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=========================== The Pursuit of Happiness ACT 2 The Kings of Nerima Part 5 Ranma Saotome Can't Lose ===========================
[Furinkan High, lunch hour]
"Aaaagh, decisions decisions," lamented Hiroshi.
"Were this the usual string of events, it would be rather crystal clear," said Daisuke.
What the two were pondering was the outcome of today's much heralded match between Ranma and Ryouga. It was something everyone was looking forward to, even though Ranma was the overwhelming favorite. It was somewhat akin to why crowds watched the Harlem Globetrotters. Sure, they were going to win, but it was also a damn good show.
Unlike everyone else, Hiroshi and Daisuke had their doubts about the outcome.
"Ranma seems okay today, sorta," said Hiroshi. "The slash to his leg is bugging him a little and his fingers are still bandaged up."
"Ryouga's still bothered by that hit he got from Kumon," said Daisuke. "A little bit, but I can tell."
Hiroshi put his hands on his head and paced around. "Aaaagh, I dunno."
Suddenly, Daisuke stood up, fist clenched dramatically. "ALAS! I CANNOT DECIDE! I MUST BET ON THEM BOTH!"
Hiroshi blinked, then began snickering badly. Daisuke soon joined him.
"Good impression, man. Dead on, dead on!"
After a while, their laughter died down and they were back to pondering the same dilemma.
Hiroshi shrugged. "Oh well. When in doubt, bet on Ranma."
"Can't think of anything better."
The last two finalists in the King of Nerima were the center of attention during the busy lunchtime hour. All eyes were on Ranma and Ryouga as they made their way about the courtyard. They were a study in contrast.
Ranma was generally casual, loose, not any different than he was on any other day. He put in a rare appearance in the sandwich line and reminded everyone of why he had the reputation as the best martial artist in Nerima.
Ryouga, on the other hand, was a little more brooding than usual. He found himself a tree and lurked under the shade, eating a packed lunch quietly.
Keeping an eye on them both were the usual flock of girls: Ukyou, Akane, Sayuri, Yuka, Nabiki and her minions,
as well as other friends of the girls.
They were, at the moment, looking at Ranma and Ryouga and giving lots of commentary.
"Well, Ryouga seems to be somber today," said Sayuri.
"Yeah, he hasn't said much today," said Ukyou. "Figure he's just thinking about the fight."
"Yeah, the big one's today," said Nabiki. "How long do you figure it'll take for Ranma to win this time?"
Akane gave Nabiki a slight nudge. "Nabiki! That's not a nice thing to say."
"Well, you gotta admit Ryouga's odds don't look so good," said Yuka. "Never beaten Ranma before at all."
"Hey now, y'never know," said Ukyou.
"By the way Ranma beat out Rodumanu and Yojojimbo at the lunch lines today, he's recovered fast," said Nabiki. "Ryouga looks like he's not too worn out either, but neither of them is 100%."
"And given all things equal, I'll bet on Ranma," said Yuka.
"You guys really don't think Ryouga has a chance?" asked Ukyou.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Defending your boyfriend,
Ukyou?"
"He is NOT my boyfriend!"
Nabiki knew he wasn't, but she just loved to tease people. "Oh come now. Sharing the same living quarters for all this time, cooking meals for the man. Surely there must be _some_ attraction."
"Don't be ridiculous," snapped Ukyou. Nabiki dropped the subject, but took note of Ukyou's slight blush.
"Hey, there's Akari," said Sayuri. "Over here!"
"Why is she going towards Ryouga?" asked Nabiki. "How very interesting."
Ryouga was currently sitting under the shade of a coconut tree. It was imported by the Principal, a fanatic of Hawaiian culture.
He was brooding.
Mostly on the past.
It was a depressing sort of brooding, really. He tried to find some bit of insight or inspiration in battles past.
Instead, he just wound up sinking further into gloom with every recollection of Ranma coming out on top time and again.
It wasn't very encouraging at all.
"Ryouga-san?"
He looked up from the ground and right into the face of Akari Unryuu. "Oh, Akari-san, hi."
"Hi Ryouga-san. Is something wrong?"
He shook his head. "Just thinking about today's fight,
that's all."
"Oh." She kneeled down next to him, staring at the ground. "I wanted to thank you."
"Thank me?"
"For yesterday, when Ryo-san..."
"Oh, that," said Ryouga.
"I guess I should have listened to everyone."
Being still wildly incompetent at the whole comforting-women-in-their-time-of-need thing, Ryouga shrugged. "Things happen."
"Anyway, thanks for saving me." She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, then walked away.
She was blushing just a little, and so was he.
"Oh my," said Akane.
"Didja see that?!" yelled Sayuri.
"Sure did," said Yuka.
Nabiki glanced sidewards to Ukyou. "My, it seems you've got a rival."
She, in return, shot Nabiki an annoyed look. "Would you guys cut that out? She's coming this way."
The group settled down as Akari joined them. "Hi guys," she said demurely.
"How're you feeling, sugar?" asked Ukyou.
"Still in shock, I guess." She smiled just a little,
though the melancholy still showed in her face. "I guess you guys were right about him."
"Hey, you were in love," said Yuka.
"It's natural to not wanna see the uglier side of someone you love," said Sayuri.
"There's plenty of other guys out there," said Nabiki, a wicked grin on her face. "Like, for example, Ryouga."
Ukyou swatted Nabiki with the school newspaper. "Nabiki!"
"Saw the little kiss back there," said Yuka.
"I-it wasn't like that!" protested Akari. "I was just thanking him for saving me yesterday."
Akane rolled her eyes. "Stop teasing her, guys."
"Okay, okay," said Nabiki. "But you've gotta admit he is cute."
"Mm-hm," said Yuka.
"Not bad at all," said Sayuri. "Nice assets."
"Sayuri, please," said Nabiki dryly. "That's my line."
"Akane-neesaaan!" *GLOMP*
"Awk!"
Akane was nearly toppled over as Kyoko Muhoshin burst from seemingly nowhere and wrapped Akane up in a hug. Once she recovered, she laughed and ruffled the younger girl's hair.
"Kyoko-chan, hi!"
"Hihi! Whatchadoin?"
"Just having lunch," replied Akane. "You?"
"Justgotdone!"
Nabiki was looking at her warily. "Is it just me or has she been more hyper lately?"
Akane thought about it a moment. "Yeah, you're right."
"Hyper? Who? Who'shyper? Notme!"
"Yes, you," said Akane, poking Kyoko gently on the nose.
The youngest Muhoshin pouted. "I'mnothyper!" Her pouting mood didn't seem to stay long, as her happy disposition snapped back into place a split second later.
She whistled a happy tune while pulling a can of soda and a candy bar from her bag.
Akane read the labels. "MegaVolt Cola? Uberpocky? Hey,
that's too much sugar."
Kyoko shook her head vigorously and tried to reply the best she could with a mouth full of high-sugar candy bar.
"Mmmm-mm!" *chew*chew*swallow*glug*glug* "Is not!"
The girls stared in fascination and shock.
"She's washing the Uberpocky down WITH MegaVolt Cola?" said Nabiki. "Oh my. That's beyond anything I've done."
"Kyoko-chan, how long have you been eating stuff like this?" asked Akane.
"Um... justafewweeks. My sensei usedasay nononoNO if I wanted'tget a candybar orsomething but Ryo-niisan said itwasOKAY!"
"And how many MegaVolts have you had today?" asked Nabiki.
"Um... onetwothreefourfivesixseven... teneleventwelve...
fifteensixteenseventeen..."
"Ah," said Nabiki. "That explains it." She handed Kyoko a small bottle of water. "Try this, kid."
The little girl looked at the bottle of water skeptically. "Avyon Bottled Water. Water?"
"Yes."
"Doesssit... have any flavor?"
"No, just water."
Kyoko frowned. "What's th'point?"
Nabiki sighed. "Never mind."
"Since when did you drink bottled water?" asked Akane.
"Have a few exams today. I need the steady nerves."
Looking a little nervous, Akari sat next to Kyoko. "Um,
Kyoko-chan, where's Ryo-san?"
Kyoko blinked. "Oniisan? Gone."
"Gone? Where to?" asked Akari.
"Dunno. Packed looooootsa stuff innabag an'left!"
Akari paused, then continued her line of questions. "Did he say anything?"
"Um..." Kyoko thought for a moment, then put a hand over her mouth. "I don't think I ought'a say what he said."
"Was he... was he angry at me?"
Kyoko shrugged. "I dunno."
"Hmm, sugar rush wore off fast," muttered Nabiki. "Must have a high velocity metabolism."
Akane elbowed her. "Shh! If she hears you she might start again."
"Oh! Akane-neechan! Ryo-niisan wanted me t'giveya this!" She dug into her bag again and pulled out a note.
"S'for your daddy."
"What's this?" Akane unfolded the note.
Dear Mr. Tendo & Mr. Saotome,
I will be currently out of the city, and perhaps the country, for an undetermined amount of time.
Until my return, I am entrusting the care and training of my youngest sister Kyoko to you. I have been very satisfied with the results of her training thus far, and thank you both deeply for passing your knowledge to her. Enclosed in the envelope my sister will hand to you upon agreement of the above terms is a sufficient amount of yen to fund her training and pay rent at current market price.
-Ryo M.
Akari, who'd been peering over Akane's shoulder, didn't know how to react. Ryo leaving Japan?
Nabiki, who'd been peering over Akane's other shoulder,
locked her gaze on Kyoko. "Money? What money? Just give it to me, I'll pass it on to my father."
Kyoko shook her head vigorously. "Nuh-uh. Oniisan tol'me to give it to Tendo-san an'Saotome-san ONLY."
"Drat."
"Whoops, five till lunch is over," said Yuka.
Ukyou sighed. "Guess I'd better go help Lost Boy get to class again."
Nabiki grinned. "Isn't-"
"And NO BOYFRIEND JOKES, wiseass."
[The Roof, Furinkan High, 4:53pm]
"And that one?" asked Ryouga, pointing to a passing cloud.
"Mmm... okonomiyaki."
"You're obsessed."
"Oh, shut up."
They were on the roof, flat on the ground and staring at the sky, watching the clouds go by. It was a terribly relaxing thing to do.
"That one?" asked Ukyou.
"Pig."
"How about those?"
"Pigs."
"And those?"
"Pigs."
Ukyou nodded sagely. "Deep trauma, I see."
"Huh?"
Ukyou smirked. "Nothing, nevermind."
"Hey, Ukyou."
"Hm?"
"You think I got a chance?" asked Ryouga, still staring at the sky.
"At Ranma? Sure you do. Just keep your head cool and don't be so aggressive. Okay?"
Ryouga thought it over. "I'll try."
"Hey, ten minutes till the big fight. C'mon, let's go."
The two stood up, then made their way down the tall stairwell. Every now and then she'd sneak a peek at him,
and her thoughts would stray to the regular round of teasing that the lunch crowd girls subjected her to.
Ryouga? Cute?
Sure, she'd admit that he was.
Jealous of the attention he'd been getting? Hell no.
Finally, they reached the ground floor. Just before going through the front doors, Ukyou paused.
"Hey Ryouga?"
"Yeah?"
"Good luck."
And she kissed him.
But only on the cheek.
[Furinkan High, 5:00pm]
The final match of the King of Nerima tournament was being held in a very appropriate place: the soccer field of Furinkan High. The site was the location of the first confrontation Ryouga had with Ranma upon arriving in Nerima.
It was also, due to the previous battles held there, a tad on the rough side, with ragged earth and ki blast scorches scarring the terrain.
The observers were well away to the sides. They knew how much debris the two could kick up during a fight.
Neither of the two boys had talked to each other that day. What was there to be said?
/Hibiki Ryouga.../
Ryouga looked to the sidelines where Ukyou was. She gave him a thumbs up sign. Next to her, Akari and Ryoko cheered. And further in the stands, Kodachi winked. And then there was that cheerleader girl, Mariko, waving her pom-poms.
Looking into the stands, he decided, was a bad idea.
/vs. Saotome Ranma!/
This time the roar of the crowd was much louder. Time for the show! Spectacular feast of martial arts prowess!
The big finish! And the crowning of Ranma Saotome as the best martial artist in Nerima, as everyone knew he was.
/FIGHT!/
Ryouga went over Ukyou's advice silently in his mind.
Okay, Just keep a cool head and don't rush in to atta-
-WHAM- -WHAM- -WHAM-
"Aaagh, DAMN YOU RANMA!"
Ukyou sighed. This wasn't a good start, not at all.
Ranma felt a little bad about it. But then again, with all things considered, it had to be done.
For once, he started the match as the aggressor. Got in three quick solid hits too.
That really made Ryouga mad.
Which was good, because Ranma felt the need to end this _fast_.
He was sure the final round of the tournament was beginning right about now.
He didn't care.
To Hell with them. All of them.
Ryo Muhoshin didn't care to see the end of it. Not at all. He figured it was time to take a step back, to re-evaluate things, to trod violently on new faces.
He'd lost his focus. The whole Akari event left him drained and furious. And he had been beaten in combat,
again.
Damn that whole setup.
Damn her.
He needed a vacation.
There was a wide world out there, and he felt the need to test himself again. He wasn't good enough this time,
despite the new training he'd undertaken. Perhaps a global perspective would help.
Then there was the matter of his other self, the hallucination in the forest during that training trip. The one that told him to go in search of the Nanban Mirror.
What the hell was that?
Probably magic.
Right then, add to the 'to do' list a ransacking of any place that held magic artifacts.
All in all, it looked to be a nice, relaxing, violent trip.
Then he'd come back and crush them all.
Sooner or later.
He strolled to the edge of the cruise ship, looking out across the harbor and towards Nerima one more time, scowled,
then spat in the ocean.
"To hell with you all."
Goodbye Japan.
Ryouga lashed out with his umbrella. Ranma easily ducked under.
"GO RANMA!"
Ranma gave Ryouga a solid kick to the midsection. Ryouga winced, but didn't show any other sign of pain. He merely lashed out with his umbrella again, managing to give Ranma a slight cut on the arm.
"BOO! DIE RYOUGA! DIEDIEDIE!"
Ryouga stabbed into the ground, setting off a rapid tidal wave of breaking point explosions. Ranma merely jumped over the wave and brought his foot down towards Ryouga's head.
To his surprise, Ryouga managed to get out of the way.
"KILL HIBIKI!"
"Noori-sama, I don't think you should be so loud," said Konatsu nervously.
"Shut up. This is fun. YES! HIT HIM AGAIN!"
Konatsu sighed.
"NO YOU IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
He really hoped that nobody would be offended by Tanya's loud boorish ranting.
"Hey, who's the obnoxious jerk yelling up there?" asked Ukyou.
Akane turned around and scanned the seats above and behind them. "It looks like... Noori-san."
"Oh. Figures."
Akari winced as she saw the two fighters hit each other savagely. "Oh! I hope they don't kill each other!"
"Those two? No, they won't. You'll never get them to admit it, but they're good friends," said Akane. "Really they are. Nobody's going to be killed."
Ukyou rolled her eyes.
"RANMAAAAAA! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"I'd like t'see you try!" taunted Ranma.
Ryouga hurled a dozen bandannas at him, all spinning wildly at different angles but zooming in on him. At the same time, Ryouga heaved his umbrella like a javelin, aiming right at Ranma's chest.
Ranma smirked. He was somewhat disappointed, actually.
Ryouga was getting predictable. In fact, this was the same thing he tried the second time they fought in Furinkan High.
With a little bit of effort, he dodged the first few bandannas, caught the umbrella, snapped it open, and blocked all the other bandannas.
He wasn't expecting the the big breaking point shockwave.
"Ooooh, that new technique is just major property damage! IIIIIIIIII LIKE IT!" roared Daisuke.
"Yeah, damn good fight," said Hiroshi. "C'MON RANMA!
WE'VE GOT MONEY RIDING ON YA!"
He was promptly bapped by Sayuri and Yuka.
"What kind of a cheer is that?!" asked Yuka.
"Oh, like you didn't put money on him either," said Hiroshi sarcastically.
"Heyhey, spiral pattern detected!" said Daisuke.
Hiroshi turned quickly to the battlefield. "Going for it already?"
"Yup, there they go..."
"Damn you! Stop running!" Ryouga rushed forward again,
missing Ranma by just a hair's width.
Again.
The fact didn't escape either of them. It was unusual for Ranma to cut it this close so many times. He was definitely still weak from the week's fighting.
And Ryouga was trying to take advantage of it while he could. He pushed aggressively, constantly, and hoped that Ranma would burn out first.
A bit of a flaw in the plan was the fact that Ranma was hitting him far more than he was hitting back.
He hoped that the hits he did connect with had hurt Ranma a lot more than it looked like it did.
Ranma was hurting.
When Ryouga hit, he really hit hard.
He really hoped Ryouga didn't notice the occasional wince as he ducked, rolled, and dodged his strikes. It wouldn't do to show weakness, not at all.
He continued stepping backward, leading Ryouga on carefully.
So far, so good.
"You're gettin'slow P-chan."
"Don't call me that anymore!"
C'mon, c'mon, keep it up, keep it up. That's it, a little more...
Red tainted Ryouga's vision as he charged at Ranma again,
his temper flaring to its fullest.
He wasn't going to get away this time! No! Not again!
This time it was Ryouga Hibiki that'd win! NOT Ranma!
"DIE!"
He lunged forward with a punch, missing Ranma again and smashing into the ground. Ranma dodged, AGAIN! He was ALWAYS running away! Running... away...
A few brain cells in Ryouga's head traded electrons.
Running... away...
Those electrons managed to speed through a few more neural synapses.
Running away... in a spiral...
In a spiral?
Uh oh.
"HIRYU SHOUTEN HA!"
Ukyou almost couldn't bear watching. It was like a disaster movie: she knew everything was going to come crashing down but she watched anyway.
Ryouga was mad, Ranma was cool, and there they went on the downward spiral...
"HIRYU SHOUTEN HA!"
The telltale sign of a huge column of light flared up and around Ranma, nearly blinding the audience. And then, much to everyone's surprise, the light sputtered out and died.
"What the..."
Ukyou was puzzled, then smiled as she saw Ryouga standing far away from Ranma. The crowd was confused, but she knew what happened.
He actually saw it coming.
And he backed off in time.
Maybe there was some hope for him yet.
"GO RYOUGA!"
Who's bloody cheerin'fer Hibiki?!
"Pardon, Noori-sama?"
"Who is cheering for Hibiki?!"
"The girl he lives with. Kuonji-san."
"Oh. Figures."
The Hiryu Shouten Ha was a ki-draining move. To perform it once was took quite a bit of effort. To perform it twice was an impressive feat, one that only a handful of very advanced martial artist would be able to do.
To perform it once, at the end of a week's worth of hard fighting, with nagging injuries to top it all off, would be quite a drain in any martial artist.
In other words, Ranma was in trouble and he knew it.
"Oh man."
Only one thing left to do: fake it.
He only hoped Ryouga wouldn't notice.
Ryouga wasn't sure what to do next. He was still shaken from the near-miss ki blast from Ranma, enough to shift his attitude from maniacally aggressive to very cautious.
He looked at his nemesis warily.
Ranma still stood there, arrogant as ever, not budging an inch.
This was a surprise.
He went over Ukyou's advice in his mind one more time. Don't be so aggressive and keep your head cool. Well, he managed to utterly fail the bit about keeping a cool head,
and it almost cost him.
Okay... don't be aggressive... don't be aggressive...
"Not that I want Ranma to lose," said Hiroshi. "But why isn't Ryouga being aggressive? I mean, Ranma's gotta be drained out right now."
"But he doesn't look like it," said Yuka.
Daisuke snorted. "He's bluffing. The guy never likes to look weak."
"Oh yeah, he always was overly macho," muttered Sayuri.
"Well, the longer this goes on, the better for Ranma,"
said Daisuke. "He always did recover faster."
"C'mon Ryouga. What'r ya waiting for?" taunted Ranma.
He knew that this was probably pushing his luck, but he did have to keep up appearances.
Ryouga shook his head. "No you don't. I'm not gonna fall for that twice."
That was just fine, thought Ranma. A few more minutes and he'd be ready for anything again.
Ryouga felt like an idiot. The back of his mind was screaming 'ATTACK! ATTACK!' but a part of his mind armed with a spatula was insisting on NOT doing that.
The Hibiki mind was a remarkably powerful thing. This self-restraint was doomed not to last.
"All right, let's see what you've got," growled Ryouga.
He brought to the surface all the memories of Ranma beating him time and again, every loss he ever suffered, every dark memory...
And he began to glow.
Ranma smirked.
So, that's the way it's gonna be, huh?
In a battle between Ryouga's angst and Ranma's ego, Ranma was sure his ego would triumph every time.
Ranma Saotome lose? No way.
It should be noted that in a battle of Ranma's ego vs.
Ryouga's angst, Ryouga also thought Ranma's ego would win.
Ryouga found that to be damn depressing.
"Heyhey, ki-wars!" cheered Daisuke.
Hiroshi tapped him on the shoulder. "Pass the sunglasses."
"Ah, right."
Sayuri and Yuka looked puzzled. "Sunglasses?"
They both nodded, sliding their sunglasses on smoothly.
"MOKOU-"
"SHISHI-"
"Heeeeeeere they go!" yelled Hiroshi.
"-TAKABISHA!"
"-HOUKOU DAN!"
They both launched a large beam of light, seeming to roar as it burned through the air. Ranma's ego met Ryouga's angst in a thundering collision of sound and fury.
"Wah! I'm blind!" cried Yuka.
After a full second of howling winds and blinding light,
the ki barrage ended.
Daisuke lifted his sunglasses. "Ranma's still standing."
Hiroshi did likewise. "So's Ryouga."
"Stalemate," they both said.
"Heyhey, they're doing it again!" said Hiroshi.
"Gimmie those!" cried Yuka, swiping Daisuke's glasses.
"Hey, wha-"
"SHISHI-"
"MOKOU-"
"Gimmiemyglasses!"
"-HOKODAN!"
"-TAKABISHA!"
"Wah! I'm blind!"
Ranma wasn't feeling as confident as he was a moment ago.
He'd barely been able to pull off that second blast, and Lost Boy over there was still standing? Not good.
Ryouga was thinking the exact same thing.
The crowd was wondering if Ranma was in trouble. Pulling off three grand ki blasts was surely draining on endurance.
On the other hand, Ryouga had been on the receiving end of a lot of hits, and two ki blasts weren't good for his endurance either.
Ranma decided to go with his strong point.
Ryouga did the same.
Tanya Noori ordered a large cola, with lots of ice and one of those neato-bend tips. This fact doesn't sound important, but it is.
"BAKUSAI-TEN-KETSU!"
The ground exploded again, forcing Ranma to jump away quickly and a few members of the audience to snap open their umbrellas as the gravel flew wildly through the air. The battleground wasn't so great at the start of the match, but now it was a wreck. Steady footing was becoming a rare thing.
For Ranma Saotome, however, that wasn't too big of a problem. He just took to the sky.
He put on a dazzling display of aerial acrobatics as he zoomed by Ryouga in a blur, slowly making progress with his hit-and-run tactics.
"Oh, he's really pushing it," said Hiroshi.
Daisuke nodded. "Yup."
"Why do you say that?" asked Sayuri.
"He's turning on the speed," explained Hiroshi. "That burns energy, and I gotta wonder how much he's got left."
"Well, it seems to be working," observed Yuka. "He's hitting Ryouga where it counts."
Daisuke nodded. "Yep, so it's a question of who drops first."
Meanwhile, Tanya Noori was idly stabbing at the ice in her cup with the straw.
This was ridiculous, thought Ranma. He wasn't going to be able to keep up the attack for much longer
Time to end it.
He flew by Ryouga again, tagging him on the side with a punch, then landed behind him. He ducked as Ryouga swing a backfist at him, then sprang up and out of Ryouga's sight.
"What the... where'd he..." Ryouga looked around in confusion, then looked up. Ranma was high above, and zooming down in a kick aimed at his head, his battle aura flaring all around him.
Ryouga grinned. Time to show his new trick. His own battle aura came to life, particularly around his fist. He crouched down for a moment, then sprang up into the air with a battle yell of "SHORYUKEN!"
Ranma blazed down like a falling star, and Ryouga's flaming fist zoomed up to meet him.
The crowd held its breath.
Ryouga flinched, ever so slightly.
With a mighty boom, Ranma's foot connected with Ryouga's jaw, narrowly dodging Ryouga's blazing fist. The two slammed into the ground hard, shaking the earth and raising a cloud of dirt.
The crowd was silent.
A passing breeze blew the cloud away... revealing Ranma Saotome standing over an unconscious Ryouga Hibiki.
The crowd went wild. Hiroshi and Daisuke gave each other hi-5's. Tanya Noori whistled pleasantly and put her straw back in her cup. Konatsu looked at her suspiciously.
"Noori-sama, you didn't..."
Tanya grinned and said nothing.
/AND THE WINNER AND NEW KING OF NERIMA, RANMA SAOTOME!/
Ranma took a deep breath and settled down on his knees on next to Ryouga. Finally, it was over. If Ryouga wasn't taken down by that last hit, he knew he was doomed.
He had to admit, Ryouga put up a good fight. He hoped the guy wouldn't be too sore about it afterwards. The guy always did overreact.
He briefly wondered why there was a large wet spot right on Ryouga's left cheek, but forgot all about it as he felt a pair of arms embrace him from behind. He leaned back slightly and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Congrats," said Akane, her breath brushing the back of his neck.
"Hey Akane. Told you I'd get it."
"Hey Ranchan, nice fight," said Ukyou, sitting down between Ranma and Ryouga.
"You okay?" asked Akane, squeezing Ranma slightly.
"Yeah, just need a looooooong rest."
"How about Ryouga?"
The three looked at their unconscious friend with some concern.
"He'll be all right," said Ranma confidently. "He's been hit by worse."
"I guess so."
"Maybe we should wake him up?" asked Akane.
"Nah," said Ukyou, brushing his hair gently from his eyes. "Let the guy rest a bit."
Ukyou felt mixed emotions at that moment, feeling happy for Ranma but sad for Ryouga.
Too bad there had to be only one winner.
She sighed. Things may have changed a lot lately, but it seemed that one thing was still the same: Ranma Saotome can't lose.
- end part 5 -