[Ranma][Fanfic] Destiny's Wish, Part Ten

[Mike Koos]

The leaves were everywhere.
In the wind, on the ground... no matter where one turned, all
the signs of autumn were readily apparent. Not only were the leaves
shifting color, but the sky was as well.
At Fuurinkan High School the uniforms changed ever so slightly
to match the seasons. Many of the students were in the courtyard
this morning preparing to walk to class or their cubicles, including
Ranma and Ayumi.
There was a lingering air around Ranma that indicated she was
uncomfortable wearing her school uniform to some degree. She didn't
know why; the uniform she wore now was certainly far less restrictive
than the uniform she'd worn at her last school, or better yet, any of
the boys' school uniforms she had seen throughout her life - and
could be wearing, had Destiny played its cards differently. Like the
one Ayumi had on, for instance. Dress slacks, jacket over shirt...
now that she thought about it, boys' uniforms actually didn't change
as much as the girls'.
That wasn't helping to explain why she felt uncomfortable
wearing the Fuurinkan High uniform. Ranma had worn the uniforms of
previous schools without any concern. Sure, since then she had
visited mysterious training grounds hidden deep in China and was
cursed to turn into a boy every time cold water hit her body, leading
to a lot of paranoia on her part... but that couldn't be the whole
reason. She was uncomfortable even when there was absolutely no way
she could be splashed with cold water or reason to have to worry
about rain falling on her head. So what *was* the reason?
Both the boys' and the girls' uniforms were kept simple.
Ranma's consisted of a sky-blue jumper worn over a long-sleeved white
dress shirt. Because the weather was currently turning colder, she
also wore the uniform's dress jacket. A new pair of brown loafers
securely covered her feet.
All in all, there was no reason to be uncomfortable, right?
*Right*?
Ranma sighed. Nope, no answer for her right now.
"Hey, Ranma!"
Ranma and Ayumi turned upon hearing the call. "Sayuri!
Yuka-chan!" the cursed girl greeted her friends. "Ohayou!"
Sayuri nodded. "Ohayou."
Ayumi decided not to stick around while Ranma stopped to chat
with her friends. "I heard you volunteered to be the substitute rep
for the Shintaisou Club at the match next week," he heard Yuka say.
"We wanted to wish you good luck," Sayuri chimed in.
"Thanks," Ranma struck her chest proudly. "You can count on me."
Ayumi frowned. <As if you actually had any skill, baka!>
A sense of impending danger crossed Ranma's mind. Danger? From
where?
"SAOTOME RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!!"
Overhead, she guessed. Ranma jerked her head up to find Kodachi
descending on her with a Kendo practice sword readied for attack.
When Kodachi brought the sword down Ranma easily stopped it
between her palms.
<It's her,> Ayumi gulped. <Kodachi!> The same girl who had
handed him a bouquet of tainted roses the night before. It took an
excruciatingly long half-hour before he was able to move again and
climb out of the koi pond in his yard, after that meeting. <I gotta
get out of here!>
Ranma held on to the tip of Kodachi's Kendo sword to keep the
gymnast from doing anything malicious with it. "Aren't you supposed
to be in school? Is ambushing people all you ever do?"
"What a vivid imagination you have. This is no ambush; I have
come to visit my beloved."
"And who might that be?" Ranma was dreading the answer.
Apparently, Kodachi had fallen in love with Ranma's male half, after
she had inadvertently 'saved' Kodachi the night before.
"Why, Tendo Ayumi, of course! Unless the male Saotome Ranma is
here as well, in which case I will prove to you that you have no
claim on him!"
Yeah, whatever. So she had fallen deeply in love with both
Ayumi *and* her male half? How disgusting could Kodachi get?
"Ranma's not here right now, but if you want Ayumi..." Ranma hefted
Kodachi into the air with the aid of the sword. Aiming straight for
Ayumi, who Ranma saw was making a break for it, she catapulted
Kodachi toward him. "...he's *over there*!"
Amazingly enough, the loose private school uniform Kodachi wore
didn't hamper her acrobatics in the least. Holding her arms out to
steady herself, she flipped through the air and landed several steps
behind Ayumi. "Ayumi-sama! Wait for me!"
Ayumi kept running. <Oh, now what?> This was *not* how he
wanted to start the day! He'd gone from having to deal with a horde
of guys trying to beat him up just so they could have the right to
date, to dealing with one crazy girl after another. Oh, Ranma was
only the beginning... and the cause! Who would be the next girl to
show up and make his life miserable? No, make that *more* miserable!
There was an obstacle in his path. One wearing samurai's robes,
wielding a wooden sword and carrying a bouquet of red roses... who
else could it be but Fuurinkan High's own Kunou Tatewaki?
Okay, so maybe the girls weren't the only ones making his life
miserable.
<Ranma...> An image of Ranma took shape in the swordsman's mind.
Here, she was clad in a form-fitting, warm-colored leotard, moving
through complex, graceful gymnastic maneuvers with absolutely no
effort whatsoever. Her face, like the leotard, blended into the
background. <Your lovely, graceful form floats before my eyes and
haunts my every moment.> Kunou willed his eyes to open. <May these
red roses that I carry be a symbol of my passion and support for you!>
Ayumi reached Kunou in time for the obligatory sword sweep and
declaration of love. Knowing Kunou, he probably thought the move was
purely symbolic - nothing dared stand in the way of his love for
Ranma!
Ayumi jumped over the sword and then perched upon it like a
bird, sliding a foot into Kunou's face. "Would you *please* knock
off the sudden attacks? Somebody could get hurt!"
A new footprint marking his face, Kunou grabbed Ayumi by the
boy's uniform front. "Tendo Ayumi... why must you insist on showing
your face where it is not wanted?"
"What about you--erk!" Ayumi came to the sudden realization
that there was now another person latched on to him.
Kodachi's face flushed. She buried herself in Ayumi's back.
"A... yu... mi... sa... ma........."
Kunou paused, watching the girl keep her arms wrapped around
Ayumi. "Ah, young love! I will not interfere in this relationship!"
Ayumi felt as though he might swallow his eyes. Kodachi was
practically glued to his chest now, drooling over him... "This is
wonderful! Now our lives are complete," gushed Kodachi.
"Hey!" Ayumi tried to stumble out of Kodachi's embrace. "You
can't decide who I'll go out with just like that! What makes you
think I wanna be your boyfriend?"
In what had to be the fastest about-face Ayumi had ever seen,
Kodachi changed from being devoted to being distraught and angry.
Tears flooded from her eyes in a show of waterworks that would make
Tendo Soun proud. "Why do you not like me!?"
This Ayumi couldn't handle. All a girl had to do was break down
into tears and he wouldn't know how to deal with it. He therefore
backed away. "Um, it's not that I don't like you, but..." Ayumi ran
to Ranma's side and held her fast, a hand on each shoulder. "But
I've already been engaged! To this girl. Ranma. So..."
Ayumi's nervousness squeezed Ranma tightly about as much as his
hands. "What?"
She could see Ayumi was repulsed by the thought that Kodachi
might have feelings for him. In fact, she had the same brand of
disgust welling up herself. "It's not like I'm doing this 'cause I
want to," Ayumi whispered to her in an aside.
"And whose fault is that?" she whispered back.
The idea was only now beginning to register with Kodachi.
"*Engaged*? To you, Saotome Ranma!?"
Ranma shrugged. "Unfortunately." As usual, the whole day was
already spinning far out of control...
"Hmph," Kodachi straightened, folding her arms. "As if one
boyfriend were not enough for you, you have to date two boys at once!"
*Two*? wondered everyone else present. Except perhaps for
Kunou, who had no idea how Ranma could love any other man except him.
"Oh, don't give me that! YOU'RE the weirdo in love with two
guys, not me!"
Kodachi thought to punish Ranma for her insolence by whipping
out a ribbon and taking away the other girl's feet. Ranma and Ayumi
easily dodged the attack.
"In that case, why don't we place a little wager? The loser in
our match will abandon all her claims on the male Saotome Ranma and
Tendo Ayumi!"
"What!?" Ranma spluttered. "What kind of stupid--"
A hand on her shoulder cut her protests short. "It is an
excellent idea, Ranma. Since you do not want to be with Ayumi, all
you have to do is lose."
She stared blankly at him for a moment. "Whose side are you
on!?" Ranma yelled, place-kicking him away. Honestly, one could
only stand so much of the jerk...
Kodachi laughed. "It won't make a difference if you wish to
lose on purpose. I'll humiliate and crush you no matter what!"
While Ranma fumed, Kodachi turned her attention to Ayumi.
"Ayumi-sama... place your hopes in me. I will rescue you from this
selfish girl!" She left, setting a blizzard of black rose petals in
motion to cover her trail. "Goodbye, for now!"
"She can be so extraordinarily strange at times." Kunou patted
Ayumi on the back. "Nevertheless, Tendo Ayumi, I would like you to
treat my little sister well."
Wait - had Kunou said what Ayumi thought he'd said? "Would you
mind repeating that?"
"I... want... you... to... treat... my... little... sister...
well," the swordsman repeated, drawing out each word and pronouncing
it loudly and clearly for Ayumi to comprehend.
Ayumi let out an exasperated sigh.
"I must admit that although I am related to her, I do not share
her despicable nature, her cunning, her absolute, utter deviousness."
Kunou presented the bouquet of red roses he had been carrying to
Ranma. "So, Ranma, I hope you do not get hurt in the match. Kodachi
is not likely to abandon any man she has chosen. No doubt she will
do anything to come out victorious, so be on your guard." He
shuffled off, the breeze blowing the black rose petals out of his
path as he walked.
"She's Kunou's *little sister*?" mouthed Ayumi. "They could be
twins!"
Ranma snorted. "I don't care if there're fifty of her! I'm not
going to lose this match!"

Destiny's Wish
Part Ten: A Fight For Love
written by Mike Koos
--------------------------

The very night before the competition, Ranma had fully dedicated
herself to practicing her routines in the dojo... in other words,
attempting to hit Ayumi every chance she saw using 'only the tools of
the shintaisou.'
Most of her attacks came within a hair of catching him... so
far, he'd managed to avoid all of them. As long as Ranma's mind was
focused on catching him, it wasn't about to make any stupid mistakes,
like tying herself up with the ribbon.
Now, to work on her grace...
Ranma raised both batons to the air in a pose reminiscent of a
swan... then twisted the handles sharply about in her hands and
brought the ends down on a spot where Ayumi had been seated seconds
earlier. She switched to the ribbon; Ayumi dived through the center
of the spiral she formed. When she picked up a ball Ayumi clung to
the slats in the ceiling - he'd heard this was what Kodachi had done
when introducing herself to Ranma and wasn't about to pass up an
opportunity to annoy her.
"You always do this, every time we fight! Can't you be serious
and fight for real at least once!?"
Ayumi shifted to the right to let the ball she threw at him
bounce harmlessly off the ceiling. "What good will it do if I let
you hit me? Most of your opponents are going to try and dodge
everything you throw at them!"
"So?" she directed up at him. "I know that. No one said it
was against the rules to beat *you* up, though! And you'd better
believe it when I say I'm not in this match for your sake."
Still clutching the ceiling slats, Ayumi shrugged. "Oh, well,
doesn't bother me."
"I still need someone to practice with, y'know. After all, this
IS 'Combat Gymnastics.'" Ranma snapped a length of rope taut between
her hands. And where was Ryomi, who had offered to help? She'd been
gone for the last two or three days, and Ryomi had become Ranma's
best hope for help, short of asking Mizuki or anyone else in the
Shintaisou Club to drop by.
The mention of Ryomi's name caused Ayumi to scowl. He couldn't
see Ryomi helping without some sort of secret motive up her sleeves,
so to speak. Maybe she wanted to lull Ranma into a false sense of
security and then...
A pig's squeal came from the door.
"P-chan!" Ranma greeted the little pig. P-chan pulled herself
along, two small boxes tied to her back with those infernal bandannas
of Ryomi's.
Ranma untied the pig and lifted her up, gazing into her eyes.
"I haven't seen you around lately, either. Where did you go?"
"Looks like she's been to Hiroshima and Kyoto," Ayumi showed the
wording on the boxes to Ranma. He poked a finger into P-chan's
snout. "So tell me, P-chan, where *were* you headed? Got no sense
of direction at all, huh?"
P-chan gnawed at Ayumi's finger. "Sense of direction?" Ranma
asked. "You aren't comparing her to Ryomi, are you?"
Annoyed, Ayumi grabbed the ribbon and used it to tie P-chan's
legs and snout together, wrapping the rest of the ribbon around her.
While P-chan struggled to free herself off to one side, Ayumi brought
Ranma back out into the middle of the dojo, kicking a hoop up into
his hand. "C'mon. You wanna practice? We'll practice," he said,
avoiding the issue.
"Well... okay." Ranma readied her batons and stood opposite
Ayumi. "Ikuwayo!" She rapid-fire jabbed both batons at Ayumi, who
dodged, waiting for an opening to use his hoop. When she grew tired
of being able to connect with the batons, Ranma's fingers found a
jumprope. Perfect... Although P-chan was busy playing with the
ribbon, a rope was a tool better suited to tying someone up... She
held it like a whip and charged.
Except that she had to account for the fact that the rope moved
through the air differently than the ribbon... faster, more
forcefully. It careened through the air in search of a target and
finally found one in Ranma's feet, tying her legs together at the
ankles.
Ranma lost her balance, toppling over. She knocked her head
against the wooden floor and lost consciousness.

"Sheesh, you ARE clumsy, aren't you?"
The voice was Ayumi's.
When Ranma had come to, she found herself lying in her bed being
tended to by Kasuga. Naka sat at her desk; Ayumi stood a few feet
away with a sheepish look to his face.
"I am not clumsy!" Ranma retorted, rubbing the bump on her
head. "I just need to keep practicing! There's no way I'm gonna let
that girl win!"
She sat up and then scrambled to her feet. "Ranma, you've hurt
yourself and been out for nearly two hours! I think you should take
it easy!" Kasuga moved to restrain her.
"I can't do that!" She wobbled a little. "I've gotta practice!
The match is tomorrow..."
"But you don't have time to do it tonight, do you?" Naka asked,
matter-of-factly. "You woke up just in time to go to bed."
"Huh?" Ranma turned to glance at her clock. Naka wasn't
joking... it was almost ten forty-five, now.
"It's too late to practice now. You really should get some
sleep. After all, you've got to get up early to get ready for the
trip to the Academy."
"Ranma's a dedicated fighter," stated another voice. "She'll
stay up all night practicing if she has to to make sure she's as
ready as she can be."
Ranma knew at once who had spoken. "Ryomi..."
Ryomi walked into the room, casting a peripheral glance at
Ayumi to warn him not to make the usual P-chan crack. Thankfully,
the boy kept his mouth shut. "Ranma, if you want to practice all
night, I'll stay and help."
"............Okay. Thanks!"

"Now then, Ranma. Since you've got to go to the match in the
morning, we're gonna have to skip the practice and try a *real*
fight. You ready to take that step?"
"I guess." Ranma moved her gaze from Ayumi, who sat off in a
far corner, to Ryomi. She was aware how much vulnerability she was
showing in Ryomi's presence; this was as good a chance as any to make
up for that.
The reason? Ryomi had set her vendetta aside to help Ranma
improve her shintaisou skills for the match against Kodachi. Like
Ayumi, Ranma wondered if Ryomi might have an ulterior motive, but at
the same time Ranma was grateful for the help.
Even if no one knew where Ryomi was most of the time she was a
considerably better opponent for Ranma to practice Combat Shintaisou
with than Tendo 'I don't want to get hit' Ayumi.
"Come on, then! Try to attack me!"
"Okay!"
Ayumi watched both girls fight each other. Ranma definitely
showed a lot of improvement over the day she'd agreed to fight
Kodachi. He hadn't been able to see exactly how much Ranma had
progressed because most of the time he had played keep-away from her
'in the ring' rather than face her directly and pay attention to how
far she'd come.
To even the odds somewhat Ryomi brought in all of her old
shintaisou equipment, so that if Ranma used a weapon she could use it
as well. Ranma knew that Kodachi wouldn't hesitate to call on her
entire arsenal of shintaisou equipment... not to mention dirty
tricks. She had to be prepared to do the same.
Ranma laughed inwardly; now she could add experience in Combat
Shintaisou to her resume.
She advanced - ribbon at the ready, batons in reserve. Ryomi
was waiting for her.
Ryomi's ribbon clashed with Ranma's in midair; they played
against each other this way for a while as though the ribbons were
merely extremely long, flexible swords. After a while they lapsed
into showing off, looping their ribbons into little symbols and even
assorted hiragana - which, done in fun, wasn't meant to spell out
anything.
Next, Ranma's toes found the hoop. She used it to chip away at
Ryomi's ankles. Enough to cause Ryomi to lose her grip on one of the
batons she held.
Ryomi brought the other baton down on Ranma's head in
retaliation... but Ranma blocked it with her own crossed batons.
"I take it back, Ranma. You really have improved," Ayumi said,
impressed. Ranma wasn't sure whether or not to take it as a
compliment.
"Well, what d'ya think I've been doing all week--"
A ball bounced off Ranma's face. "You can't afford to drop your
guard for any reason, Ranma!" scolded Ryomi.
Ranma sent a look of suspicion Ryomi's way and walked over to
Ayumi. "Go ahead, get some sleep. Don't worry; we'll be fine."
"I don't know..." Could he leave Ranma alone here, all night
with a potential murderer? Sure, Ryomi wasn't being much of a threat
*now*, but how long would it take for Ryomi's true colors to show?
He yawned. Oh, well... the baka *did* know how to take care of
herself. She had enough good sense to be suspicious of the other
girl's motives - after all, hadn't Ryomi wanted to beat up Ranma the
first few times she'd shown up?
"Why, Ayumi-kun," smirked Ranma. "You really do care, don't
you?"
"That wasn't what I was going to say, baka!"
"Like Ranma said," Ryomi interrupted, "we'll be fine. If you're
going to be in Ranma's corner tomorrow, you really ought to be
rested."
"Well... okay." The Lost Girl had a point. At the rate Ranma
was progressing, Kodachi wouldn't stand a chance!

Ryomi waited nearly half an hour to make her move. "Tell me,
Ranma, is it true?"
The question caught Ranma by surprise. "Is what true?"
"There's a rumor going around... if you lose to Kodachi, you'll
have to forget about your engagement to Ayumi."
Snort. "Yeah, and I'm gonna have to date the weirdo as a *guy*,
too. Why do you ask?"
"You know as well as I do that you don't deserve a boy like
Ayumi," declared Ryomi, in that ever-annoying smugness of hers. "I'm
going to make sure you lose!"
"Lemme guess," Ranma wondered why she had never recognized this
in Ryomi until now. <Because she's always gone?> "You've got a
crush on Ayumi, don't you? I figured you weren't helping me out of
kindness..."
Ryomi exhaled. "I helped you because I couldn't stand to see
you screw this competition up! But now..."
"Now, nothing! I don't care what you think! Ayumi doesn't want
to go out with Kodachi, and I don't, either!"
"You *won't* have a choice in the matter!" The anger
repossessed Ryomi's features. "You can't fight if you can't stand!"
"Never! I'm not gonna give you that chance!"
Both combatants met, exploding into a mix of martial-arts
attacks and shintaisou tools flying everywhere.

** ** **

The very next morning Ayumi dragged himself out of bed and
trudged downstairs. <Now why did I get up?> he asked himself,
yawning. <Oh, yeah.>
No, Tendo Ayumi was definitely *not* a morning person. Last
night had been the first true night's sleep he'd seen in a while.
No worrying about Ryomi dropping by in the middle of the night - she
was already here! - and no waiting till the dead hours of the morning
to try to yank P-chan away from a sleeping Ranma... the tomboy kept
the doors and windows locked now, anyway.
Cold air. Maybe that would help wake him up. He opened the
door to the yard from the family room and let the cold morning air
greet him. <Wow, I can see my breath. It's that cold?>
Another breath, this time a long one that turned into a yawn.
<Oh... am I still here? Darn...>
The faint sound of things hitting other things and breaking
finally caught up with him. <What?>
He ran to the dojo. Surely Ranma and Ryomi weren't *still* in
there training...
Of course, he should have known better than to ask that question
when it came to him, Ranma or Mr. Saotome. Ranma continued to train
with her father; more often than not Ayumi liked to train alone.
Before his mother's passing he had eagerly trained with his father.
Afterward, however, Ayumi gradually switched to training alone, and
Soun - succumbing to his grief - lost interest in training with his
son as often.
The Saotome clan tended to train harder on a normal basis.
Genma lacked the patience of his friend, which was the main reason he
had never chosen to train anyone else but Ranma the secrets of the
Saotome class of martial arts. He wanted power and results, and he
wanted them right away... or else Ranma would have to pay the penalty
for not improving herself.
In the former regard Ranma was his best student.
At last Ayumi reached the door to the dojo... and was nearly
bowled over upon seeing the results of Ranma and Ryomi's all-night
training. There were batons imbedded in the walls near the ceiling,
missing chunks or holes punched in those same walls and floor,
ceiling panels teetering from their foundations... they'd trashed the
place! And in the midst of all the debris - Ranma, stomping on a
ribbon-bound Ryomi. "Serves you right! NOW do you accept defeat?
How 'bout now?"
"I'll never give up!" Ryomi said through a mouthful of floor.
Ayumi regained his composure. "Ranma!? You mean you really DID
stay out here all night?"
Once she'd stopped stomping on Ryomi, Ayumi could finally see
how Ranma looked. Exhausted, she gazed straight through him, her
eyes bleary, her hair frayed out in odd directions and it seemed
she was waiting for the right moment to collapse on the spot. "Oh...
I didn't know it was morning..." Something in her voice told Ayumi
she wasn't happy about the thought.
Ryomi, meanwhile, was already half-zoned out on the floor.
"You sure you're gonna be able to fight in the match today?"
"Absolutely," Ranma hoarsely reassured him. "I'll be... I mean,
I'm fine. Fine! Fine, fine..." She veered out the door.
Ten minutes and a change of clothes later, Ayumi came down to
breakfast to find Ranma seated at the table, not having bothered to
change out of the leotard that showed the signs of her all-night
battle with Ryomi. She promptly grabbed her napkin and began chewing
on it. "Kasuga... I think I got a bad piece of fish or something..."
Kasuga smiled. "You're eating your napkin, that's why." He
turned to Ayumi. "I didn't know Ranma was working on imitating Dr.
Tofu."
Ayumi let the comment pass. <We're in *big* trouble.>

** ** **

An announcement bell rang at the St. Hebereke Girls' Academy.
"The 'Combat Gymnastics' match will be held at one P.M. this
afternoon in the 'B' gymnasium. Show your support for the Shintaisou
Club by being there."
Kodachi was waiting outside the locker room temporarily set
aside for the Fuurinkan team when Ayumi arrived with Ranma. "So, you
foolishly decided to show up, after all?"
"I told you I would," Ranma mumbled. Come afternoon, and she
had yet to shake off the aftereffects of fighting Ryomi all night.
"And I see you have brought Tendo Ayumi with you,"
Ayumi stood behind Ranma. "I'm her manager!"
Kodachi raised an eyebrow. "After I win, you can be mine."
Ranma decided it was far better to silently fume this time.
Besides, there was something to be said for watching Ayumi squirm.
After that, Kodachi laughed. She offered to shake hands with
her opponent. "I'm sure both of us will try our best."
Although she was almost asleep on her feet, Ranma knew better.
She pretended to accept the handshake - but at the last possible
second she instead turned Kodachi's palm to the light.
Hidden between Kodachi's fingers was a line of steel thumbtacks.
"Oh, dear." The Black Rose mustered the best look of innocence she
could manage, without breaking up. "Now who could have put *those*
there?"
Ranma shook the tacks from Kodachi's hand. "Before we go into
the dressing room, is there anything *else* you'd like to try?"
Kodachi thought it over. "Very well, Saotome Ranma." She
turned away, bowing slightly. "I will wait for you in the ring."

"Man, you've always gotta be on your guard around that girl!"
commented Ayumi, after checking the lock on the dressing room door
for the fourteenth time. It was his own fault; he rather preferred
to be locked up in a dressing room than out in the halls where he'd
have to worry about Kodachi fawning over him. In here, though, there
was absolutely nothing to do except *not* watch Ranma change into her
leotard.
And why should he *want* to watch her? It wasn't like the
tomboy had anything he wanted to stare at...
Problem was, if he kept telling himself that, sooner or later
he'd wind up trying to do just that, anyway. Blasted hormones! They
were bound to get him *killed* one of these days...
Ayumi forced his attention elsewhere. Like the far counter, for
example. Two bouquets of roses, one black, one red, beside a folded
note. He avoided the obvious and opened the note. It was a message
of encouragement from the entire Fuurinkan High Shintaisou Club and
an apology; Ayumi found it strange that none of them were here now in
the locker room to offer last-minute advice or coaching for Ranma.
But they would be in the audience today all the same to cheer Ranma
on.
Somehow, Sayuri and Yuka, who told Ranma earlier they would also
be in the audience, had managed to find a way to sign the note as
well, even though they weren't members of the Shintaisou Club. At
the bottom Yuka had written something like "Ganbatte ne!" next to a
little smiley face... he couldn't quite make out all of her
handwriting. Oh, well.
On to the roses. The red roses were from Kunou - surprise,
surprise - and the black roses were unmistakably Kodachi's doing.
Ayumi read the card. "Kodachi wishes you luck," he said, as Ranma
came over to see what he was doing.
"Good or bad?" Ranma shook her head. "I can't believe I said
that."
"Well, let's find out." Ayumi's past experiences with black
roses made him want to keep the things at a distance... say, two or
three miles. He unwrapped the bouquet from its paper carefully,
making sure to hold them far and facing away from him in case
something evil was hidden inside waiting to explode or spray gas at
him.
When nothing came he examined the roses in detail, while Ranma
kept her distance. The roses *seemed* natural enough... where did
Kodachi get them? Was she having them specially grown? Kodachi
certainly had enough black rose petals to cover the floor of Ranma's
bedroom several times over... Ayumi made a mental note to find out if
there really was such a thing as naturally growing black roses.
One last thing to check. Spotting a fish tank on a table next
to a row of lockers - what in the world was a fish tank doing in a
locker room, anyway? - he had an idea. Not a great one, but it just
might work.
A puzzled Ranma had to admit she didn't know what Ayumi was up
to when he picked one of the roses up with a piece of paper and
dropped it into the tank. The rose settled to the bottom of the tank.
Then every last one of the fish went glassy-eyed and drifted to
the top of the water as though dead.
Both Ranma and Ayumi peered over the rim of the tank at the
fish. Their eyes widened. "Drugged?" Ranma asked.
"Drugged," Ayumi confirmed.

"Can you tell me where the St. Hebereke Girls' Academy is?"
"What is this, some kind of joke?" the girl Ryomi had put the
question to gave her a bewildered look.
"No! I'm trying to find the place! I'm supposed to be there
right now."
"Well, you're here. This is the St. Hebereke Girls' Academy."
Not sure whether or not Ryomi was playing with a full deck, the girl
quickly took her friends and left.
<I can't believe it! I'm actually where I want to be, on time,
and not someplace else!> An image of Ayumi sprang to life before
Ryomi's eyes. <It must be because of the strength of my love for
Ayumi-san...>
She gathered her resolve. <Now, I must make sure Ranma loses
the match-->
A sudden downpour from above rudely cut her thoughts short.
"Yumie-chan..." P-chan heard a voice from a window far above.
"You shouldn't do that! Emptying a bucket of water out the window
like that. What if someone was down there?"
"You're such a worry-wart, Asuka! See? All I see down there is
a little pig. And he probably needs a bath."
"Yumie-chan...!"
P-chan sighed; even as a pig people were always mistaking her
for a boy.
Two girls rounded the nearest building corner and spotted her.
"Eh?"
"A cute little pig!" the second girl exclaimed brightly. Soon
a crowd had gathered around the two girls, all vying for a chance to
hold P-chan. "Don't you think it's cute?" "I want to hold it next!"
No one noticed Kodachi's presence until she plucked P-chan out
of the girls' arms. "Kodachi-san..."
Kodachi looked directly into the nervous pig's eyes. "Yes...
you should be proud, little pig! You will play an important role in
today's fight!"

** ** **

By one P.M. the St. Hebereke Girls' Academy 'B' Gymnasium was
filled to capacity with fans eager to see the start of the fight.
They shifted about restlessly in their seats, whispering and placing
bets on just who would win this match.
The favorite to win, naturally, was Kodachi.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Our match will begin shortly! The
representatives from both schools are now on their way to the ring!"
A cheer started among the crowd.
Kodachi passed the seat reserved for her brother on her way to
the ring. He briefly acknowledged her presence, nodding. Oh, what a
dilemma! Who to cheer for - his sister, or her opponent, the girl he
loved?
While he debated the issue with himself, a group of girls from
the Academy seated behind him were gossiping about him - and a group
of boys from Fuurinkan High next to them were wondering how in the
universe any girl could find Kunou Tatewaki 'interesting.'
But there was another side to the issue. If Ranma lost, Ayumi
and that other boy Kodachi had fallen in love with would have to
forget they knew Ranma and stay by Kodachi's side. It would be a
terrible blow to Ranma's pride, to be sure, and he would be there to
comfort her, be there for her...
"In the red corner, the representative for the St. Hebereke
Girls' Academy...... Kunou... Kodachi!!"
The crowd cheered again.
"And in the blue corner, the representative for Fuurinkan High
School...... Saotome... Ranma!!"
The half of the crowd rooting for Ranma cheered.
Daisuke turned to Hiroshi. "Doesn't Ranma-chan look great in a
leotard?"
Hiroshi smiled, not taking his eyes from the two gymnasts in the
ring. "Uh-huh."
A hand smacked the back of Hiroshi's head. "Don't you two ever
quit?" To Hiroshi's surprise, Yuka and Sayuri were sitting directly
behind them. Had they picked the seats on purpose?
"Yuka-chan... I... we... that is..."
Yuka frowned. "Hmph!"
The referee, meanwhile, had called Kodachi and Ranma to the
center of the ring. "In the name of fair play, both of you please
shake hands."
Kodachi saw her chance. "Wait! What's that?" she pointed.
When the referee and Ranma followed her finger to see what she was
pointing at, Kodachi hastily secured one end of an iron shackle to
Ranma's wrist. "You should learn to expect anything."
Ayumi caught sight of what was secured to the other end of the
long iron chain before Ranma. <How'd *she* get here!?>
Ranma frowned. Just like Kodachi to use such an underhanded
tactic... So, what else was attached to the chain? she wondered,
pulling it in. It didn't feel like a heavy weight... could it be
another bouquet of black roses? No... Kodachi knew better than that.
It would have to be something Kodachi believed would seriously hamper
her...
She discovered that Kodachi had guessed well enough.
"*P-chan*!? What are you doing here?"
The bell rang to begin the match.

(...to be continued...)

------------
Credits:

Written by: Mike Koos
Pre-readers: Richard Beaubien, Tom Williams, David Wills

With apologies to Rumiko Takahashi...

All parts of this series available at the RAAC archives at
ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works
or from my WWW pages at
http://www.mother.com/~makoto/stories.htm
Comments and questions welcome.

**********************************
* Mike "Ranma Saotome" Koos * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your
* (AKA "Makoto Kino") * background music is too strong for
* -------------------------------* me."
* Internet: mak...@mother.com *
* * - Whose Line is it Anyway?
**********************************
WWW: http://www.mother.com/~makoto/stories.htm