"A race ?" Anna asked. "Yeah, it's the race they're holding outside of town. You gonna go ?" Chanel asked. "I dunno, running makes me sweat" the fox girl answered. "Uhh...isn't that kinda the point ?" Serenity said in a sarcastic tone. "You guys can race. I'll just cheer you on from the sidelines !" Anna said.
(At the Inu-house)
"Are you joking ?" Inu-yasha asked. "No ! I wanna join the race !" Serenity cried. "Why ? You're the fastest runner aside from me and Sesshomaru. It wouldn't be fair !" he shouted. "But..." she tried to say. "But nothing. You're not racing and that's final !" Inu-yasha said simply.
"Fine then...I guess the grand prize of a year's worth of ramen will go to waste. Sorry for bothering you" Serenity said smugly before turning to leave. "That's right ! Wait...A YEAR'S WORTH OF RAMEN ?" Inu-yasha gasped.
"Yep, any flavor ya' want, too. But, you think it's unfair, so I wont go" she said, continuing to walk away. Inu-yasha was suddenly standing in front of his little sister. "Change your mind ?" she asked. "Heck yes, but...I'm gonna be the one racing !" he announced. Serenity's heart sank.
"But I wanna race ! You're not being fair !" she wailed. "Hey, I'm your guardian, what I say goes. Any back talk and you wont be sitting for a awhile, got it ?" he said, getting closer to her and looking her in the eyes. "Y-yes..." Serenity sighed. "Good !" Inu-yasha said before leaving the room. "It's not fair..." Serenity sniffled, falling to her knees.
"What's not fair ?" Sesshomaru asked. "Inu-yasha wont let me race ! I really want to..." she cried. "A race ? What is the prize ?" he said, seeming interested. "A year's worth of ramen in any flavor you want" Serenity sighed.
"Well Serenity, I think this race is too much for you. As your oldest brother, I don't think you should participate" Sesshomaru said in a cold voice. "But I wanna race !" Serenity shouted. "Sorry" he said before leaving.
Serenity snarled and an image of dark flames appeared behind her. "YOU GUYS NEVER LET ME HAVE ANY FUN ! YOU'RE SUCH JERKS !" she screamed so loudly that the whole house shook violently. "Earthquake !" Randy shouted, taking cover under a table. "I wanna race ! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna !" Serenity wailed, punching at the floor angrily. "Stop having a tantrum or I'll give you something to wail about !" Inu-yasha said from upstairs. That shut Serenity up.
Randy tilted his head to one side, noticing she was trembling. "What's the matter ?" he asked. Serenity looked up, tears were streaming down her face. "d-don't do that !" he said nervously. "It's not fair...they wont let me do anything ! I hate them !" Serenity cried. Randy slapped Serenity across her face.
"Stop that ! I know you better than that. Now you're gonna SIGN up for that race ! You will WIN that race ! AND YOU'RE GONNA LIKE IT !" he yelled. Serenity sprang up. "You're right ! I'm gonna race no matter what ! And nothing's gonna stop me ! Hahahahahaha !" Serenity laughed. "That's the Serenity I know !" Randy said.
(The day of the race)
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the annual Tokyo City Race ! All contestants please step up to the starting line, now !" Anna's voice shouted over the loud speakers. "Talk about watching from the sidelines...she's the announcer !" Serenity thought. "Mommy !" called a voice. Serenity looked down to see Mimi.
"What are you doing here ?" she asked. "Me and Shippo are gonna race together ! I hope we win !" Mimi chimed. "But dear, you don't know how to run very fast yet. I haven't been able to teach you !" Serenity said in and alarmed tone. "No sweat, I'm helping her !" Shippo said, walking up behind Mimi. Serenity sweat-dropped, yet smiled. "Alright then, you both try your best !" she said.
Everyone stood at the starting line. This consisted of nearly everyone in the whole cast and some others. Sesshomaru, Inu-yasha, Koga, Shippo, Mimi, Kamatari, Chanel, Nabiki, Ryuenja, Rokuro, Randy, Hajime, Honto, Vespa and Serenity. "Everyone get ready for the Anything Goes Martial Arts Race !" Anna announced.
"Anything Goes Martial Arts Race ?" everyone exclaimed. "Yes, that's what I said ! You may fight during this race, but you must be in motion at all times. If you stop running, you're out of the race !" Anna said. "This race just became a lot easier..." Sesshomaru thought. "On your mark...get set...GO !" Anna shouted.
Everyone took off at their full speed, leaving Anna and some spectators blinded by the dust. "And there they go ladies and gentlemen ! Thanks to the cameras we have set up, we can watch the race as it continues for miles !" the fox demon said, pointing to the large monitor screen.
"Death with a Thousand Daggers !" Honto shouted as he threw hundreds of daggers in all directions of the runners. Rokuro wasn't aware of this and was about to be impaled. "Father ! Look out !" Nabiki cried, tacking him down before the sharp object hit him.
"Ohh ! Too bad for those two ! They both stopped running, they're disqualified !" Anna announced.
"That's not fair ! He was about to be killed !" Nabiki wailed. "Like the girl said, this is an Anything Goes Race !" Honto laughed as he ran past them. "The Neotaki Family's Special Attack, Egg Bombs !" Hajime shouted as she ran.
She was suddenly holding a chicken in one hand. It laid about five eggs, which she threw at Honto. "Much too slow, my sister ! You'll have to better than-" he was cut off as he was hit with a gigantic egg that exploded on contact. Honto laid on the ground, twitching. "Curse...you..." was all he could say.
"Looks like the eldest of the Neotaki family has fallen at the hand of his sister ! Isn't this a great match ladies and gentlemen ? But wait ! Who's that coming up from the back ?" Anna cried.
"Faster Shippo, we're falling behind !" Mimi shouted. "I'm going as fast as I can, woman !" Shippo yelled. Shippo was carrying Mimi on his shoulders as he ran the race, this way they would both win...if they could catch up that is.
"And way in the back of the ongoing team is Shippo and Mimi ! Sorry little ones, but I don't think 'slow and steady' will win this race !" Anna laughed.
"Why am I wasting my time running ?" Vespa thought as she gained her pace, nearly passing Inu-yasha way up in front. She took her guitar from her back and began flying on it like a surfboard. In the process, knocking Hajime off her feet. "Damn it all, you stupid alien-girl ! Why you (BEEP) (BEEP)ing woman !" Hajime swore.
"Demerit ! Demerit ! Vespa is disqualified for breaking the rules ! Indeed this is an Anything Goes race, but the key term is RACE ! No flying on any item of any kind is allowed ! And Hajime is now out of the race for falling !" Anna yelled into her microphone, nearly blowing everyone's eardrums out. Vespa shrugged and stopped flying all together. "I didn't want the stupid ramen anyway !" she huffed.
"Must resist taking underwear...must resist !" Kamatari thought. Chanel the shrine maiden was running in front of him, her skirt swayed by her movements. "I can't fight it !" Kamatari shouted as he ran past Chanel in a blur.
"Why do I feel cold ?" Chanel thought as she kept running. "Ooh la-la !" Randy gasped, running up behind Chanel, a deep blush on his face. Kamatari continued running ahead, clutching a pair of white panties in his hand. "Another pair to add to my collection !" he laughed.
Ryuenja ran along side Randy and shook his head. "I know you're must faster than that !" he scolded. "But sensei !" Randy retorted. "No buts ! What could possibly be keeping you from running at your full speed ?" Ryuenja shouted. "That !" Randy cried, pointing to Chanel.
Ryuenja looked and his eyes opened wide, he looked away quickly. "Avoid all impure thoughts. Avoid all impure thoughts !" he thought. Chanel then noticed what was missing from her person and glared back at Ryuenja.
"YOU !" she yelled, stopping in her tracks and jumping onto him, beginning to beat him nearly to death. "Honestly girl, it wasn't me !" Ryuenja wailed as he was beaten up.
"Chanel and Ryuenja are out of the race ! But I'm guessing Chanel is feeling a breeze 'somewhere' !" Anna said.
So far the only ones still in the race were Sesshomaru, Inu-yasha, Koga, Randy, Serenity, Shippo and Mimi. They all came to a lake in the track.
"I hope they can swim ! You must swim across this lake in order to win !" Anna said.
"I can't swim !" Serenity cried as she still kept running. "Hang on tight !" Koga shouted he ran up beside Serenity. Grabbing her and placing her on his shoulders, he ran across the water. Randy's mouth gaped open. "That's my daddy !" Mimi squealed. "Shut-up..." Shippo said, who was swimming in the lake with her on his back. "Im gonna win that ramen, even if I have to change into my dreaded form !" Inu-yasha shouted before he plunged into the lake, immediately turning into a girl.
Sesshomaru followed and ran just as fast as Koga on top of the water. Randy ran around in circles in a panic. "I don't wanna change into a piglet again !" he thought. "Over here !" Mimi called, who was now riding a jet propelled surfboard. "Where'd that come from ?" he asked, still running around. "It's Shippo, he transformed. Now hurry !" Mimi yelled. Randy jumped onto the surfboard and it sped off across the lake.
"The rules say you must swim across the lake ! But...since its Randy...I'll let it slide !" Anna thought.
After swimming across the lake, there was a long slope in the path. "You can handle it from here, right ?" Koga asked. "Uh-huh" Serenity said. Koga nodded and threw her into the air and kept running. Unfortunately, speed wasn't needed for this part of the race. The hill was almost completely at a vertical angle. "Ahhhhh ! I can't stop !" Koga screamed as he kept running, unable to slow down; eventually crashing into a tree.
"Koga is out cold !" Anna cried.
Inu-yasha and Sesshomaru were now in the lead, not running, but sliding down the hill, wearing out the bottom of their shoes. "Wheeeeeee !" Mimi giggled as Shippo ran down the slope on all fours. Randy was close behind, he tried to pass Shippo and Mimi, but he tripped over a log in the middle of his path.
He ended up rolling down the hill on the log. Serenity came down from when Koga had thrown her and she landed on the log with him. "Aahh ! Stop the ride, I wanna get off !" Randy shouted. Serenity was just running in her place on the log and seemed to be laughing.
"I want that ramen, and I'll gladly beat you for it !" Randy shouted. Serenity scoffed and nodded her head. As they kept balance on the rolling log, they threw punches at one another.
Finally, the slope ended and everyone was on flat ground again. Randy and Serenity jumped off the log and began running at top speed. Randy ran straight forwards with his hands in his pockets to decrease his wind resistance. Serenity ran with her head back slightly and her arms moving at her sides in the same pace with her legs.
"Fox-fire !" Serenity shouted as she threw a blast of fire at Inu-yasha. This lit Inu-yasha's shirt of fire. "AAAAAAAAAHHHH ! WATER ! I NEED WATER !" girl-type Inu-yasha screamed as she kept running, her arms flailing around. "You're burning up the track, Inu-yasha !" Sesshomaru said with a faint smirk.
"I'll teach her !" Inu-yasha growled, reaching for the Tetsusaiga. She un-sheathed it and threw it at Serenity behind him. It slightly hit her ankle and pain surged through her leg. "My leg ! It's gone numb !" she cried, slowly falling behind. "That'll teach you, you brat !" Inu-yasha shouted. Serenity still kept going, limping slowly.
"Looks like this race is all wrapped up folks ! It's hard to say who will win now !" Anna cheered.
"You bastard !" Randy shouted, running up and tackling both Inu-yasha and Sesshomaru. "Let go !" Sesshomaru shouted. Inu-yasha dragged herself across the ground. "I'm not gonna lose !" she thought. "Serenity, c'mon ! I slowed then down, now go !" Randy shouted. Serenity nodded and tried to speed up, but her leg was still painfully numb.
The finish line was in plain sight at last. Sesshomaru and Inu-yasha kept dragging themselves across the ground, Randy still holding onto them. Serenity caught up to them, but Inu-yasha grabbed her tail, causing her to fall. "Keep going !" Randy yelled. Serenity began dragging herself toward the finish line. "I'm gonna win ! Nothing's gonna stop me !" she said to herself.
Then, Shippo and Mimi came up quickly behind everyone, Shippo carrying Mimi on his back as he ran. They crossed the finish line just before Serenity could reach it.
"We have the winners ! Shippo and Mimi ! Congratulations little ones, you've won the prize of a year's supply of ramen !" Anna shouted. "We did it !" Mimi cried, hugging Shippo tightly and jumping up and down.
"I wanted that ramen !" Inu-yasha shouted, beginning to anime cry. "It's not fair ! Not fair, not fair, not fair !" Serenity cried, pounding the ground with her fists. "At least we tried. And winning isn't everything. Plus, we all got to run our best, and-" Randy said. "SHUT-UP !" Serenity and Inu-yasha yelled at him. "Okay..." Randy said timidly.
"What kind of flavor ramen would you like a year's supply of ?" Anna asked. "The Onion and Carrot flavored kind !" Shippo and Mimi said in unison. "YUCK ! Those kinds taste horrible !" Inu-yasha shouted. "Leave it to them to get the kind no one else would eat but them..." Sesshomaru sighed.
To be continued...