Here is the final chapter of Yin and Yang. I hope you all enjoyed this story.

Chapter Eight- The Challenge

THUNK!

An arrow protruded from one of the Tendo's porch poles, a piece of paper tied to its shaft. Akane happened to be on the porch, so she untied the letter and smoothed it out to see who it was for. Then, she opened the porch door leading to the dining room and said, "Ranma, you got a letter from Kuno."

Ranma looked up from his rice and took the letter. He opened it up and scanned its contents. Finally, he looked up and smirked. "He's challenging me to a fight after school today. It's about time. He's been back for a week already."

"I'd be careful, Ranma," Nabiki cut in. "Kuno baby's trained in China, just like you did. I'm sure he's picked up some new tricks while he was there."

"I'll still beat him."

"Don't be so confident, boy," Genma scolded. "A cocky martial artist is a sloppy martial artist."

Ranma nodded, but inside he knew he would win. Kuno relied solely on his sword. Take that away and he was done. There's nothing Kuno's picked up that I can't beat.

"You delivered the challenge letter to Saotome?"

"Yes, Master Kuno."

"Excellent." Kuno drank some tea. "Today I will defeat him once and for all. I only hope that it does not rain today." He glanced outside at the gray clouds that covered the sky.

"As do I, Master. Shall I accompany you with hot water today?"

"No. That will not be necessary."

"But, Master-"

"I said no!"

"Yes, Master."

"Ranma Saotome. I suggest you write your will today for you will not live to see tomorrow," Kuno declared as Ranma came through the gates that morning.

"Yeah, yeah." Ranma's tone was flippant. "I'll write it during study hall. Just make sure you're ready for our fight."

"Oh, I shall be ready." As he walked inside, he looked at the gray clouds again. I pray that it, at least, doesn't rain after school.

Ranma took a bite of one of Kasumi's rice cakes and stared out a window at the schoolyard below. It was lunchtime and he could hardly wait for his fight. It had been a long time since he last fought. Ryoga was off training somewhere (it was more likely he was lost) and Mousse hadn't come after him either. Kuno's challenge was eagerly anticipated.

As he took another bite, he noticed the rain clouds sweeping over the town. Man, I hope it doesn't rain during the fight. I'm not worried that Kuno will discover my secret. He's too dense to realize it. I just don't want him grabbing me even though he's only interested in Nabiki.

"Yo, Kuno. Here I am. You ready to fight?"

It was fight time at last. Ranma noticed that the school grounds were devoid of other students. Perhaps the impending rain had sent them home already. Even Akane and Nabiki weren't around. It was just as well. The fight wouldn't last long. He could already see it. Kuno would jab his sword at him, he would avoid the strikes, disarm Kuno, and finally knock him out. The rain would come on his way home. Maybe he'll stop at Ukyo's for hot water, some food, and an umbrella.

All this went through his mind as he struck a fighting stance. Kuno responded by holding his sword at the ready. "This day will be your last, Saotome," Kuno said. Lightning flashed and the first few raindrops fell to punctuate his statement.

"Oh, nice, Kuno. Very dramatic," Ranma commented. As he took a step forward, he then realized it was raining.

Oh no, she thought. She squeezed her eyes shut. What lousy timing. Any minute now, Kuno's going to run over and hug me all the while declaring his love for the pigtailed girl, despite the fact that he loves only Nabiki now. About a minute passed before Ranma opened her eyes and looked at Kuno. Her jaw dropped when she saw a blonde girl wearing Kuno's clothes! What the hell? she thought.

Oh no, it's raining! Kuno couldn't believe it as he changed to a girl. She had planned on luring Saotome to where she had a bucket of cold water stashed so she could uncover his curse. Sure, the rain would do that for her, but it had just revealed her as well. She then noticed that Saotome's eyes were closed. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't going to complain. She could rush behind her opponent and knock him out before he-

Kuno broke off in mid-thought as she saw Ranma's hair change from black to red. Seconds later, the pigtailed girl stood where Ranma had been. Kuno blinked rapidly and her mind reeled in shock.

Saotome was the pigtailed girl all this time!? That means we both fell in the same spring! Kuno thought back to all those veiled comments that Ranma had said in the past and realized that she had been too thickheaded to see them for what they were. Well, as veiled as they were, how could anyone think that Ranma meant he was boy and girl?

Ranma then chose that moment to open her eyes. She blinked upon seeing Kuno before her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

"S-Saotome?" Kuno stammered in a whisper. She had seen Ranma change into a girl, but she wanted to be sure it was her rival.

The girl nodded before replying in the same manner, "Kuno?"

The swordswoman nodded and both of them regarded one another for several seconds. Then Ranma broke out in a big grin, fell onto the ground, and started laughing.

Kuno's face went red and so did her vision. This was almost exactly like her dream! She had turned into a girl in front of Saotome and she was laughing at her. I will not allow her to continue mocking me!

"Silence, Saotome! It's your fault this happened to me!" Kuno charged at Ranma, her sword flashing in front of her.

Ranma barely had enough time to avoid the first strike, let alone the ones that followed it. She couldn't believe how fast Kuno had gotten. Still, without the sword, Kuno had no other tricks.

Ducking under the blade's strikes, Ranma dashed toward the hilt and delivered a gentle karate chop to Kuno's knuckles, which made her drop the sword. Ranma then kicked the sword out of range and proceeded to attack with her Chestnuts Technique.

Kuno saw the attack coming and her training came into play. She weaved from side to side, avoiding the flying fists much to Ranma's surprise. Kuno then crouched down and swept a leg across the ground, sending Ranma to the ground. But, the martial artist quickly got to her feet. Both fighters paused, chests heaving.

Finally Ranma made a "T" with her hands. "Whoa, whoa. Time out."

"Problem, Saotome?" Kuno taunted. "Can't fight me as a girl for much longer?"

"Hey, pal. I've fought as a girl a lot longer then you have. I'm willing to call this fight a draw and besides, we're both likely to catch cold if we stay outside much longer."

Kuno nodded. Ranma was right. Both of them would get sick if they didn't get out of the rain. Since the school was closest, they headed for it and sat under the overhang above the front doors.

Several minutes passed in silence before Ranma said, "It's obvious you went to Jusenkyo, but why did you go there?"

"Sasuke overheard you mention that you trained there. I believed you learned some impressive technique there and I was determined to learn it too, all for the purpose of defeating you. I never imagined it would go so wrong."

"The only technique I learned was turning into a girl when splashed with cold water," Ranma answered wryly. "But, you did improve. You learned to fight without your sword."

Kuno patted the weapon that lay next to her. She had picked it up on the way to their "shelter." "I had decided to learn some fighting styles that did not require weaponry."

"I…can see why it's my fault you went to Jusenkyo. But falling in the girl spring was lucky. It could have been worse."

"How so?"

"You could have wound up as a panda, a duck, or a piglet."

Kuno swallowed hard. Compared to those options, being a girl was lucky. She was still human after getting hit with cold water. She remembered that Sasuke was also responsible for her fall. Of course, she wasn't going to tell Ranma that unless she asked how Kuno fell. She was curious on how Ranma fell in, though.

"How did you fall in the spring, Saotome?"

"Pops kicked me into it. We were balanced on the poles and I had knocked him into the Spring of Drowned Panda. He then kicked me and I fell in the girl one."

"So, it was your father's fault."

"Yup. He was the one who dragged me there in the first place, even though he didn't speak a word of Chinese. So, how did you fall?"

"I too was on the poles, practicing my speed. Sasuke broke my concentration by praising me. My shoe touched the edge of a pole and I couldn't regain my footing."

"Basically, you slipped off."

"Yes." Kuno took a long look at Ranma. Even though she knew the truth, it didn't change the fact that Ranma's girl form was beautiful. No surprise that Kuno fell in love with her when she first saw her. Kuno then became aware that Ranma was staring at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Saotome?" she snapped. "Am I that replusive?"

"Huh? No way. You're actually quite pretty."

"Yes. My sister has said so as well."

"Have you looked in a mirror lately? You sure don't sound convinced."

"I have not had the time to look. Until last week, I did not want to accept the fact that I'm half-girl now and I was too busy training to look."

"Well, you should. So only Sasuke, Kodachi, and I know you change?"

"Precisely and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Okay. How about this? I won't tell and you don't tell plus you leave Akane alone. She is my fiancée, after all."

"Who knows you change?"

"Akane and her family, Dr. Tofu, Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, Cologne, Ukyo, and now you. I don't want it to go further than that."

"I see. All right. It's a deal, Saotome."

"Great. Well, the rain's stopped. Let's change and go home."

"Agreed. But this doesn't change anything between us. We are not friends now. I will smite you yet."

"You can try."

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!" Kuno's voice rang out across the school courtyard the next morning.

Ranma avoided Kuno's strikes and the two of them sparred with each other across the yard.

"Stand and fight you coward!" Kuno yelled, slashing forward with his sword.

"Kuno, you swing like a girl."

Kuno's face went crimson with anger. "SAOTOME!"

The End