Shampoo Tendo: Back in the dojo [Episode 20799]

Akane watched the small red-head carefully as she walked out to the dojo, she didn't look like much... but if she beat Shampoo then she had a lot of skill. The Red-head cast the occasional glance Akane's way, but was more focussed on Shampoo, plainly not completely trusting the Amazon.

Entering the dojo, Shampoo pulled out her bon-bori and twirled them around before leveling one at a wary Ranma and growling: "You disgraced me, you miserable little prize thief. Mother may have said not to kill you, but... I challenge you to a duel", smiling evilly Shampoo added, "I'll only beat you up a little bit. A reminder for you to avoid taking what isn't yours."

Akane blinked at that and stepped forward:
"Shampoo! You know that..."

Akane blinked as Ranma put a small hand on her shoulder to draw her out of the way:
"Thanks... Akane isn't it? But I'm Saotome Ranma of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. I don't turn down challenges. If there's no killing and only little beating", Akane noted a slight smile flickering across Ranma's face, "then I don't mind facing Shampoo again."

Shampoo snorted:
"Hah! Last time you caught me after a morning of hard fighting while you were fresh and rested, this time I'm rested. I'll show you what Amazon wu-shu does to your cheap tricks and worthless Anything goes style", Shampoo smirked at that, insulting the red-head and tweaking the nose of her sister/rival/friend at the same time - it did much to restore her temper. Although it struck Shampoo as odd that the red-head just smiled grimly at those words.

Akane bridled at Shampoo's words. The influence of Gel had rejuvenated Soun to the point that he had been willing to seriously train his daughters, however Shampoo had always looked to Gel as her main teacher, then Cologne - Soun had been a distant third amongst her instructors. Akane had looked to her father first and Gel second. Later Great-Grandmother Cologne had taken to teaching both girls when she was around and Akane had tacitly acknowledged that Daddy was not up to Great-Grandmother's level, and paid her greater heed than her father. Even so, Akane did tend to think of herself as a member of the Tendo School of Anything Goes and Shampoo knew that Akane reacted... badly... to insults to the family school:
"Hey! Anything Goes is NOT worthless you Amazon...", Akane bit back the next bit, she didn't want to go to far with her sister.

Shampoo laughed nastily as she advanced on Ranma:
"I'll demonstrate the superiority of Amazon Wu Shu on this one. Once she's pummeled into submission, I'll happily teach you that the Tendo-style is only a little better than this cheap-shot Saotome-style."

With those words Shampoo lunged forward, her bon-bori weaving a damaging pattern, only to see Ranma fading, dodging, moving backwards, never quite where the Bon-Bori was. Shampoo's eyes narrowed and she continued to attack with a lethal weave of bon-bori that could shatter bones if the blow landed cleanly. Ranma continued to dodge around the dojo, still never quite being where the bon-bori were. Akane watched from the sidelines, her eyes narrowing as well. As the combatants came to a pause, Akane spoke:
"Ranma, why aren't you counter-attacking? Shampoo left two openings that I could have hit her through, and you're faster than I am."

Shampoo tossed her head disdainfully:
"See the fear in her eyes sister, that shifty wariness. This one is afraid of what I'm going to do to her to avenge the dishonor she did me. That, and she may be a little wiser than you, I offered more than 2... openings to her. It may be that she sensed the traps that lay waiting."

Akane smirked:
"You offered gambit openings 3 times and another 3 deception openings that I saw. I'm talking about real openings, you know, holes in your defences", Akane grew briefly serious, "What is eating you Shampoo? You're barely reading your opponent, you're just hammering away trying to overwhelm her. What would Great-Grandmother say if she saw you fighting like this?", Akane turned her attention back to Ranma, "And Ranma must have seen those openings, she's clearly too good to have missed them. Are you taking this fight seriously Ranma?"

Ranma stepped back a little, keeping an eye on both Tendo sisters:
"Ah... mostly. Shampoo did spend a few days hunting me because of her silly law about killing anyone who beats her. So I'm not gunna give her an easy time... but it wouldn't be right to beat her up when I'm a guest at her place... ah... by the way, those silly laws, you don't follow them do you?"

Akane smirked at Shampoo's anger, then turned her attention back to the wary red-head:
"Amazon laws aren't normally enforced here. Mother Gel doesn't force them on me, Nabiki or Kasumi, although Great-Grandmother has made it clear she wants to me to follow the marriage laws. Comes with being her student, that and she made me an honorary amazon when I was 13. In the last few visits she's even been hinting I should apply for formal membership in the tribe as a warrior. Says Shampoo needs the challenge."

Ranma relaxed a little and shrugged, opening her mouth to speak. Shampoo blurred into motion, Akane started to react, then pulled herself to a stop as she recognised the stance Ranma was in, it was from a dim memory of one of her fathers training sessions. Shampoo's attacks whistled by Ranma's ears, time froze as Shampoo stared cross-eyed at the fist in front of her nose, her bon-bori out of position, past Ranma's head. Ranma smiled:
"This is a friendly match right?"

Akane smiled broadly at the scene in front of her:
"Didn't Shampoo want it to go to a 'little' beating? It wouldn't be fair to stop things at this point, surely it would be an insult to her amazon honor to suggest that Shampoo would give up at the first little set-back."

Shampoo spared a angry glare for her sister. Another hard sparring session was in order. Turning her attention back to Ranma, the amazon suddenly dropped her bon-bori, going for a suprise strike at Ranma's ears. Her hands caught wisps of hair between them as Ranma dropped down, then took Shampoo in a sudden throw that sent her across the dojo. Shampoo bounced once then came back to her feet, glaring at the red-head, who smiled nervously and asked:
"Can we stop now?"

Shampoo opened her mouth to say something. Akane, mindful of what their mother would actually want jumped in first:
"Certainly. All the requirements of a friendly match have been met", unable to resist Akane smirked at Shampoo, "Anything Goes defeats Amazon Wu-Shu on points."

Shampoo glared at her sister and the guest. Even in her own dojo this red-head dared to defy her, she clenched her fists and stepped forward a little, anger showing on her face. Just let the silly red-head be too slow once - and serious pain could be inflicted on a deserving target. An idea occured to her, and she relaxed somewhat and turned to her sister:
"I'll accept that decision, for THIS bout. Now, it's Akane's turn to show how Tendo style fares versus Saotome style", with a toss of her head Shampoo added, "Let's see if Akane can uphold the honor of the dojo."

Akane opened her mouth, her initial reaction to protest. Then she shut it and turned to Ranma. She had seen some openings in the Red-heads style that she thought she could exploit... it'd be fun to see if she was right. Taking a deep breath she spoke:
"If Ranma is willing, I'd like to try a FRIENDLY match. Just to first blow, no beatings involved."