Ukyou sighed. Business was slow at her little restaurant today,
but she kept herself busy. An important business conference was
scheduled to take place over the weekend, and her restaurant was but a
block away from the site where the conference was supposed to be held.
If everything went right, she could very well make quite a bit of profit
out of all of this.
And Nabiki thought she was the only one who knew how to make a
good profit. Ha!
Still, she had to give credit to the famous - or infamous,
depending who you talked to - major business corporation known as the
'BFC.' They were the ones heading up the conference. If not for
them, it would probably be another weekend of hoping for someone to
leave a large enough tip to help pay off some of the bills. Running a
restaurant wasn't cheap, and nearly all of the money Ukyou made went
straight to operating expenses.
Even with customers like Ranma and now execs from the BFC, like
that strange character, Mine, she wasn't making as much money as she
liked. In fact, it was *because* of Ranma and some of the others,
like Kunou and that hentai Tsubasa, that her restaurant often needed
to spend more money on repairs...
Still, she was now making more money, thanks to the people at the
BFC. She wondered if she should raise prices slightly to compensate.
The thought made her laugh: Ranma probably wouldn't like having to
spend more money.
A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Kuonji-san! Mail!!"
"Hai!!" Ukyou quickly paged through the envelopes, and found,
much to her disappointment, that her mail was, as always, mostly
bills. However, the very last envelope caught her eye. It was an
unassuming invitation addressed to her, inviting her to attend a
martial-arts cooking competition this weekend. "All right!" she said
without thinking. "I can show Ran-chan that I'm the best fiancee for
him!"
But wait, wasn't there something else about this weekend she had
been thinking about not five minutes ago?
The business conference. Oh, no... both the conference and the
contest were going to be held at the same time! While her strong
sense of pride and honor was trying to convince her she needed to be
present at the contest, she couldn't afford to leave the restaurant to
attend. She sighed, loud enough for the customers at the counter to
hear.
"Why can't things ever work out for me?"
Across the street, in a vacant shop, Mine continued her stakeout.
She'd needed a way to get closer to her intended target, and a few
weeks of keeping a close eye on Ukyou's restaurant convinced her she
had at last found a way to complete phase one of her plan.
Soon she would be on her way to achieving supreme power, for her
and the BFC.
[OP: "The Girl is Magic" (Natsumi Title Theme)/Inoue Kikuko]
(OP sequence: An unconcerned Kasumi stands in the main walkway of the
Tendo yard, sweeping. Soon, Ranma and Akane appear, fighting. Then
Ryouga, Shampoo and Ukyou join the fray. Genma appears, but Ranma
throws him into the pond. Soun sits off to one side, crying. Akane
slam-dunks Ranma into the pond, and the panda raises a sign that says,
"What kept you?" Ranma takes a swipe at him with the sign.
Finally, Nabiki and Mine appear in the background, seemingly trying to
come to a business decision by various means, including
rock-paper-scissors, as a large BFC building rises out of clouds of
dust behind them all.
Still unconcerned, Kasumi changes into Natsumi and uses her powers to
sweep the whole mess away at an incredible rate, leaving a white
screen for the title logo to fade into.)
Richard Beaubien
Presents
Natsumi, the Magical Girl
(wildly embellished by Mike Koos, again)
Episode 2: Too Many Cooks
It was another average day at the Tendo Dojo, which usually meant
a couple of things. One, that Ranma and Akane were scheduled to be in
the middle of their customary afternoon argument. Nabiki was sticking
to her schedule of economic domination. But, unlike one would
normally expect, Kasumi was elsewhere visiting her mother's shrine,
alone.
"Mother," she said in a near-whisper, looking as though she were
about to cry. "Please help me... I don't know what to do. I want to
be Natsumi, but I can't......"
Nabiki, who had entered the hallway on her way to the kitchen,
noticed her sister was indeed crying and started toward her.
"Is something wrong, Kasumi?"
"No..." Kasumi replied half-heartedly, wiping away her tears.
"I'm just paying my respects."
Nabiki didn't believe this, being one of the people who knew that
Kasumi had a new secret to trouble her. "It's about the Natsumi
business, isn't it?"
Kasumi looked at her younger sister for a second, then nodded.
"Yes... I don't know if I can do this, Nabiki. I'm not the superhero
type." She paused. "I can't do this! I'm sorry, mother!!" She
broke down and put her arms around Nabiki.
Not one for physically emotional displays, Nabiki didn't return
the gesture. "It's okay, Kasumi. You can do it. I've always had
faith in you. And I'm sure Mom would, too, if she were here."
"Nabiki-chan..."
"Mom must have believed you could do this, or else she wouldn't
have placed such power in your hands," Nabiki said quietly, holding
back tears of her own. She had assumed she'd come to terms with her
mother's death, yet there was always something that said all she had
done was lock her feelings away... like that package from Mom. That
junior business set had been an eye-opener.
She still had feelings; she wasn't just an opportunist. She was
still Human. She had a weakness and could be hurt, just as she was
when her mother died.
Nabiki noted Kasumi's expectant gaze. "Nabiki-chan?"
"Ah... excuse me, I've got some work to do, Kasumi," she blurted,
moving away from her older sister. She couldn't let Kasumi see her
cry. She couldn't let people know she had a weakness.
Fortunately, Akane came in time to provide a diversion.
"Kasumi-oneechan! Guess what!" the youngest of the three Tendo
daughters exclaimed excitedly. "I've been invited to attend a
martial-arts cooking contest this weekend." A note of determination
appeared in Akane's eyes. "I'll finally show everyone what a great
cook I am, just like Mom said I could be..."
The words 'Akane' and 'cook' together in the same sentence
usually made everyone except Kasumi and perhaps Ryouga cringe. Nabiki
shrugged it off, figuring that if a contest was involved she wouldn't
have to eat the end result anyway, and continued walking.
"That's great news, Akane!" Kasumi exclaimed, all signs of her
earlier sadness suddenly gone without a trace.
"Yeah, and I bet you'll win, too, Akane..." Ranma managed,
appearing out of nowhere. It was obvious that the words weren't
coming easily to him. Compliments and encouragement were not his
usual style.
"Really, Ranma?" Akane looked at Ranma in a different light. It
was almost as if everything was all right with their relationship.
Of course, it wouldn't last long before... "Yeah, your cooking is
already classified as a lethal weapon so--" Akane finished Ranma's
sentence for him - with a large wooden mallet at high velocity.
"Ranma no... *baka*!"
Why did Ranma do things like that? Every time the moment seemed
to be turning tender, why did he always have to slip in some stupid or
childish insult like that? Akane didn't know anymore, but had come to
fully expect it from Ranma.
In the adjoining hall, Nabiki sighed. At least some things
remained the way they always were. She could almost set her watch by
it all.
Which meant that their usual unwarranted visitor should be
popping in right about...
"Nihao, Ranma!!"
Today's guest, Shampoo. "Oh, man, not Shampoo..."
"What are you doing here, Shampoo?" Akane asked, the usual hint
of venom to her voice.
"None of your business, violent girl. Shampoo here to tell Ranma
that she will win cooking contest for him."
Cooking contest? Oh, no... "The martial-arts cooking contest?"
"Why, yes! Once Shampoo win it Ranma sure to marry her!!"
Shampoo yelled, emphasizing her words with the aid of a microphone
that she pulled from nowhere.
"Oh, no you won't. *I'm* going to win the contest," Akane stated.
"Ha! Violent girl lucky if judges even survive food..."
"How dare you! I'll show YOU a thing or two about cooking..."
From the looks on both Akane and Shampoo's faces, Ranma guessed
they were about to renew their rivalry. He sighed; wondering if he
should take the invitation to compete in the contest, if only to
prevent Akane and Shampoo from wrecking things. The invitation hadn't
actually been to *him*, but Ranko. That had given Ranma a moment's
pause. It wasn't like Ranko had applied for a job or put her name on
anything official, so how had they known about her? How had they even
known where to find her?
He'd considered ignoring the invitation, but a martial-arts
contest was a martial-arts contest, and his pride wouldn't let him
turn down a competition with the words 'martial-arts' in the title.
Even if the contest turned out to be insanely stupid.
Kasumi's innate ability to avoid this sort of impending
confrontation lead her to the kitchen. She figured it wouldn't hurt
to make some sandwiches, since the combatants were likely going to be
at it for a while.
She had begun slicing a second round of pieces of bread when
Nabiki entered the kitchen. "There are some sandwiches on the counter
if you want any, Nabiki."
"No thanks, big sister. I came in here to ask you a question."
"What is it?" Kasumi tried to read Nabiki's expression but
couldn't.
"Would you be interested in entering the martial-arts cooking
contest as Natsumi?"
"Why?" Kasumi didn't know what to make of the question.
"Oh, for two reasons: One, it might be a good opportunity to
train for any more fights, just in case." Nabiki settled for a
dramatic pause. "And it couldn't hurt to give Natsumi a little more
exposure. It's an excellent marketing opportunity."
A huge bead of sweat appeared on Kasumi's forehead. What, was
money the only thing that Nabiki thought about? Still, Nabiki had
been right about one thing - she definitely could use the training.
Although, she continued refusing to think of herself as a fighter...
"All right, I'll do it."
"Thanks, sis! You won't regret it! I'll take care of the
details!" Nabiki raced out of the kitchen. If things worked out, she
could make a killing in marketing and Kasumi might pick up the self
confidence every magical girl-slash-fighter for justice needed.
Nabiki smiled. She'd found herself another couldn't-lose plan to make
herself some money.
Kasumi remained unmoving in the kitchen, wondering if she was up
to the challenge. A voice seemed to come to her from the direction of
her mother's shrine. "You can do it, Kasumi. I know you can."
She sighed. "Mother, I hope you're right."
****
Lunch at the BFC was generally like lunch at every other major
corporation in the world. People would gather in the corporate
lunchroom and discuss business, or perhaps the fate of their favorite
sports teams.
The BFC superiors, on the other hand, had their own agendas;
sure, they would do the same thing, more or less, discuss business...
but the business of a much more sinister enterprise. Such a
high-level meeting was taking place this particular afternoon,
involving Mine, a younger youma servant, and their immediate superior.
"My Lady, I would like to know why she's been given the authority
to go ahead with this ludicrous 'martial-arts cooking contest?'" Mine
asked, making sure to hurl an acid glance her co-worker's way.
"She has provided a rather interesting plan to recruit some
martial artists for our cause without attracting suspicion to the BFC
like the first plan did."
"Using one of our dummy corporations, Sabre 2000," the youngest
attendee spoke up, "we will lure the best of this area's martial
artists into a trap they can's possibly escape from. My little
cooking contest. Ha!!"
Mine raised an eyebrow. "'Sabre 2000?'" she echoed. "Sounds
like a steak knife set, not a corporation. And your plan sounds like
the typical 'bad guy setup' for a trap. Do you *really* expect it to
work?"
The youth was about to respond to Mine's question when their
superior cut her off. "Enough in-fighting. We're on the same side
here, after all. Mine, my decision stands. She will go ahead with
this trap." Their superior straightened. "I will not tolerate any
more squabbling over my decisions, either. My decisions are made with
the best interests of this company in mind and the 'Master Vision' BFC
has for the future. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lady."
"Good. I hope we do not have this problem in the future. As for
the other plan, I see no reason why it should not proceed. If it is
successful, the BFC will control the best natural resources in the
world. If it fails, then the failure will be accounted for, with the
usual penalties for wasting company resources."
The younger youma froze upon hearing the words. She knew the
price of failure, and didn't intend to pay such a severe price. "I
won't fail you, my Lady." She disappeared from the office.
"Well, Mine, any other questions?"
"No, my Lady, I'll be leaving now." Mine bowed, leaving the
office by foot. She kept a slight smile to herself. What her
impetuous co-worker didn't know was that Mine had known about her plan
from the very beginning, and had wanted her to proceed with it. It
would, after all, lead to total failure, and the elimination of
another potential adversary.
The one person Mine needed to complete Phase 1 of her plan would
be left out of the snafu because of the business conference she had
scheduled for the weekend. With the conference, Ukyou Kuonji would be
hers for the taking.
****
It was the day of the cooking contest, and it seemed like
everyone in the entire district was present to enjoy the spectacle.
"Okay, everyone! Sabre 2000 is proud to present the best of the best,
the greatest of the greatest! All together in one location for the
martial-arts cooking contest! Be sure to get your tickets now; you
won't want to miss this one! We'll be starting in about two hours!"
And everyone did rush to get their very own ticket, each person
not suspecting the setup to be an average evil-demon-type trap. But
the announcer really didn't care; if this plan worked the BFC would
have a vast amount of new... 'recruits.'
None of the martial artists recognized the trap, either, but most
of them had preoccupied themselves with different concerns.
Akane was busy recalling different ways to prepare cup ramen, and
thinking of ways to trounce Shampoo.
Shampoo was running through plans to take Akane out of the
running - none of which involved Akane's safety and well-being - and
ways to win Ranma's heart.
Ranko was wondering how in the world she was going to keep the
property damage to a minimum.
And the others had come without suspicion. Who in their right
minds would plan a cooking contest with evil in mind?
Everyone was so distracted that they had overlooked any signs
that would point to a trap, and normally that would mean it was smooth
sailing for the youma's plan. However, it wasn't going to be that
easy.
"What do you MEAN Ukyou Kuonji hasn't shown up, yet!?" The youma
yelled at her underling. She liked the feeling of being in charge,
though she wisely kept that to herself. Now wasn't the time to be
drunk with power, anyway.
If Ukyou didn't show up, the small circle of four of the most
powerful martial artists this town had to offer would not be complete,
and there was no way the youma wanted to present her superior with an
incomplete package. The end result? Failure, with the 'usual
penalties.' "I need another martial artist *right now*! Find me one,
or be prepared to face the consequences!"
Nabiki allowed herself the luxury of a slight grin, having
overheard the entire conversation. Ukyou, not attend a martial-arts
cooking contest? Hmm, maybe Nabiki's influence was rubbing off on
her. Nabiki liked the idea: a little competition was good for
business. Oh, well, Ukyou's loss, Natsumi's gain... "Excuse me," she
cleared her throat. "I may be able to help you find another martial
artist."
The youma looked relieved. "You can?"
"Hey, you can trust me," Nabiki replied, in a voice that did
everything *but* encourage a sense of trust.
"Just hurry! I need him or her up there, now!"
"Okay!" Nabiki yelled, rounding the corner and heading for the
ladies' room. Kasumi was there, waiting for Nabiki's signal. "We're
in," Nabiki told her older sister. "How are you going to change into
Natsumi?"
Kasumi seemed confident. "Like this--" I hope I have this
right!
"Love Power...... *TRANSFORM*!!!"
A strange yet familiar warm glow enveloped Kasumi. Her outfit
seemed to dissolve away as brighter strands of living energy
circulated around her body. A lemon yellow skirt coalesced around her
waist, and a lime-green top appeared above it. A bright yellow bow,
boots of the same unassuming color and elegant white gloves finished
off the ensemble while the brooch settled into its place, nestled
within the center of the bow.
"How do I look, Nabiki?"
Nabiki kept her mouth shut. "Fine. That should do. I just have
one more question, though..."
"Yes?"
"Would you mind terribly if I filmed your transformation scene
for the etchi market?"
A large bead of sweat appeared on Natsumi's forehead. "Nabiki!!"
"Just kidding, sis. We'll stay with the kids' market; it's more
lucrative anyway," Nabiki smirked, leading Natsumi out of the
restroom. Natsumi studied her sister with an untrained eye. Although
Nabiki usually came up with some extreme plans to make her money, when
it was necessary Nabiki would always pull through for her family. It
was Nabiki's handiwork that kept the dojo expense account in the
black, even considering all the dojo repairs that had to be made on an
almost-daily basis, ever since Ranma and Genma had come to live with
the Tendo family.
Right about now, Nabiki wore that look of grim determination that
said no one had better cross her or her family, unless they wanted to
face the consequences.
She'd directed this gaze at the youma running the entire show,
but her target didn't catch it. Instead, the youma was busy sizing up
the fighter Nabiki had brought, and began to curse Fate for bringing
her a magical girl, of all people. "I guess you're in," the youma
muttered in a tone of defeat. She wondered if it was too late to
start a less stressful job, perhaps something along the line of
hostage negotiating...
"Was there ever any doubt?" Nabiki gave Natsumi a quick hug,
whispering, "Do your best!" Natsumi smiled, proceeding to the main
arena where the contest was to be held. She still had doubts as to
whether she would succeed or fail. But with Nabiki and her mother
watching over her, Natsumi felt like she could do just about anything.
The youma - on the other hand - thought she couldn't do anything
right. Her brilliant plan would be ruined by the appearance of this
magical girl, whoever she was. Still, there was one way she could
save face in front of her boss... eliminate this pest of a magical
girl, or better yet, bring her and the martial artists for her
superiors to do with as they pleased. Yes, that would prove once and
for all her status as the best corporate youma in the BFC, and that
she deserved to be promoted.
A nervous smile formed on her face. Today would either be her
greatest victory, or her greatest defeat.
****
The arena was packed to the rafters with spectators anxiously
awaiting the start of the contest. There were two main reasons for
this. For starters, everyone loved a good fight, and there had been
no shortage of that lately.
Plus, the crowd would double as the judges for the event, meaning
free food for everyone... Maybe that was the reason the majority of
the crowd looked like college students, Nabiki thought. But
irregardless of the age groups, the crowd was excited, and no one was
going to take that away from them. It took a high-pitched squeal from
the PA system to silence the crowd.
For the moment, anyway.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you
to the first annual Sabre 2000 martial-arts cooking contest! Where
it's not just size, speed and skill that counts, but taste, too!"
Someone in the crowd groaned at the attempt at humor.
"And now, for our four competitors. Hailing from the Tendo Dojo,
Akane Tendo!!"
Akane entered the ring to a round of applause, though some of the
audience more familiar with her cuisine turned blue at the thought of
actually having to eat such things.
"Next, from China, please welcome our next competitor, Shampoo!"
Another round of defined applause greeted Shampoo. Hmm... with
Shampoo in the running, the thought of having to eat Akane's cooking
wasn't as intimidating. In fact, more people knew about the
Nekohanten and Shampoo's own brand of cooking, especially since
Shampoo's great-grandmother had made a name for her restaurant.
The oddsmakers were also interested. For whenever Shampoo and
Akane were in the same ring, it was bound to be an interesting fight.
"Our third competitor, also representing the Tendo Dojo... Ranko
Tendo!"
Everyone applauded for Ranma, including Shampoo, whom Akane tried
to stop with a glare of ice. Not everyone knew who Ranko was, but
those who knew Ranma's secret and Ranma in general knew that he or she
wasn't going to disappoint anyone in the fighting department.
With Ranma, Akane and Shampoo present, there was going to be a
great fight, indeed.
"Our final competitor hails from parts unknown. She's a mystery,
all right... Let's give a warm welcome for, Natsumi!"
By now the arena was in an uproar - not for Natsumi, but
anticipation over the impending showdown between the three known
martial artists. Which of the three would survive?
Only four people truly paid any attention at all to Natsumi, one
of which was Nabiki. The other three... were her opponents.
"All right, everyone take your places, and let's begin!" the
announcer exclaimed, as the youma took her place in the crowd.
The four fighters rushed to their would-be kitchens to plan their
individual strategies.
Akane glanced at the mysterious newcomer and decided not to face
off against her unless it was absolutely necessary. She couldn't
quite place her finger on why, but this Natsumi reminded her somehow
of Kasumi.
She also decided to steer clear of worrying about Shampoo for the
moment and focus on Ranma as her first target. After all, Ranma was a
decent cook herself when she had to be, and Akane didn't want to think
about having to live through the humiliation of Ranma beating her in a
cooking contest.
Again.
Ranma decided against attacking Natsumi, though not for the same
reasons as Akane. She wanted to wait and see what kind of skill this
new opponent had before they had to fight, something Ranma usually
didn't do until much later in the game.
She also decided to keep her distance from Shampoo, who would
only get emotional and cause an avalanche of problems. At least this
Natsumi wasn't going to pound him for any of that... was she?
So, she settled for the only option left: Akane.
Shampoo's strategy was even more simple. She had to eliminate
two people - Akane, and this Natsumi person. And Shampoo would take
care of the newcomer first, so she could spend the remainder of her
time humiliating Akane as much as possible.
Natsumi, for her part, wasn't planning an attack. Rather, she
was the only person out of the four who had actually been cooking
something. She had already set aside a completed pot of miso soup
when she heard something moving nearby. Natsumi instinctively managed
to duck an incoming bonbiri and move into a defensive stance as she
prepared for another attack. Before her stood Shampoo, equally
prepared and ready to strike.
"You give up, so Shampoo no have to hurt."
"I'm sorry, but I can't give up!"
"Then I attack!!!" Shampoo suddenly sprinted towards Natsumi
with her remaining bonbiri in one hand. Natsumi merely stood there as
Shampoo ran in to attack. But Natsumi was able to move out of the way
as Shampoo arrived, grabbing Shampoo's wrist and levering her onto her
back.
Shampoo recovered immediately and readied herself for a
counterattack. Natsumi once again lapsed into a defensive stance, but
now her thoughts were beginning to seep into her concentration. She
wondered how she had been able to do such a move, since she hadn't
studied martial arts except for a brief period during her childhood.
Her mother had insisted she be trained in other things instead, and
Soun Tendo, sure that he would later have a son to carry on the family
name, agreed.
Shampoo interrupted Natsumi's flashback with a spinning side kick
that Natsumi was able to duck.
The crowd was enjoying the fight between Natsumi and Shampoo.
They hadn't expected the newcomer to be such a good martial artist,
yet she was putting up a great show against Shampoo. Nabiki was
yelling at the top of her lungs, hoping Natsumi would show Shampoo who
was the better fighter. There was also concern in Nabiki's voice.
Where had Kasumi picked up this level of martial-arts skill? Not from
the brooch, if anything. No, this skill could only come from years of
training, training Kasumi never had.
The youma was also enjoying the fight, though for different
reasons than the crowd. She enjoyed seeing the magical girl squirm,
trying to fend off Shampoo's attacks. Unfortunately, Natsumi seemed
to be doing a decent job of defending herself.
The youma still had her advantage. With Natsumi distracted by
Shampoo, she could initiate her attack now and take all four warriors
by surprise.
And Natsumi would go down in bitter defeat.
****
Yelling a battle cry at the top of her lungs, Shampoo launched
herself toward Natsumi with a drop-kick. But before she could
connect, her path was blocked by a wall literally made up of millions
of large chow-mein noodles. The noodles quickly encircled the ring,
cutting the four warriors apart from the outside world.
"I hope you're ready for the final showdown! 'Cause if you
are, you aren't gonna be disappointed!" the youma yelled,
transforming her appearance. She leapt into the supposedly edible
ring, landing in front of Natsumi and lauging the typical evil-youma
laugh as she did so. "Well, I see you're all tied up at the moment.
But don't worry; you'll be dead soon, and the others... let's just say
they're going to have a little career change in their immediate
future!" the youma gloated, now looking like one of the large rubber
monsters from those shows Natsumi had never really watched to begin
with. "Now, prepare yourself for my final attack! Take-out Food
NIGHTMARE!!!"
At that point an undeterminable amount of take-out dishes began
to materialize about the youma. Those high enough in the stands to
still see what was going on in the ring above the wall of chow-mein -
and whom hadn't fled in terror and panic - might have enjoyed the
thought of having one of those apparently tasty dishes, but Nabiki,
still at ringside, ignored them. She was more concerned over Kasumi
and what those dangerous dishes might do to her.
A sphere of green energy formed around Natsumi. In a matter of
moments the noodles that had bound her had vanished. To the youma's
shock, Natsumi began powering up for an attack. "Cooking should be
something done for pleasure, not used as a tool in an act of terror."
Yeah, try telling that to Akane, Nabiki thought.
"I won't have you using the art of cooking to further your acts
of evil! In the name of love and honor, I'm Natsumi, the magical
girl!" More bright green energy came to life, swirling about Natsumi.
The youma sighed. She had decided to pass on trying to escape - this
'death' would be far less painful to bear than the one she would
experience at the hands of her BFC superiors. "......Love Power
Strike, NOW!!"
The Strike caught up with the youma, encasing her in a sphere of
that same green energy. The youma screamed, and turned into a fine
powder that blew away on the wind.
Natsumi collapsed onto the arena's mat, exhausted. How could she
help save the world if she kept falling into these stereotypical youma
traps? She was supposed to save people from them, not fall victim to
them herself, wasn't she?
The sight of Shampoo running toward her interrupted this
particular train of thought. Natsumi warily prepared herself for an
attack, weak as she was, though what Shampoo did instead surprised
her.
Shampoo bowed. "You are capable fighter, Natsumi-san. We no
fight each other." But then a cat-like smile appeared on Shampoo's
face. "For now." That said, Shampoo left to see if she could tend to
Ranma.
Natsumi let out a huge sigh of relief. She really hadn't felt
like fighting anyone right about now. Or anything else, for that
matter.
Yet those remaining from the crowd had different ideas. They
cheered and clapped - some even catcalled - and asked for an encore.
Some even shouted, wanting to know if they could go out on a date with
her.
Natsumi gave another sigh, leaving the building. She wasn't sure
if she was ready to be a hero, but she was definitely sure of one
thing: she didn't want to be an idol.
Nabiki, in contrast, was delighted. Natsumi would be a marketing
tool to help her achieve financial success. She had visions of mutual
funds dancing in her mind when she suddenly recalled a news article
she had read a few months ago. She recalled that all of the
controlling shares in the Sabre 2000 company had been agressively
bought up by another corporation.
BFC. The corporation that had a hand in the first youma attack.
It was one hell of a coincidence, and coincidence was one thing
Nabiki refused to believe in.
****
Ukyou sighed. The business conference that was supposed to have
made her quite a tidy little profit, had in fact brought in little
more than a lousy five yen. It almost seemed as though there weren't
even a conference in town as nobody had come to the restaurant at all;
most likely everyone had gone to the cooking competition, Ukyou
thought sourly to herself.
One person *had* come in, but Ukyou knew she would have had
better luck had she attended the contest. She might have been able to
win the love of her true fiancee, Ranma Saotome.
"What's wrong, Kuonji-san?" Mine asked, feigning concern.
"I thought today was going to be a great business day, so I
stayed here instead of doing something else I should've done."
"The martial-arts cooking competition?" Mine spoke into her
thoughts.
Ukyou was surprised. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
Mine smiled. "Call it a hunch."
"Anyway," Ukyou gestured to the empty restaurant, "this is what
it got me."
Mine appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I'm sorry to hear
that. Perhaps I can do something to make the day a better business
day for you." The windup, and the pitch. "How would you like to join
the BFC in a joint venture to produce a restaurant chain?"
Mine saw she had Ukyou's attention. "Think of it... your name
could be on everyone's minds from everyone in Japan! And the same for
your food! Maybe one day, you can even have restaurants around the
world!"
Ukyou smiled. Mine was perhaps being a little overzealous, but
she *was* offering Ukyou a great shot at financial success. "Sure,
why not? I'd love to!"
"Great! Come back with me to my office, then, and we'll work out
the paperwork!" Mine tried to hold back her laughter. Phase one of
her plan would soon be complete, as soon as Ukyou Kuonji was turned
into a youma slave...
To be continued...
but she kept herself busy. An important business conference was
scheduled to take place over the weekend, and her restaurant was but a
block away from the site where the conference was supposed to be held.
If everything went right, she could very well make quite a bit of profit
out of all of this.
And Nabiki thought she was the only one who knew how to make a
good profit. Ha!
Still, she had to give credit to the famous - or infamous,
depending who you talked to - major business corporation known as the
'BFC.' They were the ones heading up the conference. If not for
them, it would probably be another weekend of hoping for someone to
leave a large enough tip to help pay off some of the bills. Running a
restaurant wasn't cheap, and nearly all of the money Ukyou made went
straight to operating expenses.
Even with customers like Ranma and now execs from the BFC, like
that strange character, Mine, she wasn't making as much money as she
liked. In fact, it was *because* of Ranma and some of the others,
like Kunou and that hentai Tsubasa, that her restaurant often needed
to spend more money on repairs...
Still, she was now making more money, thanks to the people at the
BFC. She wondered if she should raise prices slightly to compensate.
The thought made her laugh: Ranma probably wouldn't like having to
spend more money.
A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Kuonji-san! Mail!!"
"Hai!!" Ukyou quickly paged through the envelopes, and found,
much to her disappointment, that her mail was, as always, mostly
bills. However, the very last envelope caught her eye. It was an
unassuming invitation addressed to her, inviting her to attend a
martial-arts cooking competition this weekend. "All right!" she said
without thinking. "I can show Ran-chan that I'm the best fiancee for
him!"
But wait, wasn't there something else about this weekend she had
been thinking about not five minutes ago?
The business conference. Oh, no... both the conference and the
contest were going to be held at the same time! While her strong
sense of pride and honor was trying to convince her she needed to be
present at the contest, she couldn't afford to leave the restaurant to
attend. She sighed, loud enough for the customers at the counter to
hear.
"Why can't things ever work out for me?"
Across the street, in a vacant shop, Mine continued her stakeout.
She'd needed a way to get closer to her intended target, and a few
weeks of keeping a close eye on Ukyou's restaurant convinced her she
had at last found a way to complete phase one of her plan.
Soon she would be on her way to achieving supreme power, for her
and the BFC.
[OP: "The Girl is Magic" (Natsumi Title Theme)/Inoue Kikuko]
(OP sequence: An unconcerned Kasumi stands in the main walkway of the
Tendo yard, sweeping. Soon, Ranma and Akane appear, fighting. Then
Ryouga, Shampoo and Ukyou join the fray. Genma appears, but Ranma
throws him into the pond. Soun sits off to one side, crying. Akane
slam-dunks Ranma into the pond, and the panda raises a sign that says,
"What kept you?" Ranma takes a swipe at him with the sign.
Finally, Nabiki and Mine appear in the background, seemingly trying to
come to a business decision by various means, including
rock-paper-scissors, as a large BFC building rises out of clouds of
dust behind them all.
Still unconcerned, Kasumi changes into Natsumi and uses her powers to
sweep the whole mess away at an incredible rate, leaving a white
screen for the title logo to fade into.)
Richard Beaubien
Presents
Natsumi, the Magical Girl
(wildly embellished by Mike Koos, again)
Episode 2: Too Many Cooks
It was another average day at the Tendo Dojo, which usually meant
a couple of things. One, that Ranma and Akane were scheduled to be in
the middle of their customary afternoon argument. Nabiki was sticking
to her schedule of economic domination. But, unlike one would
normally expect, Kasumi was elsewhere visiting her mother's shrine,
alone.
"Mother," she said in a near-whisper, looking as though she were
about to cry. "Please help me... I don't know what to do. I want to
be Natsumi, but I can't......"
Nabiki, who had entered the hallway on her way to the kitchen,
noticed her sister was indeed crying and started toward her.
"Is something wrong, Kasumi?"
"No..." Kasumi replied half-heartedly, wiping away her tears.
"I'm just paying my respects."
Nabiki didn't believe this, being one of the people who knew that
Kasumi had a new secret to trouble her. "It's about the Natsumi
business, isn't it?"
Kasumi looked at her younger sister for a second, then nodded.
"Yes... I don't know if I can do this, Nabiki. I'm not the superhero
type." She paused. "I can't do this! I'm sorry, mother!!" She
broke down and put her arms around Nabiki.
Not one for physically emotional displays, Nabiki didn't return
the gesture. "It's okay, Kasumi. You can do it. I've always had
faith in you. And I'm sure Mom would, too, if she were here."
"Nabiki-chan..."
"Mom must have believed you could do this, or else she wouldn't
have placed such power in your hands," Nabiki said quietly, holding
back tears of her own. She had assumed she'd come to terms with her
mother's death, yet there was always something that said all she had
done was lock her feelings away... like that package from Mom. That
junior business set had been an eye-opener.
She still had feelings; she wasn't just an opportunist. She was
still Human. She had a weakness and could be hurt, just as she was
when her mother died.
Nabiki noted Kasumi's expectant gaze. "Nabiki-chan?"
"Ah... excuse me, I've got some work to do, Kasumi," she blurted,
moving away from her older sister. She couldn't let Kasumi see her
cry. She couldn't let people know she had a weakness.
Fortunately, Akane came in time to provide a diversion.
"Kasumi-oneechan! Guess what!" the youngest of the three Tendo
daughters exclaimed excitedly. "I've been invited to attend a
martial-arts cooking contest this weekend." A note of determination
appeared in Akane's eyes. "I'll finally show everyone what a great
cook I am, just like Mom said I could be..."
The words 'Akane' and 'cook' together in the same sentence
usually made everyone except Kasumi and perhaps Ryouga cringe. Nabiki
shrugged it off, figuring that if a contest was involved she wouldn't
have to eat the end result anyway, and continued walking.
"That's great news, Akane!" Kasumi exclaimed, all signs of her
earlier sadness suddenly gone without a trace.
"Yeah, and I bet you'll win, too, Akane..." Ranma managed,
appearing out of nowhere. It was obvious that the words weren't
coming easily to him. Compliments and encouragement were not his
usual style.
"Really, Ranma?" Akane looked at Ranma in a different light. It
was almost as if everything was all right with their relationship.
Of course, it wouldn't last long before... "Yeah, your cooking is
already classified as a lethal weapon so--" Akane finished Ranma's
sentence for him - with a large wooden mallet at high velocity.
"Ranma no... *baka*!"
Why did Ranma do things like that? Every time the moment seemed
to be turning tender, why did he always have to slip in some stupid or
childish insult like that? Akane didn't know anymore, but had come to
fully expect it from Ranma.
In the adjoining hall, Nabiki sighed. At least some things
remained the way they always were. She could almost set her watch by
it all.
Which meant that their usual unwarranted visitor should be
popping in right about...
"Nihao, Ranma!!"
Today's guest, Shampoo. "Oh, man, not Shampoo..."
"What are you doing here, Shampoo?" Akane asked, the usual hint
of venom to her voice.
"None of your business, violent girl. Shampoo here to tell Ranma
that she will win cooking contest for him."
Cooking contest? Oh, no... "The martial-arts cooking contest?"
"Why, yes! Once Shampoo win it Ranma sure to marry her!!"
Shampoo yelled, emphasizing her words with the aid of a microphone
that she pulled from nowhere.
"Oh, no you won't. *I'm* going to win the contest," Akane stated.
"Ha! Violent girl lucky if judges even survive food..."
"How dare you! I'll show YOU a thing or two about cooking..."
From the looks on both Akane and Shampoo's faces, Ranma guessed
they were about to renew their rivalry. He sighed; wondering if he
should take the invitation to compete in the contest, if only to
prevent Akane and Shampoo from wrecking things. The invitation hadn't
actually been to *him*, but Ranko. That had given Ranma a moment's
pause. It wasn't like Ranko had applied for a job or put her name on
anything official, so how had they known about her? How had they even
known where to find her?
He'd considered ignoring the invitation, but a martial-arts
contest was a martial-arts contest, and his pride wouldn't let him
turn down a competition with the words 'martial-arts' in the title.
Even if the contest turned out to be insanely stupid.
Kasumi's innate ability to avoid this sort of impending
confrontation lead her to the kitchen. She figured it wouldn't hurt
to make some sandwiches, since the combatants were likely going to be
at it for a while.
She had begun slicing a second round of pieces of bread when
Nabiki entered the kitchen. "There are some sandwiches on the counter
if you want any, Nabiki."
"No thanks, big sister. I came in here to ask you a question."
"What is it?" Kasumi tried to read Nabiki's expression but
couldn't.
"Would you be interested in entering the martial-arts cooking
contest as Natsumi?"
"Why?" Kasumi didn't know what to make of the question.
"Oh, for two reasons: One, it might be a good opportunity to
train for any more fights, just in case." Nabiki settled for a
dramatic pause. "And it couldn't hurt to give Natsumi a little more
exposure. It's an excellent marketing opportunity."
A huge bead of sweat appeared on Kasumi's forehead. What, was
money the only thing that Nabiki thought about? Still, Nabiki had
been right about one thing - she definitely could use the training.
Although, she continued refusing to think of herself as a fighter...
"All right, I'll do it."
"Thanks, sis! You won't regret it! I'll take care of the
details!" Nabiki raced out of the kitchen. If things worked out, she
could make a killing in marketing and Kasumi might pick up the self
confidence every magical girl-slash-fighter for justice needed.
Nabiki smiled. She'd found herself another couldn't-lose plan to make
herself some money.
Kasumi remained unmoving in the kitchen, wondering if she was up
to the challenge. A voice seemed to come to her from the direction of
her mother's shrine. "You can do it, Kasumi. I know you can."
She sighed. "Mother, I hope you're right."
****
Lunch at the BFC was generally like lunch at every other major
corporation in the world. People would gather in the corporate
lunchroom and discuss business, or perhaps the fate of their favorite
sports teams.
The BFC superiors, on the other hand, had their own agendas;
sure, they would do the same thing, more or less, discuss business...
but the business of a much more sinister enterprise. Such a
high-level meeting was taking place this particular afternoon,
involving Mine, a younger youma servant, and their immediate superior.
"My Lady, I would like to know why she's been given the authority
to go ahead with this ludicrous 'martial-arts cooking contest?'" Mine
asked, making sure to hurl an acid glance her co-worker's way.
"She has provided a rather interesting plan to recruit some
martial artists for our cause without attracting suspicion to the BFC
like the first plan did."
"Using one of our dummy corporations, Sabre 2000," the youngest
attendee spoke up, "we will lure the best of this area's martial
artists into a trap they can's possibly escape from. My little
cooking contest. Ha!!"
Mine raised an eyebrow. "'Sabre 2000?'" she echoed. "Sounds
like a steak knife set, not a corporation. And your plan sounds like
the typical 'bad guy setup' for a trap. Do you *really* expect it to
work?"
The youth was about to respond to Mine's question when their
superior cut her off. "Enough in-fighting. We're on the same side
here, after all. Mine, my decision stands. She will go ahead with
this trap." Their superior straightened. "I will not tolerate any
more squabbling over my decisions, either. My decisions are made with
the best interests of this company in mind and the 'Master Vision' BFC
has for the future. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lady."
"Good. I hope we do not have this problem in the future. As for
the other plan, I see no reason why it should not proceed. If it is
successful, the BFC will control the best natural resources in the
world. If it fails, then the failure will be accounted for, with the
usual penalties for wasting company resources."
The younger youma froze upon hearing the words. She knew the
price of failure, and didn't intend to pay such a severe price. "I
won't fail you, my Lady." She disappeared from the office.
"Well, Mine, any other questions?"
"No, my Lady, I'll be leaving now." Mine bowed, leaving the
office by foot. She kept a slight smile to herself. What her
impetuous co-worker didn't know was that Mine had known about her plan
from the very beginning, and had wanted her to proceed with it. It
would, after all, lead to total failure, and the elimination of
another potential adversary.
The one person Mine needed to complete Phase 1 of her plan would
be left out of the snafu because of the business conference she had
scheduled for the weekend. With the conference, Ukyou Kuonji would be
hers for the taking.
****
It was the day of the cooking contest, and it seemed like
everyone in the entire district was present to enjoy the spectacle.
"Okay, everyone! Sabre 2000 is proud to present the best of the best,
the greatest of the greatest! All together in one location for the
martial-arts cooking contest! Be sure to get your tickets now; you
won't want to miss this one! We'll be starting in about two hours!"
And everyone did rush to get their very own ticket, each person
not suspecting the setup to be an average evil-demon-type trap. But
the announcer really didn't care; if this plan worked the BFC would
have a vast amount of new... 'recruits.'
None of the martial artists recognized the trap, either, but most
of them had preoccupied themselves with different concerns.
Akane was busy recalling different ways to prepare cup ramen, and
thinking of ways to trounce Shampoo.
Shampoo was running through plans to take Akane out of the
running - none of which involved Akane's safety and well-being - and
ways to win Ranma's heart.
Ranko was wondering how in the world she was going to keep the
property damage to a minimum.
And the others had come without suspicion. Who in their right
minds would plan a cooking contest with evil in mind?
Everyone was so distracted that they had overlooked any signs
that would point to a trap, and normally that would mean it was smooth
sailing for the youma's plan. However, it wasn't going to be that
easy.
"What do you MEAN Ukyou Kuonji hasn't shown up, yet!?" The youma
yelled at her underling. She liked the feeling of being in charge,
though she wisely kept that to herself. Now wasn't the time to be
drunk with power, anyway.
If Ukyou didn't show up, the small circle of four of the most
powerful martial artists this town had to offer would not be complete,
and there was no way the youma wanted to present her superior with an
incomplete package. The end result? Failure, with the 'usual
penalties.' "I need another martial artist *right now*! Find me one,
or be prepared to face the consequences!"
Nabiki allowed herself the luxury of a slight grin, having
overheard the entire conversation. Ukyou, not attend a martial-arts
cooking contest? Hmm, maybe Nabiki's influence was rubbing off on
her. Nabiki liked the idea: a little competition was good for
business. Oh, well, Ukyou's loss, Natsumi's gain... "Excuse me," she
cleared her throat. "I may be able to help you find another martial
artist."
The youma looked relieved. "You can?"
"Hey, you can trust me," Nabiki replied, in a voice that did
everything *but* encourage a sense of trust.
"Just hurry! I need him or her up there, now!"
"Okay!" Nabiki yelled, rounding the corner and heading for the
ladies' room. Kasumi was there, waiting for Nabiki's signal. "We're
in," Nabiki told her older sister. "How are you going to change into
Natsumi?"
Kasumi seemed confident. "Like this--" I hope I have this
right!
"Love Power...... *TRANSFORM*!!!"
A strange yet familiar warm glow enveloped Kasumi. Her outfit
seemed to dissolve away as brighter strands of living energy
circulated around her body. A lemon yellow skirt coalesced around her
waist, and a lime-green top appeared above it. A bright yellow bow,
boots of the same unassuming color and elegant white gloves finished
off the ensemble while the brooch settled into its place, nestled
within the center of the bow.
"How do I look, Nabiki?"
Nabiki kept her mouth shut. "Fine. That should do. I just have
one more question, though..."
"Yes?"
"Would you mind terribly if I filmed your transformation scene
for the etchi market?"
A large bead of sweat appeared on Natsumi's forehead. "Nabiki!!"
"Just kidding, sis. We'll stay with the kids' market; it's more
lucrative anyway," Nabiki smirked, leading Natsumi out of the
restroom. Natsumi studied her sister with an untrained eye. Although
Nabiki usually came up with some extreme plans to make her money, when
it was necessary Nabiki would always pull through for her family. It
was Nabiki's handiwork that kept the dojo expense account in the
black, even considering all the dojo repairs that had to be made on an
almost-daily basis, ever since Ranma and Genma had come to live with
the Tendo family.
Right about now, Nabiki wore that look of grim determination that
said no one had better cross her or her family, unless they wanted to
face the consequences.
She'd directed this gaze at the youma running the entire show,
but her target didn't catch it. Instead, the youma was busy sizing up
the fighter Nabiki had brought, and began to curse Fate for bringing
her a magical girl, of all people. "I guess you're in," the youma
muttered in a tone of defeat. She wondered if it was too late to
start a less stressful job, perhaps something along the line of
hostage negotiating...
"Was there ever any doubt?" Nabiki gave Natsumi a quick hug,
whispering, "Do your best!" Natsumi smiled, proceeding to the main
arena where the contest was to be held. She still had doubts as to
whether she would succeed or fail. But with Nabiki and her mother
watching over her, Natsumi felt like she could do just about anything.
The youma - on the other hand - thought she couldn't do anything
right. Her brilliant plan would be ruined by the appearance of this
magical girl, whoever she was. Still, there was one way she could
save face in front of her boss... eliminate this pest of a magical
girl, or better yet, bring her and the martial artists for her
superiors to do with as they pleased. Yes, that would prove once and
for all her status as the best corporate youma in the BFC, and that
she deserved to be promoted.
A nervous smile formed on her face. Today would either be her
greatest victory, or her greatest defeat.
****
The arena was packed to the rafters with spectators anxiously
awaiting the start of the contest. There were two main reasons for
this. For starters, everyone loved a good fight, and there had been
no shortage of that lately.
Plus, the crowd would double as the judges for the event, meaning
free food for everyone... Maybe that was the reason the majority of
the crowd looked like college students, Nabiki thought. But
irregardless of the age groups, the crowd was excited, and no one was
going to take that away from them. It took a high-pitched squeal from
the PA system to silence the crowd.
For the moment, anyway.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you
to the first annual Sabre 2000 martial-arts cooking contest! Where
it's not just size, speed and skill that counts, but taste, too!"
Someone in the crowd groaned at the attempt at humor.
"And now, for our four competitors. Hailing from the Tendo Dojo,
Akane Tendo!!"
Akane entered the ring to a round of applause, though some of the
audience more familiar with her cuisine turned blue at the thought of
actually having to eat such things.
"Next, from China, please welcome our next competitor, Shampoo!"
Another round of defined applause greeted Shampoo. Hmm... with
Shampoo in the running, the thought of having to eat Akane's cooking
wasn't as intimidating. In fact, more people knew about the
Nekohanten and Shampoo's own brand of cooking, especially since
Shampoo's great-grandmother had made a name for her restaurant.
The oddsmakers were also interested. For whenever Shampoo and
Akane were in the same ring, it was bound to be an interesting fight.
"Our third competitor, also representing the Tendo Dojo... Ranko
Tendo!"
Everyone applauded for Ranma, including Shampoo, whom Akane tried
to stop with a glare of ice. Not everyone knew who Ranko was, but
those who knew Ranma's secret and Ranma in general knew that he or she
wasn't going to disappoint anyone in the fighting department.
With Ranma, Akane and Shampoo present, there was going to be a
great fight, indeed.
"Our final competitor hails from parts unknown. She's a mystery,
all right... Let's give a warm welcome for, Natsumi!"
By now the arena was in an uproar - not for Natsumi, but
anticipation over the impending showdown between the three known
martial artists. Which of the three would survive?
Only four people truly paid any attention at all to Natsumi, one
of which was Nabiki. The other three... were her opponents.
"All right, everyone take your places, and let's begin!" the
announcer exclaimed, as the youma took her place in the crowd.
The four fighters rushed to their would-be kitchens to plan their
individual strategies.
Akane glanced at the mysterious newcomer and decided not to face
off against her unless it was absolutely necessary. She couldn't
quite place her finger on why, but this Natsumi reminded her somehow
of Kasumi.
She also decided to steer clear of worrying about Shampoo for the
moment and focus on Ranma as her first target. After all, Ranma was a
decent cook herself when she had to be, and Akane didn't want to think
about having to live through the humiliation of Ranma beating her in a
cooking contest.
Again.
Ranma decided against attacking Natsumi, though not for the same
reasons as Akane. She wanted to wait and see what kind of skill this
new opponent had before they had to fight, something Ranma usually
didn't do until much later in the game.
She also decided to keep her distance from Shampoo, who would
only get emotional and cause an avalanche of problems. At least this
Natsumi wasn't going to pound him for any of that... was she?
So, she settled for the only option left: Akane.
Shampoo's strategy was even more simple. She had to eliminate
two people - Akane, and this Natsumi person. And Shampoo would take
care of the newcomer first, so she could spend the remainder of her
time humiliating Akane as much as possible.
Natsumi, for her part, wasn't planning an attack. Rather, she
was the only person out of the four who had actually been cooking
something. She had already set aside a completed pot of miso soup
when she heard something moving nearby. Natsumi instinctively managed
to duck an incoming bonbiri and move into a defensive stance as she
prepared for another attack. Before her stood Shampoo, equally
prepared and ready to strike.
"You give up, so Shampoo no have to hurt."
"I'm sorry, but I can't give up!"
"Then I attack!!!" Shampoo suddenly sprinted towards Natsumi
with her remaining bonbiri in one hand. Natsumi merely stood there as
Shampoo ran in to attack. But Natsumi was able to move out of the way
as Shampoo arrived, grabbing Shampoo's wrist and levering her onto her
back.
Shampoo recovered immediately and readied herself for a
counterattack. Natsumi once again lapsed into a defensive stance, but
now her thoughts were beginning to seep into her concentration. She
wondered how she had been able to do such a move, since she hadn't
studied martial arts except for a brief period during her childhood.
Her mother had insisted she be trained in other things instead, and
Soun Tendo, sure that he would later have a son to carry on the family
name, agreed.
Shampoo interrupted Natsumi's flashback with a spinning side kick
that Natsumi was able to duck.
The crowd was enjoying the fight between Natsumi and Shampoo.
They hadn't expected the newcomer to be such a good martial artist,
yet she was putting up a great show against Shampoo. Nabiki was
yelling at the top of her lungs, hoping Natsumi would show Shampoo who
was the better fighter. There was also concern in Nabiki's voice.
Where had Kasumi picked up this level of martial-arts skill? Not from
the brooch, if anything. No, this skill could only come from years of
training, training Kasumi never had.
The youma was also enjoying the fight, though for different
reasons than the crowd. She enjoyed seeing the magical girl squirm,
trying to fend off Shampoo's attacks. Unfortunately, Natsumi seemed
to be doing a decent job of defending herself.
The youma still had her advantage. With Natsumi distracted by
Shampoo, she could initiate her attack now and take all four warriors
by surprise.
And Natsumi would go down in bitter defeat.
****
Yelling a battle cry at the top of her lungs, Shampoo launched
herself toward Natsumi with a drop-kick. But before she could
connect, her path was blocked by a wall literally made up of millions
of large chow-mein noodles. The noodles quickly encircled the ring,
cutting the four warriors apart from the outside world.
"I hope you're ready for the final showdown! 'Cause if you
are, you aren't gonna be disappointed!" the youma yelled,
transforming her appearance. She leapt into the supposedly edible
ring, landing in front of Natsumi and lauging the typical evil-youma
laugh as she did so. "Well, I see you're all tied up at the moment.
But don't worry; you'll be dead soon, and the others... let's just say
they're going to have a little career change in their immediate
future!" the youma gloated, now looking like one of the large rubber
monsters from those shows Natsumi had never really watched to begin
with. "Now, prepare yourself for my final attack! Take-out Food
NIGHTMARE!!!"
At that point an undeterminable amount of take-out dishes began
to materialize about the youma. Those high enough in the stands to
still see what was going on in the ring above the wall of chow-mein -
and whom hadn't fled in terror and panic - might have enjoyed the
thought of having one of those apparently tasty dishes, but Nabiki,
still at ringside, ignored them. She was more concerned over Kasumi
and what those dangerous dishes might do to her.
A sphere of green energy formed around Natsumi. In a matter of
moments the noodles that had bound her had vanished. To the youma's
shock, Natsumi began powering up for an attack. "Cooking should be
something done for pleasure, not used as a tool in an act of terror."
Yeah, try telling that to Akane, Nabiki thought.
"I won't have you using the art of cooking to further your acts
of evil! In the name of love and honor, I'm Natsumi, the magical
girl!" More bright green energy came to life, swirling about Natsumi.
The youma sighed. She had decided to pass on trying to escape - this
'death' would be far less painful to bear than the one she would
experience at the hands of her BFC superiors. "......Love Power
Strike, NOW!!"
The Strike caught up with the youma, encasing her in a sphere of
that same green energy. The youma screamed, and turned into a fine
powder that blew away on the wind.
Natsumi collapsed onto the arena's mat, exhausted. How could she
help save the world if she kept falling into these stereotypical youma
traps? She was supposed to save people from them, not fall victim to
them herself, wasn't she?
The sight of Shampoo running toward her interrupted this
particular train of thought. Natsumi warily prepared herself for an
attack, weak as she was, though what Shampoo did instead surprised
her.
Shampoo bowed. "You are capable fighter, Natsumi-san. We no
fight each other." But then a cat-like smile appeared on Shampoo's
face. "For now." That said, Shampoo left to see if she could tend to
Ranma.
Natsumi let out a huge sigh of relief. She really hadn't felt
like fighting anyone right about now. Or anything else, for that
matter.
Yet those remaining from the crowd had different ideas. They
cheered and clapped - some even catcalled - and asked for an encore.
Some even shouted, wanting to know if they could go out on a date with
her.
Natsumi gave another sigh, leaving the building. She wasn't sure
if she was ready to be a hero, but she was definitely sure of one
thing: she didn't want to be an idol.
Nabiki, in contrast, was delighted. Natsumi would be a marketing
tool to help her achieve financial success. She had visions of mutual
funds dancing in her mind when she suddenly recalled a news article
she had read a few months ago. She recalled that all of the
controlling shares in the Sabre 2000 company had been agressively
bought up by another corporation.
BFC. The corporation that had a hand in the first youma attack.
It was one hell of a coincidence, and coincidence was one thing
Nabiki refused to believe in.
****
Ukyou sighed. The business conference that was supposed to have
made her quite a tidy little profit, had in fact brought in little
more than a lousy five yen. It almost seemed as though there weren't
even a conference in town as nobody had come to the restaurant at all;
most likely everyone had gone to the cooking competition, Ukyou
thought sourly to herself.
One person *had* come in, but Ukyou knew she would have had
better luck had she attended the contest. She might have been able to
win the love of her true fiancee, Ranma Saotome.
"What's wrong, Kuonji-san?" Mine asked, feigning concern.
"I thought today was going to be a great business day, so I
stayed here instead of doing something else I should've done."
"The martial-arts cooking competition?" Mine spoke into her
thoughts.
Ukyou was surprised. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
Mine smiled. "Call it a hunch."
"Anyway," Ukyou gestured to the empty restaurant, "this is what
it got me."
Mine appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I'm sorry to hear
that. Perhaps I can do something to make the day a better business
day for you." The windup, and the pitch. "How would you like to join
the BFC in a joint venture to produce a restaurant chain?"
Mine saw she had Ukyou's attention. "Think of it... your name
could be on everyone's minds from everyone in Japan! And the same for
your food! Maybe one day, you can even have restaurants around the
world!"
Ukyou smiled. Mine was perhaps being a little overzealous, but
she *was* offering Ukyou a great shot at financial success. "Sure,
why not? I'd love to!"
"Great! Come back with me to my office, then, and we'll work out
the paperwork!" Mine tried to hold back her laughter. Phase one of
her plan would soon be complete, as soon as Ukyou Kuonji was turned
into a youma slave...
To be continued...