When she awoke the next morning, the dreams were nothing more than fleeting memories of pain and confusion that quickly subsided. On the way to school, Hotaru thought on her dreaming problems and realised the solution. When you have a problem you can't deal with, fight! Her father taught her that too many years ago to remember, but it had served her well, and she was willing to stand by it as a philosophy that worked.

Some people say that fighting never solves anything, but Ranma believed that they had never fought before. Fighting can defeat enemies, and conquer nations. It can turn enemies into allies, make acquaintances trusted friends, and make friends lovers. Fighting brought out all the best in a person, the struggle, the challenge, and the commitment to the elusive goal of being the best. Fighting was also the best way to clear the mind and free the thinking.

She ignored most of her classes, other than history, which was always fun because she could think to herself, 'I was doing this when that happened'. After another rotten lunch and a boring afternoon, Hotaru dashed out of school and found a convenient hiding place. When she was sure no-one was around, she changed clothes, then doused herself with water from her thermos.

Walking down the streets of Tokyo, the Master of Anything Goes Martial Arts wondered how good the Martial Artists were around here. It took little more than twenty seconds in a phone book, and a ten minute jog, and he was at a Kempo club. Once Kempo had been the basis for Anything Goes. Since he was the Master, and probably the soul practitioner, he suspected that Amazonian techniques were more likely the real basis now, but why not start with Kempo?

Entering the dojo he kicked off his shoes and bowed to the Sensei. Oh, goody, class was just starting. Asking permission to join in, the young teacher, probably in his late thirties, waved him onto the mat, and everyone bowed in.

The class was what you would expect for a public offering. The did a few light warm ups, some kicks and punches, and a little semi-contact sparring. After just a couple of hours of light warm-ups, Ranma was ready and eager to start training. Then the Sensei called them back. It was the end of training!

Immediately after the class, Ranma stalked up to the Sensei. "What was that, a beginners class? We didn't even do any sparring! And it was so short!"

The Sensei puffed out his chest. "Listen pal, two hours is plenty long enough for training. And what gives you the right to complain about my classes? I'm a third dan black belt in Kempo, with a second dan in Akido."

Ranma crossed his arms and puffed his chest out too. "I am Tendo Ranma, Master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

The Sensei lost his composure and started laughing. "Anything Goes? That's the most ridiculous name I've ever heard. Not only that, but you're trying to impress me by being the master in your own style. Feh! I'd like to see how you fair against a real Martial Artist some time."

Ranma went from scowl to smile in the course of the speech. Such an insult to the school could not be taken lightly. In any other circumstance, he would have challenged the man to a fight, but there was no need, the fool had just offered to take him on.

"Your challenge is accepted. Shall we fight now?"

The Sensei smirked and rotated his torso a few times to loosen it up, then did some spring kicks. "Sure. What rules do you want?"

"No magic, no Ki attacks, no killing, and no permanent maiming... that should just about do it."

Snort. "Yeah, right. No magic. Ha, ha. What about padding?"

Ranma looked down at the tatami mats on the floor. "No, leave it there. No sense in ripping it up just so we can fight on wood, unless you'd prefer to go outside?"

"Oh, ha, ha, a real comedian." With that they bowed and the fight began. Ranma decided to start slowly and work his way up. It would be the easiest way to gauge his opponents strength. He just hoped the guy was good enough to make it worth the effort. Other than Ryoga, it had been a while since a challenge had come his way.

Seeing his opponent was using a defensive stance, Ranma obliged and started the attack. A couple of punches and a kick, then roll away. Not bad, he managed to block them, a bit sloppy trying for that leg brace, but he has potential.

Back in again, Ranma did a series of leg sweeps and feinted throws, seeking to drop the man on his backside. At the speed Ranma was moving, the Sensei evaded them, and returned to counter attack.

Watching the punch coming in, Ranma was reminded of the times he fought with Akane; trained that should be, since they really did fight when they were younger. Before they realised they loved each other. She was always a strong girl, but compared to him (or her as the he usually was) she was dreadfully slow. That was not saying a great deal, since it was not until he met Liniment that she met someone who really was faster than her.

For a while, Ranma reflected on that first time when he had fought Liniment. He had believed at the time that being defeated by an old woman was a disgrace. It was only living the Amazon village for a time that made him realise how wrong he was. The Matriarch of the Amazons - which is the position Liniment held - was not just there for her wisdom, she was also the recognised Mistress for fighting in the whole village; they were Amazons after all, and had a reputation to maintain.

Whoops, daydreaming too long there. Punch almost got me, better block it. And he's going for a trip too, ambitious fellow. Taking the arm which was still in front of his face, Ranma grabbed it both sides of the elbow. In less time than it took to blink, Ranma lifted the fighter by his arm, and lobbed him across the room. Just to teach him a lesson in finishing a strike quickly, Ranma allowed a little pressure on the elbow joint while he lifted for the throw. Not enough to break it or even permanently damage it, but it should hurt like hell for a few days.

The Sensei hit the wall fairly lightly and more or less flowed to the ground. After a few seconds he was staggering to his feet, reeling in confusion, and holding his elbow in obvious pain. Ranma stared in shock. But I only threw him four meters! Surely he can't be injured that badly. Hell, I was doing that to Akane until she was fifty and she would thump me with her mallet if I did it that lightly!

Keeping a defensive posture, Ranma watched as the man staggered back to the centre of the dojo. When the Sensei bowed to him, he realised it was over. Damn, I still haven't gotten past the warm up yet!

"My apologies to you and your school, Ranma-sensei. I have never seen someone so fast, or so strong before. I beg forgiveness for my rudeness."

Still in shock, Ranma bowed, mumbled something polite and left. What was wrong here? Most of the kids he used to teach the Intermediate course to back in the Amazon village would have beaten him. I've got to find a decent dojo!

Around that same time, the Sailor Senshi were gathered in an ice-cream parlour in their normal garb. Even as they ordered, Rei scratched her head and wondered why. Why was it always ice-cream they were getting? Was Usagi actually possessed by a demon with an ice-cream fetish? Was there some higher order in the universe which dictated the need to consume large quantities of ice-cream?

Rei watched a young girl in a booth. She was wearing bright red clothing and had a large hammer strapped to her back. To judge by the way she was hoeing into her ice-cream, you could almost believe that the was some declaration from heaven declaring the divinity of ice- cream. When Rei turned back to her friends, and saw Usagi salivating while she stared at the desserts arrayed before her, she dismissed that idea. Nothing could make Usagi look royal or holy.

"Come on, Meatball Head. The rest of us want to order before the shop shuts."

"Ohhh, but there's so many to choose from. I could get the Chocolate Ripple, or the Super Fudge, or the Strawberry Surprise, or the..."

She trailed off after a moment, frantically searching through her purse for enough money to be able to eat it all. The other girls sighed, then pushed past her and ordered their own. When Usagi saw her friends sitting down, halfway through their food, she finally took the plunge and ordered everything she could afford. She might be missing out on some really yummy stuff, but she knew they wouldn't wait forever.

Eventually everyone was seated around the table eating their desserts when Minako nudges Makoto. "Any more luck finding that hunk from the theatre yet?"

Makoto blushed and looked sheepish. "No, not yet."

"So is he really an old boyfriend of yours?"

"No, but I'm hoping to be able to say he's my current boyfriend some day soon."

Everyone sniggered, letting Ami speak up. "I only got a brief look at him. Is he really worth all the work that you're putting into it?"

"How can you say such a thing? Of course it's worth it. As I looked across at him, our eyes met, and I just knew he was the one for me. Somehow I just knew I was destined to meet him. We'll be the perfect couple, so beautiful and elegant! He's even cuter than Mamoru. Isn't he, Usagi?"

"I suppose it depends if you prefer the muscle bound, body like a Greek god look, or the refined face of a man who looks like a king."

"Feh! Knowing you, you'd want both of them, just so you won't miss out on anything next time one of them gets brainwashed or kidnapped or something."

Usagi blushed and hid behind her ice-cream for a moment. Realising the only way that she could stop them teasing her was to get someone new to tease, she popped up again and levelled her spoon at Rei (practising with the Moon Sceptre helped her immensely, even as a blob of ice-cream flew off the end she maintained her poise). "Come on, Rei. What about this new boyfriend of yours?"

"Hey! He's not my boyfriend. He's just a new apprentice at the shrine."

"That's not what your grandfather tells us. From what he says your boyfriend is really cute. He says you two make a great couple."

Minako tossed in her two cents also: "Yeah, he even told me that the two of you should get married so you can take over the shrine."

"WHAT? How can he say that? That old pervert! No, we are not getting married."

Sensing victory, they closed in for the kill. "Ah, but she not denying that he's cute."

"Well, yeah, he is cute. And he's always so polite. And he's pretty good at working around the shrine. And..."

Everyone went 'Oooh!' as she began to recount the details. When Rei glared at them, they burst out laughing.

"How far have you gotten?"

"Have you kissed him yet?"

"Have you met his family?"

"When are we going to meet him?"

"Is it true your grandfather asked him to sleep over?"

"When are you getting engaged?"

"Does he have a nice butt?"

"QUIET!!"

"Better, much better. It's not like that. Ranma's a nice boy. He's... Well, he's not exactly quiet or shy or anything, but... But he's so... Well, he's quiet and shy and everything. "That didn't make any sense, did it?"

Everyone shook their heads in perfect unison. "Um, let me see. Ranma's... complex. He's outgoing and lively and always energetic. _Always_ energetic, arg, I don't know how he can be so bright in the mornings. But... At the same time, he's always a bit quiet and distant. I suppose it's because he's such a perfect gentleman. He's always polite to me, and never tries anything, even when we're alone."

"Well, you seem to be doing all right with him. You're on a first name basis already, aren't you?"

"Hmm, sort of. Even on the first day I was calling him 'Ranma', it's just so easy. But he's always so polite to me. I don't think he's ever called me anything else aside from 'Rei-san'."

Seeing her friend starting to get a little misty eyed about a boy she obviously had one-way feelings for, Ami interjected. "Enough about Rei, how are you going to track down this mystery man of yours, Mako-chan?"

Rei smiled her thanks for the help. Her friends meant well, but to be honest, they tended to gossip like a bunch of school girls... there was a good reason for that though.

In yet another part of Tokyo, someone was making a name for herself. The tall, good looking dojo destroyer was systematically visiting every dojo, beating the stuffing out of everyone foolish enough to challenge her. Leaving a trail weeks long, a string of dojo from the west coast the heart of Tokyo bore the signs of her passing, broken signs, and unconscious champions. The only reasoning anyone had was her horrific war-cry. Hundreds of people now recognised it as a sound to be feared, and lived in anticipation of the next time they may hear the words:

"Shampoo challenge!"

Shampoo looked around the suburb as she contemplated her next move. She had been sent to Japan to find a husband, and she would not fail. Fighting strength was everything in the village that she came from. Fighting strength was what made the Amazons great, and fighting strength was what enabled them to live to this day.

Coming from a long and proud line of warriors, she knew deep within her soul the power of having a strong husband, and the curse you inflicted on your children by having a weak man. Shampoo's father had been the strongest male in the village in his day. Some people even spread rumours that her mother had lost the fight because she loved him, but her parents had squashed those rumours; literally.

He mother was the strongest maiden in the village, as was her mother before her. Shampoo was the strongest of this generation, and her great grandmother was still the Matriarch of the village. It was a job that Shampoo wanted some day, and for that she needed a strong husband, to make her a real woman. As with all of the other hard and important work in the village, it was a woman's job to provide for the strength of the village's future. For that she needed a strong husband.

All the men in the village fell before her might. When she had won the Martial Tournament a few months ago, she had systematically defeated every single man in the village. Not only was it their duty to fight when challenged, but Shampoo's beauty and expected political future guaranteed all the suitors gave their all.

All tried, and all failed.

There was only one thing to do when you can beat the best that are on offer: find some more offers. Everyone knew that they only men worth the effort in the area were the Musk. Neither the Joketsuzoku or the Musk had any fancy for the idea of intermarriage, so a quest was mandated. In the past great warriors had journeyed far and wide in search of suitable material to strengthen their bloodlines. She would do no less.

Picking up on rumours, Shampoo had finally come to Japan. A land fabled for it's great warriors, Ninja and Samurai, a land where people were dedicated to the art of fighting. Here she would find the warrior who would defeat her, and she would sweep him off his feet and back to China.

Japan seemed like another failure. She had been searching high and low. From one school to another she sought the strongest on offer, and then defeated them. Was she too good? Was she really the pinnacle of Amazon breeding, too strong for ordinary men to defeat?

Shampoo sniffed in misery. Some of the men had given her a run for her money, they had challenged her, and pushed her to her limits, but in the end they failed too. Amazon strength, combined with speed and her knowledge of their secret techniques triumphed every time. Perhaps... just perhaps she would need to give a little in one fight. She would ask Great-grandmother. She would know. She knew everything.

Before her the door of the next dojo opened. Looking at the class that was assembled, she saw that news of her progress was spreading. By the number of black belts, and the healthy figures on the men, these were the best they had to offer. They would not be enough.

"Shampoo challenge!"