Legal: The characters of Ranma ½ were created by the great Rumiko Takahashi.
I am using them without permission, hopefully for the purpose of entertaining someone. If anyone who has a right to sue me has that desire, I have almost no money.
C&C is appreciated, you can contact me at brenda02@sprynet.com. And if you want to see the earlier parts of this and my other stories, you can find them at http://home.sprynet.com/~brenda02/Keith/Animeff.htm
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A Ranma ½ Fanfict
Surreal Genius
By Brendan O'Donnell
Part six

Ranma exploded into consciousness and rose to a seated posture, coughing and wiping the water from her face. She looked up at Nabiki who was standing by her futon holding a bucket of water.
"Do you mind?" Ranma commented in an annoyed tone.
"Hey you didn't wake up when I asked you and Noriko said this was the quickest option." She responded with a wide grin.
With an almost suppressed snarl Ranma stood and walked through the halls toward the Bath.

A shadowy figure sat in a tree before the gates of a large school complex. His eyes were scanning the faces of the students as they filed into the building.. He frowned. "Ranma," he commented, softly. Glancing at the clock on the tower he realized that his target had not arrived. He leapt off the tree branch, and landed quietly, his brown cloak settling around him. Looking at the school building he nodded to himself as he identified the window of the office. With a slight grin he ran straight up to that window, pausing to ram his fist into the wall beside it. The wall exploded.
Entering through his just created opening the figure walked up to the filing cabinets on the wall and opened the drawer marked S. Identifying the folder he sought he opened it, and read quickly. He frowned.
The door of the records room slammed open and a secretary stepped in. "What happened?" she commented while looking around the room. The figure stood, and suddenly she found herself slammed against the wall.
"Where is Furinkan High School?"
Shampoo hummed to herself as she walked through the streets, taking a longer rout back to the Saotome house that she hadn't taken before. She was feeling a joy that none of the homework in her bookbag could diminish. In her village she was the descendant and chosen heir of one of the strongest matriarchs. She was proud of her position but the requirements were tiring. *Here in Japan, I'm just an incredibly beautiful exchange student.* She thought to herself. *And since I'm the only Amazon in the entire city, I don't have play the role of supreme warrior to everyone I meet! No one caries if I follow the old traditions or not!* With a joyful laugh she leaped onto the top of a nearby stone wall and started running along it's length. The sound of voices from the other side prompted her to look and she stopped, frowning to herself.
On the other side of the wall a confrontation was underway. A group of four or five extremely bandaged figures in sweatsuits were threatening a black haired girl in a school uniform.
Shampoo frowned to herself. *I shouldn't take sides but five to one doesn't even resemble fair odds* Before she could take action the five pulled odd-looking clubs and charged the schoolgirl. Their target pulled a long black ribbon from her schoolbag and with an unnerving laugh she deftly deflected their attacks. *Hmm, it's unfair in the other direction* The ribbon wielder started thrashing her now cowering attackers. *Gloating over defeated opponents is ok, beating them is going too.* Shampoo thought to herself a second before leaping off the wall.
The ribbon wielding girl was cheerfully lashing her would be attackers, when suddenly a hand snapped out and caught it, pulling it tight. She looked up into the face of the purple haired girl who had caught it.
"You beat many enemy, should be enough, no need excess," Shampoo said.
"You caught my ribbon . . . I see your no ordinary girl."
"Shampoo no ordinary, she better," Shampoo replied with a smug grin.
"No matter." Shampoo's new opponent replied as she dropped her ribbon and flipped one of her opponents clubs into the air with her foot. "No one interferes with the black rose," She added as she caught the club and lunged foreword, thrusting the weapon at Shampoo. Shampoo ducked under the attack, lashing out with a kick to her opponents legs, knocking her off her feet. Shampoo followed her first attack with a rising uppercut, however the Ribbon wielder had used the trip as the start of a handspring, which avoided the punch and threw her to land several feet away.
"Well, you are good." Shampoo's opponent commented, pulling a black rose from her schoolbag. "I'm Kodachi, the Black Rose," She said as she threw the rose into Shampoo's hands. Turning she leaped to the top of the wall, paused and looked back at Shampoo. "Be sure to remember that." And with a laugh that sent shivers down Shampoo's spine she left in a series of roof to roof bounds.
Shampoo looked after her brief opponent a moment then was reminded of the five sweatsuit clad fighters who were now weeping over their loss.

In Akane's room Kodachi's five opponents were seated on the floor before her bed. On the bed Akane and Shampoo were siting looking at them. "Akane," one tearfully began.
"Please, you have to help us." Another added.
Akane looked at them, "The entire Rhythmic Gymnastics team was ambushed?"
"We were trying to repay the favor but she was just too good."
"And it's only a week till the big contest."
"You've gotta help us, Akane!"
"It's Martial arts rhythmic gymnastics and you're the only girl in school who has any chance of beating that cheater!"
"Actually there two girl now." Shampoo commented with a smug grin. Akane glared at her a second, then smiled at the girls.
"Don't worry guy's, I'll help you out, and Shampoo might too."
"Of course Shampoo help, Shampoo want second chance at rose maniac."
"I'm not entering, but if you let me get some water I'll help you train." Ranma commented as he straightened himself off the doorframe and walked out of the room.

Ranma looked around the dojo, contemplating the rhythmic gymnastic tools lying everywhere. Shampoo was going from tool to tool, cheerfully testing them with the proficiency of an expert in many weapons learning the basics of a new one. Akane was . . . "Um, can I help you with that?"
"Shut up!" She called back as she struggled with the ribbon which she had tangled around herself. Hearing Shampoo giggle she pivoted to glare at the Chinese girl.
"Akane not worry, Shampoo beat rose maniac easy at contest."
"I'm the one the team asked for help, I'll beat her!"
Shampoo opened her mouth a moment, then closed it as she glanced at her watch. "No time for argue, Shampoo have date tonight." With those words she exited the dojo.
Akane looked after her. "She has a date."
Ranma shrugged her shoulders and commented. "Well in the village there were all sorts of protocols about her and the local boys her age, this is her first chance to just go on a date and relax."
"Dates," Akane responded. "She's been out with a different guy every night."
"Well dating is pretty much a once in a lifetime experience for her," Ranma commented while smiling and shaking her head. "Noriko and Shampoo talked for a while a few nights ago and they decided that if Shampoo did meet anyone she really wanted to take seriously she'd get me to help him train." Ranma scratched her head. "I guess it'd be easier to get the elders to accept her getting serious with someone she could genuinely say beat her. Noriko's the one who knows about those tradition whatever's if you want to ask."
Ranma crossed her arms as she contemplated Akane. Stepping foreword she picked up a pair of gymnastics clubs. "Well, unless you want to call it a night we should start with the basic forms."
"I'm not quitting!"

"That's enough for tonight." Ranma commented as she put down the ribbon she was holding.
Akane slumped in exhaustion a few moments, then started a few stretching exercises. "Can I really do this?" She commented quietly.
Ranma looked at her. "Akane, you shouldn't underestimate yourself. It won't be easy, but you can really improve. Of course I would have to see Kodachi in action to judge weather or not you can do better than loose gracefully."
"Thanks." She responded sarcastically. She focused her remaining energy into stomping out of the Dojo.
Ranma walked after her, then frowned and looked up at the roof of the main house. With a quick jump she crossed the distance.
Akane sat in the furo, letting the hot water relax her as she recalled the intense training session she had just endured. She heard a kiah from outside. She opened her eyes and sat up. There was a muffled clattering from above her. *Someone's fighting on the roof.*

Wearing a well-worn gi, Akane entered her room and opened her window. Jumping out she grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled herself up. Looking around she saw a figure with a red pigtail sitting on the top edge of the roof facing away from her. "Hi Akane." Ranma commented.
"Ranma . . . I thought I heard someone fighting up here.."
Ranma nodded. "Kodachi. Apparently she said something about preferring to get her 'fair fighting' done before the contest." She stood and brushed a few black rose petals off her gi. "Akane," Ranma said as she turned and looked her in the eye. "I see many hours of practice ahead of you. Long hours."

A figure stood deep in the shadows filling the Saotome yard, silently regarding the house. The gaze moved over the back of the house, looking from window to window, coming to rest on a window through which a flicker of purple was visible for a moment.
"Hi Mousse!" called Noriko as she stepped into the yard.
The shadowed figure looked at her and stepped foreword. "Noriko?" He asked as his hand reached up to adjust his thick glasses. "How did you know I was here?"
Noriko responded. "Oniichan just called to tell us that someone might try to ambush Shampoo. So we started looking and I spotted you. What are you doing here in Japan?"
"My love for Shampoo will never waver, it inspires me to climb the highest peaks, to cross the deepest ocean depths!"
"You know she isn't interested." Noriko sighed to herself. "I know how hard it is to let go of your pursuit of her, but your going to have to sooner or later."
"Shampoo is my life. However small the chance the hope of winning her love is more important to me than anything."
Noriko reached into his sleeve and grabbed his hand. Mousse looked down at her. They both looked up toward the sounds of fighting that suddenly erupted from the room that was previously Ranmas.
"Don't," Noriko proclaimed, tightening her grip on Mousse's hand. He looked down at her. "Shampoo doesn't want help. And she's good enough that she would almost never need it."
There was a crash and Mousse and Noriko looked up again to see an unconscious feminine figure describing a great arc across the sky. Mousse immediately turned in pursuit with a cry of "Shampoo!"
Noriko glanced at the hole in the wall. She could see Shampoo looking guiltily at her handiwork. Noriko thought a moment, then started to run after Mousse. *Dad better wait till morning before he fixes that.* In her mind she recalled the frequent times the dojo and house had been damaged through her father and brother's fights. A smile touched her face as she remembered watching in awe as they repaired the damage at fantastic speed, patching the damaged areas with a skill that left the patches almost invisible. *Dad might even teach me a few of the maneuvers!* She thought excitedly. *He's always been hesitant about sharing what he and Ranma learned about Construction Martial Arts, but if he's got to do the repairs himself he might decide to teach me enough to help!*
Two more jumps brought her to the roof where Mousse was standing, the body of an attractive girl in a leotard cradled in his arms. He was looking through his thick glasses at her face. "I thought she was Shampoo." he commented, turning his head toward Noriko.
"Mmm," Feeling the girl stirring Mousse looked back at her. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Oh, thank you." Her arms reached up and she quickly wrapped them around his neck. "I was so frightened!" She added hugging Mousse tightly.
"Ah . . . I just . . . that is I saw you . . ."
"You're Kodachi right?" Noriko commented. Kodachi shifted her suddenly very cold gaze to her.
"Isn't it past your bedtime little girl?" Kodachi commented, making sure her arms stayed around Mousse's neck as he set her on her feet.
"I've got some time." Noriko responded with a grin. "So what were you doing?"
"I was merely discussing sportsmanship with my future opponent, and that purple haired barbarian attacked me!" She looked into Mousse's face. "And then you saved me," She said as she pressed her body against his, "Please I must know who my handsome savior is."
"Uh . . . I'm . . ."
"Mousse!" Noriko commented.
Mousse quickly nodded vigorously. "I'm Mousse!" He took a deep breath, then frowned. "And you shouldn't talk about Shampoo like that!"
Kodachi looked at Mousse and asked timidly "Is, is Shampoo important to you?"
"He's been chasing her for years, and she's been trying to make him stop just as long." Noriko said.
"She's a fool then." Kodachi responded, looking into Mousse's lenses. Raising her hand to his cheek she added, "How could any woman not want someone so handsome and strong."
Mousse began sweating, and his face was almost completely red. "Um, well, I need to, my . . ."
"Spam?" Noriko commented.
"Spam! I need to feed my spam!" He said as he pulled himself from Kodachi's grip and ran into the night as fast as he could.
Kodachi took a step after him, then stopped and sighed as she looked to the ground.
"You like him then." Noriko stated as she stepped next to Kodachi.
Looking down haughtily Kodachi said, "And who might you be child."
Noriko directed a hard look at her, then adopted a crooked smile. "Noriko Saotome. Your best chance for eternal happiness with Mousse there."
"And what makes you think so highly of yourself?"
"Well, first off I actually know him, and I have studied romance for most of my life. Trust me if I can't get you together you were never meant to be."
"Why?"
Noriko smiled benevolently. "I don't know you so I can't tell whether or not your right for Mousse. I do know that you could well be right for making Mousse give up on chasing after Shampoo and that's something everyone wants done. I'll meet you at café Toramaru tomorrow at five." She turned and started back toward the Saotome home. Pausing she looked over her shoulder. "Don't forget now."

Akane stumbled slightly as she walked along the top of the fence.
"Keep up." Ranma commented from where he was walking on the fence in front of her, his nose buried in a book.
Akane scowled at him and picked up the pace slightly.
"Remember your doing this for the fight. Balance is one of the most critical elements of agility and it has to be second nature to you."
Akane broke into a run and lashed out with a leg sweep as soon as she approached Ranma. Who fell forward, grabbed the fence and pushed off into a handspring and landed easily on the fence. With a scowl he jumped to the ground to pick up his dropped book.
"You're the one who wanted my help. If you want to take on Kodachi you have to squeeze every bit of training you can into your day."
"I know! You don't have to be so smug about it!"
"I'm not being smug." He responded in an annoyed tone.
"No of course not Mister 'I took all those training trips so I'm so much better than you could ever hope to be.'"
"You shouldn't feel jealous."
"I AM NOT JEALOUS, YOU EGOTISTICAL SEX CHANGING WEIRDO!"
With a slight growl Ranma stuck his nose back into his book ignoring the fact it was now upside down. book and started running the remaining distance to school.

"I said I was sorry, Ranma!" Akane commented in an annoyed voice.
"And I said I accepted your apology. That has nothing to do with training." Ranma responded with similar annoyance as he whipped the bo staff he was holding in a quick arc at Akane's legs. As she jumped over the stick and landed back on the fence Ranma smiled slightly and nodded. "Kodachi is good, so training for a few hours every night isn't going to be enough." He shifted his hands to the middle of the bo, and with a quick spin he aimed a swipe at her legs which continued into a strike at her midriff. Akane jumped over the first, then vaulted over the second, grabbing the top of the fence to flip herself foreword to her feet. Her hands slipped.
"Akane!" Ranma called as he dropped his staff. Akane had avoided hitting the fence and landed in the road performing what Ranma recognized as a perfect breakfall technique.
"Damn!" Akane muttered to herself as she rose to a sitting position and quickly brushed off her sleeves and blouse. Then she looked at Ranma's extended hand with annoyance. "I don't need help!"
Ranma pulled back his hand. "Not with falling right and getting up of course. Look I'm sorry you fell, but there is no point in training that doesn't push you too and past your current limits." He turned and picked up his staff. "Another fundamental element of training is that when you fall off the fence, you have to get right back on. Now hop up and give me three flips."
Akane groaned to herself. *Is beating Kodachi really worth all this?* She remembered Shampoo telling her, *"Akane not worry, Shampoo beat rose maniac easy at contest."* With a scowl she jumped onto the fence, took three steps, then leaped into a front flip, landing on her feet on the fence ahead of her, wobbled a moment, then smiled as she centered her balance properly once again.
"One" Ranma commented.

Kodachi stood before the entrance of café Toramaru and looked around a moment. *Can that child really know anything the black rose would need to learn? Still, if she could show me the way . . .* Her eyes took a starry look as she visualized Mousse holding her in his arms against a background of flowers. 'My perfect black rose' he said as he caressed her cheek with his hand then moved in to kiss her.
"Having fun?" Noriko had just leaned over Mousse's shoulder. Shaking herself out of her daydream Kodachi looked down at Noriko Saotome's grinning face.
Kodachi scowled at her.
Noriko's grin didn't change. She glanced at her watch and commented, "Your right on time." She stepped into the café commenting, "Come on, food and conspiracy is always much better than conspiracy alone."

" . . .Bang! Shampoo knocked him out with one punch." Noriko commented over her menu. "She said that when Mousse didn't stop chasing her after that she decided to quit her plans to scare him off and hope that he'd eventually learn if she kept hitting him when he got too close."
Kodachi looked down at her menu in silence for a moment. Then she looked up and smiled. "Ah the foolish girl, seeking to drive off a man of courage and dedication with punishment alone." She ran her fingers through her hair and adopted a quick pose. "With the proper enticement Mousse-sama will soon wonder why he wasted all that time on that purple haired bumpkin."
Noriko scowled. "That bumpkin is a close friend." Then she smiled as she saw the waiter pausing by their table." Ah, are you ready to order yet Kodachi?" Not waiting for her reply Noriko tilted her menu toward the waiter and pointed out her order, "I want this, this, this and this!"
"A-Are you sure?"
Noriko scowled at the waiter, glanced at Kodachi who was now staring at her as well and folded her arms across her chest. "Haven't you ever seen a growing girl before?"

"AHHH!! That hit the spot!" Noriko commented as she put her chopsticks down on her plate. Next to it were two bowls stacked on a small hotplate. "Ok, now I hope I've clarified how important it is that you not scare him with over-enthusiasm. Subtlety is the key. You want that roll?"
Kodachi looked at the remains of Noriko's meal, looked into her face, then passed the roll to her. "I am fully capable of restraint, Mousse-Sama shall have no cause to fear my entreaties to his noble heart."
"Good, you'll have to keep that in mind and not get nuts about living under the same roof. Ah the check."
Kodachi blinked as Noriko dropped the bill for the meal in front of her. "Living under the same roof?"
"Oh, did I forget to mention that I got your big brother to put him up in the Kuno Mansion?" Noriko closed her eyes and lightly smacked her hand to her head. "And I call my brother stupid." Shaking her head she got up and walked to the exit. Pausing long enough to deposit the yen for the bill Kodachi followed her.
As they left the store Noriko said. "Yeah, well it was actually my friend Nabiki who set it up, it's the sort of thing that's best discussed over ice cream."

"Large chocolate-vanilla twist." The girl behind the counter said as she handed the ice cream cone to Noriko. Who looked at it with a wide grin, and very happy eyes. She licked a little of the ice cream while Kodachi paid the bill.
"I'll have to remember this place." Noriko commented as she walked away from the counter. She bit a small mouthful of ice cream off the top. "Mmm. As I was saying I asked Nabiki to help me get Kuno to put him up at your mansion, and she talked with him for a few minutes and told me it was all set up. So I talked to Mousse, and after I explained for the third time that camping out in our backyard was a bad idea, he agreed to let me find him someplace to stay locally." She took another bite from the ice cream. "Mmm, anyway subtlety is important. Arranging for him to see you naked has to wait."
Kodachi stumbled. "A-arrange that he . . ."
Noriko glanced back at her. "Oh, sorry, shouldn't have mentioned that, it's just Mom sometimes acts like she sees peeping as a vital part of courtship. Forget I said anything."

Ranma sat in the corner of the dojo looking at Shampoo and Akane. At the beginning of the week he would have been certain that Shampoo would have been the only reasonable choice to fight in the contest. Watching them now, it was clear that Akane's intense training coupled with Shampoo's decision to skip training sessions in favor of going out with a different guy every night left them very closely matched. Shampoo still had a sizable advantage of both speed and strength, but . . . "Only use the tools, Shampoo." Ranma called as he tossed a ball to bounce off her head.
"Feh, stupid toys." Shampoo commented as she picked up a ribbon, and shifted into a ready stance as Akane rose to her feet and lifted a pair of gymnastic clubs. Shampoo jumped foreword, lashing out at Akane with the Ribbon. Akane dropped into a roll under the Ribbon's path, throwing three clubs as she rose to a kneeling position. Shampoo deflected two clubs with the ribbon and twisted her body out of the way of the third. Akane rose to her feet twirling the Ribbon she had picked up. A second later the two began striking back and forth at each other with their ribbons.
Ranma watched the duel for several minutes, ribbon against hoop, batons against balls, then glanced at his watch. Rising to his feet he walked around the ribbonstorm that was filling the center of the Dojo. At the door he paused and looked at the two combatants. "Oh and remember, tomorrows the big day so if you can't decide who takes on Kodachi by 9:00, you're flipping a coin."

"Going somewhere?" Nabiki asked as she looked at Ranma walking through the house.
"I've got something in the works in the lab at my house, and I really can't put it off."
"You have your own lab?"
Ranma glanced at her, and grinned and leaned against the wall. "Yep, When I was 8, I overheard mom arguing with dad about the costs of repairing the dojo, so I organized a training trip at the dojo of the masters of Martial Art Construction." He grinned at the memory. "Three months of training and Pop and I learned enough to fix everything we broke. And skipping a real long story, they used our dojo a few weeks while they were settling some problems with a firm of Martial Art Lawyers." Ranma shuddered a moment. "Seriously unpleasant. Anyway as a combination training exercise, thank you gesture they built a big underground lab for me."
"So what are you working on?"
"Please, allow me a few secrets."

Ranma carefully picked up a small rectangular piece of silvery metal with a pair of forceps. He opened a black box with his other hand, and put the metal inside. A few deft adjustments inside the box and he closed the lid. He reached down to the sides of the box, where two hand sized plates of reddish metal where fastened. Ranma placed his hand's on the plates and stood there concentrating. A few moment's later he began to glow faintly with a blue aura. Glancing at a collection of digital readouts on the table, he began to smile.

In an unlit room, a telephone was ringing. Then a light was turned on, revealing Ranma lying on a small cot massaging his forehead as he sat up. Glancing at the near antique black phone by the lamp he had just turned on he picked up the headpiece and informed it "What?"
"Ranma, listen to me. You have to call Nabiki, NOW!" Noriko replied.
Frowning, Ranma held down the button in the cradle, then reached down and started to input the Tendo's number in the rotary dial. *Note to self, get a touch-tone phone for here.* He had thought this every time he had to use the outdated machine. Which averaged to about once every two months.
"Moshi-moshi." Kasumi's voice stated over the line.
"Yes Noriko said I had to call your sister?"
"Oh yes, just a second." He could just hear Kasumi call for Nabiki, telling her who had called.
"Ranma?" It took Ranma a moment to recognize Nabiki's voice. He had never heard her sound worried before.
"Nabiki? What's wrong? Kodachi didn't sneak in and try something did she?"
"No, this was their own stupidity pure and simple. Apparently at nine, they decided to follow your advice and flip for who took on Kodachi, but they couldn't agree who would be heads and tales so they had another match over THAT! And then they couldn't agree about the outcome so they started another contest." She paused to groan then sigh. "When I got up this morning they were still at it. I think Shampoo was winning but they both looked too exhausted for me to really say."
Ranma ran his hand through his hair with a groan. "Great. How do they look?
"They both collapsed five seconds after I got them to stop, and I can't decide whether or not to try waking them up. Ranma, we can't forfeit this match. I've rigged the betting pool I'm running to come out in the black no matter who wins, but that's only if I can collect on the bets against Kodachi managing to take out everyone competent on our side. Unless I get can find a girl who can represent Furinkan and last at least a minuet the dojo won't be able to afford anything besides rice for the next month."
Ranma sat there silently. He knew what Nabiki wanted to ask. He knew that honor demanded he agree. He also knew that she wasn't asking because she knew how badly he wanted to throw honor to the wind and refuse in the name of masculine pride. He sighed. "You found her. I'll ask mom to get me the outfit, and I'll meet you at St. Hebereke later."

Ranma walked into the school with a shopping bag dangling from her left hand. *Is there any way out of this? No, there's still no way to get around having to do this.* she thought to herself as she walked through the halls, looking everywhere but at the bag he held.
"You there, are you with the team from Furinkan?" Asked a somewhat familiar voice ahead of him. Focusing her attention she realized she had heard it a week before, it belonged to Kodachi Kuno who was standing in front of her in her school uniform with a smirk on her face.
"Yep, the other contestants . . . aren't available."
Kodachi sighed, "My open invitation to them to attend the match wasted! And I so wanted Mousse-sama to see me against a capable opponent. I hope you actually can fight me properly. I'd so hate to loose the chance to defeat you because you drew to many penalties from weaponless attacks."
"You should worry about loosing the match." Ranma responded, forcing herself to grin slightly.

Ranma stood in her corner of the ring, trying to ignore the feeling of the tights she was wearing. *I can't hold back just because she's a girl. I have to go all out and fight as hard as I can. I chose to fight, and I will do everything in my power to win.*
"Your name?" The referee asked.
"Ranko Saotome."
"Ranko Saotome challenging!" The referee declared to the crowd. She turned to point to the opposing corner. "The champion Kodachi Kuno!"

Ranma stood at the opposite side of the ring as Kodachi. Both were breathing heavily from the effort of the fight. Kodachi suddenly pulled a ball from nowhere and tossed it at Ranma. Ranma dropped into a roll to avoid it, then was knocked to the mat as it exploded.
"An opening!" Kodachi yelled as she jumped at Ranma swinging a pair of gymnastic clubs at her. Ranma grabbed a nearby hoop and twirled it around her wrist as she rolled to the side. As she rose to a kneeling position she grabbed the hoop by the edge and with a quick twist looped it around the spot where Kodachi's arms were supposed to be. Rising to her feet Ranma rotated the hoop attempting to snare Kodachi with it. Kodachi avoided the attack, though the clubs were pulled from her grasp.
Ranma spun the hoop around his wrist, advancing at Kodachi quickly, however she cartwheeled away, grabbing a ribbon and hoop of her own off the mat as she went. Flipping to the side opposite Ranma, Kodachi threw her own hoop at her as she landed. It struck her hoop splitting it in half. She instantly followed up with her ribbon. Ranma countered with her own ribbon. The ribbon's lashed at each other in the center of the ring, then Ranma shifted stances as Kodachi's ribbon wrapped round her right wrist, trapping her own ribbon.
Kodachi pulled at the ribbon, and Ranma pulled back. Ranma's arm was pulled toward Kodachi, then with an effort she drew it back toward her own body. Then with a slight smile she jumped foreword her right hand shooting foreword to catch the slack ribbon and snap a fast loop through it. The loop snapped around Kodachi's wrist, then another snap threw her into the air.
Kodachi pulled out a small whistle, looked where she was going, then dropped it.

"Ranko Saotome!" The Referee stated raising Ranma's hand above her head.

In the audience Kodachi was standing against Mousse, her head buried in his chest. "Oh Mousse-sama, you saved me again!" Before Mousse could conceive of anything intelligible to stammer in reply, she pushed herself away. Holding herself Kodachi shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "But no! I entered this match to prove the strength of my love for you, but I failed! My love is not strong enough to be worthy of you!" She turned away, crouching with her hands to her face.
"Er, no . . . You fought well, I mean my heart belongs to Shampoo, but your . . ."
Kodachi pivoted and grabbed his hands. "Don't say anything, Mousse-Sama. I will dedicate myself from this day to becoming worthy of you!" Releasing his hands she turned and ran toward her dressing room. Mousse stood there, looking after her, and glancing at his hands.

Ranma followed Nabiki into the house, male once again and dressed in his usual red shirt with black pants. "That was an experience I don't want to repeat." He commented.
"But you looked so cute in that leotard." Nabiki commented. Snapping her fingers she added, "Oh that reminds he, Noriki wanted you to have this, as a memento of the fight." She pulled a videotape from her purse and extended it to him.
Ranma glanced at the copy of Mel Brooks "Robin Hood, Men in Tights" With a quiet growl he stalked away.
"Hello! Is something the matter Ranma?" Kasumi proclaimed as she walked out of the kitchen.
Ranma directed a scowl at her, then sighed as she failed to react to it. "No, my sister's just demonstrating her warped sense of humor."
"Oh, there's nothing warped about Noriko," Nabiki commented. "Oh and have Shampoo and Akane woken up yet?"
"I don't think so."
"If they had you'd know."
Ranma directed a suspicious glance at Nabiki

Shampoo stood arms spread wide accepting the cheers of the crowd. Kodachi lay at her feet, apologizing for challenging her. Ranma jumped into the ring and grabbed her in a joyous embrace. No wait he had suddenly turned female, and he was griping her tighter. The dream dissolved.
Akane stood arms spread wide accepting the cheers of the crowd. Shampoo was bowing to her and declaring that she was the better martial artist. Ranma jumped into the ring and grabbed her in a joyous embrace. No wait he had suddenly turned female, and he was griping her tighter. The dream dissolved.

Both girls opened their eyes slowly, looking to see each other's face. Their awakening minds calmly took stock of the situation. They were in the same bed. They both had their arms around each other. They had no clothes on. Some sort of reaction was necessary.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" They separated themselves like two magnets of identical poles.

Ranma pivoted toward the stairs as a pair of screams erupted on the second floor. Climbing the stairs in three jumps, he ran to the source of the screams. Akane's room.
"Are you . . . Gyaah!" Ranma pivoted away from the sight. On the bed Akane had stood in a vaguely defensive stance clutching a sheet to her chest with one arm, the other extended in a vaguely martial arts posture. Opposite stood Shampoo, wearing nothing but her hair ornaments. She was also standing in a rough approximation of a martial arts stance, with one hand poised as though checking her body for something. "Didn't see anything, didn't see anything, if I did see anything I'm not admitting it." Ranma stated to himself as he walked away from the room.
Akane's voice called out in a fierce tone promising retribution, "Nabiki!"