Chapter 18

This could get ugly...

Chapter 18, titled I, mine, me, myself, is the eighteenth chapter in Audition's KP The Series. It involves Kim & Ron dealing with a new Audition Community event coming up, and the drastic result changed Ron's career here as a result.

Storyline

It's been one week since the trip to LC - Ron has become much more cheerful, and Kim tells Leone that it's all because of Jenny keeping him company. After the trip, she knows it's best to let things be so Ron will be able to carry on his life easier - Leone finds it strange, but he knows it's all for the best. Kim then drives to Malibu Club to meet Kazuki - he is now back on the stage and looks much better than before, thanks to Kim's help. After chit chatting for a bit, Kazu gets down to business - his sister informs him that a new event called "I, mine, me, myself" is going to be opened soon. Vice City will supply some prizes, but they are still a few thousands c$ short for extra work, according to Leone. To this end, Kazu decides to host a guitar show to attract donors, and he asks for Kim's help, which Kim agrees. After setting up the ads, Kazu leaves and tells Kim that he has bought her a present - she should meet up with Goku to retrieve it. It appears to be another guitar, but this one is custom-made for Kim with an unique green paint job plus her initials as the main badge. Kim thanks Goku for his hard work and leave to practice for her role - Ron is surprised that Kazu needs a co-op partner, but it's normal since Kazu hasn't been playing for too long, so Kim should be able to back him up. As they talk, Transley is seen walking toward Escorbar International Airport - turns out, she comes to pick up Azu, returning home due to her cousin getting arrested in the last chapter. Transley is excited about the upcoming show - even though Kazuki is not going solo, but having Kim as back-up guitarist is not a bad idea. She expects to see Azu at the show as well, which Azu agrees - in reality though, Azu is angry that Kim gets to show off yet again. The cops are still watching her so Azu can't make a harsh move, but she decides to pull off a harmless prank nonetheless. Azu then goes to North Point Mall and gets some "toys" from Mr. Larry and Mr. Hans to prepare for her plan - the detail is not revealed, though Mr. Hans insists he knows nothing if Azu gets caught.

Later on that night, Miran drops by unannounced - she has to come and alert Kim about Yazu's returning and she might be up to something. Regarding Yazu, Kim is a bit doubtful since she never caught that girl committing any crime, despite being listed in VCPD's Database. Suddenly, Jim arrives and tell his sister to stay out of their "battlefield" - it seems that Jim & Tim are playing survival with paintball gun - but this time, they are using a new Super Ink toy that was just released by North Point Mall. He refuses to tell Kim anymore about it, but warns her that she "wouldn't want to get hit by one of these".

Eventually the Big Friday has come - Kazu reminds Kim that they will start playing at 19:00 so she should show up at Malibu Club beforehand. Kim then wanders around until she bumps into Transley - she takes the chance to ask Tr about Super Ink, but Transley didn't know much about it. Transley however mentions Azu - Kim finds asking that girl a bad sign, and almost immediately afterward she is hit with an ink balloon. When Transley returns, Kim is completely covered in green inks - now she needs to change, but her family is out and Ron & Monique are already at the club, so Transley suggests they go to her house instead. She also mentions that Super Ink, apparently, is some special liquid that can't be wiped off clothes. Kim can take a bath to clear the ink, but her clothes will have to wait 6 hours before the ink disappears on its own, which is rather annoying. So, Transley has to lent Kim a spare outfit - it's not the best, but Transley doesn't have anything that fit Kim's style other than it so Kim will have to make do for the time being.

Later on that night, Kazu is surprised to see Kim in plain clothing - she explains that the prank got her by surprise so she had no choice but to wear whatever available for her. Kazu is a bit worried but Kim insists she will be fine - indeed, the crowd finds her appearance unappealing, but thankfully music quickly got their attention, so nobody talks much about Kim's look during the show. Ron then congratulates Kim on her succeed, although she isn't too happy that her look was so terrible. Still, Ron was able to save the day by bringing Kim's LBD - turns out, Jim & Tim suggested Ron to take their sister out on a date after the show and gave it to him so their sister can get dressed on the fly. Kim is more than happy to accept the offer, but a sudden shower prevents them from reaching Pole Position Club - still, Kim and Ron are still happy that they take shelter together at Rafael and enjoy a little chit-chatting under the rain.

Later on, I, Mine, Me, Myself is officially started and Leo wonders if Ron plan to enter it too - Ron does have intention, but Leo also notice Ron not to use his real name, since as a manager he is not allowed to participate as himself. Ron knows this is gonna be a problem because he will lose lots of votes against other famous faces this way. Unable to decide, Ron consults Vio for advice, and Vio fills him in a little bit more regarding the rules - apparently people think Managers can use their connections to gather votes, so their names won't be allowed in this event - still, another better option for Ron is to ask someone to represent him. According to Vio, this way people can still see Ron's name and the one representing Ron will also get the prize for himself in exchange. So, Ron decides to contact Jerry and ask for his help - Jerry intends to join the event himself, but he agrees to represent Ron under another entry post anyway.

Meanwhile, Kim also finds out about the "no managers allowed" rule which disallowing her to join the event - she understands well that votes are very important, but being a manager doesn't give her any advantage, consider that she and Ron mostly work on non-Audition tasks. Kim later reunites with Ron, who notices her anger, and he asks why. After hearing the answer, Ron suggests alternative solutions for Kim - she doesn't like fake names, so a representative might work. Ron even reveals that he participated in with Jerry's help, much to Kim's surprise. However, this catches Yazu's attention, and she quickly reports it to Valentine (who's still in prison). Valen sees a revenge chance coming up, so he orders Yazu to get to work - Kirstein did suspect Yazu for a bit but she just makes some excuse to cover up for her visit. Soon, Yazu meets up with Hate to tell her that Valen has given his word - Hate then tasks Yazu with hooking Mindy to their plan while she prepares the cash needed to make a deal with North Point Mall.

Four days later, Mindy is seen having a conversation with Nade - she said she plans to join IMMM, but the "no managers rule" poses as great restriction. Mindy refuses to take alternative entries, and she wishes there is a way to join as herself. Yazu then comes along and suggest that Mindy should talk directly to Leone, the event host - he has the power to change the rule. Coincidentally, Leo is also having problem as IMMM is not attracting enough dancers - Mr. Damon gives him a deadline until this weekend and he will cancel prize support if IMMM can't get anymore contestants. Thus, Leo wonders what else could he do aside advertising. Mindy then suggests removing the "no managers allowed" rule so more people can join - she believes if a few famous managers take part in, other citizens will do the same. After seeking advice from Windy (who agrees with Mindy), Leo decides to listen to them and remove that rule from the event board - he then attempts to call Ron to inform his friend about this, but somehow couldn't get through Ron's number. According to Norid, Ron disappears since 4:00 PM and nobody knows where he goes - Moonie saw him going out with Kim, but has no idea where. Kim's number is also not available too in case Leone wants to call her instead, Norid says. Left with no choice, Leo heads straight to Possible Residence and ask the tweebs - Jim & Tim then gives him the answer: Kim just won a free trip to Alderney City and Ron is obviously chaperoning her in this trip. A few hours earlier, Kim finishes her usual shopping day with Monique and goes back to her car to go home. However, Mr. Larry informs her that she is the lucky guest of today's event - a 1-week trip to Alderney City is now Kim's. A chaperonage is required to tag along her, and she chooses Ron without any question. Ron later finds out that because Kim spent over c$100 today, her name is entered for loot drawing and that's how she won the trip. He is skeptical at first, but Kim assures him that it's just pure luck so there is nothing to worry about. It's obvious to Leone that by the time Kim & Ron come back, IMMM will close registration - but he guesses it's inevitable. However, this was done by Hate and Azu - they sacrifice money to get Ron out of town just so he wouldn't win IMMM, because thanks to the new rules, a strong opponent will be showing up and Ron wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Eventually one week passed and Kim & Ron come back from their trip - IMMM's vote for best post is openning today and Ron wonders how Jerry is doing. Kim assures him that Jerry knows what to do best since he had experience from older competitions - she then goes back on her own, while Ron walks around for a bit. Transley happens to bump into him and she gossips about the vote, as lots of people vote for Mindy just by looking at her name. Ron is surprised however, since managers aren't supposed to join with their real name - thinking that she cheated, he heads over to confront Mindy, but Mindy explains that the rule has been changed during the time Ron was out of town. After taking a look at the board, Ron realizes that his effort has been drowned by Leone's decision - not far from there, Kim also learns the truth from Leo himself, and she's very upset that everyone got to take advantage, minus her and Ron. Leo thinks it's fine with just 4 days into the event, but Kim doesn't agree - she thinks Ron should have a word with Leo but Ron just took it without complaining. To Kim's word, he's being too soft.

Later on that night, Kim returns home and is noticed by Tim about her issue - she claims that she is not going to try their invention this time, but Tim, along with Jim, decides to introduce the SMS Decoder to their sister regardless. It might not be helpful just to peek into Ron's SMS, but since he exchanges stories with Jenny frequently, Kim might learn if he's hiding something from her or not. Indeed, through SMS, Ron expresses that he's very upset about the rule change - but in the end, he still decides to take it. In the next morning though, Ron also has to help Leone with IMMM, right on his day off. Kim again asks if Ron will not be angry at all, and Ron again replies that he isn't, while Kim knows he is just lying.

Moment later, Kim goes to ask Nade about IMMM - she doesn't believe Leo would just change the rules out of the blue. Indeed, Nade mentions that this was done after receiving complains from a few people and managers. Kim knows just one particular person that can influence Leo - Mindy. She didn't admit the suggestion was for personal gain, but name-drops Yazu in the end. With this clue, Kim manages to ambush Yazu, coming back to her car after the meeting with Hate. Yazu has no choice but to admit her guilt and she prepares for the worst, but Kim instead tells her to help with a plan, which may help Ron back on his feet.

Eventually IMMM's result is announced - Nad and Vio both won 2nd and 3rd place while 1st goes to Maria. The trio is seen discussing on their victory, while Ron and Kilar quietly walk away in the background. Kil thinks it's nothing bad to lose, but Ron is more upset that the winner, Maria, actually broke the rule as her article exceeded the 2000 characters limit. Kilar knows well that Leo decided to turn a blind eye due to the article being highly favored, much to Ron's chargin. After leaving Kil's car, Ron goes to his SUV and drives Jerry to the airport - Jez is obviously sad that he couldn't do anything to help Ron's article; the other competitions with their real names displayed are just too strong. Jerry still thinks Ron deserve better than that but there's nothing to feel bad about. Ron soon has a talk with Leone the head judge, and Leo made it worse by openly admit his move - at this point, Ron pretty much gives up on trying to right Leone.

After going back to their office, Ron is greeted with a good news - Dan has just caught one of the kidnappers, and that person happens to be Azu. She wants to talk, so Kim gives Ron a ride to VCPD station - Dan has arranged the room for Ron so he won't have any trouble here. Azu doesn't want to reveal much about her plan though, claiming she's just a hired girl - the main reason she wanna talk is because Dan struck a deal with her, in which Azu will return Ron the ransom money, doubled up, in exchange for her free bail. Ron accepts, seeing that he should just end the matter here and take the money for himself - little did he know, Kim arranged all this with Azu's cooperation, and she agrees with Jim & Tim that this solution helped cheering Ron up greatly.

A few days later, Ron is seen shopping with Monique - although he claims that it's just "daily stuff", Monique knows that c$1000 won't go away that easily. Ron agrees and heads off to check-out - Mr. Hans wonders if he's ready to sign up for 100 Lucky Customers, and Ron said yes but with a little request. He wants to put Kim's name on it since the prize is not suitable for him - Mr. Hans is surprised, but the rules allow this so he do as Ron said. Monique later passes this to Kim - both of them finds it funny that Ron actually thinks he'd win, but possibility is possibility nonetheless. As soon as Monique leaves, a Stretch arrives - it's Mr. Larry, and he tells Kim that she was chosen "Lucky Customer" today with the grand prize of 1 year supply of GASH Beauty Product. At first Kim is starled since she didn't shop anything today, but it appears that her name was written on the chosen bill so this could be a gift someone left for her. Kim then goes to North Point Mall and is told by Mr. Hans that Ron won the prize fairly without any arranged deal. Also he tells Kim that the prize comes with a limo tour around town plus free drinks - of course she is free to pick someone to chaperone her. With that in mind, Kim goes home to pick Ron up - he is also watching the news and surprised that Lady's Luck went to him for once. The news also mentions that NP Mall Staff is coming over to pick Kim up for the limo tour and Mr. Hans can already guess who will ride along with her this time. As Ron's attention slips up, Kim surprises him from behind and causes him to spill his drink all over his shirt - nice timing Ron said. He already knows what's the plan, so he'd better get changed fast. Kim is left waiting upstairs for 15 minutes, until she gets fed up and goes downstairs to find out what took Ron so long. It appears that Ron is having some chit-chat with Tim, who makes fun of the incident he had earlier. This, however, gives Kim a chance to peek at Ron's naked top from behind and suddenly she finds it so excited. After finishing his business, Ron rejoins Kim and the duo enjoy their rides - only a little problem, Kim keeps spilling drinks on Ron and he can't understand what's with her. Meanwhile Kim keeps suggesting Ron to change his shirt, even claiming that she brought one in her bags there...

(To be continued)