Chapter 42

Genma had never been so afraid in his life until he saw his wife. The angry look on her face did not help lessen his fear. He was lucky that he was in his cursed form or else he would be dead right now. Nodoka looked around the room and sighed in frustration.

"I'll ask again. Where is Genma? We have much to talk about." Nodoka said.

"Uh, well, Genma is… on a training trip right now. I can let him know that you came looking for him." Soun said with a nervous laugh. Nodoka gave the man a serious glare and did not look amused.

"This is not the time to lie to me. My husband has a lot to explain to me and he will explain those things now. If he is on this training trip that you speak of, then he is in even more trouble. Now, where is my husband?" Nodoka demanded. Everyone looked on as Soun was sweating bullets, as was the panda. Kasumi decided to end the tension in the room.

"So, how was meeting Ranma? It must have been a happy reunion." Kasumi said, getting everyone's attention. The tension immediately faded as Nodoka's anger disappeared. She looked at Kasumi with a gushy expression.

"Oh Kasumi, I am so happy that I got to meet him. He has grown into a mature boy. Tall, strong, I can't be more proud of him. I can't wait to see him in the tournament and cheer him on." Nodoka said with a smile. Kasumi was happy for her.

"I'm glad that you got to see him. How did you get tickets anyway?" Kasumi asked.

"Oh, I've known Sasiyu-sama for years. Our families have been friends for a long time. As I left Ranma, he invited me to see my son fight. He was very graceious in letting me join him to watch the tournament." Nodoka explained. She then returned to her serious expression when she looked back at Soun. "Genma might be your friend but his actions with my son need to be explained. You will inform my husband that he is to see me and soon. If he continues to avoid me, I will have no choice but to get my family involved." Genma went white as sheet after that.

Nodoka stayed a few more minutes speaking before leaving the room. Once everyone was sure that she was gone, Genma took some hot tea and poured it over him. He immediately got in Kasumi's face and he was not happy.

"Do you know what you have done?! You have put me and my son in grave danger!" Genma shouted. Kasumi did not back down and gave Genma a harsh look.

"Ranma needs at least one parent in his life who cares about his well-being. I am not sorry about getting the two together knowing that you would have never tried." Kasumi said, defending herself.

"Kasumi, you will apologize this instant!" Soun exclaimed.

"I will not. You might glance over his bad habits but I will not. Neither of you will change my mind about it." Kasumi stated. Soun was shocked by his daughter's rebellion and Genma was enraged. Kasumi just stared the two down, her head held high. On the sidelines, Happosai, Nabiki and Akane watched. Before anything else could be said, Akane decided to speak.

"Why are you so angry? So what if Ranma met his mother? That's a good thing." Akane said.

"Akane's right, finally." Nabiki said. "I doesn't seem like Ranma changed in front of his mother and she still believes that he's a male. What has either of you so worked up? It isn't about that stupid suicide pledge is it?"

"No, Nodoka has put a pause on that pledge. She told me that herself. I believe that she took the advice of one of her cousins. I believe that his name was Hamza." Kasumi explained. Genma eeped at that, getting a look from Happosai. Nabiki was thinking hard because she had heard that name before. That's when she finally realized that name.

"Wait a minute, Nodoka's cousin is named Hamza? Akizuki Hamza?" Nabiki asked with some interest.

"Uh, I believe so." Kasumi said.

"Holy hell, that means that Ranma has ties to the Akizuki clan!" Nabiki turned toward Genma. "How did you swindle her to marry you?" Genma growled at her but was distracted when he heard Happosai laugh.

"So you married into that Akizuki's family, the one who is married to the master of the Katabami school. So you tried to steal the secrets of the Katabami? Do you even love that woman? How long did it take her family to see through you?" Happosai asked mockingly. Genma was red in the face at his mocking. Everyone was just surprised at what they learned. Happosai stopped his laughing and looked at Genma.

"I'm willing to bet that you kept her from her family because you knew that anything you tried would have been stopped. They would have taken Ranma away from you and Nodoka just to protect him. That would have spoiled any of your plans wouldn't it? If she reunites with them, I can see them dealing with you, harshly." he continued speaking. Genma was enraged at this point and launched himself at Happosai. He easily flung his student into a wall and left him there. Happosai just laughed as he made his way to his room. The girls made their way to their rooms while Soun tended to his friend.

Genma grumbles as Soun hands him an ice pack. Soun looked at his friend with seriousness.

"Genma, how much trouble are we in should Nodoka's family get involved?" Soun asked.

"It is as Happosai said. If they get involved, our plans are ruined. We have to get those two married and fast." Genma said. Soun nodded and the two plotted throughout the night.

XXX

The day at the Kusanagi compound was beginning. Fighters from around the world were gathering while spectators began to filter in. Ranma looked around the crowd and saw a few familiar faces. He saw Geo, Soap and Shampoo who winked at him. That's when he noticed another girl who was looking at him. She had blond hair that was in two pig-tails and purple eyes. She was wearing a white suit with tie, white fingerless gloves and shoes. She looked at him with a serious gaze. Ranma wondered why she was looking at him like that and hoped that Shampoo didn't notice.

He turned his attention when a gong went through the place. They all looked up to the balcony to see Saisyu standing there. Ranma noticed his mother but decided to focus on the man.

"Welcome fighters, I am glad that you can come to our annual tournament. All of you are fighters from different places with different skills. All I ask is that you show us your stuff and hold nothing back. I wish you well and I wish you victory. Let the tournament begin." Saisyu said and a cheer went through the place.

XXX

Ranma stood with several others in a separate ring. There were several rings in the large space, sixteen in total. Ranma was in ring ten. He saw his girlfriend in ring five along with the blond who was looking at him. Soap was in ring sixteen and Geo was in ring two. Ranma was glad for that because he wanted to fight Geo again in the next round. He hoped that he made his way to the finals. He turned his attention back to his opponent.

The man looked American. He had brown hair and green eyes. He wore a karate gi and had a black belt tied to his waist. By the strips that he saw, he was a third dan. Ranma was not going to underestimate him either way and prepared himself. The referee prepared the two. They bowed to each other before getting into their stance. Seeing that they were ready, the referee started the match.

The American shot forward and launched a punch at Ranma. Ranma hopped on the balls of his feet and dodged it. The black belt continued his assault, throwing two more punches and a roundhouse kick. Ranma danced around the attacks and threw a lightning fast jab that caught the fighter by surprise. He quickly caught himself and continued to use his karate against him. Ranma would continue to dance around his attacks and use his Boxing, jabbing and stunning his opponent.

After a while, Ranma decided that the fight needed to end. Ranma ducked under a straight punch and threw a hook punch to the man's mid-section. Ranma continued his assault, hitting the man with a one-two combo and harsh uppercut to the gut. The man keeled over, leaving him open from Ranma to do a somersault kick. The man was sent airborune and landed on the ground with a thud, just as Ranma landed on his feet. Ranma got back into his stance while the karate man attempted to get to his feet.

The referee checked on the downed man and asked him if he wanted to continue. The man held his gut where Ranma landed the uppercut and shook his head. The referee nodded and stood.

"Ranma Saotome is the winner." the referee said. Ranma bowed at the referee and checked his opponent. Ranma asked if he was okay and he just smiled before nodding. After helping him up, Ranma made his way out of the ring.

XXX

Soap stood and looked at the man who was just looking over her. He was ripped and wasn't wearing a shirt and some shorts. He was flexing in front of her, showing off his phyqiue to her. Soap just looked at him without interest.

"Hey baby, you want to go out after this? I'll show you a good time." he flirted.

"Not interested." Soap said.

"How about if I beat you, you get a drink with me?" he said while he flexed. Soap just sighed before looking at the ref. He started the match and the man prepared to move, only to freeze up. He couldn't move his arms or legs and struggled to do so.

"I would recommend that you don't flex. The shiatsus points I hit you froze you. You flex and you'll tear those nice muscles of yours." Soap stated mockingly before walking away. The referee awarded the match to Soap.

XXX

A man groaned and backed away as he was hit with another kick. Geo was bouncing on his toes and watched as the man growled at him. He once again rushed him and throwing several haymakers at Geo. Geo dodged easily before kicking the man in his inner thigh, stopping his movement. Geo lashed out with two straights, a cross, a front kick, a side kick to his knee and finished with a roundhouse to the side of his face. The man crumpled to the ground, not moving. Geo was named the winner.

XXX

Nabiki couldn't be any happier right now. She was holding a toine of yen in her hand and she knew that she would be making much more as the matches went on. She never knew that tournaments like this would be a boon for her. She should have done this years ago. What made it even better was that Saisyu allowed betting within the grounds. She just had to work it out with all the other bookies and everything went well. Hell, she could even do some networking while she was at it.

She already made yen on Ranma's, Soap's and Shampoo's victories. She also put some money on Geo as he was the only person she knew that beat Ranma. There was also that blond girl who was in Shampoo who showed some skill. She decided to keep an eye out for her. Nabiki was also very curious about that girl. She swore that she knew her from somewhere. She decided to put it in the back of her mind and continue to make bets.

As Nabiki walked around, looking for new bets, she tripped over her feet. She caught herself from falling and regained her footing. She looked around and saw that no one saw this. She was about to take step when a body came flying pass her. She was stunned as a body was embedded into a wall. Many looked at the person who was just as shocked as everyone else. That's when someone appeared, gaining Nabiki's attention.

He was a tall person, standing over six feet. He had short, silver-bluish hair and amber eyes. He was wearing a navy blue ninja outfit, a yellow sash around his waist and black kung-fu slippers. His forearms and hands were tied with yellow bandages. The male was about to apologize for everything until he looked at Nabiki. He gave her a once over before giving her a very wolf like grin.

"Well now, what's your name cutie?" Nabiki was actually, for once in her life, completely stunned.

XXXXX

Author's Notes

So, people thought I forgot about this story. I didn't forget about it, I just didn't know where I messed up on it. I read through my whole story and I saw where I wasn't happy. It was the start of the tournament. I felt that I rushed a lot of it and I wasn't pleased with hoe the tournament was going. So, I'm starting the tournament over. Stefani and Tamashi will still be used because they will appear later in the story. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the new chapter.