The duel venue was the gymnasium of St. Hebereke School for Girls. As a prestigious private girls' school, its facilities far outclassed Furinkan High, leaving the visiting students dazzled at their first visit.
"So many cute girls... this place is heaven!"
"Hey, hey! No traitors here! We're here to cheer Ray-kun on!"
"Of course! My loyalty never wavers... but asking for a girl's contact while we're here shouldn't hurt, right?"
"Fair point…"
"Things don't look good," the Tendo family, who'd accompanied Ray Chu and Ranma, sensed the vaguely hostile gazes from the surrounding students as soon as they stepped onto campus.
The giant panda held up a sign: [Well, this is enemy territory.]
"Ack!" A pot of boiling water splashed down exactly where they had been standing a moment earlier.
"Oops, sorry about that~"
Despite their apologies, the gymnastics club girls unleashed a storm of hidden weapons toward the visiting competitors.
"Ray Chu, Ranma, we'll cover you—go ahead!" Soun Tendo and the panda heroically stepped forward, blocking the waves of gymnastics club attackers.
"How fierce! Has the match already started?"
"No! This is just St. Hebereke School for Girls's special welcome ceremony!"
When they finally broke through to the agreed-upon arena, countless students lay defeated behind them.
Inside the massive gymnasium, various gymnastics apparatus—pommel horses, rings, horizontal bars, parallel bars, trampolines, balance beams—filled the space. It was nothing like the battlefield they'd imagined.
"Wait! Why is this a rhythmic gymnastics match?" Akane asked, pointing at the banner in disbelief.
"It's clearly stated on the challenge letter—didn't you notice?" Kodachi the Black Rose stood atop a pillar, looking down at them condescendingly.
"The writing's tiny! Who could even read that!"
Girl Ranma quickly pulled out the letter again, spotting minuscule text in a corner:
[This match shall be held as Anything-Goes Martial-Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics. Once decided, no changes allowed.]
"This was entirely predictable—my sister is exactly this kind of treacherous person!" Tatewaki Kuno strode onto the field, wooden sword in hand, giving his sister no face at all.
"Wait another second! Why is he allowed to bring a wooden sword?" Girl Ranma shouted at the referee.
The referee flipped through a thick rulebook, adjusted his glasses, and finally announced, "The rules don't explicitly forbid it, therefore wooden swords are permitted!"
"Not good. The terrain and equipment favor the opponents. This duel is dangerous," Akane said gravely from the stands.
"I'd think it'd be stranger if they won. Wouldn't that imply true love between Ray-kun and Ranma?" Nabiki's comment made Akane's expression freeze.
"But…if they lose, wouldn't the Kuno siblings just keep pestering Ray-kun and Ranma? Isn't that even more troublesome?" Kasumi gently intervened.
"Right! They absolutely can't lose!" Imagining that scenario gave Akane a headache, so she immediately stood up and loudly cheered, "Ray-kun, Ranma—you two must win!"
On the field, Ray Chu, dressed in a black martial arts outfit embroidered with dragons, was warming up. Girl Ranma wore a matching phoenix-themed uniform and approached him.
"Ray-kun, once it starts, I'll keep them occupied. You just rush to finish as quickly as possible."
The match involved rapidly completing various gymnastic tasks while allowed to interfere with opponents. The team finishing all tasks first would win.
Ray Chu glanced at Ranma. "You sure?"
"No worries, I've got this!" Girl Ranma grinned confidently.
The whistle sounded. Both teams took off simultaneously.
First was a 100-meter-long balance beam race. Prepared in advance, Kodachi and Kuno hopped onto a small skateboard, gliding swiftly along.
"You're not passing…so easily!" Girl Ranma leaped forward, kicking at the speeding siblings.
"Brother, it's up to you!" Kodachi swiftly threw Kuno into the air. He somersaulted dramatically, slashing downward with his wooden sword. "Pigtailed girl, I'm coming!"
"Damn it!" Restricted by the narrow beam, Ranma struggled to fend off Kuno effectively. Moreover…
"Pigtailed girl!" Kuno's attacks were closer to harassment than actual combat, reducing Girl Ranma's strength to about seventy percent.
"While brother keeps her busy, I'll rush straight ahead!" Kodachi's eyes flashed sharply. Yet Ray Chu's speed matched hers effortlessly, racing across the balance beam as if on solid ground.
"For our future happiness—please forgive me, Ray Chu-sama." Kodachi pressed a hidden button. Instantly, Ray Chu's beam snapped in half beneath him.
Ray Chu quickly leaped upward.
"Opportunity!" Kodachi hurled a gymnastics baton at him with a fierce whistle.
"Oh no!" Akane and the others held their breath. But Ray Chu, with lightning-fast reflexes, tapped the baton lightly midair with two fingers, propelling himself impossibly onward, grabbing the next set of rings above.
The second stage was the rings. Competitors had to swing through ten consecutive hanging rings.
"As expected of my beloved Ray Chu-sama. But what about this?" Kodachi pressed another switch, sending Ray Chu's rings into chaotic motion, impossible to grab.
"Referee, she's cheating!" Akane yelled.
The referee checked the rulebook, then declared, "Anything-Goes Martial-Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics permits usage of props. Objection invalid!"
"Dammit! She's completely controlling the flow." Girl Ranma dodged another attack from Kuno, rushing toward Kodachi, who didn't even glance her way. Instead, Kodachi swung two gymnastic ribbons upward, gracefully leaping away across the rings.
"Ray-kun, catch!" Ranma grabbed a broken beam fragment and hurled it toward Ray Chu, who expertly landed on it mid-flight and sped across the ring area.
"Ah! Competitor Ray Chu used a balance beam prop—approved!" The referees below raised three flags simultaneously.
Next were the uneven horizontal bars. Competitors had to swing rapidly through nine bars while dodging obstacles swinging in midair.
Boom! Numerous wooden logs swung past Ray Chu—twice the amount aimed at Kodachi. Of course, still within regulations.
"I'll be taking the lead, Ray Chu-sama." Kodachi unleashed a storm of rose petals, blinding everyone. In the confusion, she secretly deactivated obstacles and smoothly cleared the bars.
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T/N: YUESSSSSS RAY X RANMA!! R&R YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
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300 stones -> 3 chapters
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