Akane gets... well, there's no other word for it. She goes stiff. "My father did," she says, looking away. "And-- I thought he was. I thought I was. And we're-- we're better than ordinary people, I guess. Hobbyists. Even the competition circuit. But we're not--"

She bites her lip, trying to think of how to explain this. "There's a difference, I guess. Between martial artists and martial artists. People like me who-- who work really hard at it, but still maintain a mostly normal life. And... people who don't. About a year ago, my father's old training partner brought his son to stay with us. And Ranma... Mr Saotome took him on a ten year training journey, back when he was a little boy. He's so much better than me that it's--"

She clenches her fists, still not looking at her new friend.

"Next to him, I'm nothing, Connie."