Several minutes later, at the gates of Juban high-school, Usagi, Ami and Minako were waiting for the bus Mamoru was supposed to be in. Naturally, Usagi was impatiently walking around waiting for her boyfriend to arrive. And that was starting to get on the other two girl's nerves. "Usagi, stop walking around already!" Minako told her. "But I want to see my MAMO-CHAAAAAANNN!" whined the blond heroine. "The match will start in about an hour or so," Ami pointed out, "I don't think they'll take much longer." she then took her sight to the left. "Oh, look..." "What??" Usagi interrupted impatiently. "Is it the bus? Is it my Mamo-chan?" "Actually, it's Mako-chan and Trunks." the blue haired girl corrected as she pointed to her two friends approaching. Usagi just let out a big sigh. "Hey, guys." Trunks said "Still waiting?" "Yeah." Minako declared, "Usagi is driving us nuts, complaining all the time." "Hey! Stop being so mean!" Usagi demanded. "You're starting to act like Rei. Speaking of which, how come she's not with you guys?" "We went to Hikawa temple to pick her up," Makoto explained, "But she had to run some errands. I'm not sure she'll be able to make it on time to see the tournament. But she wished us both good luck in case she wouldn't come." "So, how do you guys feel for the tournament?" Minako asked, anxious to change the conversation from the Mamoru topic, "I've seen some of the other school's fighters and it looks like they mean business." "How many schools are there, anyway?" Makoto questioned curious. "About ten at least." Ami answered. "Do you feel you'll be able to fight them all?" "All?" asked Usagi, "I thought this was going to be a tournament." "All the schools will have a chance to fight against each other." Ami explained. "It's all about gathering points. The school who gathers the most at the end of the tournament, wins." "Hope you guys feel up to it." Minako said to her friends. "Since it's going to be only you two." "Don't worry." Trunks reassured her, "I'm sure we'll manage." "There's the bus!!! There's the bus!!!" Usagi shouted filled with excitement, while frenetically pointing at the bus parking next to the gate. Mamoru was the first passenger to step out of the vehicle once it stopped. In a matter of seconds, a very familiar voice approached shouting from his left. "MAAAAMMOOO-CHAAAAAAAANNN!!!!" declared the blonde girl in ponytails as she instinctively grabbed on to her boyfriend. "Usako!" this last one responded as he caught her in his arms. [She looks kinda young for his age.] Akane noticed from inside the bus. The three remaining Senshi and Trunks went towards the couple to great the four week absent rose throwing hero. The students from Furinkan began to descend the bus shortly after. The first one was Kuno who suddenly, after noticing a beautiful blue haired girl who had a striking resemblance with Akane, moved next to her and grabbed her hands. "What beauty is that I see before my eyes who stands more glorious than spring itself on a flowered valley?" the young kendoist asked. "Er... excuse me?" Ami asked more than a little confused. "Surely the Gods must smile on this world as to allow such divine presence to walk among the sight of unworthy mortals." he went on, "What is your name, fair maiden?" "Mi... Mizuno Ami..." the blue hair girl responded unsure if she did the right thing. "And such a beautiful name too." he stated. After that, he grabbed the girl in his arms "Come! Let us date together!" Without even getting the chance to start walking, a flow of green light began to detach itself from Kuno and went towards the bus' door. In a matter of seconds, The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High fell to the ground unconscious. The Juban students then looked towards the door to see what might of caused that. Descending from the bus was Hinako in her adult form holding a coin between her middle and index finger. "I think I was very clear on not harassing the students, Kuno." she said to the inert bundle lying on the floor. The Senshi were looking very disturbed about what just happened. The way Hinako drained that student was warning enough for them to consider her as a possible enemy. Trunks was looking kinda shocked as well. That woman drained that guy's ki without him even getting the chance to notice it. Fortunately, Mamoru gestured them not to worry. "Guys, let me present you Ninomiya Hinako-sensei." Mamoru introduced, "She's Furinkan's English teacher and a good friend of mine." "Pleased to meet you." she said. The students just bowed politely. Then Usagi began to examine the woman in question from head to toes. She was beautiful, to say the least, and had a great body to boot. Not to mention that her dress was rather... daring... It was almost impossible to move in that getup without giving all the male students quite a show. Usagi confirmed this once she saw how Trunks' eyes had widen large enough to practically fall out of their sockets. Makoto fortunately didn't noticed this. "So!" Usagi began distrustfully. "You work with my Mamo-chan." she even held tighter to her beloved's arms to prove her *ownership* on the individual. "You must be Usagi," Hinako declared joyfully, "Mamoru-san talks so much about you." "He does?" the odango girl asked cheering up. After that, much to the surprise of the students from Juban, Hinako's body began rejuvenating, since Kuno's energy wasn't enough to maintain her in adult form for long. This time, the girls' eyes had also widen considerably. "Looks like Kuno's energy ran out." the little child stated, noticing the change. "Will he be all right though?" Mamoru asked (considering he was the only one who wasn't speechless from shock). "I wouldn't worry too much about him." a male voice said behind them, "He's used in getting his daylights kicked out all the time." This time Makoto, Usagi and Minako were the ones in taking interest in the new visitor. A teenager with black hair tied at the back in a pigtail, wearing a red Chinese shirt, black pants and kung-fu shoes. [Wow! He's not half bad.] Makoto thought. [What a babe!] Minako said to herself. To this, Trunks did noticed the female reaction towards this stranger. He wasn't feeling very good about it, especially when he saw how Mako-chan blushed. When Ukyou came down the bus, the first thing she saw was a group of girls around *her* fiancee. Therefore, in order to dissuade them from any funny ideas, she moved next to him and grabbed him by the arm. "Hey, Ranchan!" she beamed, "You could've waited for me, you know?" This, however, brought some troublesome side effects. Such as Akane's jealousy and temper rising drastically. Trunks suddenly tensed. [That... that girl...] he spoke mentally while looking at Akane, [She's letting out such a hostile ki. I can't believe humans from this universe have this kind of power level.] Ranma finally saw that Akane was glaring at him and tried to give a reasonable explanation. Fortunately, Mamoru went to the rescue (again!) before the pigtailed boy got a chance to put his foot in his mouth and make things worse. "Akane, Ranma, Ukyou," he said, "I'd like to present you to some friends of mine. This is Usagi, Minako, Ami, Makoto and Trunks." Everyone was then forced to say hi briefly. Akane and Ukyou did, by that time, noticed that the purple haired guy wearing a blue jacket was very good looking. Both of them somehow ended up staring at him unintentionally. Ranma and Makoto noticed the two girls reaction and felt rather disturbed by the way they looked at him. [ Why the heck are they looking at him like that?] Ranma thought. [Back off, girlies!] Makoto added mentally as she grabbed her (boy)friend's arm affectionately to make them understand he was taken... sort of. Ukyou, noticing such challenge, quickly held on to Ranma's arm (without letting him a chance to approve it or not) and glared at the tall brunette, reminding her of the previous reaction she had towards *her* Ranchan. "Charmed, I'm sure." Ukyou declared while still glaring. "Pleasure is all mine." Makoto answered while returning the glare. "I'm sure we'll have such a wonderful time at your school." the okonomiyaki chef went on. "Right, Ranchan?" while grabbing a little harder Ranma's arm. "Er... well I..." "As guests in our school we hope you will." Makoto replied. "Isn't that right, Trunks-kun?" while getting a better grasp at Trunks' arm as well as carrying on with the female rivalry. "Sure... I... er" "How considerate of you." Ukyou told her while giving her a grimace disguised as a smile. "That's just me," Makoto responded hotly, "Always considerate." At this point both of them were locked in an icy glare (while still holding on to their couple, of course). The other persons next to them just let out huge sweat drops. [So much for a good start.] Ami thought. "Er... Mako-chan..." Trunks interrupted, "You're holding my arm kinda tight." "Hey, Ucchan," Ranma added, "My hand is going numb." The two girls let go after noticing that, indeed, they were obstructing blood circulation. Once the boys were released, Trunks took his bag. "Well," he said, "nice meeting you all, but I think we should get ready for the tournament now." "Yeah." Ranma added, "By the way, where's the guys lockers?" "I'm heading that way." Trunks responded. "Follow me." The two guys then proceeded to leave everyone behind... along with whatever conflict they had. "What was that all about?" Trunks asked the other teenager. "Must be a girl thing." Ranma responded casually. "Don't try to understand. Just try to get used to it." Trunks just chuckled to that comment. "By the way, I didn't get your name." the half-Sayan declared. "Saotome Ranma." the pigtailed boy responded, "You're Trunks, right?" "Yup." "So, you're a martial artist." he confirmed to which the purple hair boy nodded. "Well, hope we get a good match." "Yeah. Good luck." "Good luck to you too." /-/-/-/ In another part of Tokyo, near a desolate alley, something was happening. Something was happening to the air, the floor and the wall which marked a dead end. Almost as if the place itself was made of tissue, something began hitting the fabric of time and space, trying to make *its* way inside this dimension. A dog began to bark at the unusual yet disturbing event. Then, the wall was ripped opened as if made out of paper. The pup fled terrified. /-/-/-/ In the meantime, inside Juban's gymnasium. All the students were dressing in their respective gis. Some of them already fighting against their first opponents. Trunks was now waiting for his turn. His getup was like the one he wore in his younger days. A sleeveless green gi, an orange belt on his waist and bracers of the same color on his wrists. Added to that, the boots he usually wore. Between the spectators, several students from each school competing, were cheering and giving support to their champions. In Juban's case such heroes were Makoto and Trunks. [... This sucks.] he thought as he saw the signs the students held with his name written on them. [Why does everyone want me to fight? I don't want to play the bully.] Makoto joined her partner once she took care of her opponent. That was almost too easy for her. She didn't even broke a sweat. Trunks received her with a thumbs up then gave her a place to sit next to him. "Any problems?" he asked. "Nah." she responded simply, "Piece of cake. How about you? Ready for your first match?" "Ready as I'll ever be." A couple of minutes later, Trunks was called to the ring. As he made his way there, the students from his school began cheering from the seats at the back of the gym, among them Usagi, Mamoru, Minako and Ami. Trunks just waved at them in gratitude and joined the referee who was waiting along with his opponent. "All right," The referee told the two competitors, "Remember, no blows below the belt, no pulling the opponents hair or stabbing him in the eyes with your fingers. If you do that, you'll lose the match. You can win by knockout, throwing your opponent off the ring or by submission. Understood?" Both challengers nodded. The referee got out of the ring and gestured them to start the fight. Trunks' opponent began the assault delivering a serie of punches and kicks which Trunks dodge with great ease. [This is getting boring.] he thought, [But I have to keep up appearances.] Once he dodge the last kick, Trunks put some space between them by jumping to the other side of the ring. His opponent was looking a little frustrated for not being able to lay a punch on him. Therefore he began to concentrate and calmed himself. A slight green aura began to form around his body. [Well, at least he has some power in him.] he thought. [Might as well get this over wi... What the Heck???] He suddenly felt an increasing power level. Not from his opponent, but it did came from inside the gym. Nothing extraordinary compared with the kis he felt back home. But this one was a lot stronger than the average human power level. Being distracted for a moment gave the opponent a chance to attack, although half way through the ring, Trunks noticed this and slammed the palm of his hand against his opponent's stomach, sending him flying to the other side of the ring and against a wall. "Oups..." Trunks said to himself, a little guilty, "I didn't mean to do that." he then made his way out of the ring once the referee announced him as the winner of the match. The students from Juban started cheering madly and Makoto great the purple hair boy with a big hug. Which didn't really bothered him. "Trunks-kun, that was great!!" she declared overjoyed. "How did you do that?" "Do what?" he asked, "Sending him against the wall?" the brunette nodded. "I... er...I've been training a lot." "You had me worried once that guy started glowing like that." she confessed. "Yeah, well... I guess he was more show than anything else." he lied. The contest went on normally (if you could say so). Trunks tried to fight as little as possible except when he felt the opponent was too strong for Mako-chan to handle. However, he held back as much as he could in each fight. The Furinkan fighters were doing pretty well themselves. Along with the "Juban Duo", which was how everyone began calling them, they were the only school who hadn't lost a single match. After a couple of more fights, it happened. Furinkan and Juban were going to have an encounter. "Trunks-kun," Makoto began, "I'll take this one." "What?" he asked, now that he knew those powerful kis came from the Furinkan team, "These guys are no joke, you know. They can really hurt you." "Would you stop worrying." she complained, "I'm not a little girl, you know!" "But you could..." "No buts!" the tall brunette interrupted him, "I wanna fight that girl we met at the gate." she then calmed herself. "Tell you what. If I win, I'll fix you a special meal, just like the ones you like." she then winked at him. "Er... I... er..." he tried to reply. However, each time Mako-chan winked at him like that, he suddenly felt his temperature raising. "Just... please be careful." "Stop worrying already." she told him, "I'll be fine." At that precise moment, at the other side of the ring: "I wanna be the one who fights!" Ranma complained. "You already had your share of fights, Ranchan," Ukyou told him, "We have a right to fight too, you know?" "Besides," Akane added, "the opponent is a girl. Are you sure you want to fight her?" "What??" the pigtailed boy asked, "Aww Geez, I thought Trunks was going to fight." "Well, that settles it then." Ukyou stated. "I'll fight her." "Excuse me!" Akane declared. "But I think I have as much of a right to fight her as you do." "Sorry, sugar," the spatula girl stated, "I saw her first." "That's the lamest excuse I've heard!" "Com'on, Akane." Ranma declared, "A klutz like you doesn't stand a chance against someone like her. Let Ucchan take care of it." "Is that so..." the girl asked as she took out her Dimensional mallet. While Akane was busy beating the hell out of her fiancee. Ukyou took advantage of the situation and went into the ring without her noticing. "Hey!! No fair!" Akane complained once she noticed it was too late to do something about it. "Well," Minako told her friends, "Looks like the Furinkan team is done fighting with each other and is ready to fight against Mako-chan now." "Those guys are really weird." Usagi noticed, "Where did that girl get that big mallet from?" "And how come that Ranma guy is still standing like nothing happened?" Ami added. "Mamo-chan," Usagi asked her boyfriend, "Who are these people?" "Believe me... you don't want to know." this last one responded. Before any of the three girls got a chance to ask something else, each one of their communicators began making noises. Making sure that no one listened, the three of them headed somewhere less crowded. //Girls?// Rei asked on the other side of the line, //Are you okay?// "Of course we are," Minako answered, "Why shouldn't we? Is there something wrong?" //You mean there's not a monster nearby?// she asked again. "What are you talking about?" Usagi questioned, "We're just watching the tournament. What is it with you?" //I've been sensing some strange energy coming more or less from where you are,// she explained, //I thought you were fighting a monster.// "What kind of energy?" Ami inquired. //Super Saya-man's energy.// she confirmed. //I've been sensing it suddenly during the day. I would've told you earlier but I didn't had a chance with grandpa hanging around all day.// "Hey, maybe Super Saya-man *is* here, but in disguise." Minako suggested. "We'll keep our eyes open." Usagi told the young priestess. "By the way, you'd better come here quick." //Why? You want me to see if I can locate him?// Rei asked. "No." Usagi said, her face suddenly cheering up, "You just gotta see this guy named Ranma. He's such a hunk, you just wouldn't believe it and he's got the most beautiful baby blue eyes and he also...." Usagi's two other friends face faulted. Somehow, even though we can't see her now, Rei was probably doing the same thing Ami and Minako were. /-/-/-/ The creature focused its camera as it analyzed the strange environment in which it ended up. After performing several analysis, the results from the tests were more than satisfactory. A rich soil with a grand variety of minerals. Lots of oxygen. Lots of water. There was only one thing this planet could well do without... it's inhabitants. Time to move to phase 2. /-/-/-/ Meanwhile, back in the gym, Makoto and Ukyou were still at it. Both were equally matched and fifteen minutes after the match started, it was getting difficult to determine who would be the winner of this match. Not even Trunks or Ranma, who were very experienced in everything concerning fighting, could tell which one of the two brunettes would rise victorious. Makoto tried to sweep her opponent once she dodged the last swing from the spatula. Ukyou, however, noticed this and managed to jump in time. Both then broke close contact and moved towards opposite ring corners, trying to get their breath back as well as a chance to analyze the opponent's condition. [Damn, she's good.] Ukyou thought, [I can't get a clear shot at her without leaving an opening. She's too fast.] [I can't get near her while she has that spatula.] Makoto analyzed, [I can't dodge forever. I'll have to think of something.] "Mako-chan," Trunks told her from outside the ring, "Try to get a clear shot at her before she gets to use her spatula." "Ucchan, keep your distance with the small spatulas." Ranma shouted as well. "Only use the big spatula in fast-weak blows. Use big blows only when she's off guard." "Mako-chan, concentrate in her lower body. If you get her off balance, it's in the bag." Trunks added. "Don't worry, Ucchan." Ranma countered, "If she does that, use the flour bomb and get her back with the big spatula in a clear shot!" "If she uses the flour, rush at her." Trunks informed, "Once you get her down, get rid of the spatula." "Use the smaller spatulas as backup." Ranma added, "Her punches are losing strength, so try to tire her out." "Remember to attack only when you're sure." "And watch out with her left hook." "Try to use the grabbing maneuver we practice." "Hold your ground when she gets close to you." "Would both of you just SHUT UP!!!" both girls demanded simultaneously. "We're not little girls, you know?" Both guys just took a step back after such outburst and decided to resume talking only when their friends were less irritated. The two girls resumed fighting after that. Makoto tried to brake through her opponent's defenses with a serie of fast attacks. Ukyou didn't had enough speed to parry all of them due to the weight of her spatula. She did get hit by some punches, but she also managed in slicing Makoto on the side before she delivered the last punch. [It's now or never.] Makoto thought as she felt the spatula's blade. By grabbing the huge cooking tool with her free hand, she pined the okonomiyaki chef at close range. Noticing the rough situation in which she was, Ukyou launched herself towards her enemy and tried to body-slam her in order to get her weapon free. Makoto, not expecting this, received Ukyou against her chest and lost her footing. However, she held on to the spatula as well as the girl's shirt and brought her down with her. The problem was that both were going to fall out of the ring, causing the defeat of the first one who touched the ground. Acting as fast as she could, Makoto tried to spin her body around and make Ukyou hit the floor before she did. Unfortunately for her, Ukyou was well aware of this and tried to do the opposite. Considering that the tall brunette was stronger than the okonomiyaki chef, she began to force Ukyou into turning around... but not fast enough. Ranma, Trunks and Akane ran to the side of the ring where both of them fell. Once there, they noticed that both had hit the ground with their shoulder. The problem was figuring out who hit the floor first. The referee wasn't looking too sure which was the match's outcome. "Draw!" he declared after some consideration. Everyone in the gym, except for the two contestants, began complaining about the decision the referee took. Both girls began to painfully stand up while helping each other to do so. They were looking very content about the match and even laughed a little as they made it to their feet again. "That was a very good match." Makoto commented. "Sure was." Ukyou told her, "You are no push over." "I can say the same about you." "Mako-chan!" Usagi beamed as Mamoru, the rest of the Sailors and her made their way towards their friend, "That was a great match! You're not hurt, are you?" "Just a little bruised, nothing serious." she reassured them. "So, what now?" Mamoru asked, "Is it a tie?" "I think we'll have to settle this with another match." Ranma answered as he returned from where the referee was. "I'm through for the day." Makoto declared exhausted, she then turned towards Trunks, "I'm afraid you'll have to take care of it, Trunks-kun." "Don't worry. I'll handle it. You deserve a rest." Trunks replied. As Trunks and Ranma made their way into the ring, Usagi, Mamoru, Minako, Ami and Makoto went to sit down somewhere they could talk privately. "Mako-chan," Ami informed her, "Rei just called, she sensed Super Saya-man nearby." "In this school?" she asked. "Looks like it." Minako responded, "She's been getting some strong readings for the past hours." "But she usually senses him while we're fighting a monster." Makoto said intrigued. "If there was one around here, we would know." "Maybe..." Ami began while looking reflective. "What is it?" "Well... this is just a long shot," Ami went on, "But *maybe*, if Rei is able to sense Super Saya-man's energy while he fights, then... maybe he's here in this school." "As a contestant." Mamoru finished. "Can it be?" Usagi asked doubtfully. "Well, he may have a secret identity, just like we do." Makoto suggested, "Him being a student wouldn't be so far fetched. After all, there's a lot of strong fighters here." "This is our chance to figure out who he really is!!" Minako said thrilled. "But how do we do that, without Rei being here?" Usagi asked. "We'll have to be on the look out." Mamoru stated. "If he's a contestant, we'll have to keep our eyes open in case he accidentally blows his cover." "But now there's only the finals." Usagi pointed out. "What if Super Saya-man isn't in them. If we knew about all this before, we might have had a chance in looking out earlier." "I suggest we spend some time around the martial artists." Ami indicated, "Maybe we'll find out something or someone who could tell us who he is."