Gymnastic Mayhem By Kyokukou Disclaimer : I don't own the characters from Ranma 1/2 only the characters that I write myself . So please don't sue me ! But if you try to use my characters .....there will be ...unpleasant consequences if I find out . Do not repost or reprint this without my permission , however if you do ASK there is a good chance I will let you . " Sometimes I wonder how may people read these ." -Kyokukou Chapter 14 More foul tricks ! " Wakey , wakey , proxy ." An unwelcome voice pierced her sleep . Anything that pierced her sleep was unwelcome , except for divine favor , and even then it better have not come on a Monday . " Nnnnnnnngggnnngggg..." She growled as her pillow disappeared from under her head . " Time to kick Kuno's loopy-dee-loops ." " Real corny ." Her sarcasm reflex kicked out . " Oh , life signs ." The voice giggled . " Sleep . Need ." She forced her mouth to convey her feelings . " Fine , give me my money back ." " I’mupI’mupI’mupI’mup !" She found herself on her feet in the middle of her room before her mind could shift gears from the proper vestibular functions of a horizontal person to a vertical person . She fell into someone's arms . By the feel of what was cushioning her head she guessed Kasumi . Only to look up into a red head's face . " Ranma ?" Her mouth was working two gears ahead of her brain . " Long story ." The female Ranma smiled down at her . " I'll change back once I'm sure you won't sleep through your match ." " You're cute as a girl ." It took her mind a few tps (thoughts per second) to process what her mouth had said in place of the intended 'you think this is real cute , don't cha ?' . " Forgot to take the earring off ." Ranma explained for her . She felt a slender hand gently remove the truth saying jewelry from her earlobe . " Thanks for the compliment , though ." Ranma said just to see the look on her face , she was sure of it . Now free of compulsive honesty she revved her brain up . " Come to seduce me or wake me up ?" " Seduce ?" Ranma grinned down at her . " Dirty mind , Nabiki . Although I'll understand if your going to come out of the closet ." Apparently she should have known better than to match wits with anyone who was already awake when her brain was still in low gear . " Do I have to get up this damn early ?" Ranma made a show of thinking about it . " No , actually ." The red head grinned evilly . " Oh well ." * * * ' I hate this . We should be out there .' ' WE ? YOU , Akane-chan , not we . I wouldn't help , it'd be you match .' ' Fine , I should be the one out there , not Nabiki .' A finger tapped her shoulder , a finger that turned out to be attached to Ranma . " Couldya stop with the inner dialogue when the fight starts . It's kinda distracting ." ' What ?' She and Otama chorused mentally . " You can hear us ?" She added verbally . " Not as such ." Ranma shook his head . " I can sense magic and ki , though . So when you two are talking to each other that loudly I kinda get a ...damn words fail me ...a ...no that's not right ...." Ranma trailed off as he searched himself for the proper explanation . " Well it's distracting whatever it is , right ?" Otama grabbed her mouth for a sentence . " Yeah , in this crowd you wouldn't believe it ." " Wait a second ? The crowd makes it worse ?" She asked . " Sorta ..." Again he trailed off in search of words . " Never mind . I'll clam up when the bout begins ." Otama took control of her voice for one final sentence . " Thanks . I'll go check on Nabiki ." Ranma rose from his seat and headed for the locker rooms . ' So , how is Nabiki going to fair in a fair fight ?' Otama asked . ' Nabiki has always had more of an affinity for weapons than either Kasumi of me , so I doubt that will hinder her . Besides , she did take out Kodachi that night that she drugged us .' ' Drugged you .' ' Us .' ' Whatever .' ' Anyway , if sis took out Kodachi before then she can do it again .' ' On Kodachi's turf , with Kodachi's rules , and with who knows what else on the nut's side ?' ' Why do you think I still want to be there .' ' True , but you can't kid yourself . Right now your body isn't up to full yet , barely more than fifty percent I'd say .' ' More than enough for that leotard loony .' ' Shh , the announcer is about to start .' " Welcome to the final bout for today's Martial arts Rhythmic Gymnastics tournament ! The grudge match between our home team's captain , Kodachi The Black Rose !!! and some stand in for Fukuron high or something ." Half of the stands cheered the introduction , the Furinkan half threw things more solid than insults at the announcer . All too soon however , the spotlight snapped on to highlight a slender girl posing dramatically amid a swirl of black rose petals . Nabiki got a dim flashlight . Sparklers and small fireworks erupted along the path as Kodachi approached the ring . Nabiki's flashlight spotlight kept sputtering off and on . ' Alright , screw this !' Otama mentally shouldered Akane aside for a moment . Her flesh arms rose in a intricate gesture . Nabiki was suddenly surrounded in a angelic radiance that paled the rest of the room . Every fiber of the middle Tendo daughter seemed suddenly bursting with glamour and vibrancy . Even Kodachi's fans grew hushed . Nabiki looked down at herself , shrugged , and gave a picturesque smile that doubled the heart rate of every male in the room . ' Thanks...but isn't this overdoing it a tad ?' Akane told Otama . ' Naaa . Don't worry Akane-chan , I'll stop when the fight starts .' The two opponents met in the center of the ring with the ref . " Alright , everyone knows the rules for the match . No bare handed techniques of attack are allowed , barehanded blocks and other such defenses will be penalized , only attacks and defenses using tools will be allowed and counted . The match is immediately ended when one opponent falls unconscious or for some reason is unable to continue , to land outside the ring is to instantly forfeit the match to your opponent . Your second is allowed to assist you only in the handoff of tools . I want a clean and fair match , do both you ladies understand and agree to abide by these rules ?" " I do and always have ." Kodachi leaned in and proclaimed into the microphone . " I agree ." Nabiki stated simply . " Then gymnasts take your corners !!" The ref retreated to the relative safety of the ropes . The house lights dimmed further and the ring lights came up to full as the spotlight and flashlight faded . ' Um..Otama ?' Akane prompted . ' Awwww .' Nabiki's magical charismatic radiance faded . Many , were the sighs of masculine disappointment . " Fighting positions !......BEGIN !!!!!" Kodachi wasted no time . She leapt into the air and slung her ribbon out to snare her opponent . Nabiki visibly smirked before jumping back into the rope corner . The middle Tendo sprung off and high over the extended ribbon , dropping and unidentified object into its waiting tangles . The youngest Kuno yelped in surprise as she tugged her ribbon back onto to find one of her entrance fireworks lit and attached to the end of her prize pink ribbon . She only had enough time to hurl the booby trap away before it exploded in a noisy pink flash . Nabiki landed in Kodachi's vacated corner , turned around and folded her arms . " Try harder ." Nabiki reached behind her as Ranma handed her something through the ropes . " Trickery !" Kodachi snarled . Nabiki waited until her opponent had landed before reacting . She sprinted across the ring , covering the meters between them in a flash . A gymnastic club appeared in each of Kodachi's hands . Nabiki , however , didn't slow down . She leapt over her waiting opponent , hurling a number of hoops over the younger girl . This time Kodachi was more prepared , she simply snapped to military attention long enough to let the hoops fall around her to rest on the canvas . Furious , the youngest Kuno whirled around to strike her opponent down . But Nabiki was not there . " NO ! You shall not make a fool of me this day Tendo !" Kodachi shouted as she darted to the side . A sniping club slammed into the canvas a instant later . Everyone looked up to see Nabiki reach the apex of a leap that brought her only a meter below the vaulted ceiling of the gym . Nabiki began her descent with the grace of an arrow falling from on high . " Fool !" Kodachi grinned in triumph , seeing that she had time for one trick before the Tendo gained mobility . With triumph permeating every motion Kodachi stamped twice upon the mat . The ring swayed but otherwise nothing happened . Nabiki landed and raised and eyebrow at a shocked Kodachi . The fight continued . ' Akane-chan ? Where'd Ranma go ? I thought he was Nabiki's second , but I don't see him down there anymore .' ' Oh ! Nabiki almost took one there !' ' Akane-chan , where did Ranma go ?' ' Who kno- How did Nabiki get out of that one ?!' So there were at least eight if not nine people....young girls to be precise , sitting under the ring . When the Kuno girl had stomped they had scrambled but too many had failed to get to their feet in time . But to do what ? Nabiki had been in the air , Kuno had stomped . Why ? To move the ring . That's it . They were there to move the ring on Kuno's signal . If Nabiki landed outside the ring then the match would be declared Kuno's , and it would be too late for Nabiki to cry foul . Crafty . He stood from his position in the rafters . Nabiki had been counting on that sniping club to take the Kuno girl out . His first hand off had been with the firework . Then , as Nabiki tried the hoop gambit he had already leapt to the rafters to hand Nabiki the club and a few last ditch weapons . Most of which Nabiki had already worked through . Nabiki had told him that if she hadn't won already then to have faith . If the club snipe had worked Nabiki would have been disappointed in Kuno . He hoped she was having fun . " You haven't been hit yet , but even you can't dodge forever ." He murmured and started walking across one beam , heading for the wall . Below , Nabiki was furiously whirling three hoops along baton in a defensive counter to the infamous 'One Thousand Clubs' attack . The endless stream of clubs dashed against her defense , flying everywhere . The front rows brought up the clear riot shields the ushers had given them for the purpose . Tired of being on the defensive , Nabiki snarled and launched one of her hoops off the end of the baton . The thin ring sliced through the air and above the wooden torrent , heading straight for the other girl's face . The Kuno girl ducked under the ring , stopping her attack for an instant too long . Nabiki was on her before she could even straighten up . The two remaining rings whirled around Nabiki's shield arm , the baton snapped about in her other hand like a katana . The Kuno girl jerked her head oddly , flinging her one pigtail in Nabiki's face . The middle Tendo only tipped her head to the side to avoid and continued pressing the attack . But the Black Rose had bought herself the moment she needed to put some healthy distance between herself and Nabiki . He finally reached the wall . Leaning on the cool cinderblock wall he began actively watching the fight once more . The Kuno girl was on the defensive now , but she was itching to lure Nabiki into something . Nabiki was pressing the attack , however , she knew that her opponent was about to try something . The middle Tendo was counting on being able to handle whatever the trick may be and end the fight with a counter . The younger girl was counting on her trick being too unexpected to be defended against . She was going to lure Nabiki into the air somehow then signal the ring move . But how ? He only had to ask himself the question and the answer was there . She would jump high and with her defenses down , and target her landing on the ropes behind her , but signal the move with her jump or after -it would be after- , Nabiki would follow into the air , wary and unable to press the attack at long range . Then the ring would move so Nabiki's landing would be just out of the ring by one stride . Nabiki would try to snag the ropes but her reach would be just centimeters short . Simple strategy , but too simple . What if Nabiki did not take the bait ? But Nabiki would . So he would simply have to take out those under the stage . It would be easy to simply use Masaru's Trans- WAIT - what was he thinking !? He shook his head to clear it . " Get a hold of yourself ." He commanded , sure that if a mirror were near he might find a hint of reflective glint in his irises . " You are Saotome Ranma , you are a just spectator , you are a stupid teenager , you will do nothing ." After a deep breath he felt more like himself . What had brought it on this time ? Analyzing the fight ? Reading their moves too far into the future ? " You're not going to interfere , Ranma ." He told himself firmly . " If Nabiki loses , she loses . It's just a tournament for Gods' sakes ." With a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach he watched events that he had foreseen moments before just start to unfold . She had the loony dead to rights . Kodachi was on the run and only one trick left . She pressed the attack with another hoop throw . Leaving her only one more . Kodachi ducked the hoop and jumped back , hurling three clubs at her . They were aimed low , to take out her knees . She jumped . Letting the weapons thump a short beat on the mat . Kodachi cackled as the pair rose high into the air . " Oh no..." She breathed , looking down . The stage lurched a full four meters to one side . Suddenly her landing zone was most definitely out of the ring . Kodachi would hit dead center on the canvas . Damnit ! Desperate , she put herself into a spin , praying that the transfer of momentum would carry her to the edge of the ring . " NABIKI !" She and Otama chorused in horror . The ring had lunged to the side as if it where on wheels ! " Move the ring back ." Someone whispered urgently into her ear . She tried to turn around to see who the new voice was , but Otama had once again usurped the body out of necessity . One hand shot out , as if her fingers were grasping the distant fighting ring . With a grunted incantation Otama moved her hand to the side as if pushing a great weight . The ring lurched two meters back before some force started fighting the magic . Narrowing her eyes she only raise her other hand and pressed harder . Her feet touched the inside of the ring just in time for it to lurch again , throwing her onto the ropes . " Well at least I'm inside ." She murmured . " More foul tricks !" Kodachi screeched at her . Deciding that words were not enough at the moment she opted to rush her opponent . " RANMA !" She called to her second , stretching out a hand to the side . After a few strides the handle of her last ditch weapon slapped into her palm . Kodachi was going down now ! " T-That's illegal !" Kodachi screamed at the Ref , as she ran for her life . " Sorry , but is says here that mallets are legal !" The Ref cited a page from the official rule book , third edition . " DIE !" She snarled , bringing the mallet down again and again , rocking the entire ring each time . Kodachi was dodging by margins of centimeters . For some reason she kept thinking he heard groans and muffled screams coming from somewhere nearby . Oh well . " DIE !" She repeated as she doubled her efforts . No one tricks Tendo Nabiki and gets away with it ! * * * " So how bad is Kodachi ?" Kasumi asked as she set down supper in front of Nabiki , now the Champion for their district . " Oh , nothing broken , just massive bruising and I would hope a healthy fear of ticking me off ." Nabiki grinned like the Cheshire cat . " Thanks for finishing her with 'ol Painful ." Akane hefted her mallet . " Gives me a feeling of contributing to the victory ." " It seemed apropos ." Nabiki nodded . " You said she had the ring move ?" Kasumi asked as she sat down herself . " Yeah , after the fight we found nine of her team under the ring . They were supposed to move it when they heard a tap signal from Kodachi ." Nabiki explained . " But Otama saved me when I fell for the trap . If it wasn't for her I would have lost ." Otama took the reigns , but lowered her eyes . " I hate to say it , but I was so shocked by the ring moving that I wouldn't have thought to do anything if it wasn't for Ranma telling me to move the ring back ." " Oh so I have you to...thank ?" Nabiki turned to where Ranma had been sitting the last time she looked . His food remained there , only half finished . Of the young man himself , there was no trace . " Kasumi ?" Otama looked to the one person she knew to have superior ability to her in sensing the presence of another . " I have no idea ..." The eldest Tendo daughter looked just as puzzled as her sisters . " He walked out the door ." Genma mumbled around a mouthful of what had been Ranma's rice . " Huh ?" " Just now , he stood up and walked out the door ." Genma looked annoyed at having to take away so many precious seconds of eating to speak such a long sentence . He ignored the small group that had surrounded him , and continued to watch the multiple televisions through the store window . " Two more exchanges and Akira-san will win with a ring out from a head slap ." He stated a full five seconds before the event he described took place . But he did not wait those five seconds , he turned his attention to another screen and made another prediction . " Cross counter , but Tagahashi-san will remain standing while his opponent loses due to a technical knock out ." Again he turned his attention away before he could be proven right . " Kasagi-san will slip and fall , but when his opponent presses the attack Kasagi-san will win the round with a sweep and reversal ." Now he had run out of televisions displaying sumo matches , kickboxing , and Karate tournaments . So he stood there and let each validation add to the weight he felt in the pit of his belly . He hadn't been wrong on any of them . However , he had one comfort . Six seconds still remained his limit on poorly skilled fighters . Not being there in person was also a handicap . But if he had been even the Pure Kodachi predicting entire fights from the first exchange would have been child's play when dealing with such unskilled rabble . The True Kodachi ... from his memories he felt that new strata of reality itself had to have been open to him . Reading or predicting weren't words that really described what the True did . When he had become himself again he had lost so much ... Being able to read a sumo's moves sixty or seventy techniques on into the future was only the pebble where mount Fuji had been . " S-Sir ?" One of the people gathered about him spoke up . " Who are you ? Some kind of fortune teller ?" He shifted his gaze from the many televisions to the glass itself . Just to make absolutely sure that he would not see two mirrors in his eyes . Violet disks stared back at him . " No , I'm nothing of the sort ." He turned to look at the man . " I'm just a martial artist who needed to make sure that I still could predict another fighter's moves . That's all ." " Hey , how about you and I go somewhere ?" Someone sidled up to him . Someone who had probably sold his grandmother for ten yen . " I know some guys wh-" It had been a long time since he had used a Look . He gave the parasite to society a full five . The man had already pissed himself before he broke into a dead run , gibbering in fear . " Maybe I overdid that one ." He thought to himself as the distant man tumbled over a mailbox before scrambling on . " R-Ranma ?" Someone called to him from not too far off . He turned about , wondering who could be remaining . His five had scattered the crowd , even though most could not even see it they had followed the rest like the good herd animals they were . It was that half starved girl that had helped Nabiki and him that night . At least she had not seen his look . " Leonorah-san ?" He questioned . " It is you ." She smiled and waltzed up to him weakly . " What are you doing out here , scaring common folk and giving away the outcome of live fights ?" " Err..." How to explain ? " Um...you see..." " No I don't and I don't think you want me too ." The homeless girl put a hand on his arm . Ten things at once told him what was wrong . " Let's get you somewhere inside ." He gave her a sheepish smile . She had been stabbed . He could smell the blood wafting up though the sleeve of her loose jacket . Her touch had told him how waning her ki was . She had probably approached him in hopes of getting some quick cash for something to take care of herself . " No , I'm used to the cold . But , could you spare som-" " Who hurt you ?" He asked in a soft tone taking a hold of her hand discreetly incase she tried to run . Her eyes narrowed instantly . " How did you know ?" " Lotsa ways , but you smelling of fresh blood is a good tip ." She lowered her head for a moment and he thought he could hear her mutter something about him being with Nabiki . " Alright , one of the gangs caught us by surprise . I ran , but some guy happened to be good with a throwing knife . It's fine , I've had worse ." He picked out a good motel father down the street . A capsule motel would be cheaper , but no place to take care of a wounded girl . " If you did not need some sort of help you would have seen me , shrugged and gone on your way ." He pointed out . Leonorah gave him a snarl , but he felt her grip his hand tighten a bit. Splash . " DAMNIT !" She grit her teeth . Water dribbling down her hair . " Sorry Miss !" Someone from an upstairs apartment apologized . " whatinthenameofallthegods...." Leonorah , already pale , became ashen and stared . " Curse , no big deal . I'll explain later ." She snorted her annoyance and began leading the girl to the motel . The whole time her mind recalling everything that Sakuya-san had taught her , and how much would she be able to do in this day and age . " You're nuts , you're absolutely crazy . We got the job done , let the skinny girl go ." Jiro sneered at him . " I gotta get my knife back ." He asserted with a rude gesture to Jiro . " The bitch pulled it outta her and KEPT IT !" " You rather she threw it back into your ugly face ?" " Shut up . I'm going !" He did not wait for a reply as he started down the street , eyeing the distant figures . The girl had found some guy and was going with him . Probably going to whore herself out for medical care or something . Well , he'd take care of that . He'd get his knife back , rob the John , and throw the girl across Tokyo after he was done showing her what he did to people that took his shit .