Tatewaki Kuno felt quite proud of himself as he stood on the soccer field after school that day — soon the pigtailed vixen would arrive, and she would receive the joyful news that his oft-professed love for Akane would not hinder him from pursuing a relationship with her. Granted, he knew she might need some convincing, as lesser men were generally incapable of imparting a sufficient amount of affection to more than one woman at the same time, and she had obviously not been in the area long enough to know that the Blue Thunder transcended such limitations.
Thus it was with no small degree of disappointment that he saw Ranma Saotome
“What are you doing here?”
“You asked me ta come here.”
“I did no such thing! I desired to speak with your sister!”
“She’s at her home with her husband.”
“Not that sister! Your other sister! The one blessed with the visage of your elder sister Ranko Tendo.”
The pigtailed martial artist sighed. “Oh. Her.” Maybe he should have switched to his girlform after all — it might have resulted in a more irritating reaction from the kendoist, but at least he would have avoided this awkward situation. “She’s… uh… she ain’t here right now.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
Ranma looked positively bored as he answered this question: “Look, Nabiki gave me yer letter, an’ it said ya wanted ta meet on the soccer field, so here I am.”
Kuno looked puzzled — why on earth would Akane’s mercenary sister give the pigtailed girl’s letter to her brother? He stood in silence with a pensive look on his face for more than a minute before inspiration suddenly struck. In fact, given what he knew (or rather, what he thought he knew) about Ranma’s opinion concerning the courtship of Akane, he should have realized the flaw in this approach from the beginning. “Ah! I understand now!”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” the pigtailed martial artist muttered to himself.
Kuno apparently didn’t hear him (either that, or he ignored him), as he continued unabated: “Obviously, you want me to prove your worth to you before allowing me to court the redheaded angel who resembles your older sister so! For after all, she is an even closer relation to you than the beauteous Akane!”
“Ya got that right,” Ranma said as he rolled his eyes.
“Therefore, I shall make another attempt to prove my worthiness in your eyes. Ranma Saotome, I, Tatewaki Kuno, the rising star of the high school kendo world and Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, am issuing you a challenge!”
Ranma sighed — while he was willing to acknowledge that the kendoist did have more skill than most people, Kuno still didn’t come close to his level, and he really didn’t want to be bothered by a challenge that had almost no chance of helping him improve his own skill at the Art. In fact, he would just told this deluded egomaniac to shove it were it not for his father’s “no refusing a challenge” policy. “Fine — let’s get this overwith.”
Kuno was a bit consternated at his opponent’s obvious lack of enthusiasm, but he shrugged it off. Clearly, Ranma held very high standards for those who wished to woo the women in his family, and the speed with which the pigtailed martial artist had dispatched him yesterday had likely resulted in an erroneously low opinion of his abilities.
Fortunately, Kuno was better prepared this time — this time, he had a better idea of what his opponent was capable of, and with this adjustment in his expectations would come an adjustment in his approach. Still, Kuno felt it would be best to begin with some simple intimidation, and so he steeled himself, and, taking the initiative (which Ranma would no doubt appreciate) he raised his bokken and charged headlong towards his foe.
At first, Ranma didn’t seem to respond to his opponent’s noble charge. In fact, he actually appeared to yawn as the “Blue Thunder” drew ever closer. It wasn’t until Kuno was almost upon him that he made his move — specifically, he leaned about a meter to the left, leaving his right leg outstretched so as to trip the kendoist. The move worked perfectly, and the scion of the Kuno clan lost his balance, falling forward onto the grassy field.
This in itself might have been enough to ensure victory, but Ranma was nothing if not thorough — thus, when Kuno was nearly parallel to the ground, the pigtailed martial artist used a variation on a Muay Thai move he’d picked up in his travels and elbowed his adversary in the small of his back, sending Kuno slamming into the dirt. Kuno’s last thoughts before slipping into unconsciousness were filled with admiration for his more-than-worthy opponent. What skill…
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(Posted Fri, 10 Nov 2006 19:21)
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