The prologue of Hailstorm is a modified portion of Dark Phoenix's prologue to "Who's Your Daddy?", found on Tannim's page (http://tannim.anifics.com/Daddy/Daddy.html)

My Father's Curse
 

It was a bright and early Sunday morning, two days after Artemis's big debut as a hero and nearly a week after the strange epidemic. The time between attacks from the Dark Moon decreased after every battle, and Ami feared the Senshi may soon be faced with battles separated by hours. Definitely not a pleasant thought when trying to rest through a stress-free weekend.

Today, Ami's mother, Atsuko, had taken the day off and rented a car, and the two of them were traveling to some far out remote city to have fun. That was the plan, anyway.

"Mom, where are we going?" Ami asked, looking up from her book on the history of the first Dynasties of China. She had to wonder about her mother sometimes. The older woman tended to act strangely in different situations. Her attitude convinced Ami they were not traveling out here solely for vacationing.

"We're traveling to Ofuda, Ami. I told you that before we left." Atsuko glanced in her direction, then focused back on the road.

"You did? I don't remember you telling me." And she didn't. Atsuko rushed her a bit in getting ready for the day, so she may have missed her mother mentioning their destination, but the point was moot. "Why are we going out to Ofuda? Where is it, anyway?"

"Ah, you probably wouldn't know. It's a pretty secluded town, up near an inn where they have a special doll with a very tragic legend. She seeks her revenge on whoever disturbs her," said Atsuko.

"A spirit doll?" questioned Ami, intrigued. Could Esmeraude have come out here and sent a droid to bring the doll to life? No, that would be too convenient. Just because the Senshi ran into their enemies virtually everywhere they went didn't mean she'd run into Esmeraude way up here. The area was so remote, Ami had never even heard of the town Ofuda being in the area.

Well, there was the time when Yuuichiro invited us to the mountains for a Princess Skiing contest. Was that merely a coincidence? Certainly the Senshi didn't win merely by luck...

"Mother, why are we going to Ofuda? Couldn't we have spent the day more efficiently at home?" It must be one of her mother's crazy training ideas again. What exactly did balancing on one foot while standing on a board elevated two feet above the ground and balancing a tennis ball on her forehead while dodging paper wads thrown by her mother have to do with Martial Arts?

"We're going to see a tournament they're holding. It's kinda small, seeing as Ofuda's in a fairly isolated place, but I think you'll like it anyway." Once again, Atsuko's words did not inspire much of Ami's confidence in the day to come ahead.

"Martial Arts Computer Repair?" Ami asked, both fairly incredulous and incredibly curious at the prospect. How could computer repair possibly incorporate the Martial Arts?

"Well, I thought I'd start you out in some smaller and less known competitions so you could have a better chance at winning. And I tried to find something you'd be interested in, but Martial Arts Electronic Gaming really isn't a good place for newcomers to start, and the Martial Arts Piano and Keyboard Competition is a little too easy for someone of your talent. This is the best I could find for now, but I'm sure you'll have fun anyway." Was this really her mother speaking? When did the world suddenly begin revolving around martial arts?

"And, you want me to participate?" Certainly she dreamt this entire conversation. Why would Atsuko drag them out to some small town named Ofuda and to a Martial Arts Computer Repair competition?

"Oh, come on, daughter. It's not that strange. And it's not really hard, either. All you have to do is build a working computer before anyone else and make sure your computer isn't sabotaged. That's where the Martial Arts come in. You can attack your opponents and knock them out, or you can sabotage the other computers. However, if you physically damage or destroy any computer part, you're disqualified."

"Ah, I see." Ami smiled for her mother, considering a polite way to decline the offer. Failing that, she would simply enter and lose. Physical competitions are much too competitive to be entering them haphazardly, as her mother advocated.

Her mother looked away from her, distracted by something. Ami debated getting her attention to voice her opinion about not entering the competition, but chose not to. Her mother turned back to her and said, "Ami, I'm gonna get going now, I have stuff to do elsewhere. Just watch the competition, at least, if you really don't want to enter. Even if you just watch, you can still learn something for the next competition."

Startled by her mother's nonchalance, Ami hesitated, then replied, saying, "Okay, mother. Um, I'll see you after the competition."

Atsuko turned around and, looking around once quickly, jumped over the crowd, where another woman tackled her in the air.

Hurrying over toward where they landed, Ami could just glimpse them through the crowd. Atsuko had been pinned to the wall by the other woman, aged in her early thirties, with chestnut-brown hair. Sneaking as near as she could and hiding behind a disturbingly close pillar, she overheard their conversation and watched their interactions.

"... we're both girls! People will see us!" her mother said.

"Oh, come on, don't give me that!" said the other woman, encircling Atsuko in her arms. "It's been so long since I've seen you, so long since we..." The mysterious stranger leaned in close to her mother, and... kissed her.

Ami turned around quickly, a blush beginning to show brightly on her face. Though she couldn't be sure, as her view had been obscured by the ever growing crowd of expectant spectators, Ami was certain she saw the two of them kiss. That must be why her mother never dated guys, because she was really... Was she a lesbian? It explained a few things, like why Atsuko came home late sometimes even though she hadn't worked overtime, and why her mother refused to date men. They probably traveled all the way out here to be alone, away from the city.... Ami walked away distractedly, searching for something to occupy her attention.

Maybe entering the tournament isn't such a bad idea after all. I should go sign up and meet the other competitors. Following her own advice, Ami quickly made her way to the registration table and signed up for the competition.

The lobby of the Ofuda Public Library where the registration desk currently resided turned out to be a wonderfully decorated building. After registering for the competition, Ami felt the need to use a restroom, which surprised her as she thought about it, since she hadn't immediately needed to go after the 2 hour trip out here. Politely tapping a young boy on the shoulder, she had quickly received directions and gone on her way.

Now, after exiting the restroom, Ami looked briefly around the lobby before heading in what she thought to be the direction of the exit. This library is really big for such a small town, she thought briefly.

"Hey, you must be new to the competition," spoke a voice from behind Ami.

Startled, Ami turned around to face a boy of about ten years of age looking up at her curiously. It was the same boy she asked for directions earlier.

"Oh, yes," she said, not sure how to reply to the boy. While Usagi secretly prided herself with the ease that she could make new friends, Ami felt unsure of how to continue a conversation with strangers she'd soon be fighting in combat.

"Well, my name is Tendo Kensuke, it's nice to meet a new competitor." The boy smiled cutely at her. With black hair and brown eyes, Kensuke stood around 6 or 7 centimeters shorter than her. He wore baggy jeans and a shirt with unfamiliar gaijin words, which under close inspection looked to be French. Not a style she was familiar with.

"Oh, um. Mizuno Ami. I wasn't really planning on entering, but, um..." She couldn't just explain the situation with Atsuko to a complete stranger, especially to one a few years her junior, but Ami did not want to lie to Kensuke, either. What could she tell him?

"Hey, that's okay. The point is you entered, right? You good in martial arts? What style do you practice?" Kensuke looked at her expectantly, yet Ami was not sure if she should share this information, trivial as it was.

"I've been practicing under a good teacher for quite some time, and I'm good enough to enter the competition," Ami replied, evading the question as best she could.

"Heh, well, I've been practicing a long time, too. My mother's my sensei, her name's Tendo Akane and I practice under the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. It's the best there is for these kinds of competitions, as far as I know," he said. Kensuke looked very proud of his pedigree.

Something about what he said sounded disturbingly familiar, though. What could it be?

"You must be very proud." she Ami.

"Yeah," was Kensuke's reply.

"Why do you participate in this competition?" she asked, hoping to extrapolate more information.

"Well," drawled the boy, leaning against the wall in a casual manner. "Like I said. My mother's been teaching me martial arts for a while, and she wanted me to enter some competitions. My dad didn't care much for the idea, he'd rather have me be safe and study something academic. My mother kind'v agreed with him, so I asked one of my aunts for help. She works for Mishima, you see, so she's really smart and everything. Well, she suggested I practice a martial art that made me smart, too, and when I asked her what kind of martial arts could make me strong and smart, she laughed and said she'll come up with something."

Kensuke paused and looked away from her for a moment, and Ami took the time to consider what he'd told her. "You must like martial arts a lot, to work so hard at it," she finally said.

"Hmm, yeah," Kensuke replied, distractedly. "Well, anyway, I just keep practicing at home when one day, my mother calls me inside and says Aunt Natsume found the perfect competition for me to participate in. It turned out there was this really remote area near a place they once visited that held a semi-annual Martial Arts Computer Repair competition. That was two years ago."

"So you've been doing this for two years?" Ami asked. He must be really good, then.

"Yeah, well, I won the first two competitions, but there weren't a lot of people participating until it was announced that the top two people got cash prizes. I lost the last one, came in fourth, but I plan to win today." Kensuke turned toward her, staring intensely into her eyes.

"They say there's a great martial artist who's gonna compete today. Never lost a fight without coming back and winning the rematch. I wanna see if I can find out who he is, and I'm gonna try ta beat him. It doesn't matter if he comes back and rematches me and I lose, 'cause if I can win against him, people will know I'm a serious opponent when it comes to a fight." Pushing himself away from the wall, Kensuke bowed to her, saying, "Thank you for speaking with me, Mizuno-san, but I must be going now. The competition is about to begin." He turned and walked briskly away.

"Competitors! To your stations!" The announcer roared over the arena's PA system.

Ami stepped onto the raised platform that made up the arena and made her way, with some trepidation, to the station assigned to her in the earlier lottery. E6.

The rules, which Atsuko and the judges had gone over earlier, were being declared yet again, this time by the announcer over the PA for the benefit of the audience. Ami ran over them again in her head, making sure she had them down.

First, the competitor must construct a working computer system, in the time provided, in order to win.  Second, the competitor must be conscious in order to win. Third, any competitor who physically causes any level damage to any piece of hardware shall be immediately disqualified.  Fourth, any who leaves the platform, for any reason, shall be announced forfeit.  Fifth, anyone not on the platform at time of competition shall not be allowed to enter or affect events occurring on the platform. Lastly, any competitor who is disqualified for the damage of hardware shall be required to provide monetary compensation for the damaged components.

Despite how simple the rules seemed on first glance, Ami still felt the cold thrill of nervous fear shiver up her spine. Any and all offensive and defensive maneuvers were entirely allowed, provided that no laws were broken, and the rules of competition were followed, after all. It was not at all an environment conducive to feelings of safety and security, especially not for a young girl who had only just begun to half-heartedly step out on the peril fraught path of a martial artist.

The arena of combat consisted of 256 different stations, each located in the center of a sixteen by sixteen foot square box. However, due to the small number of competitors participating, only one out of every three stations were stations with all of the essential pieces needed to construct a working system, including but by no means limited to, screws, cables, tower, expansion cards, socket 7 CPUs, core fan structures, heat sinks, batteries, hard drives, RAM, 3.5 drives, power structures, system boards, ROM chips, and video cards. Every station on the field of battle though, was equipped with the necessary tools for the construction, including electric screwdrivers, ESD bracelets, penlights, and soldering irons with the associated solder and flux.

In the face of such a bewildering assortment, Ami silently thanked whomever it had been that had inspired her to disassemble and reassemble her computer without her mother's permission or knowledge, because without that she wouldn't have had a snowball's chance.

But the competition facing her could just as well overwhelm her, with not only a sparingly fair grasp of computer construction, but also only limited experience in the Arts. And looking around at the fashion in which her opponents were gearing themselves for battle, Ami found a frission of doubt rising high within her breast. There wasn't even going to be a *chance* to look at the documentation provided without opening herself to debilitating attacks.

Worst of all, though, was the fact that Ranma Saotome, the father that had abandoned her, was also choosing to compete as well. Why was he here? Atsuko couldn't have brought Ami all the way out here to reconcile them, could she have? Or was it that he was just so obsessed with the Art that he would go to the trouble of tracking down such a small, little known competition, which had been designed to prepare its entrants for working under the extreme conditions of the nearby Mishima Heavy Industries factory?

Ami slowly lowered herself onto the stool provided at her station and began to take stock of just what she had gotten herself into. There were too many items before her, and too much going on around her, to allow her to finish before the judges signaled their readiness to begin.

"All right! The judges are ready! Begin!" The PAs blared in a scratchy whine of the announcer's voice.

And the world as Ami knew it suddenly erupted into chaos.

There was no way to follow the events in sequential order. Far too much was happening at the same time in too many different places to even attempt it, even if one had the leisure to try. And with the whine of the announcement of the start still lingering in the air, Ami had no time to even start. Strikes and blows rained in from all sides, and it was only her experiences fighting as a senshi that kept her from being knocked out almost immediately. It seemed like everyone on the platform was attacking her, and it was giving her hardly any time to focus on the task at hand.

Meanwhile though, across the platform, through brief glimpses allowed her by shifting assaulters, she could see the man who called himself her father tearing into the competition without going after them himself. Often he'd be fending off three opponents when a fourth would try jumping him from behind and get into the way of the other three. Gradually his fights turned from battles with temporary allies into all out free for alls.

In some ways, Ranma's struggles helped her immensely as far as staying in the competition, for as he managed to knock out, or knock off his opponents, those who were attacking Ami began to fling themselves futilely at his impenetrable defenses. With everyone going after her father, Ami ran far less of a chance of finding a team of combatants trying to knock her out before she could piece together her computer. But the individuals were bad enough as after nearly an hour of struggle, she had only managed to fasten the system board and power supply into the tower at her station. The quick glance up at the digital display almost cost herself her consciousness before she deflected a palm strike away with a responding palm block of her own.

Because of her distance from her father and apparent weakness, for a period of time Ami had been part of the center of attention, but as more and more went to try and throw the great Ranma Saotome from the platform, the burden of attack on her eased. Within the next half hour, she had finished placing the ROM, CPU, heat sink, and RAM onto the system board, only having to divert her attention for a moment to deflect a spinning side kick aimed at her head and respond with a rising palm strike and hook kick combination that knocked her aggressor off of the platform.

Ami despised having to assay such levels of violence required to knock an opponent unconscious, even if avoiding them meant possibly loosing. So, as often as possible, her few strikes and blows were aimed at knocking her competitors from the platform. She was no Ranma Saotome, and she had no intention of becoming like the man who was slowly being surrounded by unconscious figures.

Most of the other competitors had been either knocked from the platform or knocked unconscious by the second hour, and Ami could only make out a few remaining standing and on the platform, including herself. Kensuke was a few meters to her right fending off two younger girls obliviously trying to overpower him, two girls behind her and off to her left were dueling with each other, and her father was struggling in *mid-air* against an grizzled, older man whose clothing strained to stay in one piece over his muscular frame. With the other opponents otherwise occupied, Ami renewed her focus on the task at hand, namely assembling the computer before her.

However, just as she finished securing the video card, Ami spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to look. Kensuke was racing towards her, something grasped tightly in his hand. He hurled the object, shouting "ESD ATTACK!"

Ami had just enough time to snatch the static bag from the video card from the station and deflect the oncoming assault.  She followed up the hasty defense with a foot sweep that slammed Kensuke into the ground, rolling quickly away from her follow up eagle fist, then popping up to dodge a sliding kick from her father that would have left him lying unconscious on the platform.

The victorious girl from the dueling pair chose then to make her appearance, descending from above with a drop elbow aimed towards breaking Ami's collarbone. Dodging back from the attack, being careful to stay close enough to her station to defend it, Ami swept the dangling end of her ESD bracelet into the palm of her hand and waited for the girl to attack.

Unfortunately for the girl, she ended up catching a missed kick from Kensuke lead to Ranma's block sending her crashing into a nearby station, somehow managing to not break anything on the way there. Yet, her victorious leap down from the station was heralded with a crackling sound, and she regretfully lifted her foot to reveal the shattered remains of the RAM chip that she had just landed on. Head hanging dispiritedly, she slunk from the platform. Disqualified.

Watching the battle between Kensuke and her father closely, Ami leapt forward with a hasty and awkward wheel kick while they were both distracted by each other. She caught Ranma hard on his chin, sending him staggering, off balance to the left. Unfortunately for him, he was already standing with his left foot on the edge of the platform, and the slight stagger was enough to send him crashing from the platform. Disqualified.

Silence reigned as they both looked over the edge at Ranma's fallen form in something approaching shock.

"It's just you and me then, Mizuno-san." Kensuke was the first to speak, breaking the silence as they straightened from looking over the edge to face each other.

"Yes." Ami replied. "By process of elimination, we remain... the only ones left." She eyed him warily waiting to see what his next move would be.

"But you can't win unless you build a working computer." Kensuke continued.

"Agreed. Why don't we finish this by seeing who can build it first?" Ami offered. "You're really good in the Art, but building a computer requires knowledge and experience."

"That sounds like a challenge! And I never back down from a challenge!" Kensuke said with a grin. "Fine, but we both start with new computers. How about F6 and 9? The competitors from there attacked Ranma first."

"How... never mind. Okay." Ami agreed softly, following Kensuke to the appointed stations.

"You ready, Mizuno-san?" He asked.

"Anytime you are, Tendo-san." Ami responded.

They were off like twin shots. Nimble hands fitting chips into slots. Electric screwdrivers humming. Computers slowly coming into being before them. Two beings entirely focused on succeeding in the construction of a working system before the other.

Ami won.

Ami walked slowly away from the library, basking in the glow of her recent victory. She'd won first place in the competition, though it came really close in the end.

Kensuke actually had more experience than her in building computers, as he competed and won twice before by not only defeating all other challengers but also building a computer himself. The main reason she won was Kensuke had forgotten to plug in the hard disk. He already had the case closed and ready to plug in while she was still double-checking the connections inside the case, but because of the extra time Ami spent making sure everything had been connected correctly, she won first place while Kensuke came in second.

Looking around at the crowd around her, Ami could find no sign of her mother. Does she know the competition's over? Nearly three hours have already passed.

The competition also had the added effect of highly boosting her spirit, partly because she won and partly because she had defeated her father. Logically, Ami knew that Ranma could have beaten her just by firing one of his beams of energy, and distantly, her heart and mind were quite surprised at her actions during the competition, but it didn't matter at the moment. Winning did.

She heard a voice, and turned around to see her father walking her way. Disappointed that Atsuko still hadn't come for her, she decided talking to Ranma wouldn't hurt much as a way to pass the time.

"Hey, Ami-chan, you did great in the competition! I can still feel the kick you gave me in my side, it's probably gonna leave a mark later on," Ranma said in greeting.

"My name is Mizuno Ami, Father, if you have forgotten," Ami said in return.

"No, no I haven't forgotten. Are you okay? You kinda seem out of it." Ranma gazed intently in her direction.

"I'm fine, Father. I am merely waiting for my mother to pick me up so we can go home." Ami returned his gaze, stare for stare.

"Yeah, about that, we have to go as soon as possible." Ami's father looked around uneasily, and Ami felt her elation begin to seep away.

Mother... Was this her real motive? She brought me here to be with my father? This had definitely not been in the plans she managed to pull from her mother before they arrived.

"What happened to my mother?" Ami asked him. "Why can't I go home with her?"

"Ah, she's... not here right now, Ami," replied her father. "Here, here's the key to the car. Just go on ahead and wait for me there, I gotta take care of something first." Unlike her mother, Ranma jogged away from her rather than leaping over the crowd. Ami didn't feel like following him, so she went to find the car, depressedly thinking about how she'd have to endure at least another two hours of her father's presence.

Reading is the perfect escape for one's mind, especially when trying to distract oneself from one's plethoric companions. Even if she didn't remember anything from what she read due to her currently split concentration, the end result was Ami could for the most part ignore her father's presence in the seat next to her.

One of the main reasons for her shattered concentration was the factor of pride in herself for winning the competition. Logically Ami knew she felt starstruck, or something similar. The second reason came in the form of what her mother's relationship to Ranma was. What could it be?

The third and final reason for her distracted mindset happened to be Kensuke's last words to her before he disappeared from her view in the crowds. I'm gonna train harder than ever now in order to beat you. So be ready. I'm coming after you when I'm done training. Could he find her in Minato-ku?

"So, Ami, what did you think about the competition?" her father asked her. Ami ignored him and kept on reading 'A History of Mechanics', one of her favorite math books.

"You did really well in the competition today, Ami," he said. He seemed to be straining for words.

Her concentration still split, and her mind still in the clouds from her recent accomplishment, Ami distractedly stated the first thing on her mind, paying no more attention to her surroundings.

"I hate you, you know," stated Ami calmly. The world stood still for one Ranma Saotome.

"W-what?" said Ranma. Ami looked up from her book, not quite believing she'd said it, either. She blushed at the realization that she actually had told her father she hated him. What's done's done, though I might as well finish what I started.

"You're never around," Ami said, looking at her father while he focused on the road ahead of him. "I haven't seen you since I turned ten, and now after my greatest secret comes out, you appear from nowhere and try to protect me. I don't want your help, and I don't need it." The car remained silent for some time.

"You know what, Ami?" Ranma asked. Ami looked curiously at her father. "I'm proud of what you did today. You did really well in that competition. But I was even more proud of you when you won that accelerated scholars award your first year of middle school. I'm proud of everything you do."

Looking at her father's calm gaze and focus, Ami found she had no answer to give him, and the car remained silent for the rest of the trip home. All she could think of were her father's words. I'm proud of everything you do. Was he really proud of her? For everything? Even for hating him?

High up in one of the executive offices of Mishima Industries Headquarters, a woman sat watching a large HD wide format screen, catching the last few minutes of the Mishima-sponsored competition in Ofuda. "Mizuno Ami, hmm? How quaint. Interesting, that two of my greatest nuisances share a name."

The woman looked away long enough to snatch up one of the miscellaneous photos laid out on her desk. "How on Earth you managed to hide from me, Ranma, I'll never know," she said while looking at the picture of the martial artist, taken sixteen years prior. Said martial artist flew off the platform on the screen, being disqualified for leaving the battle.

The woman toyed with the picture of Ranma as a teenage boy, then focused on one of the photos of Ranma as a teenaged girl that still sat on her desk. "I hope for your sake you don't think you've seen the last of me," she said softly to the photo before her. "Nabiki never forgets those who owe her."