Disclaimer:  As always, the characters of Fushigi Yuugi aren't mine... but the ones you've never heard of are!

Author's Note:  All right... dunno how many of you watch television, Suzaku knows I haven't watched much at all these past few months... but at the beginning of the fall there was a movie on Animal Planet called Hope Ranch.  This fic is based on the idea that the movie had.

Warnings:  Eventual shounen ai (you have been warned, dammit!) and Genrou language (he's got such a filthy little mouth, doesn't he?^_^)

Red Savage Ranch

By:  Kei-chan

Chapter I

As the sun rose above the distant mountains, life at the Red Savage Ranch slowly came awake.  The roosters began, cock-a-doodle-doing at the first rays of light, followed by the horses, nickering and snorting, and pawing at the floor of their stalls, impatient for breakfast.  The dogs were next, barking and running through the huge ranch house, waking the residents.

Ryuuen was having a great dream about winning a horse race, when something wet hit his face.  He moaned and turned over, knowing that it just had to be too early yet.  The wet thing persisted, digging under his hand and hitting him in the chin.  Finally, he opened his eyes, and came face to face with a hairy beast with foul-smelling breath.

"Aaaah!" he screamed, jumping up.  In his haste to get away, however, his foot became tangled in his sheets and instead of jumping off the bed, he fell over and ended up halfway on the floor and halfway still on the bed.

Ranger, his big sheep dog, bounded off the bed and gave his master one more lick in the face, then trotted out of the bedroom.

Ryuuen groaned.  Getting his arms underneath him, he pushed himself up enough to untangle his foot, then crashed back to the floor.  Now free of his sheet bonds, he managed to stand up.  There was a rough knock at the door and a head was thrust through the opening.

"Ryuuen, are you... oh good, you're awake."  It was Red, the owner of the ranch, and Ryuuen's boss.  "Listen, I'm heading into the city to pick up our first batch of kids.  I need you to take care of the feeding and take Colt for a run.  His leg is healed, but if he doesn't get exercised, it'll stiffen up."

"You got it, Chief," Ryuuen said.

"Good.  I'll see you in a few hours."  Red moved to leave, but poked his head back in the door.  "Oh, and by the way, Serah made blueberry pancakes this morning, but if you don't get down in there in the next ten minutes, I'm sure Buck will have eaten them all."

"Thanks, Red," he called, after the man had left.

Ryuuen went to his dresser, ran a brush through his short violet hair.  His bangs grazed his forehead just above his eyebrows when he wasn't wearing his hat, which wasn't very often.  Buck had once mentioned that it was permanently attached to his head, and had threatened to check to see if he wore it to bed.  Ryuuen chuckled at that, then remembered the pancakes.  He thrust his feet into a pair of clean jeans, buttoned a plain white shirt over his tee shirt, threw on a pair of socks and his cowboy boots, his hat on his head, and ran downstairs for breakfast.

He made it to the kitchen just in time to see Serah flip two pancakes on a plate.  "Good timing, Ryu," she remarked, winking at him.  He walked over to her and she handed him the plate, whispering.  "I would have saved you some, anyway."

"You're a doll, Serah," Ryuuen said, walking his plate over to the table and sitting down to eat.  "Mornin' Buck."

Buck, the grey-haired, wisecracking, wrangler grunted and continued eating.  Ryuuen shook his head.  The man was so grumpy in the mornings.  It wasn't until after 3 cups of black coffee with a ton of sugar in it before he became sociable.  Ryuuen noted he was probably on cup two.  He dived in his pancakes, chewing slowly, savoring the taste.  Serah was the daughter of Trudy, the ranch's cook, maid, nurse, psychiatrist, and all-around wonderful woman.  She was also the hard-ass.  If something happened that Trudy didn't like, she told you about it, and she told you good.  Serah had been living at the ranch for a few years, and helped out her mother sometimes.  Her blueberry pancakes were the best in the county, and had actually won first prize at the county fair.

A petite girl of about 17, Serah had long light brown hair, usually kept in a sensible high ponytail, and light brown eyes.  She was slender, and only stood about 5 foot 2.

Ryuuen, himself, was only 5'6", and thin enough to be mistaken for a girl all too often.  Though he figured it was also the fact that he was gay that made the mistake happen.  His violet hair framed stunning rose-colored eyes, and a dark beauty mark resided under his left eye.  The darkness of it contrasted sharply with the pale color of his skin, creamy and blemish-free.  Hell, if he didn't know better, he'd think he was girl, too.

Realizing it was getting late, Ryuuen shoveled the rest of the food into his mouth, washed it down with a glass of milk, and ran out to the barn.

Red Savage Ranch, named after its owner, was home to nearly fifty horses.  Generally, Red and Ryuuen split the feeding duties, each doing half to cut down on time.  But as Red was on his way to the city, it was up to Ryuuen to feed all fifty of the horses.  He climbed the ladder to the hayloft and went along the stalls, dropping hay into each. That took nearly forty-five minutes, then he had to walk along the stalls, giving the horses their grain.  That was another half hour.  The final and most time-consuming was giving them water.  Ryuuen checked and was pleased to find that Red had done that before he left.

He walked to the first stall, where Colt was kept.  Colt was a pure black Tennessee walker, with only a blaze of white on his face.  Months ago, he had tried to jump the fence in the coral, and ended up going through the fence, getting a six inch long piece shoved into his right front leg.  Ryuuen had gotten him back to the barn, and had called the vet.

The piece of wood had severed a tendon, and the vet said that it would take three months to heal properly, so Colt was put under, as Buck so eloquently put it, "Barn arrest."  Last week, he had been let back into the pasture, and had gone crazy, running so much he exhausted himself.

Colt was finished eating, so Ryuuen placed the halter on him and lead him to the tack area.  The horse was a very spirited animal, and no one except Ryuuen had ever been able to ride him.  Red had given the horse to Ryuuen for his twentieth birthday six months ago, muttering that if no one else could ride him, he may as well be Ryuuen's.

Ten minutes later, Colt was saddled and ready to ride.  Ryuuen lead him outside, where he easily jumped and swung a leg over the saddle.  Picking up the reigns, Ryuuen kicked the horse into motion, starting out at a walk.

After only five minutes, however, Colt was ready to run.  Ryuuen could feel the animal's muscles twitching.  "Okay, Colt, let's go," he said, digging his heels into the horse's stomach.  Colt lurched forward, galloping with long, even strides.

As they ran across the fields, Ryuuen's mind wandered to the program that Red was trying to start.  The Native American was hell-bent on helping the underprivileged youth of America, and thought the best way to do was bring them to the ranch and turn them into cowboys.  Ryuuen laughed when he heard about it.  They would be teaching them how to ride, and work, and hopefully, at the end of a month, they'd be reformed and grow up as upstanding citizens.

Secretly, Ryuuen suspected that Red was doing it after losing his son.  Joseph had been Ryuuen's best friend, and was in the wrong place at the time.  He was killed by a kid the same age as he who was in a gang.  The other boy had thought Joseph was in a rival gang and pulled a knife.  That had happened five years ago, when Ryuuen and Joseph were 15.  Red bought the ranch, claiming he wanted nothing to do with the city that allowed his son to die.  Ryuuen moved there a year later after losing his parents and sister in a car accident.  Red had understood his pain, and they worked through it.  Ryuuen had a lot of anger when he came to the ranch.  But being around the animals, and the outdoors, had helped him displace it.

He grinned and kicked at Colt's ribs, urging the horse to go faster.

-----------

The man walked into the building, wrinkling his nose at the smell of perfume, cologne, and leather.  His black cowboy boots clicked noisily on the tile floor, but he didn't notice.  He was too busy staring back at the many businessmen and women that looked him as he walked past them.

"Mr. Silvercloud?"

He winced.  No one had called him that for such a very long time, but it was his legal name, so he turned and greeted the woman who had called him warmly.

"Yes," he said, smiling pleasantly.

The woman took in his appearance with a raised eyebrow.  Black jeans, light blue dress shirt, black tie that he couldn't stand to wear.  His long black was tied back in a low ponytail, streaming in a pin-straight fashion down to the middle of his back.  There was no mistaking the fact that he was a Native American.  Full-blooded, even.

"She's waiting for you, come this way."

The man followed, shaking his head at the obvious culture shock this young woman was experiencing.  She led him down the hallway, through a large oak door.  An older woman, nearer to his age, sat at a desk.  Her blond hair was pulled into a severe braid, and she wore a black pantsuit.

"Mr. Silvercloud, how do you do?  I'm Janice Murphy."

He reached out and shook her hand.  "Please, call me Red.  I haven't gone by Silvercloud for many years."

"Okay then, Red.  Now, I have to tell you.  When you came to us with this idea, everyone was skeptical that it wouldn't work.  Most have changed their minds, which is why you're being given this chance.  But so you and I are clear, I don't believe this will work at all."

Red plastered a polite smile on his face.  "May I ask why, Ms. Murphy?"

She seemed surprised at his question.  "Taking inner-city delinquents and throwing them on a ranch to learn about horses is hardly an effective means of rehabilitation."

"That's what this program is designed to do," Red explained.  "There's something calming about the great outdoors, and if I can get these kids to see that, then that may be a few more young ladies and gentlemen that are off the streets at night.  Now, your methods are obviously not working, what's the problem with giving mine a try?"

Janice seemed shocked that Red would dare question her methods.  "Mr. Silvercloud," she said, resorting to using his hated name.  "Be advised that you have one month to prove to me that this program works.  Come with me, and I'll introduce to your first four kids."

She rose from her chair and left the room.  Red followed, feeling more like smacking her than meeting his kids.  They walked down the hall and around a corner.  Janice stopped at a door, turned back to Red.  "Hope you're ready for this."

Pushing the door open, the two walked in.  Four teens sat at a large table, looking about as miserable as Red now felt.

Janice had four folders in her hands, so she opened one, and started reading.  "This," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "is Shun'u Kou.  Picked up for armed robbery, breaking and entering, and auto theft."

The boy who was Shun'u scoffed.  "It wasn't a fuckin' car, and if you call a single unlit match a fuckin' weapon, then I'm the Emperor of fuckin' China."

"He also has the foulest mouth of the bunch," Janice remarked.

Red chuckled at the boy's outburst, studied him.  He had fiery red hair that stuck out in a wild spikes.  His eyes were a feral, cat-like yellow, and seemed to take in everything, as if Shun'u was logging the room away to memory.  He wore jeans that were three sizes to large, held up by a belt, and a wife-beater shirt.  A tribal tattoo wrapped around his upper right arm, and on his left wrist was a black bracelet with metal studs in it.  This boy was definitely a street kid, not just some bad seed trying to look cool.  This kid was cool.

Janice went on, dropping Shun'u's folder on the table and flipping open the next.  "Saihitei Seishuku.  Thought it'd be cool to take Daddy's limo out for a joyride at 3:00 in the morning, without a license, and completely drunk."

Saihitei sat straight in his chair, unlike the slouching Shun'u.  His hair was long, longer than Red's, and was a rich chestnut brown color.  He had honey-gold eyes, and they seemed to hold some indeterminable sadness to them.  He was wearing black slacks, and a navy blue shirt.  Red knew this was a pretty-boy, and couldn't wait to see him in the cowboy clothes Buck had gotten for the boys.

The young man said nothing, and completely avoided eye contact with both Janice and Red.

"Kishuku Sou.  Would do any kind of odd job for money, picked up for delivering illegal substances to dealers.  Wouldn't tell us who his boss is."

Kishuku grumbled something unintelligible, and folded his arms defiantly across his chest.  His dark blue hair was cut shorter than the others, and swept across his forehead.  Violet eyes glared out from under dark lashes, and his jaw was set firmly, as if to say, "No way in hell am I saying a thing to you."  Kishuku was wearing blue jeans and a dirty black tee shirt that said Led Zeppelin on it.

"And finally, we have Ayuru."

"Ayuru...?"

Janice shrugged.  "No last name.  Orphaned when he was a baby, has moved from foster home to foster home."

"Charges?" Red asked.

"You name it.  Theft, assault, once ran his foster brother over with a car because he called him a queer."

Inwardly, Red groaned.  If this boy was homophobic, then he'd have to keep him and Ryuuen separated, which was going to be a hell of a feat.  Ryuuen was a people-person, but he wouldn't put up with being called a queer.  Red also could see that Ayuru would be his trouble spot.  The quiet ones always were.  Blonde hair that fell just past his shoulders, blue eyes that were so cold they looked to be made from ice, this boy simply screamed "criminal."  He was wearing a pair of tan khakis and a black short sleeved button-down shirt with red flames coming up the front.

Janice and Red left the room, leaving the four to get their things together.

"They're a tough bunch," she told him.

"Yeah, no kidding."  Red shook Janice's hand.  "Ms. Murphy, thanks.  We'll see you in a month."

"Yeah," she replied, a smirk forming on her face.  "Unless someone's killed before then."

Red watched her walk away, praying to whatever god would listen that he could prove her wrong.  He sighed deeply, then walked back into the room.

"Get your things, and let's move."

None of the boys seemed too ready to do what he said, so he took a step further into the room, drew himself up to his full height, and bellowed.  "MOVE!"

The boys jumped up quickly, grabbing their things and following Red out the door.  Once outside, he led them to a truck.  "Throw your stuff in the back and get in," he said.

Kishuku tossed his bag in the back, climbed in the backseat of the extended cab.  Saihitei did the same.  Ayuru put himself in the front, but Shun'u stood outside the truck, a deep scowl on his face.

"What's the problem?" asked Red.

"No fuckin' way am I sitting with Captain Joyride and Delivery Boy," he said.

Red raised an eyebrow.  "Okay, then."  He grabbed Shun'u by the neck, threw his bag in the back of the truck, then tossed him in the back as well.  "Then you can sit back here, with Ranger."

Shun'u was met face-to-face with a huge hairy sheepdog.  He shrank back against the front of the bed, whimpering.  Ranger growled, but stepped forward and licked his face.

"Aaaaah!  Gross!" he screamed.

The ride back to the ranch took about six hours.  The entire six hours was filled with Shun'u in the back, muttering things about sitting in the bed with Ranger.  After the first hour, Red turned on a country-music station and turned up the volume, completely drowning out the young man's whining.

The other three rode in silence.

They arrived at the ranch just before sun down.  Red pulled the truck up beside the house, was greeted by Ryuuen, Buck, Serah, and Trudy.  He got of the truck, smiled.

"Well, they're here," he said.  "Let's go, out of the truck!"

The three guys in the front crawled out, but Shun'u was still sitting the bed, arms crossed over his chest.

"Shun'u, get out of the truck."

"Not until that mutt is gone."

"Ranger!  Here boy!" Ryuuen called.  The dog leapt out of the truck, tackled his owner.  Ryuuen fell backward, laughing, but stood up quickly to greet the new arrivals.

"This is Shun'u, Kishuku, Saihitei, and Ayuru," Red said, introducing the boys.  He turned to the rest of them.  "Boys, this is Buck, our wrangler, Ryuuen, a ranch hand, Trudy, our neighborhood everything, and Trudy's daughter Serah.  You'll meet Byrne later, he's the muscle of the operation."

The boys stood silently by the truck, and Ryuuen actually felt a little sorry for them.  Red looked at him, gave him a little nod.  "Ryuuen will show you guys where you're sleeping."

Ryuuen started walking away, and after a moment, the rest of the boys followed.  He led them to a guesthouse that sat right beside the main house, opened the door.  "There are four bedrooms.  No fighting over them.  They're all the same size, and they all have the same beds, so it's rather pointless.  Wake up call is six, breakfast is six thirty.  If you miss breakfast, you'll have to wait for lunch.  Tomorrow, you'll start.  Red wants you to wear the clothes Buck bought for you, whether you like it or not."  Ryuuen grinned widely, tipped his hat at the guys.  "Good night, gentlemen."

He started away from the house, but ran back when a loud crash was heard.  Throwing the door open, he ran inside, looking around.  "What happened?" he asked.

Shun'u was lying on the floor, a broken table beneath him, looking dazed.  Ayuru was standing over him, blue eyes narrowed to tiny slits.  "I owed him that," he muttered.

Ryuuen sighed in disgust, grabbed Shun'u by the collar and hefted him to his feet.  He turned to Ayuru then.  "Look, Ayuru, this isn't the city.  You can't go around beating people up, or you'll get your own ass kicked."

Ayuru smirked.  "By who... you?"

Ryuuen grinned back at him.  "By anyone here.  Byrne won't hesitate to beat the hell out of you, and if you think that just because I'm small means you can push me around, you have another thought coming."

The blonde man took another step toward Ryuuen, glared down at him.  "Is that a threat, cowboy?"

"Nope, it's the truth."

Ayuru looked amused, a slight glint in his eyes.  Feeling the need to test Ryuuen, he started to raise his hand.

He froze a second later, when a cold, horribly sharp object touched his throat.  Ryuuen was still smiling pleasantly.  "I haven't always been a cowboy, Ayuru," he said, before taking the pearl handled hunting knife and replacing it in its holster on his belt.  Turning back to Shun'u, who was touching his already bruising eye tenderly, he said, "Put some ice on it before you go to sleep, Shun'u, it'll be fine."

The fiery-haired boy growled.  "Don't call me that."

"Don't call you what?"

"Shun'u."

Ryuuen blinked.  "It's your name, isn't it?"

"Well, no shit, it's my given name," he said.  "But no one calls me that."

"Then what do they call you?"

Shun'u stood tall, a beaming smile on his face.  "I am Genrou, but most just shorten it to Gen."

Ryuuen stared blankly at him for a few moments.  "Fine then, Genrou... all of you," he said, glancing around, "go to sleep.  You'll be working your butts off tomorrow, you'll need your rest."

He turned and walked out of the house, noting the rather shocked expression on Saihitei's face.  Ryuuen felt bad for him, wondering what it was he had done.  He certainly didn't look like a delinquent.  His clothes were rather expensive looking, and he seemed extraordinarily nervous to be in the same room with the other three.

When Ryuuen reached the house, Buck was sitting on the porch, pipe sticking out between his lips.  "Are the natives restless, Ryuuen?" he asked.

"Eh... there was a slight problem concerning Ayuru... but I think it's taken care of."  Ryuuen looked back at the house.  "I'll be glad when Byrne comes back tomorrow.  He's much at keeping order than my scrawny butt."

Buck smiled.  "Keeping order, eh?  More like drilling an army!  That Byrne has an attitude a mile wide!"

Ryuuen started into the house.  "Be careful, Buck.  Those kids out there have worse."  As the screen door slammed behind him, he could hear Buck choking on the smoke from his pipe.

He swung by the kitchen, popping to see if Trudy or Serah were around.  He saw Trudy standing at the sink, head bouncing along as she hummed.  "Well?" she asked, without turning around.

Knowing better than to ask questions, Ryuuen sat down in one of the stools.  "They're city kids, all right.  Remind me a lot of myself and Joseph when we lived in the city."

Trudy turned around, handed Ryuuen a mug of tea.  "Your favorite," she said, winking at him.

Ryuuen took a drink, savoring the taste of homegrown mint mixed with mandarin orange.  "Thank you, Trudy."

She sat down across from him, folded her hands lightly on the counter.  "D'you reckon they'll be tough to handle?"

"Most definitely.  One already has a black-eye."

Trudy nearly fell off her stool.  "Good heavens!  Is he all right?"

Ryuuen shrugged it off.  "I told him to put some ice on it, he'll be fine.  He's got a mouth on him... but it's not him I'm worried about."

"Who are you worried about then?"

"Ayuru."  He took another drink of his tea.  "He seems so angry, but there's definitely something sad about him."

Trudy chuckled softly.  "You always were good at reading people.  Now," she added, whisking his empty tea mug over to the sink, "to bed with you.  You, Red, Buck, and Byrne have a long day tomorrow with those four."

Ryuuen yawned.  "Yeah... should be loads of fun.  'Night, Trude."

"Good night, Ryu, dear."

He climbed the stairs to his room and fell asleep almost immediately, exhaustion pulling at him.

TBC... (insert ominous music here^_~)