An unusual disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is the trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. And Son Turned Daughter was originally written back in 2002 by FanFiction author Tangent, and his characters Megumi, Yasushi and Ayane have, likewise, been borrowed without permission. Please see the first two chapters of this story under his pen name. This story has been written for non-commercial purposes only.
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Notes are at the bottom of this chapter.
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Nodoka woke up and found the futon next to her empty. The female version of her son was gone. Her moment of panic passed as she remembered yesterday's "Battle at Dawn". Ranma and Akane did have to practice: Today was the tournament! Oh, dear! There were so many things that could go wrong! But - No! - she had to remind herself she was the wife and mother of martial artists. She was like any woman whose loved ones went to combat zones. "Martial" meant military. She should be grateful they were still alive. For ten years she hadn't known. "May it wouldn't be so bad to be a widow."
She quickly dressed in her houmongi kimono and hurried down the stairs.
The side door opened and the jinbei-wearing redhead brightened when she saw her, her face said she had great news, "I'm no longer havin' my period, Mom!"
"Tell her she should still wear a pad, just in case,"Akane said from behind her.
"Aw, that means snug panties. Loose panties, or boxers, free my legs to move better."
"You're going to be in front of a crowd of your friends and neighbors, you should…." Nodoka stopped herself as she realized where her priorities should properly be. "Wear whatever you need to in order to win, Ranma."
"See, Akane?" Ranma turned. She grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her down the hall. "You should wear tap panties, too!"
"Your period may be over, but mine isn't…" And so it went even after they disappeared out of Nodoka's sight.
Suddenly she realized where they were going. Kasumi chose that time to greet her from the kitchen doorway. "Good morning, Auntie Saotome!"
"They, they're not going to take a shower together?"
"You know they do. They've bathed together for a number of days now."
"What if Ranma has her sexual awakening then?!"
"It seems like a natural place for it to happen. Do you remember where you were when you first showed an interest in sex?"
"This is not about me! This is about my son. And your naked sister!"
"Akane will not be naked, only nude. She is an accomplished martial artist. And seeing girls without clothes is no longer a novelty for the female-brain of Ranma. As pre-colonized tribes in hot countries, as our own custom of mixed bathing once showed, the less mystery, the less titillation."
"But commonly seeing people without clothes doesn't lead to total disinterest!"
"Auntie, do you think lesbians sexually assault those they bathe with? Girl or boy, your son has honor."
Nodoka saw she wasn't going to win the argument. But as she left the eldest Tendo girl, she worried, "Can honor hold back a repressed sexuality when it bursts like a dam?" As always, she was having second thoughts about giving Ranma suggestions while the girl body slept that were meant to awaken her - hopefully his - sexually.
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"Good morning, Nodoka!"
"Good morning, Soun," she greeted the only other one in the common room. "Where is Nabiki? She and Ryoga didn't…." She couldn't bring herself to complete the question. It wasn't proper.
"No! At least as far as I know they didn't!" He was still a disapproving father. "They remained here most of the night." He reached behind himself and slapped the wall. "I know, because my room is on the other side." His frown became less stern and more annoyed, "They and their company kept me awake," he grumbled.
"Company?"
"Yes. It was that small ninja that invaded our house a few days back. What they were doing, I am not sure." His voice became even more irritated as he said, "Every time I thought I may be able to make out what they were talking about, they became quieter. I would like to know what secret they were keeping from me."
"You shall know, when Akane and Ranma are out here," Nabiki said. The little, black pig with a bandanna she'd renamed "Fang" trotted in with her. (At least it wasn't as the boy she was now calling her fiance.) "Is breakfast ready, Kasumi?" she called out to the kitchen.
"Just about!"
Nabiki placed a cushion on top of another. Fang then hopped up on it and sat with its forelegs propped up on the table. It seemed much more human that way. She sat down beside it.
Akane and Ranma came back from the furo/laundry room wearing their schoolgirl uniforms. Akane frowned. "I thought you promised Ryoga he wouldn't be kept a pig!" She was still upset about losing "Burin-chan".
"If you bothered to remember, I added a proviso: "Unless there are no other options". And for Operation Coconut-head there are none."
"What about you, Ryoga?" Ranma asked. "Are okay with having to stay a pig?"
Fang smiled and squealed happily.
"You two had better change into your battle suits. You have a tournament today."
"After school." "At four." They said.
"It's a tournament. We need to save the prime daylight hours for the semi- and final events. Everything begins at 10 AM!"
"But we weren't told there'd be no school today!" Akane said.
"Because they didn't know. I and Fang are leaving early to "convince" the Headmaster to let everybody out for the day."
Akane and Ranma looked at each other. Where were they going to place their bets?
Ranma was the first to speak, "Okay. I'll change into my Chinese kung fu outfit."
"And you into your canvas dogi, right, Akane? Fang!"
The pig jumped off the cushions and disappeared under the table.
A moment later it was seen dragging in Ranma's silk clothes.
"How?" Ranma made to look under the table.
"Don't!" Nabiki slammed the tabletop, startling the martial artist. "It's like Schrödinger's cat!"
"C,c,cat?" Ranma asked.
" It's not a real cat. Though sometimes it is. It all has to do with the utter weirdness of quantum probabilities. Fang is there and isn't there at the same time. " She turned, and said, "Isn't that right, Fang?"
While the others watched Fang pivoted and ran out of the room.
Only to merge and disappear as it met itself dragging in the Akane's heavier clothes.
Akane understood! "The ninja technique! Ryoga knows how to split himself up into clones, too!"
Fang nodded its head enthusiastically and grunted. It then dove under Akane's dojo uniform.
Fang then reemerged from under the table.
"Show me!" Ranma demanded! "If it can do it, I can do it, too! Pig, Ryoga, Sasuke, you name them!"
"Are you willing to pay the price?" Nabiki asked her cooly. "Every time you use the technique, you're going to have to give up some of your substance to Sasuke."
"What?.?" Ranma found herself sitting before she knew she was.
"Every time Sasuke splits himself, he loses some of his substance in an E = mc2 conversion of energy. The agreement is that Ryoga has to allow his lost energy to become Sasuke's found matter. It's not a complete one-to-one trade, but it is enough for the ninja to start to become taller."
"And Ryoga is okay with becoming smaller?.?" Height was a touchy subject with her. She had confided to Nodoka how everytime she stopped being a guy, she had to get used to being short, small, little even for a girl, all over again. It was one of the many things she didn't like about having the girl's body. At least if she stayed a girl, she could begin to forget what it was like having a guy's advantages. She could then become more like a born-girl. Which she didn't want to be. Didn't she? Where was the line between being like a girl and being a girl?
"First, as a small animal, he already has less mass to lose. Therefore, it is best for him if he uses the technique only while a pig, unless there are no other options. Second, most of Ryoga's mass is in his muscles. He'll be losing some of that before he does his height."
"And you are alright with him losing muscle mass(?)" Kasumi's question wasn't a question between the three sisters and Nodoka, the "wiser older woman" they had confided in. They knew Nabiki was frightened by how strong the boy was and would welcome him becoming less dangerous. Of course, that very danger was one of the things that attracted her to him. "I fixed an extra hearty breakfast because of all the fighting you will have to do.
"And the scheming you and Ryoga will have to do, too," she said, setting down the tray with large bowls of sweetened rice and hen's eggs, fish eggs, and sardines.
Nabiki answered Kasumi with, "There's always the possibility that Sasuke could lose control of the "valve" and his mass could be transferred to Ryoga. You want me to give you the odds of that happening? I'll tell you it's the bettor's house."
"He would become stronger than he already is!?" Akane became excited. "I'd like that deal!" She put her hand on a bicep and flexed.
"Akane, as a martial artist you know it's not strength that wins fights!" Ranma said. " "Even a small"..." Her face soured for a moment, then collected itself. "Even a small girl like me can win with the right trainin' and tactics," she reminded herself.
"See, Ryoga?" Nabiki asked as she looked down on it.
Fang wasn't buying it.
"You're right, Ryoga. Being bipedal and having hands is a given in martial arts." Nabiki gave it some thought. "We're going to have to come up with techniques based on being quadrupedal and having hooves."
"Nabiki, the time," Kasumi said. "If you are going to leave early, you need to start eating your breakfast now."
"The time!?" She looked at her wrist, remembered she didn't wear one, and looked for a wall clock, only to remember there wasn't one. Then she thought to look at the VCR under the TV. "We should be leaving now!
"Where's my backpack with the thermos in it?"
The pig went under the table. A moment later it was dragging the backpack into the room.
And she hurried for the door. "Come on, Ryoga!"
Ranma did look this time. "The pig isn't there," she announced.
"This time," Kasumi said. "Nabiki!" she called for her to come back. "Your breakfast!"
"I have a deal with the shopkeepers! We can get whatever we need to eat from them! Bye!"
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After the bad tasting medicine but a good breakfast, and in their fighting clothes, Ranma and Akane were ready to leave. "Mom, Mr. Tendo, Kasumi, are you comin' with us?"
"No, later," he said. "I'm confident in both of your skills. You will not require somebody in your corner for the first matches. The more difficult opponents should only come after the quarterfinals."
"You can count on my support, Ranma," his mother told her. "But I hesitate to be there. (Especially after the quarterfinals.) It will be so very crowded!"
"I, too, do not like crowds," Kasumi said. "I know the shopkeepers well, Auntie, perhaps they can find a more comfortable place for us to watch from."
"It shouldn't be that crowded."
"I should be like my sister Nabiki and challenge, "Bet?!" Akane told her.
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The two stopped by the clinic along the way. Dr. Tofu wasn't there.
But Mr. Toru was! Ranma was not pleased, "What are you doing here?!"
"I'm collecting the incidentals my brother couldn't bring with him to the event." And he showed them his backpack as well as two tote bags.
"Surely the doctor won't need all of that!?" Akane exclaimed.
"Better to be overly prepared. I also have a helicopter on standby in case anybody needs to be rushed to the clinic or hospital."
"You're not going to broadcast the tournament." It was a demand from Ranma.
"As I've told you before, I'm not interested in news," he said, turning up his "trust-me" charisma. "I value my freedom too much. There are too many questions of ethics, restrictions and as well as thinking of the consequences to and from corporations and political organizations."
That allowed Ranma to relax.
Until a white-bearded man carrying a sketchbook entered from the other side of the lobby, "You are right. Your brother's primitive Daoist ink art is quite remarkable. And amusing.
"Oh, and who are these young women? Two of the combatants, I would say."
"These are Ranma and Akane. Tendo? I am sorry, but I do not remember your family names. And this is-"
"Just call me Nemo. It's the pen name my editor gave me." And he laughed, and said, "I'm just glad he didn't name me "Monkey Punch"!"
" "Monkey Punch"? That's a fightin' technique, isn't it?" Ranma asked.
"You're a manga artist?" Akane asked.
"Manga!" Ranma cried. Suddenly she was again haunted by the knowledge that Nerima was the center of the world famous media! Anime included.
When the man flipped open his sketchbook, Ranma put up her hands and waved them in front of her face. "Don't draw me! I don't want a picture made!" Not as the girl! Even if it was when she was a guy, people would know what the boy who became a girl looked like. She thought she could work a photo deal with Nabiki that would keep her identity a secret. It had worked with the French maid ones. (Until she out-maneuvered her!)
"Why not? You're one of the cutest girls I've ever seen, Ranma!"
"Don't say that! I hate bein' cute!"
"Most Japanese women would envy you, Ranma. Cute is more highly prized here than sexy."
"Hey! What am I!? Uncute?!" Akane cried.
"I'll draw you, too, Akane. But you shouldn't worry, and Ranma shouldn't try to control. I'm not the only one in the manga community that will be making references."
"They saw the advertising flyers," Mr. Toru told them. "I didn't invite them. "Nemo" was just a mangaka I was to interview today."
Akane stepped around so she could see the drawing the man was making. "Ranma's naked!"
"I'll draw the clothes on her. She has a very interesting costume."
For maybe the first time in her life, Ranma did feel naked. And she was fully clothed! There was going to be how many were going to first make her without clothes like he was making her now? What if they weren't interested in her "costume"? And when they find out her secret, how many more than just a dozen or more will be thinking of her naked? And there didn't seem to be anything she could do about it!
"Tofu told me I should remind you, "Jusenkyo isn't famous" . He said you would know what it means, Ranma."
"It means a curse is a curse until it is worse."
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Instead of turning off a block ahead of the main shopping street to head directly to school, the four of them continued on. It was early, but more people than usual were headed towards it. She recognized some of them. Those teens not in their uniforms must have gotten the word that there wasn't going to be any school today.
Then they saw it, there, at the end of the long block, right in the middle of the street's only four-way intersection, the center of the shopping district: A raised wrestling ring with three sets of padded ropes. What made this different was how black it was. There was only a thin mat in the middle.
Then - with a loud whirling! - everything became lost in a blinding glare! Ranma and Akane were instantly ready for battle!
Mr. Toru told them, "They're just adjusting the mirrors."
Their visions returning, they saw that on the second stories of each of the four buildings around the intersection was a giant mirror. In them could be seen the fighting ring below. The one that had caused the glare was being repositition so it did not catch the morning sun directly. A helicopter held it at the end of a cable as it was moved.
Ranma looked at Mr. Tofu. "You don't have helicopter-space, do you?"
"What?"
"Never mind."
"And where did those giant mirrors come from?" Akane asked. "Do they qualify as camera equipment? Are they from Nabiki's camera-space?" She smiled to show Ranma she wasn't serious. She just wanted to remind her friend she had other things to think about today.
"Ranma-kun!" A big hand thumped her against her back. She turned her forward momentum around and used it against it! In the next instant, the guy was on his back with his buzzcut head under her foot. It was a tall, massive weightlifter.
Ranma recognized him as the leader of the Alpha Male Club at Furinkan, but didn't remember his name. He was laughing(?) "That's the pigtailed girl we admire! My bet's on you to win this tournament!"
She didn't offer to help him up, because their size difference made it ridiculous. He did hand her his binoculars to hold while he did it himself. Wondering about it, she looked around and saw others with similar ones or telescopes. She then spotted somebody selling them.
He explained, "there's not even room for two cars to pass, and a big crowd is expected. Everybody's not going to have a good place to stand."
"You're using these to see 'cuz you and your members'd block the view of those behind you." The weightlifters and bodybuilders took up a lot of space with their bulging muscles. (Girls don't have muscles like that, Ranma had to remind herself.) "Did you say people's gotta stand? Why not use the school stadium?"
"Why!?" he laughed. "The shopkeepers won't have drop-ins at the stadium! They want people wandering about and shop at their places, of course! And if the spectators have to stand, they'll look for cafes and other businesses to rest."
"Right. Of course. What's a little crowd cramp and crush compared to that?"
"That's where WE, the Alpha Males come in!" He ripped open his t-shirt to better show off his physique. "We're keeping order!"
"No police?" Ask a silly question. Police in Nerima? She hadn't seen any yet. "Well, you will be able to muscle your way through any crowd."
"And lift them!" he said, borrowing a bodybuilder's pose. "Now, if you need anything, just call "Tai chi" and an Alpha Male will come!"
" "Tai chi"?" Was that their alert call?
"That's my name! Taichi, the president of the club!" And with that he left her to do what he could find to do.
Akane had stayed out of it. She was more interested in being a sightseer. "There are people on the rooftops, and looking out apartment windows."
Ranma noticed. Then she saw a couple of people with trays hanging by straps from their shoulders that had things to sell going into doors that had to lead upstairs. "This is already a money-making circus."
"And Nabiki gets a cut of their profits, I bet," Akane said.
"I hope Ryoga gets his cut, too," Ranma said, still frowning.
"RANMA! RANMA!" It was Shampoo calling and waving. Wearing the same outfit she wore when Ranma first met her back in her village, one of her feet was on one of the ring ropes, the other on top of one of the posts, all to give her more height to be seen over the people below.
"Get out of there! Nobody enters the sacred ring until they're fighting!" Taichi told her.
"Muscle-head think can defeat Shampoo.? Shampoo fight right here, right now! Show- Ow!" A very wrinkled, short - much shorter than Ranma - old woman had hit her on the head with a staff longer than she was.
"Enough! Don't reveal anything more than you have to, Child! We do not want to scare off the competition! The more, the merrier for our tribe, remember?"
"Yes, Great-grandmother." But it was clear Shampoo was not happy about having to "back down" from a fight. She no doubt wanted to prove she, a "mere" woman, could easily defeat the very definition of the more muscular gender. And Ranma thought back to the match before her and Shampoo's in China. Shampoo had defeated a girl who seemed more like an Alpha Male than a female. Ranma had little doubt who would win against Nerima's male version.
Shampoo got some satisfaction leaping on top of Taichi and two others of his club before landing near Ranma and Akane. "Ranma! Come! Meet Great-grandmother!"
Ranma did not come. She crossed her arms over her bust. "Am I the only one invited?"
"No, Shampoo also invite Loud…." She stopped herself, and started over. She bowed, "Akane Tendo is also invited."
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They were told that they were going to the Bathhouse Cafe. It was on the other side of the ring. It would be a tight squeeze to get around the people blocking the corners. Three of those people were Megumi, Yasushi and Ayane.
"So, you three are going to be in the tournament, too!" Akane expected it, but it didn't make her any more happy to see them.
"No. Megumi's the only one of us who's entered," Ayane said.
"We're disqualified," Yasushi said.
"What terrible thing did you do to be disqualified?!" Akane asked-and-accused.
"Nothing terrible. Just the opposite. You see: I am the emcee. And Yasushi is the referee."
"I am the greatest martial artist in whatever place I am."
"WHAT!?" Akane screamed it, but Ranma thought it as well!
"No look like martial artist! No look like warrior! Shampoo challenge!"
Yasushi raised a whistle and blew it. "Disqualified. No fighting the referee."
It took both Ranma and Akane to hold Shampoo back.
She didn't stop struggling until she saw the little, old woman in green again. She hopped over to the middle of the group on top of her staff. It was a tight fit. "My great-granddaughter has not actually fought you, yet. And neither has she verbally threatened you." Though it was plain, Shampoo was thinking to. "I pledge on the honor of our tribe, she will not. Not now, nor after the tournament."
"Not for one week," Shampoo swore.
Yasushi blew the whistle again. "Qualified."
"You are a wise referee. Come, Shampoo! No more trouble from you!" the old woman commanded.
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The elderly and late middle-aged women who owned the shop recognized Ranma. The waitress had the Hello Kitty charm pinned to her blouse. Ranma had to struggle to not let the others know her weakness. They were definitely the type to use it against her in a fight.
"We had breakfast," Akane said. She looked at Ranma. Ranma seemed always ready to eat.
"Four beef ramen bowls!" the old woman ordered. The waitress was delighted at the gold coin she was given.
"Shampoo?" the woman commanded.
"Aya! Shampoo must introduce great-grandmother, leader of tribe of Nǚzhànshì, Grand Mistress of the Dark Arts, Hereditary-"
"You need not list all of my titles, Child." She turned to the Japanese girls. "My name is Cologne."
"As in the perfume?" Ranma blurted.
"No. Like Shampoo, the name is merely a false friend, a homophone in another language that means something entirely different. But you may as well think of my name as Cologne. I see no dishonor meant.
"Now, tell me about the referee." Her eyes became more calculating.
"Your guess is about as good as ours," Ranma said.
"Nabiki says Yasushi is the greatest martial artist, and my sister loves to play games for her own amusement, but not when it would cost her money," Akane said.
Still she didn't understand. "We've seen her fight, and fought her and her group ourselves. But she's never been a great martial artist. We always beat Megumi's gang."
"Hmm. If she does have the skills, then there must be a reason she has not used them before."
Ranma rolled her eyes. Well, duh!
"What is her personality like?"
Akane thought. She then said, "Apathetic. There isn't much emotion to her voice, and she says things that are a little off, that you know probably shouldn't be said."
"Ah! That could be the answer. She may never have trained and fought to have her skills. When things are too easy, a person can become bored with them. She's not interested in showing them off because people would expect her to constantly have her demonstrate them. That would become yet another bore for her. It would also rob her of time she could be spending on other matters.
"But, then, why would she agree to use them in such a public exhibition of fighting skills?"
"That's easy!" Akane said.
"Megumi and Ayane!" Ranma realized. "They're the only friends she seems to have!"
"Right!" Akane agreed. "And they're not above cheating! As referee, Yasushi can swing decisions Megumi's way!"
Cologne thought. Then she shook her head. "You said she doesn't quite say the things that are expected of her to say. That may well include not saying what her confederates want her to say. Judging by my 300 years of experience in the martial and other arcane arts, I think it is probable that that quirk of hers is tied to her talent. And if I am correct, then I should be betting against the odds and on our referee! She just may well be among the greatest." And she cackled! "This tournament could be the most interesting I've seen in one-hundred years!"
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"Wonderful! Truly delicious!" Cologne said after she had finished her bowl of ramen. Shampoo and Ranma had eaten theirs and then fought over their share of Akane's. "Ramen is a Japanese creation, isn't it.? You must teach me the recipes."
"Grandmother! We leave after Shampoo defeat all womans warriors of this town!"
"It will not be as simple as you suppose, Child. While I am interested in assessing the quality of the warriors here, I do not believe for a moment the losers will allow you to enslave them without more battles."
"What!? Enslave us!?" Akane cried.
"You just figured out that is exactly what Shampoo and Kodachi wants to do to us?" Ranma said.
"See, Granddaughter? Even if we did capture and transport them past both the Japanese and Chinese custom and defense agencies, the whole tribe would have to constantly battle them until they surrendered to their fate."
"You got that right!" Ranma told her.
"It will take time to...persuade them to join our tribe. And I am persuaded that this restaurant is as good a place to headquarter in as any other."
"What did you say?" the two owners asked, afraid foreigners constantly being here might chase off loyal customers.
"How many gold coins will it take for me to purchase this establishment?" Cologne asked.
The two suddenly smiled with relief and joy! The waitress lifted up the Hello Kitty charm and kissed it.
Cologne's face soured. "That reminds me." She turned to Akane and Ranma. "You are from the Anything-Goes Schools of Martial Arts, are you not? Or is it merely a coincidence that your schools are named after that another? Can you tell me the name of your founder?"
The two looked at each other, then told her, "We don't know the master our fathers studied under. They never mention him by name," Akane said.
"And when they do it's like they're afraid they're arousing a demon," Ranma said.
"Happosai," Cologne's face became even more wrinkled as she frowned. It took her awhile to calm herself down.
She at last got off her chair and onto her staff. "You youngsters should watch and prepare for the tournament. I have to do tiresome accounting and paperwork. And then I must do some shopping. Luckily I saw the shop that has what I need near the ring, so I will see you when I am done here."
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When they left they saw a big commotion was going on halfway down the block near the ring.
It was Taichi. "Only contestants and other ladies are allowed up front!"
And Kuno, "Perhaps you are unaware of whom you are dealing. I shall now inform you, varlet. I am…"
"Too tall! You're blocking the view of those behind you!"
Kuno drew his sword. The crowd gave him more room.
A majorette's baton hit the ground before it bounced up and hit Kuno's elbow. Caught off guard, his reflexes dropped his bokken.
He turned to face the attacker. As he did, though, he slipped on one of the cubes of ice from a drink. While his feet were off the ground, a skateboard was pushed under him. He was able to just barely keep from losing the noble dignity he would have incurred if he had fallen off of it onto his handsome face, but he had little control yet as it rolled away with him.
Then more momentum was added by a cone megaphone hitting him in the head. It stayed there like a dunce cap as he swooshed backwards by Ranma and Akane.
"R! E! S! P! E! C! T! Respect the ladies! Yeah! Yeah!" a teen in a cheerleader's uniform yelled to the crowd.
A smaller girl in a glittery, pink one-piece with yellow tutu-like frills over the leg openings. She tossed aside her drink cup and pulled out a pair of shears while rollerblading towards! "Lolita!"
"Azusa!" the pigtailed girl cried, and turned. Even Kuno would be better, she thought in her momentary panic. She saw him swerve and crash inside the [Ye Olde Accursed Antique Shoppe]. And he crashed more than once! Ouch! That was going to be expensive, even for Kuno. The owner was also the chairman of the town council.
"You leave Ranma's pigtail alone!" Akane knocked away the shears with her mallet.
"Ooh! What nice, long hair!"
In a move, Ranma replaced Akane, "What's with wanting to cut off our hair!? Are you working with the headmaster!?"
"No head-shrink tells Azusa what to do!"
"Look!" Ranma said, holding her shears's blades closed in her fist. "Remember what happened to your partner at the skating rink? You try anything I don't like and I'll kiss you, too!"
Only then did Azusa remember. She squealed in fright and skated away with her weapon.
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Shampoo came out of the antique shop. "Stupid Stick Boy! Shampoo teach no crash into Shampoo!" Oh, Ranma realized, that was why there were so many crashes. The lavender-haired warrior saw and then came towards them. "Shampoo use own weapons. Shampoo know them! They only curse opponent of Shampoo!"
When she got to them, she asked, "When Shampoo fight? Is tournament, no?"
The spectators had become a crowd again, and short Ranma was just able to see over the heads what was going on in the raised ring. She got a better view looking up at a mirror that looked down. The first pairing was an Olympic-style epee fencer in full face mask and protective outfit against a school uniformed girl whose specialty was...martial arts crochet?
"I don't know. We haven't seen the matchup list."
"Where is the matchup list?!" Akane cried in frustration. "We have the right to know!"
"Akane be Loud Girl!" Shampoo said.
"Oh! Sorry! Coming! Could you be good enough to move? SORRY! I assure you ma'am I didn't mean to touch you there! Ow! You're quite right! Ow. Ow." Out of the crowd came the little ninja.
Only he didn't seem as little as before. Ranma saw some spaces Sasuke could have used to maneuver between and through if he had been just a little smaller.
That wasn't the only thing Ranma noticed about him. He had a camera around his neck. That had her think to look at others who would be taking pictures of her while she was a her! Even if her secret remained a secret today, people could go back and use these photos against her guy self! How many could consider her a Man Among Men if everybody thought of her as a woman! (And - groan - a leader-woman, no less! A Woman Among Women! Mistress of Periods.)
She didn't see any cameras. Just men and women with sketchbooks and easels. Her only comfort was that there were less than a dozen she could see. On this side of the ring.
"What's with the camera, Sasuke," she asked when he arrived.
"I am stand-in for Miss Nabiki while she is attending other matters." It didn't sound like he was proud of it, only duty-bound.
"Let me guess," Akane said. "She has exclusive rights on taking photographs.? She then sells them to the manga community.? And anybody else interested.?"
"Yes. I believe that is her plan."
"Greedy-girl think in detail," Shampoo said. "Make good general." It looked like she was thinking in detail about Nabiki. But not for long. "When Shampoo fight?!"
"Oh, yes! The list. Remember, the ordering wasn't done by me, but Miss Nabiki."
Before she could read it, the noise from the crowd increased. Ranma was just in time to see the epee become caught in the weave of the yarn between the crocheter's needles. The entangled sword was treated as a puppet before the needles twisted, and the fencer was disarmed!
"Ito wins!" Ayane announced. It came in from more than one angle as a PA system was set up around the district.
Now Ranma had to read the list. She might be next up.
"I'm not fightin' until the quarterfinals!?"
"And neither am I!" Loud Girl cried.
Shampoo brought out her solid metal maces. "Shampoo no wait, too! Change order!"
"As I said, this is Miss Nabiki's ordering! She told me to tell you that it was the only fair way! It gives each of the lesser martial artists a chance to practice and demonstrate their skills without discouraging them when they see how outclassed they are compared to the four best martial artists! You become their aspirational motivation instead of their unassailable obstacles! (I hope I read the lines correctly.)"
"And it keeps them from changing their minds and dropping out of the competition when they do see how outmatched they are," Ranma said. "I've seen too many do that with me." It was a thorn in her (rather: his) history of matches, but also something that had fed the ego.
"If competitors dropped out, then the tournament would be shorter and the customers for the shops would leave earlier," Akane saw her sister's logic.
"Intimidation is smart in war! Want few enemies!" Shampoo still wasn't happy.
"This isn't a war," Ranma frowned at her.
"It's business," Akane sighed.
[] [] []
They followed the massive bulk of three Alpha Male members who parted the crowd for them so they could get nearer the ring and the other female fighters-in-waiting.
Reading the matchup list, Ranma found Ucchan's name. Her heart sank. She would be fighting in Kodachi's group. That meant if she made it that far, she would probably lose in the quarterfinal and never get her chance to beat the crap out of her "Ranchan".
"I don't like the specific ordering, but it makes sense to put me, you, Shampoo and Kodachi in separate quarterfinal matches," Ranma said. "It isn't until the semifinals that we meet." She expected it would then be down to only the four of them, then just two in the final.
"If we survive those who have worked their way up," Akane said.
"Akane have doubt?" Shampoo said smugly.
"No! Just stating a fact! "The overconfident lose"!"
"Shampoo no overconfident. Shampoo under…." That was when she noticed the referee, who was no longer in the ring. She was still in her school jumper dress. It really wasn't practical for fighting.
"I don't want to referee again," Yasushi said. "I don't like it."
"You're the referee!" Megumi ordered the girl.
"You just want her to cheat for you!" Akane accused.
"I don't cheat. But you can't trust what I say. I cheat," Yasushi said,
("Aya," Shampoo said. Maybe it wasn't going to be so easy to figure this one out.)
"That's right!" Megumi backed her girl up. "We'd be cheating in front of a crowd that will get ugly when they catch us cheating!"
"When? Not if?" Ranma asked.
"We know the risks," Yasushi said.
"Risk assessment," Shampoo said. Then she sniffed, "Nabiki better general."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Megumi asked. "And who cares! I'm going to cement my reputation in steel when I beat the best!" Her eyes narrowed on one in particular. "This time you won't win, Akane." She held up her matchup list. "I'm grouped with you! When I make it to the quarterfinals, it's you I'm beating!"
"In your dreams!"
"No longer!
"Yasushi! Get up in the ring - NOW!"
The girl hurried the few steps and continued running up the side of the ring! She had reached the top of a post and was heading down, when Megumi yelled to her, "Show off!"
Yasushi turned around while still on the post, went back up it and then did a lap of the ring - on top of the ropes! The ropes barely moved.
After the lap, she merely stepped off and landed with hardly a sound.
"Watch this!" Megumi told Akane and the others. The tall, strong girl heaved a shot put ball at Yasushi.
The girl casually held up a hand. The heavy, metal weight bounced off her hand and fell inches, centimeters, away to the mat with a muffled thong. And the girl looked unhurt. Only miserable. Very miserable.
Megumi grinned wickedly at her opponents. "She can destroy this ring - that building! You! With just a touch!"
"It's just judo," Yasushi said. And she turned and turned again, saying over and over to the crowds on all sides of her, "It's just judo. It's just judo…"
Ranma knew it wasn't "just judo".
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
As the disclaimer says, Yasushi, Ayane and Megumi were created by writer Tangent. I have only developed them further. And along the way I've come to like them as characters, especially Yasushi (she reminds me of a nonconfident Raven of Teen Titans and Wednesday of the Addams Family). That is why I welcomed the chance to use more of her by making her referee and giving her the powers I gave a character I created in the 1980's.
Those powers will be fully defined in the next chapter.
By the way, I will be making use of the idea behind another story I wrote in 2004 under a different pen name (which I long ago lost the password for): Nabiki, Lingerie Thief by theo25. (The more times I went over it, the more errors entered. That's why I don't edit too much now.)
I know where I want to go with this tournament. I hope I can write it that way. It's complicated.
