Fighting Blind

Disclaimer: I have an interdimensional mallet and I'm not afraid to use it.

* *: Thoughts

< >: Chinese language

Chapter 11

The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Battle

Part One

Akane watched with disdain as the Amazons and Ranma trained in the dojo,

preparing for the upcoming match that was to take place tomorrow. For the

last few days, Ranma had been putting the warrior girls through their

paces, using himself as the target. She snorted in disgust at how he

continued to dodge their strikes as they hurled clubs, hoops and lashed out

with their ribbons.

*Hmpf! How does he expect them to get any better if he doesn't let them

practice on him? * Akane thought as she watched Ranma move with incredible

agility and speed, evading each projectile and attack by mere centimeters.

The fact that he was blind made the feats seem even more amazing.

*Those girls don't stand a chance if all Ranma is going to do is dodge

their attacks! * Akane thought as she continued to observe that the Amazons

were still unable to land a hit on their instructor, though they were only

missing by scant centimeters.

By this time, Ranma was already reading the level of hostility and smugness

coming from Akane as he continued to evade his sister Amazons. After

another ten minutes of training, Ranma gracefully landed in-between Lilac

and Perfume, catching the ends of their ribbons as both girls lashed

forward with them. Each ribbon end was caught between his index and middle

fingers. At the same time, Shampoo hurled a pair of clubs at her cousin's

face, but Ranma simply deflected them, by flipping a ball on the floor,

with the tip of his foot. The clubs bounced off and went flying off to the

sides. He then gave slight nod and the girls relaxed in their stances.

"Well done girls. Your teamwork is coming along very well. Take a rest for

a few minutes." Ranma said as he released the ends of their ribbons.

The three girls nodded as they picked up towels to wipe the sweat from

their foreheads. The last few days had been very grueling for them, as the

Unseen Light fighter had put them through a series of training sessions

that had been more intense then they had ever been through back in the

village. The blind fighter would continually attack them, testing their

reflexes and sixth senses. In class, Ranma would purposely throw something

at their heads to catch them off-guard, say an eraser or pencil. At lunch,

he would try to sneak their food away, making them more aware of their

environment. He would attack them in their beds at night, testing their

danger senses. As they worked at the dojo, the blind boy would challenge

them to try to strike him, continually increasing the pace as they began to

get closer to landing a blow. He had also been teaching them the Hidden

Weapons style. Mousse had never taught anyone of his fighting style and

shared the secret with no one. However, Ranma's senses had already

discerned how the trick worked and wasn't above teaching the other Amazons.

At this point, all three girls were now proficient at hiding their ribbons

and a few clubs. Considering that they wore only skintight outfits and

didn't leave any outlines of what they hid, that was a considerable

achievement.

He then turned to Akane and said, "We'll be finished in about an hour, then

the dojo is all yours."

"It's about time." Akane snorted. "Not that you've been doing very much

training all week."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma asked in an annoyed tone.

"You're not making them any better by just dodging you know." Akane

sneered. "They won't stand a chance against Kodachi if all you do is avoid

their attacks."

"Oh?" Ranma replied in a sarcastic tone. "And I suppose they would benefit

by going through the kind of training that you go through every day?" Ranma

had observed what Akane did to keep in shape, and it was nowhere near the

caliber that even novice Amazon fighters underwent. " Breaking targets that

neither hit back nor dodge is hardly a fitting benchmark to one's skills."

"What did you say?" Akane said, as her tone became a bit colder.

Ranma shrugged nonchalantly. "Kodachi isn't like those bricks and training

dummies. She's not going to stand still and just give you opportunities to

hit her. There is a reason why I dodge Shampoo and the others. Right now, I

am dodging at twice the speed that I estimate Kodachi is capable of doing.

The fact that Shampoo and the others are coming close to striking me is

proof that they will be able to match her. If we were to just practice with

inanimate objects like you, then we would lose in no time. Martial Arts

Rhythmic Gymnastics is primarily based on agility, coordination, strategy,

and speed. Striking power means very little if one is not able to hit the

target. You are far too concerned with increasing the power of your blows

that you neglect all the other aspects of the battle. Then again, that's

what I'd expect from an undisciplined amateur."

"Amateur?!" Akane said in a huff as she got ready to attack Ranma for that

insult. At that moment, he chose to turn his back to her. Akane lunged with

a straight punch to his head. However, in the next instant, she found

herself flying through the air and landing hard on her face on the other

side of the dojo.

Ranma shook his head and sighed. He sensed that attack coming a mile away.

He shook his head and called out to Akane. "It also requires control and it

is very obvious that you are seriously lacking in that department. Your

temper will be your undoing every time."

Akane angrily got to her feet to attack Ranma again, but she soon found

herself being glared at by three very irritated Amazons.

Lilac, Shampoo and Perfume all knew that Ranma could easily handle this

uppity and ill-mannered girl, but they still took offense to her attacking

their intended husband from behind. They were getting ready to pound Akane

into the floor of the dojo when Ranma sensed the rise in hostilities and

held up a hand.

"There will be no fighting." Ranma turned back to Akane. "As I said before,

we shall be finished within an hour. Since this is our last night, we shall

wrap up our training and leave. Afterwards, the dojo will be yours to use

as you see fit. Until then, it would be best for everyone if you were to

leave us alone."

"Bastard!" Akane spat out. "Why don't you just leave now? This dojo belongs

to me and you have no right to be here!"

Ranma crossed his arms and addressed Akane in a patient, yet annoyed tone.

"As I recall, this dojo was offered to us for use by your sister Nabiki, in

return for a few favors. I have held up my end of the bargain. It had

nothing to do with you and besides, you don't own this dojo, your father

does."

"It's my legacy, MY heritage!" Akane said, her anger building.

"Then it is a DEAD legacy." Ranma said flatly. "This dojo is nothing more

than a deadweight to this family and you're better off without it. If

Nabiki has to earn income to maintain a dojo that has no students, then it

is not worth the effort. And if you're the best student that this school

has to offer, then we have really nothing to be concerned about."

"How dare you!" By referring the dojo as deadweight, Akane had seen it as

an insult to both her family and her school. "The Tendo School of Anything

Goes Martial Arts is the finest in the world! I'll show you what a REAL

martial artist can do! I challenge you!"

Ranma gave off a slight snort, then said, "Challenge? You're no challenge

at all. Neither are you a real martial artist."

"ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" Akane lunged at Ranma, but again found herself flying

through the air. This time, she went out the front door and landed on the

back lawn. She got up and saw Ranma calmly closing the sliding door. Before

it shut, he addressed her. "Be done in an hour."

The youngest Tendo daughter scowled, as she was about to stomp back into

the dojo and pound that arrogant jerk into goo. That was when Nabiki came

up.

"Forget it Akane. He's way beyond you in terms of skill, power or anything

to do with martial arts."

"Oooh, just you wait, I'll show him!" Akane spat out as she stomped toward

the house.

Nabiki rolled her eyes and sighed. She called after her as she entered the

house. "Give it a rest. They're going to be gone after tonight and that

will be that." The middle daughter of Soun Tendo felt a bit of sadness as

she mentioned this. She was really going to miss having him around. True to

his word, Ranma had helped raise money for her family. He had used his

extraordinary musical talents to set up small concerts. Then there was that

recording studio that wanted to sign him up. He used his special senses to

aid Nabiki in tough negotiations with other clients. Since he could tell

when someone was hiding something or lying, Nabiki saved a bundle in

avoiding bad deals and getting money from people who owed her. Of course,

with Kuno constantly attacking Ranma, the betting pools also generated

quite a tidy sum.

But now, he was leaving and Nabiki still couldn't figure out how to make

him stay. The blind boy had kept himself at arm's length and the Tendo

daughter had not learned much more about him. He wasn't very cooperative

whenever she asked him about his past.

As Nabiki contemplated on how she could glean more information about Ranma,

the eldest Tendo sister also looked forlornly at the dojo from the kitchen

window. Kasumi felt her heavy heart as she thought about Ranma leaving her

home, probably never to return. In the few days that Ranma was here, Kasumi

had experienced a sense of happiness and contentment that seemed to radiate

from the unseeing martial artist. Ranma had long since forgiven her of her

blunder and Kasumi had tried her best to make amends and get closer to him.

However, like Nabiki, she too could not make any headway with him.

At the back of the dojo, Cologne finished with tying up Soun and Genma.

Over the last week, the pair had made no less than fifty attempts to force

Ranma into marriage with Akane. Tonight's attempt was probably their most

desperate. As soon as Ranma had entered the Tendo compound, Akane's father

had gone into this Demon Head attack and saying 'You will marry Akane!' but

this direct approach was totally ineffective. Though the Demon Head could

cow an inexperienced person into submission, Ranma's lack of sight made the

technique absolutely useless. Genma had thought to use the diversion to

sneak up from behind to knock Ranma out, but the Unseen Light Fighter

simply grabbed his father and body-slammed him into Soun, knocking them

both out.

As she made certain that the two conspirators were secured for the night,

the aged matriarch's senses began to pick up a massive amount of ki being

manipulated. She looked back to the dojo and nodded, recognizing the

individual ki sources. Ranma was now putting the girls through their final

training lessons.

Inside the dojo, each girl was wearing a blindfold, as her aura flared up.

Ranma approached them and began stabbing at them with his staff. Using only

their sixth senses and hearing, the Amazons swerved and dogged the strikes

as they started to increase in speed and intensity.

"Use your sixth senses to FEEL danger. Let your other senses be your

allies. Remember, your eyes are only for LOOKING, not for SEEING." The

blind teenager instructed, as he helped his sister Amazons attain a new

level of awareness. For the past week, not only had Ranma been training

their physical skills, but also aided them in manipulating their ki to

enhance their other senses, including their sense for danger. Given

Kodachi's penchant for hiding unexpected surprises such as paralysis powder

and poisons, having an early-warning system would be a great asset.

As the exercise began to pick up the pace, Ranma began deploying his Hidden

Weapon techniques against them. Though their sixth senses could now detect

the ki being used to make weapons emerge, they could not determine what

kind of weapons he was using. Ranma wasn't expecting them to know as they

still had their sight and would never be able to detect objects as he could

with his seventh sense.

Ranma first made a trio of throwing daggers to appear and threw them at

Shampoo. His cousin sensed the danger and swerved to the right. The daggers

imbedded themselves into the opposite wall. Ranma then threw a barrage of

shurikens at Perfume. She also successfully evaded the danger. Then it was

Lilac's turn as Ranma threw out a ribbon, hoping to ensnare her right leg.

Since this was not going to hurt her like the blades and the throwing

stars, Ranma expected her not to be able to detect the danger and instead

react to the sounds that his movements made. That was when he suddenly

sensed something strange, being emitted from her as he lashed forward.

Instead of swerving to the side to avoid it, the red-haired girl stomped

down with her fight foot, pinning down the ribbon firmly to the floor of

the dojo.

Ranma was speechless. He began focusing his senses on her. The emission he

had felt before was weak, almost below even his sensitivity. Try as he

could, he couldn't sense it again.

Later at the Nekohanten...

<So, are they ready for the tournament tomorrow? > Cologne asked as the two

sat at a table in the restaurant. The girls had all gone to bed early so

that they could be well rested for tomorrow's tournament.

<"They are as ready as they will ever be." > The blind fighter affirmed as

he took a sip of his tea. <"I'd like to thank you Cologne for watching out

for my father and his tricks." >

<"It was my pleasure." > The three-hundred-year-old Amazon replied. As she

thought back to when they left the Tendo Dojo, she couldn't believe just

how pathetic Soun and his friend were. He had burst into tears and bawled

about uniting the schools of the Anything Goes. At the same time, Genma

went on and on about how his son had no honor and such. That was when they

tried to bumrush Ranma, but were stopped in their tracks, literally.

Cologne's knowledge of pressure points was only equaled by Ranma's and

Jasmine's.

<"What is wrong Ranma?" > Cologne noted that that the only user of the

Unseen Light was deep in thought.

<"It's Lilac." >

<"What about her?" >

Ranma paused for a long time before replying. <"I... detected something in

her when I tested her sixth sense. She can sense danger as well as Shampoo

and Perfume, but the way she reacted... I'm not sure, but I think she MIGHT

have a seventh sense." >

<"The seventh sense?" > Cologne was quite surprised. She was one of the few

Elders in the village that was even aware of the legendary extra sense that

could detect objects, rather than just the ki of others. Koga had mentioned

it to her and she was under the impression that a sighted person could

never fully realize it since they were too dependent on their eyes.

Ranma nodded. <"I felt it only for a very brief moment. Maybe I just

imagined it, though it did feel the same as I did when I first learned of

it." >

<"Why this is wonderful! Wouldn't it be grand if she really did learn to

use the seventh sense?" > Though Cologne did want to have her

great-granddaughter with the same potential. Still, it was incredible to

think that the Amazons could harness this ability.

Ranma shook his head. <"Let's not be too hasty. I said I only felt it for

an instant. It felt like Master Koga's seventh sense at its most basic and

fundamental levels and it was extremely weak. It could have been just a

fluke." >

Cologne nodded, as she didn't want to get too ahead of herself. It could

have been a fluke, but if it wasn't, then the Amazons could be lifted to

greater glories if they could develop Ranma's extraordinary abilities. In

any case, her great-granddaughter and her friends would do well enough by

tomorrow. Seeing Ranma becoming accepted at Furinkan as well as Japanese

society was also a reward in itself.

On a boat heading toward Japan, Jasmine smiled as she and her three

friends, Honey, Silk and Satin leaned on the railing. The healer was very

anxious to meet up with her adopted son and see how he is doing. She had

missed him terribly and couldn't wait to see him. Her three traveling

companions were also eager to meet up with her son, but for more amorous

reasons. They would arrive in Japan by tomorrow afternoon.

In Juuban, a certain woman was talking into a phone to a private detective.

"Yes, I understand Mr. Saeba. I know it's not much to go on, but I do wish

to know the whereabouts of my son and husband. Genma keeps on sending

letters, saying that the training is going well, but he never gives me any

details. I can't help but feel that something is wrong."

The woman talked for a few minutes more before closing the deal and hanging

up the phone. She then walked over to watch the sunset from her living room

window and sighed.

"Ranma."

The next day...

Ranma and the Amazons woke early that morning and prepared for the match

between Furinkan and St. Hebereke's gymnastics teams. The three girls and

Cologne followed Ranma as he exited the restaurant to head toward St.

Hebereke. Each girl was carrying a duffel bag filled with their outfits,

weapons and other equipment. They went around back to where Pepper was

waiting for them with a minivan. The group put their luggage in the back

and got into their seats. A moment later, they were on their way.

A few blocks away, a certain Master of Hidden Weapons was making his way

toward the all-girls school where he had heard that Amazons were to be

competing. Certain that his beloved Shampoo would be there, the near-blind

Amazon named Mousse made a beeline toward the school for what was sure to

be a joyful reunion, or so he thought.

At the St. Hebereke gymnasium, students from both schools were filling up

the bleachers as they waited for the tournament to begin. On the sidelines,

Nabiki and her flunkies were busy taking bets on the outcomes of the

matches and who would face off against Kodachi. The mercenary Tendo felt a

lump in her throat as she glimpsed Ranma and the Amazons pass by the main

area and head toward their dressing room. Sitting in the stands near battle

ring, were Akane and two of her friends. Though the youngest Tendo daughter

couldn't care less who won the tournament, she still wanted to see exactly

what Ranma had taught the Amazons.

Ranma and his team approached their dressing room and were about to go in

when the blind boy's danger sense went off and his nose picked up something

unusual.

"Hold it!" Ranma spread his arms in front of the group, motioning them to

stop. He cautiously opened the door and his senses locked onto an object

that was lying on a table.

Shampoo scooted to the side and looked over Ranma's shoulder. "What is

wrong? It's just a bouquet of flowers."

Ranma shook his head. Though Shampoo and the others each had a heightened

sixth sense, they could only detect immediate danger, such as an opponent

attacking from behind. Ranma's sixth sense could also detect potential

danger, such as hidden traps. He made a throwing spike appear and hurled it

at the bouquet. As soon as it struck the flowers, a huge cloud of noxious

fumes exploded from it as Ranma quickly shut the door.

The three girls were shocked at what could have happened, had they gotten

close to those flowers.

Ranma inhaled and caught the faint scent of the fumes from behind the door.

"Don't worry. It smells like some kind of knockout gas or sleeping powder.

It wasn't anything lethal but I have a feeling that Kodachi planted it

there."

All three girls frowned and began thinking very dark thoughts about their

opponent. She wasn't even willing to meet them on the battlefield and was

already trying to knock them out of the running before the match even

started.

Ranma motioned for the girls to head toward a nearby restroom to change.

Outside of the gymnasium, Mousse trembled with anticipation, as he knew

that Shampoo was close by. Oh how he longed to feel her in his arms again

and express his love to his beautiful and proud warrior. It would make the

long and hard journey to Japan worth it. Though he had been denied the

chance to travel with Shampoo to study, Mousse still decided to follow his

beloved. Unfortunately, his near-sightedness made him prone to lose his way

and he had taken an unexpected trip through China before finally finding a

boat to Japan.

Now he was finally close to his love and nothing would stop him now!

That was when the sprinklers on the lawn behind him turned on.

"Quack!" Mousse found himself buried beneath his own robes and hidden

weapons as his Jusenkyo curse was activated. His thoughts turned dark as he

mentally blamed Ranma for his predicament. Though he did enjoy being able

to fly as a waterfowl, he had to avoid certain places where restaurants

specialized in duck dishes. Several times he had almost been turned into

someone else's meal. There were also duck hunters to watch out for. The

curse was an inconvenience that he could do without.

"Oh look! A duck!"

"He's cute!"

Before Mousse knew it, he found himself picked up by a girl as several

others crowded around him. It was then that a certain girl with her hair

tied in an offside ponytail took him in her hands and smiled wickedly.

"Hmmm, I know just what to do with you."

In the gymnasium, the crowds were getting impatient as they waited for the

tournament to begin. In the stands, Nabiki was conversing with her flunkies

on the overall betting pools. After learning from her mistakes on the last

time she placed odds against anyone from the Joketsuzoku, Nabiki had

instead set up pools on who would face off against Kodachi in the final

match. She had given even odds on Shampoo, Lilac and Perfume. Though her

lieutenants had suggested to taking pictures of the girls during the match,

Nabiki shook her head and vetoed the idea, remembering back to her

conversation with Ranma. If she wanted to get closer to him, she would have

to respect his wishes for the moment. Of course she winced at every time

she thought about the potential income she would have gotten with such

photos. The boys in the audience, especially from that pervert Kuno were

eager to see those girls in their form-fitting leotards. The insane

kendoist was already in the front row, waving around bouquets of flowers

and shouting out cheers of encouragement and love to his Amazon beauties.

Of course, he also tried to hit on Akane, which she hit back, with her

fist. Nabiki was totally disgusted at his blatant fickleness.

The audience became quiet as the announcer signaled the start of the

tournament.

"Welcome to the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament between

Furinkan High and St. Hebereke. Today promises to be an exciting event as

the opposing teams will face off in a no-holds barred fight. Unlike

previous tournaments held here at St. Hebereke, the challengers have not

forfeited before the match and this school's team now has a chance to

compete alongside their team leader, Kodachi 'the Black Rose' Kuno! This

will be a battle that we won't soon forget!"

The crowds let off a thunderous cheer as the applause was deafening. When

they calmed down, the announcer began introducing the challengers as the

spotlight turned onto them making their way toward the center ring.

"Introducing, from Furinkan High, all the way from China and substituting

for the regular team..."

Lilac darted up and did a triple reverse somersault in a layout position,

landing perfectly on one side of the ring. The boys gave out wolf whistles

and howls as the silver and gold leotard she wore with matching leg warmers

accented her slim figure. The design rode high on her hips, baring her

slender legs and made them seem even longer. She gracefully twirled a pair

of clubs in one hand and waved with the other. Her red hair was bound in a

long braid with a gold ribbon and she also wore a matching headband.

"Lilac..." The announcer introduced.

Shampoo was next as she also leapt to the ring in a lazy, half-pike twist

with a double-reverse spin. Landing on Lilac's right, she took out a ribbon

and twirled it gracefully around her. The boys in the crowds became

spellbound at her pink and white leotard that had a Yin/Yang symbol

embroidered in fine silk thread, above her left breast. Like Lilac's, her

clothes were very form fitting and seemed as if it was painted on. The wolf

whistles and howls became louder.

"Shampoo..."

Perfume made her entrance with a one-handed handspring and a quadruple

somersault. She made a hoop appear out of nowhere and lazily spun it around

her right wrist and held it above her after landing on the other side of

Lilac. She was wearing a light blue leotard with black highlights. The

design of the outfit revealed quite a bit of cleavage and made several of

the male spectators faint from massive nosebleeds.

"And Perfume of the Chinese Amazons!" The announcer said, then paused as

she was handed an additional sheet of paper. "Also, I would like to

introduce their coach and fellow Amazon... Ranma Saotome!"

Now it was the girls who got an eyeful as Ranma suddenly leapt up high and

did a quintuple somersault to land perfectly in front of his team. Bringing

out his staff, he twirled it around in graceful motions, making it seem

like a ballet, rather than a fighting kata.

The girls got one look at the handsome boy and his lean, muscular body and

caused a roaring cheer that threatened to bring the roof down. Ranma wore a

simple white T-shirt that showed off his well-developed physique and black

pants.

"Oooh!"

"Aaah!"

"Sweet!"

"I'm in love!"

"Mmmm..."

Several girls started hearing the phrase 'buns of steel' in their heads for

no apparent reason.

The crowd went on for a few minutes more, until the referee rang the bell,

signaling that the opposing team was about to enter.

"And now, here comes St. Hebereke's own gymnastics team. Their leader is

none other than the undefeated champion of Martial Arts Rhythmic

Gymnastics, Kodachi 'the Black Rose' Kuno!"

The girls of St. Hebereke were dressed in simple, yet functional navy blue

leotards and each took a position at the other side of the ring. They

counted nine in all. Trumpets began to sound as the spotlight swiveled

upwards to a figure descending toward the ring on a swing. The Furinkan

team groaned as they saw who was perched on that swing.

Kodachi Kuno was not dressed as her teammates. Her outfit was hardly

practical for gymnastics as she wore an elaborate wedding dress, complete

with ruffles, lace and veil. Fireworks were going off to herald her arrival

as she continued to descend. That was when the Furinkan team suddenly

sensed danger as one of the fireworks came shooting toward the girls. They

all reacted to their sixth senses and dodged the blast as the rocket

slammed into the mat.

When the smoke cleared, Kodachi lightly dismounted from her swing and took

an innocent look. "Oh my, however did that bomb get there?"

The three Amazon girls were giving her scowls while Ranma gave her a frown.

He did not find it at all amusing.

"Well folks, it seems that Kodachi is in fine spirits today as always. And

isn't she wearing beautiful outfit?" The announcer commented.

As Kodachi gave Ranma a lustful look, her mind was full of fantasies of

what she would do with him after she had dispatched those crude harridans

that stood behind him. She just wanted to skip the wedding and go straight

for the honeymoon. The vibes that Ranma received from her started to give

him the willies.

In the stands, Kuno was deep in thought.

<If Kodachi wins, then Ranma Saotome becomes my stepbrother. Then again...

that would mean that the beautiful Akane and the three Amazons would become

mine by default! > With that in mind, he cried out to his sibling, "Smite

them, my sister! For the first time in my life, I cheer for you!"

The referee signaled the gymnasts to go to their respective sides. Since

Furinkan only had three members, while St. Hebereke had more than twenty,

the tournament was to be a series of one-on-one elimination matches. Nine

members of St. Hebereke's team would battle against the Amazons, and

whoever was still standing would face off against Kodachi Kuno. If all

three Amazons made it past their opponents, then each would have a chance

at Kodachi.

The bell rang; signaling the start of the match as Shampoo was first up.

She faced off against a girl with long black hair and armed with a rubber

ball. Shampoo focused her mind at the task at hand as she held up two

clubs.

"And now, the first match of the day as Shampoo of Furinkan faces off

against Miyami Akagi of St. Hebereke!" The announcer said as she began her

play-by-play.

Miyami wasted no time as she charged at her opponent by throwing up her

ball, leaping up after it and spiking it down toward Shampoo.

"Akagi starts off with a viscous spike toward challenger Shampoo."

Shampoo executed a fancy backflip to avoid the ball, which was a good thing

as the sphere exploded with tremendous force when it hit the mat.

"Challenger Shampoo evades the bomb ball with a backflip and moves away to

get some fighting room!"

The purple-haired Amazon flipped back again, and rebounded off the ropes to

propel herself toward her antagonist, as she descended from her leap. As

Miyami touched down, Shampoo landed in front of her in a diving roll, then

went into a forward handspring. She went over her foe, did a

half-somersault, and brought both of her clubs down on Miyami's head.

WHAM!

Miyami went down like a sack of potatoes.

"An impressive move by Challenger Shampoo as she displays speed,

coordination and timing in knocking out her opponent! The first round goes

to Furinkan!"

Shampoo waved fondly to her cousin as the referee held up her other arm. On

the sidelines, Kodachi's eyes narrowed as she looked at Shampoo and the

others. *Hmmm, this may not be as easy as I thought it would be. Those

harridans may possess some considerable skills. However, that won't be able

to defeat me! Just wait until I unleash the few surprises that I have in

store for them! Ranma will be mine! *

To be continued...

Who will face off against Kodachi in the final match? How will the Amazons

be able to handle her? Find out next time in part two of the Martial Arts

Rhythmic Gymnastics Battle!