For the second year running, a sudden storm had kept the last few flights taking students home for summer break from ever reaching the island in the first place, and no replacements were scheduled. Susan wasn't paranoid enough to think that the administration could control the weather, but it was incredibly convenient that she was again stranded here, again foiled in her plan to simply not return in the fall.

Resigned to another year in this attractively presented hell, she had thrown on a white t-shirt and tight red shorts and headed to the track. Her martial arts had proven singularly useless against the monsters lurking around the campus, and she wasn't going to improve in that area unless she could find a sparring partner or two. If she was lucky, she might be able to outrun some, but, being more of a sprinter, she'd need to improve her endurance. Besides, joining the track team would give her a few more times when she was with enough other people to deter most monsters.

By now, the effects of her exertion were beginning to show. Sweat was causing the shirt to stick to her skin, the outlines of her sports bra visible through the thin fabric. Okay, a couple more laps, then I'll hit the showers.

The twins had been on the first flight in to Shokushu, arriving just before the next semester started, and hence had a few days of time to get used to the school, to find their way around and make a few friends. They had already met a fairly nice girl by the name of Subaru, but that wasn't to say either of them was satisfied with that. After all, the more the merrier.

But for now, neither of the twins were particularly interested in making a new friend. They were certainly open about it, and if something looked promising they would take it. But they weren't actively looking to make a new friend when they made their way to the track. They simply felt like they needed to move, to get their blood pumping with a good run. Unfortunately the school didn't have a 'proper' course for them to run, there was no real obstacles or hinderences on the tracks provided, but even a flat line run would be good. But since the two had spent the past couple of days exploring the school they had started to become restless, and now they wanted to get places in the various teams that did sports they could do. Gymnastics, cheer-leading, and far more crucially running.

For the two twins were both near fanatical followers of free-running, and anything that helped them find new ways to move, that encouraged them to push and test their body, was something they loved. It was seeking to keep their bodies in shape that the two had hit the tracks. It hadn't taken long for them to get permission to use the track (they had just arrived after all, and wanted to settle in before returning to their usual chaos causing ways), and now they were running along it. They wore almost the same clothes they had when they arrived, their favourite outfit and one they preferred to free-run in, even (or perhaps because) if it gave observers chances to catch glimpses of the lacy black panties the two wore. A white tee shirt, that was slightly too small and left a sliver of their smooth tummy's exposed, with red rings around the ends of the sleeves and the neck and the brand Lean written across the front. A black miniskirt held up with a belt and a zipper on the skirt itself was the bottom of the outfit, well bottom if you didn't count the fairly expensive running shoes each twin wore. Each twin wore a mostly orange cap with a black front backwards on their head. Their hairstyles, usually different, had become identical as Aya had tied back her hair in the exact same manner as Celia, two ponytails jiggling behind the twins as they ran around the track.

The two had been running for a while, but having spent a fair portion of their life growing up doing so, and over much harder ground to cover, they were only just starting to feel even vaguely tired. Of course that just drove the twins on harder, and they sped up in response. But it wouldn't take long before they started to grow bored with the simple repetition of running on a track. There was no real challenge involved, all they could test was their endurance, and that took ages to reach the difficult part. So it was that when they moved to overtake another runner on the track, a Chinese girl with a white t-shirt and tight red shorts, they parted from each other's side with a glance and moved past her on each side. Just as they drew level the two instantly dived forward, their bodies tucking into a roll as they hit the ground with their back. The moment they rolled to the point where their feet could grip on the track on the rough ground of the track their feet caught under them and the two exploded into motion again, picking up the speed they had lost with the movement. It hadn't served any purpose on the flat and clear ground of the track, but if the twins didn't start incorporating such flashy, but currently pointless, techniques they would grow bored and would probably wander off before properly testing their endurance.

Susan hadn't really been paying attention to the other girls on the track, though she was aware when the twins began to rapidly gain on her. Still, their method of passing her came as a surprise. What the hell...? What are they doing? And who wears a skirt to run, anyway?

Taking their action as an implicit challenge, she smiled to herself. Don't get cocky, girls. You haven't seen me really trying yet. She began to speed up, slowly but surely catching up to the twins again.

The two twins didn't notice the reaction of the girl they had passed, simply continuing as they normally did. However by the time they did notice the Chinese student she had almost caught up to them, and obviously had taken their fancy method of passing as a challenge. Both of the twins smiled to themselves, maybe flat line running was going to be interesting ... for once at least.

Unfortunately for the twins neither of them were sprinters. They had plenty of speed and endurance, but most of their running technique was focused around moving through a city, or otherwise obstacle bound area. In a almost completely straight track like the one they were on a dedicated runner had a massive advantage. They would definitely try, and had the advantage of having a bit more stamina left to burn that the sprinter catching up to them. But they had also determined to stay in front, and so instead of turning it into an endurance race that they could very well have run they let it remain as a sprinting race. Both of the twins started running as fast as they could, to the point where they even started to break up slightly. Celia was ever so slightly faster than Aya, and step by step Aya started to drop behind. But if the Chinese sprinter behind them really tried she would no doubt be able to first catch Aya, and then Celia, overtaking both of the twins. The only question was if she had the stamina to to so.

Okay, now this is getting interesting, Susan thought as the twins took off down the track, a smile crossing her lips. This wasn't going to be an easy race. She was pretty sure she could overtake both of them quickly if they weren't holding back; the tricky part was going to be doing so without exhausting herself.

She again sped up, for the moment only aiming to pass the slower of the pair. This way, if they were holding back, she'd be in better shape to try again.

Soon enough, she had again caught up to, and then overtaken, Aya. Perhaps not as quickly as she could have, but with a more energy left for the task of overtaking Celia.

Aya tried her best to remain in front, hating the fact that she just couldn't remain in front of the Chinese student who was closing the gap between them. But despite her best efforts she just couldn't stay in front of the sprinter, her techniques and training were just not able to stand up to a sprinter under these conditions. She didn't stop running, although she did slow down a little to a pace she could maintain that much more easily. But unless the Chinese girl did something stupid and over-exerted herself it was up to Celia to maintain the lead.

The next time Celia glanced backwards, when she was just starting to turn the bend at the end, she spotted the Chinese girl in front of Aya. Just seeing that gave her a surge of energy, but rather than burn it straight away in extra speed she maintained her current pace, even slowing down slightly. She was going to let the Chinese girl catch up, maybe even make her use a burst of energy to overtake Celia. And the moment she did Celia would use her own spurt, to see if she could encourage the other student to burn up her reserves of energy too early, and hence put herself out of the race.

Either way, Celia had a smile on her face. This was going to be a lot more fun then she, or Aya, had expected.

Susan noticed that the faster of the twins had slowed down a bit upon seeing that Susan had passed the other one. It was possible that it was just a coincidence, that she'd turned back because she'd felt her energy flagging and wanted to see if she could slow down without letting Susan pass her. It was also possible that she'd lost heart slightly at the situation. Susan suspected, however, that it was a trick; it was just too convenient.

Again, she sped up somewhat, aiming to catch up to the second twin over a longer distance instead of overtaking her in a short burst of speed. While she was sure she could do the latter, it would tire her out far sooner than she intended. As it was, Susan caught up to her about a third of the way down the straightaway.

Unlike most track runners Celia did not focus on the track she was running, rather she would constantly glance about as she moved, checking her surroundings and ensuring she remained aware of everything that was going on around her. It was a trait of free-running, where one had to be on the constant look out for things that one could use to help move, alternate pathways that would allow one to skip obsticles and on occasion props to assist in a trick. As such she was watching the Chinese girl approach.

Unfortunatly the other girl did not fall for the bait of her slowing down, and while she did put on some extra speed it wasn't the energy draining burst that Celia had hoped she would. Since that trick had failed it was time to fall back on another trick. As the Chinese girl slowly caught up to Celia her own speed sped up briefly before starting to drop off, as if she had reached her limit and was running out of energy. By doing so Celia practically guarenteed that she would be overtaken. But it just might be enough to make the other student make the mistake of burning the last of her energy for pure speed.

The girl sped up as Susan gained on her, only to start slowing down almost immediately. Looks like someone pushed a bit too hard, she thought as she sped up just a little more to overtake the apparently flagging runner. Not the flat-out burst of speed that the twin was hoping to lure her into; that seemed unnecessary, with her rival apparently having nothing left in reserve.

<Sooo sorry about the delay ... RL gets really annoying at times>

Celia couldn't help but smirk, ever so slightly, as the Chinese girl sped up a little bit in response to her own sudden drop in speed. It wasn't a burst of speed that would overtake Celia quickly but burn her energy stores, but it was a start. Now it would be time to test both endurance and speed. There was no real finishing point to this race, so the 'victor' would come down to just how competitive the two were.

As the Chinese girl was about to draw level Celia ever so slowly sped up, seeking to stay in front, without seeming to appear to be speeding up. The increase in speed was slow and gradual, exactly the sort of thing that was hard to really notice, especially if you were running right next to the person running. And by waiting for the Chinese to draw level Celia sought to draw on the other girls competitiveness, something she had proven to have by 'starting' this entire race, to ensure the other girl didn't just drop back and settle into a more sustainable speed.

Celia was trying to turn this into a final sprint, with the speed constantly increasing, and with the first one to flag off and fall behind the loser.

What the hell...? Why can't I pass her? The other girl had seemed to be flagging, but she apparently still had enough left to keep pace with Susan. Had she just been faking?

Aiming to find out, Susan sped up a significant amount more. She hadn't quite hit a flat-out sprint yet, but she was getting close. If the other girl was just pretending, she'd have to speed up noticeably to keep up with her.

Celia noticed the boost of speed that her pursuer had put on, and smiled to herself. Her trick had worked. She had no idea if the other person was going at full pace, but that didn't matter. The other student had definitely committed to this race, and it would be unlikely if she would back down now. Celia matched the Chinese girl in speed, no longer holding back. Celia found that at her peak she was slightly faster than the other student, but didn't know that her opponent was holding back. If Susan stopped holding back, she could very well overtake Celia.

But there was no way Celia was going to make it easy for the Chinese girl to get in front of her. While she wasn't unsporting enough to deliberately try to trip or block the other student, she was going to make sure that if Susan wanted to win she would have to work hard for it.

<Feel free to get in front in your next post>

A small smile crossed Susan's lips as the other girl sped up to keep the lead. Thought so. But do you have anything more in reserve? She put on a final burst of speed, slowly but surely overtaking the other girl. Well, looks like I'm faster. Now, will I be able to keep this up longer than you? Privately, Susan suspected she might be at a disadvantage there; she'd been running for a while, so the other girl was probably fresher. Of course, with the way both of them had been pressing, it wouldn't surprise her too much if they both tired out and were passed by the girl's twin, who presumably hadn't been pushing so hard after it became clear she couldn't keep up.

Celia was fresher, and was much more used to a prolonged run, rather than a short distance sprint. But she had spent a lot of energy maintaining her lead after the race become a sprint. If she had simply settled for her usual run she, and most likely Aya as well, would have no problem running the sprinter into the ground with endurance. But she hadn't, and it wasn't helped by the fact she put on a last ditch effort to at least match the speed of the Chinese girl who was racing her. All in all, it looked like the two were about equal. Susan could run faster, but Celia was fresher, and much more used to endurance running as a result of her love of free-running. Celia managed to match the other girls speed, but the exertion from what she had done was starting to show. She wouldn't be able to keep her pace for much longer, the only question remaining was if her opponent could outlast her.

Meanwhile Aya, who had been left behind much earlier, had settled back into her regular pace. It was definitely slower than the pace Susan and Celia were running, but it was one that she could hold for very extended periods of time, regardless of what obstacles were in her path. Not that there were any on the track, but in this it would just be even easier for Aya to maintain the pace. After all, she didn't have to save energy for jumps, rolls, slides or other such movements designed to get one around things in your path without losing too much momentum.

Even at this speed, the faster of the twins was able to keep pace with her. Susan had a slight lead, but she'd lose it if she slowed down at all. While she couldn't continue at this pace for that long, at least it seemed that her rival had also reached her top speed; Susan doubted this was another trick, since the other girl had always kept her lead before. The question was simply which of them could hold out for longer. The other girl was fresher, but Susan thought her sprinting experience might help her out; she didn't think her opponent was a sprinter, so she might burn out sooner. She was already prepared to slow down if the other girl did so first, but otherwise, she'd keep this pace as long as she could.