Ranma sat with her back against the wall of the dojo, injured leg extended, as she watched Ryoga doing push-ups.

"Eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety, ninety-one—"

"No, Ryoga, this isn't working. It's too easy."

"What do you mean, it's too easy?" Ryoga turned his head to glare at his self-appointed trainer.

"You need something more challenging, if you're going to be ready to beat Shampoo in three days."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Ranma grinned. "As a matter of fact, I do." Using only her arms, Ranma launched herself from the floor, maneuvering gymnastically through the air to land hands-first on her unhappy pupil's back. Ryoga, unprepared for the impact, landed on his face as his arms buckled under him.

The red-haired girl arranged herself so that she was lounging on his back, using his legs as a footstool for her injured knee. "I'm all set; you can continue now."

Ryoga grumbled, but got his arms under him again. "Ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four—"

Ranma gave a frustrated sigh. "This isn't going to do it either. I guess I'm just too slim and petite to provide an adequate challenge for you."

Ryoga's mouth opened to make a sarcastic reply, but snapped closed again when he heard the redhead call, "Hey, Pop!" He squeezed his eyes shut against the implications. This cannot bode well…

The next thing he knew, Ryoga found himself with a giant panda sitting on his back drinking a cup of tea, with Ranma perched comfortably on its shoulders. Ryoga's arms trembled with the strain of maintaining an upright position.

Ranma smiled down at her victim. "Go ahead, Ryoga. After another couple hundred of these, you can take a five-minute break before we move on."

Ryoga groaned as he tried to bend his arms without collapsing entirely. "N-n-ninety…five…"

o o o o o

"Now, one of the things you really have to worry about with Shampoo is how fast she is." Ranma sat on a large rock in the courtyard of the Tendo house, one hand on a large basket that sat beside her. "When she fought Akane, she completed her Sai Fang Heng Gow Shiatsu technique in mere seconds – and that includes the rinse and dry!"

"So how do I defend against her?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Obviously, you need to learn speed. This is where the 'Attack of the Hundred Melons' comes in."

"Melons!"

"Yes." Ranma removed the lid from the basket, revealing it to be full of melons. "I'm going to take these melons and throw them at your head as fast as I can. You're going to split each one of them, while dodging all of the juice that splatters out."

"You can't be serious! That's ridiculous." Ryoga turned his back to the redhead, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "Do you remember why Shampoo gave Akane the Kiss of Death in the first place, P-chan? I believe it was because Akane rescued somebody from becoming Cantonese pork in hibiscus sauce."

Ryoga's cheeks burned red, and he cast his gaze downward in shame. The fateful scene in the Furinkan High School cafeteria replayed itself in his mind. He's right; Akane is in danger because of me, and it is my duty to protect her, even if it means enduring the "Attack of the Hundred Melons."

He turned to face Ranma, assuming a fighting stance. "All right; I'm ready."

"Then look out!" Ryoga found himself staring into a hail of melons. The rest of the world dropped away as his focus narrowed to the fight. He struck the first melon, neatly splitting it in half, and leapt out of the way as it exploded in a splatter of juice and pulp. One after another he struck, hands moving almost faster than the eye could follow.

Finally, it was finished. The basket stood empty, and the broken hulls of countless melons lay scattered in a wide circle, with a clear patch at the center. In the middle of it Ryoga stood, bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He looked up at Ranma, who beckoned him forward with a gesture.

He approached the rock, and his redheaded trainer looked him up and down. "Pretty good, pretty good." Ranma reached forward and wiped a single speck of melon pulp from the tip of Ryoga's nose with one finger. She licked the finger clean and shook her head. "But not good enough. Again!"

Ryoga's expression wilted, and he let out an exhausted groan – which was abruptly cut off by a melon hitting him full in the face.