The Fastest Foot to Kyoto
Ep. Six of Cas of Blues Series
by Thom Keehn
zinyadel@hotmail.com

Always under revision

Ranma 1/2 characters and places belong to Rumiko Takahashi.  They are
used without permission throughout this work.  This is written without
the intent of monetary gain and shall not be distributed under such
pretenses.  This is meant for entertainment purposes only and shall
not be used in any way to harm animals.  This is and shall ever be the
last time I write a disclaimer of my own.  At least for this series.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

This is written after the end of the manga series around the time
Ranma and company would be graduating.  Words in '' are thoughts.
This is a slow building series that concentrates heavily on the
addition of a new character.  You have been warned.

By the way we are in Japan now.  Cas and Ryouga have left China.
Introducing a whole handful of new characters.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


Opening Theme - "New Beginning"

Welcome stranger what is your name?
Will you be my friend?
Time brings people through our lives
Few stay to the end

Life can be so temperamental
Fickle in its ways
So humor me as I open up
We can make a page that says

This is a new beginning
We can take this bond between us, and make it something more
This is a new beginning
Hold on tight, don't let me go, feelings rise and soar

Turn to me and ask the question
The one I want to hear
Keep me high up on this cloud
Whenever you are near

The sound of birds chirping at sunrise drifted into the room on the
second floor of the Kuonji residence.  Sunlight stabbed through the
windowpanes, causing Ryouga to stir in discomfort.  He shifted away
from the disturbance, his hand moving to rest on something soft.
Ryouga was too tired to comprehend what it was and slowly drifted
deeper into sleep.

"Ryouga," a voice spoke from somewhere in the realm of consciousness.
"I thought you said you two were just friends."

He muttered something out of reflex.  He wiped his eyes with one hand
while the other moved further up something soft.  They had all been
up late last night and he couldn't quite remember where he was.  He
remembered Ukyou inviting them over to her house for the night.
Something beneath his hand moved slowly.

"Mmm, ... what the?" the object beneath his hand moved with a sudden
jerk, throwing his arm aside.  "Wake up, Ryouga."  There was a foot
shoved into his side.  He finally managed to get his head up and take
a look about.

Ukyou was standing in the doorway with a smirk.  His eyes wandered
across the room.  He could feel his sleeping bag underneath him so he
knew he was on the floor.  He found Ryuu lying in a corner of the
room safe from the invading light from window.  Cas was next to him,
sitting on her haunches, arms crossed, glaring down at him her face
flushed red.

"You're the one who chose to sleep in here," Ukyou reminded Cas.

Cas's glare left him, giving him a moment of relief.  "It's not like
you were offering me your room," she declared angrily.  "And I didn't
hear any mention of any free rooms."

Ryouga was up enough to glance between the girls.  Ukyou looked a bit
flustered, her eyebrows twitching nervously.  "My family wouldn't
approve of me having a girl in my room," she stated.

Cas paused thoughtfully.  "I suppose my father wouldn't welcome a
girl in my room either," Cas conceded.  "So what are you up here
for?"

"Just wanted to get you guys up for breakfast," Ukyou stated.
"Remember to eat light.  The race is a little after noon."  Cas
nodded.  Ukyou smiled and turned on her heel, closing the door behind
her.  The moment the door shut, Cas returned to glare at him.

When her stare became unbearable, he stammered, "W-what?"

"I have half a mind to smack you about for groping me like that," Cas
declared.  Ryouga began to fumble over a protest but she held a hand
out to stop his unintelligible jumble of words short.  "But you were
asleep so I guess I can pardon you for that.  Just don't go adding my
picture to your possessions, okay?"

"Hey!  I'm not like that!" Ryouga shouted, getting to his feet.

"Oh really?" Cas drawled, looking up at him.  "So what's going on
between you and Ukyou?"

Ryouga frowned, confused.  "What are you talking about?"

"That was quite a tender moment you two were having yesterday," Cas
remarked.

"Oh, that was..." Ryouga started.  He really didn't want to talk
about it so he reserved to his usual antics.  "Ha ha ha ha ha ha."
He scratched the back of his head as he gazed elsewhere.

"Are there any other girls you stringing along?" Cas asked again in
her drawling voice.  She was smirking up at him.

"Hey!  I'm not like that!" Ryouga repeated angrily with his fists
clenched.

"Okay, Ryouga," Cas said, pointing up at him.  "I'm giving you a
chance to explain what's going on between you and Ukyou and I want to
hear it now.  If it is serious, I don't want to be caught off guard
when she tells me so."

Ryouga sat down with a huff, crossing his arms.  He thought about how
he should state it.  He already knew being 'friends' wasn't going to
be an adequate answer for Cas.  "Ukyou is Ranma's cute fiancee," he
stated bluntly.  "Or at least that's how she puts it."

"Interesting," Cas noted, her lips pursed in thought.  Her blue eyes
stared off into a corner of the room.  "Why not THE fiancee?"

'Damn,' Ryouga cursed.  'Should have chosen my words better.'  He was
again troubled with the task of formulating a sound explanation of
Ranma's treasonous acts against women.  It wasn't so much that he
cared for what Cas would think of Ranma with his explanation.
'Please, oh please,' he begged, 'may I not say the wrong thing to
turn her on me.'

"He has more than one," Ryouga declared.  'Hope that's vague enough.'

Cas screwed up her face in obvious disapproval.  Ryouga silently
congratulated himself.  Her eyes narrowed, taking a sinister slyness.
"Was he taking lessons from you?"

"Hey!" Ryouga yelled, flustered.  "I'm not engaged to anyone ... I
think."

"Wow," Cas said thoughtfully.  "A guy with more than one fiancee.  Is
he Mormon?"

"What's a Mormon?"

"Nevermind," Cas sighed.  She caught him in another one of her gazes.
It was the kind of gaze that always warned him that she was about to
say something he didn't want to hear.  "So which girl in the pictures
is one of his fiancees?"

'Damn,' Ryouga cursed again.  "A-A-Akane," he stammered out, deciding
the truth was going to reach her eventually, one way or another.

Cas grinned mischievously.  "I'm beginning to understand your
grievances against this guy," she said.  "Not only does he get you
cursed, but he's also engaged to one of your 'prospects'.  I honestly
suggest you forget her and stick with your less attached girl."

Ryouga shot to his feet.  "I'm not just giving up on Akane!" he
shouted.  A pillow smacked him in the head.  His attacker, Ryuu,
grumbled and rolled over.  Cas was fighting back laughter that
threatened her balance.

After some deep breaths and some soft chuckles, Cas smiled up at him.
"This Ranma guy may be a complete jerk and all, engaging himself to
two girls and such, but you really need to get over it.  Hey, I know.
Why don't you tell Ukyou that Ranma's cheating on her with your
Akane?"

Ryouga sat down grumbling.  "It's not that easy," he pouted, his head
hung low.  "They already know about each other.  His father made both
engagements."

Cas was puzzled.  "Arranged marriages?"  He nodded.  "How can someone
have two arranged marriages?  Does his father suffer from memory
lapses or something?"

"His father is ... questionable," Ryouga explained, not certain how
to describe Genma.

"Why doesn't he back out of one?" Cas asked.  "Obviously he can't
love them both.  Unless he's as indecisive as you are."

"Hey!  I'm not like that!" Ryouga protested through gritted teeth.

Cas held her hands open out in front of her, palms out.  "This is all
a bit too much for me to understand," she admitted.  A thought
flickered through her eyes.  "Why doesn't either of the girls back
out?  I'm sure it would be understandable in this situation."

Ryouga shrugged.  "Ukyou loves Ranma," Ryouga answered.  "Akane is
honor bound to marry him.  Technically both of them are."

"To hell with honor," Cas declared.  Ryouga's jaw dropped.  "If she
truly didn't want it, she'd back out.  There's nothing honorable in
marrying someone you don't love."

"Well, um...."  Ryouga couldn't think of anything to say.

"It's not logical, Ryouga," Cas said, getting to her feet.  "Take the
other girl.  That or else you're going to have to show some spine and
share your feelings for a change with this Akane.  I doubt you'll win
her over any other way."  She crossed the room, her movements
slightly lethargic.  "I'm going down for breakfast."  The door closed
behind her, leaving Ryouga alone with his thoughts and an unconscious
Ryuu.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ukyou helped herself to some grilled salmon and rice her father had
prepared for breakfast.  Her father was an excellent cook, somehow
managing to make even this common meal smell delicious.  Though her
plate was regretfully not filled, she slipped out into the dining
room and joined the rest of her family in silence.

It wasn't a full family gathering like last weekend.  Only her father
and Granddad were present this morning, and that was because this was
technically Granddad's home.  Her father didn't acknowledge her
approach, probably upset at her 'friends' she had brought home.  Her
Granddad on the other hand regarded her with an intrigue that warned
her the silence wasn't going to prevail.

Sure enough, once he had finished with his meal the questions began.
"So, Ukyou, my boy," Granddad started.  "When you going to bring a
girlfriend home of your own?"

Ukyou flushed in embarrassment.  She still couldn't believe her
father hadn't told him yet.  "Um ... eventually," Ukyou managed.
"I'm still trying to get Ranchan to realize our engagement is valid."

Granddad nodded at her answer.  It pained her not to tell him the
truth, but she felt it was her father's place to tell him, not hers.
Granddad was under the impression that Ranchan was a girl, which was
at least a half-truth in Ranma's present condition.  She had
neglected to mention that Ranchan had any other engagements, certain
that Granddad would not approve of her engagement to Ranma if that
knowledge came about.  The last thing she needed was her Granddad
actively seeking out potential brides for her.

"I usually don't approve of mixed room arrangements," Granddad
declared.  Both her and her father stopped eating.  "But I guess it
is permissible nowadays, though it irks me to admit it.  Why in my
day, we didn't sleep with the opposite gender unless it was under the
vows of marriage.  You should have volunteered your room for those
two boys instead of subjecting that poor girl to such depravity."

Ukyou flushed, knowing her father wouldn't have approved her in a
room with two young men and knowing Granddad wouldn't approve of her
in a room with Cas.  It was a no win situation.  "She's just a friend
of theirs," Ukyou declared.  "There's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried about her," Granddad stated.  "You should know how
hard it is to resist the temptation of a woman.  Poor boys probably
didn't sleep a wink at all last night."

Ukyou tried not to laugh at the comment.  From what she saw this
morning, both Ryuu and Ryouga didn't look the least bit troubled.
She supposed that was due to nights on the trail with Cas.  "I'm sure
it was okay," Ukyou defended her new friends.  "They've been
traveling together for some time, from what they told me.  I'm sure
the guys are used to it by now."

Granddad nodded, apparently satisfied.  "So now that you've
graduated, my boy," Granddad began, "what do you plan on doing now?"

"I'll probably continue with my business in Nerima until Ranchan
understands she's mine," Ukyou answered, carefully keeping up the
pronoun game.  "After that, we'll go somewhere where she can teach
students her art and I can either open up another shop or get hired
on as a professional cook like Pops here."

"Hopefully not like your father," Granddad said with a chuckle.  "He
wouldn't be employed in this town if it wasn't for me.  After that
incident with your Ranchan's father, nobody would have a man as naive
as him."

Her father grew smaller with each word.  It was true that her father
had lost a lot of respect when he had been 'tricked' like that.  Most
employers considered it his fault and didn't see anything profitable
in hiring someone as gullible as her father.  This was just another
reason why she had sworn to restore the family honor in marrying
Ranchan.  Despite all that her father had done to her, he was still
her father and deserved at least the respect of his peers.

"All the same," Ukyou stated, "that is my only dream.  I'm already
rumored to be the best okonomiyaki chef in all of Japan.  In time
I'll add more things to my repertoire."

"That you should, that you should," Granddad readily agreed.  "You
shouldn't limit yourself to one entree.  It will make things easier
for you finding a job if you are unable to continue on with your
restaurant.  I'm sure your father agrees."

There was a shuffle from nearby.  All three at the table looked up to
regard the short blond woman stagger into the room without a hint of
grace.  Her little black pig earrings bobbed back and forth with each
lumbering step across the room.  She disappeared into the kitchen,
leaving the three at the table to exchange confused glances.

Granddad's eyes were speculative.  "You know," he began, "if she
isn't attached, you might want to consider asking her out, Ukyou.
She looks like a nice girl."

Ukyou blushed beet red.  "I really doubt she's my type," she said
quietly.

Cas padded back in with only a helping of rice in a bowl.  The blond
knelt down on her haunches next to Ukyou, across from Pops.  She held
her chopsticks with an uncertainty that betrayed her foreign roots.
It took a couple of tries for Cas to get something in her mouth.
"Sorry," Cas said sheepishly.  "I'm still getting used to this."

Granddad pointed at her with his chopsticks.  "Ukyou here tells me
you have been traveling with those boys for sometime," Granddad
began.  "Where are you headed?"

"Nerima," Cas answered with a polite nod.  "I've been with Ryouga for
at least three weeks.  He was heading home and I decided to come
along as I wasn't doing anything in particular."

"Which one is Ryouga?" Granddad questioned.

"The one in the yellow shirt with the fangs," Cas replied, gesturing
with her fingers at her cheeks to give a visual aid.

Granddad nodded.  "So where are you from?"

"London."

"You met him in London?"

Cas chuckled, a hand waving in denial.  "No, no," she answered.
"Actually I was touring China when I bumped into him."

"Oh," Granddad offered without the slightest show of understanding.
"Who's the other guy?"

Cas shrugged.  "Ryuu is someone we met in Nagasaki," Cas returned
casually.  "We conned him into coming with us by defeating him in a
one on one fight."

Granddad arched an eyebrow.  "Why would you do that?" he pried.

Again Cas shrugged.  Ukyou was slightly amazed at how yielding Cas
was.  Maybe it was the age difference or the direct approach Granddad
was using that loosened the girl's tongue.  That or she was still
tired and wasn't fully awake to have the sense to withhold answers
like she had last night under Ukyou's subtle questions.

"Granddad!" Ukyou piped up.  She flushed a little at the tone of her
voice and adjusted it to a more polite level.  "Granddad, perhaps it
is early for questions."

"Nonsense, my boy," Granddad stated dismissively.  "They are my
guests in my household.  It is only natural that they oblige their
host with a few answers about who they are and where they are from."

Cas smiled.  "Ryuu has something in common with Ryouga, so I figured
the more the merrier."  Rice fell in Cas's lap in a failed attempt.
Cas scooped the rice out of her lap and unceremoniously popped it
into her mouth with her bare fingers.

Granddad blinked.  Ukyou sweat-dropped.  Pops cleared his throat.
Granddad shook his head before resuming his interrogation.  "So what
is it they have in common?"

The blond stared at them curiously.  "They're both martial artists
and both want to beat Ranma Saotome," Cas declared.  "They both have
a personal feud with Ranma.  I don't know all the details, but I see
no reason not to tag along.  They're fun to be with, even if this
rivalry turns out to be simply a man thing of who's best."

Granddad nodded in understanding.  "Yes," he uttered.  "Ukyou here
was similarly defeated by Ranma.  Your words only further my belief
that she is a worthy fiancee for my Ukyou.  It also relieves me to
hear that he is not the only one defeated by this girl."

Cas blinked.  Ukyou flushed in embarrassment, hoping Cas wouldn't let
the cat out of the bag.  Cas turned to gaze at her.  She could tell
Cas was thoroughly confused.  She could feel herself shrink under
that gaze, knowing at any moment Cas could really complicate things.

"Um yea," Cas said, snapping attention back to Granddad.  "I suppose
'she' is pretty good.  I've seen Ryuu and Ryouga fight.  I've never
seen anything like it."

Granddad puffed up with pride.  "You should see my Ukyou fight," he
declared.  "He's the best fighter in Osaka."

Ukyou blushed fiercely.  "Granddad!" she scolded.  It was bad enough
to deal with this with family.  She was beyond embarrassed to have
this played out in front of one of her peers.  'I hope she doesn't
say a word of this to anyone back home,' she prayed.

Cas's eyes flickered with amusement.  Ukyou wasn't sure what to think
when the short blond slid over closer to her.  "I look forward to
seeing it," Cas admitted, blue eyes not leaving her.

'So much like Ranma's,' Ukyou thought absently.

"Ukyou agreed to be our fourth in the race today," Cas continued, her
gaze unyielding.

"Good to hear," Granddad cheered.  "This will give him another chance
to beat that Zenkei boy.  I swear ever since Ukyou took off to Tokyo
he's fallen behind that boy.  It was bad enough my son here tried to
arrange a marriage between the two."  Pops paled at the statement.
"Could you imagine the scandal if I hadn't met the boy first hand?  I
still don't understand how my son thought the boy was a girl."
Granddad shook his head in disbelief.  "It's a good thing I was
around to break it off."

Cas blinked at Granddad.  She then turned her gaze on Ukyou, raising
an eyebrow questioningly.  Ukyou meekly offered a shrug in response.
"Indeed," Cas remarked, the word slowly dripping off her tongue.
"Quite the scandal.  It's a shame 'he' is engaged though."  Cas
turned her gaze to Granddad, sparing Ukyou for the moment.  "I'm not
a martial artist and couldn't hope to win him from Ranma."

Ukyou hid her face in one of her hands.  'Please, shut up,' she
begged.

"If you are unattached and inclined to," Granddad began, sounding to
happy for his next words to be a good thing, "I'd be more than
willing to discuss terms with your father.  I'll even allow my son to
make the arrangements so he can restore some of his reputation."

Cas flashed a devilish smile.  "My father might agree just to get rid
of me," Cas chuckled.  "We are not exactly on the best of terms."

Granddad nodded.  "I understand," he said.  Granddad sighed.
"Unfortunately it seems Ukyou is quite attached to this Ranma.  And
judging by his behavior, our words are only embarrassing him."  Cas
nodded with a smile.  "Thank you, dear, for humoring an old man, but
I won't be arranging any marriages without Ukyou's consent."

Cas's sigh was so fake Ukyou twitched with embarrassment.  "And 'he'
is so cute, too," Cas pouted.  Cas's arm snaked around her and soon
the blond was snuggling against her side.  Ukyou nearly gagged.  She
desperately tried to free herself.

There was a gasp from the doorway.  Everyone looked up in time to see
Ryouga's eyes roll back up in his head.  The boy's legs gave out and
soon he was on the floor in a heap.  Ryuu was standing behind him,
regarding the situation with puzzlement.

Ryuu blinked.  He looked down at Ryouga.  He looked at Cas pressed
against Ukyou.  He looked back at Ryouga.  He blinked again.  He
cocked his head aside as he looked over to Granddad.  "Did I miss
something?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ryuu stretched his legs while seated on the ground, as he stared down
the line of people competing in the race.  There had to be well over
two hundred people gathered in this place just outside of Osaka's
city limits.  He supposed this was because this race was far less
dangerous and required a team of four for official entry.  He
understood that smaller teams could compete but were not eligible for
the prize.

He looked up to his teammates.  Ryouga was doing similar stretches,
gazing out to where the poor boy probably thought Kyoto was.  'If we
don't help him,' Ryuu thought dismally, 'he's liable to run off to
Kobe.'  Ryouga had an armband like his, labeled with the number 18.
They all had the same number to represent the members of their team.

His eyes settled on Cas and Ukyou.  He still wasn't certain what was
the cause of this morning's 'exchange' between the two.  He doubted
any explanations were going to be given to him without request.  He
blinked at the two, seemingly unconcerned with what happened earlier.
'Do I really want to know?'

"Hey Ukyou," he spoke up, gazing out along the path they were to
take.  ""What was going on there at breakfast?"

"N-nothing," she answered with a notable quaver.

"Oh really," he returned, casting a half-lidded stare at her over his
shoulder.  She was blushing notably while Cas was grinning so broadly
he knew something was up.  "I know Cas doesn't usually," he started,
drawling out the last word, "hang on Ryouga or me like that even in
jest.  What did you say to set her off?"

Ukyou blushed furiously.  "Oh you should have heard the conversation
her Granddad and I were having," Cas chuckled out before Ukyou could
answer.  "Not only is Ukyou here engaged to Ranma but apparently her
Granddad thinks Ranma is a she and Ukyou is a he."

Ryuu and Ryouga blinked in unison.  Ryouga immediately burst out into
laughing.  He was laughing so hard that he had to lean on his
umbrella for support.  This didn't last long though.  Ukyou whipped
out a huge, stainless steel spatula and pounded him flat.  Ryouga was
left dazed on the ground but still letting out a laugh every now and
then.

"But Ranma already has a fiancee," Ryuu muttered.  "I understand his
father and Akane's arranged the whole thing long ago."

"Yea, well, his father also arranged a marriage with Ukyou also," Cas
answered.

Ryuu's face darkened in anger.  'That honorless cur,' his thoughts
spat.  'Is there no end to the wrongs committed by that man?'  For
all his anger towards Ranma, Ryuu held an even deeper resentment for
Genma.  Still it was Ranma that had deprived him of the umisen-ken
and then forced him into sealing the yamasan-ken.

Ukyou and Cas blinked, regarding him intently.  "I take it you know
of his father?" Cas ventured.

Ryuu nodded, his lips tight together in a grim line.  "He is not an
honorable man," he acknowledged.  He cocked his head aside.  "Still I
can't see how you've managed to keep your gender secret from your
family for so long, or even why you would bother to."  He flashed a
smile.  He knew his next words were flirtatious but he liked the way
she blushed.  "Being so cute and all."

As expected, Ukyou did blush.  However Ryuu wasn't prepared for the
spatula that whistled down at him, knocking him hard on the head.
His ears rang and his eyes teared up.  'Damn,' he swore.  'She hits
hard.'  He rubbed his head, feeling the bump that was already
forming.

Cas was laughing.  Ryouga was still laughing, though from the dazed
look in his eyes, Ryuu doubted it was because of his predicament.
Ukyou was fidgeting with her oversized spatula.

Ryuu took a very long look at the girl.  She was taller than Cas but
still shorter than either Ryouga or himself.  She had lovely brown
eyes and thin lips.  Her hair was a luscious dark brown, probably
chestnut hue.  He wasn't certain.  He wasn't in the habit of matching
colors.  However he did like the white bow she wore that swept most
of her straight hair up into a free hanging pony tail.  It hung so
freely it was almost like she hadn't pulled it up at all.

She was wearing a blue shirt that hung loosely on her.  The shirt had
white trim at the edges and was held from hanging freely by a black
sash tied at her waist.  A bandolier of regular sized spatulas was
strapped over her shoulder across her front.  The metal glinted in
the sunlight, assuring him that these were sharper than most knives.
Her legs were dressed in tight-fitting, black leggings.  His eyes
registered every curve of her shapely legs.  'How on Earth did they
ever mistake her for a boy?'

"Ah, Ukyou," cooed a voice from his left.  Ryuu turned to see Gyosha
approaching them from the side.  The black haired man wasn't
accompanied by the host of girls he had been with last night, though
two girls accompanied him and a guy bearing the number 7.  "I see you
will be in this event for a change.  I figured as much after last
night."

Ukyou growled.  "It's not like you have your regular team either,"
Ukyou hissed through gritted teeth.  Ryuu saw a gaze that would wilt
a flower exchange between Ukyou and the brownish red haired girl.
The girl was in a dress and wore a straw colored hat on her head.  It
wasn't the attire he expected from someone about to compete in a
race.  "Tsubasa?  What are you doing here?"

Gyosha exchanged an amused glance between the two.  "I see you two
already have met," Gyosha declared.  "Tsubasa is filling in for Ken
since he was sick this weekend."  Gyosha flashed an icy smile.  "I'm
surprised you two aren't a couple."

Ryuu could almost see the steam coming out of Ukyou's ears.  Cas
blinked.  "But Ukyou's a girl," Cas stated.

Gyosha's smile widened.  He clapped the frail girl's shoulder, nearly
knocking Tsubasa over.  "Yes, and Tsubasa here is a guy," he
declared.  "A perfect couple."

The girl with the straw hat gritted teeth, snarling, "Speak for
yourself about being a man, you pervert."

Gyosha chuckled.  "I'm only saying you and her as a couple is a grand
idea," the dark haired youth said in light defense.

"I'll fight my own battles if it's all the same to you," Tsubasa
declared.  "Right, Ukyou?"

Ukyou's knuckles whitened as her grip tightened on the spatula.  Cas
blinked.  Ryuu scrutinized Tsubasa, trying to find any truth in the
statement.  "In about three seconds, I'm going to kill you both,"
Ukyou threatened, raising her weapon.

Cas and Ryuu shared a look of confusion.  "Tsubasa's a guy?" Cas
asked.

Ryuu grinned at the similarity of the situation.  Instead of
repeating the lines though, he decided to diffuse the situation.  "I
guess, but Ukyou makes a better girl than he does."  Instant Ukyou
blush.

Gyosha's dark eyes fixed on Ryuu.  "And since you injured Kosite last
night, Fujiiro will be in his place."  The tall man with short
cropped black hair standing behind Gyosha nodded.  Ryuu frowned.
'Isn't that a girl's name?' he wondered.  'What the hell is wrong
with these people's parents?'  He noted that this guy was at least
dressed for the match, sporting a gray tank top and red shorts.

Fujiiro stepped forward bowing politely to them.  "Forosuro Fujiiro,"
the man introduced himself.  "Pleased to meet you."  Fujiiro took
Cas's hand.  Cas darkened with anger as he made to kiss it.

"Hey, stop that!" the other girl protested.  She was a red head with
greenish hazel eyes.  She was shorter than the rest of her team yet
taller than Cas.  The girl smacked Fujiiro upside the head and
glowered at him.  The young man wisely cowed back behind Gyosha.

"This is Kakuheki Kiten," Gyosha stated.  "She was the one that got
eliminated by you, I believe."  Gyosha pointed at Ryouga, who was
still dazed and laughing at nothing in particular.  The entire group
sweat-dropped.  Gyosha's group joined in, realizing Ryouga was not
quite with it.

Ryuu fixated his attention back on Kiten.  She was certainly cute.
However he could tell by her possessive glances at Fujiiro, that she
was already involved.  She was dressed in a thin, pale blue,
sleeveless shirt with darker blue tights.  Her red hair was bound up
into two triangles on her head, each one placed a little higher than
her ears.  It almost looked like she had another set of ears.

"I didn't expect to see a redhead in Japan," Cas spoke his thoughts.
Ryuu hid his face in his hand.  Tact was apparently lost on his
companions.

Kiten didn't seem to mind.  "My mother is Irish, straight from
Dublin," Kiten explained.  "Came here to see sights and never came
back.  She chose my name as it was so close to the one she wanted to
give me had she been back in Ireland."

"From London, myself," Cas said, taking the girl's hand and pumping
it in a handshake that caught Kiten totally off guard.  "I take it
Fujiiro is yours?"

Kiten recovered with a smirk.  "When he knows what's good for him."

In the distance an announcer was calling for the contestants to
prepare for the start of the race.  Gyosha thumbed in the direction
of the sound.  "Let's get going," he declared.  "I don't care much to
hear the rules but I don't want to start late."

'Rules?' Ryuu scoffed.  'The only way to get disqualified is to not
be on foot.  I can imagine Ukyou and Ryouga are going to do a lot of
damage to the competition in this 'safe' event.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Everything was silent as the announcer lifted a gun up to the air.
Everyone tensed, eyes gazing down the road with intensity, each one
certain of victory.  Cas was grinning inwardly.  She knew she
couldn't run this distance.  She doubted many of her competitors
could.  But for those that were capable of this endurance, she had
something special planned.

The gun fired.  People cheered as the runners sprinted off the
starting line.  Cas started slowly, noting that the rest of her team
as well as some other teams like Gyosha's were doing the same.  She
could already foresee the fate of the early sprinters.  They wouldn't
have much after four or five kilometers at that pace if they didn't
slow down soon.

She passed the first kilometer marker, fatigued.  Even at this slow
pace she knew she couldn't keep up for another twenty-nine.  She
quickly dropped into the thought pattern she needed to perform the
feza-nagasu variant.  She slowed the pumping of her legs, keeping it
up only for appearances.  Her body relaxed as she switched the strain
from a physical endurance to a mental one.

Cas caught back up to her teammates in little time.  Ryuu regarded
her suspiciously but said nothing.  Ukyou was busy glaring at
competitors and trying to keep Ryouga on course.  The three-kilometer
mark soon faded into the distance behind them with some of their
competition that had died off.

Cas dropped her spell at the five-kilometer mark, her head aching.
Her legs were a little sore but were up to the task.  She decided the
next time she pulled her stunt she would take a commanding lead.  She
doubted she could keep going in this manner.  Thankfully the
competition was very thinned out.

Now running again without the need of her attention to the spell, Cas
realized things were becoming physical.  Gyosha's team were singling
out runners and tripping them up.  She could swear Fujiiro was
wielding something that looked like a cue stick.  Other runners had
weapons as well though it appeared Fujiiro was the only one on
Gyosha's team that had one.

Ukyou swatted a man brandishing a club aside.  Cas had to grin at how
easily Ukyou wielded such an unusual weapon.  Watching Ukyou in
action made her regret all the things she had said against martial
arts to Ryouga.  'If I could do that....' she let her thought end
unfinished.

She was falling too far behind.  She had to resume her spell before
she even reached the six-kilometer mark.  She flew past Ukyou to
catch up to Ryuu and Ryouga.  Ryouga was fending off foes while Ryuu
casually dodged all attacks.

"Coming through," Cas called up to them.  Ryuu glanced back, still
suspicious.  'He'll figure it out this time,' she thought ruefully.
"Come with me, Ryouga.  I can't fight these people off."

"Um sure," Ryouga said, deftly felling an attacker with his umbrella.

Cas snatched his hand as she passed.  She extended her spell to
include him.  Ryouga eeped as his feet left the ground for an
instant.   "You've done this before," she reminded him.  "Don't act
so surprised."

Ryouga nodded.  Together they broke away from the group, Ryouga
delivering a few blows along the way to the people they passed.  A
dozen kilometers rolled underneath them.  They were almost all alone
when Cas had to let the spell go somewhere after the
nineteenth-kilometer mark.  Two people breathing heavily, trailed
behind them.

Ryouga staggered as his body was allowed to move on its own.  "We are
not there yet," he protested, resuming his pace.  Cas tried to keep
up with him, her head now aching more than her sore legs.  "I thought
you were going to take us all the way there."

"I can't," Cas huffed.  "I can only hold the spell so long.  I was
going as fast as I could."

Ryouga attempted a shrug that didn't quite work while running.
"Well, we've a hell of a lead except for those two," he said,
thumbing back to the two wheezing figures behind them.

Cas cast a look over her shoulder to see Fujiiro and Kiten trying to
catch up with them.  She begrudgingly respected the pair for being
able to keep up like that.  She could hear Kiten's scathing words
towards Fujiiro any time the boy slowed down.  Apparently slowing
down wasn't worth Kiten's wrath in Fujiiro's opinion.

Cas decided it was time to end this once and for all.  "Ryouga," she
gasped through pained breaths.  "If I pass out please carry me the
rest of the way.  There wasn't anything in the rules against it."
Ryouga nodded, readying his umbrella as the pair closed in on them.

Cas closed her eyes, ignoring the roar between her temples.  She took
a different pattern, as there was no fire around to draw from.
Instead she harnessed the heat radiating off the pavement of the
road, focusing and condensing it under her will.  Her eyes flew open.
A visible distortion of heat was at her control, floating in front of
her.

She smiled at Ryouga and glanced over her shoulder.  "Entensho!"

The distortion sped out to the pair, enlarging in size.  It passed
through the pair like a strong wind.  Kiten's red tresses swept back
under the assault.  Her sweat stained clothes and hair instantly
dried.  Fujiiro suffered similarly.  Both fell to their knees
gasping.

Cas felt light-headed.  She staggered, legs giving out.  Soon she
felt her face pressed against the hot pavement.  Then blissful
darkness.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ukyou smashed the last offender into the grass alongside the road.
She had just passed the twenty-eighth-kilometer marker.  Ryuu was a
distant speck ahead of her.  Gyosha was up there with him, trying to
take him down.  They hadn't seen any signs of Cas, Ryouga, Kiten or
Fujiiro since the two pairs had taken off earlier.  She supposed that
meant that they were finished.

If that was the case then all she needed to do was beat Tsubasa,
wherever he was.  She wasn't sure if she had the energy to catch up
to Ryuu and Gyosha.  Even if she did, she doubted she'd be able to
sprint to the finish line with them.  'Beat Tsubasa,' she thought
grimly.  'I've done this a hundred times.'

"Ah hell," she gasped.  She began to speed up to Gyosha and Ryuu.
For all she knew, Tsubasa was already finished.  She couldn't give up
now.  The twenty-ninth-kilometer marker passed.  This was the final
stretch.  She could see people spread out sparsely alongside the
road, cheering on the runners.  The crowd steadily thickened as she
neared the pair.

Ryuu and Gyosha had slowed, concentrating on exchanging blows instead
of running.  Ryuu obviously was better trained but was tired.  Gyosha
wasn't as tired but his fighting skills were less than desirable.  In
all it was similar to watching two barely standing drunks fighting.

"Yaaaaaa!" Ukyou screamed with all her breath.  She lunged with a
clumsy swipe of her spatula.  She was too tired to manage any better.
Gyosha sidestepped right into Ryuu's fist.  The boy staggered but
didn't fall, simply because at the time Ryuu hadn't been trying to
hit him.

Ukyou glared down the length of her spatula.  Clinging to the end was
Tsubasa.  'Damn!' she swore.  "You cheater!" she cried out.  She
began to spin tightly on her heel.  Tsubasa may have been rested but
he soon became dizzy.  She kept her tight spin until Tsubasa lost
hold.  The 'girl' shot out into the crowd, bowling over several
cheering fans.

Ukyou staggered herself.  Now she was both tired and dizzy.  She
could see the finish line.  Ryouga and Cas were cheering her on.
Sure enough Fujiiro and Kiten were also there, cheering their
teammates on.  She could hear the announcer screaming out every move
they made.  All this excitement could only mean that the winner would
be whichever of their two teams finished first.

Just as she was about to charge at Gyosha, Tsubasa popped over the
finish line.  The crowd roared in approval.  "The fifth place goes to
Kurenai Tsubasa," the announcer called over the din.  "Zenkei's team
takes the lead with only their leader left to finish the race.
Apparently Kuonji's team is also all on the field.  It all comes down
to this!"

She charged back into the fray between Gyosha and Ryuu, swinging
blindly.  Both ducked under the whistling passage of her weapon.
Gyosha's elbow inadvertently found her side, stunning her
momentarily.  Gyosha and Ryuu continued towards the finish line.
Ryuu began to throw punches more seriously, preventing Gyosha from
going further.  He stepped in front of Gyosha, backpedaling.

"This is as far as you go," Ryuu declared through wheezes.  He
pointed at Gyosha, halting his progress only a few feet from the
finish line.  "Ukyou hurry up."

Gyosha feinted left but Ryuu read the move.  Ryuu was positioned well
enough to prevent Gyosha from crossing without a fight.  Gyosha
rushed to the right only to get tackled.  Ukyou closed in for the
kill.  "For all the embarrassment!" she growled.

She swung hard but only caught air as the pair rolled past her.
Ryuu's legs caught her in the shins and she toppled forward.  Her
spatula clanged on the road in front of her as she tasted pavement.
The breath in her lungs whooshed out of her from the fall.

There was movement beside her.  She staggered up to her feet to see
Ryuu pulling Gyosha away from the finish line.  She mustered her
strength and swung again letting out a battle cry.  However she was
too dizzy to get the strike correct.

There was a sickening thud as her spatula flattened Ryuu's face.
Ryuu fell backwards, crossing the finish line inadvertently.  Gyosha,
now free, leapt over her follow up strike to cross.  Thoroughly mad,
Ukyou charged after him, spatula flying.

The announcer was shouting something excitedly but she paid him no
heed.  "For my father!" she cried out but the thought came out as
only an unintelligible scream.  She smashed Gyosha in the side, the
boy whimpering in pain, falling to the ground.  She raised the
spatula to strike again.

Arms tried to restrain her.  Tsubasa popped in front of her only to
be clocked firmly in the head.  His eyes rolled back in his head and
he soon joined Gyosha on the ground.  Those arms on hers tightened.
She twisted in the grasp to face her adversary.  Ryouga stood before
her, his hands not yielding another inch to her efforts.

It was all too much.  Ukyou collapsed in exhaustion, crying.  'I
lost,' she thought bitterly.  'I lost.  I always lose.'

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What do you mean we lost?!" Cas cried out angrily.

Ryouga was barely able to understand what had just happened.  Ukyou
had laid out three people single handedly and now was sobbing
quietly, curled up in a ball on the pavement.  Cas was shouting at
the judge as the poor man handed the checks over to Fujiiro and
Kiten.

"Their team finished first," the judge declared nervously.  "They are
the winners."

"No way," Cas argued.  "We got first, second, sixth and eighth for a
total of seventeen team points.  They have nineteen points when you
add third, fourth, fifth and seventh.  We win as a team!"

"That is not how the rules stated it," the judge said, becoming more
skittish under Cas's verbal assault.  "The prize goes to whichever
team completely finishes first."  Cas stomped angrily but had nothing
more to say.  She stood there fuming while the judge quickly ran off
into the crowd.

Ryouga stared down at Ukyou.  'I've never seen her like this,' he
thought, a tinge of fear flittering through him.  It was almost like
a totally different person.  He regarded the carnage.  Ryuu was lain
out, his nose probably broken.  Gyosha was moaning, grasping at his
side.  Tsubasa was unconscious, not moving.  If she hadn't collapsed,
he wondered if he would have been another victim.  'How far was she
going to take this?' he asked.  'Is this what I was like when I
attacked her and Ranma?'

Ryouga turned about, not bearing to watch Ukyou in her weakness.  He
saw Kiten approach Cas.  "Better luck next year," Kiten teased Cas.
"I don't think we've ever had that difficult of competition.  Usually
we're the only team to get all four members in the top ten places."
Kiten offered a hand.

Cas glowered at them but shook Kiten's hand reluctantly.  "Yeah,
maybe next year," Cas agreed.  "Hope things didn't get too hot for
you two."

Kiten's smile faltered.  Fujiiro snickered.  It was enough to draw
Kiten's anger from Cas to the poor boy.  Kiten started yelling at
him.  Ryouga tuned it out.

Cas slipped up beside him, still angry.  She then let out a sigh.
"How long is she going to cry like that?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," Ryouga replied.  "I've never seen her this vicious.
It's almost like she was a different person, the one that trashed the
wedding."

Cas arched an eyebrow.  "Wedding?"

Ryouga smiled.  "I'll tell you about it sometime."

Cas took a cursory glance about the wreckage Ukyou had caused.
"Well, I must say I'm impressed," she declared.  "Granddad was right
about Ukyou being one hell of a fighter.  Maybe I should have taken
his offer to marry Ukyou more seriously."

Ryouga face-faulted.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Closing Theme - "Dizzy"

Waiting
Watch the clock pass time
The words I want to say to you
Can't escape my mind

Wondering
Someday will you realize?
The feelings that I hide behind
The fury of my eyes

Please dizzy up this girl
Spin around my world
Tell me that you love me more than anyone you knew
Dizzy up this girl
Give my life a twirl
Wait and see what happens next when you do

How long will your indecision
Bring heartache in my life
Whether wrong or right
It keeps me up at night

Letting go of a childhood dream
Was never my intent
But if you don't say yes
My life will be a mess

So dizzy up this girl
Watch her wings unfurl
As you say you love her more than anyone you knew
Dizzy up this girl
What was sand is now a pearl
As every girl needs love to get her through

Please someday soon

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I decided to throw this one out as it includes a character that I love to 
use, Kiten Kakuheki.  Expect to see a bit more of her in the upcoming fics 
and aftermath of wedding shorts that I'm writing (though she is confined to 
Osaka in that set).

Please email any comments to
zinyadel@hotmail.com.
I don't mind flames.  Sometimes good ideas come from them.

Ciaow

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