Ranma strolled down the street, balancing a brown paper shopping bag on his head. He'd had to stop and pick up some groceries for Kasumi on the way home from school; Akane had begged off, claiming homework as her excuse. So, of course, Ranma had to go running errands alone. Just as well. That girl can really get on a guy's nerves. You say one word wrong and she goes all violent on you.
As he neared a gate, Ranma paused in mid-step. He jumped onto the top of the chain-link fence across the street. A moment later, an old woman stepped out of the gate and tossed a ladle of water onto the stretch of sidewalk that Ranma had just vacated. He breathed a sigh of relief and took the bag of groceries off his head, carrying it in one arm. He continued toward the Tendo house, balancing easily on the fence.
"I'm home!" Ranma pushed open the door, looking around for the other members of the household. "Kasumi, I picked up the noodles and the fish, but they were out of—" He froze, his eyes focusing on the red umbrella propped against the wall. Ryoga.
Groceries forgotten in the front hall, Ranma stormed into the main room to find Akane and Ryoga seated at the table. Ryoga was talking, and Akane sat with her cheek resting on one hand, seemingly caught up in what he was saying. A hint of a smile played across her lips. Ranma's fists tightened reflexively.
"Ryoga."
The other boy looked up at him, irritation in his eyes. At the break in conversation, Akane glanced up to notice Ranma's entrance. "Oh, you're back. Kasumi's in the kitchen."
Ranma glared at her. "I thought you had homework?"
She scowled. "I do. Ryoga was just telling me about the time he went to Kyoto, and—"
"Kyoto, huh?" Ranma grinned. "Where were you actually trying to go, Ryoga?"
"That's not the point! I—"
Ranma cut him off with a gesture. "Listen, Ryoga, I've been thinking."
"That's a first," Akane muttered.
"You are so uncute," Ranma informed her before turning his attention back to his rival. "Ya know, Ryoga; it's completely unfair to you that our fight keeps getting interrupted." Ranma strode across the room, closing the distance between himself and the short-haired boy. "You have every right to want to fight me, after all the pain and suffering I've put you through already – and may still cause you in the future." Ranma tossed off the threat casually, his voice retaining most of its friendly overtones.
Ryoga's eyes darted briefly in Akane's direction. "You know, Ranma, that's really not necessary right now…"
Ranma's smile was definitely more predatory than personable. "No, I owe you a duel, and I always pay back my debts. Come on, Ryoga; it's time to collect. No interference this time. It'll just be you and me." Ranma leaned in close, lowering his voice so that only the other boy could hear his next words. "P-chan." His eyes flicked meaningfully in Akane's direction.
Ryoga's eyes widened, and then narrowed into a scowl. "Alright, Ranma. We'll fight." He rose to his feet, snatched up his umbrella, and stalked out into the courtyard.
Akane watched in irritation as Ranma followed him outside. "Honestly, what do those two think they're doing? Just when it seems like Ryoga was going to let go of their differences, Ranma picks a fight again. Idiot."
"Akane?" Oblivious to her sister's temper, Kasumi emerged from the kitchen. "Did you remember to call the roofer about those loose tiles?"
o o o o o
Poised on the apex of the roof, Shampoo watched the two boys enter the courtyard and square off against each other. She enjoyed watching Ranma fight; the strength and agility that made him a great martial artist affirmed her confidence in him as her husband-to-be.
The boy with the bandana struck a fighting stance, brandishing his umbrella as a weapon. Shampoo tilted her head to one side, curious. He means to fight with an umbrella? How unusual. She slid forward, stretching out along the tiles, with one foot hooked over the spine of the roof to keep her steady. She rested her chin in her hands, making herself comfortable to watch as the boys rushed at each other.
o o o o o
Ryoga started out hesitantly; it had been some weeks since he'd last challenged Ranma. Since he'd begun spending time with Akane, his mind had been on things other than fighting.
Ranma allowed himself a cocky half-smile. Ryoga's training has been slipping. He's leaving himself wide open on the left side. And oh, is that umbrella starting to get a little heavy for him? Without even turning to look, Ranma could tell that Akane was watching. If I beat the stuffing out of Ryoga, Akane will just feel sorry for him. Idiot. Ranma scowled.
Sensing his opponent's momentary distraction, Ryoga made a lunge with his umbrella. Ranma recovered enough at the last moment to jump back, out of range of the blow. So instead, I'll humiliate him. Make it obvious that he couldn't land a hit on me if his life depended on it. That'll show Akane.
He leapt at Ryoga, throwing a flurry of feints which his adversary scrambled to parry. As the other boy panted, trying to recover from the effort, Ranma casually reached in and flicked him on the nose. "Come on, Ryoga, tired already? We've only just started."
Ryoga blushed furiously, his eyes darkening with rage. "You will pay for that insult, Ranma Saotome," he snarled, drawing back to throw his umbrella.
o o o o o
"Interesting," Shampoo remarked softly. Ranma toys with him as though he were no threat at all. It's as if he wants to make this boy look foolish. Shampoo crawled forward to get a better look at the tableau before her, but as soon as she moved her back foot, the tiles beneath her started to slide. She clawed frantically at the roof for purchase, but the tiles were loose and she could gain no traction. With a little shriek, she tumbled over the edge of the roof – and into the pond in the Tendos' courtyard.
She surfaced a few moments later to see Ranma deftly step out of the path of Ryoga's whirling umbrella. Then he turned to see what had caused the splash.
Ranma's confident smile melted, replaced by an expression of sheer horror. "A c-c-cat!"
The ensuing scream led Nabiki, just arriving home from selling Kuno more photographs of her sister, to conclude that Ranma had been doused with cold water again.
Shampoo clambered out of the pond and shook herself off, then looked up at Ranma to see what he was screaming about. She was just in time to see the umbrella, on its return trip back to Ryoga's hand, come up behind the terror-stricken Ranma and clobber him full-force. He landed on his face in the dirt – just inches away from Shampoo.
"Miaow," she offered encouragingly.
Ranma's eyes widened in fear, his pupils nearly disappearing amid the white. With another shriek he leapt to his feet and turned to flee – only to be stopped by Ryoga's fist catching him squarely in the face.
He landed on his back, momentarily dazed. As his mind cleared, he felt a small, furry head rubbing insistently against his hand. His eyes glazed over, and he started to twitch. "C-c-c-c-c—"
Ryoga approached his prone adversary cautiously. "Get up and fight, Ranma! Or are you beaten that easily?" He looked down to discover an unconscious Ranma with a little pink cat sitting on his chest, peering into his face.
Shampoo stared at her betrothed in disbelief, rapidly melting into disappointment. Ranma… Ranma lost. Tears pooled in her eyes, spilling down to leave dark tracks in her fur. I believed he was so strong, so skilled… to my shame. How weak must he truly be, that he was so easily defeated? If the people of my tribe ever learned of this, the humiliation would haunt me forever.
She hopped down from Ranma's chest and turned to walk away from him, eyes downcast. She took three steps before she ran face-first into a pair of legs. She sat down, tilting her head back as her eyes traced up the body of the boy before her. Her gaze locked on his face, and brown eyes looked curiously back at her. This is the man who defeated my Ranma. I know now what I must do.
In a moment, she had scampered across the courtyard and up a tree. She leapt over the wall surrounding the Tendo residence, and was gone.
