>Ryoko yawned as she practiced in the restaurant's backyard for the 
>contest that morning.  *Stupid jerk.  Woke me up with his damn 
>screaming.  What the hell is wrong with him?  And who the hell is 
>Pat?*  She stopped for a moment to rub her eyes.  "Man, I didn't get 
>half as much sleep as I needed."  She sighed and began striking out 
>at a target on a wooden post buried in the ground with her yo-yo.  
>"The tournament is less than two hours away..."
>"What tournament?"  Ryoko jumped, startled at the voice.  She spun 
>around.
>"Oh.  It's you."  The man dressed in black walked forward and sat on 
>the grass.
>"Yeah, it's me."
>"Ranma was able to get out from marrying Shampoo, luckily.  No 
>thanks to you.  But now we have to enter this tournament.  The prize 
>for winning the tournament will be the moxibustion chart and this 
>thing called a Chansey."
>He raised his eyebrows.
>"A Pokémon?"
>"What's a Pokémon?"  He furrowed his brow.
>"Don't tell me you don't know what a Pokémon is."
>"Well, I don't," she said, glaring at him.  He sighed and took a red 
>and white ball that hung on his belt.  He tossed it to the ground.
>"Scyther, come out."
>"Scyther!"  A large creature with menacing blades for hands stood in 
>front of Ryoko.  Ryoko swallowed and dropped her red yo-yo.  Scyther 
>noticed the red object and screamed.  "Scyther!"  It immediately 
>struck out with one blade, shattering the yo-yo.  As soon as the 
>yo-yo's pieces disappeared into the grass, Scyther calmed down.
>"M-my yo-yo!"
>"Sorry about that, he doesn't like the color red."  Ryoko sighed.
>"That's the second yo-yo you've destroyed.  Now I've got to go get a 
>new one.  And quick.  The tournament isn't too far away."
>"You've got two hours."
>"But I want to practice my ki attacks."  The man shook his head.
>"You shouldn't do that, you'll waste your energy."
>"Oh.  I hadn't thought of that.  Thanks."  Ryoko smiled for once at 
>him.  But then the smile turned into a frown as she looked behind 
>him.  
>"Uhoh."
>"What?"  A shadow soon covered him and the stranger sweat-dropped as 
>he felt the nearness of a bright aura.
>"It's you!"  The man slowly turned around to see an enraged Ryouga 
>glaring down at him.  "You're the one that attacked me!"
>"I'm glad you're awake, Ryouga," chirped Ryoko nervously.  "I.. uh.. 
>I've got to go get a new yo-yo.  See you later!"  Ryoko quickly 
>pushed past the angered man.  The stranger swallowed.
>*This is not good.  Without my strength... I'll get slaughtered in 
>this guy's anger...*  Ryouga's aura was impressive.  To anybody that 
>hadn't been in Nerima since the Saotomes had moved in, that is.  
>Ukyou calmly walked up to the lost boy and rammed her spatula in his 
>face.
>"Calm down, sugar.  He thought you were an assassin."  Ryouga peeled 
>himself off of the giant spatula.
>"Oh.  That's different."  Ryouga's aura disappeared and he
>extended a hand toward the stranger.
>"I'm Ryouga Hibiki."
>"I have no name," replied the stranger, taking Ryouga's hand.  
>Ryouga frowned and glanced at Ukyou.  Ukyou shrugged.  The 
>stranger paid no attention to the looks he was receiving from 
>Ryouga and returned his Scyther.  Ryouga blinked.
>"Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask," said Ukyou suddenly.  "What was 
>that?"
>"My Scyther.  A Pokémon."
>"A Pokémon?"
>"_Yes_ a Pokémon.  Same as the Chansey that's the prize for the 
>tournament tomorrow."  Ryouga brightened.
>"A tournament?  If Ranma's going to be there, I've got to enter!"  
>Ryouga started to run off, but then paused.  "Wait a second.  
>Where's the tournament going to be anyways?"  Ukyou sighed.
>"Ryouga, even if we told you, you wouldn't be able to find it 
>anyways."
>"Yeah, I could!"
>"No, you _couldn't_!"
>"Just tell me where it's going to be!"
>"Fine.  Furinken Highschool."
>"Right.  Okay, see you there then!"  Ukyou shook her head as Ryouga 
>ran off.
>"Ukyou, what's with that gu-" began the man without a name.
>"Shh," interrupted Ukyou.  "3... 2... 1..."
>"WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!!"  The man without a name blinked as one 
>of the walls surrounding Ukyou's backyard crashed down.  "I could 
>have sworn Furinken Highschool was this way... huh?"  Ryouga blinked 
>as he watched an angry Ukyou storm towards him.  "Uhoh."
>"You jackass!  Of all the walls you have to break, it would have to 
>be mine!"
>"But-"
>"And I _told_ you you'd get lost!  You stubborn *wham* hot-headed 
>*bonk* pig-headed *bam* hopeless *donk* jerk!"  She swung her 
>spatula back for one last hit.  "You jackass!"  Ryouga cowered as 
>the mega-spatula came flying high speed towards him.  The man 
>without a name winced as Ryouga became as flat as one of Ukyou's 
>Japanese pizzas.
>*That musta hurt...*
>
>*****
>
>Ryoko took a few practice swings with her new yo-yo as they walked to 
>Furinken Highschool, where the tournament was to be held.  They were 
>all walking together, the man in black walking a little in front of 
>them.
>"I wonder who'll be at the tournament," voiced Ryouga.  He had 
>decided to follow along with them instead of trying to find it 
>himself, due to a little persuasion from Ukyou.  He rubbed his sore 
>head and glared at Ukyou who stuck her tongue back out at him.  
>Ryoko shrugged.
>"Don't ask me.  Ranma might, seeing as he likes to prove his 
>strength and skill.  But then again, he doesn't really have a 
>reason."  Behind her, the man without a name muttered something.  
>"Other than help Mr. Noname," added Ryoko.
>"He's got to be in the contest!" shouted Ryouga.  "If he's not, I 
>won't be able to humiliate him in front of everybody when I defeat 
>him!"
>"When you _try_ to defeat him.  Sugar, you and I both know that you 
>don't have a chance at beating Ran-chan," said Ukyou.
>"Who says?"
>"I do and so does your past record of fights with Ranma-honey.  How 
>many times have you beaten Ranma in a fight?"
>"There was that anything goes obstacle-"
>"A real fight, sugar."
>"That's a real fight!"
>"You didn't knock him out, then."
>"..."
>"See?"
>"..."  Suddenly, the man dressed all in black stopped, forcing them 
>to run into his back.  At first they didn't notice since they 
>immediately knocked him over and trampled him.  Then Ukyou frowned.
>"Wait a second.  Wasn't he walking in front of us?"
>"Yeah," replied Ryoko, scratching her head.  "Where'd he go?"  They 
>scanned the area.
>"There!" pointed Ryouga.  His finger was aimed towards an extremely 
>flat black spot on the ground.  Ukyou trotted over to him.
>"Sugar, are you okay?" she asked, attempting to peel him off the 
>pavement.
>Ryoko poked at the flattened figure with her pointer finger.
>"Looks like road kill," commented Ryoko.  Ukyou glared at her younger 
>sister.
>"That's not nice to say, Ryoko."  Ryoko sighed.
>"Okay, I'm sorry."  The stranger grunted and got up slowly.
>"Ouch..."
>"It's your own fault.  What are you doing stopping in the middle of 
>the road?" scolded Ryoko.  The stranger was silent and looked 
>straight ahead.
>They turned and they saw a man in a suit walking towards them.  Then 
>their eyes glanced at the gun he held in his hand.  "Who-?"
>"Umbrella assassin," hissed the stranger.  Ryouga protectively 
>stepped in front of them.  The assassin stopped walking and looked 
>at the people who surrounded his target.  Then he glared at the 
>weakened man.
>"Fool.  You can't hide behind your circle of bodyguards for long.  
>Now, I'll let you live for a few minutes more.  But don't be a 
>coward like you are and run from the tournament.  I better see you 
>as one of the contestants!"  The man turned and began walking away.  
>The stranger narrowed his eyes.
>"You can't enter the tournament!" protested Ukyou.  "You'll be 
>slaughtered!  You're too weak!"
>"I've got to..."
>"What?  Is this all about your foolish pride now?  Because he called 
>you a coward?  That's no... Ryouga talk to him!  You're a guy.  
>He'll listen to you!"  Ryouga shrugged.
>"It's a challenge.  Real fighters don't back away from challenges..."
>"That didn't help at all," muttered Ryoko.
>"But..." trailed off Ukyou.  She watched as the man silently got up 
>and began walking towards the school which they could see in the 
>distance.  She sighed.  "You're going to get yourself killed, 
>buster..." she muttered to herself as she followed.
>"I'll make sure he won't get slaughtered by that guy," murmured 
>Ryoko to herself.  Ryouga looked at her.  "What?"
>"Did you say something?"
>"No, I _didn't_."  Ryoko began trotting to catch up to her older 
>sister, Ryouga not too far behind.
>
>*****
>
>"Ladies and gentlemen!  It is now time to begin the Anything Goes 
>Battle of the Year!" announced the announcer.
>The group had arrived at Furinken Highschool.  Turned out, it was 
>being held in the back where a large tent was put up.  Inside there 
>were three rings.
>The announcer stood in the middle ring.
>"Many of you have come from far away to participate, and we 
>Nerimians welcome you!  Now, the rules are... there are no rules!  
>Only, you must remain in the ring or you are disqualified!"  He 
>picked up a pokéball that stood by his feet.  "Now, the prize for 
>winning is this lovely..."  He tossed the pokéball into the ring.
>"Chansey Chansey!"
>"... Chansey!"  The crowd murmured a little.
>"What's a Chansey?" "Pansy?" "Panty?  Where?" asked some pervert.  
>The crowd all turned towards the source of the voice.  The man without 
>a name began glowering as he recognized the man.
>"Happosai..." he growled.
>"Calm down, hon.  You can't take him in this state," said Ukyou, 
>placing a hand on his shoulder.  The man sighed.
>Then a voice rang out over all the rest.  "Oh, it's so cute!!"  The 
>crowd turned to where a brown haired girl stood.  She wore glasses 
>over her eyes and she wore a peculiar white outfit.  She wore a 
>white skirt and a white shirt that had the letters TR on the front.  
>Her arms were covered with black gloves that ran up to mid-bicep.  
>She also wore black boots that ran up to mid-thigh.  The crowd 
>looked at each other then agreed with her.
>"Yeah!  It's a cute little thing!" "Kawaii!"
>"Wai Wai!  Sono Chansey wa kawaii desu yo!"  Ryoko turned.  Just to 
>her right a little girl on rollerblades was hopping up and down, 
>much to the distress of her partner.  "Chanteclair!  Chanteclair!" 
>she began shouting out.
>"Azusa, quiet down," complained the man.  Ryoko blinked.
>*Hey.. that's-*  The man noticed her staring at him.  He began 
>grinning his most charming grin and walked towards her.
>"Why hello.  What is this beauty doing mixed in with all the crowd?" 
>Ryoko began blushing and backed up.  "Allow me to introduce myself," 
>he said taking her hand and bringing it up to his lips.
>"H-hey," protested Ryoko.
>"My name is-"
>"Mikado Sanzenin!"
>"Hm?"  Mikado looked up to see Ryouga glaring at him.
>"What do you think you're doing?"
>"Well.  If it isn't the miscreant who harassed my beautiful 
>pig-tailed goddess who swooned at my kiss."  Ryoko blinked.  She 
>leaned over to Ukyou.
>"Is he talking about who I'm thinking about?"  Ukyou shrugged.
>"It's the first I've heard about it."  Ryouga took the moment to 
>turn to the two girls.  He grinned.
>"Yeah, he's talking about Ranma."
>"..."  Ryoko's mouth opened and closed silently as she tried to 
>imagine it.
>She made a face and shuddered.
>"He was in girl form."  Ryoko attempted to imagine it again but 
>still made a face at the thought.
>"He swooned?" asked Ukyou.
>"Not exactly.  He ran off crying," answered Ryouga, smirking.  
>Mikado cleared his throat.
>"What are you talking about?"
>"Nothing.  Where was I?"
>"I haven't the faintest idea.  But I was about to give one of my 
>trademark kisses to that young lady," he said, motioning towards 
>Ryoko, "before you rudely interrupted."
>"Oh that's right," said Ryouga scratching his head.  Then he glared 
>at Mikado.  "There's no way I'm going to let you do that, you 
>pervert!"
>"So is this a challenge?"
>"You're damn right it is!"
>"Well, how about this.  You and her," he said motioning towards 
>Ryoko again, "against me and Azusa," he finished, gesturing towards 
>his partner who had climbed up within the ring and was chasing 
>around the poor Chansey.
>"You got it!" shouted Ryouga.
>"I'll go tell the judges now," said Mikado.  "Don't worry, dear.  
>I'll be back," he said, bowing towards Ryoko.  Ryoko blushed again 
>and Ukyou grinned, poking her.
>"Aw.. how sweet," she teased.
>"How horrible!" interrupted Ryouga.  "Man, Ryoko.  I feel sorry for 
>you.  He's the most stubborn pervert I know... other than Ranma that 
>is."
>"Who are you calling a pervert!" shouted Ranma, startling Ryouga.
>"Ranchan!" exclaimed Ukyou.  "Hi!"
>"Hiya Ucchan!  Hi Ryoko.  Hey, P-chan.  What are you all doing 
>here?"
>"Ranma, don't call me that," warned Ryouga.
>"We're here to be in the tournament," answered Ukyou, ignoring the 
>bandannaed boy.
>"Him too?" asked Ranma, pointing to the stranger who was watching as 
>Azusa was dragged out of the ring by a flustered Mikado.
>"Yeah... he got a challenge by an Umbrella Assassin.  Don't you 
>think he shouldn't be in the fight?  He'll get slaughtered!"  Ranma 
>shrugged.
>"It's a challenge.  Real fig-"
>"Just stop," interrupted Ukyou.  "Ryouga already said the same 
>thing."  Ranma shrugged yet again.
>"Hi guys!" greeted Akane as she walked up to them.  "What's up?"
>"Uh... h-hi A-akane..." stuttered Ryouga.
>"Oh hi Ryouga!"
>"I.. uh, I forgot..  but..." He rummaged in his backpack and pulled 
>out a box.  "I got some pineapples for you..."
>"Oh, thank you!  You're always so nice!"  The stranger noticed a new 
>person in the group and walked to them.
>"Oh, Akane," said Ryoko.  "Akane, this is.. uh... Noname-san."  The 
>man raised an eyebrow.
>"Noname-san?"  Ryoko shrugged.
>"She's kinda slow..." she whispered.  Ukyou giggled and Ryouga 
>scowled at them.  The man raised an eyebrow again.  Akane smiled and 
>extended a hand towards him.
>"Nice to meet you, Noname-san.  I'm Akane."  He took her hand.
>"Nice to meet you too."
>"Hey!" shouted Ranma suddenly.  "It's the old ghoul!"
>The old lady on a large staff had pogoed over to the announcer.  He 
>leaned down and took a piece of paper from her.
>"Oh, and the prize also includes this moxibustion chart!"
>"The chart!" exclaimed the man, leaning forward, pushing against 
>Ryoko.  Ryoko barely noticed his weak shoves.
>"Calm down, you jerk," she muttered, elbowing him.  However, in his 
>current state, the elbow knocked him back quite a few feet.
>"Ow..."  Ryoko turned.
>"Oops.. sorry."
>"Alright!  Everything all settled with!" shouted the announcer as he 
>returned the Chansey.  "Now, the battles will be listed on the 
>judge's table, just walk up and look at what time you need to be in 
>one of the three rings.  Got it?"  A chorus of 'yes's and 'no's came 
>from the crowd.  "Well, if you're confused, too bad!  Good luck to 
>all and I'm outta here!"  The announcer quickly jumped out of the 
>ring and ran off, depositing the prizes by the judge's table on the 
>way.
>"He wanted to get out of here fast," commented Ryouga.  Ranma 
>shrugged.
>"Can't blame him.  With all the damage YOU cause..."
>"You cause the same amount of damage!"
>"I do not!"
>"Yes you do!"
>"Guys guys!" interrupted Akane.  "Settle this inside of the ring."
>"Oh, that's right," said Ryouga.  "I meant to challenge you, Ranma."
>"Well, I accept!"
>"Good.  I'll go tell the judges."  Ryoko stopped him.
>"Better idea.  You stay here with Ranma while _I_ go tell the 
>judges."
>"Yeah," said Ukyou.  "You'll get lost on the way to the judges."
>"But the table is only ten feet away!"
>"Exactly," chorused Ukyou and Ranma.  Noname-san raised an eyebrow 
>silently.  He then turned towards the three rings.
>*I've got to find a way to beat that assassin.  If I can't, it'll be 
>my death.*
>
>*****
>
>Ryoko trotted quickly towards the judges table.  *Okay.  Ryouga 
>wants to challenge Ranma... hmm.. better have it after our battle 
>against Mikado and Azusa... don't want him to be completely beat up 
>before we fight... that'll be bad...*  She was so wrapped up in her 
>thoughts she didn't look where she was walking and bumped into 
>someone.
>"Ouch!" exclaimed the man.
>"Oh, sorry!" apologized Ryoko.  "I wasn't looking where I was..." 
>she trailed off as she glanced at who she ran into.  He was taller 
>than her and he wore a button up leather vest and baggy pants.  He 
>had purple eyes and had braided blonde hair.
>
>[[She's staring at you.]]
>
>*I've noticed.*  "That's alright, Miss.  I'll be fine."  Ryoko 
>nodded and continued to walk towards the judges' table.  He watched 
>her leave and then continued to walk aimlessly.
>
>[[I still don't understand why you want to be in this tournament.]]
>
>"It's for the money."
>
>[[The prize isn't even money!]]
>
>"I can sell the Chansey and I'll find something to do with that 
>chart thingy."
>
>[[Alright then, whatever you say.]]