Chapter 13: Running the Swan

The day of the Competitive Sports Tournament commenced. In Ash's dorm, Pikachu and Ash's adopted Koro had joined Ash, Lashara and Maria in bed. Ash soon woke to the sun starting to come from the horizon. He sat up, making Koro wake. He squeaked up to Ash who turned to the little critter. "Sorry," he whispered. Koro didn't mind. Lashara and Maria woke a little before they reached up and grabbed Ash's head around the chin. The two royal cousins dragged Ash back down to the pillow.

"Five more minutes…" they moaned. Ash wasn't going to struggle. He let the cousins cuddle with him for a little longer. The Academy was seeing a flock of people coming from everywhere as the Competitive Sports Tournament was about to start. Stages were set, giant suits of slim armor were prepared, money began exchanging hands… Lithia waited in the stadium main seats.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Competitive Sports Tournament will now begin!" she announced. The response was a chorus of cheers. Lashara entered the booking room and looked to a sheet. Her face became red with anger.

"This isn't right!" she snapped. "Everyone's voting for either Ash or Kenshi!" On the sheet, both Ash and Kenshi's odds were at three-to-two.

"Empress, if either one of those two win, we won't lose much," one bookie informed.

"All we'd have are the entry fees," the other bookie pointed out. "But that doesn't really amount to too much." At one building, Aura wore a martial arts robe as she threw another competitor to the ground, over her shoulder. The opponent wasn't moving.

"Winner: Aura Shurifon!" someone judged. Another building displayed Maria in a kimono dancing with paper fans. The elegant dance enticed the cheers of plenty. Ash, Yukine and Pikachu were in the front row, enjoying the view.

"Talk about a brunette Misty," Ash whispered. Maria leaned down and softly stroked Ash's chin with the fan. A tease played.

"Perhaps, I can make a dance to please you the most," she cooed. Ash's cheeks bled red, rather sheepish to the flirt. Giant mechanical suits of armor, smaller than Sacred Mechanoid, battled on the stone field Ash and Kenshi sparred. Ash and Pikachu watched in awe about the giant mechs.

"I can only imagine being in one of those, let alone a Sacred Mechanoid," Ash wondered.

("At least one of us,") Pikachu squeaked. One girl came to Ash's side.

"Hey, have you seen Kenshi around?" she asked. Ash blinked and he and Pikachu looked around. The Mouse Pokémon crawled up onto Ash's head to get a better look.

("No sign,") Pikachu sighed. Ash turned to the white-haired girl.

"Sorry, we haven't," he shrugged. Another girl came up to the other girl.

"You're looking for Kenshi?" she questioned. Ash and Pikachu looked to a chestnut brunette girl. "I heard Mexiah had invited him to her room. Don't know why but…" Ash and Pikachu expected the worse.

"Thanks!" he praised. "We'll go check on him!" He ran off with Pikachu in tow when Lithia found the pair running.

"Ash!" she called out. Ash and Pikachu turned to Lithia as she reached them.

"Lithia, what's up?" he asked.

"You still have to prepare for the race," she advised. "I want to bring Pikachu and all your Pokémon to the Control Room." Ash realized why.

"Right, I don't need my Pokémon to race." Pikachu leaped from Ash's head to Lithia's shoulder. That's when Ash realized the status of some of his Pokémon. "Oh yeah, I should mention that Infernape's at the Judo Tournament and Torterra's right over there." He pointed to the far side of field where Torterra had girls and Koros climb onto him to get a better view of the battles.

"Well, as long as they don't run interference in the obstacle race…" Ash handed Lithia his Pokéballs. "I'm sure my Pokémon won't mind watching the race."

"Of course. Go and get ready." Ash nodded before rushing off to find Kenshi. He entered the room where Kenshi looked mortified and disheveled.

"Kenshi, what happened!?" he called as he reached and shook Kenshi. "Hey, we got a job to do!" This stirred Kenshi from his slumber as Lashara arrived. Seeing Ash helping Kenshi, she gasped.

'NOOOOO!' she shrieked in her mind. 'Our plan! Ash is right there!' After straightened Kenshi out of Mexiah's dorm.

"We gotta get ready for the obstacle race," Ash informed. Kenshi gawked and looked outside.

"Alright!" he realized. "Let's hurry!" Ash and Kenshi raced to where they needed to change for the race. Lashara collapsed, her plan ruined before she could execute it. In the control room, Pikachu, Staraptor and Buizel stood by Lithia as they viewed the monitors.

"How's the course looking?" she asked. All viewed different shots of the course, one including Chiaia, Wahanly, Yukine, Mexiah and Emera wearing red strapless swimsuits and heels. Lan also came into the picture, wearing the same thing.

"Why do I have to dress like this!?" she complained.

"Because we know you want to wander everywhere," Emera snapped. Lan scoffed to the accusation. At the control room, Lapis verified the location.

"The checkpoints are all set and the race is ready to go," she reported.

"Good," Lithia acknowledged. "Pikachu, allow me to prepare." Pikachu jumped from Lithia's shoulder to Lapis' lap. This caused Lapis to giggle while Lithia undid her robe, revealing the same swimsuit as the other girls. "Let's get ready to start the race!" That's when she saw Pikachu and Buizel admiring her swimsuit. This made her uncomfortable. "Seriously, I don't need beasts like them to go wild!" At the stadium, girls prepared to begin the race behind crossed golden swords held by two Sacred Mechanoids. All the girls wore white t-shirts and black shorts. In the crowd was Dagmeyr. He wore a white tank-top to go with the shorts. Ash and Kenshi arrived, also wearing the same gear as Ash did some last minute stretches. On a flying platform, Lithia prepared a green flag. Ash reached Dagmeyr, trying to hide his suspicions about him.

"Good luck!" he greeted. Dagmeyr turned to Ash and smiled back.

"You too!" he replied. Aura was also spotted in the crowd. All the runners prepared for the race. Finally, Lithia waived the flag.

"Begin!" she shouted. The Sacred Mechanoids lifted the gold swords and the race was on.

"It may not matter if we don't get the earnings," Lashara muttered. "But if Ash wins, it may bolster our beliefs of the young man he is." Ash and Kenshi were far ahead of the crowd as they left everyone else in the dust. The girls in the swimsuits held up signs.

DASH IT, ASH!
KEEP RUNNING, KENSHI!

"Go, Kenshi!" shouted some of the girls.

"You can do it, Ash!" other girls cheered on. Going through the forest, running by the mountains, across streams… Ash and Kenshi retained pace among each other. Back in the forest, the women couldn't move. Their legs gave out. Even Dagmeyr couldn't move for long. Ash and Kenshi blew passed Dagmeyr who leaned onto a tree.

"Those two are… something else," he gasped. Despite his sudden fatigue, Dagmeyr escaped the forest where Chiaia and Emera waited for him with towels.

"Dagmeyr!" gasped Chiaia. He grabbed Chiaia's towel and began wiping sweat from himself.

"Thanks, Chiaia," he muttered. Emera looked upset that Dagmeyr didn't grab the towel she offered, much to Lan's amusement. Ash and Kenshi soon came upon Aura who still looked to have stamina to spare.

'Those two are coming,' she realized. Finally, it's a three-way race: Ash, Aura and Kenshi. In the control room, Lapis had a report.

"Lady Lithia, Sir Dagmeyr has retired from the race," she informed.

("What about Ash?") asked Buizel.

"As of now, only three runners remain," Lapis added. "Princess Aura, Ash Ketchum and Kenshi Masaki."

("He's still running!") cheered Pikachu. They found a screen which had all three running alongside each other. An hour had passed since the start of the race.

"Those three have completed the course three times already," Lapis informed.

"Then let's bring them home to end it all," Lithia ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" agreed Lapis. Lithia gazed at Ash in awe.

"I had no idea about the Little Brother," she muttered. Back on the track, Aura shifted her eyes to Ash and Kenshi.

'Those two have been able to keep pace with me,' she thought. 'Impressive… I guess it's time to take this seriously.' The three soon returned to the stadium where a tape ran across the gate.

"The finish line!" alerted Ash.

"We've ran the course three times!" gasped Aura. "They want to make it official!"

"Then let's finish strong!" opted Kenshi. With a nod, all three began to run toward the line with more girls in the swimsuits.

"AND HERE THEY COME DOWN THE FINAL STRAIGHTAWAY!" sounded Lithia over the sound systems. To Lashara, hope for a big payday wasn't over.

"If Aura pulls it off…" she began to sneer. They entered the stadium where all three crossed at virtually the same time.

"IT'S A PHOTO FINISH!" announced Lithia. Wahanly caught Ash as Aura collapsed and Yukine caught Kenshi.

"Hey, great race!" cheered Wahanly. "I think you pulled it off!" Ash gasped for breath as Pikachu greeted Ash.

"So, how'd I do?" he huffed.

("Awesome!") squeaked Pikachu. All watched the video replay in slow motion. The speed was down to ¼ as they viewed frame-by-frame of the close contest. It stopped as Ash's nose and Kenshi's chest touched the tape centimeters ahead of Aura.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A TIE!" judged Lithia. The crowd cheered for the tie. Lashara mulled.

"That means the wagers are null and void!" she growled. A pedestal was brought out as Dagmeyr finally arrived. Ash and Kenshi stood on the top, Aura was on the second highest and Dagmeyr on the lowest. Lithia presented and dressed Dagmeyr with a bronze medal. Aura came next as she wore a silver medal.

"TO PRESENT THE TROPHY FOR THE COMPETITIVE SPORTS FESTIVAL'S OBSTACLE RACE," Lapis spoke over the speakers. "OUR VERY OWN LITHIA PO CHEENA! TO ASH KETCHUM AND KENSHI MASAKI, CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT RACE!" Lithia gave the trophy to Kenshi before giving it to Ash. They both rose the trophy to the cheers of thousands. Aura came to Kenshi as Maria came to Ash.

"That was a great race," she praised while Lashara sulked over to the podium. She offered Kenshi a hand to shake and Kenshi was quick to accept.

"Thank you, Princess Aura," he accepted.

"Well, aside from that…" Suddenly, Aura gave Kenshi a kiss to the lips, which excited the crowd.

"My goodness," Dagmeyr snickered. He now turned to Ash. "Listen, perhaps we can have training sessions for you to be a Sacred MechaMaster and not have to use a weapon. Chiaia told me of how you navigated the rescue of all of us." Ash blinked to Dagmeyr's offer.

"Without engaging into combat," he summarized. "Are you sure?"

"With your eyes and expertise, I'm sure there's a class to attend to further educate how to establish a battle." Ash wasn't sure about the offer.

"That does sound like something up my alley, but I don't know." Maria hugged Ash now that he was done with Dagmeyr.

"Oh, Ash!" she cheered. "You're so awesome!" She kissed Ash on the lips while Lashara gawked to the brazen greeting.

"Okay, you're not the only one who deserves a piece of Ash," she growled before giving Ash a kiss of her own. Ash felt smitten by the cousins' kisses.

"My turn for the little winner!" cooed Mexiah before she kissed his cheek. Ash received a lot of love. After a day full of activities, it wound down and Ash was in his dorm room with his Pokémon.

"Well, the Competitive Sports Festival was a hit," he summarized. The Pokémon agreed in how the day had gone.

("You and Kenshi won, right?") questioned Gliscor. Looking to the trophy, Ash smiled at the prize.

"Kenshi insisted I have it for when we all get back home," he replied. Suddenly, Koro turned to the window and Ash saw it. "Koro, what's up?" Koro mewed to the window where a white mask was looking into the dorm room. Ash waived everyone to stay back as he opened the window. Coming in to Ash's dorm room was someone in a black robe and cloak.

"Sorry for the late intrusion," she excused. "But I thought I'd come by with a warning." To Ash, it seemed ominous.

"How so?"

"A storm is coming and you may be involved." Ash gulped to the notice.

"This doesn't sound like a weather report."

"No, but the rain of bullets and parts will cast as the precipitation over the academy."

"So I need to get prepared?"

"Yes… Do what you can. Now, if you'll excuse me…" She leaped out the window, leaving everyone befuddled. Mexiah soon entered.

"I heard noise from in here!" she warned. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, no injuries," Ash verified.

"Thank goodness," she sighed as she hugged Ash. "I thought you'd be in pain from the day you had with the festival." After a minute, Mexiah broke. "I'm glad you're okay. I'll see you later."

"Night, Mexiah," Ash said. The night, it was quiet. The next day, things seemed back to normal as students began reporting to class. Suddenly, people noticed a giant black vessel approached. Hearing the commotion outside, Ash and the Pokémon turned. "Is it… the storm that masked woman mentioned?" What was coming and how would Ash be involved?

TO BE CONTINUED…

(This story will be on a minor standby as I will be finishing my Castle of Illusion story. On top of that, this is the last chance to vote for the next story.)