Disclaimer: I apologize in advance to any Japanese speakers (or for that matter, English speakers) who I might offend with this bit of "literature". The spellchecker is Microsoft Word, and is set to US English. Everything else is not my fault. ------------------------------------------------ It was a peaceful day in Nerima Ward. Peaceful, expect inside the Tendon Dojo, where Ranker Saitama was busy arguing with his fiancée, Akin Tendon. Their shouting was overheard by their fathers, who looked up from their game of shaggy in irritation. "Ranker!" shouted his father, Genome. "You should treat your fiancée with more respect!" "Don't yell at my daughter, Ranker!" yelled Soup Tendon, Genome's friend and the father of Akin. Ranker turned to glared at the adults in irritation, which gave his fiancée time to pull out her mallet and send him flying into the Oki pond. "Ranker no baker," she muttered angrily. A wet, female Ranker pulled herself from the Oki pond, muttering something about uncut tomboys. She had barely dragged herself back to the dojo when she heard a familiar cry of "Ranker! For your crimes against Akin, you will pay!" She turned. Standing in the yard was her rival, Yoga Hibachi. Yoga held his umbrella in a fighting stance, and Ranker sighed irritably. "What do you want, P-Chan?" "I want your life, Ranker!" With a cry of rage, Yoga charged at Ranker, yelling "Bakes Tensest!" This was too easy. Ranker dodged the first blast, then waited until Yoga had closed in. Then, with a loud cry of "Mocha Taikisha," she sent a ball of kid hurtling toward Yoga. Yoga dodged, but barely. He charged forward again, and Ranker led him around and around, always dodging, until the last moment, when the spiral was completed, yelled "Hire Shorten Aha!" It was more than enough, and Yoga was blasted over the wall and out of sight. Ranker fidgeted irritably. He went inside and got some hot water, and then decided he needed to get away for a bit. He left the dojo, walking along the busy streets until he saw the restaurant belonging to his old friend, Ukyo Kong. He smiled. That was precisely what he needed. He walked in, and saw his friend standing behind the grill. "Hey, Urchin." "Rancho!" she shouted happily. "It's good to see you!" She gestured to the grill. "The usual?" "That'd be great, Urchin." He smiled, and sat down. No sooner had he sat down, though, than the stool leapt away, shouting, "You shall not steal Ukyo away from me, Saitama!" Ranker sighed. It was Tubas Cornea, a master of disguises and a major pest around the Urchin's. "Hey, Tubas." "You shall not steal Ukyo away from me, Saitama!" shouted the seat. "Leave me alone, Tubas! I was never yours to begin with!" Ukyo shouted angrily, and with a solid whack from her spatula she sent him spinning through the restaurant wall and into the distant blue yonder. "Don't worry, Rancho!" She smiled dreamily. "You're the only one for me!" She leapt forward, glomming Ranker eagerly. Ranker finally worked his way free from Ukyo's grasp, and after finishing his food and saying good-bye to Urchin, he left. He decided it would be safe to return home now. Akin would probably have cooled down a bit, anyway. He got home, and jumped to the roof in order to avoid Genome and Soup. He crawled through the window to his room, and made his way to the bathroom. No one was inside, so he stripped down and washing himself off first, finally slid into the hot bath with a sigh of bliss. Nothing felt better to him after a day in his crazy life than a nice, hot soak in the furry. -THE END-