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After the Fall - Chapter 8, Competition
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The Martial Arts Weapons tournament was larger than anyone in the Anything Goes school had anticipated -- the tournament had expanded to use two gymnasiums for the initial rounds, just to speed up the process. A pool of lower-level entrants in one gymnasium would reduce to four competitors, as would the pool of upper-level entrants, before merging to determine the championship. All Masters who weren't fighting in the tournament had been asked to serve as referees. Ranma had been assigned to the gym where the less experienced of his students were competing.
In the building where the more advanced competitors had been placed, Kuno and Ukyo were polishing their weapons. Mousse was sitting silently while Shampoo massaged his shoulders. Lin-lin and Lun-lun were warming up with dual bonbori kata, though each had sword and bo ready for competition as well.
Akane was preparing for her duties as a referee, and briefing her students on the rules to be sure they understood them.
"Alright, here's the deal. All attacks must be with weapons. Lin-lin and Lun-lun, be really careful on this point. I know Ranma's been drilling you on it, but I want you to stay in control and not forget this is just a tournament. There's no proscription against hidden weapons, so you should be fine, Mousse. Just be ready to prove you were actually using a weapon; some of the judges may not catch your 'Fist of the White Swan' the first time around. Conditions for victory are removing your opponent or their weapon from the ring, or scoring the most points in 15 minutes. The tournament itself is single elimination -- at your first loss, you're out. If you're out, go cheer on your friends and help them from the sidelines.
"Above all else, I want you all to have FUN. Relax, and remember where you're from. Somebody from the Anything Goes School is going to win this, and I fully expect two of us to be the final two, so you can just relax and take time to analyse your opponents.
"Now let's GO!"
Each martial artist reported quickly to his/her first round circle.
Kuno and Ukyo both disarmed their first opponents easily, breaking their opponent's bokken within seconds of the match start. Lin-lin and Lun-lun, meanwhile, brute-forced their opponents out of the way; Amazon strength was enough to toss unsuspecting opponents from the ring even when the bonbori were successfully blocked. Mousse, however, seemed to be having trouble. He spent almost the entire match dodging his opponent's weapon, until making what looked like a desperation strike to his opponent's bokken that drove the weapon to the mat outside the circle. He was nearly disqualified by the referee before showing her his weapons, the "Raking Hawk's Talons".
In the second round, Ukyo continued her winning streak with the disarming strategy. Lin-lin and Lun-lun both switched weapons, and instead of shoving their opponents out of the ring used the bo to swat them away. Mousse quickly wrapped his opponent up in a length of chain, prompting a yield. Kuno noticed that he was the only bokken user in the advanced pool.
Kuno's second opponent was a former member of St. Hebereke's Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics squad, competing with ribbon. Kuno's first thought was, "Ah! This should be an easy victory -- I know the counter to this technique."
Kuno charged through his opponent's spinning ribbon, taking a few minor hits before striking the girl with the tip of his bokken. The referee quickly counted a point for the girl, then blinked and realized that Kuno's opponent had been thrown from the ring by his thrust. The victory went to Kuno.
By noon, the field of competitors was down to eight. Lun-lun had lost a bout by becoming overeager; her last opponent had dodged a thrown bonbori. The four upper-level finalists were Mousse, Kuno, Ukyo, and Lin-lin; not a bad showing for the Anything Goes School. As expected, the Anything Goes lower-level students had all washed out. The incoming finalists from the lower level were a bokken user of some minor skill, a nunchaku user, a child who specialized in Sai, and a ninja woman who used the weapons of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics.
After lunch, the arrangement for the gym had been changed. For the next few bouts, there were only two circles, but they were much larger to accomodate more advanced tactics. For the final three bouts there would be only one circle, almost filling the gymnasium.
Kuno stepped into his circle, sparing Ukyo a glance. While he was facing the bokken wielder and was certain of his victory, she was facing the unknown ninja woman.
The referee signaled the beginning of the bout.
Kuno charged his opponent. He watched idly, the scene beginning to slow as he analysed his opponent's defenses. He prepared his attack, screaming "Yatatatatatata" as he unleashed his pressure wave attack. Kuno's opponent, better than he appeared, managed to sidestep the attack.
Kuno turned and refocused on his opponent. The man had skill; that much was obvious. As he parried the man's strike, Kuno recognized the style his opponent was using. It was a new school that called themselves Kami-ken; literally, the "sword of the gods". Unfortunately, the Kami-ken was only effective against those who relied on proper form. Kuno calmly blocked his opponent's strike, then rapped the man in the gut with the butt of his bokken. Without realizing it, Kuno's opponent rolled out of bounds and forfeited the match.
Kuno turned to watch Ukyo's match. Surprisingly, it was already over. Within the first few seconds, her opponent had latched onto the battle spatula and thrown it out of bounds with a ribbon. Whoever she was, she was GOOD.
Lin-lin and Mousse stepped up to face their opponents. Lin-lin had no problem removing her opponent from the ring. Sai just wasn't effective against the bulk of a bonbori. Mousse, in the enlarged circle, finally had the maneuvering room to cut loose. His opponent ran out of the circle when he noticed the rain of weapons falling from above.
Everyone took a half hour break while the lines were redrawn again. Ranma pulled Kuno aside.
"Ya realize yer facing the ninja girl next, right?"
"It doesn't matter. I will defeat her. I believe I have seen her weakness."
"What's that?"
"She is fighting to the tournament -- attacking the weapon rather than the individual. Kuonji-san and I both started the tournament with that tactic. I should be able to disarm her and therefore win."
"Ya talk a good game. Just remember she may have more than that ribbon. I watched her all morning; she's held back in every match so far. Don't go getting overconfident."
"I will do my best."
As he stepped into the circle, Nabiki came to his side. "For luck," she said, kissing him on the cheek.
Kuno readied his bokken and waited, his heart pounding. His opponent's mask left only her eyes visible, limiting his ability to read her expressions. When the referee signaled to begin, he charged forward. He ignored the ribbon that wrapped around his weapon and let loose with his own special attack. One pressure wave attack later, the ribbon had been shredded and the girl's right hand appeared to be useless. Since no weapon had actually struck, the battle continued.
The girl produced a club and began taking swipes at Kuno's blade. Kuno calmly dodged each attack -- with the difference in weapon reach, he had little to fear. He dodged her fourth strike and prepared to hit her in the back, only to notice another, smaller ribbon wrapped around his ankle. Kuno found himself on his back, but thankfully not outside the ring.
"One point."
The combat resumed. Kuno was wary this time of the smaller ribbon, as well as the club attacks. The two combatants circled, testing each other's defenses. As the gymnast struck with her club, Ranma noticed something unusual.
"Watch out, Kuno. That thing's got hidden spikes!"
Kuno changed his stance, rolling away from the strike instead of parrying. Sure enough, the club sprouted spikes.
"Okay, so she's from St. Hebereke's. Nothing unusual there. Take her OUT, Kuno!"
Kuno charged once more, his strike this time swift and sure. Since the woman had used a doubly hidden and unfair weapon, he felt free to strike. His bokken tip caught her in the solar plexus, forcing her to double over and fall outside the circle.
"It is done," said Kuno.
Mousse and Lin-lin squared off in the ring. "Big Brother Mousse, you I defeat!"
"Try if you like, little sister Lin-lin. You'll not find me a typical male."
The combat was short. Lin-lin, for her part, made several good attacks before she was cornered by falling weapons. After three exchanges, Mousse utterly incapacitated her with a well-placed final attack.
Every jaw in the arena except Shampoo's and Ranma's dropped.
"Okay, Mousse, I have just one question. How on earth did you fit a FRIDGE into your sleeve? Yer gonna have to teach me that one."
"I can open up a class, Ranma-Sensei, now that Shampoo and I are married and staying here."
Kuno stepped into the ring for the tournament championship, and readied his weapon.
The referee signaled to begin.
"May the best man win, Mousse-san."
"May the best man win, Kuno-san. ATTACK!"
Mousse jumped high into the air and began to rain weapons down into the circle. Kuno smiled and used his bokken to stop those weapons that came near him.
"So, I see you've countered my initial attack. But can you handle this? FIST OF THE WHITE SWAN!"
Kuno ducked as a training potty nearly struck his head.
"RAGE OF THE GODS!"
Mousse sidestepped a rather obvious bokken strike.
Ranma leaned over to Akane. "Is it just me or does this look like our dads sparring?"
"Seems like."
"FLYING DRAGON STRIKE!"
"RAKING HAWK's TALONS!"
"DESPERATE LION STAB!"
"OSTRICH KICK!"
"RAGING DRAGON SWORD!"
"MALLET STRIKE!" Around this time, every martial artist in the gym fell over laughing except for Akane, who was looking extremely angry.
"So, Kuno, shall we finish?"
"Right, let's get this over with."
"THOUSAND SPIKES ATTACK!"
"YATATATATATATATATATATA!"
Kuno just couldn't compete -- after knocking away the first wave of spikes, his arms tired and a few began slipping through. He fell backwards, and his weapon flew out of the circle.
Mousse walked over and offered a hand up. "Good match. I expect you to join the hidden weapons class, though. You could use a few distance attacks."
Kuno smiled. "Nice match, Mousse-san."
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Later that night, the Anything Goes School hosted a party. Their victorious fighters were all getting drunk on sake, laughing and joking while younger members practiced sparring with whoever would fight them.
A deliveryman came to the door and knocked. He handed a package to Kasumi and left.
"Oh, my. Kuno, it's for you."
"Hey man, you've got a groupie, " teased Ranma.
"To the second-place finisher of the tournament," Kuno read, removing the string binding the box. "I wonder what it is."
The entire school quickly sobered up as he removed the lid. Inside the box were a dozen black roses.
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Author's note:
It was time.
Thanks to Worldmage, who contributed the possibility of Mousse hiding a fridge.
A note on reviews: not to complain, but it seems nobody writes them.
Hoody Hoo! Just passed the 1,000 hits mark for After The Fall! Thanks, everybody!