All eyes went to the door as a certain pigtailed redhead came into the room.
“Aw, crap! She’s still on the other side of the fence!” Joe said as he looked at Zephyr. “Do I still owe you forty bucks?”
The wizened master of Zen and Muai Thai nodded his head. “A wise man once said, ‘know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em’.” H e looked at Joe’s confused expression and explained. "That's a yes.”
“Damn!” Joe grumbled as he took out his wallet.
Ranma, or rather the Hakken, stared at the duo for a moment before shaking her head. She didn't want to know.
“Hello, Hakken-san,” Came the respectful call from the younger girl there, an Asian in a full-body ninja gi that was very cat-themed and pink.
Thankfully for Ranma, the Neko-Ken was under control now, mostly that is, and she smirked at the other the younger woman. “What’s up, Ayane-chan?” She patted the Ninja Kitty on the shoulder.
“Well, everyone was wondering what happened to you, yesterday,” The young girl said. “Especially after you got dragged away by a police-officer.”
“Hey, what did happen, chica?” Joe said after handing Zephyr a fifty. He didn’t have any twenties.
“Er...” Ranma looked around and saw that everyone was staring at her. She chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head. “She didn’t want me, after all.”
“Want you for what?” Joe asked.
“She thought her daughter was kidnapped and blamed the wrong person.” It wasn’t even a lie. God knew Ranma couldn’t lie to save her life.
The three gathered nodded their heads. They knew when Hakken was lying, and this wasn’t one of those times, as far as they could tell. “Like I was telling you earlier,” Zephyr said as he took the tooth-pick out of his mouth. “It must have been a case of mistaken identity. Hakken here is too good a person to have done something ‘too’ wrong.”
Ranma smirked. “Who’s too good a person?”
“I was complimenting you,” Zephyr said. “Ever since you joined the tournament last year, your aspirations have yet to seem tainted to me.” He poked the playboy standing next to him. “Unlike Joe here, who only seeks to get as much cookie as possible.”
“Nookie!” Joe corrected. “The term I’m trying to phrase is ‘nookie’.”
Zephyr rolled his eyes. “Please. Like THAT will ever take place of the word, ‘sex’.”
Ranma just rolled her eyes and turned back to Ayane. “Still with the kitty look? I’ve told you people won’t take you seriously if you don’t intimidate them.”
“But I don’t know how to be intimidating,” Ayane said hesitantly. “And you told me before that kitties were scary.”
Joe laughed. “Oh man, that was hilarious! The first time she saw Monty’s cat, she shrieked and jumped to the ceiling!”
Zephyr nodded. “The marks from your finger-nails are still on the ceiling of Monty’s office from when you did that, Hakken.”
“Do you two want another beating?” Ranma asked in annoyance before turning to Ayane. “Why not go for the black-clothing look, Ayane-chan? I once knew someone that sure as hell scared the shit out of me all the time.”
Ayane nodded her head. “Well, I-”
“Sistah!” Came another female cry, as Cheyenne snuck up behind the Hakken and squeezed the life out of her in a tight and rather affectionate hug. “Good to see you’re not in the slammer!” The large female wrestler had developed a heavy sense of respect for the Hakken early on, and was one of Ranma’s first ‘friends’ within the UFC.
“AHHH!” Ranma screamed before smashing an elbow on top of Cheyenne’s head out of reflex. She breathed heavily to try and calm down. “I’ve told you a hundred times not to squeeze my breasts!”
“Oh, sorry little one,’ Cheyenne said, seemingly uneffected by the elbow-drop. The large Arab woman gently placed the Hakken back onto her feet. “I was worried for you, all right?”
“Thanks for the concern,” Ranma grumbled as she rubbed her now sore breasts. She froze when she realized what she was doing and turned very slowly to see that, yup, both Joe and Zephyr were staring at her. Joe because he was a pervert, no doubt about it, and Zephyr... Well, he had pretty much mastered Shintoism, but even he had his few faults.
“So pretty...” Joe mumbled.
Ranma-chan glared at them. “Do you two mind?”
Zephyr quickly turned away, nibbling on one end of his toothpick.
Joe just kept staring...
...Until his chin got a personally encounter with the Hakken’s foot...
...And she was wearing high heels.
Zephyr nodded his head as the display of violence. “That reminds me. You’re going to need skill like that if you wish to still have a chance at the finals this year, Hakken.”
Ranma-chan snorted in a very unladylike manner. “You’ll see it first-hand if you continue to underestimate me.”
“I’m not under-estimating you, just giving you a warning,” Zephyr said seriously. “You’re back down to the inexperienced fighters’ bracket with the group Ayane’s age.”
The young girl in shin obi neko gear winced at being referred to as, ‘inexperienced’.
“What!? Since when!?” Ranma-chan growled.
“Last night,” Cheyenne spoke up, sounding serious. “You missed your last three scheduled fights. They got counted as forfeits. Three losses.”
“Yeah, chica...” Joe said as he sat up, after he pushed his jaw back into place. “It makes for quite a poor showing on your fighting record for this season.”
Ranma sighed and leaned back against a wall. “So what do I need to reach the Finals? Only KOs?”
Zephyr tapped his chin. “I believe you’ll need to need to win all of the rest if your matches, or you won’t make it to the Finals this year.”
“And I really wanna see you make it too, wolfie,” Joe said. “It’s gonna be a huge Pay-Per-View!” He chuckled. “Man, to see that chest on those huge ‘mungo-vision’ screens...” He mumbled more to himself.
The redhead decided to ignore that last comment, better if she paid him back in a fight than with words anyway. “So who is the poor soul I’ll be fighting today?” Ranma asked with narrowed eyes, cracking her knuckles. Not that she thought less of the younger fighters, but she was going to give it her all in the following matches.
The Ninja Kitty raised her hand feebly, and in tiny voice, managed to squeak out, “Me...”
Ranma-chan blanched when she realized how Ayane must be feeling right now. “Um... I was kidding?”
Ayane just looked at the older woman fearfully. “Um... I’m going to go hang with the others...” She said as she sped off an away from the older fighter.
Joe laughed. “Hoo man, now THAT is funny!” He said. “You may just win the match by just saying ‘boo’!”
Ranma’s shoulders slumped before she glared at Joe. “It’s not funny! How would you feel if it was you in her position?” She didn’t wait for an answer before rushing after the younger woman. “Can’t have her doubting herself... She’s a hell of a fighter,” She mumbled as she ran.
(------)
“Cheer up, Ayane,” A Caucasian girl with short blue hair dressed in a simple gi said. “So what if you have to face the Hakken? You’re training under Zero for crying out loud.”
Ayane looked at the other girl. “Christie, Hakken is so pissed right now about the decision the judges made, that she’s ready to tear my head off and feast on my intestines!”
A third girl wearing an oversized pair of glasses nodded. “Mayhaps I should give you last rites?”
“... I don’t think it can be that bad,” Another girl commented trying not to look green at the mental image of the Hakken doing just that.
Ayane looked between the girl with glasses and the girl in the over-sized French chef outfit. “Priest, Janice, you didn’t see her after she got the news! She had a look of blood-lust in her eyes!”
Janice looked at Ayane sympathetically. “Do you really have to fight her, then?”
Ayane slowly nodded her head. “Maybe I can get lucky, and they’ll let me forfeit before I have to fight her.”
“I don't think so,” A fifth female voice was heard. One that sent chills down the girls’ backs. Not because it sounded threatening, far from it, but because they all recognized who it belonged to.
Janice quickly shut up. She had no intention of crossing the Hakken the way Ayane seemingly did.
The Priestess quickly made a sign of the cross and started gently praying.
Christie just stepped back quickly to give the Hakken room... And get out of the line of fire.
Ranma-chan stepped closer and looked at Ayane seriously. “Forfeiting a fight is not a good way to intimidate others, Ayane-chan.”
Ayane looked at the Hakken fearfully. “I’m not trying to intimidate you. I’m trying not to get killed!” She shrieked as she placed her hands over her head as if to protect herself.
Ranma-chan rolled her eyes and slapped Ayane across the face. It wasn’t a punch meant to hurt, she could easily throw those, but to shock the woman into listening to her. “Are you going to listen or do I have to slap you again.” It didn’t sound like a question.
Ayane fearfully looked at the redhead. “Oh...okay...” She said slowly, her cheek already looking red.
Ranma-chan nodded and sighed. “Look, I’m not going to kill you in our fight so you better stop being afraid. I won’t lie to you, I’ll give it my all.” She frowned. “And the only way you won’t get hurt is if you fight seriously and without fear. I’ve seen you fight and I know you have what it takes to give me a good fight.” The redhead felt in awe at herself. She was never this good with words.
Ayane nodded her head slowly. “...But... I don’t know... She said slowly. I... I know moves. And Master Zero says I have skill... But I don’t feel it, Hakken-san...” The Ninja Kitty was looking depressed as hell. “I don’t feel like a fighter...”
Ranma-chan rolled her eyes. “It’s all in the attitude, Ayane-chan. You don’t feel like a fighter because you act like a scared rabbit instead of a fighter.”
Ninja Kitty nodded her head slowly. Zero would say the exact same thing to her, and more so. “...How do I act like a fighter?” She asked as she looked up at the older woman, needing advice badly.
The Hakken blinked her eyes. “Well... Uh... You just...” The redhead sputtered some more before scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. “Heh heh. It just comes naturally to me. Haven’t really thought about it much.”
The younger Asian girl looked depressed as hell at those words. “Then I must not have what it takes...”
A look of panic crossed Ranma-chan’s features at that. Here she was trying to help the girl and instead she was depressing her even more. “Nononono! You have what it takes! I know it! You just have to find it by yourself.” She sighed. “Hell! I’ve known a lot of fighters that I thought were weird, but that was just their way of expressing they were fighters at all.”
Ayane looked at the Hakken curiously. “What kind of fighters?”
Ranma-chan looked nowhere in particular as she spoke, obviously remembering from some time ago. “Well, there was this girl who always jumped around in a black leotard, playing around with a gymnastics ribbon and laughing like crazy.” The girls looked at each other in confusion, since that didn’t sound intimidating at all, until the Hakken continued. “She was scary as hell! That ribbon of hers could cut through stone. She was also beautiful.” Yes, Ranma-chan could admit that now. “An untouchable kind of beautiful. Cold and emotionless. And that laugh...” The redhead shuddered as she trailed off.
Ayane looked at the Hakken curiously. “Like one of those really evil women masterminds you see portrayed in movies?”
“Worse. The ones in the movies are sane...” Ranma-chan commented.
Ayane nodded her head slowly. “What else can you tell me about her?”
“She always wore black. Or at least tried to. She didn’t mind showing off skin. In fact she was next to naked most of the time.” Ranma-chan pursed her lips in thought. “Oh! And she always appeared and disappeared in a shower of black rose petals.”
The Ninja Kitty nodded her head. “That... That sounds...” She managed to smile. “Pretty cool.”
Ranma-chan stared at Ayane. “...What?”
“Cool?” Christie asked. “Please. That woman sounds like a crack-pot. If you want to be a fighter, you need pure muscle and skill, right, Hakken?”
The Hakken turned to look at Christie and sighed. “Great. Another Akane.”
At that comment, Christie blinked her eyes. “Huh? Who’s Akane?”
The redhead shrugged. “Just a former... Friend. She used to have nothing but muscle, even in her brain. While she couldn’t hold a candle to most of the fighters I’ve known, she always did have a mean punch.”
Christie nodded her head, obviously intrigued. “How often did she train?”
“Every day. She did nothing but break bricks, not much skill practice there, but she was stubborn,” Ranma-chan finished wistfully. She never did give Akane enough credit. Sure she was the worst of the bunch, but then again the bunch was composed of the best fighters in the area.
Christie nodded her head. “Bricks! Got it!” She didn't even care that Janine was gawking at her.
“There’s no way she's taking this seriously,” Janice thought.
Christie chuckled to herself. “Yes... I’ll become stronger. Just you wait, all!”
Janice shook her head and was about to leave when the Hakken continued. Even she was interested. “Hell! I even knew a girl that fought using her cooking tools.”
Janice looked at the small redhead curiously. “What?”
The Hakken nodded to herself. “Those flour bombs sure stung.”
The Priest blinked her eyes. “You knew someone that fought like our resident French cook here?”
The Hakken nodded once again. “Something like that. Only that she used oversized cooking utensils. A battle spatula was her weapon of choice.”
Janice remained quiet, but it was obvious she was taking Ranma-chan’s words to heart.
“Battle spatulas?” Ayane asked questioningly.
The Priest nodded her head. “Sounds very odd.”
“Until she nearly disembowels you with them...” Ranma-chan muttered under her breath.
Ayane blinked her eyes. “Now that does sound dangerous.”
“It doesn’t sound like you had to deal with any girls with oversized glasses though,” Priest said. “Or girls who follow a strict moral code.”
“Nah. There was this guy I knew that was so blind he could hardly see anything, even with his glasses on,” Ranma-chan smiled remembering Mousse. He was the only one that attacked her for a somewhat decent reason at the beginning. “He compensated by using so many weapons at once it was hard getting in close.”
The Priestess nodded. “While that may have been useful for him, it seems like over-kill to me. Too bad no one things to follow a strong code anymore...”
“Well, there was also one girl I knew that had some pretty screwed up laws. She even tried to kill me for a while, before she started to try and kiss me,” Ranma said and crossed her arms over her breasts. “She was the best female fighter I knew back then,” Cologne didn’t count. No one that looked like that could be considered a woman.
The Priest nodded her head, intrigue obvious on her face. “Seems... Interesting. She followed a code without any hesitation?”
Ranma-chan nodded. “Because of her laws she also turned from trying to kill me to trying to marry me. Those were some very screwed up laws, but she stuck to them.”
The Priest nodded. “True loyalty to her laws,” She said wistfully.
Janice rolled her eyes. Just what they needed, Priest becoming even more fanatical.
Ayane blinked her eyes. “So one was trying to marry you?” She asked curiously. “Could’ve been worse. They all might have wanted to marry you.”
Ranma-chan visibly winced. “It’s a... Long story.”
Ayane nodded. “Well, thank you. I am feeling better.” She smiled. “And that Kodachi sound impressive.”
“Huh?” Ranma-chan looked at Ayane curiously.
“So does the chef,” Janice added.
“I think Akane sounds as though she kicked some major ass,” Christie said.
“Well, I think this Shampoo has her ideals on pretty loyally,” Priest added.
By now Ranma-chan was REALLY confused. Poor Hakken. She didn't realize the headache she was setting herself up for later.
For the moment thought, she knew she gave hope back to the Ninja Kitty. Smiling, Ranma-chan shrugged. She came to cheer Ayane up and it seemed like she’d succeeded. “There was also this immortal Phoenix god when I was seventeen. Good thing he managed to resurrect himself after I gave him a lesson.” She patted Ayane on the shoulder. “Well, I'll talk to you in our fight.”
Blinking her eyes once, twice, thrice, Ayane stared at the receding form of the Hakken. “Phoenix God?” She asked nervously.
“Nope. Just tuna! I mean, what Else do I need?”
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(Posted Wed, 03 Nov 2004 23:29)
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