Ranma 1/2:
"The Kissing Game"
Part Two: "On Thin Ice"
The final bell rang, and Ranma and Akane walked out of Furinkan High School, surrounded by the other students who laughed and chattered away.
Suddenly, Ranma felt a tingle pass through him. What? Danger!
There was a blur of motion. Akane looked beside her, shocked. Her fiance had just caught a blade between his fingers, mere millimetres from his face. His expression hadn't changed. The students began to murmur as Ranma examined the blade.
"A... Skate blade?" he said in disbelief. Akane looked over his shoulder.
"Hey look, there's something written on it." She held it up lengthwise, clearly revealing the neatly etched word, 'Challenge'. They both stared at it wordlessly.
"So, Saotome. Do you accept?"
Ranma and Akane looked up to see Mikado step out from behind a tree, clad in his school uniform. He set foot onto the pavement in front of the high school. Nearby, a few of the Furinkan girls sighed in delight.
"What a babe!"
Meanwhile, Ranma tossed the blade back to Sanzenin, who caught it easily.
"Whatever you say, Mr. Moronic Skater," answered Ranma. Mikado frowned.
"That's Mikado Sanzenin!"
"Whatever. So, when are we gonna fight?"
"Oh, right now will do, nicely," replied Mikado casually. Ranma looked surprised.
"You sure 'bout that?"
"Most definitely."
Ranma shrugged. It's your funeral, pal... Satisfied, Mikado removed his coat.
"Do hold this for me, will you, gorgeous?" Mikado handed his uniform jacket to a female Furinkan student. His eyes caught hers, and she blushed.
"Sometime this year, Sanzenin?"
Reluctantly, Mikado pulled his gaze away from the girl, turning to glare at Ranma. Meanwhile, Akane looked thoughtful.
So that's why Mikado stopped by the other day, she thought. He wanted to challenge Ranma! She turned and whispered in her fiance's ear.
"Sure you can take him?"
"No sweat. Heck, I kicked his butt last time!"
"From what I remember, he did a pretty good number on you, too," replied Akane archly. Ranma gave her a sharp look.
"Yeah, well, I'm not wearing ice skates this time," Ranma grumbled. He then looked smug. "Besides, without skates on, Sanzenin can't be half as good as he usually is."
"Any time you're ready, Saotome." Ranma turned to his opponent.
"I'm ready!"
"Very well." Mikado leapt straight up into the air. Much to everyone's surprise, rollerblades retracted from the soles of his shoes. He then landed nimbly upon the paved ground.
"What were you saying, Ranma?" Akane said pointedly. A large sweat droplet had formed on Ranma's head. Then he put on an air of bravado.
"Heh. Well, I still beat him last time. Besides, we're on my turf now." Turning away from his fiancee, he stepped forward, taking a fighting stance. The fight had begun.
Ranma was the first to attack. He aimed a punch at Mikado, who dodged it. But Ranma had anticipated this, and followed up with a lightning quick fist to the face. To his surprise, Sanzenin slid back, avoiding the attack. Mikado then neatly spun around and aimed a kick at Ranma's head. He just managed to duck in time.
As the fight progressed, it repeated that same pattern: Whenever Ranma would try to attack Mikado, the latter would skate just out of reach, but close enough to be able to fight back. Ranma was getting annoyed.
"Why you slippery, little..." he muttered under his breath. Mikado slid away from Ranma, clearly amused by the frustrated expression on his opponent's face.
"Something troubling you, Saotome?" he smirked. Ranma's eyes narrowed in thought.
I can't even use "Hiryu shoten ha" on him, 'cause he keeps moving out of the way! he thought. But I do have another trick up my sleeve... Ranma leapt onto a tree. As he bounced off a branch, he headed towards Sanzenin, starting his next attack. "Katchou tenshin ameguriken!"
Mikado arced an eyebrow at the flurry of punches aimed at him, and began his counterattack. "Dance of Death!" Akane's eyes lit up.
"That's it!" The other students looked at her in surprise. Then they turned back to the fight, to watch in amazement as Mikado spun gracefully on one foot, arms and opposite leg outstretched to strike Ranma. Ranma seemed to be getting the worst out of the two fighters, but...
The last time that Mikado used this attack on Ranma, Akane recalled, Ranma won! And he's gotten even faster since he learned the 'Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire' technique... Suddenly, something about the fight drew her eye. There was something strange about Mikado's Dance of Death... Something different. A tiny sweat droplet slid down her cheek.
Wait. He's not attacking Ranma! she realized in shock. He's kicking him, but... Mikado is blocking Ranma's punches instead of punching him back!
xXx
I don't get it! thought Ranma, caught in the whirlwind of Mikado's Dance of Death. I've punched him twice as much as last time, and he still isn't down! What gives? The look of intense concentration on Sanzenin's face gave him no clue to the reason why.
Against his own better judgment, Ranma pulled out of his own attack. After a moment, Mikado wound down as well. Both combatants circled other warily.
Damn! thought Ranma. When did he get so good?
"Surprised?" asked Mikado smugly, mirroring the other boy's thoughts. "After our last fight ended in a draw, I trained harder, just to make sure that it wouldn't happen again." A slight frown appeared on Sanzenin's face. "But it seems that you've been training, too..." Upon hearing this, Ranma allowed himself a bit of a smile.
So, not as confident as you seem, huh? he thought. Maybe I can work this to my advantage. He began to run towards Mikado. In response to the obvious challenge, Mikado skated towards his opponent, seemingly unfazed.
It soon became clear to the watching students that what was going to happen now was a game of chicken; only in this case, whichever of the two got the first hit in, won the round. The crowd looked on with breathless anticipation.
Both fighters picked up speed as they headed towards each other. At the last possible moment, Mikado turned around and extended a leg, prepared to kick Ranma with it. But Ranma reacted quickly and blocked the kick away with an arm. He then saw an opening, and aimed a punch at Mikado's exposed midsection. But Mikado saw this coming, and easily parried the attack. The two combatants sped past each other. Ranma skidded to a stop, while his opponent continued skating in the opposite direction.
It was then that Mikado caught Akane in his line of vision. A familiar gleam entered his eye. Adjusting his course slightly, he rushed towards her, capturing the surprised girl in his arms.
"So Miss Tendo, we meet again."
"Arrrrrgggggghhhhh!"
Ranma turned in surprise. "Akane!" he cried, running towards his stricken fiancee.
Meanwhile, Mikado spun around with Akane in his arms for a moment, then swung her into a dip.
"Allow me to finally give you my formal greeting..."
Mikado was interrupted as a knee bashed into the back of his head.
"'Scuse me, but would you mind keepin' your mind on the fight!" Ranma growled, a vein popping from his head. He leapt off the taller boy's back, while Mikado turned to him, his seduction forgotten for the moment.
"Saotome..." Mikado it said quietly, but his blazing eyes betrayed his anger. "You've interfered with me for the last time!"
"Sorry, Sanzenin," replied Ranma, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Was I interrupting something?"
Threateningly, Mikado stepped towards Ranma, who leapt back onto the school's field behind him. He started to run backwards, making faces at Mikado in the process.
"Come and get me!" It was then that Akane realized Ranma's gambit.
He's been fighting Mikado on the pavement... If he can lure him to the grass, Mikado should have a harder time skating around! she thought, impressed by Ranma's cunning.
Mikado also seemed to recognize this. Wordlessly, he turned around and skated in the other direction. Ranma looked smug as the students watching began to murmur in surprise.
"Sanzenin's running away?"
"Didn't think he'd give up that easily..."
Suddenly, Mikado skated around in a wide arc. As he hit the curve, he appeared to pick up speed and rushed past the astonished students, towards Ranma. By the time he reached the end of the pavement, he was a mere blur and Mikado sped onto the field, blades of grass flying in his wake. Caught off guard, Ranma yelped and began to run. Mikado smirked in satisfaction.
If you thought this grass would hinder my skating, Saotome, you were sadly mistaken, he thought to himself. I've skated on the shattered remains of an ice rink. A mere meadow is nothing to me!
xXx
"Damn!" Ranma muttered. He glanced back at Mikado, who was in hot pursuit. He had been counting on the grassy field to slow down his rollerbladed opponent.
Ranma turned his head just in time to see a familiar figure block his path. He stifled back a groan.
"Ranma Saotome! How dare you challenge one other than I!" Kuno stood firm, with his bokken drawn for battle.
"Aw, Kuno-sempai, I don't got time for this!" Ranma leapt over Kuno. At least, he would've leapt over Kuno, if he hadn't also decided to plant a foot in the older boy's face. Ranma continued to run without breaking his stride, as Kuno fell flat on his back. The latter slowly got to his knees, propping himself up with his sword.
"You dare stomp upon the head of Tatewaki Kuno?" he declaimed to Ranma's fleeting form. "I shall smite-"
His sentence was abruptly cut off as he was run over by Mikado on his rollerblades. Kuno was left face down in the grass yet again, with two visible treadmarks going down the back of his kendo outfit.
xXx
Ranma looked over his shoulder as he ran. He seemed to have lost Sanzenin for the moment, but he knew that the skater couldn't be too far behind. "There's gotta be some way I can slow that guy down..." he muttered to himself.
Just then, a fenced-off area of the school appeared up ahead of him. Ranma's eyes lit up.
Of course! If I can lure Mikado into that enclosed space, I might be able to corner him. Swiftly, he scaled the wire fence, leaping off the top. It was only then he realized what the fence was for.
"Er..." A large sweat droplet formed on the back of Ranma's head. How could I forget this is where the school's swimming pool is!
"Arrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!"
xXx
Meanwhile, Mikado was searching for Ranma. "Now, where did Saotome go...?"
Suddenly, he heard a splash somewhere to his left. He turned.
A-ha! He skated in the direction of the sound. Thought you could escape me, hmmm...? Seeing the fence before him, and realizing the splash came from the other side, he built up speed. He then used his momentum to skate up the side of the fence, breaking several laws of physics in the process...
Reaching the top, Mikado managed to balance himself. From his vantage point, he looked down at the pool below him. With a start, he recognized the person flailing in the water; not as Saotome, but the girl he knew as the pig- tailed princess. His reaction was immediate.
"Don't worry, I'll save you, my pig-tailed pretty!" Mikado called out to her. Ranma-chan looked up just in time to see Mikado perform a graceful swan dive towards her. A large sweat droplet appeared on her forehead.
"No! Wait!" she cried, waving her arms in protest. "Stop!" Her eyes grew wide as Mikado grew closer. "You idiot-!"
She never got to finish the sentence. Mikado caught her in his arms, as the impact of his dive sank them both to the bottom of the pool. Water rushed into Ranma-chan's lungs, and she passed out. Mikado then pulled her prone form from the water.
"Are you all right, my dear?" he asked, gently laying her by the side of the pool. When there was no answer, his eyes widened in shock. He tilted her chin back, prepared to give her the kiss of life. Even in such a life and death situation, he murmured, "Such beauty..."
Mikado's life-saving tactic was prevented by a flat foot to the chin. "Not even half-drowning me's gonna make me kiss you again!" snarled Ranma-chan. Mikado's eyes lit up.
"My pig-tailed princess, you're all right!"
"I ain't nobody's princess! Now get away from me!" She desperately inched away from him. He gave her a sympathetic look.
"You poor, innocent creature... Your drowning must have affected you. You have nothing to fear from me." Mikado leaned over her, surrounded by sparkling effects. The background seemed to fade away, transforming into fields of roses; the pool turned into a glittering fountain. Ranma-chan's expression became childishly sweet.
"Mikado-sama!" she cried, clasping her tiny hands together. "You... You saved my life!" She began to blush. "How may I ever repay you?" Mikado clasped her hand.
"Don't worry, darling. The grateful look on your pretty face is more than enough reward for me. However..." His eyes sparkled even more at this, "I would appreciate a tender kiss from your sweet lips."
The oh-so-cute Ranma-chan lifted her head to him, lips pursed. Mikado leaned over, ready to receive his reward.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Ranma-chan's face was red, and it wasn't from blushing. She reacted to Mikado's attempt to kiss her a little differently.
"Not in this lifetime, you jerk!" she cried, booting him into the clouds.
Ranma-chan sat breathing heavily for a moment, waiting for the beating of her heart to go back to normal. Brrr... That was too close, she shivered. The last thing I need is another pervert chasin' me around-
A pair of arms glomped around her waist. "Pig-tailed girl, you have returned to me at last!" Kuno sobbed, nuzzling against her.
After a moment, Kuno followed Mikado on his orbit of the earth.
Finally, Ranma-chan managed to calm down in peace. "There must be a way to get at least Mikado off my back..." she muttered to herself.
Suddenly, Akane's advice came back to her. "Why don't you just tell Mikado you're a guy?" Ranma-chan winced. It was the last thing she wanted, to admit that she was kissed by a guy, but considering her alternative options...
Have that playboy after me, trying to steal another kiss? I don't think so. She stood up, resolved to do whatever was necessary to make sure Sanzenin would leave her alone for good.
TO BE CONCLUDED...
xXxXx