#14: Team Ranma in the King of Fighters '96
			The Wheel of Fire, part 5: Full Circle

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
  http://www.crosswinds.net/anaheim/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html
  Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. And 
all that other good stuff. Proper licenses belong to respective 
properties and characters. The manga has precedence over material in 
the anime. 
  This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears in its 
complete form and proper credit. No part may be reproduced for 
monetary gain without permission from the author. (to which the answer 
is probably "no")

Fanart inspired by this story may be found at: 
  http://www.crosswinds.net/anaheim/~slythe/ranma/ranfa.html 

  Author's note: This series takes place after the final manga story, 
Vol.38, after my previous fics, "Moments of Transition," "Team Ranma 
vs. the Orochi Assassins," "End of the Beginning," "Descending 
Spiral," "Specters," "The Law of Amazons," "Doco in the Battle of the 
Bands," "Doco in Hawaii," "The Past is Prologue," "Treasure of the 
Musk Dynasty," "Enter the Shadows," "Face of the Enemy," and "Rising 
Star." Knowledge of the previous stories helps in understanding the 
minor details of the story (see "Plot Points"). 
  This story takes place in the new year, 1996, starting in January. 
The second story in the 'Full Circle' part of the series. 

Plot Points (from previous stories)
==================================
1. Ranma and Akane are married. Ryoga and Akari are married. 
2. Doco (Ranma, the Tendo sisters, the Kunos, Shampoo, Mousse, 
Ling-ling and Lung-lung, Ryoga, Akari, Ukyo, and Konatsu) goes 
semi-professional. 
3. Nodoka insisted that Ukyo join her family to remove her past 
dishonor. While Ukyo accepted, she opted to retain her name for duty 
to her family. 
4. Mousse has reached an understanding with both Shampoo and Cologne. 
After being kicked out of the tribe for a while, he's gain new insight 
and wisdom, but he still blindly-follows Shampoo. 
5. Kodachi and Tatewaki reached an understanding. Both hate their 
parents and Ranma. They know Ranma is the pig-tailed girl. Family 
honor has been restored since Ranma recently saved Kuno's life. 
6. Kodachi, Ukyo, Akane, and Shampoo have reached an understanding. 
They treat each other like old friends, as there's no reason to fight 
anymore. 
7. Ling-ling, Lung-lung, and Shampoo's father work at the Nekohanten. 
8. Kodachi and Pantyhose Taro admit an affection for each other. Part 
of Kodachi's reason is so she can win her bet against Asuka the White 
Lily, but Taro is actually flattered about it. 
9. Ukyo discovers she can manipulate chi, but as of yet it manifests 
only in her okonomiyaki. With proper training she could become more 
powerful than Ranma, according to the minions of Orochi. She briefly 
studied under Herb. 
10. Kuno has devoted himself to mastering every technique of the 
Chinese Phoenix Sword. With what he knows now he becomes a match for 
Ranma. The Phoenix Sword consumes the power of one's soul. 
11. Mousse is learning to fight without his sight, relying on his 
hearing. 
12. Ukyo, Ryu, and Akane are training in unarmed combat under Ranma. 
13. Taro has returned to Nerima, having completed his quest. He now 
stays at the Kuno estate with the Kunos. 
14. Seiryu, the future self of Ukyo, warns the Nerimans that Ranma 
must die in order to save the future. It was she who was behind the 
dreams of Kuno and Ranma. Ranma discovers that it is he himself who 
will kill everybody, but the day of judgment has yet to come. 

------------------------------------------------
Opening: Us After This (Doco OAV opening) 
(Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Nabiki, Kasumi) 
[Set: Ranma and Akane running out the door; Ryoga brushing teeth, 
      Ukyo flipping okonomiyaki, Kodachi feeding Midorigame, etc.] 

(Akane) If I were to hug you closely in a dream   [   ] (R S K)
It's become that I can't see your face, isn't it?   [Why is that?]
(Nabiki) Words which I can't speak are stirring in my heart
You peeped innocently, but ...

(Kasumi) The wind blowing over the river's edge   
     [I must return home already] (R A N)
Good-bye    [I'll get scolded]
(Shampoo) Your smiling face and bright gestures
One by one asking questions

(All) Besides both of us are friends, aren't we?
Only that I said "love", right?
(Ranma) What can I do?  After this 
(All) What kind of things can be spoken that are good
Between you and me...

[Set: Ranma vs. Pantyhose Taro, neither seeming to have an edge. 
      Taro throws water on himself, and his shadow casts over Ranma] 

(A S N) Bought on the roadside, but   [a beautiful red rock] (K)
If it was a ring, it would be an engagement ring   
     [it fits perfectly] 
(Ranma) For you ... it's a promise
These feelings are miserable, but

[Set: Ranma vs. Ryoga. Rocks fly everywhere, Ryoga jamming his 
      finger about. Finally, the ultimate Shishi Hokodan....] 

(All) You are also now bewildered
It's not true love yet and
(Nabiki) It's only that I don't dislike you, right?
(All) There's only love and happiness
From you...

[Set: Vs. Mousse. Dodge several kicks, flips back, and leaps 
      into the air: a storm of chains assails our hero!] 

(Akane) Holding hands together
Found warmth and the ring on my finger

[Set: Vs. Kuno! Flames bathe him in a hellish light, fire leaps 
      from swordpoint, then a column of annihilating flame, the 
      peak forming the shape of the phoenix, wings outstretched.] 

(All) Besides both of us are friends, aren't we?
Only that I said "love", right?
(Shampoo) What kind of manner and change
(All) Because this can't happen frequently
You and me. 
				*  *  *  *  *

  In a hidden, underground compound, a lone figure, dressed in a 
blue uniform and a flowing black cape, stood before a strange altar. 
Hanging above the altar was an ancient tapestry, depicting the head 
of a large dragon most prominently. Springing from the large dragon 
head were smaller, more serpentine dragon heads, seven in all, 
running in different directions apart from the larger head. 
  To each side of the altar stood two pedestals each, each holding 
a lit candle and a single totem. To the left of the man were the 
totems of lightning and wind; to the right were the totems of earth 
and fire.   Standing at the opposite end of the chamber, behind the 
man, were four more pedestals, two to each side of the large iron 
door that served as the entrance to the chamber. The pedestals only 
bore candles, but only two of them were lit: the two candles to the 
left of the man. The two candles on the right seemed to have burned 
out, or, as the man knew, were never lit. 
  "The time of the Reunion draws near, Child," a voice boomed 
throughout the empty chamber. 
  The man nodded. "Everything is being set into motion. Even now 
our enemies work to accomplish our goals, though they know it not 
themselves. I have informed the other three Masters of my 
accomplishments in your name." 
  "Has a suitable host been found?" the voice asked. 
  "Unfortunately, no," the man replied, then added, "and we've yet 
to locate an eighth female descendant of Kushinada. Rest assured, 
even if we don't find a maiden by the Reunion, the life energies of 
our enemies will fuel your power, and surely one of our enemies will 
serve as a suitable host for your emergence." 
  "Be warned, Child," the voice began, "fail to bring us a suitable 
host, and your life will be forfeit. Make sure that our chief enemy, 
the Guardian, is taken care of. No matter what happens, the Yata seal 
must be broken!" 
  The man bowed. "When the time is right, Master, I will deal 
with the Yata seal personally. The time draws very near, the time 
the world's greatest warriors gather. The life energies these 
warriors produce: aggression, anger, and hate, will serve to weaken 
the seal. It will only be a matter of time before the seal is 
removed entirely." 
  "Excellent," finished the Speaker of Orochi. "We leave you now, 
Eldest of our Children, for it is your capable hands we place the 
Reunion in!" 

Early 1996

  It was morning in Nerima. In the house the Tendos and Saotomes 
lived in, Kasumi prepared breakfast in the kitchen. In the dojo, two 
people sparred, throwing punches and kicks back and forth, neither 
landing a hit. It went as such as Akane watched her husband, Ranma, 
try to land a hit on Ukyo in hand-to-hand combat. 
  Months ago it was Nabiki who pointed out to Akane that Ukyo was 
a very defensive fighter; the okonomiyaki chef would continuously 
dodge attacks until she found the right opening. Then, and only then, 
would she attack, it seemed. Apparently, Akane thought, Nabiki was 
right. 
  Ukyo, instead of dodging Ranma's next punch, caught it in one hand. 
With her other hand, the okonomiyaki chef grabbed Ranma and threw him 
into a spinning flip. Ranma crashed to the wooden floor with a loud 
*THUMP!* 
  Ukyo offered her hand when Ranma came to. Accepting it, Ranma got 
up. Rubbing his sore back, he said, "You're getting good at this; I 
couldn't lay a punch on you this time!"
  "Serves you right for what I had to go through for the last four 
months," Ukyo replied sarcastically. If you didn't want to get hit, 
you learned how to dodge. That part of the lesson came easy; learning 
to dodge was another thing entirely. For a martial artist, it had to 
be instinctive. 
  Oh, sure, blocking was easy, but it's far more preferable to avoid 
an attack entirely, especially since some attacks, as the throw, 
couldn't be blocked effectively. 
  Four months ago Ranma offered to teach Ukyo how to fight in 
unarmed combat, after Ukyo realized there were some situations where 
she'd be without her giant spatula or bandoleer. At the same time 
Ranma was also teaching Akane. Therefore today the two were much 
better at unarmed combat than four months ago, as Ranma proved to be 
a patient teacher. 
  Of course, just last month, Ranma accepted Ryu Kumon as a student 
as well. The man who wished to carry on the Kumon dojo only knew how 
to fight using the forbidden art of the Yamasenken, the way of the 
noisy thief, devised by Genma long ago. Since the art was sealed 
away, Ryu has been searching for techniques from other masters to 
use when he revives the Kumon dojo. 
  On the side Ukyo learned to conceal small weapons on her person, 
with the help of Mousse. Sometimes it helped to have an extra weapon 
handy, yet the only weapon she bothered to conceal were a pair of 
ordinary folding fans. 
  Akane handed a bottle of water to Ranma, who accepted it 
graciously. 
  "If I didn't know any better," began Ranma, "I'd say that you were 
a pro at unarmed combat." 
  "Stop it," Ukyo said, waving away the praise. "You don't really 
mean that, Ranchan."
  "Sure I do!" Ranma insisted, shaking his adopted sister's shoulder. 
  "You've gotten better than ever," praised Akane. 
  At that point Kasumi chose that moment to enter the dojo. "Oh, 
Akane," the elder sister began, "we have guests who would like to 
see you!" 
  Akane walked toward Kasumi with curiosity in her eyes. "Who?" 
  Kasumi smiled. "They asked me not to tell. It's better if I took 
you to them." 
  Interested, Ranma voiced, "Hey, I'd like to see these guests, too." 
  Kasumi nodded, leading Akane, Ukyo, and Ranma to the Tendo living 
room. Akane and Ranma stared in surprise as they recognized the two 
girls that sat there, two who visited the Tendo household almost a 
year ago. One dressed in a sailor suit, and had a red ribbon tied 
in her hair. The older of the two wore loose blue pants and shirt, 
her hair tied up high in a pony tail. A long pole was strapped to 
her back; at one end several looping belts hung like a wire frame, 
resembling the head of an egg beater. 
  Natsume and Kurumi stood up from the floor. 
  "Natsume! Kurumi!" Akane exclaimed. "What a surprise!" 
  Natsume nodded. "It has been too long, Akane." 
"We've missed you, Akane!" added Kurumi. 
  "Who're these two?" Ukyo whispered to Ranma. 
  "Oh, right!" Ranma said out-loud, flustered. "You don't know each 
other. Ukyo, this is Natsume and Kurumi; both practice the Anything 
Goes style. Natsume, Kurumi, this is Ukyo Kuonji, my adopted sister, 
and my best pal." 
  "No I'm not!" Ukyo whispered in response, but loud enough for 
the others to hear. She certainly didn't think she was Ranma's best 
pal, at least. 
  Natsume nodded. "A pleasure." 
  Kurumi, deciding it might not be a good idea to bring up the fact 
that she recognized Ukyo from one of the restaurants she stole food 
from, simply said, "Nice to meet you." 
  "So," Akane started, "What brings you two back in the neighborhood? 
Come for a rematch?" 
  The elder of the two sisters shook her head. "We did part with the 
promise to return to challenge you for the right to carry on the 
dojo, but that is not why we are here now." 
  "Actually, that can wait until later," Kurumi interrupted. "Kasumi 
tells us that you and Ranma are married." 
  Akane smiled, nodding in confirmation. "Very happily married." 
  "And I've already got the dojo," Ranma added. 
  Natsume nodded. "As it must be, I suppose. Your exploits are 
known to us, even if we haven't had a decent spar." 
  Ranma loosened his collar as he started to sweat. Oh yeah, these 
two don't know about my curse.... 
  "Ranma, I thought you were at the dojo," someone called from down 
the hallway. He stepped into the living room, dressed in military- 
style clothing, complete with combat boots, probably relics from 
the second World War. 
  Ryu Kumon made his entrance. "I mean, you can't...." 
  He froze, noticing the two new arrivals standing before him. Ryu 
regained his composure, and turned back to Ranma. "Aren't you going 
to introduce me to our guests?" 
  "Oh," Ranma said flatly. "Ryu, these two are Natsume and Kurumi, 
practitioners of the Anything Goes style. You two, this is Ryu Kumon, 
my newest student, who wants to start his own dojo." 
  Natsume, seemingly a bit dazed, shook her head, then offered her 
hand to Ryu. "The pleasure is... all mine." 
  Ryu accepted the girl's hand and shook. "Definitely a pleasure." 
  Kurumi forced a cough, as if trying to get Ryu and Natsume's 
attentions. "Hello, remember me?" She waved her hand between the 
two impatiently. 
  Ryu shook his head. "Oh, sorry. Kurumi, right? Nice to meet you." 
  "Thanks," Kurumi replied. What's with that guy, anyway? Not only 
that, what was with Natsume?! 
  "Well," Soun started, entering the living room, "now that all of 
you have gotten the chance to meet each other, would you care to 
join us for breakfast?" 

  "It is generous of you to welcome us into your home, Mr. Tendo," 
thanked Kurumi graciously, between bites of her breakfast. 
  "Well, you two are always welcome in our home," replied Soun. 
  "I'm glad," Natsume said. "Since our search for our father had 
taken a turn for the worst when we last parted, we've devoted 
ourselves to bettering our techniques to challenge your students 
for the right to carry on the dojo. However, it appears that you 
have cemented your heir's position, both by marrying him to your 
daughter, and by allowing him to take on students." 
  "Um, yes, I believe so," agreed Soun, looking at Ranma. 
  "So," Ranma started, "what brings you two back here?" 
  Natsume replied, "We've come to ask Akane to join us in a 
world-wide fighting tournament." 
  Kurumi produced a roll of paper and unrolled it, revealing an 
advertising poster. "This is the first year this one's going to be 
televised. It's the King of Fighters tournament." 
  "What's that?" asked Akane. "I've never heard of it before." 
  "Don't you know anything?" Nabiki said coldly. "I've heard of it, 
from one of the participants, actually. I hear that it involves 
threesomes fighting each other." 
  "That's correct," confirmed Natsume. "Kurumi and I are only two. 
We wish to represent the Tendo School in the tournament." 
  "Wow...." was all Akane could say. 
  "What?!" Ranma cried in surprise. "Why not me?!" 
  Kurumi turned to the young Saotome. "Quite frankly, we don't 
know you, and you're not part of the Tendo School." 
  Ranma looked about ready to tear his hair out. Tendo School?! 
  "So, what do you think, Akane?" asked Natsume. 
  "Well, I don't know," Akane said, unsure of what to do. "I'm 
really not as good as either of you two, and Ranma...." 
  "I think you should accept," Nodoka added. "It is an honor to 
represent your school in the world." 
  Ranma would've been a better choice, Akane told herself. "Oh, I 
don't know.... Well, okay, I'll do it." 
  "SHE GOT PICKED OVER ME?!" Ranma yelled. He got up to his feet 
excitedly, pulling at his hair, and ran. 
  Kurumi's eyes followed Ranma's path curiously. She turned back to 
Akane, and asked, "What's the matter with him?" 

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" 
  The maddening scream Ranma shouted over the rooftops of Nerima 
echoed throughout the morning, traveling far and wide, catching the 
attentions of those who didn't want to care. 
  He stood alone atop the clock tower of Furinkan High, possibly the 
highest building nearby, hopefully far enough away from Akane and 
her 'sisters.' The nerve of those two sisters, asking AKANE, not 
me?! Where the hell did I go wrong?! 
  "Decided that this was the time to wake the dead, Ranma?" 
  Ranma ceased screaming into the air, and turned to face the one 
who spoke to him. "What do you want, pork-face?" 
  Ryoga Hibiki stood there, arms folded, his heavy backpack down 
on the ground by his legs. "When you're making noises, you're not 
hard to find." The Eternally Lost Boy laughed to himself, as if his 
lousy direction sense were a private joke. "I was in the area." 
  "Well, make yourself comfortable," Ranma muttered back. "Do you 
remember those two sisters that challenged me and Akane for the 
dojo?" 
  "Yeah," replied Ryoga. "What about them?" 
  "Well, they're back," replied Ranma. "This time, they asked AKANE 
to join them in a threesome for this worldwide, televised martial 
arts tournament. They asked AKANE." 
  "Ha-hah!" laughed the other man. "Looks like you aren't at the 
center of the universe after all." 
  "How could they pick Akane over ME?!" Ranma whined, staring at 
his hands critically. "I'M better than Akane!" 
  "Except they've only seen you fight in your girl form, right?" 
Ryoga pointed out. "They don't have a reason to expect that you and 
the girl that fought with Akane are the same person." 
  "I know that!" the young Saotome cried at his friend. Suddenly, 
a glazed look washed over Ranma's face, and he snapped his fingers. 
"I've got it!" 
  "What?" 
  Ranma turned and grabbed Ryoga's shoulders. "I'm going to enter 
that King of Fighters myself, and that'll show them!" 
  "I thought you said only teams of three could enter." 
  "So glad you volunteered!" Ranma cried. He grabbed Ryoga's arm, 
and started to race off. 
  "W...wait!" Ryoga protested. "Where're we going?!" 
  "Where else?" Ranma shouted back. "We're getting ourselves a 
third member!" 

  "Not interested," was the reply Mousse gave Ranma and Ryoga. 
  "Why not?!" Ranma asked, almost complaining. 
  "I don't have anything to prove to the world," explained the 
Chinese acrobat frankly. "Unlike you, I'm very happy where I am, 
and I don't intend to leave it." 
  Ryoga grabbed Ranma's arm. "Let's go, Ranma. He's not going to 
help us." 
  The two men exited the Nekohanten without a word. The morning 
dragged on, almost reaching noon, so the lunch crowd was just 
starting to trickle in. 
  "So now what are we going to do?" Ryoga asked. 
  "How should I know?" Ranma replied defensively. "I mean, I won't 
ask Ryu, 'cause he hasn't mastered enough techniques yet." He 
imagined that Ryu Kumon was still trying to figure out how to pull 
out the nuts from the fire. "I won't ask Pantyhose, 'cause he's a 
jerk, or Kuno, either. Who else does that leave?" 
  "Maybe you're going about this the wrong way," suggested Ryoga. 
"You're thinking of the wrong people to ask." 
  "So, you want me to ask Shampoo?! No way." 
  Ryoga grabbed the front of Ranma's shirt. He shouted, at the top 
of his lungs, "Ask Ukyo, you moron!" 
  "U...Ukyo?" Ranma repeated in confusion. "Why her?" A GIRL? 
  "She's your friend; of course she's going to say 'yes!'" Ryoga 
explained. "And if Mousse isn't going to help us, who will? Do 
YOU know anyone that can hold their own in a fight and still want 
to help you?" 
  "Well, not really," admitted Ranma. He shrugged. "Oh, fine! I'll 
bet she's back at the restaurant by now...." 

  The sizzling of okonomiyaki on the grill filled the silent air 
around Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. As the front door was wide-open, the 
sizzling could be heard from even down the street, as well as the 
mesmerizing, mouth-watering smell of fried batter and seafood! By 
the time Ranma and Ryoga had gotten to the front door, both men were 
hungry indeed. 
  Ranma ducked under the store sign, rubbing his stomach and 
wetting his lips delightfully. "Mmmm, that smells great!" 
  Ukyo stood behind the counter as usual, flipping an okonomiyaki 
on the grill. She greeted Ranma with a smile. "Hi, Ranchan!" 
  Ryoga walked in behind. "It's been a while, Ukyo." 
  "Hey, Ryoga," Ukyo greeted in return. "So, what'll it be?" 
  "Nothing for me," Ryoga answered. 
  "It's on the house," the chef added. 
  "Well, in that case, some fried noodles, I suppose," he replied. 
  "The usual," was Ranma's answer, taking a seat. 
  "Tee-hee... one 'usual,' coming up!" announced Ukyo, mixing some 
more batter for Ranma's okonomiyaki. That usually meant, 'give me 
whatever you feel like.' 
  As Ukyo set about working her magic, Ryoga jabbed an elbow into 
Ranma's gut. He whispered, "Aren't you going to ask?" 
  "AFTER I eat," Ranma replied. 
  "What about, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked, having heard Ranma's response. 
  Quickly, Ranma started sweating in his seat, even though he wasn't 
standing over the grill or anything. "Well, I don't know.... By the 
way, where's Konatsu?" he said, changing the subject hastily. 
  "Oh, he went out to the market to buy more food for Snowball," 
answered the okonomiyaki chef, referring to Konatsu's fluffy white 
cat. "It's great, since he found that cat; I mean, Konatsu's been 
learning a good deal of responsibility out of taking care of that 
little rascal." She retrieved a pair of chop sticks, and began 
stirring the batter contained in a pitcher, mixing it with the bits 
of cuttlefish and scallop. 
  Ryoga chose that moment to make himself heard. "Ranma has 
something interesting to tell you about." 
  Ranma shot a look at his old rival, but there was no escaping it 
now. "Uh, yeah. You know how Akane's joining Natsume and Kurumi in 
this King of Fighters thing?" 
  "Yeah," replied Ukyo. "That's something I figured you'd like." 
  "Speaking of which, Ranma is forming his own team," Ryoga said. 
  "Hey, that's great!" replied Ukyo cheerily. To Ranma, she asked, 
"So, who's going to be part of your threesome?" 
  "Well, I...." Ranma started, but faltered, as he felt kind of... 
stupid, asking this of Ukyo. Hmm, well, if there's one thing Ryoga 
pointed out for me, is that I hadn't thought of asking a girl to 
be part of my team at all; maybe that's it! Still, to ask a GIRL? 
  "Ryoga's on your team, then?" Ukyo guessed. 
  The Eternally Lost Boy nodded in confirmation. 
  Ranma still couldn't find the right words. Oh, c'mon! It's not 
like you're asking her out on a date or something! "Well, I was 
kinda hoping you'd join us," he said finally. 
  "Really?!" Ukyo exclaimed in surprise. She almost dropped the 
pitcher of batter in the process; some of the batter mix spilled 
and sizzled on the grill. 
  "Well, yeah," confirmed her old friend. 
  "Deal!" Ukyo cried. "I can't believe you've thought of me!" 
  Ryoga raised an eyebrow, his eyes directed at Ranma. Well, for 
one thing, Ranma DIDN'T, Ryoga thought to himself, keeping quiet. 
  "Ha-ha-ha-hah!" laughed Ukyo, ecstatic. She reached down below 
the counter for something, and sprinkled several more meaty bits 
into the batter. "This calls for a little extra in my cuttlefish 
gem!" 
  "Well, now that that is settled," began Ryoga, "how do we go 
about signing-up for this tournament?" 
  "Actually, I don't know," admitted Ranma. "Those two sisters have 
a poster, maybe we could look at that." 

  "I thought so," Akane started. "I knew you couldn't stand the idea 
that I was going to this tournament and you weren't." 
  "Then I suppose you DO know me," Ranma replied sarcastically, 
reading over Kurumi's poster. "Now, where to sign up...?" 
  Ukyo had suggested that Ranma go back to get the poster at the 
Tendo home, and Ranma did so, at least, after finishing the excellent 
cuttlefish okonomiyaki. As soon as Ranma had gotten home Akane had 
been following him every step of the way, even when he borrowed the 
poster from Kurumi. She had no idea what Ranma was up to, but her 
guess had been right; he WAS going to enter the tournament. 
  "So, who'd you manage to con into helping you?" Akane asked. 
  "Ah, Ryoga and Ukyo," answered her husband, still reading over 
the poster. "Ah-hah! Here it is!" 
  Akane folded her arms. "My, my! I'd never thought you'd ASK Ukyo 
to help you." His choice of Ryoga didn't surprise her one bit; after 
all, they somewhat respected each other, after their rivalry thing. 
  Being such a pig-headed jerk that he is, the old Ranma wouldn't 
have ever asked a GIRL for help, not even Ukyo! Maybe he IS maturing. 
  "Ha-hah!" cried out Ranma, rolling up the poster and lifting it 
in one hand as if it were a trophy. "I'll show those sisters yet!" 
  Then again, maybe not. 

  "So, you're a traveling martial artist, too?" Natsume said. 
  "Yep," replied Ryu. "At least, until I came here, that is." 
  In the back yard of the Tendo house, Ryu Kumon sat cross-legged 
next to the pond, staring into a fire he'd built earlier that day. 
He gazed into the flames, as if mesmerized, and rested his chin on 
his fist, trying to figure out how to get those stupid nuts out of 
the fire without getting burned. At least, that's part of the idea, 
Ranma had said; one must move at extremely quick speeds to pull off 
this training technique. Ryu'd spent a good deal of a month just 
trying to figure this one out. 
  Natsume sat opposite Ryu, across from the flames. She sat on her 
knees, yet leaned against her belt pole as a support, though she 
hardly needed it. She, too, gazed into the fire. 
  Kurumi sat at the edge of the pond, on the rocks, watching both 
her sister and this Ryu Kumon guy with suspicious eyes. Even when 
Ranma came to borrow her poster, the two never stopped looking at 
the fire that burned away at the wood. 
  "I've spent the past few months traveling from dojo to dojo," 
continued Ryu. "And I've been studying under several different 
teachers so I can gather enough techniques to rebuild the Kumon 
dojo." 
  "Sounds interesting," Natsume commented. 
  "Anyway, most of the dojos I've visited had mediocre training 
programs, to say the least." Ryu shifted his legs, unwilling to 
allow either to fall asleep. "If I were a dojo destroyer, which I 
am certainly not, I'd say I'd have racked-up quite a few signs. I 
can't start a dojo based on forbidden techniques, but I also can't 
do it with shoddy practices, either." 
  "I assume that choosing to train at the Tendo dojo has worked 
out to your satisfaction," Natsume replied. 
  Ryu nodded. "The difference between this school and others is 
that I know firsthand how well the techniques are. It is under 
Ranma I train, not Soun Tendo. I practice the Saotome school style." 
  "It is still the Tendo dojo!" insisted the older of the two 
wandering sisters, her belt pole wavering in her hand. 
  "Well, actually," Kurumi said, "the dojo's Ranma's, remember? It 
was his since he married Akane." 
  Natsume shot a look at her younger sister, as if saying, "Whose 
side are you on?!" 
  Ryu chuckled at the display between the sisters. Waving a finger, 
he said, "Heh, heh, you know, I don't believe I've heard your side 
of the story. About how you two came to claim the dojo for your 
own?" 
  "The dojo should be passed to its strongest students," Natsume 
started. "As we believed we were the daughters of Soun Tendo, we 
took it upon ourselves to challenge the right to carry on the dojo." 
  Now it was Kurumi's turn to beam. What's this 'we' stuff? I 
could've cared less for the dojo. 
  "Eventually, we were challenged and beaten by Akane and another 
female student," continued Natsume. "It was then we discovered that 
Soun Tendo was not our father, and, in fact, it was the deception of 
an old man, founder of the Anything-Goes style, which lead us to 
believe such a conclusion in the first place." 
  "We'd been searching for our father for so long, been wandering 
for years, searching, and without a home to call our own," Kurumi 
interrupted, "that we took advantage of our friends' kindness." 
  "Since then, we parted ways with the Tendos," continued the older 
sister. "Of course, since we ARE students of the Anything-Goes 
style, we promised to return to challenge them once again." 
  "We've gotten a lot better," added Kurumi. "Still, I think Akane 
must have, as well." 
  Ryu nodded, absorbing all the information and filing it away in 
his brain. "But you had to come back now to ask Akane to help you 
win this tournament? You obviously didn't come back to challenge." 
  Natsume nodded. "The side effect is that we discover that the 
dojo is no longer up for grabs," she said, sounding a bit 
disappointed, to say the least. 
  "So, are you two still looking for your father?" asked Ryu. He 
almost added, "Mine's dead," but thought better of it. 
  Kurumi shook her head. "We've ran out of leads since we were last 
here. Since then, we've pretty much accepted that he might truly 
be gone. Of course, part of me still wants to believe that Soun 
Tendo is our papa." 
  The older sister nodded in agreement. 
  By that time the fire had dimmed, the wood turning to ash as 
the conversation between the sisters and Ryu Kumon dragged-on. As 
it happened Soun and Genma were sitting at the porch, playing a 
game of shogi, either men sometimes staring at the three sitting by 
the pond. 
  "I don't know what to do about those two girls," Soun announced 
to his friend, shaking his head sadly. "Somehow, I feel responsible 
for them." Absurd though it may be, since they almost drove Akane 
away for good, Soun did care. 
  Genma held a finger under his chin, thinking over his next move. 
"If I were you, Tendo, I'd take those two in. Don't you remember 
how good they were last time they were here?" 
  "Saotome!" Soun beamed. "How can I take advantage of those two 
like that?!" 
  "Well, they believed you were their father once, so why don't 
you help them along and BE their father?" suggested Genma. "I know 
I wouldn't hesitate!" 
  "And why would that be, dear?" 
  The attentions of both men turned to Nodoka, standing in the 
frame of the doorway. 
  "Oh, nothing," Genma insisted, turning his attentions back to the 
game. Hmmm... one more step, and.... 
  "It would be a nice gesture," noted Nodoka. "However, I would 
leave the decision up to the girls, if I were you," she said, aiming 
her words at Soun. 
  "My daughters, or those sisters?" Soun asked innocently, unsure of 
whom Nodoka referred to. 
  "Both," Genma's wife answered, before turning on her heels and 
walking back inside, leaving Soun to ponder the situation, and Genma 
to make the winning move. 
  Akane passed-by Nodoka on the way outside. She saw Natsume, Ryu, 
and Kurumi, sitting by a fire built by the pond. Passing her father 
and father-in-law, Akane waved, then called, "Hey, guys!" 
  That caught the attentions of the three that sat by the dying 
fire. Kurumi moved over a bit, and gestured for Akane to sit down 
next to her. 
  Accepting the seat, Akane announced, "Ranma's entering the 
tournament." 
  "That's great," Ryu said, lacking enthusiasm. What Ranma did was 
none of his business, so long as he still got training done. 
  Natsume turned to Akane. "I should have expected as much; he 
seemed to be the right type." 
  "What's that supposed to mean?" Akane asked. 
  "Your husband lives for the fight," explained Natsume. "He seems 
quite like that girl you paired with in our last battle in 
attitude." 
  "Speaking of which," interrupted Kurumi, "where is that girl?" 
  "I'll explain that later," Akane assured her. "So, what do you 
two think?" 
  "You do understand," began Natsume, "that, if fate would put 
our team and his in opposing paths, then you must forget he's your 
husband. Can you do that?" 
  Akane looked at Natsume nervously, not expecting such a 
statement from her. Then again, she does have a point; I can't be 
so choosy about how I'd fight in a real battle. Even my husband. 
  "Sure," she answered, nodding her head slowly. 
  "I'm just hoping it won't come to that," Kurumi added, patting 
her friend on the shoulder sympathetically. 
  "Me too," agreed Akane. 
  At that point, the fire's embers were almost dead. At that point, 
Ryu grabbed the roasted nuts, then threw them aside. "Well, so much 
for today's practice." 

  The very next day Ranma, Akane, Ryoga, Ukyo, Natsume, and Kurumi 
traveled to downtown Tokyo to register themselves for the King of 
Fighters tournament at the local tournament center. It was there 
they were informed that only the best sixty-four teams will be 
allowed to participate in the tournament, which meant that a good 
deal of teams would not be fighting this year. The decision was 
left up to the sponsors of the tournament who got in and who did 
not, but this was primarily based upon reputation of the team in 
question and how well they fought in comparison to others. To that 
end many of the teams would have to demonstrate their abilities to 
one of the sponsors. 
  Fortunately for the six, they were not required to do so. The 
sponsor in charge of the office was given special directions to 
allow certain groups to attend by invitation; it just so happened 
that Ranma and Natsume were invited to participate. The sponsor 
explained that the invitations were to be sent out pending a 
correction of address; in Natsume's case, she wouldn't have gotten 
one at all, while Ranma's would've been received within the next 
week or so. 
  "It's not terribly uncommon for the Chairman to invite certain 
teams," explained the sponsor. "Last year's tournament alone, nine 
teams were granted invitations. This year at least twelve teams 
have been sent invitations." 
  "Under what circumstances does a team get invited?" asked Akane 
curiously. 
  The sponsor shrugged. "As this is the first year my company is 
participating in the tournament, I can't say, but I believe it 
may have to do with precedence. Most of the teams that were invited 
last year, for example, were invited again this year. New teams 
are invited on a case-by-case basis by the Chairman of the King of 
Fighters." 
  "Who's the Chairman?" asked Ranma. 
  "Well, now, the King of Fighters is usually never held by the 
same Chairman, these days. In the past, it was the exclusive right 
of an American businessman, Geese Howard. A couple years ago, the 
tournament fell into the hands of one Rugal Bernstein, who also 
held it last year. This year, the King of Fighters is being held by 
a young Japanese woman, Chizuru Kagura." 
  "Never heard of any of them," admitted Ranma. How in the world 
did I get on this Kagura's invitation list, anyway? We've never 
even MET before. 
  "Anyway," continued the sponsor, holding out a hand for Ranma, 
"welcome aboard." 
  "Uh, thanks," Ranma replied, shaking the man's hand. 
  "You'll get your notification packets in a couple of weeks, after 
the Chairman and the Board sort out the lineup," finished the man. 
"In the meantime, you're all set." 

  "Okay, was it just me, or was that just plain weird?" Ranma asked 
as soon as the six left the office building. 
  "About what?" asked Akane. 
  "You know, about how me and Natsume got invitations to this King 
of Fighters thing," Ranma explained. 
  "There's no reason for it unless they know how well we can fight 
already," Ryoga pointed out. "Which means that either of you have 
met this Kagura person before, or something." 
  "I've met many people in my travels," Natsume said, "but I don't 
know of anyone named Kagura." 
  "Same here," Ranma said. 
  "Well, for all we know, she might have been around when either of 
you were fighting," commended Ukyo, trying to be helpful. 
  "That's a lot of time," noted Akane. 
  "Well, whatever," Ranma decided, shrugging. "If it makes it that 
much more easier to get into the tournament, then who am I to argue 
with that?" 

  Sitting alone in the Tendo back yard once again was Ryu Kumon, 
sitting cross-legged as usual by an open fire. Eyes closed, he 
summoned all the power within him, breathing deeply at regular 
intervals, taking in the air as if it would grant Ryu the extra 
speed necessary to remove those stupid nuts from the fire. 
  Ryu threw his hands into the fire. 
  "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" he yelled into the air, his hands extremely 
hot from the heat given off by the nuts he held. As quickly as he 
grabbed the nuts they were discarded, forgotten, over his shoulder. 
Ryu thrust his hands into the pond; he could almost see steam rising 
from the cool water. 
  "Too hot?" 
  Ryu's attentions, so fixed were they on his hands, had failed to 
notice the one who stood above him now. He looked up, his pained eyes 
meeting that of the new arrival. "Is there any special pleasure you 
get from my torment?" 
  "Not in the slightest," Natsume replied coolly. "This technique is 
supposed to build speed, right? Looks to me, the way you're going 
about it, that it's more of a time-waster than anything." 
  "Why's that?!" demanded Ryu, his blood boiling. 
  She bent down to Ryu's level. "You're going about this the wrong 
way. You're trying to pull out the nuts without getting burned, 
right?" 
  "Yeah, so?" 
  "Shouldn't you concentrate less on getting burned and more on 
achieving your objective? If you keep the consequences foremost in 
your mind, you'll never achieve your goal." 
  "So you're telling me I should focus on my speed, rather than 
avoiding getting burned?" concluded Ryu. 
  Natsume nodded. "The Anything-Goes style is about the results, not 
the consequences." 
  "Ranma tells me this is actually a Chinese Amazon trick," Ryu 
pointed out. 
  "Nevertheless, he has integrated the practice measure into the 
Saotome school," Natsume replied. "If it is his wish, then an 
outside school's practice becomes part of his school's Anything-Goes 
style." 
  "The Saotome school has more colorful techniques," Ryu said, the 
forbidden Yamasenken techniques foremost in his thoughts. "It is 
very adaptable." 
  "The Tendo school arts practice the Anything-Goes style in its 
purest form," Natsume said proudly. "It is beyond me why you would 
join a perverted school." 
  "Hah, you support the Tendo school, yet you are not a part of it!" 
Ryu shot back. "I've heard your story; Tendo isn't even your father!" 
  "Enough of that!" Natsume hissed. "And from what I hear, your 
father was foolish enough to use forbidden techniques that destroyed 
your Kumon dojo!" 
  "Why, you...!" Ryu cried. "The only reason your Tendo dojo is so 
'pure' is because Tendo is a lousy martial artist! Saotome has 
devised his own arts from the parent art, and is more versatile!" 
  "Hey, you two!" Kurumi cried, suddenly appearing between her older 
sister and Ryu. "Why are you fighting?!" 
  "We were discussing the finer points of the Saotome and Tendo 
schools," Natsume explained to her sister, her mood unchanged from 
before. She folded her arms, expecting Ryu to back down. 
  Ryu chuckled to himself, folding his arms, eyes closed. "The 
simple problem with your art is that it isn't adaptable to change." 
  Before Natsume could deck Ryu, Kurumi held her fast. "That's not a 
nice thing to say!" protested Kurumi. "Besides, you're just a month 
in training, so what do you know about which school is better? In 
fact, I've heard that Ranma's been keeping you busy on this little 
practice exercise since day one." 
  "We've been practicing all our lives in the same style," continued 
Kurumi. "You have no right to judge us. You're just trying to copy 
someone else's techniques so you can use them for your own ends! You 
study no particular style; you borrow from every school you can 
find, just so you can rebuild your family dojo that was destroyed 
by your father's stupidity!" 
  "You have no right to judge my father!" Ryu yelled back. "And I 
don't give a damn how, but I will fulfill his wishes and restore 
the Kumon dojo, one way or another!" 
  He turned his back to the sisters, and returned to the open fire. 
Without hesitating, Ryu threw his arms into the midst of the fire. 
With incredible speed Ryu plucked out nuts, one after another, 
throwing them over his shoulder. 
  Standing up, Ryu wiped his hands, and turned to the two sisters. 
"And, what will YOU do after you've proven yourselves in the King 
of Fighters tournament?" With that, Ryu strode past them, and 
marched back to the Tendo household, leaving Natsume and Kurumi 
behind, alone, with the still-burning fire. 
  The two sisters merely stared at the fire, considering what Ryu 
had just said. 
  "He's right," Kurumi said, breaking the silence. 
  "About what?" Natsume asked. 
  "What ARE we going to do after we fight in the tournament?" Kurumi 
said, her eyes filled with worry. "We can't even come back and 
challenge Akane for the dojo anymore." 
  "I don't know," admitted Natsume. "I don't know." 

  The days since registering for the King of Fighters passed quickly 
for Ranma, Ryoga, and Ukyo. Ranma had taken upon himself the task 
of trying to get Ukyo to fight better unarmed, ignoring Ryu and 
Akane completely. While he didn't doubt that the Board would allow 
Ukyo to use her spatulas, Ranma didn't want his old friend to get 
caught in a situation where she might be disarmed. Ryoga, in the 
meantime, helped Ranma get back into proper fighting shape (which 
took almost no time at all). 
  Ryu Kumon, time and again, would practice in the back yard at the 
open fire, trying his best to move even faster. That last time when 
he was angry with Natsume and Kurumi he'd had to dress several 
minor burns on his hands, and thus had to hide them in gloves until 
they healed. The pain the fire caused his hands, however, was 
negligible, compared to the biting words of the sisters. Each and 
every day Ryu would remove his gloves only to pick at the nuts in 
the fire, then return them to his hands, never revealing the wounds. 
  Natsume and Kurumi, meanwhile, would train with Akane. Akane had 
no idea what bothered the two sisters, but decided it was probably 
none of her business anyway, as it was between the two to settle. 
If they asked for her advice, Akane had no doubt that she would 
help, but only then; there was no problem otherwise. What Akane 
didn't know was that, for the second time in their lives, Natsume 
and Kurumi were at a loss of direction; the first time had been 
when they realized that they could never meet their father. This 
time, however, the two had no idea what they would do after fighting 
in the tournament. 
  Soun's nights were haunted with the decision that hung in his 
head. He had no idea what his wife would've said about this; he had 
no idea how his beloved daughters would react to having adopted 
sisters; he had no idea what Natsume and Kurumi would think! Genma's 
wife had said that the decision was up to the girls, his daughters 
and the two guests. It scared him, the possibility that his three 
daughters might take the suggestion the wrong way, and decide to 
hate him or something. Well, Kasumi couldn't hate anybody, but you 
never know.... 
  It was on the third day since the registration that the phantom 
appeared one night at Ucchan's. He glided slowly in the familiar 
hallways of the restaurant and apartment of the one named Ukyo 
Kuonji, who, as of late, was of particular interest to the phantom. 
He had no intention of disturbing her sleep, however; the one who 
made orders insisted that he check to make sure that the taint was 
still in place. 
  He slid into Ukyo's room, passing through the wall effortlessly. 
She slept peacefully in her futon, blankets draped over her delicate 
form, her head turned away from the phantom. Her hair flowed loosely 
all over her pillow, free from any restraint such as ribbons or 
bows, which made her, in the phantom's eyes, all the more beautiful. 
  The phantom shook his head. No, now wasn't the time to think of 
what might have been; there was work to be done! 
  He simply stood there for several silent moments. He concentrated 
on Ukyo's aura, trying to detect the faintest of traces of the taint. 
He expected traces of dark chi, chi that radiated violet, violet as 
evil itself. But, disappointingly, he could find none. 
  Where had it gone?! No way the taint could have been banished! 
  The one who called the shots would be displeased, to say the least, 
but this was not great loss. The Reunion would continue, with or 
without the girl; she was, after all, a human. 
  Only those of the Orochi deserved to live. 
  With that, the silent phantom of Warmage, former leader of the Cult 
of Orochi, passed through the walls, leaving the okonomiyaki 
restaurant behind, to report to his masters. There was much work 
to be done, and this was but a small part of a larger picture. 

  "Well, this is an interesting lineup," commented Ranma, looking 
over the contents of the information packet from the King of Fighters 
tournament sponsors. 
  It was a week since Ranma and company had been to the registration 
center, so it was a bit of a surprise that the information was in 
already. Well, can't argue with fast service. All three members of 
Team Ranma, as they styled themselves, sat alone in the empty dining 
room of Ucchan's. 
  "It looks like we're going to be pitted against guys that call 
themselves the 'Korea Team,'" noted Ukyo, her finger pointing to 
the area of the flowchart where her team lay. 
  "Not to mention we've got tickets to Korea, too," Ryoga added, 
holding up three airplane tickets. "We're supposed to fight them in 
their own turf, I suppose." 
  "What I think is interesting," Ukyo began, "is that we've been 
pitted against one of the invitation teams. That can only mean that 
we're definitely going up against someone good." 
  "Big deal," decided Ranma. "We're invited, too. It doesn't mean 
that they're any better than us." 
  "No, just that they're just as good as us," Ryoga pointed out. 
  "Why do you say that?" asked Ranma. 
  "Why would the Chairman want to invite a team that didn't stand a 
chance in the tournament?" answered Ryoga. "They wouldn't." 
  Ukyo continued to scan the flowchart, running her finger down entry 
after entry, until coming to a stop on the column opposite Ranma's 
in the chart. "Here it is! It looks to me like we're going to get a 
break. Natsume's team won't have a chance to fight us unless we both 
make it to the sixth round." 
  "At least that's good news," admitted Ranma. He had no intention 
of fighting Akane in an actual tournament. He was certain his wife 
shared the same feelings. 
  "Okay, so when is it that we're supposed to fly down to Korea?" 
asked Ukyo. 
  "Well, later this week, I guess," guessed Ryoga. "We ARE supposed 
to be there by Saturday, when the fight starts." 
  "Okay, then, now I'm going to have to figure out what I'm going 
to pack," announced Ukyo. She counted her list off her left fingers. 
"bandoleer, my spatulas, fans, maybe some of my cooking supplies. 
You never know when a good business opportunity comes up." 
  "Well, I'm just taking everything that's on my back," Ryoga 
decided, indicating his usual traveling backpack. 
  "Humph, why bother to take anything?" shrugged Ranma. "I'm just 
taking the clothes on my back." 
  "Good!" Ukyo replied cheerily. "Then you can help me with my 
cooking supplies...." 

  "So, where's this place we're supposed to go?" asked Kurumi. 
  "Nowhere, really," replied Akane. "Our opponents are coming here, 
to Japan, to fight us. We're supposed to fight them this Saturday 
down at the amphitheater." 
  Natsume, Akane, and Kurumi sat by themselves in the middle of the 
empty Tendo dojo, looking over the same information packet that Ranma 
had received, only that Team Tendo, as they styled themselves, got 
no tickets to Korea. 
  "Some guy's calling themselves the 'Mad Gears,'" Natsume said. "I 
don't believe they will be a problem, if their name is any indication 
of their ability." 
  "No one I know would call themselves that," admitted Akane. Maybe 
these guys really WERE bad. Then again, you never knew until the 
fight. 
  "I'm already waiting for the battle to be joined!" announced 
Natsume, spinning her belt pole in one arm. 
  Kurumi stared at her older sister with a worried look, then to 
Akane. "Akane, can I talk to you for a moment?" 
  "Sure," replied Akane. 
  Kurumi spared another look at Natsume. "Someplace else?" 
  Akane lead Kurumi out of the dojo. Both girls stood on the deck 
that connected the Tendo dojo to the house. Akane shut the dojo door 
behind her, leaving Natsume to her self-practice. 
  She asked, "What's up?" 
"It's about me and Natsume," Kurumi began. "She doesn't want to 
admit it, but we've found that we don't have anywhere to go after we 
finish this tournament." 
  "You can't look for your father anymore?" guessed Akane. 
  Kurumi nodded sadly. "She doesn't want to admit it, but Natsume 
knows that we won't be able to find him anymore, not without any more 
leads. For all we know, he's dead, and our search was in vain." 
  "So, what you're telling me is, that you two have lost your 
direction?" concluded the youngest Tendo sister. 
  "I don't know what we'll do, and neither does she," Kurumi 
finished, now at the verge of tears. "What's going to happen to us?" 
  "Don't worry, we'll think of something," assured Akane, holding 
Kurumi's hand sympathetically. 

  After having parted company with Kurumi, Akane walked through 
the house, from one end to the other, to the back porch, where her 
father and Mr. Saotome sat, playing shogi, as usual. Neither of 
the two men paid any attention to Akane, having tuned-out the rest 
of the world. Beyond, by the pond, as usual, was Ryu Kumon and his 
fire. 
  The only thing that wasn't so usual this time was what Akane had 
in mind. 
  "Father, can I speak to you for a moment?" asked Akane, breaking 
all silence in the area. 
  Soun Tendo's attentions were broken away from the shogi game in an 
instant. His head turned to meet his daughter's eyes. "Yes?" 
  "It's about Natsume and Kurumi," started Akane. "I was 
thinking...." 
  "Actually, your father's being a bit indecisive right now," 
interrupted Genma. "If I were him, I'd adopt those two girls on the 
spot." 
  "Saotome!" Soun cried at his friend. "Why'd you bring that up?!" 
  "Adoption?" Akane whispered. "Dad, are you serious?" 
  Soun started to sweat. "I... I don't know!" he replied honestly. 
  "Yep, that would be a wonderful idea," ranted Genma. 
  "Dad?!" Akane cried, trying to get her father to talk to her. 
  It was then that Soun Tendo burst into tears. "I can't bear to 
make such a decision! I mean, I think it's wonderful if we could look 
after them, but what would your sisters say?!" 
  Genma leaned over to whisper to Akane. "My wife had a talk with 
him, and told him that it was all up to you girls to decide." 
  "Us?!" Akane hadn't absorbed the entirety of the situation yet. 
  "I'm sure you'll come to a reasonable solution," insisted Genma. 
Already, memories of back-rubs entered his mind. 
  Akane had no idea what to think. Turning on her heels, she marched 
back inside, and headed straight for the kitchen. 
  Kasumi, the eldest of the three Tendo sisters, was there, as usual, 
busy preparing dinner. Noticing Akane's entrance, she turned her 
attentions from the cutting board toward her sister. 
  "Hi, Akane!" Kasumi greeted cheerily. 
  "You didn't happen to hear what Father was thinking about doing, 
did you?" asked Akane. 
  "Why, what do you mean?" asked Kasumi. 
  Akane took a deep breath, then said, "He thinks we can do a lot of 
good by adopting Natsume and Kurumi." 
  "Oh," was all Kasumi could say in her shock. 
  "He wants US to decide for him!" continued Akane. "The problem is, 
I don't know what I think about the arrangement, either! I mean, we 
don't exactly have a lot of money to support two MORE mouths." 
  "Still, they don't have any place else to go," Kasumi pointed out. 
  "I know! And even still, what would those sisters say?!" 
  "Maybe you should ask them," suggested the older sister. 
  "I don't think we should tell them until we figure out how WE 
feel about this first," replied the younger sister. 
  "Tell who what?" Nabiki asked, entering the kitchen. 
  Quickly, Akane explained the situation at hand to Nabiki in quick 
detail, making sure to include the part about who would make the 
decision. 
  "Haven't we got enough freeloaders already?" complained the middle 
Tendo sister coldly. "The Saotomes are family now, yet they still 
don't do anything like work." Well, Mr. Saotome sometimes worked 
down at Dr. Tofu's, but not often, and not enough to make much of a 
difference in the house's pool of wealth. "Then there's Ryu Kumon, 
Happosai, and those two sisters. Why can't we get a stray that can 
make some money?!" 
  "Actually, since Ukyo was adopted into the Saotome family," began 
Kasumi, "and she runs her own restaurant, shouldn't that count for 
something?" 
  Nabiki shook her head. "She lives at her own restaurant, pays her 
own expenses, and doesn't live here, so we can't get money from her. 
Face it, girls, my decision will be based primarily due to finances 
alone, not any sort of compassion, so unless someone leaves this 
place or gets a job, I'm not saying 'yes.'" She reached over to the 
cutting board on the counter, and plucked a vegetable with her 
fingers. Popping it into her mouth, she said, "Now, if that's all 
you're going to trouble me with, I've got exams to cram for." 
  With that, Nabiki turned heels and walked out. 
  "She has a point, you know," noted Kasumi. 
  "What's that?" asked Akane. 
  "Maybe it's time some of us got jobs to help pay for our family's 
expenses," suggested Kasumi. "Maybe I should get a job." 
  "Kasumi!" complained Akane. "You can't leave!" 
  "Mrs. Saotome could take care of the house, if she's willing," 
continued the older sister. "It shouldn't do for a home to have two 
housekeepers around, after all." 
  "Even if you do get a job, that still couldn't help us convince 
Nabiki to agree," Akane said. She sighed. "Maybe I should get a job, 
too." 
  "I wouldn't go looking for a job right now if I were you, Akane," 
replied Kasumi. "You do have other obligations right now." 
  Akane nodded. "Yeah, the tournament." 
  "And we can't ask Nabiki to get a job," continued Kasumi, "since 
she needs to study for the college entrance examinations. Maybe we 
can get Mr. Saotome to work more often...." 

  Violent fighting to come again! 
  A new year of blood and glory! 
  They fight for honor and the right to be called the best in the 
world! Only the strongest will survive.... 
  In.... 
  The King of Fighters '96! 

				*  *  *  *  *
Princes of the Universe (Queen)

 Here we are, born to be kings,
 We're the princes of the universe.

 Here we belong, fighting to survive
 In a world with the darkest powers.

 And here we are, we're the princes of the universe
 Here we belong, fighting for survival
 We've come to be the rulers of your world.

 I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings.
 I have no rival, no man can be my equal
 Take me to the future of your world.
				*  *  *  *  *

  The gates to the courtyard opened for Ranma, Ryoga, and Ukyo, the 
arena for their first combat in the King of Fighters tournament. 
High up on the walls, the audience cheered, amidst banners and flags, 
logos for the King of Fighters, and Korean spectators. A constant 
stream of water flowed from the opposite end of the courtyard, 
probably a broken pipe or something, Ranma guessed. 
  The day was Saturday, and would be the first day of the televised 
King of Fighters '96 tournament. Earlier that day, Ranma guessed, 
Natsume, Kurumi, and Akane fought their opponents, as Japan was 
being televised first among the day's lineup, then progressing 
westward across the world, following the sun. Each battle lasted no 
longer than an hour, and were given no longer than an hour, to 
finish. Ranma had paid no attention to how well Akane's team had 
fared, but, from what he gathered, they had beaten their American 
opponents. And, if rumors were true, the team completed a straight 
victory; that is, the first team member, Natsume, managed to defeat 
all three members of the opposing team, proving that she was better 
than before, or the opposing team really stinked. 
  Being the third televised battle of the day (the second fight 
took place with a team in Osaka), Ranma hoped to make an impression 
on the world how well Team Ranma would do! 
  Already standing in the courtyard were the three members of Team 
Korea, the team of the tae kwon do champion, Kim, and his two 
criminal students, Chang, a large, burly man carrying a ball-and- 
chain, which looked as it came straight from prison, and Choi, a 
small man wearing a strange hat and sunglasses, armed with two 
wrist razors, styling himself as the Korean 'Jack the Ripper.' All 
three wore the white with blue trim gi of Kim's dojo. 
  Victory would be held by the team who had more members standing 
by the end of the hour, or if all three of the opposing team's 
members were beaten. In the cases of a tie, judges on hand will 
decide which team fared better in battle, and award victory to them. 
Team members cannot switch-off, as the King of Fighters was an 
endurance battle as much as it was a team effort. Therefore, teams 
had to choose the order of fighting very carefully to match their 
opponents. 
  Ryoga entered only with his heavy umbrella in his hands, almost 
intending on using it in battle. He had left his heavy backpack 
back at the hotel, not wishing to fight with extra encumbrance 
when it was not necessary. 
  Ukyo wore her bandoleer as usual, but she didn't wear her chef 
shirt as she usually did; instead, she dressed with a long, baggy- 
sleeved, white shirt, and red baggy pants, of a sort similar to 
Shinto dress. Draped over her shoulders was a dark sea-blue mantle, 
the sleeves dangling freely at Ukyo's sides. The only reason Ranma 
could think of that Ukyo would fight that way was because she was 
concealing hidden weapons-- two folded fans-- up her sleeves, both 
easily-accessible to the hands by a mere flick of the wrist. 
  Ranma turned to his teammates. "Okay, who wants to go first?" 
  "Actually," Ukyo said, "I think I should go last." 
  "I don't mind going first," Ryoga replied. 
  "Good, then it's settled," concluded Ranma. "Okay, Ryoga, you're 
up first." 
  "I would've thought that you wanted to fight first," Ryoga said. 
  Ranma shrugged. "Hey, I want to see what these guys can do, 
first. After all, we only get one shot at this." 
  "Good!" Ukyo said, tapping her knuckles on Ranma's head playfully. 
"Looks like you're listening to me, after all!" 
  The young Saotome flinched when Ukyo mentioned 'listening,' as he 
recalled that was what Seiryu (and Ukyo) said was his problem in the 
first place. 
  "You never listen," they had said. 

  Ryoga stepped forward, and his opponent, the large ball-and-chain 
man, did likewise. The Eternally Lost Boy propped his heavy umbrella 
to his leg, using both hands to reach to the back of his head and 
tighten his bandanna. 
  Then the announcer shouted over speakers: "Ryoga versus Chang!" 
  At the sound of his name, Chang merely yawned. 
  Ryoga opened and closed his umbrella, as if shaking-off water that 
clung to its surface. 
  "Round one.... Ready... GO!" 
  Chang spun the ball-and-chain overhead, then threw it at Ryoga. 
Ryoga dodged, ducking under the wild swing of the prison weight. He 
rolled forward, taking advantage of Chang's exposed body, and 
attacked with a quick foot sweep, throwing the burly Korean fighter 
off his feet. 
  The rolling recovery the large Korean made surprised Ryoga, who 
didn't expect such speed in such a large man. Chang threw himself 
back onto his feet, swinging his iron ball behind him, as if ready 
to throw the heavy ball at his opponent. 
  In fact, Ryoga had little time to react when the chained iron ball 
headed his direction with full momentum. The Eternally Lost Boy 
stood fast, standing as if he were a statue, and pointed his finger 
outforth before his body. 
  "Bakusai Tenketsu!" 
  Dust, shards of iron, flew from Ryoga's position, screening him 
from view of the spectators and combatants alike. Chang doubled over 
forward, the heavy iron ball having been relieved of his control, 
his forward momentum throwing him. 
  Ryoga Hibiki stood amidst shards of iron, his finger still 
outstretched, seemingly unharmed. He stood over Chang's fallen form 
ominously. 
  He picked up his heavy umbrella. "Time to finish this!" 

  "Ryoga versus Choi!" 
  The short-lived battle between Ryoga and Chang over, Ryoga now 
faced the second of the Korea Team: a short man, standing no higher 
than Chang's waist, Ryoga guessed, wearing two wrist razors, beady 
sunglasses, and a dusty-brown hat. The little man named Choi jumped 
into the fray, tapping his posterior at his opponent's direction 
and making faces. 
  "Round Two.... Ready... GO!" 
  "Slice!" cried Choi, throwing himself, claws-first, at Ryoga. 
  In response, Ryoga opened his umbrella to block the claw attack. 
  To his surprise, however, Choi's aerial path stopped right in front 
of the opened umbrella. He then changed directions, and flew 
straight up, crying "Whhheeeee!!" 
  "What the...?" Ryoga shouted, just before Choi changed his 
direction once again, this time straight at him. 
  Ryoga tossed the umbrella into the air toward Choi, the spinning 
projectile connecting with Choi's body, and knocking the little man 
out of the sky. The umbrella was knocked wide, well out of Ryoga's 
reach. 
  Choi landed on his feet, licking his claws lovingly. "Ya-hah!" 
The little Korean man's head watched Ryoga's path in the sky, in 
an attempt to do a jump-in attack. 
  Spinning in place, claws outstretched, Choi created a whirlwind 
force, and began to rise into the air. 
  Too late, Ryoga saw the attack come, and his body ached in pain as 
the spinning claws slashed and ripped into him. He fell, clothes 
torn, several slicing wounds on his body. 
  Choi landed back on his two feet. "Hehehehe... kill!" 
  "I'm not through yet!" Ryoga shouted defiantly. Young Hibiki let 
his body slide across the stone surface of the arena, catching Choi 
in a sliding kick attack. 
  He came to a sudden stop just as he approached the stream of cool 
water. "Aaaaaayyyyy!!!" Ryoga screamed, throwing himself backward. 
  Choi saw the opening, and took advantage of it. "Die!" he cried, 
once again throwing himself claws-first. The little man's claw weapons 
raked Ryoga's chest furiously, mercilessly, digging below clothes to 
the skin. 
  The second member of the Korea Team, satisfied of his victory, 
leaped off Ryoga's fallen form and spun in place. "Cut, cut, gorge, 
gorge! A-hahahahaha!" 
  Ryoga, out of energy, whispered, "I... lost!" 
  The announcer cried, "Winner is Choi!" 

  After Ryoga was properly-bandaged by the medics on-hand, it was 
now Ranma's turn to take on the short Korean 'Jack the Ripper.' 
  "Don't worry about a thing," he assured Ryoga, "this one's mine!" 
  And so, the match was announced: "Ranma versus Choi!" 
  Ranma shouted, "Hey, Shortie! Now that I've had the chance to 
watch you, your techniques mean nothing to me!" 
  Choi laughed in return. "Die, die, die!" 
  "Round three.... Ready, GO!" 
  Ranma stepped to the side as Choi threw himself at his opponent, 
the same manner as he had with Ryoga. The little Korean man stopped 
where Ranma used to be, reorienting himself to change directions. 
  It was then Ranma made his move. His high kick planted itself into 
Choi's face, throwing his dusty hat into the air, and the man soon 
after. The young Saotome followed-up with several more left-right 
high kicks, as if juggling Choi in the air with his feet. 
  With one last kick Ranma sent the Korean Jack the Ripper flying 
high up into the air. Placing himself into a hand-stand, Ranma 
tucked his knees to his chest, watching and waiting for Choi's 
descending path. 
  Choi tumbled downward helplessly, unable to control his aerial 
path now. Everything went black as soon as Ranma released his double 
kick. 
  Ranma jumped back to his feet, Choi landing not far away. He 
stood upright, and turned to the audience, and bowed. 
  "K.O.!" cried the announcer. "Winner is Ranma!" 

  Kim Kaphwan rolled-up the sleeves to his gi as he took his position 
opposite that Ranma. With a loud "Let's go!" the tae kwon do champion 
moved into an offensive stance. 
  "Ranma versus Kim!" 
  Ranma yawned, then settled into his own stance. Carefully, his eyes 
focused on studying his enemy. 
  "Round four.... Ready... GO!" 
  Both Kim and Ranma circled each other, each in their respective 
stances, studying each other, gauging each others' abilities, waiting 
for the other to make the first move. 
  This guy looks like he knows his stuff, Ranma thought. Well, it's 
your move, pal. 
  Kim smiled, as if he had heard Ranma's thought. "Come on and 
fight!" taunted the Korean. "Or, are you really afraid of losing?" 
  "Ha!" spat Ranma. "I'll make you eat those words!" 
  With a running start, Ranma leaped up into the air. At the peak of 
his jump, he sharply-angled his leg downward toward Kim. 
  Kim, anticipating the attack, leaped upward, throwing a near- 
vertical kick that connected with Ranma's midsection, bypassing 
Ranma's own leg. But the tae kwon do master wasn't through there; as 
the young Saotome began his fall, Kim's vertical leg sliced the air 
downward, catching Ranma in yet another blow. 
  The ground never felt so cruel to Ranma in his life. He rubbed his 
cheeks, wiping away the dirt, and getting to his feet. 
  This guy's pretty fast, noted Ranma, but I'm faster! 
  Kim landed on his feet, then launched into a sliding kick. Ranma, 
seeking to take the advantage away from the Korean master, side- 
stepped from the path of the kick. Unexpectedly, however, Kim stopped 
himself in mid-slide, leaping backward. Almost too fast to see, the 
tae kwon do master leaped at Ranma again with another downward- 
slicing kick. 
  Ranma barely had enough time to roll backward, narrowly-avoiding 
the sneaky attack. 
  Tae kwon do focused its energies into powerful kicks, Ranma told 
himself, dodging kick after kick thrown by his opponent. There's no 
way I'll be able to get him to punch or something, as he'd favor the 
kick instead. Especially since the leg has the longer reach. But, 
isn't there something that has a longer reach than the leg? 
  YES! 
  Just before Kim's next spinning kick could connect, Ranma threw 
his arms forward, palms outward, and cried, "Moko Takabisha!" 
  A ball of pure chi energy leaped from Ranma's palms, shooting 
out as if the Saotome martial artist's hands were a cannon. The bolt 
tore through the sky, just in time to envelope Kim's outstretched 
leg. Impact threw the Korean martial artist backward. 
  Kim threw himself back onto his feet quickly, careful not to 
put too much weight into the leg that got attacked. "Oh, so you 
CAN fight!" he taunted. 
  Ranma snorted. "You're going down!" 
  He ducked as Kim's next kick flew overhead. Taking advantage of 
the momentary opening, Ranma took the opportunity to sweep his leg 
against the single leg the Korean stood on. Caught by surprise, Kim 
let out a yelp as his face met the stone ground. 
  Pressing his advantage, Ranma threw his elbow down onto Kim's 
fallen body. But, what he didn't expect was for Kim to move out of 
the way in time, therefore Ranma's elbow greeted the stone instead. 
  Kim threw himself back to his feet, and retreated several steps 
back while Ranma stood up. Breathing heavily, he said, "I must 
admit, you're probably the best I've fought since the Bogard 
brothers." 
  "Don't know who you're talking about," admitted Ranma, "but it's 
only natural." 
  "Pompous!" snorted Kim. Spreading his legs apart, bending his 
knees, Kim's eyes shut, his arms flexing. He rumbled in place, 
gathering chi by will alone. 
  Oh shit! Ranma shouted in his mind, as Kim finished his chi- 
building. He's going for something really major here.... 
  A brilliant flash of light centered at Kim's closed right fist 
was the signal of the attack. The Korean tae kwon do master leaped 
at Ranma, bloodlust in his eyes. 
  Ranma stood his ground, confident that he would be able to counter 
the next attack. At the last moment, the young Saotome side-stepped 
Kim's desperate attack, then wheeled around into position. 
  Throwing his right fist into the air, Ranma shouted, "Hiryu Shoten 
Ha!" 
  Kim's fatal mistake in this battle was in gathering extra hot chi 
necessary for Ranma to pull off his devastating, final attack. The 
more chi, the better. The more powerful the opponent, the better. 
The more cool Ranma remained, the better. 
  None of that mattered to Kim as he was thrown skyward by the 
resultant whirlwind. 

  "Announcing the winners...." 
  Ryoga lifted his fists into the air in triumph. 
  Ukyo opened a pair of fans in her hands, and crossed her arms, 
then bowed. 
  Ranma folded his arms, and laughed. To the defeated Team Korea, he 
said, "Hey, that was pretty good. But not good enough! I AM the 
best!" 

  The Monday after the first Saturday of the tournament Akane 
received a letter from Ranma. Judging from the return address on 
the envelope, he had written from Korea. She had no idea what her 
husband would write about, but she did know that Ranma's team had 
won; after all, the event was televised live. 
  Standing alone on the back porch, she read to herself: "Dear 
Akane... off to Hong Kong to challenge some all-girls team... can't 
afford to call... be back soon." 
  Akane held the note to her chest, and sighed. Unlike Ranma's team, 
Natsume's team didn't have very far to go; this time, the Tendo Team 
would take their fight to Osaka, where another Japanese team awaited 
battle. 
  She recalled the last battle the team took part in; Natsume alone 
managed to defeat all three members of the opposing team, who 
appeared to have been one of the lucky-few teams to make the 
sixty-four team limit cut; for all Akane knew, the team they fought 
WAS the sixty-fourth. 
  "Is that from Ranma?" someone asked from behind Akane. 
  Akane jumped, and turned around to meet with Kurumi's eyes. "Oh, 
hi Kurumi! Don't scare me like that!" 
  "I'm sorry," Kurumi apologized. "It's nice getting letters, isn't 
it?" 
  "Oh, yeah," agreed Akane. "Of course, I don't get them all the 
time, either, so it's really a pleasant surprise." 
  "I've never gotten a letter in my life," admitted Kurumi. "What's 
it like?" 
  Oh yeah, Akane told herself, nodding in understanding. She never 
had a home to send letters to.... 
  "Well," she explained, "it's like getting news from someone you 
never have seen for a while. In this case, just a week." 
  Kurumi nodded thoughtfully. "Akane?" 
  "What?" 
  The younger of the two traveling sisters seemed ready to hold 
back on what she was going to say, but somehow Kurumi summoned up 
the courage to speak. "Natsume... acts strangely around that Ryu 
Kumon guy; did you notice that?" 
  "Well, not really," admitted Akane. "How so?" 
  "They seem to argue a lot," explained Kurumi. "In fact, even when 
Ryu gets Sister worked-up she can't be totally mad at him, not for 
very long. In fact, I find it strange that she even talks to him 
every day at all." 
  Akane chuckled. She whispered into Kurumi's ear, "It sounds like 
your sister likes him." 
  "You're kidding!" was all the young girl could reply. 
  "I think Ryu likes her, too," continued Akane. "I mean, he seems 
to like talking to her as much as you describe Natsume liked talking 
to him." 
  "Th...they can't like each other!" protested Kurumi. "I mean, they 
argue all the time! Ryu's a smart-aleck copycatting sponge; how can 
Natsume like him? How CAN they like each other?!" 
  "Don't they? I mean, Ranma and I get into arguments, too. Maybe 
your sister and Ryu like being argumentative." 
  Akane placed a sympathetic hand on Kurumi's shoulder. "Don't worry 
about it, they'll be fine." 
  Both girls' eyes turned to gaze out into the back yard, where, as 
usual, Natsume and Ryu sat by the pond and the open fire. Arguing, 
as usual. 
  "What I don't understand," Natsume began, "is why you've started 
to wear those silly gloves! There's no way they can help you with 
your training!" 
  "And why should I be listening to you?!" countered Ryu. "In fact, 
why are you even bothering me in the middle of my training? I could 
have been done days ago, had it not been for you!" 
  "It's not MY fault you're too slow!" Natsume replied hotly. "Take 
some advice and take the kid's gloves off!" 
  "Over my dead body you will!" threatened Ryu. He still didn't want 
anyone to see the dressed burns on his hands from trying to pull off 
this training technique; Ryu was too proud for sympathy. 
  Natsume threw herself over the open fire and tackled Ryu. "Take 
off the gloves!" 
  Rolling away from the fire, the two wrestled in the grass of the 
Tendo back yard. But it wasn't long before Natsume emerged with the 
advantage, grabbing hold of Ryu's wrists. With a violent jerk, she 
tore off Ryu's gloves. 
  "Oh... my," Natsume whispered. 
  The hands of Ryu Kumon were riddled with bandages, dressed burn 
wounds from overexposure to fire. He... HAS been training. And 
failing miserably, if these hands hold the truth. 
  Ryu took the gloves out of Natsume's hands. "Are you HAPPY?" 
  Natsume held her balled fist to her chin thoughtfully. "You're... 
better than I thought. You're either very brave, or very stupid." 
  "Ha!" laughed Ryu. Putting his gloves back on, he tackled Natsume, 
sending her sprawling on the lawn on her back. "I can be both!" 
  "I'll bet that's what you've always wanted!" Natsume hissed back 
in a whisper. 
  Violently Ryu thrust his lips onto Natsume's, releasing his pin 
to wrap his arms around the girl. Natsume, ceasing to struggle, did 
likewise. Both allowed their attentions to focus on each other, 
tuning-out the outside world altogether. 
  And, standing back at the porch, Akane and Kurumi both came to the 
conclusion that it was time to look away. 
  "When I get a boyfriend," Kurumi decided, "I hope he doesn't act so 
difficult, like that Ryu guy!" 

  Nodoka stood alone in the kitchen, by the counter, chopping more 
vegetables on the cutting board when Akane stepped in. 
  "Hi," greeted Akane. 
  "Hello, Akane," greeted Nodoka, sending a smile over her shoulder. 
  As usual, Akane almost thought this was Kasumi she was talking to, 
but since she found a job at the day care center the older Tendo 
spent her mornings and afternoons away from the house. Kasumi was 
really serious about getting a job, Akane decided. Still, coming 
home and missing the usual face made the younger girl feel a bit 
empty. She did miss seeing Kasumi, but not as much as seeing Ranma. 
  "So, what's for dinner this time?" asked Akane. 
  "I'm preparing some sukiyaki," answered Akane's mother-in-law. 
She pointed to a pot that heated on the stove. "Could you watch the 
sauce for me, dear?" 
  "Sure," answered Akane. 
  Taking her position at the stove, Akane peered at the contents of 
the pot: the sauce that gave the sukiyaki its taste. 
  Turning to her mother-in-law, she asked, "What do you think about 
Natsume and Kurumi, Mother?" 
  "They seem like nice people," Nodoka replied diplomatically, 
setting-aside another stack of chopped vegetables on a nearby plate. 
"They are practitioners of the Tendo art, aren't they?" 
  "Actually, it's the Anything-Goes style," corrected Akane, "and 
if anyone trained them, it's the old geezer." 
  Nodoka set down her knife and waved a finger at Akane. "Now, that's 
no way to talk about your elders." 
  "Yeah, I'm sorry," apologized Akane. Still, old Happosai still is 
a dirty old man; why can't Mother see it? 
  "Your father believes the girls may be his responsibility, did you 
know that?" continued Nodoka. Not waiting for a response, she said, 
"I think your father feels this way simply because he feels sorry 
for them." 
  "Well, so do I." 
  "Since this is not my house, it is not my decision. Of course, 
since we are all family, it is a concern of mine. Now, should we be 
obligated to take care of the students of our family's art?" 
  "Why not? We're letting Ryu stay with us." 
  "His cause is noble," Nodoka pointed out. "By training with Ranma 
Ryu is working to rebuild his family's dojo, as his father wished. 
Why should we stand in the way of such an honorable pursuit? The two 
girls, on the other hand, have everything to gain and nothing to lose 
by staying with us; they do not, after all, have legitimate reason to 
remain here." 
  "That depends on your point of view, Mother," Akane replied. "The 
old... I mean, Master Happosai, did take it upon himself to look 
after Natsume and Kurumi." Even if he didn't REALLY help them out, of 
course. "He guided them our way so that we Tendos may take care of 
them." Well, THAT was a bit of a stretch, but it IS the truth, too. 
"The master may not be the head of the household, but he is still 
the master." 
  Nodoka nodded. "I see.... So, what you're trying to tell me is that 
we should assume responsibility for Natsume and Kurumi because it is 
the will of the master? Hmmm...." The Saotome woman rest her chin on 
her raised fist, pondering over Akane's words. 
  Finally, she answered, "When you put it that way, there IS good 
reason why your father wants to responsibility for them. Ukyo did 
say that honor wasn't defined by any one person." 
  Hmmm, made a lasting impression on Mother, Ukyo? Akane thought. 
  She walked to Akane's side by the stove, and wrapped one arm around 
the girl's back. "I'm so glad to have you in the family, Akane. It's 
wonderful to have such honor-minded children in this family." 
  "Yeah, thanks," Akane managed to say. Now, if only Nabiki would be 
easier to satisfy. 

					*  *  *  *  *
Dare (Stan Bush) 

Sometimes when your hopes have all been shattered
And there's nowhere to turn
You wonder how you keep going
Think of all the things that really mattered
And the chances you've earned
The fire in your heart is growing
You can fly, if you try leaving the past behind
Heaven only knows what you might find

Dare - dare to believe you can survive
The power is there at your command
Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive
It's time to take a stand
And you can win, if you dare

Dare - dare to believe you can survive
You hold the future in your hand
Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive
The power is there at your command

Dare - dare to keep all your love alive
Dare to be all you can be
Dare - 'cause there is a place where dreams survive
And it's calling you on to victory
					*  *  *  *  *

  That Saturday Natsume, Kurumi, and Akane stepped onto the stage 
platform that would serve as the battle arena against the self- 
proclaimed Team Japan, otherwise known as the Kusanagi Team, lead by 
one Kyo Kusanagi, who, Akane noted, bore the same name as the thunder 
kami's legendary sword. Susano-O was merely a legend; however, in 
the wake of coming face-to-face with Yamata no Orochi, Akane wondered 
if this Kyo had some relation to the ancient myth. 
  The platform was surrounded on all sides by a metal railing, 
distancing those on the platform to the streets below. Off in the 
distance, Akane could make out several King of Fighters banners, two 
big screen monitors displaying the event for people unable to fit at 
the raised stage area, and a freeway in the distance, jammed with 
traffic as usual. Dominating the landscape was the tall SNK building, 
one of the sponsors of the tournament. 
  Osaka looked like any other city, Akane decided, only that the 
people talked like Ukyo. The western Kansai region of the island 
was known for being particular in artistic pursuits; perhaps it is 
talented people like Ukyo that give these places such a reputation. 
  Golly, Akane, why does everything here remind you of Ukyo? 
  For a moment, Akane wondered what her friend was doing right now. 
  Gathered at the opposing end of the platform were several men and 
women dressed in school uniforms, possessing rather dark colors 
against white shirts. Near the group were three men, set apart from 
the others; one, Kyo Kusanagi, wore a school uniform, yet wore a pair 
of gloves with the pattern of the sun on them. As soon as he turned 
his back, Akane could make out the same sun pattern on the back of 
his shirt. 
  The second man, Benimaru Nikaido, a blonde with his hair standing 
up vertically, dressed in tight jeans and a black tank-top, as if he 
were showing-off his body to the girls present. From his appearance, 
Akane guessed that this one was vain. 
  The third man, Goro Daimon, towered over his two companions, and, 
from his dress (or lack thereof, as he wore no shirt) Akane determined 
that this one was a judo practitioner. Hmm, better watch out for that 
one, I suppose. 
  Natsume leaned against the railing, adjusting the belts on her pole, 
as if such actions would give her an edge in combat. The eggbeater- 
shaped weapon hardly looked deadly, but in Natsume's hands, it was 
truly a weapon. 
  Akane walked to her side, and leaned against the railing as well. 
  "So, what do you think of those three?" asked Akane, indicating 
the members of Team Japan. 
  "They seem to be confident in their abilities," answered Natsume. 
"As am I!" 
  "Well, that much is obvious, but what do you think about their 
abilities?" pressed Akane. "These might be the ones that beat us!" 
  "Your lack of confidence affirms caution," Natsume replied. "However, 
you are right; any one of our opponents can defeat us. If you want 
to know my opinion, these foes will require much work on our part to 
defeat." She pointed the empty-end of the belt pole toward herself. 
"I'll go first, then Kurumi, then you," she said, now pointing the 
pole at Akane. 

  Natsume fiddled with the belts on her pole as her opponent, Kyo 
Kusanagi, stepped forward, He raised his hand into the air, then 
thrust it back downward into a fist. He shouted, "Let's go!" 
  The announcer cried, "Natsume versus Kyo!" 
  The leader of the Tendo School Team spun her pole in her arms 
experimentally, showing-off to her opponent that she knew how to 
use her weapon. Natsume shouted, "Ready, scrub?" 
  "Round One.... Ready... GO!" 
  Natsume made the first move, leaping into the air, intending to 
swipe her belt pole at Kyo's face. But Kyo, anticipating the attack, 
leaped up into the air as well, arms spread apart. To Natsume's 
surprise, flames leaped from Kyo's arms; her opponent spun in 
mid-air, creating a wheel of flames. She felt the flames wash over 
herself, deflecting her attack and sending her backward, back to 
the ground. 
  Rolling back to her feet, Natsume spun her pole about, then threw 
it forth. The result was the generation of a chi-force that erupted 
into a whirlwind-- the chi attack ripped forward, toward Kyo's 
position. 
  Kyo saw the incoming attack, then dodged to the side. Flames 
leaping off his arms, the leader of Team Japan thrust his fist into 
Natsume's gut, then a second hit, then a third, throwing his 
opponent off her feet once more. 
  Standing back, Kyo waved a finger. He said, "So, what have you 
been smoking?" 
  Natsume growled, gritting her teeth in anger. "I'll have to show 
you!" Raising her belt pole up high, Natsume charged. 
  Seemingly unconcerned, Kyo leaned back, knees bent, one fist 
back, seemingly on fire. As soon as Natsume was within kicking 
range, Kyo opened his fist, and slid forward. A large ball of fire 
erupted in the space before Kyo as he threw his fist forward. 
  "Eat... this!" Kyo cried. 
  Pain washed over Natsume as she ran face-first into Kyo's deadly 
fire attack. She screamed as she fell once more. 
  Kyo raised a fist into the air in victory. "This is my victory!" 
  The announcer cried, "Winner is Kyo!" 

  "Kurumi versus Kyo!" 
  Kurumi stepped in place of her defeated sister, her ribbon tied 
up in her hair as usual. The younger sister usually preferred to 
fight unarmed, and use her ribbon only when necessary. This Kyo had 
proved the terrible reason why one shouldn't rely one one's weapon 
in lieu of hand-to-hand techniques; he beat Natsume soundly, without 
a scratch! 
  "Round Two.... Ready, GO!" 
  Kyo straightened his shirt. "Well, Girlie, I sure hope you won't 
burn as much as your friend did!" 
  Kurumi tried to ignore her opponent's taunt, knowing full-well 
that it was the reason why Natsume lost her cool, and thus, the 
fight. "Come and get me, creep!" she shouted. 
  She threw a high kick, which Kyo ducked under. Kurumi in turn 
dodged her opponent's footsweep, leaping over it quickly, then 
retaliated by kicking Kyo in the face. 
  Kyo rolled back to his feet, then unleashed another flaming fist 
at Kurumi, catching the girl by surprise. Her world exploded into 
wild colors when Kyo's punch connected, chi flames exploding like 
dynamite in her Kurumi's face. 
  Kurumi threw herself backward, flipping in mid-air and pulling 
out her ribbon at the same time. With a hard lash, she threw the 
ribbon at Kyo's outstretched hand, allowing it to wrap around 
several times. She focused her chi energies, forcing it down the 
length of the ribbon, to her opponent's arm. 
  "What the...?!" Kyo managed to cry, before Kurumi jerked his arm, 
and the rest of his body, forward. 
  Kyo was thrown high into the air above Kurumi. The ribbon glowed 
red, barely-noticeable against the red ribbon in the first place; the 
traveling girl released her focus on her chi, allowing it to explode 
on Kyo's arm. 
  Kurumi's opponent landed behind her, his body smoking, but not 
burned, as the chi flames were not truly fire. He got back to his 
feet, shaking his head. 
  "Fire," he muttered. "So, it's fire you want to play with? I'll 
have to show you how!" Kyo bent his knees, thrusting one fist toward 
the ground. Gritting his teeth, the Kusanagi fighter began gathering 
chi into his body. His body glowed in a reddish aura. 
  Catching Kurumi by surprise, Kyo pulled-back his entwined arm, 
forcing the girl closer to his person. Then, lifting his other fist 
into the air, fires leaping from his knuckles, Kyo threw the biggest 
flame yet-- right in Kurumi's face. 
  When Kurumi could not get up from the blast, the announcer said, 
"Winner is Kyo!" 
  Kyo turned his back to his defeated opponent, and taunted, "What's 
the matter? Got burned?" 

  "Akane versus Kyo!" 
  This guy must be good if he beat both Natsume and Kurumi, Akane 
decided. I'm no match for him. 
  "Round Three.... Ready... GO!" 
  "You don't look so hot," Kyo taunted. "You're not as strong as your 
two friends!" 
  "Well," Akane replied, sweating in her gi, although she hadn't done 
anything yet, "we'll just have to see about that!" 
  Kyo threw two flaming fists at Akane's direction, but she dodged 
both attacks, ducking below his waist-level. She retaliated with a 
deep punch into her opponent's stomach, backing it with all her 
force. Kyo stepped back in pain, allowing Akane to press her attack 
further. She threw two turnaround kicks at his exposed face, sending 
Kyo sprawling back to the ground on his back. 
  Akane kept her stance, waiting for her opponent to get back on 
his feet. But, he never did. 
  "Winner is Akane!" 
  "I... I won?!" Akane whispered to herself. 

  "Akane versus Benimaru!" 
  The vain blonde hugged himself warmly, then relaxed himself. Calmly, 
he adjusted his hair, then settled into a Muay Thai fighting stance. 
  "Round Four.... Ready... GO!" 
  Benimaru leaped into the air, trying for a deep kick into Akane's 
gut. She backed out of the way, allowing him to land. Dropping to 
his hands, the vain man, his legs out, began to spin in place, 
making fast and furious sweeps at Akane's legs. 
  She fell, the speed of Benimaru's attack barely registering into 
her body, but Akane's legs ached. Forcing herself to her feet, Akane 
tried her best to remain focused, but all that came was battle rage. 
She threw all her weight into the next punch, aiming for Benimaru's 
face. 
  Yawning, as if unconcerned, Benimaru thrust a fist forward, crying, 
"Raijinken!" 
  Pulses of electrical power emanated from Benimaru's fist, catching 
Akane by surprise. She caught the full brunt of the lightning attack, 
crying out in pain. The chi-created lightning pulse raced off the 
man's fist to Akane's body, causing even more pain. 
  By the time Akane hit the ground, barely any trace of the chi 
lightning raced across her body, yet, she was in so much pain! She 
tried to get up, but her legs and arms wouldn't obey. 
  Benimaru had won. He cried, "There aren't enough compliments to 
praise my beautiful fighting!" 

  It was early Monday that Ranma, Ryoga, and Ukyo returned home to 
Nerima, bags slung over their shoulders, at the front door to the 
Tendo house. Nodoka welcomed the three inside, the champions of 
the tournament battle in Hong Kong. 
  "Akane is at school right now," explained Nodoka, "but Natsume 
and Kurumi are here. They're back in the dojo if you want to talk 
to them." 
  And that Ranma did. Ukyo followed Ranma to the dojo, while Ryoga 
followed Nodoka back to the kitchen for something to eat. 
Sure enough, Natsume and Kurumi were there in the dojo, but not 
practicing as Ranma had thought. Natsume sat by the nearest wall, her 
knees tucked into her chest, her fingers running across the surface 
of her belt pole, while her sister stood in the middle, seemingly 
staring at the ceiling. 
  "Hey, guys," Ranma greeted. 
  Both girls turned their heads to the new arrivals. 
  "Welcome back!" Kurumi greeted cheerily. 
  Natsume merely snorted. "Come here to gloat?" 
  "About what?" asked Ranma innocently. 
  "Your victory, and our loss, of course," the girl explained. 
  "Why should I gloat over something like that?" 
  "Because you wanted to be on my team, of course. You wanted to 
prove you were better than us. Well, you were right." 
  "That's a little hard on yourself, isn't it?" wondered Ukyo. "I 
mean, it can't be THAT bad...." 
  Kurumi touched Ukyo's arm gently. She whispered, "It's her pride. 
Come on, maybe we should leave those two alone for a while." 
  Both Ukyo and Kurumi stepped out of the dojo, leaving Ranma alone 
with Natsume. She threw her belt pole aside in frustration, then 
buried her head in her arms. 
  "How could I be so arrogant as to believe that I could win?!" she 
cried out. 
  "It can't be as bad as you think," Ranma said. "Maybe this is a 
way that tells you to train harder for next time." 
  "Next time?" Natsume repeated. "There's nothing to fight for next 
time! There is no Tendo School anymore! The dojo belongs to you!" 
  "Hey, remember, we technically belong to the same dojo now, since 
my marriage to Akane was to unite the Tendo and Saotome Schools," 
Ranma replied, trying his best to get Natsume out of her foul mood. 
"You may have entered the tournament representing the Tendo School, 
but, along with the Saotome School, has become one." 
  "True," Natsume said. 
  "And, therefore, I represent both schools," Ranma finished. 
"There's nothing to be ashamed of." 
  "Bringing glory and honor to the Tendo School was all that my 
sister and I had left," explained Natsume. "I failed to represent 
the dojo properly by bypassing you, I suppose.... I lacked your 
virtues and qualification for such an action." 
  "Well, maybe," Ranma said, "but let bygones be bygones; I mean, I 
don't care about that anymore, you know? Let's just leave that ugly 
business behind us, and look on to the future." 
  Natsume lifted her head from her arms, and smiled. "Perhaps you 
were the right choice to carry on the dojo after all." 
  "That's nice to hear, even though I really didn't care to get it, 
you know," Ranma replied, although the traveling girl took the 
statement to be sarcastic. 

  "So, what are you going to do now?" Ukyo asked Kurumi. 
  Both girls walked around the Tendo dojo, spotting Ryu and his 
open fire every once in a while. Ryu, after over a month of 
practice, still couldn't increase his speed to a sufficient level. 
  "I don't know," admitted Kurumi. "I suppose it's all up to my 
sister, really. Akane thinks we should allow ourselves to be adopted 
by her father, but Natsume doesn't know that yet." 
  "Well, that'll make a full house," Ukyo commented. "They barely 
get along well enough with who they've got already." 
  "That's what Nabiki said," replied Kurumi. "After that, Kasumi 
went out and got a job." 
  "Really?!" exclaimed Ukyo. "Well, leave for a couple of weeks, and 
the whole world turns upside-down!" The okonomiyaki chef threw up 
her arms in frustration. "Next you'll tell me Konatsu burned-down my 
restaurant." 
  Kurumi shook her head. "Well, my sister and Ryu kissed." 
  "Gee, is he really the type she likes?" 
  "How should I know?!" 
  "Well, anyway," Ukyo started, getting back to the subject, "what 
do YOU think should happen to you?" 
  "I don't know," admitted Kurumi. "I... I've never thought about 
it that way. Natsume usually makes the decisions." 
  "Don't you think it's time to make your own decisions?" 
  "I... guess so." 
  "Then, what do you think you should do with your life? Stay with 
Akane and the others, or continue to wander around and train?" 
  Now Kurumi was at a loss of words. She never seriously thought 
about what SHE wanted before. She had wanted to meet her father, but 
that was impossible now. She never really did want the Tendo dojo. 
She really didn't like traveling on the road all her life, either. 
  So, what DO I want? Kurumi wondered. 
  "Anyway," Kurumi began, changing the subject, "how was the fight?" 
  "Oh, the fight?" repeated Ukyo, a bit surprised that Kurumi would 
ask that kind of question now. "Ranchan has problems with fighting 
against girls, you know? Anyway, what the problem was that the other 
team was an all-girls team." 
  "That's... terrible," Kurumi said, sympathetic to Ranma's problem. 
  "Yeah, well, Ryoga doesn't like fighting girls, either," Ukyo added. 
  "Ouch," was all Kurumi could say to that. "So, how in the world 
did you win if both Ranma and Ryoga couldn't fight against girls?" 
  "I didn't say they COULDN'T fight," corrected Ukyo. "It's just that 
they fight LESS WELL, you know. Anyway, Ryoga took care of the first 
one, a kickboxer, but he lost miserably against the second girl; Mai, 
some airheaded ninja girl, dressed in almost nothing, so to speak, so 
as soon as Ryoga laid eyes on her bouncing balls he broke into a 
nosebleed and almost died on the spot!" 
  "THAT bad, hmmm?" 
  "Yeah, well, Ranma went up next, and he did soundly beat her, but 
just barely; the third girl, Kasumi, just finished him off. Leaving 
me to clean up the mess." Ukyo whipped-out a fan, and opened it. "I 
showed them how to use fans!" 
  "That's great," congratulated Kurumi. "So, where are you going to 
fight this Saturday?" 
  "Down over where you guys fought on week one," answered Ukyo. "The 
next team is coming to fight us." 

  The day had yet to dawn Tuesday morning when Natsume and Kurumi 
stepped out of the Tendo yard, slipping through the gates quietly, 
both carrying their sole possessions on their persons. 
  Kurumi gave one final look at the Tendo house before her sister 
shut the gate. Turning to Natsume, she whispered, "Is this the way 
things must be?" 
  Natsume nodded. "Until we can decide on our futures, we should be 
off on a training journey. When the time comes that we shall return, 
I hope to be much more worthy to represent the dojo." 
  "And leaving without saying 'good-bye?'" 
  "I know of Akane's wishes," Natsume assured her sister. "I cannot 
accept that until I'm sure of myself again." She stared down back to 
Kurumi. "What about you? Why don't you stay behind?" 
  "Because if I did," explained Kurumi, "you would be out there, all 
alone. I can't abandon you like that, not after all we've been 
through." 
  "Very well, then, we should be off," concluded Natsume. 
  But their journey was halted further by the sound of another voice. 
"Thought about leaving without me?" 
  Both Natsume and Kurumi watched Ryu Kumon, duffel bag over his 
shoulder, leap down from the top of the Tendo lot's wall. 
  "You," Natsume started, "why are you here?" 
  "I'm going with you, of course!" Ryu said. "I've decided that it's 
probably best that I rebuild the Kumon dojo with techniques I devised 
on my own, not techniques sponged-off someone else." 
  "Really?" asked Kurumi. 
  Ryu nodded. Lifting his gloved hands, he added, "Besides, I don't 
think I'll ever be able to get those stupid nuts out of the fire!" 
  Natsume punched Ryu in the shoulder. "You're just doing this just 
so you can be with me!" she accused. 
  "Well, why not?" Ryu reasoned. "You would've done the same. And I 
don't think you really DO mind, either!" 
  The older sister sighed. "Oh, very well. We'll travel together for 
the time being...." 
  Together, the three martial artists, their backs against the rising 
sun, walked off under the morning light. 

					*  *  *  *  *
The Touch (Stan Bush) 

You got the touch
You got the power...yeah! 

After all is said and done
You've never walked, you never run
You're a winner
Got the moves, you know the street
Break the rules, take the heat
You're nobody's fool 

You're at your best when the goin' gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough 

You got the touch!
You got the power
When all Hell's breakin' loose
You'll be right in the eye of the storm
You got the heart
You got the motion
You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch 

You never bend, you never break
You seem to know just what it takes
You're a fighter
It's in the blood, it's in the will
It's in the mighty hands of steel
When you're standin' your ground 

And you never give in when your back's to the wall
Gonna fight till the end, and you're takin' it all 

You got the touch!
You got the power
When all Hell's breakin' loose
You'll be right in the eye of the storm
You got the heart
You got the motion
You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch 

You're at your best when the goin' gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough 

You got the touch
You got the power...yeah! 

You got the touch
You got the power! [TOUCH!] 
					*  *  *  *  *

  The next three weeks for Team Ranma was filled with victory; the 
third, fourth, and fifth rounds have come and gone for the trio. 
  It was the third match Ranma, Ryoga, and Ukyo were pitted against 
a Japanese martial arts school-- a brother and sister, and the 
sister's Spanish boyfriend. All three fought in the same karate 
style, one which proved to be rather weak, as Ranma cleanly-defeated 
all three of them in one long streak. 
  The fourth match pitted Team Ranma against a team of three 
mercenaries from Brazil: a serene-looking, emotionless army woman, 
and two men dressed in similar garb, but each possessing one half of 
a single pair of gloves. The two men were no match for Ryoga and 
Ranma, but the woman, Leona, proved to be much stronger-- her speed 
and raw power seemed quite inhuman, and her chi-created wind blades 
caused great pain for Ranma and Ryoga. Ukyo was lucky to finish her 
off, yet it was the okonomiyaki chef who discovered the weakness in 
Leona's fighting style-- the warrior woman seemed to rely too much 
on attack patterns, complex though they were. 
  And, in the fifth week since the start of the tournament, the final 
four duked it out for the right to go on to the sixth and final 
battle for the prize money. Team Ranma was pitted against the 
Yagami Clan's Team, while the other two contenders, the Boss Team and 
the Lone Wolves Team, duked it out elsewhere. One man, named Iori, 
paired with two women, Vice and Mature, made up the Yagami assassin 
team. After barely defeating the trio, Ryoga noticed that the leader, 
Iori, was dragging away his defeated partners to a shadowy area. One 
could only guess what he was doing, but the screams from both women 
proved to be more than enough evidence of what he did. 
  Now, the final match of the tournament was about to begin: Team 
Ranma was flown to Germany to face the Boss Team, the self-styled 
History's Most Evil Trio: Geese Howard, the original Chairman of the 
King of Fighters, his half-brother, Wolfgang Krauser, and underworld 
boss Mr. Big.  
  The battle arena took place on a large barge tied in the middle of 
a river overlooking a German castle, belonging to House Strolheim; 
the audience stands were set up at the river's edges. The three 
members of each team waited on opposite sides of the barge, each 
jabbing fingers and insults at the other team. 
  Ryoga stepped forward as usual, and Mr. Big, a bald man wielding 
two black sticks, did the same. 
  "Ryoga versus Mr. Big!" cried the announcer. "Round One.... Ready, 
GO!" 
  As soon as the announcer cried for the combat to begin, Mr. Big 
ran both clubs toward the ground, shouting, "Raiho!" 
  Ryoga leaped back out of the way as a burst of exploding chi 
erupted where he was standing. Rushing forward, his fists traded 
blows with that of Mr. Big's two clubs, both going back and forth, 
neither gaining an advantage. 
  "Let's dance!" shouted Mr. Big. Extending his arms outward, the 
bald man began to spin in place, forcing Ryoga to duck under the 
attack. 
  The Eternally Lost Boy threw a roundhouse kick at Big's exposed 
legs, throwing him out of his spinning attack and off his feet. As 
the man fell, Ryoga rolled forward, and threw his feet into the air 
to connect with Mr. Big's back. 
  Mr. Big jumped back to his feet, obviously still game. Holding his 
clubs before him, he threw himself at Ryoga, crying, "Cross Diving!" 
  Ryoga caught the full brunt of the attack in his chest, forcing 
him backward. Mr. Big got back to his feet first, and threw another 
ground blast from his clubs, sending Ryoga even farther back and 
closer to the edge of the barge. 
  Trapped in a corner, Ryoga had no wish to tumble over the side of 
the barge. The shadow of Mr. Big blotted-out his view of the sun. 
  The bald man tapped his clubs together in anticipation. "Are you 
happy with yourself?" he taunted. 
  As Mr. Big stepped over Ryoga, the boy cried, "Not on your life!" 
Ryoga planted both feet into Big's chest, catching the man by 
surprise. With all his strength, Ryoga threw Mr. Big up and over 
his head. 
  The *SPLASH!* Mr. Big made in the river signaled the end of the 
round. 
  "Winner is Ryoga!" cried the announcer. 

  "Ryoga versus Krauser!" 
  Geese's half-brother, a tall, shirtless man with rippling muscles, 
flexed his head back. "Let's burn it up!" he cried. 
  "Round Two.... Ready, GO!" 
  Krauser threw one arm forward, shouting, "Blitz Ball!" A chi-made 
ball of force appeared in the air, and sailed in Ryoga's direction. 
  Ryoga dodged to the side, being used to dodging projectiles by 
now. The problem was with the larger man was that he was attacking 
someone much shorter than he was! Using his relatively-smaller size 
as an advantage, Ryoga rolled forward. 
  Only to be greeted by one of Krauser's chi bolts and "Blitz Ball!" 
  The Eternally Lost Boy was thrown back. Getting up, he shook his 
head. Well, I suppose this guy DOES know about his disadvantage. 
  Krauser wiped his hands. He taunted, "Give it up, loser!" 
  "Ha!" bit back Ryoga. With pent-up fury, he charged. 
  Unfortunately, he was caught fast by one of Krauser's holds. The 
German fighter proved to be a wrestler, as he threw Ryoga down, 
head-first, against the barge's hard surface. 
  "You can get up by yourself," Krauser said, turning his back to 
Ryoga. 
  "It's... not... over!" Ryoga shouted, forcing himself back to his 
feet. 
  Surprised, Krauser turned around to meet the onslaught of Ryoga's 
furious punches and kicks, one after another, with no stopping in- 
between blows. The German wrestler stumbled back, out of Ryoga's 
reach. 
  "I'm a bit surprised," admitted Krauser. "I never expected you to 
get back up so quickly, or at all!" He threw both his arms forward, 
and shouted, "Kaiser Wave!" 
  "Wha...?!" was all Ryoga could say before the enormous chi-bolt 
enveloped his body. Even as his body racked in electrical pain, 
Ryoga shouted, "It... won't... end... HERE!" 
  Throwing his arms forward, Ryoga shouted, "Shishi Hokodan!" 
  Krauser stepped back in surprise, amazed that Ryoga could pull one 
final attack, even under his immense pain. "Yaaaaaahhhh!!!!" 
  When finally both chi attacks subsided, neither Krauser nor Ryoga 
stood. The announcer cried, "Double K.O.!" 

  "Ranma versus Geese!" 
  Geese stepped forward, then pointed at Ranma. "You?! Ha-hah!" 
  "I'll have to teach you some lessons," taunted Ranma. 
  "Round Three.... Ready, GO!" 
  Geese stood back, and waved his arm as if beckoning Ranma forward. 
"Come on! Let's get this over with!" 
  The evil man threw himself into the air, Ranma following. Both 
met in mid-air, Geese slashing the air with one arm, creating a chi 
blade of force that launched at Ranma. Without a proper defense for 
the attack, Ranma was thrown back to the ground, landing hard on 
his back. 
  Ranma got back to his feet, then engaged his opponent as soon as 
he landed on the ground again. He threw punches and kicks, never 
repeating any set pattern in order to confuse Geese, but Geese seemed 
to anticipate each and every blow, and blocked them accordingly. 
The evil man's wicked grin infuriated Ranma further, intensifying 
his attacks in response. 
  "Ha-hah!" laughed Geese, continuing to block attacks. "Soon you 
will tire yourself out, and when you do...." 
  Ducking under one final kick, he shouted, "Reppuken!" Throwing his 
left arm upward, Geese created another chi blade of force with the 
air, running the chi attack right into Ranma's exposed body. 
  The attack hardly threw Ranma off his feet, only forcing him to 
take several steps back. Throwing his arms forward, he cried, "Moko 
Takabisha!" 
  Geese leaped over Ranma's chi attack, then forced Ranma to block 
a deep one-two punch from above. Landing on his feet, the evil man 
wasted no time, and cried, "Double Reppuken!" 
  One after another, Geese threw his arms upward, left, then right, 
creating two slicing chi blades, one after another, ripping up 
Ranma's body from the ground up. 
  This time Ranma lay on his back. He rolled backward, making a 
mental note to keep his distance from his opponent. Ranma got to 
his feet, and sprung back into the air. 
  Extending both palms outward, Ranma shouted, "Moko Takabisha!" 
  This time, two chi-bolts emerged, one from each of Ranma's palms, 
catching Geese by surprise. Both bolts collided with Geese, forcing 
him to fall to one knee. 
  While Ranma sailed overhead, Geese gritted his teeth angrily, then 
pounded both fists into the ground, shouting, "Razing Storm!" 
  What happened next caught Ranma completely by surprise: several 
chi blades sprung into existence from the ground around Geese, 
jagging upward at an alarming speed. He could not escape the blast 
in time. 
  Ranma screamed in pain as Geese's final attack engulfed him. 
  "Winner is Geese!" announced the announcer. 

  "Ukyo versus Geese!" 
  Ukyo Kuonji, wearing her Shinto dress as she had always been, 
stepped forward nervously. She unstrapped her combat spatula from 
her back, careful not to remove her mantle prematurely. She gripped 
the weapon carefully in both hands, as if it would give her the 
confidence necessary to beat a superior opponent. 
  "Round Four.... Ready, GO!" 
  Geese laughed. "Ha-ha-hah! What're you going to do with that, 
beat me to submission?!" 
  "I just might," Ukyo shot back, reaching for her spatula-darts. 
  The evil man had plenty of time to see Ukyo's projectiles coming, 
and therefore rolled to the side, out of harm's way. He leaped into 
the air, for another air blade attack. 
  Ukyo saw the attack coming, and therefore threw her giant spatula 
upward, the large metal weapon spinning in the air. The oversized 
projectile caught Geese before he had the chance to attack, and 
bashed him in the chest. 
  Both combat spatula and Geese landed together. Getting back to 
his feet, he kicked away the giant spatula behind him, well out of 
reach of Ukyo's hands. 
  "That wasn't a very smart move," Geese taunted. He charged. 
  Ukyo stepped to the side, nearly-missing Geese's furious running 
attack. Dodging punch after punch, she grabbed the neck of her 
mantle, and, with serene-like grace, threw it before her, allowing 
the American martial artist to run into it, blinding his view. 
  As soon as he had exposed his back to her, the okonomiyaki 
chef planted one foot into Geese's back, and kicked, hard. 
  "Sometimes y'just gotta improvise," Ukyo shot back. 
  Geese landed on the barge deck, sprawled on his stomach. Getting 
up, he muttered, "This is no time to lose...." 
  Bashing his fists into the ground, Geese shouted, "Razing Storm!" 
  Ukyo threw herself backward, trying her best to distance herself 
from Geese's desperate attack. She tripped as she backpedaled, 
but to her surprise the attack ended right before her feet. 
  She slipped her arms back into her sleeves, feeling for her 
hidden weapons she stored there. Up until now, Ukyo had not needed 
to use those weapons, but this time, it was now or never. 
  As Geese lifted his fists from the ground, his eyes caught sight 
of Ukyo's attack: with great speed and fury, she sliced the air 
with a pair of ordinary fans, beating back Geese with each swing of 
her arms. 
  Ukyo continued her relentless attack, batting at Geese's face like 
there was no tomorrow, hurting him with the sheer speed of the attack 
alone. Finally, Geese fell onto his back, and he never got up. 

  "Announcing the winners...." 
  Ukyo crossed her arms, fans open, and bowed her head. There was 
nothing to say, nothing else to do. Silently, she gathered her 
discarded mantle and spatulas, then returned them to their proper 
positions on her person. 
  She won. 

  However, the tournament didn't end there; Team Ranma, as well as 
the rest of the invitation teams, were to meet for one final battle 
at a coliseum in Japan. 
  It was the following Monday, and Ryoga, Ranma, and Ukyo stepped 
into the marble-white coliseum. A ring dominated the center, bearing 
the King of Fighters logo. At one end of the coliseum there was a 
large television screen set up, and a scrolling text beneath it, 
reading: "Final Stage... Last Battle," and repeated, over and over. 
The seating all around the coliseum was filled to the brim; balloons 
and banners decorated every free space available. A panel of judges 
waited to one side. 
  Most, but not all, the invitation teams were in attendance, Natsume 
not among them, and neither were the Orochi Team. The Boss Team had 
declined to join the others as well. 
  "Ukyo?" 
  The okonomiyaki chef turned around. "Athena!" 
  Athena Asamiya, one of Japan's many teen-idol singers, stepped 
over to greet her old friend. "I've heard the news; congratulations!" 
  "Thanks," Ukyo replied, extending a hand which Athena accepted. 
"So, you're here, too?" 
  The other girl nodded. "My team lost to the Orochi Team, of all 
people! They were tough customers, weren't they?" 
  "Yeah," Ukyo agreed, nodding. "Anyway, what do you suppose this is 
all about?" she asked, waving her hand all about the stadium. 
  Athena shook her head. "I honestly don't know. Kensou said that 
Kagura was going to exercise her right to challenge the champions of 
the tournament." 
  "So, where is she?" asked Ukyo. 
  It was then Ranma grabbed his friend's arm. "Ucchan, we've got to 
go. We've been called to the center forum." 
  Ukyo turned back to Athena. "Sorry, gotta go!" 
  Ranma lead Ukyo through the coliseum, passed the center pillars, 
and into the open area in the center. Ryoga was already there, 
waiting for his partners to arrive. 
  "So, we're all here, right?" announced Ryoga. "I suppose the fight 
is just about to begin." 
  "That is a correct assumption," someone announced, a voice that 
echoed off the inner pillar formations. 
  The speaker of the voice stepped from her hiding place behind the 
pillars. She dressed in a white blouse, similar to that a Shinto 
priestess would wear (not quite like what Ukyo was wearing), and 
black, tight pants. A white headband parted her long, flowing black 
hair. From what Ranma could determine, she was just about Kasumi's 
age, if not older. 
  He pointed a finger in recognition as Ukyo gasped. Both cried, 
"You!" 
  "You know her?!" Ryoga cried in surprise. 
  "Yeah," Ukyo said. "She's the one who helped get rid of the evil 
Orochi blood that tainted me!" 
  The stranger Ranma and Ukyo had met in Hawaii stood before them, 
with the same calm demeanor as before. "Yes, I am Chizuru Kagura, 
the Guardian. I thought I would meet the one who defeated Rugal, 
but you are not the ones; you obviously were not in the tournament 
last year." 
  "The Guardian?!" cried Ranma, puzzled. "What about Rugal?!" 
  "Since you are not the ones who have defeated Rugal, I had all the 
other invitation teams come here as well," explained Kagura, ignoring 
Ranma's questions. "One of them possesses the power that defeated 
Rugal, and I need to borrow that power before the Orochi awakens." 
  "I am the Guardian of the power that seals Orochi from the Earth," 
Kagura continued. "Ten years ago, Rugal siphoned some of Orochi's 
power, the evil blood that once tainted Ukyo's body. He was unable 
to control it, and was ultimately destroyed by it, thus the reason 
why I had to save you." 
  "Wow," Ukyo whispered. "You saved my life, in more ways than one!" 
  "The man who released the Orochi power ten years ago must be 
stopped now!" the woman announced. "We need to reseal the Orochi now, 
before it is too late!" 
  "Too late for what?" asked Ranma. 
  "If we do not act quickly, Yamata no Orochi will be reborn on the 
Earth, and free to wreak havoc and destruction!" 
  Suddenly, the wind picked-up, causing everything not tied down to 
blow away. From outside the circle of pillars the trio could hear 
the screams of people being blown away. 
  "The... wind!" Ranma cried. 
  "He's coming!" Kagura warned. 
  "Who?!" cried Ryoga. 
  "The one who took Rugal's right eye and released the Orochi power!" 
shouted Kagura. 
  "What's happening?!" Ukyo shouted. 
  Suddenly, a dark shadow blanketed the inner circle, and those 
standing within it. A voice whispered, "As I thought, only mere 
flies in my web!" 
  "Look!" Ryoga shouted, pointing to a dark man standing atop 
one of the pillars. 
  His black cape whipped in the wind, exposing his dark blue uniform 
underneath and his large, black boots. His eyes appeared to pierce 
even the blackest of black, yet, glowed a mysterious purple tinge. 
  "I am called Goenitz," introduced the stranger. "I saw your 
miserable performances, and none of you have a prayer! I'll give 
you a choice: die while fighting, or be killed quickly!" 
  "You aren't giving us much choice!" shouted Ryoga. 
  "No one's threatening me like that!" agreed Ranma. 
  "Very well, then...." Goenitz said ominously. His eyes began to 
glow an even darker purple. "It looks like all of you against me!" 
  "Teamwork!" encouraged Kagura. "He's much too powerful for any 
of us to deal with alone!" 
  Both Ryoga and Ukyo glanced at Ranma questionably. He looked at 
both in surprise. "What?!" 
  Ryoga peered at Ranma suspiciously. "Since when did you ever work 
in a team?" 
  "Didn't we just get this far?" Ranma insisted. 
  "It wasn't so much teamwork as it was endurance, Ranchan," Ukyo 
pointed out. "We need an attack plan." 
  "Alright," Ranma agreed finally. 
  "Pray to any god you believe in!" taunted Goenitz. "Let the battle 
begin!" 
  Raising his right arm into the air, Goenitz summoned the power of 
wind: a whirlwind sprung into existence amidst the gathered 
champions, spinning the four and tossing them about. 
  Ryoga threw himself out of the way of the next whirlwind, rolling 
to the base of the pillar which Goenitz stood upon. Raising his 
finger, he shouted, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" and jabbed it into the pillar, 
sending rocks flying. 
  He had expected Goenitz's body to tumble to the ground along with 
the rest of the pillar, but the man disappeared in a rush of wind. 
  "What the...?!" he spat. 
  "Ryoga, behind you!" Ukyo shouted in warning. 
  Before Ryoga could act, a strong hand gripped the back of his 
shirt. In his ear, he could hear the sound of Goenitz's voice: "That 
wasn't smart." 
  Ryoga screamed in pain as Goenitz summoned another whirlwind, 
this one centered on his held victim. 
  "Leave him alone!" Ukyo cried. Summoning her internal energies, 
forcing it through her arms, the okonomiyaki chef cried, "Hydra 
surge!" 
  Ranma's jaw dropped in surprise. "Ukyo...?!" 
  A stream-like energy lance, vaguely resembling a striking serpent, 
flew outforth toward the Orochi Family's Master of Wind. 
  Goenitz dropped Ryoga, and released the whirlwind at the same time, 
having his attentions being diverted by Ukyo's attack. The evil man 
threw a ball of wind force at the girl, sending her flying backward. 
Without waiting a moment, he vanished, using the force of the wind 
to mask his presence. 
  "Shit, now where'd he go?!" Ranma cried. 
  Without warning, another deadly column of wind burst to the air 
beneath Kagura's feet. She threw herself out of the way, just as the 
others spied Goenitz standing not far away. 
  Ranma rushed toward the enemy, crying, "He's mine!" 
  "No, wait!" warned Kagura, leaping back to her feet. 
  But it was too late; Ranma was caught by another of Goenitz's wind 
columns. As he was thrown spiraling into the air, he spied Kagura, 
using the same illusion techniques she had used on him six months 
before on the Orochi Master of Wind-- projections of the woman's 
body attacked alongside her against the enemy. With Goenitz's 
attentions diverted, Ranma found himself stopped in mid-air, as the 
wind column ceased to exist. He started to fall. 
  Goenitz laughed as he grabbed Kagura, then summoned another whirlwind 
to rip through her. However, he had guessed wrong, for the Kagura he 
had grabbed was the illusion. The real Kagura had retreated while 
Goenitz was summoning the new whirlwind. 
  "So," he snarled, "aren't you pathetic?" 
  "Listen!" commanded Kagura. "We must all attack him at once!" 
  "Ha-hah!" Goenitz laughed. "I dare you to try!" 
  A second Kagura leaped out of Kagura's body, leaping at Goenitz 
with a flying punch. Goenitz dodged to the side, only to be greeted 
by both of Ryoga's flying feet. The Orochi Master of Wind ducked 
under the ill-timed attack. 
  Ukyo threw her arms forth, chi energies racing across her 
outstretched fingers, generating a growing pulse in her palms. 
Without waiting for Goenitz to make another move, the okomomiyaki 
chef threw her chi bolt. 
  And, forgotten in the sky, Ranma was still falling. The ground was 
getting terribly-close for his eyes. It was hot, up here, in the sky. 
  I've got to do something, Ranma told himself. That whirlwind really 
threw me off... into a spiral. Wait a minute... hot? Up here? 
  Down below Ranma, Goenitz flared in anger at his three opponents. 
"You dare to strike me?!" Raising both arms into the air, three 
whirlwinds burst from the ground, ripping the ground beneath Kagura, 
Ryoga, and Ukyo, sending the three skyward. As quickly as the three 
were thrown in the air they collided with the ground, Goenitz having 
relinquished his hold over the winds to allow his enemies to fall. 
  Ukyo, dazed, forced herself to her feet. She pulled her arms back, 
then threw them forth, throwing two small balls of chi energies at 
the occupied Goenitz. The bolts splashed over the man's body as if 
the bolts were made of pure water, but the attacks seemed to have no 
affect. 
  "You could've had great power had you served Orochi," Goenitz 
yelled at Ukyo. "Why did you fight the taint of the Bloodseed, Jade 
Dragon?" 
  "You...!" Ukyo murmured. "Orochi bastard! It was killing me! And 
stop calling me that!" 
  "As if death in the serpent's service were punishment?!" he 
replied. 
  She looked up into the sky, toward the falling Ranma. "Ranma! What 
are you doing?!" 
  Aiming his fist toward Goenitz's position, Ranma gathered the hot 
chi energies scattered by Goenitz's winds into the high air. Only 
once before Ranma had used this attack, under similar conditions, 
brought about when Herb turned Ranma's whirlwind against him. 
  His fist glowed with terrible hot energies, and Ranma sincerely 
hoped that Goenitz wasn't radiating a lot of hot chi. 
  "Hiryu Korin Dan!" he cried. 
  Goenitz looked up in the air in surprise, releasing the whirlwinds 
he had created. "Nooo!!!!" 
  Both Kagura and Ukyo, well-away from the epicenter of the attack, 
shielded their eyes. 
  "What is he doing?!" Ukyo cried. 
  "He's gathered excess chi from the atmosphere!" explained Kagura. 
"And he drove the hot energies downward, forcing them to mix 
violently with Goenitz's cold chi aura!" 
  When the blast cleared, the winds had died down completely. Kyo 
and the two Bogards landed unceremonially on the ground. Ranma stood 
alone over Goenitz's battered body. Both Kagura and Ukyo stepped 
to his side. 
  "What a surprise," whispered Goenitz, struggling to speak. "You 
guys really do know your stuff! However, your efforts were in vain; 
You will never seal the Orochi power again. Give it up while you 
still can!" 
  "Fat chance, Ugly!" replied Kagura. "The Orochi power is as good as 
sealed!" 
  "Vain fools," Goenitz muttered. His eyes gazed up into the sky, 
beyond the three who stood over him. "Ah, a fine wind blows...." 
  "Thinking of escaping?!" Ranma said. 
  "No... I am being called... to Heaven," Goenitz corrected. A stream 
of blood trailed from his lips, and all life seemed to drain from 
his eyes. 
  Raising his hand, Goenitz disappeared in a burst of wind, leaving 
no traces of his body. 
  "It's... over?" Ukyo asked Kagura. 
  "Hardly," replied the Guardian. "Goenitz was correct; it is too 
late to reseal the Orochi power. His mission here was to buy his 
comrades' time to make sure the seal was completely destroyed." 
  "So now what are we going to do?" asked Ranma. "If what he said was 
true, the Orochi will reemerge in this world!" 
  "Not exactly," corrected Kagura. "What Goenitz failed to do was 
two things, in which we succeeded. One, it was his task to find a 
suitable host body for which Orochi to be reborn in. Had his original 
body not been defeated by your friend, Akane, the evil dragon would 
not have needed to follow that step." 
  "Yeah, we know about that part," Ranma said, nodding. "The Orochi 
Cult tried to get revenge by killing her." 
  "I know," said Kagura. "The second part was to gather enough 
chi energies to summon Orochi. Goenitz wished to use the energies of 
the tournament's fighters to revitalize the Orochi, but he failed." 
  "So, what's there left to do?" asked Ukyo. 
  "Goenitz was not the only one who would seek the return of Orochi. 
There will be others. I will keep an eye on them, for now." She 
started to turn to walk away, then turned back to face Ranma. "Do 
you remember our last meeting?" 
  "Yeah, what about it?" asked Ranma. 
  "I told you that having faith in yourself was only the first step 
to true strength," explained the Guardian. "You have yet to learn to 
have faith in others, for therein lies true strength. If you fail to 
learn that, then you will fail in the future." 
  "Hey, wait!" Ranma cried. "Tell me more!" 
  But, before Ranma could get an answer, Kagura disappeared, just as 
Goenitz had done before, vanishing without a trace. 
  "Dammit!" cursed Ranma. "She always does that to me!" 
  "You know," Ukyo started, "I think I know what she's talking about." 
  "What's that?" he asked. 
  "This whole tournament... the whole purpose was to emphasize working 
as a team, wasn't it?" Ukyo said. "If it is truly teamwork that is 
the key, then that is what we must do in the future." 
  "The future...." Ranma repeated. "The day of judgment...." 

  In the following days and weeks, reporters would say that the 
tournament's last battle was interrupted by terrorists, yet the ones 
who fought that day knew the truth. It was to such news that Ranma, 
Ryoga, and Ukyo, returned to the Tendo household, tired from their 
long ordeal of the weeks passed. Quickly, the three related their 
own experiences at the coliseum to the others. 
  Despite the disaster, the King of Fighters was a complete success. 
  The tournament prize money, awarded to Team Ranma for defeating 
all the other teams, was split three-ways among Ranma, Ryoga, and 
Ukyo. Ranma and Ukyo planned to save their shares for college, 
while Ryoga had no idea what to do with his, but among the first 
orders of business was hiring a taxi to take him back to the Unryu 
farm in order to be with his wife. 
  Akane filled in the details for Ranma and Ukyo. "Kasumi no longer 
has a job, however, I think she's doing more volunteer work at the 
church. Anyway, I think Konatsu needs a little help down at the 
restaurant, too." 
  "He didn't burn it down, did he?!" Ukyo demanded. 
  "Of course not!" Akane assured her friend. "I had to go down and 
help him a few times, actually. Don't worry, it's still in one 
piece." 
  It was then when both girls noticed that Ranma had drifted-off. 
After searching the house, the two found him sitting alone outside, 
next to the pond in the back. 
  "Hey, Ranchan," Ukyo started, "what's the matter?" 
  "Oh, I've just been thinking," Ranma insisted. 
  "About what?" asked Akane. 
  "If what Kagura said was true," he explained, "then I know what I 
must do in order to save ourselves from the terrible future Seiryu 
had shown us." 
  "You mean the one where I lost my eye?" asked Ukyo. 
  Ranma nodded. "The key is faith. Not just in myself, but in others." 
  "You ARE starting to listen!" the okonomiyaki chef cried, elated. 
  "Of course, the problem is, I have no idea where to start," Ranma 
said honestly. "Faith in who?" 
  "Well, in us, for one thing," Akane pointed out. "It's a start." 
  "Whatever it is that's waiting for us, we'll all face it together, 
or not at all," Ukyo proclaimed. 
  
  A single man stood alone in the dark, cavernous hallway, which was 
lit only by the light of eight small, burning candles. However, 
without the illumination of the candles, even in the dim light of 
the hallway, no one could mistake the design of the jade statue that 
hung high on the head wall, the wall which the dark man faced. Seven 
serpentine creatures bundled about a single, larger creature, that 
resembling the head of a great dragon. Its eyes seemed to stare down 
coldly at the man dressed in the navy-blue suit and the flowing 
black cape. 
  "Vain fools," the dark man snorted, "this was only the beginning." 


					*  *  *  *  *
Closing: Ballad of Ranma and Akane (Ranma, Akane) 
(With interrupts from Shampoo, Kodachi, Kuno, Mousse, Ryoga, Ukyo) 
[Setting: Ranma and Akane, alone, gazing into the starry night sky]

(Ranma) You're cute when you smile!
	  And so you become docile!
(Akane) Being obstinate, that's right,
	  it's the same for us both!

[Shampoo: What love have to do with marriage?!] 

(Both)  Although our engagement was decided
	  by our parents at first,
 	  unconsciously, love
 	  has sprouted.

[Kodachi: Is my love not good enough for you, Ranma-sama?] 
[Set: The stars. Ryoga, Mousse, and Kuno, menacing grins, weapons] 

(Ranma) We can't communicate well!
(Akane) We're clumsy at love.
(Ranma) Today I can't look you in the face!
(Akane) Feeling this way for the first time.

[Mousse: Soon you'll learn how it feels to have one's love stolen!] 
[Set: Kasumi, Nabiki, Nodoka, and Mrs. Tendo look on approvingly] 

(Both)  Because we can't say the words yet,
(Ranma) Quietly, I touch your hand!

[Kuno: Who is the one that dares to steal Akane Tendo's affections?] 

(Akane) It's so good when we get together.
(Ranma) I'll protect only you!
(Akane) I've waited eagerly all along.
(Ranma) Now I can't see anyone else.

[Ukyo: You'd better start talking, Saotome!] 
[Set: Stars; Genma, Soun, and Happosai, look on approvingly] 

(Both)  Because we want to confirm gentleness
(Akane) Quietly, I touch your hand.

[Ryoga: Akane, you'll always have a place in my heart....] 
[Set: Stars; Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, malicious, terrible smiles] 

(Men)	  We can't communicate well! 
(Women) We're clumsy at love. 
(Men)	  Today I can't look you in the face! 
(Women) Feeling this way for the first time. 

[All: Forget something, Ranma?!] 
[Set: A nearby hill above Ranma and Akane. Six silhouettes stand 
 silently against the moon; each with arms folded, or twisted, 
 knowing grins. Flash character as we pan by:] 
[Flash: Ryoga, superimposed over a black piglet, umbrella in hand] 
[Flash: Shampoo, superimposed over a white cat, holding bonbori] 
[Flash: Mousse, over a white duck, knives held like feathers] 
[Flash: Kodachi, over a black rose, petals raining, ribbon snapped] 
[Flash: Kuno, over a flaming phoenix, sword raised high] 
[Flash: Ukyo, over jade dragon, arms crossed holding two open fans] 

(Both)  Because we can't say the words yet, 
(Ranma) Quietly, I touch your hand! 
(Akane) Quietly, I touch your hand. 
-----------------------------------------------
Author's Rant 

  The fight/KOF scenes were designed to have the same flow as if 
one were watching another play a King of Fighters '96 game. I've 
spent much time watching others show-off their talents from over to 
the side, so to speak (not sure if there's a term for people like me; 
Watchers? Observers?). I tried my best for fast-paced battles; some 
battles trailed off because the conclusions were predictable and 
inevitable, and it slowed things down. 
  Natsume and Kurumi returned in this story to make things a bit 
more interesting; this not only serves to prompt Ranma to enter the 
tournament of his own initiative, but allows me to plausibly enter 
Akane as well. An interesting side effect was the chemistry between 
Natsume and Ryu, as well as the fact that the dojo is no longer up 
for grabs, now that Ranma is firmly the rightful heir. Neither of the 
sisters know about Ranma's curse, btw. 
  Combats for the third, fourth, and fifth matches were condensed to 
ease the flow of reading; I realized that this fic was getting quite 
lengthy, and I decided I'd only include the important fights only. 

  I added the interrupts in the Ballad of Ranma and Akane because 
one of the biggest problems I have with their relationship is the 
fact that BOTH of them are GUILTY of leaving hanging threads, 
specifically Ryoga, Mousse, Kuno, Kodachi, Ukyo, and Shampoo. I 
believe that they're as important to the relationship as the couple. 
The interrupt quotes pertained specifically to the lyrics that 
preceded them, a nice touch, no? In conclusion, unless Ranma and 
Akane take the sixs' feelings into account, they don't DESERVE to 
get married. 
  Forgiveness: to Queen for using 'Princes of the Universe.' To Stan 
Bush for using 'Dare' and 'The Touch' (both inspiring songs from The 
Transformers: The Movie, btw ;) 

Razorclaw X
http://www.crosswinds.net/anaheim/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html

===================================================================
Ascii Competition Chart: (copyright 1998 Razorclaw X)

Ranma                                      Kung Fu
   |---                                ---|
Korea  |---                        ---|    Justice High
Girls  |   |                      |   |    Circus
   |---    |                      |    ---|
Monk       |---                ---|        Antarctica
Thailand   |   |              |   |        Shadowlaw
   |---    |   |              |   |    ---|
AoF    |---    |              |    ---|    Iceland
India  |       |              |       |    Cuba
   |---        |              |        ---|
Sports         |---        ---|            Boss Team
Egypt          |   |      |   |            Russia
   |---        |   |      |   |        ---|
Ikari  |---    |   |      |   |    ---|    Bermuda
Arena  |   |   |   |      |   |   |   |    Hawaii
   |---    |   |   |      |   |   |    ---|
Italy      |---    |      |    ---|        China
Spain      |       |      |       |        Jamaica
   |---    |       |      |       |    ---|
Fishing|---        |      |        ---|    Kusanagi (Japan)
Austria|           |      |           |    Mad Gears
   |---            |      |            ---|
France             |------|                Tendo School 
Yagami (Orochi)    |      |                England 
   |---            |      |            ---|
Germany|---        |      |        ---|    Hong Kong
Poland |   |       |      |       |   |    Redneck
   |---    |       |      |       |    ---|
Microsoft  |---    |      |    ---|        Austrailia
Apple      |   |   |      |   |   |        Scotland
   |---    |   |   |      |   |   |    ---|
Mexico |---    |   |      |   |    ---|    Fatal Fury
Brazil |       |   |      |   |       |    Netherlands
   |---        |   |      |   |        ---|
Intel          |---        ---|            Judo
Gateway        |              |            Switzerland
   |---        |              |        ---|
Compaq |---    |              |    ---|    Wrestling
Ryu (solo) |   |              |   |   |    Canada
   |---    |   |              |   |    ---|
Turkey     |---                ---|        Singapore
Morocco    |                      |        Karate
   |---    |                      |    ---|
Andor  |---                        ---|    Metro City
USA    |                              |    7 Lucky Gods
   |---                                ---|
Psycho Soldier                             Kenya

_____________________________________________________________
[Ranma 1/2] DoCo * FIRST image song (1992)
Boku-tachi wa Kore Kara [Us After This]
Singer: Ranma 1/2 DoCo
Ranma * Hayashibara Megumi
Akane * Hidaka Noriko
Shampoo * Sakuma Rei
Nabiki * Takayama Minami
Kasumi * Inoue Kikuko
Lyricist: Izumi Yukari
Composer/Arranger: Kawai Kenji

(Akane) yume de dakishimeta nara   [nee kamari konde] (R S K)
kao ga mirenaku naru ne   [dou shita no]
(Nabiki) ienai kotoba   zawameku mune
mujaki ni kimi wa nozoki komu kedo

(Akane) If I were to hug you closely in a dream   [   ] (R S K)
It's become that I can't see your face, hasn't it?   [Why?]
(Nabiki) Words which I can't speak are stirring in my heart
You peeped innocently, but ...

(Kasumi) kawa beri o fuku kaze ga   [mou kaeranakucha] (R A N)
sayonara o isokasu kara   [shikarareru]
(SHANPUU) kimi no egao ya karuishi gusa
hitotsu hitotsu ni toi kakete iru

(Kasumi) the wind blowing over the river's edge   
     [I must return home already] (R A N)
goodbye    [I was scolded]
(Shampoo) Your smiling face and bright gestures
One by one asking questions

(zenin) futari wa mada tomodachi da ne
suki to itta sore dake da ne
(Ranma) nani o sureba ii no   kore kara
(zenin) donna koto hanaseba ii
boku wa ...

(All) Besides both of us are friends, aren't we?
Only that I said "love", right?
(Ranma) What can I do?  After this.
(All) What kind of things can be spoken that are good?
by me ...

(A S N) migibata de katta kedo   [nee akai ishi no] (Kasumi)
yubiwa nara ENGEEJI   [niau desho]
(Ranma) kimi ga ne datta yakusoku da yo
sonna kimochi ga nasakenai kedo

(A S N) Bought on the roadside, but   [a red rock] (Kasumi)
if it was a ring, it would be an engagement ring   
     [probably a suitable fit]
(Ranma) you ... it's a promise
These feelings are miserable, but

(zenin) kimi wa ima mo   toma totteru
mada honki no koi ja nakute
(Nabiki) boku o kirai ja nai dake da ne
(zenin) ai sarete ureshii dake
kimi wa...

(All) You are also now bewildered
it's not true love yet and
(Nabiki) it's only that I don't dislike you, right?
(All) only love and happiness
From you...

(Akane) tsunagu te no hira de
nukumori to   kusuri yubi no (+R * S)   yubiwa o sagasu (+N * K)

(Akane) holding hands
found warmth and the ring on the ring finger

(zenin) futari mada tomodachi da ne
suki to itta sore dake da ne
(SHANPUU) donna fuu ni soshite kawaru no
(zenin) kono mama ja irenai kara
futari...

(All) Besides both of us are friends, aren't we?
Only that I said "love", right?
(Shampoo) What kind of manner and change
(zenin) because this can't happen frequently
us two

Translation by Ray Huang
Revised December 20, 1995
_____________________________________________________
Ranma to Akane no BARAADO (Ranma and Akane's ballad)

"Ranma 1/2" OAV ending theme (1993)



| Ranma: warau to kawaii yo		

|	 dakara  sunao ni nare yo	

| Akane: ijippari na toko wa		

|	 sou yo  o-tagai-sama yo ne	


(Ranma) You're cute when you smile!
	  And so you become docile!
(Akane) Being obstinate, that's right,
	  it's the same for us both!


| Both:  oya no kimeta iinazuke 	

|	 saisho wa sou demo		

|	 shirazu-shirazu aijou wa	

|	 mebaete ita ne 		


(Both)  Although our engagement was decided
	  by our parents at first,
 	  unconsciously, love
 	  has sprouted.


| Ranma: umaku tsutaerarenai ze 

| Akane: futari koi ni bukiyou

| Ranma: kyou wa kao ga mirenai ze	

| Akane: konna kimochi hajimete 	


(Ranma) We can't communicate well!
(Akane) We're clumsy at love.
(Ranma) Today I can't look you in the face!
(Akane) Feeling this way for the first time.


  Both:  kotoba ni wa mada dasenai kara

  Ranma: sotto te ni fureru yo


(Both)  Because we can't say the words yet,
(Ranma) Quietly, I touch your hand!


  Akane: futari aete yokatta		

  Ranma: omae dake o mamoru ze

  Akane: zutto machi-kogarete ita

  Ranma: ima wa dare mo mienai


(Akane) It's so good when we get together.
(Ranma) I'll protect only you!
(Akane) I've waited eagerly all along.
(Ranma) Now I can't see anyone else.


  Both:  yasashisa wo tashikametai kara

  Akane: sotto te ni fureru wa

(Both)  Because we want to confirm gentleness
(Akane) Quietly, I touch your hand.



| Men:	 umaku tsutaerarenai ze 

| Women: futari koi ni bukiyou	

| Men:	 kyou wa kao ga mirenai ze

| Women: konna kimochi hajimete 



(Men)	  We can't communicate well! 
(Women) We're clumsy at love. 
(Men)	  Today I can't look you in the face! 
(Women) Feeling this way for the first time. 


| Both:  kotoba ni wa mada dasenai kara

| Ranma: sotto te ni fureru yo	

| Akane: sotto te ni fureru wa	


(Both)  Because we can't say the words yet, 
(Ranma) Quietly, I touch your hand! 
(Akane) Quietly, I touch your hand. 


[Ranma]  [Akane]

[Ranma]  [Akane]

[Ranma]  [Akane]

[Ranma!] [Akane!]

[Ranma!] [Akane~~~!]





Singer: Ranma & Akane

Composition: Ranma-teki kagekidan bungeibu

Composer: Kawai Kenji

Arranger: Nakamura Nobuyuki



Translation: Theresa Martin (January 17, 1994)
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