CHAPTER 11
-"LET'S EAT AT THE "REAL BOUT"! WHERE YOU'LL GET SERVICE WITH A SMILE…AND A KICK…AND A PUNCH…"-
Last time:
Well, Erick had the RED CATS install the surveillance cameras all over Nerima. In order to learn about Ranma and Ran's fighting techniques, Erick sends Slashman and Cutman to fight them! Both robots get whupped by Ranma's Hiryuu Shoten Ha and are sent flying! They land in the Masaki residence and meet the girls from Tenchi Muyo… and get whupped again, this time by Ryoko and Ayeka! Thanks to Erick's latest plan, M. Bison and his Shadowloo are now involved in the RED CAT GANG's quest to get the Phoenix Stone! Ryoga's hopes of Akane's being his girlfriend are shattered by… Akane! He and Ranma fight in an intense battle, nearly endangering a group of kindergartners and their teacher, ending up with Ranma badly hurt, and Ryoga getting roasted by Ran's "Heat Trigger DX" super special attack! Then, M. Bison sends Vega to fight Ranma, and he too, gets beaten by Ranma's Mouko Takabisha and sent flying! (Gee, sounds familiar?) He lands in the hot springs at the Hinata Inn and gets beaten by up by the girls of Love Hina… Finally, we learn about Erick's tragic past. Oh, and R meets Kodachi Kuno, "The Black Rose" for the first time! Methinks I see a possible romantic couple, perhaps? Hmmm…. NAAAH! Then again…
The author appears! He seems angry with the narrator!
"Hey, you stupid narrator!" he says insultingly. "Finish the summary already! You're holding up the next chapter!"
Oh, right, sorry! Anyway, it's on to chapter 11 which is a smashing scene with some lovely acting in which THE MCD fights R for the first time, and which Erick meets his old friend and rival Michael Angelus! OH! And I think R and Kodachi might get together…
The author pulls out a large mallet and whacks the narrator over the head with it!
WHUNK!!
OOOF!!
The narrator falls over, unconscious!
The author, having taken out the narrator, says, "Geez! That guy talks too much! Hey, Erick, when the narrator wakes up, tell him he's fired, OK? Thanks, dude!" To the readers he says, "And now, on with the story!"
We see the RED CAT GANG's High Priest Erick Genryusai in his secret lair. He is watching a video replay of Ranma Saotome & Ran Hayami's fight with Slashman and Cutman in his crystal ball. He'd just finished watching the part where Slashman and Cutman were beat up by those strange girls.
Erick laughs, "OH! That was too funny! Let's play that one again!" He pulls out a remote control and rewinds the video to where Slashman and Cutman walk in on those girls…
--BEGIN REPLAY--
When they open the door, they saw 3 females naked with towels on their hands going inside…when the females saw them everyone was quite for a couple of seconds when one of them, a short girl with blue hair with 2 long ponytails (Sasami) runs away and yells…-" HELP, TENCHI! THERE'S TWO PERVERTS INSIDE THE HOUSE…!!"-:
Cutman:"-(blinks-looks everywhere)- Perverts? Where? I don't see anyone!"
Slashman:" I think they mean 'us'!"
The girl with the cyan hair then starts charging a lot of energy and creates an energy sword in her hand. She was pissed:
Ryoko:"-(angry)- YOU PERVERTS! NOBODY SEES MY BEAUTIFUL BODY EXCEPT TENCHI! NOW I'M GONNA HAVE TO ELIMINATE YOU!"
Ayeka:" HOW DARE YOU COME INSIDE AND SEE US NAKED! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT…KAZIDAKE, AYAMA, COME FORWARD!"
Then 2 floating logs appear and stand with the girl, Slashman and Cutman were like…scared:
Cutman:"-(waving his arms)- No, wait! You got it all wrong! We just dropped from the sky, really!"
Slashman:"-(scared)- That's true, we never wanted to see you naked, any of you!"
Ryoko:" ARE YOU SAYING THAT I DON'T HAVE A GOOD BODY? THAT I'M UGLY…? THAT'S EVEN WORSE THEN BEFORE!!"
Then all the girls start to charge forward against Slashman and Cutman to beat them up…
Cutman:"-(whimpering)- Mommy..!"
--END REPLAY--
Erick is rolling around on the floor, laughing at Slashman and Cutman getting beat up by a bunch of girls! "I knew those two were pathetic, but THIS? HA HA! It's too hilarious! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!"
Erick pounds his fists on the floor during his fit of laughter when he hears a knock at the door. "Come in!"
Bass walks through the door. "Hey, Erick! Dr. Wily and the Big Cat are expecting us, and…" He sees Erick rolling on the floor laughing, and the video. "Are you still tripping out over that? We just suffered a humiliating defeat back there! Sure, Slashman and Cutman getting beat up was funny, but it's not THAT funny!"
Erick stops laughing as he gets up from the floor. "Defeat? No, it's quite the opposite, Bass. A defeat learned from is more important than an empty victory."
Bass is confused. "Uhh…. and that means….?
"It means that my plan worked. If Slashman and Cutman had defeated Ranma and Lady Ran, we wouldn't have gained knowledge of their special techniques."
Bass understands what Erick is saying. "Ah, I get it! "Their loss is our gain!" Right?"
Erick is surprised. Maybe Bass isn't as dumb as he looks. "Why….yes, that's right, Bass."
Now Bass takes the opportunity to question Erick about something that's bugging him lately. "By the way, Erick, why'd you have Delia go bug "Dog-Boy" about the Phoenix Stone? He blew his chance to get it back for Dr. Wily and the Big Cat; it's MY job now! You'd better not be trying to cheat me out of my kingdom!"
Erick realizes he almost got busted. "ACK! NO! NO! I told you, Bass, I'm on your side! As for Delia's calling Lord R, she only did it to put pressure on him to carry out his mission, that's all!" Erick calms down. "Say, why don't you go on back to Dr. Wily and the Cat Ghost King? I'll join you in a few minutes.
"Sure thing, Erick! Bass laughs. "I bet you're glad I'm not a king yet! If I were, you'd be in BIG trouble for what you just did! HA! HA! See you later!
And so, Bass leaves Erick's lair.
Upset, Erick grits his teeth. "Grrr….!"
Then Delia steps out of the shadows. "That was a close one."
"Yes, too close."
"But what about Bass? He actually believes that the Cat Ghost King will give him a kingdom to rule!"
Erick is serious. "Delia-chan, I will do WHATEVER it takes to achieve my goals, even if it means serving as Bass' royal advisor. But don't worry about Bass; it's just like I said, "Fools only see what they want to see, blind are they by their ambitions, easy to command."-
Delia's still concerned, mostly for Erick. "…………Erick?"
"Heh, heh, heh. Bass, Dr. Wily, the Cat Ghost King, Ranma Saotome, Lady Ran, Lord R, and yes, even Michael Angelus…. they're all pawns in my little game. They just don't know it. There are so many possibilities, my darling, but the outcome will be the same – WE will win, and THEY will lose! Now, let's go. The Cat Ghost King and Dr. Wily are expecting us."
And so Erick and Delia head for the Cat Ghost King's secret chamber.
It is nighttime in the city of Tokyo. We see THE MCD standing out on the rooftop of a tall office building overlooking the city. If YOU were an angel, then why walk when you can fly, right? Anyway, he's standing on the rooftop, and he seems to be looking around, searching for something, or someone. He's thinking about something…
THE MCDthinks: It's quiet… Too quiet. The Cat Ghost King must be planning something big. But what? Except for those two robots flying through the sky, nothing's happened yet. But that massive tornado of chi – that was DEFINITELY the Hiryu Shoten Ha! I've seen only one person so far use that move, and it was during that 2000 Anything-Goes Martial Arts Tournament. And I've heard that he's fought the Cat Ghost King and even beat him too! A person like that would be a great ally! I must find him, 'cause when the time comes, I'm gonna need his help in order to defeat the Cat Ghost King once and for all! He thinks of Ran Hayami and R. And there are still those two young people who need my help. I can feel them, and they're very near. In fact, I'll be meeting one of them very soon. So I'd better get ready when he comes…
THE MCD hears his stomach rumbling!
Aloud, he says, "Man, am I hungry! Maybe I'll grab a burger. Nah, how's about some chicken teriyaki, fried rice, and House Lo Mein! Or maybe even a spicy Mongolian barbecue!" He gets an idea, and thinks: Hey, that's it! From what I've learned since coming here to Japan, a lot of martial artists pass through this city on their way to tournaments. I'll build something they'll like, and that everybody can enjoy too! And it'll be the perfect way to meet 'him'! If I build it, they'll come!
THE MCD transforms into Michael Angelus and flies off to find the nearest Chinese restaurant. On the way, he already starts making plans and preparations for the arrival of his special guest.
Three weeks later…
Crowds of people are gathered in a parking lot in front of a large building. It is a restaurant. We can see a large sign, written in both English and Japanese, that says "THE MCD's REAL BOUT Martial Arts Bar & Grill". Underneath that sign is another one that says "GRAND OPENING!!"
As we look around the lot, we can see people over at a table trying free samples of dishes on the restaurant's menu, which among other things includes grilled chicken, steak, teriyaki, fried noodles, house lo mein (the owner's favorite), Mongolian barbecue (also, a favorite of the owner's), and even buffalo wings (the hotter, the better!) There's even okonomiyaki, too!
On the other side of the lot was a car show. Some of Japan's top tuners were invited to the REAL BOUT to show off their latest creations. We can see cool tuner cars like VeilSide's R34 Skyline Street Drag car, SIGNAL Auto's "Drifter X" 180SX, JUN's Akira Supra, and the TOP SECRET GT-300 Supra. There were even a few cars from the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC); the Pennzoil NISMO GT-R, the Calsonic Skyline, the Castrol TOM's Supra, and best of all, the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) NSX! AUTHOR's NOTE: If you don't know these cars from Gran Turismo 3, go slap yourself!
Among the people there was Ukyo Kuonji, owner of her own restaurant, Ucchan's (and one of Ranma's fiancées!). When she heard about the REAL BOUT's grand opening, she came (with her battle spatula in hand, of course!) to check it out. As she tries to study the scene, while munching on an okonomiyaki, she spotted R at the free samples table:
Ukyo thinks R is Ranma at first: Hey, it's Ran-chan! She walks over to get a better look at him, and realizes… No, it's not him, but he sure does look like him.
That was the moment R turned around, with a small plate of buffalo wings, served with celery sticks and a little ranch dressing on the side. He sees Ukyo, and recognizes her immediately. Thanks to Erick's cameras being placed all over Nerima, Dr. Wily was able to provide R with the latest information about Ranma Saotome. Just recently, Wily sent him information about Ranma's friends along with pictures. R walks over to her.
Ukyo thinks: Oh! He saw me! Did he know I was watching him?
R smiles and introduces himself. "Hi, I'm R. You must be Ukyo Kuonji. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Ukyo's surprised. "How…how did you know my name?"
"Well, I, uh…I've seen you at school, so…"
"R, huh?…. Hmm…that name does sound familiar…. Wait a minute!" THEN, she pulls out her battle spatula. "Aren't you the guy who's trying to kill Ran-chan?"
"Ran-chan? Oh, you must mean Ranma Saotome! He's told you about me? How nice of him!"
"Whatever. Why are you after Ran-chan, huh? You'd better tell me, or I'll…"
"Oh no, no! Clearly there's some kind of misunderstanding here, and…" R points to something, anthying, anyone, or anywhere and says, "HEY, LOOK OVER THERE!"
"Huh?" She looks away, then turns around and sees that R's gone! "Hey! He's gone! Where'd he go?" She calms down. "OK, calm down, Ukyo. No problem. It can't be too hard to find a boy with Inuyasha-like hair in a crowd of normal people... Can it?"
Ukyo looks around the crowd of people and sweatdrops. "Aw, man! There are too many people here! He could be long gone by now!" She thinks: Still, there was something about him that gave me the creeps. And why's he after Ran-chan?
Meanwhile, R has gone over to another part of the parking lot, blending into the crowd, in order to get as far away from Ukyo as possible. He thinks: Whew…"Saotome Secret Technique". Who would have thought that such a cowardly move would actually work? Oh, well… That Ukyo girl almost exposed me in front of all those people! But she knows Ranma… that'll come in handy. He realizes something. "Oh! It's time for them to cut the ribbon!"
R and the crowd make their way to the front doors of the REAL BOUT. The crowd waits there patiently. An official looking man steps in front of the crowd. He is apparently, the announcer. "Hello everyone! Welcome to the grand opening of THE MCD's REAL BOUT Martial Arts Bar & Grill. I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves so far, with all the free samples of our menu and these awesome cars! Let's give a round of applause to all the tuners who came out today: VeilSide, SIGNAL Auto, JUN, and TOP SECRET."
The crowd applauds.
The Announcer continues, "Oh, and a special round of applause for the Autobacs Seven Company and the GT Association for bringing out those fine rides from the JGTC!"
More applause.
Now he's worked the crowd, the Announcer decides to wrap it up and introduce the man of the hour. "OK! And now a man who really needs no introduction... Here he is, seven-time world martial arts champion and owner of the REAL BOUT! Let's give it up for THE M…C…D…!!"
The crowd goes wild with cheers and applause as THE MCD appears in front of them. He is wearing a bright purple suit, his usual black T-shirt, and his cross necklace. R, on the other hand, is in awe by the aura this ordinary-looking man is generating. R thinks: What a powerful aura! No doubt about it – this guy's a martial artist! But just looking at him, you wouldn't think he is. No regular person could generate such power! I wonder what it would be like to fight him?
Little does R know that he WILL get a chance to fight that guy. For at that moment, THE MCD looks over in R's direction, to notice R staring back at him in awe from the crowd. THE MCD turns to one of his employees and whispers, "It's him."
The employee is confused. "Him? Who?"
"Never mind. Look, I'll go ahead and cut the ribbon. Go and make sure everything's ready."
"Right, D," the employee says, and leaves to make the final preparations.
THE MCD turns to the audience. He greets everyone. "Yo! I'm THE MCD! But you can just call me D. And welcome! And now …" He takes out a huge pair of scissors. "I declare the REAL BOUT Martial Arts Bar & Grill officially OPEN!" He cuts the ribbon, and the crowd applauds. "Thank you! Thank you! I hope you all enjoyed the free samples of our menu. Let's give my chef and his crew a round of applause, everybody."
THE MCD pauses while everyone claps. He goes on to say, "And now, if you all will come with me inside, the real fun will start very soon! I'm sure all the martial artists in the crowd and those who think they can fight will be interested in what my REAL BOUT has to offer."
And so everyone goes inside the restaurant. The first thing they notice is a large eight-sided, octagon-shaped area in the middle of the dining hall. This explains why the REAL BOUT is so huge. The restaurant has its own indoor arena for fights!
A few minutes later, THE MCD reappears wearing a long purple robe, like the kind boxers wear when they enter the arena. A hanging microphone comes down from the ceiling as THE MCD steps into the octagon. He takes the mike and begins to speak. "I am so glad that all of you have come out to celebrate the grand opening of the REAL BOUT.
"YEAH!!" Everybody cheers.
THE MCD continues, "Anyway... I have a surprise for you all! One of you will get to eat for free here at this restaurant for an entire month! That's right, FREE! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, even dessert, it doesn't matter! All you have to do is…. beat ME in combat!!"
"WHAT!"
One person in crowd stands up saying, "Hey! That's crazy!"
Another person says, "Yeah! We wouldn't stand a chance against you!"
THE MCD philosophically comments, "Those who we would call crazy are actually sane. It's the rest of the world that's gone nuts. Look, I know for a fact that there are martial artists out there in the audience! So come on! Show me what you've got! Plus, there's free food in it for you if you win! What do you think of that?"
Then Dan stands up in the crowd of people. "YAHOO!! Free food for a month? OK, I'll take you on!"
"Hey, sit down, idiot!"
Dan turns to look at who's talking to him. It's R. "WHAT? You again?"
R has a look of mock surprise on his face as he regards his wannabe rival. "Well, well, we meet again, pervert! You're not actually planning on fighting him, are you?"
"Of course I am! I'll win those free meals! SAIKYO-RYU WILL PREVAIL!!"
R reasons with Dan, which is like talking to a brick wall. "Don't be stupid. That guy's a real fighter. He'll kick your butt real good, and he'll do it without breaking a sweat!
The aforementioned brick-wall reacts. "OH YEAH! I'LL SHOW HIM!"
Just then, the boxer Balrog walks by. "Out of the way, ya runt!" he grunts, pushing Dan out of the way as he steps into the ring.
"HEY!" Dan objects.
"Eyes forward, pervert! The fight's about to start!" R says insultingly.
Then Balrog steps into the ring with THE MCD. "MCD! I challenge you!"
THE MCD thinks: A boxer? Wait, I think know this one! He works for M. Bison! He's got a lot of nerve showing up here. Looks like I'll have to show this Shadowloo flunky the door myself. Aloud, to Balro, he says, "I'm sorry, but we don't serve Shadowloo lowlifes here!"
"WHAT? How did you know I work for Shadowloo?!"
"Doesn't matter. Now come here, boxer-man, and get your beating!" THE MCD throws off his robe revealing his battle outfit, a white, sleeveless Chinese shirt with gold trim and matching Kung Fu pants. He quickly assumes a fighting stance.
"WHY YOU…! EAT THIS! GIGATON BLOW!" And Balrog charges at THE MCD with his super powerful punch! But THE MCD catches the punch, grabs Balrog, and tosses him into the ropes surrounding the ring. Balrog bounces off the ropes and back toward his opponent. THE MCD grabs him again, smacks him around a few times, and then tosses him out the ring and through the front door!
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! OOOF!" Balrog lands HARD on the street – he's out cold!
All this, in less than a minute! The crowd cheers! Dan's jaw drops.
Dan barely gasps, "Did you see that! That guy's way too strong!"
R says uninterestedly, "Yeah, I saw it, but I'm not impressed." Thinking to himself, he critiques THE MCD's performance in the ring: What a casual observer like that pervert Dan sees and judges as a quick finish, a true martial artist like ME sees every detail. THE MCD may be strong, but he's fast too. I noticed him hitting Balrog in the gut with a low blow, stunning that dopey boxer. Then, THE MCD grabs Balrog, and tosses him into the ropes. Using the recoil of the ropes, and the speed of the toss, Balrog is bounced off the ropes and back toward THE MCD. With no chance to recover, Balrog has no choice but to be overcome by THE MCD's blindingly fast fists! That last throw was just an opportunity for THE MCD to show off. But I guess he can afford to, 'cause his opponent's a joke anyway. There's no doubt about it; THIS guy's good.
THE MCD says loudly to the audience, but really to R, "If you thought that was good, you should see me when I really fight seriously! Who's next? Don't worry! I won't hurt you – much!"
Needless to say, all those who were fighters or who thought they could fight stood up and challenged THE MCD except for R and Dan. And THE MCD, using only his speed, beat EVERY single challenger that came against him.
After beating another opponent, THE MCD pleads, "C'mon already! Is that all you've got? Please let me fight a REAL opponent for a change! OK, that's it! The next challenger who comes up here and can defeat me will eat for free here at this restaurant for a YEAR!!"
Everyone in the restaurant gasps! THE MCD has just raised the prize at stake! Of the fighters who came to the REAL BOUT, only R and Dan were left. The rest of the people there (including Ukyo) were spectators. R is cool and calm; Dan, on the other hand, is freaking out!
R decides to taunt Dan. "So, pervert, still think you can take him?"
Dan responds, "NO WAY! That MCD's way out of my league! I'm outta here! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"
But before Dan can flee, R grabs him by the collar of his gi! "Aw, c'mon! Don't tell me you're afraid of HIM! What happened to all that stuff you said about "Saikyo-ryu will prevail"?"
"But…but…!!"
"So get in that ring and show THE MCD your fists of fury!"
Dan whines, "BUT I DON'T WANNA!!"
"GRR…! NO BUTS! GET IN THERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN, YOU LITTLE WHINY-BOY PERVERT!" R yells to THE MCD, "Hey, MCD! Here's another practice dummy for you!" With that, R tosses Dan into the ring!
Dan lands painfully on his butt. "OOF! OW!"
THE MCD turns to look at his next opponent, and recognizes him…
"Hey, I know you! You're Dan Hibiki, founder of Saikyo-ryu, right? I read your book, man, and I thought it was pretty good."
Dan gasps in surprise, "You've read my book? And YOU liked it? Coming from a world-champion fighter like you, that's a compliment!" Dan gets teary-eyed. "At long last, I'm finally getting some respect around here!" He starts crying Soun-like tears. "BOO HOO HOO!!"
THE MCD sweatdrops at this, a little embarrassed. "Hey, hey! Don't get carried away! I liked your book, but I didn't like it THAT much! Besides, I found the part about you and Mai Shiranui a bit hard to swallow. Did you REALLY get to touch Mai's…."
Dan starts sweatin. "Uhh…well...um…"
"Well?" THE MCD says, looking Dan right in the eye.
Dan breaks down and confesses, "OK, OK! I…I…did touch them."
The reaction of everybody in the REAL BOUT is unanimous. "WHAT?!"
R laughs, "HA! I knew it! He really is a pervert!"
Dan explains, "But…but… it was an accident! Really! When I wrote it in my book, I…I stretched the truth a little bit."
THE MCD, his voice becoming VERY serious in tone, concludes, "So, in other words…. you lied."
Looking like a naughty kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Dan admits, "Uhh…yeah."
Everyone in the crowd begins to wonder about Dan (no surprise there!). Cries of "Pervert!", "Creep!", and "Toad!" are yelled out randomly at Dan. R just laughs at Dan's humiliation. THE MCD, however, is furious!
"SIR, HOW DARE YOU!" He composes himself for a moment. "OK, the part where you lied, I can forgive, but THIS! GRRR….!!" He finally calms down and says, "When I come from, women are treated with RESPECT!"
A random woman in the crowd yells, "You tell'em, MCD!"
The other girls out in the audience cheer, "YEAH!!"
THE MCD continues, with genuine sorrow in his voice, "But somewhere along the way, some guys lost all respect for girls. I know not all of us guys are like that, but sadly it's true. So when I hear that some beautiful girl is mistreated or groped by some foul, disgusting, evil pervert, it REALLY BURNS ME UP!" Now angry, he fires up his battle aura!
Dan cowers in fear from the awesome aura of righteousness and justice emanating from his opponent. "ACK! OH NO! NO! MCD, please! Don't misunderstand!"
THE MCD burns with righteous fury! "I'M NOT MISUNDERSTANDING ANYTHING! Dan Hibiki, I WAS going to let you leave this ring, because I saw you were tossed in here against your will..." He looks over to R. "…by SOMEONE who doesn't have the guts to face me himself!"
R winces at that remark! He thinks: Hey, is that guy challenging me? Normally, I'd accept his challenge, but I wanna see Dan get his butt kicked!! Then, I'll continue my mission to hunt down and kill Saotome!
THE MCD continues talking to Dan, "But now that I've seen what you really are, and for what you have done, I cannot allow you to leave here alive! And now, you must be punished!! SIR, I CHALLENGE YOU!! If you want to clear your good name, you must defeat me in life-or-death combat!!"
The crowd gasps! Even R is surprised!
Dan gulps, then composing himself, says, "Well, I guess I got no choice, huh? OK, I'll fight you, MCD. But I have a question for you."
THE MCD raises an eyebrow, never taking off his opponent. "What?
"If I win, can I still get those free meals for a year?"
Everybody facefaults! How can Dan think of food at a time like this?
THE MCD shakes his head in annoyance as he raises his hand in a "talk to the hand cuz the face ain't listening" gesture. "Fine. Whatever. But only if you win! NOW FIGHT!!"
And so THE MCD and Dan fight.
Dan makes the first move, "OK! Here I go! GADOUKEN!" He tosses a fireball at THE MCD. It doesn't go anywhere.
R finds THAT first attack rather irritating. "Geez! Not with the lame attacks again!" He yells at Dan, "Hey, don't you have any REAL moves?"
Dan yells back at R, "Shut up! That's twice you've humiliated me! If I get out of this alive, you're next! OOF!" Dan just got hit by a punch from THE MCD. He falls down hard!
THE MCD scolds Dan. "You should have been watching me instead of yelling at him! Focus on the battle!!"
The fight continues, but this time, Dan is playing it safe. He uses his Backward Rolling Taunt to put some distance between him and THE MCD. THE MCD is trying to hit Dan with a relentless assault of punches and kicks. Then Dan does something unusual… "Hey, MCD! Catch! PREMIUM SIGN!" He tosses an autographed picture of himself at THE MCD.
THE MCD, predictably, catches it. "HUH? What's up with this?"
Dan grins with excitement; he thinks he's got this fight in the bag. Victory would soon be his! "You fell for it! KORYUREKKA!!
While THE MCD is distracted, Dan uses the opportunity to hit him with his Koryurekka super uppercut! THE MCD falls from the blow.
The crowd, obviously rooting for THE MCD, is shocked at Dan's tactics. They shout, "NO! NO WAY!"
R thinks: He did it…he actually hurt somebody with one of those lame moves! Maybe his being such a joke of a fighter is just an act. Could he really be a serious martial artist? NAH! But this fight just got interesting…
Dan continues to use his Backward Rolling Taunt (Kouten Chouhatsu) to stay out of THE MCD's reach; all the while yelling "YAHOO!" This annoys THE MCD, so he tries to use one of his own power moves!
"Will you stop THAT!? BEHOLD! A STORM OF A THOUSAND FISTS! HADOU SENRETSUKEN (Surging Thousand-Rending Fists)!!"
THE MCD stomps towards Dan and by thrusting his fists out VERY quickly, he sends out countless shock waves, smashing Dan with powerful punches. Most of the blows miss Dan, but he still gets tagged for quite a LOT of hits just as he finishes another Backward Rolling Taunt.
THE MCD stands over Dan, "Had enough?"
Dan's wounded by THE MCD's attack, but still able to move. "No! Won't…give..up! Won't be… called a pervert again! Must win…free food!"
Although badly beaten, Dan has a look of determination in his eyes. THE MCD notices this, and reconsiders his opinion of Dan. Perhaps he's not really a pervert after all. Dan Hibiki might not be the greatest fighter around, but he always tried to do his best in spite of any obstacle he faced. THE MCD respects that, and silently scolds himself; he'd acted like any human would have instead of fighting like his true self - the cool, calm, and skilled warrior Michael Angelus.
For Angelus, sometimes being human had its disadvantages.
But he had to finish this battle, for R (THE MCD's real opponent) was still out in the audience, watching to see what THE MCD would do. THE MCD knows that R's watching, so he decides…. not to continue attacking Dan! He simply steps away from Dan, closes his eyes, and stands very still.
This surprises the crowd. R, however, is upset. "HEY! WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE? FINISH HIM OFF ALREADY!! KILL THAT PERVERT!!"
THE MCD explains, "Because, "Death is not the only answer. There is always more than one way to defeat your opponent. And now, I will show you a better way!" Then, he speaks to Dan. "I commend you, Dan Hibiki of the Saikyo-ryu Dojo. Maybe you're not a pervert."
Dan can't believe this. "Why, you…!! THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU!!"
"Well, anyway... you have fought well. So there's no need to continue this life-or-death duel any further. However, I have another opponent to fight…" he says, looking over in R's direction. "…so I need to wrap this up. How about this? First person to land a single blow wins. OK?"
Dan asks, "If I win, will I still get that free food for a year?"
"Well, given the circumstances, this match doesn't count. So, no, you can't win the prize. NO free meals for a year for you.
"D'OH!"
"Dan! Think about it, man. What's more important – having your belly filled, or having your reputation and that of your dojo restored?"
Dan looks like he's about to cry as he thinks: D'OH! All that free food! GONE! He calms down. But if I win, at least he won't call me a pervert anymore. I certainly don't want "liar" to be added to the list of things I've been called either! And all these people here will think I'm a hero! That'll show that smart aleck Inuyasha clone R! I gotta make this one blow count! Aloud, he says to THE MCD, "One blow, huh? OK! HERE I COME!! HISSHOU BURAIKEN!!"
And Dan rushes up to THE MCD, about to perform his "Certain Victory Relying on Nobody But Myself Fist" super move. But THE MCD, using only a little bit of his strength, just stretches out his fist at the very last possible second…and knocks Dan out! Dan is lying flat on his back with little dizzy swirls in his eyes. The crowd goes wild with applause! R, on the other hand, is kinda disappointed…
R thinks: Aw, Dan. You were so close, and yet so far. Looks like you'll still be a pervert in the eyes of your fans, and I'll still get to make fun of you. But that MCD…he's strong, fast, and smart. He's got mad skills! If only I wasn't so busy with trying to kill Ranma Saotome, I'd fight with him instead!
Then, two waiters show up outside the ring. One talks to THE MCD while the other pulls out a first aid kit and tends to Dan's injuries. "Great fight, D. But what are you going to do about him?" the waiter says, pointing to the unconscious form of Dan.
"Like I said, he can't win the prize because that fight didn't count," THE MCD repeats. "But, he DID put up a fight, unlike these amateurs I've beaten today. Let it never be said that I don't do anything nice for anyone. Just give him a gift certificate and send him on his way. My real opponent is waiting for me. Or perhaps it's the other way around?" he says thoughtfully.
The waiter's confused by his boss' last statement. "HUH? Ooookay, whatever you say, D." He motions to the other waiter. They pick up Dan and carry him out of the ring.
THE MCD turns to the audience. "Sorry about that, folks. Don't worry about Dan; he'll be fine. And now, the show will go on! He hets serious, and motions for everyone to be quiet while he searches the building with his spiritual aura. It's really quiet, creating a lot of tension in the air. Then, THE MCD finally speaks… "Ladies and gentlemen, there is a young man in the audience who seeking a strong opponent. He's been hiding his true strength from me all this time. I, THE MCD, desire a match with this person. I ask that he come down and step into the ring right now. I will wait until he comes forth." It gets quiet again in the room; THE MCD speaks again to the audience, but he's really talking to R. "Are you afraid? Why do you wait? Why do you hide your true strength? You want to fight a strong opponent, don't you? You want to see what it's like to fight a TRUE warrior? Well, here is your chance. Today is your day! And here I am."
The audience begins to wonder and ask themselves, "Is it me?" R, on the other hand, is troubled by THE MCD's words. He knows the guy wants to fight him, but what for? R wanted to fight Ranma Saotome, not THE MCD. But THE MCD's challenge arouses R's hunger for battle. And it just so happened that R's stomach was growling. He's hungry, both to fight and for a bite to eat! He decides to go and see what THE MCD wants, but in his own particular style. He reaches into his jacket pocket, and pulls out one of his long-stemmed "White Rose Throwing Darts"….
Suddenly, THE MCD hears something flying toward him. With superhuman reflexes, he catches the flying object. It's a white rose, R's trademark. He looks out into the audience and sees R standing up. "MCD, I accept your challenge," R responds.
The crowd applauds as R walks up to the arena and steps into the ring with THE MCD. THE MCD is smiling. He seems really happy that R has finally come. He boldly walks over in R's direction.
THE MCD says while walking over, "Hey, what took you so long?" When he gets close to R, he speaks in a voice loud enough so no one but R can hear him. "Welcome, R. I've been expecting you."
R's shocked. "HUH?!"
TO BE CONTINUED…