah... school's been rough on me.  It's the usual excuses for me.  Thanks Nikara, Fetch, and littlekitty for volunteering your services to be used here.  And I'm sorry I took so long for this as well... But that's okay!  Next Side Story, expect more of the usual chaos... now isn't that quite the oxymoron?