Miss Ranma

Chapter Eighteen

!SPECIAL EFFECTS! "THOUGHTS"

"Greetings, Son in Law. I am Elder Cologne," the diminutive, old woman said as she stood on the top of her walking stick, regarding the powerful warrior.

"Son in law?"

"I'm surprised you were able to defeat someone with Happosai's abilities."

The ancient woman envied her great-granddaughter for her husband. Kenji's clothes having been shredded to almost nothing due to the fight with Happosai made it easy for Cologne to not only see how physically powerful he was but she was also able to see how gorgeous he was.

"Shampoo has chosen well."

"I do all right," the young man replied, pointing his thumb to himself. "By the way, are you another one of those amazons?"

"Yes, but I'm very different from the ones you've been dealing with. I'm much more skilled. So Please don't confuse me with Elder Deodorant."

"Why are you calling me Son in Law? I don't believe you're related to me in any way." Kenji looked long and hard at the ancient woman, shocked by her unusual appearance.

"She's even older than that Deodorant lady if that's possible. She looks smarter too. This old woman has a lot more going on than the other elder."

"Are you not married to Shampoo?" the old woman asked.

"She imagines she's married to me, but she's mistaken. I'm not her husband." Then an idea hit Kenji. "Are you her grandmother?"

"Close, sonny boy. I'm her great-grandmother. I'm also the matriarch of the Amazons, outranking Elder Deodorant. Since you have defeated Shampoo in combat, you are now her husband. You have to come back with her to Joketsuzoko, China to be her mate."

"I have no intention of doing that. I'm already engaged, so Shampoo should just pick up and go home." Kenji looked on without being intimidated as the ancient amazon's congenial appearance turned darkly serious.

"You will marry Shampoo or else!"

"Or what? With all due respect, madam, I'll not be going to China."

"This isn't over, Son in Law." That being said, the matriarch took off to the skies, using her stick as if it were a pogo stick.

"I wonder what's going to happen now."

Kenji watched the old woman leap off into the sky, as a sudden strong wind blew off the leftover shreds of his shirt and business jacket, leaving him topless. "That ruins that suit."

At that moment, Kenji looked up and noticed the bikini-clad women smiling at him as they admired his muscularly defined physique.

XXX

"Where were you?" Ranma screamed after entering the house and finding Happosai sitting down in his room, calmly smoking his pipe. The old man practically ignored the angry redhead as he blew puffs of smoke that looked like cotton balls in the shapes of bras and panties.

"State your business quickly. I'm a busy man," Happosai replied, as he continued to smoke.

"You were a no show for our fight after school today! That means you lost by forfeit. Now, where are my clothes?" Ranma demanded, her heavy breathing causing her breasts to heave to the point of threatening to burst out of the rather tight school dress she wore. The girl took a quick look around, noticing several bags of women's underwear, some of the bags overflowing. Then she regarded the puffs of smoke that resembled women's underwear, looking almost as if invisible girls were wearing them.

As the old man continued to calmly puff on his pipe, he looked up every now and then at the formerly pigtailed girl who regarded him angrily, glaring at him. Then he spoke up.

"What are you complaining about? You're still wearing a nice dress." The old man stared at Ranma with a wry smile, seeming to be able to see through her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Ranma said, being a little embarrassed.

"Wow, you look hot! Oh, yeah!" the old man drooled.

"What are you talking about?" Ranma had begun to get even more embarrassed under the old man's ogling gaze.

"I have x-ray vision, my dear. Heh, heh."

Ranma covered herself up, blushing as if she really was naked until she realized something. "Wait a minute! If you had x-ray vision, why would you need to constantly strip my clothes off of me?"

Happosai looked up at Ranma for a moment, puffing on his pipe. "Heh, heh. I was just blowing smoke up your ass, dearie. But you're right. I would have to take off all of your clothes to see you naked. I think you really would look better without any clothes on at all. I sure wouldn't mind seeing you in the all together. Heh, heh."

"Listen, you. Give me back my clothes or else! And where did you get all this underwear from anyway? Did Bloomingdales or Victoria Secret have a sale?"

"Listen here, girly…"

At that point, Kasumi called out to everyone in the household. "The furo has a leak in it, so you'll have to bathe in the public baths until we can get the furo repaired!"

"Well, then. We can have our match tomorrow when we all go to the public bath. There I can see what you're made of. Heh, heh." Happosai drooled all over himself at the prospect of seeing Ranma without any clothes on. Then there was also the thought of seeing so many other women naked as well.

"Hold it, old man!" Kenji stated, making his way in the room. "I'm not going to let you abuse either Ranma or my sisters. I'll be keeping on eye on you."

"You people never let me have any fun!"

XXX

Later the next day at the public bathhouse, Kenji and Happosai were there on the men's side while Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki were on the women's side.

The steaming hot, blue water was clean as it filled a square-shaped pool large enough to fit dozens of occupants. However, there were not so many people there that there wasn't enough room to get comfortable.

A gray rubber snorkel made its way to the women's side, prompting the suspicious Kenji to take hold of the said snorkel. "What do you think you're doing?" Happosai protested upon Kenji reaching down and grabbing him by the scruff of the neck.

"Where do you think you're going, to the women's side of the bath?"

"Keep on eye on him, Kenji!" Ranma called out with her shoulders bared from the top of the dividing wall that separated the men's side from the women's.

"Ah, Ranma. It's so good to see you. That must mean Akane and Nabiki are there too," the little old man said happily.

Kenji looked around, noticing that almost every guy there had his eyes on Ranma whose hair was wet and cascaded down her milky white shoulders which made the girl look more alluringly sensual than usual.

"Ranma, get down! All these guys can almost see your…"

"Lemme see! Lemme see!" the old man yelled as Kenji attempted to cover his eyes.

"Oops! Sorry!" Ranma said upon making her way down only to see Akane glaring at her.

"Ranmaaa! What do you think you're doing?" Akane demanded as she interrogated the sparkling redhead.

"I was just saying hi to Kenji! What's your problem, Akane?"

"No fighting, you two," Nabiki interjected as she soaked in the artificial hot spring with her head and shoulders above the water.

"We should have shown up here later," Akane replied. Then she made her way into the soothing, hot water, bathing herself.

"This is going to be fun, Akane. Let's hang around here and see what happens."

"Great attitude, Nabiki!" Ranma commented with a smile as she joined Nabiki and Akane, making herself comfortable. "It's always better to be positive."

Akane gave both Ranma and Nabiki a strange look. "I can understand Ranma acting this way, but you, Nabiki?" Akane shook her head and began to settle down.

Ranma lowered herself under the water for a moment. Then she came up, shaking her hair free of any excess moisture which reminded Akane of a dog shaking itself dry. Then Ranma felt something under the water. "Hey!"

"Hello, there, Ranma. How about if I wash your back?" Happosai said, popping up out of the water right in front of her less than an inch from her bosom.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ranma shrieked in shock and surprise. Then she grabbed the little gnome by the neck. "Don't you dare touch me again. You got that, old man?!" she threatened, giving the old man an intimidating glare.

The old gnome easily escaped the girl's ironclad grip, standing on the back of the offending hand. "You don't scare me, Ranma. But I do like how your breasts float upwards in the water when you're angry. Heh, heh."

As the little man reached out to touch the young girl, Ranma popped him one, knocking her tormentor back a few feet, forcing him to skid on the top of the water end over end.

"Get away from me, you freak!"

"Come on, pretty lady. I'm just trying to be friendly," Happosai said, appearing right in front of the girl again, practically standing on top of the water.

"I said, hands off!" !SLAP!

"Ow!" the old man moaned as the pain subsided from Ranma striking him in the face with an open palm attack that did a lot more damage than most slaps from a woman would normally do. Thus Happosai caressed the side of his face that had a welt that was quickly vanishing due to the old man's impeccable healing powers.

"Well, if you're gonna be like that, screw you! Aaaaah!" The little old man breathed in a great deal of air, expanding himself to the size of a four-foot diameter beach ball. Then he let the air out of his body, blowing the surprised, half-naked girl who wore only a small towel around her waist that bared her thighs over the wall and on to the men's side of the bathhouse.

!SPLASH! As Ranma fell ass-backward into the water, the men there quickly got out of the way.

"Did a half-naked girl just drop in the water here?" one of the men said to no one in particular as he used his hands to search under the water.

"She did; I saw her. She was a hot babe. Let's just feel around and see if we can find her!" another man called out.

"All I need is to have all these guys see me practically naked. Then Akane would throw a fit on how I was being a pervert. Well, I'll just stay underwater until… Wait! There's the opening to the woman's side. I'll just swim over to it, and I'll be where I'm supposed to be." Ranma thought to herself as she made her way to the opening, carefully avoiding the probing hands of the men above her.

However, by the time Ranma finally got close to the opening to the woman's side of the bath, Happosai appeared right in front of her, sticking his tongue at her.

"Get out of the way, you stupid old man!" Despite the glare Ranma had given Happosai, the grandmaster of Anything Goes attacked. During the brief underwater fight with the wily old man, Ranma put her hands out and shoved them forward, hoping to knock the old man back with the force of the momentum. Despite Ranma's herculean efforts, Happosai managed to keep himself from moving much, holding his place under the water. "How is he doing that?"

In desperation, Ranma struck the little man in his stomach. Therefore a bubble of air came bounding out of the old gnome, causing him to grasp his throat, but despite that, Happosai fought on.

"I'm surprised Ranma can fight so well while holding her breath. I bet she'd crack if I break her concentration. And I know just how to do it. Heh, heh."

In between attack volleys from Ranma, Happosai saw a pattern. And before Ranma could realize her mistake and compensate for it, the old man flew into Ranma's bosom, prompting the redhead to scream and pry the man off of her. Then the old man began to smile at the girl who began to grasp her throat as her face became bluer and bluer.

"I can't hold my breath any longer!"

"Aaah!" Ranma gasped coming up, taking in the sweet air she had so badly needed, her bosom heaving with every breath. "Whew!"

"Hotcha!" Happosai exclaimed, treading the hot water right beside the redheaded girl.

Then Ranma noticed all the men staring at her, prompting her to cover herself up with both arms. "Like I needed this! This is all your fault, old man!"

Turning towards the little gnome, Ranma whacked him on the top of his head.

"My fault? This was all your doing, you attention whore!"

"Oooooh!" the men there moaned while seeing Ranma's upper body as she reached for the wily grandmaster who zipped on the water's surface just out of her reach.

Ranma covered herself up again, blushing a shade of pink under the men's ardent gaze. The men's eyes widened as they happily regarded Ranma's ample visage, making the girl's blush deepen.

"Look, fellas. This was all a big mistake."

"Mistake? What do you mean a mistake, you exhibitionist?" the old man replied with narrowed eyes at the young girl as he reappeared right next to her.

"Here, Ranma," Kenji said, covering his fiancé up with a towel. "Now, let me help you up to the women's side." Giving Ranma a boost despite the protests of the men there, Kenji sent his fiancée flying to the opposite side of the dividing wall.

"Thanks, Kenji!"

"Hotcha!" Happi yelled out, leaping up after the girl while evading a grasping attack by Kenji.

"Get out of here!" Ranma screamed as she did an about-face, attempting to strike the wily, old pervert.

"I'm not going anywhere! Now let me take another look at you."

"Ow!" the old man screamed upon being hit by a right haymaker from Ranma's fast-moving fist. Then he made a hasty retreat, running all through the women's side of the bath.

"Eeeeek!" the women screamed.

As the old man leaped and bounded from one woman to the next, Ranma followed after him, chucking an empty, wooden pail at the man, striking him in the head with it.

"Ow! Why you… How dare you treat your master this way?"

"I'll do more than that, you jerk! Yaaah!" Ranma screamed, tossing energy blasts at the wily old man.

"Ki energy! Where did you learn how to do that so smoothly? Something like that normally takes years to learn," Happosai stated as he dodged the fast-moving energy blasts, landing on top of the dividing wall.

"There's more to me than meets the eye! I'm not just a pretty face! Now stay on the men's side!" Ranma demanded harshly.

"Oh, yeah?" However, before Happosai could say or do anything else, he found himself held fast by Kenji.

"What do you think you're doing, old man?" Kenji demanded as he dragged Happosai down to the hot pool of water by the scruff of the neck and placed him down right next to him.

"Hey, lemme go!"

"You've had enough fun for the day."

"I have not yet begun to have fun!" the old gnome announced with a pout.

"Take it easy, old-timer. Here, let me help you get cleaned up." After dragging Happosai out of the water and to the side, Kenji immediately plopped the old man down right next to him and sprayed the back of his head with some liquid soap. Then he scrubbed the suds into the old man's scalp and hair.

Happosai became angry at this treatment, throwing a bar of soap at the long-haired martial artist who returned the favor by nailing him with a scrub brush. In a matter of minutes, both of them were throwing bathhouse materials at each other.

"How dare you treat your master this way?" the old man threatened, regarding his new nemesis with a powerful glare.

They stared at each other in such a manner that a knife could have cut through the tension. Their eyes watched each other warily. All the other men in the bathhouse were in awe of the two martial artists as they watched the battle of wills that seemed to take an eternity. After a few minutes, Kenji got tired of the staring game, so he broke the silence. "You don't scare me, Happosai. Now, sit down and behave yourself."

"No! Prepare to face the terror of bathhouse fu!"

"This oughtta be interesting," Ranma said, looking over the dividing wall along with Nabiki and Akane. "Go get him, Kenji!"

The little gnome jumped upwards, hovering a few feet off of the ground as empty pails floated up all around him. Then he pointed at Kenji, prompting the empty buckets to float towards him.

"Ooh! Secret techniques!" Nabiki exclaimed as she watched the events.

"What happened?" Akane gasped in awe. She was surprised to see the old man vanish as the buckets kept floating in the air as if some invisible force was holding them in place.

All of a sudden, the empty wooden buckets that were hovering in the air flew at Kenji, encircling him. "Yeow!" Kenji was hit from all sides as he seemed to be unable to avoid the old man's attacks.

"That was the hermit crab fist," Happosai said, peeking at Kenji from under a bucket.

"Is that so?" Kenji responded, having the old man's handprints all over him.

"From inside a bucket no less," Nabiki announced as she watched the battle. "How cool."

"More like a shrimp than a crab," Ranma replied dryly.

"I don't know how Kenji is going to deal with that. Maybe he's finally in over his head," Akane speculated as the fight raged on.

As the wily old man appeared from under one bucket then another, Kenji began to strike where he thought the grandmaster would be, destroying several buckets in the process.

"Yoohoo!" !SMASH! "Over here!" !SMASH! "Why are you hitting that one?" !SMASH! "I told you I was over here!" Despite Kenji's best efforts, the old man kept moving from bucket to bucket as the muscular martial artist smashed them into splinters. The little gnome had moved with so much speed that he left after images of himself, appearing to be in more than in one place at a time.

Happosai kept frustrating Kenji until the young warrior paused for a moment. "All this destruction is nothing more than waste! I'm going to have to strike where he'll be instead of striking where he was."

The young man concentrated with his eyes closed for a moment. Then he made his ki hammer appear in his hands and threw it! "Ow!"

"Gotcha, you pervert!" Kenji announced as he chased after the surprisingly uninjured gnome.

"You won't be able to catch me!" Happosai took off for the other side of the bathhouse with Kenji hot on his heels. However, when the old man bounded over the dividing wall, Kenji did likewise to his regret!

"Eeek! Pervert!" the women screamed as they threw hard bars of soap at him, one striking the young man in the forehead while another struck him right between the eyes, another still hit him in the solar plexus. Unfortunately for Kenji, these attacks happened to have coordinated to not only knock him back into the men's side but to stun him as well. Falling backward into the water, Kenji dived in headfirst.

"Ungh!"

"Now I can gaze upon these nubile young bodies unhindered." Happosai got up from under the wooden pail that covered him and looked around with a look of disappointment on his face. There were no pretty young things around to ogle. All of the women there were old!

"My, oh my, my rheumatism's been acting up as of late," an old woman washing said to another old woman sitting next to her.

"You think you have problems? My back's been causing me all kinds of pain."

The little old man looked around only to find these gray-haired women washing and bathing their wrinkled, old bodies.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?" Akane answered wearing a bathing suit that covered her up.

"You think young women could bath comfortably with a crazy pervert like you running around? I think not," Nabiki commented, covered up in a bathing suit much like Akane.

Despite all this, Happosai kept searching the area frantically. "There has to be at least one pretty young thing around here. Aha!"

The dirty old man's eyes widened and his mouth crinkled into a smile as he noticed a young woman with a gorgeous body, putting suds in her long, luscious hair near the end of the bathhouse. He then made his way to the naked girl, leaping towards her. "An oasis in the desert! Come to papa, baby! Hotcha!"

!POW! "Ungh!" Ranma sensed the presence of the wily grandmaster and struck him on the top of the head, smashing his dome into the bathhouse, concrete floor.

"Really, Happosai, falling for an old trick like that."

XXX

The next day, after having a short training workout with her father, Ranma went to the bathroom to wash up.

!PAT!PAT!PAT! "What the…" Ranma exclaimed as she felt something on her backside.

"You're looking awfully healthy this morning! Heh, heh!" the dirty old man announced. "I can't get over how rock hard your ass is. I bet you could bend a fork with it."

"Get away from me, you old goat!" Ranma screamed, knocking the grandmaster through the roof and into the sky.

XXX

Later, at the breakfast table, everyone was enjoying their meal. "I have some good news for you, Kenji," Nabiki said with a smile.

"And what would that be?"

"You'll be happy to hear that there's a guy from America that's looking for someone who can take him on. From what everyone's been saying, he's practically invincible."

"What does all of that have to do with me?"

"This guy is so arrogant and money-hungry that he started putting up 10 million yen in a pot for anyone who can beat him. This pot has steadily increased since everyone who takes the chance to fight this guy has to put in 5 million yen of their own," Nabiki explained. "

"Do we have that much money to put in such a pot?" Kenji asked incredulously.

"We have enough. Many of my money-making schemes have recently paid off. So we can afford it."

"I don't like the idea of gambling, Nabiki. There's no guarantee I'll be able to beat this guy."

Then Ranma interjected. "That's no way to talk, Kenji! You have to believe you'll win all the time no matter what happens."

"That's true, Ranma, but we're talking a lot of money here. We shouldn't take chances like that," Kenji replied.

"You think I'd make a gamble like that when I wasn't sure? Come on, baby brother. I'm a whole lot shrewder than that. I've watched this guy fight; you can beat him if you give him everything you've got. Besides, this guy isn't a martial artist anyway; he's only a boxer."

"A boxer? Who is this guy?" Kenji asked, suspecting who it was.

"His name is Balrog." Nabiki sat back and began to pay more attention to her food as if the name she had just dropped was no big deal.

"Balrog?" Kenji exclaimed. "Do you know this guy's win/loss record? He's practically undefeated!"

"Do you have any confidence in yourself or not?" Nabiki replied, looking up from her food and regarding her brother with narrowed eyes.

"Of course, I do, but Balrog's no lightweight."

"I know he's not a lightweight, Kenji," Nabiki commented in a matter of fact manner.

"He was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world until he got lazy with his training for a time and felt the need to cheat to win an important title fight. By the end of what seemed like a victory for him, the referee passed out as he raised Balrog's hand in victory because the boxer had knockout powder on his gloves. After a huge controversy, the boxing commission disqualified him and threw him out of boxing. Despite his having cheated, he may still be the best boxer in the world, but he's still only a boxer. He doesn't even use his feet in a fight. It wouldn't surprise me if Akane was able to beat him."

"Nabiki, you're making the same mistake about American boxers that most martial artists make. I've trained as a boxer for a while, so I know how tough they can be. I've even seen an average boxer defeat a martial arts tournament champion while I was in America."

"American martial artists aren't that tough!" Genma interjected with a snort. "What kind of boy did you raise, Tendo?"

"Anyway," Kenji continued while giving Genma a sharp look. "Balrog has proven how tough he is time and time again by beating up some of the best martial artists in the world. And his feet weren't as idle as you imagine them to be; he glides on the ground at an inhuman speed. I like the idea of fighting such a powerful opponent, but betting so much money against a guy like that would be a bad idea."

"Well, it's too late to worry about the money now; I've already put the cash in. I can't take it out," Nabiki explained.

"What?!"

"You heard me," Nabiki said dourly.

"Nabiki! I told you to talk to me before entering me in stuff like this!"

"If you're so afraid of this guy, I'll fight him!" Akane interjected.

"Are you going to force poor widdle Akane to fight in your place?" Nabiki said with a knowing look in her brother's direction.

"No. I'll fight the guy, but you need to talk to me about stuff like this first in the future, Nabiki. You practically jeopardized this whole household," Kenji said solemnly.

"Whatever you say, baby brother. The fight will take place in front of the Furinkan High School, right near the entrance gates."

"You plan on being there yourself for this?" Kenji asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Yes. I need to be there to pick up the money after you win," Nabiki said with a smile. "Make sure you're there on time; the fight's scheduled at noon during lunchtime."

"I'll be happy to see you do well in your fight, Kenji," Ranma commented. "And if you ever need another person to fight for you, let me know, Nabiki. I can handle things."

"I'll keep that in mind, Ranma. Come to think of it, there's an all-girl tournament called Variable Geo that you'd be perfect for."

"What about me? I can handle any kind of fight. I'll do the Variable Geo, whatever it is," Akane stammered.

Nabiki demurred. "I don't think you'd want to do something like Variable Geo, Akane."

"Why not?"

"Just trust me on this one. This is more Ranma's speed."

"Don't underestimate me. I can do it!"

"Oh, really?" Nabiki said in a low whisper with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah!"

"I guess you know that the loser has to take off all of her clothes in front of the millions of people who would be watching on closed-circuit television. You still want to do it, Akane?" Nabiki said in a low voice.

"Oh! I can't go around naked!" Akane exclaimed, blushing crimson, covering herself with her arms as if her clothes and underwear had vanished.

"Naked? I heard that! I think everyone has seen enough of me!" Ranma protested. "There's no way I'm doing that!"

"Thanks a lot, Akane. Win or lose, Ranma would have brought in a lot of money."

Then Happosai popped up right behind Ranma, standing on her left shoulder. "There's no need to be disappointed, everybody. We can all see Ranma naked right now."

"Get away from me, you freak!" Ranma screamed as she missed with a backhand swipe. After feeling a slight tug, she felt a draft.

"Sweeto!"

"Ranma, you pervert!" Akane screamed as everyone noticed the girl's sparkling red hair cascading over her bare shoulders while she only had her bikini underwear on.

"Golly!" The redheaded girl looked down for a moment and blushed a little bit. Sensing Akane's anger against her, she turned to the blue-haired girl with a perturbed look on her face.

"It wasn't my fault the old freak took my clothes off!"

Then she turned towards the old man, giving him her undivided attention. "Come here and give me my clothes back, you dirty old man!"

"I don't think so!" Happosai ran all the way to his room where he shut the door behind himself.

"I'll just put these clothes here along with the others for now. My, they smell good. Heh, heh."

However, as Happosai went into the secret compartment where he had hidden Ranma's other clothes in a large brown closet, he sensed something behind him.

"So that's where you put all my clothes."

"What the… But how?" The old man jumped in surprise to find Ranma had zoomed inside the room before he had shut the door. He was even more surprised to see the girl wearing her usual red shirt and green pants. She had even put her hair back into a pigtail, having found the string and tied her hair with it. In addition to all that, she now had all of her other clothes in her hands bunched up together.

"I know a lot of things you don't know, old man. Now that I've gotten all my clothes back, I'll get out of here," Ranma answered as she made her way to the door. "And, one more thing. Don't you dare ever try to control what I'm wearing again!" With that, Ranma opened the door and left.

The little old man was jumping up and down in a rage after the pigtailed girl had left. "Ranmaaaa! You have aroused my wrath!" he screamed, raising his fists in the air.

XXX

During lunchtime at school, Nabiki was at the front gates along with Kenji who was on the other side, leaning on the gate. While Nabiki wore her usual school dress, Kenji wore dark blue slacks that were very flexible, boots, and a white T-Shirt.

"So where's the guy I'm supposed to take on, Nabiki?"

"What's the matter, baby brother, getting cold feet?" the mercenary girl said with raised eyebrows.

"No, Nabiki. It's simply a matter of the mind," Kenji responded with a wry smile.

"What?" Nabiki asked, her eyes widening.

"What's the mind? Doesn't matter. What's the matter? Never mind."

Nabiki paused in shock and surprise. Then she regained her composure. "Very funny, Kenji. Are you ready to fight this guy or not?"

"Yes, I'm ready. Let's get this party started!"

"That's the spirit, Kenji! Now we need to…" Nabiki stopped when she thought she heard the sounds of a fight going on several blocks away. Then she took out a listening device she had hidden on her person and listened very carefully to what was going on.

"My fight money!" Nabiki heard someone scream several blocks away.

Upon quickly turning towards the direction of the scream, Nabiki tried in vain to see what was going on. "Kenji, I need you to fly up into the air and see what's going on. Come to think of it, take me up with you and hover, so I can see what's happening."

"All right." Kenji first leaped over the front gate. Standing next to Nabiki, he took hold of her waist and spun his hammer and threw it upwards, allowing it to take the both of them aloft until he was four hundred feet in the air. Then he spun the hammer around much like a helicopter blade to stay aloft.

"Yes, that's it. Uh, oh!"

"What is it, Nabiki?"

The mercenary girl was using some high tech binoculars that allowed her to see what was going on more clearly. "We have to get over there, or all that money will be gone."

"Is it all right for you to miss school?" Kenji asked with concern.

"Don't worry about that. Just get us over there on the double!" Nabiki ordered frantically, pointing her finger in the direction the scream.

Kenji took off flying, throwing his hammer to where his sister had pointed and going at thirty miles an hour. The wind whipped Nabiki's hair in her face for a time until they quickly arrived at the spot.

"Is this it?" Kenji asked

"Yes, land right here."

As soon as the two touched down, Nabiki ran over to a medium-sized African American dressed in a brown coat, broad hat, yellow shirt, and pants. He had a cigar in his hands as he regarded the Japanese girl making her way towards him.

"Hey, Nabs. What's shaking?" the smooth operator said with a sense of style.

"What happened, Ray, and why didn't you and your fighter show up for the fight?" Nabiki responded in flawless English.

Nabiki was well aware of the rumors going around that Mr. Ray who was Balrog's manager was stealing money from the ex-champion boxer. This wasn't the main concern for Nabiki, but if this guy thought he was going to take her money, he had another thing coming!

"Oh, that. Nothing I can do about that. Take a look over there." Mr. Ray pointed to the downed form of a massive African-American man with rippling muscles who barely moved, making no noise except for silently breathing. He lay on the ground unconscious, wearing grey boxing trunks, brown boots, red gloves, and a grey gym shirt.

"Where's the pot with all the money?" Nabiki demanded as Kenji stood behind her with his arms folded on his chest.

"Well, it's like this. While we were on the way to that school of yours, this hot chick and this huge guy showed up and threatened Balrog. This pissed the main man off, so they fought. As you can see the huge guy beat up Balrog pretty badly. That's a pity too. There was some fat money in that pot."

"Where did they go off to and who were they?" Nabiki demanded.

"They headed east. I don't know who they were, but the guy who beat Balrog wore mostly pink. The chick with him wore the tightest booty shorts I have ever seen!"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Never mind that, Ray! Where…"

Despite Nabiki's lack of patience, the promoter kept on going as if Nabiki hadn't interrupted him. "The crop top that she wore showed a lot of skin if you know what I mean! She didn't even need it to hold herself up since that rack stood at attention. Woooo! Weee! So hot she was smoking! She knew how to work that ass, I'll tell you what."

"Enough of that already! Where are they?!"

"They walked away from here just a few minutes ago. You can't miss the big guy. That mother's over eight feet tall."

Nabiki looked at the excited man suspiciously for a moment. "Are you sure you're not planning some kind of con?"

"No way," the promoter answered nervously. "If I'm lying, I'm dying."

"You have no idea," Nabiki said coldly, staring at the promoter with a glare that made Mr. Ray more than a little nervous.

"It's cool, baby. It's cool," the promoter said in such a smooth manner to even impress Nabiki.

At that point, Kenji interjected. "I noticed a particularly large man walking away when I landed us over here, Nabiki. I might be able to locate them."

"All right, Kenji. Let's go."

In a matter of seconds, Kenji had flown Nabiki several blocks away. Upon landing right in front of the tall, statuesque woman who was carrying a three-foot diameter, black pot, Nabiki quickly noticed all the money inside which excited her, despite that she kept herself under control. This was business after all.

"Where do you think you're going with my money?" Nabiki demanded, getting in the woman's face.

"It's my money, sweetie. Now run along to school before you get hurt."

The woman was wearing a black military officer's hat that fit with the dominatrix look she had going, a black horsewhip being at her side. In addition to that, she had on tight shorts, stilettos, and a short, sexy crop top that slightly exposed the bottom curvature of her bustline. With flair and a switch of her hips, she kept on walking right past Nabiki. Her long, light brown hair that went down her back flowed behind her as her beautiful blue eyes looked forward, her long, shapely legs moving with grace, sophistication, and an overt switch.

"Listen here, lady. I want my money back. Don't make me get rough with you."

"You think you and your handsome friend scare me?"

The tall woman walked over to Kenji with an exaggerated shake of her hips. Upon reaching him, she prodded him with her whip.

"Well, hello there. You look like you're in good shape."

Then Kenji shoved the whip away from himself. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" the woman announced, backing up with the two Tendos regarding her warily. "I'm Poison." With another shake of her hips, she snapped her fingers. At that moment, both Kenji and Nabiki felt the ground quake under them.

Then the two Tendos turned around to see a large man with long, messy black hair that went down to his shoulders, moving and bouncing around as he made his way to them. The giant was unbelievably huge, standing at over eight feet tall. He wore a pink leopard skin tank-top with darker pink jeans, brown boots, and black studded wristbands. He also had on a thick chain from the back of his waist to 3/4 of the way around his waist, ending at his hip. He had huge muscles which he flexed as his eyes bore down on Kenji, saying with an unusually deep, baritone voice, "I'm number one!"

While both Kenji and Nabiki stood in awe of the massive man, Poison walked right through them towards her fighter. Turning around and facing them, she regarded Kenji for a moment.

"You're the guy who was going to fight Balrog, aren't you? Well then, if you want the money, you'll have to fight Hugo for it."

Kenji calmly regarded the larger than life warrior before him, visually probing for weaknesses and finding none.

"Fine, we accept your terms!" Nabiki confirmed. You can take him, Kenji!"

"Really? It's natural to run away screaming from my man, Hugo, but now I have you where I want you. So you're up for a little match?" Poison said with a sense of flair and panache while the giant behind her cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"I'm ready. Let's get this party started!" Kenji announced, his ki hammer appearing in his hands as he got in a stance.

Nabiki and Poison quickly got out of the way as Hugo rushed Kenji who threw his ki hammer at the bigger man. Even though Kenji nailed his opponent, hitting him in the stomach, the man only moved back a little. However, the giant seemed to teeter and totter as he maintained his footing.

"Oof!"

"This is going to be a hard battle if there ever was one."

While Kenji was speculating about his next move, Hugo moved in on him with a speed that belied his huge bulk, striking Kenji by clapping his hands together on his opponent's head. "Yeow!"

In response to the previous attack, Kenji struck the ground with his hammer, directing a shockwave under Hugo prompting him to go flying up into the air. Then Kenji swung his hammer rigorously countless times, letting it go and striking the giant in his midsection, sending him to the ground.

"Ow!" However, the big man got up quickly and came running towards his opponent, surprising Kenji by grabbing him by the head, keeping his momentum going while holding him, and slamming him into a nearby wall, practically sandwiching Kenji in between the wall and his own large body.

"Ungh!" After prying himself from the wall, Kenji struck his opponent in the solar plexus with a powerful, upwards punch, prompting the bigger man to reel backward. Then Kenji struck with a well-placed roundhouse kick to the stomach. While the big man lurched forward, he struck with an uppercut that sent his opponent into the air.

However, there was no rest for the weary, as Hugo touched down to earth quickly and zipped over to him, practically gliding on the ground. Striking with fists, elbows, and open palms, the giant did very little damage to Kenji who successfully blocked these attacks, but Kenji wasn't able to avoid getting grabbed as the giant leaped up into the air still holding him, spun him around and came crashing down with his stomach pressing Kenji to the ground.

"It's over, little man. No one gets up from my belly to belly body slam," the larger man bellowed while his bulk pinned his opponent to the ground.

"Never! Huff!" In a burst of strength, the muscular martial artist powered his opponent off of himself, struck him with his hammer in the stomach, and sent him high up into the sky. Then Kenji speedily winded up his hammer and went straight up, striking the airborne Hugo in the chin with it.

Crashing to the ground on his back, the big man quickly got up and leg swept his opponent, knocking him off his feet. Kenji was able to use his acrobatic skills to land on his feet in time to see the bigger man running towards him.

"Time for one of my newer attacks!"

"Hammer time!" Kenji screamed, making numerous ki hammers appear and throwing them at Hugo. The king-sized man reeled backward a few feet as the ki hammers struck him several times.

"Ooh!" the giant moaned. He then leaped into the air in Kenji's direction, attempting to dropkick him with both feet. Upon blocking the attack, Kenji grabbed the giant's feet and spun him around at super speed. After spinning him around countless times, Kenji threw his opponent several yards into a thick telephone pole which the city of Nerima had reinforced due to the fights of other martial artists in the past. Much to the relief of many of the crowd that had been building during the fight, the well placed telephone pole stayed in place.

"Come on, Hugo!" Poison screamed. "This guy's nothing; I know you can beat him!"

Without missing a beat, Hugo rushed Kenji at a speed that belied his size with his hands out, grasping for him. Upon grabbing his surprised opponent, the bigger man ran into the side of a building, slamming Kenji into the wall by using his mass and momentum to increase the damage.

"Ungh!" Kenji moaned as he slumped way his way to the ground. "Gotta get up before he…"

Before Kenji could do anything else, Hugo quickly grabbed him by his head, setting his opponent up for another body slam. "I'm number one!"

"No!" However, Kenji snapped out of his malaise and struck the hand that held him with his ki hammer.

"Aargh!" the angered giant screamed, dropping his opponent. Then Kenji speedily winded up his ki hammer at 100 revolutions per second, striking his opponent on the chin and sending him high into the air. As the giant went airborne, Kenji concentrated deeply, winding up his hammer at super-speed again while using his ki to increase the power of the blow that was sure to connect and it did! Kenji let his hammer go, knocking his opponent a few feet backward, crashing to the ground.

Then the bigger man got up. With an increase in his ki, Hugo came running at Kenji punching with rights and lefts. The giant's powerful elbow came crashing down his opponent's head, and before Kenji could hit the ground, Hugo clapped his hands together on either side of the long-haired martial artist's head.

"Ungh!" "This guy is plenty strong! He's the strongest opponent I've ever faced. I'm going to have to hit this guy with everything I got."

While Kenji was speculating on his situation, Hugo grabbed him, throwing him against another telephone pole, causing Kenji to bounce off of it back in the direction of his opponent. Then the giant took hold of his opponent and came crashing to the ground with Kenji's spine against his large head. Then Hugo threw him on the ground.

"Huff! Huff!" the giant gasped. "This guy is a thing of iron. How can he take blow after blow from me like that? It's time to finish this fight!"

However, as Hugo made his way towards his adversary, Kenji did a backward acrobatic flip which landed him a few yards away from the giant. Then as his opponent came running towards him, Kenji quickly spun his ki hammer around. This time, however, he backed up further into the air.

"It looks like your fighter's running away," Poison said nonchalantly. "What a retreating coward."

Nabiki got a little nervous as she noticed her brother continue to back away, but then she said, "He's not retreating; he's moving the fight to a location of his choosing!"

"If I lose all that money to this tramp, I'll never forgive you, Kenji. This better be a strategy on your part!"

It was a strategy. As Hugo increased his pace, Kenji tossed his hammer at the giant's feet, tripping him. While the bigger man got back to his feet, Kenji concentrated, hovering in the air and spinning his hammer countless times. Then he came flying at the giant hammer first. Striking him in the chin Kenji sent his opponent crashing to the ground.

"I can only hope that did it. I'm practically out of gas right now."

Kenji's face betrayed nothing as Hugo got up from his previous attack. Then the giant went crashing to the ground with a huge thud unconscious.

"Whew! That was a hard fight!"

"Hooray!" Nabiki screamed, jumping up and down happily. The mercenary girl turned towards the scantily clad woman with a look of triumph. "Where's my money, lady?"

Poison looked down at the prone form of Hugo with a big look of disappointment on her face.

"Oh, yes. About that." !WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!WHAP! All of a sudden, she zipped over to the barely conscious Kenji and struck him several times with her ki enhanced horsewhip, knocking him out cold.

"What are you doing? We had a deal!" Nabiki demanded.

"I don't feel like giving all of this money up, so I changed my mind. If you want the cash so badly, you'll have to fight me for it. And I don't think you're up to fighting someone of my caliber. I've been in hundreds of street fights, sweetie, and from the looks of you, you've spent most of your time sitting behind a desk. Now go away before I hurt you."

"You want a fight?" a voice called out. "Then fight me!"

"Who do you think you are to challenge me like that?" The one named Poison called out to the newcomer.

"I'm Ranma Saotome of Anything Goes. You've just struck down my fiancé after he had won a hard fight fair and square. The way I see things, he's earned that money." The pigtailed girl flew off a nearby house and landed right in front of the scantily clad woman, getting in a stance, wearing her red shirt and green pants.

"You'll have to fight me, Miss Ranma, and frankly, I don't think you have what it takes to beat someone like me."

Ranma brought her hand out, making a come hither motion. "Just bring it!"

XXX

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'd like for everyone to comment on the way I write fight scenes; whether they're good or bad, and what I can do to improve on them.