Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Usual Delinquents ❯ One Card Short of a Full Deck ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Kuno's limousine pulled up to the home- it was large, much larger than the homes of the other exchange families.

To Kuno, It was a dump.
And here he'd heard that Americans had big houses!

With a labored sigh, the great samurai warrior grabbed the handle of his peasantish luggage carrier, which held but a small fraction of his essential needs and belongings up the pathway to the front door, where the noble Samurai rung the doorbell in a heroic and noble fashion.

The doorbell was answered by a normal, but somewhat fair to look on woman in her middle ages, smiling pleasantly.
"Why hello, you must be Tatewaki. We were expecting you yesterday."
Tatewaki stifled an exasperated sigh.
"Yes, well I was detained looking after some of the peculiar details of my voyage."
<Those fools at the airport making such a fuss about everything, and the police!>
Kuno thought.
She showed him inside, where he contained his abhorrent reaction to the short ceilings-
Only 10 feet high, truly not enough for a warrior- and narrow hallways with clumsy and thick doors and graceless architecture. Tatewaki could barely restrain a cry of anguish at the hovel-like dwelling that was his.
"Pretty nice, eh?" Asked his hostess.
"AAAAAAHHH!!!!" Tatewaki screamed.
"This simply will not do! Your architecture is cramped and graceless, your hallways unrefined, your decoration simply unacceptably lowborn, the floors are bare wood and..
and...
Tatewaki had spared a glance towards the refrigerator, where a young woman a bit younger than Tatewaki made her way to the refrigerator and removed an american's peasant refreshement, a Coke, from the refrigerator.
Tatewaki's bokken dropped from his hand- the woman was a vision of loveliness he was unused to. Her long blonde hair hung behind her shoulders as she looked at him during his stunted outburst, her green eyes nearly glowing from their beautiful frame- her cheekbones were high and angular, her nose buttonish, her chin dainty, her lips pouted just so.

Tatewaki's heart stopped as the bokken clattered to the floor.

The woman, his hostess, stared at him in somewhat of an expression of horror.
<Quickly, Tatewaki, resolve this issue in a manner becoming your noble Samurai Heritage, with Diplomacy, Charisma and characteristic aplomb!>

"That is, of course, after the traditional Japanese custom. I happen to find it very charming. Where do I sleep?"

His hostess seemed pleased by his sudden return to the world of the civilized. The Longhaired Girl, whose eyes had remained on Tatewaki this whole time, shrugged and walked off, the snapping sound of the opening refreshment the only indicator of her proximity as she rounded a corner, out of sight.
Tatewaki's heart resumed beating normally.
"You sleep upstairs, next to Elizabeth's room."

<Much Contemplation needs contemplating before the night is out...> Thought Tatewaki.
---

Rei slipped through the window to Nabiki's room, surprising the short haired girl.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, you know." Nabiki said with a glare.
"But it's so much fun!" Rei countered. "Got the movies?"
"Sure. But these are movies, you know. They don't have much to do with reality."
"Sure they do. You just have to make them."
"There really isn't much adventure unless it happens to you- you can't happen to it. Look at my sister, for crying out loud. Anytime she tries to do anything exciting, all she gets is a face-full of that halfwit Saotome."

"mmm... face-full of Saotome...."
"What the hell are you thinking?" Nabiki asked incredulously. "You couldn't possibly be interested in someone so shallow-witted?"

"Nope. Not at all. "
"All he's good for is blackmailing."
"And looking at." Rei countered.
"Hmph." Nabiki replied.
"Look, save your distaste for him. Blackmail him all you want. I just wanna see him without a shirt occasionally."
"I will blackmail him, that you can be sure of."
"I already was."
"He has no right to treat my sister that way."
"Do you care about that that much?"
"Yes I do!"
"Okay." Rei said, letting the tender subject drop.
The two settled in in front of the television, absorbing the sights and sounds of Indiana Jones' first movie.

"Why does it always have to be snakes?" Asked Indiana from the screen.

"It's good that we don't have a weakness like that, or fear of cats or something keeping us in danger all the time." Nabiki said.
"You sound so sure." Rei said.
"The only thing that scares me is Akane's cooking."
Rei laughed. "So I've gathered."
Nabiki smiled. "So I'll be both enterprising businesswoman..."

Rei interrupted "You mean blackmail queen"
"..and breathtaking adventurer" Nabiki finished, ignoring the other girl's unwelcome interjection.
"ooh, Breathtaking no less!"
Nabiki shot Rei a glare.
"look, miss smarty pants. You're the one who wants to be the big adventurer. Adventurers are always good looking, right?"
"Point taken. We'll need to keep up our exercises, and take some of those martial arts."
Nabiki snorted.
"What?" Rei asked.
"Martial arts. That's not adventure, that's insanity."
"Whatever. 6 of one, Half a dozen of the other."
"Sure. You say that until some freak flies by in an airship and snags your sister with a fishing pole just because he wants to marry her to complete a scroll of martial arts married people's pickle making."
"That sounds fun. I don't see why you're..." Rei stopped, and then grew a huge smile on her face, pointing at the short haired girl. "You're jealous!! You want to be snagged by a fishing pole and carried off somewhere!"
"That's a baseless accusation." Nabiki replied.
"When it comes to you, my dear, nothing I say is baseless."
"How is that? You hardly know me." Nabiki said. "Maybe I should show you what I'm normally like."
"Nah. I just think I understand you pretty well. Besides, you really don't want to blackmail me."
"Is that so?" Nabiki said with a grin.
"Really."
"Fine then. Okay, so we were talking about skills needed for adventuring."
"Right. I say we need martial arts."
"Once again, I wonder why."
"Look, I think you're just scared of beginning now, what with your little sister being so good a martial artist already. You don't want to seem awkward, because of this whole 'Queen lord Nabiki' thing you have set up, but here's perfect. Back at home, you couldn't have avoided Akane's stares, or Ranma's, or whatever, but here, you can do it yourself. You can master the martial arts, and when you go home, to everyone else it will seem like all of a sudden you grew some skill."
"But I..."
"No buts. You're gonna master it. I mean, come on. What school are you going to?"
"The Bruce Lee Martial Arts magnet school."
"That's what I'm talkin' about."
" That principal is going to pay for this."
"What, for giving you the chance of a lifetime?"
"I have not yet determined that this is the chance of a lifetime" Nabiki replied hotly.
"So what else do we need? I think we need a just cause."
"Like what?"
"I dunno, science, or a museum or something."
"What do you mean by that?"
"We should be adventuring to advance science, or get back artifacts for a museum. Otherwise we're just looters."
"Like that time capsule?"
"Yeah. That was a warm-up. We'll make up for it later."
"Like How?"
"Well, I'll figure something out. I'll let you know tomorrow."
The two girls finished the movie in silence, and Rei slipped out the window, leaving Nabiki to her thoughts.

The Next Morning:
Snorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....hk.....shooooooooooooo... came the sound.
Ryoga pulled the pillow tightly over his head. He'd once had a wild elephant interrupt his sleep while he was camping outside Tokyo, but this was much louder than that.

Snorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....hk.....shooooooooooooo... came the sound.
Ryoga glanced at the alarm clock- 7:09. In 6 minutes, that alarm would go off, and he would get no more sleep. Ryoga was as apt a guy to go without sleep as anyone else, but what really irked him was what was keeping him awake.

Snorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....hk.....shooooooooooooo... went Saotome Ranma.

"Grrrrrr.... That's it! Ranma, prepare to die!" Ryoga said angrily, hefting a nice world atlas in one hand, which he unceremoniously wung right at the sleeping boy's head.

Snorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..<Thwap> Hurk? Uh? Wha?.... came the sound.
Ranma sat up in bed as Ryoga raised another implement of circadian disruption.
"Aw, Whadja do that for?" Ranma asked.
"Shut up and let me sleep, Ranma!" Ryoga growled. "It's bad enough having to stay here with /you/, of all people, but not letting me sleep is simply unforgiveable!

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Whatever, P-Chan. I'm going back to bed."
"No you're not. You're going to keep me awake!"

"Like I care?" Ranma retorted.
Ryoga hucked the annotated travels of Alexander the Great right for Ranma's head. Ranma, despite his sleep groggy position, was plenty awake to catch the book.
"Eat this, Porky!" Ranma said, flinging the book with all the force he could muster. "And this!" he said, flinging the atlas with his other hand.

Ryoga caught both books, threw them back, and added a few more books. Ranma, caught those books, threw them back, and added a few action figures.

Gosunkugi woke up, checked his alarm. Swinging his legs out of bed, he put on his bunny slippers and made his way out of the room. The barrage of flying objects, which now included every object in the room that was in reach of Ranma or Ryoga's bed, parted around him effortlessly as the two boys sought to hurt each other with the things and not wanting to waste a shot on Gosunkugi. They were, after all, Martial Artists.

Gosunkugi stepped into the shower just as the alarm went off.

"You made me miss my sleep, Ryoga!"
"Say what?" replied the lost boy.
"I said you made me miss my sleep!" Ranma said angrily.
"That's not what I meant. What I meant was you made me miss MY sleep!" Ryoga countered.

Gosunkugi finished his shower, and padded his way downstairs to the kitchen.
"Good Morning, Hikaru" came Mrs. Yoshikawa's sing-song call.
"Good Morning Mrs. Yoshikawa."
"Please, Hikaru, call me Sylvie." The older woman replied.
The house shook suddenly and violently.
"Okay... Sylvie..."
"There, that's better. In America, it's unbearably formal to refer to someone as Mister or Mrs. if you know them. Or even rude, sometimes."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now, Hikaru, how about some breakfast?"
"That'd be great!" Gosunkugi replied.
The house shook under another titanic impact.
"How about some pancakes, eggs, bacon and orange juice?" Sylvie said.

43 minutes later...

"Come on, Ryoga, we're going to be late!"
"This is all your fault, Ranma!"
"Whatever, pig boy, just hurry up!" Ranma countered. <Stupid Ryoga... keeping me up like that and making me late for my first day of class. >

<Stupid Ranma... Keeping me up like that and making me late for my first day of class. >
Thought the lost boy as they rushed down the street at top speed. It was a straight shot from the Yoshikawa home, but it was still a few blocks, and it was going to be tight to see if they could make it on time...

They rushed onto the lot, only to be confronted by a large group of students, wearing unusual hats.
"Stop right there!" Came the loud call in English.
"Come on, buddy, we're going to be late!" Ranma said.
"Are those... hair nets?" Ryoga asked.
Ranma looked at the 12 student's "hats". They did indeed appear to be hairnets. They were silvery, which was unusual, but Ranma still knew a hair net when he saw one. His father's false vanity had caused him a number of unfortunate encounters with them...
"They're our protection. You see, we are ready for your kind!" said the leader, a tall, beefy boy in a T-shirt that said "Nevermore".
Ranma turned to Ryoga. "Our Kind?"
Ryoga turned to them. "How dare you group me with him!"
"Oh, you expect us to think it's just a coincidence that you should show up on the same day as the Furinkan students, and be so obviously a martial artist? Hah!"
"But... it is just a coincidence..." began the two teens.
"What is going on here?" Came a clear voice. The Nerimans turn to see Akane stroll up and join them.
"We were about to..."
"Yeah, what's going on?" came the call of the longhaired okonomiyaki chef.
"Ahem. As I was saying, we are about to show you what will happen if you do not immediately cease your evil haircutting ways! En Guarde!"

"Haircutting wha?" Ranma said, suddenly dodging a flung hair net. The coiffure coffin flew across the lot, slicing a tree branch in its path into little cubes, which clattered to the ground quietly.
"What makes you think we'd want to do that?" Akane asked, barely avoiding a steel hair net with metal weights at the end- the net wrapped around a light pole like a bola.
"We know all about your evil headmaster. We know you're here to try and punish our principal for their history together by making his school a laughingstock. Well, we'll show you. Our finest members are in Japan right now, making short work of your evil leader. And we're here to stop you, his elite task force, from taking the same advantage of us here!" the boy finished. "Sara, I could use a glass of water."
A girl dressed like a ninja appeared out of a puff of smoke, glass of water held out for him.
He took it and drank it.
"There, that's much better. My throat was getting dry. Now, prepare yourself!"
"Whoa whoa, whoa. History together?"
"Quit playing dumb. I'm sure you all know...
<flashback>
A muscular young man, back towards the viewer, sits on a park bench next to a woman who is turned to face him.
'I can't believe it." He says in a thick Scottish drawl, his deep voice causing a nearby woman to lean heavily on her boyfriend for support.
"I'm sorry, James, but I love him! I can't see you anymore."
"What can you possibly see in him?"
"He's kind, and loving, and... well, he's just wonderful."
"But I love you, don't you see?"
The woman nearby totally collapsed.
"He has a pineapple tree growing from his head! Doesn't that deter you in the slightest?"
she shook her head. "no. I'm sorry, James. Can we still be friends?"
<End flashback>
"But that wasn't enough for your evil headmaster. Not only did he steal our beloved principal's one true love, but from then on, he was still driven to extremes of jealousy by the magic they'd had before! His torture knew no bounds!"

<Begin flashback>
"Mr. Kuno, prepare to defend yourself."
"Aloha, Wahine. Wa' you be talkin' bout?"
"Mr. Kuno, I am challenging you for the hand of the beautiful..."
The thick Scottish drawl choked up into a sob.
"This duel will be to the death." He finished, returning to his composure.
"No, keiki. Tha' be Wrong."
"Prepare yourself!" the man called out, rushing with a saber. The two leaped into the air, and landed apart by ten feet, facing away from each other. The sun, setting behind them, silhouetted them in an orange glow.
"Damn... you... Mr. Kuno..." said the man on the right, as he fell to the ground, head shorn completely bare.
The next day:
"Prepare yourself, Mr. Kuno!"
>Swish, swipe<
>clump<
<End flashback>
"And so it would go on, and on, your vicious headmaster never ceasing his attempts to shave our beloved principal's head completely bald. We, the members of the BLAM school principal's list, have sworn to protect him and his beloved school from the threat presented by the vicious headmaster Kuno, whose obsession with haircutting knows no bounds."

Ryoga looked questioningly at Ranma. Ranma nodded to Ryoga. "It sounds true..." The pigtailed boy supplied.
"So, when this exchange program was initiated between the two schools, we naturally assumed your fiendish principal would use this opportunity to ridicule our teacher yet again. So we taught ourselves to use these weapons." He said, twirling a steel hair net for emphasis- "So that we could stop you from shaving our heads and completing your headmaster's fiendish task of ridicule. Now, Are you prepared?"
"I'm always prepared." Ranma said.
Akane looked the boy in the eye. "That's by far the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"I will listen to no more of your deceptions! Prepare yourself already!"
"I am already!" Ranma replied impatiently. The other Nerimans nodded in agreement.
"Well, prepare yourself more. You'll need it." He continued.
"What are we supposed to be, Boy Scouts?" Ryoga quipped.
"Stop your yammering! Prepare to be defeated!" called out Sara, who disappeared into a puff of smoke. The leader and his 10 other men charged.
Ranma dodged under the leader's first attack, and started a flurry of punches to his midsection. The boy rolled around Ranma's blows, reducing the damage and bringing him out of reach just as...
Another boy flung down with a hair net for Ranma's face whilst the leader switched with the new boy and moved on to Ryoga, who was caught just as much by surprise by Ranma by this sudden tactic.
Ryoga blocked the punch thrown by the leader, and guy kicked him into Ranma, who barely rolled him off of himself in time to defend himself against the second man, whom Ranma easily struck in the nose. Ranma punched two more in the face, and turned to see that Akane and Ukyou weren't faring much better, practically fighting each other as well as the opponents, although not intentionally.
With a puff of smoke, the ninja girl appeared behind Ranma, giant steel hair net in hand, poised to bring it down and capture Ranma.
Ryoga considered telling Ranma, but instead just focused on his task at hand.

Ranma rolled between the ninja's legs at the last possible second, avoiding the steel net and certain defeat with an flair that only comes from being Saotome Ranma. He favored the girl with a smug look as she gathered up her giant net.
"I'm surprised." Sara began.
"What, that I'm so much better than you?" Ranma said.
"Hah. No. That a team trained by the evil headmaster shows as little teamwork and team spirit as you all do." Sara said.
"I told you, we're not a team!" Ryoga yelled from behind her.
"Yeah, like he said!" Ranma agreed.
"Don't you think we're past this little ruse? Can't you just admit who you are and accept defeat gracefully?" She said, punctuating her sentence with a flung net. Ranma gracefully leaped over the net to land on top of her head, perched like a bird.
"Look, I don't hit girls, but I ain't gonna let you guys just beat me up like that."
"Get.... Off...." Sara began, swiping at Ranma, who hopped over her blows just to land back on her head again and again. She staggered under his weight, applied repeatedly but without force.
"Ranma, stop flirting with that girl and help your Fiancee!" Ukyou said, pissed tone and facial expression focused all on Saotome Ranma as she ducked under a net and spatulated a net wielder into the ground.

Ranma, however, was focused on a battle aura in the crowd.
"Ranma... how dare you..." Akane began.
"Akane, it's not what it looks like."
"How could it not be?" Asked Sara from underneath Ranma. After all, it looked like Ranma was sitting on her head pretty much was an objective fact.
"Cheating on Akane like that... In front of her no less... Have you no shame, Saotome?" Ryoga added in.
Ranma waved his arms in a gesture of warding. "No, no, it's not like that."
"Then tell me what it is like, huh?" Asked Sara.
"Uhhh..." Ranma began, but a throwing spatula, a flying brick and a red bamboo umbrella cut him off.
As Ranma fell off of Sara's head, she turned to the leader, staggered on the ground.
"You know, I'm starting to believe them." She said.
"Me too." Replied the leader. "All right, men, you're done now. Let them go."
"Honestly, just attacking people like that. They should be ashamed of themselves." Akane said.
"I'll say, Sugar. They really made a mess out of things here, and all for what? To defeat a nonexistent group of rogue haircutters?"
Ranma sat up from his fallen position, the brick having left it's mark as it slid away from the square red mark on his face. He nonchalantly plucked the throwing spatula from his skull.
"Those guys need a lesson... Oh crap. We're late! Come on, guys!"


Ranma and crew ran up to join a big line in front of the school- the doors hadn't opened yet, and Ranma sure didn't know why.
"Heya, Ucchan. Why ain't the doors opened yet?"
Ukyou turned to look at Ranma. "Why would I know?"
Switching to English, she tapped the shoulder of the boy in front of her.
"Excusa me, why door is no open?" Ukyou asked.
The boy smiled back. "Today is placement."
Ukyou smiled back, turned to Ranma and said simply in Japanese- "Today is 'placement'"
Ranma gave Ukyou a wry look. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
The two large wooden doors moved, the Chinese dragons inlaid seeming to groan in protest as the hinges creaked under
The tremendous weight of the ornate door opening.
Ranma slowly made his way up the line until he reached an oaken desk. A pretty lady with light hair smiled at him and pointed him to a gym locker on Ranma's left.
"Uh.. thanks." Ranma said suavely. As he strolled off, she reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Eh?" Ranma wondered.
The woman placed a Gi, wrapped in a clear poly bag, into his hand.
---
Ranma walked out onto the floor of the gymnasium. The whole floor was covered in a thin mat, to prevent harm from falls, Ranma guessed.
All around the makeshift dojo were pairs of students, fighting it out, while teachers or faculty watched.
Ranma turned his head back to the mat that corresponded with his little number tag- 43- and looked across the mat.

Ranma rarely smiled when he looked at Ryoga Hibiki, but today, when his presence would allow Ranma to show off for real,
He was more than happy to see him.

"Looks like fate, eh Ranma?" Ryoga said with a vicious grin.

"Looks like bacon sandwich day at the cafeteria, more like it."

"Oh no. You're not going to get the best of me today, Ranma."

"You're right. That takes Lettuce, Tomato and a toasted piece of bread."

"That's IT!!! Prepare to die, Saotome!"

The magnet school supervisor just barely reached the edge of the mat as the two combatants met in the air, 10 feet above.

How do you like this, Ranma?" Ryoga cried as he launched a series of heavy fist blows towards Ranma's upper torso.
Ranma simply grinned as he threw his much faster hands out, deflecting each and every blow harmlessly past him,
while simultaneously landing three kicks against the lost boy's midsection.

The two fell from the air to the ground about 2 meters apart, and resumed their posturing.

the boys made their battle- this time, they closed in on the ground. Ryoga
again launched out with a series of punches and a few kicks against Ranma's upper body, but the pigtailed boy weaved between and deflected each one, all the while landing dozens of blows all over the lost boy's body.

The observer continued to scribble.
Competitor A has apparently undergone a very rigorous speed enhancing training- looking at him is reminiscent of the late
Master himself. However, Competitor B, Ryoga Hibiki, has unnatural endurance. Even though competitor A has already clearly
won by points, competitor b looks completely unharmed at three minutes into the fight, having received countless blows.

Ranma ducked under a punch Ryoga extended too far. With a roll, he placed himself behind the lost boy, where he proceeded, from a handstand, to kick Ryoga in the back of the head with a savage combination. Right leg, left leg, right leg, finally
lifting the lost boy into the air. Ryoga crashed onto the ground with his hands in front of him, but Ryoga heaved himself onto his feet with his arm, rising to meet Ranma's challenge once again.

"Curse you Ranma! Stand there and fight like a man!"
"What would a pig like you know about it?" Replied the pigtailed martial artist with a gleeful grin. He was on a roll.

The two clashed one more time, with results not entirely unpredictable- Ryoga landed a single punch, nigh doubling Ranma over, right before the pigtailed boy fired of a chestnut fist into his solar plexus. Both boys hunched over and backed
off, preparing for the next clash...

But they were prevented.

"Okay boys, that's enough. Good Show, Ranma, you won. Ryoga, you did very well, and should be proud of yourself."
Ryoga grimaced. He was obviously not proud of himself.

The man scribbled out a couple of notes, and then called the boys over, where he passed them each a slip of paper.
"You boys are very good." The man began. "You in particular, Ranma, are quite a martial artist."
Ryoga snorted.
"You have exceptional speed, reflexes and jumping ability. It says here that you're a student of a family school, Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu? Are you sure you've never taken Jeet Kune Do?"
Ranma shrugged.. "Nah. I was taught by my pop. Maybe the old freak knew whatever it's called..."
Ranma was cut off by a slap.
"What the hell was that for?" Ranma asked the angry teacher.
"Jeet Kune Do. It's that master's martial art. Here I pay you a compliment, and you disrespect the master's school and our founder."

Ranma looked sheepish. "Jeez, I'm sorry."
"There. That's better. Now you, young man, I assume you've heard of Jeet Kune Do?"
Ryoga nodded.
"But you don't practice it."
"I could never stick around for lessons..."

"He couldn't find his way to a dojo twice to take it." Ranma interjected.
<whap!>
"So, you studied a few Okinawan and Korean styles, I take it? Perhaps Tang Su? Tae Kwon Do, or perhaps Hwarang Do?" the teacher said to Ryoga, who was dislodging his elbow from the top of Ranma's skull.
"It's really amazing that you could tell that much just by watching me fight with Ranma." Ryoga said respectfully, rubbing his elbow.
"I'm not a teacher at a martial arts magnet school named for the greatest martial artist for nothing!" replied the older man, punctuating it with a maniacal cackle. "Hahahahahah!"

Ranma looked at his little slip of paper as the two silently walked away from the cackling madman.
"Ranma Saotome- 6th period- Kyokushinkai Karate, room 707"
He turned to the lost boy. "What's yours say?"
Ryoga rolled his eyes upwards, then drolly responded. "Extended JKD& Jun Fan, room #1"
Ranma looked at the observer just as he began to leave.
"What's a JKD?"
The observer's hand lashed out and slapped Ranma across the face.
"Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee's Martial art."
Ranma clutched his red cheek. He hadn't been expecting that at all- the man wasn't fast enough to have slapped him if
It hadn't been completely out of the blue... And Ranma felt kind of bad about not knowing something so basic.
Ryoga chuckled just enough for Ranma to hear, so the pigtailed boy turned around.
"What's that? You want to fight, bacon breath?"
"Anytime, Ranma."
---
Nabiki made her way up to the mat, nervously expecting a first caliber beating. She sure hadn't known this would be part
of the trip. She was raised at a dojo, so she knew how to defend herself if she ever had to walk home at night alone-
Her father may not be the martial artist he used to be, but he could certainly teach her that- but Nabiki wasn't going to
kid herself or anyone else. She would assuredly be the weakest fighter in the entire school.
She glanced around, and saw Gosunkugi futilely attempting to ward off another student, who punched him straight to the
ground and looked sadly at his moderator.

Nabiki gulped. "Well, at least I'm not the most pathetic, right?" The short haired girl said dryly to herself.
---
A few minutes later, Nabiki feebly picked up her aching body from the mat of the dojo. She'd landed a single strike on the tall, blond girl who had moved like a bundle of snakes, easily writhing around Nabiki's feeble attempt to deliver harm, landing vicious, stinging blows across Nabiki's body that caused her to lose control of herself long before she actually fell to the ground. She hobbled over and received her slip from her mediator- "Remedial Wing Chun, room #2, 6th period" said the scribbled note in sloppy handwriting. Nabiki could barely read it.

She hobbled off the gym floor and into the locker rooms. Stripping off her sweaty gi, she slipped quietly into the showers and rinsed herself in a warm stream of water. The cascading fluid helped ease the ache of her body, which she began to
examine for forming bruises.
Her ears filled with the sound of rushing water, and girl's voices- chittering about boys and classes and television-
Nabiki's keen extortionist mind catalogued a few names and tidbits as she washed slowly, rubbing her sore legs and arms-
until she was the last girl in the showers, enjoying her moment of peace.
Finally finished, she reached up and turned off the spray of water. The last drops cascaded onto the short haired girl, as she turned to go to her locker.

As Nabiki turned her view was suddenly filled by an all too familiar face.
"Boo."
Nabiki jumped nigh 5 feet in the air. Actually, an objective observer would have called it about 5 inches, but it felt like leaping a tall building in a single bound to Nabiki.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nabiki asked, flustered and angry.
"Getting the shit kicked out of me, like you." Rei responded.
Nabiki examined Rei's body- she sported a few welts- nothing like Nabiki, but bruised.
"How'd you do?"
"I fought a tough girl- I couldn't win, but I think I can get this martial arts stuff down. You look like you got handled."
"I don't keep up on my martial arts any more than I hear in my proximity to madness- but if she didn't practice something
called snake style, they obviously missed the appropriate name of their school."
"Nah. I saw your fight. That was Snake Style Kung Fu."
"Really?" Nabiki asked.
"Really. I asked." replied the other short haired girl. "Say, what class have you got?"
"Remedial Wing Chun, 6th period, room 2."
"Too bad. I've got 4th period."
Nabiki started to walk to her locker, facing Rei as she walked.
"I guess I'm going to get involved in the crazy life that envelops my sister. I can't think of anything worse." Nabiki said
with a sigh. "Pretty soon, I'll be getting kidnapped, involved in foreign plots, and subject to mental illness that everyone can see but myself." she finished.
Rei only smiled.
-

Nabiki pulled herself to a stop in front of a water fountain , her aching body demanding that she rest beside it's cool waters.
"Come on, don't wuss out like this. You need to show some backbone." Rei said, eyeing the sitting Tendo girl, eager to continue their walk home.
"I said I'm sitting down."
"Now, how are you going to be a great adventurer if all you want to do is sit around and nurse your bruises?" Rei accused.
"Simply. I'll just have to be a more sedate adventurer than you." Nabiki said.
"Yes. I would like some crumpets and the scepter of Rah-jamud, please" Rei said in a mocking tone.
"Be quiet before I do something you regret." Nabiki stated simply.
"You'd regret it just as much." Rei said, unimpressed by Nabiki's threat.
"We'll just have to see about that."
"Fine, whatever. You done resting?"
"Nope. It's nice here. I think I'll stay a while."
"Take a picture, it'll last longer."
"I think I will, thanks." Nabiki said, producing a camera from her back pocket.
"I was just kidding. Let's go, Nabiki." Rei said quickly.
Nabiki stood up, hands on hips.
"not before I get my picture." She said, placing the camera on the bench, tilted upwards slightly on a wire frame adjustable tripod.
Rei looked about wildly. "Hey, we're kinda near that park. Someone might recognize us."
Nabiki looked at Rei strangely. "No one saw us. You were the one that told me that. Come on, smile for the camera!"
Nabiki reached out and grabbed Rei, and pulled her into the camera's focus as the blinking lights began, indicating the coming flash.
Rei smiled nervously as the flash engulfed the two girls.
"Come on, I'm ready to go now." Nabiki said, pulling Rei's hand as Nabiki headed home.

Nabiki walked home along the sidewalk, grateful for once in her life for the slow pace people were setting in front of her to keep Rei from stomping around at top speed.
They were from the school, and Nabiki recognized one of the two girl's voices from the shower room.
"So, you're going to meet him at the fountain this afternoon? That's awfully crowded." Said one girl.
"I just can't stay away. I really can't bear to have Van find out, but..." said the voice Nabiki recognized.
"Allen's just too much man, eh?" said the second girl, elbowing her friend in the side.
"Stop it. What if someone hears us?"
<What if indeed...> Nabiki thought.
---
Ukyou walked home in a daze. She'd barely defeated her opponent in the placement trial- they had left her bereft of a single spatula. Ukyou hardly knew a thing that didn't use an okonomiyaki spatula, so she'd been forced to improvise and rely heavily on her superior physical condition- which had been barely enough to defeat the girl. Ukyou resolved to work around this loophole in her training- it simply wouldn't do for Ranma to have a wife that couldn't defend herself with just her fists.
Walking into the Morris home, Ukyou called out the traditional "Tadaima" call.
"Oh, Ukyou! You're back!" Jackie said, her head peering from around a corner.
"Yes ma'm. I go backyard, okay?" Ukyou said in her poor English.
"Sure. It's out that back sliding door." Jackie said.
Ukyou walked out back and dropped her spatula on the ground.
Peering at her reflection in the shiny surface, Ukyou contemplated herself.
Suddenly looking up from it, she dropped into a form, and began advancing around the yard, replacing the small spatula stabs from her movements with fists, trying to teach herself a barehand technique. She focused on the parts of her routine that were supposed to allow her the time to retrieve a spatula were she suddenly attacked without one at her side... she snickered at the absurdity of that thought.
Moving gracefully into parts of her routine that were nearly as ingrained in her as breathing, she allowed herself the luxury of a few stray thoughts.
<Who am I?> she wondered.
<A girl. In love.>
<Some Girl.> Ukyou mused.
<Well, you do it better than Akane.>
Ukyou harrumphed to herself, continuing around the yard, light steps followed by forceless punches meant to fit with women's martial arts. She stopped her family form, and tried out her new Shaolin style form. The form wasn't complete yet, but Ukyou knew she could get it down pat, and maybe move on to the next subset by tomorrow.
The form was short, involving standing on one leg and moving your arms in a pattern that Ukyou assumed was for blocking. This was a Crane form subset, and Ukyou thought it would work well with her long legs. Not to mention, Crane style's long sweeping strikes would allow her to strike out with her limbs, as well as her spatula, should she ever try to mix the two styles.

"You want a partner?" came the voice. <Akane...> thought Ukyou.
"Sure, why not." Ukyou said, turning to face the short haired girl.
Akane walked over to face the Okonomiyaki chef with a smile.
<She might be competition, but she's not so bad.> Ukyou thought, returning Akane's smile.
"You aren't going to try and sabotage me like last time, are you?" Akane asked. Her face was a mask of serious accusation, but her eyes gave it away- those big brown eyes were smiling wide.
The eyes cause Ukyou to frown just a little. Those brown eyes captivated hearts in a way that Ukyou was more than a little jealous of. She could hardly know an extranational dictator or martial artist for a day before he decided that she'd make an ideal wife.
Ukyou couldn't understand it. Ukyou herself was a violent, mannish girl who had picked up very few of the graces normally associated with womanhood, but she still figured she had it figured out better than Akane, who nonetheless captured the hearts of everyone around. The only people she knew that seemed immune were Konatsu and Mousse- but then again, they were even more mentally ill than the average person she knew- those being Ranma, Ryoga, Kuno, Daisuke and Hiroshi.
"Earth to Ukyou!" Akane called, shaking Ukyou out of her reverie.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Akane. What do you want to start with?"
"Just a little sparring. We can see what we need to work on after a little of that, don't you think?" Akane queried.
"Sounds great."
"Don't go easy on me." Akane warned.
<How could I not and still call it sparring?> Ukyou asked herself mentally.
Akane charged, and Ukyou started a routine defensive maneuver. It worked just as planned, although Akane pressed harder and faster than Ukyou would have expected.
<Am.. I slipping?> Ukyou asked herself as the short haired girl blocked one of Ukyou's strikes with a punch to the forearm. It missed straight connection, and Ukyou's blow got through, but Akane's force left it's mark.
<Or... is Akane trying harder than usual...> Ukyou wondered.
Akane's next series interrupted any chance for deep thought on Ukyou's part, pressing Ukyou back slightly with a vicious triple combination that Ukyou had no doubt had felled many of the girl's misguided suitors in the past.
<or is it... both?> Ukyou wondered as the she pushed Akane back with a sweeping kick, breathing a little harder than normal. Akane was just about winded, but she had a smile on her face that even Ukyou couldn't ignore. She broke out into her own smile, and pressed her own attack.
A combination later, Ukyou's "empty spatula-hand" technique proved effective, at least against the other girl, and she called the match off with a pulled strike to Akane's throat. Akane stepped back, and bowed cheerfully, eager to dispense with formality and discuss training.
Ukyou was the first to speak.
"Akane, what's got you trying so hard?"
"I'm really excited. Back home, I never get a chance to train- Ranma won't really spar with me, so all I end up doing is breaking bricks. But here, I'm going to get to really take my martial arts to another level, so that when I go back to Japan, I won't just be a whole bunch of baggage."
"Akane, you're not..."
"Oh yes I am! I can't beat anyone I know!" Akane said, raising her voice. Dropping back to the more cheerful tone, she continued. "But not after this trip. I'm going to train harder than I've ever trained before, and when I go back, no one will be able to call me weak again!" Akane finished with a gasp.
"And you want my help?" Ukyou said.
"I'll take any help I can get. Ranma's not any help at all, so I would really appreciate it if you would, Ukyou."

Ukyou dropped her head, hiding her face behind her bangs. She began to chuckle, then threw her head back laughing.
"What?" Akane said, face incredulous.
"You want to beat Shampoo?" Ukyou said.
"Well... yeah, I do, I guess. Not for that Jerk, but because she makes me so mad!" Akane said, punctuating her sentence by shaking a raised, clenched fist.
"Well, in that case, I'm just your girl. Looks like we have something else in common other than Ranma, eh, Akane?" Ukyou said.
"Huh?" Akane said intelligently.
Ukyou's brain went into overdrive, all thoughts of scheming gone. If Akane wanted to train, Ukyou'd be more than happy to have a partner, especially one as available (living at the same place) and enthusiastic as Akane. She'd train hard enough to beat Shampoo, and if Akane got there too, that would be another defeat for the Amazon that Ukyou'd had a little part in.
"Come on, Akane. We've got some work to do. The thing is, Shampoo moves..." Ukyou began.


Ryoga ducked under the swinging kick, knocking out the older teacher's supporting leg with a kick to the back of his knee. He dropped suddenly, rolling sideways out of the way of the axe kick that the younger teacher sent his way, and while rolling, extended his arms in such a way that he sprung neatly to his feet.
"You're pretty good, son."
Ryoga sneered. "Thanks, dad."
"But you've still got a lot to learn. You can sit down, Chun." Said the older martial artist, motioning towards the younger.
"What, you think after that you've still got something to teach me?" Ryoga asked.
"Absolutely." Began the teacher, stepping into his assault.
Ryoga met the teacher's assault with raised arms, expecting to block a serious impact. But when the teacher's arms connected, he barely felt their touch. He peered curiously at the sensei over their crossed arms.
The sensei returned a blank stare.
Ryoga growled, then tried to push a punch through the crossing guard of his opponent. The teacher rewarded him by rolling sideways, lashing out sideways with a flat hand to Ryoga's throat, and with a kick to Ryoga's back and then hind leg.

Ryoga grunted at the sacrifice, but pulled his arm in from the man's side, expecting to lock him in a grapple and use his superior strength to bring the man down.
The teacher surprised Ryoga by launching his free arm behind Ryoga's head. With a series of slapping blows that hurt his dignity more than anything, Ryoga's head came down until the old man sprung up and jumped off of it, avoiding the slow movements of the older man's arms.

"Come back here and fight!" Ryoga growled. That had been far too reminiscent of Ranma.
"Nope. I'm done for now." The old man said, smiling while rubbing his knuckles.
Ryoga fumed for a few more moments, the sat down facing the two teachers. The other students in the class figured it was safe, and joined him up front.
"Fine. I see you've got something to teach me." Ryoga said angrily.
"I'm glad you're seeing it our way. What with telegraphing as bad as you have, it would take a miracle for you to defeat that heinous, honorless martial artist who holds hostage your one true love in addition to three other innocent girls." The old man said. "You're very brave and courageous to have tried so hard with so little."
"Shut up." Ryoga said.
"I believe you have what it takes to advance very quickly. However, I feel much more than any training in techniques or forms, we need to change your attitude towards
fighting. For you, fighting is all about anger, and that robs you of many of a martial artists's best tools. Subtlety is lost on you- every blow is a culmination of all that Ryoga Hibiki has to offer. The typical weakness that this approach gives, that of becoming tired too quickly, is obviously not a shortcoming of yours- however, it makes you easier to avoid, bait, and predict, while cutting off avenues of attack that might prove more fruitful."
Ryoga looked on- it was painful, but even he could see that it was very much true.
"You simply don't see the writing on the wall- you won't give up one on objective even when it becomes painfully obvious you can't achieve it, at least in this respect."

"Are you saying I should give up on trying to defeat Ranma?" Ryoga asked angrily.

"No, no, not at all. I'm saying you should stop trying to beat him with the same old tricks
over and over again."

"I'm not the one who uses dirty tricks." Ryoga muttered half to himself.

"That's not what I meant. Here, I'll show you what I mean."

The old man motioned for Ryoga to stand up as he did himself.

"I want you to attack me with everything you've got."

Ryoga looked at the old man. "You don't want that."

"All right, maybe I don't. Slow it down just a touch, but don't hold back other than that."

Ryoga shrugged. "Ready?" he asked. Shaking his head at the nod, Ryoga slowly walked up to the older man, and slapped out at his head.
The old man stood there until Ryoga pulled the blow right before his face.
"I said don't hold back." The oldr man said.
"All right." Ryoga slapped out again.
The old man ducked under it.
Ryoga responded with a knee- the man blocked it with a pirouette with a raised knee, striking out at the end with a high roundhouse to Ryoga's head.
Ryoga ignored the blow and struck for the older man's midsection- but the old man rolled around the fist and up the side of Ryoga's arm on the outside, striking him in the back of the head with an elbow.

Ryoga reached behind his back with his far hand, and grabbed a hold of the old man's gi, and roughly jerked him around to his front, where he lashed out with his right hand to make a chokehold- but the old man dropped his knees, falling to where Ryoga's arm caught him- then stomach pumped Ryoga with both feet.
Ryoga jerked backwards and let go of the gi.
"All right, Old man, what's your deal."
"It's traditional Hwarang Do to respond to a linear attack with a circular one and vice versa. However, what I was getting at was adaptability. I responded to each of your attacks with a counterattack that related to your attack. You don't respond to your opponents in any way- you attack in the same way, regardless of position."
Ryoga shrugged, but the wheels started chugging.

Ryoga walked the pathway towards the Yoshikawa home long after school got out. He'd been trying to get someone to lead him somewhere, but he hadn't been able to.
But of course he now had a very, very brilliant idea.
<Oh Akane... If you only knew how I feel... I, Ryoga Hibiki, will defeat Ranma Saotome and return your honor. And on that day, I will be able to tell you how I feel. Oh Akane, will you help me defeat Ranma?> he thought, clutching the scroll to his chest.
<hey... Where am I?> Ryoga thought suddenly. His heart went into a panic. <Oh no! I'll never be able to find my way back! I won't see Akane-San for a year or more, and by then who know what the fiend Ranma will have done! Curse my wretched sense of direction!>
Ryoga began to look around frantically, identifying landmarks.
<Tree. Check. Shrubs. Check. Two men hustling along with a big metal head. A pair of elementary schoolers playing football in someone's yard. Two teenagers smooching on the rim of a water fountain. Check. Wait, the people will all be gone by then!> Ryoga thought as he wandered over towards the fountain. <Maybe someone there can help me find my way...> he said as he was suddenly blinded by a camera flash.
"Ow." He said, as he heard rustling and quick footsteps behind him.
"It figures they'd run away." Came a familiar voice.
"There's two kinds- the confronting and the running. Both are equally easy to deal with."
"Whatever. I'm never going to do it."
Ryoga was still blind.
"Hey, don't you know him?"
"Oh yeah. That's one of those guys after my sister."
Ryoga blushed furiously. "Tendo Nabiki? Is that you?"
"Mmm-hm. And what are YOU doing here, Ryoga-kun?"
"I'm... ah... You see..."
"You're lost." Then, in a fainter voice, almost as if to someone else "he has the world's worst sense of direction. He gets lost going to the bathroom."
"Oh, I see." Ryoga couldn't place the voice.
"What'd you flash me with, anyways? I've never been this blinded by a camera flash before." Ryoga said.
"It's my special embarrassment flash. It's one hundred times as bright as normal. The shutter just opens later in the flash, so it takes a normal picture. It's to make the maximum possible scene, and sometimes, to blind people like you."
"So you can skedaddle?" went the second voice.
"Well, I prefer to think of it as allowing them to calm down."
"Whatever."
"Oh, by the way................. this is my friend, Rei. Rei, Ryoga, Ryoga, Rei."
"Pleased to meet you." began Ryoga.
"A pleasure." said Rei.
A hand grabbed Ryoga's. "Well, I'll lead you back now." Rei said.
"Okay. See you later, Rei." Nabiki said.
Ryoga felt himself led back mostly over what he would guess was land he'd already covered. Of course, in these moments of intellectualism <Ranma would snort> Ryoga allowed himself the luxury of distrusting his sense of direction.
"So, Ryoga-Kun, you do much adventuring?" Rei asked.
"Well, that depends on whether or not you count getting lost." Ryoga said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"No, but if you do something cool while you're lost, that sure counts."
"I got possessed by a cat ghost once." Ryoga said sheepishly. Normally, he didn't like revealing that sort of weakness, but he was STILL blind from Nabiki's flash.
"Yeah? Did anything interesting happen?" Rei's voice continued.
"Well, I proposed to Nabiki's sister Akane. But it wasn't me."
"I bet that had some aftermath."
"Not really. I just got lost again." Ryoga said sheepishly.
"huh. Some adventurer you are." Rei's voice said disapprovingly.
"I'm a martial artist, not an adventurer!"
"Same thing."
Ryoga's foot bumped into steps.
"We're here."
"Oh. Well, thank you." Ryoga said, dumbly stepping up towards the door, finally finding it and barely avoiding the plate glass window. His vision began to return just then, and he turned around to thank Rei again, but she wasn't there.
Ranma sat on the bed, juggling a bunch of stupid toys. The guy whose room it was had a pretty neat collection, but some of it, in Ranma's mind, was highly suspect. For example, most of it was from shows that hadn't been on the air since Ranma was just a baby. Of course, Ranma hadn't watched TV when he was a baby, or even a small child for that matter, so it was all new to him, but that was beside the point. Ranma'd never thought Astroboy was cool, or Gigantor or Giant Robo. These things were contemptuous, and it was these toys that Ranma juggled right then.
Truth was, he was bored. And he didn't know why.
The door opened, and Ryoga stumbled in, carrying his trademark backpack, umbrella, and clutching a scroll.
"Yo, man, what's going on?" Ranma asked.
"Where's Gosunkugi?" Ryoga asked.
"Why the heck would you be looking for Gosunkugi?" Ranma said, standing up without disturbing the juggle.
"None of your business, Ranma."
"Oh, I bet you wanted him to lead you somewhere instead of me. I get it." Ranma said. Ranma couldn't believe just how smart he was. How did it escape other people?
"No..." Ryoga stammered.
"Fine, fine. I'll take you there myself." Ranma said. "Where are we going?"
"We're not going anywhere!" Ryoga yelled, throwing a punch at the center of the blurry Ranma. Not surprisingly, there was no connection.
Ranma stood still as the punch came short about 5 inches without even moving a muscle of his own.
"You okay there?"
"Fine, Ranma. Just Fine."
"Look, just tell me where you want to go, and I'll help you out, okay?" Ranma supplied helpfully.
Ryoga held out a scrap of paper from the hand not holding the scroll.
"Okay, man, you got it."
Ranma led Ryoga down the street.
"419, 417, 415, 411, 407. Here we are." Ranma said, looking up at the sign.
"Ace Hardware" the sign proclaimed loudly for all to see.
"hey Ryoga, what's a hardware?" Ranma asked.
Ryoga grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him inside.
Ranma followed Ryoga through the aisles, kind of enjoying watching him go in circles of the same four aisles over and over again. "So, Hardware is like tools and stuff, I take it?"
Ryoga just grunted, and Ranma had to step up to catch him as he rounded another corner.
"Jeez, man, what's got you so mad?" Ranma asked.
"FINALLY!" Ryoga bellowed as he caught sight of what he wanted. With a beeline down the Aisle, Ryoga finally laid hands upon...
"A shovel? What did you want a shovel for?" Ranma asked.
"None of your business, Ranma." The lost boy replied.
Ranma led the lost boy over to the cashier, who charged Ryoga in numbers he understood. Ryoga pulled some money out of his pocket, and the cashier handed back the shovel, along with a receipt.
"Okay, P-Chan. Where now?"
Ryoga began to stammer quietly.
"Come on, Ryoga, where now? Are we going home or what?" Ranma asked.
"Can you take me to Akane?" Ryoga asked.
Ranma paused. Why did he want to go see Akane? Oh wait, that's obvious. But what the hell did he want a shovel for? He wasn't going to...
"No way, Ryoga." Ranma said angrily.
"Ranma...." Ryoga growled threateningly.
"You just buy a shovel and you want me to lead you there? You could hurt someone with that thing!"
Ryoga turned towards the talking Ranma with the shovel on his back.
>Clang<
"Ow. That's my point exactly" Ranma said, rubbing his head.
"It's not for her. I... "
Ranma paused again. He did enjoy teasing Akane, and he hadn't seen her in a little while. It couldn't hurt him any more than a mallet or two and maybe a Spatula. If he played things right, Ryoga'd be the one who got the spatula...

Ranma tugged on Ryoga's bandanna as they reached Akane and Ukyou's host home.
It was a nice two story, white siding with a sloped brown roof and a small front porch.
It was kind of narrow for an American house, but it sure beat most Japanese houses.
Ryoga stumbled back into the proper direction as Ranma knocked on the door.
Ranma recognized Jackie, Akane's host mother, from the airport.
"Hello, boys. Come on in, the girls are out back practicing."

Ranma and Ryoga stepped out the back sliding glass window into the backyard, where Akane and Ukyou were trading blows to each other's open palms, apparently practicing strikes as they stepped lightly around the yard.
Ukyou was the first to notice them.
"Ranchan!"
Or, notice someone, at least.
Ukyou bounded across the yard to Ranma, throwing her arm around his shoulder.
"You've come to see me?" She said.
"uh... well... " Ranma began.
"He came to bring me over." Ryoga began as Akane walked up and greeted the lost boy warmly.
"Whatever, Hibiki. So, Ranma, Whatcha up to?" Ukyou continued.
"I thought I'd help him out.P-Chan's so helpless, it's dishonorable not to."
>Crack<
Ranma looked up at Ryoga from his new digs down on the ground, courtesy Tendo Akane.
"Ranma, soon you won't be able to laugh so easily." Ryoga said menacingly.
Ranma shrugged. Ryoga was always saying stuff like that.
Ukyou reached down and helped the pigtailed martial artist to his feet.
"Why is that, Hibiki? You going to get lost for good this time?" Ukyou said, facing him.
Ryoga shot her a glare. "No, I'm going to defeat him once and for all."
Ukyou tightened her grip on Ranma. "Not My Ranchan, you're not. You don't stand a chance." She said, gripping him tighter still.
"Yeah, P-Chan. What makes you think you can beat me now?" Ranma quipped.
"Rrrrrraaaaaanmmmaa!" Akane said, launching him skyward with her traditional uppercut. Ukyou stepped neatly out of the way. "How dare you pick on Ryoga like that!"
Ryoga laughed at the speeding upward Saotome.
>Clang<
"Don't you laugh at Ranma!" Ukyo said, storming inside in a swirl of long brown hair.
Akane helped the swirly eyed Ryoga out of the little crater Ukyou'd made.
"So, how are you, Ryoga?"
Ryoga's face took on a determined look. He swallowed loudly.
"I need your help, Akane-san."
Ranma landed only a few feet away from the Yoshikawa home. Quite used to this, no matter how far from home he was, he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and began his march inside.

Akane led Ryoga onwards to the sloping hill. The brown grass waved in the light breeze- no one had cut it, so it was more than waist high to Akane as she waded to the foot of the hill.
"Will this do, Ryoga?" Akane asked.
"I need to go over there, where it's a little steeper" he replied, looking at a peculiar piece of parchment he'd unrolled.
"What exactly are you doing, anyways?" Akane asked.
Ryoga wordlessly dropped his backpack and withdrew the shovel he'd been carrying when he and Ranma had arrived at the Morris home.
"Akane, I'm training myself. I want to defeat Ranma. And when I do, I'll have something to tell you." He said, face stoic.
"Ryoga?" Akane asked questioningly.
Ryoga stuck the long handled shovel into the ground, and with minimal effort, pulled a clump of dirt and grass free from the earth, and tossed it aside.
"Is there any way I can help, Ryoga?" Akane said.
"I wouldn't want you to do this, Akane." Ryoga replied. Turning to his backpack, he set down the shovel, and pulled out a few books, a bag of snacks, and a little stove. Setting it up, he set out some tea bags.
"Akane, if you could just stay here until I finish so I don't..." Ryoga began.
Akane watched his face grimace as his voice trailed off.
"Sure, Ryoga. I want to see what you're up to." <And maybe get some ideas for my own training...> Akane thought.
Ryoga gently passed her the scroll, then picked up the shovel and began to dig.
In an hour or so, Ryoga had built a very strange contraption on the sloping hill, with logs
Swinging from ropes, and timbers making a frame. It looked like a cross between a jungle gym, a set of punching bags and a torture implement.
"Ryoga, I don't understand what this training is all about." Akane asked.
Ryoga looked at her tenderly. "You'll understand soon enough, Akane-san. Please be patient."
Akane walked home in silence. She wasn't sure if she'd done the right thing or not. Of course, this time it wasn't like when she had thought that Ryoga was going to explode Ranma with a single touch. But still, Ryoga had a tendency to get carried away, especially when it came to Ranma. She hoped that Ranma would be all right.
She walked up to the porch, and with a little rap, opened the door. Rose waved from the couch as Akane smiled and walked upstairs. She found Ukyou waiting in their room, playing a game of solitaire.
"I thought you'd have had enough of cards for a lifetime." Akane said with a smile.
"I like it. It's relaxing" Ukyou said. "How was your date?"
Akane shrugged. "It wasn't a date. He just wanted me to help him find a place so he could start this new training method of his."
"Suuuuure." Ukyou said without looking up from her cards.
"What? That's all it was, just like I said!" Akane replied.
Ukyou let the subject drop.
Akane leaned back on her bed and considered the day so far. She'd had an easy time in the placement trials, and when the instructor had passed her a slip with Hwarang Do on it, she'd smiled. She didn't know much about it, except that it was a hard style and that it encompassed weapons fairly effectively. When she'd found out that it meant "The path to the Korean flower of Manhood" she'd been less than ideally happy, but she thought she was going to like the class. She was glad she wasn't like some of the other students she'd talked to, who'd all been forced to learn styles that were radically different from their own. Then she'd decided to take this opportunity. Back in Nerima, she couldn't even put on her Gi without being mocked for her level of skill. But not here- she'd be in just the same position as everyone else, only she'd be trying so much harder. And when they got back, they'd know better than to make fun of Tendo Akane.
She snuggled into her pillow, imagining moments of her great martial skill...

Akane ducked under the giant spatula, and with an upward elbow, spun the metal object to block Shampoo's kick. She kicked Shampoo's extended leg at the back of the knee, sending the older amazon onto her back with a squeak. Moving inwards towards Ukyou, she escaped the wrath of the ribbon which snapped and writhed on the ground behind her. Ukyou raised her spatula above her head, removing Akane's cover and preparing to strike, But Akane just spun around her, reaching up and pulling the spatula backwards until Akane kneed Ukyou in the back. Letting Ukyou down gently, Akane deflected the ribbon's second assault with the Spatula, that wrapped around the handle.
Quickly spinning the spatula with the wrap, Akane attached the ribbon firmly to Ukyou's family heirloom, and pulled hard. Kodachi came screeching in from her preferred distance, stumbling past Akane, who silenced Kodachi with an elbow to the upper back as the gymnast wobbled by.
With that, Akane pulled free one of Ukyou's throwing spatulas from a nearby stone, and cut free Ranma.
"Gee thanks, Akane" he'd begin, but Akane would just shrug it off.
"It's pride thing. Don't think I do it because I like you." Dream Akane said.
"But Akane, I love you!" Dream Ranma said.
"I Know. Everyone does." Dream Akane said.

Ukyou watched as Akane smiled and snuggled even tighter into her pillow.
<What's got her so happy? Is it Ryoga?> Ukyou wondered.

Ukyou, for her part, was laying in bed contemplating her dilemma- that of her embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Amazon, and of how to claim her beloved Ranma for herself.
Her earlier conclusions, that she had to train herself in all aspects of desirability to Ranma, still seemed valid. But now there was the questions of how to train herself.
Ukyou divided the areas she felt needed work up in her mind like the ingredients of an okonomiyaki.
<Okay...
The eggs, water and flour of the batter represent my cooking ability, , my martial skill,
And my personality, the flour which binds it all together. The shredded cabbage represents
My brains and conversational ability, to keep my beloved mentally stimulated, whilst
The shrimp and other toppings represent the accomplishments I need to make my husband proud of me. The Sauce represents femininity, the coating I need to put over everything
Else to make it look and taste great. Finally, the cooking process represents my appearance..>
She frowned, than continued.
<However, I'm just learning to cook over again... I can't have any distractions.>
She remembered when she'd gone off into training to defeat stupid ol' crepe Joe, and
as such, she decided what she'd have to do.
"I must cast aside my worldly passions... and dedicate myself to the task at hand...>
And with that thought, Ukyou decided to avoid Ranma for the duration of her training.
"Oh, Ranchan, I do it all for you...please don't be sad while you wait for me!"




Thanks to the unnamed soul who not only wrote the Kuno section that I paraphrased from memory, but gave me the ideas for a lot more Kuno in the future. If my old Hd hadn't died, I'd have given him credit by name- write in and let me give you props.
Also Thanking Exarkun, Nuki_mouse, Orlean, Ginrai, Halo2298@prodigy.net, Lord Jahaj, and everyone else who wrote in with Support, along with Grayson Towler, and RPM, who inspired me to write.
Speed@olypen.com