Guest Ki: Chapter 40
Bushwhacked
Team
Nerima (as listed by entry)
Women: U. Kuonji(Kendo) Xian Pu (Juijitsu) A. Tendo (Karate) K. Kuno(M.A.R.G.) A. Tendo (Kyudo)
"Ranma-darling?" Kodachi placed a hand on Barry's shoulder as they unloaded the cab in front of Nabiki's apartment. They had been a little surprised to see the Kunos there, but credited it to Tatewaki's unending quest for his two loves, Akane and onna-Ranma.
"Hi, Kodachi! 'Scuse, please." He loaded himself up and started for the door of the apartment. "Ya ready to take on the best in Japan?"
"I am the best in Japan... in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, at any rate," she said with a toss of her head. "Ranma, I wondered if you knew a young man called Taro."
Barry stopped dead. "Dark hair, little taller than me, wears a vest that looks like it's made out of a big snakeskin?"
"I see you do know him," she observed. "What can you tell me about him?"
"Why'd ya wanna know?"
"When I was returning home the other day, that disgusting little wart, Happosai, attempted to... But I'm sure you're aware of his habits. In any case, Taro stopped and assisted me."
"Good for him," Barry said. Was Kodachi interested in Taro? He was not even Japanese, but Kodachi set her sights on Ranma simply for saving her from a nasty fall. "Well, I can't say Taro and I are friends, but we respect one another. He's good. I'm better, but not much."
"Even better than Ryoga?" She seemed surprised.
"Probably. Taro's nearly as strong as Ryoga and almost as fast as me. He's honorable, and single, last I heard..."
She smacked him and glared. "Trying to get rid of me, are you?" she huffed dangerously and Barry thought of the competition. It wouldn't do to have Kodachi return to her habit of ambush and modified weapons.
"Hey! You asked about him, I thought ya might want an honest comparison."
She deflated and stood considering. Already dressed in a leotard of dark green with black rose appliqués, she was a sight for any man's eyes. Barry tried to keep his eyes where they belonged and to listen to Kodachi rather than ogle her. "What is his Clan name, Ranma-darling?" asked Kodachi at last.
"Kodachi, what does it matter?" Barry hedged. Inside he was exalting. If Kodachi decided on her own to give up on Ranma, that young man could turn his entire attention to satisfying Shampoo's honor. Ranma might finally have a chance at a relationship with Akane.
"Well, he called you 'kettle-boy' and you know what that means. I laughed at him. Who else has two hundred, twenty-seven girls ready to pounce at the chance of a date with him?
Barry boggled. "Two hun—! Wherdja come up with that figure?"
"That's how many tickets were in the barrel at the beginning of Amazon Month, of course," she answered easily. "But to return to the discussion at hand. Taro?"
"Kodachi, he doesn't have any lineage that you could point to. He's an orphan," he added bluntly. "Like me, the only thing that matters to him is his skill." He struggled to find the right words to present Taro in the best light.
"He did not seem to like Happosai very much," she added.
That was an understatement. "Happosai is Taro's godfather. He has a peculiar hold on Taro, and Taro follows him around, trying to get him to release him from that hold. You should also know that Taro is Jusenkyo-cursed. Happosai dipped him into one of the pools when he was a baby."
"Really? What does he turn into?" When Barry hesitated, she prodded. "And why are you so hesitant about discussing it? Are you afraid of him?"
Barry wasn't certain if he snorted or if Ranma's responses did it for him. "I respect him, Kodachi." He figuratively threw up his hands. "His full name is Pantyhose Taro; courtesy of the freak. His form is a winged minotaur with octopus tentacles; he modified his curse a while back to get the tentacles. His Art is a form of Mutsabetsu Kakuto, I guess, since Happosai taught him a lot of what he knows." Barry considered. "He knew enough to keep himself alive without help since he was ten or so. He's been alone a long time."
"Alone," Kodachi sighed, contemplative. She turned away and left him to his work.
Barry was a little perplexed. It was awfully hard to read Kodachi. She started to sneer when he mentioned Taro's social status then went quiet as he mentioned the difficulties Taro overcame.
"Are you two staying with Nabiki, too?" Barry asked to Kodachi's back.
"No, we have a townhouse closer to the campus." Kodachi turned back to him. "Would you be interested in staying there? I can promise you good food, a soft bed," Kodachi laughed throatily.
"I think I'll need the sleep more than the entertainment." He couldn't quite keep his eyes from flickering across her. "I'll be staying here."
"As you wish." Kodachi half turned and added. "Thank you, by the way, for encouraging Tachi and I to talk."
She turned away then, leaving him speechless. During the two weeks they had trained, Kodachi and her brother sparred verbally on a daily basis. It never crossed the bounds into name-calling or insults, but always walked the edge, a weird fantastical duel of words, which Kodachi usually won. But not always…
That night when Happosai barged in and doused Barry in the middle of sparring with Kuno, she had smirked and said, "Great kami, brother! Surely the pigtailed girl now knows the full reach of your sword and the strength of your passion?" The entire dojo went quiet. Barry was breathless on the floor, not even able to squeak, as the nerve cluster over her heart tried to recover from Kuno's blow.
Kuno, having undone the armored mask when he saw the red hair, turned and coldly replied, "At least we spar and test a sword's measure of our free will. You decorate a sheath and hope for a sword to fill it. You should know that a sword may try any sheath, but will not stay unless it is the will of the wielder."
Kodachi's eye glinted. "Perhaps the quality of the sheath will inspire the decision?"
Tatewaki ran his gaze across the girls in the dojo. "We seem to have a surfeit of quality sheaths, dear sister," he returned dryly. "Why think you yours so superior?"
"Nice shot, Kuno," Barry finally gasped.
"My sword or my remark?" Kuno quipped. He realized who had spoken and became concerned. "Alas, pigtailed goddess! The foul Saotome fled, leaving you to feel the fury of my rage..."
"Trust me, he felt all of it," Barry said, rocking to a sitting position. "How the hell you can still believe that otoka-Ranma and onna-Ranma are not the same person is beyond me," she scolded Kuno. "Can I get some hot water here? I wanna get my shots in, too!"
"Does the sheath want to be a sword, Ranma?" Kodachi teased as she conceded this round.
"Ha, ha, ha!" Barry muttered, accepting a kettle.
Kettle-boy — a euphemism for a homosexual. Barry snorted. Boy, was Taro off with that one, though if you considered it from onna-Ranma's point of view, it might come close. Ranma (and Barry) found girls attractive regardless of his own gender at the moment.
He shook himself and, lifting the load, staggered into the apartment.
"Great-grandmother," came a quiet voice in the dark, "Where are we?"
"Top of Tokyo Tower. Grand view, isn't it?"
"Why we come here?" another similar voice asked.
"Tokyo tower is ugly. You don't come for the tower, but for the view. I wanted to spare you the tower." Cologne's little clay-pipe glowed briefly as she puffed in the darkness.
"What that motor sound?" Ling Ling cocked her head and listened intently. Dimly, the sound of tourists came from somewhere below them.
"Where people?" her sister inquired.
"Oh, that's just the observation deck below us, children," she reassured them. "The tower is quite a popular place to view the city from."
"And motor?" they insisted, horror evident in the tone.
"That's the elevator." The pipe glowed briefly, again.
There was a long silence, and then, "They have elevator?" The voices were more aggrieved, if possible.
"Well," came the gravelly voice, "enough sightseeing. Come on, you lazy- bones! Get your packs back on; it's time to climb down! We want to make it to the university before morning."
In the gray light of dawn the phone rang. In the shadowy half-light, a slim hand fumbled for the handset of the ringing phone. "Moshi, moshi..." muttered a feminine voice, thick with sleep. Around her, blanketed forms occupied various guest futon. "Yes, this is Nabiki Tendo. Kuno, is that you?" She sat up, the covers falling from her shoulders to reveal the large T-shirt she used as sleepwear. "Slow down and leave off the poetry! What happened?" Heads were coming up. Akane, her futon further from the others because of her tendency to thrash, rolled to her feet and picked her way over to the bed. "Hold on, Kuno! We'll be right over. Let me talk to Sasuke." There was a pause before Nabiki snarled, "Then just stay there. We're coming!"
She slammed down the phone and turned to Akane. "Dammit!" snapped Nabiki. "Akane, you and… and Ranma get over to Kuno's townhouse. Wait! Akane, you stay here, just in case. Send Ranma.
"What's wrong, Nabiki?"
"The Kuno's were ambushed this morning. Someone pulled a Kodachi on Kodachi."
Finally, after Barry determined the area was clear, the remainder of Team Nerima quickly moved to the townhouse. They arrived as Kodachi was being carried out on a stretcher. Barry moved alongside the semi-conscious girl, holding her hand as they loaded her into the ambulance. Sasuke jumped aboard, the doors closed, and the ambulance went wailing off. That accomplished the remainder of Team Nerima filed into the townhouse.
"Damn! I should have seen this coming," Barry snarled slamming his fist into a wall. "Nikki must have gotten wind something was up!"
I don't know, Ranma," Nabiki said. "While it would have been nice to have the Black Rose competing, for a change, it's not going to break either Nikki or me if she's not in." She buffed her nails. "In fact, the popular bet was that she would be disqualified for one of her pre-match visits." She viewed the result and nodded. "If Nikki really wanted to cause problems for me, he would have worked over Kuno here..." She waved in the direction of Tatewaki, who sat depressed and angry in one corner, "...or tried something at my apartment."
"I wish..." Akane growled.
Sakurida shook her head sadly. "Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you," she said, and added cryptically, "I know it does me on a regular basis."
Tatewaki was beside himself. The girls gazed pityingly on Kuno as he paced back and forth, an ice pack on a large bump on his head. Everyone stood around feeling useless.
"Sakurida pegged it, I think," sighed Nabiki, finally. "Some of the Black Rose's former opponents decided to make sure she didn't play her usual game."
Barry stopped his own pacing . "Aww Man... She was gonna play it straight this time," he growled and then turned to Kuno. "How many did you say there were?"
"At least six. Two are hurt, one by Kodachi's clubs and one to my bokken. Are you suggesting they were all women?" he asked in a horrified voice as Nabiki's words finally percolated through.
"Maybe," Nabiki said. "Two hurt, hmmm? I'll check to see if anyone scratched. That still leaves the rest of you to do your thing. Let me double check my schedule." Nabiki pulled a form out and began browsing through the lists.
"That doesn't show the order of competition, does it?" Barry asked. Akane and Ryoga looked at him nervously. They could feel the tension.
"No, Ranma. Honestly! We've been talking about it all week. The order is drawn by lot just before the round starts." Nabiki grimaced. "I wish they were made up in advance."
Akane flinched as she felt Barry mutter and snarl his frustration. She wondered how anyone could miss the difference in personality between Barry and Ranma. The buzz and pop of his aura was practically audible. But to the eye, he was simply standing there, frowning, as Ranma oftendidwhen... when planning something really stupid.
"Isn't Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics held in the afternoon?" he asked suddenly.
Nabiki fixed Barry with a hard look. "You're planning something stupid, aren't you?"
"Let's say, I'm really pissed."
"I really don't want to hear this, but I guess I'll have to."
Barry went straight to the nearest water source and transformed. Kuno expressed his pleasure, then his pain. "Not now, baka!" she raged.
"Ranma, I'm sure your opponents will be overjoyed if you fight them that way," Nabiki said dryly. "Jujitsu is a grappling style, after all."
"Isn't Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics held in the afternoon?"
"Yes."
"I can do it, then. Jujitsu is all scheduled for the morning."
"Ranma, this isn't like your match against Kodachi." Nabiki was shaking her head. "That was school against school. As long as any competitor from the school showed up, it was okay."
"Kodachi signed up, Ranma," Akane added. "I don't think they'll allow someone else to take her place. Let it go."
"What if I disguised myself to look like Kodachi?" Barry insisted.
"Pigtailed goddess." Kuno peeled himself off the ceiling. "My sister is lovely, but your fair looks and joyous abandon could never hide their light in her convoluted darkness."
"Don't know if ya don't try," Barry said. She centered herself, remembered how Kodachi's aura felt and what it looked like. She remembered how Happosai made himself look and feel like other objects at Himamashi's. She gritted her teeth and concentrated.
"Ranma?"
She shimmered, the aura springing blue about her. The others backed away. Sakurida had her 'calculator' out again and was desperately punching in numbers. The aura flashed, sending out a peculiar shockwave. Nabiki yelped and jerked her cell phone from her pocket. It hit the floor smoking. Sakurida dropped her electronics on a side table and shook her fingertips. Barry dropped into a crouch, dizzy and disoriented by the thing she did. 'God! That felt strange.' She looked at her reflection in a window; a pert redhead stared back. 'Damn!' She rose to her feet.
"Sister?"
She turned around. Kuno was staring at her with the damnedest expression on his face. Barry glanced back at the window; still the same old reflection. She turned back and chuckled nervously and told Kuno he was loonier than usual. What came out was, "Ohhh, Hohohohohohoho! Tachi, how unbalanced! It is only I, Ranma." She tried to clap a hand to her mouth in horror, but it turned into a coquettish gesture that was pure Kodachi.
"Oh, shit!" Akane choked out.
Who would have thought that a 300 year old Amazon would have a cell phone? "You get yourself in the strangest situations, son-in-law." Cologne muttered as she examined the pseudo-Kodachi carefully. "I have to use a mirror to tell that you're not the Kuno girl. Whatever made you decide you should try something like this?"
Barry tried to slump but it was too uncomfortable. She let the body assume its haughty erect posture. "Honored Elder, it was beyond all... Cologne, I'm havin' trouble speakin' normal. I was angry about Kodachi bein' taken out even though she was tryin' ta ... do it right, this time."
"How did you do it?"
"Happosai... has a technique for being unnoticed. (Whew!) I tried to adapt it as a disguise technique."
"Oh," Cologne said, "That one." Her eyes rolled in disgust.
"Did that sound good to you?" Nabiki muttered to Sakurida.
"I don't think so." Sakurida was twisting the edge of her skirt, a frown of concern on her face.
"Do we have some hot water?" suggested Cologne. A kettle was offered, a girl screeched as the hot water hit, and…
"Hey! You musta hit the reset button!"
Barry hopped to his feet relieved. He felt as normal as he ever did in Ranma's body. He turned to Akane.
"It feels all right. Does it look all right?"
She nodded. They looked at Cologne.
"Now, let's try cold water again." Water splashed and Akane stifled a scream.
"Indeed, excrement!" Barry drawled Kodachi-style. They all turned, shocked and rattled, when Cologne laughed.
"No need to worry, son-in-law," the matriarch chuckled. "It's just that this little technique was never designed to copy anything more complicated than a plant. You tried to copy a person… and a loon, at that!"
"Am I doomed to remain this way?" Barry twitched at the words that expressed her thoughts.
"Not at all. In a few days, your own ki will reassert itself and you'll be back to your annoyingly cute, redheaded self. At least, when you're in your cursed form."
Barry discovered she was fanning herself with a hand. "Indeed? Why, thank you, honored elder, I am relieved to hear that."
"You know, Ranma," Nabiki said, her nose twitching as it did when money was involved, "there's no reason we can't go forward with your idea. I mean, as soon as the rumor hits that Kodachi is eliminated, it's going to do wonders for the odds."
"Nabiki, that would be cheating," Sakurida complained. "And, and…"
"Relax, Sakurida. The old ghoul's been doing this stuff for 3000 years. She knows what she's doing."
(Whack!) Nabiki cringed under the attention of Cologne's staff. "How old?"
"300?" (Whack!) "Ow! That's what you told us, dammit!"
"It was still an impolite thing to say, girl."
The morning went swiftly. Jujitsu, sometimes confused with judo, is a matter of form and control. Ranma and Shampoo inherited these particular events because they were the fastest martial artists on the team, and the most familiar with similar forms. Ranma considered jujitsu to be the 'soft' form of Mutsabetsu Kakuto. Shampoo knew something called Kyute Jiutsu, which was a source for the Amazon tsubo attacks, and was a deceptively dangerous form.
Barry found his biggest problem was slowing down enough. Barry concentrated, as he never had before. He could not use Ranma's standard forms in this competition; most of them would disqualify him and many could do serious injury. As a result, his wins were fast, precise and seemed much easier than they were. He never used a move or series more difficult than a brown belt might use, but his speed was so much greater that none of his opponents had a chance.
Shampoo, also, had to slow down to avoid injuring her opponents. But her biggest hurdle came while waiting for the first matches to begin, when one of the male jujitsu competitors tried to hit on her. She had demonstrated the 'Shampoo Wedgie', using a hand-and-finger grip to bend her opponent into a sudden, arcing bow. To string the 'bow', she braced a shapely leg against one of his and snapped the waistband of his supporter up over his forehead with her free hand. Letting him drop, she ignored him until a referee came up and threatened to disqualify her.
"Why?" she said, blinking. "I did not know there was a rule that permitted competing men to treat competing women like whores." She looked down at her writhing victim and unsnapped the band with a toe. "There. He is okay, if not big baby. Maybe he should keep his hands to himself?" she offered, staring the official straight in the eye as he reached for her arm. The official backed down as much from the look in her eyes as from the growls of the other girls that backed her up. Shampoo had adapted when Akane helped her learn to associate with her neighbors instead of antagonizing them. Shampoo greeted the other girls with smiles and quiet explanations and respect. Because of this, gaijin or not, she was treated to celebrity status before the matches even began.
Akane met up with a clique among the girls in women's karate. On hearing the last name of Tendo, whispers from the Nikki contingent largely poisoned her opponents' opinions. Akane had, with difficulty, remained polite and fought her matches with poise and flare. Nabiki identified Nikki's main competitor in this event and Akane treated her to a Ranma-style bout, using speed to avoid her opponent's blows until she was in position to knock her out of the ring with almost negligible force.
Ryoga was fast and direct in the men's karate events, his moves reported by the announcers as reminiscent of Bruce Lee. He knew better. Bruce Lee's root art had been Wing Chun, not Karate and that artist had been faster in actual combat. But Lee could have pounded on Ryoga all day without much to show for it. The few strikes that got through to Ryoga might as well have been spitballs for all the effect they had.
Tatewaki Kuno stepped back from a match he had won with a precise thrusting blow to the chest. His sparring with Saotome, begun in anger and outrage, ended in curiosity and respect. Once he realized that the other Ranma must be a relation, he realized that their closeness was more brother and sister familiarity, than slave and master. Perhaps he had misjudged Saotome. He didn't totally forgive him, of course; impossible when he was still linked with Akane Tendo, but perhaps that relationship was different as well. Akane had been treating Ranma with a quiet reserve lately that even Kuno had not missed. If Ranma were releasing Akane, he might be interested in Kodachi. The sudden appearance of the 'other' Ranma and her disturbing transformation shook him to the core. How had she so accurately portrayed his sister if she were the pure wildflower he assumed? And so, in dark reflection, he troubled none and befriended none, while defeating all comers. Unconsciously, he portrayed to his observers the epitome of samurai.
The women's kendo had indeed been with naginata. Ukyo's speed was her saving grace, but the additional reach the naginata provided served to hamper her. Her style was puzzling to her opponents, unconventional and frightening in its speed. Her country girl familiarity disarmed them. She had no bone to pick with them and when they heard she was the owner of the new yatai gracing campus, they were full of questions about the pictures.
Slowly, Team Nerima was becoming notorious.
There was a break at mid-morning. This provided an opportunity for Nikki to attempt to tamper with the members of Team Nerima, which created several rather funny incidents.
Ryoga, when meeting Akari who came to watch the tournament, was ambushed by a heavy-set man with a baseball bat. Ryoga acted as if he weren't even aware that a thug tried to break a yard of kiln-hardened ash over his skull, until Akari gently pointed it out. Ryoga smirked and asked if the thug wished him to wait while the fellow got a bigger stick.
Barry stopped to use the rest room. He entered, went to a booth and heard the door open. When the footsteps did not move into the room, he went on full alert. A number of soft thumps accompanied by familiar sounds immediately followed. "Miaou!" (Pad, pad, pad, pad,) "Miaou! Fssst! Mrrrrrooaaaww! Chuckling, he finished his business and exited the stall to find a dozen cats eating fish and chicken parts by the door and under the windows. It would have been a devastating situation for Ranma. For Barry, it was merely amusing.
Nabiki was fortunate that Ling-Ling was delivering some ramen when Nikki and a thug came to visit. Nikki had been obnoxious, ignoring the pretty, coltish Chinese girl until he reached out to grip Nabiki's arm. Ling-Ling spilled scalding ramen across his arm and ducked the backhanded swing the thug unleashed. Then Ling-Ling attempted the 'Shampoo Wedgie'. It was a bit more serious in effect, as the man was wearing boxers. They limped off, the thug walking like he was in ballet pointe shoes and Nikki cursing up a storm as his good arm was scalded, his bad arm still in a sling and his crutch had been forgotten in his rush to escape.
The attack on Shampoo was more serious. Cold water reduced her to cat-form. Fortunately, Akane was close behind. This attacker came the closest to being killed of all Nikki's minions, as he snatched at Shampoo with some violence. Akane closed in and demonstrated what 'arm's reach' meant in Nerima, as she struck Shampoo's attacker more than fifty times in three seconds. Campus security arrived to take the attacker to the hospital. Akane and Shampoo were warned they would have to give a deposition later.
Alone of Team Nerima, Ukyo was not bothered by thugs. Except during her actual matches, she was surrounded constantly with people wanting to know about her yatai. With so many potential witnesses, Nikki's people stayed clear.
The matches of the late morning were special each in their own way. But, the Nerima contingent all finished victorious.
Barry's ultimate match was a grueling affair with a young man technically his superior in the art of juijitsu, but without Ranma's pure speed. He was nearly defeated on technical points when he managed a hold, anticipated through reading his opponent's focus with ki-vision. The painful submission hold brought his opponent low. Panting afterward, Barry bowed low to the man and congratulated him on his skill. The other grinned and congratulated him on his victory and told him that his sensei, Toronaga Daikansatsu, sent Ranma his regards.
Akane had to coax her opponents to fight. Two of the girls had seen her protecting Shampoo and realized that, up to that point, Akane had been going easy on them. Two others, heavily backed by Nikki and having heard rumors of his attempt to injure Nabiki a few weeks earlier, were so petrified they hesitated to compete against her. Akane's final bout was against one of those two, who burst into tears only to find Akane offering a shoulder and reassuring her that no matter what Nikki did, Akane didn't hold her to blame. After a delay, the match was held and Akane had been impressed by her opponent's skill. She was very respectable, if not anywhere near Akane's abilities. Akane pointed her out and thanked her for the match.
Ukyo's semifinal had been her most difficult. Her opponent was fast, canny, skilled and knew something about ki-manipulation. They held nothing back and Ukyo resorted to using her naginata as a pole, to vault a swipe at waist-level. The force of the blow broke the shaft, leaving her with a shorter weapon and she struck swiftly while still airborne. Her inverted strike hit the top of her opponent's helmet and drove her to her knees. After that, she was swiftly pointed out.
Shampoo flowed like water and developed a male fan club all over again, despite the widely discussed 'wedgie' treatment. Her smile had every man who saw it feel that just maybe she meant it for him. Her opponents fought hard, lost and then pestered her for more stories of the Chinese Amazons.
When Kuno met Kogara in the quarterfinal. It nearly got ugly.
"Kuno, what a surprise. I thought you had withdrawn from the world. Medical problems."
"Perhaps, Daibunmasatsu," Kuno replied easily. He was still considering his dilemma concerning Ranma. They exchanged a series of blows and Kuno was mildly surprised when Kogara took the first point.
"My compliments, Daibunmasatsu. Well struck."
"Oh, I've improved my swordplay considerably," the younger man said smugly. "Do you still like redheads?" They returned to their starting positions.
"One, yes," Kuno said simply. His normal flowery comments about his 'goddess' did not follow. They lost themselves in the ebb and flow of combat. Kuno struck through at one point, but stepped back, not surprised when the referee disallowed his hit.
"I have to admit, she's pretty good, Kuno. I always thought she dyed her hair, but then I saw for myself. Yes, she is the real thing!" The series of strikes was more vicious as Kuno reacted with a flash of rage and Kogara scored on him again. Kuno nodded then and a smile fled briefly across his lips.
"Indeed. I presume that you played the common trick of splashing Saotome in the showers to summon her there. Yes, I am more aware than I seem, Kogara, and you are about to regret your remarks, your attitude and the foulness in your heart." Kuno felt for his center and focused for the first time that day. Kuno proceeded to hit Kogara three times running, in three separate ways, at stomach, chest and neck. The last blow left Kogara white, remembering how Kuno felled trees with his bokken. Kuno feinted, deflected then trapped Kogara's blade out of position. His blow was swift, delivered okesa. Had it been struck with steel, or backed by Kuno's usual ki-delivery, Kogara would have been dead.
Once his win was confirmed, Kuno bowed, turned on his heel and left.
Lunchtime was a joining of forces. Cologne set up a stand for the Nekohanten and was doing brisk business. So was 'University Ucchan's'. While each was doing considerable trade in their specialty, the order of the day at both establishments was…
"Hamburger, medium, with ketchup, pickles, wasabi..."
Barry looked at Mousse, skillfully wielding spatula and fork, turning burgers only ten feet from Konatsu doing the same. He frowned when he saw the tractor wasn't in place.
"Don't worry, Ranma-sama," Konatsu said, flipping half a dozen quarter-pound burgers with polished ease. The young man was dressed for a change in an okonomiyaki uniform. "Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung are acting as delivery persons to keep up with the demand. Cologne promised no tricks if we allowed them to use the tractor. I felt, under the circumstances..."
"Do watcha hafta, Konatsu," he replied. "How's the ghost story special going?"
"Quite well, actually. I found I got the best results by offering specials on burgers, however. I could give you a stack a meter tall, but Ukyo-sama said they were to go to Ryoga." Konatsu looked troubled by this detail.
"Don't worry, man. I can't read Chinese, and Ryoga's an expert."
"But some are in Japanese! I..."
"Don't worry, Konatsu. I asked her to do it that way." He felt a movement around his feet and looked down. A boy of twelve had a big piece of paper up against the side of the cart and was making a rubbing of one of the panels. "Hey! Watcha doin' down there?" The youth looked up and froze, eyes wide. "Like the pictures, huh?" Barry probed, and got a brief nod. "I don't know, though. Is it a good likeness?" He pointed with his toe to a picture of Ranma and smiled. The boy glanced at it and back at Barry, eyes beginning to pop. He began to sidle away.
"What are you doing down there, you naughty boy," snapped Konatsu. "Leave those panels alone!" He waved the spatula and then sighed as his audience left at high speed. "I hate doing that, but if I don't, they'll be prying the things off next." He filled some orders and gave a burger to Barry.
"What's this?" Barry asked, accepting it.
"Ukyo's compliments," Konatsu said.
"Ah, Konatsu, she's sorta not doin' that no more."
"All right, my compliments, then," Konatsu said firmly. "You didn't have to go looking for her either, not after what she did at the wedding," he sniffed.
"Konatsu," Barry said slowly, "don't shut her out. I care deeply for Ukyo and I've hurt her so many times. I deserve everythin' I get and then some. I just can't love her the way she wants. She has to react somehow, and I'd rather have her beat on me than feel guilty again and wander off."
"You're a good man, Ranma-sama."
"I wonder sometimes," Barry replied. He ended up with a burger from the Nekohanten as well, courtesy of Mousse. No one attacked them during this break.
They returned from lunch to watch Nagasameru demonstrate the nodachi, an awe-inspiring performance. The tall girl's style was vaguely reminiscent of naginata, but the power and speed of her strikes were like those of a giant wielding a pocketknife.
"By the gods!" Kuno breathed. "I would hate to fight her with any weapon. How does she do that?"
Barry watched with interest the play of ki from blade to wielder. "A lot of it is pure skill, no argument there, but some is tied up with that sword. The sword is a family heirloom and lends her something."
"A magic blade," Shampoo said, intrigued. "Maybe good thing we not fight at Akane's house when she come."
Kuno looked at Shampoo then at Barry. "Not another one!" he said with disgust.
"No, thank kami! But it was close. Fortunately, I invited the girls over, demonstrated the curse and her dad had a fit. 'Sama was happy to be let off the hook, as she was interested in that man-mountain we stuck you with in the limo."
"Oh." Kuno thought about that. To Barry's astonishment, he smiled ever so slightly and shook his head. "That, in retrospect, was funny. I had filled my mind with visions of privacy and romance, and I have a human bull practically sitting on my lap and growling every time I tried to escape. I half-feared I would be forced to transport them all the way home." An electronic buzz sounded, and Kuno frowned suddenly. He dipped into his coat and drew out his cell phone. "Kuno here." A scratchy voice sounded from the receiver. "Yes, Sasuke." He listened. "Put him on."
"How's Kodachi?"
"One moment." Kuno listened as a mellow voice sounded from the phone. "That's correct, Doctor. I am not releasing her to your care. I don't feel it is in my sister's best interest. No, I am not losing confidence in you, sir, but my sister is uneasy with you. No, I am assigning her elsewhere." There was a long period of the mellow voice being more than slightly angry. "Doctor, you have said that for proper treatment, there is needed proper trust. I trust you, but my sister does not. Therefore, I will continue in your care, but I assign my sister elsewhere. Doctor, it is not open for discussion. Good day! Doctor, give the phone back to my man, Sasuke. Thank you. Sasuke, is Kodachi ready to be released? Good! See if you can send her to the resort that I stayed at when I met Ukyo last month. I'm sure I can trust them to take care of her. Oh, and Sasuke? Please stay with her for now. Yes, with honor!' Kuno turned off the phone.
"How is hyena-girl?" Shampoo asked before Barry could.
"Some broken bones," he sighed. "They will mend, but I'm afraid she's back to her old self, if I understood correctly what she was saying in the background."
"Dammit!" Barry snarled. His face was set.
Kuno glanced sidewise at him and shuddered. "You continue your course?"
"Yup!"
"You must exchange places then, or whatever it is you do. Who is her second?"
"Shampoo. Akane will be doin' women's kyudo, after all. She's not really expectin' ta win, but the higher she places the better."
"Ranma Saotome."
Barry felt the request for eye contact and gave it. "Tatewaki Kuno."
"Do not take this path," Kuno said. "I fear for the pigtailed one."
"It's not like the change ain't gonna happen anyway, Kuno." Barry could understand the unstable young man's disquiet.
"I wish I could properly express my horror at the transformation." His lips pursed. "What if she is wrong, Ranma? The old ghoul." Kuno was facing him seriously agitated and concerned. "What if the odd circumstances that surround the two of you produce results other than what she expects?"
"If so, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it."
Ryoku Hitsutaki waited calmly in her corner, but inside she quailed. They had faced Kodachi before and none of them made it to their matches with the Black Rose. This time was different, but the methods they used were not honorable. It had seemed like simple justice and self-defense when they thought of it. But now... Hitori and Mika were scratched from the tournament, one with cracked ribs and the other a broken arm. Her remaining allies were as disturbed as she. The other Hitori, Fusaku, Lian and Raiko, all had been unusually quiet. The seven girls were from two neighboring schools in western Tokyo.
Fusaku was the one who knocked on the door of the townhouse early that morning, pretending to be a girl in distress. This drew out the little ninja and all six cooperated to take him out first. That had been simple, no harm done. Their plan was to either chloroform Kodachi or tie her to her bed. So long as she was out of action until after the start of the competition, they didn't care what she said after that. They wore masks and dark-colored workout suits to disguise themselves. For some reason, they never expected Tatewaki. They located Kodachi and were entering her room when Tatewaki exited his own room in search of relief. Seconds later, their simple excursion, which they thought of almost as a prank, turned deadly serious. His charge forced them all into Kodachi's room and awakened the Black Rose in the process. The room was five meters on a side, and in the end, it was that which saved them at all.
Tatewaki became entangled in Raiko's rope as he came through the doorway long enough for Fusako's club to knock him out. He still completed his strike at Mika, breaking her arm. The Black Rose grabbed for clubs and, had she her 'specials', might have done serious damage. They all had bruises; and Hitori, dodging a blow from their desperate target, crashed into a night table, breaking her ribs. Kodachi began a concentrated counter-attack when Mika, whom she dismissed as out of action, looped a rope around her ankle and pulled her down. Clubs struck down and only the wail of a siren kept them from killing Kodachi in an excess of terror and anger. Ryoku blessed those sirens. They had been going to another destination, but their fear of being caught over-rode their adrenaline-charged attack. They fled, confident the Black Rose would not be using her tricks for a while.
Ryoku glanced up at the clock. Soon Kodachi would be disqualified. Soon, she would move on to the next round and only need to face normal opponents with normal gear.
"I still don't understand why you wouldn't let me take advantage of this, Ranma," Nabiki whispered from the shadows of the hallway. A couple of yards away, Shampoo and Ling-Ling waited with them; the former, Ranma's second or 'prop handler' as Barry preferred to think of it, the latter Nabiki's bodyguard, on salary. Ling-Ling had heard of 'Mercenary Girl' before and was gleeful at the opportunity to observe a master at her work.
"If I can eliminate the five girls you say were involved in the attack, I plan to remove myself from the competition, Nabiki," said Barry. Black hair dye and makeup turned the redhead into a reasonable facsimile of Kodachi. With the masking technique, it was more than uncanny. "It is possible that Cologne does not possess all of the pertinent information needed to make an accurate evaluation."
"If you're not going for the win, why bother?" inquired Nabiki. "Revenge?"
"No. Those girls need to understand that this path must not be traveled. We need no other blossoms from the Black Rose's thorny vine." Barry shuddered. She had only marginal control over the patterns of this form's speech. She hoped she had better control of the combat patterns.
"Why the cast on your arm?" Nabiki asked, pointing to the fiberglass sports-cast that encumbered the girl's right arm.
"Insurance, Nabiki. If anyone should check medical records, they will find that the Black Rose suffered a broken arm," Barry said. "Also if I... she were to show up uninjured, the girls would have no reason to feel any guilt, only regret that they failed."
"Ten seconds, Ranma," Shampoo said. "Time to go."
"Wish me luck!" Barry took off in a series of flipping cartwheels toward the ring.
Ryoku took a couple of deep breaths. It almost was time. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as a form flipped down the aisle and vaulted, spinning, to land on top of the post across from her.
"I apologize profusely for my tardiness," the black clad form drawled. "I had a bit of an accident this morning and required the attention of the doctor. A wonderful thing, sports medicine."
Ryoku felt faint. After all that, Kodachi was here. She made no move when her coach objected loudly and demanded that Kodachi's gear be checked for modifications.
"Go right ahead," the black-haired aristocrat drawled. "I promised my Ranma-sama to 'play it straight' for him. I will perform as I promised." She looked pointedly at Ryoku. "Regardless of what others might do."
"I'm dead," thought Ryoku as the officials checked the equipment and verified it conformed to standard parameters. All the while the Black Rose watched her with a solemn face. The referee called them to their positions.
"Hoop!" Ryoku called to her second.
"Ribbon!" 'Kodachi' called.
"And so it begins!" shouted the announcer into his microphone. "The first match is between Kodachi Kuno of Furinkan High School and Ryoku Hitsutaki of Akadenkoo High School. Kodachi Kuno is the controversial competitor ejected from the Hawaii International Tournament in the United States. Ryoku Hitsutaki is a solid athlete with an impressive record of wins. They've selected their weapons. As always in this type of competition, a win is scored if a competitor is knocked out of the ring or unable to continue fighting."
In the ring, the contestants began to circle.