Chapter 10: Ryoga VS Kuno: The Actual Battle
After days of waiting, going insane because of birds stealing his food—not that he wasn't already—the fight was finally happening.
Kuno held up his wooden sword while Ryoga took off his backpack. The two faced each other as the wind blew, almost as if nature itself was making it even more dramatic.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“T-shirts, get your t-shirts!”, called out Nabiki, ruining the tension. “1,000 yen each.”
“What kind of t-shirts?”, inquired Hiroshi.
“We have four different kinds,” answered Belle as she showed them off. “We have 'Team Tatewaki' and 'Team Ryoga'.”
“How many Team Tatewaki shirts did you make?”, asked Daisuke.
“One of each size.” replied Nabiki.
“We figured no one was going to be on 'Team Tatewaki',” explained Belle.
“We also have 'I’ve Seen Ryoga Hibiki in Person.'” Nabiki then put on the last. “And my personal favorite, 'Kuno is a Dope'.” At that last one, everyone ran to the stand.
“I’ll take a 'Kuno is a Dope' t-shirt,” said Daisuke.
“I’ll take one as well,” said Hiroshi.
“Me too,” added in Ran, joining in once she heard that there was such a t-shirt.
“Ran gets a discount,” said Belle.
“Oh, come on!”, complained Hiroshi in a manner similar to her sister, not that she knew it.
“Do I get one too?” asked Momo.
“Yes, I’m waiving my side of the fee for you and the rest of the girls,” said Belle.
Ran and Momo looked at Nabiki, both of them getting large sweat drops.
“So basically we’re paying her,” said Ran.
“Yes,” answered Nabiki.
“I’m still buying it.”
“Me too!” agreed Momo.
The otaku boy and girl showed up. The girl smirked, and said, "Do you take credit cards?"
Nabiki said, "What kind?" The otaku girl chuckled, and removed...
"A BAT CREDIT CARD?"
The otaku boy growled, and soon started cussing up a storm. As he ranted, Nabiki raised an eyebrow. The otaku girl said, "One of his favorite web show hosts HATES the Bat Credit Card… Long story..." As the boy went nuts, the girl bonked him on the head. "Stop it, or you'll be watching Dragon Ball GT!" The boy growled, and then said, "Endless Eight."
Cue the girl losing it. The boy laughed, and said, "Now we're even." He ran to the stands before he could get bonked. Nabiki said, "I guess everyone in this town's nuts."
Momo chuckled. "He is nice, though."
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Both Ryoga and Kuno watched them buy t-shirts with sweat drops on their heads.
“I guess that makes sense when one is an internet celebrity,” said the latter. That was when several birds flew by. “You evil!” he yelled at them. “You will pay!”
Is he yelling at birds? thought Ryoga. Why do I get the feeling this was the thing no one wanted to tell me about?
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
In the stands, the two Otaku were talking.
“Looks like Kuno sanity has finally gone to the birds,” remarked the boy.
“You’re just going to keep saying that until it gets a laugh,” sighed the girl.
“Of course I am.” The two then did a laugh that Statler and Waldorf would've applauded.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Eventually, the birds flew away.
“Now we must fight,” Kuno said as he held out his wooden sword, and entered a fighting stance.
“Yeah…” agreed Ryoga with a sweat drop.
Kuno ran towards Ryoga with his sword drawn. Ryoga quickly grabbed his umbrella that he often carries around and used it to block the attack.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“How long do you think that umbrella will last?”, wondered Akane.
“That might look like a bamboo umbrella, but it’s not,” answered Ranma.
“Then what is it?”
“Some kind of metal.” Ranma gave a shrug.
“I see…”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Kuno charged and Ryoga blocked. Ryoga then used his umbrella like a baseball bat, and knocked Kuno back. The two continued to clash with Ryoga getting more good hits than Kuno, earning cheers from the crowd. Very few wanted Kuno to win… and those that did only wanted to keep the honor of the school and would've preferred someone else from the one of the other sports to be fighting Ryoga.
As the two exchanged blows, Kuno’s sword broke. He tossed it aside, held out his hand, and caught a spare provided by one of the other members of the Kendo team.
“Looks like all you’re good at is brute strength,” said Kuno. “You'll need cleverness to defeat me.”
“Really?” asked Ryoga, who proceeded to take off his bandanna… revealing another bandanna underneath it and proceeded to do this repeatedly until he had a handful.
"CATCH!" Ryoga then started tossing loads of bandannas at Kuno.
As they flew at Kuno, he came to realize they were razor sharp, dodged them, and even stopped a few with his sword.
“This all you have? Trickery?” mocked Kuno.
Ryoga glared at him and once again pulled out his umbrella. The two began to clash weapons just like two swordfighters would do. Kuno dodged a blow, and Ryoga struck the ground, creating a huge indent similar to a crater.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“He was able to do that?”, asked Akane.
“Ryoga’s really strong,” said Ran, now wearing a “Kuno is a dope” t-shirt instead of her usual black one.
“That’s obvious. I didn’t think that strong though.”
“All of it brute strength,” said Shampoo.
“I see…” She looked at Chiyo, who was silently watching the fight. “Fluttershy, are you okay?”
“I’m fine…” whispered Chiyo.
“Are you sure?” Hikaru wasn't so sure. “They are fighting over you.”
“Really. I’m fine.” Chiyo flushed slightly, watching on, worried for Ryoga. Kuno might be an idiot and delusional, but she knew he was strong.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“So you have the strength to do this?” asked Kuno, “I underestimated your skill.” He then proceeded to swipe at the air, somehow creating a blade of air that cut Ryoga’s cheek as well as his clothes.
I have to stop him, thought Ryoga as he took off several more bandannas.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“How many bandanas does he have?” asked a confused Akane.
“We don’t know,” answered Momo, now wearing a “Team Ryoga” t-shirt over her dress.
Akane stared at Momo, and knew for a fact that she, of all people, er ponies... being confused about Ryoga’s bandannas was just plain weird.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Ryoga flung the bandannas at Kuno, but he knocked them all away. Ryoga knew he had to do something more powerful. He then took off his belt—and much like the bandannas, another seemed to pop up in its place. He did something to it, which caused it to stiffen, then threw it like a boomerang, which avoided the slashes of air and cut Kuno’s sword in half.
Kuno tossed his broken weapon away and was tossed another one just as Ryoga took out his umbrella, opened it, and tossed it at him, only to miss.
The two glared at each other; the fight was getting more intense.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Attention!”, called out Nabiki. “We're sold out of 'Kuno is a Dope' T-shirts.”
Akane and Hikaru sweat dropped.
“Glad I got mine,” said Ranma as he now wore one.
“Shampoo too,” said Shampoo, also wearing one.
“How long has this been?” asked Akane.
“Five minutes,” answered Hikaru.
That’s right, everybody. "Kuno is a Dope" T-shirt sold out in five minutes! Five!
“How dare you lie about that!”, Kuno yelled from the battlefield.
“We’re not lying.” called out Belle.
“I don’t blame you, fair Belle.” Kuno replied with love filling his voice. “I blame everything on Nabiki Tendo!”
Belle could only sweat drop at that.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Kuno turned his attention to his opponent, then ran towards him with his blade slashing, Ryoga dodging as much as he could. Then, Kuno began assaulting him with air blades, one of which hit Ryoga’s arm.
Ryoga winced slightly in pain as he managed to dodge the next assault and tied one of his bandanna’s around the injured arm.
“So do you surrender and give up Chiyo?” asked Kuno.
“There’s no way I’m giving her to you!” said Ryoga.
“Such a shame. I doubt you can use that arm for the rest of the fight.”
Ryoga answered by using that arm to pick up his umbrella and smash it into Kuno’s face.
“I was wrong. Very, very wrong.” Kuno was slightly woozy from the attack, but he managed to shake it off. “You’re a much more dangerous opponent than I thought.”
Ryoga’s eyes narrowed at Kuno's. “But not enough to defeat me!”
Kuno was about to strike Ryoga but was blocked by his opponent's umbrella. For the next several minutes, the two were locked.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“You can do it Ryoga!”, cheered Momo.
“Defeat him for the honor of Furinkan High!” yelled a member of the kendo team.
“Beat his sorry ass, Ryoga!” yelled a random boy.
“Do for the sake of the school!” yelled a member of the Judo team.
“You can beat him Ryoga!” yelled Ran. “Everyone who’s cheering for Kuno is just cheering for him because he goes here!”
The ones cheering for Kuno all sweat dropped. It was true, but… um… It was completely true… wait… that’s a bad thing.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Ryoga began to take his fight against Kuno seriously and this overpowered the latter to the extent that he was sent flying several feet, earning cheers from most of the spectators.
I will not be defeated that easily!” yelled Kuno as he began to swipe at the air once again, but Ryoga managed to dodge.
“That’s getting old!” said Ryoga as he took off his bandannas and tossed them at Kuno.
“I shall say the same to you!”
Ryoga drew his umbrella and the two began to fight sword-to-umbrella once again. However, Kuno used all of his strength and managed to send the umbrella flying into the crowd and—of all places—the location where they were watching. In fact, the umbrella got buried deep into the ground.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Akane made an attempt to pick it up.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” advised Alex.
“Why?” Akane tried to lift it, but to no avail. “This is heavy.”
“We warned you,” said Ran with a sweat drop.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Ryoga grabbed one of his belts and began to wield it like a sword. Somehow, due to its strange sharpness, he was able to cut Kuno’s sword in half. Unfortunately for him, Kuno managed to acquire another from his team members, who the only ones left cheering him on.
“You certain have interesting weapons,” said Kuno. “But nothing can defeat the blade of Tatewaki Kuno!”
Ryoga once again sliced the sword in half, contradiction Kuno's statement, much to the amusement of the crowd as they chuckled at the irony.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Nothing can defeat the blade of Tatewaki Kuno!” said the otaku boy. “Expect for anything that cuts wood!”
“Which somehow includes belts!” added the otaku girl as the two of them calmly gave a high five to one another.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Kuno grabbed another wooden sword and the two continued to fight. However,
Ryoga was a slight disadvantage; he didn’t want to use another belt and he didn’t have his umbrella.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“He needs his umbrella back,” said Chiyo as she watched the fight with everyone else.
“Twi, do you think you can…” Ranma began to ask.
Hikaru sighed as she used her magic. Her hands glowed in her signature aura and the umbrella did likewise as it was lifted out of the ground. “Ryoga!” she called out as she 'hurled' the umbrella.
Ryoga managed to catch it and use it to block Kuno's sword. Thankfully, no one noticed the magic… Well, all but one…
It was a boy with dark blue hair and light blue eyes. He looked at Hikaru.
“That was magic,” he whispered to himself. How was she able to use magic? He did know one thing, though; there was no way he's telling his sister.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Kuno and Ryoga continued to block each other’s attacks. The former decided to once again slice the air, but the latter knew what to do; he opened his umbrella and used it as a shield.
Kuno scowled in disgust as the maneuver. That umbrella's powerful, and it makes for the perfect shield, he thought.
Ryoga smirked, knowing he had the upper hand as he then grabbed his next belt and threw it at Kuno, which was evaded. However, this turned out to be a bad thing for both of them.
The belt headed towards the audience, right for where Ranma and co. were standing. They all managed to dodge but there was a causality. A rather minor one, but one nonetheless; it sliced Akane’s hair, right where the ponytail she was wearing was tied. Kuno and Ryoga stopped their fight and stared in silence.
“Oh no!”, lamented Kuno. “What have I done?!”
Ryoga looked Akane, red with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Akane stood in shock. She had mixed feeling for what just happened. Shock, disappointment, anger, and even a little happiness. Ever since her date with Ranma, she had considering cutting it.
But this was just… weird. After all, what were the chances of getting a hair cut like this?
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Kuno! How dare you!” yelled one of Akane’s friends named Sayuri, who wore her dark-brown hair in a ponytail.
“That’s right!” agreed a long light-brown haired girl named Yuka, another friend of Akane's. “You should be ashamed of yourself!” The two then proceeded to beat him up. “A girl wouldn’t be caught dead getting a haircut like that!”
“That’s right!”
“But I’m equally as guilty,” Ryoga said with a sweat drop as he watched Kuno get beaten up. What he didn’t know however was that those two always wanted to beat up Kuno, and now that they found a good excuse, they took the chance. And of course, others joined in the beat down.
And so Ryoga won by default.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“That was anti-climactic,” said the girl otaku.
“It sure was,” agreed the otaku boy, “But Kuno still lost.”
“Was there ever any doubt?”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Belle noticed that Akane was still in shock. “Akane, darling, it’s going to be fine.” She grabbed Akane’s arm and dragged her away; even if it was traumatic for the youngest of the Tendos, they all couldn’t help but sweat drop.
“You don’t have to do that!” called out Hikaru.
“How would you even be able to hide your magic if you decide to re-grow her hair?” asked Ranma.
Hikaru was unable to come up with an answer.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Ryoga was still in shock over what he did.
“Are you okay?” asked Chiyo.
Ryoga blushed. “I’m fine…”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Sometime later…
In the bathroom of the Tendo Residence, Akane managed to regain herself.
“So, what kind of cut do you want?” asked Rarity as she sat with the youngest Tendo sister.
“Just even it out as much as possible.”
“It's a good thing it hit where it was tied. Any higher and you'd have to go with a pixie cut.” Akane could only sweat drop as a response. “Or do you want Twilight to re-grow it?”
“She can do that?”
“Yes, but you’re going to have to lie about how you got it long again.”
“No, I was planning on cutting it anyway.”
This part was a surprise to Rarity.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
In the living room, Fluttershy was cleaning Ryoga’s cuts.
“Please don’t get into a fight with him again,” she pleaded.
“But, the way he was acting…” Ryoga began to protest.
“But there’s something wrong with him.”
“So he’s crazy.”
“Let the others handle him. You don’t have to do it for me…”
Ryoga looked at the Pegasus and answered, “Okay.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet!” remarked Pinkie Pie, who happened to be in the room.
Both of them sweat dropped when she said that.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Up in the bathroom, Rarity was finishing up Akane’s haircut.
“I see…” said the former as the latter gave a nod. “I guess then I should make you a brand new Akane!”
“No!”
“But if I—”
“No.”
“Then how about a new—”
“No…”
“What about—”
“Just a haircut.” sighed Akane.
“Fine…” Rarity sighed as well. I really wanted to give her a full makeover. Then again, Akane's just as tomboyish as Rainbow Dash and Applejack, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised. “At least let me put on a few cute accessories like a hair band or some cute hair pins.”
“Fine…but only that!”
“Okay…”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Sometime later, Akane came downstairs and into the living room, earning surprised faces from those who have watched the fight; her hair was much shorter now, barely touching her shoulders. Nobody was surprised how nice it looked, though; after all, it was Rarity who did it.
“It looks cute!” said Pinkie.
“It does,” agreed Fluttershy.
Akane looked at Ranma, who knew it was his cue to say something. “It fits you much better than having long hair,” he said.
“Thank you,” said Akane as she gave a smile.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to re-grow your hair?” asked Twilight.
“I’m sure.”
“I am so sorry!” said Ryoga as he bowed to her, “I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. Please, if you want to hit me…”
Akane sighed; she knew he felt guilty over it. And decided to deliver. However, she went a little overboard; Ryoga now lay twitching on the ground, beaten and bruised.
“Ryoga, are you okay?” asked Fluttershy.
“I’m fine!” Ryoga gave a thumbs-up.
While Akane did want her haircut, she was a teeny bit resentful that she didn’t do it on her own terms. That and she was still a little angry about the time he accidently peeked at her in the bath…
She still had some issues when it came to boys, that was for sure.