"Man, it's good to be back home." Ranma yawned as he came down the road.

"Yeah. It's been a long summer. Only two weeks left." Akane confirms. The two had been on a training trip and upon much insistence, the two went together, and alone. Too bad all they could do was fight, and when they were being nice it was mainly as they were bandaging the wounds Ranma received in the hits taken from Akane.

"Huh?"

"What is it?" Akane wonders.

Ranma rereads a posted note. "You're family went to the beach."

"Without us?" She barks.

"Well, I suppose we should catch up."

Ranma planted a foot in the soft sand. Too hot for his tastes. It was warm air too. He had to take his shirt off. As long as he wasn't planning on going in the water he felt safe enough to dress like a guy for once. So he wore swim trunks made for a guy.

Meanwhile, Akane went with a rather plain suit. Dark blue top, and the same bottom. Wearing a mesh skirt over.

"At least it's a good day, eh Ranma?"

He scoffs. "Whatever."

"Oh, Ranma!" Nodoka walks up to the two.
Ranma gulps. "Oh, mother…"

"You're here too Mrs. Saotome?" Akane wonders.

"I should warn you,"

Nodoka's words were stopped by a sudden glomping and the words, "Airen!"

Ranma nearly fell as the Chinese Amazon latched onto him. A glare from Akane stopped Shampoo. "What's with the outfit?"

Akane glared at the skimpy suit Shampoo wore that did not seem to fit. More likely to fit a young girl. "Is what wear for Ranma."

"Isn't it, a bit small?" Akane mused.

"Maybe these too big." Shampoo grabs her breasts and move them into Ranma's general line of eyesight. He looks away.

"Um, hey look there!" Ranma points out kids building a sand castle. "I should make one too." Ranma darts off from them.

Too bad they follow after. "Airen, whose whose is better on?"

"Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something." Ranma continues digging a hole.

"She asked you which of us looks better in the swimsuit?" Akane growled through her teeth.

"Well, the answer is easy really. It's-" and Ranma buries himself in the sand.

"Damn. I should've noticed that." Akane formed a fist.

Ranma finally after getting away from the two returns to making a sand castle and has already made a mound of dirt by digging as a dog would. It was this moment the sun was blocked by a human shadow.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ranma turned to a young man his age in a Hawaiian shirt, dark sun glasses, a nice tan, and board shorts. "This was to be my spot."

"And, you are?"

"You don't know of me?" The boy balks. "I'm the great Grain! Sand-Fu master."

"Sand-Fu?" Ranma wonders.

"The art of sand castle building."

"Huh? Is that so?" Ranma looks around the sand. "I suppose you want this spot?"

"That was sort of the idea."

"Well, too bad."

"No, too bad for you!" Grain promptly flattens the mound of sand.

"Hey, my castle!"

"Opps."

"That's it! You'll pay!"

"Oh? A sand battle then." Grain sneers.

"A sand battle?" Ranma wonders. Something new. "Okay then, lets go!"

As the afternoon sun comes the two have found a suitable spot and prepared to fight. A crowd slowly formed around them in a hurry. Shampoo and Akane were quick to get up front.

"So this is what the idiots been up to?" Akane muses.

"So, how does Sand-Fu work Grain?"

"Easy." Grain nonchalantly smirks. "You build a sand castle."

"That's all?" Ranma drops his jaw.

"Of course, you have to try to stop the other from building his."

"I get that." Ranma confidently smirks. "Let's go."

Shampoo blinks. "What he doing?"

"Being a dumbass, what else?" Akane grins.

"Ready?" Grain questions.

Ranma's eyes narrow. "Heh."

"Go!"

The two begin to playfully build a castle in their respective spots. The crowd falters at such a meaningless battle. Where was the action? Grain looks to Ranma through his glasses and sneers. Picking up a small pail he tosses it at Ranma who dodges on accident.

'Damn.' Grain mentally cursed. 'He's got the moves and the tact to be a worthy Sand-Fu master and beat even me!'

Ranma continues building his castle. 'Man, I'm hungry.' His stomach growls. 'Should I stop that Grain guy? Nah, he hasn't tried to on me.'

Grain stands in frustration and walks off unbeknownst to Ranma. He hurries back with a hose in hand. "Take this!"

Grain fires the hose on Ranma who happens to turn getting a mouthful of water. "Glug! Blay Tanks! Ib wub thirty." Ranma gets in over the forcefully entering water.

Grain throws the hose aside. "Now, to play dirty!" Grain jumps at Ranma. The two fall into Ranma's large mound of sand. A cloud of sand disperses about the area covering all and losing visibility.

The cloud finally settles and Grain is found lying in a pile of sand. To his left he finds Ranma sitting on a sand throne within a large sand castle. "Oh wow." Ranma looks around at his castle. "Does this mean I win?"

The crowd falls to the ground in amazement. "That's it!" Grain jumps up from the sand. "You must be the Sand-Fu master of legend. Have mercy on me."

"Oh." Ranma gapes at the man. "Well, uh, that's cool and all, but I don't want really want to be the Sand-Fu master. I'll just take the win and all."

"Airen! Am so proud." Shampoo laughs.

"Ranma, why do you always get caught up in dumb things like that?" Akane mutters.