Not wanting to let his opponent take the first move, Ranma leaped forward, noticing a moment too late that Kodachi had pulled something out of her gi and hurled it. Fortunately, it sailed past him; it looked like some sort of ribbon - a strange choice of weapon for a bokken wielder. Not considering it a threat at the moment, he let his momentum continue to carry him forward, aiming to smack her in the side with his staff. Yet before he could connect she raced past him, following the trajectory of her ribbon. It was only after she'd passed that he noticed a slight weight on his wrist - a chain!?

Swiveling around, he stared after her, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. The ribbon was dangling over one of her hands, which now held a familiar-looking bowling ball. In her other hand, she held both a stick that the ribbon was connected to, as well as a chain that didn't seem to be connected to anything on her end. Yet on his end, it connected to a clamp that was firmly attached to his wrist.

"Kodachi, what the hell!? You came into the ring already holdin' three weapons!?"

Grinning ear to ear, she said, "I don't believe it was ever stated that we need only bring one! 'Tis not my fault you made such an assumption!"

Unsure of how to retort, Ranma's eyes moved to Kodachi's hands, watching in surprise as she quickly fed the chain into one of the holes of the bowling ball, back out another, and then tied it all together. Feh, was that all she had?

"Your big plan was ta weigh me down with a bowling ball?" he said with a smirk. "You really underestimate how strong I am!"

Grin fading, Kodachi said, "Truth be told, I had planned to chain you to the puppy, thinking that would cause you the greater distraction. But since she belongs to the wondrous Akane, there was a need for the plan to be readjusted."

"Nee-san!" Tachi shouted angrily, gripping the puppy tight. It looked upset - as upset as a little bag of fluff was able to look, anyway.

"Sorry, dear! 'Twas a bad plan, I admit!"

"Feh, a better one than this," Ranma said, jerking his hand back and sending the bowling ball arching through the air, crash landing onto the floor a little ways behind him. "See? It's nothi-"

"Ranma!" Akane shouted, a note of panic in her voice.

Turning to look at her, he found something else catching his eye - namely a cloud of gas that had suddenly appeared around the bowling ball. Taking a few steps back, he looked back at Kodachi. "Wh-what is that!?"

"Nothing lethal!" Kodachi said, her grin making a return. "Just a simple paralyzing agent!"

"Oh, is that all? Of all the underhanded-"

"Let's actually begin this thing, hm?"

Ranma received no time to respond as Kodachi rushed forward, ribbon in one hand, bokken in the other. He barely managed to roll to the side as Kodachi made an overhanded swipe at him, her bokken smashing into the floor of the ring. It slashed through the canvas and padding beneath them like tissue paper.

"Ooh, almost got him, Nee-san!"

Staring wide-eyed at the cut canvas, Ranma said, "Kodachi, I thought you said that thing wasn't-"

"It is not the blade I used before! There are no tricks here. I am simply far stronger than when last we fought!" she proclaimed, leaping at him again. Grabbing the hazardous bowling ball, he rolled desperately to the side, narrowly avoiding another blow that cut through the thick padding of the ring's floor.

"Are the people that own this place gonna be okay with you cuttin' it up like that?"

"There is no need for concern; I shall have anything that is damaged fixed or replaced." Pointing her bokken at him, she said in an even louder voice, "Focus upon yourself, rather than the gym, you cad! I have trained every day since our last fight, and I will not lose!"

She charged forward. Holding his staff with only one hand, Ranma swiped at her legs, but she managed to hop over it. If only he'd aimed a little higher! Wait, she wasn't charging at him anymore?

"Get up, Ranma! She's going for the table again!" Akane shouted, her hands balled into fists. Looking back at his opponent, he found he was already too late - the gun was in her hand. She was obnoxiously good at using that damn ribbon.

Not trusting her earlier 'assurance' about the weapon, Ranma leapt to his feet. Charging right at her, he vaulted into the air at the very moment she pulled the trigger. Briefly, he thought he'd managed to dodge whatever she'd fired, but then a pulse of electricity surged through him, starting with his leg, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"You seem so much slower than when last we fought!" Kodachi said, laughing into the back of her hand just as she had done back then. "It seems I was the only one to train in all that ti-oof!"

Apparently too busy gloating to notice that Ranma wasn't yet down for the count, Kodachi's words were cut off by a staff jabbing into her gut, knocking her backwards. The taser gun clattered to the floor, and Ranma instantly grabbed it. Holding the wires extending out of it, he yanked the barbs out of his pants, then tossed the evil contraption as far out of the ring as he could muster.

"Enough of these stupid tricks!" he shouted, rising to his feet and brandishing his staff.

Unperturbed, Kodachi shouted "If you insist!" and swung her bokken at him. He easily dodged, yet again found himself falling to the ground as something wrapped around his feet. The damn ribbon!

Once again Kodachi leaped at him, but instead of dodging, he decided to make use of his weapon's longer length, smacking her backward before she could land a blow. It worked so well that it pulled the ribbon off his legs, sending him rolling across the floor in the process. Grabbing hold of the bottom rope, he barely managed to avoid falling off the side of the ring.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked to Akane, hoping he'd impressed her as much as he'd just impressed himself. But she wasn't looking at him, looking instead at whatever it was that Tachi was doing. Wait, where was the dog? Oh, Akane had it sleeping contentedly in her lap. So then Tachi was… drawing?

"Hey, Kodachi, wait a minute, will ya?" he said, holding a hand out while he got to his feet for a better look. The picture Tachi was drawing had a very familiar style to the drawings Ranma had once seen floating out of Kodachi's gi. "You mean she drew all those pictures?"

Walking over to stand beside him, Kodachi looked at Tachi's handiwork, a proud smile upon her face. "Ah, yes, of course! You thought I drew them?"

"Well, um, we both did, actually…" Akane admitted.

"Didn't know ya had a sibling back then, though," Ranma added.

Putting a hand to her chest, Kodachi said, "You two flatter me! Which is not wanted in your case, Ranma," she said, scowling. Apparently unable to keep it up, though, she smiled wide again. "I only wish I had the artistic talents of my dear sister! To think a 2nd grader could create such art!"

Twisting and turning, her face red and covered in a gigantic smile, Tachi said, "Nee-san, stop!"

"They are very nice," Akane said with smile and a nod, causing Tachi to bury her face in her hands.

Ranma squinted at the picture, desperately trying to figure out what the other two were seeing that he wasn't. As far as he could tell the drawing was just as basic and poorly drawn as the ones they'd seen before. It made more sense now that he knew a child was the source, but they still weren't exactly high art. "I mean, they're... fine."

The daggers that Akane and Kodachi immediately glared at him would have killed instantly, had they been tangible.

"Kick his ass," said Akane.

Apparently taking the suggestion of his supposed supporter to heart, Kodachi swiped at Ranma with her bokken. He moved low to dodge it, managing to score a staff hit to Kodachi's side in the process. Undeterred, she swiped down toward him, and he blocked with the only thing close enough to do the job - the bowling ball. Gas instantly sprayed outward, directly into his face. Holding his breath, he put all his strength into his arms, forcing the ball and the bokken upward, then leaped to the side, back toward the center of the ring. With most of the gas cloud left behind and the renewed ability to move his head away from the bowling ball, Ranma gasped for air, chest heaving.

Before he could get his bearings, however, Kodachi slashed at him again. He managed to move his body out of the way, but the bowling ball in his hands was slower to leave the bokken's strike range. The power of Kodachi's blow sent the ball flying, but Ranma, refusing to get pulled along, grabbed his chain-attached arm and braced himself. After a brief tug, the pressure stopped and the chain connected to the ball snapped, sending the ball soaring through the air. It flew out of the ring and directly into the wall, where it collided with such force that it stuck in place a meter or two above the ground. A notable hissing sound filled the room as gas poured out of the device without any sign of stopping.

"Aw, you broke it!" Tachi shouted with a huff.

Letting his arms fall, Ranma said, "Is that stuff gonna fill up the room if it keeps going, or…?"

"There is not nearly enough gas inside for that to happen. Worry about more pressing matters!" Kodachi shouted, going for a diagonal slash that Ranma didn't have time to dodge. Instead, he brought his staff up to block it, which worked for about a second before the staff snapped in two. Kodachi's bokken smashed into his side, sending him hurling into the ropes bordering the ring. It hurt, but a quick touch check proved it had only cut his clothes, not his skin. At least the staff had helped a little.

Frowning at the broken halves of his weapon, Ranma sighed. He was hardly surprised that something his father had lent to him had been cheap garbage, yet still, for her weapon to cut through it like that…

"Ya know, it's startin' ta feel like that bokken's more lethal than you've been lettin' on."

Giving another of those simultaneously creepy and condescending laughs, Kodachi said, "If it is so, it is due only to my great strength, not by virtue of the weapon itself. Will you run from the fight simply because your opponent's strength outmatches what you anticipated? Such a choice would certainly not be surprising, for a cowardly cretin such as yourself."

Ranma had never wanted to punch a girl in the face before, a fact he was no longer able to claim. Given he had to use a weapon, though… "Nah, I ain't runnin'." Gripping the remnants of his staff, he added, "You can have this, though."

Hurling them at Kodachi's face, he forced her to dodge and created a brief distraction. Launching the chain still connected to his wrist out, he knocked the gloves on the table into the air, then quickly hit them again to knock them into the ring. It was time for him to use one of those dirty trick weapons!

Smirking, he grabbed the gloves and pulled them on as fast as he could manage, filling with joy when Kodachi's eyes went wide. "You said we could both use them!"

"That I did," Kodachi said, that unnerving smile forming on her lips.

Why would she be…? A sudden tightness around his wrists forced Ranma to grimace, and a moment later his hands slammed together, pulled by a surprisingly strong force.

"He did it!" Tachi exclaimed. "Just like you said!"

"Hah, indeed he did, dear sister!" Kodachi said, smiling wide. Turning back to Ranma, she said, "Do you like them? I had them made just for you! They're set to fasten tight and magnetize once worn - truly a marvelous bit of technology! Dramatically fitting too, given the tragic overreliance upon your fists with which you seem to be afflicted."

"You're really sucking every bit of fun out of this fight, you know." Ranma said, shooting Kodachi a cold stare.

"If you're not enjoying yourself, might I suggest not dodging this attack? It will be over much quicker that way," Kodachi said, leaping forward to slash at him yet again.

It was an easy enough dodge, but a moment later he realized it had been too easy. Kodachi's ribbon was once more sailing through the air, grabbing the last item on the table - the water bottle.

Wait, had that been her plan this whole time? Get him to put the gloves on so it was harder to escape, then spray him to reveal his curse!? No! He wouldn't let that happen!

Rushing forward, he was only a meter or two away when she pointed the spray bottle right at him. Panicking, he dropped to his knees, sliding toward her as the bottle's contents erupted into the air. A loud "Ooh!" from Tachi could barely be heard over the sound of the flames that roared right above him, far too close for comfort. But both sounds stopped the moment his momentum brought him careening into Kodachi's legs, sending her and the bottle tumbling to the ground. Kicking the bottle out of both her hands and the ring, he rolled to the side and sprang to his feet.

"A flame thrower!?" Akane shouted.

Smiling weakly from the ground, Kodachi said, "There wasn't enough lighter fluid to kill him..."

"What is wrong with you!?" Ranma said.

A loud ringing pierced the air, silencing all conversation. "Ah, Nee-san, your phone!" Tachi said with a smile, reaching into her sister's oversized purse.

Not glancing at Ranma, Kodachi strode to the edge of the ring, bending down as her sister got up to hand the phone over. Tiny hands held the comparably giant phone up, and Kodachi took hold of it with delicate grace, despite the antenna catching on the lowest ring rope for a moment before she could bring it to her face.

"Kodachi Kuno, who is this?" She scowled. "Nabiki Tendo? Why are you calling!? I told you I have given up the search, so I no longer require new leads- I'm not sure that you can hear me with all the shouting that you're - Yes, Akane is here." Holding the phone away from her ear, still scowling, she looked toward Akane. "She very much wishes to speak with you."

"What's even goin'-"

Clamping his mouth shut and falling backward, Ranma dodged the immediate swipe of Kodachi's bokken, then did a flip to right himself. "It is not either of our concerns, you villain!" she shouted, swiveling around to face him once Akane had taken the phone.

"You're not even curious?"

"Curiosity has no bearing on the situation! If Akane wishes for us to know, she shall tell us!" She charged. "Now fight!"

But that high-minded position held no interest for Ranma. He made sure to pay enough attention to avoid Kodachi's attacks, which was made easier with the removal of that stupid 'instrument' table's tricks, but his focus was listening in on Akane's conversation.

"I told you no before, and nothing is changing that!" she said, not bothering to keep her voice down. "Stop yelling so much, I can barely make out what you're - Is there someone else in the background?" Kodachi's ribbon wrapped around one of Ranma's legs, but he managed to use the situation to rip the stupid thing out of her hands, tossing it out of the ring the moment he got his fingers on it. "Well if it doesn't matter then tell whoever it is to quiet down so I can hear - Stop trying to threaten me with that!" Though the effort hurt his arms, Ranma managed to pry the magnetized gloves apart, and nearly managed to clamp them back down on Kodachi's bokken. "Fine! But if you try to bring a crowd here I'll throw every single one of them and you out myself!"

Muscles burning from the strain of keeping his hands separated, Ranma slammed them together again, managing to capture Kodachi's swiping bokken directly between them.

"Yes!"

Pulling the bokken toward him, he managed to wrench it from Kodachi's surprised fingers. Rage overtook her face, and she launched herself forward, grabbing at her stolen weapon. The two collapsed to the ground as they struggled, rolling and elbowing each other in the shoulder, the gut, and even the face. A pair of fingers jabbed into his eyes forced Ranma to shout and shake his head, apparently giving Kodachi the chance she needed to wrestle the weapon away. She followed this devastating assault up with a kick and a roll, putting some space between them and a pain in Ranma's side.

Huffing and puffing, the two combatants slowly rose to their feet, scrapes and bruises visible on both their faces. Either blood or sweat trickled down Ranma's face, but he couldn't be bothered to attend to it. He just focused on breathing, and so did Kodachi, both of them taking a few precious seconds to recover.

The energy spent on dealing with these stupid gloves was too much. Ranma had to win this fight soon if he was going to win it at all. But his bokken-stealing plan had failed - what else could he do? He could swing the chain still dangling from his wrist at her, but she'd almost certainly dodge or deflect it. And that was the only weapon he had left!

...Or was it? Glancing at the table outside the ring, a plan quickly formed in his mind. He had no idea if it would work, but it was his best and last shot.

With a shout, he looked Kodachi directly in the eye and charged at her. Though she seemed momentarily surprised, she quickly followed suit, charging at him with her bokken to her side, ready for a devastating horizontal slash. As soon as they were close enough for her blade to hit, Ranma jumped, leaping clear over not only her blade, but her entire body. The second he hit the ground he continued running, leaping once again once he reached the ropes.

Flattening his body, he grabbed the top ring rope by the tips of his toes and stretched his arms out. Pulling his hands ever so slightly apart, he just managed to grasp the edge of the table that all of Kodachi's weapons had once sat upon. Lifting the table up the tiniest bit, he scrunched his legs, moving it closer to the ring. With a deep inhale, nearly every muscle in his body strained to the limit, he leaned back, bringing the heavy wooden table high up into the air. Letting himself fall backward, the last thing he saw before the table came crashing to the ground was a look of terror on Kodachi's face from her position directly behind him, her bokken held high for an attack that she wouldn't get the chance to make.

Crayons clattered to the ground. "Nee-san! Noooo!"

Panting, Ranma hopped back to the floor of the ring, next to the table that was currently smothering his opponent. He lifted it up a small bit, eyes glancing around for Kodachi's bokken. With one smooth motion he grabbed it and tossed it out of the ring. The threat removed, he flipped the table over, letting the disheveled woman beneath breathe easier.

"So that's…" He took a breath, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. "That's a win for me then, huh?"

Kodachi, lying on her back, glared silently. After a moment, she raised a fist and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Looking away, her hand flopped to the side, hanging over the edge of the ring.

Grinning, Ranma turned toward Akane and Tachi. "I'm gonna take that as a yes!" Wait… neither of them were looking at him, but at something behind him? And Tachi was happy, while Akane was horrif-

He swiveled around, but it was too late. Something was hurtling through the air toward his head, and even reflexes as quick as his own couldn't dodge it. His mouth went wide in horror as it smacked him square in the face. The first sensation he felt was a slight stinging, followed by an immediate rush of cold and wet.

Wiping the remains of the rubber balloon off her face, Ranko locked eyes with Kodachi, who, predictably, looked horrified.

"R-ranko?" she practically whispered, pushing herself to her knees.

Spitting water out of her mouth, Ranko shouted, "Yeah, it's me, ya figured it out!" Pushing her hair out of her face she continued, "But why the heck did ya even throw that if ya didn't know!?"

Touching her fingers to her bottom lip, Kodachi said, "N-nabiki… s-she said cold water was his - or - y-your only true weakness..."

Rolling her entire head back in exasperation, Ranko said, "Freakin' Nabiki. ...Where'd that damn thing come from, anyway?"

Staring at the soaked ground, Kodachi said, "I… I had many of them taped beneath the ring's edges." Swallowing, she continued, "I had… I had briefly entertained the notion that you were both the same person, but… but it was too preposterous! How… could this be?"

Ranko lifted a hand up to wave dismissively, instead reminding herself that her hands were still encased in gloves - albeit slightly more loose-fitting ones. She settled on a shrug. "Look, we can talk about it late-"

"Your hands!" Kodachi shouted, leaping to her wobbling feet. "And the chain… and the - the trick bokken from before!" Moving to Ranko as fast as her shaky legs seemed capable of carrying her, Kodachi pulled two keys out of her pocket, and set to work unlocking Ranko from both the gloves and the chain. "Ah, my love, I have fought so dishonorably against you time and again! How could anyone ever forgive a soul so wretched as mine own?"

"You didn't know!" shouted a small, insistent voice from behind them. "And all's fair in love in war! You taught me that, Nee-san!"

Ranko craned her neck to look back, noting that both Tachi and Akane had moved to stand at the edge of the ring. Crayons still littered the ground, and Tachi's eyes barely peeked over the top of the ring. P-chan was still in Akane's arms, looking right at Ranko. It seemed silly to assign human emotions to an animal, but still, Ranko couldn't help but feel like the pup seemed rather… sad.

"We did try to tell you," Akane said, looking only half as exasperated as she did whenever Ranma pushed her buttons.

Rubbing the back of her head with a newly freed hand, Ranko turned to look at Kodachi. "Heh, it's fine, really," she lied, hoping to prevent more tears. "Just don't use that sword with the spikes on me ever again, 'kay? Oh, an' that flame-thrower. An' the poison gas ball. None of it, really."

Strong arms were suddenly thrown around Ranko's shoulders, a familiar perfumed scent washing over her senses, mixed with an unsurprising hint of sweat. "Oh, Ranko, truly you are too kind. I don't know that I can ever repay such kindness!"

Leaning ever so slightly into the hug, Ranko tried to prevent a smile from crossing her face. She would never admit it, but in that exact moment, despite everything, Kodachi's hug was repayment enough.

A loud boom sounded through the room, startling everyone. It sounded as though it had come from the wall behind Akane and Tachi. Had someone hit-?

Ranko's heart plummeted into the bottom of her chest.

Another loud boom shook the building. Ranko urgently pushed Kodachi away, and turned to look at the wall. It was cracked and curving inwards, just like she'd expected. She took a shaky step backward.

One last thundering boom was followed by the sound of drywall crumbling to the ground, a new hole successfully pounded into existence. Through that hole leaped the embodiment of Ranma's worst fears.

Landing only a few meters away from Akane, a purple-haired demon in the form of a woman pointed a chúi directly at Ranko. In her other hand, the woman held Ranko's second least-favorite person - Nabiki Tendo, looking much more comfortable with the situation than seemed appropriate.

"Where Ranma!?" Shampoo shouted, murderous intent clear in both her glinting red eyes and her sharp, clear voice.

There was only one thing Ranko could do: run.