Destiny's Wish Part Eleven: How Much Does Victory Cost, and Where Can I Buy It? written by Mike Koos ---------------------------------------------- Ranma barely heard the bell signaling the beginning of the match when it sounded. Her thoughts were focused elsewhere. Why, the nerve of that girl who called herself the 'Black Rose,' Kunou Kodachi! Somehow, Kodachi had... *kidnapped* P-chan and brought her here to chain to Ranma's arm, in the hope that being chained to a little pig would seriously hinder anything Ranma did in the ring. This was true; Ranma certainly didn't want P-chan to get hurt. She considered calling a foul or dropping out for P-chan's sake - but that was probably what Kodachi wanted. Sheesh, even after the start of a match the Black Rose wanted a win by default. Had Kodachi *ever* won a match using skill and not treachery? "I'm sorry, P-chan," she apologized in a low voice. "Did she hurt you? I didn't mean for you to get involved in this..." P-chan shook her head no. It was a good thing she couldn't talk, otherwise Ranma might discover she had another reason for being here... though not *this* close to the action, she had to admit. One match, no limits except the rule that no fighter could attack without using a tool. One fighter must force the other out of the ring using nothing but those same tools. Everyone close to the ring knew these rules; the ringside announcer had just finished explaining them for the benefit of the gathered crowd. "Are you such a coward," Ranma asked Kodachi, "that you have to kidnap my own pet and try to use her against me?" Kodachi laughed. "I don't know what you are talking about. This is a fair fight." "Oh, *please*!" Ayumi caught the anger in Ranma's eyes, wondering if it was a good thing. After all, if she was determined *and* not concerning herself with how she carried herself, Ranma was a force to be reckoned with. She had already proven that during her shintaisou practice, at least to Ayumi. But if all Ranma had was anger... Ayumi recalled the times he'd provoked her into a fight on their way to or from school. It was a lot easier to dodge her punches if she let anger control her moves. At the far end of the line? Ryomi, whose wide-range brute-force attacks combined with her short-fuse temper to form a dangerous fighter, indeed. Not that the pig-girl could do too much in her current state... Placing P-chan on the mat behind her to keep the pig out of harm's way for the moment, Ranma readied her ribbon, forcefully twirling it. She knew she was starting off on the wrong foot - so to speak - by not keeping grace in her attacks. Grace wouldn't count for much in the long run, though. Kodachi blocked the attack with two precise flicks of the wrist, snapping the ribbon she held up, then down. All too easy. A fragment of the announcer's play-by-play made it to Ayumi's ears. "...skill! Another fine performance from the Academy's star gymnast, Kunou Kodachi!" Ayumi promptly tuned it out again. Hmph, both the ringside announcer and the referee were Academy students. Who was to say they weren't on Kodachi's side? He'd just have to keep his eyes open for any sign of treachery. A second later, he saw a good sign of treachery... but from *Ryomi*, not Kodachi. So Ryomi *did* have an ulterior motive. Convince Ranma she was there to help, then turn around and stab her in the back, all without Ranma knowing it, of course. Had Ayumi but known Ryomi had revealed her plans to sabotage Ranma just last night... Ranma was surprised to find P-chan darting in circles around her, tangling her in the chain. "P-chan, no! Please, calm down..." Too late. The chain connecting her to P-chan was long enough to bind her the way the ribbon and rope had so well during practice. She told herself not to move once the chain bound her legs together. The last thing she needed was to fall on her face during a gymnastics competition. For one who adamantly claimed to play by the rules, Kodachi wasn't about to do so now. She drew out an unusually solid-looking rope, doubled in half... and proceeded to hit Ranma about the head with it. Those closest to the ring heard the unmistakable sound of something harder than a mere rope coming into contact with Ranma's head... The announcer and Ayumi came to the same conclusion at the same time. Kodachi was using a rope with some sort of rod hidden inside, or something made up to look like a rope. "Referee!" Ayumi yelled. "She's cheating! That can't be legal!" "Uh..." the referee paused. "It's a tool, so we have to allow it." Ayumi swore inwardly. He considered saying it out loud, but he didn't want to give the officials an excuse to kick him out of the arena. Ranma had to have *someone* in her corner... Certainly not P-chan, who was keeping Ranma tightly bound in the chain. What was Ayumi going to do? Call foul on a pig who wasn't officially a part of the fight? No. He could only hope Ranma was skilled and strong enough to fight with her hands tied. Or break the chain. Ranma nervously tried to gauge Kodachi's next move. She couldn't move; not until P-chan released the tension on the chain. All her efforts to try to nudge the little pig back around had failed. She was wrapped up tighter than anything, and could only run from Kodachi's attacks, consciously aware of the overhead tracklights - the only lights left on in the arena - making her problems painfully obvious to all. Kodachi attempted to shove a baton through her opponent's face. thought Ranma, tilting her head to the right, then the left, and the right again... until the baton suddenly grew dangerously sharp spikes about a millimeter from her cheek. Ranma recoiled in shock further than she had meant to. Ayumi cried foul. "She's using a baton that's got hidden spikes!" The referee squinted to get a good look at the batons in Kodachi's hands. Somehow, the spikes had vanished, leaving behind normal batons for the referee to see. "I don't see any spikes." "Mmmm... she's had special batons made that turn into spiked maces and back at her command," Kunou murmured, while the crowd around him expressed their outrage that the referee hadn't seen the illegal weapon. "My young sister must be commended for her wickedness." Meanwhile, Kodachi was making sure Ranma hadn't forgotten the other important reason for this fight. "Do not forget that this fight is also for the love of Tendo Ayumi and the male Saotome Ranma! Naturally, I deserve to win!" "You're *nuts* if you think I'm gonna go out with you...!" growled Ranma, locking a ball between her feet and leaping high into the air, to imbed it in Kodachi's face an instant later. The chain binding her loosened; P-chan flailed, losing control. Kodachi lost her grip on her batons and fell backward to the mat. "Saotome Ranma succeeds with a special ball attack!" the announcer's voice reverberated throughout the arena. "Again, please remember that an attack is only permitted if done with a tool." Next to the announcer's table, Kodachi's pit crew cheered for her. Ranma's supporters, except for Ayumi, were all in the stands. Ranma landed gracefully on the tips of her toes some feet away, arms outstretched, the chain and P-chan dropping to the mat. She turned and held the chain before her as if to shield herself. Kodachi's face reddened in anger and confusion. "Why in the world would I want to have a relationship with *you*, you misguided fool?" But Ranma had more on her mind than her slip of the tongue. "If you lose this match, will you *promise* to forget all about Ayumi and Ranma and leave them alone? Well!?" "I know you believe you are engaged to Tendo Ayumi... but what is your relationship to the male Ranma-sama?" Kodachi leaned in close to try to read Ranma's expression. "Hmmmmmm?" Uncomfortable, Ranma edged away. "Na, nani yo?" "So... you are two-timing Tendo Ayumi with Ranma-sama! It is all very clear to me now!" Both Tatewaki and his younger sister did have a tendency to miss the insanely obvious, didn't they? "Answer my question!" "That's why you interfere. You wish to keep them both to yourself! What kind of girl are you, you...!?" Ranma safely deflected Kodachi's renewed baton attack with the help of her chain. "Idiot! You just don't get it, do you?" "I understand perfectly!" snarled Kodachi, calling for a hoop from her ringside crew. "Obviously, there is more to the reason you take the name Saotome Ranma than you would have me believe!" She twirled the hoop above her head on one wrist. "In the name of the Black Rose... you shall learn not to trifle with the feelings of others!" Kodachi sent the hoop flying toward Ranma. Ranma leapt over the weapon; only when the hoop sheared the top cleanly off the cornerpost directly behind her did she and Ayumi realize how dangerous the hoop truly was. P-chan watched anxiously as Kodachi used her ribbon to catch the hoop before it went too far and bring it back to Ranma. The Black Rose's arsenal was making *hers* pale in comparison. As long as she was chained to Ranma, any attack that could hurt Ranma stood a chance of hurting her. Thankfully, Ranma would make it a point to keep little P-chan out of danger... Ranma held P-chan in hand now, dodging the razor-hoop while Kodachi continually tried to dice her with it. She ducked, losing half an inch of a lock of hair in the process, leaned as far back as possible and for the final touch vaulted, ballet-style, over the guided-missile hoop. She came to a halt, her toes finding a place to rest upon the top rope of the ring. "Ranma!!" Ayumi darted two batons to the girl. Ranma caught one in hand, the other between her free toes. "If you don't wanna listen to reason, then I guess it'll have to be force!" The cursed girl whirled the batons about in her hands... "I don't believe it!" one of the Fuurinkan students exclaimed. "She's moving those things like a pair of nunchaku!" Indeed Ranma was, but the move failed to impress Kodachi. "*Hmph*. You do love to put on a show, don't you?" A baton in each hand, Kodachi's arms began to blur. "Prepare to face a Black Rose special technique, the One-Thousand Baton Strike!" True to her word Kodachi lunged at her opponent with a barrage of baton jabs so fast it seemed to the crowd that there was more than the pair of batons Kodachi had been holding. Ten, twenty... Ayumi threw Ranma another ball. "*Ranma*! Catch!!" Ranma rose to intercept the ball, then batted it into Kodachi's Baton Strike, hitting the other girl's hands. Twenty batons clattered to the floor around Kodachi. "She really did have that many batons!" Ayumi heard the Fuurinkan crowd say behind him. "Why doesn't the ref say anything?" answered Ayumi in his thoughts. "Do not think you have won, yet!" The Black Rose drew her ribbon once more. "The strength of a Combat Gymnast depends upon not limiting yourself to the same attacks again and again!" With those words Kodachi flipped onto the cornerpost nearest the announcer's ringside table. She snatched the bell that signaled the beginning and end of the match up and away with the aid of her ribbon, flinging it at Ranma. Ranma and P-chan barely avoided being beaned by the bell. "Are you okay?" Ranma whispered to P-chan. She didn't have time to wait for an answer, as Kodachi wasted no time in finding other, larger objects outside the ring to heave Ranma's way. After dodging two metal fold-up chairs Ranma decided enough was enough. If Kodachi wanted to use this tactic and was allowed to get away with it, then she could do the same! Ranma dived for the ribbon she had left behind on the mat, then headed for the top of an opposing cornerpost. She whipped the announcer's table out from under the shocked announcer's crew, to throw at Kodachi. Despite the fact that her sound equipment had crashed to the floor and was now flooding her words with loud static, the announcer kept going. "Saotome Ranma tries an innovative new move, the table attack! How will Kunou Kodachi handle this new attack?" Kodachi responded by using her ribbon to draw her brother into the ring and having him deal with the table instead, by slicing the table in half with his wooden sword. Kodachi's crew at the sidelines applauded the move before the announcer could say anything about it. Ayumi was in the process of wishing there was something he could do to help when he felt a set of panda claws grasp his shoulder. He started, more out of surprise, than fear. "Mr. Saotome?" he asked, noting that the giant panda's presence behind him was already blocking the view of several people in the first few rows. What was the old man doing here? Ranma had already told Ayumi how Genma had felt in the past about her attempts at being a gymnast; and while her father hadn't made much of a fuss over Ranma's participation in this match she'd fully expected him not to come. Guess showing up as a panda was Genma's way of pretending he wasn't really there. Just once, couldn't the old man lighten up and be a father to her, rather than a sensei? The panda raised a kettle of steaming hot water and a tea set into view. "What?" Ayumi shot him an annoyed glance. "We're in the middle of a big match and you want us to stop for tea?" "The battle here has certainly escalated to never-before seen levels today, folks! Both fighters have thrown everything but the ring itself at each other, and I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to do just that sooner or later!" The announcer drew a breath. "There's barely any place left in the ring to stand among the tools they've used littering the mat! For now, they have resorted to fighting each other with their ribbons yet again, and are locked in a tug-of-war battle for control!" Kodachi pulled and spun her ribbon about. But the determination was still present in Ranma's eyes. Scanning the arena for an all-new weapon to use, she spied the ice-water dispenser next to the ring. She aimed her ribbon for the dispenser and hauled it into the ring. Perfect... it was heavy, full of ice and water... ideal for a painful two-step attack. Ayumi saw what she was doing. "Huh...?! No!" Kodachi lifted the dispenser before her. "Prepare to be the first to fall victim to the Black Rose's newest attack - the Ice-Water Shock!" Ranma reflexively froze in horror. Ice water... if any of it was splashed on her, her curse would transform her body into that of a boy's. She would be humiliated publicly here in the center of the arena in front of hundreds of people from both Fuurinkan High School and the St. Hebereke Girls' Academy... In the next instant Kodachi turned the spigot of water on her. Desperation influenced Ranma's moves; she rushed to get as far away from the water as possible. Kodachi laughed, savoring her opponent's misfortune. Afraid of a little cold water, was she? Well, then, she was going to get more than a little trickle of icewater... Ranma grit her teeth and backed away. One foot, then the other, until she felt the presence of a padded cornerpost digging into her back. She had no place left to move! Well, there *was* the choice to leave the ring, but that wasn't an option. In other words, she had succeeded in turning herself into an easy target for an awful lot of cold water. Kodachi tore the top away from the dispenser and doused Ranma with the remaining water and ice. Still huddled against the cornerpost, Ranma buried her face and chest in her arms, curling in on herself. Hopefully no one would be able to tell she was changing - growing larger in size and stature, body metamorphosing from a girl to a boy. Nothing new to her, certainly, but it was a transformation she never, ever wanted anyone else to see. What now? Ranma couldn't spend the rest of the fight like this. The pose alone was embarrassing enough. Thank goodness she wore a leotard and not something that would fall apart when she changed size, anyway. All the lights in the arena went dead. This Ranma didn't see. He heard the resulting confusion, however, and *felt* hot water insinuating its way into his hair not half an instant later... When the lights were clicked back on a minute and a half later, Kodachi found a fully recovered Ranma standing in the same spot, cradling her pet pig to her side - much to Kodachi's surprise. Why, then, had the girl acted the way she had upon being hit with the water? An attempt to feign vulnerability for Kodachi's benefit? You would have thought the girl with the pigtailed hair wanted to shrivel up and die. If it was indeed an act, this Saotome Ranma was a poor actor! Outside the ring, Ayumi let the now-empty teakettle fall to the floor. He collapsed, sliding down to a seat beside it, somewhat relieved. He felt he'd earned a tiny break; he'd saved Ranma from the brink of disaster. After turning off the lights Ayumi had taken the kettle of hot water away from Mr. Saotome - the guy practically enjoyed remaining in panda form anyway - and poured the water over Ranma... taking care to toss P-chan far out of the way first. It just wouldn't be right for Ranma to have to endure the rest of the fight chained to a naked Ryomi. The Fuurinkan guys would have a field day... The reason for this was that Jhusenkyou curses did *not* apply to clothes. If Ryomi changed to a pig and back, her clothes didn't go with her. Ranma could keep hers, to a certain extent. Genma the panda defied the laws of the Universe; no matter where he went as a panda he always had a replacement gi, headcloth and pair of glasses handy. How, no one knew. "You are truly pathetic, little girl. Not only are you a poor gymnast and a sore loser, I see you fail at many other things as well!" "Oh, come on!" Ranma frowned slightly. "That act of yours is *so* old." Kodachi launched her razor-hoop at Ranma one more time. "You are one to talk! I will *not* allow you to steal MY Ranma and Ayumi-sama away from me!" At the mention of his name Ayumi sank even farther below mat level. Ranma sighed. "When did they become *yours*?" "They were mine to begin with!" The spiked baton was back, and Kodachi was again fighting to shove it through Ranma's face. What was that she said about *variety* in one's attacks? Ranma backflipped to dodge, maneuvering so that she could stand on her hands and take hold of the baton between her ankles. The gambit worked; she turned Kodachi's own custom shintaisou tool against her, twisting the baton so that Kodachi was sent spinning out of the ring like a child's toy. "I really don't think so!" The announcer strained, more than ever on the verge of losing her voice. "Kunou Kodachi is now out of the ring! If she touches the ground, it will be all over!" Not if Kodachi had anything to say about it. As she literally flew toward the arena's exit Kodachi calmly pulled out the whistle she wore around her neck, and sounded one long blast. All at once the entire ring began to move underneath Ranma and P-chan's feet. "Huh!?" Ayumi echoed Ranma's question. The ring was actually moving of its own accord to *catch* Kodachi! And bulldozing through a great deal of startled spectators at that... Landing neatly in the ring, Kodachi laughed. "You fool! As you can see, it is impossible to cause me to leave the ring!" Ranma crouched down, took a firm grip on the tarp that formed the mat they stood on and ripped the entire mat up and away. Whatever the secret of Kodachi's moving ring was... it had to be underneath the tarp. There, hiding in the midst of the debris the moving ring had created for itself, was most of the Academy's Shintaisou Club team. Ranma threw aside the tarp and glared angrily at the girls from her cornerpost perch to send them on their way. "With the mat gone, the only places left for the fighters to legally stand are the cornerposts and the ropes! Since there is very little of the ring left, it shouldn't take long before this match is over!" Ayumi leaned forward in his new seat at ringside. Next to him, the panda sipped unconcerned at the only cup of tea he'd managed to pour before Ayumi took the teakettle for Ranma's sake. Likewise, those in the crowd who hadn't been left behind when the ring moved or nearly steamrolled by it were on the edges of their seats. They had seen what both fighters were capable of doing. Neither of them would be thrown from the ring now without a fight. gloated a self-assured Ranma. Most of the time she trained with her father one of their favorite maneuvers was to clash in midair over some kind of peril. Here, the entire ground was the peril. She knew midair fighting like she knew the back of her hand... or so she had come to believe. "Let's get this over with!" she yelled, leaping toward Kodachi to begin the final phase of the match. "As you wish!" Kodachi yelled in return while bringing up a spiral of ribbon to meet Ranma head-on. Ranma never made it. After only a short distance the chain snapped taut. She frantically looked back to see what the problem was - P-chan, who had decided to grab hold of the rope behind Ranma and not let go. "Waah!" blurted Ranma, flailing her arms and legs to stay airborne. "P-chan, *no*! Let go!" Kodachi entered another razor-sharp hoop into the equation. "Kamisori HOOP!" she punctuated the attack by announcing it. The hoop sailed past Ranma and cut the rope P-chan held before Ranma could react. Ranma swung her body violently about to track the hoop's arc as P-chan released her hold on the newly-severed rope, causing a wave effect that coursed through the chain. Like a whip, the end of the chain - with P-chan attached - curled tightly around the corner post Ranma had vacated. The little pig collided with the post and passed out. Ranma's face went pale. She pulled on the chain to draw herself back to the post... and P-chan. "P-chan?" she asked, through strained breath. "Are you all right? Please, don't be hurt..." She unraveled P-chan from the post and held her carefully. "I'm sorry, P-chan..." She became aware of Kodachi's ribbon tightening around her neck. "Such concern over the welfare of a silly little pig," said Kodachi, darkness influencing her voice as she yanked Ranma back into the air. Ranma struggled to get her fingers in between the ribbon and her neck... when the ribbon suddenly went slack. She noticed to her horror that she was now falling head-first to the concrete arena floor from over twenty feet in the air! Ayumi called her name, worried for her safety, forgetting about Ryomi for the time being. At his side, a more-or-less unconcerned panda munched handful after handful of a large bag of chips that only *seemed* small in comparison to the large bear. In fact, everyone in the arena save Kodachi was concerned with Ranma's safety. Thinking quickly Ranma jerked the ribbon free from Kodachi's hands and redirected it up and around one of the metal supports in the gymnasium ceiling. The ribbon secured itself tightly to the support, with the help of a little extra added weight from the stick. Now she had a rope to... well, for starters, stop her fall! With that step out of the way she used the ribbon to swing back toward Kodachi, foot extended for a kick... Her anger was at a boiling point. Kodachi had used many, many dirty tricks throughout the course of the match, including a handful that utilized her own pet, P-chan, against her. She wanted nothing more than to pay Kodachi back tenfold for all that Kodachi had put her through. And what better way to start than a kick to the midsection? Kodachi remained on her post, daring her. "Surely you know that you cannot attack me unless you use a tool?" she sneered. Fortunately, Ranma hadn't yet given in to complete anger and had the sense to know this was true. Kodachi was using her anger against her! Did it ever end? She shifted her weight so that the ribbon took her away. The Black Rose loosed a pair of spiked batons to sever Ranma's lifeline from the ceiling. Ranma landed on the top rope at the side of the ring farthest from Kodachi... but she wasn't there for long. Dropping the ribbon, she sprang after Kodachi, extending her foot for the final kick. Kodachi saw her sure victory approaching. Her laugh was louder than any Ranma had previously heard, even that deep belly laugh her father liked to use. "You fail to understand!" She threw an armload of batons at Ranma. "I warned you and you still wish to attack without a tool? You wish to lose?" Ranma raised her arms to shield herself and let the batons bounce off her. No move by Kodachi would take her out of the running that easily, now... "My tool... is the post you're standing on!" With that, she snapped the post in half, her kick plowing straight through it. The audience was stunned. Kodachi lay on the floor at the base of the post, at a loss for words. And Ranma? Above her, Ranma clung to the remnants of the post to keep from falling to the floor - except she'd had to grab the post as she flew past it, resulting in a rather uncomfortable upside-down squeeze. She hugged the pole, her face all the way up to the waist one step away from becoming a permanent feature of the damaged post. The panda yawned and shuffled off on his way. One of the announcer's assistants tapped her on the shoulder. Oh, right! The decision! "Ku... Kunou Kodachi has been forced out of the ring!!" The referee helped Ranma pry herself away from the pole and although Ranma wanted to collapse, she had to stand for the whole of the gathered crowd to see. It had been a good fight... supposedly... and she'd won. Yippee...... The referee held Ranma's wrist to the air. "Saotome Ranma is the winner!" The crowd cheered. Well, that was that. A tear dropped from Kodachi's cheek as she turned her face away. "I have been defeated. And, as we agreed, I shall abandon any claim to Tendo Ayumi and the male Saotome Ranma. The Black Rose always keeps her word." "Kodachi..." said Ranma, feeling a slight bit numb. "But tomorrow begins a new day for Kodachi, the Black Rose, and a brand-new love for Ranma and Ayumi-sama burns dearly in my heart! Ranma-sama... Ayumi-sama... one day, you will be mine!" Ranma collapsed to the ground in sheer disbelief. That, and her legs were already starting to feel like pure jelly... Ayumi shook his head, removing the towel from around his neck and glancing down at Ranma as he did so. "Is it too late to throw in the towel?" (end) -------- Credits: Written by: Mike Koos Pre-readers: Richard Beaubien, Tom Williams, David Wills With apologies to Rumiko Takahashi... All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works or from my WWW pages at http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto/ Comments and questions welcome. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?