Insert Self Here
Chapter Seven
Delinquent Duo! Mikado and Azusa Arrive!
-----
"Hold, you three knaves." Kuno pointed his bokken at the small martial artist group, who had just finished dispatching the morning mob of hormone-driven boys.
"Eh?" Ranma looked over at Kuno. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet, idiot?" He flipped his pigtail over his shoulder. "You don't have a chance against any of us."
Akane snorted. "Modest, aren't we?"
Ranma shrugged nonchalantly. He didn't care what that tomboy thought.
Kuno growled. "You know not with whom you are toying, sorcerers!" He held his bokken high above his head. "I shall vanquish your evil, and free my goddess from your clutches!"
Ryoga wondered if he'd have to beat some sense into the kendoist's skull, but Kari held a hand in front of him. "Let Ranma have his fun."
Ranma threw Kari his school bag, which the girl easily caught. He fell into a low fighting stance. "If you want to try and beat me, Kuno, you're welcome to try." He smirked, knowing Kuno would be in for some humiliation.
"Have at thee!" the upperclassman shouted, lunging forward and bringing his bokken down, intent on smiting the foolish knave who claimed betrothal to his tigress.
Ranma didn't even dodge. As the wooden blade came toward him, he tapped the side of the sword with the palm of his hand, shoving it to the side and allowing it to miss him. With the blade to his side and Kuno having completed his swing, the kendoist was wide open for Ranma's punch, which caught Kuno squarely on the nose. Ranma almost laughed when Kuno dropped his precious bokken and stumbled backward, clutching his nose.
After moaning in pain a few times, Kuno let go of his nose, showing its mangled form to anybody watching. Blood flowed down freely as the kendo captain pulled another bokken out of his robes. "I felt nothing!" he declared.
Ranma crouched down, ready to continue the fight if Kuno was stupid enough to try. "Then why you were cryin' in pain, huh?"
"To fool you into thinking me beat," Kuno replied simply, as if it were the truth. He lunged forward once more, this time trying to catch Ranma with a thrust. "Now I show my true fighting prowess!"
Ranma dodged around Kuno's strikes. The kendo expert was thrusting rapidly, trying to catch Ranma within a flurry of blows. His bokken was moving so fast that there seemed to be ten bokkens at any one time. Unfortunately, Ranma was dodging so fast that there appeared to be ten Ranmas, each one dodging a different strike.
"Impossible!" Kuno lamented as he attacked. "My attacks are flawless. What sort of sorcery is this?"
Ranma snorted as Kuno switched from thrusts to slashes. Ducking under the first slash, Ranma spun on his heel and nailed Kuno in the side of the head with his other heel. As Kuno flew through the air, Ranma maintained his pose. "Had enough, Kuno?"
"I fight on!" Kuno stood, albeit shakily, and went after Ranma again.
"Idiot," Ranma commented. Before Kuno could even get in an attack, Ranma brought his foot up. "You should've quit while you were ahead."
Akane gaped as Kuno fell over. "You hit him?"
"One dozen times," Kari clarified. "You've been training your speed, haven't you Ranma?" She was mildly impressed. It wasn't an easy feat.
Ryoga snorted. "Show off."
Ranma shrugged off the attention he was getting, from both his companions and the gawking spectators. "Come on, if we don't hurry we'll be late for class."
As if on cue, the class bell rang.
"Crap!" came from almost every student outside, the four martial artists being no exception.
-----
The group was lucky in first period. Being as almost every student was late, the English teacher decided that punishment would be superfluous. The lesson was also cut short, as the teacher spent the first half of class lecturing on why it was important for people to arrive on time.
Even Kari slept through that.
Second period, math, wasn't so good. The military-like teacher, who Kari learned was named Mr. Suzuhara, was just as tough on the new students as he was the day before. He was really putting the group through their paces, going over trigonometric problems, many at the Calculus level. It was simply to test their skills, of course, but at that level of math, Kari was mostly clueless.
Ryoga, surprisingly, actually had fairly good knowledge of higher level math. He made mistakes, of course, but he actually knew what to do.
After second period, Mr. Suzuhara nodded, happy at the progress he made, and left the room in a military fashion. As soon as he was gone, Ryoga found himself surrounded by several admiring students.
"Wow!" Yuka gaped, "that was amazing, Ryoga! How'd you know that stuff?"
"Yeah!" Sayuri agreed. "I've been studying ahead, and even I had no clue on working with that stuff."
Ryoga blushed, looking down. He wasn't used to receiving so much attention, especially from girls. "Well, er, Kari has been tutoring me a lot." He looked over to the girl in question. "She's a really good teacher, ya know. When we were travelling together through China, we'd study all these high level books."
Kari, who was paying attention to the conversation, sat back in her desk. "Yeah, right. I've only been up to Statistics and advanced algebra. Everything else Ryoga learned on his own."
"That's really good!" Sayuri gushed, leaning closer to Ryoga. "Can you help me study, you think? I want to learn stuff like that!"
Akane, from her seat near the front, looked at her friends curiously. She never knew they were so... academic.
"You lookin' at Ryoga, too?" Ranma asked, noticing Akane glancing toward the back of the room. "You go for those academic types or something, Tomboy?"
Akane calmly raised her schoolbag and brought it down on Ranma's head. "No, not really." She placed her bag by her desk again. "And I was looking at my friends, not Ryoga."
Ranma tried his best to nod, though it was hard considering that his head was embedded in his desk.
-----
After third period was lunch, the best part of the school day for Ranma and Ryoga. As the two took off outside, carrying the bento boxes prepared by Kasumi, through the shortest route of the window, Kari stood and began walking at a much slower pace than her friends. As she reached the door, she turned around to wait for Akane. She didn't want to walk out there alone, and Akane would be good company.
"Come on, it's time for lunch," Yuka said as she jumped off of Akane's desk. "I'm starving!"
"So you claim," Sayuri muttered, putting her hands in her pockets and following her friend, Akane taking step behind her. That's when Sayuri noticed Kari standing by the door. "Oh, are you waiting for somebody, Kari?"
"Well, I didn't want to head down by myself," Kari explained.
"Well, come on then," Akane urged.
Kari didn't say anything, but followed the group as they left the classroom. As they made their way down the hall, and then down the stairs, the three other girls idly chatted about various subjects, like school or television. Kari tuned it out, until Sayuri asked her a question.
"So," Sayuri began, "you've traveled with Ranma and Ryoga, right?"
"Huh?" Kari eloquently began, realizing that they were talking to her. "Oh, yeah. But it was mostly with Ryoga. I traveled with him for a year and a half before we ran into Ranma and his father."
"Just you two?" Yuka inquired. "Where'd you travel?"
"We've been around China," Kari said idly. She didn't mention their side trips... they had actually been all over Southeast Asia. "And, yes, just the two of us." She looked over to Yuka and gave her an even look. "Nothing happened, if that's what you mean."
"Sounds fun," Akane said. "I wish I could travel like that."
"Don't say that unless you mean it," Kari intoned. "You'd be leaving a lot behind to travel like that, and it's really not fun to sleep on the ground, especially when it rains. And the bugs. Gods, they're annoying."
Akane raised an eyebrow. "I'll take your word for it."
"You do that," Kari replied as the group exited the building. She quickly scanned the area and spotted Ranma and Ryoga sitting under a tree, just like the old days. "Well, there's my group. I'll be off."
As the girl started walking toward her two friends, Sayuri called out, "Hey!"
Kari turned around. "Huh?"
"We're going out later," Sayuri said. "To get some ice cream. You want to come along?"
Kari glanced over to Yuka and Akane and noticed neither of them seemed to care, so she shrugged. "I don't see why not." It's not like she had anything planned.
"All right!" Yuka said. "It's decided!"
Kari shrugged and walked over to Ranma and Ryoga as the girls headed over to eat lunch at a table some distance away. "Hiya, guys."
"Took you long enough," commented Ranma as he pulled out another rice ball.
Kari sat down, opening her own bento. "So I didn't feel like jumping out a window, big deal."
"It's a lot quicker," Ryoga replied.
Kari chose not to comment, and instead pulled out her pair of chopsticks and began to eat her rice.
-----
As the last bell rang and the teacher began to pack up his supplies, Ryoga and Kari stood and began to walk toward the front of the class.
"Do you want to train when we get back?" Ryoga asked. "I want to see if I can improve my Iron Cloth technique."
Kari winced. Whoops, forgot to tell them. "Actually, me and some girls are heading out to eat. Maybe later?"
Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "You and some girls?"
Kari chuckled. "Yeah. You know, Akane and her friends."
Ryoga clapped his hand on her shoulder. "Good luck!" He winked and walked off, to explain things to Ranma.
Kari sighed. Ryoga was so... odd, at times. She walked over to where Akane was talking with Yuka and Sayuri. As she approached, the three looked over to her.
"You ready?" Yuka asked.
"Yeah," Kari replied. "Ready whenever you are."
"Let's go, then," Yuka said with a smile as she grabbed Kari's hand and dragged the girl out of the classroom. Sayuri and Akane followed in a more subdued, i.e. normal, manner.
The four soon found themselves in a small ice cream shop, located about twenty minutes from the school. It was small and out of the way, located in between two larger building. But the wall to the outside was one large window, and it allowed a great view of the people passing by. Kari was impressed with the establishment, and even more impressed with the ice cream.
"This place is nice," Kari commented as she took another bite of her ice cream. "How'd you find it?"
"Oh, we come here every Wednesday," Sayuri replied. "It's a weekly ritual for the three of us."
Akane smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's our little getaway."
Kari felt good that they decided to bring her along. She smiled as she took another spoonful of ice cream. Being a girl did have advantages... like eating girly ice cream.
"So," Yuka began, "what do you plan to do after high school?"
Kari looked at Yuka curiously. "I don't know. Probably go to college; go into business or something. I haven't given it much thought." She hadn't, really. Ninja clans still existed, true, but she had no wish to enter any other clan, and she and her father were the last members of theirs. She'd have to get a normal job, like her father, but she never gave thought as to what. "Do you have any plans?"
Yuka nodded, stirring her spoon around her dish absently. "Oh, yeah. I plan on becoming a nurse, like my mother." She smiled.
Kari nodded thoughtfully. She had, in her past life, wanted to enter the medical field. She had even worked as a CNA, a Certified Nursing Assistant. That was far in the past, though. "The medical field is a good place to work. Lots of openings and high pay."
Yuka smiled in response. "Yes, but I want to help people!"
Kari almost snorted at how stereotypical that reply was, but, seeing as she had some semblance of tact, she didn't. Instead, she turned to her other companions. "What about you two?"
Sayuri looked over at Kari. "Well, I'm thinking about entering engineering. Mechanical engineering, probably."
Kari was impressed. That was high-level stuff, and very difficult. "That sounds hard."
"Well, yeah," Sayuri replied, looking down at the table. "But it seems fun, too."
Kari was going to reply, but their conversation was interrupted when a hand, from seemingly nowhere, came and snatched Sayuri's bag. The bag was a normal brown, but had a pink border and many anime keychains attached. The ninja stood up, intent on catching the klepto, but was surprised when she saw the thief wasn't even running. Instead, the thief, who was a short girl, almost as short as Kari but still a little taller, was dancing around a tall boy, waving around her newly acquired item while shouting, "Bob! Bob!"
"Hey!" Akane yelled, getting out of her chair. "You can't just take that!"
"Why not?" the girl asked, stopping her running to look confusedly at Akane. It's what she always did, after all.
"Hey!" Yuka spoke up, realizing something. "I recognize those two!"
Kari was confused. "Really?" She looked over at the two. They did seem familiar...
Yuka nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah! They're Azusa Shiratori and Mikado Sanzenin, the Golden Pair of figure skating!" They were well known figures in the world of high school; they were said to be Olympic-level skaters, and they were both still in high school!
Kari made a mental note of that, but otherwise ignored it. It really didn't matter, after all. "Look, give it over," she intoned, stepping toward Azusa in her best attempt to be threatening without flashing steel.
Azusa, however, wasn't impressed by a girl even shorter than she was. "Why should I?" She glared at the younger girl.
Mikado snorted, reaching over his partner's shoulder to take school bag. "Honestly, Azusa, you need to learn some manners." He walked over to Sayuri and handed it back to her. "Forgive my partner, she can be a kleptomaniac sometimes."
"It's no problem," Sayuri replied, placing the item back on the table before turning around to face Mikado. "Thank you for getting it back for me, Mr. Sanzenin."
"Please," Mikado replied with a smile, "call me Mikado." He reached forward and brushed aside a lock of Sayuri's hair that had fallen from her ponytail. "And I can make up for my partner's actions in other ways as well."
Kari growled at the boy. He reminded her of Itachi in that moment. "Look, you bastard, leave Sayuri alone. You got back her bookbag, now leave."
Mikado looked up from Sayuri to match Kari's gaze. "Ah, I see your problem, girl." He stood, leaving Sayuri's side and waltzed over to Kari. "You believe your unflattering figure will keep the men from you. But fear not, I will at least let you know the pleasures of a true man."
"Oh my God!" Akane cried from the side. "You pervert!"
"Pedophile!" Sayuri piped in.
Mikado waved his hands in front of him in what he hopes was a placating manner. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that!" Then he paused, placing a hand to his chin. "Not that I disapprove of it, really, but still..."
Kari growled. "Hey, buddy, lay off, all right?" Then she paused, turning to Sayuri as Kari finally processed the girl's previous statement. "And what do mean, pedophile? I'm not that young, ya know!" Honestly, she was still fourteen, right? Then she turned to Mikado, suddenly inquisitive. "How old are you again?"
"Seventeen," the young man replied, caught off guard by her change in attitude.
"Never mind," Kari said. She turned back to Sayuri. "You're right, he is a pedophile."
"Hey!" the male skater shouted indignantly. "I am not a pedophile! I was just trying to brighten the girl's mood! I mean, it's obvious she isn't going to get any guys with a body like hers." He nodded to himself, pleased with his own answer.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kari said through gritted teeth, turning toward the object of her ire.
"But I believe it was you who was the original object of my affection anyway, miss." Mikado turned away from Kari, sauntering over to Sayuri with an award-winning smile as a nearby light sparkled off his teeth. "Let us discontinue such boorish discussions, and perhaps we can find some better things to discuss." As he spoke he snaked an arm around Sayuri's shoulder, who tried vainly to pull away.
The lecher found his arm slowly and painfully forced off of Sayuri as a small, feminine arm pulled it away in a manner that the arm wasn't meant to twist. Mikado turned, trying to relieve the pressure off his elbow from the maneuver, and found himself face-to-face with Kari, who finally let go of his arm.
"Just get out of here. You're not wanted." Kari spoke in a no-nonsense tone. She was ready to back up her statements with violence this time. She didn't have much patience for guys like him. It was obvious nobody was taking his advances positively, so he had no reason to continue his pursuits.
The entire conflict could have easily been avoided, had Mikado simply left, but instead he chose the harder route. With a sneer, he looked down at Kari. "And why should I?" His own patience was growing thin now. And not to mention her last act had hurt! His elbow would hurt for hours... "I can go after whoever I feel like, and no little girl is going to stop me."
For a moment, Kari relived an experience from two years ago. She had been staring down her former friend, Itachi. Her words had been, "Just because you're popular doesn't mean girls are going to fall for you! And it certainly doesn't give you the right to kiss one whenever you feel like it!"
Itachi had laughed and responded, "It always worked before."
Mikado hadn't kissed anybody, but he had been about to earlier.
He didn't care for people.
He was just like Itachi.
The skater was leaning forward, daring the blue-haired girl to do something.
She did.
Mikado flew through the large window, going almost ten feet before hitting the ground and continuing to roll until he hit the side large fountain.
The fountain was large, about fifteen feet in diameter. It was more a pool than a fountain, though. Coins of various sizes littered the bottom of it, the only shine on in otherwise unadorned fountain. Unadorned except for the irate girl standing atop the water, without so much a ripple from the water under her feet. "Get up and fight like a man, Mikado. That's what you claim to be, right?"
Back in the shop, Akane, Yuka, and Sayuri all stared in shock while the shop owner cried behind the counter.
"I didn't even see her move," Sayuri commented.
Akane was shocked as well. She had never seen Kari fight like this. In fact, the only time she had seen Kari fight was against her, in the dojo. Though, when she thought back on it, Kari had been obviously holding back. She knew that, but still, she assumed that Kari would be worse than Ranma and Ryoga were, being as the two boys were older. She brought that into question now, though. She could hardly imagine such a small girl fighting so well.
None of them, of course, were in a position to notice Kari standing atop the water, which might have impressed them further.
Azusa, however, appeared nonplussed. "She doesn't know what she's doing," the girl said in a singsong voice.
"You think Mikado will win?" Akane asked, turning to Azusa.
Azusa smiled, not taking her eyes from the two at the fountain. "You'll see!"
Her words weren't unfounded, as Mikado proved by getting to his feet easily, as if he hadn't even been hit. "Not bad, for a little girl." He smiled, looking at Kari as she stood on the water. "Nice trick, but does it help you fight any?" As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, Mikado jumped toward Kari in a quick jump kick, hoping to catch the girl off guard.
The girl was in movement almost before Mikado, already moving to side as soon as she saw his muscles tense up. His kick missed her completely and the boy landed in the fountain with a large splash. Kari used her ability to walk on water to the fullest, dodging as if she were on dry land while Mikado's kicks and movements were slowed down by the water, which reached his knees.
The setup also had the effect of Kari and Mikado being eye level with each other.
"You don't stand a chance against me in the water," Kari said in a mocking tone, though it was true. Not that he stood much of a chance against her out of the water, either, but that was beside the point.
The arrogant boy snorted. He leapt at the girl, who again moved to the side. However, he had aimed it so he landed on the side of the fountain, where he could rebound almost immediately into another leap, this time without water to hinder his jump. Kari was spinning around still, not even aware that Mikado would be able to leap so quickly, and was caught unawares by Mikado's fist, which took her in the side.
Even Mikado was surprised when his fist literally sunk into the girl's side.
"Kari!" Akane shouted, followed quickly by her two friends. They were all enthralled by the battle and hadn't considered that Kari might be seriously hurt by it.
Mikado's eyes were as wide as disci. He could feel liquid running down his arm...
"Fool," the girl spat as her entire body collapsed into water, splashing back into the fountain.
A foot connected with the back of Mikado's head, sending the boy face-first into the water. Kari snorted. "Taken so easily by a water clone. Then again, I guess I shouldn't expect more of you. You're just a figure skater, right?"
"A... clone," Mikado said as he rose out of the water. "I didn't think such a thing was possible."
"The entirety of my clan's techniques involve water," Kari replied calmly. "The water is our home, our weapon, your downfall." She idly kicked up a bit of water and, before Mikado's eyes, it hovered. "It took me a while, but I've learned to manipulate it, make it do what I want." The water then fell back into fountain as gravity took hold of it again. "I still have quite a way to go, but I know more than enough to fight you with."
Mikado nervously looked at all the water around him before leaping up and back, landing on the edge of the fountain. "Can't beat me without your stupid tricks? Is that it?"
"I also don't give in to your taunts," Kari replied as a wave of water leapt up from the fountain, heading straight at Mikado. The boy leapt back, away from the fountain, but found Kari there, throwing a kick which he didn't have time to block.
As the boy fell onto the concrete, Kari smirked. "I haven't had a chance to really get into a fight yet. You're giving me a chance to stretch my muscles." She rotated her right shoulder as if to reinforce her point. "You're a lot better than I thought. I didn't expect you to even touch my clone."
"Glad to be so helpful," Mikado replied with a smirk, though it quickly fled. He didn't really expect to win, not any more, but he'd be damned if he went down without a fight. He rushed in, throwing a quick series of kicks, first a high then a low sweep before spinning into another high hook kick. The girl flowed around all the kicks as if she herself was water before lashing out with a kick that caught Mikado in the jaw, sending him staggering back.
The figure skater rushed in, throwing a quick combination of punches and kicks, all of which were dodged as easily as before. He tried to end in a sweep, but Kari easily leapt over Mikado's head, lashing out with a kick as she landed. Mikado flew forward, knocking his head against the fountain at the end of his flight. He fell limp and didn't move.
"Mikado!" a shout came from the side, and Kari turned her head to see Azusa rushing forward in apparent concern.
"Take him out of my sight," Kari told the female half of the Golden Pair. "And when he wakes up, tell him not to mess with me or my friends again."
"You!" Azusa cried. "I challenge you to an ice skating match!"
"Why?" Kari replied. "I have no reason to fight you, and my fight with him is over. I have no intention of having another fight, especially on your grounds."
"The ice isn't where we belong," Mikado said, sitting up.
"I'm impressed," the ninja told him. "You weren't out for long." She paused for a second. "And what do you mean by that statement? Aren't you two figure skaters?"
"We were ordinary martial artists first," Mikado replied, leaning on Azusa for support. "But then two fighters came and ousted us of our positions as president and vice-president of the martial arts club, so we went into martial arts figure skating, instead."
"Never would have guessed," Kari responded.
Back in the shop, which was only about twenty feet away, Sayuri turned to Akane. "Is it over?"
"I think so," was Akane's response.
"Yeah, it's over," a voice said from behind Yuka and Sayuri causing both to jump and squeal in momentary fright.
The two girls turned to find Kari standing behind them.
"Whoops, sorry," the ninja girl said, rubbing the back of her head with a grin.
"What?" Yuka was confused. "You're here, but you're still over there..." She looked back to Mikado and Azusa, who were still, indeed, talking with Kari. She turned back. Yep, Kari was standing in front of her.
"I thought that was explained earlier." Kari gave a grin to the other girls. "Water clone." She continued smiling at the three dumbfounded girls.
"So that means you, I mean, the you we're talking to, are just a water clone?" Sayuri leaned forward a poked one of Kari's arms. Felt real enough.
"Actually, this is the real me." The ninja looked out the broken window. "That's my clone. I never even left the building."
"You mean it's been your clones fighting the entire time?" Akane asked, realizing the implications of what Kari said.
Kari nodded. "Yeah. I used my speed to hide myself while creating three clones. One stood on the fountain, letting Mikado think it was me. The other two hid to come out if Mikado got rid of one. I only got to use one extra."
"That's amazing," Sayuri gushed. "You must be... wow, you're really, really good, aren't you?"
Kari blushed, looking down at the ground. "Well, I guess, maybe. I mean, I'm not much compared to my dad, but I'm pretty good, yeah."
"That's a really good technique, too," Akane began. "I mean, you can create as many clones, all with your skill and strength, right?"
"Actually," the blue-haired girl replied, "three's just about my limit." She looked over to where the Golden Pair were chatting with her clone. They appeared to be wrapping up conversations, and the two were leaving, Mikado still leaning on Azusa for support. "And my clone's aren't anywhere near my strength. The strength of a clone depends on both how much ki I imbue them with and how much water is used in creating them. I don't have enough ki or enough control to make them more than about 1/10 my strength."
"It seemed like you had a lot of control earlier," Akane said, watching as the clone approached.
Kari reabsorbed her ki from the clone, allowing it to turn back into normal water, falling on the ground with a splash near the shop. "Not really. I can do some parlor tricks, but nothing for any real use in a fight. Except clones, of course."
Akane flipped some of her hair over her shoulder. "You're a lot better than I thought you were," she said, admitting it readily.
"Thanks," Kari replied.
The group of four left the establishment, leaving the proprietor crying about his window.
-----
"How'd it go?" Ryoga asked as he and Kari sparred. He was using his belt as if it were a sword and Kari was actually using a sword, a kodachi to be exact. They had been seriously sparring for the past half an hour, and were starting to wind down a bit, giving them time to converse.
"Well enough," Kari replied, deftly knocking Ryoga's belt to the side with the flat of her blade. Leaping back to avoid a kick, she continued. "I ran into some martial artists, and beat one of 'em up."
The boy leapt toward Kari, slicing three times in succession, all blocked deftly by Kari's kodachi. "Why'd you do that? Did he start something?"
"Tried kissing Sayuri, the bastard," was Kari's reply. She remembered exactly what happened and, lost in thought, began to attack more swiftly, remembering how she had felt then. She didn't snap out of it until she heard Ryoga shouting "Whoa! Whoa!"
Ryoga's belt was embedded in the wall to the right, almost ten feet away. Ryoga, himself, had his back pressed against the wall behind him, Kari's sword edge less than a foot away.
"Whoa, sorry about that." Kari quickly sheathed the short sword. "I kind of zoned out there for a minute."
"That's okay," Ryoga replied absently. He gulped. "Just remind me not to get you angry at me, okay?"
Kari pouted. "Oh, come off of it, Ryoga. Ranma's pissed me off how many times, and he's still all right. I'm not losing it, I can assure you."
The bandana-clad boy snorted, walking over and grasping one end of his belt. With a sharp tug he pulled it free of the wall and tied it around his waist again. "Maybe, or maybe he's just lucky." He smiled, trying to show he was just teasing.
"Whatever, Padfoot," Kari replied. "We done in here?"
Ryoga nodded. "I guess so." He and Kari left the dojo and walked into the main house, ignoring the splash of Ranma, signifying he was, once again, on the losing side of his sparring match.
"Getting sloppy, boy!"
"I'll show you sloppy, old man!"
Kari and Ryoga tried to ignore the sounds of the beating that followed, and the screams that began somewhere near the end of said beating. Ranma could be too cruel sometimes, Kari thought.
"Did you two enjoy sparring?" Kasumi asked when the two teens entered the house. As soon as Kari had come home with Akane, the girl had run off to spar with her friend.
"Good enough," the boy replied.
"It was fun," Kari agreed.
Kasumi smiled. "That's nice. Dinner will be ready soon." Having said that, Kasumi went off to the kitchen to finish cooking. Before entering, though, she turned back to the two teens. "Would you two mind getting everybody for dinner?"
"No problem," the yellow-clad boy responded, Kari nodding next to him.
Ryoga was about to suggest something, but Kari beat him to it. "I'll take upstairs," she said. Having made the decision, she trekked up the stairs at a leisurely pace while Ryoga walked the other way.
At the top of the stairs, Kari walked into the first room, which was hers and Akane's. The longhaired sixteen-year-old was inside the room, sitting at her desk, writing lethargically on some papers.
The younger girl cleared her throat, getting Akane's attention.
Akane, turning to the noise, noticed Kari for the first time. "Yes?" she inquired.
Kari gave the girl a smile. "Dinner's about ready, Kasumi wanted me to tell you."
"Think I have enough time to finish my homework?" Akane asked.
"You'll have plenty of time after dinner," was the reply.
The youngest Tendo sighed. "All right, then." Her face brightened up. "Hey, Kari, you're good at math, right?" Not waiting for an answer, Akane continued. "Can you help me with my math homework? Please?"
The other girl had already finished that work in about five minutes after school. Math had always been her strong point, truth be told. With her work done, she also had no desire to do anything other than laze about for the rest of the day, but Akane's pleading tone won her over. "All right," the young girl replied. She sighed. "After dinner."
"Thanks," Akane replied, putting down her pencil. The girl stood up and walked over to Kari. "Tell you what, I'll go get Nabiki for you, all right?"
"Okay," the ninja replied. "I'll just... go downstairs, then."
If anything, Kari was a girl of her word. She trudged over to her spot at the table and plopped down. She gave a huge yawn, not even taking note when Ranma and his father took their spots. It had been a long day. Ryoga and Soun came next, followed by Akane and Nabiki. Soon the whole group was gathered, waiting for Kasumi and her food.
The wait wasn't long. The eldest Tendo daughter came out of the kitchen, carrying a large pan of chicken. The plates had already been set, so Kasumi just dished out the proper portions, which required giving Ranma and Genma triple what everybody else received.
Then the group began eating. Soon, they began conversation as well. Things naturally turned to the events of the day.
"Do you think you've heard the last of that Mikado guy?" Akane asked.
Kari swallowed the chicken in her mouth before answering. Mmm, tangy. "I hope so. He seemed to be fine with his loss after the fight, but he seems the type to hold a grudge."
"You got into a fight today?" Genma asked. He wasn't concerned, merely curious. "Did you win?"
"Of course, I won," the girl replied with a snort. "I didn't even resort to my weaponry, my own 'weakness,' as you call it."
Genma snorted. "A real martial artist doesn't need weapons."
Kari responded to that by stealing the piece of chicken Genma was about to eat. "That's why I'm a ninja, not a martial artist." She ate the chicken, giving the older man a big grin. She may have been feeling tired before, but she always had the energy to fight with Genma.
As Genma and Kari began dueling for food, Soun turned to Ranma and Ryoga. "Are they... always like this?"
"Pretty much," Ryoga replied.
The pigtailed boy nodded. "They can't stand each other."
"Clashing personalities," the bandana-clad boy agreed.
Ranma smirked. "Big egos."
Ryoga gave a curt nod. "Insufferable pride."
"Unwilling to compromise," Ranma added.
The two stopped when they felt two intense gazes upon them. Ranma and Ryoga found themselves fighting for their lives, Kari and Genma having turned on the two of them.
Soun was silent for a moment. "Well... it appears things won't be boring around here, now will they?"
As one, all three of his daughters nodded.
"Big egos, my butt!"
"You take back your words, boy!"
-----
Mikado and Azusa were originally simple martial artists, before two fighters ousted them of their position. Who are these two mysterious fighters? All this, and Ryoga's shame revealed!
Next time: Two Mysterious Fighters. Kolhotz High's Finest!
-----
End Chapter Seven
To be continued...
-----
Author's Notes: When I started writing, I promised I'd never, ever respond to reviews directly in my fanfic... I always groan when I read those. But, well, a reviewer brought up a good point, and I need to address it. Ohime-Yukigi mentioned that I was skipping up to the skaters.... the truth is, I didn't skip anything. There's a part in Ranma 1/2 I skipped for necessity, which is, of course, Ryoga's introduction. This, as well as the next part, takes place instead of that story. Kodachi's event will happen after that, as per schedule. Then, depending on my mood, we'll either get the real Mikado/Azusa fight (on ice,) or the Amazonian introduction. Either one will be wildly different than you expect...
Now that's out of the way... moving on.
I'm sure some of you are wondering just how good my character is, in respect to the other characters. Well, in a fight against either Ranma or Ryoga, she'd win with her techniques, and lose without them. They give her an edge, which she needs. Of course, this is before Ranma learns his special techniques, and before Ryoga learns his... so don't expect her to have that over them for that long.
In fact, I may even be forced to give them new techniques.... but you didn't hear that from me.
Also, Shinzumaru should be coming back. Next chapter, or possibly the one after that. Perhaps even the one after that if the next story is broken into two chapters... it probably will be, too... eh.
In this chapter, you found more out about Sayuri and Yuka than you do in the series... this is my sad attempt at making it seem more realistic; the world isn't made up of just the fighters and the immediate household.
Another, completely unrelated, note. I hate water. A lot. I stay away from any large bodies of water, and refuse to go outside in the rain. Funny how my character's strength is water, isn't it?
I think I've said enough. To think, my notes started off as such small, short things...
Chapter Seven
Delinquent Duo! Mikado and Azusa Arrive!
-----
"Hold, you three knaves." Kuno pointed his bokken at the small martial artist group, who had just finished dispatching the morning mob of hormone-driven boys.
"Eh?" Ranma looked over at Kuno. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet, idiot?" He flipped his pigtail over his shoulder. "You don't have a chance against any of us."
Akane snorted. "Modest, aren't we?"
Ranma shrugged nonchalantly. He didn't care what that tomboy thought.
Kuno growled. "You know not with whom you are toying, sorcerers!" He held his bokken high above his head. "I shall vanquish your evil, and free my goddess from your clutches!"
Ryoga wondered if he'd have to beat some sense into the kendoist's skull, but Kari held a hand in front of him. "Let Ranma have his fun."
Ranma threw Kari his school bag, which the girl easily caught. He fell into a low fighting stance. "If you want to try and beat me, Kuno, you're welcome to try." He smirked, knowing Kuno would be in for some humiliation.
"Have at thee!" the upperclassman shouted, lunging forward and bringing his bokken down, intent on smiting the foolish knave who claimed betrothal to his tigress.
Ranma didn't even dodge. As the wooden blade came toward him, he tapped the side of the sword with the palm of his hand, shoving it to the side and allowing it to miss him. With the blade to his side and Kuno having completed his swing, the kendoist was wide open for Ranma's punch, which caught Kuno squarely on the nose. Ranma almost laughed when Kuno dropped his precious bokken and stumbled backward, clutching his nose.
After moaning in pain a few times, Kuno let go of his nose, showing its mangled form to anybody watching. Blood flowed down freely as the kendo captain pulled another bokken out of his robes. "I felt nothing!" he declared.
Ranma crouched down, ready to continue the fight if Kuno was stupid enough to try. "Then why you were cryin' in pain, huh?"
"To fool you into thinking me beat," Kuno replied simply, as if it were the truth. He lunged forward once more, this time trying to catch Ranma with a thrust. "Now I show my true fighting prowess!"
Ranma dodged around Kuno's strikes. The kendo expert was thrusting rapidly, trying to catch Ranma within a flurry of blows. His bokken was moving so fast that there seemed to be ten bokkens at any one time. Unfortunately, Ranma was dodging so fast that there appeared to be ten Ranmas, each one dodging a different strike.
"Impossible!" Kuno lamented as he attacked. "My attacks are flawless. What sort of sorcery is this?"
Ranma snorted as Kuno switched from thrusts to slashes. Ducking under the first slash, Ranma spun on his heel and nailed Kuno in the side of the head with his other heel. As Kuno flew through the air, Ranma maintained his pose. "Had enough, Kuno?"
"I fight on!" Kuno stood, albeit shakily, and went after Ranma again.
"Idiot," Ranma commented. Before Kuno could even get in an attack, Ranma brought his foot up. "You should've quit while you were ahead."
Akane gaped as Kuno fell over. "You hit him?"
"One dozen times," Kari clarified. "You've been training your speed, haven't you Ranma?" She was mildly impressed. It wasn't an easy feat.
Ryoga snorted. "Show off."
Ranma shrugged off the attention he was getting, from both his companions and the gawking spectators. "Come on, if we don't hurry we'll be late for class."
As if on cue, the class bell rang.
"Crap!" came from almost every student outside, the four martial artists being no exception.
-----
The group was lucky in first period. Being as almost every student was late, the English teacher decided that punishment would be superfluous. The lesson was also cut short, as the teacher spent the first half of class lecturing on why it was important for people to arrive on time.
Even Kari slept through that.
Second period, math, wasn't so good. The military-like teacher, who Kari learned was named Mr. Suzuhara, was just as tough on the new students as he was the day before. He was really putting the group through their paces, going over trigonometric problems, many at the Calculus level. It was simply to test their skills, of course, but at that level of math, Kari was mostly clueless.
Ryoga, surprisingly, actually had fairly good knowledge of higher level math. He made mistakes, of course, but he actually knew what to do.
After second period, Mr. Suzuhara nodded, happy at the progress he made, and left the room in a military fashion. As soon as he was gone, Ryoga found himself surrounded by several admiring students.
"Wow!" Yuka gaped, "that was amazing, Ryoga! How'd you know that stuff?"
"Yeah!" Sayuri agreed. "I've been studying ahead, and even I had no clue on working with that stuff."
Ryoga blushed, looking down. He wasn't used to receiving so much attention, especially from girls. "Well, er, Kari has been tutoring me a lot." He looked over to the girl in question. "She's a really good teacher, ya know. When we were travelling together through China, we'd study all these high level books."
Kari, who was paying attention to the conversation, sat back in her desk. "Yeah, right. I've only been up to Statistics and advanced algebra. Everything else Ryoga learned on his own."
"That's really good!" Sayuri gushed, leaning closer to Ryoga. "Can you help me study, you think? I want to learn stuff like that!"
Akane, from her seat near the front, looked at her friends curiously. She never knew they were so... academic.
"You lookin' at Ryoga, too?" Ranma asked, noticing Akane glancing toward the back of the room. "You go for those academic types or something, Tomboy?"
Akane calmly raised her schoolbag and brought it down on Ranma's head. "No, not really." She placed her bag by her desk again. "And I was looking at my friends, not Ryoga."
Ranma tried his best to nod, though it was hard considering that his head was embedded in his desk.
-----
After third period was lunch, the best part of the school day for Ranma and Ryoga. As the two took off outside, carrying the bento boxes prepared by Kasumi, through the shortest route of the window, Kari stood and began walking at a much slower pace than her friends. As she reached the door, she turned around to wait for Akane. She didn't want to walk out there alone, and Akane would be good company.
"Come on, it's time for lunch," Yuka said as she jumped off of Akane's desk. "I'm starving!"
"So you claim," Sayuri muttered, putting her hands in her pockets and following her friend, Akane taking step behind her. That's when Sayuri noticed Kari standing by the door. "Oh, are you waiting for somebody, Kari?"
"Well, I didn't want to head down by myself," Kari explained.
"Well, come on then," Akane urged.
Kari didn't say anything, but followed the group as they left the classroom. As they made their way down the hall, and then down the stairs, the three other girls idly chatted about various subjects, like school or television. Kari tuned it out, until Sayuri asked her a question.
"So," Sayuri began, "you've traveled with Ranma and Ryoga, right?"
"Huh?" Kari eloquently began, realizing that they were talking to her. "Oh, yeah. But it was mostly with Ryoga. I traveled with him for a year and a half before we ran into Ranma and his father."
"Just you two?" Yuka inquired. "Where'd you travel?"
"We've been around China," Kari said idly. She didn't mention their side trips... they had actually been all over Southeast Asia. "And, yes, just the two of us." She looked over to Yuka and gave her an even look. "Nothing happened, if that's what you mean."
"Sounds fun," Akane said. "I wish I could travel like that."
"Don't say that unless you mean it," Kari intoned. "You'd be leaving a lot behind to travel like that, and it's really not fun to sleep on the ground, especially when it rains. And the bugs. Gods, they're annoying."
Akane raised an eyebrow. "I'll take your word for it."
"You do that," Kari replied as the group exited the building. She quickly scanned the area and spotted Ranma and Ryoga sitting under a tree, just like the old days. "Well, there's my group. I'll be off."
As the girl started walking toward her two friends, Sayuri called out, "Hey!"
Kari turned around. "Huh?"
"We're going out later," Sayuri said. "To get some ice cream. You want to come along?"
Kari glanced over to Yuka and Akane and noticed neither of them seemed to care, so she shrugged. "I don't see why not." It's not like she had anything planned.
"All right!" Yuka said. "It's decided!"
Kari shrugged and walked over to Ranma and Ryoga as the girls headed over to eat lunch at a table some distance away. "Hiya, guys."
"Took you long enough," commented Ranma as he pulled out another rice ball.
Kari sat down, opening her own bento. "So I didn't feel like jumping out a window, big deal."
"It's a lot quicker," Ryoga replied.
Kari chose not to comment, and instead pulled out her pair of chopsticks and began to eat her rice.
-----
As the last bell rang and the teacher began to pack up his supplies, Ryoga and Kari stood and began to walk toward the front of the class.
"Do you want to train when we get back?" Ryoga asked. "I want to see if I can improve my Iron Cloth technique."
Kari winced. Whoops, forgot to tell them. "Actually, me and some girls are heading out to eat. Maybe later?"
Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "You and some girls?"
Kari chuckled. "Yeah. You know, Akane and her friends."
Ryoga clapped his hand on her shoulder. "Good luck!" He winked and walked off, to explain things to Ranma.
Kari sighed. Ryoga was so... odd, at times. She walked over to where Akane was talking with Yuka and Sayuri. As she approached, the three looked over to her.
"You ready?" Yuka asked.
"Yeah," Kari replied. "Ready whenever you are."
"Let's go, then," Yuka said with a smile as she grabbed Kari's hand and dragged the girl out of the classroom. Sayuri and Akane followed in a more subdued, i.e. normal, manner.
The four soon found themselves in a small ice cream shop, located about twenty minutes from the school. It was small and out of the way, located in between two larger building. But the wall to the outside was one large window, and it allowed a great view of the people passing by. Kari was impressed with the establishment, and even more impressed with the ice cream.
"This place is nice," Kari commented as she took another bite of her ice cream. "How'd you find it?"
"Oh, we come here every Wednesday," Sayuri replied. "It's a weekly ritual for the three of us."
Akane smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's our little getaway."
Kari felt good that they decided to bring her along. She smiled as she took another spoonful of ice cream. Being a girl did have advantages... like eating girly ice cream.
"So," Yuka began, "what do you plan to do after high school?"
Kari looked at Yuka curiously. "I don't know. Probably go to college; go into business or something. I haven't given it much thought." She hadn't, really. Ninja clans still existed, true, but she had no wish to enter any other clan, and she and her father were the last members of theirs. She'd have to get a normal job, like her father, but she never gave thought as to what. "Do you have any plans?"
Yuka nodded, stirring her spoon around her dish absently. "Oh, yeah. I plan on becoming a nurse, like my mother." She smiled.
Kari nodded thoughtfully. She had, in her past life, wanted to enter the medical field. She had even worked as a CNA, a Certified Nursing Assistant. That was far in the past, though. "The medical field is a good place to work. Lots of openings and high pay."
Yuka smiled in response. "Yes, but I want to help people!"
Kari almost snorted at how stereotypical that reply was, but, seeing as she had some semblance of tact, she didn't. Instead, she turned to her other companions. "What about you two?"
Sayuri looked over at Kari. "Well, I'm thinking about entering engineering. Mechanical engineering, probably."
Kari was impressed. That was high-level stuff, and very difficult. "That sounds hard."
"Well, yeah," Sayuri replied, looking down at the table. "But it seems fun, too."
Kari was going to reply, but their conversation was interrupted when a hand, from seemingly nowhere, came and snatched Sayuri's bag. The bag was a normal brown, but had a pink border and many anime keychains attached. The ninja stood up, intent on catching the klepto, but was surprised when she saw the thief wasn't even running. Instead, the thief, who was a short girl, almost as short as Kari but still a little taller, was dancing around a tall boy, waving around her newly acquired item while shouting, "Bob! Bob!"
"Hey!" Akane yelled, getting out of her chair. "You can't just take that!"
"Why not?" the girl asked, stopping her running to look confusedly at Akane. It's what she always did, after all.
"Hey!" Yuka spoke up, realizing something. "I recognize those two!"
Kari was confused. "Really?" She looked over at the two. They did seem familiar...
Yuka nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah! They're Azusa Shiratori and Mikado Sanzenin, the Golden Pair of figure skating!" They were well known figures in the world of high school; they were said to be Olympic-level skaters, and they were both still in high school!
Kari made a mental note of that, but otherwise ignored it. It really didn't matter, after all. "Look, give it over," she intoned, stepping toward Azusa in her best attempt to be threatening without flashing steel.
Azusa, however, wasn't impressed by a girl even shorter than she was. "Why should I?" She glared at the younger girl.
Mikado snorted, reaching over his partner's shoulder to take school bag. "Honestly, Azusa, you need to learn some manners." He walked over to Sayuri and handed it back to her. "Forgive my partner, she can be a kleptomaniac sometimes."
"It's no problem," Sayuri replied, placing the item back on the table before turning around to face Mikado. "Thank you for getting it back for me, Mr. Sanzenin."
"Please," Mikado replied with a smile, "call me Mikado." He reached forward and brushed aside a lock of Sayuri's hair that had fallen from her ponytail. "And I can make up for my partner's actions in other ways as well."
Kari growled at the boy. He reminded her of Itachi in that moment. "Look, you bastard, leave Sayuri alone. You got back her bookbag, now leave."
Mikado looked up from Sayuri to match Kari's gaze. "Ah, I see your problem, girl." He stood, leaving Sayuri's side and waltzed over to Kari. "You believe your unflattering figure will keep the men from you. But fear not, I will at least let you know the pleasures of a true man."
"Oh my God!" Akane cried from the side. "You pervert!"
"Pedophile!" Sayuri piped in.
Mikado waved his hands in front of him in what he hopes was a placating manner. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that!" Then he paused, placing a hand to his chin. "Not that I disapprove of it, really, but still..."
Kari growled. "Hey, buddy, lay off, all right?" Then she paused, turning to Sayuri as Kari finally processed the girl's previous statement. "And what do mean, pedophile? I'm not that young, ya know!" Honestly, she was still fourteen, right? Then she turned to Mikado, suddenly inquisitive. "How old are you again?"
"Seventeen," the young man replied, caught off guard by her change in attitude.
"Never mind," Kari said. She turned back to Sayuri. "You're right, he is a pedophile."
"Hey!" the male skater shouted indignantly. "I am not a pedophile! I was just trying to brighten the girl's mood! I mean, it's obvious she isn't going to get any guys with a body like hers." He nodded to himself, pleased with his own answer.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kari said through gritted teeth, turning toward the object of her ire.
"But I believe it was you who was the original object of my affection anyway, miss." Mikado turned away from Kari, sauntering over to Sayuri with an award-winning smile as a nearby light sparkled off his teeth. "Let us discontinue such boorish discussions, and perhaps we can find some better things to discuss." As he spoke he snaked an arm around Sayuri's shoulder, who tried vainly to pull away.
The lecher found his arm slowly and painfully forced off of Sayuri as a small, feminine arm pulled it away in a manner that the arm wasn't meant to twist. Mikado turned, trying to relieve the pressure off his elbow from the maneuver, and found himself face-to-face with Kari, who finally let go of his arm.
"Just get out of here. You're not wanted." Kari spoke in a no-nonsense tone. She was ready to back up her statements with violence this time. She didn't have much patience for guys like him. It was obvious nobody was taking his advances positively, so he had no reason to continue his pursuits.
The entire conflict could have easily been avoided, had Mikado simply left, but instead he chose the harder route. With a sneer, he looked down at Kari. "And why should I?" His own patience was growing thin now. And not to mention her last act had hurt! His elbow would hurt for hours... "I can go after whoever I feel like, and no little girl is going to stop me."
For a moment, Kari relived an experience from two years ago. She had been staring down her former friend, Itachi. Her words had been, "Just because you're popular doesn't mean girls are going to fall for you! And it certainly doesn't give you the right to kiss one whenever you feel like it!"
Itachi had laughed and responded, "It always worked before."
Mikado hadn't kissed anybody, but he had been about to earlier.
He didn't care for people.
He was just like Itachi.
The skater was leaning forward, daring the blue-haired girl to do something.
She did.
Mikado flew through the large window, going almost ten feet before hitting the ground and continuing to roll until he hit the side large fountain.
The fountain was large, about fifteen feet in diameter. It was more a pool than a fountain, though. Coins of various sizes littered the bottom of it, the only shine on in otherwise unadorned fountain. Unadorned except for the irate girl standing atop the water, without so much a ripple from the water under her feet. "Get up and fight like a man, Mikado. That's what you claim to be, right?"
Back in the shop, Akane, Yuka, and Sayuri all stared in shock while the shop owner cried behind the counter.
"I didn't even see her move," Sayuri commented.
Akane was shocked as well. She had never seen Kari fight like this. In fact, the only time she had seen Kari fight was against her, in the dojo. Though, when she thought back on it, Kari had been obviously holding back. She knew that, but still, she assumed that Kari would be worse than Ranma and Ryoga were, being as the two boys were older. She brought that into question now, though. She could hardly imagine such a small girl fighting so well.
None of them, of course, were in a position to notice Kari standing atop the water, which might have impressed them further.
Azusa, however, appeared nonplussed. "She doesn't know what she's doing," the girl said in a singsong voice.
"You think Mikado will win?" Akane asked, turning to Azusa.
Azusa smiled, not taking her eyes from the two at the fountain. "You'll see!"
Her words weren't unfounded, as Mikado proved by getting to his feet easily, as if he hadn't even been hit. "Not bad, for a little girl." He smiled, looking at Kari as she stood on the water. "Nice trick, but does it help you fight any?" As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, Mikado jumped toward Kari in a quick jump kick, hoping to catch the girl off guard.
The girl was in movement almost before Mikado, already moving to side as soon as she saw his muscles tense up. His kick missed her completely and the boy landed in the fountain with a large splash. Kari used her ability to walk on water to the fullest, dodging as if she were on dry land while Mikado's kicks and movements were slowed down by the water, which reached his knees.
The setup also had the effect of Kari and Mikado being eye level with each other.
"You don't stand a chance against me in the water," Kari said in a mocking tone, though it was true. Not that he stood much of a chance against her out of the water, either, but that was beside the point.
The arrogant boy snorted. He leapt at the girl, who again moved to the side. However, he had aimed it so he landed on the side of the fountain, where he could rebound almost immediately into another leap, this time without water to hinder his jump. Kari was spinning around still, not even aware that Mikado would be able to leap so quickly, and was caught unawares by Mikado's fist, which took her in the side.
Even Mikado was surprised when his fist literally sunk into the girl's side.
"Kari!" Akane shouted, followed quickly by her two friends. They were all enthralled by the battle and hadn't considered that Kari might be seriously hurt by it.
Mikado's eyes were as wide as disci. He could feel liquid running down his arm...
"Fool," the girl spat as her entire body collapsed into water, splashing back into the fountain.
A foot connected with the back of Mikado's head, sending the boy face-first into the water. Kari snorted. "Taken so easily by a water clone. Then again, I guess I shouldn't expect more of you. You're just a figure skater, right?"
"A... clone," Mikado said as he rose out of the water. "I didn't think such a thing was possible."
"The entirety of my clan's techniques involve water," Kari replied calmly. "The water is our home, our weapon, your downfall." She idly kicked up a bit of water and, before Mikado's eyes, it hovered. "It took me a while, but I've learned to manipulate it, make it do what I want." The water then fell back into fountain as gravity took hold of it again. "I still have quite a way to go, but I know more than enough to fight you with."
Mikado nervously looked at all the water around him before leaping up and back, landing on the edge of the fountain. "Can't beat me without your stupid tricks? Is that it?"
"I also don't give in to your taunts," Kari replied as a wave of water leapt up from the fountain, heading straight at Mikado. The boy leapt back, away from the fountain, but found Kari there, throwing a kick which he didn't have time to block.
As the boy fell onto the concrete, Kari smirked. "I haven't had a chance to really get into a fight yet. You're giving me a chance to stretch my muscles." She rotated her right shoulder as if to reinforce her point. "You're a lot better than I thought. I didn't expect you to even touch my clone."
"Glad to be so helpful," Mikado replied with a smirk, though it quickly fled. He didn't really expect to win, not any more, but he'd be damned if he went down without a fight. He rushed in, throwing a quick series of kicks, first a high then a low sweep before spinning into another high hook kick. The girl flowed around all the kicks as if she herself was water before lashing out with a kick that caught Mikado in the jaw, sending him staggering back.
The figure skater rushed in, throwing a quick combination of punches and kicks, all of which were dodged as easily as before. He tried to end in a sweep, but Kari easily leapt over Mikado's head, lashing out with a kick as she landed. Mikado flew forward, knocking his head against the fountain at the end of his flight. He fell limp and didn't move.
"Mikado!" a shout came from the side, and Kari turned her head to see Azusa rushing forward in apparent concern.
"Take him out of my sight," Kari told the female half of the Golden Pair. "And when he wakes up, tell him not to mess with me or my friends again."
"You!" Azusa cried. "I challenge you to an ice skating match!"
"Why?" Kari replied. "I have no reason to fight you, and my fight with him is over. I have no intention of having another fight, especially on your grounds."
"The ice isn't where we belong," Mikado said, sitting up.
"I'm impressed," the ninja told him. "You weren't out for long." She paused for a second. "And what do you mean by that statement? Aren't you two figure skaters?"
"We were ordinary martial artists first," Mikado replied, leaning on Azusa for support. "But then two fighters came and ousted us of our positions as president and vice-president of the martial arts club, so we went into martial arts figure skating, instead."
"Never would have guessed," Kari responded.
Back in the shop, which was only about twenty feet away, Sayuri turned to Akane. "Is it over?"
"I think so," was Akane's response.
"Yeah, it's over," a voice said from behind Yuka and Sayuri causing both to jump and squeal in momentary fright.
The two girls turned to find Kari standing behind them.
"Whoops, sorry," the ninja girl said, rubbing the back of her head with a grin.
"What?" Yuka was confused. "You're here, but you're still over there..." She looked back to Mikado and Azusa, who were still, indeed, talking with Kari. She turned back. Yep, Kari was standing in front of her.
"I thought that was explained earlier." Kari gave a grin to the other girls. "Water clone." She continued smiling at the three dumbfounded girls.
"So that means you, I mean, the you we're talking to, are just a water clone?" Sayuri leaned forward a poked one of Kari's arms. Felt real enough.
"Actually, this is the real me." The ninja looked out the broken window. "That's my clone. I never even left the building."
"You mean it's been your clones fighting the entire time?" Akane asked, realizing the implications of what Kari said.
Kari nodded. "Yeah. I used my speed to hide myself while creating three clones. One stood on the fountain, letting Mikado think it was me. The other two hid to come out if Mikado got rid of one. I only got to use one extra."
"That's amazing," Sayuri gushed. "You must be... wow, you're really, really good, aren't you?"
Kari blushed, looking down at the ground. "Well, I guess, maybe. I mean, I'm not much compared to my dad, but I'm pretty good, yeah."
"That's a really good technique, too," Akane began. "I mean, you can create as many clones, all with your skill and strength, right?"
"Actually," the blue-haired girl replied, "three's just about my limit." She looked over to where the Golden Pair were chatting with her clone. They appeared to be wrapping up conversations, and the two were leaving, Mikado still leaning on Azusa for support. "And my clone's aren't anywhere near my strength. The strength of a clone depends on both how much ki I imbue them with and how much water is used in creating them. I don't have enough ki or enough control to make them more than about 1/10 my strength."
"It seemed like you had a lot of control earlier," Akane said, watching as the clone approached.
Kari reabsorbed her ki from the clone, allowing it to turn back into normal water, falling on the ground with a splash near the shop. "Not really. I can do some parlor tricks, but nothing for any real use in a fight. Except clones, of course."
Akane flipped some of her hair over her shoulder. "You're a lot better than I thought you were," she said, admitting it readily.
"Thanks," Kari replied.
The group of four left the establishment, leaving the proprietor crying about his window.
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"How'd it go?" Ryoga asked as he and Kari sparred. He was using his belt as if it were a sword and Kari was actually using a sword, a kodachi to be exact. They had been seriously sparring for the past half an hour, and were starting to wind down a bit, giving them time to converse.
"Well enough," Kari replied, deftly knocking Ryoga's belt to the side with the flat of her blade. Leaping back to avoid a kick, she continued. "I ran into some martial artists, and beat one of 'em up."
The boy leapt toward Kari, slicing three times in succession, all blocked deftly by Kari's kodachi. "Why'd you do that? Did he start something?"
"Tried kissing Sayuri, the bastard," was Kari's reply. She remembered exactly what happened and, lost in thought, began to attack more swiftly, remembering how she had felt then. She didn't snap out of it until she heard Ryoga shouting "Whoa! Whoa!"
Ryoga's belt was embedded in the wall to the right, almost ten feet away. Ryoga, himself, had his back pressed against the wall behind him, Kari's sword edge less than a foot away.
"Whoa, sorry about that." Kari quickly sheathed the short sword. "I kind of zoned out there for a minute."
"That's okay," Ryoga replied absently. He gulped. "Just remind me not to get you angry at me, okay?"
Kari pouted. "Oh, come off of it, Ryoga. Ranma's pissed me off how many times, and he's still all right. I'm not losing it, I can assure you."
The bandana-clad boy snorted, walking over and grasping one end of his belt. With a sharp tug he pulled it free of the wall and tied it around his waist again. "Maybe, or maybe he's just lucky." He smiled, trying to show he was just teasing.
"Whatever, Padfoot," Kari replied. "We done in here?"
Ryoga nodded. "I guess so." He and Kari left the dojo and walked into the main house, ignoring the splash of Ranma, signifying he was, once again, on the losing side of his sparring match.
"Getting sloppy, boy!"
"I'll show you sloppy, old man!"
Kari and Ryoga tried to ignore the sounds of the beating that followed, and the screams that began somewhere near the end of said beating. Ranma could be too cruel sometimes, Kari thought.
"Did you two enjoy sparring?" Kasumi asked when the two teens entered the house. As soon as Kari had come home with Akane, the girl had run off to spar with her friend.
"Good enough," the boy replied.
"It was fun," Kari agreed.
Kasumi smiled. "That's nice. Dinner will be ready soon." Having said that, Kasumi went off to the kitchen to finish cooking. Before entering, though, she turned back to the two teens. "Would you two mind getting everybody for dinner?"
"No problem," the yellow-clad boy responded, Kari nodding next to him.
Ryoga was about to suggest something, but Kari beat him to it. "I'll take upstairs," she said. Having made the decision, she trekked up the stairs at a leisurely pace while Ryoga walked the other way.
At the top of the stairs, Kari walked into the first room, which was hers and Akane's. The longhaired sixteen-year-old was inside the room, sitting at her desk, writing lethargically on some papers.
The younger girl cleared her throat, getting Akane's attention.
Akane, turning to the noise, noticed Kari for the first time. "Yes?" she inquired.
Kari gave the girl a smile. "Dinner's about ready, Kasumi wanted me to tell you."
"Think I have enough time to finish my homework?" Akane asked.
"You'll have plenty of time after dinner," was the reply.
The youngest Tendo sighed. "All right, then." Her face brightened up. "Hey, Kari, you're good at math, right?" Not waiting for an answer, Akane continued. "Can you help me with my math homework? Please?"
The other girl had already finished that work in about five minutes after school. Math had always been her strong point, truth be told. With her work done, she also had no desire to do anything other than laze about for the rest of the day, but Akane's pleading tone won her over. "All right," the young girl replied. She sighed. "After dinner."
"Thanks," Akane replied, putting down her pencil. The girl stood up and walked over to Kari. "Tell you what, I'll go get Nabiki for you, all right?"
"Okay," the ninja replied. "I'll just... go downstairs, then."
If anything, Kari was a girl of her word. She trudged over to her spot at the table and plopped down. She gave a huge yawn, not even taking note when Ranma and his father took their spots. It had been a long day. Ryoga and Soun came next, followed by Akane and Nabiki. Soon the whole group was gathered, waiting for Kasumi and her food.
The wait wasn't long. The eldest Tendo daughter came out of the kitchen, carrying a large pan of chicken. The plates had already been set, so Kasumi just dished out the proper portions, which required giving Ranma and Genma triple what everybody else received.
Then the group began eating. Soon, they began conversation as well. Things naturally turned to the events of the day.
"Do you think you've heard the last of that Mikado guy?" Akane asked.
Kari swallowed the chicken in her mouth before answering. Mmm, tangy. "I hope so. He seemed to be fine with his loss after the fight, but he seems the type to hold a grudge."
"You got into a fight today?" Genma asked. He wasn't concerned, merely curious. "Did you win?"
"Of course, I won," the girl replied with a snort. "I didn't even resort to my weaponry, my own 'weakness,' as you call it."
Genma snorted. "A real martial artist doesn't need weapons."
Kari responded to that by stealing the piece of chicken Genma was about to eat. "That's why I'm a ninja, not a martial artist." She ate the chicken, giving the older man a big grin. She may have been feeling tired before, but she always had the energy to fight with Genma.
As Genma and Kari began dueling for food, Soun turned to Ranma and Ryoga. "Are they... always like this?"
"Pretty much," Ryoga replied.
The pigtailed boy nodded. "They can't stand each other."
"Clashing personalities," the bandana-clad boy agreed.
Ranma smirked. "Big egos."
Ryoga gave a curt nod. "Insufferable pride."
"Unwilling to compromise," Ranma added.
The two stopped when they felt two intense gazes upon them. Ranma and Ryoga found themselves fighting for their lives, Kari and Genma having turned on the two of them.
Soun was silent for a moment. "Well... it appears things won't be boring around here, now will they?"
As one, all three of his daughters nodded.
"Big egos, my butt!"
"You take back your words, boy!"
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Mikado and Azusa were originally simple martial artists, before two fighters ousted them of their position. Who are these two mysterious fighters? All this, and Ryoga's shame revealed!
Next time: Two Mysterious Fighters. Kolhotz High's Finest!
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End Chapter Seven
To be continued...
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Author's Notes: When I started writing, I promised I'd never, ever respond to reviews directly in my fanfic... I always groan when I read those. But, well, a reviewer brought up a good point, and I need to address it. Ohime-Yukigi mentioned that I was skipping up to the skaters.... the truth is, I didn't skip anything. There's a part in Ranma 1/2 I skipped for necessity, which is, of course, Ryoga's introduction. This, as well as the next part, takes place instead of that story. Kodachi's event will happen after that, as per schedule. Then, depending on my mood, we'll either get the real Mikado/Azusa fight (on ice,) or the Amazonian introduction. Either one will be wildly different than you expect...
Now that's out of the way... moving on.
I'm sure some of you are wondering just how good my character is, in respect to the other characters. Well, in a fight against either Ranma or Ryoga, she'd win with her techniques, and lose without them. They give her an edge, which she needs. Of course, this is before Ranma learns his special techniques, and before Ryoga learns his... so don't expect her to have that over them for that long.
In fact, I may even be forced to give them new techniques.... but you didn't hear that from me.
Also, Shinzumaru should be coming back. Next chapter, or possibly the one after that. Perhaps even the one after that if the next story is broken into two chapters... it probably will be, too... eh.
In this chapter, you found more out about Sayuri and Yuka than you do in the series... this is my sad attempt at making it seem more realistic; the world isn't made up of just the fighters and the immediate household.
Another, completely unrelated, note. I hate water. A lot. I stay away from any large bodies of water, and refuse to go outside in the rain. Funny how my character's strength is water, isn't it?
I think I've said enough. To think, my notes started off as such small, short things...