Magical Interludes:  December's End
Fanfic by J.K. Hayashi

Chapter 8:  The Festival - Part IV

The two zookeepers and the two policemen follow the trail of 
confusion left by Mr. Turtle's passing.  The alligator moved 
surprisingly fast and they had a hard time keeping up with it while 
maneuvering through the crowd.  They track it by the shrieks and 
yells of passerbys.  They knew that they had to contain the beast 
before it caused a real panic and people got hurt.

**********************

Happosai couldn't believe that he was still being followed.  Usually 
they stopped chasing him after five minutes; this group showed no 
signs of stopping.  He bounced past a sign that said "Martial Pair-
Skating Competition" and chuckles to himself, convinced he could 
lose them on the skating rink.  He enters followed by the mob of 
women.

**********************

Kodachi quietly mutters to herself as she chases Darling Ranma and 
Sluttish Akane through the festival.  All she had to do was catch up 
and separate them; perhaps Ranma could still be saved with a 
simple kiss, but she would yield up her maidenly virtue if she had to.

Once he came to his senses the policeman chasing her would have 
no cause to arrest and all would be resolved.  She only hoped her 
brother had given her enough time to complete her mission.  She 
took off the bolas that had wrapped around her wrist and discards 
them into the street.

**********************

Inspector Muramoto curses to himself.  When her brother had 
attacked him at the first aid station, Kodachi Kuno had gained a 
valuable head start.  And she was fast, so he wasn't sure if he could 
catch up with her unless she stopped for some reason.

Continuing his pursuit, he takes stock of the weapons he carries.  
The ribbon was tucked into his jacket pocket, the bokken in his belt, 
but he was familiar with neither.  There were always the three 
shuriken he carried in his breast pocket, but using them if a crowd 
was around wasn't an acceptable option.  He could use the bokken as 
a staff if he had to; that had been a weapon he had trained with, but 
he had no real long-range weapons, and Kodachi Kuno seemed to 
specialize with those.

He remembers the words of his master:  "All things are weapons."  
He'd just have to make do with what was around when the fight 
started.

**********************

Ranma looks behind at the pursuing Kodachi.  She wasn't gaining 
on them, but neither was she losing ground.  He figures it had to be 
him that she was after from what she said at the clinic.

Ranma:  "Akane..."
Akane:  "What is it, Ranma?"
Ranma:  "We have to split up.  I'll meet you back at Uc-chan's."
Akane:  [getting mad]  "And leave you alone with that... that girl?  
	I'd rather fight."
Ranma:  "No, Akane!  I'll lead her away from you, then change to 
	my other form when she isn't watching so she won't 
	recognize me.  Then we'll both escape."
Akane:  [comprehending]  "I'm sorry, Ranma.  You're right.  Where 
	can we separate?"
Ranma:  "See if you can spot anyplace out of sight from Kodachi."
Akane:  "How about by that food cart?"

Akane points at a small candy apple cart amidst the game booths.  
They jump down next to the cart and Akane quickly kisses Ranma.

Akane:  "Love you."

Ranma smiles as Akane loses herself in the crowd.  He then jumps 
up within sight of Kodachi and leads her away.  Kodachi considers 
stopping to attack Akane, but decides against it because Ranma is 
the more important objective.

**********************

Spotlights come on, illuminating the skating rink as the 
introductions in the championship match are made.

Announcer:  "... and now, from Kolkhoz High School, the top seed 
	of the tournament, The Golden Pair of Skating, Mikado 
	Sanzenin and Azusa Shiratori!"

The Golden Pair skate into the center of the rink.

Commentator:  "Its the Golden Pair of Kolkhoz High, making 
	another spectacular entrance.  Ever since their lone defeat 
	at the hands of Furinkan High early in the Spring Semester 
	they have gone undefeated and have dominated their 
	competition in the Autumn tournaments.  Let's listen to 
	their many fans."

The stands erupt into cries of "Azusa" and "Mikado" from the 
respective fan clubs.  The lights darken in preparation for the 
introduction of their opponents.

Announcer:  "... and now, their opponents..."

Happosai comes into the stadium, bounces off the waiting skaters' 
heads, then lands in the rink, sliding across the ice while dragging 
his bag of underwear behind him.

Announcer:  "... seem to have been replaced by an old man carrying 
	a large bag... a large bag of panties..."
 
The skaters are trampled under the mob of angry women, who 
follow Happosai onto the ice but are unable to get very far.

Announcer:  "... and the panties' angry owners!"
Commentator:  "Well, all that can be said is that this development 
	comes as a complete surprise.  Oh, it looks like Shiratori's 
	penchant for cute things has manifested itself again."

Azusa starts to pick up panties that drop out of Happosai's bag, 
naming the first three.  She then beats on Mikado (who had been 
ready to start kissing the women) until he agrees to get the bag from 
Happosai.  Ryoga and Shampoo have stolen the skates off the 
comatose skaters and have entered the rink.  Shampoo assures 
Ryoga that if he helps her that she'll lead him back to the dojo.

**********************

Ranma continues to run across the rooftops, looking for a place 
where he could lose Kodachi long enough to find some cold water 
and make the change.  However, she had been able to catch up 
considerably when he split from Akane.

**********************

Azusa:  "Look, Mikado.  Look at the cute thing the old man gave 
	me!"

Azusa skates up to the prone Mikado (having been thrown with 
Happosai's momentum trick into the rink wall).  Happosai has 
almost reached the opposite end of the rink from which he entered 
with Shampoo and Ryoga in hot pursuit.
 
Azusa:  "Its name is 'Cosette'!"

Azusa shoves the Happodaikarin into Mikado's face, the fuse almost 
gone.  Mikado tries to escape, but the bomb goes off in his face.  The 
ice under him cracks with the explosion and starts to break into 
chunks.

Commentator:  "Well, this has truly been an extraordinary year.  For 
	the second time the Kolkhoz High ice rink has been broken 
	into the swimming pool which underlies it.  Whoever 
	comes out of this conscious will probably be declared the 
	winner of the tournament.  Will it be the top seed Golden 
	Pair, or will it be the old lech and the revengeful women?"
 
Happosai reaches the opposite end of the rink before the cracks 
break up the ice sheet.  Shampoo and Ryoga are not so lucky and fall 
into the cold water.  Happosai bounces out of the rink, whistling to 
himself and exits the stadium.  He doesn't notice the angry (wet) cat 
and pig still following him.

**********************  

Sentaro Daimonji readies the teahouse for the upcoming 
demonstration.  His grandmother glides across the wooden floor.

Grandmother:  "Sentaro!  Are all the preparations complete?"
Sentaro:  [nervous]  "Almost, grandmother."
Grandmother:  "And where is Satsuki?"
Sentaro:  "She's coming with the ceremony equipment."
Grandmother:  "You didn't send her on that stupid horse that keeps 
	running away?"
Sentaro:  "Umm... well..."

Sentaro is about to get hit when a monk walks into the room.

Monk:  "Ah, young Daimonji.  There you are.  I haven't had 
	occasion to congratulate you on your marriage yet.  How do 
	you find married life?  And you'd better answer carefully, 
	your wife has just arrived."

The monk chuckles to himself as Sentaro suddenly finds a hoof on 
his head.

Sentaro:   "Its been the happiest time of my life, right, dear?"
Satsuki:  "Are you here to judge the demonstration, sir?"
Monk:  "No, no.  Merely to enjoy the performance.  With New 
	Year's approaching it is sometimes best to take a break 
	from our preparations, so long as they are not forgotten."
Grandmother:  "Pardon me, holiness.  Sentaro, did you remember to 
	reset the trap so the tea would not get stolen?"
Sentaro:  "Oh no, grandmother, I forgot."

The grandmother performs the napkin-strike, ladle-strike, and pot-
strike on Sentaro.

**********************

Inspector Muramoto could tell he was being followed.  From the 
shouts behind him he figured the alligator had somehow gotten 
loose and escaped; from other shouts he could tell that the two 
zookeepers were extremely inept with the tranquilizer gun and had 
so far only shot the two policemen who he had left behind.

If he stopped it meant that he would lose Kodachi Kuno amidst the 
fair; only for the opportunity to face the reptile with weapons he 
wasn't familiar with, either with the hope that the zookeepers would 
finally hit the target or to eventually kill the beast with his gun.  He 
decides to continue with the chase and hope the two would hit their 
mark.

**********************

Happosai bounces along the street, heading back toward the Tendo 
Dojo so that he could add tonight's silky darlings to the rest of his 
collection.  He passes a sign that says "Martial Arts Tea Ceremony 
Demonstration" and mutters to himself before going into the small 
teahouse.

Happosai:  "Why, a spot of tea would be perfect to warm up these 
	old bones."

**********************

*****************************End Chapter 8, Part IV