Ukyo Kuonji blinked as she looked upon the piece of paper that she was holding. She read the letter again to make sure that she read correctly.
"A tournament?" she wondered. "For the title of the strongest fighter in Nerima? And it's being held at the TENDO'S place?"
She scratched her nose in confusion. "Either Ranchan starts to take his role as the heir to the Saotome school seriously... or this is some plot by Akane to win him for herself." She then shook her head. "Naah, she wouldn't go that far. It's not like her to plot anything at all."
She then grinned. "But still... if they want to challenge me, I'll accept. I'll show Ranchan that I'm not only a good Okonomiyaki chef, but also a great fighter!"
"Ukyo-sama..." Konatsu spoke up. "Shouldn't you go to school?"
"ACK!" Ukyo shouted. "I'm gonna be late!"
----
Tatewaki Kuno sniffed the envelope in which the invitation came one last time. "Aaaaah... my dear Akane Tendo! I see it now! This is no mere invitation... it is your declaration of love!"
His loyal ninja retainer, Sasuke, sweatdropped at the words of his master. "Um... why would you believe that, Master Kuno?"
"I knew you wouldn't understand," the kendoist huffed. "Akane Tendo knew that a true samurai like me would accept any challenge... and that I'm able to smite any foe that stands in my way. And after my glorious victory, she will ask me out for a date, formally, in front of the audience! Ah, how I am looking forward to that moment..."
He then sneezed.
Sasuke looked at him in worry. "Master, perhaps you should stay in bed one more day. It doesn't look like your cold is quite gone yet."
"I'm feeling perfectly fine," Kuno sniffed. "Perhaps it's just my intuition, but I have the feeling my true love is thinking about me..."
----
In another part of Nerima, Mariko Konjo clasped her hands around the invitation and giggled in glee. "My dear Tatewaki... this is the perfect chance to show you my undying love. I'll win that tournament, and after becoming Nerima's 'Number One', you'll see that we're the perfect match."
She then waved her pom-poms around while chanting: "Mariko! She's the one! Drives the others on the run!"
----
"A battle tournament? Now that is unusual..." Cologne, elder of the Chinese Amazon tribe, sat down on a chair and frowned. "If this is supposed to be some plot, set in motion by someone to win son-in-laws hand, we should watch out for any trap... Still, I believe we should take this chance..."
Her great-granddaughter Shampoo nodded in determination. "Shampoo agree! Have to join contest and win! Airen then see that only strong wife is perfect wife. Shampoo will beat anyone... Even violent girl, spatula girl and ribbon-girl!"
Mousse pretended not to listen to their conversation, but inwardly he snarled.
'Damn you, Saotome!' he thought to himself. 'This is all a ploy to steal away my lovely Shampoo, is it? Just you wait... I will enter this tournament as well and beat some sense into you!'
----
It was a perfectly normal morning for both Ranma and Akane, even if they both still were worrying about their families' finances.
But when they walked over the school premises, they at latest realized that something was off.
All of the students were looking at them, some with uncertain glances, others with big smiles and grins.
"Hey, Ranma! That was one cool idea you got! We can all come and watch the fights, can we?"
"Ranma, you think I have a chance of winning?"
"Akane, why didn't you tell me about this? I thought we were friends!"
"I hope you're gonna compete as well! Good luck, Ranma!"
Confused, Akane and Ranma kept walking. "What are they all talking about?" Akane wondered. "Ranma... don't tell me there's someone else who challenged you to a fight."
"No one that I'm aware of," Ranma shook his head. "Somehow I got the feeling that the two of us are the only ones who don't know what's going on..."
"SAOTOME!" a bellowing voice echoed over the premises.
Ranma winced. "He HAD to get over his flu, did he...?"
Upperclassman Kuno raised his bokken high into the air. "This time, there will be no escape, Saotome! I will enter the tournament and strike you down, exposing you as the foul sorcerer you are, in front of everyone! And after I defeat you, Akane Tendo and the pig-tailed girl SHALL BE MINE!"
Ranma looked up at Kuno with a clueless expression. He scratched his head. "Uh... what tournament?"
Suddenly, Nabiki came running, grabbed the collars of both Ranma's and Akane's clothes and dragged them along with her.
She only muttered a quick: "Sorry, Kuno, I need to borrow them for a while...", then the three of them vanished through the school gates.
Ranma and Akane gasped for breath when Nabiki finally released them and pushed them both into an empty closet.
"Wh-what's the big idea, Nabiki?" Ranma asked.
"Don't tell me you know what's going on," Akane said. "What's with everyone? What's this about some tournament?"
"I wish I knew," Nabiki sighed. "All of my friends bugged me to finally tell them how we got the idea. From what I heard, someone sent invitations to Ukyo and Kuno... invitations to a martial arts tournament that's supposedly going to be held at OUR dojo." She stared fiercely into their eyes. "And now I wanna know: Did one of you two set this up? Because I really don't like it if you plot something like this behind my back. Fight your fights as you wish, but leave our home out of it... especially now, that we have all those problems."
"I didn't do anything," Ranma protested. "Ya gotta believe me!"
"And you, Akane?"
"M-me?" Akane was dumbfounded. "Wh-why should I do something like that?"
Her sister folded her arms. "Gee, I don't know... perhaps give all your rivals a good pounding?"
"Rivals?" Akane huffed. "Rivals for what?"
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "For Ranma, obviously!"
Akane grumbled angrily. "For that jerk? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!"
"Okay! So that means no!" She frowned. "But still, someone out there is plotting something, and as long as our family is concerned, I want to know who I'm dealing with!"
If there was one thing Nabiki hated was if she was in the dark about something that concerned her directly.
Ranma then tipped his chin with his finger. "You know, perhaps this is just what we needed..."
"What do you mean, Saotome?"
"Think about it: Almost every student from our school wants to see the tournament, it seems. And if they all believe we are the hosts, why shouldn't we demand a little entrance fee for the spectators?"
Nabiki seemed taken aback. Then she grinned at the pig-tailed boy. "Ranma, you never cease to surprise me. You might just have had the right idea about how to use this whole situation to our advantage."
Just then, the closet's door opened, and the grinning face of Principal Kuno appeared.
"Aloha, Keiki!" he snickered. "Y'all cutting class today? My, you naughty lil' delinquents... perhaps you want a nice little haircut?"
The three teenagers blanched upon seeing his infamous scissors. "Th-that won't be necessary, I think," Akane quickly said. "We're just on our way to class!"
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(Posted Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:42)
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