"Ran-chan!" – Regular Speech

'Stupid Spatula Girl!' – Thoughts

"Hiryū Shōten Ha!" – Martial Arts Technique

{Grandmother!} – Mandarin/Language other than Japanese Speech

Chapter 21: Amazon Showdown! Shampoo VS. Mousse!

Night Before the Full Moon

Mousse's Room, Nekohanten

Mu-Tsu carefully and gently finished oiling his favourite sword. He took good care of all of his weapons, no true master of weapons would allow wear, tear and rust to weaken their weapons, but this sword was the first blade he had mastered for the use in close combat. It wasn't as fancy as some blades, and it wasn't made by a famous swordsmith, but it had immense sentimental value, as it had been a gift from his sword tutor for doing so well in spite of his far-sightedness.

He had trained himself into the ground repeatedly, mastering the Art of Hidden Weapons to a degree unsurpassed by any but a member of the Council of Matriarchs. He had learned the Art of Thrown Weapons to the degree that the Captain of the Village Guard had to take him seriously in a fight. He had learned every skill and technique available to a Joketsuzoku male of his standing and then invented some techniques of his own when that wellspring of knowledge had dried up.

All of it...every drop of blood, sweat and tears that he had shed since he was six years old, all of the pain and exhaustion, had been for the sake of his beloved Xian-Pu. He had developed a crush on her as a child and it had only grown stronger as they grew up. Mu-Tsu was the pre-eminent male Joketsuzoku warrior of their generation, just like Xian-Pu was the pre-eminent female warrior of their generation. By all rights, their elders should have been pushing them together subtly in order to improve the bloodline by joining two strong warriors together...

...but they hadn't!

Simply because he had lost one fight against Xian-Pu when they were six, he was not considered worthy to wed the great-granddaughter of a Matriarch, his efforts and achievements since that fight completely ignored due to that one loss over something that he couldn't even remember clearly! It was so frustrating that it made him want to cry!

So what if he had basically blown off some boring lessons in tradition and stuff? They wouldn't have helped him get strong enough to impress Xian-Pu! And so what if he had ardently chased away some bugs (men) away from his beloved? None of them were worth the dirt on her shoe!

He had constantly tried to woo her, only to be rebuffed at every turn! He did his best to impress her and got the cold shoulder! And when he had discovered that she had lost to an outsider male, he had leapt into action to free her of the obligation, only to see her happy with the man who had defeated her! It defied belief (by Mu-Tsu anyway) that Xian-Pu, one of the most independent and noble Warriors in the entire Joketsuzoku, was so willingly submitting herself to the outdated and archaic tradition that required a Joketsuzoku to marry someone of the opposite gender should they lose to one.

It had been with growing horror and anger that Mu-Tsu had realised, over time, that Xian-Pu had actually fallen for the lout of a Japanese boy. It was inconceivable! He utterly ignored her most of the time, even as she lavished him with her affections and attention, two things that Mu-Tsu had unsuccessfully sought for himself for over a decade.

Mu-Tsu was man enough to admit that he was utterly jealous and envious of Saotome for managing to effortlessly acquire what he had long sought, seemingly almost without any thought or effort on the other boy's part. Not to mention that other women were seemingly lined up and vying for his attentions at the same time; Tendo Akane, Kuonji Ukyo, Kuno Kodachi and a host of others. Even Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung, two of Xian-Pu's younger admirers from back in the village, had developed crushes on Ranma, and he had previously thought they were Warrior's Warriors and totally infatuated with Xian-Pu!

That Ranma had been able to ignore someone of Xian-Pu's beauty and grace had infuriated and angered Mu-Tsu just as much as it had relieved him, as it had meant that his beloved was still, technically, free and available.

Now though...ever since the debacle with the idiot old man-goblin and that lust-chi band-aid of his, Saotome had been drawn towards his Xian-Pu (and Kuonji, he supposed) like a moth to a flame. He knew for a fact that his beloved had bestowed her favour upon Saotome at least once before he had arrived in Nerima, with the Kiss of Marriage, but she had almost certainly done so again recently!

The wizened old mummy that was Khu Long, sitting member of the Matriarch's Council and Xian-Pu's great-grandmother, was heavily in favour of the Kiss of Marriage between his beloved and Saotome and had even delivered a ruling regarding his continued status as one of Xian-Pu's swains. The next day, at the evening of the full moon, he would fight his beloved once again. Should he win, he could continue to pursue her. Should he lose, however...he would be forced to give up on any further advances on Xian-Pu...on pain of numerous very painful and humiliating punishments that the Joketsuzoku had for males who didn't take 'no' for an answer.

They had very little humour when it came to males trying to be pushy with women.

'To remain as your swain, I must fight you with all the skill and strength at my command, my sweet Xian-Pu.' Mu-Tsu thought sadly. He hated the thought of harming the object of his affections, but Khu Long had left him with no alternatives. Xian-Pu would know the full power of his twin styles of Hidden Weapons and Thrown Weapons and would see that he, Mu-Tsu, was indeed the right man for her.

It was the last hope he had left.

The Next Day

Courtyard, Fūrinkan High School

"Wait, so Mousse is gonna be fighting Shampoo tonight?" Akane blinked. "Why?"

"Cologne's tired of Mousse pullin' a Kuno and not taking no for an answer." Ukyo replied. She was, unusually for her, not running her lunchtime grill due to it needing some maintenance. Leaning up against a tree in the courtyard, she, Akane and Ranma were, surprisingly, having lunch together without snapping at one another.

The Tendo Heiress grimaced. She had all too much experience with Kuno being Kuno to be unsympathetic to Shampoo about this. Nevertheless, Mousse was an obstacle between Ranma and Shampoo and she was (reluctantly) unhappy about another wall between the two being removed as Shampoo's cat curse had been.

"So how does it work?" she asked.

"Just the same as the normal fights we see around the place, 'xcept that the only ones there aside from Shampoo and Mousse will be me, Ucchan and Cologne." Ranma answered before opening his melon bread. "Cologne'll be the referee."

Akane hid another grimace. She could guess as to why Cologne was limiting it to just them; it was likely that only members (or prospective members) of the Joketsuzoku could watch a marriage match between members of the tribe. Jealousy and anger churned inside of her as she saw that Ranma was drawing further and further away from her, in both closeness and in skill.

She had tried to get her father to train her, but any training he had given her was half-hearted and short-lived. The slightest and flimsiest of excuses to get out of training her were taken and it was really, really, really starting to piss her off.

Just then, the bell started to ring to signal the end of lunch. As she packed up her bento box and headed back to class, trailing after Ukyo and Ranma, who were chatting with one another happily, she was struck by how familiar with one another the childhood friends were. Well, they had been close, even before the Love-Aid Band-Aid incident, but they were a lot more -touchy-feely with one another now. A light brush here, a subtle touch there...and it seemed like neither of them were really conscious of it either.

'Stupid Happōsai and his stupid band-aid.' she thought bitterly. 'This wouldn't have happened if he'd kept his lust-chi to himself!'

That Evening

Shampoo's Room, Nekohanten

Xian-Pu was kneeling on the floor of her room, cleaning her dao.

Again.

For the fifth time that day.

'This is my only chance to stop that idiot Mu-Tsu from constantly harassing me.' she thought for the nth time. 'I have endured his 'attentions' for a decade now and it is high time that he stops, especially since I am engaged to Ranma!'

Despite the harshness of her thoughts, words and actions towards Mu-Tsu, Xian-Pu did not really hate or dislike the duck boy. She saw him as a brother...a clumsy, inept, idiotic and stupid brother perhaps, but a brother nonetheless. She had not ever, even in her wildest fantasies or lowest points, thought of him as a possible paramour.

The thought was disgusting, like properly kissing a relative on the mouth.

And yet Mu-Tsu hadn't taken the hint, and had made himself a nuisance to her ever since they were three. Driving away the few male warriors who dared to approach her, constantly harassing her with increasingly wild and extravagant gifts and serenades (which were awful due to the fact he was tone deaf) and generally driving her up the wall and onto the ceiling in frustration. Not to mention his frequent marriage challenges.

That last one made the Amazon Champion grit her teeth in outraged fury. Discovering that she had been victorious in their last four marriage challenges only because the idiot was too worried about hurting her was an insult to her pride and status - both as a member of the Joketsuzoku and as a warrior and martial artist. To do anything less than give your all in a challenge was an insult to your opponent, and while she was relieved to have not been married to the half-blind boy, the strike to her pride had stung like nothing else in her life.

She had trained and trained and trained for this day. Now, when his status as a swain to her was on the line, Xian-Pu knew that he would fight her all out, would hold nothing back. Her daily training sessions with her Airen and Ukyo had made her grow in strength and she was reasonably confident in her chances of victory...but still, the thought of possibly losing this match had been gnawing away at her confidence ever since she had woken up this morning.

Should Mu-Tsu defeat her, he would then be entitled to challenge the first male to defeat her in combat, Ranma, for the right to be her fiancé. The chances of the duck-cursed boy actually managing to beat Ranma was laughable, but she didn't want to lower her Airen's opinion of her.

{You have polished that sword for long enough, child.} the voice of her grandmother spoke up behind her. {It's already shining brighter than it has since it was brand new.}

{I am nervous, Grandmother.} Xian-Pu said as she sheathed the blade. {Never before, not even at the annual competition, have I ever felt such unease before a fight.}

{That is because before now, you have never fought with something serious on the line.} Khu Long said as she hopped off of her staff and landed next to her granddaughter. {Or at least, not something we couldn't have gotten you out of. Even your match against Picolet Chardin II was something that a little application of Xi Fa Xiang Gao couldn't have fixed. This time, the stakes will be enforced by tribal law. Fail here and I cannot help you.}

{I will not fail. Not here, not now.} the Champion stated fiercely. {I will be free to marry my beloved Ranma and Ukyo, or I will chop my hair off!}

{None of that now.} the elderly Amazon said sharply. {Do not increase the pressure on yourself, granddaughter. You'll be liable to make mistakes and lose should you do.}

{Yes, Elder.} Xian-Pu nodded obediently.

{Listen to me, girl} Khu Long said seriously. {You possess all of the necessary skills, tactics and techniques to emerge victorious in this fight. Treat this fight seriously, start strong and don't let up, keep your cool and pressure your opponent and you will emerge victorious. You are my heir and I know that you can win. During the match itself, I must be impartial and neutral as is required of a Matriarch refereeing a Marriage Challenge, but I will be cheering you on inside, Xian-Pu.}

{Grandmother...thank you.} Xian-Pu was touched by this. An Elder never let their relations with Warriors affect their judgement during a match, and they rarely ever let people know about their personal bias towards one Warrior over another. Xian-Pu knew her grandmother would want her to defeat Mu-Tsu, but she didn't expect her to actually tell her as much in person before the match!

{Good. Now, how are you going to show your interest in Ukyo?} Khu Long asked with a knowing look, making her granddaughter flush bright red and pout prettily.

{Grandmother!} she whined. {How am I supposed to do that? Nothing in the tribe's customs has prepared me for this! These outsiders are so strange with their own customs that seem at odds with one another...I don't know what to do...}

{One of your failings is that you waver between reckless impetuousness and wavering hesitation in situations such as this.} the Matriarch sighed. {Once you manage to strike a subtle balance between the two, tempering daring boldness with sensible caution, you will truly be a force to be reckoned with. In this instance you are overthinking it again. Simply state your intention to steal her hand and heart alongside Ranma's and she will get the gist of things. Perhaps seal it with a kiss to make it absolutely clear.}

While Xian-Pu's face gathered all of the blood in her body, she recalled the time that she had kissed Ukyo. It had been very nice, and she wouldn't mind repeating the experience...

{I'll...give it some thought, grandmother.} she managed to get out.

{See that you do.} Khu Long nodded. {You have another hour before we have to depart for the area I've chosen for the match. Rest, have something to eat and clear your mind in that time. I have also prepared the clothes and armour that we decided upon last month. You can change into them at the site of the match.}

With that, the old woman leapt back onto her staff and hopped away, leaving her descendent to gather herself to try and relax before she met her childhood friend in battle.

Later

Forest, Outside of Nerima

"Huh...this ain't too bad a place for a fight." Ranma mused, looking around the place that Cologne had chosen for the fight. It was an area next to where a forest met with a river, with a large clearing between the two. It was actually pretty near to where he'd trained to master the Hiryū Shōten Ha during the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion incident.

"Glad you approve, Son-in-Law." Cologne replied from her perch on her cane. "In the interests of far play, I had to find a neutral battleground, one that either favoured neither participant, or favoured both of them evenly. An open plane would favour Mousse, while a forest would favour Shampoo. This area, which I've outlined the boundaries with specific posts, has both an open, unobstructed area and a forest, which balances it out. The river is disadvantageous to both of them due to how it limits their movement."

Ranma nodded. An open plain left Shampoo as a prime target to Mousse's thrown weapons, while the trees of a forest offered her cover from them.

"So the challenge is about more than just their personal strength as martial artists...it's about how they use that strength." he summed it up. "Making proper use of the terrain to outwit and outflank your opponent is parta that. Am I right?"

"Absolutely correct." the old Amazon said with a nod. "Pure brute force and skill are nothing without the ability to think on one's feet and adapt to what the situation at hand throws at you. That is what a true warrior of the Joketsuzoku can accomplish. Where are Ukyo and Shampoo, by the way?"

"In th' woods, getting' Shampoo changed." the Saotome Heir replied, trying not to think of the girls getting involved in skinship with one another. "Shampoo said something about wearin' a special outfit or somethin'?"

"Somewhat. It's a newer version of her usual outfit and armour that she usually wears." the elderly Amazon stated with a chuckle. "She wanted to make something clear to that young idiot over there during this match."

She jerked her head at where Mousse was standing, looking into the water of the river as it flowed by. He was wearing his usual white robe and thick glasses, hands concealed in the long sleeves that he used as openings into his Hidden Weapons space.

Having studied the Art of Hidden Weapons, Ranma now knew exactly how difficult it was to create and maintain even the small Hidden Weapons space he used to carry around a change of clothes, his wallet and his meteor hammer, which made Mousse's skill with it incredible. He was easily maintaining a Hidden Weapons space the size of a small warehouse 24/7, and had done so for at least the last four years. While the Saotome Heir was confident that he'd be able to get his control of the Hidden Weapons technique to that level at some point, he wasn't too proud to admit when someone had a better grasp on a technique than he did.

"Hey Cologne." He said after a moment of thought.

"Hm?" the old woman made a noise to show she was listening.

"What's this likely to do to Mousse's rep back in the village if Shampoo wins?" Ranma asked quietly.

"A bit of relief from his parents and a sense of 'finally!' from most of the rest." the Matriarch quietly said after a moment. "Understand that he technically hasn't broken any laws, taboos or customs; he's stretched, bent, twisted and taken advantage of loopholes in all of the above, but he is merely seen as being impolite and too persistent to everyone else in the village. Once news gets around that he has to stop pursuing Shampoo on pain of serious punishment from here on out, I have it on good authority that at least two, possibly as many as four, Warriors back home will start training in earnest to challenge him to a Marriage Match. He is the strongest male Joketsuzoku of his generation after all, so he's seen as quality husband material."

The pigtailed martial artist had to doubt the abilities of most of the Joketsuzoku to estimate a guy's worth if Mousse, of all people, was seen as a prime catch.

"Ran-chan! Cologne! We're here!" Ukyo's voice called through the trees. Ranma turned to face them and froze as he caught sight of them. Ukyo was dressed in her usual Okonomiyaki chef's outfit, which suited her a lot. She had part of her fringe tied into a braid this time, and pinned back to one side, which Ranma found cute.

Shampoo was the same as ever...or so Ranma thought initially. As she drew closer, Ranma's jaw dropped as he took in her new apparel. Whereas her usual outfits were usually shades of green, blue or pink, this one was different. Her kung fu trousers were black, while her top was red. The breastplate that she wore was a deep purple that looked very similar to the colour of her hair, and that wasn't all. Emblazoned on the chestplate were a pair of rearing horses facing one another, one black and one red, with what looked like a pair of kanji in the middle, 久遠, outlined in golden lacquer.

Speechless, he turned to Cologne for an explanation.

"I doubt I need to explain the two horses, hmm? They represent you, both your male and female forms." the old lady cackled. "The kanji are a part of Ukyo's family name, 'Kuon', which means eternity. There are multiple meanings to the presence of those kanji, but that can wait until after the match is finished, Son-in-Law."

Shaking his head to try and make the feeling of being punch drunk go away, he didn't notice Ukyo coming up next to him until she spoke.

"Unexpected, right?" she said with a sigh, a slight blush on her face. When she'd seen the exact same kanji as in her family name emblazoned on Shampoo's armour, she'd been just as speechless as her Ran-chan was. Shampoo, the little minx that she was, had smiled like the cat who got its cream at the sign of her blush.

"Y-Yeah..." he said in disbelief. "She let you know about this in advance?"

"Nope. She was grinning like a loon when she saw me blushing." the Osakan chef denied. "Looks like Mousse has seen her too."

The jaw of the male Amazon was hanging somewhere around his knees as he saw the new clothes that 'his' Shampoo was wearing. While they fit her just as well as her old ones, the implications of the two horses and the kanji were not lost on him. She was outwardly stating to him that she considered herself theirs already.

As if he didn't already known that.

Fists clenched in anger, he forced his ire down. He would win his beloved Shampoo from this foolishness she was set on seeing through, then he would deal with Ranma in due time. Even with all of his recent training, he was self-aware enough to understand that Ranma's strength eclipsed his own...for the moment.

"Now that both of you are here, we can commence the battle." Cologne said sternly. "Take your places, the both of you."

Silently, Shampoo and Mousse took places in the middle of the clearing. Each of them stood several meters apart and in the middle of the clearing area, with the trees to one side and the river to their other. The wind picked up slightly and blew their hair in swaying banners behind them.

Locking eyes, the two warriors tensed as they prepared for the final fight of the series of battles that had lasted for just over a decade.

"This is an official Marriage Match between two blooded warriors of the Joketsuzoku." Cologne announced solemnly. "Xian-Pu, of my own bloodline, has been challenged for the right to challenge her fiancé, Saotome Ranma, for her hand by Mu-Tsu, of the bloodline of Matriarch Xiāngshuǐ. Should Mu-Tsu win, he shall have a year and a day to prepare to face Saotome Ranma in a formal match for Xian-Pu. Should he fail, he shall be barred from any further marriage matches for Xian-Pu's hand in marriage from this date onwards. Do both parties hear and acknowledge the terms of this match?"

Shampoo and Mousse both nodded grimly.

"As the only Matriarch present, I shall be acting as an impartial referee for this match." the elderly Amazon continued. "I shall prevent any outside interference during the match, and I shall stop any illegal techniques or tactics from either participant that I see during the match. I have already gone through Mu-Tsu's Hidden Weapons collection and confirmed that he possesses none of the proscribed weapons that would make him disqualified. I have also been through Xian-Pu's Hidden Weapon collection and have also found no proscribed weapons that would disqualify her."

'Proscribed' in this case meant poisoned, acidic, magical or explosive weaponry. This meant that Mousse couldn't pull an explosive barrage of bombs like he usually tried against Ranma. This was to put everything on the skill, tenacity and cunning of the warriors. Rather than relying on a crutch of external magical or scientific help, they had to rely on themselves, their weapons and their skills. Nothing else.

Cologne had explained this when she had asked Ranma and Ukyo to not interfere with the match in any way. As the referee, only she could interfere in a sanctioned match without repercussions.

"This match shall end on several possible condition: should one participant lose consciousness, they shall lose. Should one participant verbally or non-verbally surrender, they shall lose. Should one participant surrender and the other continues to attack them, the latter shall automatically forfeit the match." Cologne stated sternly. "Should one participant be wounded to, in my judgement, a serious degree, then they shall automatically forfeit. Do you both hear and understand these rules?"

Once again, the two younger Amazons nodded in affirmation.

"Very well then." the Matriarch said gravely. "I hereby acknowledge that both participants have heard and understood the terms and consequences of the match. You may begin when ready."

In a blur, Mousse's arms were barely visible as he hurled a large wave of weaponry at Shampoo, who pulled out her dao and started running at Mousse, dodging and deflecting the armoury full of weaponry sent at her.

"She's in good form." Ranma said, a touch of pride in his voice for the Amazon girl.

"Yep." Ukyo agreed, sounding just as proud of her friend-slash-rival-slash-possible love interest as he was.

"Mousse is also much more accurate with his aim, and the speed and strength of his throws are both greater than before." Cologne pointed out neutrally. "He has been diligent with his training, if nothing else."

"Huh...now ya come t'mention it..." Ranma nodded.

"Ran-chan, this ain't the time ta be praisin' Shampoo's opponent!" Ukyo bopped him on the shoulder reprovingly with one hand.

"Admittn' if someone's strong ain't a bad thing." Ranma pointed out.

As they talked, the two never took their eyes from the battle, which was getting intense. Mousse, face impassive, kept throwing more and more weapons from his Hidden Weapons space, which Shampoo either dodged or deflected with her dao.

'They're testing one another.' Ranma deduced. 'No fancy techniques beyond what they usually use, no tricks, just plain fighting to establish a base outline of their opponent's skillset. Huh...despite bein' childhood friends, they've never actually gone all-out against one another before. That's why, huh? This ain't gonna be a quick and easy victory, no matter who wins.'

'Damn, they're really goin' at it.' Ukyo marvelled at the sight. 'I knew that Shampoo was good with that pig-sticker, but dang it, I'd have trouble holding her off with my Battle Spatula if she came at me with that kinda speed. I need to up my training.'

While the two younger people watched on, Cologne had her own thoughts on the battle.

'This will be a true test for my great granddaughter. I know that Mousse has been practising some secret techniques late at night. They are not too shabby either.' the Matriarch mused as she watched the two Amazons before her started to become more deeply drawn into the battle. 'Shampoo has been making a great deal of progress with the Shuhyō Jōnetsuen and is more than ready to use it in battle, but as to whether it alone can be enough for her to claim victory over Mousse is another matter entirely. I hope she does not become overconfident in her trump card...because Mousse has several up his sleeves...and you're walking right into the jaws of the trap of his first.'

Shampoo frowned slightly as she batted aside a kunai that Mousse had thrown at her. There was something...strange going on with Mousse's fighting style that was giving her an increasing sense of danger the longer she fought on. He kept moving back and hurling more weaponry at exactly the same pace as when the match had started.

'He's up to something...but what?' the Amazon wondered. 'A trap? But he can't have made one before the duel started; Great grandmother would have spotted it and made it his loss from the get-go. So...it's a trap he set as we've fought? All he's done is...throw his...weapons...oh...that's...!'

Even as she realised it, Mousse sprang his trap. "Anki: Hagane no Meiro! (Hidden Weapons: Maze of Steel!)" he shouted and then jerked up and then back with his arms.

Shampoo spun around quickly to see that almost all of the weapons that she had deflected and dodged previously were now in the air again and aimed right at her! Narrowing her eyes, the Amazon Champion spotted countless thin, almost invisible, wires attached to them.

'Fishing line...that's how he's doing it!' she thought as the weapons sped towards her. 'Each weapon has a thin piece of fishing line attached to it that he can use his chi on to manipulate it as he pleases! And I was too busy looking past the weapons I'd already knocked away to see the next ones coming that I didn't notice! As expected of Mu-Tsu, he's just as crafty and cunning as always!'

With a twitch of her hand, Shampoo pulled out another sword from her Hidden Weapon space, a jian, and started smashing weapons out of the air again with both of them. 'Unfortunately for you, I expected some form of trickery and deceit from you in this match!'

"Huh..." Ranma said absently, his mind focussed on the sight of Shampoo smashing weapons into kindling and scrap metal with her two swords. "That's damn impressive."

Mousse was starting to sweat. He simply didn't have the chi reserves to reinforce all of his weapons to the same extent that Shampoo was reinforcing her swords, just barely giving them direction with his chi was taxing enough. This meant that Shampoo could smash his weapons quite easily thanks to hers being far more resilient than his were. Her mastery of the Hōsha Kōtei no Tsue technique had advanced by leaps and bounds since she'd started training with Ranma and Ukyo.

'Dammit...!' he growled before commencing the second part of his technique. Hagane no Meiro had two parts to it. Part 1, Hagane no Kabe (Wall of Steel), was what he'd just executed, attacking the target from behind with discarded weaponry. Part 2, Meikyū no Wana (Labyrinthine Trap) was continuing to attack from the rear while recommencing his attack from the front. Even Shampoo would have a hard time fending off an attack from both sides...surely.

Time seemed to slow down for Shampoo as she heard the whistling of the wind being cut by edged weapons from behind her. 'A two-stage technique...as expected of a Master of the Arts of Hidden Weapons and Throwing Weapons! But...!'

Channelling chi into her legs, Shampoo flew upwards and towards Mousse, dodging and deflecting the few weapons sent towards her from the front, while the weapons from the rear didn't have the range to strike her anymore and landed in the dirt again.

"Mousse!" Shampoo shouted. "You lose! Shuhyō Jōnetsuen!"

In a burst of vermilion light, her dao lit aflame before she lashed out with three quick slashes, sending three crescent-shaped bursts of fire at her opponent. As they passed through the air, they severed the slowly falling fishing line, ending the possibility of Mousse repeating his technique for a second time.

"Kongō no Tate! (Adamantine Shield!)" Mousse yelped and pulled something out of his Hidden Weapon space just before the first fiery crescent struck him. The area he was in was engulfed by flames, smoke and kicked up dirt from all three hits striking in succession. Ranma and Ukyo eyed it warily, while Cologne was impassive. Shampoo, on the other hand, landed and continued to run at Mousse's location.

'That's right, Xian-Pu. Keep running at Mu-Tsu!' Cologne thought. 'Although he is skilled in hand to hand, and close combat, his first instinct is to retreat and gain space to throw a weapon! This is the weakness of one who masters Hidden Weapons and Throwing Weapons consecutively!'

Mousse staggered out of the smoke, a shield shaped like a man-sized turtle's shell falling from his arm. It was cut, buckled and burned beyond recognition. Despite its strong-sounding name, it was only made of steel, after all.

'Just how powerful is that chi blast?!' the male Amazon thought in disbelief. 'How can a chi attack powered by passion, of all things, be so powerful?! I'll have to take it to the next level now...oh shit!'

The last part was thought as Shampoo leapt at him, both of her blades burning with the vermilion fire of her chi attack. As she descended towards him, a part of his mind noted that she was never more beautiful than when in the midst of battle. The rest of him acted to avoid her, one arm lashing out and sending a Shéng Biāo, or Jōhyō, out to slam into a far-away tree and then pulled, letting the Hidden Weapons Master avoid Shampoo's blades.

{As always, you are quick to flee, Mu-Tsu!} Shampoo snarled as she ran in pursuit.

{And as always, you are quick to charge in where the heavens step lightly!} Mousse rejoined as he leapt up, bouncing off a tree and into the air above Shampoo. {Always headstrong and bullheaded! Let us see you break through this! Anki: Ichi no Dan: Dai Tekkyū Otoshi! (Hidden Weapons: First Step: Large Iron Ball Drop!)}

Appearing as if by magic from his sleeves came a massive iron ball, at least the size of an exercise ball and it had to weigh a considerable amount. It sped down quickly, but not so quickly that Shampoo couldn't dodge out of the way of it.

{Was that supposed to worry me?} Shampoo scoffed.

{No, it was supposed to make you complacent! Anki: Ni no Dan: Kyokudai Tekkyū Uchiotsohi! (Hidden Weapons: Second Step: Gigantic Iron Ball Shootdown!)} Mousse shouted as the chain that snaked from the back of the iron ball kept speeding out from his sleeves. Instinct tingling with a sense of danger, Shampoo started to fall back.

{Too slow!}The Hidden Weapon Master shouted as a metal sphere about three times the size of the first one fell out and shot towards Shampoo.

'I can't use the Shuhyō Jōnetsuen on that! It's too thick!' the purplette thought. 'I am sooo going to ask great-grandmother to teach me the Bakusai Tenketsu at some point! For now though...!'

Swapping out her swords for her personal favourite weapons, the paired Chuí, Shampoo took a firm stance, synchronised her breathing with her chi flow, enveloped her precious weapons with chi via the Hōsha Kōtei no Tsue, and struck the approaching ball of solid iron with her best strike.

"Sōten Sōgeki! (Azure Sky Twin Strike!)"

'She's taking it head-on?!' Mousse thought in alarm. 'Dammit!'

With a single loud CLANG the stupidly large iron ball and Shampoo's round hammers collided. The technique Shampoo had used was usually one that was used to shatter the defences of heavily armoured soldiers and warriors, striking with both Chuí at the same spot simultaneously to buckle and rend armour. Most people on the receiving end of this technique woke up looking at the sky in confusion, thus the name.

Against a massive and solid object like the iron ball Shampoo had just struck, it was the expectation and fear of the onlookers that Shampoo's weapons would be destroyed and she would be badly hurt.

So, when the iron ball was quickly smashed into scrap metal, the one thought of Ranma, Ukyo and Shampoo was 'Eh?!', while Cologne looked unfazed and Mousse frustrated.

"It was...hollow." Ranma said, one eyebrow twitching. "Cologne...?"

"As if he'd be allowed to use a solid iron ball the size of a car in a Marriage match, Son-in-Law!" the matriarch cackled. "And he couldn't carry something of that weight in his Hidden Weapons Space even if it was allowed! Just the weight of that single hollow iron ball, plus all of his other weapons, had him at his absolute limit!"

"So it was a bluff to try and make Shampoo retreat, probably so he could wrap her up in some of his weapons." Ukyo deduced. "Man, he's a tricky guy."

"Hidden Weapons masters are frequently especially hard to fight against because of their crafty fighting style." Cologne remarked. "For a straightforward fighter such as Shampoo, who prefers to take the most direct route to victory whenever possible, Mousse is both the best and worst type of opponent for her; He's the best type because if she manages to move faster than his trickery or smash thought it thoroughly enough, she can easily win. He's the worst type because if she allows him to set the pace for the battle and gets caught up in his trickery, he can wear her down and defeat her in short order."

"Mousse is gonna need a lot more than some cheap tricks to get one over on Shampoo." Ranma scoffed before eyeing the Amazon in question. "Uh-oh...don't look now, but Shampoo's pissed."

{Mu-Tsu...just what further dishonour do you plan on piling on me?} Shampoo growled, her eyes hidden by her fringe as a powerful battle aura appeared around her body. {This hollow ball was about as threatening as a puppy to this great one, you should have known that! If you will insist on attempting to take it easy on me, even in this circumstance, you leave me no choice. Now I, this great warrior, shall exchange pointers with you.}

"Oh...shit." Mousse gulped. 'Exchanging pointers' with someone was usually a polite way of saying you were going to beat them bloody. Shampoo had always settled for just kicking him into LEO before, so he must have REALLY pissed her off this time!

Swapping her Chuí out for her dao, Shampoo leapt in to slice at Mousse, who hurriedly drew out a jian and blocked her strike clumsily. He immediately tried to back-pedal and get out of range of his opponent's sword, but Shampoo matched him step for step, maintaining pressure on him to the point he was very much unable to stay more than a couple of feet from her at any given time.

'This is the critical stage of the battle.' Cologne thought seriously. 'Shampoo has finally managed to bring things to a close combat battle. If she is able to keep the pressure up, Mousse will be hard pressed to win. Should he manage to get away though, it shall become anyone's game.'

'Dammit! That's two of my four trump cards made useless!' Mousse thought as he desperately fended off Shampoo's precision strikes. 'My other two are more deadly and I really don't want to use them, but if this keeps up, I'll lose!'

From the depths of his sleeve, a ball emerged and landed on the ground, exploding as it did so, engulfing the area in smoke, blinding Shampoo as Mousse slipped away safely. Snarling in frustration, Shampoo cut through the smoke and saw Mousse heading into the trees.

{Into the forest? Where I can block his thrown weapons with the trees? Is he losing the plot?} Shampoo muttered darkly before pursuing him.

Cologne grimaced. 'And now the tables have turned once again. Do not be so overconfident, my granddaughter...it is one of your greatest weaknesses!'

Inside the trees, Shampoo was scowling as she hunted her prey. Mousse was just slightly above average when it came to tracking himself, whereas she was only so-so when it came to concealing her tracks. Conversely, Mousse was excellent at concealing his tracks and Shampoo was excellent at tracking. This made things problematic when it came to finding him, as he was every bit as good at evading her as she was at finding him. It had been something that had developed between them as Mousse's stalking of her had gotten worse over the years. She'd increase her skills at finding him only for him to increase his skill at concealing his presence. It was a vicious circle, and she was sick and tired of it.

Narrowing her eyes as she stealthily crept through the trees, Shampoo easily spotted the tripwire and the rope trap, as well as the pitfall a beyond it. As always, Mousse excelled at building traps quickly and efficiently.

Avoiding the traps, the Amazon Champion took to the treetops to try and find Mousse. Stopping on one branch, she spotted one snapped twig, broken very recently. He had come this way.

Swiftly following the traces of his presence through the treetops, she leapt out and landed in another clearing, one that only had a single modest-sized boulder in the middle, and no sign of Mousse yet again.

Frustrated, Shampoo looked around impatiently for her quarry, stalking through the clearing until she reached the centre. And of course it was right then that Mousse appeared above her, weapons protruding from every opening of his clothes.

"Anki Ōgi: Tenkyū Gin'u (Hidden Weapons Ultimate Technique: Heavenly Weeping Silver Rain!)" he shouted before a literal rain of weapons started to hail down on her. Most were thrown weapons, like kunai, chakram and shuriken, but there were also swords, spears, axes and even maces mixed in.

"Shuhyō Jōnetsuen!" Shampoo shouted before lashing out with her dao multiple times, launching burst after burst of vermilion flames from it at the descending rain of steel. She only aimed at the weapons that she knew to be likely to hit her, ignoring the ones which would fall away from her position. The flames slammed into the falling weapons, scorching them and sending them flying off course, time and time again, but more kept falling in their place.

'I can't keep this up!' she thought as she felt the amount of chi has had access to dwindle with every strike. 'Unless...!'

An explosion of smoke engulfed the clearing, enshrouding Shampoo and everything else in the area. The rain of weapons continued regardless for a minute or so, but eventually stopped. Mousse, who had been floating on a makeshift balloon the entire time, slowly floated down to the trees, where he landed nimbly and stowed the balloon away in his Hidden Weapon Space.

{Please, just fall!} he muttered desperately. {I REALLY don't want to have to use my final trump card on you, beloved, so please just accept defeat!}

As the smoke from what was presumably a smoke bomb dispersed and scattered in the wind, Mousse's jaw dropped. While he didn't underestimate Shampoo by any means, he was more than reasonably certain that he had an accurate grasp on her overall strength, which this particular technique of his Anki Ōgi was supposed to be too much for her to handle. Yet, as he watched, all he saw as the smoke uncovered the clearing was dozens of weaponry embedded into the ground and a few pieces of red and black clothing on the ground.

"Wha...?!" he started to say before what felt like a piledriver slammed into his face, sending him smashing through tree branched and sailing through the air until he was back in the first clearing and skipping across the water of the river to land awkwardly on one of the stepping stones in the middle. Muttering numerous curses under his breath, the male Amazon took stock of his body. Thankfully, after many years of combat training, he had gotten into the habit of instinctively reinforcing his body with chi whenever he was seriously attacked, so the injuries he had were limited to bruised skin and bruised bones.

This did not mean that he wasn't feeling like an oni just smashed him with a Kanabō. Far from it. He knew he'd be waking up for a good week feeling these bruises as they healed. He was also glad he had only skated across the surface of the water, otherwise he'd be a duck right this moment and thus the old mummy would have called the match in Shampoo's favour already.

Then Shampoo marched out of the forest, eyes blazing with anger, one sleeve of her top was in ribbons, along with one leg of her trousers. The armour was cracked a bit, but she otherwise seemed in perfectly fine form. Other than a cut on her arm that was slowly weeping blood that is.

'That was too close.' the purplette thought grimly. She had dropped a smoke bomb (one of only two that she carried) and then ran around to one side of the clearing, suffering some small injuries and clothing damage in the process. Then she had hidden and snuck up on Mousse when he landed, delivering a very solid blow that gave him airtime. Now though? She was just done with this match. It was time and past time to end it, once and for all.

"Remember Shampoo, the strength of your Shuhyō Jōnetsuen is only, at best, as approximately as 60% of its total power." she remembered her Grandmother telling her. "To unleash its fullest potential, you must become a conduit for your feelings of passion, and unleash them in their fullest, purest form. Only then shall the leopard truly stalk its prey."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Xian-Pu allowed herself to feel all of her passion for her fiancé and Ukyo (who she was going to make her fiancée sooner rather than later) unrestrictedly. The swelling emotion burned through her veins, welling up inside her heart until she felt it would burst. Opening up her eyes, she glared at Mousse, who gulped and flinched back instinctively from her gaze, which, unbeknownst to her, was shrouded in blazing vermilion.

{Mu-Tsu.} she said evenly. {I do not hate you, but I am incapable of caring for you as you wish me to. Now with this technique, I sever the chains that bind us together, and shall move into the future with Ranma and Ukyo, whom I love.}

The sick look on her childhood friend's face as she spoke her feelings aloud shook her slightly, but she shook the unease off. For the sake of both of them, this had to happen. Hiding her sword away in her Hidden Weapons Space, Shampoo then thrust her arms out and unleashed the full force of her passion with a shout that the watching duo of Ranma and Ukyo felt shake them to their cores.

"Shin Shuhyō Jōnetsuen! (True Passionate Flames of the Hunting Leopard!)" she shouted before a vermilion inferno erupted around her and shot out in a large blast towards Mousse. For an instant, the foremost section of the flames seemed to resemble the head of a snarling leopard just as it slammed into Mousse and exploding, covering the water in its vermilion flames and causing steam to rise from the river for a moment before the fire vanished.

Mousse, in his duck form, was half in, half out of the water, spirals replacing his eyes in a signal of unconsciousness. Shampoo was down on one knee, panting in exhaustion as the strength that using the full power of her chi blast had fled her, but a victorious grin on her face told everyone watching that it had been worth it to her.

Cologne nodded gravely. "Cease! I, Khu Long, declare this Marriage Match over! The victor is Champion Xian-Pu!"

Almost before she had finished speaking, Ranma and Ukyo were beside her granddaughter, helping her up and fussing over her arm injury. Smiling slightly, Cologne left the two to fuss over Shampoo and instead hopped over to to tend to Mousse, who had regained consciousness.

Looking forlornly at the woman he desired and now would never have, Mousse looked up at Cologne and quacked sadly.

"You knew that this would happen, Mu-Tsu." Cologne informed him gravely. "I could see it in your eyes the instant that she overcame your Kyokudai Tekkyū Uchiotsohi, that you knew that you couldn't win."

The Cursed duck boy looked away from the Elder, unwilling to admit the truth of that statement.

"I'll be sending a missive back to the village with an announcement of the result of this match by tomorrow." Cologne said quietly. "You have until then to decide if remaining near what can never be yours is too painful. Should you wish it, I can order you to return home and summon Xian-Pu's father instead. He needs some time out of the village anyway, so he'll be coming here regardless. Whether it is an exchange or not is up to you. Think with your mind and your emotions as one, boy. Accept your loss and move on to greener pastures, so to say. My granddaughter has chosen her future...now it is time for you to do the same."

Deciding that she had said enough, she pulled a flask of hot water out and set it down on the stone next to him before hopping off to give her descendent her own congratulations.

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Next Chapter: The Troublesome Six Demons of Happōsai!

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