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

[Mike Koos]

"Yaaa-hoooo!"
The yell was awfully uncharacteristic of her, Ranma knew... but
what the heck, she was having fun.
With autumn well under way, so, too, was the ice-skating season.
Ranma had saved up enough of her allowance to buy a decent brand-new
pair of ice-skates - Dad couldn't complain if she bought them with
her own money, could he? - and a cute little outfit to go along with
it.
Well, cute in her opinion, anyway. She had no one else in a
house full of guys to ask for an honest opinion on what was cute or
not. Kasuga, perhaps, but even then Ranma couldn't tell if the guy
was simply humoring her; it was hard to tell when it came to Kasuga.
Then there was Naka, who'd probably charge for an opinion, and Ayumi,
whom she could always ask if she wanted the hentai's point of view.
Either Soun or Genma were out of the question... they were by far the
last people she'd turn to for an opinion on cuteness.
Her outfit began with a blue knit sweater decorated with small
white polka-dots, layered over a simple blouse and short white
skirt... black leggings, a pair of tan legwarmers that almost matched
the color of her gloves, and a thick scarf for the final artistic
touch. She hadn't been to the rink in a couple of years, although no
one had to know that. It wasn't that often she had the chance to
take time away from her training while growing up to have a little
fun, and skating was one of the extreme few pleasures her father ever
allowed. Oh, she'd had to go to the rink in second-hand clothes and
skates even more removed - nonetheless, Ranma had come to develop a
fair talent for skating.
"Ranma!" Sayuri called her, interrupting a showoff-ish lap
around the rink. "We're taking a break. Wanna join us?"
Ranma slid to a halt near her friends. "Sure, why not?"

Destiny's Wish
Part Twelve: The Loves of Their Lives
written by Mike Koos
-------------------------------------

"The Skating Club?" asked Ranma, gulping down a bite of steamed
rice before saying anything... though she neglected to remove the
chopsticks as well.
"You're a natural!" Sayuri smiled. "I'll bet they'd make you a
regular in no time!"
"I don't know......" To tell the truth Ranma was still hesitant
about joining any of the clubs at Fuurinkan High. Everyone,
including the teachers, kept recommending she join at least one club.
And quite a few of the clubs wanted to count her as a member, too...
especially the Shintaisou Club, which Ranma had temporarily 'joined'
for the fight against Kodachi. *That* was an experience she didn't
want to have to go through again for a while. She hated to think all
those clubs were asking her to join just because she was a
considerable fighter and martial artist...
"C'mon, what do you say?" Yuka, who was seated across the table
from Ranma and Sayuri, interrupted Ranma's thoughts. "You know
Sayuri-chan and I are already in the Skating Club. Why don't you
join? It'll be a lot of fun."
Ranma's eyes drifted over the wall at her side to the skaters
passing by them in the ring and back. "I'll think about it," she
said in a slightly exasperated voice.
She suddenly recalled something important, bringing her head up
with a start. "Oh, no! I forgot to bring P-chan with us!"
"I kinda forgot you'd brought her, too," admitted Sayuri.
"Y'know, I still can't believe you've got a little black pig as
a pet," Yuka commented. "Sure, she's cute and all that now, but
what're you gonna do when she grows up?"
Ranma stood. "I'll worry about that," she smirked, "when the
time comes."

Near the middle of the rink P-chan was scrambling to stay on her
feet in spite of all the ice. Failing that, she sat down and decided
to look for Ranma instead. Stupid ice! Were she human, like Ranma,
she might have been able to stand upon the ice better. Either way,
that didn't mean she had to like moving around on ice... her
diminutive pig legs weren't of much help. At times like this she
likened herself to a water balloon with feet and a snout.
A pair of highly frilled skates stopped just short of her,
kicking a tiny amount of slush up into her face. "Charlotte!!" the
girl towering over her nearly squealed.
Uh-oh... this couldn't be good. Who was Charlotte?
The girl, who wore an outfit as flashy as her boots - more, in
fact - was looking straight down at her. "Charlotte..." repeated
the girl fondly. "Come on, we're going home."
Who did this girl think she was? P-chan didn't even know this
stranger who insisted on calling her 'Charlotte.' Maybe she had
confused P-chan for another little pig?
Maybe someone else had the same... *problem* as her. Now
wouldn't that be a laugh?
Whatever the case, she had no intention of going home with this
girl. She started to run away in the opposite direction... but
thanks to the ice, did not make it far. The girl knelt down and
caught P-chan by the bandanna. "Naughty, naughty, Charlotte!"
Hmm, thought P-chan. If the girl had a close look at her, she'd
realize P-chan wasn't this 'Charlotte' she believed P-chan to be.
The girl formed a fist with her free hand, then bashed P-chan
over the head. P-chan was jolted into unconsciousness.
Then again... maybe not.
The girl with the long, permed auburn hair held P-chan close
while everyone else in the area gaped. Was this any way to treat an
animal, pet or otherwise?
"Silly Charlotte!" she giggled. "You shouldn't try to run like
that!"

At a ramen house down the street, Ayumi was in the process of
fending off Daisuke and Hiroshi's obsession with Ranma. The duo had
come with snapshots of Ranma, taken during her Combat Gymnastics
match, in some unusual poses - including some which could be thought
of as suggestive. How had they come by the pictures? Ayumi hadn't
bothered to ask... in a remote corner of his mind he likened it to
when Naka sold Kunou a handful of photos of the tomboy. Thank
goodness Naka wasn't doing that any longer...
He doubted Hiroshi or Daisuke had taken the pictures themselves;
Ranma would have already heard about it from her friends - who had
been seated behind his friends during the match - and done something
about it. Mostly likely they'd hired a photographer or paid someone
for the shots.
"Why don't you just admit it, Ayumi? Ranma deserves more than
what she has with you. Why not break the engagement and allow her
her happiness?"
Ayumi frowned. "Can't." Especially since it wasn't his idea to
begin with. He paused for a round of noodles. "Why are you guys so
worried about her? Don't tell me you're in love with her or
something."
"Ayumi, you obviously don't know how to treat Ranma with
respect," Hiroshi persisted, through a mouth full of ramen.
Sarcasm dripped from Ayumi's voice. "I'm so glad you've devoted
yourselves to fixing my love life." His lunch gone, Ayumi hopped out
of the chair he had taken. "See you later. Call me after you've had
a cold shower, okay?"
"Not so fast!" both Daisuke and Hiroshi demanded. They backed
him against the thin front door of the restaurant. "You think we're
gonna let you get away with destroying Ranma's purity and then act
like it's nothing!?"
"What!?" Ayumi resisted the urge to scream. "What the heck are
you talking about? The girl's an obsessive maniac tomboy with
absolutely NO femininity!"
Behind Ayumi the door slid open. "AYUMI!!"
The first thing Ayumi saw on turning his attention to Ranma was
the anger in her features. Oh, no... he was willing to bet Ranma had
overheard what he'd just said and was going to beat him up for it.
She knew he had planned to be here and yet he had to tempt fate to
risk a few potshots at Ranma...
Ayumi retreated as the girl angrily strode over to him. "H-hey!
What do you want?"
Then she stopped, and tears started to form in her eyes. No,
this wouldn't do... tears were a sign of weakness. Saotome Ranma,
the most powerful - and only - student of the Saotome class of
martial arts, weak? No way! Ranma rubbed the tears out of her eyes
and tried to look angry again.
Ayumi realized his mouth had been hanging open all this time.
He quickly shut it, at a loss for words. After all, if Ranma only
knew how incapable he was of dealing with a crying girl, she could
use that against him. "Wh-what's with the tears?" he ventured
nervously. "All I did was tell them you have no femininity--"
"I can't find P-chan!"
"...so..." It took a few seconds for Ranma's words to register.
"......what?"
Sayuri and Yuka walked through the open door. "P-chan was taken
while we were at the skating rink!"
"Some girl swiped her!" Ranma held back her tears. "People
said they saw what happened!"
More people entered the restaurant, and were greeted by an
electronic door greeter. Ayumi noticed that one of the people
happened to be carrying an unconscious little black piglet with a
familiar yellow-and-black bandanna tied around its neck. "So... what
did that pig of yours look like, again?"
"Quit playing ignorant! This is serious!"
<Serious, huh? And here I thought we were talking about
*P-chan*.> Ayumi pointed to the girl who held the pig in her arms.
"I wanted to make sure I had the right... um, person." Pity the joke
was wasted on Ranma...
Ranma and her two friends turned their heads to see what Ayumi
was referring to.
"*P-chan*!"
P-chan awoke at the sound of her name being called.
"P-chan!" Ranma could tell the pig was, indeed, P-chan... not
only did the pig look the same, she recognized her name and was
struggling to get away from her auburn-haired captor and return to
her true owner.
The girl tightened her grip. "Oh, no you don't! What do you
think you're doing? Why are you calling my Charlotte 'P-chan?'" But
no one was convinced, least of all P-chan, who shook her head
fiercely to indicate that she was *not* Charlotte!
Ranma instinctively formed a fist. "She's *P-chan*, and she
belongs to *me*!"
"Charlotte, you mean! This is Charlotte and no one else."
Another newcomer snatched P-chan from the girl's arms. "Ah!?
Hey!" she cried. The newcomer was a boy who held P-chan higher than
her arms could reach. "Give her back! Give her back!!"
Yuka and Sayuri blushed. "Omigosh...... he's so handsome..."
Nearby, Ayumi's friends looked at them dubiously.
The boy, who had lighter brown hair than the girl, presented
P-chan to Ranma. "Let me guess. This little guy belongs to you?"
Ranma blinked. "Er... yeah."
"I really must apologize for the behavior of my partner."
"No..." Ranma patted P-chan, who was grateful enough to be away
from the girl who insisted on calling her 'Charlotte.' "It's okay.
Thank you."
The girl began pounding on the boy's back with her fists. "I
want my Charlotte back! I want my Charlotte back!"
Regardless of this the boy settled back into a chair. "She has
a rather unique hobby of... *collecting* things she thinks are cute--"
"I want her back, I want her back!" the girl continued to
pound, this time with a metal ashtray.
"If she sees something she thinks is cute, she'll give it a name
and take it home with her."
"In other words, she's a kleptomaniac," muttered Hiroshi. The
girl in question, however, was doing the exact opposite of muttering.
"I want her back I want her back I want her back I want her back!!"
Her voice steadily grew more shrill and louder; she had also switched
to using a chair as her weapon of choice. Only when she reached for
the nearest table did the boy react.
"That's *ENOUGH*, you stupid brat!"
The girl merely sniffled. Seeing as how the boy wasn't about to
return her prized possession to her, she turned a petulant gaze on
Ranma. "I hereby challenge you to a match!"
Ranma glared back. So, too, did P-chan. "You wanna fight me?"
"Hmph! That's the *uncivilized* way of solving things! You and
I will meet on the ice!" The girl raised her skates so that Ranma
could see them.
"You want to challenge me to a skating match?"
"When I emerge victorious, you will return my Charlotte to me!"
"Ah - I just remembered who they are!" Sayuri blurted out
before Ranma could fire off a retort. "I knew I recognized them from
somewhere... They're the 'Golden Pair,' Koruhoz High's top
free-skating pair!"
"Shiratori Azusa-chan," the girl introduced herself.
"Sanzenin Mikado. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Mikado
struck a pose.
One of the clerks leaned over the counter. "Look, either order
something or leave. You're disturbing our customers!"
"Ranma," pleaded Yuka, "please... you don't want to get in a
match against these two."
Sayuri nodded. "I hear they're the best out of all the schools!"
"I don't care!"
Azusa adopted a supremely confident smile. "Now that you know
who we are, I will accept your surrender."
"Why would I want to run from a common thief like you?" Ranma
put on airs. Not that she was at all jealous of the little thief and
her attitude; Ranma was out to prove she was better than Azusa, the
spoiled brat.
"Charlotte, I'll be eagerly awaiting your arrival." Azusa
placed herself immediately within P-chan's sight.
Ranma wheeled P-chan out of Azusa's sight. "Don't let her scare
you, P-chan. I'll never lose to her." P-chan breathed a depressed
sigh and settled further into Ranma's folded arms.
<Oh, brother.> Seated at a table a few feet from his would-be
iinazuke, Ayumi propped his head up on the palm of his hand and tried
not to pay attention. But he couldn't help notice Mikado coming to
stand closer to Ranma than he should.
"I must apologize... it seems my partner has a penchant for
causing others trouble." Mikado leaned in closer to her face, eyes
softening. "Please accept my humble apology..."
He drew Ranma's face up with one hand to kiss her on the lips.
Needless to say, this impetuous move shocked everyone in the room
except Azusa. Even P-chan was amazed by Mikado's audacity.
Ranma's face was turning quite red. What in the world did this
guy think he was doing?
Once Mikado's lips were less than an inch away from Ranma's, a
decorative naruto - a fish-paste cake - attached itself to Mikado's
cheek.
The skater glanced around the room to learn the identity of the
one who had interrupted his moment with an attractive young girl.
A short distance away, Ayumi's index finger remained poised in
midair. It was he who had flicked the naruto at Mikado, and who kept
his finger in place so Mikado would know this for a fact.
Mikado and Ayumi traded indifferent stares until Mikado peeled
the small cake from his face.
<Ayumi...> Ranma thought, startled. It seemed P-chan wasn't all
that thrilled with Ayumi's move, either, but Ranma was too concerned
with what Ayumi had done to mind.
"You wish to challenge me?" Mikado asked, a bemused expression
to his face. Ayumi withheld any reaction. "Very well... I accept.
Our match will take place in one week at the rink at Koruhoz High."
Azusa gasped when she saw the 'challenge' her partner held.
"Kyaa... it's so *cute*!" She immediately dubbed it 'Francois' and
tried to yank it out of Mikado's hand.
Obviously, this wasn't the first time he had had to put up with
Azusa wanting to appropriate something of his; Mikado deftly kept the
naruto just out of her reach. Azusa could have it later - he wasn't
about to let her bring everything grinding to a halt because of her
silly habits! "I do hope you have a partner, as we will be competing
against each other in pair skating. Is that all right with you?"
"Whatever," Ayumi shrugged, standing. Sanzenin Mikado sounded
like his partner did to Ayumi - all talk, more or less. Nothing but
a big show-off windbag. Oh, sure, they had enough skill to
intimidate other people... but Ayumi? This Mikado guy was just
asking to be punched.
Azusa, in the meantime, had taken to pounding Mikado's head with
an ashtray again. Everyone knew where this particular Golden
Pair routine was headed. "I want my Francois!"
Mikado rolled his eyes. "You have ruined the moment, you little
brat! Do you know that?"
"I don't care about your moment! Francois is mine!"
A clerk approached Mikado. "This is the bill for your three
friends' meals." Mikado warily took the bill. Caught up in yelling
at Azusa - a great tension reliever, considering Azusa often caused
most of that tension to begin with - they had failed to notice Ayumi
and Ranma leaving with their friends in tow... not to mention
sticking the bill to Mikado.
"This much? What in the world did they eat?"

There were a few dark clouds in the late afternoon sky, though
not enough to cause Ranma any concern. Neither she nor Ayumi said a
word to each other.
Ever the cocky one, Ayumi had learned to mimic Ranma's
fence-walking trick and enjoyed using it every time they walked
somewhere together to annoy her. As a result Ranma basically kept to
the ground now; besides, she wanted P-chan, who she held securely in
her arms, to avoid any further stress. At least Azusa wasn't much
like Kodachi... Ranma doubted the spoiled girl knew anything about
stealth. Azusa wouldn't be waiting on her ceiling to ambush her with
a large wooden mallet before the match.
"Anyway," she heard Ayumi say, "I hope you know I didn't do that
'cause I'm jealous or anything." A look of disgust came over his
face. "That guy just makes me sick."
Ranma turned her head away, walking faster. "You could have
minded your own business."
"What?" Ayumi couldn't believe she had made the suggestion. He
leapt down from the fence to confront her. "I was only trying to
save you from that guy and..."
She blinked, looking up into his eyes.
"Oh. I see. You like him, don't you?"
"No way!" Ranma spat. "I was a tenth of a second away from
planting a fist in his mouth when you interfered."
Ayumi exhaled. "...You really do have no femininity."
"Why would I show any femininity to a boy I don't like?"
Unseen by anyone, P-chan smiled.

** ** **

"You guys were challenged to a pair skating match? Because of
that little pig? Why?"
Naka hadn't expected anyone to answer the question. Both he and
the ever-present panda had been lounging around in the family room
when Ayumi and Ranma came home and sat at the table. Ranma lowered
P-chan to the floor, and the pig in question had immediately
disappeared for parts unknown. Whatever the case, Naka wasn't too
concerned. "So you're going to pair off? But that means you two'll
have to *work together*." Wasn't there something he was supposed to
remember about Ayumi and skating? Oh, well. Probably not that
important.
Kasuga, in his usual manner, smiled. "Oh, don't worry, Naka.
They'll be fine."
"Oh, really?" Ranma muttered under her breath.
Ayumi nonchalantly tossed an orange up and down. "I hope you
know I'm not in this for that stupid pig."
Before Ranma could come up with an appropriate reply everyone
heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.
The door to the hallway slid open to make way for Ryomi.
Apparently she had rushed straight here from the hot bath; she held a
tub of bath supplies in hand, a towel over her shoulder and had
barely taken the time to dry her hair before tying her bandanna back
into place. "I deserve to take part in this fight more than Ranma!"
she declared.
"Oh, hello, Ryomi," Kasuga greeted her.
Ryomi placed herself in between Ranma and Ayumi at the table.
"Please, Ayumi-san! Can I be your partner in the fight?"
Ranma frowned at the scene. Did Ayumi know the Lost Girl had
fallen in love with him?
"Do you know how to skate, Charlotte?" asked Ayumi, innocently
enough.
She punched him in the chest. "*Who's* Charlotte!?"
The boy watched her through half-closed eyes. As usual, Ranma
hadn't made the connection, even though she sat too close *not* to
hear. "Oh, that's right. I meant to say *P-chan*."
Ryomi glanced at Ranma, who looked at her and Ayumi
questioningly. She had no idea why Ayumi constantly equated Ryomi
with her pet...
"The challenge was issued to me and Ranma, not you," Ayumi told
Ryomi. "We're the ones they'll be expecting to show up. I'll bet
you're not that great a skater anyway."
"I'm a great skater! Better than Ranma! I'll prove it to you!
Tomorrow, at the rink."
"Okay, tomorrow we'll see who's pairing off with whom!"

** ** **

The following morning Ranma accompanied Ayumi and Ryomi to the
public skating rink. She'd had to endure their boasts about how
great they were at skating the whole way. Both her iinazuke and her
rival had been intent on topping each other's skating stories.
Well, if they were *that* good, she had nothing to worry about,
right? The match would be a piece of cake. Ranma didn't relish the
idea of having to pair off with Ayumi... but this challenge was for
the sake of her pet, P-chan - and, to some extent, Ayumi's pride.
She wasn't about to let Ryomi take her place in the match just
because Ryomi wanted to skate beside the boy she'd developed a
schoolgirl crush on. Ryomi had no real stakes in this fight! Not
only that, she doubted Azusa would allow the substitution, at any
rate.
Ayumi and Ryomi continued to tell their stories while they
rented their skates and laced them up on the sidelines. "Oh, yeah?
Well, when I was *fourteen*, I--" Ranma tuned the bragging out
again. Honestly, they couldn't have had *that* much experience in
skating. Exactly how much of it was real and what was made up?
Then it came time for them to step out onto the ice. Ranma went
first, skating out a couple of feet and turning around to watch Ryomi
and Ayumi begin to skate. "C'mon, you two! This is the moment
you've been waiting for!"
Everyone watched as the pair took their first step on ice. So
far, so good.
It was the second step and attempting to stand that fouled them
up. Their feet slipped out from under them, sending them toppling
onto their backs... their heads hitting the divider separating the
ice from tiled floor almost in unison.
*This* was the guy who was going to be her partner in the
pair-skating match? "You two can't skate, can you? You *deserve* to
be each other's partners!"

** ** **

"Oh, come on, Ayumi! At least stand up!"
Two days had passed since Ayumi had issued his challenge to
Mikado. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no experience in ice
skating whatsoever; now it fell upon Ranma to give him a crash course
in skating. She led him around the ice by his hand, trying to let
him adjust to the simpler aspects of skating... such as standing and
getting from one point on the rink to another.
Little kids watched and laughed as Ayumi crouched weak-kneed
next to Ranma, attempting to stand though not quite making it, and
flapping his free arm like a bird - as if he thought that would help
him gain some altitude.
"Mou... why'd you challenge the guy to a skating match if you
can't even stay on your feet?"
Ayumi trailed behind her. "It's not *that* easy to explain!"
Today, both Ayumi and Ranma wore rather ordinary outfits to the
rink; Ayumi's consisted of his favorite faded red pullover sweater
over a T-shirt and jeans, whereas Ranma's outfit consisted of a
cream-colored V-neck sweater worn over a subdued plaid button-up
shirt, a brown skirt, gloves, and black stockings that went up
above her knees.
It was the top of one of those stockings that Ayumi's hands
found in desperation to try to keep himself from falling. It worked,
though differently than he'd expected... he managed to stabilize
himself, but the move forced Ranma to fall upon her rear.
"Oww... geez, did you have to do that?"
"I'm sorry," Ayumi apologized sheepishly.
Ranma got to her feet. Ayumi also stood as best he could.
"Can't you try to stand up better than that? Are you a man or what?"
she chided him. With all that macho pride of his maybe he'd get the
point.
It did. He put a little more effort into standing and nearly
succeeded. "Just because I'm a guy doesn't mean I have to know how
to skate!" he grumbled. "A girl who can't skate is a lot worse than
a guy who can't skate!"
She gave him a mild glare. "You actually believe that? Say...
speaking of girls who can't skate, where *is* Ryomi?"
"I don't know," Ayumi let Ranma lead him around by both hands,
not wanting a repeat of his last accident. "I saw her outside... you
think she could've gotten lost again?"
"Maybe..." But before Ranma could complete her thought another
skater forcefully cut between her and Ayumi, severing their handlink
and intentionally shoving Ranma away.
"I'm sorry," Azusa feigned innocence. "I didn't see the two of
you there."
"Shiratori Azusa..." Ayumi recognized the girl at once. Azusa
wore a skater's costume even *more* frilly than the one she had worn
the day she challenged Ranma, if that was at all humanly possible.
Ayumi dropped to his knees. No sense letting his opponents see him
slip and imbed his face into the ice. "I'll bet you did that on
purpose!"
"Why are you arguing with me?" Azusa cupped a hand over her
eyes in an effort to see farther across the ice, then brought it
close to her mouth. "I do believe your partner is in trouble."
Oh, right, Ranma! In his haste to worry about Azusa's presence,
he'd almost forgotten that Ranma had been sent sliding backward at
high speed. Unlike Ayumi, however, Ranma actually knew how to skate.
It was safe to bet the cursed girl would be able to pull herself out
of her slide.
At least, as long as there weren't any obstacles in her path,
like a certain light brown-haired playboy...
Mikado imposed himself directly behind her and caught her,
easily lifting Ranma a fair distance from the ice. This was nothing
new to him; Mikado had to lift Azusa into the air as part of their
routines and to her credit, this girl wasn't quite as heavy.
"We meet again," he flashed her his award-winning smile. "I
trust you're okay?"
"Sanzenin Mikado," stammered Ranma, a bit nervously. He held
her from behind in such a manner that made it difficult for her to
pull a punch without some consequences.
"I'm glad to see that you remember me. I'd hate to think I was
starting to become forgettable."
Oh, *please*.
Mikado turned the girl's face toward him. "If only you didn't
have to risk such a lovely countenance competing against Azusa and I,
but alas--"
An airborne Azusa cut his words short with a glancing blow to
the chin. "Save your flirting for later! It's time to practice the
One-Hundred Man Attack!"
<'The One-Hundred Man Attack?'> Ranma repeated the words in her
thoughts. <This some kind of new skating training I haven't heard
about?>
Then she noticed that a bunch of boys who had over-outfitted
themselves in protective hockey gear had thoroughly encircled Ayumi,
Azusa, Mikado and her... still secure within Mikado's arms.
The boy's face took on an earnest air; Mikado lowered Ranma to
the ice in front of Ayumi and escorted both of them out of the
circle. "Don't get too close, for your sake." Ranma caught the wink
Mikado meant for her before he waded back into the circle.
"Ready?" they head Mikado say.
Another voice rang out. "The One-Hundred Man Attack will now
begin!"
Mikado picked Azusa up and braced her against his outstretched
arm. As their opponents converged upon them Mikado executed a
graceful low spin, striking enemies from every direction with his
extended leg. He placed Azusa over his head, locking her fingers in
his, so that she could do much the same. They became a blur too fast
to see between all their opponents' bodies flying every which way.
<What are they doing?> wondered Ayumi.
Somehow, there was one boy also dressed in protective gear who
didn't enter the fray yet was able to keep track of how many people
Azusa and Mikado had batted away. "Ninety-three... ninety-five...
ninety-seven... ninety-nine... that's it! One hundred!"
Untouched by their opponents, Mikado and Azusa took a bow beside
each other. "Finish."
One boy checked a stopwatch - the whole spectacle had lasted for
exactly nine seconds. Mikado brushed his hair into its proper place.
<Nine seconds? We can do better.>
"They truly are the best when it comes to martial-arts skating!"
another boy remarked in awe.
Ayumi reaffirmed his hold on Ranma's waist. "Wait a minute!
Did that guy say '*martial arts* skating?' If it's got *anything* to
do with martial arts, we can win, no contest! Right, Ranma?"
She glanced down at him. "Don't you think you should learn how
to skate first?"
"Hey, look! There's a little pig trying to skate!"
The voices caught Azusa and Ranma's attention, and Ayumi's as
well.
"Isn't that just *so* cute?"
<Oh, geez,> Ayumi scowled. This could only mean *one* thing...
Sure enough, he made out Ryomi's pig form skittering across the
ice - a pair of ice skates tied by the laces to her bandanna - ahead
of a growing mob of girls who thought the little pig was cute
incarnate. <No accounting for taste, really.>
"Wait!"
"Come back! We won't hurt you!"
Ranma and Azusa saw the object of the uproar at exactly the same
time.
"P-chan!"
"Charlotte!!"
<Here we go again...>
Ranma pushed Ayumi away from her in order to catch up to her pet
before anyone else did. "P-chan! I'm coming!"
Two seconds after leaving Ranma's side Ayumi remembered that he
couldn't skate. "Ra... Ranma!! Wait! I can't--"
"P-chan!" Ranma urgently held her arms open for P-chan to leap
into.
A commendable rescue in-motion... or it would have been, were it
completed. Azusa rushed in to claim P-chan at the last second before
the pig made it to Ranma's waiting arms. "Charlotte! I was hoping
you would be here!"
She promptly removed the bandanna from around Ryomi's neck,
replacing it with a pink collar that Ryomi felt latch. Ryomi asked
the question - what was going on here? - but all that emerged from
her throat were a few strangled pig squeals.
Her bandanna dropped like a rock to the floor with the weight of
a pair of ice skates that had nowhere better to go.
"Consider this a present from Azusa-chan to you, Charlotte. You
look so cute with it on!"
Ranma whisked P-chan out of Azusa's grasp. "How could you be so
cruel as to force a collar on her?" she was outraged. The tag on the
collar - a golden heart with a tiny red bow glued to it, bearing the
inscription 'Charlotte' in hiragana - caught her eye. Now why did
this not surprise her? "Don't worry, P-chan. I'll have this collar
off right away."
"Don't bother," gloated Azusa. She produced a tiny golden key.
"It's locked tight. You'll never be able to break it or take it off
without this key. The only way you'll get that collar off is to win
the match. And I don't think that's likely."
Ranma wondered if she had enough strength to rip the collar
apart with her bare hands. Or better yet, why not have fun with the
indirect approach? "All I need is a pair of wirecutters and maybe a
hacksaw."
Azusa paled temporarily. "Hido--i!" She changed expressions in
mid-stream. "You can't do that either! If you remove the collar
before the match, you automatically lose the match by forfeit!"
"What!?" This, too, Ranma expected. "The 'Golden Pair...' It
doesn't matter WHAT you call yourselves! You'll never defeat me and
Ayumi--"
Ayumi, whose panicked yells brought Ranma's declaration to a
screeching halt. She had forgotten she'd abandoned him to run after
her pet pig. There he was, barely on his feet and desperately
flapping his arms to stay upright more than she had seen from him up
to this point. Did that move ever *really* work?
"Waah! You idiot, Ranma! If I fall down, it's gonna be your
fault!"
Ranma cringed, then sighed. The stupid pervert hadn't learned
to stand on his own two feet yet? Shoulders almost slumping in an
indication of resignation, she skated over to him in order to catch
Ayumi.
Azusa made it to Ayumi's side first. She caught the hapless
skater in her waiting arms. "Hello again!" Azusa beamed. "You
know, for someone who can't skate, you sure are cute!"
"Hey, just one minute!" he protested. "I can--"
Azusa kissed him on the lips.
It was Ranma's turn to pale. <Ayumi no......> The final word
came out of her mouth as a yell. "...*baka*!!" P-chan wasn't
grateful to see another girl kissing the boy she loved, either.
All he knew was that he had lost complete control over the
situation.
Shiratori Azusa had kissed him. And not one of those friendly
little kisses children sometimes gave their relatives. This one had
a measure of affection behind it.
Affection? *Why*? Hadn't he had enough trouble with girls
already?
Of course not... oh, and Ranma was yelling at him, too.
Time to ask the most dangerous question of all - what *else*
could possibly go wrong?
He fell, limp, from Azusa's embrace and landed face down in the
ice.
With any luck he could stay like this until closing time and not
have to face anyone else.
"Such a shame, really," Ayumi heard Mikado say from somewhere
overhead. "You possess no actual skill in skating, and yet, like a
fool, you rush to challenge us. Not only that, you fall victim to
the most obvious of ruses! Ah, I guess this means you will be unable
to participate in our match after all!"
<Why, that stuck-up jerk... I'll show him!> "I have *far* more
skill than you, airhead! Since you wanna see what I can do..."
Ayumi pulled himself completely to his feet, burning with enough
anger to evaporate the ice around him.
The fact that Ayumi was actually *standing* on the ice for the
first time in two days was not lost on Ranma. "Ayumi......"
Ayumi crouched, burying a fist in the ice at his feet to show
how furious he truly was. When he'd told Ranma earlier that Mikado
made him sick, Ayumi had meant it! "...you and I will fight right
here! *If* you think you can survive!"
Mikado said nothing.
"I would not let anger rule my judgment, if I were you," Mikado
said at last. "It will undoubtedly destroy you in the end." He
seemed not to care that a crack caused by Ayumi's punch led all the
way to him and beyond. "Despite that, you have desecrated this rink
with your stupidity. For that, you will be punished in full!"
"Is your speech over yet?" taunted Ayumi. "I wanna finish this
fight before I turn old and gray!"
"Believe me, you will *not* perish of old age!" Mikado braced
himself, as did everyone else in the arena. The signs were not
indicating a harmless fight. No, these two challengers could tear
themselves apart and the very rink around them...

(...to be continued...)

--------
Credits:

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