Ryouga sat in one of the collapsible chairs along the outside of the ring, eagerly 
awaiting his first match. The chairs were arranged so that there were eight chairs on each 
side of the ring, for a total of 32 chairs, and thus, 32 competitors. A simple calculation 
told Ryouga this would be a five round tournament. He was a little nervous. This was the 
first martial arts tournament he had ever participated in. He looked to the other competitors
and realized that there were others even more nervous than him. Most obviously nervous was 
JT, who was situated on the opposite side of the ring from Ryouga. JT was rapidly chewing 
his nails until nothing remained. Then, he would move on to the next finger. Ryouga felt a 
little sorry for JT; Unless he had received a lot of training while living at the dojo, he 
wouldn't progress very far in the tourney. He scanned to his left and right to check out his
neighboring martial artists. To his left sat a man garbed in a blue ninja outfit. To his 
right was sat a man dressed in an ugly green gi. The man in the green gi was smiling and 
seemed incredibly confident. He looked back at the man to his left. The man's face was 
expressionless as he just stared at the ring. This guy gave Ryouga the creeps...

	A bell rang and the announcer climbed into the ring. He walked to the center of the 
ring and lifted his microphone to his mouth, addressing the eager crowd.

	"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 50th annual World Martial Arts Tournament! 
The tournament will be five rounds long. The first round will take place over the first two 
days, the second round on the third day, and the 3rd through 5th rounds on the grueling 4th 
day. The winner will receive a trophy, 500,000 yen in prize money, and an automatic 
invitation to next years contest! The rules are simple: A fighter is defeated when he is 
rendered unconscious or when he touches the floor outside the ring. And now: The first match!"
The crowd exploded into cheers. "From Tokyo, Japan, one of the favorites to win the 
tournament, Saotome Ranma!"

	Ranma, dressed in his usual outfit consisting of a chinese shirt and long pants, 
entered the ring. There much much cheering from the crowd. When the cheers finally stopped, 
the announcer continued.
	
	"And his opponent, also from Tokyo, Martial Arts Figure Skating Champion, Sanzenin 
Mikado!" Sanzenin skated up to the ring on his rollerblades and stepped inside. He turned to
face the crowd and bowed deeply. The female portion of the crowd exploded while the males 
looked on, a bit irritated. Sanzenin turned to face Ranma and they both bowed. The bell 
sounded, and the match was underway. Ranma attacked first, jumping towards Sanzenin and 
kicking him in the face. Sanzenin rolled backwards and landed on his feet, immediately 
skating a full speed towards Ranma and unleashing a left-right punch combination. Ranma 
blocked both blows and countered with his own left-right combo, which Sanzenin dodged. 
Sanzenin kicked Ranma in the stomach and landed a solid uppercut to his jaw. Ranma reeled a 
bit, taking a step back to regain his balance. Sanzenin definitely had the speed advantage 
in this fight. Sanzenin didn't let up, skating up to Ranma and starting to spin. The spins 
were slow at first, but got faster and faster, until the point where he was rotating at 
several hundred revolutions per minute. He extended his arms, which repeatedly struck Ranma 
in the head and chest area. After landing several hundred blows, Sanzenin took a step back 
to admire his work. Then he collapsed, followed almost immediately by Ranma. Sanzenin was 
out cold, however. The first match was over. Ranma had won. He jumped from the ring and took
his seat as the announcer addressed the crowd.

	"And the winner: Saotome Ranma!" Cheering erupted from the crowd. "And now, on to 
the second match. Hailing from the USA, Dan!". The man seated to Ryouga's right stood and 
approached the ring. He climbed quickly into the ring and began flexing. The crowd cheered 
at this display of confidence. 

	"And his opponent, from Spain, Vega!". Ryouga watched as a man seated next to JT 
climbed up onto his steel chair. The man jumped from his chair, knocking it over in the 
process, and landed in the center of the ring, where Dan immediately began taunting him. 
Vega was wearing a hockey mask and a steel claw, similar in style to those he had seen 
Mousse use on occasion. The two men reluctantly bowed to each other, then the bell rang. Dan
dodged backwards as Vega thrust his arm forward, attempting to impale Dan with  his claws. 
Dan countered with a taunt, turning to face Vega. He leapt toward Vega, kicking rapidly in 
mid air with alternating feet. Ryouga was impressed by the technique. It had to require some
skill. One of Dan's kicks struck Vega in the face, knocking the mask to the ground. Vega 
stood for a moment, stunned, then lifted his non-clawed hand to his mouth. Ryouga could see 
from the outside that there was blood on his finger. Vega suddenly lashed out with his claw, 
slashing Dan's midsection and drawing blood. He swept Dans feet, knocking him to the ground,
then executed a series of shoulder rolls, each roll ending with Vega's claw slashing Dan yet
another time. Vega stood up, giving Ryouga a clear look at his glazed over eyes, which 
seemed to stare off into space.

	"This guy is insane!" Ryouga thought, praying he wouldn't have to face this guy in 
the tournament. Vega grabbed Dan by the hair and lifted him to his feet. He dragged Dan to 
the corner of the ring and climbed on the post, lifting the battered body with him. He 
locked his arms around Dans body and jumped out of the ring with a ear-shattering scream. He
left the post, performed a mid-air flip. And corkscrewed Dan's face into Vega's overturned 
chair. The chair snapped under the pressure. Vega executed a handspring off Dan's now 
unconscious body and landed safely in the ring, where he reclaimed his mask. There wasn't a 
sound from the audience. Nobody knew how to react to what they had just seen. Ryouga was 
amazed as well. He replayed Vega's moves in his head, trying to think of a way to counter 
his moves, just in case they were to fight later in the tournament. He was at a loss. This 
man's speed and agility rivaled that of even Ryouga himself.

	"Your winner: Vega!" The crowd was still silent. Vega leapt out of the ring, landing
where his seat had once been. He took a seat on the floor and relaxed. His rage had finally 
dissipated. How dare that man strike him in his beautiful face? If that left a scar...He 
tried to ignore the possibility of a permanent blemish. His first match was over. Only 4 
more to go. He stood up and yodeled, which unnerved some of the other competitors, then he 
sat down again. Yes, the tournament would go well for him this year. And he would not be 
disqualified this time...

	"Here are the competitors for the 3rd match!" the announcer's voice boomed. "From an
unidentified area of Japan, Scorpion!" A man dressed identical to Ryouga's neighbor entered 
the ring, with the one difference being that while the one man's outfit was blue, Scorpion's
was yellow. He looked to his left and saw the man tense up. His once emotionless eyes were 
now filled with hatred. "And his opponent, also from an unidentified area of Japan, Sub-Zero!"
The man to Ryouga's left stood up and ran towards the ring. He jumped in and faced Scorpion.
They said nothing, and after a moment, they started to fight, both of them ignoring the 
customary bow. Scorpion threw a shuriken at Sub-Zero, who dodged the shuriken and countered 
by firing a blast of ice from his hands. He approached his now frozen opponent and delivered
a powerful roundhouse kick to his face. Blood spilled from Scorpion's face and mouth as he 
landed on the floor of the ring. Scorpion stood up and disappeared, suddenly crashing into 
Sub-Zero from behind, knocking him down. As Sub-Zero pulled himself to his feet, Scorpion 
launched another shuriken, this one sticking deep into Sub-Zero's chest, spraying blood 
everywhere. Ryouga noticed a thin cord attached to the end of the shuriken, wondering what 
it was for...Scorpion yanked viciously on the cord and screamed "Get over here!" at the 
punctured Sub-Zero. Scorpion delivered a powerful uppercut, knocking Sub-Zero high into the 
air. More blood flowed onto the ring floor. Sub-Zero landed and performed a tip-up, landing 
cleanly on his feet. Both combatants were bleeding badly. Sub-Zero lunged forward and caught 
Scorpion's jaw with an elbow, leaving him reeling. Sub-Zero walked up to his opponent, who 
was struggling just to stay on his feet. He placed his hand under the man's chin and what 
came next shocked everyone in the building. There was a disgusting tearing sound, followed 
by the thump of a body hitting the ground. Sub-Zero stood in the ring, holding in the air 
Scorpion's severed head with the spinal column still attached. Blood flowed freely from the 
head, dripping down the spinal column and forming a pool on the floor. Ryouga felt his 
stomach knot as he stared at the victor. "How did this guy get into the tournament?" he 
wondered, feeling sick to his stomach. "Apparently other people must be feeling sick too" he
decided as he heard sounds that could only be associated with nothing other than the act of 
vomiting. The ninja left the ring and walked into the locker room, still carrying the 
severed head, leaving the shocked crowd behind him. The announcer entered the ring, looking 
a little green.

	"Honored guests, we sincerely apologize for this. Sub-Zero has been disqualified from 
the competition. There will be a thirty minute delay before the tournament resumes. We 
encourage you to remain for the rest of the first half of round one. Again, we apologize to 
anyone who had to witness that incident." The announcer glanced down and noticed he was 
standing in a pool of blood originating from the decapitated corpse. His hand shot up to his
mouth as he dashed for the locker room.

	JT sat nervously in his seat, waiting for the match to tournament to resume. The 
wait was killing him! He noticed a guy to his right shaking. "You nervous too?" JT asked, 
hoping he wasn't the only one going crazy from the wait.

	"No, not really...just these damn DTs...I need a drink...and a cigarette"

	"Why don't you go have one? You have plenty of time."

	"I promised one of my students I wouldn't drink or smoke today. I couldn't break my 
promise to her. After all, she made me lunch!" The man laughed a little nervously, still 
shaking slightly.

	JT didn't feel any better than he did before talking to the man. He couldn't deal 
with the pressure. The feeling reminded him vaguely of his first wrestling tournament. He 
remembered watching matches anxiously, never sure who he would face or when his turn would 
come. That was how he felt right now. He realized he had been chewing his fingernails since 
the beginning of the tournament. Yes, he was indeed nervous, and nothing he told himself 
could change that fact.

	Ryouga looked up to see Ranma approaching his seat. Ranma took the chair to Ryouga's
left and sat down.

	"So, Ryouga. How did you get into this tournament? We gave up on you and gave your 
invitation to JT."

	"I got an invitation?" Ryouga asked, amazed that his level of skill prior to his 
training was actually worthy of an invitation. He reconsidered...he _had_ beaten Ranma on
occasion, so he was fairly skilled...

	"Not really...The Tendo dojo has a good record in this tournament. As a matter of 
fact, Happosai has won this thing 46 times! Can you believe that? The only other guy to win 
the tournament was some guy named Zantetsu. He's probably dead now, though. Anyway, because 
the dojo does so good every year, it receives one invitation for every martial artist 
residing there. We listed you as a resident, since you really don't live anywhere, so to 
speak. But you didn't show up, so we gave JT your invitation. He had mixed feelings about 
participating. He has learned a bit of martial arts since you left, but..."

	They looked over at JT. He looked like he was going to go crazy. His eyes looked 
vaguely like those he had seen in Vega. He didn't seem to happy about the wait.

	"He isn't taking this delay very well, is he?" Ryouga said in more a factual tone 
than an interrogative one.

	"Apparently not. Anyway, I wish you luck, Ryouga. "

	"And I wish you luck also, Ranma. Congrats on your first victory. I hope we don't 
have another display like what we just saw..."

	Ranma's face contorted into a grimace. "Agreed. I can't believe they'd let a psycho 
like that enter the tournament. He was completely insane!"

	"And you're sitting in his seat" Ryouga stated with a smirk.

	"Eh? ...Aagh!" Ranma stood up and looked at the seat. "Yikes! That was an 
uncomfortable situation!" Ranma walked back to his seat.

	The announcer, looking a bit pale, emerged from the locker room and entered the 
freshly cleaned ring. He cleared his voice and brought the microphone to his mouth.

	"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay. Now-"

	"JUST START THE FRIGGIN' TOURNAMENT BEFORE I GO INSANE! AAAH!"

	Ryouga looked over to see JT standing on his chair waving his fist in the air. JT 
took a quick look around and sat down, his face beet red. "Yep" Ryouga thought, "The 
pressure is really getting to him."

	"As I was saying. We will now resume the tournament. Now, the competitors for match 
4! Hailing from Japan: Ryu!" Two men stood up. One of them was dressed in a white gi, and 
the other was dressed in military fatigues. The man in the fatigues looked a bit confused, 
then sat back down. The man in the white gi entered the ring, looking very solemn. 

	"And his opponent, from the United States: Ken!" A man dressed in a red gi similar 
to Ryu's jumped into the ring and began posing for the crowd. The crowd loved it and began 
cheering wildly. Ryouga couldn't help but see these two fighters as the opposite ends of the
attitude spectrum. Ryu seemed to be emotionless and solid, dedicating his life to the 
perfection of something he regarded as an art form, while Ken took his abilities for granted,
using them to increase his own popularity. The two men bowed and the match began. Both 
fighters immediately fell into the same battle stance. "This should be interesting" Ryouga 
thought, noticing the two men using the same fighting style. Ryu lunged forward and 
attempted to roundhouse Ken's head. Ken ducked and countered with a foot sweep, knocking Ryu
to his back. Ryu did a tip-up and took a step back. He leapt into the air and began spinning
in mid-air with one leg outstretched. "Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku!" Ryu yelled as he propelled 
himself towards Ken, catching him in the jaw and knocking him to the ground. Ryouga watched 
the style and realized he had seen this style before..."Aha! This is the same style Dan 
fought with!" he realized. He turned his attention back to the match and watched Ken rise to
his feet. Ken attempted to jab Ryu in the face, but Ryu sidestepped and countered with a 
foot sweep. Ken had anticipated this...he launched himself forward, over Ryu's leg and 
rolled on the ground, rising to his feet behind Ryu. Ryu turned to face his adversary and 
was met with a punch to his gut. "Shoryu Ken!" Ken shouted as he knocked Ryu into the air 
with a mighty punch. But it didn't stop there. Ken struck Ryu three more times in mid-air 
before they both hit the ground. Ryu's body hit the floor of the ring with a loud *thud*.

	"And the winner: Ken!" The audience exploded into cheers. Ken kneeled by his 
opponent's fallen body and helped him to his feet. Ken helped Ryu to the locker room and 
emerged several minutes later to reclaim his seat.

	The announcer climbed once again into the ring. "And now, the competitors for match 
5! From Tokyo, Japan, JT!" JT stood nervously and approached the ring. He had shunned the 
martial arts gi offered to him by Soun and Genma, opting instead to dress in one of his high
school wrestling singlets. After all, wrestling was his primary skill. He had very little 
talent with martial arts. "And his opponent, from the United States, the reigning 
Japan-America Wrestling Federation champion, King!" A monstrous man dressed in a business 
suit and a lion mask entered the ring and looked JT over. "Nice singlet" he said in a 
friendly tone. Perhaps JTs decision to wear his wrestling uniform had earned him the respect
of a fellow wrestler. They bowed to each other and the match began. King ran straight for JT
and leapt into the air, performing a forward flip in the air and locking his legs around JTs
neck. King dropped to his back and brought JT with him, smashing his head into the ground. 
JT staggered to his feet only to find King standing before him. King grabbed his arm and 
pivoted on his feet, throwing JT over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. King 
then put JTs arm around his neck and lifted him into the air, driving him backwards with a 
backdrop. King used his momentum to continue rolling backwards and he backdropped JT a 
second time. He released the arm and grabbed for JTs legs, locking his arms under JTs knees.
He launched them both into the air and drove JT into the ground with a devastating powerbomb.
King kept his hold on the legs as he started to spin faster and faster. Finally, King 
released JTs legs, sending him flying from the ring and landing face first on a chair.

	"And the winner: King!"

	JT rose to his feet and tried to walk to the locker room. He had scarcely moved five
feet before he collapsed to the ground. King jumped out of the ring and helped JT to his feet.
JT leaned against King as he was escorted to the locker room. Ryouga turned to the ring as 
the next match was being announced. 

	"And now, the next match! The first competitor, from...Hell? ...Um...Devil!". A huge 
blue man who couldn't be described as looking like anything other than a demon flew into the
ring. There was a large scar across his stomach, and his eyes burned with an evil red glow. 
He stood by the announcer, which apparently made the announcer very nervous. "And his 
opponent, from Tokyo Japan. Mousse!". Ryouga watched as Mousse walked into the ring...
literally. Mousse got up off the ground after the collision, and climbed into the ring, 
lowering his glasses onto his face. His face instantly paled at the sight of his monstrous 
opponent. The announcer left the ring and the two opponents bowed to each other. The whistle
rang and Mouuse jumped backwards, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a fistful of 
shurikens. He launched the shurikens at Devil, but Devil jumped to the side, dodging them 
all. Devil's eyes started to glow. Mousse ran at Devil and lashed out with a chain, trying 
to entangle his opponent. Mousse felt the laser tear into his shoulder and he was launched 
backwards, landing on the ring floor. He was losing a lot of blood..."I can still...fight..."
he thought even as he passed into unconsciousness. Devil left the ring and took his seat as 
Mousse was carried by the emergency crew into the locker room.

	"Match 7: From Tokyo, Japan: The undefeated High school Kendo Champion, ranked first
in the world in Kendo, Kunou Tatewaki!". Kunou arrogantly approached the ring. He climbed in 
and executed several attacks with his bokken, demonstrating his prowess with the weapon. The
audience cheered at the display. "And his opponent, also from Tokyo Japan: Masaki Hiryu!" 
Another kendoist dressed similar in style to Kunou entered the ring. He was sweating 
profusely as he sized up Kunou.

	"Ah, Hiryu...A pleasure to compete against a fellow student of the Kendo art in my 
first match. And against a fellow student from Furinkan High, no less! The gods are indeed 
smiling upon me today!"

	"Indeed, upperclassmen Kunou" Hiryu agreed weakly. He tried to mask the way he felt,
but it was plainly visible in his eyes. He was terrified. 

	"If you are lucky, this match will not be a repeat of our previous 19. That reminds 
me...I trust your ribs have healed completely since our last encounter?" Hiryu blanched. 
Kunou looked at his shaking opponent for a moment, then continued talking. "But I see no 
reason this match would have a different outcome than any of our others, because, as usual, 
I am in top physical form, and the gods are with me on this day." Kunou paused, smiling, 
then raised his bokken in the air. "I am Furinkan High's Blue Thunder!". There was a bright 
flash, followed immediately by the loud boom of thunder. Hiryu cracked. He turned and ran 
for the edge of the ring, throwing himself over the side as soon as the whistle sounded. 
Ryouga could tell the boy was truly afraid for his life. Kunou must have delivered a severe 
beating to this boy at some point in their past meetings.

	"Your winner, with the quickest win in the history of the tournament! Kunou 
Tatewaki!". Kunou left the ring looking extremely smug. Even Ryouga looked on, awe-struck. 
If Kunou could intimidate someone into effectively forfeiting the match just based on his 
reputation, than he must be truly skilled in his art. Ryouga chuckled, remembering his 
previous encounter with Kunou. "He's not so tough...and at least JT doesn't have the quickest
losing time anymore."

	"Match 8: Coming from Tokyo, Japan. Fujisawa Masamichi!". A man seated adjacent to 
JTs now vacant seat stood up and made his way to the ring. Ryouga stared at the man. He 
didn't look like much of a fighter, but he was glowing with an intense battle aura...even 
before the match started! The man climbed into the ring and stood in silence. The announcer 
continued. "And his opponent, also from Tokyo, Saotome Genma!". Genma made his way to the 
ring and entered. "C'mon pop!" Ranma yelled from his seat. "You can take this guy! Look at 
him! He's nothing!". Genma faced his opponent and they bowed to each other. The whistle 
sounded and Genma lunched at Fujisawa with a punch. Fujisawa dodged quickly to the side. 
Ryouga saw his battle aura was glowing twice as brightly as before. Fujisawa leapt high into
the air and shouted in an overly loud voice "Fujisawa triple-drop-kick-pile-driver-armlock-
takedown!". By the time he finished shouting, he had already kicked Genma twice in the head 
and was returning for the third kick. Genma caught the kick with the side of his face and 
started to fall, but was caught before he hit the ground. Fujisawa lifted the body into the 
air and brought it to the ground head first, breaking a hole in the ring. He lifted Genma 
from the hole by the arm and grabbed his arm at the elbow, twisting it behind Genma's back 
and flipping him to the ground. Genma made an effort to rise, which was met with a punch to 
his midsection. Genma flew from the ring and crashed into the wall, breaking through the wall
and landing outside the building. The crowd gasped, as did Ryouga, amazed at the seemingly 
feeble man's level of skill. "That wall was brick!" He exclaimed with his jaw hanging wide 
open and refusing to close. He saw Ranma staring with his jaw open at the man who had just 
defeated his father with no effort whatsoever. After Ranma's initial shock, he walked 
outside to find his father. Ryouga continued to stare. If he continued to fight like he just
did, there would be nothing to prevent them from meeting later in the tournament. Ryouga 
seriously doubted his chances of beating such a powerful individual. His mind wandered back 
to the battle aura. "His aura was on even before the match started..." he thought worriedly.
The announcer took the stage as Fujisawa left it, screaming madly.

	"HA HA! Now, Time for a smoke!". Fujisawa ran out the doors with incredible speed, 
leaving Ryouga to wonder how anyone who smoked could be in such superb physical condition.

	"That's it for the first half of round one. Please show up tomorrow and continue to 
cheer for these hard working competitors! The second half of round one begins tomorrow at 10
AM. Please be here!". The announcer left the stage. Ryouga stood up and walked over to the 
locker room. he entered and found a small group of bodies lying unconscious. JT was still out
as were Mousse and Dan. Ryouga tried briefly to wake JT, but realized he wasn't going to be
waking up anytime soon. He considered waking Mousse, but decided against it. He disappeared,
reappearing moments later at the Tendo dojo.

	"Hopefully Mr. Tendo will let me stay here tonight." Ryouga thought, turning as he
heard footsteps behind him. Kasumi was walking up behind him, smiling as usual.

	"Hi Ryouga! What are you doing here? Ranma and the others are all at that martial
arts tournament right now."

	"I know. I was there too. I just stopped by to ask Mr. Tendo if it would be OK for
me to spend the night here."

	"He wouldn't mind at all! You can stay in the room with Ranma,JT and Mr. Saotome. It
might be a little crowded, but I imagine it's better than nothing."

	"Thank you Kasumi..." Ryouga followed her to the guest bedroom and deposited his 
backpack. He stretched out on the ground, wondering anxiously who he would have to face in
the tournament tomoorow. He was still thinking about it when he fell asleep.

	*		*		*		*		*	

	Mousse awoke to find himself back in the locker room. He was sitting on the floor 
with his back propped against the wall. He instinctively rubbed his sore shoulder and 
cringed at the intense pain which invaded his body. He jerked his hand away and thought of 
the move that had done this to him. 
	
	"Even Ranma isn't capable of that level of ki attack..." Mousse thought to himself.
	
	Mousse was ashamed. Never had he been defeated so quickly in a martial arts fight. 
He tried to ignore his poor showing but found he could not. Once again, he had been defeated
in front of Shampoo. She probably thought even less of him now than she did before, which 
was saying quite a lot. His mind drifted to Shampoo. She treated him so badly, but he had no
choice but to forgive her. It wasn't her fault she shunned him, Mousse had often told himself; 
She was required by Amazon law to marry a strong man so that their children would be strong 
also. Mousse had been defeated many times in Shampoo's presence. He tried to convince 
himself that he lost because of his lack of preparation or his horrible eyesight, but he 
couldn't deceive himself. He was weak, and he cursed himself everyday of his life for not 
being the man Shampoo desired. Mousse rose to his feet, cursing the day Shampoo had ever met
Ranma. He looked around the locker room, still angry at Ranma. On the floor next to him was 
the unconscious form of someone who looked slightly familiar. After a few moments Mousse was
able to place him as the boy he had mistaken for Ranma. Mousse left the locker room and 
noticed Nabiki talking to the guard. He ignored the conversation and reentered the building 
through the front entrance. He paused in the lobby and glanced at his surroundings, his eyes
eventually coming to rest on the trophy case. He walked over to the case and admired the 
beautiful trophy that would never be his. A trophy that would serve as proof that he had 
fought and triumphed over five skilled martial artists. No, it would never be his, he 
realized. He looked closely at the trophy, trying to make out the names engraved on the gold
nameplates. Most of the plates bore the name "Happosai", but in the middle were three that 
were engraved with a different name.

	"Zantetsu" he read aloud. "Oh uncle, where are you now? I'm so sorry...I...I was 
young and foolish..." his voice trailed off as his mind flashed back to that fateful day in 
China only a few years back...

	"You cannot leave, Mousse. Your training is not yet complete."

	"Uncle...Master. I'm sorry, but I must leave. I must follow Shampoo. If I do not 
follow her, I may lose her forever."

	"But you haven't even approached your maximum potential. Your skills are few and 
undeveloped. You will not be able to even remotely come close to defeating an Amazon with 
your current abilities. You must stay and develop your skills. You must finish your training. 
If, when you have successfully completed your training, Shampoo has returned, then you may 
challenge her and take her as your wife. Otherwise, you can find another wife."

	The words cut into Mousse like a knife. "Another wife!?" he screamed angrily. 
"Shampoo is the only woman I desire! She is the only woman I will accept as my wife! I will 
make her mine! And I will do it without your training! I will prove I am her rightful man, 
the only man deserving of her affections, and I will do it with the skills I have now! I will
prove to you that I don't need your help anymore!" Mousse pushed his glasses onto his face 
and saw the hurt look on his Master's face. He immediately regretted everything he had said. 
"Master...I-" It was too late. Zantetsu had already disappeared. Mousse sadly left the cabin 
and walked to the docks, where he boarded the first boat to Japan.

	His search for Shampoo lasted many long months. Mousse spent his free time practicing
his martial arts, determined to defeat Shampoo when he finally managed to track her down. 
Mousse centered his fighting style around the use of weapons. He realized there were other 
martial artists who could do this just as well, if not better than him, so he altered his 
style a bit. He didn't want to drill himself in the use of every possible weapon, because 
sometimes weapons just wouldn't be available, or he would encounter a weapon he was unskilled
with. No, he had a different style. He created whatever weapon the situation called for from 
thin air. This was what he had learned to do in his brief time training under Zantetsu.

	Mousse continued to stare at the trophy case. 

	"Uncle, I have practiced what you taught me...You were right. One who bases his 
fighting style on a single technique cannot win."

	Mousse stared forward blindly and slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out a 
hacksaw. Had anyone been in Mousse's bedroom they would have seen a hand emerge from a blue 
disk, grabbing one of several hundred carefully laid out weapons and pulling it through the 
portal. Mousse stared at the hacksaw for a moment, a look of sadness in his eyes.

	"No, it's just not enough. By running out on my training I have cursed myself...I will
never be a true man in Shampoo's eyes..." Mousse slumped to the ground and buried his face in
his hands. But he didn't cry. Crying was, to Mousse, a sign of weakness. He wanted so 
desperately to be strong, even if it was only emotionally. He pushed the hacksaw back into 
his pocket, summoning a portal back into his room. He carefully replaced the hacksaw and 
withdrew his arm, leaving the room looking undisturbed. It had taken him months to perfect 
his imaging to the point where he could visualize another place without creating the blue 
glow. He had been ecstatic the first time it had happened, and he immediately tried to pull 
his weapons out without the glow occurring. After many failed attempts, he decided to mask it
with a thick cloak instead. He had thought his ability to summon and use weapons would be 
enough to overcome any opposition. He was wrong. Mousse contemplated returning to China to 
beg forgiveness from his uncle and continue his training. Then, maybe he would be able to 
beat Ranma...

	"NO!" Mousse exclaimed, suddenly standing up. "I won't do it! I will not admit 
weakness! I will win Shampoo's love without anyone's help!". He turned around and walked out 
of the building.

	JT awoke to find Nabiki sitting beside him, holding his head to her chest. When he 
realized where his face was, he rose quickly into a sitting position, his face completely red. 
Nabiki laughed.

	"Hey, it's nothing to get all embarrassed about! We're going to be married soon, 
remember? What do you suppose we'll be doing then?" she said with an evil grin. JT got even 
more red.

	"Um..." JT cleverly replied, searching for some way to change the subject without 
making it too obvious. "Uh...say! How did you get into the locker room? Only the competitors 
are allowed in here!"

	"I made a deal with the guard. A little money fixes everything."

	JT smiled, knowing he should've expected that answer.  "Thanks for coming to see me. 
I didn't exactly shine in the tournament today, did I?"

	"Don't worry about it. I'm not concerned about your fighting ability. You're a nice 
guy, and that's what's important to me. If I wanted a martial artist with an inflated ego and
no personality, I'd just go after....oh wait...My sister's already engaged to Ranma."

	JT laughed at her characterization of Ranma. "Well, there's always Kunou!" he added 
with a grin on his face.

	Nabiki laughed at the comment  "You know, JT, you're the only one around here with a 
sense of humor. Everyone I talk to is too focused on martial arts to enjoy a good joke every 
now and then. Ranma and Akane are always too busy fighting, Father is always crying, Mr. 
Saotome is a panda most of the time, and Kasumi...well, Kasumi remains incredibly ignorant of
everything that goes on. She's just...too nice. It's not normal."

	"I understand what you mean. That household is enough to drive a person crazy!"

	Nabiki hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear "maybe we should get back to the 
dojo. The last match ended 3 hours ago. You've been out for a while."

	JT rose to his feet, looking a bit wobbly. "Yeah, I guess we should get back. Say...
did Ryouga fight today?"

	"No...his first match is tomorrow."

	"Who fought the last few matches after I...left"

	"Well...Mousse lost to some scary looking huge guy named Devil, Mr. Saotome lost to a
man named Fujisawa Masamichi, and some kid got scared of Kunou and jumped out of the ring."

	"Interesting...well, let's get going. We shouldn't make your father worry!"

	Nabiki and JT left the locker room and headed back to the dojo. Nabiki didn't mind 
supporting JTs extra weight for the entire trip. After all, he had just gotten throttled in 
a martial arts competition, and needed all the support he could get...physical or 
emotional...