Scarlet Phoenix, Blue Dragon
Chapter 7, Ride Of A Lifetime
Author's Notes: Here I am once again with the next chapter to Scarlet Phoenix, Blue Dragon. Surprised? Nah, I told ya I had a lot of ideas for this series. I reread the last chapter and noticed I'm not very good with cliffhangers so I'll try to stay away from them altogether. How's that sound? Oh, yeah, Wasuki does not know of Ranma and Akane's identity as the Scarlet Phoenix and Blue Dragon. There's not really much for me to say, except e-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com or sign my guestbook. I love to hear from ya! Peace :)
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ranma?" Wasuki practically yelled.
"Um...hi Wasuki," Ranma replied nervously. He could hear Ryoga laughing at his right about his predicament. Wasuki's mouth was slightly open in surprise, her dark green eyes holding surprise and shock. Ranma took a quick look at how Akane was taking this and all he saw was confusion in the girl's eyes. *Good...* he thought *...Akane doesn't know... much...so I can still solve this...*
"Wasuki, you know Ranma?" Akane asked. Thanks to her years of training she could observe and sense the littlest things and right now she was sensing an undercurrent of something going between them. Also, thanks to her years of training under Mel she could also hide the fact that she knew something was going on under a mask of confusion and obliviousness.
"Does she know Ranma? Hah! Oh, she knows Ranma alright!" Ryoga laughed obnoxiously earning him a elbow in the gut from a tight-lipped Ranma Saotome.
"Oh, really?" Akane said quizzically raising an eyebrow at Ranma. The Scarlet Phoenix silently racked her mind for anything Wasuki could have said in the past indicating that she knew Ranma.
Wasuki snapped out of her stupor and she looked from Ranma to Akane. A slow realization came to her that these two *friends* did not know who the other was. Ranma didn't know Akane's identity and Akane didn't know Ranma's. They, no matter how successful and observant they seemed, did not know the others identity. Looking back at Ranma's face she noted how for all the time she knew Ranma, this was the first time that he actually seemed uncertain of himself. A malicious idea occurred to her that she should just tell Akane everything she knew of this womanizing, billionaire of a person that Akane thought she knew so well.
"Of course, Akane, Ranma and me have known each other quite...intimately, won't you say, Ranma?" Wasuki said and the glint she saw in Ranma's hard eyes coldly and frighteningly reminded her of who she was dealing with here. Ranma Saotome was the billionaire tycoon that was hard-edged and refused no excuses. He was also the billionaire that mercilessly defeated all who dare oppose him. The room suddenly became too hot for Wasuki and she found that she could barely breathe.
At Wasuki's answer Ryoga burst out in another fit of laughter. Ryoga didn't realize the full impact of the situation yet and all he noticed was that Ranma's many escapades and heartbreaks finally came back to bite him in the butt.
The answer finally came to Akane like a light bulb was lit into her head. She remembered now what Wasuki had said that day a couple weeks before...
######Flashback#########
Akane sat at her desk, a frown marring her beautiful features showing her frustration clearly. She was not in a good mood today, having heard of the Blue Dragon persuading Fiya, the boss of the small section of the East side to become his ally. Now, she would have more difficulty then ever managing her business. Akane needed to think of a way to persuade Fiya back to her side.
Raye's voice suddenly rang through the intercom, "Wasuki's on line 4." Akane rolled her eyes at her secretary's rude manner, she couldn't really blamed her though. After all, Akane didn't let her go home for the break.
Sighing Akane picked up the phone and pressed line 4, "Hello?"
"Hi, Akane, guess what?" the excited voice of the red-head rang from the other line. Akane inwardly groaned, she really didn't have the time to deal with her ever-talkative friend. Wasuki never was able to become really close with Ukyo and Akane, although it others have wondered why. They were three successful beautiful, intelligent, Japanese women from Falcon Industries that left men at their feet.
Yet, there was more behind them that made Wasuki very different from Akane and Ukyo. Wasuki was a green-eyed, red-headed princess daughter of a Stock millionaire. She grew up in a big house by a huge pool and never even considered the prospect of fighting. Though no way spoiled, Wasuki grew up having the looks, the brains, and everything that she wanted, she got. Wasuki grew up among other country club, horseback riding, tennis-playing normal girls. A clean-cut diamond from a clean-cut family she went to college and got a great job at Falcon Industries right after.
Wasuki never knew about Jusenkyou curses, Chinese Amazons, Dark Princes, or Kamiis. She didn't know what it was like to have your fiancee of so many years break your heart into pieces. Wasuki wasn't abandoned by the side of the road by her father and best friend, forced to live on the side of the road as a boy and earning her own living by cooking Okonimiyaki only to find her love again and have him leave her. She didn't have her mother die at a young age and have her father dependent on her and her sisters.
Yet, the main reason why Wasuki was never able to become best friends with Akane and Ukyo, despite her intelligence, out-going nature, intellect, optimism, and wonderful nature lies in only one simple reason. She did not know about the dark side of life. She didn't know about hunger, death, true heartbreak, war, weapons, hate...all those and so much more. She didn't have to really fight for her life and happiness. Wasuki was smart, but she was also as innocent of life and human nature as a newborn baby.
"Oh, hi Wasuki. So, what's up," Akane said cheerfully as she continued to think about Fiya's siding with the Blue Dragon's clan.
"I have a new boyfriend Akane! He's so cute and wonderful! He's this really rich executive too, you might have heard of him, his name is..." Wasuki continued, but Akane barely listened to her friend, her mind still set on getting Fiya back to her side...
#######End of Flashback#######
*...his name is...Ranma...* Akane remembered now, clearly as ever. *Ranma was the one that Wasuki was talking about...that executive boyfriend...the one that dumped her...and cheated on her...Ranma?!*
Feigning surprise, masking her pain, Akane joked, "Oh, I remember now, Wasuki did tell me about you Ranma. So, you're that jerk that cheated and dumped her, huh? Shame on you Ranma." Hearing what Akane said, Ryoga stopped laughing, finally realizing what was happening.
Ranma looked at Akane closely, but he could not read her emotions at all...which scared the hell out of him. *C'mon, you stupid tomboy...be angry...be sad...but whatever you do...please not not care...* Ranma begged in his heart. Ranma was suddenly washed with anger that Akane didn't care either way.
"Akane, I -" Ranma began, but he was cut off by a laughing Akane, "Oh, Ranma, how could you?! My heart is torn into pieces! How could you be so terrible, so careless, so obnoxious. Oh alas, the great jerk Ranma Saotome is really a jerk! Horror of horrors, my delicate heart breaks so. Boohoohoohoo!"
Just the thing to break the tension and thin ice of that moment and cause everyone to start laughing and relax again, even Ranma, who would have given anything for an excuse of his actions. Amongst the laughter nobody heard a tiny crack make it's way through Akane's so-called stone heart and a little voice say evilly, *...another dream to the dust...dreams and hopes don't last, Akane...you know that...the Scarlet Phoenix knows that...*
Everyone started conversing again in a relaxed manner, careful now not to tread on dangerous ground and staying off personal subjects.
Ukyo came over, dragging a tall, blond guy behind her, a large grin on her face. She ran over to give a hug to Ranma, showing that there was no ill feelings left between them.
"So, what's going on?" the Okonomiyaki chef asked.
A fire lit in Akane's depths of brown and she said cheerfully, "Only that we found out that Ranma was the executive jerk that dumped Wasuki."
"WHAT?!" Ukyou shouted in surprise causing Ranma to wince as if struck.
"Ne-chan, are you-" Ukyo looked worriedly at Akane only to see the what she was afraid she might. Standing there beside Ranma was not Akane Tendo, but the Scarlet Phoenix, confident, proud...and merciless.
"It's okay, Ukyo, my heart has just been torn into pieces that's all," Akane joked again, causing another round of laughter. Laughing along with the crowd, Ukyo thought, *Oh, Ne-chan...I'm so sorry...don't turn cold again...your giving away a piece of yourself every time you do...*
"So, what do we do now?" after awhile, Jason, a friend of a friend of a friend, asked.
"I have a great idea, if you guys are up to it," a drunk guy said.
"What?" everyone looked at him. Everyone at the party was already drunk by this time except for Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, and Ryoga who were only pretending to be drunk. Being Martial Artists they learned long ago that you should never take more alcohol then you could handle, because if you did, you open a weakness for yourself if you didn't know the Drunk-Fu.
"Well," the guy said staggering slightly, a beer bottle in his hand, "I happen to know that down on Terdan street that the gangsters and street people are going to meet like they usually do and hold contests. It might be interesting to watch."
"Are you crazy. There's no way in hell any of us are stupid enough to go to Terdan street in the morning, much less at night!" a guy yelled out and everyone agreed. The subject was over with, but Ranma looked over to see an interested look on Akane's face.
"So, what do you say, Akane?" Ukyo asked her friend, amusement clear on her face. Akane could never turn down a chance to show off her skills, something very much like Ranma.
"What?! Are you crazy, you can't go there Akane!" Wasuki shouted, but Akane just licked her lips and said sweetly, "Just watch me, c'mon Ucchan."
Ignoring everyone the two girls walked over to the door only to turn around and see Ryoga and Ranma behind them.
"Where are you two going?" Ukyo asked.
At that, Ryoga flashed a bright grin showing off his cute sharp fangs, "What? You two can go have fun while we have to stay here?"
Eyeing Ranma, Akane put one hand on her hip and said, laughter in her voice of for the first time since the beginning of that night, "You aren't scared of Teran street?"
"If you two weak girls aren't scared then why should we be?" Ranma asked, joining in her light banter.
"Less chatting, more going to the cool contests," Ukyo giggled as she pulled Akane along followed by two grinning guys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Teran street wasn't really a street, but a large section of the city that people named a street unofficially. It was where the street people, the people of the streets were. They lived there, worked there, and survived there. For one of her training lessons, Mel had sent Akane to live 3 months on Teran Street and survive. Akane not only survived she learned a few tricks and made a few friends as well.
That night, as Ranma, Ryoga, Akane, and Ukyo stood there amongst metal drums of oil and fire along with weird, unethical humans that made their lives from the streets they felt...at home. The sounds of screaming, motorcycles and such rang through their ears. After walking around and watching the contests, they heard a shout behind them.
"Hey Fe-fe, when'd you come back?!" a man shouted. The group of four turned around to see a tall, muscled man in a leather jacket with a helmet in his arm running up to them. Ranma watched as Akane's face lit with exhuberation and joy as she ran up to hug the guy around the neck tightly and he swung her around.
"Fe-fe, it's been so long, I was beginning to think you were too good for us," the guy laughed as he put Akane down and the girl laughed also, her face flushed.
Seeing Ranma's angry expression Ukyo laughed and said, "So, why not introduce us to this cute friend that you know so well Ne-chan," as she thought, *...serves you right Ran-chan...*
Seeing Ranma's angry expression as well, Ryoga joined Ukyo in the laughter, "Yeah, introduce us Akane," as he thought *...serves you right Ranma...*
"Yeah, Akane, introduce us," Ranma grinded through his teeth, an irrational jealousy eating at him.
"Okay, okay, this is my friend Ryuu. He's an old friend," Akane explained then turned to give a meaningful look at Ukyo, "He helped me out during my training period."
Understanding dawned on Ukyo and she was filled with a sudden respect for Ryuu, *So he was the one that helped Ne-chan during her training on Teran street...*
"Hey, Ne-chan, how about joining the next race. You know, show these young ones what the legend's all about. My bike's over there, you can use that," Ryuu persuaded smoothly and Akane agreed.
They all walked over to an overweight man with one long hoop gold earring and a skimpy-clad girl on his arm.
"How much for the next round?" Akane asked the man.
The man assessed the thin girl and rolled his eyes; It wasn't his fault if these idiots wanted to kill themselves.
"Name." he said.
Ryoga and Ranma watched in amazement as the tomboy Akane actually showed no fear and answered smoothly with pride, "Fe-fe."
All three of them, Ukyo, Ranma, and Ryoga watched in amazement as the man's mouth dropped open, his eyes widening.
"The Fe-fe?" he asked to have Akane answer, "The Fe-fe. Now, how much?"
"200," He replied as Akane handed the money over. This was a once in a life-time event, he was staring face-to-face with the legendary Fe-fe, the biker that made so many others eat her dirt.
Ranma walked up and slapped $200 on the metal drum.
Looking at Akane, he said, "I'm in the next race as well."
Akane looked in shock at the boy she once knew, "You know how to ride Ranma?"
"A little," he replied mischievously causing a burst of laughter from Ryoga.
Ukyo shot an annoyed glance at the fanged-boy next to her, "What is so funny? You laugh at everything."
Smiling at Ukyo, causing the girl's heart to flutter slightly, Ryoga said, "I try to enjoy life and find amusement in everything-"
"He also has a weird sense of humor," Ranma interrupted.
"Ditto," Ryoga answered.
Turning back to the man, Ranma said, "I don't have a bike, do you have any to hold?"
"Sure, kid," the man replied, "We always do, it's over there by the race."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three bikes were lined up, Akane's in the middle, Ranma's on her left, and some other guy named The Snake on her right. The crowd was extra large for this particular race since everyone heard of the legendary Fe-fe's race. Soon, tomorrow dozens of people will be able to brag to their friends on how they saw Fe-fe.
Putting on her helmet, Akane asked, "Ready Ranma?"
"Always," he said as he leaned on the bike he had. He didn't wear a helmet though, said he didn't need it.
"Ready....set..." the announcer began but the riders were already off. Anyone raised on the streets would know that you don't wait for the word go before you do.
Akane and Ranma soon lost The Snake as he put it and they raced side-by-side. Akane laughed to herself, her adrenaline building up. She hadn't felt this excited and wonderful with challenge for some time. Suddenly, this wasn't just a race for money anymore but a challenge to overcome. A challenge to outrun her past and future...all taking the embodiment of the boy she once loved so dear...and still loved? Questions were for later, for now, all she needed was to face the challenge and beat her heart and soul in this race.
Turning her head over, Akane turned to look at Ranma. His pig-tail was flying in the wind, his dark gray-blue eyes intense and dancing with excitement. His long, lithe form was bent over the bike with concentration and he exuded confidence and power. He did what all great bikers knew, to make the bike a part of yourself, an extra limb to deal with. At that moment hope fluttered in Akane's heart, *...maybe he can be like me...be part of my world...and understand why I am what I am...what I am...maybe...maybe he could love me again...*
Ranma turned to her then and smiled. Suddenly, blood washed from his face and terror struck his eyes.
"Akane!" he shouted and Akane acted right away. If Akane had stopped for one second to think or turn around, it would have been too late. Instead, she maneuvered her bike perfectly, but it was still a slight off. A hard slam crashed the side of the motorcycle and sent Akane flying off of the bike. Her head hit the wall and she felt her sticky blood wash over her face. Blackness consumed her as she heard people calling her name. Yet, the only thing she realized at that moment was that she couldn't feel her legs at all...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes: I am so evil.
Chapter 7, Ride Of A Lifetime
Author's Notes: Here I am once again with the next chapter to Scarlet Phoenix, Blue Dragon. Surprised? Nah, I told ya I had a lot of ideas for this series. I reread the last chapter and noticed I'm not very good with cliffhangers so I'll try to stay away from them altogether. How's that sound? Oh, yeah, Wasuki does not know of Ranma and Akane's identity as the Scarlet Phoenix and Blue Dragon. There's not really much for me to say, except e-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com or sign my guestbook. I love to hear from ya! Peace :)
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ranma?" Wasuki practically yelled.
"Um...hi Wasuki," Ranma replied nervously. He could hear Ryoga laughing at his right about his predicament. Wasuki's mouth was slightly open in surprise, her dark green eyes holding surprise and shock. Ranma took a quick look at how Akane was taking this and all he saw was confusion in the girl's eyes. *Good...* he thought *...Akane doesn't know... much...so I can still solve this...*
"Wasuki, you know Ranma?" Akane asked. Thanks to her years of training she could observe and sense the littlest things and right now she was sensing an undercurrent of something going between them. Also, thanks to her years of training under Mel she could also hide the fact that she knew something was going on under a mask of confusion and obliviousness.
"Does she know Ranma? Hah! Oh, she knows Ranma alright!" Ryoga laughed obnoxiously earning him a elbow in the gut from a tight-lipped Ranma Saotome.
"Oh, really?" Akane said quizzically raising an eyebrow at Ranma. The Scarlet Phoenix silently racked her mind for anything Wasuki could have said in the past indicating that she knew Ranma.
Wasuki snapped out of her stupor and she looked from Ranma to Akane. A slow realization came to her that these two *friends* did not know who the other was. Ranma didn't know Akane's identity and Akane didn't know Ranma's. They, no matter how successful and observant they seemed, did not know the others identity. Looking back at Ranma's face she noted how for all the time she knew Ranma, this was the first time that he actually seemed uncertain of himself. A malicious idea occurred to her that she should just tell Akane everything she knew of this womanizing, billionaire of a person that Akane thought she knew so well.
"Of course, Akane, Ranma and me have known each other quite...intimately, won't you say, Ranma?" Wasuki said and the glint she saw in Ranma's hard eyes coldly and frighteningly reminded her of who she was dealing with here. Ranma Saotome was the billionaire tycoon that was hard-edged and refused no excuses. He was also the billionaire that mercilessly defeated all who dare oppose him. The room suddenly became too hot for Wasuki and she found that she could barely breathe.
At Wasuki's answer Ryoga burst out in another fit of laughter. Ryoga didn't realize the full impact of the situation yet and all he noticed was that Ranma's many escapades and heartbreaks finally came back to bite him in the butt.
The answer finally came to Akane like a light bulb was lit into her head. She remembered now what Wasuki had said that day a couple weeks before...
######Flashback#########
Akane sat at her desk, a frown marring her beautiful features showing her frustration clearly. She was not in a good mood today, having heard of the Blue Dragon persuading Fiya, the boss of the small section of the East side to become his ally. Now, she would have more difficulty then ever managing her business. Akane needed to think of a way to persuade Fiya back to her side.
Raye's voice suddenly rang through the intercom, "Wasuki's on line 4." Akane rolled her eyes at her secretary's rude manner, she couldn't really blamed her though. After all, Akane didn't let her go home for the break.
Sighing Akane picked up the phone and pressed line 4, "Hello?"
"Hi, Akane, guess what?" the excited voice of the red-head rang from the other line. Akane inwardly groaned, she really didn't have the time to deal with her ever-talkative friend. Wasuki never was able to become really close with Ukyo and Akane, although it others have wondered why. They were three successful beautiful, intelligent, Japanese women from Falcon Industries that left men at their feet.
Yet, there was more behind them that made Wasuki very different from Akane and Ukyo. Wasuki was a green-eyed, red-headed princess daughter of a Stock millionaire. She grew up in a big house by a huge pool and never even considered the prospect of fighting. Though no way spoiled, Wasuki grew up having the looks, the brains, and everything that she wanted, she got. Wasuki grew up among other country club, horseback riding, tennis-playing normal girls. A clean-cut diamond from a clean-cut family she went to college and got a great job at Falcon Industries right after.
Wasuki never knew about Jusenkyou curses, Chinese Amazons, Dark Princes, or Kamiis. She didn't know what it was like to have your fiancee of so many years break your heart into pieces. Wasuki wasn't abandoned by the side of the road by her father and best friend, forced to live on the side of the road as a boy and earning her own living by cooking Okonimiyaki only to find her love again and have him leave her. She didn't have her mother die at a young age and have her father dependent on her and her sisters.
Yet, the main reason why Wasuki was never able to become best friends with Akane and Ukyo, despite her intelligence, out-going nature, intellect, optimism, and wonderful nature lies in only one simple reason. She did not know about the dark side of life. She didn't know about hunger, death, true heartbreak, war, weapons, hate...all those and so much more. She didn't have to really fight for her life and happiness. Wasuki was smart, but she was also as innocent of life and human nature as a newborn baby.
"Oh, hi Wasuki. So, what's up," Akane said cheerfully as she continued to think about Fiya's siding with the Blue Dragon's clan.
"I have a new boyfriend Akane! He's so cute and wonderful! He's this really rich executive too, you might have heard of him, his name is..." Wasuki continued, but Akane barely listened to her friend, her mind still set on getting Fiya back to her side...
#######End of Flashback#######
*...his name is...Ranma...* Akane remembered now, clearly as ever. *Ranma was the one that Wasuki was talking about...that executive boyfriend...the one that dumped her...and cheated on her...Ranma?!*
Feigning surprise, masking her pain, Akane joked, "Oh, I remember now, Wasuki did tell me about you Ranma. So, you're that jerk that cheated and dumped her, huh? Shame on you Ranma." Hearing what Akane said, Ryoga stopped laughing, finally realizing what was happening.
Ranma looked at Akane closely, but he could not read her emotions at all...which scared the hell out of him. *C'mon, you stupid tomboy...be angry...be sad...but whatever you do...please not not care...* Ranma begged in his heart. Ranma was suddenly washed with anger that Akane didn't care either way.
"Akane, I -" Ranma began, but he was cut off by a laughing Akane, "Oh, Ranma, how could you?! My heart is torn into pieces! How could you be so terrible, so careless, so obnoxious. Oh alas, the great jerk Ranma Saotome is really a jerk! Horror of horrors, my delicate heart breaks so. Boohoohoohoo!"
Just the thing to break the tension and thin ice of that moment and cause everyone to start laughing and relax again, even Ranma, who would have given anything for an excuse of his actions. Amongst the laughter nobody heard a tiny crack make it's way through Akane's so-called stone heart and a little voice say evilly, *...another dream to the dust...dreams and hopes don't last, Akane...you know that...the Scarlet Phoenix knows that...*
Everyone started conversing again in a relaxed manner, careful now not to tread on dangerous ground and staying off personal subjects.
Ukyo came over, dragging a tall, blond guy behind her, a large grin on her face. She ran over to give a hug to Ranma, showing that there was no ill feelings left between them.
"So, what's going on?" the Okonomiyaki chef asked.
A fire lit in Akane's depths of brown and she said cheerfully, "Only that we found out that Ranma was the executive jerk that dumped Wasuki."
"WHAT?!" Ukyou shouted in surprise causing Ranma to wince as if struck.
"Ne-chan, are you-" Ukyo looked worriedly at Akane only to see the what she was afraid she might. Standing there beside Ranma was not Akane Tendo, but the Scarlet Phoenix, confident, proud...and merciless.
"It's okay, Ukyo, my heart has just been torn into pieces that's all," Akane joked again, causing another round of laughter. Laughing along with the crowd, Ukyo thought, *Oh, Ne-chan...I'm so sorry...don't turn cold again...your giving away a piece of yourself every time you do...*
"So, what do we do now?" after awhile, Jason, a friend of a friend of a friend, asked.
"I have a great idea, if you guys are up to it," a drunk guy said.
"What?" everyone looked at him. Everyone at the party was already drunk by this time except for Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, and Ryoga who were only pretending to be drunk. Being Martial Artists they learned long ago that you should never take more alcohol then you could handle, because if you did, you open a weakness for yourself if you didn't know the Drunk-Fu.
"Well," the guy said staggering slightly, a beer bottle in his hand, "I happen to know that down on Terdan street that the gangsters and street people are going to meet like they usually do and hold contests. It might be interesting to watch."
"Are you crazy. There's no way in hell any of us are stupid enough to go to Terdan street in the morning, much less at night!" a guy yelled out and everyone agreed. The subject was over with, but Ranma looked over to see an interested look on Akane's face.
"So, what do you say, Akane?" Ukyo asked her friend, amusement clear on her face. Akane could never turn down a chance to show off her skills, something very much like Ranma.
"What?! Are you crazy, you can't go there Akane!" Wasuki shouted, but Akane just licked her lips and said sweetly, "Just watch me, c'mon Ucchan."
Ignoring everyone the two girls walked over to the door only to turn around and see Ryoga and Ranma behind them.
"Where are you two going?" Ukyo asked.
At that, Ryoga flashed a bright grin showing off his cute sharp fangs, "What? You two can go have fun while we have to stay here?"
Eyeing Ranma, Akane put one hand on her hip and said, laughter in her voice of for the first time since the beginning of that night, "You aren't scared of Teran street?"
"If you two weak girls aren't scared then why should we be?" Ranma asked, joining in her light banter.
"Less chatting, more going to the cool contests," Ukyo giggled as she pulled Akane along followed by two grinning guys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Teran street wasn't really a street, but a large section of the city that people named a street unofficially. It was where the street people, the people of the streets were. They lived there, worked there, and survived there. For one of her training lessons, Mel had sent Akane to live 3 months on Teran Street and survive. Akane not only survived she learned a few tricks and made a few friends as well.
That night, as Ranma, Ryoga, Akane, and Ukyo stood there amongst metal drums of oil and fire along with weird, unethical humans that made their lives from the streets they felt...at home. The sounds of screaming, motorcycles and such rang through their ears. After walking around and watching the contests, they heard a shout behind them.
"Hey Fe-fe, when'd you come back?!" a man shouted. The group of four turned around to see a tall, muscled man in a leather jacket with a helmet in his arm running up to them. Ranma watched as Akane's face lit with exhuberation and joy as she ran up to hug the guy around the neck tightly and he swung her around.
"Fe-fe, it's been so long, I was beginning to think you were too good for us," the guy laughed as he put Akane down and the girl laughed also, her face flushed.
Seeing Ranma's angry expression Ukyo laughed and said, "So, why not introduce us to this cute friend that you know so well Ne-chan," as she thought, *...serves you right Ran-chan...*
Seeing Ranma's angry expression as well, Ryoga joined Ukyo in the laughter, "Yeah, introduce us Akane," as he thought *...serves you right Ranma...*
"Yeah, Akane, introduce us," Ranma grinded through his teeth, an irrational jealousy eating at him.
"Okay, okay, this is my friend Ryuu. He's an old friend," Akane explained then turned to give a meaningful look at Ukyo, "He helped me out during my training period."
Understanding dawned on Ukyo and she was filled with a sudden respect for Ryuu, *So he was the one that helped Ne-chan during her training on Teran street...*
"Hey, Ne-chan, how about joining the next race. You know, show these young ones what the legend's all about. My bike's over there, you can use that," Ryuu persuaded smoothly and Akane agreed.
They all walked over to an overweight man with one long hoop gold earring and a skimpy-clad girl on his arm.
"How much for the next round?" Akane asked the man.
The man assessed the thin girl and rolled his eyes; It wasn't his fault if these idiots wanted to kill themselves.
"Name." he said.
Ryoga and Ranma watched in amazement as the tomboy Akane actually showed no fear and answered smoothly with pride, "Fe-fe."
All three of them, Ukyo, Ranma, and Ryoga watched in amazement as the man's mouth dropped open, his eyes widening.
"The Fe-fe?" he asked to have Akane answer, "The Fe-fe. Now, how much?"
"200," He replied as Akane handed the money over. This was a once in a life-time event, he was staring face-to-face with the legendary Fe-fe, the biker that made so many others eat her dirt.
Ranma walked up and slapped $200 on the metal drum.
Looking at Akane, he said, "I'm in the next race as well."
Akane looked in shock at the boy she once knew, "You know how to ride Ranma?"
"A little," he replied mischievously causing a burst of laughter from Ryoga.
Ukyo shot an annoyed glance at the fanged-boy next to her, "What is so funny? You laugh at everything."
Smiling at Ukyo, causing the girl's heart to flutter slightly, Ryoga said, "I try to enjoy life and find amusement in everything-"
"He also has a weird sense of humor," Ranma interrupted.
"Ditto," Ryoga answered.
Turning back to the man, Ranma said, "I don't have a bike, do you have any to hold?"
"Sure, kid," the man replied, "We always do, it's over there by the race."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three bikes were lined up, Akane's in the middle, Ranma's on her left, and some other guy named The Snake on her right. The crowd was extra large for this particular race since everyone heard of the legendary Fe-fe's race. Soon, tomorrow dozens of people will be able to brag to their friends on how they saw Fe-fe.
Putting on her helmet, Akane asked, "Ready Ranma?"
"Always," he said as he leaned on the bike he had. He didn't wear a helmet though, said he didn't need it.
"Ready....set..." the announcer began but the riders were already off. Anyone raised on the streets would know that you don't wait for the word go before you do.
Akane and Ranma soon lost The Snake as he put it and they raced side-by-side. Akane laughed to herself, her adrenaline building up. She hadn't felt this excited and wonderful with challenge for some time. Suddenly, this wasn't just a race for money anymore but a challenge to overcome. A challenge to outrun her past and future...all taking the embodiment of the boy she once loved so dear...and still loved? Questions were for later, for now, all she needed was to face the challenge and beat her heart and soul in this race.
Turning her head over, Akane turned to look at Ranma. His pig-tail was flying in the wind, his dark gray-blue eyes intense and dancing with excitement. His long, lithe form was bent over the bike with concentration and he exuded confidence and power. He did what all great bikers knew, to make the bike a part of yourself, an extra limb to deal with. At that moment hope fluttered in Akane's heart, *...maybe he can be like me...be part of my world...and understand why I am what I am...what I am...maybe...maybe he could love me again...*
Ranma turned to her then and smiled. Suddenly, blood washed from his face and terror struck his eyes.
"Akane!" he shouted and Akane acted right away. If Akane had stopped for one second to think or turn around, it would have been too late. Instead, she maneuvered her bike perfectly, but it was still a slight off. A hard slam crashed the side of the motorcycle and sent Akane flying off of the bike. Her head hit the wall and she felt her sticky blood wash over her face. Blackness consumed her as she heard people calling her name. Yet, the only thing she realized at that moment was that she couldn't feel her legs at all...
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Author's Notes: I am so evil.