Chapter 7: Ukyo's Test

Early Morning.

Ukyo stood in her undergarments admiring herself in the mirror. She had recently given up on bounding her breasts with tape at Ryoga's awkward request. The change to wearing a bra had been less than painful. In fact, it offered a world of greater support.

The training was already producing results. Her legs were beginning to hold a muscular and firm tone and her arms, while still skinny, showed lean muscles when she flexed. Most of all, she noticed her stomach. It had slimmed down further. A few months of training and her stomach would be nice and tight and still look feminine and attractive.

Best of all, the training had given her more energy. She wasn't nearly as tired as she had been in the past. She tackled the daily chores of her restaurant with new enthusiasm. These weeks of training were paying off and she admitted that Ryoga had her hooked.

She looked at herself again, focusing on her breasts this time. They were pretty large she guessed, but she couldn't understand the fascination boys showered them with. Then she was struck with a sinister idea. Dressing in a pair of tight black pants she slipped on a very loose tank top without her bra and picked up her spatula and several other combat effects before heading for the door.

As always Ryoga was waiting out back, umbrella in hand. Ukyo didn't waste any time and dove at him, her spatula crashing against his umbrella. She parried a blow to her ribs and back-flipped a few feet away with nimble grace.

"You're getting fast. Pretty soon you'll be even faster. I think we can start training you in on ki attack tomorrow if you can pass one final test."

"What test?"

He pulled out two red balloons with tape on them, stuck one on his chest and handed Ukyo the other one, which she put on her stomach.

"The first one to have their balloon popped loses. It's the same concept as that huge race we all signed up for with the prize being a trip to China."

"Huh?"

Ryoga scratched his head. "Oh, you weren't there. I forgot. Anyways, just try to pop this balloon while guarding your own, ok? The idea is that you must strike but with precision and moderation. Anyone can throw a punch, but controlling your attack, its speed, and its power, throughout the entire execution will prove you have the self-discipline and coordination to take your training to another level."

"Ready when you are sugar." Ukyo's teeth gritted.

He lunged forward, ducked down and avoided a lateral strike of her spatula then brought his umbrella between her legs and opened it, pulling forward sharply. Ukyo fell on her butt, dazed from the unexpected attack. He raised his umbrella to strike downward at her midsection, capitalizing on her shattered control. Ukyo's reflexes had improved thanks to her training and it showed as she nimbly rolled to the side. His weapon struck the ground a second later. As he pulled it out, a geyser of dirt erupted around him.

Ukyo rose to her feet and swung her cooking weapon, hoping to capitalize on her increased speed. However Ryoga used sheer power to force her back on the defensive. Clashing umbrella against spatula, he physically shoved her back over two meters with the power from his arms. She half backpedaled, half staggered, trying to regain her footing and had only a second to bring herself into defensive position. With arms moving frantically, she blocked a flurry of attacks aimed at her stomach.

Ukyo gave ground again and suddenly Ryoga was in her face and his hand reached out to take hold of her balloon. Ukyo raised her weapon and deflected his grab only to realize far too late that it had been a ruse. Grabbing her spatula he yanked forward hard, knowing she wouldn't let go. With a pivot of his body he sent her flying into the air, throwing several razor sharp bandanna's at her.

Ukyo reached to the bandoleer wrapped around her body from left shoulder to right hip and skillfully deflected his attack mini spatula projectiles of her own.

She could tell that Ryoga was honestly trying to win. She realized as she touched down to face him again that this made her happy. It showed how much he respected her and her abilities. Many of the strong, savage attacks he threw at her were only dished out because he had faith that she could deflect or evade them.

He came at her again, his weapon held high to stride downward. She noticed that his stance far too wide and she planted the flat of her foot against his chest, forcing him backward. He skidded backwards and she followed up, aiming the flat of her massive spatula for the top of his head.

"Bukusai Tenketsu!"

Ryoga's attack provided a screen of rock shards that stopped Ukyo in her tracks and provided a respite from any further gains she might have explored. Retracting her attack she hid behind the large spatula, using it as a shield against the rock shards.

"Two can play at that! Flower bomb!"

She threw the explosive flower packet but Ryoga took his belt off and cut through the projectile while aiming for the fuse. The two halves of her attack fell on either side of him and fizzled out on the ground.

Next Ryoga threw out his umbrella. It spun straight for her like a ballistic spinning top and she had to side roll to avoid it. Like a boomerang, the weapon returned to Ryoga but instead of snatching it up to use for further combat, he kicked the umbrella and turned it into a high speed projectile. Without time to dodge again, she again used the spatula as a shield. Even prepared for the blow, it still knocked her on her butt.

The distraction was all Ryoga needed and he concentrated on the negative energy and thoughts that had fallen dormant in his mind since the battle against Taro. Having seen Ryoga use the move before, she knew what was coming. Countering it was another matter entirely. With only seconds to think, she reached into her pants pockets and pulled out a bag of batter and smeared it onto her spatula with a quick flick of her wrist.

All or nothing. Ukyo harnessed her ki.

Ryoga stretched his hands out in front of him. "Shishi Hoko Dan!"

The energy expanded into a form Ukyo hadn't seen before. A large bubble of energy extended from his body and quickly expanded towards her, burning the grass underfoot.

"Ukyo Konji Okonomiyaki Special Attack! Batter Dragon!"

The energy charged batter flew off of her spatula as she swung it towards Ryoga's incoming attack. When she had developed the attack and used it once before on the Crepe King, it had knocked him senseless and enveloped his body into a massive okonomiyaki. Food based attacks were her specialty but what surprised Ryoga was seeing such an attack laced with ki energy. He hadn't been aware that Ukyo had even known how to use ki and Ranma had mentioned nothing about it.

The batter took the shape of a dragon and its jaws sought Ryoga out. Clashing instead with the Shishi Hoko Dan, the two powerful attacks effectively canceled each other out. If Ryoga had used the second phase of the Shishi Hoko Dan, the "beam" attack, or more powerful still, the upward column of energy version that could wipe out a city block, the outcome would have been far different.

The two attacks sparked and clashed. A second later, the bubble of energy exploded, breaking up the chef's attack and scattering batter throughout the yard.

"I didn't know you could do that," Ryoga conceded, utterly impressed.

Ukyo dodged the batter splatter and attacked again. She swung again with a baseball player's strength and nearly succeeded in cutting Ryoga in half. She might have if he hadn't backed away at the last second.

Retrieving his umbrella Ryoga rushed forward, issuing out a flurry of blows that Ukyo avoided or dodged while backpedaling across the yard. They clashed again, both moving parallel across the yard, both striking at the balloon on the other's chest.

Giving Ukyo an opening, she took it, extending her arm and her weapon too far. Back flipping, Ryoga's feet caught the spatula handle and knocked it from her grasp.

"Now I got you!" he ran forward, weapon held out front.

Grinning wickedly however, Ukyo bent forward at the waist giving Ryoga a delicious view of ample cleavage unhindered by a bra. He stopped dead in his tracks, frozen with shock. The umbrella fell from his hands as a trickle of blood leaked from his nose.

"Gotcha!" Ukyo casually walked up to him and poked her index finger through his balloon, popping it instantly.

Breathing deeply, she smiled sweetly at him. "I win."

"That," Ryoga said fighting against the nose bleed with one hand, "was a dirty trick. Still, you won...even if it wasn't not fair-and-square."

"No rules in battle," Ukyo reminded him sweetly.

He laughed softly, impressed by her crafty decision in combat. "You've got style. Alright, tomorrow, we'll begin the serious training so I want you to get a lot of rest tonight. Ki training takes more energy than working out does. I wasn't aware you knew some ki based attacks. That should speed this process up considerably."

"Oh, and knock out thirty pushups and forty five sit-ups before you come in." He walked past her to freshen up for the work shift to come.

Ukyo was beside herself with excitement. Throwing her fist in the air, she cheered loudly at her newfound strength and good fortunes. Looking around the yard however, her smile dimmed just a bit as she wondered how she was going to possibly get all that batter off the side of the restaurant and the yard…


"That girl is one piece of work, wouldn't you say, sir?" Zero commented while leaning down over the railing of the same building he met his master the last time he had actually ventured out of his stifling hotel room.

"She has potential, yes."

"Her boyfriend isn't bad either. I sense great strength in him as well. I'll enjoy taking him on and introducing him to my little friend here."

Zero lovingly patted a razor sharp tomahawk he had attached to his belt. It had taken its fair share of lives in illegal underground fighting matches but he'd taken great care to keep it it from ever losing its sharpness, a sharpness that could cut through bone with a mere flick of the wrist.

"He is far more than great. Ryoga Hibiki's whole body literally flows with the sweetest of dark power, especially when he's depressed. Keep your eyes on that one as well as Ranma Saotome, thse two are the greatest of my personally selected candidates. They are the key to what we seek."

"Yes lord. I've already met with Hibiki the other day. The kid is very gullible."

Wraith nodded. "From what you've told me and what I've personally observed, Ranma is strong but far too confident. These weaknesses could provide us with an edge. Zero, the plan cannot wait much longer. I cannot wait much longer. We've verified information, observed them for weaknesses, and noted their strengths. Now is the time to strike. Listen for a time when they will be gathered together, then we will pounce."

"Yes sir." Zero grinned slightly. Combat, sweet combat was soon to be his to experience again. He felt his master teleport away, leaving only a slight breeze to mark his exit.

Soon the path to greater strength would be open to him and with it, the chance to overwrite the past. For the briefest of instances his mind wandered to the past and he tasted the victory and defeat of his violent and colorful life. When he remembered being disgraced in the ring his face hardened into a tight frown and he banished the past where it belonged, deep in his subconscious.

It was best to plan in the here and now. First Wraith would be made satisfied and then he would show Zero the generosity the fighter had gone to Germany for in the first place. Everyone would benefit and then Zero would be able to return home and make things right.

"Time to get to work then." He didn't need any further instructions, he was free to hunt and as long as he could hunt, all was well. Zero was a simple man, and it was completing simple tasks that pleased him the most.