Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Big Help ❯ The Black Rose ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

By: mykon1

A Big Help

A Ranma one half/Sailor Moon crossover fanfic

By Michael A. Ivins

Mykon and Jora are my original creations so I request that nobody uses them without permission. The rest of these characters are the property of their creators, publishers, anime production companies, etc. I write this for fun and make no profit off it.

Chapter 6

The Black Rose

Ranma was walking home munching on a pork bun she'd got from a street vendor. Although she looked on her girl form as a pain to live with, it definitely came in handy when going out for snacks and other food. It especially helped that her girl form was cute. When she smiled and acted girly boys seemed willing to give her food for free or at least at a discount.

After finishing the last bit of her treat, Ranma jumped to the top of a wall by the street in preparation to walk home. On the other side of the wall in the vacant lot she spotted something going on. Normally she would not have interfered, but she recognized some of the girls.

Three girls from Furinkan seem to be confronting another teenaged girl in a brown school uniform. Ranma didn't recognize the uniform so she wasn't sure which school the girl was from. The Fuurinkan girls were wearing some kind of sports uniforms that seemed to consist of a red leotard with a loose fitting short blouse over the top.

With another look at the girls Ranma realized that all of them looked like they had seen better days. One girl had an elastic bandage wrapped around an ankle and another had a bandaged knee. The third had a bandage around her elbow and all sported band aids on faces and elsewhere. The purple marks of bruises could be seen on their bare limbs.

The girl in the brown uniform didn't seem intimidated in the least by the three girls. She stood with aristocratic bearing and gave every appearance of being the one in control, rather than the ones challenging her.

In a haughty tone the uniformed girl said, “You three are with the Furinkan gymnastics team, are you not?”

One of the gymnasts said, “Don't play dumb, Kodachi. You know who we are. You have been ambushing us all week so we can't compete in the tournament next week.”

The aristocratic girl shook her head, “I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.” She set down her sports bag and knelt next to it as she worked the zipper.

One of the Furinkan girls said, “You won't get away with it. We will stop you.”

“Stop me? Dear girl I only seek to evaluate my opponents as any good competitor would. We should all endeavor to fight fair.” While talking she had withdrawn from her bag a long ribbon on the end of a stick. The word “fair” was punctuated as she snapped the ribbon like the crack of a whip.

What Ranma saw next made her wonder. The vicious attack with the ribbon and the obvious skill the girl used in wielding it made it seem unnecessary to use the cheating tactics the Furinkan girls had accused the competing gymnast of. The one girl was easily dominating all three of her challengers and it was not just due to the apparent injuries they had suffered.

It was the duty of a martial artist to protect the weak, and in this case that appeared to be the Furinkan girls even if they did outnumber their opponent. Ranma jumped down from the wall and caught the ribbon. The black haired girl in the brown uniform was shocked as she tried to pull her ribbon back and met resistance.

“You caught my ribbon. No one has done that before. Forgive my saying this, but it would seem that you are no ordinary girl.”

Knowing that doing the whole, “I'm a guy” thing would take too much time to explain, Ranma settle for saying, “Well, yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“That makes the challenge all the better. I prefer not to treat girls with ordinary courtesy.” She slipped a toe under one of the clubs that had been dropped by a Furinkan girl and flipped it up to her hand. With a deft movement she thrust forward with the club that should have struck Ranma in the head but found her target had dropped down out of the way.

Ranma ducked under the other girl's thrust and used a leg sweep to knock her leg from under her. The gymnast was too skilled to be caught by this and got her hands on the ground and flipped completely over to land nimbly on her feet.

There was a new look in the gymnast's eyes. It almost reached the level of respect, but not quite. “Well, you are very good. I am the Black Rose of St. Hebereke School for Girls. I am the rising star of the high school Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics world. I am Kodachi the Black Rose. Remember that name.”

She tossed Ranma a black rose and grabbed her sports bag as she leaped to the top of the wall. She leapt from there all the while giving out with an insane sounding laugh and scattering black rose petals as she went. Ranma stood looking after the departing form and commented, “That girl is just plain weird.”

One of the Furinkan gymnasts said, “She's crazy and dangerous. She cheats. She ambushes members of the competing team before the match. St. Hebereke won their last three matches by default when not enough of the other team was fit to compete.”

Musingly Ranma said, “I only just met her and already I don't like her.”

“You're Ranma, aren't you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“I thought so. That red hair is hard to miss. You're Akane's friend, right?”

“Yeah.”

“We're in no shape to compete. We want to ask Akane to compete in our place.”

Ranma considered that a moment then said, “We're only a few blocks from the Tendo dojo. Are you Ok to walk that far?”

They struggled to their feet and said, “It's a bit painful, but I think we can make it.”

As they made their way Ranma noticed a tall, dark haired girl on the sidewalk ahead. The part that caught her eye was the yellow bandanna with black spots. She shouted, “Ryoga, is that you?”

The Lost Girl turned and looked. She walked up to the redhead and said, “Ranma, what are you doing in Osaka?”

Ranma sighed, “You're in Tokoyo, Nerima to be exact.”

“Oh, good. I wanted to talk to you.”

“Is it urgent?”

“Huh? I guess not. What's going on?”

The redhead pointed. “These girls want to talk to Akane right away. They have a problem they feel only she can help them with.”

Ryoga looked over the girls and noted the injuries. “What happened to them?”

“They're on the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Team and the captain of the opposing team thought it might be good for their team to take out the competition before the match.”

“Before the match? That's low!”

“Yeah, I know.”

The lost girl said, “Ok, I can wait.”

A short while later they were gathered in Akane's bedroom. Akane sat on her bed and Ranma sat next to her doing a stretching exercise. The three girls were sitting on the floor in a semicircle while Ryoga was off in a corner.

Akane looked confused as to why the team had come to her. “So the whole team was injured?”

“We were ambushed.” “We'll have to withdraw from the match.”

“And you want me to take your place?”

“You are the only girl who is a strong martial artist we know who can.”

“Ok, I'll do my best to avenge you.”

Outside on the sidewalk a young woman in a leotard pressed herself to the wall of the Tendo compound. She was straining to listen to the conversation that was audible through the open window of Akane's bedroom.

A short distance down the sidewalk, a large panda was sweeping the walk. He noticed the spying girl. The girl suddenly became aware of a panda leaning over her with his face just inches from hers. The really strange thing was that he was holding a sign that asked, “Can I help you?”

The girl had that deer caught in the headlights look on her face. At least the panda didn't look angry. He merely looked curious. It took her a moment for her to gather her wits and she said, “I'm fine. I don't need any help.” She scurried away. The panda shrugged.

A while later in the gym at St. Hebereke the girls for the rhythmic gymnastics team were practicing. Kodachi as captain of the team was putting the girls through their paces and she was a hard taskmistress. One of the girls commented to another, “I don't know why we're working so hard. The other team will just forfeit again.”

Her companion told her, “You'd better not let Kodachi hear you say that.”

Kodachi was directing one of her team mates in a drill when the girl who had been the spy came up to her. They engaged in a hushed conversation for a moment then the spy went to join the girls working out. Kodachi gave instructions for the continuation for the night's practice then went into the locker room.

Unlike the other lockers, the Black Rose's didn't just hold clothing. It looked more like a collection of torture implements. From the weapons she selected a large mallet and tucked the handle into her belt behind her. She pulled a cape from the locker and fastened it around her neck and headed out. As she went she said under her breath, “Just you wait, Tendo Akane.”

In the Tendo dojo Ranma and Ryoga were there to help Akane. Ranma looked at his fiancé in her leotard and thought that she looked pretty cute. He asked, “Are you sure it was such a good idea to agree to do this? I mean do you know anything about how to do martial arts rhythmic gymnastics? I've only just heard of it myself today. I never knew you could do any kind of gymnastics as a martial art.”

“I've heard of it before,” said Ryoga.

The other two turned to look at him. “One time when I got lost I wandered into a school class for it and they talked me into staying and learning this stuff.”

“When was this?” asked Ranma.

“This was the year before you started at our junior high.”

Ranma shrugged. “It seems like an odd thing for a guy to learn but, whatever.”

“If it was just regular rhythmic gymnastics I wouldn't be interested.”

Akane was intrigued. “How is this different?”

Ryoga picked up the ribbon and twirled it. “In regular rhythmic gymnastics you are just trying to do it for technical difficulty and appearance. The goal would be to twirl the ribbon in a pretty pattern. The martial arts come in when you use the techniques to attack an opponent.”

Suddenly he turned and snapped out the ribbon so it cracked like a whip. Ranma had to jump to avoid being hit. “Hey, what was that for?”

“This is a martial art. I have to attack something.”

“Why don't you attack the practice dummy?”

Ryoga got a slightly embarrassed expression as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Humph.” Somehow Ranma doubted Ryoga's sincerity.

Ryoga went on. “The major difference between this and the martial arts you are used to is the weapons, or tools as they are called. In this Art there are no empty handed strikes allowed. No kicks allowed either. All attacks must be made using one or more of the tools including ribbon, rope, hoop, clubs and balls.”

Ryoga began to demonstrate each of the tools and had Akane try attacks on Ranma as the sparring partner. The training Ranma had been giving Akane had improved her coordination and grace but she still had some clumsiness to overcome. Ranma took to it as if born for it. Before they went very far Ranma went inside and changed to a girl, and came back explaining, “I felt silly twirling hoops and ribbons and stuff as a guy. It feels more natural this way.” Ryoga didn't comment.

The work was tough and Akane had a chance to reflect that Ryoga was a good teacher, if not as good as Ranma. If anything Ryoga went too easy on her and let her get away with stuff that he shouldn't. He seemed to be telling her she was doing Ok when she knew she was messing up. Akane envied Ranma for the speed at which she was learning this stuff.

Out in the street outside the dojo a girl in a green cape appeared. She threw back the hood of the cape and looked at the sign to verify that she was in the right place. With a flourish she doffed her cape and stood revealed in her green leotard.

The gymnast declared, “Prepare yourself, Tendo Akane. We shall fight fair and you will fall.” She laughed her mad sounding laugh and leapt to the top of the wall. People passing in the street crossed to the other side to get away from the crazy woman.

Out in the dojo Ranma was talking to Ryoga while Akane went in to bathe. Ranma pointed out, “If you are going to keep teaching Akane you should probably stay close. Would you be willing to sleep in the dojo?”

The lost boy looked over the room and said, “Well, at least there is a roof over it, so it beats sleeping outside under a bush.”

The lost boy seemed lost in thought. After a time he asked, “Did I understand it correctly that you and Akane are engaged?”

Ranma was confused over this subject being brought up now. “Yeah, it's an arranged marriage. My Dad and Akane's dad agreed to it before we were even born. So far she and I are just friends.”

“Just friends?”

“I'm her martial arts sensei too. We're limiting it to that and friendship now and waiting to see if any romance develops. Why? Are you interested in her?”

“She's such a sweet girl. She's made a real impression on me.”

Ranma considered this for a while. “Since she and I are just friends I won't stand in the way of her finding romance.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “If you do try to date her I will make you this promise, because she is my friend. If you hurt her I will make you wish you were never born. Am I clear?”

Ryoga swallowed nervously. “Yes, very clear.”

Inside the house Akane walked into her room trying to stretch the kinks out of her neck. Because the match was only a week away she had been pushing herself to try and learn all she needed. Now she was so tired she felt like she could sleep for a week. She plopped face down on her bed.

With a slight groan Akane turned over and looked up to see a woman clinging to the ceiling. It was a teenaged girl in a green leotard holding a black rose in her teeth. Protruding from behind her back there was a mallet a little larger than Akane's own mallet-sama. The girl seemed to be holding to the beams in the ceiling.

While Akane watched the girl above her let go of her hold and dropped toward her. As she fell with practiced ease she reached behind her and pulled out the mallet and swung it over her head. Even as the girl swung the mallet Akane rolled from the bed to land in a crouch, ready to defend herself. The mallet slammed into bed and nearly rebounded into the girl's face.

Akane demanded, “Who are you?”

“I am Kodachi the Black Rose. I am your opponent in the upcoming match.”

“What's the idea of ambushing me?”

“I'm just sizing up the competition. So let us endeavor to fight fair.” The word “fair” was punctuated by another swing of the mallet.

Akane dodged and asked, “How is attacking me in the dark fighting fair?”

“Just stand still and take your punishment.”

At that moment there was a knock on her door and Ranma's voice called out, “Akane?”

That provided enough distraction that Akane was able to get in close enough to kick the handle of the mallet. This caused Kodachi to lose her grip and drop the mallet and slam into the wall beside the door. The mallet landed with a crash.

The door slammed open, pinning Kodachi behind it. Ranma stood in the doorway and said, “I heard a crash, are you Ok?”

“Yeah… I'm fine. I just… dropped my mallet.”

Ranma looked at the weapon on the floor and thought, “I didn't know mallet-sama was that big.”

“Sorry for barging in. I just came to tell you Ryoga is going to stay in the dojo tonight so he won't get lost before he can train you again.”

Akane sighed. “Ok, thanks.”

Ranma looked at her and asked, “Are you sure you're Ok?”

“I'm just tired. That was a tough training session. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Ranma looked at her again and this time seemed like he was searching her face. He could tell that something was bothering the girl but decided not to press the matter. He stepped back into the hall and over his shoulder said , “I'm going to hit the furo and head to bed, but I may go sit on the roof for a while before that. I'll see you in the morning,”

When the door closed and Kodachi was released, she shook herself. It took a bit to recover. Finally she said, “It would seem you do have some skills. You may be a challenge after all. We will meet again, at the match if not before.”

The gymnast twirled her ribbon and a storm of black rose petals erupted seemingly from nowhere. With the petal storm as a distraction she leapt out the window with her mad laughter accompanying her.

Akane stood for a moment and just stared, then ran to the window and shouted after the departing woman's form, “How dare you run off and leave me this mess to clean up.” There was no answer. With a sigh Akane headed out the door to fetch the vacuum cleaner from the hall closet.

Kodachi hadn't gone far as she had vaulted up to the top of the roof and was running along the peak as that was the direction she needed to go. She wasn't expecting anyone else to come up to the roof.

Ranma wanted to go up to the roof to think about what Ryoga had said about Akane. She was just his friend, wasn't she? If that was the case it shouldn't matter if Ryoga wanted to pursue her romantically. That assumed that he could avoid getting lost long enough to actually go on a date.

Ranma wasn't expecting someone else to be on the roof either. Thus it was that the first he became aware of Kodachi was when his head slammed into hers. The rigorous training he had received from his father and his friends along with the toughening from training for Bukusai Tenketsu made it fairly easy to just shake his head to clear away any cobwebs. Kodachi didn't have the advantage of that toughing and was stunned as she fell from the roof.

Ranma didn't waste time trying to reason out why there was a girl on the roof; he simply leapt into action. He dived over the edge of the roof and caught the girl before she could hit the ground then leapt to one of the lower projections of the house and from there to the top of the roof.

“I thought I was the only person who came up to the roof,” Ranma thought. “Who the hell would up here this time of night?”

He looked at the girl he was holding in his arms and recognized her. “Oh, crap! It's that Black Rose girl. What's she doing here?”

When Kodachi opened eyes everything seemed fuzzy. In the evening darkness she saw what seemed a patch of lighter color that slowly swam into focus. When she was able to realize that she was looking at a face she found that it was a boy's face. Not just any boy's face. The man she was looking at was a truly gorgeous hunk.

Her first reaction was turn her face away with a furious blush. With little more thought her arms snaked around to grip Ranma in a tight embrace. “Oh, I was so frightened.

Ranma started to feel flustered. “Really Miss, it's Ok.”

Kodachi thought to herself, “I had nearly despaired of ever finding a man. Perhaps attending a girls' school wasn't the best choice for finding a man.”

Ranma gently set the girl back on her feet. “Are you Ok?”

“Please kind sir, may I know the name of my rescuer?”

“I'm… Saotome Ranma.”

“Sao… Tome… Ran… Ma…” She said it as if trying the name to test its feel on her tongue.

Seemingly out of nowhere the girl in the leotard produced a bouquet of black roses. Ranma thought she must also know how to use stuff space. As she presented the flowers to the pigtailed boy she said, “In gratitude for my rescue, please accept these as a token of my appreciation.”

A voice that only Ranma could hear shouted, “Get rid of it!”

Having learned to trust the source of that voice, Ranma threw the bouquet over his head. What he had not anticipated was that Akane had come onto the roof to investigate the noise that was coming from just over her room. By instinct she caught the bouquet just as there was the sound of a pop and a hiss from the roses.

Akane had time to ask, “What?” She slumped limply to the roof.

“AKANE! What was in those flowers?” Ranma demanded.

“A simple paralysis gas.”

In a dangerous tone, “Why did you try to paralyze me?”

The gymnast wasn't sure how to respond. “I wanted to kiss you. I wasn't sure how you would react.”

“For that you try go paralyze me? You did paralyze Akane, my friend. How long does it the effect last?”

“It will wear off in four to five hours. She should experience no after effects.”

“Know this, if the paralysis does not wear off as you said, you will have me as enemy and I will avenge my friend. I think you should leave now.”

Tears started falling from her eyes as Kodachi ran to the edge of the roof and leapt away. That didn't go at all the way she had hoped. Instead of a lover she had gained an angry man ready to swear vengeance on her. She would have to see what she could do to salvage the situation tomorrow.

Ranma went over to Akane and knelt down. “Can you speak?” He was answered with just a grunt.

“Akane, I'm so sorry. I didn't know she was here until I literally butted heads with her. I didn't know you were behind me. I'm such an idiot. I just wanted to get rid of the flowers. I'm going to carry you inside to put you in your bed.”

There was another grunt but at least this time it sounded affirmative. Picking her up as gently as he could, he swung them both over the edge of the roof and through her window. Ranma placed Akane on her bed and pulled the blanket over her.

The black haired girl was quickly asleep and Ranma sat in the desk chair. He would keep a vigil for a long as he was able to stay awake. He wanted to make sure that the paralysis didn't interfere with the girl's breathing.

Ranma sighed deeply. It looked like he had another girl who wanted to hurt his girl side and date his boy side. This one looked like she was crazy. It was a shame because she was pretty.

The next morning a ray of sunlight on her face awakened Akane. Experimentally she wiggled her toes and clenched her fists. Everything seemed to be working. So it would appear that the Black Rose girl had told the truth about the paralysis wearing off in a few hours.

The girl opened her eyes and looked around. She was in her bed and she remembered Ranma putting her there. She looked over and he was sitting at her desk with his head cradled on his arms.

Akane wasn't sure how she should feel about that. On the one hand she felt like she should be angry with him for spending the night in her room. On the other hand it was sweet that he worried enough to watch over her all night.

Akane softly called Ranma's name and was not prepared for the reaction. Ranma jerked awake and practically leapt from the chair. In a blur of motion he was at the side of the bed and asked, “Are you Ok? I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm so sorry for throwing the roses at you.”

This was said so fast that it was a little difficult separate the words. Akane blinked a few times as she processed it and said, “The paralysis wore off and I can move now.”

“I was so worried that she lied about that. I was just watching to make sure you were breathing all right. I was this close to calling an ambulance.” He held out a thumb and forefinger to indicate a small gap.

With irrefutable logic Akane pointed out, “If she was planning to paralyze you to steal a kiss like she said, she wouldn't have used a gas that could kill someone.”

Ranma's eyes went wide. “I… didn't think of that. I am such an idiot.”

Akane laughed. “Yes you are.” To herself she thought, “A sweet sort of idiot.” She glanced at her clock and asked, “Did you turn off the alarm?”

Looking sheepish he admitted, “I didn't know if you would recover or not so I thought it was better to let you sleep.”

“Thanks for worrying about me but now we're too late to do any training. We'll just have time to bathe and eat.”

Ranma went to his own room. When his father tried to engage him in a fight he simply pointed out the time and told him, “Sorry Pop, no time. I've got to get to school.”

For a change they actually managed to get to school on time.

They walked into the school yard together and were calling out greetings to other students. That was when Akane's danger sense gave her warning. She turned just in time to see Kodachi in her school uniform leaping at her with a kendo practice sword moving in a downward strike. Akane easily caught the weapon one handed.

The youngest Tendo practically growled, “You've got a lot of nerve ambushing me first thing in the morning.”

“Ambushing? I was doing no such thing. I just came to visit with Ranma.”

Demonstrating her strength, Akane levered up with the wooden sword. She said, “If you want to see Ranma, why don't you just go talk to him instead of bothering… me?” The last was punctuated as Akane flung the intruder off in the direction of her fiancé.

The Black Rose executed a graceful flip and landed a short distance from Ranma. The boy shot a reproving glance at Akane and turned to leave. He didn't want to deal with the crazy woman who used paralysis gas.

He found himself facing Kuno who was holding a huge bouquet of red roses. The boy seemed to be talking to himself as if engaging in some sort of private fantasy. Suddenly without warning he shouted the name of Akane and struck out with his bokken. Ranna dodged the strike and kicked the kendoist in the face, sending the roses scattering.

The upperclassman grabbed Ranma's shirt and leaned in close asking, “Saotome, do you have some grievance against me?”

Ranma thought, “He seems unusually rational today.” He was about to make a sarcastic comment about Kuno attacking him for no apparent reason when Kodachi grabbed his shoulders and plastered herself to his back. The girl sighed and in a dreamy tone said, “Oh, Ran… Ma… Sir.”

Still clutching Ranma's shirt, Kuno leaned back and in a curious tone, “Hmm?” He released the pigtailed boy's shirt and walked completely around the couple before stopping again in front of them. As he was walking he seemed to study the couple intently. Finally he said, “Yes.”

Confused Ranma asked, “Yes, to what?”

“You have my permission to date.”

“Huh?”

Kodachi said happily, “Oh Ranma, I'm so happy. Now we're officially a couple.”

“What the heck is going on here?” Ranma demanded. “You have no right to tell me what to do. I have no intention of dating…”

Before he could finish he found a tearful girl's face just inches from his own. The Black Rose said, “So that's it, YOU HATE ME, don't you!”

Ranma didn't want date the crazy woman but he was something of a sucker for feminine tears. Grasping at straws he looked around and finally said, “No, that's not it. I can't date you because… I'm engaged.” He rushed over and stood behind Akane and whispered to her, “Back me up here.” Out loud he said, “Tendo Akane is my fiance.”

“F…Fiance?” Kodachi asked.

Akane confirmed, “Yes, we're engaged.”

“Hm, how interesting.” She suddenly attacked with her ribbon, making it necessary for Ranma and Akane to dodge out of the way. The girl in the brown uniform said, “What do you say then? How about we wager for Ranma in the upcoming match?”

“Wha…?” Ranma thought, “Wager for me?”

Akane demanded, “What did you just say? Are you insane?”

A hand came gently on her shoulder and Kuno said, “I think it is fine idea, Tendo Akane. If you wish to leave Ranma you need only lose.”

Laughing heartily, Kodachi said, “She needn't worry about that. She'll be losing in any case.”

This only fueled Akane's determination to beat this arrogant woman at all cost.

The gymnast faced the pigtailed boy and said, “Ranma, when this match is over, you shall be mine.” She began to twirl her ribbon and black rose petals began to scatter. After letting the wind take some of the flower petals she left in a leaping run and finally leapt to the top of the wall around the school and then over, the whole time laughing like a maniac.

With a sigh Kuno said, “That girl is such a deviant. Nevertheless, take care of my little sister, Saotome.”

Ranma shook his head as if to clear it. “What a minute, what did you just say?”

“What, do you have problems hearing? I said, take care of my little sister.”

He turned away and seemed to stare off into the sky. “Even though I am her brother I have to admire her for being so wicked, so nasty and spiteful and so thoroughly twisted.”

Having gathered his roses, Kuno handed them to Akane and advised, “Please Akane, try not to let her injure you. When Kodachi wants a man she doesn't let go. Surely she will try something evil in the match.” He walked away.

“His…sister?” Ranma sounded amazed.

With a slightly angry expression Akane commented, “Now that I think about it, they're identical.”

A thought occurred to Ranma. “He must not like his sister much if he's willing to set her up with someone he calls a `foul sorcerer.'”

“Um.” Was all Akane said.

It was the night before the match. Akane had progressed in her skills but was currently stalled in her progress due to Ryoga's absence. It seemed he'd gotten lost again. Akane was practicing her moves, using clubs, ribbons, hoops and balls to strike at Ranma, her sparring partner.

For her part in the exercise, Ranma was in girl form and also wearing a leotard as was Akane. The black haired girl was mastering pretty well the moves she knew. The only trouble being that with Ryoga gone she was not learning any more new moves.

A little later Ryoga did come in. She was in girl form and dropped her pack with a crash. She only said, “Sorry, I got lost again.”

Ranma shook her head with a sad expression. “We figured. Come on, watch us spar and evaluate Akane's progress. Tell us if you think she's ready for the match tomorrow.”

Ryoga watched the practice and couldn't help thinking, “She's going to lose. She got good enough that she shouldn't be totally embarrassed, but if this Kodachi girl is as good as Ranma said, Akane's going to lose.”

Akane was attacking with a club and not paying close enough attention to the tools littering the floor. Her foot came down on a ball. The ball rolled under her foot, wrenching her ankle. The youngest Tendo cried out in pain and fell.

Ranma shook her head. “I'm so sorry you got hurt, but this shouldn't have happened. I thought I taught you to be aware of your environment.”

Tears of shame squeezed out of her eyes as Ranma and Ryoga helped Akane back to the house. As they went Akane was berating herself. “Why did I ever think a klutz like me had a chance in a martial Art that requires grace?”

They got her to her room and onto the bed. Dr. Tofu came for a visit and after an examination and a reading of ki patterns, proclaimed that it was a mild sprain. Akane was to stay off her feet or use extra support. While off her feet she should keep the foot elevated.

After Tofu left Ranma, Ryoga and the Tendo sisters gathered in Akane's room. Not able to resist getting in a dig, Nabiki said, “My sister, the klutz.”

Ranma defended her, “Hey, she's learning. With time and training she'll be as graceful as a ballerina. This was just a bad time in her training for a challenge like this.”

Kasumi said, “You can't compete in this condition. You'll have to withdraw from the match.”

Almost growling, Akane swung her feet off the side of her bed. “There's no way I'm going to let a girl like that beat me. I'll be there.”

Kasumi held up her hands as if to restrain her sister and said, “Akane, wait!”

When Akane tried to put weight on her left foot, she winced in pain.

Kasumi shook her head. “See. You'll just have to find a substitute.”

Akane gave out a sigh. “That's so easy to say, but where are we going to find anyone? We need a girl who is nimble, graceful and good in martial arts. It wouldn't hurt if she looked good in a leotard.”

Several eyes turned toward Ranma. However the red haired girl protested, “Don't look at me. I don't know any more about it than Akane does. I may pick up techniques faster but I only a little ahead of Akane in this. It would be better if the substitute is a girl who already knows this gymnastics stuff.”

They turned to look at Ryoga. The Lost Girl held up her hands and protested, “Oh, no! You're not getting me in a leotard! I'm especially not going out in front of people in a leotard.”

Fifteen minutes they were back in the dojo with Ryoga in one of Kasumi's old leotards. The fit wasn't exact but close enough. Ryoga kept muttering, “I can't believe I let you talk me into this. It's not like I care if Ranma goes on a date with Kodachi.”

Ranma asked, “Do you really want me to go on a date with that psycho chick.”

Ryoga took a deep breath. “I didn't say I wanted you on a date with her. I just said I didn't care if you did.”

“Humph! That's not much better than wishing her on me. Let's spar.”

After they had spent a couple hours in practice they stopped. It was late. When they finished Ranma laid out a futon next to Ryoga's bedroll. She explained, “I'm here to make sure you don't get lost before the match. If you need to get up to take a leak, wake me up so I can lead you there.”

Ryoga wasn't happy with the situation but couldn't argue the necessity of Ranma playing watchdog. It was true that he had gotten lost on the way to bathroom before.

The following morning as the family was gathered in the dining room Akane was late in coming down. Her progress down the stairs could be followed by her grunts and gasps of pain. She hobbled into the dining room.

Kasumi was stern. “I told you to stay in your room with that foot up.”

“There's no way I'm going to miss this. I'm going with Ranma and Ryoga.”

The eldest sister sighed, “I thought that might be your attitude. I don't like it when you take these kinds of risks with your health. But if you insist on going you will take this and you will use it.” She picked up a cane that had been leaning against the kitchen cabinets. She took this to Akane.

The black haired girl wanted to protest that she could walk just fine, but she knew it wasn't true. She meekly took the cane and said, “I'll try not to go any farther than I have to, Kasumi.”

The eldest sister seemed somewhat mollified. “I worry about you, Akane. You can be so reckless at times.”

“I know, oneechan. You're right.”

They ate then headed out toward the bus stop. Both Ranma and Ryoga were in girl form. Ryoga was carrying a big gym bag that had her leotard along with her gymnastics tools. So she could step in as a substitute if needed, Ranma was wearing her leotard with a sweatshirt and track runner's warm up pants over it. Ranma kept close to Akane, ready to help if she needed someone to lean on.

The walk to the bus stop and the ride on the bus went without incident. They got out right in front of St Hebereke school. They got directions to the gym. While the people they spoke to where polite enough they had an attitude that was grating. You could tell this was a school for rich kids as there was definitely a snobbish vibe coming from all of the students they met.

At the gym they stopped to check in and were directed down a hall to the dressing room for the visiting team. As they went down the hall they were met by Kodachi who took notice of Akane and her cane. “What happened to you?”

Akane explained, “I had an accident in training and sprained my ankle. This girl will be taking my place.” She hooked a thumb at Ryoga-Chan.

“It doesn't matter who you bring in, you will still lose.”

She paused and looked over at Ranma. “You're that girl that interfered before. What are you doing here?”

“Since Akane's not in any shape to do more than give moral support, I'll be the second and hand the tools to our girl as she needs them. If needed, I can step in. I've been training along with Akane.”

“We shall see.” She stepped forward and held out her hand toward Ryoga. “May the best competitor win.”

As Ryoga stepped forward to take the offered hand, Ranma grabbed the gymnast's wrist and held the hand up. She pointed to the hand and said, “What's with the tacks?”

“Oh my, how ever did those tacks get between my fingers?”

Ranma released her wrist and said, “I think we'll skip the hand shake for now. Our competitor needs to get changed for the match.”

They headed down the hall and found the door with the sign on it that identified it as the dressing room for the visiting team. When they opened the door they found Genma in panda form waving a sign that said, “Hello.” He was leaning on a table that had a bouquet of roses on it.

Ranma waved and said, “Thanks for coming, Pop.” She might have said more but at that moment a “pop” could be heard coming from the roses on the table. The redhead didn't wait to hear the hiss before she slammed shut the door she was holding onto.

They waited for a moment, then cautiously opened the door again. They could now hear the panda snoring. Akane commented, “I don't envy you having to listen to that snore every night.”

Ryoga noted, “Looks like she used sleep gas instead of a paralysis gas. I'm going to hold my breath and go open the window.”

Doing that seemed to let the air in the room blow out the window. They went in to look around. Ranma gently poked her father and said, “Yeah, he's pretty much out of it for now. I don't know if this means he'll sleep for hours or minutes, since I don't know what Kodachi used.”

Ryoga said, “Just in case she left any other little traps I'm going to change behind the door while we keep it open. You guys stand guard to make sure I have some privacy. You know, I wasn't too thrilled to be involved in this, but now I just want to take that snooty girl down.”

Ranma agreed, “She seems to have the affect on people.”

Ryoga got dressed in a powder blue leotard. She wasn't happy about having to dress this way. Still, that Kodachi girl deserved to be taken down a peg or two.

In the gym, bleachers had been set up and there was quite a crowd. Ranma looked and thought, “This martial Arts Rythmic gymnastics must be a lot more popular than I would have guessed.”

She was unpleasantly surprised to see Kuno Tatewaki in the bleachers. He spotted her and waved, shouting, “Pigtailed girl.”

Ranma didn't look. “If I don't make eye contact maybe he'll think I didn't see him.”

When they got to the ring the two transformed martial artists helped Akane up to the corner of the ring. There was some light applause but not much. They hadn't expected to get any response so they glad of what they did get. At least none of the local girls booed them.

The announcer in the middle of the ring spoke into her microphone. “Now making her way to the ring is the captain of the St. Hebereke Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics team and regional champion, Kuno Kodachi!” Fireworks burst from small mortars just off stage.

The lights went down in the gym and spotlights were turned on and directed toward the figure of a woman dressed in a beautiful wedding gown seated on what looked like a playground swing. As she was lowered more fireworks boomed out, lighting up the gym.

One of the objects that burst forth from one of the mortars didn't just go up in the air and burst. This one went up then arced in a trajectory that would take it right toward the challengers in the match. Ryoga leapt out of the way, Ranma scooped up Akane and leapt in the opposite direction.

The rocket exploded in the air just over the corner ring post. It likely wouldn't have hurt anyone seriously, but maybe enough to put someone out of the competition. Kodachi was laughing and said, “However did that get in there?”

With a flourish Kodachi pulled off the gown and flung it to a flunky who was waiting on the side of the ring just to catch the gown. She now stood revealed in a black leotard that had red rose petal patterns embroidered on it. While she had an athlete's body, her face was just a little too sharp featured to be truly called beautiful. Or perhaps it was the haughty expression that detracted from her appearance.

Ranma set Akane down. She apologized, “I'm sorry for grabbing you like that, but there was no time to ask for permission. With your ankle I didn't think you could have jumped out of the way on time.”

The black haired girl nodded. “That's Ok, I understand.”

The announcer now resumed her job. “Due to injuries to the Furinkan High School team this match will be conducted as a personal challenge between our team captain and the representative of Furinkan…” She paused and asked in a soft voice, “I'm sorry, miss. What's your name?”

“Hibiki Ryoga.” They had discussed this. The others were against Ryoga using her real name, she had countered that nobody knew her.

The announcer spoke again, “The challenger from Furinkan, Hibiki Ryoga. Miss Hibiki is a last minute replacement for the previous challenger who was also injured.”

There was a buzz of conversation from that. One of the Furinkan students could be heard to say, “Isn't the name of the guy to fought that duel with Saotome?” “Doesn't she change into a guy like Saotome can?”

Ranma shook her head and thought to herself, “I told her giving her real name would be a mistake. Oh, well. It's too late to do anything about it now.”

Ryoga stood and idly twirled her ribbon waiting for Kodachi to make her first move. When it came the move was swift. The girl with the pony tail thrust forward with a club. As the aquatransexual ducked, she heard a metallic clang and could see spikes poke out of the head of the club.

“Ref!” Called out Ranma. “That club has spikes on it.”

The referee (who was in Kodachi's pay), answered, “The tools are legal.”

“Humph” Ryoga flicked the ribbon out in an effort to snag one of Kodachi's writsts. She was quick to avoid that and swung another tool that looked like a doubled length of rope but moved like a solid rod. When she missed a swing at Ryoga the rope whacked the canvas with a thump that made it clear that the rope really was a steel rod disguises as a rope.

Ranma made another token protest about the rod. As she expected the referee told her, “The tools are legal.” She idly wondered if a sword and bull whip would also be legal.

Ryoga cracked her ribbon like a whip but Kodachi was too skilled to be hit by such an attack. She executed a flip to get out of range. The Lost Girl wondered again why the other girl cheated so much. She was obviously good enough to compete on her own skills.

Akane noticed that Ranma had stopped paying attention to the action in the ring. She seemed to be looking off to one side and listening to something that Akane couldn't hear. “There she goes again. It is annoying when she does that.”

Suddenly Ranma patted Akane on the shoulder and asked, “Could you pass Ryoga the tools for a while?”

“Yeah, but what are you going to be doing?”

“I've got to check something out.” She jumped down from the side and pressed her ear up to the canvas ring apron. She listened for a little while. While she was doing that, Kodachi called for her second to throw her a hoop.

At that moment Ranma grabbed the canvas ring apron and yanked down on it to tear it loose from the hooks it hung on. She had pulled it hard enough that one whole side was taken down and what was inside was revealed. In the space under the ring was the whole St. Hebereke Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics team in their green leotards. Some were also wearing warm-up pants over their uniforms. A few of the girls were holding flashlights.

Ranma yelled, “Hey Ref, Take a look at this!”

Before the referee could announce that it was legal for those girls to be there, they got over their initial shock at being revealed and all ducked out and ran in all directions. At the moment Ranma had started to pull the ring apron, Akane had just tossed a club to Ryoga.

Kodachi thought she would take advantage of the distraction Ranma made by flinging her hoop. Ryoga was too smart to fall for that. She knew the hoop had a razor sharp edge and instead of trying to catch the hoop with her hand she thrust out the club she was holding and caught the inside of the hoop. With a quick swing and a flip she sent it back toward Kodachi.

The rich girl ducked down below the flying hoop but couldn't move fast enough to avoid the club that was thrown after it. That club hit her on the lower leg in a painful strike. When she tried to stand up her leg threatened to give out on her.

That was the opening Ryoga needed. She lashed out with her ribbon and wrapped it around the arm that Kodoachi had out for balance. With her strength she was able to yank the rich girl up and out of the ring. If the team had still been under the ring they could have lifted and moved it so it would be under her. As it was now she was too far outside the ring to grab one of the ropes. She landed on feet, but at an angle. She lacked the leverage to stand up so ended up falling on her butt.

Even being on the Black Rose's payroll couldn't make the referee justify messing this up. She announced, “Kuno Kodachi is out of the ring, Hibiki Ryoga is the winner.”

Ranma leapt over the ropes while Akane somewhat painfully went between to go join Ryoga in the middle of the ring. Limping, Kodachi climbed back into the ring and made her way to the middle.

A trophy was handed to the referee who held it up to show to the crowd. She announced, “In this personal challenge the representative for Furinkan has won. The trophy goes to the winning school.”

Kodachi loudly announced, “There was a wager on the outcome of this match. By the terms of that wager I now renounce all of my current affections for Saotome Ranma. From this moment forward I will burn with an entirely new passion for Ranma.”

Ranma slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned. Was there no way to be rid of this whacko?

Ryoga picked up the trophy and held it up over her head and the Furinkan students in the crowd cheered. However, when Ryoga turned to carry the trophy away, she was told she couldn't take it, because it had to be engraved first.

As they went back to the dressing room Ranma advised her friend, “You might want to watch your back for a while. Kodachi strikes me as the type that would want to get revenge.”

“Yeah, I kind of got that impression.”

When they got back to the dressing room they found Genma had wakened. He flashed a sign, “What happened?”

Ranma sighed. “There was a sleep gas capsule in the flowers. You've been asleep for a while. The match is over and Ryoga won.”

Another sign said, “Could I get some hot water?”

Ranma rolled her eyes and told her father, “The building we're in is a gym.

There's sure to be some showers. Since I'm wearing a leotard under this track suit I don't want to change to a guy until we get back.”

The panda held up a sign, “Be a man, son.”

“Do you have any idea the kind of wedgie this outfit would give me if I did that?”

Another sign: “Oh, I didn't think of that.”

Ryoga laughed, “You need to plan better. I brought my guy clothes.”

“Next time.”

Akane asked, “How did you know about the girls under the ring?”

“I could hear something going on down there that wasn't completely masked by the crowd noises. That's why I jumped down and put my ear up to the canvas. Would you believe they were down there telling ghost stories like it was a campout?”

“Ghost stories?”

“Yep. I get the feeling they've done this sort of thing before.”

Ryoga threw in, “Kodachi doesn't need to cheat. With her moves and skills, she'd be a top competitor if she played it straight and honest. As it is, though, I'm surprised that any other schools will even agree to matches with her school.”

Ranma nodded. “I'd bet she puts as much effort into perfecting her cheats as she does into regular training. If she worked as that hard on honest training she'd be unbeatable.”

Ryoga shook her head, “If she were to try to get into any regular sport like Olympic gymnastics they'd look at her high school performance and bar her from participating. Hell, I bet they wouldn't even let her in the building to sit in audience.”

Ryoga and Genma went off in search of a hot shower while Ranma and Akane left. Genma promised to stay with Ryoga to be sure he could get back to the dojo without getting lost.

Akane used her cane but seemed to be getting better. She wasn't leaning on it as much. Ranma wondered if she really was getting better or if she was just being more stubborn.

When they finally got back to the dojo Kasumi asked, “How did it go?”

“Ryoga won. He and my pop wanted to change before they came back. I hope they remembered they were at a girls' school. They'd be better off just getting a cup of hot water to use elsewhere. If they try changing in the gym building they could get a lot of girls mad at them.”

Akane chuckled, “I wouldn't believe even your father would be that stupid.”

Sarcastically, Ranma responded, “Have you met my father?”

“Hmm, you have a point.”

“What they went to do shouldn't have taken long. They should have been on the next bus. If they don't show up in the next half hour, they ran into trouble.”

Akane's expression looked pained, “Kasumi, I'm going up to my room. I think I need to put my feet up.”

As her sister made her way up the stairs, Kasumi couldn't resist letting out a long sigh. It took a good deal of control to refrain from saying, “I told you so.” She had warned Akane about going out with her sprained ankle. Her stubbornness could be a good trait, but refusing to listen to good advice could hurt her badly someday.

Kasumi held up a kettle but Ranma declined. “I need to change first. I don't want to be a guy in a leotard. It would not be comfortable.”

She took a change of clothing and went to the bath. When he came out he was again in one of his regular outfits of red shirt and black pants. “Ah… It's good to get out of those clothes.”

When Ranma went back to the kitchen Kasumi met him with a cup of tea. He laughed and asked, “Have you added mind reading to your list of talents?”

The eldest Tendo sister gave a warm smile and said, “I just thought you might like this.”

“You thought right. Thanks.”

Kasumi looked around and asked, “Didn't you say Ryoga won?”

“Yes, that's right.”

“Did he get a trophy?”

“Nope, the school gets the trophy but his name will be on it.”

“That doesn't seem quite fair.”

Ranma shrugged.

About that time Genma and Ryoga dragged in looking like they had undergone a server beating. Ryoga looked angrily at Ranma and said, “You might have given us a warning.”

With a sad expression Ranma shook his head. “I didn't think I should have to remind you. Didn't you remember we were at St. Hebereke School for Girls?”

“But…”

“Ryoga, don't you remember why we went there as girls?”

The lost boy sputtered for a few moments. He wanted this to be Ranma's fault, but it couldn't be denied that he had known it was a girls' school they were going to for the match.

Ranma reasonably pointed out, “All you needed to do was go into the locker room and get a couple cups of hot water then use it when you got outside the building.”

“Ok, I get it! You're smart and I'm an idiot.”

The pigtailed martial artist sighed. “No, you're not an idiot, Ryoga. You have a good mind when you take the time to use it. You just have this bad habit of bulling your way ahead most of the time without thinking of the consequences. I'm not saying you can't think, just that you usually don't.”

Ryoga wasn't sure how to respond to that.

Seeing his friend's confusion, Ranma explained, “Let me give you an example: That first fight at Furinkan. After I sidestepped you and you went past me you could have stopped and turned around and got back in the fight. Instead you kept charging forward, crashing through walls.”

“What's your point?” Ryoga demanded.

“Just that if you took more time to think your battles could be resolved faster and you'd cause a lot less collateral damage.”

“Uh.”

“Just think about it.”

“Crime Stoppers” Interlude #2

Ranma looked around and wondered how she had let them talk her into this. She had told officer Takata that she would help the police if asked, but to be bait again was not what she had in mind. Why couldn't they have come to her with a job that would make use of her martial arts skills?

She thought about how she looked right now. Her scarlet locks were loose and unbound. She was wearing a blue miniskirt that showed off her legs and a very tight pink sweater that left little doubt of her current gender. She was wearing makeup (something she had sworn she would never do) and she had ornaments in her hair. She looked like an adorably cute young girl.

A gang of four men had been preying on young girls of junior high age. They would find lone girls or pairs and drag them into an alley where they would beat them, rob them and rape them. Six girls had been assaulted so far, two of them had to be hospitalized because of the severity of their injuries. All of the girls were traumatized and it was likely they would need therapy for some time to come.

When the police first contacted her, Ranma had protested that she was too old. She had been told that her girl form actually did look a little younger than her male form. Plus with the right clothes and make up she could look like a 13 year old who was trying to pass for 16. “They wouldn't pick me for this kind of job if my girl form was taller.” She grumbled to herself.

A voice came into the earphones she was wearing, “What was that, Ranma?”

“Nothing. How much longer do we do this?”

She was wearing ear buds plugged into what looked like an MP3 player that dangled like a necklace around her neck. The voice responded, “Let's give it another half hour. That would take us pretty much to the end of the time when you could reasonably expect a girl in the target age group to be out.”

Ranma glanced around and started doing a little dance move as if moved by music she was listening to. It was her hope that anyone who saw her talking would just assume she was singing along with the music from the ear buds. “Maybe the bad guys aren't fooled by this ridiculous outfit you put me in.”

The voice chuckled. “Trust me Ranma, you look the part. If I didn't know you were really a guy and 16, I'd swear you were a junior high girl.”

In a tone dripping with sarcasm Ranma replied, “You don't know how good that makes me feel.”

The cop just chuckled.

Suddenly something tickled Ranma's ki senses. She touched her “pendant” as if adjusting the volume of her music and continued to move her body and head as if to the beat of music. She said, “I sense someone looking at me. There's four of them and they're in the alley.”

The cop on the radio asked, “This is one of those ki things isn't it?”

“Yep. I hope you guys have an ambulance ready. If these are the guys they will need one.”

“Uh… Ranma? We're just supposed to catch these guys, not maim them.”

Grimly, “I saw what they did to those girls. Can't I just maim them a little?”

“You can defend yourself against attack. You shouldn't use any more force than needed to subdue them.”

“If you are going to get so finicky maybe you should give me the police training course so I would know just how much force that is. Don't worry, none of them will be permanently damaged.”

“We'll settle for that.”

She fell silent and concentrated on her senses. The men were still just standing in the alley. She thought to her self, “Come on guys. You can't be afraid of one cute little girl, can you?”

When there was no further sign of movement from the alley Ranma started to move in that direction, all the time bopping to the imaginary sound of music from her player. Ranma had copied this behavior from girls she had observed at school. The police had helped her polish the act until it looked completely natural.

As she passed the mouth of the alley two men rushed out. One grabbed her shoulders and the other grabbed her legs and together they picked her up and carried her into the alley. She started to yell, “Hey!” Before she could get another word out the one man put a hand over her mouth.

It was evident that these men had done this before. Almost before she knew it, Ranma found herself on her back. She was gagged with a cloth rag and one man was holding her down with a hand on each of her arms. There was one man on each of her legs, leaving one man free. That man that wasn't involved in holding Ranma down flipped up her miniskirt and grabbed the waistband of her panties in preparation to rip the garment off.

When Ranma tried to struggle the man paused and slapped her. “You will lay there little girl and take it. You will like it.”

The man returned his hand to the waistband of Ranma's panties when things suddenly deviated from the script he was used to playing out. A blinding white battle aura erupted from the petite form. With ki boosted strength, Ranma kicked away the men holding her legs then swung her legs up to capture the neck of the man holding her arms in a leg scissor. With seemingly no effort she brought her legs down and flung the man to hit the wall with a crash.

It was plainly obvious where the girl was from the light of her battle aura, but seeing her and being able to do anything about her were two different things. Ranma was moving at a speed that was mostly just a blur to observers. One of the men tried to run, but Ranma threw a ki blast that slammed him into the wall.

When Ranma judged she had dealt out enough punishment she went to each of the men and tapped a sleep pressure point.

The cop who was on the other end of the radio link came jogging up. He had a gun drawn. When he saw all of the men unconscious on the ground he holstered his weapon and spoke into his walkie talkie.

Several other men came into the alley at that point. Each was carrying a gun and a pair of handcuffs. After applying the cuffs, one of the cops checked the pulse of the downed man. He turned to the red haired girl and asked, “The blows you landed wouldn't have knocked this guy out. What did you use?”

Ranma answered, “Shiatsu sleep point. It's useful sometimes to put an opponent out of action without seriously damaging him (or her.)”

The cop nodded, impressed. “There've been times I could have used something like that. Do you think you could teach that little trick to the police department martial arts sensei?”

Ranma smiled. “I'd be happy to do that.”

When the men were fully identified it turned out they were repeat offenders. Ranma's testimony was sufficient to get them put away for a good long term.

It was one week after that a call came into the Tendo home. It was the police and it was explained that something had come up related to the arrest Ranma had helped with.

Akane took Ranma with her when she went to the police station. They were led to one of the interrogation rooms where they were seated. A man in casual clothes came into the room and placed a file on the table. The man had a badge clipped to his belt. “I'm Lt. Noguchi. Thank you for coming Miss Tendo, Saotome. I had originally planned to speak to just you Miss Tendo but since this is related to the group that Ranma helped to capture and he is your friend I didn't object to him being here.

Akane was confused, “Why would those men Ranma helped arrest have anything to do with me?”

The policeman sighed. “After we started to investigate those men it began to show a relationship to several old cases. It would seem that these men have been doing this sort of thing for some years. That led us to look at several outstanding cases.”

A look of fear flitted briefly across Akane's face before she controlled herself. “Do you think that the two who grabbed me before might be in that group?”

The cop flicked a glance at Ranma and said, “If you would feel more comfortable discussing this in private, I could ask Saotome to leave.”

The black haired girl closed her eyes a moment before opening them again. “Ranma is my friend and my fiancé. I don't think I should keep something like this from him.”

The cop looked back and forth between the two teens for a moment. Finally he nodded. Out of the file folder he pulled twenty photographs of men's faces and arranged them on the tabletop. “Do you recognize any of these men?”

Even though she immediately recognized the ones who had tried to take advantage of her before, she forced herself to study all of the photographs carefully. Finally she silently tapped her finger on each of the pictures she recognized. “These are the men. They were younger then, but I still recognize them.”

Akane turned to Ranma and began, “Back when I was in Junior High there was one day when I stayed to watch a soccer game. It was fairly late when I left school. Nabiki had already left and I had nobody to walk with so I was going alone.”

Ranma protested, “You don't have to tell me this.”

She shook her head in an almost jerky fashion. “Just the fact that I was called here as a follow up to the case you were involved in tells you a lot. I'd rather you get the straight story instead of imagining all sorts of horrible things.”

Akane then related the story similar to what Kasumi had told Ranma but with greater detail. Finally she finished and said, “You wondered why I started hating boys and believing all boys are perverts. It was my run in with those two perverts that started it. Kuno and the `horde' just reinforced it.”

Lt. Noguchi said, “Thank you, Miss Tendo. This will be added to the charges against these two. Would you be willing to make a statement?”

“Yes! If it will help put those two away where they can't do that kind of thing to any other girls, then I'll do whatever it takes.”

The policeman placed a recorder on the table. Before turning it on he told them both, “I don't think Miss Tendo will need to testify in court. Ranma's testimony and that of two of the other girls should be enough. There can be little doubt that these men are guilty. The statements of more than 20 other girls, including Miss Tendo's, should weigh heavily when it comes to sentencing. Those should prevent any appeals for leniency or a shorter sentence.”

Her tone vicious, Akane said, “I hope they put those animals away forever.”

Lt. Noguchi said, “Maybe not forever, but hopefully long enough that they won't be interested in underage girls by the time they get out.”

The black haired girl almost snarled, “I'll have to settle for that. I'd like to see something more… painful happen to them. Castration sounds good to me.”

Both Ranma and the policeman winced a little. Lt. Noguchi turned on the recorder and Akane dictated her formal statement. When she finished the policeman asked a few clarifying questions then turned off the recorder. He took the recording to have the statement typed up for Akane's signature.

While they sat waiting in the interrogation room Ranma told Akane, “I guess it's a good thing I didn't know those two guys were the ones who tried to do that to you. If I had I might have crippled or killed them. As it was I was rougher than I needed to be because of what they did to the other girls. At least then it wasn't personal. What happened to the other girls was terrible but I didn't know them.”

Akane considered that for a moment. On the one hand she wouldn't mind if those men suffered serious pain, and she would not feel sorry if she heard they had died. That had to be balanced against what she knew of the character of the young man sitting beside her.

Akane put a hand on Ranma's shoulder and said, “Then I'm glad you didn't know. I'd like to see those two punished but I'd hate to see you have something like their deaths on your conscience. They aren't worth it.”

The pigtailed boy looked uncertain. “I guess it's better for the law to take care of them.”

After a while the policeman came back with the typed statement. Akane read over it to be sure that it matched what she had said and then she signed it. Shortly they were back home.

Akane took a deep breath. “You know, I think I feel better now. Knowing those creeps are going to be behind bars is like a weight lifted off my mind.”

“Good. You can finally put this behind you.”

Author's Note: Sorry to take so long to get this posted. I had an accident that deleted a large portion of this story off my hard drive and I had to re-create it from memory. I sort of had a little writer's block on this chapter and worked on finishing up “Nodoka's Lessons” instead. I also had an idea for a sequel to “Nodoka's Lessons” that sort of grabbed my imagination and wouldn't let go.

Yes, this fight is shorter than either the anime or manga. That's because the person fighting Kodachi (Ryoga) actually knows what she's doing.