"Come on, Akane, your breakfast is getting cold!" said Nabiki, calling up the stairs.
"I'll be down in a minute!" answered her sister.
Walking back into the common room, the middle sister says, "I have no idea why she is taking so long," talking to Ranma while he ate.
"Before I forget, here," she remembered, handing him a note, "That's the address of the restaurant for Friday. The reservation is set and everything's ready to go."
"Thanks," replied the boy, sticking the note in his pocket without looking at it.
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Akane was standing in front of her mirror trying to figure out how to hide the belt.
"If I put it on over my uniform everyone will know I have it and Ranma would ask about it," she said to herself outloud.
She holds the belt around her mid-section, still thinking she can't win the fight against Shampoo.
"Maybe I should put it on first, underneath my uniform," she said, talking to nobody in particular, placing the belt on her bed and slipping on her blouse.
She picked the belt back up and wrapped it around her waist again. The rush of power she felt after fastening the last button was invigorating.
"What?" asked the girl, talking to her pet piglet.
P-chan often watched her dress in the morning, but he wasn't really concerned with looking at her on this day. Only after hearing what the girl said did it intrigue him. He looked up at her as if to say, "What are you doing?"
"I need this to win my battle against Shampoo later today, because if I lose this fight, I'll lose Ranma and I can't afford to lose," she explained, putting on her dress.
Looking at her waist, she notices the slight bulge the belt made around her mid-section.
"Can you see it?" she asked the pig, after buttoning up the skirt.
He tilted his head to the side as to say, "Kind of."
Slipping on her overcoat, she says out loud, "That'll have to do," grabs her bag and leaves P-chan alone in her room, heading downstairs.
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"About time you show up," complained Nabiki, watching her sister sit down to eat her cold breakfast, "What took so long?"
"P-chan wouldn't give me my sock back. I had to wrestle it away from him," lied Akane.
'That doesn't sound like something Ryoga would do,' thought Ranma. He asks, "Are you sure you want to stick with that story?"
"Why?" she wondered.
"Because I thought P-chan wasn't the playful type," answered the boy.
"I guess you thought wrong," she snapped.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," he apologized.
"I know and I'm sorry for snapping at you, it's just that I have a lot on my mind right now," said the girl.
"The fight, right? Listen, don't worry so much you'll do fine. I have complete confidence in you," replied Ranma, standing up.
She gave him a warm smile and said, "Thanks."
"I hate to break up this lovefest," butted in Nabiki, standing at the door, "But we're going to be late."
Finishing her food and then slipping on her shoes, Akane joined them and headed out the door.
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There was a gentle breeze blowing through the schoolyard as the two girls faced off.
Shampoo's long purple hair danced in the wind while she spoke, "Didn't think violent tomboy would show."
With her skirt billowing in the air, Akane says, "I never back down from a challenge."
A large crowd of students gathered on a hillside nearby like they always did whenever Ranma would have a fight, except this time he was in along with the crowd.
"Place your bets! A thousand yen a piece!" called Nabiki, moving from person to person, making wagers on who would win.
"Ready?" asked the amazon, getting into her battle stance.
"I thought you'd never ask," replied her opponent, running towards her.
With a speed nearly matching Ranma's, Akane cocked back her fist. A face full of shock, Shampoo was barely able to sidestep the attack.
She says, "Got better I see," and backed away.
"A lot more than you realize," answered her opponent, charging forward again.
'Something's different. Akane may have gotten faster, but she wasn't nearly this fast last night,' thought the boy, watching the fight unfolded.
Akane tried another punch only to have her opponent duck down at the last instant and trip her up. Falling to the ground, she placed her extended hand out and did a one-handed handstand. She quickly took both feet and forcibly planted them, stood up and looked around for Shampoo.
The Chinese girl was behind her opponent and tried to surprise her with a Straight Right Punch. Sensing the attack, Akane countered with a mule-like kick, connecting with her opponent's mid-section. Backing away, the amazon clutched her stomach.
Turning around, Akane saw Shampoo go on the offensive with another punch. She ducked down to avoid the fist and capitalized by planting her elbow into her opponent's gut. She quickly combined the elbow with a rising Uppercut Kick to her rival's jaw, making Shampoo airborne.
'This is easier than I thought,' she said to herself as the amazon landed hard on the ground.
Shampoo was slow to get up. When Akane saw what her opponent was doing, it made no sense to her. Shampoo had tears flowing down her cheeks.
'Why is she crying?' wondered the girl.
The crowd noticed it too. People in the crowd began making assumptions, "Is she going to give up?" asked one of the students.
"Maybe Akane is too strong for this to be a fair fight?" said another student.
Ranma however was suspicious, 'Shampoo's better than that. She's up to something.'
"Hello, son-in-law," said Cologne, surprising the boy with her presence.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I came to watch the fight," she replied.
As if she was ignoring the murmuring crowd, Shampoo charged forward, cocking back her fist. The attack failed, because Akane ducked down again and countered with a Shoulder Spear to the amazon's stomach, hitting an already tender area, pushing her back. Falling to one knee, Shampoo started sobbing to go along with her continuously flowing tears.
"Maybe you should give up," said Akane, concern present in her voice.
"No!" shouted the amazon, "Shampoo rather die than give up husband!" and then she got back on her feet.
The boy turned towards the elderly woman and asks, "Spill it. Why is she acting so weak?"
"What makes you think it's an act? Maybe it's because she is weaker than her opponent," answered Cologne.
Running towards the Japanese girl, Shampoo tried to punch her again. Akane blocked it by grabbing the amazon's wrist, stopping it dead. Then using her free hand, Akane punched Shampoo in the kidney and released her hold on her rival's wrist. The amazon fell to her knees and began having a total breakdown.
"It's over, Shampoo. I don't want to hurt you anymore," said Akane, backing away.
"I no quit!" screamed her opponent, "Finish if have to!"
"It's painful isn't it? Watching a clearly one-sided fight?" asked the old hag.
A bolt of lightning goes off in the boy's head, 'That's it!' he says to himself.
"If you won't quit, Then I-" started Akane.
"Don't!" he shouts at the top of his lungs.
Turning her attention to the sidelines, the girl asks, "Don't what?"
"Don't forfeit because you don't want to hurt her anymore, that's what she is counting on. She wants you to quit so she can claim that she won the match and not you," explained the boy.
Looking back at Shampoo, she notices the amazon had stopped crying and was back to her feet.
"Is that true?" asked Akane.
"What you think? That plan until husband reveal it," replied her rival.
"Here I was feeling sorry for you," said the girl, anger rising.
"I no need your pity," snapped Shampoo.
"Was your challenge fake, or do you really want to fight me?" wondered Akane.
"At first it was, but after seeing how much better you fight, Shampoo want it to go on," answered the amazon, charging forward.
Jumping into the air, Shampoo tried a Flying Kick aimed at her enemy's face that her opponent blocked with a Crossblock.
"You'll have to do better than that," said Akane with a smug smile.
"How this?" responded the Chinese girl.
Shampoo's bent leg shot out and hit Akane where the neck meets the shoulder. She then springboarded off the girl's arms and landed facing her opponent.
Staggering back, Akane then rushed forward with a punch targeting her opponent's sternum. To avoid the attack, the amazon leaped high into the air. Her opponent stopped running and looked up as she reached the height of her jump. With both feet together, Shampoo was going to try and land on top of Akane.
"That won't work," said the girl, backing away.
Her opponent landed with both feet planted and in one fluid motion, Shampoo bent her knees and used the ground as a launching pad, sending herself at Akane with her fist extended. The amazon's punch connected with the girl's cheek, sending her backwards a few feet. Managing to stay on her feet, Akane put her hand on her cheek, feeling the spot the punch hit.
With anger continuing to rise, the girl rushed forward, aiming her next attack at Shampoo's head. The amazon lowered herself to the ground early and tried sweeping the girl's feet out from under her as she approached. Seeing the move coming, Akane hopped over the leg and redirected her punch. Shampoo quickly reversed the sweep, lifting her leg up and catching Akane behind the knee with it, forcing the girl to hit the back of her head with the ground.
Rolling over slowly, Akane began to get up. Shampoo stopped her with a Guillotine Kick to the back of her neck, putting her on the ground again.
"Stay down," said the amazon, turning and walking away.
Before she got far, Akane replied, "No," and began to get up again.
Shampoo hit the rising girl with a low Spinning Heel Kick to the neck, dropping Akane to the ground once more.
"No fair! Let her get up before you hit her!" yelled Ranma.
People in the crowd agreed with him, "Yeah! Let her up!"; "Make it a fair fight!"
"Have it your way, Shampoo wait," answered the purple-haired amazon.
Akane finally got back to her feet and saw Shampoo standing still. Reacting on instinct, the girl charged forward with another attempt. Before her attack reached, Shampoo jumped over her, twisting one hundred eighty degrees in the air. She extended both legs out and landed both heels into each side of her opponent's neck, pushing her enemy into the dirt. The Chinese girl used her hands to catch herself before she hit the ground.
Standing up, the amazon said, "Maybe Shampoo wrong, violent tomboy isn't better, just lucky."
She grabbed Akane by the hair, lifting her onto her knees. "I end your misery," said Shampoo, pulling her free hand back.
"I'll show you I have gotten better," replied her opponent.
Akane quickly twisted herself around in the other girl's grip until she was facing the amazon, pushed both hands forward and shouted, "Moko Takabisha!" aiming the attack at her opponent's mid-section.
The Fierce Tiger Shot sent Shampoo head over heels a few feet ending up face down.
"She did it!" exclaimed Ranma.
'This is bad,' thought Cologne, 'If she knows son-in-law's ki attack, Shampoo can't win this battle.'
Raising herself off the ground with her hands, she asked, "Where you learn that?"
"Ranma taught it to me," answered Akane, walking over to her opponent. "Do you give up?" wondered the girl, standing over the amazon.
"I said, I no give up and I meant it!" screamed Shampoo, getting back to her feet.
She immediately attacked with a Right Hook that her opponent leaned back to avoid. She then tried a Left Roundhouse Kick that was blocked. The Japanese girl countered with her own Right Punch to the stomach and Shampoo didn't bother to block or dodge the attack. Akane then combined it with her own Roundhouse Kick to the amazon's head, putting her on the ground.
"Give up?" asked the girl.
"No!" was Shampoo's response, rising off the ground with an Uppercut attempt.
She missed because her opponent leaned back again to avoid the punch. Akane then pushed her hands forward and said, "I'm sorry. Moko Takabisha!" hitting Shampoo with another Fierce Tiger Shot sending her reeling head over heels once more.
This time though the amazon wasn't getting up.
"Looks like I win," stated Akane, putting her hands down and falling to her knees.
Cologne walked over to her granddaughter and said, "You put up a good fight. There won't be any shame from this loss."
She then lifted her up onto her shoulders and dragged her back to the Nekohanten. The crowd started clapping, congratulating Akane for the spectacular battle. Ranma went over to her and helped her to her feet. She put one arm around him and used the boy as a crutch.
"I knew you could do it," he told her.
"I have you to thank," said the girl, "If you hadn't stopped me when you did, I would have looked like a fool for falling for her act."
The crowd of students began to disperse as the couple joined Nabiki at the entrance to the school after the older sister collected her winnings.
"Let's go home," says the boy.
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Nabiki continued walking home counting her take, while Ranma and Akane stopped by Dr. Tofu's clinic to get the girl examined. His conclusion was, although she was going to have a sore neck tomorrow, she was going to be fine. The doctor recommended she take a soothing bath tonight and try not to do any strenuous activities. He was glad to see the two teenagers were finally getting along. After resting for a little bit at the clinic, Akane was able to walk again unassisted. They said their goodbyes to the doctor and continued on their way home.
Walking down the street hand in hand with their fingers interlocked, Ranma says, "While I was watching you fight, something kept bugging me."
"Like what?" she asked, looking at him.
"It was about the way you were moving. You seemed to be moving faster than you were last night," he explained, keeping his gaze straight ahead.
"Last night was only training. I wasn't going all out because it was practice," replied the girl.
"Still, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel as though I've seen you at that speed before. I can't remember where though," said the boy, placing a finger on his cheek, trying to recollect on the thought.
"Could it be from the Prince's Challenge when I fought against you?" Akane wondered.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. But you were wearing a battle armor at that time," responded Ranma, looking into her eyes, "You're not wearing one now."
Sighing, she turns her gaze towards the ground and tells him, "You're half right."
"What do you mean?" he asked, bending his head low to look her in the face.
"You remember the package the Prince handed me before we left?" she replied.
"Yeah," he agreed, not liking where this was going.
"Well, in that package was a leather belt that was made from that armor. There was a note that came along with it. The note explained that the loyalty spell on it wouldn't work anymore, but the other spells did. The belt's the reason I won. I wore it because I was afraid I wouldn't have been able to beat Shampoo without it," she confessed, bring her eyes back up to his eye level.
"You cheated?" wondered the boy, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," she said, sheepishly bowing her head again.
"I won't tell anyone if you don't," he replied with a smile, returning his gaze forward.
"You're not mad?" asked Akane, sounding surprised, raising her head.
"More disappointed than angry. I had really thought you had gotten stronger on your own without any help," he answered, glancing at her from the side.
"Sorry," she apologized, bowing her head once more.
"Don't be," he pointed out, lifting her chin up with his free hand, "All that matters now is you won the fight, even if it was with some assistance and you know what that means."
"What's that?" she wondered, gazing into his eyes.
"I'm all yours," said Ranma giving her his cocky half-smile.
"Yeah and I plan on keeping it that way," she giggled, putting her head on his shoulder and leaning against him as they reached the Tendo residence.