Hospital Takeover
Ep. Thirteen of Cas of Blues Series
by Thom Keehn
zinyadel@hotmail.com

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.

The stories of both the Cas series and Wedding Aftermaths are on my
homepage in formatted text files.

http://ravenhale.anifics.com/fiction.html

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

I guess we should get back to what's going on with Cas.  ^^

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

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

Voices whispered through a thick impenetrable darkness.  She felt
light, as if she was floating, yet something heavy was pressing her
down into the blackness that threatened to swallow her back into
unconsciousness.  She wanted to grimace but couldn't tell if she was
or not.  She had no control over her body.  She felt detached.

Cas panicked.  Light burned her eyes as she forced them open.  She sat
up with a jerk and winced in pain from the act.  Most of her body
hurt, causing a wave of nausea to crash into her.  Voices spoke
soothingly to her amongst a background of beeps and whooshes she
barely registered.  She squinted her aching eyes to hopefully make
something out through the bleariness.

Hands guided her to lie back on the padded surface.  'A bed,' she
thought.  'I'm sitting on a bed.'  She moved to touch her aching head
but was unable to do so.  Her arm was attached to something that dug
into the back of her hand and her shoulders and most of her upper arm
seemed to be encased in a cast.  She couldn't even feel her legs.  She
blinked several times, her vision taking its sweet little time to
clear up.

A white ceiling slowly materialized overhead.  She glanced over to see
Ryouga at her bedside, staring at her with an expression filled with
concern.  His eyes were baggy and his hair was disheveled.  She tried
to speak but her throat was too dry.  She swallowed, bringing tears to
her eyes from the surprising pain that simple act brought.

"Where..." she rasped out.  She coughed and this time she knew she
grimaced.  The pain in her lungs was indescribable.  "Where am I?"

Ryouga took her hand in his and simply held it with a gentleness that
defied the nature of him.  "You're in the hospital, Cas," he answered
softly.

She forced a smile, blinking lethargically.  "You look like crap," she
stated.

He managed a smile of his own.  "You don't look much better," he
returned pleasantly.  Cas nodded once, and let her eyes roam about the
room.  She was lying on a raised bed with pale blue sheets.  The bed
was slightly inclined for her.  The room had boring white walls and a
tiled floor that wasn't exactly white.  In all she was surprised at
how unwelcome the room felt.  'No wonder why so many people die in
hospitals,' she thought wryly.  'They wake up surrounded in white they
must think they're dead.'

Machines she didn't understand stood next to her bedside with wires
trailing out of it.  She knew she was hooked up to the machine.  'How
bad is it?' she wondered.  'Last thing I remember was Ranma kicking me
into the wall.'

"What day is it?" she asked.  "How long have I been out?"

Ryouga patted her hand.  "It's Wednesday," he replied.  "You've been
out for six days."

Cas chuckled but it came out as a strangled cough.  After catching her
breath she rasped, "Knocked me clear into next week.  You haven't been
here the entire time, have you?"

Ryouga shrugged before looking away, embarrassed.  "I was afraid that
if I left your side I'd get lost and wouldn't see if you got better,"
he admitted.  "The doctors were willing to let me stay as you didn't
appear to have any family."

"How bad is it?" she asked, pleading.

Ryouga swallowed, his eyes pained.  "Cas, they say..." his voice broke
down.  "They say you'll be lucky if you can walk again.  Both of your
shoulders and your collarbone were broken.  A couple ribs as well that
punctured one of your lungs.  And a couple of your vertebrae in the
back were crushed."  He looked away, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"They stopped the internal bleeding but they doubt you'll ever be able
to walk again."

"Did they find out about the curse?" she asked, taking the information
in stride.

Ryouga shook his head.  "No," he said firmly.  "They couldn't bathe
you while you were wearing the cast.  They were worried you wouldn't
ever wake up.  I was... worried."

"Did anybody else come to see me?" Cas asked, knowing well that none
of her immediate family had come.  Ryouga had already let that much
slip.

"Ukyou and Ryuu both came the day you were admitted," Ryouga replied.
"Ryuu has come in frequently and Ukyou comes in whenever she can get
away from her business.  I guess Konatsu was running her business into
the ground during her absence."

Cas nodded.  "How are they?" she asked softly.  Her throat was
bothering her some more, resulting in her words coming out as barely a
whisper.

"Ryuu had a duel at the same time as you did," Ryouga said.  "I had
run into him before your fight with Akane and had told him of our
defeat over Ranma so he used his moves on Kunou."  Cas threw him a
questioning glance.  "He's a guy from our school that is good with a
sword.  Anyways, Ukyou tells me he put Kunou out with relative ease."

"Nervous," Cas whispered.

"Me?"

"Yea, now that Ryuu can use his moves," Cas explained.  "You're
rematch might be more than you bargained for."

Ryouga huffed.  "I am not the least bit concerned," he stated boldly.
"Ukyou is a bit miffed about all this.  She heard of your altered
arrangement and is glad that you won, but she's very torn over what
you did for her.  She never thought Ranma would do this to you."
Ryouga clenched his fists.  "Curse that Ranma!  I didn't even think
he'd stoop to this!"

"Calm down, Ryouga," Cas ordered quietly.  "I'll handle him once I get
out of this predicament."

Ryouga hung his head and began crying into the sheets.  "It's all my
fault," he muttered miserably.  "I shouldn't have let you fight Akane.
I should have stopped you."

"I wouldn't have let you," Cas declared.  "I was going to fight that
fight and throwing in that tidbit for Ukyou was simply an
afterthought.  Does she still want to date that jerk?"  Ryouga
shrugged, still weeping in her sheets.  "Well, I don't want her dating
him.  He can have Akane for all I care."

Ryouga sat up, his eyes red but slightly angered.  "No!" he said
forcefully.  "Akane doesn't deserve that either.  You should have let
me kill him when I had the chance.  Sure, Akane would probably never
forgive me but at least her life wouldn't be ruined.  She could always
find love elsewhere with someone who would take better care of her."

Cas shook her head.  "Ranma probably thought he was taking care of her
when he came after me," she whispered.  "But if you want me to dump
him on someone else, just give me a name.  Who else wants this guy
that you don't care much for?"

Ryouga thought for a moment.  "Kodachi," he stated curtly.  "She's
Kunou's sister."

"Fine," Cas agreed.  "We'll dump him with this Kodachi for a date
then.  Could you please get me some water, Ryouga.  I'm thirsty and I
want to feel better."

Ryouga nodded but didn't bother leaving.  Instead he pushed a button
at the side of the bed to call for a nurse.  Cas smiled at Ryouga's
insight and patiently waited for the nurse.

"Yes," a voice called out from the intercom.

"Could we have some water?" Ryouga spoke into the bed.  "She's awake
and she's thirsty."

"Be right there," the voice answered.

In moments a nurse appeared bearing two cups of water and a pitcher.
Ryouga gestured for the nurse to set them over on the table before she
got too close to him in case she had an 'accident'.  She smiled at the
pair after setting down the tray and walked out.

"What was that?" Cas asked curiously.

"Um... nothing," Ryouga replied and began to laugh nervously.  He
handed her a cup.  She stared at him as if he had seaweed growing out
of his ears.  "Oh sorry," he added, realizing that she couldn't hold
the cup up to her mouth in her current situation.  He got up and
slowly lifted the cup to her lips for her to drink from.

"Thanks," she said after draining the cup of its meager contents.
"Can I have the pitcher too?"  Ryouga raised a brow, curious.  "Just
bring it over and place it in my lap.  I need it."

"Um... okay," he said.  He got up and grabbed the pitcher from its
resting place.  He brought it back over to her, careful not to trip.
Cas wondered briefly how her body would respond to being changed in
her current condition.  She didn't like the possibilities.

Eventually Ryouga got the pitcher into her lap without a spill.  He
breathed a sigh of relief and sat down beside her bed.  Cas smiled at
him and touched the pitcher with her fingertips.  "You do remember?"
she asked.  "The fire when I first met you?"

Ryouga's eyes widened.  He was going to say something but she shook
her head slightly, shushing him.  She slowly lifted her hand up along
the pitcher and dipped it into the water.  She reached out to the
water, absorbing its energy into the water of her own body.  The
energy burned warmly in her hand, coursing up her arm by her
instructions.

The pain slowly diminished as her bone melded back into place.  She
drew more energy to dull the pain in her other shoulder and her
collar.  In moments the pitcher was empty and Cas was exhausted.
Ryouga picked up the empty pitcher in amazement.

"I told you I'd be fine," Cas muttered, her eyes closing.  She was so
tired from the spell.  "Just be here when I wake up."

If Ryouga nodded, she didn't notice.

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

Nabiki absently thanked the nurse for the information and strode
purposefully down the hall.  She had chosen to dress in a business
manner, selecting a brown, long sleeved vest that was made of satin
and had only two buttons in the front.  Underneath she wore a
collarless, white dress shirt made of fine cotton.  She wore khaki
dress pants and black, low heels, to round out her professional
appearance.

Her sources had informed her that Cas had woken up earlier today.  She
would have came earlier but she was also informed that the girl had
promptly went back to sleep.  It was her understanding that Cas was
once again awake and with visitors.  It was time to measure this girl
up.

Nabiki stood in front of room 311, hesitant.  She held in her hands
receipts of expenses from the dojo.  For a moment, she felt certain
that this was going to blow back in her face.  Still, she was a Tendou
and she never backed down from a challenge.  She needed to find out
how much she could get away with this girl no matter what the results
were.

She went for the handle, but paused once again, this time at the sound
of voices.  The voice was vaguely familiar, probably belonging to one
of the two strangers that visited Cas on a regular basis.  Obviously
this was not the red headed girl.

"Heard about the victory over Kunou," a voice whispered, barely
audible.

"Yes," the male voice acknowledged.  The voice was deeper and much
clearer than the girl's.  "I understand you defeated Akane and that
Ryouga defeated Ranma earlier.  I say we've been quite successful in
dueling, even being apart."

"When's Ukyou coming over to see me?" the girl asked breathily.

"She'll be able to get away from her shop late tomorrow night," the
voice answered.  "Have you seen Kiten yet?"

"Kiten's here?" the girl asked, her voice rising.

"She came over during the weekend to see how you were doing," the man
explained.  "She came with that Tsubasa guy, though he hasn't come to
see you.  It seems he only tagged along to bother Ukyou."

"Where's Ryouga?" the girl asked.

"I think he went back home with a girl he knew," the man answered.  "I
didn't catch her name but she was very pleasant to me.  Poor guy had
been here almost an entire week without leaving."

"I'm surprised they let him stay, regardless of me not having family
nearby," the girl stated.

"He had a good reason," the man returned curtly.  There was a hint of
laughter in his words but it went unnoticed by the girl.

"Well, I guess you don't have to stay if you don't want to," the girl
stated.  Her voice was growing stronger.  "I'm sure you have better
things to do with Kiten in town."

"Kiten isn't staying with me," the man declared.  "Ukyou has
reluctantly taken the girl in.  As for me, I don't have anything
pressing to do, but I have said all that I planned on saying when I
came here.  I could go home to think up some more tidbits to waste
time over with you.  You can always ask the nurse for my home number
and call me if you need me."

"Thanks, Ryuu," Cas said softly.  "Where are you staying at anyways?"

"You'd never guess," the man named Ryuu stated mischievously.  Nabiki
turned the name over in her mind, knowing it sounded very familiar.
"I'm staying at Ranma's house, or at least his mother's."  Those words
locked an image in Nabiki's mind.  The man was Kumon Ryuu; a rival of
Ranma's that hadn't been heard from in years.

Footsteps approached the door.  Nabiki backed away, positioning
herself to avoid being seen by Ryuu when he left the room.  The door
opened and a man wearing a short sleeved, black shirt stepped out into
the hallway.  He was wearing black and white fatigues and black boots.
He continued down the passage, not noticing her.

Once the coast was clear, Nabiki slipped into the room.  She glanced
about the room, noting the machines that were still hooked up to the
girl that was lying in the center of the room on a bed with thin blue
sheets.  Other than a couple of chairs for visitors to sit down and a
small endtable to sit things down, there was little else in the room.

The blond noted her arrival, staring at her with blue eyes.  Nabiki
swallowed hard at the sight of the girl.  Most of the girl's upper
torso was swallowed up in a cast.  Nabiki had managed to get
information on the extent of Cas's injuries but wasn't quite ready to
see the outcome in person.  She hesitated, the receipts weighing
heavily in her hands.

"You're Nabiki," the blond stated in a voice, deep for even an alto.
"I remember you from the duel.  How'd you think I did?"

Nabiki walked over to the bedside, uncertain how to respond.  Her
thoughts turned to the papers in her hands.  "You did quite a bit of
damage," Nabiki calmly stated.  "I hope you can afford all the repairs
I had to have done after your duel."

Cas started laughing weakly.  Nabiki frowned, feeling uncertain on how
to proceed.  She had expected shock or denial from the girl.  After
all, it was the response that she got from every other Ranma suitor or
rival that came along and wrecked the dojo or the household.  "I'm
serious.  You owe me big time for all the damage you did," Nabiki
declared, her calm almost breaking.

"I tell you what," Cas said after a long chuckle that left Nabiki
uncertain of where she stood in this confrontation.  "I'll pay your
bills if you pay mine.  I'm sure the hospital will be happy to take
cash over my father's insurance."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," Nabiki stated, snapping out of
her uncertainty.  "Your insurance has already been billed.  I'm only
demanding that you pay for the damages you caused to the Tendou
property.  Damages done to yourself are totally of your own
responsibility as you were fighting a duel."

"I'm sure the courts wouldn't see it that way," Cas managed with a
whisper of a smile on her thin lips.  "My fight was with Akane, not
Ranma.  The damage I did to Akane was minimal whereas we all know the
extent of damage Ranma did to me."  Nabiki glared at the blond, not
sure if she could counter.  "How about I chose not to press charges on
Ranma in exchange for the damages my body did to your dojo?  I think
that is more than fair."

Nabiki nodded.  She could always let Cas press charges, but she
doubted she'd get money for damages if that were the case.  Cas was
being more than fair.  "You are different," Nabiki noted.  "Most of
the people around here wouldn't think of pressing charges on Ranma.
Are you sure you would win?"

Cas barked a laugh.  "You tell me," the blond quipped.  "I'm the one
that was hospitalized."  Cas's blue eyes hardened.  "My duel was with
Akane.  I won.  The fight should have been over.  As far as I'm
concerned, the attack from Ranma was unprovoked."

"He thought you had hurt her," Nabiki explained.  "That is hardly
unprovoked.  You acted reckless."

"That reasoning won't win in the courts," Cas shot back lightly.  "I
would assume the nexus of information in Nerima would know something
as simple as that."

Nabiki smiled despite herself.  For whatever reason, she reached out
and tousled the blond's hair playfully.  "I hope you get better,
Cassidy Keating," Nabiki said warmly.  "Things were getting too quiet
around here."

"Never a dull moment when you're around me," Cas admitted.  "Tell
Hikaru to come see me.  He's probably at home having a nervous
breakdown or something because of what happened last week."

Nabiki arched an eyebrow.  She didn't expect the girl to have an
interest in Gosunkugi, but now that Cas had mentioned it, it had been
some time since she had last seen him.  "I'll make sure to talk to him
the next time I see him," Nabiki promised.  "See you around, Cassidy."

"Just Cas," Cas corrected Nabiki.  "All my friends call me Cas."
Nabiki nodded and slipped out of the room.  The encounter hadn't gone
at all like she had expected.

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

"Aw man, do I have to?" Ranma complained.  Akane held onto his wrist
with a vice like grip, steering him through the hospital.  "What makes
you think she wants to see me, anyways?"

"I don't care what either of you want!" Akane barked decisively.  "You
are going to apologize to her for what you did.  Remember, this is all
your fault!"

"Hey!" Ranma protested.  "I'm not the one who picked a fight with
her!"

"That would never have happened if you weren't hanging on her when she
ran into me," Akane huffed.  "Honestly, can't you control yourself?"

"I was not hanging on her," Ranma meekly said.  "I was only helping
her find Ryouga."

"So you say," Akane returned with finality.

The quarreling couple paused in front of room 311.  Ranma really
wanted to run away from this place.  There was no doubt in his mind
that Cas would be anything short of violent if he showed up to say
'hi, sorry 'bout this'.  'This is all Nabiki's fault for putting Akane
up to this,' Ranma grumbled.

At dinner yesterday Nabiki had been pleased to tell the family that
she had seen Cas, who was alive and as well as anyone could be having
a two broken shoulders, a cracked collarbone, a couple broken ribs, a
punctured lung and two shattered vertebrae that would undoubtedly
leave the girl paralyzed from the waist down.  Each injury added to
the list had made Ranma feel smaller and weighed more heavily with
guilt.  It didn't help that each injury also darkened the glare Akane
had fixated upon him.

Nabiki had continued to supposedly ease any worries the parents might
have had on the issue by informing all that Cas had graciously decided
not to press charges under the condition that she would not be
expected to pay for any of the damages done to the dojo.  Both fathers
had nodded grimly, taking the news in stride.  Kasumi had quietly
excused herself from the table and had avoided him for the remainder
of the night.  Ranma had felt accused of something and he knew he had
no excuse this time in his defense.  Not that it would have mattered
if he did.  Nobody ever listened to him when it wasn't his fault.

Akane opened the door and walked boldly into the room, yanking Ranma
in after her.  Ranma noted there was a doctor in the room with some
black plastic sheets in hand.  The doctor was standing next to the
patient.  Cas was lying in a hospital bed with thin blue sheets and
didn't look too bad in his opinion.  Still he couldn't dismiss the
casts or the machines hooked up to the girl.

"... highly irregular but it seems the bones of both your shoulders
and collarbone have been healed without so much as a flaw to suggest
they had ever been broken," the doctor was saying to the blond.  "It
appears you won't be needing the cast anymore but the rest of your
injuries seem to not have changed at the same rate."

Cas was nodding but her attention was fixed on him.  Her blue eyes
burned into him.  The doctor looked up, a bit surprised.  "Oh, please
come in," the doctor gestured towards an empty seat next to the bed.
"You must be some of the friends she has had visiting her.  I was just
updating her on the status of her injuries, or in this unusual case,
the lack thereof."

"Could you leave me alone with them?" Cas said softly to the doctor.

The doctor nodded.  "Of course," the doctor assented.  "We'll be
removing the cast later in the day.  With this new development, I feel
more confidence in a full recovery on your part."  The doctor bowed
and abruptly left the room.

Akane crossed the room and took the seat beside the bed.  Ranma had to
stand next to the chair as Akane had yet to let go of his hand.  He
sorely wished he had thought of something stupid to say earlier that
would have gotten Akane mad enough to punt him out of the hospital.
The momentary pain would have been worth the chance to avoid this
confrontation.

"So," Cas said, hanging onto the word like her soul depended upon it.
"What brings the two of you here?  Feeling guilty or something?"

"Ranma's come to apologize," Akane stated in a tone that stilled any
arguments Ranma had.

"Um... yea, something like that," Ranma agreed.

Cas chuckled.  "For which part?" she quipped.  "Interfering with the
match which I won or for nearly breaking me in half?"

"You cheated!" Akane accused.  "That was supposed to be a hand to hand
fight!  I don't know what you did but it certainly wasn't fair!"

"All's fair in love and war," Cas returned impassively.  "Ranma's mine
to dump onto whomever I chose.  You can't take that away.  Besides, I
thought you were coming to apologize, not tell me how I 'cheated'."

"Ranma!  This is all your fault!" Akane snarled.  "If you go on a date
with her I'll never forgive you.  You should have left her alone.  You
should have stayed 'uninterested'."

"Hey, I'm not the one who agreed to making me a prize for your stupid
fight!" Ranma protested, clenching his fists.  "As a matter of honor,
I have to agree to whatever fate she deems upon me."

"If you date her I'll never forgive you," Akane repeated angrily.

"If I don't follow through with what she chooses, I'd be disrespecting
you.  I'd be admitting that your word in a fight is no good.  Do you
want that?" Ranma demanded.  Akane glowered but didn't say anything.
"Besides, she might not choose herself for me to date.  She's a friend
of Ukyou's you know."  The expression on Akane's face could hardly be
considered as improvement.

"Excuse me," Cas cut in.  "Before you two thrash this room I want to
get something straight.  One:  I am 'not' interested in Ranma.  Two:
I wouldn't want to dump him onto one of my friends after the stunt he
did.  Three:  I would have dumped him onto you, Akane, but one of my
friends insists that you deserve better and I trust his judgment."

Ranma frowned.  'She must mean Ryouga,' he surmised.  'Who else does
she know to dump me onto?'

"Who are you going to dump him onto then?" Akane asked suspiciously.

"I figured that since he is a jerk..." Cas began.

"He is a jerk!" Akane agreed fervently.

"Hey!" Ranma protested.

"Could you two let me finish?!" Cas snapped.  "Anyways, I figured I'd
pair him up with somebody none of my friends like either.  So I chose
Kodachi, whomever she might be."

Both Akane and Ranma paled at the name.  "No way!" Ranma shouted.
"I'm not going on a date with that psycho!"

"What about my word, Ranma?" Akane demanded angrily.  "I thought you
said you'd do whatever you had to do."

"Well... yea... but," Ranma protested feebly.  "Not her."  He turned
his eyes frantically on the blond.  "You haven't told Kodachi about
this yet, have you?"

"Not yet, but I'll pass the information along soon enough," Cas said.
"Don't worry, it'll only be one date.  It's not like I'm sentencing
you to a week of bedrest in a hospital."

Ranma grimaced.  'You don't know Kodachi,' he thought sadly.

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

Cas grabbed on the inner rim of each wheel and pushed forwards.  She
rolled only a little bit forward but at least it was progress.  She
was quite aware of the nurse behind her, watching her every movement
to ensure that she didn't get hurt.  To them, she was a miracle,
having barely been alive on entry and already healed of most of the
injuries at a record time.

Upon discovery that her ribs had been similarly healed like her
shoulders, her doctor had insisted a manual wheelchair to test the
capabilities of her healed arms and to build up any lost strength that
might have occurred in the week of rest.  Cas was more than happy to
just get out of her room for a change.

Cas cast an irritated glance at the nurse behind her.  The nurse had
long black hair and dark eyes, looking much the same as any other
nurse here once in the standard white uniform.  Cas wanted to use a
little bit of wind to speed up her progress but she knew she wouldn't
get to do that as long as she had witnesses.  She was already treading
a fine line with her miraculous recovery.

They were going to release her in two days provided no complications
arose.  Of course she was expected to come back every week for an
appointment with the physical therapist to help her get back on her
feet.  Cas knew she could be back on her feet with one more spell, but
had already decided to wait the three months of therapy through, aided
by minor healing.

"Keating-san," the nurse called.  Cas turned her head to regard her
escort.  "You have a phone call from your father."  Cas nodded,
resting her hands in her lap.  She knew better than to insist in
getting it without help.  The nurses never listened anyways.  The
nurse moved behind her and took control of the wheelchair, turning her
about and rolling her back to her room.

It was a short ride.  She was wheeled into her room and up to the
phone.  Cas thanked the nurse, she couldn't remember the name, and
begged to be left alone.  The nurse smiled and departed, closing the
door behind.  Cas picked up the receiver and hit the flashing button
on the panel.

"Hello father," Cas greeted.

"What the hell did you do?" he demanded, his tone full of anger.  "I
understand that my insurance was billed from a hospital in Tokyo.
What happened?"

"I was assaulted, father," Cas answered quietly.  'Why can't he simply
ask if I'm okay,' she thought.  A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I told you to come home," he growled into the phone.  "This never
would have happened if you just would listen to me and respect me for
a change."

"You never told me to come home," Cas said evenly.  "You told me never
to come back when you let me go to China."

"Are you that stupid to not understand what I mean?" her father
stated.  "Just because I didn't say come home, doesn't mean I didn't
want you to."

"If that's what you wanted, you should have told me," Cas declared.
She took a deep breath.  "I might have come home if I felt you were
going to treat me like your daughter again."

"You're the one who claimed you weren't my daughter," her father
returned sharply.  "You and your stupid blood test."

"I... lied about the test," Cas admitted.  "I only said it to hurt
you."

"I know that," her father replied.  "However it is true."

Cas paused, confused.  "What do you mean?"

"You aren't my daughter," her father said matter-of-factly.  "You are
my brother's daughter.  Your mother and I were on bad terms the last
few years of our marriage and my brother made the mistake of getting
involved.  They were both drunk and well...  Anyways, it took me a
long time to come to terms with it.  Your mother died before I could
come to terms with it, and it only hindered me in forgiving my
brother.  That's why you never saw him.  I'm sorry to tell you that
you will never see him as he died a couple weeks ago, but like your
mother he left most of his money to you, you being his only child."

Cas could hardly believe what she was hearing.  Her family life was
crumbling before her eyes.  There was only one thing she could hold
onto.  "You... you took this all out on me," she accused.  She firmed
her voice with anger.  "Why?"

"Think what you want," her no longer father remarked.  "I still want
you to come home."

"No," she said forcefully.  "I need more time to think about this."

"I understand," he returned.  "You have always been my Cas of blues.
When you feel ready, I will be waiting to take you back."

Cas couldn't think of anything to say so she simply hung up the phone.
She couldn't think of what to do next.  Nothing made sense anymore.
'My whole life has been a lie.'

There was a knock at the door and a young man slipped into her room.
She stared at him for a second before a name broke its way through her
confusion.  "Hikaru!" she cried out, smiling.  She gestured
frantically for him to come over to her.  "Come.  Sit down somewhere."
She looked about for a place for him to sit.

Gosunkugi stood at the door, holding onto it for dear life.  "I came
to apologize for telling Nabiki about you," he said solemnly.  "I had
no idea it would end you up here."

"Nonsense," Cas shot back.  "I know you told Nabiki.  What happened to
me would have happened even if you hadn't told Nabiki.  It was Ranma's
answer to me defeating Akane."

Gosunkugi nodded.  "I heard that was the case, though she isn't
admitting defeat yet," he said.  "I also overhead them saying you were
intending to hand Ranma over to Kodachi as part of a deal concerning
the duel."

"I haven't made that information public yet, but yes," Cas agreed.
She smiled at him.  "You were spying on them of course.  Come on.  Sit
down."

Gosunkugi wandered about the room without any direction.  Cas snatched
his wrist and pulled him into her lap.  She could feel him freeze up
in response.  "Um... urk," Gosunkugi managed.

"Hey, I have an idea," Cas declared to her barely conscious companion.
"If Akane won't admit defeat yet then how about a rematch.  You seem
to be a light guy so we could have a rematch.  You could be my
partner."  She looked over to see that Gosunkugi had passed out.  "Ah
well.  You can tell everyone once you wake up."

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

"I'm having quite a busy day," Cas declared as two girls entered her
room, just barely before the end of visiting hours.  She knew them
both and was quite surprised to see them both together as she didn't
think the two got along very well.

"What is this about you choosing Kodachi?" Ukyou demanded angrily.
She was dressed in her restaurant outfit still, having likely came
straight over from there.  Her soft brown eyes glared angrily at her.
"I thought you were fighting for me!"

"I reconsidered," Cas returned flippantly.  "Ukyou, the guy put me in
the hospital.  I'll be lucky if I can ever walk again.  What makes you
think I'd want him anywhere near you after that?"

"She has a good point," the red head with greenish hazel eyes
remarked.  Kiten walked over to the table and set down a cassette
player on it.  Kiten was dressed in red dyed jeans and a black tank
top.  She was also wearing her outrageous cat tail and had her hair up
in the two triangles.  She didn't have the gloves though.

"Why Kodachi?" Ukyou demanded.

"Ryouga didn't like her and I assumed nobody else did so I figured
pairing him up with her was the worst thing I could do to him," Cas
stated honestly.  "It was worth the look on his face."

Music began to play from the little black box on the table.  Kiten
smiled and sidled up next to the bed, tousling her blond hair.  Cas
grimaced sticking her tongue out at the cat girl.

"Cas, I like Ranma," Ukyou reminded her.  "I would have rather you set
him up with Akane than that psycho.  At least I can count on Akane not
to take advantage of the situation."

"Don't mind Ukyou," Kiten quipped.  "She's just hard up."

"At least I'm not a slut," Ukyou sharply remarked in a cold voice.

Kiten smiled nonplussed.  "Yea I'm an anomaly," the cat girl tossed
back lightly.  "The world's first virgin slut.  Maybe I'll start a new
movement."

Ukyou grimaced, annoyed.  "What the hell are you playing?" Ukyou
growled, having nothing else to complain about.  "Sounds like
gibberish."

"Red Hot Chilli Peppers," Kiten answered.  "Except it's in English.
I'm sure Cas can understand it."  The red head looked down at her.
"What do you think?"

"I've heard of them," Cas admitted.  "I prefer a different genre of
music though.  Like U2."

"I love U2," Kiten squealed.  The red head sat down in the chair next
to the bed.  "I can't wait for their new album to come out.  I'll have
my father pick it up the next time he visits the States."

Ukyou's arms were crossed and the cook was tapping her foot
impatiently.  Cas looked up and smiled at Ukyou.  "Cheer up, Ukyou,"
Cas ordered.  "At least be happy that I'm not dead or pressing
criminal charges on your boyfriend."

Ukyou huffed and stormed out of the room.  Kiten giggled.  "You really
ticked her off," Kiten noted.  "Actually, you must be making quite
the nuisance of yourself to end up here.  Though I admit I haven't
been helping her mood as of late.  I think she gets nervous around
me."

"Why's that?" Cas asked.

"Because I had a crush on her when I was fourteen," Kiten curtly
answered.  "Sometimes I think I still do."

"But she's a girl," Cas protested.

Kiten smiled.  "All's fair in love and war," the red head quipped,
tousling her hair again.  An uneasy feeling crept into Cas.  Maybe
Kiten's friendly gestures were more than that.

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

Saturday, the day of Cas's release finally came.  Today was also the
day of the rematch against Akane and Ranma.  This time it would be
made clear that Kodachi was the one to get the date with Ranma and
there would be no contesting the fairness of the victory.  It would
look very pathetic on the part of Ranma and Akane if they accused the
crippled blond of cheating this time.

Some of Cas's friends had gathered to support her.  Ukyou had
pointedly not shown up, angry at Cas for her decision.  Ryouga wasn't
present either, having gotten lost sometime ago.  Akari wasn't around
either, apparently looking for Ryouga.

Gosunkugi stared at the blond, trying to fathom why she was doing
this.  He was grateful that she seemed to be intent on breaking Ranma
and Akane up but he could see no personal gain in the matter.

The red head that was doing a silly impression of a cat, had
headphones on.  The volume had to be up loud as he could faintly hear
the music.  She was dressed in a sleeveless, orange shirt and denim
shorts.  The only think he knew about this girl was that she was from
Osaka and was an acquaintance of Ukyou's.

The other blond's supporter was a tall black haired man.  The man was
wearing a black tank top and black and white fatigues.  He also
sported a white headband tied about his head.

"So why are we here again?" the tall man asked.

"I'm about to have a wheelchair race with Akane to prove once and for
all that I'm the better," Cas answered.  "I will not tolerate her
calling me a cheat or a dimwit."

"And he's your partner?" the man ventured, thumbing towards Gosunkugi.

"He's lighter than you are," Cas explained simply.  "Besides I want
Ranma to be a part of this defeat as a small payback for putting me in
this chair."

"You realize this is completely stupid," the tall boy remarked,
looking away.

"It is not!" Cas hissed.

"You're practically healed, Cas," the boy said, regarding the red
head.  "You should count your blessings and leave fighting to
fighters.  Your little tricks have no place in an honorable fight."

"I'll be the judge of that," Cas said with a scowl.

Akane and her entourage arrived there shortly, ending the discussion.
The staff of the hospital wisely chose to make themselves scarce.  It
was well known in Nerima to avoid the battles between the martial
artists least you accidentally get caught in the fight.

Gosunkugi swallowed hard at the sight of his crush.  In all his days
he had never thought he would end up in a fight against his beloved.
But here he was, the partner of a girl he hardly knew in a race that
would determine the fate of the hated Ranma Saotome.

Nabiki slid up next to him, smiling.  "I never thought you'd get mixed
up in this," the girl hissed into his ear.  "How'd this happen?"

"I don't know," he admitted.  "But it's just a race and she only wants
me to be her partner because I'm lighter than any of her other
friends."  He glanced at the blond nervously.

"Sure," Nabiki drawled.  "I hope you enjoy the ride in her lap.
You'll win of course.  I doubt Akane will be able to race properly
with Ranma in her lap."

Gosunkugi clenched his fist angrily.  "That fiend!" he snarled.  "How
dare he take advantage of Akane like that!?"

Nabiki chuckled in amusement.  She pointed to the commotion that was
arising from across the hall.  Akane was bickering with Ranma over his
reluctance to get in her lap.  "Looks like the race is about to
begin," Nabiki commented.  "Don't you lose.  I'm betting on you two."

"Gee thanks," Gosunkugi said, taking leave of the girl.  He made his
way over to Cas and her friends.  The tall man, whose name he caught
to be Ryuu, was speculating over how amusing it was to listen to Akane
and Ranma.  Gosunkugi noted that Ryuu was purposely staying out of
Ranma's view.

Cas took his hand and pulled him down.  "Hurry up, I want to get this
over with," she stated.  She glanced up and behind her.  "You want to
wheel me out?"

Ryuu shook his head.  "I'll stay here," Ryuu declared.  "I don't want
Ranma knowing about me yet.  Kiten can wheel you out."

Cas nodded.  The red head pushed them out into the main hallway to
confront Ranma and Akane.  Cas waved at the quarreling couple.  Two
angry glares answered her gesture.

"Okay this will be simple," Cas announced.  "We go downstairs and then
we race around the block in our wheelchairs.  The first one back to
the entrance with their partner wins."

"Do I have to sit in her lap?" Ranma complained.

"Let's go," Cas answered, ignoring him.  The two couples got into the
elevator with Kiten.  The red head pushed the button and the elevator
descended.  Gosunkugi was thankful that the ride was short as the
silence in the elevator was painful.

After a long silence with only angry looks exchanged, the two couples
took their places at the entrance of the hospital.  Akane silenced all
of Ranma's protests, forcing him into her lap.  Ranma made unusual
noises but no further complaints.  Gosunkugi was too distracted by the
tension between the girls to notice his own compromising position.

Nabiki Tendou was there to start the race.  Akane took an early lead,
her arms strongly pushing her wheelchair down the street.  This first
street was on a decline so the combined efforts of Akane's strength
and the heavier weight of her wheelchair gave her a commanding lead.

Gosunkugi held onto the blond, his eyes fixed on Akane's wheelchair.
Akane awkwardly negotiated the turn into the next street.  He glanced
back to the blue eyes of his companion.  Cas held a smug look on her
face, apparently not concerned.  Her eyes locked with his for a moment
and the determination in them softened for a moment.

"Don't worry, we won't lose," she assured him.  She turned the
wheelchair around the street corner far more fluidly than their
opponents.  "I got a surprise for them."

This street was level.  Gosunkugi doubted that they could catch up to
Akane.  Cas didn't have the arm strength or the weight in the chair to
aid on the downhill parts of the race.  Before they were even halfway
down this street, Akane was already turning onto the next street.

It was then that he noticed a slight hum.  In response, the wind began
to push them from behind.  Cas smiled at his puzzled expression,
taking her hands off the wheel.  She held onto him as the wind picked
up in strength, pushing them ever faster towards the turn.  Gosunkugi
flushed at the feeling of her arms around him, silently hoping nobody
would notice.

They turned onto the next street and proceeded to be buffeted up the
hill.  Akane's lead was rapidly diminishing due to the weight of her
wheelchair.  Cas kissed her fingers and pointed at a water hydrant
ahead of Akane.  She made a gesture like firing a gun and a gust of
wind shot out from her finger.  Gosunkugi stared in amazement as the
cap of the hydrant was blown off.

The water gushed out of the hydrant, soaking Ranma and making the
surface of the hard even harder to negotiate.  Their progress
continued unhindered, the wind behind them simply increasing in
strength.  "How'd you do that?" Gosunkugi whispered.

"Like this," Cas answered, pointing a finger at the water.  The air
behind them grew warmer.  "It's all energy transfer.  Hyoukai."

The water on the pavement became ice at the same moment that the wind
behind them became very hot.  Akane's wheelchair lost all abilities to
move upward.  Their opponents slipped and began to roll back down the
hill.  Cas passed them by, her specially aided wheelchair blowing past
the obstacle without worry.  Akane was yelling at Ranma as they turned
down the next street.

The wind dissipated as they turned into the final downhill stretch of
the course.  Slowly they rolled down through the finish line.
Gosunkugi was still trying to comprehend what he just saw.

"Finally, Ranma-sama is mine," a voice cut through the noise of the
cheering gamblers that had gathered at the finish line.  Gosunkugi
caught a glimpse of a ribbon but hands on his cheeks pulled his
attention away from everything.

He only caught a glimpse of Cas's blue eyes gleaming with excitement
before he felt lips upon his.  She hugged him tightly and brought him
back out to kiss him again.  It was all too much for him to handle at
the moment.

Gosunkugi fainted.

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

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

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

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

This is the official end of the first Cas series.  I intend
to continue these with a more, light-hearted set of stories
that will probably be better written considering how much
my writing has probably improved over the year.

Thank you for reading the series and I hope you'll look
forward to more Cas stories.  I'll be restarting the series
in January.  See ya then.

Ciaow


_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. 
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail


             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'