Youth of the Nation Chapter 31: Takedown, a ranma fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2, nor claim to.

Chapter Thirty One: Takedown:

"Back off, I'll take you on! Headstrong, to take on anyone! I know that you are wrong! Headstrong, we're headstrong!" Trapt: Headstrong

"So where is he?" Sakura asked, looking over at Yanagi, the equipment manager.

The girl sighed. "He went off to see the Rhythmic Gymnastics meet in the gym. His father went with him."

Sakura sighed, buttoning her coat higher up and gripping the sword tighter. "And that's why . . ."

"Yes, they needed the gym." Yanagi replied, swinging her scarf back around her neck.

Sakura felt her hair flip back, pulled by the air. "It would be better if there wasn't any wind."

"What do you expect me to do about it? It's not my fault. They wouldn't even let me take some other room, and I've got connections. The school's too jived up for that gymnastics meet. I don't see why, if you ask me."

"You don't like it?"

Yanagi shook her head. "Gymnastics are fun, but . . . martial arts rhythmic gymnastics? I bet it's just a bunch of girls twirling ribbons around for fun. No reason for the actiony title of 'martial arts' on the front. I'd rather be at Kendo practice."

"You like to see guys beat each other with sticks?"

Yanagi groaned. "Fine, I'll admit it. I like samurai movies, okay? Let's not forget you're a girl going around beating other guys up with sticks."

"Touche." Sakura muttered, stepping into a fighting stance. She began some slow, gentle practice swings. "So, would you rather this was by the sea, then?"

"Ha ha ha." Yanagi muttered dryly in reply. "At least the rest of them are coming."

Sakura paused, glancing over her shoulder. And then staring. "Um . . . Yanagi?"

"Yes?"

"Why are there only three of them?"

Yanagi began muttering quietly to herself. "First you complain about the fact we're outside, then that Kuno's not here, then that there's only three of them."

"What was that?"

Clearing her throat, she looked up at Sakura, flicking her scarf back around her neck, since the wind whipped it undone again. "Nothing. Keigo had made a promise to not miss a practice for a whole year, since he missed about half of them over the last two years, Chad's training to try and beat Kuno, and Ruika made Mizuiro go today."

"Made him? Why?" Sakura asked, blinking. "And why didn't anyone else show up? Ichigo's way more devoted to Kendo club that Keigo. Why wouldn't he show up?"

"Well, Kagura's sick today, which is why she's out. As for the guys, it's simple." Yanagi muttered, flicking her scarf back around her neck again. "What's at a rhythmic gymnastics meet that would make a flock of hardened jocks go without blinking? And make Ruika force her boyfriend to go to Kendo practice?"

Sakura paused, thinking. Suddenly, it dawned on her. She glanced at Yanagi.

The manager nodded solemnly.

Both of them sighed, saying, "Athletic girls in tight leotards. Typical." together.

"Where is she?" Kagome muttered to herself, glancing at the last few people stepping into the room and walking to the bleachers. "She was supposed to be here by now. The meet is about to start."

Down at the center of the gym, a large, square ring was set up. The ring floor was a good meter above the ground, with another meter and a half tall set of ropes around the side. They were a bit springy, colored a dark blue, with a lighter blue for the mat. Along the outside, there were several referees circling, a few assistants gathering the piles of tools, including clubs, ribbons, balls, and hoops, and a team of girls on opposing sides. At the far side of the ring, relative to where Kagome was sitting, was the announcer's table, and beyond that were more bleachers where most of the fans from St. Bacchus sat.

The ambient noise was the gentle murmur of a crowd on edge, running lower and lower on patience as the start time inched closer.

"Where is she!" Kagome muttered louder, still watching the entrance.

"ENOUGH, NARUTO!" Keira shouted, stomping down on the boy's head, crushing him into the ground. The boy gurgled, before Keira jumped up off him, landed on the fence, and took off running. "SEE YOU LATER, SAUSKE-KUN!" And then, she was gone.

Sauske watched her friend go, before sighing. "I wonder what she's in such a rush to go to?" Glancing back at his defeated opponent, he saw Naruto. His face was impaled in the pavement, with spiderweb cracks all around him. Sauske winced at the sight. Slowly, he walked over, leaning down and peeling the boy out of the sidewalk.

He sighed, shaking his head. "I guess I have to get you to Uncle's, Naruto. Next time, make sure Keira doesn't pass by when you attack."

Akane smiled, sitting in her dojo. She never got tired of thinking that. Her dojo. HER dojo. Her DOJO. Heeeeer doooooooojooooooo. Even after all these years, the love hadn't died. Sure, Ranma was still much better than her and did most of the advanced training classes and had brought in more than two thirds of their students and was teaching her, but . . . technically, it was hers.

And, whenever Ranma wasn't around, she was in charge.

Of course, there was nobody here right now to be in charge of. There was nobody here, period. It was Wednesday; basic class. Ranma told them to go to the park down the road, and he had just left for there two minutes ago. Sprinting practice. She didn't need to be there. Nabiki and Brandon were still at work, and Auska, Amy, and Joseph wouldn't return for another twenty minutes or so. Sakura had Kendo practice, and Sauske would probably go spend time with Keira or Aki or Naruto. Nothing for her to bother with. So, she sat, meditating in her own little slice of freedom.

It was her dojo.

She smiled.

"So, this must be it." A voice muttered. Akane's eyes cracked open. " 'Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts'. Yep, this is the place."

Akane's eyes were open fully now. A hand appeared on the door frame to the outside. "Who is it?" She asked calmly. The voice didn't seem familiar. Then again, that made more sense; if it was a familiar voice, why would the not be sure if this was the dojo?

There was a pause, before the hand swung the door open. The thin frame rattled as it slammed against the support beam jutting from the wall. There stood a man, tall, with tan skin and dark, brown hair in about as clean a form as Sauske kept his hair; no, it was even messier than that. There was a traveling pack slung over his shoulder, with several wood signs tied to it. Akane recognized them as local dojos. Not just ordinary ones. The best ones in the city. After her's and the Saotome dojo, of course.

"Can I help you?" Akane asked politely, remaining seated. It was obvious from his body language what he was here for, if the signs didn't give it away already. He stood, smugly and proudly, leaning against the wall, a confident smile on his lips.

The man stepped up into the room, glancing around. "I'm here for the sign." He muttered calmly. "Although, I don't expect to just be given it."

"She's still not here!" Kagome muttered angrily.

"And the final fight will be Kinomoto Kaorin versus Daidouji Sakaki!" The announcer read, as names were written up on boards next to number eight.

"Damn, hurry up!" Kagome continued muttering. " If you don't, you'll . . . KEIRA!" She shouted, which, fortunately, drew the attention of the girl as she rushed in. She raced around, bounding up the steps, and sliding past other spectators as she ran to her friend. "You just barely made it!"

"Sorry, I had to stomp down Naruto before I came." Keira replied apologetically, straigthening her stray hairs which had been loosened by the wind. "What do you mean, barely?"

"Just listen!"

"The first fight will now commence!" The announcer began. "Mihama Chidori versus Kuno Kukri!"

The crowd exploded in cheers, from both sides. The St. Bacchu's side especially.

"Go Chidori!"

"You can win!"

Not to say two girls on the Furinkan side weren't equally loud.

Jumping up, placing one foot on the edge of the platform, and then hopping over the ropes, Chidori landed softly on the mats. There was her opponent, standing across from her already. Black hair, black leotard, and a black . . . rose, it looked like, resting behind her ear. She was short, maybe an inch below Keira, and her face was slightly more pointed than normal, with clearer cheekbones than most people she knew. Her hair was in a single ponytail, held with a blue bow at the back of her head.

The face was stern and stoic. Her pallid green eyes stared calmly at Chidori, examining the girl without emotion. There was something very ominous about her, standing the way she did, wearing the black leotard. Her bare arms and legs showed smooth skin, but no real muscle. She seemed quite . . . ordinary.

But the dark feeling didn't leave. Maybe it was the fact that the whole St. Bacchus crowed cheered louder than ever when she went into the ring. The rest of her teammates were watching Kukri with total interest. Her team was watching too, but they had to stretch and warm up. Matches would have no delays between them. There were too many to get through for that to happen. But none of Kukri's team seemed to think about that. They were all focused on the fight.

"Simpleton." was her calm thought when she heard that her opponent would be a girl named Mihama Chidori. She was only a sophomore student, and, from what hse had been told, she was only a member of the rhythmic gymnastics team for a few days. At first glance, it seemed like a waste of her time. She wanted a challenge. Seniors, the captain, someone worth the match.

Although, when this Chidori came into the ring, several seconds after she was up, she did it in a difficult way. One jump up, then another easy jump over the ropes. She didn't bend, climb, lean, or slide up. Very few people could do that so quickly off such a thin piece of the platform. She appeared to have good balance and grace. A promising beginning, which improved the Kuno's mood considerably.

Her face was quite common. Rounded cheeks, small nose, grayish-blue eyes; nothing too unusual. Her hair was set with most of it tied back in a short ponytail, with a large strand rolling down each side of her face, turning from black at the roots to a dark brown at the tips.

Her body was a bit less feminine than common, however. Her hips and shoulders were a little more squared off, accentuated by the light blue leotard, and her chest was nothing to be desired. There, but less than ordinary. However, that wasn't Kukri's primary concern; leave beauty out of this. Her arms and legs showed something more interesting. The muscles, while not as prominent as it was on members of other sport, were visible, clearly defined, and quite well toned. Maybe they weren't very strong, but they were there. Better than what most gymnasts could show off.

This might be more interesting than she thought. The girl seemed to have some strength to her. Maybe taking part in the scrimmage meet was a good idea after all.

"Yoh!" Keira shouted, waving to the boy as he walked up the steps. His eyes turned, spotting the two girls, before he walked up the last two steps to their level, slipped past the five people already sitting down, and dropped down into the space between the girls. "You did make it!"

"Of course!" He said with a smile, pulling the headphones from his ears and pressing the stop button through the fabric of his jacket. "Why would I miss Chidori's first meet?"

"You almost did." Kagome replied. "She's just about to go. Look, she's already in the ring!" she pointed to the girl in the ring.

Yoh looked out, smiling. "I just hope I helped her. I didn't have much time to teach her, you know. Come to think of it . . . how come she asked me to train her?" The boy mused. "After all, you would know more about this, Keira. Ninja's due use a lot of tools. And I'm not much of a gymnast."

"Umm . . ." Keira mumbled, before the idea, and the facts, came to her. "It's a different kinds of tools, Yoh. All the stuff she's going to use is gymnastics equipment, just made tougher to stand up to fighting." Keira brushed back another loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I use throwing knives and swords. It's not the right kind of use for the tools." She frowned. "Besides, I hate hoops."

Yoh blinked, staring at the brown-haired girl. Kagome sighed, tapping the boy on the shoulder. He glanced back at her quizzically. "She's never been able to use a hula hoop."

Keira's face blushed and darkened at the same time. "Shut up."

Akane nodded. "I see. And you are right, I cannot just give you that sign. In fact, you can't take it at all. I'm sorry."

"Then I, Sagura Hatsuharu, challenge you for it!" He said, before pausing, looking at the woman. "Wait a minute . . . who are you!"

Akane blinked, before slowly rousing herself from the sitting position. "My name is Tendo Akane. I am . . ."

"A woman!" Hatsuharu shouted. "Wait . . . you're not the dojo master, are you!" He sighed. "Not again! I don't want to have to wait here a week for someone who's a challenge to show up! Why can't they ever be there when I arrive for a change!"

"A-hem!" Akane said, brushing off her gi pants. "I am Tendo Akane, and if you want the sign, you will fight me for it. Understand?"

The man turned back. "Really?" He asked slyly. "You sure about that?"

"Don't underestimate me. This school is my school."

He snorted, placing his bag on the ground outside, before stepping further into the dojo. "And don't underestimate me. I don't kickbox for the chicks, you know."

Akane snapped her belt tighter. "Fine then. But you still fight me."

Hatsuharu smiled, taking another two steps in. He brushed his plain white T-shirt, full of small holes from wear and tear, before scratching his chin with the back of his hand. They were both wrapped tightly, from elbow to the palm, with a thick, dusty gauze, and his feet, which were bare, had also been wrapped from the bottom of the foot to the knee. His shorts looked nylon, colored bright orange and yellow, obvious kickboxer gear, which reached down to just above his knees.

"Well, you certainly look like a kickboxer." Akane observed, before raising her hands up into the standard fighting stance, both wrists equal with her mouth.

"I play the part even better than I look it." The man replied.

Akane didn't blink. "Then why don't you go ahead and show me!"

"Ready? Begin!" The referee shouted. The crowd exploded in cheers.

Neither gymnast moved. "You're the real Kuno Kukri?" Chidori asked calmly.

"Yes, I am. What does it mean to you?"

"From what I heard, you're the best freshman on the team. Better than everyone on the team."

Kukri nodded. "You're right."

Chidori smiled. "Then what do you say: why don't we skip playing around and give everyone a fight to remember? Start the season with a bang?"

Kukri returned that smile. "If you want me to."

"I'm ready for anything you've got."

"You might regret those words." The Kuno's face turned stern. "I don't know how to hold back once a real fight starts."

Chidori turned to her side. "ROPE!" The braided cord flew threw the air, caught absentmindedly by the girl from Furinken. "Don't worry. I won't."

"Ribbon!" A long strand of red ribbon, attached to a thin, stiff wire, floated over, landing precisely in Kukri's fingers. "Then don't blame me if you are out of the season after your first fight. Or if something happens to that beautiful face of yours."

"Bring it on!" Chidori shouted, running in. "I said it would be great! But don't expect the fight to be long!" The girl skipped back and forth as she ran, zig zagging across the mats.

Kukri began to run in towards the center, although much slower. She began spinning her hand in small circles. Suddenly, she stopped, swinging her right hand up, holding the ribbon, the circles being drawn faster and faster. The ribbon did the rest.

It flew around, intimidating in size, reaching three meters in diameter. And it wasn't just decoration. As Chidori neared, the ribbon was twisting to be directly in her path. The first one slipped past her, slicing the cloth of her leotard on the shoulder, but nothing more. That's when the rope came in handy. Holding it between her hands like a bar, she deflected away the ribbon, continuing in.

Kukri changed her strategy in a heartbeat. Her wrist stopped the circles, redirecting the ribbon. It flew immediately towards the rope. Wrapping around it as she said, "Re . . ."

"RIBBON!" Chirdoir screamed without pause, stopping her run.

". . . member!" Kukri shouted, unable to stop her own action as she ripped the rope away. She was planning to lose her weapon!

The ribbon in hand a instant later, Chidori skipped the ceremonious twirls, instead lashing out and catching one of the girl's ankle's. With a flick up and then down, the wave cascaded along, kicking the girl into the air. The ribbon let go of her ankle, allowing her to float freely towards the edge of the ring.

Flipping in air calmly, Kukri landed her feet on the ropes, bending them down several centimeters, before jumping back into the air, twisting around and flipping again, before landing flat on the ring floor.

The crowd burst out in cheers.

"Not bad." Kukri replied to a shocked and surprised Chidori.

"H-how did she do that?" Chidori asked herself in her head.

"But the better move is this."

SNAP! The ribbon shot out, catching the confused, brown haired girl on the arm, wrapping tightly, before the whole ribbon was held taunt by Kukri. Chidori reached over to try and pull it off, shocked more. "Nuh uh uh." Kukri chided, before swinging her arm to the side. "I can't let you do that." The ribbon twirled once, wrapping around the gymnast completely, before she yanked it, letting the ribbon release, causing Chidori to spin around out of control, as the Kuno continued her assault. The ribbon shot back into the pile of tools, wrapping around a hoop, before snapping forward. Right towards Kukri's knees.

With a hop and a midair split, the hoop passed effortlessly underneath her. The ribbon caught on the back of her leg, snapping tight, and releasing the hoop on it's own. Kukri sent the ribbon somewhere else as she landed on the ground again.

"If that's what you want!" he shouted, running ahead.

Akane clenched her teeth, watching him bolt forward. He had to cover most of the dojo, so an all out sprint was a disadvantage. The point would probably have been to surprise her and put her off guard, but from this distance, it was worthless. By the time he reached her, she would be more than ready.

"Eat this!" he hopped, switching feet by twisting his body, then kicking out with his right foot, shoulder level, in a straight roundhouse attack. Akane twisted in time, forcing her arms across each other to take the brunt of the kick. There was a loud SMACK! of his foot on her arm, which caused Akane to grimace, before she realized that he was already moving. Her arms dropped lower, as his foot swung out and then back in towards her, a quarter meter lower. SMACK! His knee moved again, this time rising, before swinging again.

SWISH! Hatsuharu stared at the empty space as the woman dropped from sight. After a moment, once his foot had swung through where her head had been, she stood back up, stepped in a meter, and shot out her fist. "HURK!" the man gargled, crumpling under the force of her fist, before stepping back.

"Like I said, you can't have the sign." Akane replied, watching the man stumble back, hunched and injured. "It's over."

Hatsuharu suddenly stopped. "Heh . . . heh heh. Ha ha ha!" he continued laughing, slowly standing upright without problem. "Chill it, chick! You know, you're just like an ox. Strong and slow and stupid!" Akane glared angrily. "You think I would have won all those dojo signs if one hit could take me down! Ha! Yeah right!"

Akane grimaced more. "So, I guess I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Ranma? Are you serious? That's kind of . . . dumb." Akane said quietly. It was nice to finally be back to training, having recovered from her sickness after Sauske's birth, but this was . . . weird.

Ranma shook her head. "It's invaluable. Confidence is a big part of a fight! Ya gottah' play their weaknesses, okay? Throwin' down a gamble or a challenge ya can win is invaluable, and crushing their spirit works good too! And confusion! As long as you don't put all your work into it, stop fighitn' right, and get overconfident, taunts can change the way fights end!"

Akane sighed. She was just glad that Nabiki had taken the kids to visit with Kasumi and Ono. They might get the wrong idea if they saw what she was expecting this to devolve into. "All right, if you say so."

"Hit me with your best shot, 'Kane-chan!" Ranma said confidently. Akane nodded, thinking. Several seconds passed. "Akane, stop." The woman looked up. "Don't think, just do. You won't have time to plan it out too much, and don't hold back . . . Just let it flow, okay?"

"If you say so." the woman replied, staring at the other woman in front of her.

"Do your worst!" Ranma replied smugly, staring her down. The training had already started. The question was, could Akane meet the challenge?

"Okay." She replied, nodding again and pausing only a moment this time. "So, Ranma, how many times have you gone and (Author's note: This section had to be eliminated to keep the chapter PG-13)?"

Ranma stared at her wife, mouth hanging open, pure shock written all over her face.

There was a long pause.

Akane stood waiting, before tapping her foot.

A second later, Ranma flushed red. "Okay, Akane, you got the basics down. Now . . . I'm going to get some hot water." She turned, heading for the door.

"Or a guy?" Akane chipped in. Ranma paused, shuddered, her red pigtail flipping around as she shook her head, then walked out. Akane smiled. "I win, Ranma!"

"Hurt me? You couldn't do that if you tried!" The man shouted, jumping forward with a side kick.

Akane slid aside. "I can beat you in three hits!" she screamed, before jamming her elbow into his chest. He slipped back again, coughing. "Two to go!"

"I'd like to see you try!" the man straightened, hopped two steps to the side, then stepped in. "Try this!"

Akane moved to block, when she realized it was too late. His hands moved like lighting. Left hook to the chest. Right hook to the shoulder. Body blow with the left side of her stomach. Uppercut to the chin. Straight blow to her face. And then, Akane was sailing across the room.

WHAM! She hit the wall and fell to the floor with a loud CRASH! She gasped for air, her whole front racked with agony. Her eyes slipped open to see his smiling face. "Had enough, chick?"

Akane shook her head, slowly rising to her feet. "I still have to hit you twice more." Akane muttered, raising her hands, as well as lifting her body up on the balls of her feet. She had to move the instant he swung if she wanted to get past another assault like that. It was too fast for her, and she knew it.

FWIP! The hoop smashed into the front of Chidori's legs at high speed. WHAM! With a flip and a drop, the girl crashed down, face first, into the mats. She groaned, feeling a burning pain where her cheek hit, the first part of her body to land, before feeling a dull sting as her whole body flopped onto the floor flat. WHAP! "GAAAH!" she shouted.

The rope, which had been so carelessly left aside, was just snapped down on her back. "Hopefully, you'll remember to hold on to your tools now."

Chidori just growled, standing up as Kukri backed away, although she could feel the burning sting in her back. Her rise was slow, but her face was hardened. She had a new plan. And this one would work. There was no way it wouldn't.

Yoh clenched his teeth. "Come on, Chidori, move and strike back! Don't lose your focus! Don't miss a chance for a counterattack!"

"How did she miss that?" Kagome asked.

Yoh dropped his hands a bit. "I should have taught her more. We worked on all the tools, but I thought she already knew enough gymnastics. She needs to start dodging things. She's very stationary, using martial arts over gymnastics. If she stays still like that, she will get in trouble."

The two girls simply nodded, the three of them staring at their friend, worry on their mind.

"HOOP!" CLICK! Chidori grasped the ring tightly, staring down her opponent. "Hold on to this!" She released the ring forward. Kukri bent her knees, preparing to jump. Perfect. "BALL!" she shouted, her hand pointing up.

Kukri was already propelling herself up when she saw the large red ball get thrown high into the air, and then Chidori leaping up after it. She was high up, probably used the ropes for a boost, the same height as the ball. And there she was, over the hoop safely, which had swished underneath her legs and through the ropes, but now immobile. Maybe Chidori was improving.

"Or this!" Chidori shouted, spiking the ball straight at Kukri. WHAP! Direct hit. The girl was hit square in the nose, blowing her back over the ropes, flipping away.

Kukri swung her legs higher, forcing her spin to go faster. As she passed over the ropes, her body was now parallel to the ground, face down. Her hands snapped out, catching the top rope, before pulling her in. Her body stopped sliding away, and simply went down. She swung in her legs, before pulling herself back into the ring at the floor level.

Chidori watched in horror as her opponent slid along the ground under the bottom rope, before flipping herself back onto her feet. "That hurt!" Kukri shouted, rubbing her nose, before glancing up. It hadn't made it down yet. She jumped back, landing on the top rope, before jumping further up and forward.

WHAP! Chidori stood watching as the ball was spiked back at her. "CLUBS!" She could here the shout of agreement, but the ball raced in. There they were, in the corner of her eye, spinning towards her. She put out her hands. It was too late! It was . . .

WHAP! The club head smashed the ball away safely. Chidori clenched her teeth, turning back to her opponent. "Ribbon!" Kukri shouted. Chidori didn't hesitate. No time to let her get the ribbon.

"I don't think so!" She shouted, throwing the clubs ahead of herself.

'What did I say?" Kukri replied, ignoring the incoming ribbon. The clubs shot forward. Far too easy. They were spaced apart about thirty centimeters, at shoulder height, barreling together evenly. Child's play, really.

Rolling her right shoulder fluidly forward, and letting her left one do the opposite backwards, her knees lowered down and her head turned up. The clubs whizzed by, slipping past her smooth neck without problem. Then, she reversed, rolling her body back up to her standing position. A simple dodge, really.

Chidori, and most of the crowd, though, gasped anyway.

"What the hell was that!" Keira shouted. "I've . . . I've never seen anyone bend like that!"

"It's insane!" Kagome shouted.

Yoh stared in horror. "Oh god, this is bad!" He gulped. "Please, let her give up or get knocked out before she gets hurt."

"W-what!" Kagome asked, Keira about to say the same thing.

"Why!" Keira asked instead.

"Look at what happened! Chidori just threw two clubs at, what . . . twenty five kilometers per hour! And that girl just dodged it without even moving her feet! She dodged it by letting them shoot past her neck! Chidori won't be able to land any solid hit on her beyond that ball attack she did anymore. It'll miss, for sure!"

"Uh oh." Keira muttered softly, her face draining as she turned back to the fight.

"That's not the only reason." Yoh muttered. "That Kuno looks like the kind of girl who will keep attacking until the fights over. And those weapons can be vicious"

They all gulped.

It was definitely going from bad to worse.

"We have to believe in her!" Kagome shouted.

The other two nodded, chorusing "Right!" loudly, but the conviction was losing grip on all of them.

Kukri grabbed the ribbon bar with her toe, tossing it up to her hand. "It's over."

"Never!" Chidori replied, trying to come up with a new plan.

"Then you're going to be in a lot of pain!" The gymnast ran forward, stopping several meters away, the ribbon already twirling towards Chidori. "If you don't move like a gymnast, you get hurt. If you never move, you get destroyed!"

She gasped, then turned her head to shout out. "CLU – URK!"

SHING! SHING! SHING! The ribbon sliced the air, whirling around like a tornado. The announcer counted furiously in the background. It was around one hundred when Chidori finally cleaved the ribbon aside with her new clubs that had been tossed to her.

The girl spread her feet, gasping for breath. Her leotard was tatteredd, there wer e a few cuts on her face, and the pain had been magnified several times over. Her hands gripped the club shafts tighter, though. And her eyes were steel.

"Then try this!" the tan fighter shouted, running up. His fist swung back, a faint orange glow around it. Akane hadn't seen him use a battle aura, so it must be a technique. "SETSUNA!" he shouted, singing his right hand forward. The orange glow burst forward, trailing along his arm and swinging out in front of him.

BOOM! CRASH! The wall exploded, throwing splinters everywhere. Akane, however, was not in the blast. She was a meter away, quite safe, facing his side. Hatsuharu turned immediately to see her. Akane grinned. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you trying to hit me?"

He glared, before sighing. "Well, what did you think of it? Setsuna. The "Flash Flame Fist"! Pretty hot, huh?"

"It's the only part of you that is." Akane snapped.

His eye twitched. "Really?" he muttered. "Then enjoy it before it get's cold!" he shouted, charging his hand with energy again, rushing forward at the woman.

"CLUBS!" Kukri shouted, before spinning, catching the two weapons, and returning to her original pose in a second, the ribbon draped at her feet. "Done?"

"NO WAY!"

"Fine." Kukri let her arms swing around, before running in to striking distance. Her head rolled aside as Chidori tried a thrust attack, which missed by a great distance. "The Blow of A Thousand Hands!"

WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WHAP! The rapid thumps could be heard all throughout the room, before a loud CRACK! was heard as Chidori flung one of her weapons around, knocking away a club from Kukri's hand. The other girl jumped back, twirling the other one had in her hand, letting the first bounce away along the room floor. So simple. The challenge was already gone. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Or, in this case, a brick.

Chidori slumped a bit, her knees buckling and her upper body leaning forward, deep, rapid, and rough coughs coming from her. It hurt so much. Those rapid club blows . . . what was she supposed to do to deal with that? Deep splotches of pain mixed with thin ribbon cuts was all she could think of. Then, she saw her opponent, and her desire to win resurfaced fully.

"Done yet?"

"I . . . said . . . NO!"

"Chidori!" Kagome whimpered, staring at her friend. There were bruises all over her, her leotard was barely above tatters, and she looked to be in more pain than her body could even feel at one time.

Yoh let his shoulders drop. "She won't give up." He muttered to himself, but loud enough for the girls to hear. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have trained her. Then she wouldn't have forced herself into a problem like this. Now . . . look at her. It's all my fault."

"That's not true!" Kagome muttered. "Chidori never gives up! You know that, don't you? She never loses without sticking it out to the end. She's too stubborn to fall down and stay down. That's why I've always respected her; she just doesn't give up until she can't keep going! And she knows she can win if she keeps trying!"

"Can't she just get called out?" Keira asked angrily, the fear that was welling up converting to hatred in her voice while her hands clenched tightly into fists.

Yoh shook his head. "No. Only if she's unconscious, knocked out of the ring, or surrenders. As long as Kukri doesn't brutalize her, it's all fair until one of those happens. The judges can't pull her out."

"How is that not brutal! She smashed her forty times with clubs and shredded her leotard with that ribbon!"

"That's not what I meant. According to the rules, brutalizing is constantly attacking a far weaker opponent. As long as Kuno keeps pausing and asking if she's finished, giving her a chance to give up, it doesn't matter how much she does."

"Here it comes." Akane thought, swinging her hand back. If she could slip by, she could smash him right in the face. It would be a definite takedown.

"Hope you're ready!"

"SAME TO YOU!" Akane shouted, stepping slightly to the side, swinging out with her right hand. She could feel her knuckles impact his face. Good.

She then felt a huge surge of energy in her stomach. Bad.

Very bad.

WHAM! Akane smashed into the wall along the entry side of the dojo, ten meters from where she was standing a moment ago, near the panels the fighter had walked in moments before. She dropped to the ground again, her mind a flood of torment. It felt like her gut was on fire. She looked up to see the only good news.

Her punch had done more than made contact. It had made the follow through too. He was several meters behind where he was when Akane hit him, his lip bleeding, and a faint black-and-blue mark forming on his cheek. His breath was ragged, but steady. Akane mentally chided herself for being so careless as she stood.

"One more." He muttered. Akane refocused her eyes on him. "You said you'd beat me in three more hits, right? You've already done two. And none of your punches will take me down." he grinned. "They'd need to be . . . ten times more powerful to do that!"

"Ten times?" Akane asked, before running to the side, which the man copied. They stopped, realigned with the main area of the dojo. On opposite sides. Akane was set with her back to the open doors, and Hatsuharu stood in front of the nameplates. "Ha! You could have asked me to do something thirty times more powerful, and I'd come through easily. But only ten? You butt's toast if that's all you can take!" Akane smirked evilly. "My last hit's always a doozy!"

"All right then." Kukri replied, grabbing her ribbon again.

Despite her injuries, Chidori stood as firm as she could. She wouldn't give up. Yoh had done so much for her, taken so much time for her training. She didn't want to let him down. She would do whatever it took to make him proud of her! Her hands clenched on the clubs. "I'm not afraid!"

Kukri sighed. The girl still didn't get it. She didn't move. And that completely defeated the point of rhytmic gymnastics. She was fast, but not mobile, and she trusted too much in her strength and techniques. The Kuno swung her ribbon around, snapping it in front of her. "Then you can 'have this'!"

Chidori looked on in shock as her clubs were snatched out of her hand by the ribbon, swung around, and then re-released back at her. CRACK! "AAAGH!" Chidori shouted, the first club smashing into her kneecap. She crumpled down onto one knee. CRACK! "WAAAAAAHHH!" she screamed again, the second club smacking in the center of her forehead. The girl fell backwards, collapsing onto the ground.

"Is that enough?"

"Stay down, Chidori." Yoh muttered, listening for anything. "Please stay down! Don't hurt yourself anymore!"

They watched in horror as the girl leaned up. "I'm not finished."

Keira immediately stood up. "K-Keira?" Kagome stuttered, looking up at her friend. Her face was stiff and cold, suddenly stern. "Keira, what are you doing!"

It was too late, she was gone.

"Then we go on!" Kukri shouted, swinging the ribbon in large arcs. It flew up high, before she whipped it down.

SNAP! Kukri suddenly stumbled forward, her ribbon pulled. She stopped herself, the looked up. There was a girl with a T-shirt and jeans standing in front of her opponent. The ribbon was wrapped tightly around her hand, and the fingers held it there. Her face glared back at her, the eyes vengeful and hating.

Suddenly, her expression brightened. "That's enough, okay?"

Kukri blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You won." Keira said calmly. "There's no need for more. Besides, I'm sure your team is waiting quite patiently for their turn. Chidori forfeits."

"K-keira!" Chidori muttered behind her. "I'm . . ."

"Yes, you do." Keira replied, letting the ribbon slide off her hand. "Come on, you're hurt. Let's get you to the nurse's office. Yoh's really worried about you." She helped her friend sit up better.

Chidori suddenly coughed loudly, then grimaced in pain. Did her body really sting that much? "O-okay." She murmured, slowly standing up. The girl was slipped down from the ring with the help of Kagome and Yoh, and the three of them walked Chidori down the halls.

"Show me what you got!" Hatsuharu shouted, racing forward. He charged the orange energy into his hand. Time for another Setsuna.

Akane ran forward as well. "More than you do!"

"Confident?"

"Of course!" Akane shouted.

"SETSUNA!"

BOOM! SKISSH! Akane slid around as the Setsuna blast fired, missing her completely. She began running past him, spinning. Hatsuharu didn't ignore that, twisting with a backwards roundhouse. Akane ducked, letting the foot swish over her head. "Goodbye!"

Hatsuharu sneered. "What are you going to do! Huh!" He stopped sneering when he noticed her hands clamped together on her left side. A faint glow of light could be seen. Suddenly, her hands swung forward, opening up. And there was the light source. A ball of energy.

"MOKO TAKABISHI!"

BOOOOM! "GAAAAAAHHHH!" Hatsuharu was blown back out the open doorway, before collapsing onto the ground, rolling over several times before he stopped, faint trails of smoke coming off of him. He gurgled before his mind faded to blank.

"Well, I told you so." Akane muttered, still holding the position she fired the shot from. "Now do you see why you can't have the sign?"

There was another faint gurgle, but nothing else.

Akane stood up, walking to the gate. "Well, thanks for stopping by!" She said with a smile. SLAM! The doors to the dojo rattled as she slammed them shut.

She did it!

She used the Moko Takabishi in combat perfectly!

Now she could start working on the other moves!

Right after she called Ono to get the prone man outside a hospital stay.

"How is she?" Mayu asked, walking up. She had seen the whole fight. It was the first one, and the eighth one finished as she left. Chidori looked bad when she had left, bruises and cuts on her face and body.

Keira and Kagome both turned to see the blond girl approach. Keira sighed. "She's okay. She was hurt really bad, but okay. Yoh's in there with her right now."

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"How did the rest of the meet go?"

"St. Bacchus won by three points. But the two Furinkan seniors crushed their opponents in seconds."

"So, she's healthy?"

Keira cringed at that voice. Mayu, Kagome, and the ninja all turned to see her, standing there ominously. "What do you want?"

Kuno Kukri stood firm, ignoring the death glare from the Kuonji. "I came to see if my opponent is all right."

Keira huffed, turning away. "Like you care."

The girl from St. Bacchus, brushing her windbreaker jacket that was covering her leotard with her free hand, shrugged. "No, not really." He let her hand drop, adjusting the grip on the duffel bag at her side in her other hand, before turning. "It's simply the proper thing to do. So . . . goodbye."

"Look, a heartless, violent girl." Keira muttered under her breath.

She stopped. "All she had to do was say she was finished, and I would have stopped. If I'm violent, she's obstinate. She only has herself to blame for her own injuries. That, and she's slow. Until she's a better gymnast, she better learn to give up when she's lost. Or heal faster."

Keira glared angrily.

"And, I'm not heartless. I just know my own limits." She continued to walk away. "I don't spread myself too thin. And I don't let my heart get in the way of my sport. Hopefully, you're smart enough to understand that." And then, Kukri turned away completely, walking down the hall.

She stopped suddenly when Keira appeared in her face. "No, I don't." she muttered angrily into the other girls face, staring her down.

"If you are angry about it, then use your time making your friend better instead of blaming me for all her problems."

"Or what?"

"Are you challenging me?"

Keira smirked. Just what she wanted right now. "Meet me in front of Furinkan High at three PM. Bring all your fancy tools too, and we'll see just who's going to blame who."

Kukri sighed. "A regular fight. It has been a long time since I needed to battle someone like that." She shook her head. "Just know I will not hold back at all."

Keira cringed, then smirked. "I wouldn't ask for anything less."

Next Chapter: Ninjutsu vs. Rhythmic Gymnastics: A battle of revenge that simply brings about more threats of revenge!

And that's chapter 31. Phew, that was a long one. It took forever to edit, so I'm hoping I didn't waste all that time. The fight scenes were as good as I could make them, and I'm not too proud of them. But, I hope they got the point across. I think the fight at the dojo came out better, except I broke it up a bit to help slow down the other fight. Hopefully that didn't ruin it.

Anyway, on with the reviews:

Drkjester: If you say so. And thank you for the kind review.

Shinjiku: YAY! I'm glad the chapter turned out well.

nonengle: Yeah, it was a quick chapter. But nothing interesting ever happens on Tuesday. As for Naruto's curse, didn't you see the bits before hand? How he had the whiskers? How Ukyo thought it was a raccoon digging through the trash, and then they found out it was Naruto searching for the note Sauske had? There have been hints like that for all the cursed people so far, giving hints to the others. For example, Sakura had fangs, when no one else in the Saotome or Tendo family did, had very strong eyes, and a powerful nose, and she was a wolf. Keep an eye out, and you might see more.

Paige C.: Yeah,I loved that scene with Pai. I mean, how else could you get someone's attention with just a pad of paper and a marker when you can't talk? (Well, there's always doodling on their face, butI didn't want to make the scene THAT comical.)

As for the drawing and such, no, nobodyI know has tried to draw them yet, and neither have I. All i can offer is a compilation of the desriptions, and add as much to it asI can. Some characters are based off real characters appearance (Auska is supposed to be similar to Chiyo-chan from Azumanga Daioh), but there isn't anythingI can give you beyond those two things. I salute you in your endeavor, though! Trying to draw the characters? I would love to see how you do!

Sleepingbear: So, you're back! Again. That's good! Thank you for the kind review: I do try to make this story the bestI can. Hopefully,I won't dissapoint you.

The Liz: Uhh . . . well, Chidori did face off against a Kuno. I mean, wouldn't it be less interisting if it was just some new, generic fighter with no real history in the series? It is supposed to be about the children, right? Besides, I have plenty of new characters coming in. I just had to use both Kunos.

I'm very surprised with these reviews. Apparently, I've made people so sure that I won't answer the questions, that they don't ask them anymore. I mean, nobody asked about the last few Jusenkyo curses that I haven't told you about (Chii, Tenchuu, and Sauske) and nobody asked who those two people at the very end of the chapter were. So, I'll say it anyway. The curses are not going to be revealed for a while, and those two people will be very important, very soon. Okay, that really doesn't answer much, but there you go.