Meeting Later - Chapter 7 

	Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees (Viz Communications in North America). This work is strictly for the non-profit enjoyment of fans. No copyright infringement is intended. All spelling is pretending to be Australian. 

	Meeting Later is originally a story by Tom Wrensch, personally one of my favourite authors. Tom has given me the honour of continuing this series but the idea and first chapter are all his work. To view more of his work, which I personally recommend, his web site is http://www.geocities.com/twrensch 

	Last Updated: 15/12/05

*****

	A thumping guitar riff played as a tall, handsome Chinese man threw his arms forward, chains emerging from his long white sleeves to trip his gi-wearing opponent down to the red mat. Moving in, Mousse produced a simple iron bar, hooking it behind his opponents arm as he kneeled his weight on the martial artist, the bar acting like a lever, stretching his back, its effectiveness testified on the downed man's tortured expression.

	Darker beats strayed below the sound of an ominous oboe as Akane charged her attractive blonde opponent, her fists blurring as she impacted Asuka's face and body, blow after blow forcing her opponent back and down till on the floor, she rolled the skater on her back and lay over her, yanking the girls leg up to keep her shoulders to the mat as the judges counted. 

	The beats stayed low, the oboe replaced by a crashing guitar sound as a martial artist in a black hood and clothes took blow after blow from his opponent without flinching, striding ever forward, forcing his younger gi clad opponent back into the ropes before finally taking action, snagging the boys arm yank him up, second hand grabbing low to lift him over his head and toss him contemptuously outside the ring. 

	The music changed, getting an up beat and horn heavy heroic piece as Ranma spun around his huge bald opponent, avoiding the reach of the mans arms and dodging the dojo signs he swung around like a whip. Moving in, a leg sweep toppled the giant as the pig tailed martial artist charged up the whip like a bridge, to step up and onto the baldpate, riding down again as the dojo destroyers face impacted the mat. 

	The horns were replaced with flutes though the music stayed strong and potent, Sakura spinning away in the black and gold of her corporate costume, giving ground to gracefully dodge her opponents spin kick. As the two closed again, the golden haired girl stood her ground, her hands blurring, chopsticks clicking as they pinched closed on her dark haired opponents wrists and ankles in an iron defence against all her attacker tried to tag her with. Finally Sakura blurred with speed, her head whipping around, long golden plats moving like whips to hit with stunning force to her opponent. 

	The music became the normal tone, an exciting medium of all of the previous, the fighters above shown in ready combat posses, Sakura and Akane appearing to be facing off then Ranma the same with the man in black, as the large letters announcing today's tournament being televised on a sponsored sports channel on pay TV, the logo of the main sponsors, Shishimi Take-out, followed.

	Turning away from the TV screen, Nabiki gave a bemused smile to her younger sister, who sat slack jawed facing the box across the Saotome table, eating breakfast. Her voice took on an accusing tone that failed to counter the laughter in her eyes, "Ooh, my eyes are finally open, how could I have missed that you are such an evil woman, baby sister, I hope you don't win."

	Akane's mouth moved like a fish out of water over the bowl of soup in her hand, her mind reeling at how all the media of the tournament seemed stacked against her. "But I, I'm not the bad guy... girl, it's like yesterday, they're trying to make me out as a villain!"

	A hand on her shoulder pulled her down as she started to rise. "Calm down Akane, this is how Sakura fights. She wants you upset when you fight so you can't take her on at your best." 

	Glancing over her shoulder, Akane looked into Ranma's blue eyes, the open focus there stealing her anger instantly. With a nod, she regained her seat.

	"Just don't let her under your skin, or you'll be wide open when she starts her dirty tricks in the ring. I just hope Ukyo and Shampoo don't fall for this crap too."

	"But Ranma," Kasumi asked inquisitively where she sat opposite Nabiki on Ranma's right, "Your other fiancée's weren't even in that commercial, why would that upset them." 

	"Actually Kasumi, that's kinda' the point. For Shampoo at least, she'll be insulted that she wasn't shown as one of the stars, she's a little proud of her abilities. And both her and Ukyo get real upset that Sakura's control over the event means they hear how I am her fiancé every two minutes while they are ignored."

	Akane grimaced for a while, thinking about the other girl's manipulations, putting the blonde Sakura on the same list as Kodatchi Kuno for pains in her life. Finally she gave a huff, "That... over indulged *Brat*, is going to find it difficult to portray me as anything when I'm done with her!" she declared with a glance for Nodoka at using her label for the blonde, her face breaking into a dark grin at the humiliation she planned to put her through in the ring.

	"You better, try to keep any doubt or anger off your face and you'll get a rise out of her. Just leave that dopey look you get when you don't understand a technique on your face," Ranma said, smirking.

	The girl in question growled and lashed out with a fist that was ducked by the teasing teacher.

	Glancing at her watch, Nabiki swiftly got to her feet. "Quick quick Sis, I don't have long till I have to meet Kuno. Come on Kasumi, I'll need your help to get her ready. We'll give you something a bit stronger than your teacher's suggestion."

	Bending down, she started to drag a confused Akane upstairs to the spare room, followed sedately by Kasumi. 

*****

	Ryoga Hibiki watched his ally fill the flask from the tap. This Ohata guy was far from a friend, he was too manipulative to even want him for a friend. He was using him to get revenge on Ranma and then that was it between them. 

	The young man in question turned to him, holding up the flask then putting it in the small bag they were taking with them. "Any questions about the plan today? Are you ready to grind Saotome into the ground? Make him suffer, live on television?"

	Picking up the black mask that he had fought in the whole of yesterday, Ryoga looked at the tall boy before him. "I can do my part. Just bring my clothes for that fight."

	His eyes flicked out the window to where Jiro's little friends were being directed by Toko out in the yard of the house, picking up cats from a large cage and putting them in sacks. "What are they up to?"

	Jiro Ohata smiled, "Just a little insurance, in case luck shines on Saotome. He will not win this day if I have anything to say about it."

*****

	Ranma focused on what he recalled about Kendo. Nabiki had left to get this Kuno guy from the local train station when the rest of them had started walking for the exhibition hall hosting the tournament, and Ranma wanted to be ready for him. 

	Striding silently beside him, Akane was more interested in holding her composure and confident image, than interrupting his silence. 

	Behind these two, Kasumi and Nodoka smiled as they matched pace, knowing exactly what Ranma was trying *not* to focus on, and failing as he occasionally glanced at his student beside him. 

	The pig-tailed martial artist had had no idea what to expect after Nabiki had taken her sisters upstairs to give Akane a 'stronger look' for fighting against Sakura, and when Akane had come back down, the subtle changes had been dreadfully effective on him. 

	Her hair had been slicked back, and heavier, darker make up applied, her eyes and lashes appearing much stronger, while less open, like she was naturally looking you over as an object than a person. Her lips had become a deep, rich red, her pouting expression losing all vulnerabilities and hospitality, but attracting his blue eyes like a magnet.

	Her red top and black skirt fighting outfit was unchanged, but over her shoulders was a feminine black leather jacket that still did little to hide her barred midriff. Now outdoors she had added dark sunglasses, another level of mystery that drew Ranma's gaze every time that his thoughts on today's fights or meeting Kuno wavered.

	The youngest Tendo sister herself was trying to keep her focus, drilling in her sister's words of how this will anger Sakura (and probably the other competitors too). She still wasn't sure though if this was the right way to handle today's fights, but whatever she did Sakura's media men were twisting it anyway. 

	As the foursome came into view of the hall, Akane's mouth grimaced as a huge poster had been deployed on the side of the building, twenty foot images of herself and Sakura facing off like they were preparing to fight, covered the near wall on the left side of the entrance hall, while a similar one of Mouse and Ranma was on the right. Her eyes narrowed behind her dark glasses as she saw a lot of male heads in the queue out the front were angled up at her larger than life image. Her hands unconsciously closed her jacket about her in a vain effort to stop them looking.

	"Perverts!" she spat under her breath, her brow furrowing as she glanced to the side at Ranma, whose blue eyes flicked between the real her and the poster, out of his redden face. Her brow furrowed as she shook it off, releasing her jacket and standing taller, he'd seen much more than that, actually his rough hands had massaged more of her than these perverts were seeing. A bright brush broke out over her face as she considered how much her teacher had seen and touched of her, parts of her fearful of what the public would think hearing stories of that, and other parts nervously wondering what even more would be like.

	A boy, about ten years old, broke away from the crowd as they approached, rushing up, posters in one hand and a pen in the other, a saviour to both martial artists from rather inappropriate thoughts. His wide brown eyes magnifying the begging of his shy voice as he requested an autograph. Akane smiled gently as Ranma took the pen quickly, signing under the image of himself on a poster like that on the wall of the building.

	As he finished, Ranma offered the pen to Akane, the boy pulling out a second poster, of her and Sakura. "Sign it quick Akane, Sakura likes to have these fans but if we get caught up here we'll be ages getting inside."

	Her brown eyes looked back at the queue the boy had come from, noticing now the sign with Sakura's name at the front, knowing she'd be under it. 

	Squatting so she could sign with her knee as backing to the poster, she looked at the little boy. "Are you going to get Sakura Shishimi to sign this too, little boy?"

	She smiled as he nodded and signed her name, adding a number of 'X's to the end, signifying kisses. "You'd better hurry up and get back in the queue or you'll miss out."

	With a 'thank you' the boy rushed off, Akane quickly leading Ranma and the others around to where they could see his progress among those others after autographs from the model/actress/martial artist. 

	Sakura smiled her trademark sign for another fan-boy, signing a swimwear picture of her from last year's calendar, her mind bored as she prepared for the next fan. The young boy smiled as he put yet another poster for today's tournament of herself and Tendo.

	Her eyes widened, then narrowed as she saw Akane Tendo had already signed it, three X 'kiss' marks following the signature, right across her image's face! 

	Jumping to her feet, Sakura demanded the location of her co-signer from the boy before her, turning as the child pointed, the girl's eyes meeting. Smiling with casual contempt for Sakura, Akane turned to grab Ranma's arm and began to lead him around the side of the building, heading for the back stage entrance.

	"Er, Akane, what's all that about?"

	"She started this Ranma. I'm not trying to cause you any problems, but she's making me out to be a bad girl or something, so I'm going to teach her how much of a villain, I can be." She replied firmly. 

	"Er, what exactly is a 'bad girl'?"

	"Well, I, um, it's kind of hard to explain."

	Nodoka smiled as she spoke up, "Ranma, think of the villain girls in your favourite films?"

	"Okay," he replied slowly, his eyes showing no clue had sunk in. "But what kinds of stuff is Akane doing here to be this villain girl? Should I be doing anything to help?"

	*Smack*

	Nodoka's eyes widened, and Kasumi's face tinged pink, both watching as Ranma rounded back on Akane, one hand rubbing his rump, the girl walking away after spanking the anything goes martial artist. Her head turned back with a dark smile as she went inside.

	"Just stay the way you are Ranma, let me worry about the rest." She said huskily.

*****

	"Master Kuno?"

	The master in question looked over the head of his diminutive ninja retainer, surveying the crowd moving through the less than pristine tunnels from the underground train station. 

	"Master Kuno, I really would suggest-"

	"Sasuke, pray tell, where did Nabiki Tendo request I meet her?"

	With pained regret, Sasuke could feel where this was going, "Miss Tendo asked you to travel to this station and await her at this point. But Master Kuno, if you would just-"

	Holding his hand in front of Susuke's face, Kuno looked distastefully at the crowds of commoners passing him, his detestation of Nabiki Tendo for forcing him to travel by such pedestrian means rising.

	"And why did I agree to travel on these filthy carriages?"

	"You agreed to this Master Kuno, because Miss Tendo is going to sell you the location of her sister, but sir if-"

	"Ah, the glorious Akane Tendo, a fierce tigress and my destined bride. Too long has she been kept from my embrace, oh how she must have suffered?" He raised his hand to his forehead as he thought of her suffering. 

	"Yes Master Kuno, that is why I think-"

	Again Sasuke was cut off by his employer's hand. "And you are here instead of returning to the Kuno mansion to regain the family car from my depraved sister and her detestable pet Sanzenin, why?"

	"I'm just going Master Kuno, but I really think-"

	Again the hand came up, this time with an imperious gaze that finally broke his resolve. "Yes Master Kuno, I'll have the car brought immediately." With a bow the ninja turned and fled, sneaking back into the station, cursing again that his 'allowance' did not stretch for return train tickets.

	Imperiously, or a fair imitation of such, Kuno stood and waited, looking distastefully at the passing commuters. 

	“Martial artists, Mommy, Martial artists."

	A young boy, maybe six or seven was pointing towards Kuno, who smiled indulgently for the well dressed child and squatted down. "Nay child, *Kendo Master*, I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of the Land of the Rising Sun, am a *Kendo* *Master*." He said condescendingly, pulling forth his sheathed blade to display it to the boy.

	The boy stood wide eyed and began to cry as his Mother appeared, pulling him quickly away, apologising to Kuno for bothering him. Turning the corner she lifted her child and ran from the weirdo swordsman. 

	"Ah, that he should be so moved by my greatness." Kuno mulled to himself. His eyes narrowed suddenly as across the way appeared his nemesis of this day, sister of his beloved, Nabiki Tendo. He mentally prepared himself for her trickery and riddles, facing her with all the commanding presence that he had, and smiling darkly as her face paled in light of his magnificence.

	"Nabiki Tendo, I have come as you requested by this most common transit system, now then, you shall reveal to me the location of your sisters dark incarceration from the sun of her life." He watched the woman's eyes narrow and the corners of her mouth twitch up, her mercenary nature and greed showing to his sharp, expert eye, the foolish commoner believing herself to have the advantage here over his mighty self.

	"I believe I agreed to give that information in exchange for doubled the offered reward you declared last week, Kuno baby. Now as soon as I see the cheque, I'll take you to her this very day."

	"Nay, you will tell me wherefore she resides so that I may rush to her side and end her torment."

	"Oh no, Kuno Baby, see Akane has responsibilities today that she says you must swear not to interfere with, or she will be embarrassed and dishonoured. Even after you give me that cheque, you are to stay with me till these events are over, otherwise you may as well go home right now and not see her today."

	Nabiki smiled as his mouth worked like fish, his face mixing outrage, hope, and fear. Finally he calmed himself, putting on the distasteful face he often spared for her. "I will not act to dishonour my beloved, oh future sister. Here is you thirty pieces of silver, now wherefore is my destined tigress!"

	Smiling, Nabiki took the cheque and confirmed the details where correct before sliding it into her purse, beside the new electronic toy she had purchased and named 'Insurance'. 

	"Come on Kuno baby, we need to get good seats." She said smoothly, her smile widening as he followed, mumbling to himself how he detested her. She glanced back to let him know she had heard him, her eyes flicking to the poster for the Juban tournament he had been waiting in front of, the image of Akane and Sakura facing off over a smaller sign directing commuters which way to the exhibition hall and event. "You know Kuno, Sis often says how special you are, but sometimes you amaze even me."

*****

	"After each fight, you're to bow or curtsey to the crowd and return up the ramp to back stage, the winner will then be interviewed by a camera team, snippets of which will end up between fights, and on final tape sales so don't do anything unacceptable in front of the camera."

	Akane nodded to the stage manager she'd just signed in with. All the rules of yesterday still applied, though that the fights would be televised live showed in how efficiently they were trying to run the competitor movements when outside the ring, and how warnings were repeated regarding the cables and equipment that were not to be touched, tripped over, or damaged in any way. 

	Finishing with the stage manager, she had made it three steps before the singsong voice of Ranma's Amazon wife called to her. "Husband thief show up? Shampoo surprised, no think husband thief wants beating in front of TV people."

	Dark eyes flashing, Akane turned on Shampoo, visibly trying to control her anger. "Weren't you the one who wanted to face me in this tournament Shampoo? Or is that ridiculous hair cut cutting the blood from your brain and making you forgetful?"

	The two glared for a moment longer, before Akane turned to the cackling voice nearby. A tiny old crone-like lady in a nurse's uniform was balanced atop an equally gnarled walking cane that would otherwise have been twice her height. "Yes, I can see why Happi likes you. You must keep him well entertained."

	"You know Grandfather Happosai?" Akane asked, stepping back to keep Shampoo and Cologne in front of her. 

	"Yes, Happosai tried to, let's say 'court' me, when I was much younger."

	"You're Cologne?" A touch of disbelief entering her voice as she looked over the shrivelled elder. "I thought you'd be... taller?"

	"When you get to my age child, you'll be surprised how little you look like you do now." Cologne said in a light voice, though her eyes showed a flicker of tiredness and experience before refocusing on the Japanese girl. 

	"Husband thief be surprised how little she look like now after fight with Shampoo. Airen and Stinky Panty Thief Pervert no want as student when Shampoo done," Shampoo said, smiling darkly. 

	Glaring at the purple haired girl, Akane tensed her legs, fists clenching, wanting nothing more than to smack the smile from her face. "You keep calling me Husband Thief and I might have to help Ukyo or Sakura make sure you have no husband to take."

	Her skin paling for a moment at the threat, Shampoo quickly smiled again, "Okay, Shampoo no call Husband Thief, Shampoo know Airen not too too desperate to want for Panty thief student."

	Akane growled, but she didn't spring as Ranma's hand grabbed her shoulder. "Keep calm or they'll kick you out."

	Taking calming breaths, she settled for a glare at the smiling Chinese girl. Shampoo's smile went down at her husband's casual contact with the girl but then widened as she looked back into her brown eyes. "You no like teacher? You no steal panties? Maybe Boy's Shorts Thief Girl?"

	Glancing to her future husband, Shampoo’s smug enjoyment of her joke was obvious, "Airen no missing shorts?"

	Whatever Akane or Ranma were about to reply was cut off, "Ranchan, the bimbo is making less sense than usual, has she fallen into Spring of Drowned Ditz now or can you decipher what she's babbling about?"

	The Amazon glared as Ukyo approached, flanked by Junko and Konatsu, the young black haired girl and the feminine ninja boy looking like they'd really prefer not to fight but both ready to defend their boss.

	"Hey everyone calm down," Ranma said quickly, "You fight each other like this and you may as well hand the trophy to Sakura now."

	Akane nodded, though she could almost see in Shampoo and Ukyo's eyes the image of Ranma himself sitting in a large cup like trophy. "He's right, Sakura has already declared war on us all, we should be more concerned about bumping her off early and then whoever gets to the final round can worry about the trophy or anything else." She glanced to the two girl's eyes, not looking at Ranma as they all thought about their side bet. 

	"That won't work I'm afraid," said a quiet yet strong voice, the  white robed Chinese man stepping forward holding a piece of paper. Mousse had his glasses on top of his head and stared with piercing eyes at the group. "The fights have been supposedly randomly allocated, but the only way any of you will fight Sakura is over the others defeated bodies."

	His hand lashed up to point at Ranma, "Ukyo Kuonji shall first face," his hand pointed again, this time at Junko, "Akane Tendo. The winner to face the winner of, Junko Kosin and Shampoo of the Amazons!" His hands lashed out, one finger pointing at Cologne, the other pointing the fight roster at Ukyo. "Only the winner of all four shall reach the women's final and have a chance of facing Shishimi."

	Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Akane glanced at Ranma about the Chinese mans strange behaviour, receiving a shrug from Ranma, his eyes concerned as the other girls glanced at each other, Junko's face showing near horror at having to face the Amazon straight off the mark. The pigtailed boy stepped forward and took the paper from Mousse. 

	His eyes looked at the other names Sakura would be facing to make it to the finals. "Sakura's set herself up with a cake walk to get through to the final while which ever of you beats the rest will be worn down to hell."

	His face was struggling for a long moment. "All ya can do is your best, but don't go too far to hurt each other, or ya just make it easier for her to win the final." He obviously wanted to say more but left it there, giving Shampoo a meaningful look that showed his words were mainly at her. 

	Glancing down again, he looked at the male names trying to see who he was going to be facing. He grimaced as he saw only one name of note between him and the final, guilty eyes looking up at Konatsu, while Mousse had similar issues to Konatsu's, only the 'Black Mask' and some no body in his path to the final.

	He passed the page to the ninja with an apologetic look as his name was called and several stagehands began to rush around gathering competitors to form them up and march through the arena for the cameras and spectators. His eyes seeing Sakura up front with a space beside her, smiling indulgently right at him. 

*****

	His brown eyes blinked, again and again.

	Akane's bare thighs...Akane's bare midriff... Far far far larger than life size. The twenty foot image of his beloved truly did justice to her fighting spirit, but, but, but, so much skin for all to see! Her dark eyes looked out with equally dark challenge from the billboard-sized poster hanging from the wall of the hall that housed the tournament. 

	Nabiki watched him with a bit of morbid curiosity, unsure exactly how he was going to react to Akane's new image.

	His face was frowning as he turned on her. "Nabiki Tendo, why fore has your angelic sister given up her fierce white gi in favour of this new attire? Truly it is more flattering for her divine form but it is unbecoming for a future Kuno to show this much to the commoners, as does my incorrigible sister. What right have these plebeians to gaze upon her smooth skin? What scurrilous fiend has been perverting her mind from the tidy and purity that binds my heart."

	A small mysterious smile crested Nabiki's lips, "My little sister is maturing, Kuno-baby. She can't stay twelve forever. Maybe it's a bit of the wild horse in her." Her smile widened in self-amusement at her words.

	The man known as the Blue Thunder watched his guide's smile with concern. His peerless insight told him to be careful of Nabiki's craftiness, and he willed to himself that he would be ever vigilant of what conniving plans this money grubber had, he would not be fooled. "Tis this influence brought on by this mysterious trainer that has kept her from my embrace, yes? This Saotomo?"
         
	"Oh no, Kuno-baby, Saotome, Ranma Saotome, has been the one training Akane in another branch of our family art, but I don't think he wants her too much like this, I think he likes her just the way she is. You should be glad he's already engaged though, or Daddy might have tried to unite our schools and you'd be without any chance of being with my little sister."

	The brown eyes of the scion of the Kuno line narrowed again, trying to see what subtle hints this woman was trying to fool him with. Mentally he put this Saotome with his engagement as not being a competitor for his love. Once he identified and eliminated every threat to his and his beloved's happiness, Nabiki Tendo and all her plans would be powerless against him.

	"Come on Kuno-baby, the tournaments about to start, you wouldn't want to miss sis fight would you?"

*****

	"You must be wary Shampoo."

	"Yes Great Grand Mother, I not let guard down." Shampoo replied in a singsong voice looking over the purple and blue body paint outfit in the mirror.

	Cologne grimaced, choosing not to hit her daughter to get her attention, it had taken too long preparing her hair and outfit to mess it up. It would be a mark of pride for her to finish without marring the body paint. "This is Happosai's student. If I am right he has been training her in techniques to take down son-in-law, and if you aren't careful you will fall too."

	Shaking her hair, Shampoo looked over her shoulder at Cologne. "Shampoo will no lose, Shampoo have Twenty Stabbing star technique," she stated, holding up her hands to show the sparkling paint on the nails, glancing down to see them on her bare feet too. "Pervert student no see fall coming."

*****

	The huge monitors around the indoor arena showed snippets of yesterday's fights as the crowds filed in, almost all the seats filled. Minutes past as ten o'clock came closer, when the lights dimmed and the monitors were replaced by a count down, the crowd quieting for a moment before a chant counting down with the numbers began. 

	With zero, the spot lights glared and swung around the hall as a cheer went up, almost drowning the guitar heavy music as logos for the tournament and sponsors, with flicking fighting moments from yesterdays and last year's events.

	A single six-sided orange ring sat in the centre of the arena, the crowd held back three meters from it by a three foot high black barrier. A single wide ramp led from under the main monitors to the ring area, curtains under the massive TV leading back stage, the only easy way down to ring area without climbing the barrier. 

	The cameras focused down on a table set into an alcove made by the barrier opposite the ramp, where two men sat in colourful get up. 

	"Hello folks, and welcome this Culture day weekend to the finals of the Second Annual Juban Open Martial Arts Tournament. I'm Jimmu Rassu, and with me is Juri 'The Shogun' Laluru."

	"Thanks Jimmu. And welcome all our TV audience watching live around Japan thanks to 'Shishimi Takeout, fighting the biggest hungers Japan-wide'. Today we have the final sixteen men and sixteen women competing for the 1st place Men's and Women's tournament and an amazing trip up to beautiful ski trip to a secluded mountain resort."

	"That's right Shogun, and coming down the ramp now we have the judges for today led by chief referee Eru Hebner. Referee Hebner has nearly forty years experience at judging Martial Arts combat and will help to keep today's events fair for all competitors."

	The camera's moved to show the aging, bald Ref Hebner, flanked by two other men, all wearing black and white umpire shirts with the Shishimi Takeout logo striding down the ramp waving to the crowd. The three moved down to take positions around the hexagonal ring, evenly spaced to be able to see each side. 

	"Coming out next we have the competitors, led by last years male champion and favourite to win again, Ranma Saotome, and beside him his lovely fiancée and the girl who was just pipped from victory last year by Saotome's own sister, Miss Sakura Shishimi."

	Two columns of competitors began to move from behind the curtain as the music rang out again, Ranma waving to his mother than the crowd in general before moving down the ramp, pairs of male and female competitors following. 

*****

	Nabiki efficiently moved down the stairs to the seats indicated on her ticket, dragging Kuno down as the swordsman gazed down on those on the ramp, oblivious to the growing annoyance of the girl. 

	Finding the row, the Tendo daughter pulled on her guest to get him to take the seat further in so she had some chance of stopping him should he try again to leave and go back stage to give 'comfort and support' to his beloved, the previous attempt being what had them late. After he had calmed down, he had then wasted more time offering considerable cash for the twenty-foot high larger than life poster of his beloved out the front of the building. 

	Grumbling, the Kendoist sat down and Nabiki moved to do the same only to have him again leap to his feet, seeing her sister at the very back of the column of competitors. His mouth opened to cry his joy to his beloved but Nabiki shoved her hand over his mouth, "Remember your promise Kuno baby, you swore not to interfere today, so sit down and behave yourself. I'm sure she'll be happy to deal with you after the tournament."

	"Verily," he replied solemnly, "Yet my heart does ring with the bell of love that I behold her greatness." His eyes locked onto the monitor as it zoomed in on the girl in question, his brow creasing as he took in the subtle changes. "Tell me, which man is this Saotome?"

	Her eyes narrowed, Nabiki quickly considered her words. She had to be careful to maintain control of the swordsman. She needed him to simmer to boil and not blow his lid and go charging off to early. Ranma had asked questions specifically about rising Kuno's temper, obviously wanting to know how to get him that way. He would be angry regardless, but if she wanted to deliver him to Auntie's son gift wrapped for their fight, she needed to feed him the details slowly. 

	"Well Kuno Baby," she began over the crowd, smiling at him bristle at her pet name for him, not for his reaction but for knowing she now had his undivided attention. "Look at the front of the line of competitors, see how that guy with the pigtail has an outfit like hers, with the horse on the back?"

	She let him look at her sister and Ranma, letting it sink in as he shuffled in his seat. "That's Ranma Saotome, and he studies the same Anything Goes School as Akane and my father. Akane has been learning more about our school from him, and so they have to wear similar outfits."

	"So he is making her wear such an outfit? He has undue influence on my fierce tigress, I will have to talk to this Saotome, inform him of my displeasure.” He nodded to himself for his choice of action. “What kind of man is he?"

	Smiling nervously, unsure of what conclusion the Kendoist had reached, she replied. "Just a jock, Akane can beat him in a fight, and he seems honourable enough."

	"For his own sake, I would hope he knows how to listen to his betters."

*****

	Ref Hebner's whistle blow to start the first fight rang out loud enough to be heard back stage, several competitors watching monitors back stage as Sakura faced off in her gold and black leather against a trim girl with light brown hair in a pink and green leotard. The pair clashed, Sakura's chopsticks snatching a pair of white gymnastics clubs from her opponent's hands before she ducked back, dodging a lashing ribbon. 

	"Oh, a Rhythmic Gymnast," Akane stated, recalling her own misadventures in that field of the martial arts, eyes on the monitor, watching both girls stances and attacks.

	"She's gonna get creamed, it's not much of a martial art unless your opponent has to follow the same rules as you, and Sakura sure as hell won't. Look, she's only using the tools, it's such a dumb martial art." 

	Akane's brown eyes turned slowly on the blue of the martial artist beside her. "I'll have you know I was rather good at Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts, thank you very much, Ranma. It's a lot more hard work than you think. Don't sell her short, against Sakura's chopsticks that ribbon might work well."

	Holding his hands up defensively, he smirked at her. "Okay, sorry, I'm wrong, your right. What I should a said was it's a girly martial art."

	Her shoulders set as she gave him a glare. Akane hated it when he started on teasing her with sexist remarks, and she hated more how his smirk would widen with her temper flaring at it. He seemed to need to get under her skin. Her eyes spied someone over his shoulder and her own smile returned. 

	"Doctor Tofu, can you come here for a moment."

	"Yes Akane? Something wrong?" He asked nervously, this wasn't going to be more ribbing on him regarding Akane's sister. The handsome chiropractor approached the pair. 

	"Nothing wrong, its just Ranma was just saying how Rhythmic Gymnastic Martial Arts is only for *girls*. Please Ranma, do go on."

	The Doctor’s features flushed then calmed and he looked at Ranma. "Ranma, I'm surprised, you of all people should know there is no justification in differences between the sexes when it comes to pure skill in the martial arts."

	Ranma wasn't dissuaded, his eyes focusing on the older man. "Doc, don't tell me you do Rhythmic Gymnastics?" 

	"I did learn a little in my younger years, Sena wanted to and needed a practice partner. I have to admit there is a good deal of art in it, even if it is not the most martial. I gave Akane a few tips when she was having difficulty with a challenger. She did an excellent job during her rematch."

	The pigtailed boy shrugged, obviously not convinced. A roar of the crowd distracted them and the pair looked at the monitor to see the Gymnast smacking the mat with free her hand as she lay on her stomach, her other arm twisted badly behind her back by Sakura's chopstick grip, the blondes knee holding her down so she couldn't roll to freedom. Ref Hebner declared a point to Sakura and the blonde stood and moved away, waiting for her partner to be ready to continue. 

	"Rematch, huh? So you lost to a rhythmic gymnast?" he asked, she didn't need to turn, she could hear the smirk. 

	"I didn't lose, I got disqualified." She replied defensively as she watched Sakura move in against her opponent again, targeting the same arm she had twisted to force submission the first time. "Kodatchi had years more experience than me and was cheating too. I got frustrated." She admitted with a touch of a blush.

	"You punched her, huh?" Her blush was enough of a confirmation and he chuckled. "Oh yeah, it's a fine *martial* art, it's just far easier to just deck your opponent but I'm not allowed to knock it. It sounds ever so manly."

	She replied with a red eye for the boy before turning back to the screen as Sakura tossed her opponent from the ring by the same weakened arm, and with two out of three falls, the blonde won the match. Tofu excused himself to see to any injuries from the downed gymnast.

	The pair watched the repeat on the screen of the win before looking to the curtain as the Doctor passed Sakura, returned back stage after her victory. Almost immediately a cameraman and host appeared to interview Sakura post fight. 

	Akane watched her for a minute as the girl smiled and replied to questions, sipping from a bottle of water occasionally. A dark grin came to her face as she replaced her sunglasses, turning to Ranma. 

	"Well, better start warming up, not long till my fight. Help me stretch?"

	She didn't wait for any reply from Ranma beyond his questioning glace, raising her leg up as if to attack him with an axe kick. Reacting instantly, he blocked and held the leg, wondering why Akane smiled as she leant into him, her legs almost vertically opposed, her face near his hands around her ankle, cream thigh and glossed lips not to far from his own face.

	He gulped, his Adams apple bouncing with the motion. 

	A loud *pop* and a screech of outrage came from Sakura, the water bottle in her hand bursting, splashing both men and her, and attracting the attention of most back stage. She moved angrily towards Akane as the girl brought her leg back down from Ranma.

	"Can I help you Sakura?" Akane asked sweetly.

	Sakura seethed for a long moment and glared at Ranma who backed up waving his hands defensively, obviously confused about what happened and not wanting any trouble for it. She marched up into Akane's face.

	"You'll never have him," she hissed. "Even if you could steal him from me, those other two bimbo's would stop you."

	Akane gave a Ranma-like smirk to her, "Today, I'd be more worried about me humiliating you in your little tournament."

	"I'll see you on your back in our fight, Tendo! You're going to beg me to finish you in front of that crowd when I'm done."

	Turning smartly away, her leather fuku skirt swirling up, Sakura left. Akane watched her go out the back with a dark look. Part of her concerned by Sakura's threat, part of her elated by pushing the blondes buttons this far. Another part of her mind directed her eyes back to the other Anything Goes Martial artist, wondering of Sakura's initial accusation...

*****

	'Shogun' smiled toothily for the camera as they cut back from a commercial break. "Welcome back to the Bokuto arena, for more of day two of the Juban Open Martial Arts tournament, sponsored by 'Shishimi Takeaway' fighting the biggest hungers, Japan wide!"

	"That's right Shogun," Jimmu, the other announcer taking over, "And what amazing displays of power and skill we have seen today from our beautiful part of Tokyo. In today's final three knock out rounds, we are already through half of our first round matches, two men and two women no longer in contention for the championship trophy." 

	"Power and skill is right, first with our female favourite, Ms Sakura Shishimi herself securing her place in the semi finals, then Chinese restaraunt worker Muu Tzu gaining victory in a prolonged battle, and Ms Desu of the Asiko dojo making her way through her fight and will now face Ms Shishimi in the semi-finals."

	"Very true Shogun, but those fights were ultimately walks in the park compared to the brutality of out last fight, featuring the mysterious 'man in black', on whom we have virtually no knowledge, moving with unstoppable power through the defences of Mr Chisai Hone, top student and heir of the very traditional Hone Martial Arts dojo." As he spoke the screen image of Jimmu's face pushed back into the corner of the screen, showing a reply of the Man in Black, slamming his smaller Japanese opponent around the ring, before man handling the poor white clad fighter into the air and slamming down out of the ring, onto the thin mats surrounding the ring, the only covering to the concrete floor. 

	"OW!" cried Shogun, "He might want to consider changing his name to 'Orete', cause that poor boy is 'broken boned'".

	The screen came back out showing both men again, now joined by a third young handsome man, putting on headphones as he sat down. 

	"With us now ladies and gentlemen, we have the 'manager' of this man in black, Mr Jiro Ohata."

	"Pleasure to speak with you Jimmu, and you especially Shogun. You know your own career in professional open martial arts tournaments was an inspiration to many of our generation."

	"Why thank you Mr Ohata," Shogun replied in a thick voice, before seeming to turn the conversation off himself. "Though that statement does beg the question of you that I'm sure our viewers wish to know. Why haven't we seen you in this tournament? As I recall you were highly rated in last years events before being defeated by last years champion, Ranma Saotome."

	Ohata's smile was a little forced. "Well Shogun, this being my final year in high school I really couldn't afford the time to devote to preparing for such an event. My own studies of the martial arts have ceased for the time being, to focus more on mastery of my mind and future. What I have given myself to is giving some tips to a man who will give your tournament a lot of action."

	"You're speaking of this 'Man in Black' you're managing."

	"I am indeed Jimmu, and I couldn't be happier with the way his training has been coming along."

	Jimmu took back control, holding up an information card with very little information. "The producers have agreed with his fighting in costume for all fights but the final, but we have to ask, is this young man from your own former dojo?"

	"Oh no Jimmu, my fighter is from a family tradition of martial arts, but not from my former school."

*****

	Nabiki watched the big screen intently, mesmerised by the handsome profile being fed live from the announcers table cameraman. She ignored Kuno self-ranting beside her about being forced to wait through such tripe of lesser fighter's bluster, her mind cataloguing Ohata's details and matching them to a file she had been reading last night. 

	Licking her lips, she smiled to herself. If he was local to Bokuto high school, she might have to drop by and visit her sister more than she had thought...

*****

	Ukyo and Akane jointly glared at Ohata as he emerged from the curtain to the back stage area. The shorthaired boy smiled a white-toothed smile. 

	"Good luck with your fight, ladies. I'm sure your freak boyfriend will be ready to mother you back to health afterwards."

	The longhaired girl clenched her fists. "At least he's not playing manager because he scared to face a real man."

	"Go back to your kitchen Kuonji! Just because you want to be one doesn't mean you understand anything about real men." 

	Akane frowned, not really getting Ohata's reference about Ukyo, and not really caring. "Well in your next life you might be one and you can tell us then, jerk."

	A stagehand rushed over, headphones over his ears as he spoke into the mouthpiece. Stepping up to them, he looked to Ohata. "Your fighter wants you." Without waiting for a reply he turned the girls. "Ms Kuonji, you're out in twenty seconds, are you ready?"

	Nodding to the stagehand, she looked to the curtain and took calming breaths. She glanced at Akane, a spark of anger in her that the girl had not commented about Ohata's accusation of Ranma being her boyfriend. 

	Taking another calming breath, she listened for the blaring of the music that the producers had picked out for her, Junko, and Konatsu. Dark strains of sound blared out, mixing the theme of the tournament with a recent punk rock song from the top forty charts about fat food. 

	Taking a breath, she stepped through the curtain with a smile. 

*****

	Rolling her eyes, Nabiki pulled on Kuno's shoulder, trying to get him to sit down. He had suddenly brought forth a bouquet of flowers and was almost shaking in excitement. Had he been a child she would have easily believed he was waiting for Santa or desperate for the toilet. The score board rigged up near the massive TV screen showed the name of the competitor, Ukyo Kuonji, was facing Akane Tendo, and Kuno seemed fit to burst at finally seeing his love in action for the first time in weeks, however distantly she was from their seats.

	The dark tones of Akane's music began and the target of his love stepped through the curtain onto the stage at the top of the ramp, posing and smiling for the cameras as the crowd equally cheered, wolf whistled, and booed.

	One spectator stood up in the seat behind Nabiki and began to join the negative calls down at Akane. He managed about six syllables before Kuno had his boken in hand with a swing that snapped the air, the wood stopping just touching the spectators throat. 

	Nabiki stood just as Kuno opened his mouth to berate this lowly commoner insulting his love. "Do you want to get kicked out of here, Kuno-baby? You start a fight over simple theatrics and you won't get near Akane for years, I'll make sure of it."

	Any anger for the man turned on the short Tendo woman before Kuno. "You would want this dog to support your sister's opponent?! When I wed my destined love, your threats will have no power over me, woman. You will be..."

	"Yes yes, but till then I am the only way you're getting back stage to see her after today’s fights. Now do you want to watch Akane trounce some opponents or do you want to wait outside, Kuno-baby?"

	Kuno stiffened like a petulant child. He looked to where Akane was crossing into the ring, bristling as wolf whistles rang out from the front rows but he sat down beside Nabiki again. "I will watch."

	"Good Kuno, cause next time you stand up in some attempt to defend Akane, you won't be seeing the end of that fight."

	He sniffed the air distastefully, mocking Nabiki's ability to back up her words. The brown haired girl smiled as she slipped one hand in her bag.

*****

	Ref Hebner finished a loop around the ring, and looked in at the girls. "Are the competitors ready?"

	Both Ukyo and Akane nodded before bowing to him and the panel of judges, then to each other. 

	Akane swallowed as she watched Ukyo, the brown haired girl's eyes showed more anger than ever, and she had little hope that this match would be considered friendly, even by the standards the day was going to have.

	Raising his hand above his head, Ref Eru Hebner brought his whistle to his lips. The hand dropped and the whistle screeched. 

	Charging in quickly, Akane spun her body to give her limbs momentum and aimed low to try and knock Ukyo off her feet, but the chef countered with her massive spatula, using it as a wall of defence and rushing forward to plough her opponent over. Maintaining the spin, Akane used the momentum to pull herself up and back away from the wide blade of the weapon.

	"Okonomiyaki Hot Drop special!"

	Ukyo used one hand to keep the spatula as a shield as her right hand began to lob okonomiyaki at her opponent, the first exploding when it hit the mat, the second floating like a discus between ring ropes and exploding a point to blacken the ramp to the stage. Akane managed to flip bodily over the first and duck the second, but the third landed virtually under her foot as she landed, robbing her of her balance for a crucial second.

***** 

	Kasumi winced as she watched her baby sister fight, her hand gripping the armrest of her seat in worry. Nodoka patted her on the shoulder. "Don't give up on her. It isn't good to see those we love get hurt like this but she is strong. Have some faith."

	As the elder woman spoke, Ukyo rushed in at the unbalanced girl, her kick taking Akane's weakened balancing leg up from the mat, as her spatula scooped the body of the girl. Her shoulders under her blue jacket widened then tightened as she heaved the spatula up to eject Akane from the ring, but as it came up, Akane rolled down it into Ukyo's arms, overbalancing both girls down to the ring mat.

	Landing badly, the back of Ukyo's head come down hard as Akane's hip crushed down on her diaphragm, the dark haired girl acting quickly to hook Ukyo's knee up with an elbow, forcing the dazed chef's shoulders down on the mat. 

	Hebner was beside the ring in an instant, slamming his hand down as he counted to three. 

	The crowds cheers failed to swallow Kasumi's as Nodoka clapped. "Your sister is very good Kasumi-chan, and my son has mentioned that she doesn't give up easily."

*****

	Ukyo growled as she regained her breath and got to her feet. Taking more breaths, she tried to calm herself, all the time glaring at her opponent who had snatched a fall from her. 

	Brushing her hair from her brow, Akane tried not to let her elation show for having got the first fall. It had been very close to her being the fall behind. She couldn't let that happen again. 

	Ref Hebner called again for contestant readiness and the girls nodded before the whistle blew again. 

	Again, Akane tried to charge in, trying to close inside the range of the large weapon Ukyo wielded, and also now fully aware of Ukyo's capacity for ranged attacks. Ukyo grimaced and started spinning the spatula in an active shielding motion, using her off hand to jab out with additional blocks. 

	It wasn't a wide hole in the defence, but Akane didn't miss it, as the spatula moved on its outside arc, and when it happened again, she took advantage. One hand each grabbed Ukyo's arms, pushing them back and pinning them, the new angle stopping the twirl of the spatula as the shorter girl pulled Ukyo against her and tried to squeeze her into submission. 

	Glancing up, Akane's eyes widened as Ukyo smiled back at her, arching her back. From the chest of her blue sequinned jacket, two black clouds emerged into Akane's face, and open brown eyes. The shorter girl dropped Ukyo, flipping back as the pain stung her eyes shut. Hearing Ukyo's spatula swing to the fore, Akane jumped back again, desperate to reach the ropes as a point of reference as she tried to blink the pain from her eyes. 

	"Hot plate flip!"

	Akane didn't see the red line flow down the spatula as it swung upwards from a low angle towards the retreating girl, but she felt the blast of rolling hot wind flow over her, raising her up, and back, to finally crash on the ground outside the ring, before the announcers table. 

*****

	Ranma shifted agitatedly as he watched Akane getting up, his hands gripping tightly to the ends of the towel hanging around his neck. As she seemed okay, he calmed, though he did notice the slouch in his shoulders from the setback of his student. He looked at his side to Konatsu, the cross dressing ninja also looking a little glum. "That black stuff? One of your pepper bomb boobs?" He asked, referring to a weapon the ninja had previously used upon him. 

	"Similar yes, though Ukyo-sama had to make adjustments." 

	Watching Akane climb back in the ring, he smiled. "Good combo attack for her. You two and Junko training together must be paying off some."

	The dark haired bishonen man nodded, relaxing some, "Thank you Ranma-san." He replied a little uncomfortably.

	The whistle of the judges blew again and the action started immediately, with the two girls closing again with fierce attacks. "Sakura's games with the fight roster ain't helping. I was really hoping Ukyo and Akane could be friends, but now they're thinking of each other as the enemy."

	Konatsu nodded, "Affairs involving the heart and friendship never end well," he sighed out in a feminine voice. Ranma's towel hit him in the face. 

	"You watch too many soaps on TV."

*****

	Akane and Ukyo struggled to get the upper hand, Akane's strength cancelled by the chef's reach and skill, neither giving the other the opportunity to get into a rhythm of attack. Fierce kicks and punches, failed to find their mark, as swipes and strikes were diverted into empty air. Spin kicks flared as lunges were made, strikes either leapt over or ducked under. Both girls were sweating and breathing hard as the pace never slackened.

	Ukyo stepped back in a quick lunge, bring her spatula up in an arching cut to try and open space, Akane bending backwards to duck under it. 

	Under Akane's foot, the ring shifted. 

	The heir to the Tendo school of Anything Goes Martial Arts held herself upright but was left open to the spatula as its edge grazed her elbow. Rolling with the grazing the corner of the blade slammed into her ribs with a tearing sound. Continuing her roll, Akane went down as the spatula went up, her red top tearing free of her shoulders and going with the weapon. 

	Ukyo stepped back as she finished the swing then pulled back to guard position, the red cloth of Akane's shirt going with the momentum to float out of the ring. Akane regained her balance, her arms crossing her chest as the males of the crowd cheered and whistled. Adjusting her black sports bra to make sure she was still as clothed as possible, Akane glared up at Ukyo, but saw her looking back at her with wide eyes, embarrassed for her. 

	Holding up her hand to show she wasn't fighting, Ukyo moved to the ring edge above the shirt and pointed down to it, "Hey Ref, pass it back in."

	Eru Hebner was already moving to retrieve the shirt when Ranma rushed down the ramp, holding a towel and moving towards the shirt. Intercepting both men came one of the producers in his headset. "Saotome, back up the ramp. You're not involved here. Hebner, you know the rules, any items that fall from the ring are out for the fight."

	Little could be made out of the four complaints from the two girls in the ring, Ranma and Ref Hebner.

*****

	Nabiki clenched her fist around the device in her bag, watching Kuno as his jaw worked in horror at what had befallen his bride. Akane's angry yelling with the others jolted him out of neutral and into gear. 

	Before he had risen a foot, Nabiki touched her 'insurance' policy to his neck and triggered the device. 

	*ZAT*

	A blue white spark flash seared twin marks into his neck as he jolted, hair flaring straight out from his head and body, and then he collapsed to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

	Nabiki smiled at those around her looking with faces of disbelief, raising the stun gun to her mouth and blowing across the electrodes, before returning the device to her bag, her dark eyes turning back to the spectacle below.

*****

	The crowd murmured as the fight failed to proceed while more producers appeared arguing over the rules and the shirt. 

	"The rules were agreed upon by the fighters before entering the ring, any items, not just tools, that fall from the ring cannot be retrieved till the bout is concluded. Saotome, leave the fight area immediately or be disqualified. Hebner, have the fighters begin again or you're fired!"

	Both Ranma and Ref Hebner looked angrily back at the lead producer, Ranma then looking up at Akane for a moment, his eyes telling her he was ready to be disqualified, but she shook her head. He moved away, standing at the very base of the ramp, apparently not willing to return back stage yet. 

	Ukyo was just as unhappy with the decision as the others, though the silent communication between teacher and student burned under her skin, and she moved back to a ready position for the match to restart, her desire to defeat Akane rising again. 

	As Akane readied herself, her guard a little closer in than previous, her face red, trying to focus her thoughts away from the fact she was on national TV in her bra. 

	The whistle blew again and both girls moved in fast, each with reason to make a quick victory. This time, Ukyo quickly showed a clear advantage, as Akane kept her arms tight in, attacking more with her legs and trying to dodge Ukyo's counters more than block, robbing her of controlling her balance and the direction of the fight. 

	A swift smack from Ukyo's spatula caught her across the temple, spinning her away from her opponent and open to take another two kicks to the midriff and thigh before managing to roll out and gain some breathing room. 

	Her brown eyes flashing angrily, Akane knew Ukyo wasn't going to bother with any more exploding Okonmiyaki, not as long as she was holding herself back from fighting effectively. It was only a matter of time before she got brained by that spatula and she'd be left defeated in her bra on TV, before Ranma. As her mind focused through on Ranma, his cocky voice reminding her that the best way to eliminate a weakness can be to play it as a strength. 

	Ukyo closed in again, swiping with her weapon, trying to play Akane's close guard to her advantage again, and it was working. The opening came in short order, and the spatula came in with crushing force over her right shoulder. Even should Akane manage to get her left forearm up to block the blow it would impact her head again. As the flat came down, Akane ducked with it, striking up with her left hand towards the metal sheet of the weapon. 

	The weapon came down on Akane's index finger, and instantly stoped. Ukyo looked with startled eyes at Akane, who smiled wickedly and came back up. The force she had robbed from the weapon with Grandfather's trick reversed back into the weapon and spun the handle free of Ukyo's grip and into her waiting hands. Before Ukyo could really comprehend what had happened, her own weapon crashed on her skull, and in a dazed state, she was scooped up and tossed, weapon and all, from the ring. 

	The crowd cheered and Akane 'whooped' in elation at the victory, jumping up and punching the air. 

	The black sports bra, clipped by the spatula in the loss of the shirt, broke the last of the seams, Akane's eyes widening as she felt the elastic opening, her hands desperately coming down as she looked down the barrel of one of the camera's recording her actions... and landed on a pair of strong hands. 

	Glancing up over her shoulder, she saw Ranma smile down at her and quickly pulled his hands free, leaving her holding the towel he had covered her with. Blushing slightly, he jumped from the ring down to Ukyo. "Hey Ucchan, you okay?"

	He didn't get any further as the producers and refs began to argue again. 

*****

	Nabiki patted Kuno's unconscious form, smiling as Akane and Ranma left the ring. "Too bad Kuno-baby, I guess Akane doesn't need you for her hero today. She's got all she needs."

*****

	Victorious, Akane dodged past Ranma and the producers back stage, thankfully spotting Sena leading Kasumi and Nodoka in. She rushed up to the three of them, holding out the remains of her shirt with the hand not holding her towel around her. "Can you fix it?" 

	Nodoka smiled, "Of course. Congratulations on your fight."

	"Thanks, though I don't think I want to ever see how bad the camera's covered it," her blush reached new reds as she thought of how bad it could be, and how bad it could have been save not for Ranma.

	The boy in question turned up, looking a little irritable. "Hey Mom, Kasumi. You two gonna help fix Akane's shirt?"

	Nodding, Kasumi looked beyond him at the men he walked away from. "Was there a problem with what happened? That man seems to have upset you?"

	Ranma glanced where Kasumi gestured towards the producer he had been arguing with. "Nah, they just upset that they don't have any letch shots of Akane. They'll probably warn everyone now that if they go down ringside without permission they'll be disqualified. They threatened tossing both Akane and me out because I entered the ring before Ref Hebner called Akane the winner, but it was an empty threat to lose both of us after that fight and the way they hyping up me against pig-boy."

	Following the pigtailed boys gaze shift, Akane saw where Junko and Konatsu were preparing each other for their fights. Putting on his ninja mask, the cross dresser’s eyes darted towards the first aid room where Doctor Tofu was looking at Ukyo's bruises. Ranma waved and gave the ninja a thumbs up, which Konatsu returned. 

	"Will he win?" His mother prodded.

	"Yeah, that kid he's fighting was plain lucky to get through to day two, he needs loads more training to take Konatsu. Which means next round we fight each other." He said glumly. 

	"Assuming that you win your fight, Ranma. Pride comes before a fall." Akane teased.

	Ranma grinned cockily, "Nah, I got one of those clowns from Asiko dojo, he won't even make me try." He turned and gave an exaggerated leer at Akane who seemed to have forgotten that she was still just clad in a towel from the waist up. "Can I borrow the towel?"

	Her face again reddening, she put on a weak glare, "Pervert," before gathering Nodoka and Kasumi off to the girls change rooms to try and fix her outfit.

*****

	Nabiki watched with detachment as another bout passed by, a fast moving ninja in a blue tunic despatching a young man in more traditional dojo gi in short order, efficiently bundling the young man into the mat. 

	Her interest was anywhere but the ring, her thoughts more on the first fight of the Man in Black, her minds eye trying to recall the actions of the ‘manager’ aside from making sure his charge got to and from the ring. This Ohata knew how to play to the cameras, but he certainly wasn’t concerned about the fight.

	A groaning from the floor made her look down, a smile coming to her mouth as Kuno groggily tried to stand. "Welcome back Kuno baby, you'll be happy to know Akane managed to win her fight." 

	She didn't need to hear his words to know he hadn't really caught up yet, "Huh?"

	Shaking her head she looked to the ramp as a dark haired girl in a black jumpsuit and green sash came down.

*****

	Ranma looked to Cologne as they, Ukyo, Akane, and Sena crowded around one of the back stage TV sets showing the second competitor, Junko, entering the ring. 

	"You warned her not to go to far didn't you?"

	The old woman in the nurse's outfit smiled toothily, "I told her to have fun out there, though we both know that she considers victory to be the most fun she can have. Without you that is."

	"If she..."

	His reply was cut off with the old woman's voice dropping dangerously, "If my great granddaughter wanted that girl hurt over the incident with Mouse she would have been hurt by now. She's the one with the problem with Shampoo. You, Groom, shouldn't have been helping that girl to redevelop her family style, it's a waste if she can't let go of grudges against her betters"

	Ranma snorted at the old woman, "You should be the one talking about grudges, you wouldn't be here if Shampoo hadn't chased me over most of ASIA over that kiss of death crap!"

	"And look what a powerful husband she's gotten for her trouble," Cologne quipped as one of the producers rushed over, trying to shush them all. 

	Akane rolled her eyes as she heard Ranma muttering about not being anyone's husband under his breath as Cologne smiled and backed away to the other side of Tofu and Sena to watch the fight on the screen. 

	The whistle blew in the area and Junko and Shampoo closed quickly, Junko dodging one of Shampoo's bombori mace strikes to try a swift spin kick but neither girl managed to tag the other, and the fight raged on. 

	Akane glanced at Ranma's intense face then back at the monitor. "So why doesn't Junko like Shampoo? Aside from the obvious?"

	A smirk crest his lips, though if it was at her comment or because Junko managed to lock her ankles on the shaft of one of the bonbori Shampoo was wielding and break it from her grasp she wasn't sure. "I told you how she was trying to teach herself her family style from scrolls, at the time I mentioned the best training is fighting, and if she was trying to get serious experience at using her family style, she needed to fight others with it. So she started challenging other martial artists, eventually of course, she challenged Shampoo. Shampoo agreed and gave her several beatings but Junko kept coming back for more. One time Shampoo made her agree that if she lost, she would dress like an Amazon for a week.”

	“No one knew that Shampoo had gotten really annoyed with Mouse and started teasing him with a red dress. When they fought, Shampoo nearly fell for a neat grapple trick, but Shampoo was too strong and managed to reverse it and win. As part of dressing up as an Amazon, Shampoo gave Junko the red dress and kept luring her near Mouse who with his bad eyes thought Junko was Shampoo and kept grabbing her, especially with Shampoo leading him on then setting them up together. When it all came out Junko got Mouse to dress up as me and tried to get Shampoo to publicly kiss him, only it rained so there was no kiss. Since then they been at each others throats with Shampoo leading on and teasing any guy Junko shows an interest in while Junko keeps posting the local Chinese newspaper at Shampoo's village about any defeat she has and her inability to marry me."

	Akane smirked a little and wondered how she might help Junko's efforts, but her focus returned to the match as both combatants clashed again, this time going down together in a heap.

*****

	Junko sweated in the black body stocking she wore as she clashed with Shampoo. The Amazon wasn't even breathing hard after they had exchanged some blows, while Junko was taking fast breaths after managing to wrench one of the bonbori's from her opponents grip and toss it from the ring. 

	Shampoo grinned as she controlled the fight, letting the girl take her weapon at a high cost in blows. Moving in, she swung again in a wide arc at waist height on Junko, before turning the hilt in first in defence and closing up with a left kick, Junko stumbled back desperately unbalanced, her eyes widening as Shampoo released one hand from her weapon with a punch to her face. 

	Underfoot, the mat shifted, Shampoo's ankle starting to roll in with her body weight, but the Amazon stopped her momentum and didn't fall, her fist falling short of Junko's cheek but managed to flick through the Japanese girls hair as she darted back, her ornately done dark hair uncoiling messily. 

	Surprised that Sakura's people were interfering in this fight, Junko frowned, slightly miffed that they thought of her as the easier beat for Sakura out of the two of them. The Amazon was better but that didn't mean she wanted others thinking so. Shaking her head to make her dark hair straighten down her back like a tail, she charged in again, hoping to get a hand on the taller Chinese girl, months ago she hadn't been strong enough to wrestle Shampoo down, but that was then. 

	Shampoo smiled darkly as she hedged out the girl with her remaining weapon, letting the pest of a girl tire herself out, but the smile faulted slightly with confusion as the girl swept her body low under the weapon, her hands reaching up to grasp at her wrist. Knowing she had the strength, she lifted the girl bodily up by raising her arm and let fly with a blistering kick to the midsection that drove the wind from her. 

	Exhaling and folding with the kick to her gut, Junko knew she needed to take the blow for this to work, folding herself up around Shampoos leg with her legs and abdomen, throwing her weight out to force Shampoo off balance and the pair went down to the mat. 

	Still trying to understand her opponent's tactics, Shampoo lost her advantage in the grapple, and found her arms bent back, levered by the shaft of her bonbori. Her feet slipped on the mat, trying to get traction. Extending her leg, she weakly kicked at Junko's face, the dark haired Japanese girl smiling as it came out more like a caress.

	"That all you got? Tap out." Junko demanded with an air of superiority to cover the strain of holding the leverage lock against her stronger opponent. 

	The purple haired girl grimaced back over her shoulder. "No tap to weak girl." The foot came up again and she cried out in Chinese, and there was a flash of light.

*****

	The camera's caught the flash of light from Shampoo's foot, as Junko flinched back away, releasing enough of her power for Shampoo to spring free and roll to her feet. Junko backed up, hand over her face, defenceless as Shampoo closed and kicked her legs out from under her before going for the pin.

	Ranma groaned as Shampoo broke the hold and seized Junko into the mat for a pin count. "Hey, old ghoul. That her twenty stabbing stars technique?"

	Cologne bounced up grinning. "That girl has some skill. No talent for grapples but some skills."

	"You didn't answer my question, old bat."

	The ancient woman smile, "You can ask her yourself after the fight."

	The blowing of the whistle showed the fighters were restarting for the second fall, returning Ranma's attention to the screen. Junko still looked shaky on her feet, but lunged to the side leaving a wide kick in her place as Shampoo approached, the violet haired girl jumping over the attack then over Junko. Even as the Chinese girl landed, her hands blurred, gathering the released locks of the girl's hair and lathering quickly from a bottle in her hand. Rinsed, blow dry, and combed, in a total of forty seconds, a dazed Junko was easily lifted over the ring ropes to drop to her feet outside the ring.

*****

	Ukyo, Konatsu and Akane were all waiting as Doctor Tofu led Junko through the curtain to back stage as one of the producers pushed Ranma out the same, his theme music blaring as the crowd cheered. The short Japanese girl looking dazed and confused as she looked at them. "But what happened with my fight? Wasn't it next?"

	Tofu shook his head sadly. "The legendary Xi Fong Gow technique, it locks certain memories away. It looks like Shampoo used it on Junko to make her forget the fight had started, so she was completely unprepared to fight, just as if Shampoo had walked up to her in the street and struck her from behind."

	"Wait, you mean it's over? I lost?" demanded Junko.

	"I think the formula label of the shampoo was caught on the cameras, but it will take me a couple hours to mix up a batch and undo the procedure."

	Shaking her head with disbelief, Akane tried to recall the vague details Ranma had told her of this technique, which at the time had seemed more like a joke than an offensive move. The idea that she could make another forget an event, or a person with such ease was highly intimidating, especially as she was Shampoo's next opponent. She looked to the Doctor, "So she has no idea what that first technique Shampoo used to break her pin was? At least till after the tournament?"

	"Hello, I'm right here, what technique? What pin?"

	The Doctor leaned over Junko looking at her face. "No Akane, but I don't think it was a normal ki attack. Junko's face isn't bruised at all, and there are no major points for ki flow in the toes, any such ki attacks would be much less powerful than created in a cupped palm, or even from the souls of the feet."

	"What's wrong with my face?!" Junko demanded, patting it down.

	Rolling her eyes, Ukyo grabbed Junko's arm. "Come on Junko, let's see if we can find a someone to play the replay of your fight". Her eyes narrowed, as she looked at Akane, angry but not vengeful over the defeat. "I think I'd rather forget my loss too."

*****

	Akane rolled her eyes as she saw Ranma mocking the fighter from the Asiko dojo. In most fights Ranma let his opponent at least look good, if only to give them a few chances to show off advance techniques that he might not know. But she had known in the wake of yesterdays attempt to cheat by the best fighter of the Asiko dojo and the cover up arranged by Master of the Asiko dojo, that Ranma didn't respect that school or its students. She had heard from Junko that Ohata had once been top fighter of that dojo, and she still didn't know what history between Ohata and Ranma had them at such odds, but all that and more was being directed on the last remaining male student of the Asiko dojo in the ring. 

	She winced as Ranma started chatting to Ref Hebner in the middle of the match, his opponent struggling in the middle of the ring to free himself from his stomach, his arms and feet hog tied with his own black belt.

	"Akane Tendo?"

	Akane turned to look at who called her name, seeing the Chinese boy Mouse standing out of arms reach without his glasses on and several bruises on his head. 

	"Yes Mouse, did something happen to you?"

	He smiled and sighed with relief. "Ah good, I was just trying to find you and kept running into my beloved Shampoo who doesn't like me calling her by your name."

	"Er, understandable, but why not put your glasses on?"

	He blushed, "I only have a couple pair left and want to save them for fighting Saotome."

	She nodded, recalling watching his first fight of the day against one of the Shishimi delivery boys in which his opponent kept stealing his glasses to try and use his blindness against him. "So why where you looking for me?"

	"Oh yes, you may not know it but Saotome has a problem with cats, something I must admit I find amusing and thankful for as that has kept him and Shampoo well apart despite her efforts. But I noticed some boys trying to bring cats into one of the storage areas."

	"What? Where?!"

*****

	Toko smiled as he brought in a grey tabby and put it into the box. He glanced at Tetsuya, another of Ohata's gang. "That makes seventeen, if we rush them out there is no way security could stop them before Saotome sees one and freaks out on camera." He sniggered as Tetsuya laughed like a true sycophant, pushing the around the boxes and ignoring the cat yawls.

	Standing on the crate he got up to the window and looked down at one of the other members of Ohata's followers still outside. "That’s great Kenju, now use that pass to get in here and we'll set them up."

	The door opened, drawing Toko's attention. 

*****

	Kenju watched the open window above him for a moment when Toko turned away, listening as best he could. 

	"What do you want, Tendo?"

	"I want you," replied Akane's voice, before it was replaced by something more guttural and dark, "to leave Ranma, ALONE!"

	The screeches of cats cried out with that of boys before they started being flung out the window. Two fainted boys landed on the grass outside, wet stains on the front of their pants, as sixteen cats scattered away from the building.

*****

	Her lips felt awful dry as Desaku Misu, of the Asiko Dojo, watched her opponent enter the ring. She felt lucky to have made it to the semi-final rounds, but now she faced one of Ranma Saotome's 'girls', and wether they were his sisters, girlfriends, or fiancées, every one of them was known for martial arts ability. Her eyes looked over the blonde girl in the leather dress entering the room. Aside from a known habit of cheating, she was actually thankful it was Sakura, if she faced that Chinese woman she'd be trying not to pee herself. 

	"I've made it this far, I've made it this far." She chanted to herself under her breath. She had indeed made it father than any other member of her dojo, male or female. The dreamer in her wanted to win and go on to the finals, but right now, she'd settle for going out in the least humiliating way possible. 

	As the referees called for readiness, she bowed to them and the judges, then to her opponent. 

	As the whistle shrilled, she charged. 

	Sakura Shishimi smiled. 

******

	Ranma winced as he watched the last Asiko dojo fighter come through the curtain back stage on a stretcher, Doctor Tofu shaking his head as he prodded her ankle walking beside the stretcher. 

	"Stay light on your feet, that ring is nasty," he said shaking his head to Mousse. Seeing Akane glare at the curtain, he saw Sakura returning back stage with an air of innocence and concern for her opponent who had tripped on the 'flat' mat of the ring during an initial charge, bloodying her nose and twisted her ankle so bad she had to withdraw from the event. Sakura hadn't even needed to throw a punch. 

	Mousse was looking through his thick glasses across the way, where the man in the black hood, was throwing his punches into the air in warm up. "Remember Mousse, you don't have to beat him down, use the rules to your advantage."

	"I am aware of this Saotome, he might have succeeded against me in the past, but this time I will defeat him."

	"That's the attitude," Ranma smirked as the stage hands waved Mousse and the Man in Black over, and started each in turn down the ramp.

	"Think he'll win?" Akane asked turning to the screens to watch the fight.

	"Nah, he's gonna get creamed."

*****

	"And there's the whistle, this match is under way!" cried Jimmu into his announcers mike.

	Shogun nodded as he watched, "That's right, and this was a battle many were hoping to see, Muu Tzu with his inscrutable Chinese weapons style against the unstoppable force of the man in the black hood. Both true contenders of this tournament."

	"A dangerous battle that only one of these men will walk away from, we see here Muu Tzu using a swinging chain to lash at his opponent while staying out of reach, but I think its only a matter of time before we see some grappling here, and I doubt Muu Tzu can compete against this juggernaut." The crowd roared as the pace of the fight changed, "Oh that was close, the man in black grabbing that chain and trying to drag his opponent to him like a fish on the line, his fingers just missing the white robes of his opponent."

	In the ring, Mousse cried an attack in Chinese, Shogun jumping in on his microphone, "Wow, another Chinese special attack, oh but this is not good, white clouds have filled the ring, we can't see anything and it doesn't look like the judges are impressed." Inside the clouded ring another Chinese attack was called.

	"Hard to be impressed by what you can't judge Shogun!"

****** 

	Mousse raised his arms as he cried his 'White Plume Blast!', blasting a jet from each arm into his opponents masked face, jumping back he followed it with the 'White Plume Strike!', tossing the emptied fire extinguishes at where his opponents head was, hearing one of two clunks and a grunt of pain. 

	Laughing out loud, he jumped backwards, hearing the thumping feet of his opponent charging him. His legs cleared the ring ropes as he slid claws from his sleaves, his feet catching the ring apron as his claw caught the rope, the crowd cheering as he emerged from the white smoked ring, leaning out using his weight to drag the top rope down.

	The man in black came billowing out of the smoke, his eyes watering, legs catching the lowered ring rope but dropping his knee he only teetered out of the cloud.

	His tactic of letting the man in black charge from the ring failed, Mouse was completely open as he was punched off the side of the ring. 

	Standing as Ref Hebner blew his whistle, Mousse looked down at the broken remains of his last pair of glasses. Looking up at the figure in the ring, he knew this was not going to be easy. 

	Entering the ring, the white smoke all but gone, he bowed to the crowd as the man in black did to the judges and considered quickly his tactical options. As the whistle blew he knew he was going to have to keep dodging and hope for a chance to throw the man in the black mask out of the ring.

	When his opponent cried out "Shi Shi Hokodan!" and jetted an incredible ball of energy straight up, he watched it widen out as it came down. There was going to be nowhere in the ring to dodge to.

****

	The cat calls and whistles amid the cheering crowd had made Akane grimace at the perverts when she had come down the ramp, but when they continued as her opponent strode down the ramp to the ring she grimaced even more, that insecure part of her wondering if they were any louder for the purple haired bimbo over her. 

	Shampoo moved with deliberate slowness as climbed into the ring, her eyes predatorily eyeing up Akane from her pretty, war painted face. Going even slower as she crossed the ring ropes, looking for reaction in Akane's brown eyes as the crowd howled for the girl straddling the ropes. 

	With a smile she waved out to the crowd, completely turning her back on Akane in a deliberate act of disrespect for her opponent, her smile reaching her eyes as she heard the Japanese girl's teeth grind over the crowd. With a shake of her head snaking her hair tails around her, she faced Akane, eyeing her up lazily. 

	The smacking of Hebner's hand on the mat got Akane's attention off her glaring and back into the moment as the ref asked if both opponents were ready. With a board act, Shampoo lazily replied in the affirmative, slowly joining Akane in bowing to the judges.

	The two faced off, Akane tight and tense, as Shampoo took a ready pose, then idly examined her glittering nail polish. As Hebner's whistle blew, Shampoo's eyes focused over her nails at Akane and she licked her lips, moving in, slowly circling towards Akane. 

	Anger surged through Akane and she gave up trying to control it, charging forward with a cry, pushing her emotions into her fists and feet. Shampoo danced around a fast kick, blocking a follow up punch that flowed into a twist around to another Tendo style strike. Dancing back, Shampoo let Akane drive her back into the ring ropes before blocking a strike with crossed arms, her hands and flicking towards Akane, ki flowing into the mystical paint on her nails, the glitter bursting with light.

	The flash of light danced straight into Akane's pupils, both dark dots inside the brown vanishing, shutting tight as they tried to recover, the after image of the flash pulsing behind her eyelids. Shampoo's first hit took her across the jaw, the second was a slamming kick to the unprotected stomach that threw her to the ropes across the ring.

	Gasping for breath, desperately trying to breathe through her ribs rather than with her unresponsive diaphragm, Akane rolled to her knees in time to take another kick to the side of the head. Over the moans and cries of the crowd, she couldn't hear Shampoo's approach as the Chinese girl kicked her supporting arm from under her and stood on her chest. 

	She barely heard Hebner slapping the mat and calling out, once, twice, but she got one shoulder up before the third hit lost her the first fall of the match. Opening her watering and bleary eyes she had just enough time to make out the purple figure and block one kick, but the second strike, a punch that she caught, opened into another flash that again stole her sight, the next blow dazing her, leaving her unable to recognise Ref Hebner's voice as he counted her out for the first fall.

*****

	The television set failed to catch Shampoo's laughter as she beat down on Akane like a punching bag, but Ranma's white knuckles filled in a cracking in their place as the first fall was awarded to Shampoo. Kasumi was facing away from the screen as Nodoka held her shoulders, whispering how her sister was strong and that it looked worse than it was. 

	"You needn't worry," cackled Colognes withered old voice, "Shampoo won't permanently damage a friend of her future husband."

	Ranma glared at the old woman in the nurse's uniform before looking back at the images on the screen. Akane had sat up and was wiping at her eyes, obviously trying to clear them so she could continue, as the announcers commented on the brutality of Shampoo's style. 

	"She's still got another fall before this is over. With a fresh start she has a chance against whatever blindness trick this is," he said to his mother and Kasumi. He glanced over at Cologne, "Is that all it is, a blindness trick?" 

	The old woman eyed him. "You tell me, Son in law."

	He looked back at the screen, as the commentators replayed the attack Shampoo used before brutalising Akane. He thought out loud, like a student to the master, "The primary ki path out in the palms is right out the centre, so it's hard, unnecessary work to push any real power to the finger tips like that. If you could make a ki attack into a blindness strike, it would be just as easy as to push it out the palms... unless you couldn't do a normal ki attack, then you'd need a short cut, some of your magic crap to short cut the attack, but she wasn't wearing anything on her hands... the nail polish! This twenty stabbing stars is just a bit of magic paint, ain't it? It's a cheat!"

	Cologne shook her head, covering any pride she held for the talent of the boy. "It's a tool. A weapon. A bit more sophisticated than a bonbori I'll grant you, but nothing more."

	Frowning he didn't reply, turning back to the screen as Hebner's whistle blew, signalling the start of the second round. 

	Now it was Cologne's turn to have an angry voice as the crowd collectively gasped outside. Ranma didn't know Chinese, especially the Amazon's sub dialect, but he did know the word 'idiot' in it, and smiled as Cologne said it watching her great grand daughter on the screen. 

	"Pride comes before the fall, huh, old ghoul?"

*****

	Akane rubbed again at her eyes as Shampoo acted on the whistle starting round two of their bout. The Chinese girl had turned her back on her, walked to the ropes, climbed over, and jumped out of the ring. 

	Over the muttering of the crowd and judges, the purple haired fighter strode to the judges table and poured herself a glass of water, turning to face Akane and took a sip with a smile.

	Hebner finally blew his whistle, the score board updating to one fall each, Shampoo voluntarily throwing away a point. Hebner spoke slowly at the Chinese girl, trying to make her understand what her action had cost her, quickly realising that she knew full well as the girl looked back at Akane still standing in the ring. 

	The heir of a martial art tradition, Akane didn't need the translation either. Shampoo had put her honour and that of the Anything Goes School even further on the line by giving away her margin of safety to victory in this round. If she lost this next fall in front of these cameras, Japan would know that Akane Tendo was far from in the same league of martial arts as this Chinese ditz. 

	The ditz in question smirked and put her glass of water down and stepped around Hebner to return to the ring. "Pervert girl ready to finish? Shampoo have to pack sleep clothes for trip with Ranma."

	"You mean your date with Mouse, don't you Bimbo?" she returned, seething with anger at her treatment. Focusing on her breath, she tried to calm down, mentally working through her options of how to seal down the girls fingers and stop the blindness attacks and make it a fair fight. 

	She didn't have long before Hebner called to ask if the competitors were ready to fight, and not throw away any more falls, and when both nodded, he blew his whistle to start the third and final round between the two. 

	Akane wasted no time, rushing in and opening with lashing strikes from her fist, her upper body weaving back and forth, her eyes closing as Shampoo stabbed her fingers towards her face, crying out her attack. Driving the taller girl back, the heir of the Tendo Ryu lashed out her hands over Shampoos right hand, twisting the fingers down and over, trying to hold the first closed. 

	Shampoo laughed at the Japanese girl's poor tactic, pushing her free hand into her face, watching her eyes close. Breathing and focusing, the Chinese girl burned more of her power into her hand, keeping a beam of white light going from her fingertips at Akane's eyes, stepping forward into the shorter girl, bringing up a knee into her undefended stomach. 

	A smile tugged at her lips as Akane rolled with the knee, her head weaving occupying Shampoo's focus in aiming her technique, a fist shooting up and knocked Shampoo's hand back into her own face. Her long hair flicked as she flinched, her own blinding attack turned back on her, before feeling Akane close over her other hand, locking both fingers back, sacrificing her own hands to keep Shampoo's special attack out of the fight. 

	The pair began lashing kicks at each other, knees blocking knees as they awkwardly fought, Akane trying to twist the taller girl into a throw over her head being blocked as Shampoo body checked her back a step that nearly broke free their hands. Akane grimaced as she tried to hold on, Shampoo smiling darkly back at her. One of Shampoo's long legs flicked out again, this time coming over their joined arms, pushing down trying to break them apart. Akane's face showed her strain as she held on, but Shampoo smiled and glanced down. Akane's eyes followed hers to Shampoo's foot, briefly spotting the same nail polish on her toes before the flash pierced her eyes. 

	Cursing as she broke their grip, Akane launched herself backwards, feeling the wind of a fist sliding past her ear. Continuing back, her eyes blinked rapidly trying to clear herself to strike again. A hooked kick took her legs, and she tried to roll with the fall, but Shampoo continued her spin to slam a second kick into her chest, knocking her over and onto her stomach. 

	Akane cursed again as another blow landed, desperately trying to feel the next attack before it landed so she at least try and defend, but Shampoo would strike and withdraw, punishing blows where she could least expect them. The heir to the Tendo School desperately tried to think of any defences in her owns school style, or anything that would slow Shampoo down from taking advantage of her weakness. 

	Just the thought of weakness made her feel all the pains in her body, knowing that she could just lay down and let Shampoo win. There would be other fights she could win. But this one would be on camera. This one was in front of Ranma. Her mind flitted through memories of victories, of Kuno, over Kodatchi, over Natsumi and her sister Karumi, over Mariko, and time and again over the hentai horde at school. 

	Her brow furrowed at the last, there were times when she fought the boys that she struck without seeing them, there were always plenty to hit, but she always landed solid strikes. Drawing a breath she tried to recall that mindset.

	"Furinkan High Pervert Storm!"

	Shampoo frowned and kept her distance as Akane became a whirling dervish of motion, forgoing vain defence to strike out seemingly randomly in every direction, rolling bodily around the ring mat to launch up, changing and even reversing momentum in lashing blows. After watching the display the Chinese girl shrugged and leapt in, striking at the Japanese girls back with a vicious kick to the kidney.

	Without thought Akane rolled the blow, turning with it and attacking into a cone area from where it came from, and once one blow landed, several followed it. Shampoo blocked what she could, retreating as the girl before her followed, a roll to the right breaking off their fast paced melee. 

	Once free, Akane continued lashing out, striking each direction, using a powerful relentless offence as a defence. Twice more, Shampoo attempting a strike against her flank or rear would find herself born down on with a storm of strikes.

	Akane smiled as she gulped down breaths, feeling exhilarated to be back into the fight. Through watering eyes, she could just make out Shampoo, standing on one ring post looking down at her. "What's the... matter Shampoo? ... Your tricks... not working?" She got out between breaths. 

	Suppressing her breath down to an even rate, Shampoo smiled back at the girl, flicking her hair back over one shoulder. "No need trick, you no keep up much longer."

	Nodding tiredly, Akane smiled darkly back up at her, the malice in her smile reaching her yellow, slitted eyes. "Then it's a good thing, IT ENDS NOW!"

	For a moment, Shampoo thought the girl was rushing her, but then she realised it was just her head coming forward and swelling up, a wicked forked tongue lashing at her. 

	Shampoo, all the judges at their table, and an entire section of crowd leapt back six feet, many hiding behind vacated seats from the demonic head attack, as it withdrew back into Akane's natural pretty face. The tired girl hobbled to lean on the ring ropes and look down at Shampoo who stood on the judges table, the horror of the demon head attack still on her face, her hands up with warding gestures. Gaining some composure, she glared back at Akane. "Pervert girl is very ugly when angry." 

	"Maybe, but fortunately I don't have to be angry about much, now that I'm in the final."

	The horror dawned on Shampoo's face again as Ref Hebner's whistle made its final shrill call of the match, Shampoo standing out of the ring again costing her a second fall. 

*****

	A wave to Ranma was all the time Akane had as she left the main area to back stage before she was intercepted by a cameraman and well-dressed interviewer with a microphone. "Ms Tendo, let me congratulate you on your victory. Many would consider it was sheer luck that you have gotten to the final today, after all, your opponent did throw away one fall, and fled your follow up fearsome battle aura attack for the second. Do you think you are lucky?"

	Akane's first emotion was to frown, anger rising for this man who was robbing her victory of its glory. Instead, some acting drive inside her turned her dark eyes to look directly into the camera. "You could say that I got lucky, but just because Shampoo made it too easy for me to knock her out of this tournament, doesn't mean I couldn't have beaten her." She placed her black sunglasses on, still facing the camera, "The only one who needs to feel lucky is Sakura, after all, if Shampoo was better than me, and I already know I am that much better than her, she is the lucky one. A lottery is the only thing she'd win today."

	Following out to back stage, Shampoo's face showed her fury as she saw Akane playing for the camera after her victory. The cameraman turned on the angry woman, Cologne pounding up on her staff with angry Chinese words. Finally, the purple haired girl nodded to her elder, then glared back at Akane, "Next fight, no silly rules!"

	With that she stormed off, Akane giving a dark confident smile that belied the weight in her stomach.

*****

	Shaking his head at the words from Akane to the interviewer flaring the growing rivalry between his student and one of his fiancées, Ranma looked to his opponent warming up nearby. 

	"You ready Konatsu?" he asked, with a cocky grin. 

	"I am Saotome-san. I must admit I am nervous for our friendship over this fight."

	Nodding his pigtailed head, Ranma looked Konatsu in the eye, "Hey, if you get lucky, you get lucky. We both have to give our best to win, right? I want to win at least at much as you, but I don't want ta win because a friend laid down for me."

	His grin turned cocky again, "You think you can kick my ass out there, you kick it."

*****

	"Me and my big mouth," Ranma muttered to himself as he dodged back from his ninjitsu styled opponent. 

	Rubbing at the sore spots on his ribs, he lamented that he should really learn to respect the term 'Greatest' when it applied to his opponents in their chosen field. Even when it applied to a guy as the greatest female ninja of this generation. 

	He hadn't felt it, but Konatsu's initial blows had been fast and precise, targeted at his low ribs, the bruising blows robbing his lung capacity, compounding the effect of pepper bombs hidden in the blue tunic the kunoichi had borrowed from his employer.

	Ranma had delivered some counter blows but he knew he was behind the ball on this one. Diving back, he raised his arms as his opponent unleashed a small blizzard of cooking spatulas, the ninja's arm movements creating a guiding wind that carried them spinning in on the pigtailed martial artist, he dove high just as the weapons came upon him.

	Stepping under his landing point, Konatsu tried to dive back when Ranma cast two of the spatula blades back, obviously snatched from the air in the Ninja's attack, each landing into the mat, pinning the ninja's soft shoes down. Leaning back, the ninja fell onto his back, a short-shafted spear sliding out of his sleave, his arms locking in the joints to hold it out. Ranma scissored his legs, one landing on the mat and the other on the ropes, holding him off the point just an inch from his privates. 

	"Hey!" he yelled as the crowd groaned at the near miss, half the crowd clenching groin muscles in sympathy. 

	Diving off, Ranma backed away, giving time to the ninja to tear his shoes free and rolled to his own feet. 

	Breathing labouredly, the pair watched each other for a long moment before Ranma nodded and charged forward, practice punches aiming to test Konatsu's defences, seeking an opening, but his opponent charged silently into the blows. 

	'I know this trick,' he thought to himself as his eyes half closed, feeling his way through the feint. The manikin bust wearing the blue tunic falling before him as he struck out where he felt the ninja's battle aura dodge to the right side trying to flank around him. His punch caught the ninja on the chin, dropping him dazed to the mat, leaving him vulnerable to being pinned for a count of three.

*****

	Four women crowded around a monitor back stage, watching the two martial artists battle it out. Nodoka had enough decorum not to cheer as her son made for the first fall. Junko shook her head and sighed between Kasumi and Sena as they watched the announcers comment on the win and prepare to restart for the second round of the fight. 

	Sena looked to the girl beside her, "Why the sigh, Junko?" 

	"Oh, just for Konatsu. He really tried hard in practice but maybe Ukyo and I took advantage of a weakness too often in training. He's holding back and trying to be flashy."

	Over the screen, the whistle shrilled to announce the start of round two.

	Nodoka smiled gently, "My husband would say it is best to fight through ones weakness. Anything Goes martial arts is about victory through any means. Don't feel guilty because he fears his weakness."

	"I wouldn’t feel so guilty if he wasn't so embarrassing for him," she said sadly.

*****

	Ranma's eyes narrowed as Konatsu charged him, the ninja throwing his body at him. 

	'You wouldn't try the same trick twice would you Konatsu?', the pigtailed fighter thought to himself as he ignored the manikin dummy the ninja dropped in his face to occupy his eyes, his fighting spirit feeling this time to the left for the fight aura, kicking out at what he felt when the he was clubbed in the side of the head from the right. 

	Konatsu breathed deeply as he tried to recover from the focus of his false battle aura adaptation of his body double trick. Gulping air, he dove after Ranma where he had fallen to the mat after the blow to his temple. The pigtailed warrior not moving as Konatsu rolled him onto his back before going for the pin.

	Ranma's smirking grin was on his opponents face when Konatsu realised he had put himself prone into the arms of a grappler. By the time the ninja got his bearings, his body had been twisted around, with great pressure put on his back in a potent submission move, but it was when something brushed his side that a chill went up his spine.

	His brow furrowing, Ranma noticed the sudden jolt in his opponent's posture when his knee brushed the ninja's side. Had Ranma not been a regular masseuse, he probably wouldn't have even thought about it. Without even thinking about it, he dropped one hand and played his fingers over the slippered soul of Konatsu's foot. 

	Konatsu was very ticklish. 

	By the time Ranma realised how ticklish his opponent was and how he didn't want to tickle his opponent out of the fight, Konatsu was already tapping out. 

	Releasing him and helping the ninja to his feet, a bashful Ranma looked down before him. "I am so sorry man, I had no idea. Ucchan said Junko had found your weakness but she didn't say what it was. We'll have to work on that, mate."

	He could see the red of embarrassment around the ninja's exposed eyes as he nodded his agreement. 

	Ranma was still embarrassed for the ending of that fight as the pair retreated back stage, waving off an interviewer so he could get ready for the final round.

*****

	Akane took deep breaths, slowly inhaling then exhaling sharply as she gathered herself for the final. 

	Her eyes turned slightly to Ranma as he watched her silently preparing. He had again given his spiel on how Sakura liked to cheat and was positive she had something up her sleave, despite making sure whichever of her opponents had made it through, they were worn down. She studied the line of his chin for a moment before realising her breathing was losing rhythm and turned away. 

	The dark hooded and clothed fighter walked ahead as his unconscious opponent was carried out from the arena area on a stretched by Dr Tofu and another of the medical personnel on hand. 

	The stagehand waved her over to stand before the curtain, to be ready for her entrance to the arena and the next fight. She could faintly hear orders coming from the main control booth to the headphones the man wore, and she glanced back to where Sakura had confronted Ranma, the pig tailed boy obviously uncomfortable. The moment the dark and villainous tones the producers had picked for her began to blare out and the crowd called with cheers and some boos from beyond the curtain, Sakura looked over Ranma's shoulder, making eye contact with her with an overconfident look. 

	Her reply glare was cut off when the producer patted her a little too friendly-like on the lower back to get her attention and yelled for her to get out there. She speared him with a glare and put on Nabiki's black sunglasses and strode through the curtain, strutting onto the stage at the top of the ramp and posing for the cameras and crowd. 

	The noise of the crowd rose sharply, still smattered with feminine boos and a few cat whistles, and managed to remain at a decent level as she strutted in a sultry fashion down to the ring. With slow purposeful movement she entered the ring. 

	Her music stopped as Sakura's rang out, blaring trumpets beginning a more feminine version of Ranma's allocated theme music, making yet another claim on the heir to the Saotome half of the Anything Goes Martial Arts school. 

	She lazed against the ropes in the ring as the blonde strutted for the cameras in her black and gold leather fighting outfit. Her long blond braids glittered with gold flecking as she strode down under the bright lights till finally a bit before the end of the ramp to the stage and curtain, she burst forward into a series of athletic flips that finished with a bound that took her neatly over the ropes into the ring, landing in a ready combat stance facing Akane. 

	Akane looked down over the tops of her shades waiting for Referee Hebner to begin the match, removing them when the bald umpire in the black and white striped shirt asked each if they were ready to begin. Nodding and giving a slight bow to him and the judges, she faced and nodded only to Sakura who was meanwhile making a showing of a flushing bow to the judges and refs before a controlled formal bow to Akane. 

	Finally the whistle blowed and Sakura smiled, "How would you like to be defeated, dear?" She called tauntingly. "Pinned, thrown out of the ring, or just knocked unconscious? Pick two for me?"

	Her dark eyes narrowed as Akane watched Sakura, wondering what trick she had in store for her. Reaching behind her, she pulled out the gymnastics ribbon she had grabbed from earlier, and set it spinning, it would at least keep the distance while she tried to guess Sakura's plan. 

	Sakura laughed at Akane, her eyes still showing control as she brought out a pair of chopsticks in each hand. The blonde Japanese beauty smiled and took a deliberate step forward. 

	Akane knew that her reach advantage was turned to nothing if Sakura closed too deep in her reach, but at the same time Ranma had spoken of Sakura's strong defence with the chopsticks, which would likely make her lose her ribbon if she tried to stop it. 

	She gave a huff as she focused, she wasn't really interested in battling with Sakura in Rhythmic Gymnastics style but in finding out what this cheat the blonde had planned was. The best defence right now seemed to be a good offence, and if Sakura did come out with some super attack, she'd do her best to make sure Sakura did it on her terms at least. 

	With a battle cry she inverted the ribbon and held it up, letting the coils flash around her own body like a shield and charged forward. She smiled as Sakura suddenly showed fear at the charge, the blonde moving predicably to capture and stop the ribbon from hurting her and trying to rip the handle from Akane's grip, an effort that was all too easy as Akane released the baton like end and moved in with controlled power punches that could make powder of cinder blocks. 

	She managed to get one hit in on Sakura's shoulder before the blonde changed her defence, her hands blurring to catch every punch Akane tried and even the occasional kick. Though Sakura couldn't counter attack, she was smiling at the stalemate and Akane grew concerned that she was going to run out of steam before Sakura. 

	Taking in a deep breath she cried out the Chestnut roasting on open fire technique, Sakura replying with a look of concentration and her fists still were caught by the blurred chopsticks, now each catch trying to hold the fist and slow them down, ruining Akane's advanced move. 

	Finally Sakura stepped back and rolled sidewards, gaining distance between the two fighters, breathing heavily as she surveyed Akane who was shaking out her hands, now covered in tiny black bruises from the chopstick counters. Glancing down at the slender gold watch on her wrist, the blond smiled. 

	Returning to her ready stance, Akane waited for Sakura's move, then tensed as the rich girl turned to face her straight on and held her hands wide. "Shishimi Takeout Martial Arts Finishing Move: Paralysing Kiss."

	Akane frowned and was ready to spring, waiting for her honed sense of danger to warn her of the attacks direction before it struck as Sakura went through a series of poses in readiness for some kind of ki attack, finishing with raising her hands before her pink lips and blowing a kiss at her short haired opponent. 

	Akane's mind screamed of the danger that her instinct simply didn't feel. There was nothing except Sakura's theatrics to give any indication of the attack. 

	Then her legs collapsed under her. 

*****

	Sena pulled the muscle salve her brother had asked for when the man in black had finished off his last opponent. Doctor Tofu had started listing the items he would need and joints that would need to be tended as they watched the last two men fight. There were times when even she was impressed at how quick her Doctor sibling could be at identifying a patient's condition. 

	Stepping out of the storage cupboard she began to move towards the first aid room where her brother was taking the fallen fighter when she saw Akane getting ready for the next fight and the way the stage hand touched her back. It was in such a way that it may just have been a bit of overfriendliness, and Akane's glare had made him back off, but somewhere deep inside she knew there was something more to this. When he nodded to Sakura as Akane entered the arena she was positive.

	Rushing around to join her brother at the door to the first aid office, she saw Ranma watching the fight from a bank of monitors. Calling him over, she turned to her brother. "Tofu, is there some kind of fighting pressure points in the lower back?"

	Not really on the same level as Sena was on the issue, his answer wasn't surprising. "Sena, there are pressure points all over the body. The body is a whole that works best when connected at all points from toe to hair."

	She quickly explained what she saw, ignoring Ranma's distant greeting as he approached while still watching the monitors of his student and fiancée battling. Sena didn't reply, simply grabbing him and turning him away and putting her hand against his lower back. "He touched her like that." She said quickly, not really sure what was making her so urgent about it till she saw Tofu pale. 

	"The Faithful Husband pressure point!"

	Ranma was simply confused as Sena turned him away a touched his back, saying something about some pervert touching a girl, but when Tofu named the point his stomach clenched recalling one of the more obscure points from his few lessons from Tofu. 

	The Faithful Husband pressure point was supposedly discovered and named by a female chiropractor who lived near a brothel. The pressure point took a little time to become active after it was touched but when it did it would temporarily paralyse anything below the waist, making it impossible to walk or use the legs in any way for a couple hours unless the counter point was triggered. 

	He didn't need to ask who it had been used on, it took a minute or two to lock up, and only one person would gain from it being used now. 

	"Ranma, the counter is here and here." Tofu said urgently, gesturing around the hips on Sena. 

	"I know, I remember. But how am I gonna get to her. They already had a fit over Ukyo's fight with me interfering. And she knows squat about pressure points, I can't just point her in the right spot and hope she'll get it right."

	Nodding, Tofu frowned knowing he couldn't interfere in anyway as part of the event staff. "Hope Sakura throws Akane from the ring for the first fall. Otherwise Akane can't win."

*****

	Sakura laughed heartily at the panic on her opponents face, Akane struggling with her own body as nothing below the waist responded to her will. She was a cripple in the ring, her legs like dead weight and even her hips useless for helping move her.

	Picking up the discarded ribbon, Sakura began to twirl it. She couldn't go for a simple pin as Akane practiced what was often considered a grappling style and could still put up a fight till her arms where disabled. This ribbon would eject her from the ring just as easily, she'd have to send Akane a thank you card for being so considerate as to supply it for her, she thought with a wicked smile. 

	Akane's heart pumped with panic at her predicament, the fear clouding her judgement, hindering what little hope of fighting on she had.

	Then she saw him running down the ramp towards the fight and her heart pounded louder in her ears. Even as a producer and Ref Hebner intercepted Ranma on the ramp she knew if he was there she could win.

	Sakura frowned as the crowd roared at her fiancé's entrance, his face showing concern for her opponent. She would have thought him more accepting that sometimes ones students simply weren't good enough. Fortunately with his actions in the Ukyo fight there was no way they would allow him too close to the ring. He was handsome and strong, but his poor upbringing did leave him a rather blind spot on the advantages of wealth and how overrated fair fights were. If one knew one was already the better fighter, using advantages only helped shorten the struggling and get to the victory announcement that much faster. 

	Cracking the ribbon at Akane, she attempted to snag the girls feet hoping to simply fling her from the ring, but Akane leapt her upper body forward to grab it in the air, trying to yank it from Sakura's grip. Sakura grimaced as they fought over the ribbon, before showing her own training in this old Rhythmic Gymnastic Wrestling, forcing Akane to be dragged on the leash of the ribbon and unable to anchor her strength enough to tear the handle from her grasp. For a brief moment Sakura saw Akane with a more slender face and long black hair, wearing a black leotard with a rose emblem, and a flush of anger gave her the strength to slam the short haired girl into one ring post. 

	In her dazed state Akane was defenceless as the ribbon enwrapped her arms and torso, and lifting her from the mat. Sakura grinned smugly as she moved to the edge and whipped Akane straight down at the thin padded mat around the ring, one umpire blowing the whistle and the scoreboard advancing the first fall to Sakura. 

	As the girl slammed down Sakura suddenly saw Ranma's move and with suddenly clarity she knew he would try, despite the ultimate futility, to give his student a fighting chance to win the match, and as the pigtailed boy sprung between Ref Hebner and the producer she whipped the ribbon back up, rolling Akane up like a yoyo and flicking her back and free, to fall into the ring where he couldn't enter without making Akane forfeit anyway. 

	Breathing raggedly, Akane propped herself up on her arms, willing down the beaten way her body felt, glancing at her hips and legs which still showed now sign of response. She heard Ref Hebner yelling red faced at Ranma, ordering him back up the ramp or he would be disqualified and part of her screamed in her mind for him to leave and not watch her fail, but somehow she knew she had to fight on. 

	When the referee asked if she was fit to continue, she was going to say yes, legs or no legs.

*****

	Ranma hung his head at Hebner's demand, knowing Sakura had beaten him and Akane on yet another rules loophole. And in a second that victory will be recorded by cameras for her country to see. 

	Standing on the bottom of the ramp, as close as Hebner was going to let him get, he was near the announcers desk and heard them making comment on the fight and his own actions. He needed some way of reaching into the ring quickly and without being seen.

	He glanced at the long announcers table, mentally cataloguing the items on top. Two mugs beside a jug of water, two TV monitors and paperwork regarding the competitors, all on top of a black with festive pattern tablecloth which draped the front of the desk. He could break a mug and try to hit the counter points with the pieces but such a throw wouldn't be accurate enough to get her exactly on both spots at the same time. 

	His mind suddenly recalled Akane threatening him in the bathroom last night... 

	Now he had the means, but as his eyes fell on the camera man who covered the announcers between fights as they reviewed previous clashes and previewed the next fight, it was focused on him and as long as it was he couldn't do anything without costing Akane the match anyway.

*****

	Nabiki tried to watch as Akane was outclassed by the blonde bimbo, but Kuno's triads on the horror of the weakening of his fierce tigress of a divine girlfriend was too much of a distraction for her and those in the seats around them, and most glared at her for bringing the pompous bragged who needed to be all but yelled at to sit down every five minutes to stop him trying to get back stage again. She could endure the glares and even Kuno, but her patience with the loud-mouthed bottomless wallet was trying to say the least. She was sorely tempted to bring out her insurance policy against Kuno again now, if only to shut him up. 

	It was actually good fortune that she was not so focused on the fight or she would have not noticed Ranma trying to point the cameraman off of him and onto the ramp top, lamely acting out some shock at something he saw up there. Two birds with one stone, Nabiki thought with a dark smile and reached into her purse for her little insurance again.

	"Kuno-baby, do you want to help Akane win this fight?" 

	Taken aback by his companion's sudden question, Kuno nodded and started to rise. He had wanted to go down the ring and cheer her personally all along since before they had first sat down. "Of course I would, she is..."

	"I know what you think she is," she interrupted quickly as one of the Referees blew his whistle to start the fight for the next fall. "Now give me your hand."

	Kuno hated being interrupted and was tempted to reject her offer, hardly wanting to be lead by hand down to ring side, but decided that he could elude her grip before any cameras turned on them and the media of the Kendo world tried to link them as a couple. 

	But Nabiki didn't turn to lead him away, she simply stood and pulled his hand onto her chest. 

	*Goosh*

	"PERVERT!" Nabiki cried out as she pulled free of his hand and pulled the trigger on the device, a fat blue-white spark arcing across the electrodes as it touched Kuno's hand as she stepped away.

	"AAAAAGHHG!"

*****

	"AAAAAGHHG!"

	Ranma quietly thanked the Kami at the cry of pervert from the crowd as many of the cameras, including the one on him, turned up to the crowd where some guy with hair standing straight up was crying out in pain. 

	Ducking down in front of the announcer's table, he swiped the water jug with one hand as the other cut like a knife-edge at the material lining the front. The empty jug returned to the now revealed wood desk, and with a flick the sodden material coiled like a snake, the end forking like a reptiles tongue before it flicked out at the ring, cracking like a whip as it contacted skirt covered cheeks.

	*CRACK*

	"EEEEAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

	All attention came straight back to the ring where Akane was flying across the ring all but howling in pain. Sakura seemed as surprised by this move as Akane, the shorthaired girl rubbing her backside as she landed on her feet. She glared back towards the ramp and saw Ranma smiling and giving a thumbs up as he whipped the sodden table cloth again like a wet towel, releasing it to let it land in a heap under the table it had come off. 

	Ranma grinned as Akane's face bloomed with a smile and she tested her legs, then nodded her head at Sakura who was looking at her horrified, before charging to try and finish the fight quickly. 

	Akane gave her a confident smirk and opened up again with fists and kicks, forcing Sakura again onto the defensive. The blonde gave ground as they moved around the ring and Akane lost speed and power in her attacks, as she had to cautiously step on the mat, the support altering under her to try and throw her. She had to finish this quick, she was still tired from fighting Ukyo and Shampoo and who knows what more tricks the blonde had in her arsenal. 

	Catching her hand in a vice like grip of her chopsticks, Sakura stopped the fight still and glared at Akane. "You can't win. It's only a matter of time before you fall again."

	"This'll be over long before I fail Sakura, you can bet on it." Ripping her fist free, she began attacking again, trying to breach the defences any other way she could. 

	Chopsticks caught her again, this time a foot trapped by Sakura, "I'm surprised you aren't easier to get on your back, the boys at your old school obviously have no problem getting you there."

	Akane bristled but kept control, breaking Sakura's grip and rolling back to the centre and assuming a ready pose again. "You must be getting worried if your best is lame insults. I certainly wouldn't be talking about others as easy if your man would rather run every time you offer him a meal, let alone yourself."

	Closing the distance with Sakura, Akane smirked at the blush and anger that flushed the blondes face. She had her now, she found the pattern. Again fists began to fly against the impenetrable chopstick defence of the Shishimi style.

	Sakura frowned as her taunting failed to work, but without an effective counter plan yet she needed to stall for time and so began readying her next insult. Catching Akane's fist, she let fly, "Unfortunately for you, I will have him, where as you couldn’t even..."

	The insult failed in conviction towards the end, as she saw Akane flipping away from her to the other side of the ring. With a frown she glanced to where her chopsticks should have been holding the girl's fist, but instead held a fist sized grey brown ball with a sparking wick disappearing into its side.

	*BANG!*

	The moment the explosion and smoke burst out Akane sprang off the opposing ropes and rolled back in, grabbing the discarded ribbon as she went. Into the smoke she rolled, finding her dazed opponent and amongst a few cries of pain from the dark smoke, two sets of chopsticks flew out of the ring. When the smoke cleared, Akane stood over the tied Sakura, forced to lie on her shoulders while Akane leveraged her legs to hold her there, one black slippered foot pressing on her leather clad chest. Ref Hebner was there in an instant on the skirt of the ring, slamming his hand down as the crowd counted with him.

	"One! Two! Three!"

	Releasing her as soon as the fall was awarded to her, Akane flick her wrist to untie Sakura and fling the ribbon outside the ring. The crowd cheered, as the opponents set up again, Sakura shakily getting to her feet, her face showing her fury.

	Asking each competitor if they were ready to proceed, Ref Hebner raised his hand and blew his whistle to start on the final fall of this fight. 

	Sakura's face was ugly with her anger and Akane was sure she was going to charge, but with a twinkle in her eye, the short haired girl backed up, laughing and pointing at Sakura.

	Her frown was evident, Sakura's hot fury put off by being openly mocked, her innards turning cold, wanting to hurt Tendo. But Tendo's laughter continued and the girl gestured with a circling finger at her face, gasping words between giggles.

	"Your face!... The Firecracker... all black!" The giggles left her with this, turning back to open laughter. 

	Sakura felt the blood rush from her face at the idea she was on camera in such a state and rushed to the ring ropes, demanding a mirror and makeup from the producers. 

	Her legs were level with the top rope by the time she realised Akane was lifting her, and she was over the rope and out of reach of them by the time she realised she'd been tricked. Ref Hebner blew the whistle on her defeat as her feet touched the ground. 

*****

	Ranma dusted his hands in self-congratulations as he emerged back stage from the arena. He had waved to Akane from the top of the ramp, not wanting his defeated fiancée trying to latch onto him by staying down there. He clucked his tongue at Akane's defeat of Sakura again, knowing playing her vanity was going to make Sakura ten times more vengeful than before on Akane. Still, it was funny.

	Sena and Doc Tofu smiled from the first aid room door, the Doc giving him a wink. 

******

	Smiling at the good luck waves from Akane and Ukyo, Ranma stepped through the curtain, letting the crowd cheer on queue and the music of the guitar rift the producers selected for him wash around him. He gave a cocky smirk and strode down the ramp to the ring. He glanced at the black clothed and hooded opponent and shook his head, before turning to where his mother and Kasumi were in the crowd and bowing. Rising, he turned to the judges and producers at the desk beside the ring and bowing to them. Finally he stepped beside the ring and rolled bodily under the lowest rope and fluidly back to standing. 

	Over what cheers and music still played out, and Ref Hebner stood on the ring skirt, asking both of their readiness. When both bowed to him, then each other, he blew his whistle. 

	Ranma nodded with a smile at his opponent who had yet to move, "Okay Pig-boy, you ready?"

	With a growl, the lost boy ripped the hood and dark clothes from his form, tossing them out of the ring to reveal his dusty travel clothes. In his hand, he now held a canteen of water, which he flicked open with his thumb, the lid skittering out of the ring. "I've been waiting to humiliate you like this for years Ranma, I'm more than ready."

	The pigtailed boy tensed, the last thing he wanted was to be showing his curse around Japan on television, his face scowling that Ryoga would try something so low. 

	Ref Hebner had quickly climbed to the ring skirt, reminding Ryoga of the rules of the tournament disallowing water attacks on those with special conditions. Ranma glanced to the side as a new voice rebutted the referee. 

	"The rules strictly state that one cannot attack others with water, not against the use of water on oneself for the purposes of a special attack." Jiro Ohata smiled darkly at Ranma and nodded to Ryoga, who grimaced and raised the water over his own head.

	"Hibiki School of martial arts, twin fighters attack!"

	Just a little water splashed from the canteen, enough to soak Ryoga's head, prompting the transformation, extra arms and legs first sprouting, then a second head, and finally separation into two near identical Ryoga Hibikis'.

	Ranma frowned, "You finally managed to put yourself together again? I figured it would be ages before you two dunces found each other!" he teased cautiously, hoping people would think the sweat on his brow was from the hot lights and not any fear of this surprise.

	It had been many months ago when Pantyhose Taro had arrived at the Saotome house carrying cursed spring water he thought would make Happosai into a virtuous man, only to find the water would make twins out of whatever they touched. It had been a hard fight but he had managed to take the water off the monstrous form of Taro, narrowly missing dosing his own mother with it. It was she who had conceived the idea that if the spring of downed twin water would replace his current curse, he could be free of his girl form (and potentially be able to fulfil multiple engagements). But before they could converse with the Jusenkyo guide on the idea, Ryoga stole the water as a cure for himself, and for one moment thought he had succeeded. The problem was that while the curse did make two of him, each of the twins was then cursed with his original curse from the spring of drowned black pig. Of course Ryoga had seen this as Ranma's fault too, giving him yet another curse, and together, the two Ryoga's were more than a handful to handle. 

	Outside the ring, Ref Hebner, Ohata, and the producers argued over the legality of this move and the early ring bell, but Ranma already knew from the crowds positive reaction which way the producers would eventually force this. 

	The Ryoga in the dirty yellow shirt stepped forward, "We're here for payback Ranma, now all of Japan will see you beaten to a pulp!"

	Ranma smirked to cover any hints of weakness to Ryoga. "That's assuming your partner can fight? I'm surprised between you you've only lost one shirt!" He nodded back at the shirtless Ryoga, who was busy trying to look masculine through his nervous blush as many female catcalls rang out from the spectators. Hearing Ranma's words galvanised the second Ryoga, sending him charging in, followed by the former as the fight began, a whistle blowing.

	Ranma blocked their tag team attacks and danced free from their reach, moving around the ring. Dealing with the two of them was never easy, but trying to do so in a confined space like the ring was going to really hold him back. Though of the same mind, the pair really didn't know how to fight together well, which would still let him play them, but ultimately that advantage would fade as the fight wore on. 

	Feigning around the right, the pigtailed martial artist swooped back on the left, blocking a swing from one Ryoga to hammer punches into his ribs, pulling away quickly to avoid the rush of the second Ryoga. 

	As he expected the two were trying to grab him, relying on their great strength and the fact there was two of them to pull him down, something he would have to avoid at all costs. Unfortunately the logical counter was dodging with quick hit and fade strikes to wear the opponent down, something that wasn't going to be damaging enough against a man who walked astonishing distances every day with skin that shrugged off shattering stone like rain. Fortunately Ryoga's patience wasn't nearly as good as his stamina. 

	As the fight wore on, the pair began to get frustrated, Ranma dodging their attacks and grabs, then insulting them by ruffling hair, tweaking noses, flicking ears, and one wedgie that really brought the colour to the shirtless Ryoga's cheeks. 

	The two began to grab at him less, and strike more, and with the way their co-ordination was improving several strikes were landing. 

*****

	Akane watched beside Sena, surrounded by stagehands and other competitors from earlier fights as the monitors showed the three in the ring from multiple angles. 

	"What's Ranma doing? Why is he treating it like a game?", Sena asked with a frown. 

	"All fighting is a game for Ranma,” replied with an unladylike snort. 

	"Yes, but Ryoga is different." Doctor Tofu said with a grimace. "Ryoga is about as physically sturdy a fighter I have ever seen. He can walk through extraordinary punishment. The only times I have had to help him recover has been when Ranma's fiancée Ukyo catches up with him."

	Akane nodded and recalled with a grimace herself of Ryoga's pet pig act with Ukyo and could understand her anger. 

	"As for this fight, Ranma doesn't want to hold still long enough to beat either Ryoga down so he's probably trying to anger him enough to toss him from the ring. He's going to have a hard time of it."

*****

	It was a particularly vicious combo attack, one Ryoga driving him back with a hooked thumb at the throat, while the second lashed a series of kicks into the only place the ropes would allow him to withdraw to. The kick connected solidly to his abdomen and forcing the air from his lungs, leaving him just enough sense to roll with the blow and spring off the ropes, hoping to get enough time to regain his breath. 

	Landing badly, he saw through watery eyes the pair charging at him too fast for him to avoid, and only one technique came to mind. He focused his will, ignoring the fact that if this didn't work, he was going to be very embarrassed. 

	Stretching his arms wide, he charged the Ryoga's, and gave his battle cry, "Cradle of hell!"

	When Ranma had surpassed his father as a martial artist, the elder Saotome developed a final technique that he could not resist. The basis of the Cradle of Hell uses one of the most underhanded emotional attacks ever, a father's love for his son. 

	In his father's version of the technique, Genma Saotome would attack with the power of love for his son, drag him down and cradle around him in a powerful grip of muscle and love. Ranma had spent many a horrid moment in that grip, his father's stubbled cheek rubbing against his. Fortunately the technique contained one fatal flaw, where those who have trained to sense the flow and pattern of ki in an enemy, can feel the attack coming well in advance, and for the son of a man who sacrificed the development of conscious emotional bonds for his son's training in the art, the sudden presence of love from the old man was disturbing indeed. 

	In his own version of the technique, Ranma Saotome turned the weakness of his father's technique to its strength. By focusing on the similar bond in Ranma's life, he projected the same love ahead, effectively forming a 'weirding me out!' effect that no teenage boy could stand. 

	Neither of the two charging Ryoga's would ever know that in Ranma's minds eye they blurred in form, each becoming his mother, as their opponent charged them, arms wide. 

	Both jumped back, looking at each other with the same incredulous expression as the icky feeling subsided, and Ranma stood taking deep breathes with that ever-present smirk of confidence. 

*****

	"The Cradle of Hell Technique?! Have you heard of that one Jimmu?"

	"Can't say I have Shogun, though by the way Ryoga Hibiki and his double pulled back they have and it must be scary. Perhaps it is this technique that has been why last years champion has been so confident in doing little damage to his opponents in favour of disrespecting them in front of everyone here, while taking several lumps I doubt most of this tournament could have withstood once."

	"Well Jimmu, as you said at the beginning of today's events, a match between the man in black and Ranma Saotome would be a real slobber-knocker of a final, but who would have guessed that it would a long known rival of our champion would be under the black hood. I myself can't believe it! This match will be spoken about for a long time, both boys' masterful martial artists."

	"You've got that right Shogun, this level of skill is rare among those martial artists who have decades more training than this pair. And Shogun, what's more is the rumour that the Ryoga Hibiki is not only a martial arts rival to Ranma Saotome, but also once dated Ranma's own fiancée and daughter of the sponsor to the event, our women's runner up Sakura Shishimi! Now that's got to put these two making this more than just for prizes or honour."

	"I did not know that Jimmu, but who wouldn't want Ms Shishimi for a girlfriend, these boys' anger and rivalry must run deep indeed. And if you can tear your eyes from the action for a moment you can see on the ramp watching the fight is the woman in question and another other of Saotome's female friends watching him fight for the tournament title." 

****

	Ukyo had her head through the curtain to the arena, in a rare moment knowing that she was in mental agreement with Sakura Shishimi, who stood to her left also looking through the curtain, rather than watching with the other defeated competitors who had hung around to see the end. The fact that Akane Tendo who had defeated them both was back there wasn't helping her mood any. Ignoring it, she watched her fiancé face off with the doubled pervert stalker of her life. She more imagined than saw the matching confused animosity from her right where Sakura stood watching through the curtain down towards the ring, part of them both wanting to see Ranma beat the Ryogas up, or lose to them so that Ranma wouldn't be going off for a weekend in the mountains with Akane Tendo. 

	Ukyo frowned as she watched Ryoga more, and turned towards Sakura. "Sakura, do you think the producers would mind if we wend down to the bottom of the ramp. I'd like to greet Ryoga after the match."

	Sakura eyed the other two for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I think we could arrange that, though only if you promise no emotional outbursts regarding *my* fiancé?"

	"Fine with me, though you think just claiming him will make him yours only works in my favour. Like his name sake, that wild horse won't be corralled so easily."

	Sakura bristled at the glib reply, but led the way down to ringside. 

****

	Ranma danced back again away from the brutish pair as they lunged into the attack again. Jiro had really riled them up, neither was playing, and if they managed to get him down on the ground he was really going to suffer for it. Even as he thought it, the matting shifted and his foot twisted, shifting his momentum down and to the left. He swung a quick right to try and force the nearest Ryoga back but the look in the fanged boys eyes said it all as he took it without flinching and tackled into him, the second Ryoga jumping to join in.

	Each leg was pushed in a different direction, the left twisted in a powerful grip that sapped strength from his hips, one arm was being crushed into the mat as the other was held up and back where there was no possible purchase. 

	His back arching in pain, eyes straight at Ref Hebner who had appeared at the ring skirt ready to blow his whistle on this fall to force the Ryogas to back off of him. If he even closed his eyes or seemed to tap, he knew Hebner would count him out of this fall and he'd lose the point and so he doubled his efforts, trying to pull free of their grips of get them off balance. Over Ref Hebner's shoulder, he saw Sakura and Ukyo looking on worriedly from the ring. 

	"Hey Ryoga," he managed to get out between groans of pain. "Ya know, Ukyo tried to get me wearing a bandanna."

	"Shut up Ranma!" the shirted Ryoga demanded, pulling harder on the leg.

	"You're not going to trick us ever again!" cried the shirtless one as he tensioned the arms further. 

	"Sorry," Ranma groaned out, "Just Ukyo thought bandannas were sexy."

	Instantly the pressure eased and with a twirl both were thrown off his body and he rolled to his feet. 

	Stretching his joints, Ranma smirked at the twin Ryogas. "Oops, I did it again, huh?"

	With a roar of rage, both Ryoga's charged in, and with casual grace he flipped off the head of the shirtless one. When angry, Hibiki was just too easy to predict. 

	And as he flipped through the air he knew that when in control Ryoga was a hard fighter, as the yellow shirted one moved under his landing point. Even a kick to the forehead didn't stop this Ryoga grab a leg and twirl him out of the ring. 

	Just the tip of one finger managed to grab the top rope as he went past, and as it tensioned under him he pulled up his feet to take it and use its elasticity to his advantage. In the ring the Ryoga's stood side by side in the middle, but if he tried to spring at them they could easily move out as he crossed the distance... unless they didn't see him. 

	"Moko Takabisha Variation – Star Burst!" he cried throwing his arms forward as the rope sprang back catapulting him with it. Normally his confidence ki would focus into a ball of damaging power, however he recalled Shampoo’s trick and let it flare out uncontrolled. It lost a lot of power, but was brighter, giving him a spot light like effect that he focused from each hand on the outside of the Ryoga's, holding them together and hiding his move as he sprang off the rope.

	"Meteor Tackle Spring Attack!" he cried as he flew back in, his arms aiming for their shoulders as they backed from the light. As he connected, they gripped his arms, wanting to tear each out of his sockets, not realising that Ranma wanted their grip. Ranma's momentum was too much as he carried them back against the rope, up and over. 

	All three fell to the ground.

	Hebner's whistle blew loud. "Saotome down, one fall to Hibiki! Two Hibikis down, two falls to Saotome! Saotome winner!"

	Ranma had just extricated himself from the Ryogas when Hebner grabbed his arm and held it up, declaring him the winner. The crowd was roaring, as the producers scrambled over themselves coming to refute Referee Hebner who's declaration had already reached the score board declaring him the winner. 

	The hired referees were arguing with the producer/judges, but Ranma ignored them, watching Ukyo braining the shirtless Ryoga with her massive spatula with a battle cry full of the righteous anger of the pervert hater. Sakura was driving the other Ryoga off with the threat of a jug of cold water, forcing him back up the ramp. 

	Ranma turned to look at Jiro as he watched with open-mouthed horror as his plan failed and gave him a jaunty salute.

*****

	Akane smiled again for the cameras and crowd before retreating through the curtain after Ranma. A three foot trophy topped by a tiny golden martial artist hung idly from a hand no longer interested in holding it upright. The show was finally over. It left a warm feeling in her stomach, winning a tournament she had been training for. Though she had a lot to thank for that to the young man beside her. 

	Ranma however, just wanted to go home and sleep. He was well happy over the victory and the similar trophy given to him, but three fights and all the other rubbish involved had made it a very long day. He waved at Sena who was packing up some of the medical supplies for return to the clinic. 

	As they past the door to the first aid room they saw Nabiki walking out with a smirk. Kuno's voice was yelling from within, some unintelligible rubbish about defiling his hand. 

	"Well well," she drawled, "Anything Goes Martial Arts takes honours, Daddy and Mr Saotome will be happy." 

	Ranma's chest puffed out just a smidgen further. "Not that there was much competition out there."

	Barely paying attention, Akane, looked at the door to the first aid room, Kuno's voice still echoing out. "He's in there, isn't he?"

	"You just broadcast your image over Japan, he was going to find you Sis, now how do you want to deal with him?"

	"Not today. Tomorrow, okay, but today has been too much to deal with him too."

	"Why's he hurt?" Ranma asked as he tried to look in the door. 

	Nabiki pulled out the stun gun. "Well I had to stun him once when you jumped into the ring with the towel, and twice more for that distraction."

	"That was you with the pervert thing? Thanks!"

	Nabiki rolled her eyes as she saw Akane looking with near admiration at Ranma, not that he even noticed. "Well you still owe me a massage, just make it a *real* good one and were even." She said with a smirk that widened as Akane glared at her. 

	"Er, sure..." Ranma replied with an uncomfortable blush.

	"Ranma dear!"

	The voice of his blonde fiancée carried well across the room despite the workmen already pulling the equipment down. "Speaking of not wanting to deal with..." Ranma mumbled as his shoulders slumped.

	Nabiki nodded to one exit corridor. "I noticed a storage room back there that I doubt either she or Kuno knows of," she offered with a wink before turning towards Sakura and moving off, calling out a greeting to the Shishimi heiress like a fan.

	Grabbing Akane’s wrist, dragged her along, not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Akane was blushing wondering what the heck her own sister was implying with that wink. She knew they were both engaged to other people, and she hadn't even met her future fiancé. All too soon she found herself in an all too cosy empty room with Ranma. 

	She looked at him as he slumped on a crate and blew out a breath. His blue eyes looked up her in the weak light. "You fought well today. Though Sakura and Shampoo are gonna want a rematch real soon. Were going to have to work on you adapting your defences, couple times I figured Anything Goes was going home with first in the men's and twelfth in the women's."

	The teasing came in the middle of her phrasing how to thank him for his efforts today and in training. "Like you were a sure thing in that last fight. If Sakura and Ukyo hadn't run those two Ryogas off there would have been another round and you weren't doing crash hot!"

	Standing almost angrily, he shouted back at her. "Say's you, I had him any time I wanted. You on the other hand couldn't even take Sakura without my help."

	Akane smiled and sprang, wrapping her arms around him and resting her cheek on his chest. His sitting down made a simple hug impossible to keep simple, this was the easier thank you. "Thanks for your help Ranma." He stiffened like a board inside her arms, but she found she didn't mind. She nearly giggled as his ragged breath tickled her hair.

	"Meow."

	Through an air vent, just a few feet from his head, the stray cat's call rang out and into the ear of the already hyper-stung martial artist in Akane's grip, and he reacted like he had been struck by lightning. 

	"C-c-c-cat!"

	*Crash* 

	Akane shook her head to try and figure out what was going on, she was still holding Ranma, though now was under him, lying on the remains of the door. He was looking in horror back into the room, but she was more worried about just up the hall.

	Sakura Shishimi looked down at the pair in horror, while Nabiki Tendo hid a smile behind her hand. Between them, shaking with anger stood Tatewaki Kuno. With a smooth action his wooden boken was drawn and pointed at Ranma's head.

	"Saotome! Animal!"

To be continued... (honest!)

	Authors note: Ugh, what a monster. I do hear by swear to never, ever, write any kind of tournament ever again. For an idea that literally tumbled out of Shampoo’s mouth without planning, it was dumb. I also promise to keep good back ups, as that slowed this down a lot too.

	Of note, I should not that the announcers and referees are parodies of WWE charter/employees, and one of the new techniques described was based off a similar idea from a Jet Li film released under the translated name of ‘The Hitman’.

	Special thanks to my proof readers - John Go, Paul Henkel, Bloodwingz, Jamieson Whithehead & Sakura Hibiki.

	Thank you for reading. 

	Trent O'Donoghue 
	trentodonoghue@msn.com
	http://www.geocities.com/odonoghuet/index.html