Chapter Seventeen
"Excuse me, where am I?" Ryoga asked someone when he saw a crowd forming.
"This is St. Hebereke School. You here for the Gymnastics Tournament?"
"Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics or regular kind?" Ryoga added.
"The first. It's a match between this school and Furinkan High." The student answered. "You didn't know?"
"I just happened to be in the area and needed to get my bearing straight. Thanks." Ryoga said, letting the student go and he looked at the school briefly. 'Furinkan High huh? At least I know I'm in Nerima or at least close to it. Could Ranma be in there?' Right away he shook his head. 'Yeah right, Ranma having anything to do with gymnastics? Even that bad-tempered girlfriend of his couldn't make him come to something like this.'
With that he walked off, completely unaware of how wrong he was and unlikely to ever find out.
The audience was getting seated and the contestants were getting ready. Most of them were students of Furinkan or St. Hebereke, though a few were just fans of the sport.
In the changing room reserved for Furinkan, Shampoo and Akane were first inspecting the room of any traps Kodachi may have placed inside.
"Found something." Akane said from behind the privacy screen, holding a small camera that had been taped to the wood and positioned by a small hole in the screen itself. "She must have thought it would be fun to videotape you undressing and spread the footage around."
"No matter." Shampoo said before unbuttoning her silk blouse, revealing her green leotard underneath.
"Already prepared, smart thinking." Akane complimented. There was a knock at the door. "Let me get that."
Akane answered and saw one of the St. hebereke girls offering a bouquet of black roses. "Kodachi sends these. She does it every tournament as a way of saying good luck."
'Yeah, good luck to herself.' Akane snidely thought, but made a show of accepting the bouquet. Once the door closed she put them in the trashcan and tied the bag together in case there was a time-release gas bomb in it or something. Once she closed the lid the can actually jumped a bit like something inside it had burst, but no damage was shown.
"Yep, I'm really starting to dislike roses." Akane commented.
"Saotome? What are you doing here?" Kuno asked as he walked thru the bleachers to find a seat, only to spot Ranma in the audience.
"I was invited. Akane insists this is something I should see." He answered.
"You're not here to ogle my sister are you?" Kuno asked in a threatening tone, like he was certain that was exactly the case.
Ranma glared at the kendoist. "Would you ogle any of my relatives?"
"Of course not. Your family couldn't possibly have any women in it worthy of my attention." Kuno proclaimed, sounding very smug at the moment.
"I feel the same way about your family."
Kuno's eyes narrowed. "How dare you speak ill of my family."
"Kuno, believe it or not, not everyone is going to like you as much as you like yourself. And where do you get off insulting my family when I'm the only one you even know?" Ranma challenged.
Kuno scoffed as if it was an insult to be asked such a thing. "Surely you reflect your family and that's all I need to know."
"So you can judge an entire family by one member? If that's true then why is it you like Akane but hate Nabiki?" Ranma countered.
"Shut up." Kuno simply replied, then left before Ranma could say more.
"Wow, nice wordplay Ranma." Nabiki said as she came up from behind him and sat down next to him. "Never thought you could argue your way out of a fight without hitting someone."
Ranma shrugged. "Pops taught me more than just martial arts, though that was like 90% of all he taught me. One thing he taught me was sometimes you should argue your way out of a fight so you can conserve your strength for a more important one later."
"Guess even the mule knows he can't fight or run from every problem." Nabiki commented.
"What are you doing here by the way?" Ranma asked.
"Are you kidding? Akane has all but promised that Shampoo will win this match. Especially if she told Shampoo what all you originally did to do it. I'd be a fool not to set up a betting pool with the odds stacked in Kodachi's favor so when Shampoo wins I reap in more yen than I can carry home by myself." The mercenary answered.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "You are aware there's a chance Shampoo can lose right?"
"That's why my betting pool works." Nabiki stated. "The betters are aware that Kodachi is the more experienced and better known of the two contestants, while Shampoo's been practicing for less than a week. The odds of winning that I set up are entirely realistic. The gamblers have no problem at all betting on Kodachi, certain she's a sure thing because they believe Shampoo's chances of losing are greater than we know them to be. Not my fault they don't have a sister that's seen the future."
"But in her vision, I fought Kodachi here, not Shampoo. So that will affect the outcome." Ranma pointed out.
"Don't you have any faith in her?" Nabiki questioned.
"Yes, but this is Kodachi's element. Shampoo will do great, but not without effort."
The lights over the ring went on, silencing them both since they figured the fight was about to start.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Rhythmic Gymnastics match between St. Hebereke High School and Furinkan High School." A female announcer told everyone while standing on the stage, pausing to let everyone cheer for a moment. "Now, if we may have your attention please, I regret to inform you that due to the vast majority of Furinkan's team being unable to participate due to injuries, we will be unable to showcase all the performances we had originally intended to."
"Huh?" Ranma asked, not the only one confused.
"It's a tournament Ranma, that means they weren't supposed to have just one fight." Nabiki clarified. "Why have an entire team if only one of them is actually going to participate? Each member was supposed to have a turn until the entire side of both teams had gone then they'd tally up the total victories to see who won."
"Yeah I know how tournaments work. I was just surprised because Akane only told us about the one match. I must have forgotten more had been originally intended." Ranma noted.
"I think she did too since she never said anything about it." Nabiki commented.
"So instead of showing several battles, we will instead be showing a single one-on-one battle between the best both schools have to offer." The announcer continued, upsetting some fans who had hoped for more than just one short fight. "And to make up for the disappointment of this being the only match, this one match will be a no-holds bar, meaning anything goes as long as the basic rules are followed."
That settled most of the fans, thinking this added an element of unpredictability and therefore excitement back into the tournament.
"Now, allow me to introduce the contestants." The announcer continued. Suddenly a spotlight pointed at the door next to where the majority of the Furinkan supporters were seated. The light revealed two girls to the audience, easily recognized at Akane and Shampoo. Akane was being Shampoo's second in this and she was wearing a red long-sleeve shirt with blue pants. Shampoo was wearing her leaf green leotard, but to everyone's surprise her fox ears and tail were showing.
"What the hell?" Ranma and Nabiki said together, surprised Shampoo would let other people see her in her primary cursed form.
"Representing Furinkan High, the challenger Shampoo... no surname given, and assisting her, Akane Tendo."
The audience sure had their eyes on the Chinese girl as she walked to the stage, both her and Akane looking strangely calm.
"Wow, nice costume." One boy said.
"Yeah, you'd almost swear it was real."
"Must be one of those movie prop things they sometimes sell to people."
Ranma and Nabiki looked at each other. "They really think she's just wearing fake animal parts?" Ranma asked.
"Looks that way." Nabiki replied. "But why would she do this?"
"I think I get it now. When I sparred with her before her movements and balance always seem to be a bit sharper when she was like this. She must be using this form to give her a better chance at fighting Kodachi on even terms." Ranma theorized.
Shampoo climbed into the ring while akane stayed out. The announcer quickly approached her. "You sure you want to be wearing that?" Like the audience she assumed this was some sort of gimmicky costume.
"Too late change now." Shampoo answered.
"Alright, but do you have a surname to provide? It's not a good idea to not give that here."
Shampoo smirked. "Saotome. Shampoo Saotome."
Akane heard this and frowned. 'Dammit, how dare she call herself Saotome before I get the chance to? Now everyone's going to think she's closer to marrying him than I am.'
"Alright then." The announcer said before returning to the center of the ring. A spotlight went off and revealed Kodachi by another doorway. "Representing St. Hebereke, the undefeated Kodachi 'the Black Rose' Kuno, with no assistant it appears."
Rather than enter the same way Shampoo did, as if she required a more dramatic entrance, Kodachi actually descended from the ceiling on what looked like a swing, wearing a white dress that looked suspiciously like a wedding dress, complete with veil.
'What the hell is she thinking?' Akane asked herself.
Suddenly fireworks went off to compliment Kodachi's appearance. Shampoo had to cover her fox ears and ignore her animal instinct to run from the sudden commotion.
"Who the heck approved of fireworks indoors?" Akane yelled, but no one could hear her.
One of the fireworks turn a wrong turn and headed right for Shampoo like a missile; likely it was if Kodachi had anything to do with this display. Shampoo this time did respond to her instincts and got out of the way, running to the other side of the ring just as the firework missile exploded where she had been standing.
"However did that bomb get in there?" Kodachi nonchalantly asked when she finally landed in the center of the ring. "I do hope you're not wounded."
Akane went right up to the announcer. "There is no effing way that could be legal! Explosives before the match? Kodachi should be disqualified for trying to kill Shampoo!"
"I understand your concern, but there's no way to truly connect that to Kodachi." The announcer said.
"Bull! I know for a fact no one from Furinkan set up those fireworks or managed them. That means it had to be someone from this school, which means this school should forfeit the match for endangering the lives of the contestants and the audience. What if that bomb had missed the ring and hit the stands? You really think you wouldn't be forced to take responsibility then?"
The announcer looked nervous and sweated a bit, but remained adamant. "I'm sorry, but the match will continue. Please return to your station."
Akane glared with an amount of anger only Kuno or Ranma in her dream had seen before. "Fine, but now I'm completely certain you're in on this. If I see you refusing to call a fair game..." Akane held her fist out. "You will regret it." Akane got up and walked off, but not before sending Kodachi a look with murder in her eyes.
Kodachi just looked amused while holding a black rose in her mouth. Then she removed the dress all at once and threw it overhead, revealing her leotard. She then looked at Shampoo with a similar expression but this time she had a hint of smugness to it, like she could taste victory instead of her rose.
Shampoo just growled like a fox and resumed her original location, grateful the ring or mat didn't take much damage. But she was still wary in case there was hidden structural damage.
"You make a fool of yourself dressed in such an outfit." Kodachi calmly taunted. "Trying to give yourself some appeal to the audience by appealing to their otaku sides? Or are you one of those people with animal costume fetishes I've heard about?"
Shampoo smirked instead of looked bothered, for she was no stranger to pre-battle trashtalk. In a village where women were expected to fight such a thing was practically mandatory. "You just jealous because Shampoo already have man. You so lonely you dress in fake wedding dress to feel wanted. Shampoo already have man, no need pretend be bride like you."
Kodachi frowned a bit. 'The real reason I wore this was to make her look boring and pale compared to me, the more elegant and lovely of the two. Her costume slightly negates that and if she has a man in her life she won't feel insecure regarding her love life now. My only hope to gain the self-esteem advantage here now is to prove how inferior her skills are compared to mine. But that has to be saved for the battle itself.'
"Contestants, to the center of the ring." The announcer stated, forcing the two girls to come closer together. "Shake hands."
A gleam in her eyes, Kodachi extended her hand. Remembering the last time this happened, Shampoo looked at the hand before reaching for it. Knowing the professional courtesy prevented her from refusing without losing face with the audience, Shampoo was aware she could only delay so long, but at least she saw no tacks. As she extended her own hand, a scent caught her nose.
"What this?" Shampoo asked then grabbed Kodachi's wrist, bringing her hand closer to her face so she could sniff it.
"Hey what are you doing?" Kodachi asked, trying to take her hand back.
Shampoo held it to the announcer. "Smell hand, there something on it. No perfume or lotion neither."
Unable to refuse, the announcer sniffed Kodachi's palm. "Indeed, there is something on your hand."
Kodachi now managed to retrieve her hand. "Just some balm I used to relieve dry skin. I didn't want my grip to be compromised."
Shampoo made another grab and made a tug at her wrist, revealing Kodachi was wearing a thin plastic glove that hadn't been visible before. "Then why wear glove? Balm meant to be on skin, not plastic."
"Is there a reason for the glove?" The announcer asked Kodachi.
"I don't know how that got there." Kodachi weakly claimed.
"You not know how glove got on own hand?" Shampoo asked with much disbelief.
"Okay, that's it." Akane said before marching back to the announcer and taking the microphone from her, much to the announcer's protest. "Everyone Kodachi Kuno here has been cheating." Kodachi made an effort to silence Akane but the Tendo stepped away while Shampoo stood before Kodachi to block her. "She ambushed and brutally beat up the gymnast team from Furinkan, she assaulted me in my own home with intent to keep me from providing any help, she tried to injury Shampoo and even poison her with some kind of gas hidden in a bouquet. Now she tries using explosives and getting a chemical of some sort on Shampoo's hand, a chemical that Kodachi clearly does not want touching her own skin. Judges how can you permit this match to continue with all this going on?"
One of the judges stood up and grabbed their own microphone. "Do you have any proof of these claims?"
"Yes." Akane said with a nod. "Ask the disqualified members of Furinkan's team exactly why they were unable to participate. Check into who set up those fireworks in the first place. And even get someone to analyze the substance on Kodachi's glove. And if that's still not enough, get a chemist to look at a bouquet given to Shampoo from Kodachi that is currently in the changing room trashcan. I'm sure you'll see that all the evidence can be linked to Kodachi."
"Even so-"
"Unless you and the others have a reason for ignoring what I'm saying." Akane interjected. "I'd hate to think you all were bribed into giving Kodachi extra leeway in this."
That got the result she wanted. Now the judges couldn't refuse a look into the evidence without incriminating themselves. And with the audience now discussing the claims and possible implications, the reputation of St. Hebereke would be tarnished forever as a school of cheaters.
'With Kuno's spending habit and Kodachi's refusal to acknowledge defeat I wouldn't be the least bit surprised that bribes took place here.' Akane thought, enjoying watching Kodachi sweat right then.
The judges were forced to talk among themselves, then the one seated in the center stood up and spoke into the microphone. "Everyone, the match will be put on hold for an hour. Upon which the results of our findings will be revealed and will determine the eligibility for this match to continue."
The audience groaned, not wanting to wait, but saw they had no choice. Nabiki was a bit upset too. 'This could jeopardize my entire betting pool today. Damn, another time I can't make money off a fight. Akane, you better make this up to me with a guaranteed win next time.'
That night Shampoo in human form was working in the Kitsunehanten with a smile on her face.
"So how did the match go?" Cologne asked.
"Strange but not bad." Shampoo answered. "Like Akane predict, enemy girl try many bad trick to get Shampoo out of fight before fight start. Too many trick, got caught. Akane point out and force judges to do something about it."
"So what did they did?"
Shampoo kept her grin as she put away the unused ingredients, but a gleam was in her eyes. "People who run tests found sleeping gas, too too much gunpowder in fireworks made by enemy school engineers, and balm that affect nerves in Shampoo hand if got on skin. Shampoo barely able to hold weapon if touch."
"And the Kuno girl honestly thought she could get away with this?" Cologne asked.
Shampoo nodded. "If Akane no make case she might have. Akane force judge to act, judge no try act before. People accuse judge of taking bribes from rose girl. To save face judge vote rose girl disqualified. Victory go to Shampoo."
"Victory by disqualification." Cologne said to herself. "Not the most honorable victory there is but considering the opponent quite possibly the most humiliating. Someone who so apparently relishes in victory by disqualification should experience defeat by disqualification as well."
Shampoo nodded.
The bell rang, indicating someone had walked in. The restaurant wasn't closed yet but close too, and there were no more customers left so they could manage one more if they didn't stay long.
Shampoo walked to the entry room. "Welcome to-" She halted when she saw who it was. "You?"
"No one makes a fool of Kodachi Kuno like that. No one. Especially not some costumed bimbo." Kodachi said with venom in her voice and several weapons in her hands. It was very clear what she was here for, to finish what she had started.