Chapter 4: Challenge of War.

Stripping off her clothing, Ranma jumped into the shower and aimed the water nozzle at her head, sighing happily as the curse was deactivated and he regained the physical form of a man. A greater sense of strength filled him and he stretched his hands over his head, letting the hot water run down his back and shoulders. He had the urge to hum in the shower as the cold was banished from his body, but that would have been unmanly, so he refrained.

He was rather pleased with himself for handling the Kodachi situation as well as he had. Perhaps it was another sign of maturity. Still, he felt guilty about having had to hurt her. Kodachi was a gymnast and she'd had more than enough training and practice to deal with a low power ki attack. With his increased training, his eyes had seen everything. Thinking back more clearly now that shock had worn off, he had seen her body accept the attack and gone with its momentum rather than resist. That would surely limit the damage. For a girl who could leap across cars and buildings, a rebound off of a building as the attack lost strength would have been no big deal.

Ranma smiled. Kuno was right, Kodachi would be just fine. If it hurt her pride and she stayed away for a while, well, all the better!

After enjoying several moments under the water's soothing touch, he turned it off with a small measure of regret and toweled the water off of his body, eager to fill his stomach.

Sitting down to another day's fabulous breakfast, he ate more than his fair share, as was his custom. This time however, Soun let the matter slide, so great was his relief that his house had suffered no ill tide during the little Kuno fight. This was a huge departure from other situations in the past.

As her fiancé shoveled rice into his mouth Akane studied him with small glances. He had changed so much in some was over this last year, ever since he had decided to respond to the seemingly ordinary looking letter of challenge that had ended up in his foot locker one sunny April day. Like an exploding dam, a wave of other events had crashed into their lives, each testing the luckless household time and time again.

Their meeting with the German lord Damitri Von Wraith and his half-crazy warrior Zero had nearly ended up with everyone serving as sacrifices to cure a fatal disease that had befallen the lord's family line millenniums ago. Thanks to Ryoga's miracle intervention, the two cruel men and their guards, the Hand, had been defeated. But the ordeal itself had taken some time to heal from and that was time fate had seemed fit not to give them.

Motivated by this near death experience, Ranma and Akane had found the value of time and togetherness and had decided to marry, properly this time. The second wedding attempt had been ruined by the two Musk guards. The dojo and house had nearly burnt to the ground and once again everyone had been sent reeling.

Thankfully, Nabiki had provided the funds needed to restore the dojo back to its original glory and no one was more thankful than Soun himself, who's whole life revolved around it. Akane, who had trained in there from the day she started to walk had been moved to tears by her sister's unexpected generosity. Still, it wasn't enough to set things completely right. Nothing could make Happosai's death right.

There was still a hole in the family, a presence that needed to be there for the meals and conversations but was nowhere to be found. For all the problems he had caused, everyone missed the diminutive master.

Due to his death, Akane no longer dared to hope that the series of events plaguing them all would come to an end. The cold truth that things were far from over hit her particularly hard every time she recalled the failed wedding. Since that incident, she had spent even more time training than ever, working out her anger and frustration out the only way she knew how.

A month before, late in December, just after Christmas eve, another terrible event occurred, one that did not affect the Tendo household directly, but was still as unfortunate as it was unstoppable. A sudden attack by the Amazon tribe upon Nanjing, the capitol of the Musk Dynasty, had resulted in the start of a long siege and a declaration of war by both sides. Now reaching the one month point of the siege, the Musk war machine was finally on the verge of breaking free and liberating their capitol. The war was now in full swing, tearing across Musk and Amazon lines of battle alike. Which side would prove to be the victor was anyone's guess.

Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne had received written orders in the mail several days ago via the Amazon Council, demanding that they had to return home. They were leaving by boat in one week's time and were currently busy with selling the Nekohaunten. Everyone was sad with the trio's planned departure with the exception of Cologne who appeared to be too worried about the safety of her people to focus on much else. She spent the remaining time preparing herself to pick back up the roll of matriarch of the tribe. It would not be an easy task to take up during a time of war.

Of course, not everything was all doom and gloom. Ranma and Akane were now only a semester away from graduating. An evaluation of her grades thus far told Akane that she was well on her way towards earning her way into a good university. Somehow, Ranma was also squeaking by, though his dreams did not revolve around education, and never had. The fact that he was going to graduate at all had given Kasumi an idea for a small party that she was planning for the following week.

Akane continued to watch him. As she did so, she felt the faintest whisper of the vast power he had come to harness within his strong body. With each powerful opponent he had faced, his body grew stronger, adapting to defeat the threat. While painful as they had been, the wounds Ranma had received from Mint and Lime had been mere scratches compared to those given to him by Taro. He still bore scars from his past battles but all they did was attract her more as her eyes traveled across his toned form.

No doubt about it, she decided, he was becoming far more powerful and his mind was getting sharper.

She gazed at his toned muscles that bulged slightly under his red shirt and the faintest of blushes colored her cheeks. It had taken some time, but she had finally come to acknowledge her attraction to him. Since then, the two of them had started taking their relationship more seriously. Ranma was handsome, no doubt about it… she just wished

"What are ya' gawkin at Akane? Let's go or we're gonna' be late."

"Uh, right." Slightly embarrassed Akane rose from the table, ignoring the wolfish grin Nabiki tossed her way. Throwing on her jacket and mittens, she put on her scarf and used it to hide her burning cheeks.

As the two filed out the door, Mrs. Saotome handed them their lunches. "Have a wonderful day you three."

"See you later, Mom," Ranma called waving.

They left the warmth of the house and entered the embrace of the cold, crisp January morning. Inhaling deeply, Akane prayed for the young year to be calm and peaceful. We've earned that much, haven't we? Please, let this year be filled with joy and fun instead of pain and fear.

Fishing for his hand, Akane and Ranma walked down the road to school. A light snow began to fall, covering everything in soothing white with its cold caress.

"Ryoga? Come on sugar, it's time to get up." Ukyo said, bending over his bed.

Hearing the soft sweet voice of his girlfriend, Ryoga decided that there were many worse ways to be woken up by and opened his brown eyes. "Hi there," he whispered, squinting up at her.

"Hi yourself, eternal wanderer," she said, smiling slightly. She looked more than a little relieved to see him.

"How'd you know I was back?" he asked.

"I heard you go into the bathroom three times looking for your room last night. I should have known better than to let you go buy groceries down the street at the market by yourself, shouldn't I?"

"Hey, I was only gone three days this time," he said defensively, yawning loudly and rubbing the sleep form his eyes. "And besides, I did bring you all the groceries you put on that list."

Ukyo chuckled. "Thank goodness none of the items required refrigeration. Come on Lost Boy, up and at em'. I gotta' go to school soon. I'll go lay out the coffee making material while you shower. It's just started to snow again and I'm sure our customers will want something to warm them up." Smiling down at him, Ukyo stood up straight and walked downstairs. Her rich brown hair trailed behind her, held in place by her customary white bow.

"Ok." Rising from his bed in the room across the hall from Ukyo's, he stretched his joints and headed towards the bathroom to freshen up. His latest journey had taken him to Mt. Fuji and back. Without his backpack he had been forced to rough it in the wilds and sleep on the cold, snow packed ground. It was because of incidents like this that living in Ukyo's house was such a blessing. The feel of his warm bed was heaven and the heat that had welcomed him back into her home had been nothing but blissful.

I guess I'm really lucky that I didn't catch cold. Rested and completely thawed out, he stepped into the shower, prepared for another day's work. He showered quickly and threw on a pair of casual cooking clothes that somewhat resembled Ukyo's. Checking himself out in the mirror, he nodded in approval and went downstairs.

"Don't forget we're helping Shampoo pack up the cat café the day after tomorrow," she reminded him, putting on her shoes by the door.

"Wouldn't miss it," he replied.

"Have a good day Ryo-chan," she said, winking at him. "I'm off."

"Have a great day," he called back, waving to her as she walked out the door. Walking into the kitchen he began prepping for the day pausing only to turn on the T.V. from where it hung in the upper corner of the restaurant. He listened intently as his hands worked and, unsurprisingly, he found that most of the news concerned the war in China. Pausing, he leaned against the counter and watched for bits of information he'd missed over his three days of travel.

"Smoke and rubble have become familiar sights to the terror stricken Musk citizens trapped in the destroyed eastern and western suburbs of Nanjing," the on sight reporter yelled into the camera as explosions in the distance fought to drown him out. "The month long siege is definitely drawing to a close as Musk reinforcements fight their Amazon foes for every scrap of ground, pushing them back from the city's limits. Success is measured in yards as both lines of battle have ground to a halt. Units on both sides contest for every street corner and house and hand-to-hand fighting is commonplace. These suburbs have seen the brunt of the fighting and have been all but ripped apart by mortar and artillery bombardments.

"Determined Musk soldiers of the first and third corps fended off a strong Amazon counter-attack this morning, determined to keep the main city and Emperor Herb's palace safe from harm. While it is impossible to say how many for certain, casualties are mounting on both sides at an alarming rate and it is doubtful that the Musk hospitals will have enough medical supplies to last another week.

"As this crisis continues, it is impossible to tell if the United States and the U.N. will intervene. With the White House committed to rebuilding Afghanistan, it is uncertain as to whether peacekeeping troops will even be allowed into the region. While the Musk Dynasty and the Amazon lands are technically autonomous entities, China claims these lands as part of the larger country. More and more this war is looking to become a situation that can only be solved by the Chinese themselves-"

Switching off the T.V., Ryoga sighed and turned on the grill. He didn't like the idea of Shampoo and Mousse returning to China to participate in what was turning out to be a vast slaughter of lives on both sides. On the other hand, the fact that he was a warrior meant that he understood the commitment they were honor bound to uphold. Their traditions and sense of pride were as alien to him as the Japanese culture was to them. It wasn't his place to judge, all he could was support them as best he could. For better or for worse, everyone has their own path to follow and sometimes, that path has to be walked alone. Besides, Shampoo and Mousse were stout fighters; they would be fine.

Removing a variety of cooking items from the fridge, he twirled a spatula around his index finger. "Let's see what this New Year will bring in." Humming a tune, he set himself back into work mode, eagerly awaiting the first customers.

Kodachi, stunned by the abrupt turn of events, glanced frantically downward as her trajectory through Nerima reached its conclusion. As Ranma's attack spent its power, placing her on a collision course with a nearby building. She knew what she could do and rebounding off the building at the right moment, spinning in a flip to land on her feet was nothing short of easy

Stay calm. You are a gymnast. This is nothing. That girl's attack is nothing!

It should have been easy, except for the fact that she was too angry to think straight. For the five seconds during her airborne flight, she'd seethed at the vile red head. This distraction had left her unprepared for the impact. Pain had blossomed as her back had slammed into a small office building wall, forming an impact crater. Surviving that but suffering a shock of pain, she fell unceremoniously and ungracefully onto the cold sidewalk below

The stunned girl groaned and rubbed her head from her place on the ground, opening her eyes and blinking away the painful cascade of colors flashing before her. She lay motionless for a moment as if afraid to move and find she'd broken a limb or hurt her spine in some way. Normally she'd have been able to land and shake off a stronger attack than that, but the speed at which she'd been struck along with the sheer force had left her with little time other than to accept the impact and ride with it to minimize the damage.

Kodachi felt grime and dirt on her face and felt a wave of revulsion as the dirt from the street clung tenaciously onto her face.

I've fallen so low. Like a commoner.

Her misery was complete. She'd been defeated again by the only girl she hated more than Akane Tendo and now lay on ground covered in the filth of the street urchins and vagabonds that existed well outside of her world of luxury and privilege. She rolled onto her back, looking up at the sky. The morning was early and miraculously the streets seemed empty. That was good. The last thing she wanted was to have her pride further damaged by receiving help from a commoner.

The rain began to fall in earnest.

Perfect. The final touch. She clawed at the ground miserably, venting her frustration.

Clad in only her leotard, the defeated gymnast shivered as the cold finally chilled the rage in her heart. This was not supposed to be the way the day had ended up. These things simply did not happen to social elites like herself. The one saving grace to the whole rotten ordeal was that at least Ranma couldn't see her in such a sorry state. If he'd happened by and seen her so low to the ground then her chances to have him would surely have evaporated once and for all.

There would be revenge, she decided. She would train harder and defeat her enemies once and for all. Today's humiliation would not be left unpaid for. These dark thoughts pleased some part of her mind, a part that scared even her. But scared as she was, revenge was all she could think about as the rain soaked her bruised body, leaving no room for anything else.

She heard footsteps running towards her. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over her and then the rain wasn't falling on her any longer. She blinked, trying to turn her head up. "Wha-?"

From her tender position all she could see were a pair of polished dress shoes and the beginning of a pair of fine white pants.

"Are you alright, miss?" a concerned voice asked.

There was a hand on her shoulder as a rather tall figure crouched down and gently assessed her condition. "Can you stand? Let me help you."

Kodachi endeavored to try. She took the offered hand and allowed herself to slowly be helped up as she tested each limb, bracing against any shock of pain signaling a broken bone. Luck was with her for once and she found that aside from a few forming bruises, she was more or less fine. Finally sitting firmly upright, she saw at last that the man who saved her had an umbrella in his hand and he was shielding her while the rain fell on him instead.

Scrambling to save some of her pride, Kodachi ran a hand through her hair and rose to her full height, standing with a hand on her hip to convey strength. "You have my thanks, sir. I am fine. Really."

She finally took in his face. He was a handsome man. Above the fine shoes and slacks he had a heavy jacket and scarf on that covered his neck and chin. The smile on his lips seemed charming enough, she supposed. At least the offered help hadn't come from a street beggar.

"No need to thank me," he said, flashing a charming smile.

Kodachi blinked. Did I just see his teeth sparkle?

She cleared her throat, brushing off the front of her leotard. "But I offer my gratitude all the same," she said with a touch of arrogance, as if he should rejoice at having gotten that much out of her. "I'm lucky you came by. Or perhaps it is you who are lucky to have come at just the right time to meet a beauty such as myself."

She laughed then. It was her sick laughter, born from the same dark place in her mind that had smiled over thoughts of violence and revenge mere moments before. It wracked her body with its unending cacophony. She arched her back as that reviled, insane laugh wracked her body.

"Eh… yes perhaps," the blue eyed young man said with a nervous smile, somewhat taken aback by the spontaneous insanity. He took a step or two backwards, dropping the umbrella as the gentle rain started to matt down his brown hair.

Stop!

Kodachi saw his expression and clamped her mouth closed mid laugh and cleared her throat. The madness, unaccustomed to being silenced before it had run its course retreated for the moment to the dark recesses of her mind, waiting for its chance to manifest again. Slightly flushed with shame and embarrassment, she took a steading breath and turned to fully face him.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she said softly, letting a trace of humility to wash away the arrogance. "The fall. Perhaps I'm a bit dazed after all," she smiled uneasily.

The young man recovered just as fast and smiled charmingly, wiping his wet bangs out of his face. He picked up the umbrella with graceful bow. "I'm just glad you aren't hurt. How on earth did you end up falling out of the sky?"

"Oh that?" Kodachi sniffed, downplaying the seriousness of the fall with her tone. The shrug of her shoulders was sligh. "It wasn't anything serious. I was fighting a dual and my enemy cheated, that's all. Pay it no mind."

"I-I see." Though it was clear he didn't, the man smiled charmingly again and dropped the matter. Looking down and realizing that he was still holding the umbrella, he handed it to her. "Please take this! You'll get sick."

"Oh, I shouldn't! You'll be soaked to the bone!" She took it immediately all the same, perhaps faster than he offered. "I would feel simply dreadful if you caught a cold!"

"The cold doesn't bother me. Although…" He leaned in close, his pearly whites sparkling again, "If you feel so bad about it, perhaps you could pay me back?"

"Whatever do you want?" Kodachi put a hand on her hip again and waited, expecting a request for money as was usually the case when services were rendered.

"Fate saw fit to bring us here today. I would love to get to know you after… oh my lady, grant me one request. A kiss alone would be more than thanks enough. To feel even a peck of those violet-colored lips would be heavenly."

He unleashed all the charm in his arsenal, leaning forward towards her. His blue eyes shone and his lips parted slightly, as if inviting her. He gave her a look that would have sent a thousand school girls to the ground in a dizzy swoon.

He had to admit that the girl was attractive, creepy laugh aside. Her eyes shone with intelligence and she had the bearing of an upper class socialite, one accustomed to getting her way and practically bathing in cash. They had much in common, he deduced, leaning in for the kill. It had been a long time since he'd seduced one of his own class and status.

"Just one, please?" His eyes closed and he softly puckered his lips, happy for the chance to have met such a beautiful yet old girl on his way to morning practice.

Kodachi fixed him with a seriously straight face and arched backwards at the same time his face and puckered lips advanced forward. She felt an urge to deck the upstart, but as thanks for his help before, she let him off the hook with simply a scathing "no."

"No?" Taken aback, the boy opened his eyes and straightened up, blinking. A look of puzzlement came over his face. Had he really heart right? Had his charming routine really not succeeded? He blinked again, puzzled. Stranger or not, almost no one turned him down. It simply wasn't heard of. He looked at her with what he hoped was a neutral expression, awaiting an explanation.

"No," she repeated with a huff. "I don't even know you. I thank you for your kindness, but you have a lot of nerve if you think I'd give my first kiss to some stranger."

She turned on her heels, giving him her back. The nerve of that man was as unappealing as it was unwelcomed. If not for his kind gestures she would have slapped him.

Enough of this, she decided with a huff. It was time to go. If she was lucky she could still get to school before first period ended.

There was just one small problem. Her feet wouldn't move another step away. A million thoughts entered her mind and she found herself strangely and unexpectedly conflicted. No small part due to the fact that a handsome young man was actually flirting with her. Her body betrayed her and a slight blush crept up the bridge of her nose. Damn, the attention did feel good.

As a star martial arts gymnast, Kodachi was used to being the center of attention. However, that was within her world that consisted of a private academy campus, an all-girls academy at that. The only man she'd chased in her life was Ranma. He alone was worthy of her affection and time.

A shadow of doubt and loneliness gripped her heart and she clutched her hand to her breast, glad he couldn't see her inner turmoil. An attractive boy was standing right behind her. Surely there could be no harm in discovering what kind of person he was. Her quest for Ranma had borne no fruit. Perhaps a short break from that pursuit would do her some good.

Her sharp mind quickly ran through what it understood about the situation. She had been saved by a dashing young man. He was handsome and while the charm was a bit thick, he had been a gentleman to stop and assist her. Furthermore all he'd asked for was a kiss. It was unusual but not entirely harmful. If she hadn't thought so much of a maiden's first special kiss, it wouldn't have been as big a deal. At least he hadn't requested money or some other form of deviant repayment.

Standing in place a moment, she turned to look at him with the side of her face.

She pursed her lips as if deciding on something. "If you really want repayment then I will let you take me on a date. One." She stated it loudly so as to avoid conclusion. "Is that acceptable?"

What it all boiled down to was that after everything that had happened today, she welcomed a distraction, even if said distraction came from a strange, good looking boy. Being her brother's bizzar aloofness the last few weeks and being humiliated in the duel today, Kodachi simply needed a way to let off some steam. This arrogant boy would do for that, even if he was a blatant casanova.

"A date?" He pondered the idea a moment then nodded, smiling broadly as he recovered his poise. "I think that can be arranged. Very well, I will accept."

"A date that will be hard to go on so long as introduction go unannounced," she reminded him, pivoting graceful on her heels to face him, bending slight forward with an impish smile. The pony tail on the side of her head danced with the movement.

The young man laughed. "How rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Mikado Sanzenin, the strength, charm, and tactican of the Golden Pair of Kolkhoz High School."

He struck a pose, awaiting the song of her praises now that she knew who he was and what he represented. There wasn't a person in Tokyo who practiced one form of martial arts or another who didn't know who he was. His legacy of 911 consecutive victories had secured that.

Kodachi scratched her head. "The Golden what?"

Mikado blinked. Perhaps she'd not heard him properly? "The Golden Pair. Martial arts figure skating."

"Hmmm. Interesting. I had no idea there was such a thing."

Mikado forced a smile onto his face. "It seems we'll have a lot to talk about then. And would you do me the honor of giving me your name?"

Kodachi put her hands on her hips. "Kodachi Kuno of the Saint Hebereke's School for Girls. I'm the leading star of Martial Arts Rythmic Gymnastics."

"Kodachi Kuno huh?" Mikado pursed his lips a moment in thoughts. "I've not heard of gymnastics of being turned into a martial art, but your name does sound familiar."

Kodachi was floored. What kind of man did not know about the existence of the graceful and majestic art that was Rhythmic Gymnastics? The poor dolt would need educating. "Yes… I agree. We will have a lot to talk about indeed."

She paused, seeing he was still in thought. "I'm not surprised you've heard of my family. The Kuno line is quite wealthy and respected… more or less."

"It seems the gods have blessed me, us meeting like this." He pulled out his cell phone. "If you would be so kind as to give me your number we can schedule-"

"No."

Kodachi patted him on his shoulder, resisting the urge to sneeze from the cold. She turned and gracefully flipped onto the roof of a one story house nearby. Turning down to look at him she pointed. "Next Sunday at noon. Be here at this very spot. If you are man enough to show up then we'll have our date."

Then she was gone, leaping away with his umbrella in hand. More than a little amazed, Mikado put his hands into the pockets of his jeans. She moved as gracefully through the air as he did on the ice. She wasn't kidding about being a star at her school. Furthermore, she hadn't fallen for his charms. The only two girls who'd managed to do that had been Akane Tendo and that Pig-tailed Girl.

That idea got him thinking. It had been a long time since those two, since he'd had to work on a conquest. He trilled for a hunt. A rich high-born girl, a socialite who was in the same class as himself was as good a challenge as any. He'd studied her throughout their conversation and he knew the smug look of arrogance when he saw it. She was cocky. The girl truly believed she could stay one step ahead of him. The date was as much a contest of wills as it was a fun, social event.

Mikado smiled genuinely for the first time that morning. She wanted a war and so did he. "Challenge accepted, Kodachi Kuno."

Excitement got his blood pumping. The cold chill hovering in the morning air was hardly even noticeable as he resumed walking down the street to the ice rink for morning practice.