Disclaimer:  All characters portrayed in this story are owned by their 
respective creators and companies.  I don't own any of them.

This story draws ideas from the manga and anime of all series involved.

This story is part of my Life and Times crossover series.  This is the
second story to the First Knight series.

C & C welcome.

First Knight 2: Challenges

by

Donny Cheng

        "C'mon, Kuno!  You can do better than that," Ranma growled at the
Kendoist.

        "It seems that I have caught a slight chill," Kuno wheezed, out of
breath.  "You are fortunate today as I have decided to let you go for
now."

        Ranma rolled his eyes at that.  He then followed right after Kuno
and into school just before the school gates closed.  "You know, if you're
going to practice with a weighted bokken you should remember not to
overcompensate so much with a normal one in a real battle," Ranma noted to
the back of the Kendoist in front of him.

        Kuno frowned.  Ranma's tone came in the same arrogant snideness
that he had come to hate.  "I think perhaps that the fear of me you feel
is growing fast indeed if you have to resort to petty methods of
disturbing my concentration.  If that is true, you truly are fortunate
that I stopped the battle."

        "Me?  Scared of you?  Maybe I should have pounded you into the
ground."

        The sounds of the bickering pair finally broke though to the
sunned silent crowd in the school yard.  Gossip began to spread like
wildfire among the few dozen spectators that never missed the morning show
between the two martial artists.  Ranma, disappointingly, didn't kick
Kuno into the stratosphere for the fourth day in a row.

                        * * * * *

        Kuno paused to look at his bokken before entering into the
classroom.  He relaxed his grip and swung it around a few times.  It felt
much more natural then before.  He snorted, "Feh."

                        * * * * *

        Akane sat down at the table near the back of the cafeteria.  Only
one other person sat there with her.  A person that used the table as if
it were a personal office.

        Nabiki waited for Akane to speak first as was her normal method of
operation.  After five minutes have past and her lunch finished, Nabiki
made as if to leave.  A smirk appeared on her face as her sister finally
broke down first.

        "So, you hear about this morning?  Heh, I doubt that there is
anyone in school that hasn't.  Imagine, Kuno actually lasting fifteen
minutes against Ranma four days in a row.  I heard that Kuno even hit
Ranma a few times."

        Nabiki nodded absently to Akane to let her sister think that she
was listening to these 'facts'.  Of course she knew about the fights and
their strangeness.  She did run a daily betting pool after all.  Lately
the odds were not in her favor and this displeased her greatly.  Though
Akane and Ranma had become closer together over the year, for her to admit
that she was worried showed something might be wrong with Ranma.  Akane's
worries confirmed Nabiki's own suspicions about the seriousness of
the matter.

        Ever since Ranma had come back from his visit to his cousin,
Usagi, he had seemed a little different.  The only word Nabiki could find
to describe him was that Ranma was more _driven_.  Normally he wouldn't
even give Kuno the time of day, but recently he took each fight as
seriously as if Kuno were Taro.

        The fights in themselves were strange.  While the art was not a
major factor in her life, Nabiki still understood enough of it to pick up
little tidbits of information.  Her keen eyes showed her that Ranma
sometimes blocked attacks that could easily have been dodged.  It was
almost like Ranma was testing how much of a hit his body could take.

        Kuno was not the only one to receive this treatment.  Both Mousse
and Ryoga have had at least one fight with Ranma in the last little while.
Each fight was the same in that Ranma did his utmost to dodge everything
thrown at him as per his usual style.  However, every so often, he would
suddenly stop and take a hit, usually in the most vulnerable of places.
Most of his opponents had assumed that Ranma was taunting them with his
increased strength since he had become a warder.

        Everyone, except for her.  What told her that something was
different was the Ranma never once finished the fights conclusively and
always commented on what his opponent had done wrong.  One could take that
to mean arrogance, but one did not live with Ranma like she did.  The once
lazy martial artist had doubled his training regime over night it seemed.
What Nabiki wouldn't give to find out what had happened during his visit.

        "You're not even listening, Nabiki," Akane accused.  "What do you
think of the sudden change?"

        Nabiki looked at her ledger.  She had lost forty thousand yen in
the past four days.  "That's what I would like to know."

                        * * * * *

        Ranma touched his side where Kuno had managed to tag him with the
bokken.  There was a small bruise there that he knew from experience would
disappear in less then a day.  Touching it now, he barely felt any pain
compared to the first time he had been hit by Kuno.  True, he had
improved, but so had Kuno, just not at as fast a rate.  How much did Kuno
put into that swipe?  All of his strength?  Half of it?  A few more days
of testing and Ranma should have a better idea of how much he had improved
since he first arrived in Nerima.

        However much he had improved, he knew that it was high above
those of his regular sparring partners, Mousse, Ryoga, and Kuno.  The
enhancements he received for being Moiraine's warder was starting to annoy
him.  They were the main cause of the great gap between him and the
others.  Until he found away to 'turn off' the abilities of a warder, he
would have to handicap himself, which he hated to do.  The greatest
pleasure of the fight was going all out and knowing one's opponent was
doing the same.  The only way they stood a chance of catching up to him
and give a decent fight would be if he were to train them himself.  He
would do whatever it took to recreate what had happened in Makai.

        He could still remember his battle with Dimitri.  His heart
started to pound so loud he could hear it in his ears and his breath
quickened with each beat.  Every moment of that battle replayed themselves
in his mind.  His heart sped even faster as he remembered the moment he
had nearly lost.  Even as he was losing, he felt the excitement rise
within him.  His newly developed senses all screamed at him that Dimitri
had not yet fully powered up.  In his entire life, Ranma had only felt
this thrill once.  It was he first time he fought Happosai for real.
The aura he felt had made him face fear of another human being for the
first and only time.  Every since then he had pestered, prodded, and
generally made himself a nuisance to Happosai, but the pervert never used
that aura on him again.  He would have given anything to get that feeling
again.  To his surprise and shock, there were others that possessed a Ki
level that rivaled and surpassed the old letch.  Dimitri was one of them.
Yusuke, a friend of Botan's was another.

        Yusuke.  Ranma had only met the boy once before at the party after
his supposed 'kidnapping' at the hands of Morrigan.

                        * * * * *

        "Hi," Ranma said as he walked up to the boy.  He held out his hand
in greeting.  "You're Botan's friend, right?"

        "Hi.  Yeah, I'm Yusuke," Yusuke replied while he took hold of
Ranma's out stretched hand and gave it a firm shake.  "Pretty popular
aren't you?"

        Ranma winced as he looked around the circus that was the Tendo
Dojo.  All his 'friends' had decided to hold a party because of the
successful rescue attempt.  Usagi and Tenchi were off to one corner
planning each of Ranma's upcoming vacations.  The rest of the girls were
off to one side singing Karoke.  Akane was glaring at him for some odd
reason.  "Please, don't mention it.  So, you study martial arts?" Ranma
asked to change to subject.

        Yusuke grinned, "How'd you know?"

        "Heh, that grip of yours nearly took my hand off."

        "Oops.  Keep forgetting to hold my strength more."

        More?  Ranma wondered just how much more strength the guy had.  He
hadn't been joking when he said that handshake had nearly pulled his arm
off from its socket.  "I practice it too.  Want to have a friendly spar?"

        Yusuke shook his head.  He really did forget his strength
sometimes.  Botan would kill him if he were to kill her boyfriend.  "Nah,
Koenma gets upset when I fight.  I really don't want to be forced to go
back to Makai before I'm ready."  Ranma shrugged, but he was clearly
disappointed.  "Tell you what.  Let me tell you some of the fights I have
been in.  This party really was starting to bore the hell out of me."

        Ranma's spirits lifted, "Sure.  I could tell you a thing or two
also."

                        * * * * *

        Ranma looked at the scrap of paper in his hand.  On it was
Yusuke's number.  He looked over at the phone.  He picked it up and
dialed.

                        * * * * *

        Yusuke put down the phone.  It had been Ranma on the phone.  Hiei
and Kurama had warned him of this.  Though, he had already guessed that
the phone call was inevitable the moment he had first seen Ranma.  The way 
martial artist had been looking at him throughout the party reminded him
of himself.  How many times did he look at Toguro or Sensui the same way?

        That made his decision for him.  Picking up the phone, he dialed
Genkai's home number.  He would need some spirit wards.

                        * * * * *

        Ranma couldn't believe his luck.  Yusuke agreed to meet him.  At
first he hadn't know what to say, but it turned out he didn't need to say
anything.  Yusuke congradulated him on his win in Makai and the
conversation went from there.  However, since it was business hours,
Yusuke had to go back to cooking, cutting the call short.  They agreed to
continue their chat at Yusuke's some time over the weekend.  That gave
Ranma a whole week to train.  Not that he was expecting it, but a sparring
match could pop up anytime, anywhere.  Ranma grinned in anticipation.

                        * * * * *

        "...and that is how you summon lightning," Urd finished and
dramatically pointed to the charred stump of what had once been a tree
full of cherry blossoms.

        "Belldandy will be angry," Moiraine replied without looking at her
sensei.  She took another sip of her tea and flipped over the next page of
the computer manuel.  Learning how to take care of the 'wheel' in this
world was very interesting indeed.

        "Erk... Don't worry, I can fix it, no prob..," Urd stopped in
mid-sentence as something just came to her.  "That stupid moron!  Does he
really think he could take on a class S youkai?"

        Moiraine flipped over the next page.  "You're talking about Ranma?
That would explain the happiness I feel coming from him.  He's been in a
good mood the past week."

        Urd nodded.  Her bond with Ranma was at least as strong as 
Moiraine's bond and allowed them both to keep track of certain aspects to
his life.  "Well, I'm not going to let him risk his foolish neck like
that.  One death is more than I can handle.  Good youkai or not, class S
power was simply not meant to be used on earth."

        "Ranma will not like it if you stop him in this.  This had been
coming for a long time.  Ever since I bonded to him, I've felt this
overwhelming need of his to fight.  The young pup will never grow if you
do not let him take matters into his own hands when it counts."  Moiraine
felt a touch of sadness as she remembered Rand.  How might things have
gone differently if she had gained his trust earlier?  He may have been
young but he was right in that he deserved some say in how his life would
be run.  In the end, it was she who had to submit to his will for him to
listen to her.

        Urd sighed.  "Like I could stop him even if I tried.  Only his ego
comes close to his level of stubborness.  Maybe getting dumped on his butt
will teach him a thing or two."

                        * * * * *

        Genkai watched Yusuke as he left back down the mountain path.  The
sprit wards she had given him would mask the presense of a Youkai from the
world.  In effect, it would allow Yusuke to powerup to as high as he
wanted and Koenma would never know.

        "You've given it to him?" Happosai asked as he came out from the
shadows.

        "You were here the whole time."

        "Never could fool you, Genkai-chan."

        "Haven't seen you for decade and you haven't changed a bit."

        Happosai shrugged.  "Cologne hasn't either.  As long as she's 
still around, I'll be here."

        Genkai bristled at Cologne's name.  "How is she, by the way?"

        "Still angry, just like you are.  She never approved of you
leaving the village to study reiki, but I think she misses you.  She's
grown a lot more liberal this past year.  You'd be surprised at some of
the things she puts up with."

        Genkai had to admit that she also missed the elder.  "Is she
disappointed?"

        "In you?  Never.  You've surpassed her in many areas of the art
and I would say she's more than proud at your accomplishments."

        Genkai felt some relief come from hearing that.  Cologne had
raised her in the village as a daughter ever since her mother died.  It
hadn't been easy to leave to village to persue her dreams.  "So, this boy
you're going to all this trouble for is her student?"

        "Mine and hers, you could say.  She has another student but she
hasn't had the nerve to teach Shampoo as hard as she is teaching Ranma.
She didn't want to push Shampoo away like she did to you."

        "So he is the one then?  The one you both are placing all your
hopes into?"

        "I've never seen anyone before with his potential.  You were lucky
that you found an heir to your art only after a few years of trying.  It
took me over two hundred to find one."

        Genkai nodded sadly, "How is Genma?"  Happosai had found a worthy
candidate earlier, but it had all blown up in his face seventeen years
ago.

        Happosai sighed, "Still happy with his wife and still not willing 
to perfect his style of Saotome-ryu."

        "C'mon, share a drink with me.  Let's not talk of such unhappy
things."

        Happosai had a mischievous glint in his eyes as something occured
to him.  "Only if you use your reiki on me right now."

        "Still a pervert.  I gave up my reiki to Yusuke, remember?"

        Happosai waved her off.  "Reiki is of the spirit and like the
soul it can be regenerated to a certain degree.  You should have most of
your power back by now.  Now let me see!"

        Genkai laughed and gave up.  Happosai would never change.  He was
also the only one in the world that could make her laugh.  Concentrating
her reiki into her finger, she then fired off a blast at Happosai.

        Happosai's three hundred year old eyes watered admiringly as he
took in the sight of the the old woman changing into one of the most
beautiful girls he had ever laid his eyes upon.  A face he hadn't seen in
a long time.  He was still looking as the reiki blasted him out of the
sky.  "Sweeto!"

                        * * * * *

        "Hey Keiko, I'm going out of a sec!  You mind the store."

        "What!?  I have to study!  You get back here this minute."

        "C'mon, I'll be gone just for a little while."

        Ranma grinned at the bickering couple.  Keiko reminded him of
Akane.

        "Let's scram, Ranma, before she decides to run out the store and
catch us."

        The both of them ran a couple of blocks before slowing down and
walked beside each other in silence.

        "So, how did you like the fight in Makai?" Yusuke asked first.

        "Great!  I can't wait to go back."

        "Even though you nearly lost?"

        Ranma was about to puff his chest out and state indignantly that
there had been no chance of that happening, but the tone of Yusuke's voice
stopped him.  Yusuke had taken on a sterner posture since they had left
the restaurant.  "Yeah."

        "From what I've heard, Dimitri is a class S youkai.  There must
have either been a mistake or he hadn't been using all of his strenth."

        "He hadn't been using all of his strength."  That much Ranma could
tell after mastering his awareness to reiki.

        Yusuke kept going on as if he didn't hear Ranma.  "Each level of
youkai is about ten times as strong as the lower levels.  Looking at your
reiki, I would say you are about the same as a high level C youkai, maybe
even a low level B."

        Ten times?  Ranma's mind boggled at the concept.  That would mean
Yusuke and Dimitri were both at least a hundred times stronger than he
was?  That can't be right.  "With that kind of power, why didn't Dimitri
take over the world when he was here?  He must be stronger than Saffron
and that guy could blow up mountain ranges!"

        "Because, he is a youkai.  His home world is not this one, but
Makai.  If Koenma or Enma discover any youkai of class A or higher within
the human world, the youkai is immediately sent back to Makai.  Dimitri is
a vampire and a very old one at that.  He has a taste for human blood and
it is much easier to get his supply if he lived in this world.  Also, he
wanted to conserve his strength and have a rematch with my ancestor who
had defeated him over a hundred years ago.  With Makai in a state of
unrest, right now is the perfect time for him to return to his plane."

        "I haven't seen the guy yet, but I know the type.  If he hadn't
been using his full power it was probably because he hadn't regained full
mastery over his true form yet.  I think he will be able to regain full
control over his class S power in about a year, since it took me about
that long to master mine."  Yusuke watched Ranma's face carefully for any
reaction.

        A year.  He had a year before Dimitri was whole.  Ranma felt his
heart start to pound rapidly in anticipation.

        Yusuke wondered if his own face had looked like that when he was
waiting for a fight.  Time to knock some sense into the boy.  "I wouldn't
want to be you when a year passes.  It's my bet you will be the first
person he goes after.  The only thing keeping you safe right now is that
you have that succubus looking after you and that you live up here.  In a
year he won't have to fear anyone and I'm sure that he will have the
resources he needs to get you down to Makai by that time. "

        This, Ranma did get angry at.  "Are you saying, I'm hiding behind
a girl?  I'm don't back down from anyone."

        "Then you will die," Yusuke said simply.  "Do you want to see how
powerful a class S youkai really is?"

        It was then that Ranma noticed where Yusuke had led them.  As they
walked and talked with each other, they had gradually walked off the road
in into a grove of trees.  On every tree was a paper spirit ward.  The
hairs on the back of Ranma's neck tingled in response to the danger in the
air.  He looked over at Yusuke and concentrated.  Wisps of reiki and youki
whirled around the older boy.  Yusuke's battle aura began to rise at a
rapid pace.  Ranma got into a battle stance.

        "What the hell do you think you're doing!  Are you crazy?"

        Yusuke blinked and his aura rapidly descended again.  He could
have sword he just heard the sound of a woman in the area.  He thought he
asked Hiei and Kurama to make sure the area was secure.

        Ranma groaned and looked at the little girl, er woman, that just
popped out of his chest.  "What are you doing out here?  It's dangerous.
Get back inside."

        Mini-Urd spared Ranma a withering glare.  "Dangerous for me?  It's
dangerous for me even if I stayed in your body.  The guy is a class S
youkai!"

        "Yeah, Ranma.  Maybe you should think this over," Mini-Usagi
agreed as she pulled herself out of Ranma's chest.

        Ranma felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down to see
Mini-Moiraine staring crossly at him.  "Not you too?  I thought we had an
agreement, anyway.  No more popping out suddenly."

        "Only if Urd, Moiraine, or Usagi are here or you're in danger.  We
know, we know.  You don't think this counts?"  Urd obviously thought it
did as the question didn't seem like one at all.

        "Uh, what's going on here?" Yusuke finally risked asking.  He
hoped the question didn't make him sound like a fool.

        "We're Ranma's soul," Mini-Usagi offered.

        Yusuke blinked.  He looked at the three girls.  A strange feeling
came over him.  He laughed, "Yes!  Thank-you!  I thought I had the
silliest looking soul, but these three take the cake."  Even though Pu
ended up looking like some awesome phoenix in the end, Yusuke never got
over the way his friends laughed at the way his inner heart looked like.

        Three pairs of eyes looked at one another.  The boy had to die.
"Kill him, Ranma!"  Just as quickly, the three were gone.

        Ranma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.  "Sorry about this.
They get carried away sometimes."

        Yusuke's face regained its previous calm composure.  "Heh, I
wondered how you could have reached class B so easily, compared to what I
had to go through.  Those three girls aren't really your soul, are they?
They each have a distinct reiki unlike your own.  They are the reason,
your reiki is higher than when I first met you."

        Ranma was both disheartened and happy to hear that.  It just
solved his problem of his much too high level of power.  If the girls were
the reason, maybe they could 'shut' off their help or failing that step
out of him when he didn't need them.  It also meant that he had a long
way to go before he could ever hope to meet Dimitri in a battle.

        The area was once again flooded with Yusuke's reiki and youki.
"This is the power of a high class B youkai."  The battle aura suddenly
shot up higher.  "Class A."  Again, Yusuke continued to concentrate and
soon the very ground started to shake.  If not for the wards on the trees,
the area would have been barren in a minute.  "Class S."

        Ranma stared in wonder.  His legs were numb and he lost all
feeling in them.  He couldn't run even if he wanted to.  This was the same
feeling he felt when he had fought Happosai that first time.

        Yusuke suddenly rushed forward and landed a blow onto Ranma's
chest.  The boy flew straight across the grove and only stopped because of
a massive boulder blocking his flight path.  Just as quickly he was at
Ranma's side again.  "I could power up some more.  I haven't even shown my
true form yet.  But I think you'll die if I do."

        Ranma wiped the blood from the side of his mouth as it came
spewing out.  All his internal organs felt as if they had exploded.  A
rib or two was definately cracked.  He grinned.  As Yusuke continued to
talk, Ranma has secretly readied his hands for his chi blast, "Moko
takabashi!"

        Yusuke took the blast full in the face.  Yusuke was surprised to
note that Ranma used a different form of reiki.  Reiki was only as strong
how the spirit level of the person using it.  It depended on emotions only 
to reach a new level of strength.  It did not need it for normal attacks.
Ranma's chi blast, however, was based purely on the will or rather the
confidence level of the user.  Yusuke touched his cheek and felt a small
cut barely noticeable on his cheek.  If Ranma had used reiki instead,
there wouldn't have even been a cut.  He grinned also.  A very smart
fighter.

        Ranma considered Yusuke for a moment as he carefully backed away.
One fact about the shi shi hokodan and the moko takabashi he had figured
out almost immediately was that there were many weaknesses to the
techniques.  One caused the wielder to spiral into dispair and the other
sapped the will almost as greatly.  It was hard to maintain coherent
thought in depression and it was equally hard to maintain confidence when
the will was being drained.

        Another great weakness he knew was that there was a limit to the
strength of the attacks.  Any person whether a man in his prime or a young
tot could use the same full shi shi hokodan at the same power since
emotion was the main requirement.  Hence, both he and Ryoga had long since
developed ways to add their own inate chi to the blast, but pour too much
and you not only lose will, you also lose power.  However, against a
stronger opponent, that was a foolish tactic.  That last blast had cost
him half of his chi and he doubted he was confident enough to fire another
one as strong.  His only hope was that Yusuke did not know that yet.  He
decided to go for broke and attacked.

        Yusuke stood still as Ranma hailed a rain of fists and kicks into
every one of his nerve points.  Very smart attacker.  However, Yusuke
didn't feel a thing.  "Lost nearly all of your strength and you still went
for it?  I think I was wrong.  Not every smart at all."

        Ranma hands hurt like hell.  What was the guy made out of?  He
looked up at Yusuke and knew it was over.

        "My turn," Yusuke said.

                        * * * * *

        Yusuke shook his head as he looked at Ranma's eyes.  They still
stared up at him even as Ranma's body was a crumpled mass of flesh.  "You
still want to go at it.  You remind me of me when I was young.  Well, you
passed.  I'll take you to see Genkai after you rest tonight."

        "Genkai?" Ranma asked as Yusuke helped him up.

        "Yeah, she taught me all I know.  She specializes in reiki.  I
think she once knew your master."

        "But, I have school and tests are coming up."  Actually, Ranma
didn't give a damn about them, but he did about a person that did go to
school.

        Yusuke looked up at the sky for a moment before answering, "School
and fighting do not mix.  I left this world for the battle.  I didn't care
about school.  The only reason I would have stayed behind was a girl.  I
told her in three years I would be back and I would then marry her.  
There's a great battle coming up in Makai in a little over two years.  I
will be there.  I think I can get my friends to hold off Dimitri until
then.  Right now, my friend Kuwabara could beat you with one hand tied
behind his back.  That is not a compliment," Yusuke joked goodnaturedly to
lighten the sombre mood.

        Ranma took all of this in.  Would she listen to him?  Would she
wait?  Would she marry him?  All he knew as he looked at Yusuke was that
he had to be in Makai in two years.  "Can I say my goodbyes first?"

        Yusuke nodded.

                        * * * * *

        That night Ranma told his goodbyes to one person.  With so many
friends and enemies he couldn't afford to have a big production made over
his leaving.  Akane looked at the letter in her hands.  Ranma's writing
serious needed help.  All the ink was blotched with still wet ink.  Or was
that water?  Akane's eyes were to blurry to tell.

        She looked at the lone blurry figure walking into the night.  Two
years, Ranma.  She will wait only two years.

                        * * * * *

Epilogue

        Genma placed another piece on to the board.  Soun sat to the side
watching the game between Happosai and his friend.  Happosai quickly
responded with the placing of a piece of his own.  "Your son has made his
decision."

        Soun surprisingly did not cry at the mentioning of this.  "Was it
truly the right decision, old friend."

        "It was his to make in the beginning.  I still don't know if I
hoped for this outcome or not.  In two years, we will see," Genma gruffly
replied.

        Happosai nodded.  "We will see."

                        * * * * *

The End. (maybe)