"Nidoking" <nidoking@sbcglobal.net> writes:
The Fall of Happosai
By Nidoking
Ranma glared across the Tendo backyard at his opponent. "I hope
you're ready, old man. You've beaten me for the last time."
"You're going to eat those words, Ranma," warned Happosai. "And I've
got a whole room full of brassieres for you to try on once I demolish
you."
"Fat chance," retorted Ranma.
From the safety of the house, the three Tendo girls cheered on the
brave fighters. "Go, Ranma!" shouted Akane. "You can beat him!"
"I've got a lot of money riding on this fight, Happosai!" shouted
Nabiki. "You'd better win!"
This part seems a little odd. Isn't Nabiki normally playing the role
of the House when gambling? She should be almost guaranteed of making
a profit, regardless of who wins (unless I'm totally misunderstanding
how sports gambling works, of course. I'm not particularly
knowledgeable about it).
"Do your best, both of you!" called Kasumi.
Akane glanced suspiciously at Nabiki. "You took bets on this fight?"
Nabiki shrugged. "You'd be surprised at what some people will gamble
on."
Ranma raised his arm to wipe the spit from his lips. "Want to
start?"
"I think I'll let you have the first move," the master offered.
"It's only fitting, since you issued the challenge."
"Fine by me," said Ranma, clenching a fist and pounding it into the
opposite palm. "Let's go!" He charged headlong at Happosai, uttering a
powerful battle cry.
Happosai yawned. "Wake me when you regain consciousness." He
produced his favorite pipe from a fold of his gi and waved it at the
approaching martial artist. Ranma twisted around the blow, but the bowl
of the pipe still caught his ankle, sending him flying face first toward
the house, where he barreled straight into Nabiki, knocking the girl
down and taking the dining room's sliding door with him.
Is Ranma airborne at this point? It's not clear from the 'he charged'
description.
"So, Ranma, what do you call this new technique?" Genma asked,
interested.
Ranma rubbed her aching jaw and produced a slightly damp book from
her back pocket. "It's not really a new technique. This book will tell
you all about it." She tossed it to Akane, who caught it and stared
critically at the cover.
Why'd she toss it to Akane, instead of Genma?
"Love Hina, volume 1?" she asked.
"Yep," confirmed Ranma. "Just like it says, the official training
manual for the Akamatsu-Ken."
I figured out most of what was going on before the end, but didn't
predict the full depths to which you'd sink. Very nice story :-)