Kunou's Best Friend 3/6
by Trisha L. Sebastian
[Insert standart disclaimer here. Insert rant about not getting
paid for this here. Insert plea to free endangered African rhinocerouses
from the threat of poachers here. Insert conspiracy theory about the
Kennedys and the second gunman here. Insert subliminal message here.
Have a nice day.]
I met Nakamura in front of her house the following morning. She
was yawning about every five minutes and she had dark circles under her eyes.
"What's up, Nakamura?" I asked. "You look terrible."
"Mmm?" She looked over at me with bleary eyes, and smiled. "I'm
fine, really I am." She yawned again. "Just didn't get a lot of sleep
last night."
"Why? We don't have a test or anything."
"I do."
I turned to look at her, and she was looking at the ground. "What
did you say?"
"Oh," she said, looking up at me. "Nothing." I pondered over her
comment for a minute or two. What could she mean by that?
"So," I said casually, "you think the plan will work?"
"Mmm? Oh, yes, well, I don't see why it won't," she said, putting
her hands in her pockets. "That is, if Kunou's bright enough--"
"Hey," I said, cutting her off. "You said you'd stop talking like
that about Kunou-sempai."
"I did?" She appeared lost in thought. "So I did. Sorry, Motoki-
chan."
"Well, don't let it happen again." I paused. "Hey, could you promise
something else?"
"Two free promises?" She laughed. "What is it?"
"Don't call me 'Motoki-chan' anymore."
She laughed again. "Only if you earn it."
I nodded. A little bit was better than nothing.
Quickly, we reached the school gates. Already, the crowd had gathered
to see today's fight between Saotome and Kunou-sempai. I saw the rest of the
kendo team behind Kunou-sempai, offering encouragement, and not three meters
away, I saw Nabiki and her little cadre taking bets on how long it would
take for Saotome to knock Kunou-sempai into unconsciousness.
I snorted, and Nakamura followed my gaze. "Oh, I'm late," she said,
shifting her bookbag to her other hand. "I promised Minama that I'd help
him cover his bet today." She moved as if to hurry off, then paused.
"Good luck today."
I nodded back at her, surprised. Waving, she ran to join her
cohorts. I watched as she reached the group, offering an apologtic bow
to Tendou. Tendou elevated her head, like a queen conferring an knight-
hood, and nodded in my direction. Startled, I waved nervously, and she
smiled, a secret, knowing smile. As I stumbled to my place behind Kunou-
sempai's left shoulder, I wondered to myself what in the world was Tendou
Nabiki up to?
********************************
I faced off against my opponent. I rushed at him, feinting to the
left, and brought my shoulders down. Quickly, he blocked the upward
strike, then half-turning, smacked me soundly on the left leg.
Trying to control my emotions, I stared into the eyes of the man
facing me. His face was serene, only the firm set of his lips giving away
his concentration. My face was flushed, sweat trickling down into my eyes.
Takind a deep breath, I dashed forwards again, only to retreat backwards
when he lunged forward, executing eight butterfly strikes in under a half a
minute, finishing with a stinging blow to my forearm.
This was getting me nowhere fast. I took a step back, my gaze
hardened. Yelling, I charged forward at him, my blade thrust out in
front of me. My opponent smiled a feral grin, setting up for what seemed
to him was a normal forward thrust. That grin quickly faded when I slid
to my knees past him, his blade passing over my head. I hooked his out-
flung arm with my blade and rolling to my feet, flipped him across the mat.
Kunou-sempai landed four meters away, bouncing on the mat before sliding
to a halt. Kunou-sempai struggled to his feet. His eyes bored into mine.
"No point."
"What?"
"That was not a fair throw, Motoki-kun."
"I know, sempai, but--"
"There is no execption. The honor of the Furinkan High School
kendo team lies in its sense of fair play. We are students of the
Kunshin style of kendo; thus, we use manuevers only found in the
Kunshin style." Kunou-sempai brushed off his shoulders, and readjusted
his hakama. "Begin again."
I sighed and hefted my blade and tried another approach. "Sempai,
we are students of honor, right?" Kunou-sempai nodded as he parried my
thrust. "And as such, we should be morally upright and follow the way
of bushido, right?" Kunou-sempai nodded again, twisting to the side
to let me pass by him. "So, if we have to follow the way of bushido,
it would be wrong for one student in the kendo club to disobey the school
rules, right?"
Kunou-sempai turned and struck out, nearly tagging me in the chest.
"Of which student are you speaking?"
I faked a weak fade. "Oh, one who gets into the most disorderly
fights every day before school starts."
"As kendo students, we have to set an example for the rest of our
students. If I found such a deviant person in our midst, he would be
dealt with severely." Kunou-sempai lunged forward, a small triumphant
grin on his face.
I smiled, trapping his blade and executing a upward strike that
sent him reeling. "Then what do we do about your fights with
Saotome?" Kunou-sempai's eyes narrowed and he paused long enough for
me to strike him square in the chest. "Point."
"Motoki-kun, my fight with Saotome does not concern you."
Kunou-sempai said, striding off the practice mat.
I followed him to the side of the gymnasium. "With all respect,
sempai, it does. It concerns the entire kendo team." I cleared my throat.
"There's a reason why I asked for this private training session."
Kunou-sempai's eyebrows quirked. "Why?"
"Well..." I took a deep breath. "Before Saotome ever came here,
we were undefeated in tournament matches. We were the best high school in
our district." I picked up my water bottle and took a long swig. "But when
word got out to the other schools that some upstart from nowhere beat you
black and blue..." I let the sentence trail off, counting the seconds just
the way Nakamura said.
Kunou-sempai's eyes narrowed. "What exactly are you saying,
Motoki-kun?"
"I'm saying that you need to challenge Saotome to a duel, a fair
duel. No crowds, no betting, no distractions. Just you, him and a
witness." I took another swig from my bottle, watching him from the
corner of my eyes. "Then, when you beat him, no one can ever say that the
captain of the Furinkan High kendo team is a gutless wimp."
"They dare to say such slanderous things about the great Kunou
Tatewaki? I shall follow thine advice and smite Saotome from this earth!"
Kunou-sempai gritted his teeth, picked up his bokken and jammed it in the
waistband of his hakama. "You shall be my lieutenant and issue the
challenge to him this very evening. Come Sasuke! We must prepare
for tomorrow afternoon!" The Kunou family ninja leaped from the shadows
and accompanied his master back home.
I sighed as I watched them disappear from the gymnasium. Kunou-
sempai took the bait, just like Nakamura said he would. Part of me was
relieved that he got the hint, and part of me was angry that she knew
him well enough to gague his reactions.
"So, then, everything went according to plan?"
I jumped, turning. "Geez, Nakamura, you scared me, sneaking up
on me like that." I paused. "How exactly do you do that? You don't
have any ninja training."
Nakamura smirked. "Don't I?" I snorted and tossed my bottle
back into my bag. She stepped around the bench and smiled. "Here.
You'll need this for tonight."
I took the envelope she held in her hand. "What's this?"
"Oh, the challenge letter from one Kunou Tatewaki to one
Saotome Ranma. Tomorrow afternoon, no witnesses, not even Akane.
Two falls out of three, no time limit. And," she smiled, "I get to
pick the referee."
"You?" I sputtered. "You can't!"
"Why not? It's my plan."
"Yeah, but it's not gonna work if you pick the referee. It's
just plain stupid." I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder.
"Stupid? How could you call it stupid? It worked on your
precious Kunou-sempai, right?" Nakamura's hands were on her hips.
"True, that part was okay..." I said, listening to her grit
her teeth, "but if you get in the way tomorrow, it'll blow the whole plan
sky high."
"Oh, really? How?"
"Think for a bit, Nakamura. This is supposed to be a fair fight
with no interference, right?" Nakamura nodded, her eyes boring into mine.
"So, if one of the school bookies is picking the referee, then that wouldn't
be that fair, right?" I turned to go. "Confict of interest, you know."
"Motoki-chan--"
"Find another person to pick the referee and call me tonight,
okay?" I strode out the door, listening to her call after me. Nothing
could stop me now.
TO BE CONTINUED...........
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
10-20-98: This took a long time to finish. There's nothing better,
though, than threats of a rusty skin coring to get the Muse flowing again.
We've turned a point in this series, and there's no going back.
Write me at tls@thekeep.org with C&C, but no flames. I'm not *that*
heat-resistant.
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