Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma use it merely for entertainment purposes.

Nabiki was in her room at when she heard Akane come inside. She had seen her younger sister go and try and talk to the new students. She had not hung around to watch the result, as she had to make preparations for the up coming fight. From the way Akane came into the house Nabiki correctly surmised that the meeting did not go the way her sister wanted. 'I might be able to get some more information on those two,' Nabiki thought. 'Akane often gives out more information when she's upset.'

When Nabiki entered the living room she saw her father and Genma were once again playing Shogi and 'planning' to retrieve Genma's son from China. In all the time Genma had arrived not once did she see the two men make any kind of workable plan. So far all they had only come up with was 'get Ranma and have him marry one of the girls,' then they would go off and drink to the brilliance of the plan. With the amount the two drank Nabiki made sure to water down the Sake to produce the illusion of having more then was actually in stock. This would put less strain on the budget as the two men would actually drink less Sake. Whether or not they drank a full bottle of Sake or just a watered down version did not seem to affect the way they acted. It was apparent that the drinking was just an excuse for them to act like fools, at least in Nabiki's opinion.

Sighing as she walked passed the Shogi playing fools Nabiki went to the place she knew Akane would be, the Dojo. As she suspected Akane was already smashing several piles of bricks and boards in anger. "Stupid Jerks!" Akane yelled as she brought her glowing fist down onto the fresh pile of bricks. "They're going to regret rejecting my offer!"

"And what offer would that be Akane?" Nabiki asked. 'Any news on Akane speaking to a guy besides Kuno-baby will at least get him all riled up. If anything I can start setting odds on whether or not Kuno will wait for the fight.'

"I offered to teach those Jerks how to fight Kuno and they turned me down!" Akane snapped more out of venting her anger then actually malice towards Nabiki. "And now that Jerk Amaki Ranma is going to get killed!"

Before Nabiki could respond there was noise of a fast rumbling and Soun and Genma charged into the Dojo, "Did you say Ranma?" they both said at once. Apparently the two ignored anything that did not affect their plans but even the slightest whisper of anything remotely related to their plans brought them running. "Where is Ranma/the Ungrateful Boy?" they asked simultaneously again.

"I don't think this is the same Ranma, Dad," Akane said. "His family name is not even Saotome, it's Amaki."

"You hear that Tendo, the Worthless Boy has forsaken my Honorable Name!" Genma quickly jumped conclusions again and for once was almost correct. "We must go and correct this dishonor! Oh the Shame what did I ever do to disserve such an Honorless Son?"

"Wahhh! the Schools can't be joined now Wahhhh!" Soun started to cry.

"Don't worry Tendo we'll just go and find the Boy and bring him back," Genma assured his emotional friend/meal ticket.

Soun suddenly stopped flooding the Dojo, "Right you are Saotome!" he said proudly. "Come lets go find your Son!"

"Right behind you Old Friend!" Genma said. "We'll start two streets down!" Left unsaid was that there was a bar on that street and that the two Masters of Anything Goes would be spending most of their time 'searching' for Ranma in there.

Once Genma and Soun were out of the Dojo Nabiki turned back to Akane to continue their previous conversation. "Maybe Amaki doesn't need your help," Nabiki suggested. "He did beat Kuno-baby rather easily this morning."

"You do have a point," Akane said. "But I could tell Kuno was holding back. Once he gets serious I'm the only one that can beat him! After all I'm the best in Nerima!"

"That is up for debate Little Sis," Nabiki countered. "Even before Amaki and Yamato arrived some would argue against that."

"Just wait and see!" Akane replied. "Even if that Jerk beats Kuno I'll prove I'm better than him. And how many times do I have to tell you? Those guys like Mordon are nothing but Cheaters!"

"Fine, fine," Nabiki responded. "What ever you say Sis." Nabiki left the Dojo getting all the information she needed for now. 'I knew Akane approached them and when I sell this information to Kuno he'll start foaming at the mouth, that'll help the bets if he'll attack them before the fight. Then there's the added bonus of knowing that Akane will challenge either Amaki or Yamato after the fight with Kuno, I can go ahead and start setting odds on that.'

For the rest of the week Nabiki started a bet on whether Kuno would attack Ranma during the day. Nabiki had 'let' it slip that she had information on Ranma and Kuno immediately paid a lot of money for the information. She informed Kuno about Akane's meeting with Ranma and the Kendo User just about went ballistic and was very close attacking Ranma or Akira on the spot. Surprisingly he did, apparently in his own warped way Kuno had at least some sense of honor, and would not fight until the Challenge Day. Of course that did not stop him from declaring very loudly that Ranma was trying to keep Akane from him and that he would pay on Saturday. This prompted the student body to start purchasing information from Nabiki to see who was telling the truth, as Ranma, Akira and Akane all denied Kuno's declarations. All in all it was actually a profitable week for Nabiki despite Genma eating so much at every meal.

It was Friday afternoon and the eldest Tendo daughterwas out doing the weekly shopping. She had to buy more food this trip then any of the weeks before. This was because of her father's friend, he seemed to be a bottomless pit when it came to food and had already gone through nearly the entire pantry. Luckily Nabiki was still able to bring enough money in so they could afford the extra food. Kasumi may be a bit on the quiet side but she was hardly naïve, she knew how Nabiki got most of the money for the family, she just would not say anything unless Nabiki became too unscrupulous.

She was at the market just finishing up her shopping when she noticed a new face at the market. Kasumi was on friendly terms with just about everyone in the area so a new face peeked her curiosity. When Kasumi was close enough she noticed the new face was that of a teenage boy around Nabiki and Akane's age with his long black hair tied in a ponytail.

"Hello," Kasumi greeted. "Are you newto the area?"

"Huh?" the boy turned and saw Kasumi, "Oh yeah. Just moved into the area a week ago, my name is Amaki Ranma."

"I am Tendo Kasumi," Kasumi replied. "Would you happen to be related to Amaki Kyoko, Dr. Tofu's knew assistant?"

"Yeah, she's my adopted mother," Ranma answered. "And let me guess you're Tendo Akane's eldest sister, right?"

"Why yes," Kasumi answered. "How do you know Akane?"

"She is in my class at Furinkan High," Ranma answered.

"I see," Kasumi said. "How are you settling into the area?"

"Well other than a couple of minor inconveniences I find Nerima very pleasant. I like unique blend of tradition and modern living styles." Nerima was one of those odd communities where much of the architecture was from traditional values but unlike other places that had such buildings like Kyoto and the surrounding areas, Nerima had many the modern conveniences like Tokyo proper.

"Yes I find it quite pleasant living here," Kasumi agreed. Kasumi had lived in Nerima all her life but had visited other parts of the country over the years and on those trips she concluded she would not want to live anywhere other than where she grew up. Kasumi took a glance at her watch and noticed that she had to start making dinner soon, "Oh my I was not aware of how late it was. I do not mean to sound rude by I must be heading home now."

"It is no trouble at all, Miss Tendo," Ranma waved off Kasumi's statement. "I have to be heading home as well. It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Tendo."

"And it was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Amaki," Kasumi returned.

"Please call me Ranma like all my friends do," Ranma replied. "That is if you would like to be friends?"

"It would bemy pleasure, Ranma," Kasumi replied. "And as such please call me Kasumi."

"As you wish Kasumi," Ranma said with a smile. "Well good day to youKasumi."

"Good day to you too Ranma," Kasumi returned the smile. 'My he sure is polite for some one his age.'

When Saturday finally rolled around the entire School, teachers and students, were almost itching for the day to end so they could see the fight. All morning everyone could see Kuno was either wearing a confident smirk on his face or scowling with pure hatred. He was apparently thinking back and forth over his preconceived victory over Ranma and the delusion that Akane was dating Ranma. Ranma on the other hand maintained an air of silence. During the morning classes Ranma paid attention to the lesson plan for the day but everyone could tell his real focus was on the fight in the afternoon.

Finally the last bell of the last class rang and the entire population of the School ran off to the soccer field, the location of the duel. Ranma and Akira walked towards the field with Ranma carrying a bokken he brought with him today. "Ranma are you ready for this?" Akira asked.

"This won't be a problem Akira," Ranma answered. "I've been training all week to get my sword skills up."

"And if your swordsmanship alone is not good enough to beat Kuno, then what?" Akira asked.

"Then I loose," Ranma shrugged. "I said I would only use Kendo in this fight and that is what I'll use. If my Kendo abilities aren't good enough then that is that. Loosing isn't that big of a deal to me."

"I'm just worried about my ears," Akira said. "Kuno's been ranting non stop all week and if you I can easily see he would start blabbing even louder then before only this time about his victory over you."

"Other than the words what would be the difference?" Ranma asked. "He'll just start shouting how I used some kind of trickery if I win."

"Because if you use all you're fighting ability then I know you'll knock him out," Akira said. "Then there is the guarantee that my ears can at least rest for a couple of days." Ranma smiled at the joke and went off to the center of the soccer field to wait for Kuno.

When Ranma came into view and everyone could see that he was carrying a bokken they immediately went up to Nabiki and her associates to change their bets. Everyone knew that Kuno was the best swordsmen at school and anyone using a bokken or some other kind of practice sword would loose. Before Ranma had a bokken the betting was a little in his favor, now the betting pools quickly shifted to Kuno's favor.

When Kuno finally arrived and saw Ranma carrying a bokken his face started to turn red with anger. "You dare defile the nobility of Kendo, Vile Sorcerer!" Kuno bellowed. "You think you can fool the Blue Thunder. I know of your dark trickery from out last encounter at the Nakasa Kendo Dojo. For you're mockeries of the Noblest of all forms of Combat and enslaving of the Fierce Tigress Akane, I shall make you suffer!"

Kuno after wasting so much time on his speech rushed at Ranma. a fight with the same maneuver, an overhead slash right to his opponent's head. Ranma knew this and prepared the appropriate counter. Meeting Kuno half way Ranma brought his sword up to block just as Kuno swung down. Ranma then quickly shifted his bokken so that Kuno's bokken would slide off the tip. Once Kuno's bokken slid off Ranma's, Ranma rotated the wooden sword in a clockwise spin and brought it down in his own downward slash right to the top of Kuno's head.

Kuno felt the impact and stumbled back a couple of steps but only because of surprise. The numerous blows to the head, courtesy of Akane, allowed him to take a lot of punishment in that area. "Well Sorcerer it appears you know a little of Kendo," Kuno said taking up the familiar stance that led into his succession attack. "But the basics of Kendo will not save you from my next assault! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!"

"Can't you come up with anything knew Kuno?" Ranma asked. He knew the weakness of this technique and all he had to do was wait for the right time to strike. As he dodged and weaved through the stabs he waited for the slight pause Kuno needed to perform to shift his weight. After the seventh stab Ranma saw the pause and immediately lashed out with his bokken smashing Kuno's wrist. The result was Kuno losing his grip on his bokken and the weapon flying out of his hands landing several meters away from the fight. "Do you give up yet?"

"I have not even started yet Sorcerer!" Kuno declared as he reached into his robes and brought out another bokken. "I had wished to save this technique for a more worthy opponent. But you leave me no choice by to smite you with my Ultimate Technique!" Kuno then went into a modified version of his stance for his succession attack. Ranma could feel Kuno's Chi rise to higher levels and become more focused then before. When Kuno gathered enough of his Chi he thrust towards Ranma yelling, "STRIKE FROM AFAR!" A horizontal column of highly pressurized air a meter in diameter shot out at Ranma at incredible speed.

If Ranma had not had the speed training in the Amazon Village that was required for the Splitting Cat Hairs Technique Ranma would have been hit by the technique. Instead the technique only hit an after image of Ranma as he dashed out of the way. 'He concentrated his entire Chi for the entire succession attack into one thrust. The result was much greater range and destructive capability from the air pressure of the technique,' Ranma thought. "Not bad Kuno but not good enough!" In a blur of movement Ranma rushed at Kuno and challenged his Chi into his bokken making it glow a soft blue color. When Ranma was no more than three steps away he began made a high velocity spin and slammed his bokken into Kuno's ribs. There was an audible cracking sound that signified the breaking of Kuno's ribs just before he went flying off to the side. After tumbling a couple of times Kuno finally stopped and stayed on the ground clearly knocked out.

Akira smiled at his friends victory and walked up to Nabiki, "When you saw Ranma appear with a bokken you changed the odds from 3 to 1 on him winning to 5 to 1 on Kuno winning. I place a bet of 5,000 yen so that means you owe me 25,000 yen."

"I know what I owe you," Nabiki said handing over the money. Nabiki hated to loose money at any time but because the majority of the school changed their bets to Kuno for the win the loss of 25,000 yen was negligible at best. Still the display of skill and power brought up question, 'Just how good are these two?'

After Nabiki handed over the money Ranma came up to them. "Tendo, I would suggest you get Kuno to a Doctor," Ranma instructed. "I probably broke three or four of his ribs with that last blow."

"I'll be sure he gets to Dr. Tofu's Clinic," Nabiki replied. 'For a fee of course,' she mentally added.

Just before Akira walked off with Ranma he whispered to Nabiki, "Be sure to charge him a lot. That Windbag deserves to suffer an empty wallet after making my ears hurt so much."

Nabiki's eyes widened as she concluded what Akira did, 'He heard my thoughts. He' a Telepath.' She looked up just as Akira turned back and winked at Nabiki before he left the school grounds, 'I wonder if both of them can use Psionics or if it is just Yamato? Either way I should be very careful around those two from now on.'

As the other Tendo daughter that watched Ranma and Akira leave the grounds she had different thoughts. 'Well so at least Amaki is better than Kuno,' Akane admitted. 'At least now I might have a decent opponent. I can't wait to challenge him.'

It was at this point someone tapped Akane on the shoulder. She turned around and saw a boy with a huge backpack and an umbrella standing behind her with a road map looking very confused. "Excuse me Miss could you tell me where Nerima is?"

"Um you're in Nerima," Akane answered the strange boy. "In fact you are at Furinkan High School."

"Yes I made it!" the boy cheered. "Now I'll have my revenge!" the boy started run off towards the bleachers and as soon as a couple of students that were leaving past behind him Akane lost complete track of him.

"That guy was weird," Akane said.