Ranma ½ – Happily Ever After
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is the property of Takahashi Rumiko and all those other large corporations that publish and distribute Ranma ½. No profit is gained from this work, just a great deal of enjoyment writing it.
Chapter 12 – And In This Corner
The next three weeks, although hectic, were uneventful. The school year was coming to a close and preparations for Nabiki's graduation and party were left in the skillful hands of Kasumi. Akane continued to practice her cooking skills with no major catastrophes. Ranma had penned a crude poster that hung in the kitchen where Akane could see it, which simply reminded her to "Master the Basics, First."
It was a good time for the Anything Goes School of Martial arts. Eight children from the neighborhood decided that they wished to study there. So Ranma worked with the five boys and Akane worked with the three girls in the evenings. Ranma decided to pen a similar poster for the dojo, since he always had problems with sticking to the basics with his students.
Even Happosai was being helpful. At least once a week he would sit with the class and tell stories about the old days (don't worry, he cleaned them up).
All in all things were going well.
More good news came only three days before graduation. Nabiki had been accepted into the local junior college. Because of her grades and because of how well she had done on the entrance exam, she was receiving a significant scholarship.
The news was not so good for Kuno though. He had not done well on the entrance exam and was told to try again in the fall. Kuno was a rōnin. It really didn't matter. Kuno really didn't have to go to college, but it had acted as another wake up call.
Graduation day went flawlessly. It was a beautiful bright spring day, even warmer than one might expect for this time of year. The party was held in the dojo and everyone had a wonderful time, including Kuno and Nabiki, who were the couple of the day.
Akane and Ranma did not mind one bit. With their engagement out of the spotlight, they go to spend some quality time together. For the first time they had a chance to talk about their future, beyond the wedding and what their hopes and aspirations might be.
Ranma of course did not really think much of going to college. He would be happy to just run the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. He had never really be one for school since for as long as he could remember Ranma was on the road with his father, attending local schools until his father decided it was time to move on.
Akane was amazed that considering Ranma's spotty education, how well he did in school. Akane wondered how well he could do if he really applied himself.
Akane, on the other hand had always hoped to at least go to a junior college just like Nabiki. Akane had no idea of what she would like to major in, but just to attend. That of course was problematic. Akane's grades were not nearly as good as Nabiki's (they weren't bad, mind you). It would be difficult for her to pay her way.
Now it looked as though Akane would be staying at home, either as a homemaker or teaching with Ranma, not that it was a bad thing.
The first real chink in their quiet existence occurred two days after Nabiki's party. Akane was working with Kasumi (and sometimes Nabiki) on wedding plans. Akane began to look through magazines for ideas for a wedding dress, which she decided would be a white western style dress.
Ranma had just returned from the dojo after teaching a class when he found his father and Mr. Tendo looking over some papers.
"Ah! Ranma, I'm glad you are here," Mr. Tendo said. "Your father and I have come across an opportunity that could be of great benefit to all of us."
Mr. Tendo handed Ranma the papers. It was a flyer for an All Forms Martial Arts Tournament.
"So how is this supposed to be a benefit for us."
"This is one of the most prestigious martial arts tournaments in the world," Ranma's father explained. "Even making it into the finals is a great honor and would be a great honor for the Anything Goes School."
"So you want me to go to this tournament," Ranma asked.
"Actually," Mr. Tendo said, "we think that both you and Akane should go. There is both a men's and woman's division in the competition."
"So when is this tournament," Ranma asked. "How long to we have to get ready for this?"
"Actually, it is this coming Saturday," Genma replied.
"This Saturday!" Ranma exclaimed, "That's not much time to get ready for a tournament."
"It will be plenty of time," Genma said. "Although we didn't really know if we would have the money to cover the entry fee and for train tickets."
"Train tickets? Where is this tournament being held?"
"The information is all on the flyer," Mr. Tendo explained. "It's about two hour and a half away by train. You and Akane will leave early Saturday morning and return Saturday evening."
"I'm amazed, dad," Ranma commented somewhat sarcastically. "Normally you would have made me walk to something like this."
"He probably would have if Akane weren't going," Mr. Tendo said in an almost equally sarcastic tone.
"So if we win this tournament, what do we get out of it?" Ranma asked.
"If you should be fortunate enough to win you will get a trophy," Genma explained, "and the right to say that you are a world champion. But just to make it into the finals round is a significant accomplishment."
"I can tell you for myself," Ranma said, "And I can probably speak for Akane as well, that if we compete, we will compete to win, not just to make it into the finals round. So have you talked to Akane about this yet?"
"Ahhh…" Mr. Tendo said somewhat quietly, "ahhh…. We were hoping that… ahhh… you might talk to her about this."
"Oh, so you want me to talk to her, because you are afraid that she would say no to you," Ranma laughed.
"Well… Ahhh…" Mr. Tendo said hesitatingly at first, but then pleading, "Yes, please talk to her."
Ranma walked away, flyer in hand, shaking his head, "Wimps!"
"So they conned you into talking to me about this scheme of theirs," Akane said, not even really wanting to look at the flyer. Over the past two years, she had gotten involved in too many of their fathers' brilliant ideas and usually she and Ranma had bail their parents out of some tight spot.
"Actually, it might not be such a bad idea, Akane. It might be nice to compete against a few new opponents. We might even learn a few new moves."
"But a world wide competition. Somehow I think we might be getting into something a little over our heads."
"I'm not so sure about the world wide aspect of the competition. It will probably be a few competitors from Japan and maybe from China or Korea. But a matching set of trophies on the dojo wall might look nice."
"It's just that the money for this could go toward the wedding, or food for the house."
"Actually, I guess we are doing well with the students we have and if this brings in a few more students, it might be worth it."
"I don't know, Ranma. I just have a bad feeling about this."
The remainder of the week was spent preparing for the tournament. Ranma, of course spared with his father or Mr. Tendo, but finding a sparing partner for Akane was a bit more difficult. In the end, Ranma was the best qualified to do that.
Ranma had avoided changing to his female form for some time now, and he had really been making an attempt to avoid it since he had proposed to Akane.
But in the end, it made sense. Although Ranma would have gladly spared with Akane as a boy (and he did that), Happosai pointed out that as a girl Ranma would be more like the opponents that Akane would be facing.
It was true. As a girl, Ranma was not nearly as strong as his male form, but he gained the speed and agility of a girl.
Ranma still though that Happosai was just trying to get a cheap thrill, but…
One thing Ranma discovered was that he could not hold back against Akane, unless he wanted to get beaten to a pulp. Akane was very strong and coupled with her speed; she was a force to be reckoned with.
As Saturday approached, both Ranma and Akane tried some formal tournament fighting. Both Genma and Soun had participated in tournaments when they were younger, so they gave the two competitors pointers on how to act during the bouts, pointing out to Ranma that the one thing he could not be was a sore loser. and that would probably be the biggest challenge Ranma faced.
The students in their class enjoyed the mock tournaments also. In particular the boys liked the pig-tailed girl. They thought she was cute. Not something that Akane wanted to hear.
Friday night, Akane and Ranma (as a girl) sat in the dojo after everyone else had left.
"Well Akane, I think we are as ready as we will ever be."
"I guess so. I just get the feeling something is doomed to go wrong."
"I just hope that the Tournament site has hot showers."
"Oh that could be a problem."
"Speaking of which Akane, would you like to get some hot water and do the honors."
"Sure." Akane stood up and looked at Ranma for a moment and thought to herself, "You know, he really is cute as a girl."
Saturday morning came all too early for Ranma. With school out, he had gotten used to sleeping in the morning, but the train they had to catch left the station at five-thirty. As it was, they had to run to make the train, but they were on it in time all the same.
Kasumi, figuring that they would be running late, packed a breakfast for them to eat on the train. She had also given them a little extra money so that they could buy lunch and dinner, and maybe even a few souvenirs to bring home.
Akane always wondered where Kasumi came up with the extra money she always seemed to have for them, especially since before the new students that Ranma and Akane were teaching, there had been little or no income from the school.
That didn't matter at the moment. They ate the breakfast and took in the sights as they sped along on the train. Akane had ridden a train before on several occasions, but this was the first time without her family along. Being with Ranma made it a little different, somehow imagining that they were on the to their honeymoon. With a bit of a blush, she put that idea out of her mind.
Ranma too had ridden on trains, but usually in boxcars since he and his father rarely had money to pay to board a passenger train.
Ranma began to take note of some of the other passengers on the train. It was obvious that many were going to participate in the tournament. Although there were several Japanese competitors, there were also several westerners including a couple (more than likely married) who looked to be Americans.
The train ride went far more quickly than they had expected and soon found themselves at their destination.
Once off the train, it was easy to find their way to the tournament site since there was an abundance of signs pointing the way. Ranma thought that even Ryoga would have trouble getting lost, but on second thought…
What amazed both Ranma and Akane was that the signs were not only in Japanese, but Chinese (Ranma recognized it but could not read it) and several languages that used the western alphabet and several alphabets that neither Akane nor Ranma recognized.
They found the appropriate table to register for their skill group and paid the necessary fees. Akane also signed up for a board breaking competition that would be held between the preliminary and final rounds.
They gave each other a little kiss and agreed that they would meet at the restaurant for lunch. Then they went to their respective locker rooms and changed into their competition clothing. Ranma was glad to see that there were hot showers.
The preliminary rounds began precisely at nine. Ranma fought in six bouts that he had no trouble winning. He had not even had to exert himself for the first three (the third bout lasted all of six seconds). He had a chance to rest for about a half hour before he fought two more bouts, which he also won easily.
Akane's experience was similar, although she only fought a total of six bouts. Her most difficult bout was with one girl who looked tiny compared to Akane, but was amazingly fast. She used several combination moves that Akane though might be good to remember for future reference.
When the preliminary rounds were complete, Ranma and Akane had made it to the finals and were relatively well ceded.
"Well, that went far better than I expected," Akane said between mouthfuls of ramen.
"I've never seen so many different styles of fighting," Ranma commented. "I faced a kick boxer in my fourth bout. He was good, but he over extended his reach and left a huge opening."
"Most of my opponents were the standard forms like Kung-Fu and Karate, but there were several minor variations. I though I was going to lose to this one girl. She was so tiny and fast I could barely land anything. In the end, I had a lucky punch that landed solidly."
"I was watching the Masters group, during my break," Ranma said as he finished his bowl of Ramen. "They are amazing. I would not mind trying a match against one or two of them."
"Be careful Ranma. I don't want you damaged before the wedding." Akane finished her ramen and then said, "You know, I almost expected Shampoo behind the counter when we got the ramen. She always seems to turn up. Although, this ramen is not nearly as good as hers."
"We need to keep track of the time, Akane. You have that board breaking competition soon. Now don't go hurting your hand."
"Don't worry. They are using boards. I switched from boards to bricks because boards weren't a challenge any more. I'll be fine."
Akane was fine, even if she was the only girl signed up for the competition. They put her in with the men, but expected that she would be eliminated quickly.
That of course was not the case. The men started with four boards and broke them easily. When Akane came forward for her turn (she was last), she requested five boards and broke them just as easily. The men, not wanting to be outdone, jumped up to six boards. Only three of the competitors managed that level.
Akane went directly to seven boards and again broke them easily. When the men went to eight boards, only one managed to break all eight. Akane did nine. No one else could beat or match her and Akane was named the winner of the competition to the cheers of the crowd.
Maybe it was the exhilaration from the cheering of the crowd. Maybe it was just the adrenaline rush. Akane decided to show off a bit. The boards had been placed on bricks very similar to the ones she was used to breaking at home. She stacked three bricks as she would do at home, centered herself, and struck a blow that powdered the bricks, to the cheers of the crowd.
Akane stood before the audience and glowed.
The finals round consisted of single elimination bouts. Ranma's division had sixteen competitors and Akane's division had eight.
They did get to see each other before the bouts started at least for a moment.
"Akane how is your hand?"
"Not too bad, but it was funny. It was easier to break the bricks that it was to break the boards. I don't think I could do any more boards."
"I fight second in the finals, How about you?"
"I'm up third. Hey, did you see the television cameras? I think this is being broadcast live. I wonder if they are watching this at home?"
"I don't know, but I have to get ready. I will see you when everything is done."
"Good luck Ranma."
"Good luck, Akane."
Ranma's afternoon went very much as expected. The competitors that made into the finals were far better fighters than those he faced in the morning session. In the first round, his opponent was very aggressive and very strong (much like Ryoga, Ranma thought), and in the end Ranma thought him to be his toughest opponent of the day. It was his aggressiveness though that was his eventual downfall and Ranma was able to get a finishing blow after an extended bout.
The second and third rounds were far easier win. Although they were excellent fighters, the Anything Goes Style with which Ranma fought, allowed him to adapt quickly to their styles and get an easy win in both bouts. Even though the wins were relatively easy, Ranma fought back the urge to become over confident.
Akane faired well also. Her first bout was against a girl who fought a very similar style to her own. Akane even wondered if someone who had come into contact with Happosai or Ranma's or her father had trained her opponent. The bout remained quite even throughout with Akane taking advantage of a minor error to win the match.
When Akane saw her opponent for the second round, she was almost overwhelmed. Although her opponent was in the same division by skill, she was huge and muscular, in many ways looking more like a guy then a girl. She was almost a head taller than Akane and maybe a three-inch advantage on reach.
Akane might have been intimidated if she were not used to fighting male opponents normally. Once the match began, Akane discovered that not only was her opponent huge, she was agile, but Akane was able to duck under her attacks even though she could not find any openings for an effective attack. It was in the end, her opponents superior reach that was what gave Akane the advantage to win.
Akane began to stay just outside the range of her opponent. With each successive attack, her opponent began to extend herself more and more to the point where Akane drew her off balance. It only took that one moment for Akane to shift to the offence and score a winning strike.
It would be about an hour before Ranma and Akane's final match. The Masters division on the main floor would have to complete before Ranma's division final bout would occur. This gave both Ranma and Akane the opportunity to observe the matches as they progressed.
Ranma took note of the one American competitor he had seen on the train. He had advanced through the competition and was two matches away from taking top honors in the division. But watching him Ranma thought that he could stand an even match with this competitor.
The time for Akane's final match arrived and she took the floor. Her opponent was from China and Akane had seen her fight between her matches. She was good; fast with very precise attacks. They bowed to each other and the referee indicated that they should begin.
Much to Akane's surprise, her opponent moved in for a quick victory, which caught Akane off guard. All Akane could hope to do was to try to duck under it and prepare to respond. She did a tumble roll that she often did in her gymnastics floor exercise and returned to her feet behind her opponent.
Realizing what Akane had done, her opponent turned quickly and set herself for another attack. This time though, Akane was ready for her and countered her opponent's attack with her own; a well placed kick. As quickly as it had begun, it was over.
The force of the kick had sent her opponent flying. Akane walked to her opponent and offered her a hand to help her to her feet. Once she was to her feet, they bowed to each other and the referee declared Akane the winner of her division.
Ranma's final match followed immediately. His opponent was from Japan and fought one of the more classical styles of Karate. They were quite similar in build and from what Ranma had seen of his opponent in previous bouts, were well matched in skill. What Ranma also found out during the introductions was that his opponent was the winner of the previous years tournament.
Unlike Akane's opponent, Ranma's rival went into a defensive posture, waiting for Ranma to make the first move. Ranma had been suckered into that too many times by his father to fall for that, so the match turned into a waiting game and battle of nerves. Each opponent feigned attacks to see what the reaction of the other would be.
Amazingly this went on for nearly a minute, until Ranma's opponent, thinking he saw an opening in Ranma's defensive stance, launched his attack. Ranma was able to dodge most of the strikes and blocked those that he could not dodge. No openings appeared in his opponents stance, even when he was attacking, so the match returned to a defensive stalemate.
The crowd was becoming somewhat agitated by the lack of action, but Ranma remained in his defensive stance. Impatience was getting to his opponent and he launched another attack. This one was not as well calculated and he opened himself to a combination from Ranma that took his opponent to the ground.
Like Akane, Ranma helped his opponent to his feet and they bowed to each other. Ranma was declared the winner. Now all there was to do was to wait for the awards ceremony that would happen after the final Master's match.
Ranma sat with Akane and watched with great interest. The American was matched up against a hugely muscled opponent from somewhere in Europe. It was strange, Ranma thought, that no one from Japan or China had made it into the final match. Once Ranma heard the introduction though, he understood. The European fighter had won more contests than Ranma could count, but the American had won this tournament for the last three years running.
The match, to the untrained eye was nothing special. It lasted all of fourteen seconds. The European made a good show, but the American struck so quickly that Ranma almost missed the attack that defeated his opponent. The American had not shown any such move in the previous matches Ranma had observed, so the American's speed took Ranma completely by surprise.
The two men bowed to each other and American was declared as winner. Almost immediately he exited the floor and came directly over to Ranma. He bowed to Ranma and Ranma stood and retuned the bow.
"My name is Donald Morra," the American said in almost flawless Japanese. "I was watching you fight before and I was wondering if you would be interested in an exhibition bout."
"I guess so," Ranma answered. "My name is Ranma… Ranma Saotome."
"Nice to meet you. I'm assuming that you have not fought in enough tournaments to qualify for the Master's division."
"No this is my first tournament."
"Wow! You are good. First time competitors usually never get into the finals and those that do are usually eliminated quickly. What school of martial arts do you practice?"
"The Anything Goes School."
"Never heard of it."
"There are only two… no three families in all of Japan who study it."
"I am impressed. I usually like to do an exhibition bout for the winner of your division to give them a feel for what the Master's division is all about. You up to it?"
"Sure. The basic rule of the Anything Goes School is to never turn down a challenge."
"I like that attitude. Well let's do it."
Ranma and Donald returned to the competition floor and Donald explained to the announcer what was going to happen. The announcement was made and to the applause of the crowd the two combatants took their positions.
The referee signaled the start of the bout and Ranma and Donald measured each other up for two of three seconds, and then Donald went on the offensive. It was lucky that Ranma had noted his opponents speed during the previous match, so it did not surprise him when the lightening combination of punch and kick occurred. Ranma blocked the punch and countered the kick with one of his own. Donald flipped backwards away from Ranma's kick, landing on his feet out of range of attack.
Donald again went on the attack, this time with a combination of kicks that drove Ranma back to the edge of the completion ring. Ranma knew that if he were to have any chance of winning this match, he had better go on the attack. Of course Ranma had no idea that he wasn't supposed to have a chance to win the match, but since Ranma hadn't though of it, he just went on as if he actually could win.
Ranma's attack was a fast flurry of punches, which Donald either dodged or blocked, before Ranma realized that he need to step up the speed if he was going to win. Ranma dropped into the Roasting Chestnuts attack. Suddenly Donald realized that Ranma's attack was coming in far faster than he could possibly block them and before he knew it, one landed sufficiently hard to take the American down.
The crowd, as well as the other competitors, was stunned. The lower division winner rarely lasted longer that a few second in such an exhibition match. None had ever come close to winning before. Ranma helped the American to his feet and they bowed to each other, and then to the crowd who had broken out into loud cheering and applause.
Ranma found Akane in the crowd and when over to her and brought her to the floor with him.
"And who is this special lady?" Donald asked.
"This is my fiancé Akane Tendo," Ranma said with pride.
"You are lucky man to have such a lovely lady as your future wife," Donald said.
Akane blushed at the compliment.
The awards ceremony occurred immediately after the exhibition bout. There was a call from the crowd to award Ranma the Master's division award, but that was rightly the property of the American competitor and Ranma would have nothing to do with it.
In all, Ranma received the Trophy for winning his division and a master's division black belt from Donald.
"Come back next year to fight me," the American laughed. "It will be nice to have some real competition."
Akane received the Trophy for her division win as well as one for her win in the board breaking competition.
The one thing that Akane and Ranma had not expected was the envelope with the cash prizes for their win. In fact, the prizes were quite significant.
"Maybe I will have the money for a western wedding dress," Akane said as she looked at the contents of her envelope.
"We can talk about it on the train," Ranma said, "but we need to get to the train station if we are going to get home tonight."
"Your right."
Ranma and Akane made their way toward the exit, saying their goodbyes as they went, but Donald caught up with Ranma one more time. "I just have to ask you something. You said that this was your first tournament, but you fight like a far more experienced fighter. You've fought for your life and the life of your fiancé before, haven't you?"
"On more than one occasion, yes," Ranma replied.
"You fight with purpose and determination. You have the strength and power of a man, but the speed and agility of a women; an almost unbeatable combination. I will have to train extra hard if I even want a chance to defeat you in the future. Good luck to both you and your future wife."
With that the American walked away.