Chapter Three: Travelers And Thieves

The Ryouga & Ukyou Chronicles, Volume One

Disclaimer:
Ryouga Hibiki and Ukyou Kuonji are not my creation and are both copyright of Rumiko Takahashi. I’d like to thank Takahashi-sensei for her great series. I once again claim no credit for their creation, however, some of the characters are my creations (aka Migi & Hidari, Ryu, Prince Ito, Ukuji, Kangeio, Shogu) and I do claim them, so there!

I

Ryouga and Ukyou walked towards the tournament sight, hand-in-hand, with Ryu slightly in front to show the way. As he shuffled along, he began to tell them what he knew of the reigning Martial Arts Couples Tournament Grand Champions. They listened intently, although with Ryu’s horrible Chinese accent, it was still very difficult to make anything out.

"Are two of them." He said as they pushed through the throngs. "Boy and girl."

"No kidding." Ryouga snarled. "I kind of figured that one out, this being a Couples tournament and all." Ryu frowned, but continued on undaunted.

"Migi is girl. She have pink costume on. It kind of look like your clothing." He said, gesturing towards Ukyou’s clothing. "She is conservative. Polite. Cool-headed. She fight with Naginata. Weaker of two, I believe." Ryouga looked over at Ukyou.

"You take that one." He said. She scowled at him.

"Why?" she said angrily. "Because she’s weaker?"

"No!" Ryouga stammered, waving his free hand defensively. "She fights with a polearm, that’s all! Plus, I don’t like to fight with women..." She nodded, touching the combat spatula still strapped onto her backpack.

"Hidari is guy." Ryu continued. "Big. Very mean. He has jade costume on, and it is somewhat like yours." Ryu said, this time noting Ryouga’s clothing. Ukyou dismissed the irony of their similar clothing. Ryouga didn’t quite catch it. Ryu proceeded on.

"He fight with twin Tonfas. He likes in close, aggressive fighting. Migi prefers lots of open area to jump around and maneuver in." He paused thoughtfully for a moment, then added, "They never been beaten. Have only one weakness."

Ryouga perked up. But Ukyou beat him to the question. "Weakness?" she said, intrigued. "And what is this weakness, pray tell?"

Ryu shrugged. "No one is know. Otherwise, they would maybe not be undefeated, okay?"

Ryouga grumbled. "No, of course no one would know." He snarled to himself. "That would make life easier. We couldn’t have that, now could we?"

As he expected, no one answered. He sighed and let Ukyou lead him towards the outdoor arena.

II

The three finally managed to push their way to the ring itself, which was a pretty nondescript battle area, typical of almost any martial arts tournament. Basically, it was a four foot deep pit dug into the ground, lined with stone walls. The entire arena was about fifty yards in perimeter. Releasing Ryouga, Ukyou scanned the area. Much to her dismay, she discovered several pairs of people were signing up to fight. There must have been eight or nine couples vying for the chance to battle with Migi and Hidari. Either that, or they were all desperately in need of that 10,000 yen first prize. Actually, now that she looked around, half of these people looked like they had no idea how to handle themselves in a street brawl, let alone a martial arts tournament. She couldn’t help but smile slightly. This was going to be easier than she’d thought. Now, all that was left was to-

"Fine, I’ll take those numbers, buddy!"

The shout of a slightly familiar voice snapped her out of her plotting haze. She turned towards the direction of the noise and grasped Ryouga’s hand. He turned to look at her, somewhat startled by the sudden jerk, and frowned.

"What’s wrong?" he said. Ukyou glanced to him, then to the voice, making sure she didn’t lose it.

"Come on, sugar. I think I know that guy over there." She said, and immediately began to walk towards the sound of the voice. Had she looked at Ryouga, she might have noticed the annoyance that usually plastered his face was highlighted by something else. Something undefinable, yet easily recognized. It was almost...jealousy.

She shoved her way through the throngs of people, still hand-in-hand with Ryouga, and finally located the center of that familiar voice. Standing with two very shady looking men in black trenchcoats was a boy about Ryouga’s age, with short, light brown hair. He wore black slacks and a collared white shirt with short sleeves. He turned to face the two of them and grinned broadly.

"Hiroshi!" Ukyou exclaimed. She remembered him from her life back in Nerima. He was one of Ranma’s friends, as she recalled. Then again, the few times she’d seen him hanging around with Ranma, he was either picking on him or asking to be introduced to some of Ranma's fiancees. In fact, as she considered it, he wasn’t much of a friend to Ranma at all. Well, at any rate, he and this other guy always seemed to be hanging around somewhere. Now, here one of them was.

"Hey...um...that girl!" Hiroshi exclaimed with equal enthusiasm. He looked over at the muscular young man holding the hand of this beautiful girl in front of him. He recalled she was one of Ranma’s fiancees before the wedding. The guy was that crazy guy who was in love with Akane and was always trying to kill Ranma, usually when there were a lot of innocent bystanders around. Like him, for instance. Hiroshi swallowed hard and looked them over nervously, almost completely missing the garishly clad man with a daisho walking up behind them.

Just great, he thought as he looked the two of them over, Of all the people I could’ve run into. Why couldn’t that purple haired Chinese girl have found me instead? I always liked her better.

Ukyou frowned as she watched Hiroshi thinking. "It’s me, Ukyou." She said, looking distinctively less enthusiastic. Hiroshi grinned in a way that Ryouga could only describe as idiotic. "Oh, of course. Ukyou. The okonomiyaki chef, right?" he said, slightly ashamed that she had realized he’d forgotten her name. He vied desperately for something to say.

"So," he splurted out, looking around, "What brings you two all the way out here to Urawa? Gonna watch the tournament?"

Ukyou laughed nervously. Ryouga stepped forward. "Nope." He said matter-of-factly. "We’re going to be in the tournament."

"Really?" Hiroshi said, his eyes suddenly taking on a glazed, distant look. Ryouga and Ukyou exchanged an uneasy glance.

"Um, Hiroshi?" Ryouga said, waving his hands in front of the light haired boy’s eyes. He snapped back into reality, looking around, slightly confused.

"Huh?" he said undignifyingly. "Who’sa? Wha?"

"You kind of...well, zonked out there for a minute." Ryouga said. Hiroshi suddenly grinned evily and snapped his fingers, standing tall as if with some silent triumph.

"Right!" he semi-said, semi-shouted. "You two are entering the tournament as a team?"

Ukyou looked back at Ryouga, who shrugged. She nodded at Hiroshi slowly.

"Yes..." she said, as if speaking to a child, "That’s right."

Hiroshi seemed to almost glow with an inner light. His eyes shone with keen, dry intellect, and his smile beamed so much it could’ve signaled traffic. Or low-flying passenger planes.

"Perfect!" He said. "The odds are heavily in your favor! Hell, you two are a sure bet! I’ve seen how you like to destroy things! None of these other couples have a chance! Well, except for Migi and Hidari, but then I’ll just have to play the numbers against you in that fight..." His voice trailed off as he began to silently calculate numbers in his head.

"Play the numbers against us?" Ukyou said. "Hiroshi, you’re gambling?" Hiroshi flashed his most angelic smile.

"Of course not." He said smoothly. "I’m playing the numbers, like I said. There’s a big difference."

Ukyou scowled. "No there isn’t!"

"Ah, but there most certainly is." He said simply. "You see, gambling means there is chance involved. What I do is called playing the numbers, well, because it’s a sure thing. Instant profit."

Ukyou rolled her eyes. He sounded a lot like Nabiki Tendo. She wondered if the two had ever dated one another. Or, perhaps, shared the same Economics class. She decided to change the subject.

"So," she said suddenly, "Where’s that other guy?" Hiroshi went blank. He shrugged.

"Other...guy?" he said, completely at a loss.

"You know, the one you’re always hanging around with. Black hair?" she said, slightly annoyed. Surely he knew who she was talking about.

"Oh, him." Hiroshi said after another few moments of silence. "You mean Daisuke."

Ukyou guessed that must’ve been his name. She nodded uncertainly. Hiroshi didn’t seem to notice much.

"Ah, well, he’s somewhere around here." He said, unconcerned. Ryouga turned away from this rather boring conversation to see Ryu striding up to them. He bowed in front of the Lost Boy and began to speak.

"Um, I am begging your pardon, but is time we sign up for tournament, okay?" he said, struggling to communicate in Japanese. Ryouga frowned.

"(Listen,)" he said in Chinese, "(I can speak Chinese, you know. If it’s easier for you)."

Ryu frowned. He looked confused. Ryouga was, too. He may not be the greatest Chinese speaker in the world, but he was sure he’d picked enough up in his travels to at least communicate basically to a Chinese person. However, the look Ryu gave him was similar to one he’d have gotten had his head suddenly turned into cabbage. Ryouga searched the wording over, looking for mistakes. He found none.

"Right." Ryu said uncertainly. "Is time to sign up. Tell miss we must to go."

With that, he scurried off. Ryouga turned back to Ukyou, who was giving Hiroshi a rather distasteful look. Ryouga smiled inwardly. He had no idea why, but he did. He squeezed Ukyou’s hand and she turned to him.

"C’mon, Ukyou, we gotta go." He said, glancing at Hiroshi. She nodded.

"Well," she said, giving the light-haired boy one last look, "See you around, Hiroshi. Hope you win your bet."

He nodded, dreaming of the money, and waved. A fairly idiotic grin slinked across his face.

"All, that is," she added as they walked away, "Except for the last one." Hiroshi frowned as they disappeared into the throngs.

III

The referee strode into the center of the ring, glancing from one side to the other. Even through the thin black veil that hung over his face, he could see the odd looking couple to his left. The boy was definantly strong looking, and he wore a yellow long-sleeved shirt that opened over the left breast and a yellow and orange bandanna. He also wore green traveling pants bound at the ankles. In his right hand he held an umbrella. His hair was thick and unkempt, and he wore a scowl.

The girl wore a dark blue shirt and black pants. Her hair was long and brown, but tied with a white ribbon. Even through her somewhat baggy attire, she obviously had a good figure. She carried what appeared to be a giant spatula. The referee shook this off.

Hmm, he thought distantly, I suppose it takes all kinds.

He quickly checked the other couple, a fairly normal man and woman, armed with nothing but their hands. The referee leapt up and swung the two red flags in his hands down.

"Hajime!"

Ukyou heard the referee’s call for the start and quickly closed in on the girl she was fighting, a fairly plain woman with shoulder length black hair and a somewhat athletic form. The girl charged forward, planting her foot firmly and then pushing off into a standard flying kick. Ukyou feinted right, then leapt left, easily dodging the attack. She turned as the girl landed and swung hard, hearing a resoundingly dull *thud* as the spatula flat connected, send the off balance girl careening into the stone walled edge of the fighting pit. Her body smashed into it, and slumped to the ground unconscious.

Ukyou smiled and thought to herself, Geez, this’ll be easier than I thought.

Meanwhile, Ryouga had charged full speed at the man, who had taken a standard defensive posture. Ryouga leapt at him and released a flurry of punches. Several of them connected with the man, who seemed stunned by both the speed and strength of his opponent. Ryouga followed up on the dazed man by grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and smashing into him with a headbutt. It wasn’t one of Ryouga’s favorite attacks, but it usually got the job done. After all, this guy didn’t look very tough. Ryouga didn’t want to kill him or anything. Needless to say, the man, already dazed, went limp as unconsciousness seeped into him and blood poured from his broken nose. Ryouga turned to face Ukyou, who had just finished the girl off. He grinned at her triumphantly. She returned his with a smile that made him blush. The fight was over in about ten seconds.

The referee simply stood there for a moment, trying to sort out what happened, and quickly realized that the odd couple had won. In fact, they had won very well. He raised the flags up and waved them again.

"Ippon!" he shouted, signaling the end of the match. He watched the two teens take hands and walk towards the seating area. The girl walked slightly ahead, as if leading the boy. The referee chuckled as he watched them.

"Young love." He said with a hint of melancholy before starting to help move the unconscious challengers out.

Ryu ran up to them after the match, and tore Ryouga’s hand from Ukyou’s, shaking it vigorously.

"Many thanks to you, sir, and to miss!" he said excitedly. "You was very good! Fight like that again, okay?" Ryouga wrenched his hand from Ryu’s grasp, annoyed.

"It was too easy." He grumbled, disappointment flowing in his words. "I hope the champions can at least hit back."

Ukyou remained quiet, but stifled a giggle. He was right. Those two weren’t much of a challenge at all. Plus, Ryouga seemed to be getting into this tournament. She hoped he was as enthused by his impending haircut. Just then, Hiroshi ran up and seized Ryouga’s hand again, and he too shook it vigorously. Daisuke followed closely behind, apparently having returned from wherever it is he was. He was dressed similarly to Hiroshi, but his shirt was long- sleeved.

"Good job!" Hiroshi said happily. "Great! Keep it up. Keep winning, by all means! I’m with you 100%, buddy!"

Ryouga scowled and tore his hand from Hiroshi. He was getting tired of this. If Ukyou suddenly shook his hand, he thought he’d scream.

"I plan to keep on winning. And I’m not your buddy." He said coldly. Hiroshi shrugged.

"Whatever you say." He said. "As long as you keep winning, I don’t care if you call me mother."

Ryouga clenched his fist, and Ukyou knew he was close to striking the light haired boy. She didn’t blame him, but, at the same time, she didn’t feel like having to break Ryouga out of jail for murder. She put a hand onto his. He jerked away, and let out a scream. Ukyou wrinkled her nose at him. Hiroshi cowered. Ryu was emotionless. Everyone nearby turned in their direction. There was silence. Inexplicably, a tumbleweed rolled by, apparently from out of nowhere, and disappeared just as suddenly. Ryouga looked around, his face flushing to a bright crimson color.

"Um, sorry, Ukyou." He said quietly. She nodded, placing her hand on his again to lead him to their seats.

"What was that about?" she whispered fiercely as they approached the grassy spot on the lawn.

"Oh, nothing." He said. "Don’t worry about it."

Shrugging, she set up the okonomiyaki grill and began to cook. Ryu came up and stood beside them, arms folded, in an 'at attention' position. Hiroshi slinked up next to Ryouga meekly. Ryouga rolled his eyes.

"What?" he said angrily. Hiroshi chuckled.

"Hey," he said in a friendly tone. "Calm down. Ryouga, right?" Ryouga nodded.

"Well then, Ryouga," he said, extending his hand. "Let’s call a truce, okay? Let bygones be bygones and all that, right?"

Ryouga looked at the extended hand and then at Hiroshi. He didn’t know him very well, but there was something about Hiroshi that he didn’t like. He was...well, kind of weasily. But, Ryouga surmised, it was better to have a weasily friend than a weasily foe. He grasped Hiroshi’s hand and shook.

"Great!" Hiroshi said, brightening. "We’re gonna be great friends!"

Daisuke slid smoothly next to Ukyou, who was still cooking on the grill. "Hello there," he said in a low voice. "My name is Daisuke. You must be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty." He flashed a smile that said 'cheesy-pick-up-lines-come-from-here'. Ukyou rolled her eyes.

"No, actually, I’m Ukyou Kuonji." She said snidely, flipping an okonomiyaki pizza.

"My mistake." Daisuke said smoothly, "Your great beauty threw me off. Be careful, though. I heard she gets jealous when she finds any women more lovely than herself."

Ukyou groaned inwardly.

"Say, Ukyou," Daisuke continued, apparently not noticing her demeanor, "Would you like to go out with me tonight? Dinner, dancing, perhaps a little romance?"

Ukyou scowled and prepared to bash his face in, but suddenly she smiled. A plan sprung into her mind.

"Sure," she said sweetly. "Can my boyfriend come?"

"B-boyfriend...?" Daisuke said, swallowing nervously.

"Sure, my boyfriend." She said matter-of-factly. "I’ll tell him you’ve asked us out. Oh, Ryouga!"

Daisuke watched as the very strong looking guy with the bandanna on looked over at them. Ukyou waved him over, and he stood and began to approach. Ukyou turned and smiled sweetly at him.

"He’ll be absolutely thrilled!" she said giddily. "We haven’t been out since the last guy that asked us got put into the hospital."

"H-hospital?" Daisuke said breathlessly. Ukyou nodded.

"Sure thing. Two broken arms, A shattered leg, multiple skull fractures...Oh, I forget what else. He’s doing better, though. I heard he can say 'yes' and 'no' now." Ryouga walked up and glanced at Daisuke quickly.

"What is it?" he said sternly.

"Nothing!" Daisuke shouted, backing away on hands and knees. "Nevermind!"

He scrambled up and took off into the crowd. Ryouga shrugged. Ukyou smirked with self-satisfaction.

"Anyway..." Ryouga continued, "What’s wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." She said happily. "Thanks, sugar. You're the best boyfriend I've ever had."

Ryouga frowned, her words not quite registering. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"B-b-b-boy-fri-i-" he stammered, but Ukyou popped an onkonomiyaki into his mouth, and he swallowed it all in one huge gulp. She tossed him a plate with another fresh one on it.

"Eat up, sugar." She said cheerfully. "You need your strength."

Ryouga nodded, confused, and sat down beside her to eat. His semi-rational mind, desperately searching for a reason why an attractive girl like Ukyou would call him her boyfriend came to a conclusion. He had obviously hallucinated the whole episode. Nearby, Ukyou hummed happily. Soon, their names were called for the second match.

IV

The second battle was pretty much like the first one. The guy Ryouga was fighting had actually managed to hit him, though. Ryouga didn’t recall feeling it, though. The guy was fairly fast, but it wasn’t much of a match. Ukyou’s opponent had been similar, from what she said. This tournament was turning out to be quite a disappointment. Evening was approaching, and the ring was being prepared for the final battle. Ryouga glanced at Ukyou, who sitting beside him at her grill, selling okonomiyaki to the onlookers. He smiled, noting that she looked happy. Ryu stood nearby, gazing reflectively out into the horizon, arms folded and tucked into his sleeves. Hiroshi was busily counting money. Nearby, he saw a young woman slap Daisuke and walk off. He stood, grumbling, and immediately walked off to another woman. Strangely, Ryouga had yet to see the Champions enter the area, and the fight was less than ten minutes away.

Hiroshi finished counting his money and cackled loudly, clenching his fists in triumph.

"Yes!" he shouted. "I am a genius!" Then, he remembered that the same couple he’d bet on to win every time he was now betting against. He frowned and walked over to Ryouga, who was lost in thought. Hiroshi slapped him on the back, snapping him back into reality.

"Hey, buddy," he said. "Hyped up for the big fight, huh?"

Ryouga grumbled. He considered bashing Hiroshi to a pulp, but decided it probably wouldn’t look too good. He didn't want to drive off Ukyou’s customers, after all.

"Yeah, that’s it." He said, annoyed.

"Great." Hiroshi said, patting Ryouga’s shoulder. Then, he patted his other shoulder. Then his arms. It felt like Hiroshi was giving him an exam. Ryouga’s eyes widened.

"So," Hiroshi said as he checked Ryouga’s arm, "You’re okay then? No sore muscles? Joint pains? Any other debilitating injuries you haven’t told anyone about?"

Fuming, Ryouga turned and grasped Hiroshi by the collar. All the light-haired boy could do before he was jerked from his feet and hurled across the grass to the ground was shout out an undignified "Urk!"

"Geez," he said as he stood on shaky feet, trying to wipe the haze of pain from his head, "Just...concerned about you, buddy..."

"Right." Ryouga snarled. Just then, the referee appeared, and he walked up to them.

"Hibiki Ryouga and Kuonji Ukyou?" he said. Ryouga nodded. Ukyou looked up from her okonomiyaki grill.

The referee gestured towards the ring. "It is time for the fight." He said. Ryouga nodded, and he stood, offering Ukyou a hand. She accepted gratefully, and turned to Ryu.

"Well," she said, "Wish us luck."

Ryu bowed. "Hai." He grunted. "Go and to fight good."

They began to walk off, but Ukyou spun on her heels and faced him again.

"Oh, and I’ll charge you if you eat any of that okonomiyaki." She said, glancing at he and Hiroshi. "Either of you. Understood?"

Ryu’s emotionless face shifted to disappointment, then back again. Hiroshi eyed the food longingly, and folded his arms in protest.

"Dully noted." He grumbled. Ukyou flashed him a warm smile and turned back to Ryouga, and they strolled to the battle area. Hiroshi turned back to see Ryu sitting behind the grill, eating an okonomiyaki pizza contentedly. The light-haired boy frowned and stood to watch the fight.

"This," the referee bellowed as Ukyou and Ryouga stood in the ring, "shall be the final battle!"

The audience cheered loudly. Ryouga looked about, wondering if Migi and Hidari even existed. He hadn’t seen either of them once since the tournament started. He glanced at Ukyou, then at the sea of people in the crowd above them. The fighting pit seemed like one of those things you saw in a gladiator tournament. He shrugged that feeling off and steeled himself.

"And now," the referee continued, "Please welcome the Grand Champions of the Couples Martial Arts Tournament..."

The crowd exploded, tossing ribbons and confetti into the air. Two cloaked figures leapt from the crowd into the arena, holding hands. They each tore their cloaks off as the onlookers cheered madly.

"Migi..." the referee yelled, pointing his flags to the first figure. She was distinctly female, and very attractive on top of that. Her clothing was all a bright, distracting pink color, but did look much like Ukyou’s. The only difference was Migi’s was slightly...tighter. A rather nasty-looking Naginata was strapped to her back. She unsheathed it and spun it quickly, blowing kisses to the crowd with her free hand. She looked at Ukyou cheerfully. Ukyou met her gaze with a determined look, drawing out her own combat spatula.

"...and Hidari!" the referee finished, turning his flags to the strong, arrogant looking young man standing beside Migi. He looked very strong, in fact. He wore a solid jade colored suit somewhat like Ryouga himself was wearing. On his belt hung twin Tonfas, which he drew and spun in each hand before drawing them into their normal forearm position. He smiled with a savagerly that made Ryouga uneasy.

"You’re going down, little boy." He snarled. Ryouga grimaced back, cracking his knuckles.

"We’ll see." He said.

"Say," Migi said in a sweet, innocent voice, to Ukyou. "No hard feelings, right? We can still be friends after the fight?"

Ukyou frowned, offset by the girl’s sweet demeanor. Sickly sweet, in a way. She raised her spatula defiantly.

"Like he said," she replied, looking at Ryouga, "We’ll see."

The referee leapt into the air, swinging the flags downward. "Hajime!" he shouted, and the crowd went wild.

End of Chapter Three