Guest Ki: Chapter 14

Ramen and Akane

Shampoo's first battle was over quickly. Her opponent, who had a single lock of green hair in an otherwise typical glossy black style, decided that she had nothing to lose. As soon as their palms touched she grabbed Shampoo's hands in her own and thrust forward, hoping to knock the Amazon over or push her out of the pool. Shampoo was caught off guard. Her instincts were fine however. She took a half step to the side, twisted and threw. Kitty Shikaga went skidding over the lip of the pool to bounce on her bottom in the splash basin around the stage.

The violet-haired girl's eyes went wide and her hands came up to her mouth. She was mortified. She had won almost by accident! "Is Kitty-san okay?" she asked skimming over the edge of the stage to kneel beside the girl. The girl nodded and looked up at Shampoo and laughed. Shampoo stiffened not understanding what she was laughing at.

"You tossed me out of that pool like I was a salmon and you were a hungry bear!" Kitty reached out her hand and Shampoo absently helped her to her feet. "You're good!"

Shampoo suddenly realized she was being complimented and blushed in pleasure. "Next time last longer. You know not rush; set feet for balance. We have good fight then!"

Her opponent laughed and pointed Shampoo back to the stage where she took her bows. She bounced back glowing to where Ranma and Akane stood, stuck her tongue out at Akane and followed Kitty out the door to wash off. She was feeling much more at ease. This just might be fun after all!

"Akane Tendo will fight Mitsuyara Oberu!"

Akane's head came up as she tried to remember which girl was her opponent. A tall, heavy young woman advanced on the stage and Akane grimaced. Her opponent was nearly as tall as Janet Kolberg but heavier. She moved slowly but there was little bounce in that body.

Akane doffed her robe and handed it to Ranma without looking at him. She paced down the aisle to the male cheers of the Furinkan contingent (who had also cheered Shampoo as a local) and took her place across the pool. Akane could have imagined she was stepping into a hot tub if it weren't for the slide of the ramen noodles over her skin. She judged that it would take considerable strength to move quickly unless you were willing to risk lifting your feet well off the floor of the pool.

As she got a closer look at Mitsu, she assessed the girl's probable strength upwards. Akane watched how the girl moved and judged she was a martial artist, though definitely in another discipline, possibly judo. Inside, she groaned at meeting an opponent of this skill level this early, but there was no help for it.

Mitsu Oberu watched the play of muscles underneath Akane's skin, making judgments of her own. She smiled briefly and bowed, keeping her eyes on Akane, before reaching out. Akane met her evenly and the match began.

Mitsu went for a shoulder/opposite arm hold with the intention of twisting Akane off her feet. Akane easily slipped this and broke away. Her opponent was keeping in a low crouch, holding her center low and using her greater bulk and strength in an attempt to corner Akane. She did not see a way of exploiting the height difference the way Akari had. Mitsu closed on her and pushed forward, hoping to grab Akane by the waist or arms and heave her out of the pool.

Akane knew, from the moment she had made the initial contact with Mitsu, that the girl had more than sufficient strength to carry out her plan and there was no way out of this situation except out… or up! Akane's hands slapped down on Mitsu's upper arms as she thrust powerfully like Ranma had taught her on all those slippery moss-covered tree limbs on the island. She rose like a missile, flipped and landed — skidding, as Janet had earlier — to catch her balance against the lip of the pool. Looking up, she found that had been the defining move of the match. The sudden downward thrust had overbalanced her opponent, sending her face first into the broth with a huge splash.

The crowd roared in excitement! The match started off slow and ponderous and they had been disappointed, both by what seemed an obvious mismatch and the lack of furious action. Akane's aerial escape and victory had woken them up in a hurry.

After helping Mitsu stand, a little grumpy compared to most of the defeated competitors, she took her applause from the stage, waved to her supporters in the Furinkan crowd and started for the door to rinse off. She really wanted to have some privacy. Noodles had gotten into her suit and felt positively disgusting. She opened the door and walked over to the hose, only to stand amused and disbelieving. Shampoo-cat was sitting in a puddle in the midst of her useless suit.

"You didn't forget about the water being cold, did you?"

Shampoo meowed and looked frustrated. When Akane reached to pick her up, she hissed and struck out. Akane jerked her hand away and stood up, retrieving the hose as she did. Mitsu joined her at this point, looking inquiringly at the cat in the puddle.

Akane cleared the noodles out of her suit, rinsed off shivering and handed the hose to her former opponent. As she turned to Shampoo again, she heard voices from around the side of the building, voices she recognized. "Jani-san! Akari-san! Over here." Two heads poked around the side of the building.

"What do you want, Akane?" Janet asked. "Have you seen this pig? It's huge!"

Akane's opponent jerked and turned, apparently misunderstanding for whom the remark was meant.

"Jani-san, Shampoo had a bit of an accident…"

"Are you talking to me?" Mitsuyara interrupted, glaring balefully at Jani-san.

"No, I'm talking to Akane about Akari's prize sumo pig, Katsunishiki." Janet ignored the implied threat and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "It probably weighs as much as a good-sized car. Go look, if you don't believe me!"

As Akane tried to explain about Shampoo's problem, Mitsuyara clenched her fists uncertainly. Obviously, she had people take issue with her size and proportions in the past. She was finding it far easier to believe these three near-models might be making fun of her than taking her seriously.

A rumbling was felt through the ground. A bass grunt came from behind the corner of the building. The huge shadow moved in the dark. Snuffling, it moved up to a distressed Akari. Mitsuyara decided these girls weren't kidding. It wasn't reassuring, though.

"Katsunishiki, I told you to stay! Oh, you're thirsty?" She was forced to move laterally as the huge animal butted its head against her hip. "Could you excuse me a moment?" She skipped over to the hose, the pig following closely. Shampoo made a quick snatch at her suit with jaws and paws and fled on three legs, leaving the site to beast and owner. Katsunishiki tipped his head a fraction, opened his jaws and Akari turned the hose down his throat. Several deciliters later, she ran the hose over his body to ecstatic grunts of pleasure. The deep sound was similar to a bass voice belly laugh.

Shampoo kept her distance, circling to come up behind Akane and Janet. She knew well from the forests around her home that pigs are omnivorous and quite willing to eat any small animal too slow or stupid to get away. She had seen Akari's monster when it visited Nerima before and always wondered if several missing feral dogs and cats had ended up as light snacks for this creature. She meowed and rubbed against Janet's legs.

Her aunt picked her up and looked her over. "Shampoo, you are disgustingly pretty as a girl or a cat," she commented dryly. She turned to Akane. "All we need is some warm water, right?"

Akane nodded.

Mitsu, who had edged around the enormous pig, glanced over uncertainly. "Hot water?"

"For Shampoo," Janet explained. She held up the damp cat. The other big woman looked around them, around in their vicinity, then at the cat.

"The cat is named Shampoo, as well?"

Ranma and Ryoga took turns wandering around the floor, moving toward those areas where individuals were getting too noisy or boisterous. Himamashi had given them strict orders: 'Let the customers have their fun, unless they are breaking furniture or each other.'

To Ryoga this was life as usual. Well, aside from the fact that Akari was moving with him latched to his arm. In fact, he had often paid his way by working as a bouncer, since his lack of directional sense was unimportant here. If you stayed close to the noise, you were on the job. Because bouncers always paired up to take on an unruly customer, the other guy usually knew where the exit was. He had been working this way since leaving home to follow Ranma to China. He noticed Hiroshi and Daisuke and other Furinkan attendees watching the show while their dates clustered around a table well away from the action. A vaguely familiar voice was laying down the law. It occurred to him that he had heard something about Nabiki being here.

"Now, look! Akane won, but was considered the underdog against Mitsuyara Oberu, paying three-to-one odds. We lost Akari early and that's too bad. We hoped she'd cut a wider swath through the field before meeting the Kolberg woman, Shampoo or Akane. Kolberg-san is, of course, the favorite; but now that Oberu is out, either Shampoo or Akane has a good chance of winning or placing. Akane is obviously much better than before. We need to sweeten the pot and shift the odds, or our base will be threatened. See if we can make odds that neither Akane nor Shampoo will be eliminated before the semifinals."

Ryoga wandered over and poked his head through the crowd. Yep, it was Nabiki.

"Please remember that our deal is a percentage to the house…"

"What odds on the Tendo-Shampoo fight?"

Nabiki answered automatically. "Seven-to-two for Shampoo, with the odds going five-to-one, if the fight lasts more than one minute… Ryoga?"

"Hello, Nabiki-san." Ryoga started as Akari spoke softly from beside him. "You are looking well."

Nabiki stiffened and gave the faintest hint of a guilty blush. She nodded to Akari in a polite manner. "Akari-san, good to see you again. Is that pig of yours with you?"

"Katsunishiki is guarding the dressing room, Nabiki-san," she said with a smile. "I didn't think the girls would like boys peeping at them while they changed." Ryoga began to feel coming here was a mistake. The conversation was going into areas best left unexplored.

"It doesn't really matter, does it, Akari?" he muttered, trying to see a way out of this. "You weren't upset earlier…"

"Ryoga!" she interrupted primly. "There is a world of difference between seeing someone naked and seeing someone dressing… or undressing!"

Ryoga blushed to his toes. Had anyone not been boggling at Akari, they would have seen Nabiki in a similar condition.

The elimination round came to a close. The last contestants seemed more interested in providing a show than actually wrestling and both girls were stripped to the buff fifteen seconds after the start of the match. From there, the event included holds and clenching of a kind that had more than a few in the audience wondering if they were wrestling or putting on one of 'those'shows. Finally, both girls went into a vertical clench and fell into the ramen together amidst squeals and laughter.

Himamashi ruled the girl on top to be the winner, despite protests from the men in the audience and from the girls themselves. He stated ponderously it was time to move on and the protests died away under his glare.

After announcing the last winner in the preliminary round, the big man turned and looked for Janet. She had promised to work the bar when she was not wrestling and he hadn't seen her since her bout. He was about to send Ryoga or Ranma to look for her when he saw her come from the back with Shampoo. He sidled over, as Shampoo seemed to have lost her earlier enthusiasm. He didn't want trouble from a grumpy Amazon this early in the evening.

Janet waved the two boys over to join them.

"Want anything, boys? It's on the house."

"A small beer, please," answered Ryoga.

"Just water for me," Ranma replied in turn.

"You sure, Red?"

"I…I'm not a redhead now." Ranma looked disgruntled but nodded.

"His girl-type can't hold her liquor," explained Ryoga, sipping at his beer and smiling mischievously.

"Ryoga!"

"Afraid someone will take advantage of you?" Janet asked without a smile. Ranma froze for long seconds caught between a rash remark and the internal debate that was going on.

"Just… water, please. Not too cold," he said finally. Janet nodded and bopped Ryoga on the head when he snickered. Akari had already punched him in the arm.

"Have you ever considered that if his girl-type got pregnant it might lock him in that form?" growled the Amazon. "How would you like to be locked into pig-form, hmmm?" Akari nodded in agreement. Akane and Shampoo looked daggers at him.

"All right! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" whined the lost-boy from behind his shielding arms. "Sheesh! Nobody can take a joke!"

No one noticed the water glass vanishing from the bar counter and reappearing looking a little more translucent than before.

Himamashi joined them.

"Jani-san, where have you been?"

"Out back, Father-in-law. You should see Akari's sumo pig," she added enthusiastically.

"Sumo pig?"

As they discussed the events of the evening so far, Ranma tossed back his glass of water. He got about three-quarters down before the taste, or rather lack of taste, registered.

"Bleh!" Ranma spat. That's terrible!" They turned to him questioningly. As they did, a loud argument burst out in another part of the room. Ranma jerked around and headed for two men who seemed intent on playing the macho, alpha-male while their dates egged them on. "Be back!"

Ranma bounced over and separated the two; each claiming the other had pinched his date. One even went so far as to show her bruise to Ranma, nearly starting a fight between her outraged boyfriend and the martial artist/bouncer, who certainly hadn't asked to see it. A sudden, slight hold on a nerve cluster had convinced the individual to behave. The pigtailed boy returned, watching out for cold drinks on the way.

"You look thirsty," said Janet, "here's another; after all, water's really cheap."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Jani-san," he said with a shake of his head. "The water tasted funny to me." He turned and indicated to Akane and Shampoo that they'd be better off away from the crush around the bar. As they left, Janet sipped gingerly at the water in the glass.

The next elimination round started off with two girls having more energy than common sense dumping one another into the ramen by the simple expedient of totally missing their grips and falling flat on their faces. They came up spitting and blowing like whales, liberally coated with broth and wriggling noodles from every spot that could catch them. After a few moments to rinse the salty stuff from their eyes, they resumed the match, a little more cautiously. Now however, the slippery broth prevented holds from being maintained at all, making hair and the opponent's suit the only thing anyone could reasonably expect to get a grip on.

Hiroshi attempted to get Daisuke's attention. "Did you see that?" he yelled, cheering the skin show and deciding the evening's entertainment was worth his mother's future recriminations. There was no response. He grabbed his friend by the shoulder and shook him, repeating his question, adding a cheer for the winning move — a throw requiring a firm grip on bikini briefs that left the vanquished with her top, but definitely bottomless. The quickly recovered clothing was, of course, drawn on in the relative privacy of the pool, but the squeals and complaints of the girl as she tried to rid herself of the intrusive noodles were entertaining to the hormone driven young men.

"Daisuke?" Hiroshi finally looked down. His friend was in a state of hormone overload, blood dripping on his shirt from one nostril and a glazed expression on his face. "Daisuke?" He had an inspiration. "Here come Shampoo and Akane!"

"Where?" Daisuke's glaze broke and he looked desperately around.

"Not yet, twit!" Hiroshi laughed. "Pervert. You had a string of drool hanging to the floor, Daisuke."

"Did not," Dai protested. He reached out and snagged Ranma on his way back from another bouncer detail.

"Ranma! When are Shampoo and Akane fighting?"

"How should I know?" Ranma paused then glanced uncertainly around the room. "If they don't meet in the semi-finals, it'll depend on whether they're still in the runnin' for the final match." He turned suddenly and yelled at someone the next table over. "Don't make me come over there!" Turning back to Dai, he accidentally smacked the young man in the face as he was resuming his seat. "Crap! Sorry, Dai! This bouncer duty must be gettin' on my nerves." He considered a moment. "Anyway, if one or the other's eliminated before the finals, the fight will come after the official matches are over. Sort of a dessert course, I guess."

"Yeah," sighed Daisuke, longingly.

"Dai, don't make me hurt you." Ranma laughed to show he was kidding. As he turned to leave, Hiroshi suddenly caught him by the arm.

"You aren't drinking, are you?"

"Me? Ya gotta be kiddin'! I won't touch the stuff in a place like this. See ya." He left on the bounce, leaving a drooling Daisuke and a worried looking Hiroshi behind him.

As he passed the bar, Janet pulled him in and gave him another glass of water, assuring him it would taste all right. It did. She tried to ask him what his previous glass had tasted like, but he moved away from the crowd — neither Barry nor Ranma cared for crowds — to resume station near Ryoga and the girls.

He set the glass down and put his arms around both Shampoo and Akane and gave them each a reassuring hug. He felt they were both looking raw from being in each other's undiluted company.

"Ranma, are you all right?"

"Airen okay? Ranma act… funny."

He looked from one to the other. What the hell was the matter now? He frowned and withdrew his arms, taking a quick gulp from his glass as he did so. 'Bleh!' There was that taste again.

Suddenly, it became clear. He looked within.

Barry, startled, glanced with him. Ranma's ki was blurred, out of focus, definitely abnormal. Surprisingly, Barry's was fine. Not as structured and ordered as Ranma's usually was, but that was normal and certainly greatly improved over when he had started 'renting space' there.

'What the hell is going on, Ranma?' Barry asked, dismayed at the change. 'How did… Damn! I can't believe I missed that.'

'Yeah, someone switched drinks on us.'

'They not only switched drinks; they did it right under our noses. Twice! Happosai?'

'That's what I figure. I'm the only one who can control him. But now I've got… what — a liter? …of something pretty potent in my blood and you know he's just waitin' for just the right moment to splash me.' The last was said grimly.

'Akane will surprise him!'

'If she's not in the pool with Shampoo.' He tried to sense his surroundings, but it was too difficult. 'Barry, can you do this? Try ta find the freak by his ki signature. He should be hangin' close.'

Shampoo was called then. She found herself opposite the winning half of the 'Bunny and Buffy Do Japan' show. That girl looked Shampoo over as if she were a hunk of prime meat. Shampoo made quick work of her, interrupting her lunge to close quarters and dumping her over a hip. Shampoo fastidiously helped her up at arm's length and backed away further when it was revealed the girl had chosen the moment of her immersion to remove her top to put on a another show which Shampoo wanted no part of.

Akane was the last called in this round, to fight against a girl who had more luck than skill in the preliminaries. The latter knew she didn't have a chance against Akane's skill or superior strength, but had the pluck to try to make it last. Akane finally swept her feet out from under her but held on to the girl so she wouldn't get dunked.

As they left to rinse off, Barry finally located their problem.

'Got him!'

'Where?'

'Look in the alcove. See the tanooki?' Ranma glanced at his glass as if he were thinking of taking another drink. Very suspiciously, it was nearly full. He placed it back on the table. In the alcove, a pottery tanooki, a sort of Japanese leprechaun in the shape of a badger, sat in seeming innocence.

'That thing? Ya gotta be kiddin'?'

'It does seem more Tsubasa's routine than Happosai's until you consider he's doing it without props or makeup, just a little misdirection in case he can't avoid bumping into someone.' It was sort of funny in a stupid, scary way. If the freak got going, he could wreak this entire place. 'Any ideas?'

'Only one I can think of at the moment.' "Yo, Ryoga! Come here, will ya? 'Scuse me, Shampoo." He met Ryoga halfway. 'Has the freak moved?' he asked Barry silently.

'I think he's moving in to try to pinch or feel up Shampoo, if I'm reading him right.'

Ryoga arrived.

"Just nod if ya understand, Ryoga," Ranma whispered urgently. "We got freak problems. Big ones!" Ryoga's eyes widened, but he kept his mouth shut. He nodded.

"D'ya see the tanooki behind Shampoo?" Ranma whispered.

"What about it?" He glanced back at Ranma then back at the pot and swore softly. There was a potted rubber plant where the tanooki had been. Looking away then back again, Ryoga got the creepy feeling it was moving closer to the unsuspecting Amazon. "You mean…"

"Yeah! I think, maybe ya oughta go over and settle a little score with the Amazon about P-chan's fate, if ya know what I mean. Get close and knock 'im out."

"Why don't you do it?" It was a reasonable thing to ask, but Ranma struggled a bit, not wanting to admit the truth.

"He switched drinks on us, Ryoga," Barry injected. "Ranma's higher than a kite, though you wouldn't know it to look at him. We need back-up. If you can keep him distracted by arguing with Shampoo…"

Ryoga nodded, then schooled his expressionand pushed past on his way to confront Shampoo. "You traitor!" he hissed angrily. Shampoo, who had been shifting uncomfortably for minutes now, for reasons known only to her hindbrain, started. Ranma waited a few breaths, then moved in as if to referee.

"Wha-what," she stuttered. What had set pig-boy off? "What wrong, Ryoga?" At one hundred sixty centimeters, and less than fifty-five kilos, she was dwarfed by Ryoga's height and mass. 'Pig-boy' had done some growing in the last year and topped one hundred eighty-five centimeters now. While Shampoo did not doubt her ability to beat Ryoga in a fight, it was not something she would seek out. She placed the 'potted palm' between them.

"Do you know what nearly happened to me at the Tendo's because of you?" was delivered in an angry snarl. She nodded nervously. "Sometimes, Shampoo," he said, moving closer seeing an opening, "sometimes life can be such a bitch!" As Shampoo paled, thinking he meant her, he punched down. (BAM!) The potted plant seemed to implode, leaving a battered-looking old midget lying on the floor.

"Ryoga think Shampoo bi..." she started, enraged. Then it dawned on her what was at her feet. "Pervert-master? Here?" She backed away with loathing. "Eeuw!"

Ryoga turned as Ranma smacked him in a friendly fashion on the shoulder. Surprisingly, no one seemed to have noticed the little fracas.

"Man! That's a relief. Nice shot!"

"I thought I saw an opening,"Ryoga smirked as Akane walked up. "Whatshould we do with him?"

"Oh, kami! Happosai's here?" She glared at Ryoga. "I told you not to say…"

"Ryoga nailed him, Akane, so it's even at least!" He reached down to snag the little pervert and nearly fell on his nose. Waving off the girls who leaped to steady him, he added,"The freak slipped me a couple. I don't know what he was plannin', but I think I know what we need to do with him."

"What?"

"Give him to Cologne."

"And what, pray tell, am I supposed to do with him?" The gnomish little Matriarch stared at Happosai, who was barely recognizable through the loops of chain and heavy cable that cocooned him.

"Let me out of here, Ranma. You can't do this to me. All those pretty girls. All that uncovered skin. It's cruel!" Happosai wailed from somewhere in the depths of the ball. "I didn't even get to play with the silky darlings!"

"Oh, shut up, you old fool!" Cologne whacked the ball with her staff, eliciting a yelp from the ancient pervert. "Well, if I have to, roll him into the back yard and chain him to that big tree there." She sighed dramatically. "Leave the chain about ten meters long. Maybe we can convince Akari's pig that he's some kind of toy. Get some good out of him, that way." She opened the door and pointed to a century old oak that stood behind the bar.

The gang laughed and, wrapping the chain in some in some old dishtowels, hung a loop over a sturdy branch. Suspended in mid-air, Happosai was going nowhere for a while. Akari came around the corner with Katsunishiki and Ranma personally demonstrated the swinging ball to the enormous pig.

"Oh, no! (Nudge) Ranma, you can't! You mustn't! (BAM!)"

The enormous pig gave the ball a tentative nudge with its snout and then charged almost gleefully. Happosai described a long arc into the air before descending and bouncing off a carefully placed shoulder block. For several minutes, Cologne, Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Akari and Ryoga watched the sumo pig crash against the swinging ball to the accompaniment of Happosai's curses, threats and pleas.

Then they all went back inside to finish their respective business. Ranma, after consulting with Cologne, sat near the bar with a pot of coffee. The Amazon elder was unwilling or unable to work any magical cures for alcohol poisoning.

There were six girls left fighting in the third round. All had some kind of martial arts training. Akane was the first to fight against a practitioner of karate named Asani Kiritomo. The girl was smaller than Akane and very quick, but nothing could beat the speed Akane had acquired under Ranma's tutelage. Asani was quickly down and out and the pool was cleared for the next contestants.

"Janet Kolberg fights… Shampoo!"

The two Amazons glanced across the room at each other while the remaining two girls let loose a sigh of relief. One of them would make it to the finals and recoup some of their losses with free drinks, if nothing else. They sat down as Shampoo and Janet moved to the stage and slid into the pool at opposite sides.

Eyeing one another, they approached and patted hands together as if playing patticake. Then, just as slowly, it began.

At first, there was no contact as body feints and offered holds or occasional thrusts with the open palm were ignored, which developed into other feints. Shampoo could not afford to go to full contact, due to her aunt's superior size and strength. Finally, Jani-san closed with her and caught Shampoo by the end of one of her ponytails. Still damp from the last rinsing, it made a solid rope with which she hoped to swing the smaller girl off her feet. Shampoo moved in, slapped her aunt's other hand aside and erupted from the pool.

She flipped over the gripping arm, ending up facing the opposite direction and with her long hair now crossing over her opponent's wrist. Janet was forced to turn toward her or break away. Realizing Shampoo could now duplicate Akari's throw from a much better angle and with much greater skill, she chose to break off and attempt to get some distance between them.

But the hair caught at her wrist like a noose. She chose to grip the hair, rather than spend dangerous seconds trying to untangle from it, but this, too, was a trap. Shampoo reached out to her aunt's extended hand and took a submission hold, twisting the taller woman about that arm. As Janet spun, trying to beat the twist and remain on her feet, Shampoo slid one small foot across the floor of the pool to shove against Janet's weight-bearing leg.

With a cry of "You devil's child!", Janet measured her length in the pool, her gripping hand dragging Shampoo headfirst into the broth, as well. It was clear, however, who had won; and after she untangled her hand, Janet lifted her startled niece to shoulder-height in congratulation.

After the break, most of the spectators went out back to watch the enormous pig play tetherball with Happosai. The three remaining girls prepared to draw straws to see who would fight next. Akane and Shampoo allowed the third, Kimi Morisayama, first pick and she dithered a moment before picking a long straw. She would be fighting. At Shampoo's insistence, Akane drew next.

It was the short straw. Shampoo would fight the Morisayama girl. The winner of that bout would fight Akane for the prize.

Akane didn't have long to wait.

As she slid into the ramen, Akane watched the sleek, self-satisfied look on Shampoo's face and found herself boiling with anger. She dropped into her role and recited her chosen mantra to calm herself. Shampoo obviously thought she could do whatever she wanted to with her opponent. Akane was not yet ready to disabuse her of that idea. To tell the truth, Akane felt Shampoo was improved over her skill-level at Mt. Phoenix and she could use all the surprise she could get.

Her eyes narrowed as Shampoo held up a hand, indicating she was not ready yet. Then, disconcertingly, the Amazon reached up, un-tied her top and threw it aside.

As the crowd roared,Shampoo did the same with the bottom of her suit, then bound her hair back into a single heavy twist and immersed herself to the neck in the ramen. She rose again slowly, skin slicked by the broth, and tried to taunt Akane over the crowd's noise.

Finally, the people quieted enough to hear what Shampoo was saying.

"Akane ready to fight? Shampoo born ready. Is Amazon! Fight for honor; fight for Ranma." She sneared. "Is Akane ready to lose?" The crowd roared again.

Akane buffered by her role, took her time. Standing hip-deep in ramen was not exactly a role inducingposition, but she managed it with poise and quiet dignity. With her arms crossed below her breasts, she waited patiently for the noise level to drop. She waited longer, as it got more and more quiet and Shampoo began to huff. When it got quiet enough that she could speak clearly without more than normal projection, she spoke her piece.

"Shampoo, we've all been fighting each other for almost two years now and none of us seems any closer to winning Ranma. No matter who wins today, that's not going to change. You want Ranma? Well, so do I!"

Beside the bar, Ranma slid off his stool. Akane had never publicly said she wanted him before. Usually the reverse held true. Janet leaned over to him and asked quietly, "How many girls you got chasing you?" which he ignored for the moment. Instead, he glanced back as the crowd drowned out the two girls again, to see Cologne watching him and, past him, Akane, in a calculating way. This was not necessarily encouraging.

"You watch out, Akane," Shampoo screeched furiously. "Obstacles are…"

"…for killing! I know it by heart now, Shampoo," Akane broke in. "Remember your promise to your aunt, and remember the laws of the country you're in." Suddenly, Akane took a single step forward and pointed at Shampoo as if she were leveling a gun. "You kill me and neither of us get Ranma! And you get to spend a long, long time in jail. Where will the hopes of the Matriarchy be then?" The dark-haired girl returned to her former pose and contemplated the surface of the broth. "In the end, bimbo, it'll be Ranma who decides. We've both met him more than halfway. He'll have to take it from there. I think I've always known that."

If the crowd hoped Akane would doff her minuscule covering, they were doomed to disappointment. She moved into position and waited for Shampoo. The Amazon dipped low into the broth again and advanced. They slapped palms.

Shampoo moved in aggressively, striking with the palm of her hand in short, powerful stokes that were technically legal but bruised like punches. Akane fended them off easily; Ranma's attacks against her in training had been faster and harder. She went for a grip and found none. Shampoo's striptease had a purpose in addition to an attempt to embarrass her, leaving nothing solid to grip except Shampoo's hair. Shampoo laughed as she swung her head aside, foiling Akane's swipe at that possible grip. Akane barely kept her balance as a foot struck the side of her leg below the broth.

Akane felt Shampoo's foot slide against her own. She hooked with a heel and thrust her opponent away. Shampoo twisted, slipping the shove and thrusting with her back leg, driving her shoulder into Akane's chin, staggering her. Shampoo's hands were busy as she did exactly what Ranma and Barry suspected she'd try. As they broke apart, Akane was missing her tiny suit.

Shampoo straightened up, taunting her foe with the bits of cloth. "Noweveryone see who better woman," she taunted. She grinned like a tiger when Akane snatched at the bits of cloth.

They had strategized over various hold and throws that Akane might use in the moment Shampoo would begloating,anticipatingAkane'spanic and exposure. Here and now, Akane realized all their suggestions depended on a solid grip on skin or fabric. But Shampoo was too slippery and too good at keeping her hair out of Akane's grasp andthere wasas yet too large agap in skill between them. Her hands came up as if to cover her front…

Then snapped out to lock the tough strands of her suit around Shampoo's wrists.

Shampoo was expecting an outraged scream, flinching, heck - even an all out anger-blown attack! Anything except what happened. Akanewith the Amiguriken speed, brought the strands ofthe suit around tohandcuff Shampoo much in the way Shampoo had bound her aunt's hands in her hair. Then, with a savage twist and jerk, Shampoo went entirely airborne, before splashing down with a screamthat sent ramen fountaining high enough to splash the ceiling!

Shampoo surged to the surface coughing and turned to look in astonishment at the girl who had defeated her. Akane stood there amid the uproar, regarding Shampoo with a surface impassivity that bordered on shock. She watched Akane start and then slowly extend a hand, offering to help her rival to her feet. The crowd quieted once more as they waited, with only an occasional compliment or crudity breaking the silence, to see what she would do. Shampoo's face went red, then white. Her lips firmed. Then, as if it nearly killed her to do it, she took Akane's hand and came to her feet. Akane began to bow respectfully, but Shampoo hissed for Akane's ears only, "No! Not bow! Amazon never bow! Meet eye to eye."

Curious, Akane did so and Shampoo nodded. They released their grips and turned to don their suits once more. Separately they exited the pool. Ranma looked into Shampoo's eyes and shuddered in sympathy. The Amazon knew full well that her own arrogance had cost her the match. Cologne would not be pleased.

The huge Himamashi moved over to Akane dwarfing her with his bulk as heliftedher hand high in the manner of western fighting rings. "We have a WINNER!" The crowd cheered long and loud and Akane suddenly found herself blushing furiously, her role forgotten. Her eyes sought the only one whose opinion was important to her.

A smile twitched the corners of Ranma's mouth as hemet Akane's eyes. He lifted a thumb in approval. Barry laughed at the unvoiced comment. 'Winner? Damn straight!'