A/N: Okay, so my Chapter 14 is a bit suckish. I'll make it up to you guys in this chapter. Told you I'm getting rusty. Haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Naruto, Ouran, Prince of Tennis, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh!

THE AMAZING RACE: ANIME EDITION

CHAPTER 15

Team 6 (Haruhi, Sakura, Anna, Anzu, Momo)

Currently in 2nd Place

5:43 pm

"What do you know?" Anna said as the car sped along the highway leading to York, England. "We're actually in second place now." Despite lagging behind Team 2 earlier, they managed to catch up after Team 2's car had a flat tire. Anna reminded herself to thank some random spirit who passed by the stadium earlier.

"It's too bad we didn't get the Fast Forward clue though," Anzu said. She accelerated the speed of the car; York doesn't look too far away.

"As long as we don't get eliminated at this point, then I think second place doesn't seem so bad," Anna said. Her other teammates nodded in agreement.

They finally entered York, England. Anzu turned a corner and they saw York Minster, the destination of their next clue. York Minster was a grand Gothic cathedral, its transept and crossing tower standing regally over the area.

Anzu parked the car not too far from the cathedral, and by the time she caught up with her teammates, Haruhi was already reading the clue.

"It's a Roadblock," Haruhi announced. "Two team members must go up the north-west tower and the south-west tower and count the number of bells in each tower. They must present the number of bells to Renji, who is standing on the astronomical clock. If the number of bells is correct, they will receive their next clue."

"I'll do it," Momo volunteered.

"Me, too," Anzu said. "Come on, Momo. Let's go find those towers."

~*~

Momo volunteered to count the number of bells in the north-west tower. He smiled at the elaborate design of the tower windows. He had never been inside a cathedral before, and he was glad he was able to explore a cathedral with a design as wonderful as the York Minster's.

Momo snapped back to reality when the bells suddenly rang. He had almost forgotten that he was competing in a race. He took out a pen and a piece of paper and proceeded to count.

"Let's see …" Momo spotted a huge bell, which probably weighed about ten tons. "That's one." (1)

Momo climbed to the top of the tower and found more bells. The bells were ringing some song, and Momo was sure it wasn't church song. Anyway, he went back to counting. He triple-checked before going down and writing the number 7 in the piece of paper.

He ran into Anzu, who just came down from the south-west tower. She smiled. "You done?" Momo nodded, and they proceeded to look for the astronomical clock.

They didn't go far in the York Minster to find the astronomical clock. Renji was there, fumbling with the clock's buttons. "Yo, Renji!" Momo yelled. Some of the people in the cathedral glared at him, as most of them were silently praying.

Renji looked at the pieces of paper Anzu and Momo gave him. He gave them a thumbs-up and handed them the clue. "Here you go."

Once Anzu and Momo reunited with their teammates, Anzu opened the clue. "Head to Trafford Centre in Manchester England," she read. "Let's go!" They rushed out of the cathedral, running into some of Team 7, who were still waiting for Ryoma and Seto to finish counting the bells.

~*~

Team 7 (Yoh, Ryoma, Hikaru, Seto, Kawamura)

Currently in 3rd place

7:28 pm

"Yo, Ryoma, you okay?" Hikaru asked as Seto drove towards Manchester.

Ryoma rubbed his head, the bells of York Minster still ringing in his head. "I need an aspirin," he mumbled.

"You should nap it off," Hikaru suggested. "Then we could buy some aspirin when we get to Trafford Centre."

"Too late for napping," Seto said. "We're here."

Seto parked the car and was about to rush inside when Kawamura spotted the store directory outside Trafford Centre, where a Route Marker was located. "Search for a shop named Fossil," Kawamura read. He looked at the store directory. "That's on the second floor." He continued reading the clue. "Find a person wearing a clothing item that will be given to you by the store clerk. Once you've found him/her, take him to the store to receive your next clue."

Ryoma entered the centre and whistled. It was almost eight, and there were thousands of people inside. "This is like finding a needle in a haystack," he remarked.

"Well, we won't know for sure until we actually get that clothing item," Hikaru said, leading the way towards the store called Fossil.

~*~

Team 7 was given a gray Remington peacoat. They were now in the food court, looking for someone wearing that Remington peacoat, and stacking up on food at the same time.

Seto was frowning. "You're right. This is like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Hikaru!"

Hikaru found the voice familiar. He turned around and his heartbeat doubled at the sight of Haruhi, sipping a soda. "Ah, Haruhi. Any luck with the challenge?"

Haruhi shrugged. "Not really." She was holding a pink Jenni shirt, and Hikaru presumed that her team was supposed to find someone wearing that. "The girls are having a fun time, though."

Hikaru chuckled. He noticed that Haruhi's teammates – sans Momo – were really enthusiastic with looking at what people were wearing. "Guess that's inborn in girls."

"Apparently I don't have that inborn love for clothes," Haruhi laughed.

"Wait, what is she wearing?" they heard Sakura say. "That clashes with her shoes!"

"Why the heck is he wearing orange?" Anna piped up. Haruhi and Hikaru sweat dropped.

"Wait a minute," Hikaru said, suddenly realizing something. "My mom designs clothes. This shouldn't be too hard."

Kawamura sweat dropped. "Well, at least you realize it now than never," he said.

"Oh, wait, I think I found the person," Haruhi said, leaving. Hikaru didn't notice her, however. He was too busy looking at the detail of the peacoat, then looking around among the sea of crowd.

Suddenly, he spotted him. The guy was wearing a gray Remington peacoat.

"Found him, Haruhi," Hikaru said. He looked beside him and realized that Haruhi was gone. He sighed sadly and approached the guy. "Excuse me."

The guy looked at him. "You want something?"

"We're in a race, and we're looking for someone wearing a peacoat like that," Hikaru explained. "Do you mind coming with us?"

The guy blinked, not sure if Hikaru was on a race or he was about to be kidnapped. "Um … sure."

"Great," Hikaru said. "Oi, guys! I found the guy! Let's go back to the store!"

Once back at the store, the store clerk gave them their next clue, which was a John Lennon album entitled Menlove Ave. and the clue. The clue instructed them to go to the homes of the Beatles members, grab a photo of that Beatles member, piece it together, and give the photo to Rukia, who was waiting in Sefton Park.

~*~

Team 2 (Mokuba, Jou, Mori, Tezuka, Naruto)

Currently in 4th place

10:13 pm

Team 2 reached 251 Menlove Avenue just as Team 7 left the same place. "Get the photo," Tezuka instructed Naruto. (2)

A few minutes later, Naruto returned with a photo of John Lennon. "Where now?" he asked.

"We could go to 20 Forthlin Road, where Sir Paul McCartney lives," Mori spoke up, causing Jou and Naruto to jump.

"Well, you're the boss," Jou said, shrugging. Mori started the engine and they headed to Forthlin Road.

They arrived at 20 Forthlin Road in a span of 15 minutes. This time, Jou volunteered to go, after promises to Tezuka of not breaking anything.

Jou entered the house and was awed. He was a secret Beatles fan, and it felt so awesome to be in the place where the Beatles members wrote their songs. He felt like he died and went to heaven.

Anyway, he shook his head and tried to focus. He looked around the hallway in search for Paul McCartney's photo. Finally, he found it in the dining room. He snatched one and left.

"Good job," Tezuka said as Jou quickly got inside with the photo.

Mori drove them to two more places – 10 Arnold Grove and 10 Admiral Grove. Finally, they managed to also get the photos of George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Mori proceeded to Sefton Park.

Once at Sefton Park, they proceeded to the Palm House, which was a three-tier dome conservatory. Instantly, they found Rukia eating scones and playing with an albino rabbit, which didn't really surprise them.

Jou handed her the photo. Rukia looked at it, then handed him a clue. "Now go and leave me alone with Chappy!"

"But that's not even Chappy," Jou remarked.

WHAM!

Jou joined his team with a fresh bump in the head.

~*~

Team 5 (Fuji, Honda, Horo Horo, Kyouya, Lee)

Currently in last place

11:58

Clue: Suit up and head to the Pump Room in Bath.

"So … do we have to take a bath in this challenge?" Lee asked, rereading the clue.

Honda swatted Lee's head with his head. "Shut up," he said. "You're the reason why we're in last place."

"Hey, I lost the map. Big deal!" Lee said defensively.

They remained in silence as Honda parked the car in a gasoline station in Bath. The Pump Room restaurant won't open until 9:30 am, so they decided to turn in for the night. They were lucky, since Kyouya told them to keep the formal suits that they wore in the Sydney Opera House, and thus, no more hassle of buying formal wear.

Honda stretched, leaned back his chair and dozed off.

The next thing he knew, Kyouya was shaking him awake. Honda looked at the car clock and realized that it was already 7:30 in the morning.

"Freshen up and get dressed," Kyouya instructed. "Oh, and don't eat too much right now. I believe we'll be doing a lot of eating in this challenge."

"I hope they won't make us eat snails," Lee said.

"Dude, French people eat snails, not British people!" Horo Horo said, yawning.

Once everyone was suited up, they drove off. Honda checked the newly-bought map and was able to find the Pump Room with ease. After parking, they found the other teams, all suited up. "Yo, guys! Ready to eat?"

Yoh's stomach grumbled. "Does that answer your question?" he asked, grinning.

Honda found his best friend, Jou, and they chest bumped and did their handshake. "Man, finally! A challenge where all we're gonna do is eat!"

A few minutes later, the restaurant door opened, and all the teams proceeded inside the fancy restaurant. They found out that a table has been reserved for each team, with the clue placed at the middle of the table.

Horo Horo opened their team's clue. "Order the Traditional Pump Room tea. The team must be able to finish the meal in seven minutes, or else they will have to finish another set. Once done, each team member must drink five cups of the mineral water from the sacred springs. Once done, the water will give you your next clue."

"I trust that we'll be able to do this in less than seven minutes?" Fuji said, a glint in his eye. The team was lucky to have four people who love to eat, himself included.

Lee smirked. "Heck, we can do this in three minutes!"

Sasuke heard him and mumbled, "Show-off."

The waiter indicated for them to start, and the teams started to eat scones filled with jam and cream, and drink cream tea. Horo Horo thought this challenge was his most favorite one yet – they got to eat something that isn't disgusting, even if there was a time limit? Why couldn't all eating challenges be like this?

Sure enough, Team 5 was finished eating after three minutes. They then proceeded to the restaurant's fountain, where a waiter gave them each a cup. Each member took a cupful of water and drunk at the same time.

Lee was the first to react, his face all scrunched up. "It tastes … weird," he remarked.

"But sir," the waiter replied, "it's supposed to cure all illnesses."

Kyouya raised an eyebrow, skeptical as ever. "Guys, four more cups to drink. Just tolerate the taste, all right?" From his peripheral vision, he could already see Team 2 standing up from their table.

Honda refilled his cup, pinched his nose, and drank. Lee and Horo Horo followed suit.

Finally, they were finished drinking, and the waiter gave them the clue, which instructed them to go to Kew Gardens, for another semi-Pit Stop.

"I wonder," Fuji said, "when will they start eliminating people?"

His teammates shrugged and rushed out of the restaurant. They snatched first place once again.

F O O T N O T E S

(1) The huge bell that Momo found is called the Great Peter. Obviously, it's the largest bell in York Minster.

(2) I saw in a YouTube video that people are not allowed to enter 251 Menlove Avenue. It must be to protect the heritage that is John Lennon's house.