Teammates
By Lord Archive
(Another writer's block production.)
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"Why her?" screamed an irate woman at her coach, Izamu. "How is she
allowed to enter the 1000m speed skating competition? She hasn't
skated in any tournaments. How did she qualify for the Olympics?"
"Well," Izamu began nervously. "It seems she was found ice skating and
was doing so with amazing speed and skill. We tried to get her husband
too..." He stopped talking as his student started glowing.
"But he would accept `cause he didn't see the challenge in it,"
snarled the woman.
"Um, that and he also said someone had to watch their child."
"THEIR CHILD?!"
Izamu nodded, sweating as he never had before.
"Grrr... I'll crush that little bitch." The woman marched off.
Izamu shuddered at the vehemence she had uttered her words. Then he
smiled. If she knew her 'teammate' well enough to have a rivalry, it
could only push her even more. Japan just might get gold from one of
these two.
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The woman scowled at her 'teammate' as she got off the ice. While she
quickly recognized her, the young mother had not shown signs of
knowing her. That suited her fine. The woman looked at her qualifying
time and smiled, she be among the last to skate.
"I can't believe they want me to skate at the Olympics. But I'll do my
best," the young mother said, finishing putting on her ice skates.
"I'm sure you will," said her coach. He had put her through some
rather hard training to get her to the Olympics in time. He was
surprised she made it through the training intact.
The young mother moved to the ice and mentally prepared to start.
The gun sounded and she was off, skating like a woman possessed. By
the time she made it to the finish line she was exhausted. She smiled
at the time she set. It was a pretty good time. She quickly left the
room. She didn't really care about who she was skating with and when,
she wanted to go see her daughter and husband.
The woman fumed.
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It was time to race, and both the woman and the young mother were to
race at the same time.
The young mother smiled at her teammate. "Good luck."
The woman glared at her. "You too, Akane. You'll need it," she
sneered.
Akane blinked. She was startled out of her
thoughts as the starting gun fired. Instincts took over and she raced
with her old rival. It had been years since Akane had seen her, not
since the wedding. Akane noticed
her old rival was winning. Her speed increased. Both raced as fast as they could.
Akane sighed as she crossed the finish line, less than a tenth of a
second behind. She was in second place. "It looks like you won this
race, Ukyou."
Ukyou turned to her old rival. "You know I really hate ending up
second. Second in Ranma's heart had hurt me the most."
Akane nodded. "I couldn't begin to imagine. I wish things could've
worked out better. You didn't have to leave."
"If I had stayed, I might of done something I'd regret. I couldn't
stay. I had to leave. I couldn't see..."
"I understand," Akane said, not ever wanting to truly understand.
The two made it off the ice. There were two more race to go. They
watched the races intently. Their awards placement depended on the
final races.
The first race ended and Akane frowned. She was third now. At least
Ukyou was still first.
The final race ran. Akane sat down, completely disappointed. She was
bumped out of the meddles. She was fourth.
Ukyou screamed, "NNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" She started to cry. "I'm second
again! Always second."
Akane put her arm around her old rival and friend. "Not everyone can
be first. Being second is a great accomplishment in itself."
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Author's Note:
A tribute to Ukyou, sometimes referred to as the silver meddled
fiancee, and the Olympics at Nagano.
Legal Babble: Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou belong to Rumiko Takahashi and a
bunch of companies.
(
geocities.com/tokyo/fuji/9061) (
geocities.com/tokyo/fuji) (
geocities.com/tokyo)