Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranma 1/2 characters, universe, or situations. No profit is sought, nor infringement intended. Genom Research presents a Suika Roberts unfilm Trust part five `I'm the substitute for Fuurinkan.' I tell the judge, lingering tingles from Oneesama's fingers against my back skittering along my bones. She nods, looks at Akane, who's standing next to me, favoring her ankle still. I tell her my name, and she writes it down. The formalities accomplished we head down to the edge of the ring, and I settle Akane in before walking back to the locker room to change and get my tools. `Oneesama!' I greet her outside the locker room. She's already dressed in her leotard, and has a really short yukata over it. `Ranma-chan!' she greets me back, gathering me close. I stand there a moment, and then she lets me go, her touch lingering on my shoulders. I bounce onto my toes, resting my hands on her shoulder to balance as I kiss her firmly, quite glad that I have that priveledge. After a little bit she breaks the kiss, and shoos me into the locker room. Dressing doesn't take me long, since I don't have any help, and I pull my bag of tools out of the locker Oneesama commandeered for me. I check them quickly, three green balls, two black, a couple of plain old brown ones, in cute swirly patterns, five red ones, a single uso-akai one, sixteen clubs, eight with spikes, then set my bag on the bench and I drape my hoops across my shoulder. I slip my actuator device out of sight, and walk back down towards the ring. Oneesama's eyes sparkle when she sees my leotard, and I smile back at her, pleased that I didn't let her see this one when we got it. I set my bag down and commandeer one of the St. Hebedeke team to pass me tools. After a long bit of waiting the judge annouces the start of the match, so I drop into the ring with an artistic double layed-out somersault, and Oneesama just climbs under the ropes. She smiles, noticing the blink that caused, and with two quick movements of her hands lobs a red ball at me. I carefully redirect it towards one of the unoccupied corners, gathering it carefully between my hands as I spin with it. It slaps into the pole and explodes, and Akane leaps up shouting something about illegal tools. I blink at Oneesama, then call for a green ball. I follow with a red, a black, and another green, juggling them carefully for a moment as I retrieve the actuator, and activate the red ball. The actuator is returned, and I keep juggling, dodging Oneesama's ribbon strikes. The black ball goes on an intercept with Oneesama's torso, which she dodges easily, but the green ball following curves properly, impacting high on her thigh, and she stumbles. The red ball blows the ropes open on that side of the ring, and I follow with the other green ball. She catches this one, the swirling liquid center providing enough inertia to twist her around a little bit as I call for a pair of clubs. We pause for a moment, and I look around, noticing the way the lower few rows have mostly cleared, only the annoucer, the judge, Akane, our loaders, Oyaji, and Oyaji's pot of hot water within five meters of the ropes. Akane has stopped complaining about tools. Oneesama smirks, grabs the kettle of hot water, and flings it at me. Before I can think my ribbon's out and Oyaji's making himself useful intercepting the kettle. He continues on course, now human, and lands in a group of students, who promptly realize he's a pervert and proceed to beat him up. I watch for a distracted moment, then kick a red ball towards one of the three poles still standing. It explodes against my foot, a warm flash of fire slipping caressingly up my leg, and I call for the rest of my red balls. The girl lobs them up to me one at a time, hesitates a moment, then lobs the dull-grey insanely-red ball up to me as well. From under the ring streams the rest of the St. Hebedeke team, and this time even Akane has enough sense to shift back a couple rows. I actuate them all, juggling them really high as Oneesama tries to knock them out of my hands. Three quickly take out the remaining poles, leaving just the flat surface of the ring, four jagged stumps, and a tangle of singed rope. I juggle my last two balls one handed, tangling Oneesama's ribbon with my own, keeping her close, then strike with the uso-akai ball. A full third of the ring turns into flying shrapnel. Oneesama laughs, and pleasant memories flash down my spine again as she disentangles her ribbon. She strikes towards me with her ribbon, and I leap, slamming the final red ball down at my feet. I vaugely note the way yet another corner of the ring succumbs to high explosives, and twist myself for a landing behind Oneesama. My highly cinemagraphic landing costs me, and she entangles me with her ribbon before I can get my feet underneath me. I manage to wrap my own ribbon around her before I hit the ground, and with a firm tug get myself almost back into the ring. It isn't enough to save me, and instead we both hit the ground at the same moment, a single tangle of ribbons and limbs. The judge whispers to the annoucer, then flees. The annoucer looks nervous for a moment, then continues the monolog that I suddenly realize hadn't stopped until we hit the ground. `What a match! The Challenger manages to entangle the Champion and pull her from the ring, turning certain defeat into a most unexpected tie!' Oneesama looks a little disgruntled at this, but calms instantly when I kiss her cheek. `So, was that fun or what?' I smile at her, letting my pleasure fill my voice. `I guess. Who was the panda?' `My father.' `Oh, I'm sorry,' she murmors as we begin to untangle ourselves. `Don't be; he deserved it, I do think.' We finish untangling, and I help her to her feet. She doesn't seem to badly injured, and I've only a few painful bruises, along with the slight singeing across the bottom of my foot and up my leg. `Hey, Akane, want to go out for ice cream or something? Our treat?' Oneesama asks her. Akane looks thoughtful for a moment, then nods, `Sure. I'd like that.' From behind comes a great shouting, as a very bruised Saotome Genma, in human form, and dressed in what looks very like scraps of three or four separate girl's uniforms comes charging up, the girls behind him. `What are you doing, boy!' `Um, standing here?' I answer as inocently as I can. `Standing here with this, this, this, strumpet!' he shouts, his anger making him stutter, `While she asks your iinazuke out on a date?!' `I don't think that's quite it,' I tell him mildly, watching with veiled amusement as the girls, looking a little less than perfectly arrayed, skulk up behind him, `Akane broke off the engagement Monday morning,' I time it carefully, `And Oneesama is not a _Strumpet_!' I shout the last word, lashing out with a single kick, which makes my burnt foot complain a bit, but knocks him back into the girls with a slight arch to his flight, and they proceed to rip into him again. `Coming?' I ask Oneesama, gesturing towards the locker rooms with one hand. `Hai,' she takes my shoulder in one hand and leads us off, `I thought I was the only one with a father that completely insane.' `What is wrong with yours?' `He has a little fetish about Hawaii. . .' - `You sure you don't want to shower with me?' `Want is irrelevant. We need to meet Akane in a very few minutes, and if I see you in any less than you are wearing right now I'd be very hard pressed to keep my hands on task. I don't think our willpower could stand up to the combined assult of both our senses, so,' `I fear you are right. Later?' `Later. Definately later,' I murmor, wrapping my fingers around her neck, pulling myself up as I kiss her firmly, with as much promise about later as I can manage. `Good,' she breaths, swaying, after we break the kiss, showing me just how much promise I managed. `Into the shower with you,' I press her lightly in the proper direction, and she staggers gently over towards it, her hips swaying slightly with her slightly stiff movements. We will both probably need each others hands for more than emotional therapy this evening. I slouch back against a locker, waiting. `Hey, Ranma-san?' one of the St. Hebedeke team walks up, a shy smile on her face. `Yeah?' `I was wanting to thank you for not letting the Captain loose.' I blink at her, puzzled by her words, `ehmn?' `You are a calming presence for her. She is so much happier with you about, and a much better Captain,' she looks down, `You know how she got her position?' `No, how?' `She bullied the coach into it. I was worried when it happened, but she proved herself capable of the role. I just, she always, I could tell she needed someone, and that I wasn't it. I'm glad for the both of you, but please don't let it fall apart, I think it would destroy her. Please, watch her, because I can't,' the girl is looking at the ground, and I realize she is on the verge of tears. `I will. I promise,' I raise the taller girl's chin with my finger, `Good 'nuff?' `Yeah.' `What's good 'nuff?' Oneesama asks, appearing from the shower. `Shiori asked me to keep an eye on you, and I promised to do it, is that OK?' `Very much so.' `Good,' I kiss her shoulder as I slip into the shower room, still dressed in my leotard, `Throw me some towels, please?' `Sure!' I catch the flying towels and hang them up before I strip down and step under the still-running water. Oneesama politely adjusted it, I notice, so that it is below the upper trigger on my curse. I wince a little at the touch of soap to my burns, but I notice that they are already healing, so I make sure I get all of the small bits of shrapnel out of my skin, wincing as I find them almost everywhere. A very short while later I slip out again, clad in only a couple towels, to find Oneesama leaning against the locker next to mine, watching Akane and Shiori make what appear to be googly eyes at each other. `This is nice, I think,' I murmor to her quietly, dropping my towels, my still-wet hair slipping cold droplets of water down my now-bare back. I can feel three pairs of eyes on me as I slip into my boxers, then grab a tank top. The faint dissappointed noise from Oneesama changes my mind, and I grap my pants, pull them on, then sit down to tie them, getting a surreptitious glance at my other admirers. They are slack jawed, but they've got their mouths closed, as they watch me. I stretch a little, my tank top held between my hands, and almost boggle as both of my new admirers' eyes track my breasts, then they both blush in unison, glance at each other, blush deeper, and turn away from each other again, still watching me from the corners of their eyes. Oneesama starts laughing, and I pull my tank top on, then my shirt. `Like the show?' I ask, fastening the frogs on my shirt. `Yes,' says Shiori. `I wasn't,' Akane says simultaniously, then continues, `Um,' she looks down, her face red again, `Yes, I guess.' - --- Log: 1999 July 25: made empty file for story ^_^ 1999 August 9: first bit 1999 August 13: little more 2000 July 29: one word edit ^^; 2001/Nov/20: added disclaimer and title block 2002/Jul/27: little edits ^^;