The Fire
Sutra - A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic By Ashoka Roque
Warnings & disclaimers- see Chapter One.
C & C appreciated
ashoro@excite.com
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Chapter Three: THIS is Shounen Ai?
Seemingly unaware of the tension building between the two young martial artists, Ti Xiu chatted with Kasumi, who delightedly invited him to dinner that evening, then exchanged pleasantries with Soan and Genma, who had finally decided to settle their hair debate over a game of go after supper.
As the game progressed, the fan's could see that they were in for a show. While Furinkan had an excellent team, the Sluggers' Martial Arts style play added an unfamiliar and exciting dimension to the match.
Interestingly, several of the girls used guitars in place of bats. Tracy - wielding a Fender twelve-string acoustic with an orange sunburst finish - gave the Sluggers a double off of one of Yuri's pitches early in the second inning. But despite the unorthodox style of the Americans, the two teams were very evenly matched. Gradually, the game progressed until the score was Sluggers 5, Tsunami 6 at the bottom of the fifth inning. At the fifth inning flex, the Furinkan glee club serenaded the players and fans with their rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," which they had practiced singing in English for the last two weeks. The American players nodded politely, though it was obvious they didn't understand a word.
Finally, at the top of the seventh inning, it looked as if the Sluggers might have hit their second wind. Three successive singles had placed Tracy on third, Ellen on second, and Anne on first base, with no outs.
The next American player hit a slow drive straight to first base. The Tsunami girl moved in for the easy catch, but missed her step and tripped. The home team groaned.
Stepping off of the base, Anne caught the ball in mid air, outing the batter. The waify American player then tagged herself with it.
"Yoouurr out!" called the umpire.
"Come on, Anne," screamed Ellen, exasperated, "What team are you playing for, anyway?"
"I don't know - I can't decide!" replied Anne. She then began babbling in some type of bizarre language which was neither English nor Japanese. The two small antennae growing from her head twitched, agitatedly.
"Get 'er off uh da field!" ordered Rosie. Melissa and kd took Anne by the arms, and led the babbling alien away.
At this point, Muu Su and Xian Pu returned to the stands. Taking the seats behind the Tendos, Xian Pu gave a thumbs-up and a wink in Ranma's direction.
"All food gone -we sell good to hungry American girls. Now time watch tomboy play game!"
"Yooze all gonna see the end of dis here game, right now!" Rosie declared with a smirk. Reaching down into her team's dugout, she produced the most bizarre bat anyone at Furinkan... no, in all of Nerima...maybe in all of Japan!..had ever seen. It was at least six feet long, and was made of a vaguely flesh-colored substance that appeared to be latex. It was oddly formed as well, with irregular ridges and a bizarre bulb at one end.
"Hmm..." said Xian Pu, "Look like some special bat!"
"My word!" gasped Ti Xiu, for once appearing surprised at the turn of events, "That bat looks exactly like an enormous..."
"Kasumi-san," interrupted Muu Su, "Are you alright?"
"My child," said Ti Xiu, "You seem to have developed a rather severe nosebleed!" Fishing in his robe, he handed a tissue to the eldest Tendo daughter.
"Look - Ranma's nose bleeding too!" declared Xian Pu, a concerned expression on her face.
"Dere muzd be sumding in de air..." said Ranma, hastily smothering his nose with one of Ti Xiu's tissues.
"I could use a bandana to tie a tourniquet around your neck," snarled Ryouga quietly, through clenched teeth. "I'm sure that would stop the bleeding pretty quickly."
The bat was having an equally disruptive effect on several junior members of the Furinkan Softball team. Weak from blood loss and vision impaired by efforts to control nasal hemorrhaging, things were looking bad for the home team. Fortunately, the three star players seemed immune to this effect.
"Referee!" cried Ukyo, indignantly, "No way that thing's regulation!"
"It's a Martial Arts Girls Softball game," replied Yoko Haruko, "So I'll allow it."
Hah! thought Yuri, as she wound up for the pitch, Like that type of thing is going to throw me off of my game!
But beyond being a distraction, the enormous dildonic bat was evidently a very effective piece of sporting gear. With an air-ripping "whump!" Rosie cleaved space with her weapon, made contact with the ball and sent it hurtling up, up and out of the ballpark.
First Tracy, then Ellen, then finally Rosie touched home plate. As Rosie rounded the bases, she waved and blew kisses to the crowd, a happy and pleasant expression on her face. Her change in demeanor was so radical, one could almost imagine this was a different person.
"Home run!" cried the announcer. "Bringing the score to Sluggers 8, Tsunami 6. Looks like the home team is in some trouble!"
An enraged Yuri struck out the last batter in three pitches. The teams changed position for the final time, giving the Tsunami girls their last chance at bat.
Akane took the plate, and managed a single off of kd's third pitch. The next two batters were not so lucky, each striking out in three pitches. Then, Yuri popped a line-drive between second and third, and only quick play by the Americans limited her to a single. With runners on first and second, the next Tsunami batter got a walk from the American pitcher.
With bases loaded, Rosie took time out for a few choice words with kd. Meanwhile, Ukyo was pulling out one of her large spatulas. I knew this would come in handy some day. That extra-moist okonomiyaki recipe may have been a failed experiment, but I never throw anything away! With purpose in her step, Ukyo approached the plate with the largest slotted spatula anyone in the crowd had ever seen.
"Aw, go back to the kitchen with that thing, little missie!" taunted Rosie, as the American pitcher wound up.
And it looked as if even Ukyo's secret weapon might not be enough to save the day, as kd's first two pitches sailed through the strike zone past the motionless girl. The hearts of the Furinkan fans began to sink, as they saw this game slipping through their fingers.
"We go on date after game, right Ranma honey?" Xian Pu had worked her way down to the seat on the opposite side of Ranma. She grabbbed his shoulder and batted her eyes.
"Uh..well, I kinda had plans already"
"Reoww! Reow, reooww!" snarled Xian Pu, making kitty-cat clawing motions with her hands.
A large bead of sweat formed on the back of Ranma's head. "Knock it off, Xian Pu," he said, through teeth that were beginning to chatter. "You know that bothers me..."
"And I keep doing it," said Xian Pu, rubbing her face in a cat-like way against Ranma's shoulder, "Until you go date tonight!"
It was Ukyo's last chance. The crowd, other than Ranma and Xian Pu, watched intently as kd's pitch hurtled towards the plate. With a giant "smack!" the modified spatula made contact with the ball, sending it flying up and out, over the head of the American shortstop.
Oh, no! Ryouga saw that the ball was hurtling straight towards Ranma. The pig-tailed boy, still distracted by Xian Pu's cat routine, had obviously not noticed. In a matter of moments, that heavy softball would splatter into Ranma's face - and at that speed, it could do serious damage.
Ryouga let out a mental scream. Nothing harms Ranma while Hibiki Ryouga is at his side! Instinctively, automatically, he reached over the edge of the stands, stretching out his index finger towards the hurtling ball.
But the American outfielder was also a seasoned martial artist, despite all appearances. Ellen noted the ball's trajectory, and ran as fast as she could to intercept it before it left the field. With a tremendous leap, she launched herself towards the stands. As Ellen cupped her glove just underneath the ball, only a fraction of a centimeter away from the game ending play, Ryouga's finger made contact with the rawhide sphere.
"Bakusai Tenketsu!"
The ball exploded in a shower of dust, utterly destroyed by Ryouga's fearsome Breaking-Point technique.
A hush fell over the ballfield. Slowly, all eyes turned to referee Yoko Haruko, who was consulting a small green book she had pulled from her pocket. After a few tense moments, she looked up from her reading and broke the silence.
"I'm going to allow it!" said the referee, "As long as it was a martial arts technique, it is considered a legal part of play, even in the case of a spectator. The ball was not caught by the opposing team, so it's ruled a fair home run."
Oh, the rejoicing of the Furinkan fans! A home run with bases loaded made the score 10 to 8, in favor of the home team. The game was over, another mighty victory for the Furinkan Tsunami. The girls began jumping up and down, screaming, and Ukyo grabbed Akane in a bone-crushing bear hug as the two bounced wildly with the rest of their teammates. Fans rushed down from the stands, and began carrying away Furinkan players to begin celebrating the victory in style through downtown Nerima.
Meanwhile, the girls on the American team were reacting quite differently to the referee's call. Even before the translator was finished, Tracy and Melissa were swinging their guitars with menace. The other girls picked up various implements of destruction as Rosie, wielding her phallic bat, screamed "Come on, girlz. We gonna muder dose two guyz!"
"Wha...me?" gulped Ranma, having finally returned his attention to the game. "I was just sitting here!"
"Come on, Ranma" yelled Ryouga, as he watched the mob of angry softballers approaching, "We need to get out of here before they kill us!"
"Stupid pig boy right!" yelled Xian Pu. She grabbing Ranma by the left hand, Ryouga by the right hand, and hurried them out of the stands. "Xian Pu no can marry Ranma honey if he crushed by big dick!"
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The Fire Sutra continues in Chapter Four: Narrow Escapes
C & C appreciated Ashoro@excite.com