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The FFML Refugee List

Path of the Warrior
(A Quantum Destinies Side Story)
Chapter 5

Any and all C+C is appreciated. You can contact me at
sommer@3rdm.net.

Angcobra is now storing all of my fics, including Roses and Swords, at
http://angcobra.jumpfun.com/dbsommer.html

And at Larry F's at:
http://lwf58.tripod.com/fan_fiction/d_b_sommer/index.html

Standard disclaimer:
I don't own any of the folks from Ranma 1/2. Quantum Destinies is a universe
that belongs to Jurai-Knight, and he has been kind enough to let me play in
it a few times.

Jurai-Knight's homepage with the most up to date Quantum Destinies chapters
is
http://home.earthlink.net/~sthesken/fanfics/qd.html

[Writer's note: Just to clear up any confusion: when 'Arena' is capitalized,
it is most probably referring to the Imperial Arena in Japan (unless it's at
the start of a sentence or it's specifically stated otherwise. Any spellings
where it is not capitalized are referring to another one, usually Hong
Kong's in this chapter.]

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Legs aching, muscles crying out in pain, lungs gasping for air: an inventory
of suffering that held no hint of relief, growing longer by the second.
Fighting through the barrier of pain, Shampoo continued to run yet another
lap around the outside of the huge fitness center where Jaddo was having her
work out. Each circuit around the building was nearly a kilometer, and she
had already completed nineteen laps around the structure. On the surface,
that did not sound so bad; her great-grandmother had made her run twice that
at times. But there was more to it than that. Shampoo had gone through an
extensive work-out that involved lifting weights and hitting the various
types of workout bags with a wide array of punches and kicks, sharpening her
techniques to a razor fine edge. That had gone on for two hours before he
had ordered her run. Again, as much as it had drained her energy, the run
would still have not been a problem save for one other detail: the tension
suit.

It was a particularly nasty device. Shampoo was convinced it had been
developed by some medieval torturer that had enjoyed his work. It was not
really a suit, but more like a harness that was strapped across the chest
and wrapped around her back. A number of tight coils led out from the
harness to collars that were wrapped around her ankles, wrists, the last
around her neck. The coils had a great deal of tension to them, and it made
any movement sluggish, requiring at least three times the normal effort to
make a move. It made every single step a struggle, especially after having
run nearly nineteen kilometers already. This was easily the worst workout
she had suffered at Jaddo's hands yet.

However, she was almost finished. All she needed was to complete one last
turn and her required twenty laps would be done. Then it would be time for a
long, relaxing rest in the center's whirlpool and then a nap. She always
wanted one of each after Jaddo's intense workout sessions, which were only
increasing in intensity with each passing day. Two weeks worth she had
undergone, with only Sunday's off, as he allowed her to gradually become
used to being in Hong Kong.

Chasing such distracting thoughts from her mind, she pushed her body further
and harder. The last segment of the lap was on the uphill portion of the
run, making it the most difficult part of the endurance test. Her breath
came out in dry, raspy heaves until she reached the crest and spotted Jaddo
at the finish line, which had also served as the starting line. He was
looking at the stopwatch in his hand rather than her, but she knew from her
previous runs that the instant she broke the plane of the imaginary line,
Jaddo's finger would stab down on the watch, and her session would be over
at last.

Gasping even harder than before, Shampoo rushed over the line and stumbled
past, slowing down with each step, allowing her body to come down from its
strenuous test of endurance before stopping altogether ten yards past.
Slowly, she walked back to her mentor, who watched her with arms crossed.
She was eager to hear the praises he would give for her completion of the
difficult run.

"Congratulations. Your time didn't suck," he stated blandly as he continued
looking at the stopwatch.

A disgusted grunt escaped her lips. Some praise. She mentally debated giving
him an acidic comment when he clapped his hands gleefully. That put her on
edge. For a moment, she considered running before realizing she was too
tired to do so. No doubt that had been his plan from the beginning. Under
Jaddo's tutelage, she was just starting to learn what true shiftiness was.
She also learned a whole lot of new swear words too, which she tended to use
with much vigor as the training sessions wore on.

The aborigine rubbed his hands together, and Shampoo almost threw caution to
the wind and ran off anyway. "Time to do push-ups. I'll go easy on you. Only
six reps of fifty. Then you get to do sit-ups. Only five sets of fifty
there."

Shampoo let out a low moan. "Come on, Jaddo. My arms are sore from all of
the punching and weight lifting, my legs are tired from the running, and
this damn suit was specifically engineered to wear me down every step of the
way. I also have an incredible headache."

"Wah, I bet your pussy hurts too. Now quit whining and start doing those
push-ups."

Realizing she wasn't going to win, Shampoo started to take the harness off.

"Leave it on."

Shampoo sighed. She dropped to the ground and started to do her push-ups. At
least the harness didn't seem to hinder her to the degree it had during the
run, though she figured that might not be the case with the sit-ups when she
had to shift her spine so much.

After only eight push-ups, Jaddo gave a sympathetic, "Wait, you do look
tired." After a moment's consideration, he said, "Aw, what the hell."

Shampoo allowed her stomach to fall to the concrete below her. So he wasn't
a total slave driver. It was nice to know he understood that as young and
strong as she was, she still had limits tha-

"Oof!" A good portion of Shampoo's air was knocked out of her lungs as she
felt a heavy weight dropped onto her back.

"There we go! An additional twenty pounds riding your back ought to really
beef you up. Now get back to those push-ups, starting at one again."

Shampoo did as she was ordered, huffing out. "When... I'm done with this...
I'm going to give you... a matching limp... on your other leg."

"Ah, an threat. My regimen must be working."

The worst part of it to Shampoo was that he did sound pleased with her
threats. She had only gotten as far as her second set of fifty when Jaddo
said, "After you're done with today's workout, you'll get to see the arena
you'll be fighting in by the end of the week."

That made Shampoo pause. Since they had arrived he had been intentionally
keeping her away from the Hong Kong arena so she could adapt to the big city
life, as well as improving her conditioning and to fully recover from the
beating the Northman had inflicted upon her. In her opinion, it had all been
a waste of time. She had been fully healed within the first two days, and
she had adjusted to big cities long before that. To someone that came from
as small a village as she had, all metropolis's with over a million
residents looked the same. However, Jaddo had been determined that she wait
and had made certain she was too busy or too tired to protest. Now at last
the ordeal was over. Her time had come.

With a burst of energy she finished her push-ups and sit-ups in record time.
She used the facility's showers to clean up quickly (lamenting the lack of
time for a proper session in the whirlpool) before heading outside to where
Jaddo waited for her.

Jaddo stared at her suspiciously. "That didn't take long. You did remember
to use soap, didn't you? I don't like stinky women anymore than I do bitchy
ones, so that means you already have one mark against you."

"Of course I did," she retorted as she stuck her tongue out at him, but
found she couldn't maintain her anger. Not with their upcoming trip to the
local arena upon her.

Jaddo flagged down a cab. Shampoo was doubly impressed since he was usually
too cheap to use them. Even when they had arrived in the city by ship, he
had made Shampoo carry the bags all the way from the docks to the small
hotel they were staying at, which was over fifteen kilometers away. He told
her they could have stayed closer to the docks, but a friend of his had
offered them the room free of charge. The only upside to the whole thing was
that for the first time in over six months she had a proper room to call her
own. It was not very big, but she had not cared. It had been far too long
since she had possessed any measure of privacy. And the bed felt divine
compared to the lumpy straw things she had to put up with in the majority of
the fighter's dorms she had stayed in, especially early on in the dog pit
circuit.

The only negative thing that had happened during her hotel stay was when she
had experimented with the 'room service' the hotel offered. She was
astounded to discover that all she had to do was dial a number on the phone
and people would deliver food to her room. She had ordered two full meals,
and was about to start on the first one when Jaddo came in and accused her
of abusing his friend's hospitality by running up a room charge. As
punishment, he had made her do thirty laps in the hotel's swimming pool.
When she had returned, she discovered Jaddo laying on her bed and the
remnants of two meals on the serving trays. He had explained to her that
there was no sense in letting the food go to waste. She had politely agreed
by breaking a night stand over his head. However, she had made certain to
use the one from Jaddo's room since she did not want to destroy her own and
'abuse his friend's hospitality'.

After that incident they had settled into a comfortable habit of training a
large portion of each day to improve herself physically or sharpen her
techniques. The local fitness center was as much a home as her hotel room
was. By the end of the first week, Shampoo was firmly convinced she had
improved every part of herself. At her current power and skill level, she
was firmly convinced she could even defeat the Northman in a rematch taking
only half the time and fewer injuries.

And now the time had come to prepare for her debut. The trip by cab through
the city proved to be uneventful. The peace was appreciated, as it gave
Shampoo a chance to reflect on her new, if temporary, home. The city was
incredible, being a bastion of all the technological wonders the Empire had
to offer. Machines Shampoo had never imagined existed were present, from a
wide array of vehicles to small super-computers that served as information
networks as well as forms of communication and entertainment. Services of
every kind, from being schooled in the higher arts, to restaurants that
served food from everywhere in the world, to brothels, were offered in
colorful and often flamboyant fashion. And nearly all of it was within easy
walking distance no matter where one lived in the city. The visions of the
city were matched only by its population, which proved equally as
interesting and diverse as the machines that inhabited it.

Despite the close proximity to China, only about half the population of Hong
Kong was Chinese. The city served as something of a gateway for nearly
everyone that wanted to travel in this area of the world. Those from the
East that wanted to head west almost inevitably went through Hong Kong.
Those from the West that wanted to head east did the same. Likewise north
and south were the same way. And as with any other gateway city, some of the
travelers ended up staying instead, whether it be from an enchantment with
the city, to running out of funds, or that the opportunities they sought in
far off lands were closer at hand than they realized. But for whatever
reason, they stayed, and added to the already huge and diverse population.

The various shades of skin and types of faces astounded Shampoo. She had no
idea there were so many different kinds of people in the world, other than
in some abstract concept, and that they could gather together in such a
small area. Japanese, Europeans, Koreans, Africans, Australians, and a
variety of mixes of those races were evident in significant numbers. Jaddo
termed the city "the most homogenized place on the planet." The claim was
easy for Shampoo to believe.

Hong Kong itself was by far the most important Imperial city outside of
Japan. It was a megalopolis of prestige, influence, and opportunity. Every
major zaibatsu had a presence in the city, though those whose holdings were
primarily in the West tended to wield the most power. Nowhere was that more
evident than in the corporate sector. Shampoo had only seen it once, but
that was enough for the sight to be etched in her memory for the rest of her
life. Towering buildings that served as both headquarters and residences for
the elite stretched impossibly high towards the sky, the tallest and largest
belonging to the most powerful of the megacorporations. It was sort of a
contest among them to show off who the richest and most powerful were. It
was like a game children would play with building blocks, save that these
children used real buildings to display their skills at accumulating riches.

That was not to say that everyone lived like kings. Very few could be
counted among the elite of the corporate sector. As with any other large
city in the world, every class of people was represented. In a metropolis of
such limited area, like Hong Kong, space often determined one's standing in
life, from owning a house to having three generations living in the same
apartment, the more space you had, the richer you were. In the poorer
sections, things were so crowded that Shampoo figured the entire population
of her village could fit in a city block, given the cramped conditions the
residents tended to live in. Shampoo supposed she could do it if she had to,
she had already been forced to adapt to much, but it would have felt more
like living in a box than an actual home.

The city felt as crowded as it looked, with the streets ebbed and flowed
with an ocean of people a majority of the time. Even the alleys seemed to be
perpetually full of traffic, whether by motor vehicle, bicycle, or those
that could only afford to travel on foot. However, despite the feeling of
confinement, there was an unmistakable feeling of optimism in the air. It
even existed in the seedier sections of the city, where the squalor did not
feel as oppressive as it tended to in similar areas in the smaller cities
that Shampoo had traveled through. Jaddo claimed it was because everyone
knew that, no matter how bad they had it, Hong Kong was still the best place
in the Empire where one would have a chance to get ahead. All a person had
to do was bide their time and wait for the opportunity to present itself,
then make a play for it.

That air of confidence, as well as the prosperity of the city itself, was
why Hong Kong had been dubbed 'the Jewel of the West' by so many. It was a
comparison Shampoo thought appropriate, given her first view of the city
when she traveled to it by boat. The sun had fallen long before they
arrived, but when they approached and the island came into view, it shone
like a shimmering beacon in the darkness, entrancing Shampoo with the
promises of adventure it held. Yes, she understood why so many could
sacrifice so much to stay in this place, even after she had drawn closer and
saw that it was still only a city that lay beneath the shiny veneer that
shone on the surface at a distance.

Her ruminations lasted the entire cab ride, which took less than an hour,
despite the heavy traffic. But to Shampoo the journey seemed to take an
eternity. It was not until the building came into view that time faded all
at once. She gave a sharp intake of air at the sight now that she was up
close. Earlier in the week she had seen the arena in the distance, but it
was only now, at close range, that she could truly appreciate the size of
the massive structure. It was a gigantic, circular, dome-covered building
that was many stories high. It was brown, and appeared to be made of stone,
enough that it probably could have taken an entire open pit mine from
Hellmount to account for the amount of rock needed to construct it.

There was a series of slender, four meter long projections that stuck
straight out right where the arena's dome began its slope inward. They
circled around the entirety of the structure like a crown of thorns,
reminding Shampoo of an inverted version of the spikes lining the walls of
the pit she had confronted the Northman in. The only other oddity that
caught Shampoo's eye was a series of one story tall columns that surrounded
the base of the Arena just like the projections did. The columns were
obviously decorative, giving the illusion of supporting the arena itself,
and Shampoo did find them pleasing to the eye. The architecture looked
exotic, and she wondered if it came from some other land.

"Welcome to the Arena: Hong Kong version," Jaddo said with a flourish as
they exited the cab. "It's the second-largest indoor coliseum in the Empire,
eclipsed only by the Imperial Arena in Japan. Technically, it can hold more
than the main Arena, but that's only because there's a huge standing room
only area near the floor where they can be packed in like sardines, though
every space is coveted even there. Higher seats don't have the sophisticated
equipment the Imperial Arena does in magnifying the fight so it seems closer
than it really is, but no one here seems to mind."

"I'm going to be fighting here?" Shampoo asked with awe in her voice.

"Fighting and winning," Jaddo said confidently. "Let's head inside. I want
you to get a good look at the place."

The pair entered the structure, Jaddo showing the people at the gates a pass
of some kind that allowed them entry without paying. Once inside, Shampoo
could hear the roar of a massive crowd. "I thought they only had fights at
night."

"Those are the big televised fights," Jaddo explained as he led them to a
small set of doors that led further into the arena instead of the seats
where the public was watching the fights. "These are day games. They throw
them once a week. It's aimed mostly for the locals. They charge a cut rate
for tickets, which is one of the reasons it's so popular here. Matches are
mostly made up of saps, with one or two impact players in the main event.
Poorer folks don't much mind. They get to see some of the rising stars, and
the fights are usually competitive." Again Jaddo flashed his pass at someone
guarding a door. The sleepy-eyed guard waved them through.

"Where are we going?" Shampoo asked.

"To see a very important man in this here arena. He said he was going to be
here today when I called him. He prefers watching the matches from the
fighter's ramp, despite having access to just about any seat he wants. But I
guess he doesn't like the box seats most of the fatcats use. It probably
reminds him too much of what his life could have been like."

Shampoo was about to ask for further elaboration when the noise level rose
significantly. She saw that they were now going upwards and the corridor
they were in was widening. Within moments, she saw that the ramp led to an
open area that was right next to the arena floor. Shampoo recognized it as
being similar in design to the dog pits she had fought in, and that this was
probably the fighter's ramp where they were issued forth to bleed for the
audience's approval.

There was a man standing alone in the area, looking at the fight that was
currently occurring out on the floor. He was an older man, though younger
than Jaddo by about a decade. He was Japanese from what Shampoo could tell,
and his finely tailored suit fitted him tight enough that it was obvious
that he was in very good physical shape despite his age. A bit on the
handsome side as well, though he was not a man to go wild over. He bore one
small but noticeable scar that traveled across his right cheek. Despite
holding himself casually, there was a hint of caution in the air, as though
he was primed for a fight at a moment's notice. This close there was a
noticeable aura of power to him. A man to be reckoned with, if she was any
judge. And after the number of fights she had been in, she considered
herself a damn fine judge.

Jaddo gave one of his toothy grins. "And here he is now. A genuine riches to
rags story. Allow me to introduce to you the only man in the history of
arena fighting whose victory total was the same as his estimated worth in
tens of millions. He was also the winner of the big tournament seventeen
years ago: Tetsuo Arisukoji."

Tetsuo gave Jaddo a tired glare, not an easy look to give. "I would
appreciate it if you didn't remind me of my past before the Arena, you old
fool. It sort of defeats the purpose of me disowning everything, even my
citizenship, in order to remake myself."

"Ha! If you didn't want people to know who you were, you would never have
become the overlord of this here arena. You'd have gone out in the boonies
in one of the territories where people think 'Sanzenin,' is some exotic form
of venereal disease."

The name caught Shampoo's attention. "Sanzenin? The same ones that owned the
mines in Hellmount?"

"Yes indeed," Jaddo answered. "Tetsuo here was going to be the primary heir
of the Sanzenin fortune."

Tetsuo noted the look of confusion Shampoo directed toward him and realized
there was no getting out of telling the tale. "Unlike the majority of my
family, I had problems with how the Sanzenins' did business. I have some
grasp of morals, which is disapproved of in general by my family. Apparently
it gets in the way of what they consider to be 'good business.'
Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about it. If I had tried cleaning up
our act or liquidating our holdings once I took control, it would have been
a contest to see which member of my family could have had me killed first.
So instead, I abandoned everything, even my name and citizenship, to disown
myself from them. Then I fought my way through the ranks of warriors until I
won the tournament and re-earned my citizenship, as well as gaining the
right to give myself a name once again."

"Even to this day it's one of the Empire's greatest tales of what a driven
man can do, and made the Sanzenin's look bad, which they've never forgiven
Tetsuo for," Jaddo told Shampoo, obviously amused. He turned his attention
to the 'self-made' man. "Tell me, are there ever days you wake up and kick
yourself over giving up all of that money?"

Tetsuo shrugged. "I don't know. Are there ever days you wake up and feel bad
about being able to look yourself in the mirror?"

"Nice counter," Jaddo admitted.

Shampoo found herself agreeing with her mentor. She liked this Tetsuo. That
he would give up so much over principles spoke volumes of his character,
especially in a business where there were so many were unscrupulous
purveyors of violence and pain. There was no question she was better off
with such a person in charge of making her matches.

"What brings you here?" Tetsuo asked, his eyes falling on Shampoo. "Finally
letting your girl strut her stuff before the crowd?"

"Hoping for a match Saturday," Jaddo said.

"Done. She's a hot commodity and a lot of people want to see if she's as
good as her rep claims. And that whole marriage thing is going to shoot her
to the top of the ranks of popularity, as long as she doesn't lose."

"I've been beefing her up good. If she doesn't get too cocky, she won't be
losing here."

The information seemed to please Tetsuo. "I have just the fighter in mind.
He's Chinese and just got moved up to here. He's only got a handful of
losses to some impact players on the inner circuit. We'll hype it as an
opening match for new players. Should get a good bit of push for that in her
debut match."

Shampoo listened on in silence. It wasn't the first time she had been
present when Jaddo arranged a match for her, and she learned long ago not to
interrupt the discussion. He could represent her interests with a skilled
hand, and most promoters held his opinions in high regard while few wanted
to hear a sixteen-year old give voice to her opinions. It had taken a few
shouting sessions for the facts to sink in, but at least they had, and she
had to admit she was better off for it.

Jaddo switched topics. "So what has she got to look forward to in this
batch?"

"You haven't been asking around?" Tetsuo asked.

"Of course I did. Got a lot of good opinions too. Just wanted to hear your
thoughts on it."

Tetsuo nodded his head in agreement. "Not the best crop this time around.
Very few standouts. Although I suppose you should be grateful you weren't
here a few months ago. Hot commodity then was a young punk named Tarou. He
was bad news. Really good fighter, but the boy had the meanness in him. Your
girl makes it through, she's probably going to have to deal with him in the
big show. Hate to admit it, but he's one of the best I've seen in a while."

"That's looking too far ahead," Jaddo warned. "What's she got to look
forward to here?"

"Not much, truth be told, unless someone comes out of nowhere and starts
lighting things up," Tetsuo reluctantly admitted. "There's the usual mix of
impact players, but only a handful of hot commodities. Currently there's a
trio you might have to watch out for. Two are Chinese girls. Identical twins
called Pink and Link. The whole identical look thing is a pretty good catch
for them. Pink's the slightly better of the two, but either one can give you
a good run for the money, and they're still improving. Not sure how they'll
do in Japan, though. Had better girls coming through here a while back. A
Korean first, then in the next batch one of them natives from the North
American Territories. They were big time draws and knew how to strut their
stuff.

"As to the twins, no obvious weaknesses, other than Link having a tendency
to get ill every now and then. It's cost her a match here and there when she
wasn't at the top of her game. Pink's the more headstrong of the duo, and
sometimes Link needs to calm her down. Whatever you do, don't get in a
doubles match against them. They did a few special challenge doubles matches
and walked right over the opposition. They've got double teaming down to a
science. Classic case of the sum of the whole being greater than the
individual parts."

"Oh, one other thing I should warn you about. They're overprotective of one
another to a fault. If one thinks you've wronged the other, she'll go
through hell itself to avenge her sister. I supposed it's some sort of twins
thing, but they're almost pathological about it. They've gotten into trouble
on more than one occasion over it."

"Like what?" Shampoo asked.

Tetsuo thought about it. "Early on, one of the better girls beat Pink in a
close fight. That probably would have been the end of it, but the winner
decided to do some stuff to publicly humiliate Pink after she had won. Next
time out the girl had a match against Link. Had her spine broken by the end
of it, and it was pretty obvious Link was sending a message. So watch your
step around them."

Shampoo nodded her head, paying close attention and memorizing everything he
was saying. "You said there was a third?"

Tetsuo looked over his shoulder. "Look out there and you can see him in
action now."

Shampoo did as he bade and looked out at the vastness of the arena for the
first time. It was huge, at least half again the size of Hellmount. She had
never envisioned such a huge place existing. The stands were overflowing
with tens of thousands of people whose attention was riveted solely on the
occupants in the center of the combat floor. It was a simple thing, just a
flat area of concrete where people could be left to beat one another
senseless. It seemed plain, and almost a disappointment that it was really
no different than the combat rings from the inner-circuit she had just been
on.

In the middle of the floor were the objects of the crowd's, and now
Shampoo's, attention. Two men were in the middle of a fight that had begun
before she and Jaddo had approached Tetsuo. One was taller, a Chinese man
with his head completely shaved save for a long braid that stretched from a
patch of hair at the very top of his head to nearly his bottom. He wore a
standard Chinese outfit that was white with gold stripes along the side.

Of greater interest was his opponent. He was a handsome Caucasian with
short, ruffled blond hair. He was only slightly taller and heavier than
Shampoo, giving his opponent the advantage of both size and reach. His
garments were simple, consisting of a loose red gi tied off with a black
sash and no footwear. He had a cockeyed grin on his face as he ducked under
a backfist from the Chinese man, then moved in under the taller man's guard.
Shampoo was barely able to follow the fists as a right and left snapped in,
striking the taller man in the stomach and jaw. Though neither were critical
strikes, they would serve much the same function's that Shampoo's attacks
did in her fight with the Northman. Just as quickly, the blond warrior
stepped back and out of reach of the counterattack, taunting his opponent to
make an effort to strike him again. His actions made the crowd cheer harder,
and clearly backing up the blond in his efforts to defeat his opponent.

Shampoo continued watching the fight with a critical eye well trained after
observing countless fights to evaluate what an opponent might have to offer.
It was painfully obvious the blond was the better of the two. He had a
confident flow to his actions, and his hand speed was unbelievable, though
his quicksilver blows delivered little in the way of heavy damage taken
individually. The problem was when they added up, as they were upon his
dark-haired opponent.

But then the crowd, fickle as ever, cheered when the Chinese man slipped a
blow under the blond's guard, scoring a powerful strike to the side of his
face. The blond recoiled slightly, but recovered just as fast in deflecting
the next attack. Once more he went back to taunting his larger opponent.
Either the man was very good or very stupid. Shampoo watched closely to
determine which it was.

The answer was delivered as the Caucasian changed his fighting style in
between moves. One moment he was focusing on some style of fist boxing to
one Shampoo recognized as being a form of Muay-Thai kickboxing. The Chinese
man seemed unprepared for the shift in attacks as several kicks connected
with his legs, chest, then jaw, each blow delivered quickly and
effortlessly. The fight was over now. It was only a matter of time, and not
much at that.

Seeing Shampoo was satisfied in her evaluation, Tetsuo said to her, "That's
the third one. He's an American. His name is Thomas Cantrel, but he goes by
the handle of 'Snakebite'. It's because of how fast his hands are, and how
quickly he can switch styles."

"I see," Shampoo said.

Tetsuo nodded in approval of the next series of blows Snakebite landed.
"He's good and can play the crowd like a master. Knows how to take a blow,
as well as dish them out. Only has four losses. Three from early on, and one
to Pink. He let his balls do his thinking in that fight. He should have had
her."

Shampoo stored that piece of information. That could prove valuable,
assuming Snakebite had not learned his lesson. "Will I fight him?"

"Not right away. Probably later on, though. Odds are you'll fight all three
at some time or other to see who the hottest commodity is," Tetsuo
explained.

"Don't see too many Americans here," Jaddo mentioned casually as he
continued watching the fight.

Tetsuo smiled at that. "Thankfully, or at least not many like him. He can be
trying at times, though he's not a bad sort. He's just one of those guys
that has the ability to get under your skin real fast without trying. Rumor
has it he wore out his welcome back home. Or perhaps I should say he was
wanted there quite badly by some. Wanted bad enough that he thought coming
here and taking up pit fighting was preferable to sticking around."

The crowd's roar forced the conversation to die as Snakebite landed a final
blow that dropped his opponent to the ground. After waiting a moment to make
sure the dark-haired man was not trying to trick him, Snakebite turned to
the crowd and waved a single fist in the air. The roar paused for a moment,
and in the space he shouted, "Y'all know you love it!"

The crowd seemed to agree with his brash statement as they shouted even
louder in approval of the man with the cockeyed grin. Shampoo noted that he
certainly knew how to play the crowd, certainly far better than she had seen
any other fighter do. It was in the way he moved his body and paid attention
to the masses. Given the ease with which he had vanquished his opponent, he
was easily the best warrior she had seen yet, his speed unquestionably a
better equalizer than the Northman's strength and durability had been. It
appeared Jaddo had been correct in his constant string of reminders that the
fighting in Hong Kong was far better than anything she had seen so far. If
it was not for the fact Tetsuo was telling her Snakebite was one of the best
he had to offer, she might have grown worried, but she felt she could take
the brash American. It would be close, but instinctively she knew she had
the edge. Still, perhaps Jaddo could step up her workouts a bit. There was
no sense in taking chances.

While Shampoo had been lost in thought, Snakebite had made his way towards
the small group, which was standing in the middle of the exit ramp for the
fighters. He stopped before the trio, only giving Tetsuo and Jaddo cursory
glances before settling his gaze fully upon the lavendar-haired girl before
him.

He gave a deep bow, then looked her over a second time. "Well there, you
surely do look like the sort of girl my momma used to warn me about. Of
course, I never was one to take her advice. I've found it makes life far
more interesting that way."

Now this was amusing. The man couldn't be more blatant in coming on to her
if he had grabbed her bottom. Examining him on the basis of his appearance
rather than his fighting ability, she found that his features were not
displeasing to her eye. Still, it would take more than a nice, if somewhat
lascivious, smile to win her over. It was best to let him know that
immediately. She crossed her arms under her breasts and sniffed disdainfully
at him.

Snakebite quickly changed his posture from seductive to apologetic, proving
that his fighting style was not the only thing he could change quickly. "Now
where are my manners? Forgive me for not properly introducing myself. I'm
Thomas Cantrel, but I go by the handle of 'Snakebite' on account of how fast
I am. But let me assure you, I got a slow hand when the situation calls for
it." He bowed before unleashing that roguish grin again.

Shampoo was amused, and flattered, at his inability to keep from hitting on
her. She gave him a smile that she hoped showed only tolerated politeness
rather than any amusement which he might misinterpret as encouragement.

Snakebite's eyes widened slightly as an errant thought came to him. "Hey,
you're that Amazon girl everyone's talking about, aren't you?"

His recognition brought a smile to Shampoo's face. So she had a reputation
in Hong Kong before she had fought in a single match. That was an
encouraging sign. "I am."

Snakebite chuckled. "Well now, I surely hope you do forgive me, but I'm not
a marrying sort of guy. So when I beat ya', I'm afraid I'm going to have to
pass on the whole marriage thing, though we might be able to work out some
sort of alternative if it comes to that."

His brashness suddenly seemed more irritating than amusing to her. "You'd
have to defeat me first."

"Yes, I would." The smirk never left his face. "Ole' Liang there managed to
tap me once or twice. Worked me up to a right lather by the end, and I'm
afraid I'm not at my freshest. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be going to
clean myself up." He made a more formal bow to everyone before heading off
towards where the showers lay.

Shampoo stared at his departing form. "Well, he certainly is cocky," she
huffed. She turned to mention her other observations to Jaddo, who had his
hand clamped over his mouth in barely restrained laughter. "What? What is
it?"

Jaddo was barely able to get out, "It's times like this I wish I walked
around with a black pot."

"I was never that bad," Shampoo insisted.

"You were that bad when you started to improve. In the beginning you were
even worse."

"I was not!"

"You were cockier than a stud trapped in a sultan's harem." Jaddo deftly
avoided the fist hurled at his face. He hurried off before he pushed his
pupil too far.  Much to his relief, and a bit of surprise, Shampoo elected
to remain behind and seethe in anger rather than pursue. He figured it was
all right. She had a hard workout, and it would do her well to become
acquainted with the building in which she would be fighting and eventually
living. He would wait for her by the main entrance until she felt like
showing up. Then it would be back to the room to prepare for their other
appointment for the evening. A rendezvous that might not have held a great
deal of importance for Shampoo, but meant the world to Jaddo. With the years
beginning to take their toll upon him, he understood now more than ever the
importance of true friends. And oddly enough, he was beginning to wonder if
maybe he would have said the same thing about children, if he had any.

No, that was ridiculous. He hated children. Obviously, Shampoo was somehow
warping his core beliefs, the dirty little girl. He'd have words with her
over it later, or go out drinking and just forget about everything.
Whichever seemed more viable when the time came would be the course he
chose.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Minutes earlier, high up above in an area that other fighters could observe
the matches that went on in the arena, two pairs of eyes watched closely as
Snakebite introduced himself to Shampoo. Neither could hear what was being
said from their lofty perch, but the postures of the speakers' bodies told
them all they needed to know.

"Why of all the nerve! That little tramp is coming onto Thomas."

Or at least it was enough to tell them what they wanted to know. In the case
of some, that was all that mattered.

Link rolled her eyes at her sister's statement, a remark of obvious denial
given the facts before them. "She is not coming on to him."

"Yes, she is," Pink insisted. "Just look at the way she's thrusting her
chest at him. She's all but grabbing his crotch to get him interested in
her."

"She is not. She just has big breasts. Look at her shoulders. They're
slouched a little, not rigid as if she was throwing her chest out."

"Are you looking at the same girl I am? I'm telling you it's blatantly
obvious she's tempting him. Or trying to, since I know my Thomas would never
cheat on me with another woman, no matter how large her chest is."

Link ground her teeth together. They had this stupid conversation, or ones
like it, more times than she could count. It was time to lay down the law
again. "I've got news for you, your boyfriend considers anything with no
balls and breathes as 'tempting' him. He doesn't know how to spell
commitment, let alone live by it. He's coming on to her because she's
pretty, he's horny, and he thinks you can't see him. And that last part
doesn't really matter since you wouldn't believe the truth, even if you
caught them humping in his bed!"

Pink narrowed her eyes at her twin sister, leaving them little more than
tiny slits. "You're just jealous because he loves me and doesn't like you.
That's because he loves me for my personality, not my looks, which you can't
stand since that means I'm nicer than you. And that galls you because you
lust after him too. I know how you stare at him when you think I'm not
looking. You're just lucky you're my sister, and I know he wouldn't cheat on
me, or else there would be... trouble."

The accusations, ones Link had heard many times before, wore her patience
away as she snapped, "I do not like him! He's a disgusting Casanova that's
playing with your heart, and you're too deluded to see the truth that's
right in front of your eyes! The only thing I like about him is that he's
literally such a snake that he'll never marry you and become my
brother-in-law, in which case I'd have to kill him!"

Pink sneered at her sister. "Ha! You're a terrible liar. I know you're just
saying that because you're jealous since you don't have anyone willing to
warm your bed with you. The only companion you ever have is that vibrator
you've got stuck in the back of your sock drawer."

A host of veins sprung forth from Link's forehead. "How dare you go through
my things, you nosy bitch! I ought to tell Tetsuo to set a match for us so I
can kick your ass in front of the entire world."

"You seem to be forgetting, little sister, that I'm the better fighter.
Always have been, always will be, even if it isn't by much."

That made Link bristle. Pink knew how much she hated it when she brought up
the fact she was younger, even if it was only by five minutes. "Maybe it's
time things change, you stinking-"

"Oh! Thomas is leaving."

Link suddenly found herself staring at her sister's back. "What are you
doing?"

Pink waved her hand dismissively towards her sister as she continued running
towards a nearby flight of stairs at top speed. "I've got more important
things to do than argue with you. I forgive you for your impure thoughts
about my boyfriend and all the mean things you said about me. We are
sisters, after all."

Link's jaw nearly hit the floor at the abrupt ending to the vicious
argument. "Where are you going?"

Turning, Pink gave her sister an intense stare. "I'm going to warn that
hussy to stay away from my man if she knows what's good for her."

All Link could do was sigh at her sister as she ran out of sight. Perhaps
Pink was the better fighter and had much better luck with men (which angered
Link to no end since they were identical twins, and that meant there must
have been some factor other than looks involved), but at least Link could
take consolation in one important characteristic she had over her sibling.

She was a hell of a lot smarter.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The self-guided tour Shampoo gave herself of the facilities in the arena was
very informative. The building was completely self-sustained for the
fighters, offering them a wide variety of services, from recreation rooms
that had numerous state-of-the-art forms of entertainment, to their own
cafeteria, which offered a wide selection of food that was free to the
fighters. They had their own workout center, swimming pool, and a huge
bathing area to clean themselves after an intense workout. Shampoo quickly
learned that the majority of the fighters lived in a large dorm built
specifically for them, and that the rooms were far better than any she had
seen in the dog pits or the rest of the inner circuit. She hoped Jaddo would
let her move into the dorms soon. It would be nice to have some sense of
permanency, and perhaps she would have a chance to make friends with some of
the other fighters near her age. The solitary existence she was leading with
her mentor was really starting to wear her down, even if they had a better
understanding and respect for one another. As lonely as she currently felt,
she would probably try to strike up a conversation with the first fellow
fighter she ran into.

There was a light tap on her shoulder.

Turning, Shampoo saw the person trying to gain her attention was a Chinese
girl that appeared to be about the Amazon's age. Her features were fairly
unremarkable, save perhaps the girl was a bit on the cute side. Her black
hair was short, and she wore a white and pink outfit that was just flashy
enough to identify her as a fellow fighter.

Seeing her half-lidded stare, Shampoo assumed the girl was suspicious of
what a stranger was doing in the fighter's facilities. Deciding this was a
golden opportunity to make a friend, Shampoo smiled and said. "Hello, my
name is Sha-"

A punch to Shampoo's jaw silenced the rest of her greeting. Caught
unprepared for the powerful blow, the Amazon fell to the ground, barely
aware of anything other than it wasn't right for a jaw to hurt so much and
still be attached.

Through the pain, she heard the girl say, "That's the only warning you'll
get to stay away from Thomas, you bitch!"

Something warm and wet hit Shampoo's cheek. She still lay dazed on the
floor, expecting a second attack to come, but it never did. Instead she
eventually recovered enough of her senses to rise to her feet. As she
regained her footing, she saw that her mysterious opponent had already
departed. Bringing her hand up to the moist spot on her cheek, her fingers
came away with the familiar wetness of spit.

Had anyone been in the room, they would have heard the subtle sound of
muscles tensing as Shampoo made a fist of the hand that had come away with
the spit. The clenching was hard enough that her fingernails threatened to
break the skin of her palm. Silently Shampoo swore that cheap-shot bitch was
a dead woman, if only figuratively. It was times like this she wished her
people had not done away with the 'Kiss of Death,' otherwise Shampoo would
have been delivering the first of her life. But during their surrender, the
elders had quickly determined that the Empire would have little tolerance
for a Joketsuzoku that tried doing away with an outsider, particularly if it
was one of their Imperial citizens. With that in mind, the law was quickly
disposed of, with orders that no warrior give it to anyone no matter how
tempting the situation might have been. Still, Shampoo could slake her anger
by beating the hell out of the girl the next time they met, even if it
wasn't in the arena proper. No one would fault her for that after the way
she had been caught off-guard. That form of vengeance would have to suffice,
at least for the moment.

But if they met in the arena, well, for perhaps only the second time in her
career, Shampoo would not be holding anything back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I can't believe you're wearing that thing."

"It is formal wear, as you always seem to bring up whenever I wear it. And
we are dining in a formal place, yes?"

"Well, yah," Jaddo reluctantly agreed as he looked Shampoo over. It was the
unbelievably expensive dress she had spent all of her money on. The outfit
was a forest green that accentuated Shampoo's eyes perfectly. It was
high-necked, and ruffles lined the front from neck to navel. A long train
ran down the back, forcing the young girl to be mindful of where she walked.
It was loose enough not to be too snug, while still being tight enough to
show off her impressive female attributes. "It doesn't look crappy on you,
but you sure don't look like a fighter. More like some snooty noblelady."

"You're just jealous because it makes you suffer by comparison," Shampoo
giggled as the vehicle they were in continued navigating the streets, the
cab driver not reacting in the slightest to the exchange.

"Let's just drop it," Jaddo shot back. For a change, there was no quick
retort on his lips, though he swore it was not because she was correct.

Their cab ride ended and the duo exited the vehicle. They had been delivered
to the front of a restaurant. On the outside it did not appear that
impressive, no different from a dozen other dining places Shampoo had seen.
There was a window in front where some of the patrons of the restaurant
could be seen dining within. From what Shampoo could see, they were dressed
almost as nicely as her, and seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
Looking over the rest of the establishment, she saw that on the red and
white awning that hung above the entryway were the words 'Mama Lucia's'
etched in black.

"You said your friend owns this place?" Shampoo asked, mindful of the train
of her gown.

"He does. Even bought it honestly. If you knew the man, you'd understand why
that's a surprise."

Shampoo held up her hand. "Wait a minute. He? But it says Mama Lucia."

"It's just the name of the place to draw people in. 'Papa Wellington's''
doesn't convey the right atmosphere for an Italian restaurant."

"Is his mother's name is Lucia?"

"No."

"Sounds like false advertising to me."

"Either quit complaining or speak Japanese so I can tune you out easier,"
Jaddo hissed.

Shampoo scowled. He was still implying her Japanese was below a normal
standard. What a jerk, she could speak it perfectly fine. When would he ever
cease making false cutting remarks about her?

Still, she ended up doing as he bade by remaining silent as Jaddo informed
the maitre d' that they had a reservation. The sharply dressed man reacted
instantly to their names and personally escorted them to a table in the back
where their companion waited for them, the maitre de informing them that the
proprietor could not wait for their arrival, even if they were on time, and
had started dinner without them. It only took a moment for them to be led to
a table in back where they met their appointment.

When Shampoo was about six, she had once heard her mother use the term
'corpulent.' Upon inquiring and being informed of what the word met, Shampoo
asked her why she did not simply use the term 'fat.' At the time, her
mother's explanation of 'there are some words that, while having similar
meanings, are more appropriate than others,' was met with confusion.

Now Shampoo understood exactly what her mother had meant about proper word
usage. The man was one of the largest she had ever seen. Even his eyelids
looked corpulent. He had to weigh four hundred pounds, and by Shampoo's
reckoning he was not a tall man to begin with, at least from the way he
appeared sitting in a huge oversized chair that had to have been made
specifically for him. And the suit he was wearing, while not smeared in a
collage of food stains as one might expect with three half-eaten meals
already in front of him, was large enough to fit Shampoo at least three
times over if she was any judge of size.

The instant the huge man's eyes fell upon them, they gained a twinkle of
clear mirth. They only settled on Shampoo for a moment before focusing
completely on Jaddo. He waved them over with a chubby hand that bore a fork
with some sort of long noodles covered in a red sauce at them.

As they arrived at the table, the man spoke to them in a surprising
melodious voice that carried a hint of an English accent. "You'll forgive me
for not rising, but once people of my size get comfortable, it takes Heaven
and Earth to get us to move."

He held his hand out to Shampoo. Her months of travel and made her familiar
enough with foreign customs to recognize the gesture for a handshake, which
she accepted. The man had a surprisingly strong grip for someone of his
girth.

The man turned to Jaddo. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Wombat come to visit
his old friend's roost."

"Wombat?" Shampoo asked her mentor.

"It doesn't mean anything. Just ignore it."

There was an edge to Jaddo's voice Shampoo had never heard before. Sensing
an opportunity to get back at her mentor for his earlier comments about her
looking 'snooty,' she asked the large man, "Why do you call him Wombat?"

The large man's eyes glinted even more brightly. "Didn't he ever tell you
his old nickname way back in the days before he got soft and had to resort
to sifting through meat to find someone that could earn him a decent meal?"

"Which is something you've never had trouble finding, Beef. Looks like
there's twice as much to you as before," Jaddo shot back, though Shampoo
could tell it was only half-hearted. There was a genuine warmth in her
mentor's voice that he could not hide. It was one he had used referring to
her on only a handful of occasions, usually when talking to someone else
rather than her.

'Beef' was unperturbed by the insult. He gave Shampoo a mischievous look and
said, "Would you like to know?"

Jaddo looked annoyed. "You got a chicken bone wedged in one of those
cauliflower ears of yours? We don't need to go over ancient history."

"Tell me," Shampoo insisted.

"I could never resist a request by a pretty girl," Beef said in mock
reluctance, and began his tale. "In the early days in Hong Kong, ole' Wombat
there thought he needed some sort of an angle to get the crowd to back him
since he didn't have one-tenth my charisma."

"Dream on," Jaddo said.

"If you'll allow me to tell the tale my way? You can lie about it later."
Beef continued without waiting for an answer. "Anyway, he came up with this
idea he needed a flashy costume. So the inept bumbler tried his hand at
sewing. He had this god-awful purple and gray bodysuit with a ridiculous
headpiece that flared up at the sides. They looked like a set of ears on a
deformed elephant. Well, upon seeing it, one of the other guys said, 'He
looks like a bloody wombat.' Jaddo got rid of the costume immediately, but
the name stuck."

"Actually no one's called me that in over five years, you beached whale."
Jaddo retorted.

"No, no. I'm from England proper. And it's Welsh, not Whale. You damn
Aussies always seemed to get that confused. Comes from living on an island
that thinks it's a continent."

Shampoo could not have helped laughing even if she wanted to, which she did
not. It was terribly fun watching someone disturb the nearly unflappable
Jaddo, and this oddly named man was doing an expert job of it.

Beef motioned with his finger for Shampoo to come closer. Intrigued, Shampoo
leaned close, while making sure to not quite touch him, a difficult feat to
accomplish given his massive girth.

In a mock conspiratorial whisper, Beef said, "Want to see a picture of Jaddo
when he wasn't an out of shape gimp?"

"Not even an order from an elder could stop me."

It took Beef a moment to find the pocket on his pants and locate the wallet
the picture was in. He removed the photo from its plastic case and held it
out for Shampoo to see.

It was in color and still in pristine condition, save for a slight wear at
the upper corners; a clear indication of it being handled many times. The
scene in the photo was a simple one, showing six people that stood in a
line, obviously posing for the cameraman. The background consisted of a set
of seats, making Shampoo wonder if it had been taken at the arena in Hong
Kong, or possibly the one in Japan itself. All of the people seemed to be
about the same age, around their early twenties, or possibly teens in some
cases, and each one every inch a hardened fighter. Anyone would have been
able to tell they possessed that same, unique ruggedness with the merest
glance.

The first figure on the right was a woman. Shampoo felt a pang of envy at
how attractive the Caucasian girl was, with her blonde tresses that stopped
at her shoulders, and deep blue eyes that could capture a man's heart with a
glance. She wore a set of cowboy boots similar to Jaddo's, though these went
slightly higher on her shapely, powerful legs, which were bare until they
met a pair of blue denim shorts that were frayed along the edges, appearing
as though the legs had been cut off. Most likely it was intentional, as they
ended right at the bottom of the woman's posterior. Her only upper garment
was a matching denim vest that barely reached past the bottom of her bosom.
The vest was only held together by the bottom two buttons, showing off an
almost scandalous amount of cleavage, which, though not as large as
Shampoo's, was more than ample enough to catch all but the most stolid of
men's interest. The only 'unnecessary' item of clothing the woman wore was a
red handkerchief tied around her neck. She was leaning forward in the
picture blowing a kiss in the direction of the cameraman. Shampoo would have
wagered the tramp knew how to play a crowd, judging by her clothing and her
pose.

The second figure was another Caucasian woman that was as ugly as the first
was beautiful. She was very tall and built for power. Her blood-red gi, that
had a stylized brown bear etched on the front, could do little to hide her
muscular build. Her hair was black, and cropped short to her scalp. She
posed with her hands on her hips, expressing her strength with her stance.
There was a fierce, proud look to her eyes, but, despite that, Shampoo did
not get the impression the woman was either cruel or arrogant. There was
something like the hint of a soft, hidden smile that dissuaded the young
warrior from that idea.

The third man was Chinese, somewhat handsome, with a fairly short cut of
black hair. He appeared somewhat slender for his height, but from what
Shampoo could see of the arms that poked out from his black shirt with a
golden dragon on it, there was nothing but pure muscle there. His hands were
held in front of him and crossed at his waist. He seemed at ease, though
Shampoo would have wagered he could have countered any threat to him despite
the seemingly relaxed posture. There was an intense burning in his eyes as
well, one that conveyed a sense of confidence that could be felt even
through a decades old picture.

The next figure Shampoo was more than familiar with, though he was obviously
much younger and had a little more weight that was all muscle. Much to her
disappointment, Jaddo was not wearing the costume described by Beef, but
rather a plain navy-blue shirt that molded rather well to his muscled chest.
His white pants were loose and somewhat baggy, but matched well with his
shirt. His hair style and face appeared much the same, save there was no
white in that hair, and the expression he wore was one of seriousness. There
was one noticeable feature that remained unchanged between then and now.

"So your nose was always as flat as that?" Shampoo asked.

"Shut up!" Jaddo snapped.

Rather than return fire, Shampoo went back to looking over the rest of the
people in the photo.

The next one was a huge Thai man that was a handful of centimeters shorter
than the Northman. He was topless with huge pectorals and a chiseled chest
that looked like one could break rocks across it with a sledgehammer and
only manage to gain the man's attention. His arms were large, and there was
a white wrap around his forearms and knuckles. His feet were likewise
wrapped up, though Shampoo wagered it was for protection rather than from an
injury. The only garments he wore were a loose set of blue and red trunks,
and a patch over his left eye. Unlike the others, he had a look in that
single blazing orb that marked him as somewhat cruel, though perhaps it was
merely an effect of the lighting the picture had been taken in.

Finally, Shampoo went to the last figure in the picture...

...And saw her future husband and father of her children.

He was easily the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes upon. He was
another Caucasian, and incredibly handsome, with boyish good looks and a
winning smile, perched below a short mustache, that Snakebite could never
hope to imitate. He was the smallest man of the lot, but his height did not
matter. He was topless as well, with well-muscled arms and a perfect abdomen
that Shampoo longed to run her hands over. It was either that or the tangled
mess of black hair that lay on his scalp. She could spend all day running
her hands through that too. And as to the rest of him, he wore tights
similar to how an acrobat or wrestler might, with blue covering the upper
part while the legs were covered in white. He wore boots that were blue on
one side and red on the other. His hands were balled up into fists on his
hips, and he seemed to be thrusting his pelvis forward slightly. And what
was there, well, the tights were very tight. Tight enough to do little to
hide the packaging that lay beneath, and from all indications, whatever
woman managed to bag him would be very lucky indeed.

"Who is he?" Shampoo asked, her hand almost shaking. Of course he would be
Jaddo's age by now, but it wouldn't matter. It just meant he was experienced
and knew how to pleasure a woman. The only problem now was how to challenge
him and throw the fight.

Beef smirked. "Heh. What'd I always tell ya, Jaddo? The girls can always
tell who the prime cut of meat in the picture is."

Jaddo gave a weak laugh at his friend's attempt at humor as he sat down and
poured himself a glass of wine.

Beef smiled at Shampoo. "Can't you guess, you sweet little thing?"

It was in the smile, one of pride and arrogance, that Shampoo understood.
She didn't want to. Her mind tried to reject the very thought, like the
concept of her parents engaging in sex, but this time the facts would not be
denied, no matter how much she wanted them to. And once the horrible truth
was accepted, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces at that same
exact moment. The weight of it was too much for the young Amazon to bear as
she erupted into tears and began hitting her head into the table.

"Why did you have to destroy my dreams like that?" Shampoo wailed.

"Serves you right," Jaddo told her flatly, making no attempt to stop Shampoo
from trying to smash the table in half with her forehead.

Beef was lost in the past, unaware of what was transpiring around him.
"Those were the days, all right. The women all loved the 'Beef', Biff
Wellington could serve them. I tell you, I was getting paid nearly every
night to service those high-born Imperial women. Had to put a moratorium on
it the night before a fight so I had enough energy to win. Sometimes they'd
get into bidding wars for my services, and when a couple of ladies from the
powerful families got into an auction, you better believe I made a yen or
two. And the best part was, since I was a freelancer, I kept everything.
Damn well paid for this whole restaurant, shipping interests, and other
businesses I got with that stuff."

"You were such a whore," Jaddo said idly.

A hard chortle from Beef made him wobble in his seat. "Hell, man, I'd have
done some of them for nothing with how good-looking they were. And as you
were wont to say, even ugly women need loving too. I was great for all the
women's morale. It was my civic duty to help them gain some confidence and a
bit of afterglow. And is it somehow my fault they were willing to pay top
dollar for the time of their lives? Heck. I still get a call every now and
then from some of the ladies from way back when to see if I might be up for
another roll."

"And do they recoil in disgust when they see that their fantasy has grown
even greater in size on them?" Jaddo asked.

Beef smirked. "Not all of them. Some like style over appearance."

Shampoo made a gagging noise and turned green.

"What's wrong?" Beef wondered if she was choking on a piece of food.

Jaddo said, "She probably visualized you having sex in your current shape.
And now that I have too, I think I'll start gagging as well."

"Sorry. My apologies. Why don't we change the subject?" Beef said sincerely.
"That picture in your hand there, my dear Shampoo, bears the images of the
infamous Six Pack from the Year of the Dragon." He raised a wine glass in a
toast towards Jaddo, who responded in kind by clanging their glasses
together. Once the light ringing stopped, each then drained their drink in a
single gulp.

"Year of the Dragon?" Shampoo asked.

Beef looked at her curiously. "You've never heard people talk about it? I'm
surprised. I would have assumed at least Wombat would have told you."

"Didn't see any reason for it before," Jaddo said. "Go ahead and tell her.
It's not like it's a secret.

Beef nodded and began the tale. "That was the best year ever in Arena
history. No other field of fighters has ever come close to the talent level
we had in that year. Any of the top six fighters, the six of us in that
picture, would easily have won in almost any other year. But that was the
year of the greatest champion ever in the Arena history: the Year of the
Dragon, Jun Fan Li." Beef indicated the Chinese man in the picture. "His
handle was 'The Dragon.' Best fighter the Arena ever produced beyond any
doubt. Now he's a legendary action film star and probably worth even more
than me. Heck, me and Wombat even got to be in one of his movies real early
on. He could make a mean won ton noodle dish too, let me tell you. If he
hadn't become a movie star, he could have been a halfway decent chef."

"You're digressing," Jaddo informed him.

"Oops. Always do that when I'm thinking of food," Beef sheepishly admitted.
"We were dubbed the 'Six Pack' by the press, and the name stuck. Real
international cast too. You had me from England. Wombat from Australia. The
blonde you see in the photo was Colt Remington. An American, and she looked
even more beautiful in person than in that picture. Woman next to her was a
Russian named Nikita 'Icebreaker' Kolodenko. Her name came from account of
her being ugly enough to break ice with just her looks. Strong as an ox too.
Only person I ever saw lay out Sagat with one shot, though it was a lucky
one." Beef looked at the picture affectionately. "Should have married that
girl."

"She is beautiful," Shampoo said.

Beef looked at her incredulously. "What are you, blind? She looks like she
hit every branch of the ugly tree on the way down, then climbed back up for
seconds."

"Oh," Shampoo said, surprised. "I assumed you meant Colt."

"Lord no! Remmy was a total bitch," Beef said. He got a nod of agreement
from Jaddo. "Now Nikki was one of the nicest women I ever met. But she
didn't feel the same way about me. Always thought I was a cheap slut."

"Which shows she was perceptive," Jaddo mentioned.

"Not true. I was a very expensive slut," Beef said philosophically. "But
that's all in the past. I heard she got married to a citizen and had a
gaggle of kids. Good for her, I say. She deserved to be happy. Couldn't have
happened to a nicer girl."

Finished with his trip to the past, Beef said, "And continuing on to the
last guy you don't know. I mentioned him before, but will point out that
tall, bald, and gruesome's name was Sagat. He didn't have a handle on
account there wasn't one that could have possibly done him justice. Man had
the meanness in him big time, and he looked as miserable as could be. He
either disliked or was ambivalent towards most people, though he seemed to
like me well enough. Never could figure out why."

"It was odd," Jaddo agreed. "You two had nothing in common."

Beef nodded his head enthusiastically. "Tell me about it. When it became
obvious he wouldn't reflexively try to bite my head off for venturing too
close, I tried telling him jokes all the time, but I couldn't even make him
crack a smile. I tell you, I would have given up women for a week just to
see him smile once." Beef shook his head once before returning his attention
to his audience. "Anyway, as I was saying, any other year almost any one of
us would have been an easy bet to win the tournament, but not that year. It
was the best series from quarters on. All the historians agree.

"I remember it like it was yesterday. Me and Remmy got eliminated in the
quarters. I lost to Jun, which I didn't mind so much since he was the best.
Ole' Wombat got Remmy good."

"Wasn't easy," Jaddo admitted. "Colt fought hard that day."

Beef snickered. "She always hated to be called by her first name, and you
wouldn't use anything but it. I think it's one of the reasons she hated you
more than anyone else, the bitch. I tell you, after that fight, she really
wanted your blood. You remember how vile her temper was. You're probably
lucky she didn't try to whack you after the fight instead of disappearing
without a word to anyone the way she did."

"I could have taken her again," Jaddo bragged.

"Not with your leg all messed up, you wouldn't have. You weren't that much
better than her," Beef told him. "Anyway, so Sagat and Nikki got it easy and
meet in the semi's and have the battle of the hard punchers: sambo against
kickboxing. Sagat came out on top in a real ringbuster. Nikki put up a heck
of a fight, but Sagat was a monster. He was able to take the damage better
and won it. But the real gem of the tournament was the other semi-final
battle. It's still ranked in the top five fights ever."

"One of the top three through five," Jaddo corrected. "Run and Gun fight in
'88 was better. And no one will ever top Lamagh and Kuroyama's fight."

Beef turned to Shampoo. "I'm not sure how familiar you are with Arena
history, but that's agreed by everyone as the best fight ever. They fought
each other so hard that they literally beat each other to death. Kuroyama
was the last one standing, so technically he won, but since he dropped dead
three seconds after Lamagh did, they were both awarded citizenship
posthumously."

There was an unmistakable touch of reverence in Beef's voice, a testament to
the connection he felt with two fellow fighters, even though they had been
dead long before he had entered his first dog pit. Jaddo reflected upon it
as well with a somber look on his face. Shampoo wondered if she should feel
a certain kinship as well, now that she was a fighter for the Empire like
they were. A part of her wondered if she would end up the same, fighting to
the death in a battle before the world and spoken in such respectful tones
by strangers. As much honor as that could be, Shampoo found she preferred
triumphing rather than suffering a much talked about, but ultimately tragic,
fate.

With the tribute to the fallen over, Beef continued with his tale, "But
after those two fights, the battle between Wombat and the Dragon was
definitely it. It went fifty-seven minutes, one of the longest fights ever.
And we aren't talking each man taking a breather here and there or wrapping
the other in a hold while trying to choke his opponent out. It was hard
knocks all the way to the last minute. Now Wombat is good, but I don't think
there's a man alive that will say he's better than the Dragon, even him. But
he just wouldn't give up. I never saw anyone fight so far beyond their
ability like he did that day. He refused to allow himself to lose, and Jun
knew it. It took him nearly ten minutes of pure offense to shatter Wombat's
hip and drop him at last."

"Is that how you got your limp?" Shampoo asked, a hint of awe in her voice.

Jaddo nodded his head. There wasn't a hint of bragging in his voice as he
recalled the events. "Yah. Whole lot of bloodletting went on that day. Hurt
for a month afterwards. Was fighting hard for... what I wanted. Sometimes a
man just won't admit he lost, even long after he has. Not when the stakes
are high. Li had me beat by the forty-five minute mark. I just wouldn't
admit it to myself. Still, I'm not sorry for the effort I put into it, even
if I can admit I lost to the better man. I did my best, there isn't the
slightest doubt in my mind. I understood a long time ago that there's always
a bigger dog out there, no matter how good you get. Remember that."

The new information, especially coming from an outside source, made Shampoo
look at her mentor in a new light. Suddenly, he did not seem so much like an
old, hard-nosed slave-driver that enjoyed inflicting torture, cleverly
disguised as training, on innocent young girls. Rather, he seemed more like
a determined man that had been driven to greatness in his youth and had come
to terms with coming close to his goal but ultimately falling short. Though
there was still something else about him that was nagging at her. Some odd
part in his demeanor during his reflections of the past that didn't have so
much to do with the fighting. It was something else, and it seemed to be
when he referred to his goals in the fight. However, she could have been
wrong and was completely misinterpreting the gestures. Jaddo was a man, and
a nearly impossible one to decipher.

"Enough talk of the past," Beef announced to his companions. "Since this is
my place, I shall take the liberty of ordering for you. Nothing but the
best, I shall see to it myself or heads shall roll." He waved one of the
waiters to the table and placed the order for his companions, as well as
another plate for himself. He also made certain to have one of his best
wines delivered to the table while they waited for their food.

When the bottle arrived, he informed his companions "I have the largest wine
cellar in all of Hong Kong. Personally, I'm no connoisseur, but you'd be
amazed at how much money other people will pay to claim they are." He
laughed at the all too common human foible.

Jaddo examined the bottle, which looked like any other bottle of wine to
him. "How much does it cost?" He couldn't see a price tag on it.

"How much do you make in a year?"

Jaddo's eyebrows shot up at that. He was about to protest when Beef gave a
dismissive wave with his plump hand, intent on heading off the protestation.
"Good business dealings have made me three times as wealthy as I was the
last time we met, and the future looks better than ever. I'm big enough now
I could probably merge with one of the conglomerates, if it wasn't for the
fact I enjoy my freedom so much. Besides, what use is wealth if I don't
share it with one of the few I count as a true friend?" He turned to
Shampoo. "My dear, I assume your mentor, hard ass that he is, allows you to
drink?"

"He does not have the authority to tell me what I can and cannot have. I can
drink whatever I want and however much I want," Shampoo sniffed.

Jaddo gave her a sly look. "Yah. I hope you do. It'll be fun watching you
lurch around drunk and hit on ugly guys. And then when your hangover sets
in, I'll be banging some pans around to help you greet the day."

"You'd do it too, wouldn't you?" Shampoo said through a half-lidded stare.

"Who, me?"

The look of what would have been pure innocence on anyone else was the only
confirmation Shampoo needed. She would have to watch her drinking, lest she
imbibe too much and Jaddo make good on his threat. But one of these days she
would have to get really and truly drunk, just to know what the experience
was like. Her mother had allowed her to drink small amounts of wine and
such, but not in any great amounts. However, her limited experience with
alcohol allowed her to handle the wine Beef had provided with practiced
ease. The taste of the red liquor was sweet with just a hint of bitterness
lying underneath. Shampoo had little doubt this was indeed one of the best
wines Beef had to offer.

She had finished one glass and was starting on the second when her eyes
caught sight of a figure entering the ladies room. In a heartbeat, Shampoo
rose to her feet and excused herself.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Jaddo asked.

"I saw an acquaintance of mine." Shampoo hurried off without a glance back.

Jaddo shrugged at Beef. "You know women. Can't just go to the restroom alone
and get business done. Got to do it in groups."

"Too true, my old friend." Beef agreed as he dug into his meal with gusto
once again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Stay relaxed, girl," Link reminded herself as she stared at her image in
the mirror of the empty restroom. Her make-up was flawless: every touch of
lipstick and eye-shadow was perfect, neither too much nor too little. There
wasn't a stitch out of place on the dress of red and orange that she had
purchased for this specific occasion. It had taken her over an hour to get
her hair just right, but again, it was a masterpiece, making her look older
than her sixteen years without trying to look older. Everything was just as
it needed to be.

This could be it. The big one. After weeks of going out of her way to woo
him, Komimasa had finally asked her out. It was a like a dream come true. He
was a serious hunk, and made some serious money. Being an up-and-coming
reporter with Hong Kong's biggest news agency, he had prestige attached to
his name as well. And she knew for a fact he was unattached to any women.
This could be her chance to land a nice boyfriend and shut her damned sister
up. Even better, she could rub Pink's nose in the fact that her boyfriend
(if things went well) was everything Snakebite was not. Given Pink's deluded
state when it came to Thomas Cantrel, she would not see things that way, but
at least Link would have the satisfaction of knowing the truth.

All that was left was deciding how far to let Komimasa go if he pressed the
issue. There was one thing Pink had been correct about in their pointless
argument earlier in the day; it had been a long time since Link had shared
her bed with anyone. Komimasa was a major turn-on, but she wanted him for a
long term commitment, and if she gave too much too fast all she would have
to show for her trouble would be a good roll in the sack. She would still
come out ahead, but she wanted to go for the brass ring this time on the
merry-go-round of life.

Since she had arrived at the restaurant early, not taking any chances on
missing this once in a lifetime opportunity, she still had time to wait for
Komimasa to arrive. And now that she had assured herself she still appeared
perfect, she relaxed somewhat. Link lowered her face to the faucet and held
her hand under it, dabbing just a touch of water on her forehead so as to
refresh herself without marring her make-up. As she rose back up to her full
height, she saw that there was a girl about her age, with long locks of
purple hair and a beautiful green dress, standing right behind her. The
stranger was easily violating her personal space. The girl had a smile on,
but it was not the sort that made you want to smile back, it reminded Link
of the way a cat would smile at a bird with a wounded wing.

Link began to turn around, confident she could handle anything. After all,
she was a high-ranking arena fighter. "Can I help-"

The rest went unanswered as Shampoo nailed Link in the jaw before she had
managed to turn completely around. Dazed by the unexpected force behind the
blow, Link was left barely able to stand. That simply helped Shampoo, as she
grabbed Link by the back of her dress and drove her towards one of the
stalls in the restroom. Link only gave a muted sound of protest as she felt
her head forced in against the doorframe of the stall. She tried to move,
but was far too stunned and weak to overcome Shampoo's advantage. A moment
later, the resounding thud of metal meeting skull filled the restroom, and
Link's limp body slumped in Shampoo's grip.

Shampoo smirked in satisfaction at the unconscious girl. "That's what you
get for sucker punching me. I'd have gone easier on you if you left it at
that, but you just had to spit on me. And, for your information, I don't
give a damn about that sleazy Snakebite."

Once calmed down, Shampoo considered the situation. Someone discovering an
unconscious girl in the restroom would cause problems during the meal and
might break it up if Beef had to deal with the matter. So Shampoo grabbed
Link's limp form, sat it on top of one of the toilets, making sure it would
not fall over, then locked the door from the inside and carefully slid
underneath the space at the bottom of the stall. She examined herself
closely in the mirror, straightened her dress up, and exited much happier
than when she entered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was over an hour later that Shampoo let out a breath of air as she
departed the restaurant. She was stuffed from all of the excellent food she
had eaten, and a bit tipsy from all of the wine she had consumed. Had she
owned 'Mama Lucia's she might have become as obese as Beef had. It was as
the Englishman had said, the Italians had undoubtedly perfected the art of
pasta. Shampoo was going to have to get some of the recipes from him so that
she could make some of the dishes she had sampled, though there was no
telling when she would get a chance to do any actual cooking. Of all the
events transpiring in her life and the things she still had to do, honing
her culinary skills was towards the bottom of the list.

She was alone on the street now. Jaddo had excused himself earlier after
finishing only one course, citing he was tired and needed some sleep. He had
been unusually introspective during the course of the meal. Shampoo was
uncertain whether to attribute it to meeting his old friend or if there was
something else bothering him. Knowing better than to pry, she did not
mention the matter and assured her mentor she would have no difficulty in
returning to the hotel on her own.

For a change, Jaddo had been exceptionally considerate (for him) in leaving
her money for a cab without having to be reminded of it. But now that
Shampoo was outside, and feeling guilty about having consumed so much food,
even if it would be completely burned away in their next training session,
she decided walking at least part of the way and burning off some of the
calories was a good idea. Besides, despite the waning hour, it was still
daylight, and it would give Shampoo a golden opportunity to examine the city
she would be living in for the next several months up close instead of at a
distance.

Within the first couple of blocks she realized that her plan had a
significant flaw; her very formal dress was not appropriate for walking
about. Aside from the fact it drew the stares of nearly half the people on
the street, it was confining with how tight the bodice was and how long the
material extended behind her. She was about to start searching for a cab and
cut her tour of the city short when she felt the hairs on the back of her
neck stand up. It was the unmistakable feeling that someone was watching
her. A small voice in her head told her that had Jaddo been present, he
would have been quick with some caustic remark about paranoia, but another
voice told her that one of the lessons Jaddo had hammered into her skull was
that there were times to follow instincts instead of reason. Heeding the
latter voice, Shampoo quickly spun around and scanned the area for any
watchers.

Her instincts proved true as she caught a glimpse of a figure that was
walking in the opposite direction from her at a hurried pace. Judging by the
direction the figure was taking, and the speed at which it was moving, it
left little doubt the odd person had begun walking away before Shampoo had
actually turned around. Yet the young warrior was plagued by the
unmistakably feeling that this was the person who had been watching her.
Following her instincts again, Shampoo began following the strange figure at
a distance, and see if it behaved suspiciously, or if it really was nothing
more than paranoia that had been affecting her.

The chase was on as the mysterious entity increased its speed once Shampoo
began to follow. Again the young girl was certain it was in reaction to
being followed. Senses more alert than ever, Shampoo focused on the target,
trying to determine just who had been following her. The figure was small
and fairly light, probably a woman, wearing a wide-brimmed hat that hid her
hair from sight from anyone following behind. She wore a plain, brown
Chinese outfit that allowed her to blend in perfectly with the crowded
streets she was making her way through. There was nothing distinctive about
the woman at all. About the only thing Shampoo was confident about was that
it was not the mysterious girl that had attacked her earlier in the day.
This one was taller and the way she held herself was different from that
violent stranger. Besides, to Shampoo's knowledge, the girl had not
recovered by the time the Amazon had left the restaurant. And even if she
had, she would have been wearing the same dress as before, not the dreary
garb of the watcher.

Curiously, the figure never looked back as she made her way through the
crowds, yet Shampoo was convinced the stranger knew that she was being
followed. Moreover, by not looking back she had yet to show her face to
Shampoo, which was frustrating her to no end. If the figure somehow eluded
pursuit, the young Amazon would never know if she was being watched by the
same person a second time. They could pass within a foot of one another and
Shampoo would have been none the wiser.

The mysterious girl turned a corner down an alleyway, giving Shampoo only
the briefest glance of locks of blonde hair before the figure was out of
sight again. Determined not to allow the mysterious figure to elude her,
Shampoo gave up any pretense of subtly following and ran all out before the
girl was lost from sight.

As Shampoo made it around the corner, she saw the alleyway was narrow and
all of the ground level doors of the buildings lining it remained shut.
Certain that she would have heard the sound of a door closing given her
relative closeness to the area, Shampoo hurried to where the alley turned
and hoped her prey was still ahead and merely out of sight.

It turned out that was exactly the case. The situation had turned completely
around in Shampoo's favor. The alley was a dead end, and the mysterious
figure was looking at the solid three story wall in front of her, as though
trying to figure a way out. Shampoo shook her head. Even on her best day she
could never manage a leap of that height. The chase was over. The prey had
been run to ground at last. Now there would be answers.

Remaining some distance from the figure, which would allow Shampoo to react
if the girl tried to make a break for freedom, the Amazon called out, "Why
were you following me?"

The figure remained silent, with its shoulders squared to the wall. Shampoo
waited a full thirty seconds for a response. When none was forthcoming, she
inched closer to the woman. If she did not receive an answer to a second
query, she would take her chances and move in to make the woman turn around.
With her dress as confining as it was, Shampoo's movement would be limited,
but she was certain that within the narrow confines of the alley it would
make no difference if the girl tried to escape or fight.

Just as Shampoo opened her mouth the figure slowly began to turn around,
keeping its face low and hat pointed downward so as to continue hiding its
face. Frustrated, Shampoo repeated, "Why were you following me? Who are
you?"

At last the figure brought its face up. A soft gasp escaped Shampoo's lips.
It was impossible. Not the identity of the woman, (and there could be no
mistaking who it was despite Shampoo never having met her in person) but
rather it was the way the face belonging to her appeared. It was the same.
Not a lot alike. Not very close to, but exactly the same.

"Howdy, pardner." Colt Remington tipped her hat towards Shampoo.

The sight before Shampoo made her remain silent, despite the hundreds of
questions that were on her lips. The girl standing before her was in her
early twenties, if not late teens. Everything about that face was the same,
right down to the green eyes which held a hint of venom in them. It was as
though someone had lifted the girl out of the picture of thirty years past
and plopped her down in the present to follow, and then run away from,
Shampoo. And now all that was left were questions the young Amazon found
herself unable to give voice to.

Shampoo was about to mutter something about the impossibility of the
situation when Colt spoke again. "Since you're finally here, aren't you
going to do something?"

At first, Shampoo did not understand what the impossible girl before her was
talking about. Then, upon looking closer at Colt, she realized she was not
the one being addressed, but rather someone behind her. Combat instincts
coming to the fore, Shampoo spun around, not considering for one moment that
that reaction had been Colt's plan from the start, to make her look away in
order to take her eyes off her for a split second. There was too much
conviction in that voice for it to be a trick.

Again Shampoo's instincts were on the mark as she turned to confront two
figures that had entered the alleyway while she had been busy cornering her
prey. They both wore black cloaks with the hoods drawn up and close to the
face, hiding the identity of both individuals. One was a woman and about
Shampoo's height. The other was a giant of a man, nearly the Northman's
height, and almost as massive. Both held themselves easily, and Shampoo was
left with the impression they knew what they were doing.

The pair moved forward in the blink of an eye, closing the distance between
them. Shampoo, caught by surprise both at their silent arrival and the
situation she had found herself in, barely had time to react. She leaped
high over a low kick the woman launched at her legs, but the dress prevented
Shampoo from attaining the height she had desired. Though with how quickly
the large man's attack came, she was uncertain if she could have evaded it
anyway.

All Shampoo managed was a glance of a darker-skinned, clean-shaven jaw one
moment before a huge fist slammed into her face, nearly sending her into
unconsciousness with the blow. As her body hit a wall and rebounded off, a
kick from the cloaked woman came up into the lavender-haired girl's stomach,
forcing the air from her lungs and sending white-hot shards of pain through
her body. A vicious chop to the back of the neck finished the job, as
Shampoo fell to the ground with an audible thump, unmoving.

The taller man examined the fallen girl. Satisfied she was not acting, he
turned to the blonde that had remained right where she had started before
the brief fight. "Why did you let her spot you, Remmy?"

The blonde shrugged. "To be honest, I was so distracted by seeing that
stinking abo's little bitch, I wasn't paying attention to the fact she was
going to sense my presence. And don't call me Remmy. My name is Colt. You of
all people should know that."

"Point taken," the man's voice boomed. "Now, what should we do with the
girl?"

"Nothing," Colt said, "We don't have any orders concerning her, yet. I know
she didn't see either of your faces with how fast you took her out. We leave
her be and have her try to figure out what just happened, not that she has a
chance in the world of that."

"She saw your face," the big man pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," Colt assured him. "No one will believe her. After
everyone looks at her funny for a couple of days, she won't believe her
memory either and assume she was confused."

"The mistress might like this one," the cloaked woman said with a hint of
admiration in her voice.

"No." The manner in which Colt said it made the finality clear. "She's
little more than meat for me now. I want her toughed up so she can give me a
good fight. It won't be worthwhile, otherwise."

"You should not make this so personal," the big man warned.

Colt laughed at that. "And do you mean to tell me the hell you've undergone
isn't for vengeance? You hypocrite."

"Point taken," the man conceded. "Still, you might want to listen to someone
who's gone to the lengths I have to attain vengeance; sometimes the cost is
too high."

"Not for me," Colt said confidently. "Let's get going before she comes
around. She's a tough little bitch. I've seen her fight. She can take a
beating. It'll make the one I give her later on all the more enjoyable if
she's a little tougher still."

The trio departed the alleyway, leaving a lone form lying silently on the
unforgiving concrete.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm telling you I was attacked by Remington!"

"Yah, yah. And I was doing twin supermodels, Yuki and Suki Yasuroka in my
bed while you were gone. You just missed them when you dragged your ass in
here."

Shampoo growled, but quickly stopped as the maneuver made a pain shoot
through her skull.

Jaddo softened upon seeing her in such pain. He grabbed a fresh icepack from
their room's refrigerator and handed it to her to replace the partially
melted one that she had been using. "Look, I called Beef. He told me that
you had a lot to drink-"

"I was not drunk!" Again Shampoo winced from the pain.

"I didn't say that," Jaddo said with unusual softness. "What I'm saying is,
it probably affected your perception of things. That's how a pair of street
toughs took you out in a couple of shots, and why you think you saw Colt."

"I did see her," Shampoo insisted quietly. That didn't hurt as much.

"I'm not doubting she had a strong resemblance to Colt, and that, after you
took that very hard shot to the head, it scrambled your senses enough to
make you think it was her. I can't say the same thing wouldn't have happened
to me if I had got jumped in a trap like that."

"I'm not so sure it was a trap," Shampoo said, though this time there was a
hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Actually it's a pretty standard bait trap lots of thieves in cities use.
You're from the country, and wouldn't expect those kind of things.
Highwaymen and ambushes are what you're used to."

"Then why didn't they take my money?" Shampoo asked.

"They probably got scared off by the group of kids that found you," Jaddo
said.

"They weren't kids! They were little monsters."

"Not one of them were over eight years old."

"Ha!" Shampoo ignored the pain this time. "When I was just starting to come
around, I heard them talking about selling me to a slaver, at least until
one of them said they thought I looked like a whore with the way I was
dressed. Then they thought I had escaped from my brothel and they could
return me for a reward. I came to just in time to keep the little scumbags
from grabbing me."

Jaddo shrugged. "Kids are like that. S'why I never had any."

Shampoo rolled her eyes at his statement. Perhaps she had inadvertently
wandered into a rough neighborhood in her pursuit of Colt (and it had been
Colt, no matter what Jaddo contended), but that was still no excuse for
children to behave in such a manner. At least they had been too young to get
any other more lascivious ideas about her. Had she heard something along
those lines, she probably would have put them all over her knee and spanked
them, pounding skull or not.

Shampoo decided to let the matter drop. On the surface, what Jaddo said made
sense, and she knew damn well there was no way she could change his mind
without evidence. Reluctantly, she admitted that had their positions been
reversed, she would have probably been as skeptical as he was. But she had
been there and did know the truth. She didn't understand what it meant, and
could not afford to devote too much time to the mystery, given her upcoming
match and moving into the fighters' dorm, but a part of her would be on
guard from now until she left Hong Kong for the big Arena in Japan. Someone
was out there, watching and waiting for her. And she would be ready the next
time they met.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well, finally some other Ranma 1/2 characters (and various others from
anime) appear. And history repeats itself with Shampoo and the nature of her
relationship with Pink and Link, proving that no matter how much some things
change, some things remain the same. More on Hong Kong in the next chapter,
which is coming along slowly. Will be a while before it sees the light of
day.

Almost forgot to mention that you can also find my works from the last
couple of years at:
http://dbsommer.rcbooks.org

too

Special thanks to:
LB Drifter
Wade Tritschler
Jurai Knight
Ryan Anderson
and many others
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
              anime  fanfics available at
  http://www.geocities.com/zednik.geo/fanfics.htm


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