Martial Arts Mix!
Chapter 31
Sumika felt a weird sinking feeling as the rented bus pulled up to the front of the dojo, recognizing the driver.
"Is that...?" Kasumi Tendo asked, having emerged from the kitchen.
"That's mt friend's brother, Noriko Kazama, which means they've come from my old school," Sumika noted.
A figure BURST from the bus at top speed and raced over, the brown haired boyish woman yelling, "Sumika, I challenge you!"
"Takemi Yabase?!" Sumika blinked, recognizing her old opponent.
"We're finally settling things," Takemi said as she threw a punch.
"Not here," Sumika caught her fist with a soft grunt of effort. "If we fight, it's in the dojo," she added firmly.
Takemi hid her surprise at how easily Sumika had caught her punch. 'How much has she been training?' she wondered as she stepped back. "Fair," she conceded.
"She's lucky Ranma and Akane aren't here," Kasumi noted.
"Eh?" Takemi wondered.
"They're stronger than Sumika," Kasumi understated things a bit, "and would not respond well to someone yelling about challenges."
"Sumika!" the others streamed out from the bus as they were talking.
"Oh dear," Kasumi murmured as she stepped back a bit.
"SUMIKA!" Ushio reached her first and threw her arms around her.
"Er...," Sumika deliberately did not hug her back.
The others left the bus as Ushio pulled back, looking up at Sumika in confusion.
"Hey," Tomoe waved, "Guess we should have called ahead?"
Miyako shook her head, smiling.
"I've missed you, Senpai!" Lotte hugged Sumika, who in this case returned the cute little blonde's hug.
Ushio frowned as her brother walked up. "It's been awhile," Noriko noted.
"It has," Sumika agreed. She addressed the group, "For those that weren't here last time, this is Kasumi Tendo... my girlfriend."
"WHAT!"
Ushio, especially, looked like she was having a cow...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The loud 'WHAT' carried far enough that Conditioner and Shampoo heard it too.
"Someone REALLY upset," Shampoo noted.
"None of the newcomers is good martial artist," Conditioner noted, disappointed.
Almost all elite fighters got pretty good at judging how capable someone was from various clues. How you moved, your stances, and so on. And on first glance there was only one real fighter in the group, the boyish one...
"Should we tell Cologne?" Conditioner asked.
"We wait a bit. I want to see if the little one explode," Shampoo smirked, obviously referring to the enraged Ushio.
"Ha," Conditioner smiled wryly.
"Are you THAT bored that spying on us is something to do?" Nabiki asked, finding the two across the way from the dojo.
"You not sell photos or info on them," Shampoo noted.
"One of them outbid you," Nabiki said dryly.
Shampoo nodded but Conditioner grabbed at Nabiki, "We could force you..."
With a surprising show of skill Nabiki slipped free from her grasp, showing she had at least the basics of Tendo-style.
"NO," Shampoo yanked Conditioner back.
"What?" Conditioner complained.
"DO YOU WANT EVERY MARTIAL ARTIST WHO OWES HER A FAVOR AFTER US?" Shampoo pointed out.
There was a beat as Conditioner thought about THAT. "How many could that be?" she wondered aloud.
Nabiki shrugged, "All the major ones in town. And a few out of town too..."
Conditioner visibly paled. "I humbly apologize," she bowed.
Nabiki shrugged, "Just remember, you owe me one."
"She EEEVIL," Shampoo sighed. "We go now."
Both amazons fled as Nabiki smirked.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"There's trouble at the Tendo Dojo?" Kodachi asked, sitting up.
Sasuke, the family ninja, bowed as he said, "A bus full of students arrived, they apparently know Sumika."
"Oh HO," Kodachi mused.
Kodachi SHOULD have been studying martial arts and/or preparing new moves to defeat her enemies. Instead she had been internet searching certain subjects.. like dominance and submission. And, of course, carefully clearing her search history.
(It should be noted neither her brother or father were internet smart enough to do that. Her mother, on the other hand, might be concerned.)
"Also, the Chinese Amazons are hanging about," Sasuke added.
"I had heard there was another," Kodachi noted.
Sasuke anticipated her needs like a good minion, "I have photos."
Kodachi, of course, knew who Shampoo was, and so just flipped to the next photo. "Eeep," she 'eeped' softly.
It wasn't JUST that Conditioner was tall, blonde, and both busty and muscular. There was a LOOK in her eye that she would beat you down, then step on you for good measure.
"Ma'am?" Sasuke asked.
"We MUST go to the Cat Cafe at once!" Kodachi declared.
Sasuke sighed as he noted, "You are banned, remember? You poisoned a opponents soup there, and angered Cologne."
"Ah," Kodachi deflated.
"Possibly ask Miss Nabiki for assistance?" Sasuke suggested, knowing the woman was both devious and unprincipled.
"Yes! Glad I thought of that," Kodachi decided.
Sasuke hid a sigh.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"She's doomed," Ranma noted as they watched the bout.
"Ooh, yeah," Akane agreed.
Takemi Yabase heard them, but did her best to ignore it. Sumika faced her, in a modified karate stance...
'I am in SO much trouble,' Takemi mused.
They had a first exchange of punches, and she had been astonished at how much faster Sumika now was. She was at least twice as fast as she had been when they last fought. Worse, she seemed equally stronger and tougher!
"Not bad, Takemi," Sumika noted mildly.
"Ha," Takemi sighed. "What have you been doing out here?!"
Sumika actually chuckled quietly. "Would you believe I'm pretty weak compared to everyone else out here?" she shrugged.
Takemi blinked, "SERIOUSLY?!"
AS they were brawling Ushio moved over to where Kasumi was watching. The other woman tensed a bit.
"Miss Tendo... I'm sorryu if I've been rude," Ushio said humbly.
"No, no, it'd fine," Kasumi reassured her.
"It really isn't," Ushio said mildly. She looked at Sumika fighting, "I' ve... cared about about Sumika for a long time."
"Hmm," Kasumi agreed gently.
Ushio quietly added, "Just.. be good to Sumika, okay? She deserves the best."
Touched, Kasumni agreed, "I'll try."
"NORTH POLE FIST!" Sumika defeated her with a ice attack.
"Okay that is TOTALLY unfair," Takemi complained cheerfully.
"I have a sparring partner who can create giant mallets of pure rage," Sumika noted.
"This town is messed up," Takemi sighed.
To be continued...
Notes: Wanted Ushio tro finally give up on getting Sumika back, as she's dating someone else.