A/N: I got several emails about this story, wondering when it would be updated. I felt so guilty, I swore to myself that I would finish the chapter this Thanksgiving weekend. I did, though it may not reach the readers for a few days as I need my beta to read and reply, so I must thank those reviewers that were particularly insistant. And I'm sorry!
A/N2: Well, for some reason my Beta's email isn't working, so I'm just going to post this as is. Thanks for your previous work, though, Shawna! I also emailed anyone who's address I had to let them know I updated, so thankyou to all who are still reading this.
* * *
In a musty, dark room, several portrats hungs innocently amid flickering torch light. Each depicted a different man, though all were clearly related in some way, whether it be from the small watery eyes or to the weak chins. Abruptly, four tiny flames, entered the room, and each dissapeared into a separate picture. Then the pictures started to move.
"This all seems so...familiar somehow." Galtel the twefth McNeil said, scowling.
"AGAIN they didn't let me say my name!" Doksen the eighth complained. "It was the same with those brats all those years ago!"
"Thrown out of our own home, our bloodline reduced to guarding over the dead," Torast the fifth whined, "We can't let those two idiots get away with this!"
"Should we leave is to the living McNeil?" Kassen the third asked tiredly.
"Don't be stupid! You remember how much of a wimp he was!" Galtel snapped, glowering darkly at his ancestor.
"Besides, we're supposed to stop them from getting out!" Torast added petulantly. "By the time they get to him, they won't even need to bother!"
"But what can we do?" Kassen asked. "None of us lasted even a minute against those two."
"I nearly did!" Doksen said sulkily. "I lasted the longest of all of us!"
"But it still only took them one hit to take you down." Torast sneered. "At least I lasted for more than one blow!"
"Enough!" a fifth voice snapped, cutting off any reply the others might have had. The last painting in the room shimmered, then sent a dark glare at the other four. Kanzei, the first McNeil, had arrived.
"Kanzei!" Doksen exclaimed. "Perfect. With you here, we can teach those kids a lesson!"
"Indeed." Kanzei said darkly. "They shall not leave this place alive. Come." and a flame detached itself from the picture, returning it to the scowling portrait it used to be. One by one the other McNeils followed suit, slowly following their ancestor to where the two Hibiki teens trudged through the graveyard.
* * *
"-Why- are we climbing this stupid thing anyways?" Ryoga complained from just behind his sister. She was busy climbing up the rather large stone structure that had been at the center of the immense underground graveyard.
"Don't you pay attention?" Ryoko snapped. "The clues were all over the place! Remember that one stone that said 'It is a high place...But not here...', or the other one that said 'After climbing the tall grave, you will fall outside'? So obviously we need to find the highest grave we can."
"And because it's the most obvious, you assumed it'd be at the top of -this- pillar?" he asked dryly.
"Of course. You remember the stupid puzzle for the treasure? Why wouldn't they make the exit the most obvious place?" she replied, hauling herself over the top of the pillar. "Besides, if this -isn't- it, it should be easy to spot where it -is-."
"I guess." he grumbled, climbing the last few feet and standing up. The twins peered across the large platform and saw, to their relief, a grave stone.
"Finally!" Ryoko exclaimed, striding toward it. "We can get out of this creepy place!" But before she could even cover half the distance to it, there was a small explosion that threw her backward. Ryoga just managed to catch her and keep them both from falling off their rather precarious perch.
"What the--" he cried, squinting through the resultant dust and debris to see what happened. As the dust cleared, the two teens could make out five tiny flames.
"Not you again," Ryoko sighed.
"Don't you get it?" Ryoga added, scowling at the remains of the ghosts. "You can't beat us! We're Hibikis, and it'll take a lot more than a couple ghosts to do us in!"
"Foolish mortals!" the center flame cried in an imperious voice. "You caught us by surprise before! But that was then...Now you must face the combined might of the McNeils!" The center flame phased out, transforming into a star-filled vortex that sucked the other four spirits into it. The vortex collapsed in on itself, then flashed brightly. When the light cleared, a single, monsterous ghost was revealed.
For a moment both teens merely blinked at the new monster, then Ryoko turned to her brother.
"Okay, now /tell/ me that's not creepy!" she demanded, pointing at the entity. He cocked his head to the side, studying it.
"Well, maybe a little," Ryoga conceeded, "But we beat them before, so they shouldn't be any trouble thi--" He was cut off abruptly as the ghost cried "Astral Warp!", phasing out and appearing just in front of Ryoga, knocking him clear off the pillar.
"Ryoga!" Ryoko cried, watching her brother dissapear over the edge. Ducking under the ghost which had warped in front of her now, she quickly unwound the chain sickle she'd found earlier and cast it over the edge. Rolling to the side to dodge yet another strike, she felt a tug at the end of the chain, and she drove the dragon fang into the ground, securing it.
"Die!" the ghost cried, striking Ryoko so she went crashing into the grave stone. Surprisingly it didn't break, or even crack from the impact, but Ryoko had no time to contemplate this as she cast a hand at the ghost.
"Ice blast!" she cried, and the ghost became encased in ice. Ryoga came bounding back onto the pillar, using his upward momentum from climbing the chain to launch himself at it. Before the ice could vanish, he whipped the chain around, shattering the ice and knocking the McNeils a few feet away.
"You okay?" Ryoga called, tugging the fang out of the ground and re-winding the weapon. He tossed it back to Ryoko, then braced himself as McNeil warped in front of him, lashing out.
"Fine." she muttered, catching the weapon and hooking it back on her belt. "Just peachy. This isn't fun anymore, Onii-chan!"
"Then figure out a way to beat it!" he cried, taking several more blows which drove him back bit by bit. He tried hitting the ghost, but it warped away in front of Ryoko, charging her instead.
"Damn!" she exclaimed, retreating swiftly. Before she realized it, she'd been backed up to the edge of the pillar. Seeing his sister's predicament, Ryoga swiftly charged McNeil from behind, casting the spell as he went.
"Flame strike!" he cried, driving his foot into the ghost. It gave a horrible shriek of pain, flying off away from the pillar as the two teens stared at it in confusion.
"What was that?" Ryoko gasped, diving out of the way as the ghost came hurtling back at them.
"...Fire! It must have been the fire! Quick, throw everything into a fire spell, and I'll distract it!" Ryoga cried, launching himself at McNeil.
"No! You idiot!" Ryoko cried, reaching out to stop him. "Oh for the love of..." she muttered, quickly bracing herself and starting to gather her magic. "Just hold on you baka, and I'll hit it with the biggest Sirocco this world has seen!"
Meanwhile Ryoga was having a hard time of it. The McNeils separate had been rather weak, but all combined it seemed as if their strengths had been multiplied. The large ghost was fast, strong, and resiliant, but Ryoga dogedly continued to draw it's attention from his sister.
"C'mon Ryoko," he hissed between his teeth as he took yet another blow from the McNeils, "Hurry up!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth then he heard her shout, "DUCK!" Catching sight of the large ball of magic being wielded by his sister, Ryoga didn't think he'd ever hit the floor faster.
Ryoko snarled each time her brother was hit, her rage fueling her magic and making the ball of it bigger and bigger as she continued to gather her power. How dare this...this.../thing/ hurt her brother like that?! She shouted out her warning, and as soon as Ryoga hit the ground she launched the spell with a cry of "SIROCCO!"
Both she and Ryoga were blown backwards from the explosions of fire and wind. Ryoga was knocked into the gravestone while Ryoko was knocked toward the edge of the pillar. She managed to grab the edge, and she hung on for dear life as the explosions continued. Through the malestorm of magic, the twins could just make out the form of the ghost as it was engulfed entirely by the flames, not even able to shriek as it was destroyed. Finally the graveyard was once again silent.
"Aha...ha...ha..." Ryoga said, eye twitching a bit as he took in the scorched top of the pillar. Ryoko pulled herself back up, staggering over to collapse next to him against the gravestone.
"...Was it a bit much, you think?" she asked mildly.
"...A bit." he agreed faintly. They both rested for a moment before Ryoko turned around to regard their gravestone back-rest.
"Not a crack, scratch, or scorch-mark," she said, running a hand over it carefully. There was writing on it, with several upraised words which Ryoko carefully avoided pressing. "'Remember the red words, not the green'." she muttered, reading aloud.
"Hn?" Ryoga asked, opening his eyes to see what she was doing.
"It must be the way out. Remember what that guy, Satsuke or whatever, said? 'Just go down until you reach the graves, then find the largest one. Answer the riddle correctly, and it will open the way out.' This is the largest grave, and it's got a riddle, and since that other big grave wasn't the way out..." she trailed off with a shrug. "Just makes sense, don't it?"
"Only to you, but who cares, as long as it gets us out." he groaned, getting to his feet.
"Right." Ryoko said business-like, turning back to the stone. "So...'Remember the red words, not the green', and 'red', 'words', and 'green' are raised, so maybe if I push 'red'..." she muttered, doing so. Nothing happened.
"That's good I suppose." Ryoga commented. She 'hushed' him and continued reading.
"'You are right in climbing up...from here you fall...' [great more falling] with 'climbing', 'wrong', and 'fall' raised, so that'd be 'climbing'. 'I will show you the right path...' with 'I', 'right', and 'you' raised, so then it's 'I'. Good, right then...'You need not fear--the exit is there', 'fear', 'not', and 'is' are raised, so 'not' was--"
"No, that's wrong." Ryoga interrupted her ramblings and stopped her from pressing the word.
"What? Whadaya mean it's wrong?" Ryoko demanded, annoyed at being interrupted.
"I remember at that last grave, 'not' was definitely green. 'Is' was the red one." he explained. Ryoko scowled.
"I don't think so. I'm sure it was 'not'." she declared, pressing the word in. Immediately all the previously pressed words reset to their original position.
"...Told ya." Ryoga said smugly, smirking at her.
"Oh shut up. How stupid...do they really think this'll stop anyone from getting out?" Ryoko muttered, re-pressing 'red', 'climbing', and 'I'. She then pushed in 'is', and when nothing happened, she continued on.
"Okay...'Do not be lost...look for the hidden trap' [how reassuring], 'lost', 'look', and 'hidden' raised...push 'look'. Then 'Now, what is beneath you will lead to what is above you...' [whatever that means], 'now', 'beneath', and 'above' raised, so 'beneath'. Finally, 'Do not choose that one--this is what you seek...' with 'that', 'this', and 'choose' raised...'this'!" she finished with a shout.
Immediately the ground beneath them opened, dropping them down to a small room below. The two teens landed easily, glancing around the cramped space.
"This...is out?" Ryoga asked in exasperation, looking at the door-less room in disgust. Not even a crack to possibly squeeze through...
"Give me a break! What do they expect us to do then?" Ryoko asked in a huff, stomping towards the furnace-like structure in the center of the room. She stepped on a patch of discolored ground, which caved in, sending the girl falling amidst a cloud of dirt.
"Er...I suppose that'll do." Ryoga said, sweatdropping, then followed his sister down the hole.
"Must control temper, must control temper, must control temper..." Ryoko was muttering, glaring straight ahead with her fists clenched at her sides. Ryoga gave the red-glowing girl a sideways glance, before clearing his throat nervously.
"Well, we made it." he said. "Now all we have to do is go back to the others and tell them the trip was a total waste." he finished dryly.
"And how were we supposed to know the Queen wanted our heads?" Ryoko demanded. "How were we supposed to know we'd get arrested? How were we supposed to know we had to fight so many bloody McNeils?!"
"Did someone say McNeil?" a new voice asked. A portly man stepped from around one of the graves to regard them with surprised eyes. "You're not supposed to be in here! I'm the caretaker of the Royal Graveyard, the 13th McNeil--"
He didn't get a chance to finish as Ryoko grabbed her brother's arm and hightailed the two of them out of the hall.
"...Well, I suppose I did my job then..." McNeil muttered aloud, blinking in bewilderment after the departed teens.
"That was great! You're so manly!" a woman shrieked, flinging herself from behind a grave to drape herself over him.
"I was, wasn't I!" he replied, mentally cheering. "Now then, where were we?"
* * *
A lone merchant made his way slowly down the Wyndia road. He'd just come from visiting a neighboring town, and was now on his way back to Wyndia, purse considerably heavier. Aside from the occasional monster, life was good. He'd almost forgotten about the strange wind that had passed him the other day.
Whistling a little tune, he strolled along, idly twirling a small pouch of a sleeping herb in one hand. It was thanks to it that he'd been able to get enough sleep to keep those weird hallucinations at bay.
He paused a moment as he heard a noise from behind him. It seemed to get louder and lounder until three blurs flashed by. The wind and dust from their passing blew past the frozen merchant who stared after the dust trails. It was another moment before he did move, and the first thing he did was angrily toss the pouch to the ground, swearing at the unfairness of it all.
"Did we just pass something?" Ranko asked, glancing behind her in confusion.
"Musta been you're imagination," Ranma said dismissively. Rei merely grunted in agreement. He was too busy trying to make out the Hibiki twin's faint scent that still lingered on the road to pay much attention.
Suddenly the scent trail swerved off the road, and Rei came to an abrupt halt. The other two took another moment to realize he wasn't with them anymore before they too stopped and backtracked to where he was now searching through the bushes off to the side of the road.
"What's up?" Ranko asked, shifting her pack on her shoulders to ease the burden a bit.
"They stopped here for some reason." Rei replied, still following the scents. They led off to the right... "Aha!" he cried, pushing some bushes aside to reveal the two abandonded packs.
"Why'd they leave their stuff?" Ranma asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
"Probably to travel faster," Rei replied as he reached out to lift one of the packs. A moment later he dropped it in surprise. "That thing's heavy!" he exclaimed.
"Hn?" Ranko said, stepping closer and also hefting one of the packs. "Aah? It /is/ heavy!" she said in surprise.
"Why those cheaters!" Ranma cried, causing Rei to look at him in surprise. Ranma was looking down at his clenched hands, fury written all over his face. "All this time," he continued, battle aura igniting to burn fiercly around him, "All this time...they were...they were..." He didn't seemed to be able to get out the words.
Rei was surprised. He thought the two sets of twins were very close. Apparently the Hibiki twins had pulled some horrible stunt on the two Saotome twins. He leaned back as Ranma looked up, a fierce fire burning in his eyes.
"All this time they were training harder than us!" Ranma cried in fury. Rei facefaulted.
"Wa--was that it?" he asked from his position on the ground. Ranma looked down at him in surprise, battle aura once again gone.
"Of course! They should have told us they were doing weight training! Now we have to work twice as hard to catch up with them!" Ranma explained, as if it should be obvious. A thought seemed to strike him then, and he glanced around. "Um...where's Ranko?"
A breeze blew through the trees, but the red-headed girl no where to be found. A paper blew into Ranma's face, and he pulled it off to read:
'To the two idiots,
You were taking too much time. I went ahead. See ya in Wyndia ya slowpokes!
Ko-chan'
"Whose she calling an idiot?!" Ranma cried in outrage, snatching up the remaining pack and sprinting off down the road and out of sight. Rei shook his head in disbelief.
"Doesn't this just beat all..." he muttered. Then he blinked as he realized something. "Why those...they left me behind!"
* * *
Akane slowly came awake. The first thing she noticed was that she was still in the wagon. The next thing she noticed was that the wagon had stopped. She sat up abruptly.
"You awake then, sugar?" Ukyou asked from where she was sitting against one of the walls of their make-shift prison. She looked tired.
"How long have we been here?" Akane demanded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Dunno. A lot longer than normal. Before they'd let us out a bit right after we stopped." Ukyou said, grimacing in rememberance at the failed escape attempt that had resulted from that. "Maybe we've arrived at where ever it is they're taking us." she suggested.
"What?! But we haven't gotten away yet!" Akane cried in dismay. She frowned for a moment in thought, then lit up, "I know, we can--"
"Oh no!" Ukyou interrupted swiftly. "Not after your last /five/ failed attempts! Remember your 'bright' idea of busting our way out?"
"How was I supposed to know the walls had steel reinforcements?" Akane demanded petulantly.
"And that night you tried to poison them, but we ended up eating your cooking instead?"
"But I tried really hard to--hey! Are you saying I can't cook?!"
"What about your idea of trying to run when they let us out at night? I thought they'd never let us out of their sight after that!"
"It's not my fault those idiot horse-boys could run faster then us..."
"Or how 'bout--"
"I get the idea." Akane grumbled.
"Besides, we seem to have come to some sort of a town," Ukyou said, indicating the tell-tale noises by inclining her head. "They probably have lots of people here to make sure we don't escape. We'll just have to wait and see."
"Alright." Akane pouted. Their conversation was interrupted as the door to the wagon was suddenly wrenched open. Balio and Sunder stood framed in the doorway, glaring.
"C'mon you two." Balio growled.
"And don't try anymore funny stuff!" Sunder added, stepping back to allow the two girls to climb out.
"Seems we were a bit mistaken about you two." Balio continued, ushering them ahead of him into a large building. Just before entering, Akane managed to make out the sign above the door, boldly claiming 'Tournament of Champions'.
"So you finally figured it out?" Ukyou asked scathingly.
"Oh, you mean that neither of you are princess Nina? Yes, we know." Balio said, sounding far too smug.
"So why don't you let us go then!" Akane demanded.
"Simply because we found another use for you. Apparently word got out that we wanted a ransom from the Queen for a pair of girls." Balio continued as the little group went up some stairs to a small office. He went around the desk as they stood in front of it, Sunder staying near them in case they decided to bolt.
"We got a letter almost as soon as we got here." Sunder said, sounding happy.
"Yes, and it held some surprising news." Balio agreed, pulling the letter out of the desk with a flourish. "It seems that the /Ice Queen/ is willing to pay a ransom for her two girls to be returned, unharmed."
"We stumbled from upon our golden egg!" Sunder cried, laughing in delight. "We set those monsters loose on Wyndia in hopes of luring the princess out of the castle, but instead we get you two!"
"/You/ made the monsters attack those people?" Akane cried in horror.
"Of course. You didn't think such stupid creatures would attack a city on their own?" Sunder scoffed. "It's only a pity we killed off those other kids. We could have demanded a larger price for all of you."
"So you can see why we can't let you go." Balio concluded, looking at the two stunned girls.
"But...we don't know the Ice Queen." Ukyou said.
"Who is this...Ice Queen, anyways?" Akane demanded. The two brothers actually looked surprised.
"You really don't know her then?" Balio asked. "How amusing. Perhaps the Ice Queen was mistaken, but all the better for us!"
"Yes but /who/ is the Ice Queen?" Akane asked again, getting annoyed.
"The Ice Queen is the head of an underground organization." Ukyou explained tightly. "Sort of like spys and such. They're /supposed/ to keep the bandits in line, mainly." she finished, glaring at the two chess-knight brothers. Balio chuckled.
"A crude explanation, but it will do." he said with a nod. "We've been trying to get rid of the Ice Queen and her followers for years now. You have just provided us with the opportunity we were looking for."
"What are you going to do with us, then?" Ukyou asked, fingering her throwing spatula's as she eyed the brothers. They'd been allowed to keep their weapons, not that it had done them any good.
"For now, we need you out of the way." Balio said, putting the letter down as he too eyed her spatulas. "I think we'll put you to work."
"What?!" Akane and Ukyou cried in unison. Sunder looked confused, but nodded in agreement with his brother.
"Yes. We'll put you to work in the kitchens." Balio continued with relish, ringing a bell. A moment later, several tough looking men came through the door. "Right now, we have to worry about the Tournament." he said to his brother. Sunder's eyes lit up in realization.
"Right then!" he said, pointing skyward dramatically. "You men take them down to the kitchens. Make sure they don't cause any trouble!"
"We'll see you two later then." Balio said as the girls were hurded out the door. Their laughter followed the two martial artists down the hall.
The two girls allowed themselves to be led down the maze of stairs before Ukyou finally spoke.
"Kitchens? Well, that won't be bad. I'm sure the others will find us." she said.
"I suppose." Akane said miserably. "At least we get to do something fun while we're here."
Ukyou was about to agree, when she remembered something that sent chills down her spine. They would be working in the kitchens. Most likely they'd be cooking. That ment that /Akane/ would be cooking.
'Well,' Ukyou though fatalistically, 'Maybe Balio and Sunder would get to sample her /fine/ cuisine. Besides, how bad could it be?'
* * *
"BACK! GET BACK I SAY!" Ukyou was busy holding off the...something that was oozing all over the floor.
"All I did was add some cooking oil!" Akane wailed as her creation tried to take off Ukyou's head with some razor sharp tentacles it had just grown.
"IT WAS LIGHTER FLUID!" Ukyou screamed as she launched several spatulas at the thing. The rest of the kitchen crew was cowering in a corner.
"What's all the racket?" the head cook entered the room from the adjoining oven room and stared. "What'n the blazes is -that-!?" he demanded as the cooking disaster grew a few more inches.
Before anyone could answer, Balio and Sunder burst through the door, a kitchen servant hovering behind them.
"What the..." was all Balio got out as the two brothers tried to stop, but slipped in the trail of slime the cooking monster had left behind. They went crashing into the oozing mass, and it swallowed them almost eagerly, growing rapidly.
"Maybe your...dish has some use after all." Ukyou said, sweatdropping as she stared in disgust at the thing.
"If that got them, I think I'll agree." Akane said, watching her creation swell. With a sickening splat, the slime ball exploded, leaving two filthy, slimy, and angry figures sprawled on the floor.
"WHAT THE HECK'S GOING ON!" Sunder roared, attempting in vain to stand. The head cook stepped forward, angrily gesturing at the sheepish looking Akane.
"Sir, your new help is no help at all! That -girl- there just destroyed my kitchen!" he ranted, swinging his ladel in frustration.
"I didn't mean it! I thought it was cooking oil! I -can- cook!" Akane cried angrily.
"Honey, if that's what you call cooking..." Ukyou began, but cut off when Akane's mallet hovered threateningly over her.
"I won't have them in my kitchen! Get them out!" the head cook roared before looking in dispair at his ruined kitchen.
"Fine!" Balio growled as he and his brother attempted to wipe some of the slime off. "Alright you two, march! We'll deal with the two of you in my office."
"Hey! What did I do?" Ukyou asked indignantly.
"Shut up and move." Balio said, scowling as he managed to regain his feet, though he slid a little on the slime-covered floor.
"You know, Akane," Ukyou began, looking meaningfully at the two slipping and sliding brothers.
"Let's just go." Akane agreed. They walked carefully to the door, being sure to avoid the slimy mess. As they reached the doorway, they bolted as fast as they could away from the kitchens.
"Damn it, bro! They're gonna get away!" Sunder said, lunging after them. His feet slid out from under him and he went crashing back to the ground, causing Balio to do the same.
"No they're not. Not if you did what I said and left some men at the door." Balio ground out, not bothering to try to move any more. "You!" he said, pointing to the nearest person. "Get us some towels. This stuff is disgusting..."
"Yessir." the man said and rushed off.
"I left Fahl at the entrance. As long as he's still conscious..." Sunder said, nursing a bump on his head as he waited for the man to return.
"Well, we can hope he stayed away from the bottle long enough. If not, it will be -your- job to bring them back." Balio said, scowling.
"Aw...These two are more trouble than they're worth." Sunder whined.
"Just shut up." Balio snapped. "Man...I can't wait 'till the damn fights start."
* * *
"This way!" Ukyou called over her shoulder as she charged up another flight of stairs. From just behind, Akane nodded in acknowledgment, not bothering to waste her breath as they zoomed around a corner. Down the hall, up another set of stairs, the two finally recognized the main entrance.
"Alright!" Akane cheered as they sprinted for freedom. The two girls came to a screeching halt as a figure blocked their path. Another horse man was sprawled in a chair, amber bottle left forgotten by his limp hand. He was built chunkier than Balio and Sunder, though still quite powerfully. And he was snoring loudly.
Ukyou pressed a finger to her lips, and the two girls tiptoed right past him, out into the bright sunlight. They were about to breathe a sigh of relief when a voice made them nearly jump out of their skins.
"Hey!" the now-awake guard asked, sitting up to stare blearily at them. Ukyou tensed to bolt, knowing it was hopeless, but Akane put a restraining hand on her arm. "Ya woul'n be tryin to shneak 'way, woulja?" he slurred.
"Uhh..." Ukyou said intelligently, edging away from the man. He noticed the movement, however, and lurched unsteadily to his feet.
"Where'r you goin'?" he asked dangerously, swaying a bit on his feet.
"We're not going any where." Akane said suddenly, speaking slowly.
"Not...goin'..." he said, blinking.
"That's right," she said. "We're going nowhere."
"Nowhere...*hic!*"
"Yep." Akane agreed, turning around again. "We'll be seeing you." and she started walking away again, Ukyou hastily following.
Glancing behind, Ukyou saw the man slump back into his chair, snoring loudly. She thought she saw a large figure move in the shadows, but dismissed it as nothing when no alarm was raised. They were silent until they got out of sight, then Ukyou turned to Akane.
"That was brilliant." she said simply.
"Thanks!" Akane said, looking pleased. "My dad sometimes drinks a lot, and that trick usually works for him, so I figured it should work on someone else, too!"
"Let's get out of here then, before /those/ two catch up." Ukyou said, jogging down the road towards the edge of the town.
"Right." Akane agreed. Exiting the town, the two girls headed up the road, toward the nearby mountain, determined to find their friends no matter what.
****************************
A/N: Well, I have returned, for better or worse. That little interlude didn't do much to get me writing again, but whatever... On a brighter note, I think I'm back into the swing of things now. I am busy with school (clubs, finals, etc.), so I don't expect I'll be able to get another chapter out until next month. But I will attempt! Next time, the adventures of Akane and Ukyou continue! The R's all regroup, and hear a rumor about a Tournament of Champions. Can they resist such a temptation? And who on earth is the Ice Queen? All that, next time! Later.