Hello and welcome to the third story arc! Warning: This first chapter contains a WAFFy scene. Those who don't like warm and fuzzy moments should run, scream, and hide; not necessarily in that order. Tell me what you think: oddball22@hotmail .com Find my other chapters at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: Ranma 1/2 and it's characters were not created by me. That honor goes to Rumiko Takahashi-sama and I forever bow to her will. I'm using them strictly for non-profit and entertainment purposes only. ------------------------------------------------------ There are things that we assume are truth, and that will never change. The sun is yellow. What goes up, must come down. Politicians will fail to deliver on their promises. Death and Taxes. And there are things that we assume will change. The seasons. The sales at the supermarket. Fads and clothing styles. Your neighbors. The trick is to distinguish between the two, and it's not always an easy task. Often we take for granted something or someone will always be there, and then they are gone. Or we expect something to change or to happen, and it never does. All that you know, could be wrong. Then again, something you think to be true, could surprise you by being true. The rule to live by, is to expect the unexpected. ------------------------------------------------------ Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 1 "The tables are clean, Ukyo-chan," Yuri said happily. The young ninja-girl-in-training was feeling almost as good as she had before the night of the fire. In her opinion, this was so much better than than living in secrecy in those cheap cabins in the woods. There, her time was taken up by constant training and patrolling. The clan had been nice to her, but now she had a more normal family again, and a place that felt more like home. Ukyo looked up from where she was cleaning the grill. "Thanks Yuri-chan. Why don't you see how your brother is doing?" The chef had to smile at the trainee ninja girl's bubbly personality. She practically radiated a positive picture, especially in the cute short skirt and blouse that was her waitress outfit. In that getup, more than one guy had tried to make passes at her or had tried to grope her, but the ninja girl easily evaded all their attempts, not letting anyone touch her. She didn't even seem upset, just uninterested in their advances. "He's washing the dishes, right?" Yuri asked, to which Ukyo nodded. Yuri headed into the kitchen in the back where her brother was hunched over the sink scrubbing away in the hot, steamy water, his back to her. She tapped her lower lip. A wicked grin appeared on her face and she went to one of the spare sinks to fill a glass of cold water. Kenji noticed her and smiled as she drank some of the contents, pretending she was thirsty. When he turned his face away, she crept up on him and emptied the cup's contents on his head. She gasped and dropped the cup as her brother shrank and disappeared into his clothes. "It's true!" she exclaimed as the cutest doggy she had ever seen made his way out from underneath Kenji's clothes. Kenji looked up at his sister feeling a mite bit perturbed. He really didn't like being a stupid animal. Yuri was laughing now and trying to apologize through her fits, but it wasn't working too well. She looked back at her brother and stopped laughing. The wolf was growling and baring his teeth at her while approaching her slowly. She started to back up. "Kenji?" She asked. "Are you alright? I'm sorry about that, I just wanted to... Eeep!" The wolf lunged at her and tried to bite her leg, forcing Yuri to leap back to avoid it. He jumped at her again, and soon, he was chasing her around the restaurant. Yuri was genuinely scared, yet she didn't want to hurt her brother. "Oniichan! It's me, Yuri! I'm sorry, calm down! I know you're in there Kenji, you have to calm down!" Ukyo looked up as Yuri zoomed out of the kitchen and into the dining area. Kenji was in hot pursuit, nipping at her heels. He finally cornered her (in a corner) and proceeded to growl viciously at his sister. Ukyo could tell Yuri looked genuinely scared. "Ukyo-chan, help me!" she wimpered softly. "I think Kenji has really lost it!" Ukyo broke down, laughing hysterically. After a couple of minutes, she recovered enough to speak again. "All right Kenji-kun, you've had your fun. Knock it off or the new menu special contains dog meat!" At that, Kenji stopped growling and walked away, wagging his tail. Yuri could almost swear the animal was smiling! "Don't worry Yuri- chan, he may look like a mutt, but he still has the mind of a baka." Yuri look aghast. "Kenji? You were faking!?" Now it was her turn to growl. "That's it `niichan! You're dead meat!" And with that, the chase began again, this time in reverse. "Hey!" Ukyo yelled. "We're supposed to go over to the Tendos for dinner soon, so kill him quick!" Yuri chased him around the restaurant for a several minutes before grabbing the nozzle hose next to the sink and spraying him with hot water. Now naked and wet, he `eeped' and ran off to his room, streaking past Ukyo in the process. When he finished dressing and came back down, he found the chef and his sister holding up signs. Ukyo's read 8.1 and Yuri's read, 6.4. They both broke out laughing at Kenji's horrified expression. "Oh come on, I think I deserve at least a 9.9!" Kenji stated while striking a masculine pose. "I'm sorry, but I can't rate you any higher, since you are my brother and I just don't think that way about you," Yuri reasoned. Ukyo shrugged. "I didn't get a good enough look, you went by too fast." Kenji turned beet red and told them he'd wait outside. The two girls broke out laughing as Ukyo closed and locked the shop. Yuri decided to give her brother a break and change the subject. "Can we fly over there `niichan? I wanna work on the technique!" Kenji shook his head. His sister really loved to fly. "We both need to work on it, but now's not the right time. Plus, I don't want to risk carrying Ukyo if I do crash again." "Besides, you don't want to to attract too much attention and it's a nice evening for a walk," Ukyo added. While she knew something as strange as flying people probably wouldn't have been noticed in Nerima, the siblings had only been living here for a couple of days and wouldn't know that. Yuri pouted a bit, but relented and the three strode off into the night. Ranma was also walking down the street that night, trying to think. The decision about the engagement had to be made soon, or else he knew his mother would get the fathers to annul it. Since the battle at the compound, he hadn't had a chance to talk with her yet, to find out what she wanted. They had been loaded into seperate ambulances, then moved to seperate areas once they arrived at the hospital. Eventually, the Nerima gang had wound up in the same ward, so they could talk, but not privately like they both wanted. She had been discharged earlier, while he had just got out today. Tonight had to be the night to talk to her. He knew he loved her now, and she had said she loved him; at least that's what he thought he heard. Still, that was when he was badly hurt and he didn't know if she only said it to make him feel better. Actually, he didn't know which thought scared him more. He was so caught up in his thoughts that the next time he looked up, he was at his destination: The Tendo Dojo. He didn't want to alert the other family members, so he snuck over the outer wall and up to Akane's window. Thankfully, the light was on and she was in her room. He gathered up his courage, as if preparing for battle, then tapped on the window. "Hi Ranma," Akane said as she smiled and opened the window. "I guess they finally let you out today. You want to come in?" "Hiya Akane," he replied. He hesitated, for once being paranoid about Nabiki's possible spy microphones, or anybody else that might overhear them. "Uh, actually, I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk or something." Akane blinked, not really expecting him to ask her that. She studied him for a minute, before deciding to go with him. He held out his hand and she took it, stepping out onto the roof overhang outside her window. As she did, Ranma swung her around and was about to pick her up, but Akane stopped him. "No, Ranma. You have a broken arm and you've hurt your ribs, remember? I can move perfectly fine by myself." Ranma felt a pang of regret, even though he intellectually knew she was right. He brightened, however, when she reached down and gave his free hand a squeeze. Then together, they leapt down to the ground. A second leap took them over the wall and they began to walk along in silence. Inside, Akane knew this was coming and it scared her. She remembered being dizzy and weak from the Tora Dokiken technique and from the strangle hold. Ranma was talking to Krynn and the wizard asked him why he should spare Akane. In response, Akane thought she heard Ranma say he loved her. she wondered. Unbeknowst to her, the sneaky kami of mishaps, unusual encounters, and bad timing was out on vacation and therefore was unable to manufacture the needed interuptions that usually popped up anytime they tried to get close. In fact, this particular vaction had been enforced by a higher kami, due to a special request by a very special lady in blue. Don't worry though, he'll be back on duty in a couple of days. The engaged-against-their-will-at-the-beginning couple eventually reached the park and found a bench to sit down on. Ranma was silent for a few moments, trying to gather both the courage and strength to say what he needed. Akane somehow sensed this and decided to try and make things a bit easier. She took a deep breath and remembered the talk she had with Kasumi about her anger. Her older sister had told her, `You'd be surprised what you'll find out if you keep your anger in check and just talk to him.' "Actually, I wanted to talk to you, too," she said at last. "I think it's time to clear up a few things. I-I know I get... upset quite a bit and sometimes jump to conclusions. Well, I'm sorry about that, but I'll make you deal: I'll be honest with you, if you'll be honest with me. I promise to hear you out and I won't get upset or hit you, no matter what you say, okay?" She had to remember to thank Nabiki about that idea, too. If it worked. Ranma gulped and nodded, but the tension level seemed to drop a bit. "O-okay." He looked down. "It's not like I don't deserve it, since I haven't been that nice ta ya at times... I-I'm sorry..." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we both have things we need to work on. But first, I need to know: How do you feel about our engagement?" Ranma cleared his throat. "I, well, I just don't wanna to force you into anythin' you don't want. I know it's our parents' idea, but I don't want them forcin' us together if it ain't what you want." He looked down. "I guess... I just want ya ta be happy, that's all." Akane looked up at him, smiling a little at his concern for her. "Ranma, I think you should know, that I do care about you, a great deal. You can be insulting, egotistical, a jerk, and many other things." Ranma's face dropped, and she brought a hand up to lift his chin. "But you also can be kind, caring, protective, honorable, and self- sacrificing." Surprise and wonder worked their way onto his face. "Didn't you even think about why I was willing to go through with the wedding?" Ranma shrugged. "I thought your dad was just bribin' you with the naniichaun water for me," he replied glumly. Akane sighed noisily and resisted the urge to strike him. "That wasn't it at all, Ranma! Do you really think I could be forced into marriage I didn't want!?" After it came out, she realized it sounded a bit more harsh than she intended. Ranma's anger rose a bit at that. "But..." She cut him off quickly, knowing she had to get this out. "It was because of all the things that happened at Jusendo, Baka! While I was a doll, I was conscious of all the things happening around me, and I could hear what was going on." Her voice became softer. "I saw how you shut off when you thought I was dead. The same thing happened to my dad when my mother died, and I knew they were really in love. I saw how hard you fought for me, how you wouldn't give up and wouldn't let me give up." She stopped to wipe a few tears off her face. She continued. "There were several times I was tempted to let go, but then I would hear your voice begging me to come back. And then I heard you say you loved me and I knew that despite whatever else you were, you would always be there for me, whenever I needed you. I knew then, that I wouldn't mind being married to you." She took another breath. "And I finally allowed myself to realize... I-I love you, Ranma." Somehow, it seemed easier to say after she had said it out loud at the mage compound. "I can't go on like this, though. I don't want anymore misunderstandings between us, so, I need to know how you truly feel. If you don't want me, or pick someone else, let me know now. I promise not to get upset, I just need to know." There, she had risked it all and put her heart on the line. Ranma gulped and gazed into her big, brown eyes. He couldn't believe what he just heard, despite the fact that she had said while holding him during the battle with Krynn. "Y-you love me? You really mean it?" She returned his gaze evenly, her face reddening, her voice fluctuating a little. "Yes, I do. I can finally admit that to both myself and to you. I-I don't want to lose you, ever." In that one moment, his world was turned upside down. Akane loved him. No love potions, or magic jewels, tricks or dares. He knew she cared for him at least a little, after all the times she helped him when he needed it (not that he'd ever admit he needed help). Ranma stared dumbly at her, even as his brain shut down from information overload. Incredibly intense sensations rushed through his body. He didn't know what they were, but he did know he wanted them to continue, as if they were some highly addictive drug. His face was flushed and his heart was thumping for attention. No wait, that was Akane thumping his chest, her face showing an interesting combination of anger and nervousness. "Well!?" He blinked, trying to jump-start his brain, and a thought popped in. Out of habit, he was about to deny strenously and throw in an insult, but that thought stopped it cold. "Akane..." he started, wide-eyed. But he looked down and spoke in a quiet voice. "I... I don't want to lose you, either." And in even a quieter voice, almost a whisper, he added, "I-I l-l-loveyou,too." "Oh, Ranma!" Suddenly Ranma was enveloped with crushing force, a head buried into his chest. He could feel wet spots forming on his shirt and was at a complete loss as to what to do, other then put his free hand around her. Eventually, she looked up at him, her eyes glistening and wet streaks down her cheeks. Ranma thought, incredulously, and became worried. "Akane? What's wrong? Ah geez, what'd I do know?" She sniffed. "Nothing, Ranma. For once in her your life, you did everything just right." Feeling a sudden, overwhelming urge, Akane reached up the remaing distance with her head. Ranma, wondering what she was up to, was taken totally by surprise when her lips were suddenly hot on his. Some incredibly small part of his brain that did not shut down with the rest, took control of his lips and began to kiss her back. A jolt of electricity passed through them as the outside world fell away. Passions that had been long suppressed and bottled for most of a year, exploded within the span of a few minutes. Akane moved her hands up to cup his face, even as she continued the caressing of lips. She briefly wondered if her heart would explode, beating as hard and fast as it was. But it was wonderful! It was everything she dreamed about and more. Oh sure, they bumped noses more than once and mistimed their kisses, but she knew they'd get better with time, and she planned on putting in many practice sessions with him. Ranma's brain was still blank, as he was working mainly on instinct. All his world was centered on the girl in his arms, and her lips in particular. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really several minutes, Akane eventually broke the final kiss and rested her head on his chest. Both were panting heavily, both content and scared at the direction their life had now taken. Ranma closed his eyes and wrapped his non-broken arm around her waist, suddenly realizing how warm he felt, and in particular how hot his face was. They probably would've stayed that way all night, if it wasn't for the whistles and catcalls. Immediately they were several feet apart, several dark shades of red coloring their faces as they scanned for the noisemakers. That's when Ukyo, Kenji, and Yuri walked out of the shadows. "Oh come on you two," Yuri teased. "We watched the whole thing, don't try to fool us." Force of habit finally kicked in for Ranma. "Are kiddin', why would I..." he started. "Shut up, Ranchan!" Ukyo said forcefully, bringing her battle spatula down on his head to enforce the command. A couple of months ago, she would have broken them up when she first arrived and saw them chatting in the park, but things had changed for her. She had known for awhile that Ranma didn't love her as anything more than a friend, so she had a little time to get used to that. She had known for almost as long that he had loved Akane instead, and that Akane had loved him. She was still getting used to that. But to actually see the way they were making out a few moments ago, and to know that they were actually, really, together... She never really thought it would hurt that much. It twisted her heart in more ways then she could imagine, even as she wished she could be in Akane's place. But it was not to be and dwelling on it wasn't going to help her at all. "Don't screw it up!" she yelled at him, even as she removed her battle spat'. "If you EVER think of taking it all back or make Akane- chan upset, I'll never forgive you. I'll fulfill my vow of revenge that I held for ten years to hunt down and kill you if you ever make me regret giving you up!" Ranma gulped and nodded, while everyone else chuckled. "So what are you three doing out here anyway?" Akane asked, trying to ease the tension and change the subject. "Actually, we were on our way over to your house for dinner, Akane-san," Kenji stated. "Remember, your father invited us along with the Saotome's. We just happened to pass by here when Ukyo-san saw you and Saotome sitting here, and said she wanted to watch." Ukyo's spatula promptly found Kenji's face. "Now you better shut up, sugar." Kenji mumbled something that could have been an apology into the metal and Ranma, eyeing the two, decided to turn the tables. "So, Ucchan, Kenji... When's your next date?" Ukyo and Kenji immediately started denying everything, prompting Yuri to jump in. "Oh, I think they like each other all right. But I assume it'll take awhile for them to realize that." Kenji cleared his throat. "Ahem. Well, shall we get back to the business at hand?" "Yes!" Ukyo agreed. "This is a happy moment for you two! So, when's the wedding?" The group continued the conversation was they walked to the Tendo residence. Ranma and Akane walked along with Akane holding on to his arm. Kenji took a chance and slipped his hand into Ukyo's while they walked, blushing slightly. Ukyo squeezed slightly letting him know it was okay. After awhile, Akane dropped back to talk to Ukyo alone, while Kenji moved up to talk to Ranma and Yuri. "So, are you really ok with this, Ukyo-chan?" Akane asked hesitantly. "I still want us to be friends, and I know Ranma would like that." Ukyo thought for a minute, then sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I was happy with it. But I knew he could only choose one of us. Despite what happened at the wedding, and our actions afterward, I still held out some hope that he'd come to love me." She gave a weak smile. "I'll say this, if I couldn't have him, I would rather he had chosen you, as opposed to Shampoo or Kodachi." They shared a short laugh together over that. "Just give me some time, okay? It'll still take me some time to get completely over him. Konatsu had awhile to help me deal with this, and so has Yuri." Akane stopped and gave Ukyo a hug, which she returned. "Anything I can do for you, just let me know." The chef half-smiled. "For starters, call me Ucchan; all my close friends do." They seperated and continued on, talking about less sensitive subject matter. In no time, they were at the front gate. Opening it, they stepped inside. Dinner passed quickly with light conversation about topics of no real importance. While most of the group was oblivious, Nabiki noticed a strange air between her little sister and her fiance. They weren't exchanging any sort of insults and she occasionally saw one or the other look up and smile at the other, then quickly look away and rejoin the conversation. she thought. No one realized that another figure was watching them from the darkness. He had observed Ranma and Akane in the park, and had heard everything. he thought to himself. Akane went upstairs quickly and headed for her room after the guests left, including Ranma, leaving just the orginal four Tendos in the house. All through dinner she could swear she was broadcasting some sort of signal that said, "Ranma and I love each other and are really together!" She didn't want to let the family know just yet and it seemed the secret had been kept. Opening her door, she slipped inside and breathed a sigh of relief. She made it! At least that's what she thought anyway. "What took you so long?" Akane turned around to see Nabiki sitting on her bed. "W-what are you doing here!?" Akane nearly stuttered in surprise. Nabiki rolled her eyes dramatically. "How dumb do you think I am sis? I'm hurt." She sighed. "You have to make a decision on your engagement soon and you haven't had a chance to talk with Ranma yet. So when you two headed out tonight, I assumed it was to talk to him. Therefore, I knew you'd come back in one of two moods. Either he rejected you, and you'd be feeling angry and upset, so I'd have to comfort you, or there was option number 2. I think you experienced option 2." Nabiki leaned foreword. "So, did you use your tongue?" Akane was shocked. "Nabiki! What makes you think anything happened between me and that pervert?" "Don't give me that!" Nabiki admonished. She then raised her a voice a bit. "Okay Kasumi!" The door opened and the eldest Tendo daughter entered, smile on her face. She immediately hugged her younger sister. "Oh Akane-chan, congratulations!" Akane staggered a bit and plopped down into her desk chair. "What are you guys doing? What are you talking about?" "Oh come on, the *look* is all over your face," Nabiki said while Kasumi sat down on the bed next to her. "What look?" Akane squeaked, knowing she was losing the battle. Nabiki grinned. "The one that says you just made out with the guy of your dreams." Kasumi left some room between them and patted the space. "Come over here and tell us all about it. After all, that's what sisters are for!" "You really surprise me sometimes, oneechan," Nabiki admitted while Akane reluctantly sat down between them. "I don't think you're nearly as oblivious as you seem to be." Kasumi merely smiled, while Nabiki turned back to her other sister. "Now, spill the beans, Akane." The youngest Tendo sighed. Apparently, she was not going to be able to get away with it, so she shrugged. "There's not that much to tell. He just told me loved me and I told him I loved him." "And?" Nabiki promted. Akane brought her knees up and planted her face between them. "And then we kissed," she added, her ears burning. Then she brought her face up, a faraway gaze on her face. "And it was the most wonderful thing in the world!" Nabiki giggled. "Way to go, sis! It's about time. You just be sure to hang onto him this time, `cause if you don't unite the schools, I will!" It wasn't the total truth. To her, Ranma had a nice body, but she was looking for someone with a little more intellectual spunk. Akane stared at her sister. "Nabiki! You do and I'll drag your butt into the dojo and evaluate your skills!" Nabiki actually gulped, since she really couldn't tell if her sister was serious. "I'm glad it worked out for you, Akane-chan," Kasumi added, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Thanks to you, oneechan," Akane returned. "Your advice helped a lot." Nabiki jumped in. "Anyway, wait'll you hear about the date Kasumi made with the good doctor..." They stayed for a long time talking about things that girls talk about, mostly boys I think. (Author's note: I'm a guy so I really have no idea what girls talk about. Really, I don't. Maybe I should go find that Nyaniichaun...) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: I deny that I'm an all-poweful gaijin who's going to write himself into the story and solve all problems and beat everybody with one hit. On second thought, maybe I will... Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 2 The rest of the week went normal, which was really saying a lot. Ranma expected that something would happen, given the fact he finally confessed his innermost feelings to Akane. Fate seemed to have a way of throwing a monkey wrench in the works whenever something good started to happen to him. The couple agreed that, while their family would know, they didn't want to let anyone in their school know just yet. They wanted time to enjoy their new relationship without everyone bugging them about it. They did tell Ranma's mother about their new status, since they felt she had to know. With her help, they were able to convince the happily babbling fathers to lay of the wedding until the couple felt they were ready. Of course, the clincher was the katana that was clearly visible the entire time. She also let Ranma move back into the Tendo home to be close to his iinazuke (and maybe show off some manly behavior). The Tendo dojo was also closer to the school, so there was a shorter walk. Genma and Soun quickly agreed, then in a true display of parenting skills, left to get drunk. One week later, a letter was delivered to the Tendo residence, the Saotome household, and Ucchan's, inviting them to come to the Nekohanten. The note especially invited Kenji to come. When the amnesiac mentioned, everyone assumed it had something to do with his memory restoration. They were half right. So on a Saturday night, a large group piled into the restaurant. The group consisted of practically everybody in those three households. Tofu also showed up, when Kasumi requested him as an escort. Of course Mousse and Shampoo were there as well, but Ryoga had left after his injuries healed and nobody had seen him since. When they were all in, the first difference they noticed was that all the tables were gone, except for one in the middle. Chairs lined the walls, and Shampo was nowhere to be seen. When asked, all Mousse would say was then she'd be out when she was ready. Several minutes passed before the purple-haired Amazon walked down the stairs to join them, adorned in a robe that was similar to Cologne's, except hers was in shades of blue and purple. An amulet hung from a gold chain around her neck, a strange symbol adorning it. Her left arm was also out of the cast, signifying that her fractured arm must've been healed enough to remove it. She gazed at each of the room's occupants as she descended the steps, nervousness mounting in her. she told herself. The time for mourning her great-grandmother was over. Now was the time for action and she must appear strong. The amulet around her neck would help, by enabling her to speak clear Japanese so she could convey what she wanted accurately. It was one of the trinkets passed to her when Cologne gave everything to her. Everyone quieted down when she spoke. "Greetings everyone, I wish to thank you for meeting with me tonight." There were quite a few murmurs around the room at her language, but they quieted down when requested by Mousse. Ranma wasn't the only one who noticed how down and defeated the myopic Amazon looked. "I have two main things to discuss tonight," she continued. "Now that my great-grandmother has passed on, we will be returning to China in two weeks. There are two things that must be settled by then. The first order of business is the last thing my great-grandmother was working on: removing the memory seal placed on Soyokaze Kenji-san. I have studied the notes she left, and am able to perform to spell necessary. Do you wish that I do this, Soyokaze Kenji-san?" All eyes turned to the amnesiac young man who literally dropped into their life. Kenji inhaled deeply, suddenly aware he was the center of attention. He tried to think on what he knew about the female Amazon across the room. He was told she was part of the party that saved him when he was taken, so that said something for her. But Ukyo didn't seem to have many good things to say about her, and he got the impression the chef didn't trust the Amazon. He knew they were waiting for an answer from him. "Uh, actually I've been thinkin' about that. While I guess I could live out my life as I am now, I do really want to know what my parents and previous life were like." It was acutally more like he needed to know. Where did he come from? What kind of person was he? He couldn't recall 17 years of his life, except for bits and pieces, and it was beginning to bug him more and more. He felt Yuri on his left, slip an arm around his shoulder and hug him in support and understanding. "I guess I feel that if I don't take this chance, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. So yes, Shampoo-san, if you could do this for me, I'd very much appreciate it." Shampoo nodded. "Very well. We will start as soon as we clear one more matter up. Whatever happens, I give my word that I will do my best to remove the memory seal." Ranma suddenly got a sinking feeling of where this was headed. Shampoo's next words confirmed it. "Ranma, by Amazon law I must marry you and take you back to Joketsuzoku. I love you very much and I know I would make a strong wife for you." Her voice became thicker with emotion. "I know I could make you so happy. So please, won't you marry me and come back with me?" Several people noticed tears begin to form in her eyes, as if she already knew the answer, but was desperately hoping otherwise. All eyes were now on Ranma, who gulped. "Shampoo, I'm sorry, but I can't marry you." He glanced at Akane, briefly. "I'm real sorry about about your laws and everything. If there's something I can do ta help ya, I'll try, but I can't marry you." Ranma took a deep breath and Akane gave his hand a squeeze in support. Shampoo hardened her face, forcing back the tears. "Then there are three options left," Shampoo stated. "Someone must defeat you Ranma, which would prove you were not the strongest. I don't think that is possible at this time. An Amazon must defeat me and take me as his wife. A claim by an Amazon is stronger than that of an outsider." All eyes turned to Mousse, who hung his head his head. All knew of his love for Shampoo, and knew that he couldn't bring himself to hurt her in any way. Akane spoke up. "Wait a minute, you mentioned three things. You've only explained two." Shampoo nodded. She recalled the ritual challenge and spoke the words. "By Amazon law, Ranma is mine. I now ask if there is any females in this room who would challenge me for the possession of this male. Are there any here who would attempt to take him from me? If so, they may fight me for possession rights. The loser will give up their claim on Ranma forever." She grinned in triumph. There were several gasps in the room, even as Ranma saw where this was going. Shampoo was the strongest female fighter in the room. Her last chance was her best chance, since it seemed there would be no one who could beat her. "I challenge you!" "Akane, no!" Ranma pleaded. Akane turned to him. "No Ranma, you've fought for me, it's my responsibility to do the same." She turned to Shampoo and said with conviction. "I will fight for him." "Then I accept your challenge, Akane," Shampoo said, unwavering. "By Amazon law, If you win, the kiss of marriage will be broken and I will leave in peace. If I win, then you and your clan will give up all claim on Ranma and he returns to China with me. Do you agree?" Ranma shot to his feet. "I am not a prize to be fought over! Akane, you can't do this!" If the Tendos gave up their claim on him, his honor would force him to return to China with Shampoo. Akane stood up next to him and met his eyes. "I can and I will because it's exactly what you have done and would do! You have to learn to trust me!" He paused. "Akane, I... I do trust you. But, you can't win!" She scowled, but kept her anger in check. "Yes I can! IF you believe in me." She looked up at him with as loving a gaze as she could manage. "Please?" Ranma looked around helplessly, but nobody had anything else to add. Finally, his gaze returned to her loving and imploring face. His resolve broke and he sighed. "Oh, all right." "Thank you, Ranma." Akane turned back to Shampoo. "I agree to your terms." "We shall meet in combat two weeks from today if that is all right with you Akane," Shampoo stated, to which Akane nodded. "Now, as I stated before, this will have no impact on Kenji-san's memory restoration. It was great-grandmother's last wish that this take place if Kenji-san wanted it to. I give my word as an Amazon warrior, no harm shall come to him. We'll take a short break while I get ready, then we'll continue. None of you need stay for this, I only asked you all to come as witnesses for Akane's challenge." She bowed to the assembled group and went in to the kitchen. Nervous conversation immediately started up again upon her departure. Outside, a figure who had been listening dashed away. He had just learned important information that he knew his mistress would want to hear. He gulped. Mousse approached Ranma and Akane. "Saotome, Akane-san, I'm truly sorry about this. If I wasn't such a coward; if I could fight Shampoo..." "You knew what she was going to say before didn't you?" Ranma accused. Mousse nodded. "How could you let her do that!? Why can't you be a man and fight her!?" Mousse looked up and met Ranma's gaze. "Could you fight and hurt Akane?" Ranma backed down as he realized Mousse's position. "Then you know how I feel. I wish you luck, Akane-san. Not only will you lose Ranma if you fail, I will lose Shampoo. I cannot help you." His head dropped. "I only wish things were different." With that he walked away. Kenji trotted over when he saw Mousse walk away. "Um, I don't know much of what's going on, or the history between you and Shampoo, but..." "You want to know if you should trust Shampoo with the spell?" Akane finished for him. The amnesiac nodded. "Yeah." "Shampoo is a lot of things," he said, "but being completely honorless is not one of `em. If she gives her word, I think she'll keep it." He took Kenji's hand and shook it. "You'll be okay, I'll be right here." "Thanks, Saotome. You too, Akane-san. I hope everything works out." Shampoo came back into the room with an old looking scroll and a couple of containers. The room quieted down. "This spell requires several parts," she began. "Kenji-san, would you please sit on the table here." Kenji hugged his sister and sat on the table. "I have a potion for you to consume. When that's done, you'll lay on this table while I begin the spell. You'll have to be bound during this time." Kenji frowned at her, but she continued. "When the seal goes, you'll begin to experience many of your memories all over again. You may or may not try to physically act out everything. This is to keep you front hurting yourself or others. This will be over and you should have everything back in anywhere from 4 to 6 hours. The rest of your memories will come back in time." Kenji looked over the assembled group and his sister. He then took the orange potion from Shampoo. "Well, here's to memory lane, bottom's up!" And he downed the drink. "Ack! Tastes like sweaty gym shorts." Kenji laid down on the table while Mousse and Shampoo tied him down with some strong rope. She instructed him to close his eyes, then sprinkled some green powder over him. In a few minutes, everyone realized he was asleep. She explained that it was easier this way since the mind normally paralyzes the body at night to prevent someone from acting out their dreams. She then began to read the scroll. Not even Mousse understood what she was saying, since it was in a language that nobody understood. Well, Tofu said he understood a few parts here and there. All he could explain though, was it was something about beseeching the god of dreams to release the thoughts inside Kenji from magical control. The amnesiac's body began to glow orange, and then it faded as Shampoo sat down, exhausted. "Now the rest is up to him," she explained. "Over the next few hours, he will have to come to terms with his repressed thoughts. If he can do that, he should be fine." "Can we touch him?" Yuri asked. Shampoo nodded. "It should be okay. Just make sure he has room to breath. Treat him as someone in deep sleep, or a coma. The spell has drained me, so I am going to get some rest. You can call me if you need me." And with that, she headed back upstairs. Yuri and Ukyo moved to either side of him and each held a hand as they watched his face. For the first couple of hours, he was relatively quiet. His face would flicker between various emotions: Happy, sad, anger, fear, and others. Occasionally he would mumble something that was too soft to hear or say something out loud that Yuri would try her best to explain. They decided to watch him in shifts, so some rested while others watched, talked to him, and tried to make him comfortable. It wasn't until the end of the fourth hour that things really started to liven up. *FLASH* Kenji thought as he floated in a black space. Without warning, scenes began playing themselves out. Images of a softball game with a man he identified as his father, popped up. It dissolved to show a sparring session with a woman he knew to be his mother. As each scene would pop up, Kenji would start to remember the details and the scene would clarify. Some would have sound, some wouldn't. *FLASH* There he was, blowing out the candles on his fifth birthday. Walking to school with his sister. Playing around in class. Doing homework with his sister and mom. Training and sparring with his mom. Dad taking him out flying at night. *FLASH* At first he was able to assimilate all the information that was coming at him. Sights, sounds, and other memories reintergrated themselves back into his mind. Then, without warning, the images sped up. But the images kept going faster. *FLASH* Playing with his sister. His eleventh birthday. Dad training him at night. Dumping water on dad. Getting lost in the woods. He finally got the wind blast to work, his dad right there with him. Playing baseball. *FLASH* His head began to pound as pain flashed through his skull. He cried out and begged for release, but the onslaught of forgotten memories railroaded him. He began to convulse as his subconscious endeavored to make sense of the huge jumble of sensory information. It overloaded. *FLASH* His sixteenth birthday. Harvesting the farm crops. His first martial arts tournament. He came in 7th place. Falling off a cliff and twisting his ankle. Mom and Dad arguing. And waking up to a burning house... Kenji screamed. The flames danced around him and he panicked. His mind, already stressed from the forcefed memories, broke down. His only thoughts were of escape. He found a path and ran towards it, but the flames roared up and blocked it. With a frightened yelp, he jumped away and called for his family. No one responded. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as the fire closed in. His body froze up and he began to mumble incoherently. The hellish-red flames eventually reached him, lapping up his body. *FLASH* Ranma and Ukyo were watching him when he cried out. He began to struggle against the ropes, pulling at them while seemingly trying to escape some invisible enemy. The first cry woke everyone up who was resting, and they quickly went over to him. Nabiki and Kasumi had already left by this time, escorted by their father. Nodoka had left as well, but Genma hadn't gone with her. He still wasn't sure how welcome he would be. "What's going on?" Yuri asked frantically. "I don't know!" Ranma replied. "He just started screaming and struggling." "Talk to him you, Yuri-chan," Akane suggested. "Let him hear your voice and maybe he'll calm down." "Oniichan," Yuri said softly, taking his hand. "I'm here. Listen to me, it's going to be okay." The unconcious amnesiac seemed to calm a little bit, but immediately his cries went back into full force. No one seemed to notice the air currents pick up in the room. In Kenji's mind, he was reliving the details of his burning house. Those memories reacted with his newly gained fear of fire causing his mind to retreat and his body to take over. It was doing everything it could to get him free. "Uh, guys, I think we have a problem," Ranma said when the winds intensified. "Remember what happened in the cavern..." Akane's mouth dropped open. "If he keeps this up... We need to get everyone out of here! Ucchan and Yuri-chan, keep trying to calm him! Somebody get Shampoo, we need her!" Tofu fought the increasing winds to come up to the table that held Kenji. "Doc, can you do something to incapacitate him?" Ranma asked. "I might, hold on!" he replied. He reached out his hand and was immediately blown back into a wall. "Tofu!" Akane yelled, but the doc was out cold. "Oh no!" Ukyo exclaimed. "Look at his eyes!" Kenji's eyes had popped open, totally grey. He seemed to be staring at nothing in particular, or at something only he could see. Yuri felt his forehead and her hand came away slightly moist. "He's burning up! `Niichan, what's happening to you!?" "Perspiring?" Ukyo asked. "Maybe he feels like he is someplace hot?" Yuri looked up as comprehension flooded her face. "The fire! He told me he was there that night. He's reliving the fire! But..." She didn't get a chance to finish as another gust blew them away. With a few audible snaps, Kenji's arms and legs broke the restraints and he slowly rose, orienting himself into a vertical position. His feet were floating about foot off the floor. That's when he cried out again. "Momma! Papa! Yuri's in trouble!" Yuri concentrated her own wind energy and forced herself to her feet. "No I'm not, Kenji! I'm fine, I'm right here! Listen to me, oniichan!" She lowered the wind resistance around her body, trying to fight the buffeting tornado her brother was generating. Ranma was holding onto Akane while laying on the floor to avoid the chairs which were now flying around the room. "How can she stand up like that!?" he asked in wonder. "Well, they are siblings, so it would make sense they have similar abilities with wind," Akane replied. Shampoo had come back down from her room where she was resting, but stayed on the upper part of the stairs, hanging onto the railings. Mousse was launching chains and grabbing the flying chairs from the kitchen. Shampoo fingered the amulet she was wearing and studied the floating boy. "It's almost over!" she yelled. "The potion is nearly burned out of his system. We have to keep him from hurting himself and it should end in the next ten minutes or so!" Most of the flying objects were gone by now, but it was still dangerous as several forceful winds emitted by Kenji left small impact craters in the walls and floor. Ukyo had stabbed her giant spatula into the ground and was holding on tightly. She looked up to see Yuri fighting her way towards her brother. She was almost there. Yuri finally got close enough to grab her brother's hand. "I am here, oniichan! Feel my hand, here my voice, and look at me!" Kenji's eyes were still unfocused and when he spoke, it was with the meekness of a child. "Yuri? imoutochan? Where are you? I'm scared! It's so hot and there's fire everywhere!" His pupil-less eyes were beginning to shed tears. "I'm right here, Kenji," she said to him. "I'll always be here for you." She gently pulled her brother down until his feet touched the floor once again. Then she wrapped her arms around him. "It's all in your mind, `niichan." Kenji slowly returned the hug as the winds slowly died. "Imouto-chan..." Then, all strength left his body and he collapsed. Yuri eased her brother slowly to the floor, lying him onto his back, and it was quiet in the little restaurant once more. Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo gathered around him, while Shampoo and Mousse watched from a distance. Several long minutes passed before Kenji stirred and opened his eyes. "Oy, what a headache I have," he said slowly while holding his head and groaned "Do you remember everything now?" Akane asked. Kenji thought for a second. "Yeah, I think so. Bits and pieces, but I have a feeling it'll all come back to me in time." He sat up slowly. "I think the headache's fading, too." Yuri ran her fingers through Kenji's hair. "You sure you're all right, `niichan?" "I'll let you know in a sec. Could someone give me a hand?" Ranma reached his hand down. "Sure." His expression changed when he grabbed Kenji's hand. A pained look passed Ranma's face and his whole body seemed to vibrate wildy. When he finally pried his hand out of the grip, he fell backwards onto his butt. Looking up, he could see Kenji rolling in laughter. "What did you do!?" Ranma demanded to know. Kenji held up his hand. There was something in it. "Haven't you ever seen a joy-buzzer before?" Yuri joined her brother in laughter. "Yep, that's my bro alright! He's back to normal!" Soon, everyone but Ranma was laughing and he tried to protest. "Hey, that ain't funny!" "What's the matter, boy," Genma slapped his son on the back. "A true martial artist can take a joke." In one smooth motion, Ranma grabbed Kenji's and his father's hands and slapped them together. The result was predictable. Genma vibrated for several seconds before he could pull his hand away. New laughter emerged. "What's the matter, Oyaji?" Ranma taunted as his father chased him out the restaurant. "A true martial artist can take a joke!" Then, both were gone. Akane sighed. "I'd better go after him." She turned around. "Congratulations, Kenji-kun, I'll see you all later!" She left and Ukyo, Yuri, and Kenji left soon after. The mood on the way back to the restaurant was a joyous one. "So, where did that buzzer come from, `niichan?" Yuri asked. "I thought you didn't remember doing anything like that." "I didn't," he replied. "But after you told me what I was like I thought I'd buy one and see if it brought back any memories. Just never got a chance to use it until now." "Tell me he's not gonna be doin' stuff like this from now on," Ukyo asked Yuri, a note of pleading in her voice. Yuri winked at her brother. "You'll learn to live with it. I had, too." Ukyo spun Kenji around till he was looking at her. "Well, if you even think about doing anything like that in my restaurant, you'll find yourself out on your butt!" Kenji held up his hands in defeat. "It's okay, Ukyo-san! I'm not exactly like I was before, just slightly different. I have yet to assimilate all my memories." They began walking again with Kenji in the middle and he put his arms around both girls. "Besides, why would I wanna jeopardize my life with two lovely young ladies?" Ukyo laughed and Yuri hugged her brother. "It is good to have you back, oniichan." "It's good to be back, Imouto-chan." Dear Diary, Sorry I haven't written in awhile, it's been an interesting week. Kenji finally got his memory back yesterday, and he seems happier now, especially since he has his sister back as well. Kasumi and Tofu-sensei managed to fool us all these past couple of years. When I finally cornered her down about Tofu, she explained that they actually had some sort of secret understanding. Kasumi knew it wasn't the right time for a relationship yet, until someone else could take over the domestic duties of the dojo. She never came out and actually said it, but I got the impression that I better take my cooking and sewing lessons more seriously, otherwise she wouldn't feel comfortable letting me take her place when she leaves. So if I want Kasumi to have a chance at love, I'm going to have to work hard to be able to take her place one day. Thanks for the guilt trip, sis... What really drives me up a wall, is that they were in love all this time but never told us about! Honestly, I don't know what I should do about those two. Cologne is gone, and Shampoo has changed somewhat. She now speaks almost perfect Japanese. Has she been hiding that ability, or is it something else? She is also much more serious. It has almost been two years since she first came here hunting for Ranma, and now she'll be heading home at the end of two weeks, with or without him. That's up to me. I'll have to fight her for possession of him. Ranma said he'll try to help me prepare for the fight, and Ukyo's volunteered to help as well. I guess the combined confrontations of Saffron and Krynn have finally convinced Ranma that he can't always protect me. He says I shouldn't totally rely on my Tora Dokiken technique. As if! I've finally got the power to match both him and Shampoo on equal terms! He's just jealous that I can match him if I want to! However, he does have a good point, too. I can't rely soley on the technique, since I probably wouldn't be able to keep it going long enough to beat Shampoo. I still don't know where it came from. Thinking back on that day, all I can recall is that, for the first time in my life, I was felt totally focused and determined. I just knew I couldn't allow my friends to be hurt anymore, and I was willing to do whatever it took to protect them. Speaking of Ranma, that baka finally admitted he loves me, and we kissed! About time, too! When I think of all we've been through since he arrived here, it's seems like a miracle we finally got to this point. We're gonna take it slow, however, since neither one of us wants to rush things and risk the situation exploding in our face. I think I can be content to just explore these new feelings with him for now. Kasumi is going to be attending a local medical school. It seems the reason that she borrowed all those books from Tofu were to study them. Apparently, she wants to help out at his clinic when she moves in with him (after being properly married to him of course). I wonder if Tofu has any idea what goes through the mind of his Kasumi? Well, it's getting late, I've had a rough day of training with Ranma, and I've got school tomorrow. I'll let you know how things turn out. Akane --------------------------------------------------------------- Kenji's got his memories back. Will he return to his practical joker ways? Only time will tell... Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters okay! SO LEAVE ME ALONE! Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 3 Ranma walked on the ground next to Akane for once. With his broken arm, Akane convinced him that the fence wasn't a good idea. What if he fell? Ranma snorted at that, but after waving her mallet around, he conceeded. More and more lately, he found himself unable to say no to Akane. Mostly since a `No' got him a mallet, and a `Yes' got him a kiss. That, and he really didn't want to get her really mad at him anymore. School had been remarkably normal. Too normal. He was half hoping to get drained by Miss Hinako or attacked by Ryoga or Kuno. Maybe the fates had decided to lay off until his arm healed, he thought. He glanced over at Akane, realizing that she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts as well. That's something he never really wanted to admit. After seeing how good she was when he first arrived, and how little she actually trained, he was able to tell how good she could be if she really put her mind to it. Almost as good as him. Again, something he'd never admit out loud. Akane suddenly turned and noticed him gazing intently at her. He quickly turned away, blushing and trying to hide it, and she smiled. She suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him off to one side. Ranma was caught off guard, but let himself be pulled along. "Huh, Akane, whatcha doin'?" "Well, we hardly get any time to ourselves," she said. "So I thought we could make use of some right now. Look familiar?" Ranma glanced around and realized it was the same park they were in last week, when they finally decided to stop playing games with each other, and confirm to the other what was really in their hearts. The small park was deserted at the moment, as was the familiar park bench. He knew what she had in mind when she pulled him down on the bench and kissed him. After pulling away, Ranma feigned disinterest."Aw, who'd wanna make out with a tomboy like you..." "Baka." She punched him lightly, then moved in on him again. She loved kissing him, it stirred up so many wonderful feelings. At times she needed this, as if to confirm that yes, things had changed. When they came up for air, Ranma took the opportunity to ask her something that was on her mind. "Akane," he began. "There's this, uh, little restaurant that just opened and I was, uh, kinda wondering if you'd maybe like to go out Friday?" Akane smiled and hugged him. "I'd love to Ranma!" She realized, as well as him, that they really hadn't had much time together, on a date. They'd been places together, but the family was always with them. They also had a small date once before, after the garden maze incident where Akane became Ranma's fiancee again. This, however, would be a more romantic-type date, at least, that's what she hoped for. "There is a condition," he stated, holding a finger up. She backed up and frowned. "What do you mean?" "Ya haveta work extra hard in your training and be able to focus your ki enough to project it," he explained. It was really the only thing he could really teach her at the moment with his arm still healing. She was real close to fully mastering and controlling her ki, being able to form a small ki ball with the Moko Takabisha, but holding onto it and projecting it was still a problem. "That is, if you think you're up to it." She smirked. "Challenge, huh? You're on!" Then her expression became softer and a little serious. "I know you're worried about me Ranma. I promise you I won't let you down. I can't lose you now that I've finally found you." She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I don't wanna lose you either," he replied quietly. "Shampoo's a strong fighter, but she doesn't think you can focus your ki. Hopefully, you'll have a couple of surprises in store in the way of a ki blast and that Tora Dokiken thing you do." He frowned. "You never did tell me how you came up with that." She smirked. "Jealous that I can do something you can't?" "What me?" He laughed. "Of course not! I could easily learn to do it if I wanted." "Baka." She sighed. "Well, I know you want to know, so I'll tell you after I beat Shampoo. Think of that as my challenge to you. Train me right so I win, and I tell you what I know about the technique." A chance to learn a new technique, even if it was from Akane. There was no way he could turn this down. "Deal." She smiled warmly up at him. "Now, where were we..." Her face move up, even as he moved his lips down to hers. He was able to kiss her without losing mental capacity now, and he thoroughly enjoyed it, feeling it was much better than being kissed by Shampoo. He couldn't figure out really why, except that this was Akane. Shampoo had always forced her lips on him, anytime she could get the opportunity. But Akane's kisses were usually more of a challenge to get, and that made them all the more sweeter. Ten minutes seem to fly by in a matter of moments, before it was mutually decided that no more time could be spent. It was time to get home for dinner. Nearby, a small shadowy figure watched them leave. He grinned to himself as he recalled their passionate make-out session, then thinking back on all the times he had waited for them to reach this point, goading and teasing them. His mind drifted to the thought of how nice the pretties that Ak- He smacked his head. Sighing for lost opportunities, he hopped off after them, taking care to keep out of sight. "Keep your guard up!" Ranma commanded. They were in the dojo after dinner now, working through another sparring session. Well, Akane and Yuri were sparring while Ranma, Kenji, and Ukyo looked on. Ranma was actually somewhat thankful for his broken arm, since it meant he couldn't spar with her. After all, he still didn't want to be the one hitting her. So, Ukyo and Yuri had volunteered. "And keep moving, don't became a stationary target," Ukyo added. Akane fought to control her anger. she told herself. She jumped over a leg sweep and kicked Yuri in the face lightly before landing on the other side of her. Yuri was up again and throwing various level punches that Akane worked to avoid. She was getting better at that; she used to just try and block everything, but Ranma was trying to teach her to be more mobile. Unfortunately, a punch to her midsection got through and backed her up. Akane ducked under the next one and shot up with an uppercut when Yuri over-extended. Following up as Yuri staggered backwards, Akane delivered a spinning kick to the ninja girl's stomach and causing her to double over. A chop to the back of the head dropped her and finished it. "You're gettin' slow, imoutochan!" Kenji hollered from the sidelines where he was sitting next to Ranma and Ukyo. He knew quite well how Yuri prized her speed over strength and skill. She was as fast as Ranma, but made too many mistakes, becoming sloppy at times. Yuri groaned as Akane helped her up. "You okay, Yuri-chan?" "I'll be better as soon as I pound on my brother," she replied tersely. "No offense Akane-chan, but I think I'm beat for the night." She smiled. "It's okay, I wanted to thank both you and Ucchan for helping me to train." "Ready to head back, Yuri?" Kenji asked. She nodded. "Okay then, I guess we'll call it a night." He stood up with Ukyo. "Good idea," Ukyo agreed. "We got some homework to finish up. See you guys tomorrow!" Ranma and Akane waved good-bye to the trio as they marched back to Ucchans, then Ranma turned to Akane. "I take it you're still ready for more?" She nodded. "Good! Why don't you start with that kata I showed you yesterday, then we'll work more on your ki techniques." Akane walked to the center of the dojo, inhaled slowly to calm herself, and began. A bit clumsy at first, but she soon began to feel the flow and her movements became as gentle as a dancer's. When she finished, Ranma was actually quite impressed. He was about to comment on it the heard the sound of clapping echoed from the doorway. A short young man walked in as they turned, and they were stunned when his face came into view. They both recognized it instantly, but Akane was first to speak. "Happosai!?" Ranma leapt to his feet. "What do you want?" "My boy, I thought you would've been more grateful to your old master," he said. Ranma laughed. "Well, I am grateful for your help back at the compound, but you haven't taught me anything to be considered my master." Ranma was expecting some sort of retort, but was surprised when Happosai agreed. "You're right Ranma, I haven't been a good master to you. That's going to change." He sighed. "There are techniques I need to pass on to you and Akane-chan before I am gone, so that they survive to the next generation." Ranma and Akane were surprised by the old man's attitude, but Akane spoke up first. "What do you mean gone? Surely you'll live even longer now that you're young again. We surmised it was the Nanniichuan water you drank at the wedding that did this to you." Happosai nodded. "That's true, however I only look young. For many years now I've been actively using my ki to lengthen my life span. The damage and the drain from the last battle finally got to me. I estimate I only have a couple of weeks left at most." They were stunned again. Ranma thought. "So what do you have to teach me? How to steal underwear?" Happosai laughed. "In a way. Do you ever wonder why I do that?" Ranma shrugged. "We just thought you were a hentai." "That's mostly it now, but it wasn't always like that," he said. "You may find it hard to believe, but I was actually a decent guy once, before I discovered the technique." Akane's face was uncertain, as if she wondered where this was heading. "What technique?" The old master's eyes narrowed. "A technique to charge my ki by simply making contact with the opposite sex." Ranma and Akane's eyes widened. "That's right. But I wasn't strong enough to control it, and I had no one who loved me who could've helped me. As I began to get old, I used my ki to slow the aging process. So, naturally I had to make frequent contact to restore my ki, thus, that's what led me to my perversion. It just became a part of my nature." He took a puff on his pipe. "I've resolved to control it, however, until I go." "This is the technique you wanted to pass onto us?" Akane asked in disbelief. Ranma held his hands up. "Forget it, old man. I ain't havin' nothin' to do with your perversions." Happosai sat down. "Ranma-chan, Akane-chan, do you truly love each other?" Both teens looked at each other and blushed. The idea that they loved each other was still quite new to them. "You didn't deny it, so I'll take it as a yes," Happosai said at last while the couple looked at each other. "You are both stronger than I was at your age, and you are together. As long as you have each other and do not fear growing old, you need not give in to the temptation." He turned to Ranma. "So, do still think you can't handle this, Ranma m'boy? I thought you could master anything?" And it worked. "Hey, I can handle anything you throw at me, freak," he boasted. Happosai grinned. "Good, then it's time we started. It should only take a few days for you two to learn the basics. After that, you can develop it as you see fit. All I ask is that you keep this to yourselves. Never teach anyone this except your children, or the ones who you pass your legacy onto. This should be a technique that only a very chosen few know. It should never fall into the wrong hands or you'll end up with another me, or even someone worse than me." Akane shivered. "I don't see how that's possible." "Think about it, my dear," he told her. "The worst I did was steal underwear and grope. I could've used my power to steal or kill at will. You should know by now that when I'm determined to do something, no one could stop me, even Cologne." Ranma thought. Happosai took another puff on his pipe. "So, are you ready to start?" They nodded after a bit of hesitation. "Good. Now don't worry, we won't go stealing underwear or glomping on strangers. Unless of course you want to." They both stared at him and he chuckled. "Okay, that's why I want to teach both of you, so you can use each other to practice and recharge. Now, sit down and face each other." They did as instructed. "Good, now take each others hands and close your eyes. Breath from your diaphragm, in and out, and feel your partner's life force. This technique is based on the reactions between yin and yang. Your ki will charge naturally on it's own, but when you combine your essence with a member of the opposite sex, you temporarily make a stronger yin-yang balance. As a result, your ki recharges faster. "Now, I'm going to hold onto your hands and draw a little from Akane-chan." Their eyes shot open as they turned their glares upon. Happosai merrely chuckled. "Calm down. I don't need to touch anything private. This can be done through simple skin contact, though the effect is less. The greater the intimate contact, the greater amount of ki you can charge, since you're completing the yin-yang balance more fully. He took a puff on his pipe, then set it down. "Okay, back to the exercises. Close your eyes and try to feel your partner's ki. I am going to grab both of your wrists and charge a little ki off Akane-chan since I can't draw any from Ranma; unless he becomes a girl. The amount you'll lose is a fraction of what I'll get. Now feel what happens." He reached out and lightly grabbed their wrists. Ranma felt Akane's ki drop by a minute fraction, but mainly he detected something else he couldn't describe. Happosai was taking something else, but it wasn't something vital. And the effect it had on the old man's system was remarkable. Akane felt almost the same thing. Ranma's eyes flashed open. "I felt that! I think I know what you were doing!" Happosai motioned him to continue. "I don't think it's so much a matter of what you did to Akane, but more what happens to you because of it." Happosai grinned. "You are remarkable Ranma. It took me half a year to understand the process. Of course I was still developing it. Every living thing secretes nearly indetectable parts of their... essences, if you will. When you learn to detect them, you can absorb them, and then only if you let it affect you, will it work. You've heard that laughter is the best medicine, well this is similar. Your body will unconsciously emit certain chemicals under the right conditions. When you feel emotions of love or lust for the opposite sex and absorb the essence they leave, it will be converted and added to your ki. Why don't you give it a try, Ranma-chan." He nodded and held Akane's hands. He concentrated until he began to sense what he did before. He found his love for Akane and suddenly felt a small surge in power. It surprised him so much that he let go and gasped. "I did it!" he exclaimed. "I felt it! That's incredible!" "Well done, m'boy!" Happosai was impressed. "I was right in choosing you two as my heirs. Now, when you two have the hang of that, I'll come back and teach you some more of the advanced fighting techniques. Go ahead and practice. I'll be around." And then he was gone. "Well that was wierd," Akane said at last. Ranma agreed. "I've never seen him like this. It seems his mind has changed, as well as his body." "I kinda wonder if the death of the old gh-Cologne has something ta do with it," Ranma thought out loud. He had been trying to honor the old woman's memory by referring to her by her name instead the `old ghoul'. "Yeah." Akane turned to him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Okay, now that you have it, it's my turn!" They reassumed the positions they had before as Akane took her turn. Ranma tried to help her through it, since she went for several minutes without success. Then, on impulse, she bent foreword and cupped Ranma's head in her hands while she kissed him. That worked. When she broke off the kiss, they both knew she had done it. Of course, when that was realized, their training session rapidly degenerated into another make-out session. After fifteen minutes, they were both actively glowing from the ki they had charged. It was then decided to work on ki blasts in the yard to drain off the excess. "Okay now, just like yesterday, create the ball and try to hold onto it," Ranma coached. Akane nodded, cupped her hands six inches apart in front of her and concentrated. She reached down and found the calm inside her and willed her ki to form. Soon, a small blue ball began to grow in her hands. It became the size of a baseball and Akane held it for several minutes before it winked out. "Very good, you held it longer than yesterday," he commended her. Akane blushed. "I think it's just because of all the extra ki we generated." Ranma grinned back at her. "Probably, but don't sell yourself short. Now do it again, but this time try to throw it at the practice dummy. Remember, it's based on confidence, so find that on which your most confident in. Then, push it with your mind, as well as your body." Ever since Ranma had come to Nerima, Akane's confidence had never been that high. Not only was he better than her in martial arts, but he had a better looking female body. Then, many other indviduals came to Nerima after him, each of them better fighters and, in the case of the females, better looking than her (at least to her point of view). As a result, she wasn't very confident about much. That was one reason why she fought with Ranma so often, she was deathly scared she wasn't good enough for him. Closing her eyes, Akane flashed through several subjects: schoolwork, friends, martial arts skills, trying to find something to be confident in. Her mind eventually settled on the fact that Ranma was hers. She became confident of her love for him and his love for her. With that thought, the ball became bigger in her hands until it was the size of a basketball. Opening her eyes, she brought her hands back slowly, then pushed them rapidly foreword again. "Moko Takabisha!" The ball went foreword several feet before dropping into the ground. With a small flash, it burned itself out. Akane felt a wave of enthusiasm, followed by disappointment. She was happy because it worked, yet it wasn't nearly on the scale as her iinazuke. Ranma noticed her look of disappointment, and tried to cheer her up. "That was pretty good. Now that ya seem ta have found your focus, you're improving your skills more rapidly. By learning to use your ki, you've become nearly twice as fast and a whole lot stronger." He had always known Akane had a strong ki, the tremendous battle aura she generated when provoked proved that. But auras were an unconsciously generated form of ki, and Akane just needed to tap it. She smiled and flashed her eyelids at him. "Arigato, Rama- sama," she purred sweetly, causing Ranma to turn red and face away. She giggled. She loved playing with him like this. It was so much better than hitting him. Then, a new thought entered her mind, something that she wanted to ask earlier. "I've seen you use both a ki ball and a beam form before. Why is that?" "Well, ya know I started out with just a ball, `cause it was easier to form and and helped me gain control," he replied. "A beam can be more powerful, like Ryoga's Shishi Houkodan, but for most situations, a ball takes less ki and works just as well. You've never been hit by a ki blast, but it works kinda like a distance punch. Basically, you're hittin' an opponent from a distance with a solid object." He grinned suddenly. "Sort of like when you throw a barbell or a statue at me." Akane couldn't help but smile. "Baka. Yeah, I think I understand now." She turned back to the practice dummy and concentrated, the ball forming in her hand. "Moko Takabisha!" This time the ball traveled at a faster speed and smacked the dummy dead center, and making a nice round hole in it. Ranma nodded from the sidelines. "Okay, I think you've almost got it. Now I think it's time you practiced the Tora Dokiken again. You need to work with it and see what's capable of." "As you do it, let me know what you're feelin' and what your reactions are." Akane nodded at him then closed her eyes. She struggled to bring the power up but it wasn't responding. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I don't know!" She smiled as it came to her. "Tora Dokiken!" Ranma watched as she began to glow her golden color. Then, her eyes snapped open and she took the time to study herself. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "I never realized what I looked like." She looked back up at him. "It was my determination that did it. Back at the compound I was determined to save you and all our friends. Then I felt this wierd warping in my ki and it happened." Ranma walked around her, studying the effect. His gaze eventually returned to her face and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her glowing facial features. "An angel..." he whispered quietly in awe. Akane turned a shade of red as her fiance's eyes traversed her body, and also when she heard his whispered comment. She was about to say something when Ranma reached out his hand for hers. Their eyes met for a second and she took his hand. A sizzling jolt washed over them as the connection was made, but neither one let go. Ranma closed his eyes as he felt the ki of his iinazuke wash over him and mingle with his; the same glow spreading over his body. A strange tingling feeling was left in it's wake, but somehow Ranma felt that it was a good thing and he liked it. His eyes opened and met hers again and and it was clear they were experiencing the same phenomenon. Akane reached out her other hand and Ranma clasped it automatically. She then got the same impish idea from earlier in the dojo, and closed the distance between their bodies. As his face came down to meet hers, their lips met halfway in a kiss that could only be described as... well, it was really indescribable. Mouths opened, increasing the fuzzy, tingling feeling they shared. With a final flash, they parted and the glow disappeared. For a full minute, they gazed into each other's eyes, trying to figure out what just happened. Finally, Ranma spoke. "Wow, Akane, that was..." "Incredible, I know," she finished for him. "I didn't know that would happen." She blinked. "Normal kisses are going to seem boring compared to that." Ranma turned an interesting shade of red as what happened managed to impact his conciousness. A yawn forced it's way out of his mouth, despite his efforts to contain it. Akane matched it. "I feel so tired all of a sudden," Akane said sleepily. Ranma nodded. "Me, too. I think that technique really takes it out of you." Akane nodded and then leaned into him as they started into the house. Ranma unconciously put his good arm around her as they headed inside. A short kiss at Akane's door, then they parted and Ranma went back to the guest room to spend the night. As Ranma lay there, he couldn't help but feel good. He absently touched his lips as the memory played out. He let the thought hang as he went to sleep. His last thought was of how much better his arm was feeling. From the darkness, Happosai had watched the event. From his persepective, their ki energies had actually merged for the few minutes they were liplocked. Even when they parted, parts of each other's ki remained in the other, strengthening a unique bond that they seemed to have between them. He sighed. He leapt away into the night, never noticing the second figure that had watched the event. The second shadowy figure now kept almost constant surveillance over Ranma and Akane, only leaving to report, as per his mistress's orders. He was now on his way to report after watching them enter his mistress's house. He sighed. He arrived at his destination, easily hopping over the outer wall and making his way inside the mansion. He quickly found the door to the greenhouse. Knocking twice, he was bidden to enter and he did. "So," purred a female voice from the figure in front of him. She had her back to him. "What have you to report?" He cleared his throat and told her all about the couple's kissing session on the way home from school, the training, and the strange glowing event that happened afterward. The female was still for a minute or two, as if pouring over this new information. The short little man wondered if his life was now forfeit. Then she resumed her work on the plants in front of her. "This is not good," she said finally. "We must do something to end this now and pry him loose from the clutches of that vile woman. I knew there was a reason he wouldn't show his love for me, and now I find out it's because of some magic the Tendo girl has over him. I need a plan and an opportunity to strike." She paused and smiled. "Tell me more about this challenge match..." "" Mousse asked in their native language through the closed door. He got no response. For the past several days, Shampoo would stay locked in her great-grandmother's room (now hers), only emerging to get something to eat. Mousse could only imagine what was going on in there. he thought. He had heard that Akane was training hard, and with a lot of luck, she might almost be ready for Shampoo by Saturday. Thankfully, the same law which forbade him to help Akane, also prevented him from helping Shampoo. So he didn't have to tell her about the training Akane was getting. He repeated his inquiry and when he still got no response, he did the only thing he could do; he walked away. Shampoo had told him outright to not enter her room or bother her at all unless she failed to emerge for 48 hours or for the match. As he went back to his room, he couldn't help but feel strong magical forces at work on the other side of the door. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: Will Akane be able to train enough to beat Shampoo? My analysis of Akane's fighting abilities reveals that she has the same knack for improvising on the battlefield that Ranma does. Need proof? Read the part of the manga where Taro shows up for the first time. Ranma was able to beat his monster form, only through Akane's help. What did she do? Also, take a closer look at her fight with Kiima. Interesting use of the bamboo poles, ne? The battle doji shows latent potential, and the OAV, "The One to Carry On" shows learning fast improvement rate. Akane lost to Kurumi, then after only a couple days of training, she came back and was able to match her move for move. Most likely would've beat her if Natsume and Ranma hadn't joined. This leads me to believe she can advance as fast as Ranma when she puts her mind to it. Plus, she's focusing her ki now and has a few ki moves. Still, who knows what Shampoo is doing behind the door! Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: They ain't mine. Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 4 Ranma was scared. You may ask, `what's a very powerful and very skilled martial artist like Ranma Saotome afraid of?' The answer would be: not a whole lot. And if it's something he's scared of, woe to the rest of us. In reality (Ranmaverse reality, mind you), there are very few things Ranma is scared of: cats, a glomping fiancee, and an angry fiancee. Right now, it's none of those. No, right now he's getting ready to go on a date with Akane. Considering how things have turned out between them before, he could very well end up confronting all three fears before the night was over. You see, he agreed to go on an actual date with her if she could show enough improvement at the end of her two-week training session. Well, she did. And now he stands dress in a sleeveless white chinese shirt with nice black slacks, waiting for his date to finish getting ready. His cast was off after visiting the doctor earlier that day. Amazingly, his arm was practically healed and the doctor couldn't figure out why. Ranma had an idea, but he wasn't about to say anything about that night Akane and him had linked via the Tora Dokiken. Meanwhile, his father was patting him on the back, telling him what a man amongst men he was. Soun was doing his Niagra Falls impersonation, and wailing about how his little girl was growing up and the fact that the houses would soon be united. (AN: If someone wants to supply the numbers to Soun's cries, I could use them! I saw a list once...) Nodoka was giving helpful suggestions and advice. Kasumi smiled at him, but was otherwise her normal seemingly- oblivious self. Nabiki was sitting back and enjoying the show (and counting money, but that goes without saying). Then, all his doubts and fears vanished when he saw the object of his affections appear above the stairs and descend towards him. He stared slack-jawed at the young woman dresses in a very pretty white sundress and hat that matched his shirt (think beginning of OAV's, Love Panic Video). Ranma thought. Akane took pride in the way her iinzauke was gazing at her, her own thoughts running almost parallel to his. She reached the bottom of the steps and twirled in front of him for effect. She then gazed into his eyes and fluttered her eyelids at him. "How do I look?" she asked demurely. Ranma gulped, then slowly nodded his head. He figured he should say something, but he knew if he said the wrong thing, Akane would pound him and he did not want to ruin this. He took a breath, then, "You look real beautiful, Akane..." Akane blushed a bit and Nabiki rolled her eyes. "At this rate you'll never get him out of here." She stood up, walked over to them and gently pushed her younger sister forward. "Take her, lover boy, and go already." The rest of the world had disappeared to Ranma as soon as Akane came down the stairs, so he didn't hear Nabiki's comments. Still, he offered his arm, Akane took it, and the couple escaped from the clutches of their families. No more than ten words had passed either of their lips as they strolled along the street to the restaurant their reservations were at. Both lost in their own thoughts, and in each other. Unbeknownst to them, their thoughts continued to run parallel courses. Both thought how great the other looked, how nice this was, and hoped that nothing would come along and spoil it. Ranma didn't want to say anything, since that ran the risk of him saying something stupid and spoiling the moment. Akane didn't want to speak because she was afraid Ranma would retort something stupid and spoil the date. So, they walked to LaMour, an italian restaurant in silence. And it might've turned out to be a perfect date if the kami of mishaps, unusual encounters, and bad timing were still on vacation. As it was, he was back at his desk and delving into his paperwork with a vengence. Lucky for the couple, their folder was buried underneath a bunch of others, so it would be awhile before he got to the them. The couple was now seated in a corner booth where they could be next to each other while the waitress gave them menus. She said she'd return in a bit to take their orders. Ranma studied the plastic-coated paper in his hands. Their prices weren't that bad, but he he had little idea on what some of this stuff was. He had enough money since he started working for Nabiki; doing favors, helping with debt collection, and posing for risque pictures in his female form. Oh how he hated that last one. But being here with Akane now, somehow made it all worthwhile. Akane's voice interupted his thoughts. "I think I'm gonna get the chef's special. How about you?" Lately she had found herself having a slightly bigger appetite. He looked it up on the menu and nearly goggled at the price. "Jeez, think that's enou..." he cut off what he was saying by slapping a hand over his mouth. Did he he catch that in time? A glance over at his date told him, not quite. "Ranma..." she growled. "Gomen nasai, Akane," he returned, nervously. Just then, his mom popped into a thought bubble above his head. "Try some flattery," he remembered her saying. "Young girls love to complimented and told how lovely they are." "I didn't mean it," he continued. "After all, nothing could ruin a figure as perfect as yours!" Akane's visage turned from anger to utter shock, and it was several moments before she could form a coherent thought. She blinked. She smiled. "Thank you, Ranma!" She gave his hand a quick squeeze, mindful that they were in public, to calm him down. Ranma gave a sigh of relief and smiled back. The waitress returned and took their orders: 2 chef's specials and a couple of cokes. Ranma figured he might as well get the same thing. Again, he didn't know what it was, but if Akane could eat it, so could he! While waiting for the food, light conversation was made consisting of non-dangerous topics like school and the weather. Dinner arrived and passed in silence, mostly since one needed an empty mouth to speak, and Ranma wasn't about to allow that to happen. After he shoveled in the first few bites however, he remembered his mom's command to eat slower and he did so. Akane was amazed. Ranma was actually being nice and they were talking normally. No more teasing or insults were made and he was even eating at a normal pace! she thought happily. Nabiki, upon hearing the knock, opened up the front door and nearly burst into laughter at the sight portrayed on the other side. Tatewaki Kuno stood there, dressed in a white tuxedo and carrying a large bouquet of flowers. Nabiki thought it was a good match for her own outfit, a nice white dress she had put on in antipation of this turn of events. "I am here for my date!" he announced with much fanfare. Nabiki smirked. "Why Kuno-baby, I didn't know we had a date tonight. Though I simply adore these flowers. Thank you!" She reached out to take them, but he pulled them back. "Hold thy tongue, woman," he admonished. "I am here for the beauteous Tendo Akane. Word has reached me that she has a date tonight. Since I am the only man she could possibly want to date, then it must stand to reason she waits for me!" Nabiki sighed with exasperation. "Kuno-baby, how do I put this? Akane doesn't love you. She doesn't even like you. She didn't ask YOU for a date, she was asked by someone else. Someone of who my father approves of. He doesn't approve of you. Would you go against my father's wishes?" Kuno was once again challenged by real world. His small brain cried out in terror as the evil stormtroopers of reality stormed his mind. After several moments of intense combat with the Kuno dreamworld defense system (Nabiki observed the smoke pouring out of his ears), the minions of reality were once again banished and peace, sweet deluded ignorant peace reigned supreme once more. He spent another moment to phrase his next question. "Pray tell then, what evil spawn has taken my beautiful goddess of the hunt?" Nabiki grinned. "Ranma, of course." "Saotome!" Kuno was aghast. "Oh what cruel twist of fate, that my love should be kidnapped by that foul sorcerer." He dug out a wad of bills. "I must know where they have gone!" He shoved the wad at her. Nabiki looked at her watch. "Tell you what, Kuno-baby. I can take you to the restaurant where they were headed." "Then you must take me there at once!" "Hold on!" "Have you considered why Akane doesn't want to date with you?" "She is obviously under Saotome's evil spell!" Nabiki shook her head. "But she wouldn't go out with you even before Saotome came. Have you considered she might only want to go out with you if she knows you are experienced in the dating scene?" "But I am..." She waved him off. "And how many dates have you been on?" Kuno opened his mouth, then closed it. "Exactly." "Also, my sister loves playing hard-to-get. If she knew there was a chance of losing you..." She left it unfinished. "So, if my love knew I would be an experienced date and she realized I had moved on..." Nabiki could see the gears turn in Kuno's head. All two of them. His gaze turned upon her, new fire burning in his eyes. "Tendo Nabiki, I have a request of you. Would you date with me so that I may show the beautiful Tendo Akane that I am a worthy man?" Nabiki smiled. "Why Kuno-baby, I'd be delighted!" He offered his arm and she took it. "Now, as the gentleman of the evening, you of course will be paying for everything." Kuno's face dropped a bit. "Why am I not surprised..." He walked her to the gate and helped her into the back of the horse drawn carriage sitting out front. Sasuke was in the front with the reins to the pair of horses. Kuno climbed in next and commanded his servant to ride off. Nabiki bent forward and whispered in the ninja's ear the name of the restaurant where Ranma and Akane were going. The carriage rolled off into the night. Ranma and Akane had just left the restaurant when the carriage pulled up and disgorged it's passengers. If Kuno and Nabiki had been a couple of minutes earlier, they would've seen the other couple walked down the street and turn a corner. As it was, Kuno was convinced to enter the restaurant and make Akane envious enough to return to him. Nabiki was just grateful for the free meal and, maybe a little companionship. Not that she admitted she found Tatewaki's presence... somewhat nice. If only he could come out of his fantasy world. She blinked. They entered and were seated, oddly enough, in the same booth Ranma and Akane sat in. "I do not see my goddess of the hunt," Kuno accused. "You said she would be here." Nabiki shook her head. "No, Kuno-baby. I only said they were headed here. Either they have already left, or they have yet to arrive." "Then I shall go search for them!" He stood up. Nabiki pulled him back down. "And what kind of man abandons a woman on a date? That wouldn't be very honorable." Kuno sighed. "Very well. I have agreed to this one date with you and I shall honor my word." She smiled. "Whatever you say Kuno- baby." "Sasuke!" "Yes, master?" The sound came from under the table. "Go and search for Tendo Akane," he commanded. "If she is with the vile Saotome, drive him off." "As you wish master!" Then he was gone. Nabiki smirked(tm). The second couple in question were unaware of the person who sought to track them. They were content to take a walk in the park. Akane had her arm around Ranma's waist, and was gently resting her head on his shoulder. She was happy. Ranma was hers. After all the fiancees, battles, near-deaths, and other assorted craziness, he had finally chosen her. Ranma was in a similar state. For some reason, the closeness Akane was presenting to him didn't scare him, like he thought it would. Instead, he felt strangely, complete. As if some part of him that he didn't know was missing had returned. He wrapped his arm around her, resting his hand on her left shoulder. He felt, rather than heard, her sigh of contentment. A kami did hear his request. Unfortunately, it was the wrong kami. That's right, he's back. Bob grinned. Sasuke jumped from building to tree limb in pursuit of his quarry. His search pattern had circled the restaurant in ever enlarging cycles. Finally, he spotted a couple walking close together in the city park. He almost missed seeing them as they walked out from under a street lamp and into darkness. His mind decided, he shadowed them, he confirmed his targets. He sighed. He detected some movement ahead in an alleyway. He leapt undetected, ahead of where the couple was walking. If either of the two lovebirds were fully alert, they would have sensed his movement. As it was, their attentions were focused on each other. He reached the small alley and leapt to the other side. Scanning the darkness, he saw the movements of the animals gathered around a couple of overturned garbage cans. Perfect. Now to get them in motion. Doing his best impersonation, he began to bark and growl. He even threw some small flash and smoke bombs to further scare them. The results were predictable. The dozen or so animals fled the alley in the direction they were being herded. The couple were now sitting on the edge of a fountain, kissing softly, and trying to say what they liked about each other. Then he heard *it* and froze. "Ranma?" Akane asked when her partner stopped resonding. "What's wrong?" Then she heard it, too. Then they saw it. A dozen or so alley cats, meowing, hissing, and running in their directions. "C-c-c-c-c-c-c-CAT!" Ranma shrieked and fell backwards, but not before accidently pulling Akane with him. *Splash!* The two fell into the fountain. "RANMA!" Akane fumed. "MY dress is RUINED!" Ranma-onna, however, had other things on her mind, namely running, and lots of it. Her panicked mind wasn't really registering where she was going, wanting to just put as much distance bewteen the terrible creatures, and that's why she slammed into a tree and landed on her back. So dazed, she didn't notice the silent figure rush by and drop the fish sausages on her chest. When Ranma came to a short time later, several furry animals were crawling over her and nibbling at the fish sausages. They also licked her where the scent of fish had left it's mark. For two seconds, Ranma froze. Then her mind snapped. They wouldn't hurt one of their own, would they? Deep within the recesses of his mind, the Neko persona broke free of it's bonds and rose to the forefront. Ranma's persona submerged, letting Neko take control. Akane stepped out of the fountain and tried her best to get the water out of her dress. She sighed. It wasn't really Ranma's fault. No, it was his father's fault for giving him that stupid phobia of cats. Then, through all the other meowing, came another, bigger meow. One that she recognized. Over by a nearby tree, Ranma-onna-neko was on all fours and swatting the rest of the felines away. The ones that didn't go flying, ran for dear life. When they were all gone, she began to eat the rest of the sausages. She stopped, sensing someone nearby, someone watching her from the darkness, someone who had done something she really didn't like. She paused, then pounced into the bushes. Akane watched in horror as Sasuke was thrown out of the bush with claw marks on his chest, holding his arm in pain, and limping. The nekofied Ranma jumped out after him. "So you're responsible for this!" Akane exclaimed. Then she noticed the marks. "N-not me!" Sasuke cried. "M-master K-Kuno ordered me! Aaaahhh! Get her away from me!" Akane sighed, kneeled, and called. "Here, kitty, kitty." Onna- neko-Ranma trotted over to rub against the one she loved. Akane scratched and petted her. "Nice kitty." Despite the evening being ruined, she still felt a little consoled by the fact that only she could control him like this. He really showed how he felt. And right now, against all physical laws, her iinazuke was purring with happiness. Sasuke used the oppurtunity to truly vanish. Then she did something different. She pounced on Akane and knocked her onto her back and began to rub her entire body against her. Akane's eyes went wide. She was afraid of this. A while ago, Dr. Tofu had warned her that if Ranma's feelings for her deepened, it might be reflected in the Nekoken, and that on some subconscious level Ranma saw her as his mate. Suddenly, she understood, and blushed. Neko-Ranma was confused. She felt the desire, knowing the time to mate was here, yet something was wrong. She stopped and got off, pacing back and forth. With a swipe, she shredded the strange cloth that was covering her mate. Her mate was female, she was female... She still felt the love for her mate, but something was missing. Akane took that opportunity to get up and to take charge. The front of her dress was shredded down to her waist. She groused and pulled it closed, trying to cover herself. Her bad mood was tempered by the fact that it could've been much worse. Ranma was female at the moment, or else it might've gone much farther. She was very thankful of that. While she loved him, she wanted to wait until she was married. Plus, she wanted Ranma to be aware of himself. She sighed and began to walk away. "Here kitty! Come here kitty!" Ranma obeyed as Akane led him home. The two finally got home and Akane led her neko-like finace (or was that fiancee at the moment?) inside. No one was up, so she quickly headed to the kitchen and started some heating some water in a tea kettle. Ranma continued to pace, still confused. The tea kettle whistled and Akane quickly doused her iinazuke. "Ouch!" Ranma yelled. "Hot, hot, hot, HOT!" He then looked around at where he was. "What happened? How did I get here?" Akane sighed. "We were mobbed by a herd of cats, Baka." Ranma froze. "C-cats!?" He noticed her claw-torn dress and the blood on his hands, and jumped to the only conclusion he could think of. "Oh no, tell me I didn't?" Akane sighed and nodded. "You also attacked Sasuke. You scratched him up quite a bit, before I got you off of him, but he'll live. He's the one who brought the cats on us by order of Kuno." Ranma paled. "I-I'm sorry Akane. I didn't hurt you too bad, did I? If only I had more control!" He punched a wall, his anger flaring momentarily. "If only pop hadn't been so stupid!" He sat down again his temper draining, and something else replacing it. "Akane, I-I know I messed up again. Not only did I ruin things, but," he looked at his hands, his shoulders trembling with fear. "I-I could've killed someone, and... maybe you deserve someone better, someone's who not afraid of c- cats; someone who can be a whole man for you." She put a hand on his shoulder, knowing she couldn't let him sink into this depression. "Ranma, I don't want anyone else, I want you. We'll figure out something; we need to now. Let's get changed out of our wet clothes first, then we'll talk." She left for her room and Ranma for his, all the while thinking what Akane meant. Getting control of the Nekoken, or at least his fear, is something he knew he'd have to work on for awhile now. What kind of husband or father could he be if he was scared of cats? One of these days, he might seriously hurt or kill someone, someone he cared about. He found Akane out in the dojo, kneeling in front of her family's shrine. Quietly, he moved up and knelt beside her. "Akane? Are you really okay?" Dense as he usually was, for some reason he could tell something else was bothering her. She sighed. "I guess I'm fine. I'll try to explain what Dr. Tofu told me. Your cat persona acts on what you feel as a human and on instinct. Since you love me, you trust me as a cat and I can control you." She stopped, trying to think how to say this next part. "Since lately your feelings for me have come more to the forefront, your cat persona has changed slightly." Ranma was confused. "What do ya mean?" Akane took a deep breath, and tried to approach the delicate subject from another angle. "Well, your senses are sharper when're in the Nekoken, and you can detect things your human side can't." Her eyes closed and she began to tremble almost imperceptibly. "Since your cat side sees m-me as a m-mate, you can detect when I'm... um, fertile." By this time, her face was as red as her name, but she summoned her courage to look at her fiance's reaction. Ranma was several feet away from her, shock, fear, disbelief, and loathing written all over his face. He was shaking worse than she was, hands up in a warding gesture. "I-I-I..." It was obvious he couldn't form any coherent words, then he suddenly stood up and bolted for the door. "I'm sorry!" Akane mirrored his shock for a split second. "RANMA!" she yelled, her voice stopping him in the dojo doorway. "Where do you thin kyou're going!?" Ranma gulped. "I promise Akane, I'll leave and get this under control. I'll go away on a training trip and work on it." In his mind, being a half-man was nowhere near as bad as being a psycho that would try to rape Akane. Akane steadily rose to her feet, fearing that he was about to leave her and never come back. She knew all about his instinct to protect her, and it always annoyed the hell out of her. "No, WE'LL get this under control!" she told him in no uncertain terms. "Don't you DARE think about running out on me! Your a part of my life Ranma and I'm a part of yours." Ranma gripped the doorframe tighter, nearly crushing it in his grip, while his insides warred in indecision. He wanted to say no, to run away and work on it alone and to prove himself a man for her. But another part of him didn't want to go, especially since Akane had told she wanted him to stay. Ever so slowly, he turned to face her. "Are you absolutely sure about this, Akane? I-I don't want... to hurt you," he finished in a small voice. The concern that she could finally see in his face, move Akane to cross the distance between them and lay her right palm against his cheek, bringing his eyes to meet her own. "We can talk to Dr. Tofu in the morning. He may have some ideas. We'll get through this together, Ranma. I promise." -------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: The date chapter didn't exist before, but during the rewrite (the second rewrite anyway) I decided to put it in. After all, we have to know how Ranma and Akane's first date (as an official couple) goes. I hope I put the right amount of romance, humor, mishaps, and story progression in. As for the Nekoken, I figure Ranma has to be thinking about it the same as his curse; he doesn't like it and wants to either get rid of it or control it so he can be a whole man for Akane. I just put a little incident in to remind him of that. Also, I kinda wonder what would happen if Ranma's feelings for Akane grew, how would that reflect in the Nekoken? He thinks he's a cat, soooo... Part of my inspiration comes from Lord Archive's "The Nekoken is out of the Bag." It's not a bad read, if you want to check it out, though it has quite a bit of lemon content. Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: What do you want me to say here? Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 5 The day of the challenge match arrived, and the crowd gathered in the appointed place. This being Nerima, that meant the appointed place was a empty, conveniently placed, nearby lot, which had seen a great majority of the epic martial arts struggles that tended to pop up. The gathered crowd consisted of the Tendos, Saotomes, the Ucchan group, and the Nekohanten gang, plus one other. Nabiki had invited Kuno when he found out about it. Ranma didn't want him to show, but Nabiki said he was going to come, regardless, so she had done it in a way that would ensure he wouldn't interfere. When Ranma asked what she meant, she simply smiled and winked. He wisely decided not to pursue the issue. Shampoo and Mousse were already waiting at one end of the lot, as well as two other women Ranma didn't recognize. But they were dressed in robes similiar to Shampoos, the one that was almost like Cologne's that she had worn during Kenji's memory restoration. He guess they were more Chinese Amazons. Mousse started foreword when the crowd took their places at the sideline. As he walked up to them, Ranma loosened up his arm that, until a couple of days ago, had a cast on it. He couldn't believe how fast it had healed; probably thanks to that new technique Happosai had taught them. When the doctor examined his arm during the last checkup, he had to double and triple check his readings. The bone had completely mended itself. When the doc and his family asked how, Ranma said nothing. For now, he and Akane decided to keep the technique to themselves. Mousse reached the center of the field and raised his arms, signaling for quiet. As he spoke, Ranma couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't the kind of premonition that he was about to be attacked, that was different. No, this was something else, a sense of something out of place. He shook his head and tried to dispel it. . He tuned back in to what Mousse was saying. "...between Shampoo and Akane," the nearly blind boy was saying. "Observing the match are Lotion and Floss of the Joketsuzoku. The combatants can fight only with what they bring to the match. No outside help of any kind is permitted. The match will be over when one of the combatants are either dead, unconscious, leaves the area, or if one forfeits the fight. Now we shall begin. Warriors, prepare yourselves." Ranma thought. He turned to Akane who was dressed in her combat gi. It was similar to her practice gi, but with some slight differences; she was wearing some leather padding underneath it in various places. Not enough to hinder movement, but just enough to help cushion some blows. She smiled at him and he smiled back. There was no need for words, since they had said everything to each other that morning. Instead, he wrapped her in a big hug, followed by a deep kiss (To give her a bit of a ki charge). When they parted, they bowed to each other and she headed out into the field, opposite of Shampoo. Ranma tried to ignore the sensation of his heart and stomach sparring inside him. Turning back, he noticed Kuno staring at him with his mouth open. A quick poke from Nabiki though, and he closed his mouth and turned away. Ranma shrugged slightly in response, then slowly scanned the faces of his friends and family. Soun wasn't crying like he expected him to be, rather he was doing his best to act brave. His mom and dad were standing side by side looking mainly confident, but with a bit of worry thrown in. Ukyo was talking to Kenji and Yuri, apparently explaining things to them. Tofu was standing next to Kasumi with his arm around her. Ranma had heard that they'd grown closer after their first date went well. And Nabiki was checking things in a notebook. he thought to himself, slightly disgusted. He turned his attention back to the field. Shampoo removed her and handed it to one of the Amazons with her, revealing her combat body suit and leather breastplate underneath. The other Amazon handed her a pair of bonbori and then moved off the field. Mousse backed up when the two warriors assumed ready positions, then gave the signal to begin. For a few seconds, neither one moved. Then, by some unspoken signal, the two charged each other. Akane feigned a punch, but then dropped to the ground with a leg sweep. The Amazon jumped back, then forward swinging the heavy maces. Akane had no choice to but to retreat until she found an opening, though Shampoo wasn't giving her any. Ranma's heart dropped as he saw her slowly forced back. If she went back much farther, she would leave the lot and lose. A gold aura suddenly flared to life around Akane. With a couple of quick punches, she destroyed the two bonbori and backed Shampoo off. The aura promptly faded afterward. Ranma was hoping she wouldn't have to use the Tora Dokiken until later in the match to surprise Shampoo and finish it quickly. Now that her opponent knew about, Shampoo would be much more careful. "No..." Ranma heard Soun mumble. "How could she know that?" Ranma moved to his side. "What are you talking about?" he whispered. But the elder Tendo didn't respond, so fixed on the match he was. Ranma thought. Akane took a kick to the side and felt pain lance through her body. She grabbed a hold of the leg and leaped sideways to deliver a quick double kick to her opponent's face before flipping the leg and sending Shampoo to the ground. The Amazon was back up in no time, countering and dodging Akane's moves. Akane thought grimly. Akane ducked under a roundhouse. Shampoo didn't complete the turn, but instead planted her hands on the ground and flipped her other foot up, striking Akane's face with her heel. The other girl hit the ground, then rolled away from a strike that was intended for her stomach. Akane did a kippup to return to her feet. They collided again in a flurry of punches and kicks, and Akane realized she was receiving more than she was giving. As Shampoo's latest attack spun her away, Akane feigned dizziness, hoping to draw the Amazon in. It worked. As Shampoo came at her, Akane waited until the last possible second before activated the Tora Dokiken again. She easily blocked Shampoo's attack and delivered a quick, yet devastating six hit combo that sent the Amazon reeling. The young Tendo didn't pursue. She was probably in the same shape as her opponent, if not worse, and she needed to catch her breath. Shampoo couldn't know it, but Akane figureed that she probably only had enough ki left to do one, maybe two more of those. When Shampoo got up, she wisely kept her distance as the two circled each other. Shampoo had a bloody nose and Akane could tell she was sporting some kind of chest injury. Akane realized. Her arm was sore, as was her leg from an earlier kick. Shampoo could probably tell that was causing her to limp slightly. It was also causing her some pain whenever she stepped, but she wasn't letting that show. Suddenly, Shampoo's aura flared purple briefly as she brought her hands in front of her, palms outward. A small purple ball formed in her hands and from that shot several purple comet-like lances. Akane dove forward and rolled trying to avoid the ki attack. One of the lances managed to strike her back and Akane cried out when it burned her. she thought. When she finally got back to her feet, Shampoo was letting another wave of the lances go. Akane was closer to Shampoo now and dodging the second wave seemed almost impossible. Instead, she made a quick decision. The flaxen outline popped into existence once more as a speedier Akane bulldozed through the multiple ki blast. Where the lances struck the golden aura, they simply fizzled. Akane closed the distance and began her attack, but Shampoo managed to dodge the few punches she threw until the Tiger effect wore off. Shampoo jumped back in and attacked in full force, not caring about her own defense and it was all Akane could do to deal with the attacks. Then one after another, punches and kicks got through Akane's own defense and she was sent tumbling away to land face down in the dirt. With a cry, Shampoo leapt into the air and came down on Akane, her feet outstretched and poised to crush her opponent once and for all. Time slowed to a virtual standstill for Ranma. Dread welled up in him when he realized Akane wasn't moving. he wanted to yell. He watched as Shampoo continued her descent, her intent clear. Akane flared to life, rolling on to her back and bringing her hands up. "Moko Takabisha!" Shampoo was clearly surprised by the move, and there was nothing she could do about it. The ki ball slammed into her stomach, shattering the chestplate, sending the Chinese girl twisting out of the air as Akane struggled to her feet. The youngest Tendo limped over to the fallen form of her opponent, holding her stomach and breathing raggedly. The Amazon wasn't moving. Akane nudged Shampoo with her foot, then turned her onto her back. Her eyes were closed. Akane felt her opponent's neck for a pulse, then looked up and nodded at Mousse, who was clearly feeling torn up at the abuse Shampoo had suffered. He stepped foreword and examined Shampoo while Akane staggered back. He got up and nodded to the two Amazons. Ranma was elated. She had won! He was about to run over to her, but before he could, something else happened. In the next instant, a nearby pile of rubbish burst open and a ribbon snaked out, wrapping itself around Akane's neck. With a jerk, Kodachi dragged Akane to her and grabbed her with her free hand. Well, the hand wasn't exactly free. It held a small knife which she place near Akane's throat to stop the rush of people, Ranma included, from getting to her. "Let Akane go, Kodachi," Ranma growled. A chilling laugh was his only reply. "Oh, my Ramna-sama, it's okay!" Kodachi purred. "I know this witch has you under some sort of mind control. Once she is out of the way, we can be together. Isn't that what you truly want?" "Just let her go, and we can talk about this," Ranma tried to reason with her. Actually, looking at her he had to wonder what her state of mind was. Though she was wearing a light green leotard, it was covered in filth. Her eyes looked slightly wilder than usual. Kodachi seemed to think about it for second. "I'm afraid I can't do that Ranma-sama. I know you may not love me now, but I am better for you! I can offer you so much more than this wench." Ranma tried to step slowly towards her, but she pressed the knife into Akane's neck, drawing a faint amount of blood. A look of terror passed over Akane's face, even as tears began to leak out of her eyes. "Sister, do not do this, tis not an honorable thing," Kuno addressed her, stepping foreword. Kodachi's face lit up. "Brother dear! I'm so glad you came! Don't worry, you can have this girl when I'm through. Isn't that what you want?" Kuno seemed to hesitate. "I had no idea you were this far gone. My own madness has blinded me to it. I do desire Tendo Akane, but only of her own free will. Doing this will gain neither of us what we want." "Then what of your pig-tailed goddess?" she countered. "Once I have Ranma-sama, she will be yours!" Kuno shook his head. "Nay, I cannot. `Tis dishonorable. A woman is to be won through bravery and poetry, not deceit and hostage taking. Besides, Tendo Nabiki has already promised to reveal the pig-tailed one's secrets to me, of how Saotome holds her so that I may free her." Ranma risked a glance back at Nabiki, but she merely smiled at him. He turned back. "Alright Kodachi, it's your show. What do we do?" Kodachi's face lit up. "Excellent! You will come away with me, my darling Ranma-sama. You see, this knife has been coated with a special poison that took me several weeks to cultivate. You'll notice I've already cut the wench. If she doesn't receive regular doses of a special serum, she'll die in 30 minutes." Ranma blood ran cold and anger flashed through him. He wanted nothing more than to rush foreward and tear Kodachi apart, but he realized that doing so would kill Akane. He dropped his head in defeat. "I'll come with you, just, please give her the antidote." "In due time," she said while slightly moving the knife away. "Still, maybe I should just kill her now. That way you would be totally free of her control." From out of nowhere, an arrow struck Kodachi's arm, causing her to scream and release the knife. Akane thrust her elbow into the stomach of the girl behind her and limped away at her best speed. Ranma enveloped Akane in a hug as she collapsed in his arms, sobbing. "Akane!" He looked up at the demented gymnast, who was rapidly making her escape. "Who shot that!?" "I did," Yuri said, stepping foreword, holding a small bow. "I'm sorry." Ranma's eyes blazed. "What!? WHY!? Akane'll die with out the antidote!" Ukyo was suddenly next to him, holding a vial. "You mean this?" Ranma stared at it while Tofu made his way foreword. "Let me see it." She handed it to him and he sniffed the contents. He then picked up the knife and sniffed it as well. "It's going to be okay Ranma. I recognize the poison and this is the antidote. Tip her head back. Akane, you need to drink this." She nodded slightly and he drained the contents into her mouth. After it went down, she passed out. "Akane!?" Ranma was nearly hysterical. "AKANE!" "She'll be okay, Ranma," said Tofu. "She's just passed out from the shock, and the fact that she's weak right now. It would be best if you took her to my clinic. Now." Ranma needed no encouragement and was gone before Tofu stopped speaking. The rest of the group followed at their own best speeds. A few minutes later, Akane was sleeping soundly in a hospital bed in Tofu's clinic. Tofu took some more time to examine her, before declaring that she would be alright. It took some nudging to convince Ranma to leave Akane alone so she could rest. As he walked back into the reception area, he saw Yuri standing there talking with Ukyo. The room quieted of the low-toned conversations when they saw him. "How?" he asked at last, his thoughts whirling in a jumble. "Why?" He suddenly felt very exhausted and collapsed in a chair. "Perhaps I can explain best." A small ninja clad in black stepped foreword. Ranma stared at him. "Sasuke?" "I had been very worried about mistress Kodachi for some time," he explained. "She had been acting slightly different than usual, ever since she got word of you of the fact that you and Akane-san were acting more... affectionate than usual. She found out... because I told her." "WHAT!?" Ranma tried to jump out of his chair, but a pair of strong arms held him down. "Let him finish, boy," his father said form behind him. Ranma reluctantly leashed his anger. Sasuke gulped and continued. "As I said, I feared she was slipping farther into her madness and might do something truly drastic. I, I could not take it anymore. So, I spied on her working in her greenhouse. It was easy enough to figure out what she planned, since she talked to her plants and told them all about it. I tried to get away to warn you, but one of the plants grabbed me and held me. Kodachi found me and had a few more vines tie me up. When I finally broke free, I grabbed the antidote and ran as fast as I could over here. But I was too late to stop her." "That's when he came up to Yuri-chan and I," Ukyo said next. "He briefly explained he had the antidote. The only thing was, we needed to get Kodachi away from Akane. Yuri said she could do it with the small bow she was carrying and Kenji backed her up." Kenji spoke up. "I apologize for gambling with Akane-san's life, Saotome. But my sister's an ace shot. I've seen her hit moving target's at twice the range with pinpoint accuracy." Ranma sat still for a few seconds while absorbing this all in. It had all happened so fast and there were so many things that could've gone wrong. If Sasuke hadn't broken free in time or what if Yuri had missed. Wait a minute, something was wrong. "Hey what about what Kodachi said about Akane needing regular doses?" "That was a lie," Sasuke answered. "I believe she would've given Akane the antidote the first time, then used regular doses of something else to keep her immobile and weak. After all, she realized if Akane died, she would lose you." "Hmmm, that's interesting," Nabiki commented. "She wanted Ranma and thought Ranma loved her, yet the fact she knew she needed Akane alive to keep you means that she knew you loved Akane. Maybe she wasn't totally crazy." "Yeah, I guess so..." was all Ranma could say before lapsing into silence. "If you'll excuse me now, I must atone for my actions," Sasuke said solemnly. "What you do you mean, son?" Soun asked. "You saved my little girl's life!" "But I betrayed the house of Kuno, that's an unforgivable sin for one of my family," he replied. "You are right when you say there must be an atonement," came a voice from the door. "Master Kuno!" Sasuke cried. Nobody had noticed the kendoist come in. "But it is I must make the atonement, old friend," he admitted, downcast. "I let my sister's madness continue unchecked for too long. I... nearly became as bad as her. I wish to repair the damage my family has caused." He turned to Ranma. "I will no longer pursue Tendo Akane, since by family honor you are engaged to her." He glanced sidelong at Nabiki. "It would be dishonorable if I continued to woo an enaged woman. But if I ever hear that you have mistreated her, or obtain proof of your black magics, the wrath of the Blue Thunder shall come down upon you." Ranma nodded. "So what made you accept this so easily all of a sudden?" "Ease is not the word, knave!" Kuno countered forcefully. "The love I carry for Tendo Akane will burn always, but the nobler gesture is to give up that love in the face of honor. There is one who made me accept that fact." He turned to his manservant. "Now, Sasuke, come. We must find my sister. I suspect she will return home and I would have thee at my side when I confront her." "Master Kuno?" Sasuke looked dumbstruck. "You still want me?" Kuno smiled a gentle smile. Truly a strange sight. "What would the noble House of Kuno do without you? You acted very nobly in a dire situation. Now, let us be off. I will make amends for the suffering House Kuno has caused this day, this I promise." Sasuke joined his master and they were gone. "Well that was strange," Ranma said at last. Ukyo echoed that statement. "You can say that again, Ranchan. He seemed almost... tolerable. What'd you do to him, Nabiki-chan?" The middle Tendo sported an innocent look. "Moi? What makes you think I had anything to do with him?" "'Cause you're the one that's always hangin' around him," Ranma stated. Nabiki smiled, but was stopped from saying more by a new figure that appeared in the clinic doorway. "Greetings, Mousse-san," Nodoka offered. "How is Shampoo-san?" "She'll be fine, at least physically," Mousse replied. Everyone understood that. She had just lost Ranma and was beaten by Akane, a girl that she considered inferior. Mentally, she would be feeling very down. Mousse cleared his throat and continued. "I've just come to say a few things. By Amazon law, Akane has proven herself the better warrior. She has won the possession rights to Ranma and Shampoo's marriage to him is annulled. We'll be around for a few more days until Shampoo is well enough to travel, then we'll return home. I don't know if we'll ever come back, so we'll most likey sell the Nekohanten." "I might be interested in that," Nabiki spoke up from her corner of the room. "But instead of buying it outright, I can run it for you. We'd split the profits. That way you can continue to receive income and I'll place it an account for use if you do come back. Or you can simply withdraw from it in China." Mousse bowed to her. "Arigato Nabiki-san, we might take you up on that. For now, I must return. I must help Lo Shun and Fu Los pack." Ranma felt compelled to speak. "I'm gonna miss ya, Mousse. You gave me some great fights." Mousse frowned. "I guess I shall miss you, after a fashion. Don't make the mistake of thinking we are any sort of friends, however, since you caused Shampoo much misery. But I do not think I hate you quite so much as when I first met you." Ranma smiled slightly and nodded, then Mousse was gone. Tofu cleared his throat. "Now, we've all had quite a day and I think everybody should go home to get some rest. I'd like to keep Akane here to keep tabs on her." Ranma stood up. "Then I'm staying, doc. Kodachi's still out there." Tofu nodded. "I thought you'd say that." Nodoka walked over and hugged her son. "I am proud of you, Ranma, of the way you handled today's events. I know you will take good care of Akane-chan." "Ah, momma..." Ranma tried to fend her off, embarrassed. She turned from him. "Come, Genma. You may walk me home." She retrieved her husband, who gave Ranma a short nod, then left. "My baby has a fine protector in you," Soun added. "I trust you with her care." Ranma placed a hand behind his head. "Uh sure, thanks Tendo- san." He nodded, then walked out with his two older daughters. The Ucchan trio approached him to give their support as well, before they too, left. When everyone was gone, Tofu set up a cot next to Akane's for Ranma and gave him some blankets before heading to his room upstairs. Ranma draped one of the blankets over his iinazuke and moved a couple hairs out of her face. She was soundly asleep now, the day's events exhausting her. He pulled up a chair next to her and began his protective vigil. Kodachi swore and grimaced as she pulled the small arrow out of her arm. She pulled some cloth out of a pack she had hid earlier and bandaged her arm while considering her next options. She would never be welcome anywhere now, that was for certain. Almost certainly the police would be after her, and her darling Ranma- sama was too far under the witch's control. She would have to go to plan B. That would require her to get some items from home and that would probably require dealing with her brother. she decided. Laughing to herself, she disappeared into the night. Back at the Nekohanten, Mousse had placed Shampoo back into her bed after Lo Shun had changed her into more comfortable clothes. Then, her and Fu Los, who had come only to watch the fight, departed to report back to the council. Mousse and Shampoo would follow when she was able. While Ranma kept vigil over the woman he loved, Mousse did the same. He sighed. "Why can't we ever be together?" he voiced his thoughts out loud. "Because stupid duck-boy never strong enough for Shampoo," the woman in the bed mumbled as she recovered. "Shampoo!" She sat up slowly and silenced Mousse. "No say anything, Mousse. You half-blind, short-sighted, and stupid." Mousse's spirits sank, and Shampoo sighed. "But Mousse has also been good friend and warrior. Shampoo enjoy times we fight side-by-side." Mousse looked up. "Shampoo? Then is there a chance for us?" Shampoo shook her head and laid back down. "Maybe when duck-boy see Amazon future as I have seen, then know what must do. Right now, Shampoo must head back to village and assume matriarchal duty training. Would appreciate it if had someone Shampoo could count on by side, as friend." "I would be honored to be your friend, Shampoo. I hope to be worthy of your love someday." Shampoo closed her eyes and nodded. "Now go, Shampoo need rest." Mousse dropped his head and left. As he closed the door, Shampoo mumbled quietly. "Someday..." She had lost Ranma for good now. Though some small part of her realized awhile ago that he may not love her, her stubborn streak had refused to give up. Now she had to look elsewhere for a husband. For a year, the Amazon had used all her tricks and surprises to prove she was the best wife for Ranma. Yet, in the end, Akane had won. With a potion? No. She won because she didn't jump all over Ranma, nor coddle up to him. Shampoo tried to turn over onto her side, but pain in her arm and torso forced her to remain on her back. And why was she feeling this way? Because a girl Shampoo had often scoffed at and made fun of, even tried to kill, had beat her soundly in a fair fight. In two weeks, Shampoo had learned to use the Megami Ha, or Goddess Blast; a powerful ki technique she found in one of her great-grandmother's books. Yet in that same amount of time, Akane had learned Ranma's ki blast, a new technique that made her glow gold, and train her speed and strength to practically match Shampoo. It seemed that Akane, when properly motivated, could advance in the martial arts almost as fast as Ranma. On the outside, Shampoo maintained a fierce warrior image. Nothing could get to her, and there was nothing she could not do. She had worked hard to become one of the best warriors of her generation, and she was full of the revered Amazon pride. But on the inside, there was a little girl that never fully grew up. As she grew into a warrior, she retained a child's heart. One that tries to take what it wants, without concern for anyone else. One that whines, cries, and throws a fit when what it wants gets taken away. And both her great-grandmother and Ranma were taken away. She was a fierce warrior, pride of the Joketsuzoku, and she needed no one. She was Shampoo, all alone, and she cried herself to sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: To all you Shampoo fans, don't get mad at me. I said I like all the characters and that includes our favorite purple-haired Amazon. I just think she needs to do some growing up, as do all the characters. She's kind of a hyprocrite in that she gets annoyed at Mousse who says he loves her and pursues her. Yet she pursues Ranma in almost the same way (glomping, saying she's the best one for him, etc.). Oh, and she uses a few dirty tricks in her pursuit that Mousse doesn't. Everybody has their flaws, this is just one of Shampoo's. Hopefully, she will become a better person. Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: (Insert your favorite disclaimer here) Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 6 Ranma blocked another flurry of punches from Happosai and retaliated with a side kick that forced the old master back a few paces. There was a brief pause as they took a moment to study each other from where they were standing on opposite sides of the roof. Without warning, they collided again in a flurry of movement and attacks. Watching from the ground, Akane could just make out their forms as they bounded around the yard Ranma was feeling prety good! Never in his life had he felt faster or more skilled than in the past week training with Happosai. The old man had pushed him to a new level he never thought possible. He was actually trading blow for blow with the master's best attacks. Of course, if Ranma didn't think of something, he would end up losing again; or maybe it would be a tie. With a grin, he formed a plan. In the span of a couple of seconds, Ranma maneuvered the fight to the pond and took a quick dip; then he was right back into it with barely a pause in the action. He knew Happosai would never fall for his female form again (he tried it and the old lech resisted!), but since his male form was matched for Happosai's speed, his female form could surpass it, if he could compensate for the decrease in reach. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken," he whispered, as his flurry of punches closed in. The old master grinned. "I thought you learned, Ranma-chan, speed is no substitute for skill." Before Ranma could connect, Happosai ducked and shot his pipe into Ranma's stomach, then flipped him into the sky. "Can that boy never learn?" "I don't know, I like to think I've learned." Happosai looked up to where his pipe was still pointed up over his body. Ranma was not in the sky where he was supposed to be, instead, he was doing a handstand on the pipe. For once, the old master was stunned. That proved his undoing. Ranma jerked on the pipe, pulling his now-ascending sensei into his descending fist. When it was over, Ranma was standing over the old man's head which was poking out of the ground. "You have gotten better, Ranma," Happosai admitted, climbing out of his hole. "You will truly surpass me in the Art." Ranma grinned. "Ya got that right." "And humble as always." He shook his head. "There's not much more you can learn from me. The remainder of your training will be done by you alone." He laughed. "Well, your future bride will help, too. Now come." He walked over to join the spectators and Ranma followed. "My work here is done. From now on, Ranma will be your sensei in the art, Akane. And she will be your sensei in schoolwork." Akane giggled and Ranma groaned. "You schooling is just as important as the Art, Ranma. Intelligence and knowledge is just as important as strength and speed." "Will you be going now, Jiji?" Akane asked. Happosai took a puff from his pipe. "Yes. I've taught Ranma all I can. He'll teach you now." "Say it isn't so, master!" Soun voice attracted the trio's attention to the master's two former pupils. "Yes, you've taught us so much!" Genma added. "How can you leave us now?" Happosai laughed. "Oh, stop that you two. I know what a burden I've been. I know you'll be glad to finally be rid of me." He leapt the top of the outside wall. "I don't know how much longer I've got, but there are a few things I still need to do. Chances are you probably won't see me again. Take care, all of you." Ranma stepped foreword. "Hey wait, you still haven't said anything about that technique you and Cologne did. I think you called it the Ravaging Dragon's Heart or something like that." The old master took a long puff on his pipe. "That's an extremely difficult and dangerous technique. It needs at least two people to do and it once you start it, you can't stop." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't teach you that. If it's needed again, then it will become available." "So, what exactly happened to Krynn?" Akane asked. "Basically, we immobilized him and tore open a portal, sending him into the demon world." His visage darkened for a moment. "It's the place where unclean creatures belong." Ranma was quiet in thought after that, so Akane spoke up again. "Is there anything we can do for you?" Happosai grinned evilly. "Name your first child after me!" A group face-fault ensued. "Just kiddin'!" He waved, and then was gone. For several moments, no one moved. Each expected to see the old master come bounding back in any minute with a sack of underwear, but it was a long time before the name of Happosai was ever spoken in the Tendo household. Tatewaki Kuno sat in the dojo of his ancestral home, meditating. He was sitting on the floor in the classic `lotus' position, with his bokken resting across his lap, studying the family portrait hanging on the wall. It depicted his father, mother, sister, and himself, sitting in a classic familial setting. he thought to himself. He cocked his head as a few more random thoughts entered his mind. He tapped his chin thoughtfully. His reverie was interrupted by a slight knocking at the door. "Come Sasuke." The black clad ninja appeared in the room and knelt by his master's side. "She has returned, master Kuno." Kuno's head popped up and he stood. "Where is she?" "She went into the room." He didn't need to say anymore. In all the rooms of the Kuno mansion, one room was forbidden to the house's servants. Only members of the Kuno family could enter, and they frequently did. But for the life of him, Tatewaki couldn't remember what was in that room, despite the fact that he knew he had entered it before. He grabbed his bokken and rushed out of the dojo, heading for the basement. Sasuke followed close behind. A short jaunt down another set of stairs brought them into a stone cellar, empty, save for a table, a few chairs, and a heavy stone door on the opposite wall. "Wait here, Sasuke," Kuno commanded. The ninja nodded as the kendoist approached the slightly ajar door. When he could hear nothing inside, he carefully pushed it open and stepped inside. It was a small room, and only a statue in the center occupied it. Taking a closer look at revealed it to be some scuplture of some half-man, half-dog being that was apparently glaring at him. It almost seemed alive and Tatewaki could swear it's eyes were watching him. While the statue held him enraptured, a ribbon snaked out from somewhere and tugged the wooded sword out of his hands. That swas enough to snap him out of his trance. "'Dachi!" he exclaimed as his sister emerged from behind the statue. "What is the meaning of this?" "Ohoho, brother dear, what ever do you mean?" she asked. "Don't you remember Galfgar?" That name rung inside Kuno's head. He had heard it before, and his mind associated it with the statue. "Why didn't I know that?" He shook his head. "Come sister, I sense evil in this room. We must leave." She laughed a bit more. "Indeed I shall, brother dear, but only me!" With that, she flung a black rose bouquet at him, which struck his face and dropped to the ground, but not before disgorging the paralysis powder it contained. Kuno ignored it and advanced on her. "H-How can you still be moving!?" Tatewaki smiled. "Surely thou dost not realize I have become immune to thy poisons after all these years?" "I shall simply have to work on a new formula." She growled and attacked, flicking her ribbon at him. "And do not call me Shirley!" Kuno sidestepped the strike and tried to move in closer. She responded by tossing a bladed hoop at him to back him up. Then she followed it up with another ribbon strike that wound itself around his arm, while he was distracted with the hoop. Kuno frowned, grabbed ahold of the ribbon, began to pull his sister towards him. "You shall have to work on new attack maneuvers as well." Kodachi merely grinned back at him and hit a hidden button on the ribbon handle. The battery in the handle promptly released it's electric charge that traveled along the metallic strips in the ribbon and into her brother's body. Kuno felt his insides twist as the shock fired through his nervous system, overloading it. When it was over, he slumped to the ground and Kodachi tied him up. "Well, Tatchi, you seem to have underestimated me yet again. Not that it matters anymore. By the time you get out of here, you won't have much of a mind left." She looked up at the statue. "Right Galfgar?" The statue almost seemed to nod. Laughing, she left and closed the door, leaving Tatewaki alone in the dark with the glowing eyes of the statue. He struggled helplessly with his bonds as the voices descended upon him. In his mind, the voices took the form of a pack of wild dogs and Kuno began to quiver in fright. The dogs had come to him occasionally in his dreams before, and it became one of the worst nightmares he had ever had. Now, the dogs tore into him once more, biting and growling and tearing his body apart, only to be put back to together and have the process start all over again. Outside the door, Kodachi knew it was a simple matter to subdue the bumbling ninja that served as House Kuno's head servant. Then she was on her way to prepare for phase two of her plan. Hikaru gulped and glanced around the room. All the members of the `magic circle' were present. Miyo, the fortune teller and officiator; Toshi, the spiritualist; Ariko, the novice sorceress; and Hikaru, the failed magician. He sighed. He was the most useless of the group since he had nothing much to offer. Clenching his fist in frustration, he tried again. Nothing. The glass cup in front of him refused to move. At the elemental sect compound, it had all seemed so clear. When Akane was in danger, something inside him snapped, almost like someone had turned a faucet. The power flowed forth and he began to manipulate objects and magical energies. With mere thoughts, he redirected fireballs, smashed golems, put up a deflective telekinetic shield, and sent invisible mind bolts that staggered a wizard many times more powerful than himself. But why had the power left him? He shook his mind to try and clear his thoughts as Miyo called the meeting to order. The four seated themselves around the small table. It could have been his imagination, but it seem Ariko scooted her seat a few inches in his direction. "Greetings fellow souls of the magic," Miyo intoned with a slight smile. "Before I reveal the results of my latest reading, does anyone have anything to say?" Toshi was silent as usual; he never said much, and when he did it was short and to the point. Ariko was the bubbly one. She always had something to say, even when it wasn't relevant. On the occasions when Hikaru said something, she was always attentive and supportive. He was almost starting to like her. But he couldn't forget Akane... He raised his head. "I-I have something to say." Three pairs of eyes fixated on him. "I'm dropping out. I-I don't belong here." Ariko looked confused. "What? Why?" Hikaru stood up. "Because, I no longer have any magic. I don't think I had any in the first place." His voice began to break. "I don't belong here!" He bolted for the door and was gone. "Well, that was interesting," Toshi mused, nary a trace of emotion on his face. Ariko stood up. "We have to go after him!" "Why?" Miyo asked. Ariko stammered. "B-because! He's an important part of this group!" "Is that all he is?" Miyo returned. "Maybe his destiny lies not with us." A hint of a smile appeared on her face. "Maybe you think it lies with you?" Ariko blushed and open her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. Frustrated, she then ran out the door after Gos. "Think they'll come back?" Toshi asked with a small smile. Miyo looked a bit shocked. "You talk like I'm supposed to know the future." The two shared a good chuckle before Miyo spoke up again. "I have a feeling they'll be back." Toshi raised an eyebrow. "Foretold in your crystal ball, eh?" The fortune-teller shook her head. "Nope. Female intuition." Toshi actually sweatdropped. "Hikaru!" Ariko called out into the darkness. She was running aimlessly, trying to find out where the distraught boy had disappeared to. She turned a corner and sighed. "Don't see him here, either. I'll never find him this late at night." She leaned up against a wall and glanced up at the sky. A shooting star flashed passed, prompting her to make a wish. As soon as she said it, a small wind gave her a short case of the shivers and when she resumed walking, she spotted a figure in the distance. The only reason she could see him, was because he was under a streetlight on a footbridge spanning the canal. Her heart quickened and she picked up her pace. Stepping onto the bridge, she could clearly see it was Gos, and his back was to her. She cleared her throat as she approached. "Hikaru- kun, are you alright?" For a few minutes, he didn't move nor say anything. Then, "Go away, please." "Why!? Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" He turned around to face her and she flinched a bit when she caught the hate-filled eyes. "Just go away! You don't want to hang around a loser has-been." He turned his back to her again. Ariko shook her head. "What do you mean? You have as much power as me, if not more. You're not a loser." "You're wrong. I may have had some power during the fight, but it's gone now. All my life I dreamed of the magic I would wield one day, hoping that I could make myself somebody and stop the bullies that pick on me. Hoping I could get Akane-san to notice me." "Akane?" Ariko thought for a second. "Isn't that the name of one of the girls who rescued us? I thought she was engaged or something." "To a jerk named Saotome," he growled. "Her parents arranged it, though, and he just treats her like crap. He doesn't deserve her." Ariko stepped back, a bit hurt. "So why don't you do something?" she asked flatly. "Because he's stronger than me! I'll never beat him unless I have magic!" "But you have magic..." "No I don't!" he yelled. "Not anymore! If I did before, it was all a coincidence." Ariko frowned. "No, you don't get it. You still have the magic. I can sense it in you." Hikaru stopped and stared at her in disbelief. "Yes, it's still there, maybe you're just having problems accessing it." She held out her hand, trembling slightly "I would very much like to work with you in restoring it. If you would let me." Hikaru debated with himself for a minute. Then, slowly, his hand took hers and she smiled at him. He smiled, and she took it as meant for her, when in reality it was meant for someone else. Kasumi hummed silently to herself as she hung up the laundry to dry. The cause of her good mood was the fact that she had another date with Tofu tomorrow evening. Of course, she was always in a good mood without any particular reason, so it came as no surprise to the rest of the family. She absently wondered why she was always in a good mood, but that line of thought soon went away and she was back to happily doing the laundry. She detected approaching footsteps and looked up. "Oh, hello Akane. How was school?" Akane was obviously very angry and didn't even acknowledge her older sister. Instead she growled, "That JERK!" before heading into the house. Kasumi thought. A few minutes later, Ranma leapt to the top of the outside wall and carefully peeped inside. "It's okay Ranma-kun," Kasumi said sweetly. "Akane has gone up to her room." Ranma sighed in relief and jumped inside, before walking up to Kasumi. "Is she still angry?" "I believe so. Would you like to tell me what happened?" Ranma hesitated, then scratched his head. "I'm really not sure. I was just setting up a study session with a friend at school when she walked up and hit me. Then she stormed off before I could figure out what was going on." "Who are you studying with?" "Sayuri and Daisuke. Sayuri's got the highest grade in math, and I nearly failed my last test. She said she could help me out and I figured, why not?" Kasumi thought for a minute. "Isn't Akane supposed to be your sensei for schoolwork?" Ranma looked confused. "Yeah, but Sayuri's gettin' a higher grade. I thought it'd be easier to learn from her." "Ranma-kun, you are her sensei for martial arts. How would you feel if she decided to learn from someone else?" Ranma looked down at the ground in understanding. "I guess I'd be upset, too. So what should I do?" "I think you know the answer to that. Talk to her and apologize." She suddenly smiled as another idea hit her. "Oh, and how about inviting her along for a double date with Tofu and I? I'm sure she'd like that." Ranma smiled. "Yeah! That's a great idea! Thanks Kasumi-san, you're the best!" He gave her a quick hug, then started into the house. Up in her room, Akane was choking back her tears. She hit her pillow a few times, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying as hitting the pig-tailed jerk. Just when they started to get closer, he arranges dates with other girls! She thought back to that afternoon... She was looking for Ranma so they could walk home together when she heard his voice. Glancing around a corner, she saw him talking to Sayuri. Ranma was speaking. "Thanks Sayuri, you're the best!" She giggled. "My pleasure. I never thought you'd ask me that!" "Well, I just figured it was about time," he replied. "I mean, I have to get serious if I wanna have a future." "Anyway, I'll see ya later?" She began to walk away. "You bet, it's a date!" When she was out of sight, Akane steamed towards him. Ranma managed to get out a "Hiya Akane" before she smashed him into a wall and went running off. "That baka..." she said softly through her tears. "I suppose it's my own fault for letting him get too close. I should have realized what he was, but I chose to ignore all the signs." She cried for a few minutes more before drying her tears. It was about that time, that a soft knocking came at her door. "Akane?" she recognized Ranma's voice. "Can I come in?" "Go away!" she yelled. There was nothing, then, "Akane, we need to talk. I'm sorry, but I'm coming in." She heard the door open behind her, someone came in, and then the door closed again. She froze and willed him to go. It didn't work. "Akane..." he started. She turned. "Shut up!" she hissed at him. "Just get out of here!" The look on his face was not anger, but shock, confusion, then determination.. And... hurt? "No," he said softly. A few months ago, he would insulted her and left the room. But that was then and he had changed. He recalled too many times when misunderstandings forced them apart. "I obviously did something to hurt ya and I want ta know what it was." she thought. She shook her head. She rose and advanced on him, intent on punching him out the window like she had so many times before. But it was different this time. He caught her fist inches from his face. Enraged, she swung with her other fist, but he caught that, too. "No Akane, not right now." He gazed into her brown eyes. They were slightly red and puffy, telling him she had been crying. "Like I said on that night, I don't want to lose you. Right now, it seems to be going that way." His deep blue eyes were pleading. "Please don't shut me out. If what we talked about meant anything, talk to me." Slowly Akane's anger began to drain. "I thought you loved me." Confusion returned to his face. "I-I do. I have for a long time." Her eyes were accusing. "Then why are you seeing other women?" He released her hands. "I'm not seeing anyone but you!" "I heard you make that date with Sayuri!" Understanding flooded his face. "Didn't you hear our entire conversation?" She reluctantly shook her head slightly. "I was only setting up a study date with her and Daisuke. I need help in math if I'm going to pass and she has the best grade. Being a friend of yours, she agreed." He pulled her into a hug. "I was planning on asking you to join as well since you are my sensei. I should have asked first. I'm sorry for that." Akane's mind reeled. Where were the insults and the smart alecky comments? She melted into the hug, putting her hands around his waist like his were around her waist and resting her head on his chest. "Ranma, I'm sorry," she managed through muffled sobs into his chest. "I got jealous again and jumped to conclusions again without listening to you." He began to rock her slowly. He didn't know why, it just seemed like the thing to do. "It's okay." "No it's not! Despite what we said, all it takes is one little thing and I become angry and jealous all over again." She wiped the tears on her face on Ranma's shirt. "I'm sorry Ranma. I love you and don't want to lose you, either." "You're just gonna have to learn to trust me. I won't ever let ya down." Somehow, hearing Ranma say those words lifted the hurt from her heart and made all the difference. He lifted her chin up till she was look at him. "Oh, by the way, how about a double date with Kasumi and Doc Tofu tomorrow?" She smiled, moved in, and kissed him passionately. Pulling away after several minutes, she said, "That answer your question?" Kenji awoke in a cold sweat. He was breathing heavily, and the blanket was sticking to his body, since he didn't wear a shirt to bed. He took a few moments to let the strong, yet terrifying, emotions of the horrible dream subside. It had been a long time since his last nightmare, and he thought they were long behind him. Oh sure, he knew he'd get the normal bad dreams that everybody got, but he had hoped the fire nightmares were long gone. Instead, he had just had a pretty disturbing one. In it, he was in some sort of fiery cavern. As the fear paralyzed him, deep mocking laughter echoed around him. Kenji managed to find his voice and call out, but the laughter only intensified. Sweat pouring down his brow, he repeatedly screamed for the voice to stop. It continued like that, until he turned to see a nightmarish face staring back at him, one that he recognized and feared greatly. "You're not real..." Kenji whispered, trembling badly, sweating buckets. "Oh course I'm real, boy," the floating head of the Fire Lord retorted. "Why wouldn't I be?" Kenji's mouth opened and closed, as he was unable to counter the Fire Lord's logic. But he was dead, wasn't he? Ranma had told the amnesiac that they believed he was. But Kenji hadn't actually seen the Fire Lord die. "But you have, boy." The head was suddenly connected with it's body. "What?" The Fire Lord sneered. "See what you have done!" He spread his arms wide and Kenji recoiled in horror. The Fire Lord's midsection was a bloody mess and a wide sliver object was protruding from it. "I... I... didn-" "YOU KILLED ME!" Kenji found a finger in his face. "Behold your hands!" The boy's eyes instinctively went to his own trembling hands, which he held up. The shaking grew worse, even as he mouthed the word `No'. Red streaks of fresh blood covered his fingers and palms. "NO!!!!!!!!!" And that was when he woke up. Desperately, he scanned his hands. With only the addition of a fine sheet of sweat, he realized they were normal and he breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing back to the futon. The Fire Lord had died, hadn't he? And if he had, who killed him? Kenji then had a very disturbing thought. What if he was responsible for someone else's death? Taking a second look, he could almost see the blood on his hands. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Author's notes: There, I've wanted to get rid of Happosai for some time. True, he was a perverted panty thief, but I had to think there was more to him. I actually think there is more to all the characters then the manga lets on. In the end, I decided to have him pass his techniques down to Ranma and go off as a somwhat-hero. Don't ask me why, since I'm mainly a softy. I wanted to get rid of the two most knowledgeable people so the Nerima crew would have to figure out things for themselves. Maybe it will help them grow up a little, ne? Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: To write a disclaim is mainly a pain. Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 7 "No really, how do you do it?" Ranma asked. "I told you, I don't really know," Akane replied, setting their homework assignment aside for the moment. "I was just upset at how you and all our friends were getting beat up. I became very determined and focused to save you guys, and then it happened." She really didn't want to tell him the bit about her being cursed. She didn't want him to worry; besides, she was cured. Ranma tapped his chin. "So, you finally were able to focus your ki, and the technique activated." He thought for a moment. "Well, if you don't know how you got it, I know one person we can ask." Akane cocked her head. "Who? Certainly not Happosai or Cologne." She named the two most knowledgeable people they knew. If anybody knew, they would. "No, I mean your father. During your fight with Shampoo, he seemed upset and worried when you used the Tora Dokiken. I think he knows something." Akane thought about this. She looked up. "You're right. Now that I think about it, there has been something funny with daddy lately. He keeps asking if I'm alright, and I catch him studying me. Let's go talk to him." "My thoughts exactly," Ranma agreed as the two left Akane's room where they were studying and went downstairs to where Soun and Genma were wrapped up in a game of Go. Akane approached her father and stood over him. "Okay, daddy, spill it." Soun looked up. "What are you talking about, daughter?" "We're talkin' about what you know of Akane's new technique, the Tora Dokiken," Ranma said. Soun paled. "H-how do you know that name?" "It came to me when I used it for the first time during the battle with Krynn," Akane replied. "Ranma said you recognized it during my fight with Shampoo." Soun sighed, as if he was wrestling with a terrible decision, then made it. "I-It has to do your mother," he said softly. Nabiki had been sitting in the room reading a manga, but focused her attention on the current conversation when she heard it turn to her mother. She noticed Kasumi enter the room, obviously wanting to hear about their mother as well. "I never really told you how you lost your mother," Soun said. "I remember her getting weak, but I assumed it was some disease," Akane stated. Sound nodded. "That was partially it. You see, there was an old story passed down in her family about one of their ancestors who practiced Shaolin Kung-fu, specifically, he mastered the moves of the tiger. The story goes that he used his skills to save many lives. As a reward, he was given the chance to undergo a special trial that would increase his power. He did so, and received the knowledge of the Tora Dokiken, a nearly invincible technique. Your mother told me this shortly before she died." Miraculously, he hadn't yet gone into total emotional breakdown. Needless to say, everyone was impressed. "She said the technique had been passed down through her family in the form of a latent talent, and that she had only seen it done once, by her mother who was a talented martial artist." He sighed, and a few tears began to show on his face. "It was late one night. You three girls were being taken care of by a neighbor while you're mom and I went out. We were beset by a large gang of thieves. After we gave them our money, they decided they wanted my wife, too. Said they could fetch a good price for her." He turned away to face the sky. His daughters could see the inner turmoil appear as on his face as he recalled that night. "Daddy..." Akane said softly. "No, I'm alright," he replied. "I just didn't think recalling that night would be so difficult." He sighed and continued the story after a minute. "I... was enraged. I loved Kimiko very much and I never would have let them have her. I attacked them while defending your mother as best as I could. Eventually, someone got a knife passed my defenses and I went down, taking a few more knife wounds. I heard her scream, then, and there was a flash of light. When I finally was able to turn and take a look, I saw her. She was bathed in golden flames." The Tendo patriarch faltered then, and Kasumi handed him a tissue which he used to wipe his eyes. "She wasn't an adept martial artist, she had just learned the basics. She could probably take one or two of the gang, but she shouldn't have been able to handle all of them. When they attacked, none of the thieves could touch her, though." He paused again to collect his thoughts. "Afterwards, she was weak and exhausted, yet somehow we got to a hospital. My wounds would heal with time, but your mother... she told me... her time was short. That the technique extracted a price from martial artists who hadn't learned to focus their ki, like herself. With very little ki to draw upon, it had consumed her life force. Physically, she was alright, but her life span was drastically shortened. She didn't last for more than a year and a half after that. She made me promise to remember, but not to tell anyone unless it came up again." Nabiki leaned foreword. "So, you're saying all three of us have the capacity to use this technique?" Soun hesitated. "I don't really know. Your mother was an only child, so I don't know if the trait passed to all of you or just Akane. But neither you nor Kasumi have the martial art or ki abilities of your sister. If you were to use it, the results would be disastrous. You have to promise me you will try your best not too!" "Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed (AN: What, you thought she'd exclaim something else?). "I would never think of it." "Don't worry daddy," Nabiki said. "I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to do it, nor do I care about learning how. I use my brain, not my fists." "So this skill Akane's got can only be done by her and her sisters?" Ranma asked. "That's correct," Soun answered. "I don't think you would be able to do it unless you somehow went through the same trial as their ancestor." "Shoot," Ranma grumbled. Akane looked at him and giggled. "Ha! I can do something you can't!" Soun grabbed Akane's shoulders and became serious. "I know I can't stop you from using it, but promise me to be very careful with it." He turned to Ranma. "And as her fiance, it's your duty to teach her how to best use it." Ranma rolled his eyes. "Fine, we'll work on it some more later." "Careful Yuri, maintain your focus," Kenji admonished his sister as they glided through the air. It was night, so there wasn't much chance of them being seen. Though Ukyo had told them not many people would notice if they trained during the day with all the strange things that go on. Kenji wasn't about to take any chances, though. "I think I've got it, `niichan," Yuri replied. They could both feel her air shell stabilize. "I think I'm ready to go solo." Kenji nodded reluctantly. "I'll stay close. Be sure to speak up if you need help." Slowly, he released her hand and she floated away from him. The technique they were employing, used one's ki to form an aerodynamic air shell around the target. It functioned much like an airplane's wing, forcing wind currents below them to keep the body up. Needles to say, it needed some method of propulsion for the intial take- off, so that meant jumping off a tree or high place and using the descent to start the process. It was vastly similiar to one-man gliders that relied on thermal updrafts and wind currents. "Wheeee!" she exclaimed, very child-like. "This is fun!" Kenji couldn't help but smile at Yuri's cry of glee. He looked over to see her rocking ever so slightly, but otherwise doing fine. This was the first time she had been able to go on her own, and it had only taken her a week. After his first flight at the compound, Kenji's subsequent attempts had proven easier and he had gotten the basics down with one exception: The only way he was able to land was to crash, preferably into something soft. The scroll that taught them the air shell technique, didn't mention landing at all. Yuri floated back over to him. "Thanks `niichan, this feels great!" Her expression changed."Okay, so now it's my time to help you with your problem." He frowned. "What problem?" She shook a finger at him. "I know something's on your mind and it has to do with Ukyo-chan. You two rarely speak with each other unless you have to, and you don't spend much time together anymore." He sighed. He couldn't hide anything from his sister and it really tended to freak him out. After a short deliveration, he decided to go with the truth. "Well, I guess I have sort of a problem." He paused and she motioned for him to continue. "You know the party coming up in a few days?" She nodded. "Well, I sort of have a date for it. I was kinda tricked into with this other girl at school. It was while Ukyo-san was unconscious. I feel kinda bad now that I think she knows about it." "Ah, so that's it," his sister said with a slight smiled. "You feel like you're cheating on her." "Why would I be cheating on her!?" he retailiated. "We're just friends!" She shrugged. "Suuuure. Well, since it's not like you two are exclusive or anything. You've only been on one date." "It wasn't really a date, I told you!" he countered. "Ranma and Akane never showed up." Yuri smiled. "Right. So you should have nothing to worry about. It wouldn't be right to just break off this date with this other girl. And Ukyo is just a friend, so you shouldn't care much what she thinks. Just go and have a good time!" "Right!" But somehow, he still didn't feel quite right about that statement. (Because you care what Ukyo thinks, but you don't want to admit it.) Changing the subject, he said, "In the meantime, I think it's time to land. We'll circle to the back of the restaurant and set down in the alley behind it." They began the descent to their landing zone. Fortunately, he had managed to work out a way to go about this difficult task. "Remember, you'll need to create a retro wind current to slow you down; I'll go first." He shifted his feet downward as the ground approached. Cupping his hands downward, he let loose a minor wind blast that spiraled upward when it ricocheted off the ground. As the mini-tornado engulfed him, his descent slowed enough that he hit the ground no harder than a paratrooper. Rolling to his feet, he glanced up at his sister. She had begun her descent and was following his lead. Feet first, hands cupped downward, and forming the whirlwind. She got the angle wrong, however, and the whirlwind missed her. Knowing she was dropping too fast, Kenji moved quickly to get underneath her. She dropped into his arms as he caught her, the extra force driving him onto his butt. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. "You ever think of going on a diet, imoutochan?" She scowled, then the next thing he saw was her fist. Ryoga was lost. The fact that it was overly cliched, didn't change the fact he had no idea where he was. The people in the last village he had run across spoke Japanese, so he was still in Japan. Right now, he was walking through a forest. Even if he knew where he wanted to go, he still wouldn't get there. The fact of the matter was, he didn't know just where he wanted to go. It was really a toss-up of finding one of two people. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet, then a half-torn picture. The girl in the picture smiled back at him. She said she loved him and would wait for him. He supposed that since Akane was most likely lost to him, he should go talk to Akari. He did have feelings for her, but only time would tell if it was love. He replaced her picture and thought of the other person he still needed to see. Or rather beat the living crap out of. A young martial artist by the name of Saotome Ranma. He still needed to prove to Ranma that Ryoga was the better man. And to repay him for all the misery he'd been through. Now if only he could find one of the two, then... "Hi Ryoga-kun!" came a familiar voice. "Heya, bacon breath!" came another all-too familiar voice. He looked up to see Ranma and Akane looking back at him. "Akane-san! Where am I?" "You just wandered into Furinken High school, silly," she said. He looked around and spotted the grove of trees he had just emerged from. "You mean, I'm in Nerima!?" "Yep, way to go pig-boy!" Ranma taunted. "This must be a new record for you!" Ryoga's rage began to bubble inside him. It was a familiar feeling. Akane elbowed him in the stomach to shut him up. "Knock it off, Ranma!" That was familiar too. And guess what else is familiar? "Shut up Ranma!" He pulled his umbrella and charged. "Prepare to Die!" I don't think I need to tell you exactly what happens now, so I'll just sum up. Ryoga attacks Ranma. Ranma dodges and taunts `P-chan'. Akane yells at them to stop. Ranma tells her to butt out of a fight between a man and a pig. Akane gets angry. Ryoga gets angry and tells him to leave Akane alone. They fight for real. They pass out of sight. When Akane finds them again, Ryoga is gone and nowhere to be seen, but oddly, a small black pig is attacking Ranma-onna. Akane calls P-chan who happily bounds to her to be snuggled into her bosom. Akane yells at Ranma some more. But this time, P-chan notices something different. When they get home, they apologize to one another and then Ranma kisses Akane! Then they talk about their date! "Bweee!?" The black piglet begins to squirm. "Hey, what's wrong with P-chan?" Akane asked, slightly worried. Ranma smirked. "I think he's jealous of the fact that I love you." He kisses her on the cheek. She smiles. "I love you too, Ranma." Akane frowns. "But, why would he be, he's only an animal." The heart of a black piglet shatters into a million pieces. True, he had kinda given up Akane to Ranma because of what happened at Jusendo, but to see them so freely admit their feelings and... and... KISS! Is was just too much. P-chan squirmed from Akane's grasp and ran blindly... which happen to take him straight into the house. Akane made to follow, but Kasumi called her and Ranma said he'd go find him instead. "Okay, but Ranma?" "Yeah?" "Can you at least try to talk to Ryoga-kun?" she asked. "I'm not really sure why you guys fight all the time, but can you try to be friends, for me?" Ranma sighed. "But, Akane, the guy's pigheaded and stubborn. He won't listen to me!" She frowned. "Well, maybe if you try being patient with him, he will! Just once, next time you see him, try talking to him." He sighed again, but one look at the imploring face Akane was giving him, broke his resolve. "Oh, alright. I promise I'll try to talk to him. But I can't promise anything else!" She smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you, Ranma. Now I better go see what Kasumi wants." She left and Ranma headed inside. Predictably, he found the little pig in the bathroom, trying to turn the hot water faucet. Ranma hoisted him up by his bandanna to keep the little pig from biting or scratching his face, which Ryoga was trying to do. "Now listen here Ryoga, `cause I'm only gonna say this once. No more P-chan. I don't wanna ever see you in Akane's bed again; I don't care what you have against me, leave her out of it. You know by now how we feel about each other." P-chan stopped suddenly, `bweee' sadly as the life seemed to drain out of him. Ranma could tell the fight looked driven from the lost pig for the moment. "Good. Now I'll still keep your secret. I won't tell anyone, but neither will I help you to hide it. That means if you're headed for water where she can see you, I won't do a thing to save you. If she decides to give P-chan a hot bath, you're on your own. Got it?" Ryoga nodded slowly. "Good. It isn't fair to her, me, or Akari. That's the girl you should be goin' after. She knows about your curse and doesn't care. I don't know why, but she loves you pig-boy." P-chan snarled. Ranma chuckled. "Calm down. Tell you what, you can stay here as Ryoga `til tomorrow. I'll take you over to Akari's place then, okay?" The piglet `bweee'ed his agreement, not really seeing any other choice, and Ranma set him down, turning the hot water on in the furo. "I'll let you get cleaned up, and I think we've got some of your old clothes that you left last time you were here. I'll get them." P-chan hopped into the tub and reformed. Ryoga looked up at his rival. "Uh, I guess I should say thanks, Ranma." Ranma smiled. "Hey, what are friends for?" "You'd call me a friend?" Ryoga asked, surprised. Ranma shrugged. "Sure, why not. You were one of the few friends I had growin' up." The lost boy was aghast. "But-but, you cursed me! You ran away from our fight! You took Akane away from me! Because of you, I've-" "Seen hell, I know," Ranma finished for him. "Listen, it was an accident when I knocked ya in. I wish I could take it back, but I can't." He sighed. "Look, even if you manage to beat me in a fight, what does it change?" "It'll prove I'm the better man, that's what!" Ranma wondered. "Look, I'll fight ya anytime ya want. But doncha think you should spend some time with Akari first?" Ryoga stopped. "Akari..." Ranma thought. "Yo! Ryoga! Snap out of it!" He hated to do it, but he slapped him. "Ranma!" the lost boy growled. "How about I take you to Akari's place?" Ranma said suddenly. Ryoga stopped. "You'd do that? For me?" "Sure, We're friends ain't we?" He held out his hand. Ryoga looked at it. It would mean a lot of things if he took the hand of friendship Ranma was offering. It would mean Ryoga was at least partially at fault for all the things that had happened to him, and that all debts were settled. His face became serious. "No, not yet. Not until we have at least one decisive fight. I'll spend some time with Akari and train. But when I come back, we will fight. Okay?" Ranma nodded slowly. "Sure. I understand. But we do it in a place where no one else gets hurt and we don't damage nobody's property." Ryoga thought about it. "Agreed." "Good, then I'll go grab your pack and stuff where you left it and bring you your clothes." They settled it with a handshake, and Ranma left him; returning only to deliver his pack and clothes. When he went out into the living room for the second time, Akane and Kasumi were waiting for him with downcast looks on their faces. "What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly worried. Kasumi spoke up. "I'm sorry, Ranma-kun. Dr. Tofu was called away on an emergency visit, so we won't be able to go tonight. Also, the restaurant where we had reservations closed down for repairs." She bowed slightly, then left to cook dinner. Ranma tried to say something, but Akane waved him off. "It's okay, Ranma. I won't hold it against you. I'd rather do some sparring with you tonight, anyways. We can also work the Nekoken some more. Plus, we always have the party tomorrow." Ranma relaxed some. "So you're not upset, then?" She shook her head, then got an evil look in her eye. "That doesn't mean you're off the hook, though." She started up the stairs to her room. "I'm going to change into my gi, and when I meet you in the dojo, you're going to spar with me for real!" She left and Ranma gulped. He knew what that meant. She wanted him to actively attack her instead of just dodging. He did want to train her for real, but he knew how powerful his punches could be even if he pulled them. Officially, he didn't fight girls, but that wasn't entirely true. The only girl he didn't want to fight was Akane because he didn't want to hurt her. He'd gotten away with it during the two weeks before Shampoo's fight, since his arm was broken. So he either directed her actions, or she sparred with Yuri and/or Ukyo. Neither one would be available tonight. Now, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the dojo, he meditated while considering this dilemma. The simplest answer was to turn female, of course, to lessen the damage he could do. He looked to the bucket of water sitting to his right. "Moko Takabisha!" The attack surprised him and he was on his feet and moving as the ki-ball slammed into the bucket he was sitting next to. Instinctively, he dodged the spray of water and, for once, managed to avoid it. Then he looked to his attacker. It was Akane. She was standing in the doorway with her hands still cupped outward. "What'd you do that for!?" He said the line reserved for when he got wet, though this time he didn't. "You are gonna fight me as a man," she replied evenly. "You've fought me as a girl way too often and you're too fast for me to hit you like that." He looked down. "Akane, you know I don't fight..." "Ranma!" she growled. "Don't give me that! You've fought Kodachi and Shampoo. You also fought Natsume and Kurumi. So you DO fight girls when you have to. You just don't fight ME! Now tell me why?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his answer. She had an idea why, but she wanted him to say it. Ranma sighed. "Akane... It's not that I don't want to fight you. It's just that... I-I... I can't stand to see you hurt, alright? And I couldn't live with myself if I was the one who hurt you!" He turned his back to her. "I'm scared Akane... I don't want... can't bring myself to do that." He dropped his head and awaited the inevitable outburst. For a few minutes there was nothing, then he felt arms wrapping themselves around him from behind as Akane spoke into his ear. "Ranma, I can understand that, but as a martial artist, I won't get any better if you don't hit me." She sighed. She turned him around and kissed him. "That attitude is sweet, if a bit chauvinistic, but I'll be alright; I've taken hits before. I'm not a china doll and I won't break. If you don't do this, there may come a time in the future where I take a hit that kills me, because you didn't toughen me up. How would you live with yourself if you knew I could've lived through it, but you didn't do anything about it?" She could see him war with himself over this piece of logic. "Please, Ranma, do this for me." She watched him grind his jaw as he mulled it over. He then closed his eyes and clenched his fist. "Akane. I-I still really don't want to do this, but... I know you're right, dammit! And I hate it!" He opened his eyes and sighed. "But, if ya really want me too, I'll... I'll hit ya." He pushed her back and brought up his fist. Akane saw this and knew that he was about to take an important step. Understanding completely, she dropped her arms to her side and nodded. A second later, Ranma punched her stomach. It was pulled, but it was enough to double Akane over as she gasped for breath. Ranma dropped down to his knees in front of her. "Akane, are you alright?" he asked, extremely worried. "Was that too much? I'm so sorry Akane, I..." She recovered enough to look up at him and put a finger to his lips. She then kissed him again. "Thank you, Ranma. I know that wasn't easy for you." She stood up straight, as did he. "Now, let's spar for real, okay? I don't expect you to use full force, but you can make an effort." Ranma nodded slowly as Akane assumed her stance. She studied her opponent, noting the relaxed stance he always took when fighting her. It never failed to infuriate her. Well, this time he was in for a surprise. She would control her anger, focus her ki, and she would also use every single trick in the book and every piece of knowledge she knew to win. No longer would he question her martial art prowess. And she would win. Thirty minutes later, she lost. She was bruised, beaten, and totally out of breath as she lay on her back. She felt miserable... and strangely happy. Because he had hit her! Now, normally this was not something someone should be proud of, but she was. True, he was pulling his punches, but they still hurt. She estimated he was hitting at about half his normal strength. Also, she had pulled out several pictures of cats during the fight and Ranma had become startled enough for her to get some hits in. She had even purred or meowed, to distract him, though it didn't affect him as much as it used to. Apparently, the Nekoken fear training was coming along nicely. Almost every night, she would hold pictures of cats, or a real cat, and Ranma would try to approach her. She used the reasoning that he would overcome anything for her, would save her from any monster or prince that came after her so he better be able to save her from a small furry cat. That challenge went directly to his ego, goading him into proving her wrong. Eventually, he got to the point of getting right up next to her to place his hands on her shoulders while she held the next door neighbor's cat in her arms. It took all his willpower and he was still shaking somwhat, but Akane thought he was slowly overcoming his fear. Of course she knew that once Ranma got his mind into something, he tended to show remarkable progress. She looked up to see Ranma kneeling over her, concern and worry etched heavily onto his face. She would've laughed if she had the strength. "Akane, I-I'm sorry," he apologized. "I went too far. I didn't mean too..." He began to check her over for injuries. For the first fifteen minutes, he stayed true to form, dodged and blocked mainly. When Akane started to fence him in and deliver hits, he started to counterattack. For the last five minutes, Akane was carefully channeling all of her strength and skill, and Ranma had to step it up again, using more advanced maneuvers. During those last five minutes, with the exception of pulling his attacks, he was going nearly all-out. Akane had improved enough to push him to that point. "Stop apologizing, Ranma," she said as she laughed a little. "I still love you, and... thanks. I think I learned a lot today." That seemed to placate him some. "You've been gettin' better, and..." He put a hand behind his head. "You were startin' to push me a bit at the end. You ain't as clumsy as you were when I first arrived." He covered his mouth. "I didn't mean that!" She debated getting angry, but her good mood decided against it. "That's okay, I know you didn't mean it." She looked back into his face. "There is one thing you can do for me." "What's that?" "Pick me up and carry me. I can barely move." It wasn't totally true; she could move, but with quite a bit of pain from the sore muscles. It was enough, though, to put the fear back in his eyes. "I told you I'm not mad at you, Baka! Now pick me up!" She cocked her head. "Though if you make one comment about my weight, I'll kill you." He gulped, but gently picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She smiled at him. "Mmmm. This feels nice." He reddened some as he took her into the house. Soun was gone, over at the Saotome house playing shogi with Genma most likely. Nabiki was out with friends and Kasumi was in the kitchen, cooking up some dinner. Ryoga was most likely setting up his stuff in the guest room where he would spend the night with Ranma. "You know, I've been thinking," Ranma said. He wanted to train her while fighting her as little as possible, and he had some training ideas, but couldn't do them here. "I was thinkin' of goin' on another training trip this summer break. I think you're good enough, if ya want to come with me. It'd probably help you more than training in the dojo." Akane's heart soared. He wanted her with him on a training trip! "That sounds wonderful, Ranma!" "It wouldn't be more than a week or two and summer break is only a week away." "Sounds good." She paused. "Nope, not up there," she said, redirecting him when he started to head up the stairs. "Take me to the bathroom! I desperately need a bath. No comment from you." Ranma gulped and did as she commanded. He set her down in the changing room and prepared to leave. "I'll let you know when I'm done so you can take your bath," she said, sniffing the air. "You definitely need one." "Hey, you're the one who worked up a sweat," he retorted. "Sparring with you is still a light exercise for me!" He stuck his tongue out at her. Akane's anger control vanished. "Ranma!" she yelled menacingly while knocking him out of the changing room. She slammed the door afterward. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: *Sigh.* I'm getting tired of thinking up witty things to say here. Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 8 The rain was coming down hard around the Lonely Traveler's Inn. A pretty nasty hurricane was pelting the area and the Inn was filled with people trying to escape its fury. Inside, there was music, dancing, and much talking as the fearful folk tried to keep their minds off current events. And they weren't referring to the storm. No, they were referring to the dark shogun who was slowly taking over Japan. Rumor had it that the devil himself had allied with this dark and mysterious leader. Nobody knew his real name or if even if he was real. The only real stories were told by those who were fleeing northward, ahead of the advancing terrors. Suddenly, the doors to the Inn flew open and another traveler stepped in. The Inn quieted down some as various peoples gauged a look at this new person. He appeared to male, though covered in a wet cloak that also wrapped around his mouth and hair, leaving only his blue eyes visible. His gait was that of a confident man, one who had nothing to fear. Ignoring the probing eyes, he closed the door behind him and stepped up to an empty spot at the bar. The barkeep moved over to him. "What'll you have, stranger?" The man made no action to remove his coverings, preferring to keep his features hidden. "A small cup of warm sake would be appreciated." The barkeep nodded and placed the drink before the man, who made no move to consume it. "So, what brings you by?" he asked. He knew sometimes people like to talk with the bartender, and it was a good way to spread news. However, all he got was a glare that said he'd better mind his own business. He wisely moved on. The cloaked man pulled down his mask and slowly sipped his sake, mostly to keep up appearances. The last thing he needed was to get drunk. His sensei had warned him of that danger. His contact was supposed to be here, now if he could just find him. He carefully scanned the room, but couldn't figure out who it was. Forty-five minutes passed before his contact was identified, and in a manner he wished he could have avoided. The door to the Inn opened again, and this time three burly male individuals entered. They were all similarly attired in ebony samurai armor that marked them as belonging to an army. But only a few people recognized that army: The army of the Dark Shogun. The cloaked man at the bar was one of those who recognized the markings. He watched them as the three dark samurai scanned the room, then apparently found what they were looking for. They walked to the far corner of the room and surrounded another lone cloaked figure sitting at a table. The room went deathly silent. "Hey you!" the leader of the three said. "Get up!" The cloaked figure made no moves. "I said GET UP!" He reached out his hand to strike the person, but the figure grabbed the hand and turned it into a flip, sending the big man to the ground. The leader rebounded to his feet and snarled for his men to grab him. The cloaked man at the bar observed the figure as he proceeded to fight off his attackers. Sure enough, one of the men managed to grab the figure from behind and restrain him with his burly arms. "LET GO OF ME!" the figure yelled. Instantly, everyone realized something. That was not a man's voice. The leader ripped off the head coverings revealing a young woman with short dark hair. "Well, well, well. Guess who this is? It may not be who we were after, but I think we'll enjoy this much more!" His two underlings chuckled at that and the man at the bar realized what was in store for the young woman if he didn't act. Slipping away from the bar stool, he pulled his mask back up and sneaked around the room, using his training to keep attention off of him. Moving around the edge of the room, he narrowed in on his targets. "Hey barkeep, got an extra room?" the leader said in a voice that promised much pain if he was refused. Fortunately, the barkeep didn't have the time to respond. The cloaked man sprung his attack, freeing the girl from the soldier's clutches and sending him into blissful unconsciousness with a few well placed punches. "Well, now," the cloaked man said. "I think that evens things up." The woman scowled at him in a manner that said she wasn't grateful for his help. The cloaked man didn't care. He liked a good fight. The two remaining army men charged. The cloaked man easily sidestepped the leader and kneed him in the gut as he passed. He also grabbed the outstretched arm and tripped him up, slamming his face into the ground while dislocating the shoulder. He looked up to see the woman pulverize her opponent with several powerful punches, ending with a pildriving slam to the face that put his lights out. "I don't know who you are, but this little match-up is gonna draw attention to us," the man said to his female comrade. "I suggest we beat a hasty retreat in case their buddies show up." "I could've handled them!" the woman snarled. Then her face softened. "I suppose you're right though. We better go." The man nodded and the unlikely pair dashed out the back door and into the rain-soaked night. "By the way, what were you doing in there?" "I was waiting for my contact, but I didn't see him," the man replied. The woman stopped him. "You were looking for Tendo?" The man nodded. "I'm his daughter. He couldn't make it, so he sent me. I'll take you ahead to our location." The man nodded again and took off running, this time following the woman. "By the way, what's your name?" "You can call me Saotome..." Miyo jerked awake and rubbed her eyes. She yawned and looked at the clock. <5:30. It's Saturday and way too early for me. I'll figure it out later.> Miyo turned over and went back to sleep. "Hurry up, Ranma!" Akane called. "We're going to be late!" Ranma stepped out of his room. "What do you mean, `we'? I'm the one taking Ryoga to Akari's farmhouse." "And I'm going with you!" Ranma shook his head. When Akane got something into her mind, there was very little that could be done to get it out of her. Stubborn as a mule. "What did you say!?" Akane fumed. Ranma realized he'd said that stubborn bit out loud. "Just that you're stubborn." He smiled at her. "And I wouldn't have ya any other way!" He reached forward and gave her a quick kiss before joining Ryoga outside. Akane stopped short, her anger draining. She shook her head and headed out after him. She touched her lips where he kissed her. "Thanks you two, for helping me," Ryoga said nervously as the trio headed to the for the waiting cab. "No problem, Ryoga-kun!" Akane smiled sweetly at him and he melted. "Besides, I'd love to see Akari-chan again." They piled into the back seat of the cab, with Ranma in the middle, and it took off. Ranma was a little frustrated. He wanted to talk to Akari alone and explain all about P-chan. Ryoga wouldn't tell, and Akane and/or Akari would find out about it and then there wouldn't be much left of poor Ryoga. He felt confident he could explain to Akari in a manner that she would still love Ryoga afterward. But with Akane along, it would make things difficult to explain, and one of the girls might let something slip. He sighed and watched the scenery go by while Ryoga talked of his latest journeys, including the one he made with Kenji. Ranma added little to the conversation, just mainly listening to what was being said. In no time, they were at the farm at the edge of Nerima that housed the Unyruu pig farm. It really wasn't that far from the Tendo house, only about 10-15 minutes by automobile. As they piled out, a young woman standing on the front porch bolted towards the cab. "Ryo-chan!" Akari yelled as she embraced him and began to squeeze. "Ak-ari-san!" Ryoga managed. "Uh, Akari... I can't... breathe!" She released him. "Gomen, Ryoga-sama." Then she noticed the other two. "Ranma-san! Akane-chan! It's so good to see you guys again!" She gave each of them a monster hug. "Come on in and stay awhile." She then latched herself to Ryoga's arm and guided him in, Ranma and Akane following. They entered the dining room and sat down while Akari went to prepared some tea. Akane volunteered to help and the two women went into the kitchen. Ranma shuddered at the prospect of Akane helping to make something, but took the opportunity to talk with Ryoga. "Hey Ryoga, there's something you need to know." "What's that?" "Akari doesn't know about P-chan, that's why I didn't want Akane to come." All the color drained from Ryoga's face. "But she'll kill me if she finds out I was Akane's pet! I can't lose Akari, too!" Ranma shook his head. "Nah, she won't kill ya. Not if you explain it right. As long as Akane doesn't find out, you should be safe. If I get the chance, I'll try to tell Akari about it. But if you get the chance first, here's what you gotta say..." The two girls finished the tea and brought it back to the dining room. Akari set it on the table and sat down next to Ryoga, while Akane took her place by Ranma. When the tea was poured, Ranma bravely took the first sip. He swallowed. He looked over to see Akane looking at him expectantly. "It's real good, Akane." To emphasize the point by taking another sip. Akane smiled in delight. "Kasumi and your mother have been helping me. Making tea was one of the first things they taught me." "You have trouble in the kitchen?" Akari asked. "A little," she replied reluctantly, to which Ranma nearly spit out his tea. "But I've been getting better." One of the things that Ranma's mother had helped her to realize was that her cooking needed improvement. She could be a great cook, Nodoka had told her, if she could just admit that she needed some help. Now, not only could she boil water, but she could make rice as well. And for some reason, she could duplicate that edible curry she made that one time. If she tried anything else without supervision, it didn't turn out as well. Not toxic anymore, just not very edible. "Grandpa taught me to cook, though most of the dishes I know have to do with pork." Ryoga paled slightly and swallowed nervously. Ranma chuckled. Akane frowned. "What's so funny?" Akari was about to speak when Ranma cut in. "Ryoga doesn't like pork. He had a bad experience a while ago that soured him on that." He looked at Akari and hoped he transmitted his message okay. She seemed to understand. "Yeah, you'll have to tell me about it sometime, dear," she said, frowning slightly at Ryoga. He laughed slightly. "Ah, sure, no problem." Ranma then steered the conversation toward less dangerous topics. They talk about Sumo pig champions, the state of events in Nerima, Kenji's arrival and the elemental wizard sect battles. Of course the girls invited each other to their respective weddings (which made the guys nervous, Ryoga more than Ranma). After an hour of conversation, Akane announced it was time for them to go. They said their good-byes and Akari promised to drop by the dojo sometime. They boarded the cab that had returned and were gone. As Akari guided Ryoga back inside she asked, "Now, are you gonna tell me what that was all about?" "What?" "Well, I gather from Ranma-san that Akane doesn't know about your curse and didn't want me to say anything. Is there a problem?" Ryoga sighed and guided her a chair, steeling himself for battle. "There is something I have to tell you that you probably won't like. Please remember that I like you a lot and I would never ever mean to hurt you." Akari shifted in her chair nervously, but took Ryoga's hands in her own as he kneeled in front of her. "You know I love you Ryo-chan, and whatever you tell me, I promise to listen to you and try to understand." Ryoga took in a deep breath. "Well, until I met you I... I was infatuated with Akane. It's over now, since I realize she loves Ranma. The reason I fell in love with her, is because she was the first girl to ever show affection for me. Only it wasn't my human form she liked, it was as... her pet pig." Akari blinked. "You mean you let yourself be her pet pig? Why?" "Like I said, she was the first, and one of the only people, to show me affection. After wandering for so long by myself, I liked the way she made me feel. She named me P-chan, hugged me, and payed attention to me. She never knew I was Ryoga, her friend, and just her friend. She never saw Ryoga as anything more. Ranma promised to never tell anyone about my curse when he found out, since he felt responsible for it." Akari sat back and looked at him, noting his some-what jittery look. "And will you go back to being her pet?" Ryoga shook his head. "No, that part of my life is over. Now that I have you. I... c-care... about you, and don't want to lose you. You know about my curse and accept me as I am." He looked up at her. "Are you mad at me?" She thought for a minute. "A little, but I can understand, and am proud of you for telling me the truth. I care about you too, Ryo- chan. As long as you continue to be honest with me, that's all that matters." She smiled and brought both of them to their feet. "Now cheer up! This is supposed to be a happy time since you came back to me like I knew you would." She stopped and looked at him "You are happy, aren't you?" He smiled and showed those cute little fangs she loved so much. "Absolutely!" She squealed (like a pig) and hugged him, and he put his arms around her. "I promise you Akari... chan. I'll never try to leave you again. And if I do, I'll find my way back somehow. You're the best thing in my life right now." With Akari's next words, Ryoga finally felt at home. "And I promise to never let you go." It was evening at Kentaro's house where the big, beginning-of- summer-break party was being held. His folks were gone for a couple of weeks and he always took this opportunity to throw a huge bash. It's what made him popular. Well, relatively speaking. It at least made him stand out a bit, even for awhile. And that was quite a feat considering the martial artists from Furinken usually take the spotlight. Or even that lecher and flying green haired girl from nearby Tomobiki High. Yes, for one night, Kentaro was the man. It was at this large gathering that a group of four girls and two guys found themselves walking toward. Ranma was feeling a bit down, since he didn't care much for these huge social gatherings. He wanted to run away, but Akane was locked onto his arm. Akane was in a very good mood. After all, she had her man, Ranma had seriously sparred with her, they set up a training trip, and they got Ryoga and Akari back together. Now she just wanted to have fun, dance, and cut loose. Now if only she could cheer Ranma up. Kenji was a bit nervous. He liked parties, but Ukyo wasn't talking to him. Ever since she found out he was taking Yuka, she had given him the cold shoulder. Now if only he could make her understand. Yuka was excited. She loved parties and she had her very own martial artist! Is this how Akane felt? She wanted to see how athletic he was, on the dance floor and maybe somewhere else if the opportunity presented itself. Ukyo was upset. She didn't want to go, since she didn't really have a date. Still, Yuri had pursuaded her to go. Kenji was taking someone else, not that she felt anything more for him then as a friend nope she didn't care uh-uh no way. She was of the opinion that men couldn't be counted on. They pretend to like you, then go for another girl. Maybe it wasn't really Kenji's fault since she was in a coma when he got invited. Still, he could've waited. She was in a mood to do some serious castrations if any man dared to piss her off this night. And lastly, Yuri was a bit in the middle. She liked parties, but the mood was dampened by both her brother's and Ukyo's moods. She was glad she got Ukyo to come along though, maybe she'd loosen up and have some fun. Besides, Yuri didn't really like guys. She wasn't a lesbian, but she knew most men were egotistical perverts. Himoshi and his gang had really soured her on men. This unlikely group now joins the party. They slowly split up as they wandered through the house. A group of guys called Ranma over and Akane sqeezed his hand and let him go so she could find the girl group. Of course, she made him promise a couple of dances later. "Hey Ranma-kun," Hiroshi asked as he approached. "How far have you gotten with Akane-kun? Have you had sex yet?" Ranma felt a bit embarrassed. "No! Of course not!" "Dude, he wants to wait `til he's married!" another guy said. He raised his glass of sake to him. "Very noble." "Ah come on, with all those fiancees you must have gotten some booty with one of `em," Hiroshi reasoned. Ranma scowled at him. "Not that I didn't have the opportunity, but that distracts from my training. Plus, you know how much trouble I would've gotten in if I had done it?" Someone handed him a bottle of sake and he took a swig. He usually didn't go for alcohol, considering how much his father drinks, but he thought he might as well join in and try to be `one of the guys'. "Yeah, sure, we believe you!" another guy mocked. "Hey, why doncha try to get some tonight? There are quite a few rooms upstairs if you wanna take Akane up there, or someone else." Ranma shook his head. "Man, is that all you guys think about? There's more to life than women." Someone behind him laughed. "Maybe Saotome doesn't like women, maybe he likes guys." Before Ranma could respond, someone dumped a glass of cold water on him, turning him into a her. "With a body like that, she could get any guy she wants!" The rest of the guys backed away and awaited the carnage. Onna- Ranma slowly turned around and looked up at the burly man who had dumped the water and insulted her manhood. "Come on chicky, I can show ya a real good time!" Ranma grinned evilly. "So can I." Parties were foreign to her, but was something she was familiar with and could handle. The man's smiled widened, than disappeared as she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled his face down into her rising fist. He reeled backward from the blow. She flipped over him and jumpkicked his back to send him stumbling forward. Flipping over him once more, she kicked both of the big man's kneecaps, punched him several times in the stomach, then threw him into a wall where he collapsed unconscious. The assembled crowd cheered. Ranma turned back to the group. "And that's what ya can do when you don't women distract ya." Inwardly, she sighed. Ukyo plopped herself into a chair and watched the comings and goings of everyone else. She really wasn't in the mood to have a good time. Yuri had tried to cheer her up, but Ukyo pushed her away. Last she saw of the ninja girl, she was headed for the dance floor. That was fine for Ukyo. She wanted to be alone. All men could go to hell and all boyfriend-snatching women could go with them. Several guys walked out of the party that night with spatula impressions on their faces. She filled her cup with some punch from the punchbowl and took a drink. That seemed to make her feel a little better, so she downed it and filled her cup up again. In the back of her mind, something was buzzing, but she ignored it. Yuri was weaving through the dance floor, dancing with everybody. She really loved to dance. Every now and then, a guy would try to get close enough to brush his body against hers or touch her, but she'd just move out of range. If they followed, she would make them stumble and or fall, and make it seem like it was their fault. No guy could touch her unless she wanted them to. All the guys who failed, gave up and moved on to other people. A few guys wouldn't try anything, though, and just dance with her. These were the type she'd dance a few tunes to and give a thankful smile. In the back of her mind, she knew she'd have to check on Ukyo soon. Last she saw, she was sitting alone. Maybe after the next song. In another part of the dance floor (it was a big house with a big dance floor), Kenji and Yuka were dancing very close. Well, Yuka was trying to dance close. Kenji knew this should be a good thing, a girl dancing close to him, but for some reason, it made him slightly uncomfortable. Yuka could sense a bit of reluctance on his part, but shrugged it off. Maybe he was just a bit nervous around girls? She smiled. Maybe she could do something about that. After the song ended, Yuka led him off the dance floor to get something to drink. They ended up by the punch bowl and both eagerly quenched their thirsts; and both started to a little better afterwards. In fact, they felt invigorated enough to do some more dancing, and by this time, Kenji felt more agreeable to some close dancing... and roaming hands. They wouldn't find out until the next day that someone had spiked the punchbowl. Akane finished talking with her friends. Most of the girls she knew had left the group to find their men and she thought she should do the same since Ranma owed her some dancing. She began to weave through the crowd, heading in the direction she left him. She sighed when she saw a redhead bobbing in the crowd ahead. "Hey Ranma!" she called when she got close. Her iinazuke turned and smiled at her. "Hey Akane! Howz the party?" She smiled back. "It's going great! You ready to do some dancing?" Ranma looked suddenly downcast. "Uh, are you sure you wanna do that?" "What's wrong? Don't tell me you don't know how to dance?" She laughed when the redhead meekly nodded. "It's okay, Ranma, I'll show you." She grabbed her hand and began to lead her. "Just think of it as a martial arts kata. That's really all it is, just a sequence of moves." They reached the dance floor after getting some hot water in the bathroom. Akane lead her reluctant fiance into the dance crowd and whispered that she would lead. They began to dance and Ranma soon got the hang of it. He started to get very excited and that's when Akane finally caught the scent of alcohol on his breath. "Don't tell me you're drunk, Ranma," she said disgustedly. He grinned that goofy, cocky grin. "Okay, I won't." He snuggled close to her. "Hey Akane, did I ever tell you how much I love your body?" Akane blushed at Ranma's forthright attitude. Then she gasped as his hands roamed her body. "Ranma! Cut it out! Not here!" But he ignored her. "Heya Akane, how abouts we go upstairs? I can show you how manly I am!" He said it like it was the most perfect thing in the world. She broke away and slapped him. That slap sobered him up enough to return her glare, then he ran from the floor. Akane sighed and tried to go after him, but lost him in the crowd. Kenji found himself being pulled up some stairs. Well, not really pulled. He was kinda eager to go and do what Yuka wanted. He didn't have that much to drink, but since his tolerance for alcohol was near zero, the little amount he had affected him greatly. So much so, that when Yuka began to kiss him and lead him up the stairs, he went with her. Then there was always that nagging doubt in the back of his mind that something was wrong, but he couldn't identify it. Yuka smiled at him as she led him down the upper hallway, looking for an empty room. She was intent on making him hers. This was usually not her normal behavior, she was actually quite shy. But you can blame to alcohol for that, too. As they walked down the hall, Kenji thought he spotted Ukyo going into a room. He cocked his head, something wasn't quite right about her movements. He sped up and caught the door before it closed and frowned. Some guy had his arm around her and was pulling her to the bed. Ukyo was too drunk to notice much and was on the verge of passing out, if she hadn't already. The sight sobered him almost immediately. "Let go of her," he commanded. The guy froze and looked up. "Get lost moron, she's mine," he retorted. "You can have a turn when I'm gone." Kenji put on his most menacing face. "Get_off_her_NOW!" He advanced toward the guy, who stood up and prepared to put this fool out of his misery. Obviously, this guy wasn't from Nerima. If he was, he would've known that it chock full of lethal martial artists that show up just when you don't want them to be there. Then again, maybe he was just drunk as well. Now, Kenji may not be the best, and alcohol may be slowing his reflexes some, but he was still better than your average guy on the street; which this guy was. Needless to say, he was out cold in a matter of seconds. Yuka watched all this in sickening realization. The incident had sobered her up a as well and she came to the conclusion she wasn't any better than the guy who tried to take advantage of Ukyo. She was using alcohol to get what she wanted. Kenji finished and returned his attentions to the bed where Yuka was starting to cry. Her gaze was on the passed out form of the chef on the bed. "Yuka-san? What's wrong? I stopped him." She shook her head and sniffed. "No, it's just that... I'm as bad as... that guy," she managed to say through her tears. "I was trying to... to... you know. I could sense that you really didn't want to, but I... I..." He went around the bed and hugged her. "Shhh. It's okay. Some part of me did want to go with you, so it wasn't entirely your fault. It just wasn't a good idea. I've got to get Ukyo-san home, though. It's obvious this party is over for her. I think we should get you home, too." He looked up to see Hiroshi standing in the doorway, looking none too happy. Kenji had gotten to know the other student at school. "Hiroshi-san? Can I trust you to get Yuka-san home alright?." Hiroshi's anger left him somewhat. He saw Yuka and Kenji head upstairs, and his body followed. Somehow, he wanted to prevent what was going to happen, but knew that he couldn't stand up to a martial artist. "Yeah..." "Good." He lead the sniffling Yuka over to him. "It's okay Yuka- san. Hiroshi-san will take you home. Tell Ranma, Akane, and my sister I took Ukyo home." She nodded slowly. "Thank you..." The two left and Kenji went back to the bed. He opened the window and gently picked up the sleeping form of the chef. Leaping from the second story window to the ground, he headed off into the night. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: These parts were written mainly because my distaste for these types of parties where a bunch of strangers are present, especially with alcohol. They can be okay if you stay in groups and watch out for each other, but there are always guys who will spike drinks, and try to get a girl drunk enough so her inhibitions are down. Maybe I'm being too much of a pessimist here, but as long as you're careful, you can fun. Never drink from the punchbowl, instead bring your own drinks, or get some water if you're thirsty. So ends my public service annoucement. Isn't fanfiction great? You get a nice story and morals too! Oh, there's another reason I wrote this section, but you'll find out next chapter. Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: Yes, I stole these characters! So sue me! HAHAHAHAHA! Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 9 Akane moved from room to room, looking for her wayward iinzuke. After several minutes, she collapsed into a chair in frustration. She shook her head. A passing couple stopped nearby and the girl called to Akane. "Hey Akane-chan!" Akane looked up to see Sayuri and Daisuke approaching. "Hello. How's the party going for you?" The couple grinned at each other and Daisuke said, "We've been finding ways to pass the time." Sayuri hit him. Akane smiled a bit. "Have you seen Ranma?" Sayuri shook her head but Daisuke said, "I thought I saw her heading upstairs." Akane frowned. "Well, were gonna go do some dancing," Sayuri told her. "We'll see you around!" Akane waved and watched them go. Suddenly it clicked in her mind. A flash of worry sped through her. She sprang to her feet and ran to find the stairs. "All right Tetsuo, you the man!" "Shut up!" Tetsuo him. Then he looked down at the form he half- carried. "Now it's time for my revenge!" Tetsuo and his two buddies reached the end of the hallway and found an empty room. Stepping inside, he threw the red head onto the bed. He grinned. It was a simple matter to pass his target a bottle of stronger alcohol. One cold glass of water later and she passed out. He licked his lips in anticipation as he slowly unhooked the wooden clasps. Yuri had seen Ranma run off the dance floor and Akane go after him. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a hurt look on both their faces. She had enough dancing for the time being, and decided to follow, to see if either one of them needed help. She lost Akane for a few minutes in the crowd, but then caught her heading upstairs. Yes, something was definitely not right, judging by the way Akane was hurriedly knocking people out of the way. Akane was pushing through the crowd, doing a good impersonation of a bullet train on the loose. Determinedly, she worked her way upstairs and began to check room after room, not caring who was in there. If she had bother to let it register what was going on in some of those rooms, she would have been severely embarrassed and blushing madly by now. She became more worried as she began to run out of rooms. Taking a deep breath, she opened the second-to-last door. The sight that greeted her, filled her with horror. Sensations entered his mind. He remembered feeling these sensations before, but couldn't remember what exactly they were. They felt moderately good, but strange; almost as if they were alien to him. Somehow they felt, wrong. Why? Slowly his other senses started feeding him data from the outside world. He was laying on something soft. A bed? Alarm bells began to ring as he heard voices. "Man, I knew she was stacked!" "Check it out, I think she likes me!" He opened his eyes to a blur. When his vision cleared, he realized something: he was a she. She realized something else: three guys, one of whom he recognized from earlier, were removing her shirt. "No..." she managed weakly. While she had an amazing recovery rate, she also had plenty of alcohol and was still weak. "Who's the man now, Saotome?" Then he heard the door fly open. "GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HER!" came the voice of his fiancee. Akane stepped into the room, blue battle aura flaring. Ranma groaned in fear and embarrassment. Tetsuo grinned. "Hey, you join our party too, babe? We got room..." He motioned to one of his friends, and the man advanced on Akane. "Not a smart move, boy," came a new voice from the doorway. Yuri was leaning against the door jam. She had seen ticked off women before (she had been one often enough, thanks to Himoshi's gang), and she knew these three didn't have a prayer. The man reached out his hands to grab Akane, and she stepped inside the grab/hug and took ahold of his arms. She twisted and two distinct *pops* were heard. He screamed, but was stopped when Akane kneed his groin and headbutted him. A fierce shove sent him unconscious against the wall. Tetsuo growled and motioned his other friend. "That wasn't a nice thing to do." Together, they moved toward the angry woman that beat up their friend. Akane quickly slammed a double punch in Tetsuo's gut, driving the wind from him. She then stepped around him and engaged the man behind. Dodging his punch, she grabbed the outside arm and slammed a fist into his face. She then twisted the wrist and forced the man to his knees. Releasing the arm, she crane-kicked him into unconsciousness. She turned back to the recovering leader and stepped away from his awkward punch. Yuri inwardly winced as grabbed the outstretched arm and applied all of her brute strength in a twist. Tetsuo screamed as the arm broke. Akane then side kicked his knee joint and he collapsed when the joint bent inward, a direction which it was not supposed to go. She delivered several rapid fire punches to the man's face as he lay prone, then stamped on his groin with her foot as Yuri began to pull her off. "Calm down, Akane-chan," Yuri whispered. "It's over. Ranma's safe." Akane growled and fought against her a little, but soon acquiesced. Now slightly calmer, Akane reclasped Ranma's shirt. Her fiance had once again passed out, whether from the alcohol or seeing Akane's brutal attacks, neither of the two concious girls knew. Then, unknowingly following Kenji's example earlier, they made their exit through the window and headed for the dojo. Elsewhere in Nerima, Kenji had reached the back door to Ucchan's and was taking the unconscious form of Ukyo inside. He went up to her room and placed her into her bed, pulling the blankets over her. He knew she'd probably kill him if she found out, but Kenji felt compelled to give her a small kiss on her forehead before he left. The night's activities had gotten to him and decided he needed a walk in the cool night air to clear his mind. Stepping outside the back door, he let the cool night breeze blow over him and ruffle his shoulder length hair. He started walking, but had barely gone a few paces when he stopped suddenly. Sensing the attack, he leapt out of the way, rolling once he hit the ground and coming back up in a ready stance. A long staff had impacted the ground where he was standing a moment before. It stretched off into the darkness, but shrank as the rest of it came into view. Attached to the end of the staff, was a little old man, wearing somewhat tight-fitting dark robes and a bamboo hat that hid his face. The top of the staff was capped with a small gold ring. The mysterious elderly man chuckled. "Not bad. Of course, I would expect no less from the son of Sulyia." Kenji narrowed his eyes. "How do you know my mother!?" The strange individual looked up, allowing Kenji to glimpse the identity of his attacker. The face was definitely old as evidenced by the creases winding around their way over his skin, and as as the sunken eyes. The sparse white goatee only added to the overall effect. "I guess I was right, you are Soyokaze Kenji." The former-amnesiac inwardly cursed. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" The old man studied him, then grinned. "You'll find out. For now, we fight!" With that, he pointed the staff behind his back and ejected himself towards the younger ninja boy. Kenji backflipped out of the attack and reached behind his back, bringing out his hidden bo stick. He fingered the stud and the staff extended to full size, then pointed it towards the old guy, as he studyed him. Deciding to grab the initiative, he jumped into the air and came down on his opponent, slamming it into the pavement where the ancient-looking martials artist once stood. He then swung it out to block the counter attack, and for several minutes, they fought in close combat with their weapons. Thrusts, blocks, parries, and sweeps were exchanged as each looked for an opening in the other's defense. Without missing a step, Kenji's venerable opponent grinned and reached into his robes. He pulled something out and threw it to the ground. White smoke billowed forth and covered the two. Kenji cursed as he lost contact with his opponent. Instinctively, he dropped and rolled, the metal staff clipping him on the shoulder instead of on the back of his head. Kenji realized. He concentrated and gathered his ki, then let it out in a circular wind blast that was just strong enough to dissipate enough of the smoke to see his surroundings. The strange, mysterious man was gone. Kenji held his Bo out let himself go as his mother taught him. He extended his senses, looking for where his advesary had gone. Sensing movement from above, he dove and rolled to avoid the flight of shuriken which struck the ground where he was standing. Coming to his feet, he saw the old guy grinning at him from the patch of ground where Kenji was standing a moment ago. "Those wind tricks are interesting, but ultimately useless," he said, while releasing another flight of shuriken at him. Kenji concentrated, then sent another blast of wind at the incoming projectiles. However, they cut right through the turbulence without wavering. As they closed the remaining distance, Kenji thought, Yuri parted from Akane once they reached the dojo then went her way, back to the restaurant. Akane was grateful the members of the house were either asleep or gone, as she made her way upstairs and into Ranma's room. Both Genma and her father were gone, at the Saotome house no doubt. He seemed to be spending more time over there. She gently laid the red head onto her futon and gently pulled the blankets over her. Onna-Ranma stirred, then groggily opened her eyes. At first, her mind was clouded, and she couldn't remember much besides some vague bad feeling. Little by little, however, it all came back, especiall after she glimpsed Akane's worried face gazing softly down at her. She sat up suddenly, and the next thing Akane knew, Ranma was sitting in the corner, her back to her fiancee. "Go away!" she yelled. "Why?" was all Akane could ask, surprised. "Just go away!" she reiterated the command. Akane could tell Ranma was trembling a like a small earthquake, as if fighting some great internal struggle; and she was losing. Akane moved over to her iinazuke and rested her hands on the redhead's shoulders. "I'm not going to do that, Ranma. I think you need my help and you're going to get it whether you want it or not." Ranma attempted to struggle out of it, but couldn't. She was fighting to hold back the tears she felt coming and didn't want Akane to see. Crying wasn't manly, but the alcohol was saying otherwise. "B-but, it's not that bad. I-I mean I-m a g-guy, so that stuff wouldn't affect me. I-I'm a g-guy. I'll be okay. I'm a guy." She kept repeating that last part over and over again until it was no more than a whisper. Then the dam broke as she could no longer hold the tears back. "Oh kami, Akane. They were... were gonna... to me. And they t-touched me and..." Akane, somewhat at a loss what to do, tried to remember how Kasumi acted when ever Akane was upset. She began to emit soothing sounds, pulling her unresisting and badly shaking fiance into her lap, and whispered, "You're going to be okay. I'm here for you." "B-but, I just f-feel... so dirty. H-how can you even stand to touch me?" "Because I love you," she said simply. Ranma deep blue eyes finally met Akane's own, but she couldn't hold the gaze for more than a few seconds, before dropping her face down into her lap.. "I j-just feel so weak and h-helpless like this. This body is so weak. I hate it!" "Then make it stronger," Akane replied. Ranma's face came back up, a strange look marring her pretty features. "You've spent so much time training your male side, maybe you should use the training trip to work on your female side. Like it or not, it's a part of you and hating it won't do you any good." She considered what Akane was telling her. True, for awhile now she had almost come to accept her female half as part of her, but she had still never really like it. She was a man, and was desperately trying to hold onto what masculinity she had left. "M-maybe you're right." Ranma looking a little sheepish "Um, I guess I owe you an apology. I..." She stopped, struggling for something else to say. Akane understood, though, without the need for words. She leaned over and kissed the girl, holding her close. Ranma was surprised for a second and pulled away. When they separated, Ranma asked, "Akane? You just kissed another girl. Doesn't that bother you?" Akane smiled. "No, I kissed you, Ranma. There's a difference. I know you're a guy. Remember what you said back at Jusenkyo when we watched the pools flood? You said that you had begun to accept your curse as part of you. I've accepted it as part of you also." And it was true, too. After all this time Akane always thought of Ranma as Ranma, no matter what body he wore. Ranma pulled herself out of Akane's lap and kneeled, facing away from her. "But what if I get stuck like this?" "We'll deal with it when the time comes. I will never leave you, nor stop loving you." Akane hugged Ranma from behind and willed her to believe it. Ranma wondered. She yawned. "I think I wanna get some sleep now... and maybe do some thinkin'." Akane kissed her goodnight, then got up to leave the room. Ranma lay back down on her futon as Akane closed the door. She whispered, "It may be hard for me to say sometimes, but... I love you, Akane." Akane, listening on the other side of the door, smiled, then left for her own bed. Ranma was soon fast asleep. Yuri was enjoying the night air as she walked along towards Ucchan's. She felt a little upset at leaving the party, but considered it for the best. Approaching the restaurant, she caught the flash of smoke behind it. Then the smoke dissipated and the sound of metal hitting concrete could be heard. She leapt to the roof and ran to the back just in time to see some unknown ancient looking monk-type character fling several shuriken at her brother. Reacting on instinct, she thrust out her hand and sent a small wind blast to intercept them. It hit shortly after her brother's, knocking all but two in a different direction. Kenji held out his Bo and skillfully blocked the remaining two. He could block thrown objects if he had something in his hands to do it, but he couldn't handle more than one or two at a time. He assumed another ready stance and silently thanked his sister before turning his gaze back to his enemy. The old martial artist laughed. "Got lucky there? If your sister hadn't shown up, you would've been in a world of hurt." Kenji had to acknowledge that. "Haven't you had enough? Why are you fighting me?" "Yeah!" Yuri added in. "How dare you attack my brother! When we stand together, nothing can beat us. You might as well give up, because you now face double the trouble!" Kenji clapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. "No, I think this party is just getting started!" the old man said as he rushed to attack Kenji again. The two men met in a series of close range attacks. While they were occupied, Yuri leapt off the roof and sent out a yo-yo to wrap around the old man's staff, giving a strong tug once it was ensnared. Surprisingly, he let go, then grabbed Kenji's Bo and flipped the young ninja into some nearby trash cans. As Yuri landed, he gave tug on an almost invisible line attached to his staff, pulling her off balance. He closed the distance rapidly and delivered several solid hits to various vital points, sending her crashing into the back wall of Ucchans. Kenji recovered and sent a powerful wind blast at his opponent's backside. The old guy's staff extended and he pole vaulted over it. While the air, Yuri managed to send a small flight of shuriken at him, but he spun the staff and blocked them all. Kenji attacked as he landed, swing his Bo low, hoping to catch him as his feet hit the ground. He misjudged his attack and missed, but followed through with a foot sweep and mid-high Bo swing, which was dodged and blocked, respectively. The young ninja trainee was really starting to get worried now. He focused all his attention and fighting ability and laid into his enemy with everything he had. Kicks, Bo strikes, and wind blasts were all mingled in an attempt to get past the old man's guard. And he seemed to be doing it! While he hadn't landed any hits, he'd managed to counter everything the old guy threw at him, and still force his opponent back. While this was going on, Yuri slipped out another couple of yo- yo's and sent them forward. Her opponent leapt to dodge the first one, but the second wrapped itself around his body. Hitting the ground, there was a short flash, then he seemed to collapse inward. When he didn't move, the former-amnesiac moved over and knocked off the hat. "He's gone!" Kenji exclaimed. "What!?" "All that's here is his clothes and hat. Wherever he is, he's naked." Yuri got up and walked over to see for herself while Kenji tried to focus his senses to his surroundings, but could detect nothing. Several seconds later, several smoke bombs went off, covering the entire alley. The Soyokaze siblings felt a rush of wind and pokes at the back of their necks. With all feeling below their necks now cut off, they collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. The smoke eventually cleared and the funny old monk was back in his clothes. "Not bad for a couple of young'ins," he admitted. "A little rough around the edges. When I'm through with you, you're going to function like a well-oiled machine." "Who are you!?" Kenji asked. He smiled. "You may call me your new sensei, since that is what I am to you. When you're good enough, I'll tell you my real name. I know, I know. How can you trust me?" He pulled out an pendant that was the symbol of Clan Garou, a silver stalking wolf. "I'm from your ninja clan and was sent by Sensei Oka to complete your training. Even though you're not an active part of the clan, you are still expected to know certain things." "But I've never seen you before!" Yuri protested. "That's because I wasn't an active clan member either. I retired several years ago when my skills began to deteriorate. I was a liability, so I disappeared. Oka called me back. She figured I was perfect one to train you and I was glad I could still serve my clan. Now, I'll remove your paralysis if you promise to behave." Kenji and Yuri looked at each other, then, figuring that they had no choice in the matter, nodded their agreement. With couple more pokes, their new sensei restored them. "I'll be stopping by to train you occasionally. Sometimes you may know when I'm coming, sometimes not. I'll leave you alone during school though, you do need an education." Yuri had recently enrolled as well, as a freshman. "Not when I'm working!" The two men looked at Yuri. "What? I want the money!" Sensei shook his head and chuckled. "Very well, I'll try not to disturb you when you're working, but I can't make any guarantees." He pole-vaulted to the top of the restaurant. "I'll be leaving now, and don't bother looking for me. A good ninja won't be found if he doesn't want to." And then he was gone. "Well, that was interesting," Yuri remarked. "Think we can trust him?" "Don't have a choice, I guess," Kenji responded. "He could've killed us if he wanted to, at anytime. I think he was just testing us." "Oh yeah, why are you here?" his sister asked him. "I thought you'd be at the party with Yuka-san?" Kenji sighed. "Why don't we head inside and I'll explain. Ukyo got drunk and passed out, so I brought her home. The rest I'll tell you only if you don't tell anyone, especially her." Yuri nodded as they headed inside. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: Near the end of the manga, Ranma does clearly says that he is beginning to accept his curse. It's where she's (it was raining) watching the Jusenkyo pools flood and Akane asks her about it. She says something to the effect of, "I guess it will always be a part of me. Somewhere along the line I just stopped caring. [about a cure]" I just think he's grown to used to it, and wanted to stir up some trouble for his girl-side. Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: Don't worry, I'll return what I borrowed when I'm done. Though I'll never actually BE done. Heh, heh, heh. Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 10 "Saotome, look out!" The man known as Saotome Tenma backflipped behind the man who tried to stab him in the back with a sharpened polearm. A powerful kick sent the dark shogun warrior stumbling into his companions. Using the brief break, he concentrated his ki and sent a medium-sized ki-ball into the group, knocking them together and sending them to the ground in a jumble of arms and legs. He looked up to see his companion, Akara, maul her opponent. He winced. Her adversary dropped to the ground, unconscious. "Are you always this brutal in your attacks?" he asked. "You haven't been fighting the dark shogun's men as long as I have," she retorted. "When you have, you tend to forget the niceties of combat." Tenma shook his head. True, he hadn't fought the Dark Shogun's men until a few days ago, but his sensei had always stressed the use of minimal force and honor in combat. He really missed his sensei, but he had passed on to the next world and left a message for him to seek out a man name Tendo Senshin and aid him. Tenma finally made arrangements to meet him at the Inn, but met his daughter instead, a feisty warrior by the name of Tendo Akara. "Shall we get going?" she asked, almost perturbed. "Have to wait for Neko," he replied. As if on cue, the huge black cat emerged from the woods and bounded up to Tenma, rubbing against him. "Easy girl. Did you get him?" The puma nodded. "Good girl. Now we can go." Neko was his sensei's companion, but decided to come with Tenma when her master died. He couldn't dissuade the big cat, so he brought her along, much to the annoyance of Akara. "We should reach my father's camp in a little under two hours if we hurry," she said in a tone that meant that she would hurry and he would have to if he wanted to keep up. As they began to move, Tenma became tired of the way his guide was treating him. "Look, I don't know what you're problem is with me, but can't you at least try to act civil?" She snorted. "Why?" "Well then, what is your problem with me?" She seemed to hesitate, then answered, "I don't know you. My father may trust you, but I don't. As far as I am concerned, you're a spy sent by the Dark Shogun. If you want my trust, you'll have to earn it." "That's fair. To be honest, I've never met your father, but supposedly he was friends with my sensei, who was my only family with the exception of Neko." "What about your parents?" His face fell a bit. "I never knew them. I don't know any of my family, or what happened to them." "So you're an orphan?" "Pretty much." The rest of the trip went in silence. Sure enough, two grueling hours later, they entered the large encampment. Akara quickly led him to the command tent. Stepping inside, he was introduced to the man in command of the little army, Tendo Senshin, who was dressed in sturdy brown, samurai armor. Tenma executed a short bow as taught by his sensei. "Saotome Tenma, eh?" Senshin asked. "I'm sorry to hear of your sensei's passing; Satsu was an old friend of mine." "Thank you for your concern, Tendo-san." "No need to be so formal, call me Senshin. How old are you?" "Nineteen... Senshin-san." He stumbled a bit over the name, feeling slightly uncomfortable saying it. "Father, who's the guest?" came the voice of a new girl entering the tent. She was followed by another girl, slightly shorter than she was. Senshin's face brightened. "Ah, Allow me to introduce to my old friend's pupil, Saotome Tenma. Tenma-kun, these are my daughters. My oldest daughter Kimiko, she's 22." He indicated the tall, mild mannered girl who was dressed like a Shinto priestess. She bowed. "My middle daughter Nayrumi, she's 20." The second girl with the short brown hair smirked at him. "And you've already met my youngest daughter, Akara, she's 19 as well. They are all available if you are seeking a wife." Tenma blanched. He could see the reactions of the three girls were almost the same as his. "I'm sorry father, but my priestess duties come first, no offense Saotome-san," Kimiko said. "I might be interested," Nayrumi said as she began to look him over. Something about her gaze made Tenma decidedly uncomfortable. "Nah, on second thought, he's too much of country bumpkin for my tastes. You can have him, Imouto-chan." Akara fumed, something Tenma had seen quite a bit the past two days. "Oh sure! Pass him off on me! Well I don't want him!" Though a part of her couldn't help but think his short pony-tail gave him a certain attractiveness factor. The rest of her fought that thought off as she stormed out of the tent. "You'll have to forgive her, she's a bit... high-spirited." "Oh good, daddy," said Nayrumi. "Like that explains everything." Senshin cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'm glad you could join us, we could really use your help. Nayrumi is our main tactician, and plans all our strategies." Tenma blinked. "A girl plans your strategies?" "And I'm quite good at it, thank you very much," Nayrumi replied evenly. "Why don't you explain the current situation and the proposed mission?" Senshin suggested. "Certainly daddy." She gestured him over to a map of Japan. "Now we know the this Dark Shogun has been steadily advancing his army northward from the south end of Japan. Where he's getting his men, supplies and equipment from is still a mystery I'm working on. "I've sketched a preliminary plan to eliminate the Dark Shogun and his armies, but we currently don't have enough manpower to carry it out. Our army only consists of about 500 men and women who have flocked to our banner for one reason or another, while the Dark Shogun seemingly has thousands of troops. To that end, we've been seeking to gain as many allies as possible. The House of Kuno has recently, and secretly, joined our cause. However, most everyone else has decided to stay out of it until the war is finished." She scoffed. "They're scared, so they sit in their little huts, hoping this will all blow over." She shook her head. "In any case, we have learned of one ninja clan that may help us if we can contact them." She pointed at a spot on the map and grinned. "This is your mission... Miyo awoke and sat up. She collapsed back onto the bed. She sighed. She turned over, closing her eyes. Light gradually spilled into the room of Tendo Nabiki and she groaned. Off-hand, she wondered how much she could pay the sun to disappear for a few more hours. It was Sunday, so she could sleep in and she could've used it, too. She was up late last night trying to figure out a mystery, and nothing gave her greater satisfaction that solving a mystery. Then she remembered what the mystery was and decided she needed to get up. She opened her eyes and rose to a sitting position, yawning and stretching. All was quiet in the house. She frowned. She yawned again and got up. Looking at the clock, she deduced that at least Kasumi would be up fixing breakfast. And who knows, maybe she could get the bathroom first this morning? She walked down the stairs with a change of clothes. Kasumi was humming to herself in the kitchen, but the dining room was empty. She was the first one up apparently, besides her elder sister. Nabiki quickly made her way to the bath to wash up. Several minutes after cleaning herself and relaxing in the furo, there came a knocking at the door. "Nabiki? Are you in there?" She smirked. "Yeah, you can come on in, sis." She could hear the door to the changing room open and some muffled sounds that said someone outside was stripping. Then the door to the bathroom opened and in walked Akane, a tired look on her face. To Nabiki's eye, it looked like her little sister was slightly upset about something. "What's up, Akane?" she asked as her sister sat down on the stool to wash herself. Akane sighed. If she told Nabiki, chances are it could end up all over school. If she didn't, Nabiki would find out anyway, she always did. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone. Ranma's hurt enough about this as it is." That perked up her ears. If Ranma is hurting about something, it's either a really tough fight that he lost, or some emotional thing that he wasn't good at dealing with. She debated the pros and cons, before deciding that her sister's best interests were her own. "I promise sis, now what's going on?" "Last night at the party, Ranma got drunk and tried to... to... grope me." Akane was slightly red. Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "I'll kill him." "No!" Akane said quickly. "Don't do anything, you haven't heard the rest of the story." Nabiki nodded and waited for her to continue. "After I slapped him, he ran off. The next time I found him, he was a she and... I found her... in one of the bedrooms upstairs." A lone tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it before continuing. "She was passed out and there were three guys there undressing her." Nabiki's eyes widened as she considered this. "Did they rape her?" Akane shook her head. "No, I think I got there in time, but Ranma remembers some of it and he feels terrible. He even cried last night." Nabiki was shocked. "Mr. Man-Among-Men cried?" Akane nodded. "He's feeling a bit touchy about his `weak' female form, so please don't tease him about it." She finished washing and slipped into the furo with her older sister. "It's okay sis, I won't say anything." She cocked her head. "Besides, I think I'm gonna need your's and Ranma's help with something. In case you haven't noticed, Kuno's been missing from school for the past week." "I wondered a bit about that. I just put it up to good luck." "Now Akane," Nabiki scolded. "He has been getting better. He's all but given you up and I almost had him give up on his `pig-tailed goddess'. Now he pulls this disappearing trick. Also, there's been no sign of Kodachi either." "Think they're related?" "I don't believe in coincidences," she said evenly. "I believe Kuno is in his estate somewhere, but not Kodachi. I asked at the door for them and the servant who answered the door said Kuno was in, but not seeing anyone, and his sister was gone." She tapped her chin. "I haven't seen Sasuke either." "So you want us to sneak in and look for him?" Nabiki smiled. "That would be ever so helpful of you. You two are the martial artists of the family." She leaned foreword. "Also, you need to deal with both Kuno's if you ever hope to marry Ranma in peace. You already said Ukyo gave up and you beat Shampoo, so they're the only ones left." Akane blushed a bit, but nodded. "I'll see what we can do. Ranma will probably have a bit of a hangover, so if we go, it will be later tonight." As a matter of fact, Ranma-onna did have a hangover. Not as bad as normal people, thanks to her amazing healing factor, but it wasn't pleasant. She groaned and got up, going through the motions of getting ready for the day in a zombie-like state. When it was her turn for the bath, she washed quickly and slipped into the furo, feeling the change come over him, like it always did. Amazingly, it seemed to help his condition somewhat. He entered the dining room and took his usual place next to Akane. She smiled at him and he felt a wave of happiness wash over him. She kissed him on the cheek and squeezed his hand. "So what's this I hear about a training trip, Ranma-kun?" Soun asked. Ranma sighed. He knew this would probably get brought up. "Gotta do something with my summer break. With the way my fights have been goin' lately, I think it's a good idea to brush up my skills." "And you're taking Akane with you?" he asked, smiling and hopeful. He glanced at her. "Yeah, I am her sensei, so there's a lot I need ta teach her, and I know a place where it'll be easier ta do that. Besides, It's only for a week or two, depending on how much we can accomplish and how long our supplies last." Soun nodded his approval and gave him a knowing glance. Ranma sighed. They may have stopped trying to push him and Akane together, but they still were over eager to help the process along. He hoped the two fathers weren't planning anything. Nabiki saw what Ranma did not. She sighed. She looked at her sister and smirked. Akane caught the meaning and blushed bright red. All of this passed right by the young Saotome. Of course, breakfast was served and the rest of the world was forgotten as Ranma dove into his food with a vengeance. Akane sighed and Nabiki thought that her younger sister had her work cut out for her if she wanted to tame Ranma into a proper husband. Hikaru concentrated. Behind him, Ariko had her hands on his shoulders and was trying to send him magical energy. The glass in front of him moved slightly. Hikaru groaned. After several days of study, Ariko found that Gos's problem was that he was a magical sponge. He could absorb expended magical energies from around him, and concentrate them into telekinetic abilities. That's why they worked so well during the fight with Krynn; the evil wizard was emitting high levels of the stuff. Nerima had a slightly higher concentration of magics, but he was having trouble tapping it. Even with Ariko sending him some of her powers, he could barely do move anything. "This isn't working," Hikaru said, exasperated. "Calm down, Hi-chan," Ariko soothed. "You're getting better, you just need to learn to better absorb and control the energies. Also, if you spend some more time storing up the magic, your power would grow." Gos leaned his face into his hand and sighed. "You think so?" She smiled. "Of course, silly." She snapped her fingers. "And I think I know something that'll help you!" She ran over to wear their magic books lay and began flipping through them. Finally, she found her page. "Ah, here it is!" Hikaru looked it over. "A magic amplifier amulet? Can we make one?" "I think so. All the ingredients are easy enough to obtain. Here's the spell and ritual. Yeah, I think it's doable. And if it works, you should have an easier time gathering and using magic." "If." Gos said simply. None of his spells ever worked right. He hoped Ariko was better than he was. That evening two figures moved silently through the darkness, going from shadow to shadow. Their target was the mansion at the end of the street. With a final burst of stealthy speed, they reached the outer wall of their target and leapt to the top. "What do you think?" Akane asked. She was wearing dark sweat pants with a matching dark shirt, same as the person next to her. Ranma studied the interior a bit before responding. "Looks good so far. Still, who knows how many traps Sasuke's got out there. Man, I can't believe I'm doing this." Akane smiled. "How did Nabiki get you to help anyways?" Ranma grimaced. "Uh, I'll tell ya later. Right now, I think we should go." He leapt down and Akane followed. "Man, it's too quiet." Akane nodded in agreement and the two made their way to the mansion. As they flattened themselves against the wall, the couple peeked into one of the many window and beheld only a darkened room. Ranma nodded to Akane, and he slid the window open. As he did, a panel underneath Akane opened up and she fell in. "Ranma!" Acting quickly, Ranma dropped to his stomach and grabbed her hand. "I've got you!" She latched onto his arm with her other hand and he began to pull her up. "Ugh! Akane, you're gettin' pretty heavy, you know that?" Akane started a quick boil. "Raaannnnmmmaaa!" He smiled. "But that's just because you're strong, and I like you that way." He pulled her all the way back up and kissed her. "Ranma!" she exclaimed as she slugged him. "That's not going to work everytime. Let's go." They climbed into the room and moved silently to the other door, passing through it and into a darkened hall. "Now which way?" Akane asked. "Should we split up?" Ranma shook his head. "Naw. Too many traps and unknowns. We should stick together." Picking a direction, they moved silently down the hall. "Hey Nabiki-san!" Yuri greeted the middle Tendo as she walked into Ucchan's. The ninja girl was behind the grill, cooking. Well, cleaning up. "We're almost at closing time, but I can still make ya something." "Sure, that's be great," Nabiki said, sitting down on a stool. "Is that Tendo Nabiki-san I hear out there?" Kenji called from the back where he was washing dishes. "Sure is!" his sister replied. Kenji walked out and looked at her. He didn't really hate Nabiki, but she wasn't exactly his best friend either. He still wasn't happy at the way she had put out the information that allowed the Fire Lord to find and capture him. "How are things at the dojo?" he asked evenly. "Same old, same old." Nabiki caught the hidden message. "Where's the main chef?" Kenji turned away while Yuri spoke up. "She's up in her room. She didn't feel much like coming down today, so we ran the restaurant instead. Apparently she can't handle her liquor very well." "We actually had to shut down for awhile while Yuri trained with our new sensei," said Kenji. Nabiki gave a questioning look. "New sensei?" Yuri finished the okonomiyaki and handed it to Nabiki. "Yeah. Apparently he was sent from our clan to train us." Yuri looked thoughtful. "Say, why don't you practice martial arts, Nabiki-chan? You do live in a dojo." "I did for awhile," she explained between bites, "but Akane quickly became better at it, and I found my time taken up by keeping the dojo afloat, financially. Just don't have the desire much anymore. Mmmm, this is pretty good. Not as good as Ukyo makes, but still pretty tasty." Yuri bowed. "Arigato, I'm a quick study and Ucchan's a good teacher. By the way, how are Ranma and Akane doing?" Nabiki blanched. "Nowadays I look foreword to their fights. Their lovey-dovey act makes me sick. I assume they'll get married as soon as the Kuno's are dealt with." "Any sign of Kodachi?" Kenji asked. Nabiki shook her head. "Not really. I've had a few contacts say they saw her leave the city, but that's about it. I don't know what she's up to, and that worries me. But that can wait. The bigger mystery is what's happening with Tatewaki. He hasn't been in school all week, so I had the lovebirds go check out his mansion." "Kuno Tatewaki..." Yuri tapped her chin. "He's the guy in the blue samurai garb and wields a bokken?" The middle Tendo sister nodded. "I thought I saw him practicing when I went to meet with Sensei. Only he was wielding a real katana and saying something about finally having his two loves." Nabiki stopped eating. "When and where was this?" "Earlier today when I went to meet our sensei in the park. I didn't pay much attention to him, but he said something about tonight being the night when he gets his vengeance against the `vile sorcerer' and frees his two loves. Said he had it all planned out." Nabiki frowned. "I thought I got him out of his dreamworld. Why would he..." Her blood ran cold. "Oh no. I sent Ranma and Akane to his mansion. I think they're walking into a trap! I have to stop them." She got up and felt a hand restrain her arm. It was Kenji. He may not have liked her much, but Ranma and Akane were a different story. "We'll go with you." Yuri nodded in agreement. "Give us a minute to get ready." "I'm going, too," came a voice from a nearby doorway. "Ukyo-chan?" Yuri questioned. "Are you sure? Are you feeling okay?" Ukyo nodded. "I've been sleeping all day. If Ranchan and Akane- chan are in trouble, count me in." She snapped on her bandoleer of spatula's and grabbed her battle spat off the wall. "Okay, but we have to hurry," Nabiki said. The Soyokaze siblings disappeared into their rooms and returned a couple of minutes later, wearing twin grey, ninja bodysuits. With a nod, the quartet took off into the night. From an isolated room, a figure watched several monitor screens, paying attention to one in particular. On it, two figures could be seen walking down a hallway. He smiled. Kuno reached forward flicked a few switches. On the screen, the two people were boxed in as walls blocked off either end of the hallway. Another flick of a switch, and the walls started closing in. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: You make ask yourself where I'm planning on going with this series. I ask myself that same thing. I have a definite direction I'm heading in, and I'm slowly building little things up to that point. I'm also trying to have some fun and good character development along the way; just like a normal continuation series. Here's a hint: Miyo's dream sequences have a major bearing on the characters. Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: I've said it before, I'll say it again: They ain't mine. Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 11 "Kuso! There must be several feet of steel behind these walls!" Ranma continued to pound on them, to no avail. "How about the floor or the ceiling?" Akane suggested. Ranma leapt up to strike the ceiling, while Akane pounded the floor. As they did so, a wall dropped between them, separating the couple. "Ranma!" "Akane!" Ranma called back. "Are you okay?" "Yeah, the wall has stopped over here and..." Her sentence was cut off when she screamed, then it was silent again. "AKANE!" Ranma pooled all of his strength and slammed into the wall that seperated them. The other side was empty, much as he feared. "Akane! Where are you!?" The hallway was open again, so he took off running, hoping to find some sign of what happened to her. Actually, what happened was the fact that the whole floor on Akane's side flipped, sending her into a funnel which led down a tube. By the time she gathered her wits back, she was sliding out the exit and into a room. Or more specifically, a bedroom. A quick perimeter survey revealed no entrance or exit. Akane sighed. She moved to one of the walls and gathered her strength. With a roar of "KIYAH!", she sent her fist into it. When the dust settles, all she did was make a crater in the wall. "No way," she said disbelievingly. "Are all the walls this thick? If so, it'll take all night to get out." She sighed. "And I have no idea which side I should work on. What I wouldn't give for Ryoga's breaking point technique right about now." She rolled up her sleeves. "Guess I better get started." "I wouldn't do that," came a voice from an intercom somewhere. Akane recognized it. "Kuno-sempai! What's the meaning of this?" "What do you mean? You entered my property. I am merely taking steps to defend it." "Well, duh! Nabiki was worried about you, so she sent us to check up on you." Kuno's voice became overjoyed. "So you do care, my love! Do not worry, I will join you shortly as soon as the evil one, Saotome, is dealt with." "I thought you finally gave up on me?" "I did, but Galfgar showed me the error of my ways." Akane became confused. "Galfgar, who is that?" "A spirit which protects the House of Kuno. He has shown me that I must wed both you and the pig-tailed girl to see that our family line continues." "You're crazy! Neither I nor the `pig-tailed girl' will ever marry you! You became almost a decent guy once you stopped chasing me." She shook her head. "Now you're back to being a pompous, egotistical, idiot living in his own imaginary world." "I can see Saotome still holds his spell over you. Have no fear. I will kill him soon." "No!" Akane commaned. "You leave him alone, or I swear I will hunt you down and kill you myself! Do you hear me!?" Silence. "KUNO NO BAKA!" Elsewhere in the house, Ranma stopped. He punched a wall in frustration. "This place is a maze! I've never remembered it being this bad." "That's because you've never seen even a fraction of the secrets in this house." "Kuno! Where are you? What have you done with Akane?" "The precious Tendo Akane is finally safe from thy clutches, sorcerer. Thou hast lost. Release her from thy dark spell, or I shall be forced to kill you." Ranma laughed as he continued to walk. "You don't get do you!? I have no magic! I wish I did, as it would make my life a whole lot easier." "You lie! Since you refuse, you force my hand." By this time, Ranma had entered a large open room that looked like a training gymnasium, except it was empty of equpiment. There was a another entrance at the far end and he started towards it. Upon reaching the center of the huge room, four panels on either side swung open, revealing four robotic looking creatures. They were entirely metallic and multi-limbed. Some walked on four legs, some two, all were bigger than the young Saotome. Blinking lights and all sorts of weaponary covered them. "Behold! Advanced technology has created the ultimate cybernetic warriors. These are the products of one of Kuno Enterprises sister companies, Mishama Heavy Industries. They are heavily armored and posses heavy firepower." "Oh come on, Kuno," Ranma said in disbelief. "Since you can't beat me, you send giant wide-up toys after me?" He cracked his knuckles and started towards the strange mechanical creatures, even as they advanced on him. "Toys? I think you'll find that the these toys are even more than a commoner such as yourself can handle! While you fight with your fists, these wonderful creations have the use of multiple limbs, mechanical tentacles, hidden buzzsaws, lasers, and missiles! You'll never..." Kuno glanced back at his screen to see Ranma standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by smoking scrap metal. "Try again, Kuno!" Ranma taunted. He smiled. Gathering his ki, he blasted one of the side panels one of the mechanical creatures came out of. Grinning to himself, he made his way through the self-made door. Up in the control room, Kuno was furious. Not only had the evil one had destroyed his wonderful robots, but now he was moving through sections of the house they weren't covered by cameras. His beloved Akane was still tearing up the bedroom, and now, several new intruders were entering his property. One he recognized as Tendo Nabiki. The others consisted of the Kuonji woman from the okonomiyaki restaurant and the Kenji fellow he briefly met earlier. The last was a woman he didn't recognize. No matter. They would be dealt with as soon as he killed the evil Saotome. After all, he still had a few more options open to him. "Okay, so how do we get over the wall?" Nabiki asked. "We don't," Ukyo stated. "You'll stay here while the rest of us go in. You're not a martial artist." "Maybe, but none of you know Kuno like I do," she retorted. "I'm the one who can push his buttons. Plus, someone has to be the brains of this operation." The other three looked at each other, shrugged, then nodded. "Alright sugar, but you're sticking close to us," Ukyo stated. Kenji scooped up Nabiki and the three went up and over the wall. Once inside, they made their way to the front door and stepped inside. Ranma stopped and tried to think. He grinned. He backtracked a bit until he found what he was looking for; the kitchen. He flipped on the cold water and splashed his face with enough water to cause the change. Now in the appropriate guise, he called out, "Oh Kuno! Where are you my love? The evil Saotome is after me!" After a few minutes, the voice he was waiting for answered. "Pig-tailed girl! You are here!" "Oh Tate-chan, where are you?" Ranma-onna began to fake sobbing a bit. "Hold on my love! I'm opening a hole in the floor. Just slide down that tube and we can be together!" Ranma hesitated. "What about my cousin, Tendo Akane? Is she alright? I wanna see her again, too." "She is your cousin? Have no fear, for she is safe. She is waiting for you in the bedroom at the end of the slide. I shall join you both shortly." "Thank you so much, Tate-chan!" she said sweetly. Ranma jumped down the hole and entered the slide. Akane sat down on the edge of the bed, partially exhausted. She had tested every surface and as far as she could tell, there were no exits. The tube she came through wasn't an option since it seemingly wasn't there anymore. "Oh Ranma, where are you?" She sighed. As if on cue, a small section of wall slid open and out popped a redhead who landed in bed with her. Akane yelped and stood up. "Ranma!?" she exclaimed when she saw who it was. "Where's the evil Ranma?" Ranma asked. "It's me, your lovely cousin, Ranko!" Akane saw Ranma's wink... and understood. "Oh, Ranko! I've missed you!" She hugged the red-head. "Akane, I've found a way to break free of Saotome's control!" Ranma stated. Akane backed up and looked at `Ranko' curiously. "And, how do we do that?" "If a we were to give our virtues to a noble samurai, Ranma would no longer be able to exhort his influence over us." Ranma could see Akane noticeably shiver at the thought. She felt the same way. Up in the control room, the results of the conversation were predictable. "Oh, my twin loves! Though it pains my heart, I shall offer myself as a noble samurai to your needs. At last you will be free and we will be together!" He quickly departed. A few minutes later he opened a door and strode into the bedroom. "Tendo Akane, my goddess of the hunt! And Tendo Ranko, it pleases me to finally know your name! As a noble samurai, I offer myself to free you of the evil Saotome's control! But, alas, who shall be first?" Ranma grinned. "We feel that, since you knew Akane first, you should start with her." Akane looked back and gave a fuming look, then caught her wink and softened some. Kuno couldn't have been happier. "Then come my love, embrace me." He held out his arms and Akane started towards him. "How I have waited for the day when..." (This scene has been censored due to gratuitous violence) Akane stood back and admired her handiwork. Ranma held up a sign that read, `9.9' Akane glared at him. "Why not a 10?" she asked. He shrugged. "Cause I could've done a better job, so naturally I would be the only one to deserve a ten." "Baka." "Still, I think the human pretzel look works for him." On the ground, Kuno whispered, "That hurt." Further under the mansion, the statue known as Galfgar began to shake. For too long he had lay hidden in the ancestral Kuno home, infusing madness in the members of the Kuno family. Now, all his work threatened to become undone. His duty had been to make sure none of the Kuno family could ever be a threat when his master returned. The mother was gone and he had succeeded in permanently warping the father's mind. The daughter wasn't much better, though she still clung to the hope of getting this "Ranma". The son was a different matter. Somehow he had managed to retain some semblance of honor throughout all the times Galfgar had invaded his mind. Though he could be declared legally insane, he still fought evil on occasion. And he was the most incompetent moron the demon had ever known. He had allowed himself to be tricked and now he was unconscious. Soon, he would be taken away, most likely never to return. With the house empty of Kunos, Galfgar would weaken and die. Then the madness would wear off, and the Kunos would once again became a threat. He couldn't let that happen. Though he was still partially bound, unable to leave the Kuno's ancestral home grounds, if he didn't act and destroy the interlopers, they would restore the Kuno's power and become dangerous. As the statue shook, the ground shook with it. Soon, minute cracks appeared in the marble surface of the statue. Those cracks widened, as bits and pieces fell. With a mighty roar, the statue exploded. In it's place, was a real live version of the demon the statue contained. Bob once again checked up on the town of Nerima. It was one of his favorite places. He had a plan and he rubbed his hands in anticipation. Across town, Hikaru and Ariko had just finished their crystal shard when the earthquake hit. Hikaru yelped in fright as the tremors threw them together and tossed them to the floor, with Ariko on top and the crystal pressed between them. As the burst of demonic energy flew outward from the mansion, it reacted with the crystal, causing it to activate and operate in manner that was not it's intended purpose. Electrical fire coursed through both of their bodies as every nerve registered an intense tingling feeling. When it died down, the crystal was gone and the two were left unconscious. Outside the Kuno mansion the quartet, who had entered several minutes earlier, raced back outside at the first sign of the ground shaking event (pun intended). They arrived in the courtyard just in time to witness a beam of red light explode through the roof of the Kuno mansion, then burst outward. The very corners of the house trembled and began to buckle, as various parts collapsed. Inside, Ranma grabbed Kuno and he, and Akane, raced out the open door. However, the strain on the house was too much, and the roof caved in on them. Yelling a warning, Ranma knocked Akane to the floor as the debris hit. With a final roar, Galfgar directed his energies outward and exploded out of the house. Now standing outside, he grew to slightly over 15 feet in height. His skin was a sickly red and his face was that of a disfigured bulldog. Several sharp, bone-like spikes jutted out from his back and arms. Technically he was naked, but he was a nudist, so he didn't mind. "Oh my Kami-sama," Nabiki intoned. Her words echoed the sentiments of all present. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea I came along." The grotesque creature noticed them and focused his attentions there. His eyes blazing red and whisps of smoke coming from his nostrils, he growled menacingly and said, "Arrrggghhhh! You stupid mortals! You're messing everything up!" It then sniffed the air. "Wait, I smell a Tendo." He focused on Nabiki. "You! You must die!" Nabiki stood up straight. Despite the fact she was facing a huge demonic creature who could tear her limb-from-limb (and was intent on doing so), she refused to be intimidated. "Now wait just a second. Why am I singled out, hmm? Out of all the people here, I'm the least of your worries." "Because you were part of the bloodline that fought against my master ages ago," the creature explained. "Not only must the Kuno line perish, but that of the Tendos as well. So that you may know who your destroyer is, I shall tell you my name. I am Galfgar." Yuri stepped up. "Now listen just a minute, dog-face!" "I don't think its such a good idea to insult the giant demon, sis," Kenji whispered worridly. She ignored him, however. She had felt an initial fear when the big ugly thing appeared, but one of her favorite pasttimes was watching good horror movies. As a result, she had effectively deadened her fear of nightmarish creatures and stepped foreword, confident in her own skills. "If you think you can drop your ugly red butt in our face and expect us to cower and die easily," she told it, "then obviously you don't know us too well." As if to emphasize the point, she drew her wakizashu from the sheath on her back and brandished in menacingly. Ukyo stepped along side her and brought her battle spatula up. She was still a little scared of such mythical things ever since the fight with the mages, but she was determined not to let that fear control her. "I'm with ya, sugar. We've faced things a lot worse than you, and sent them home to their mommies. Your only real chance to survive is to go back into whatever hole you crawled out of." Kenji sighed and shook his head. He shrugged. He drew his wakizashu as well and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukyo. "Uh, yeah, what they said." "I'll leave you guys to it," Nabiki said while attempting a tactical withdrawal, aka, the Saotome secret technique. Before she reached the exit, a dozen white bone-like spikes lanced into the ground, barring it off like a gate. "No one leaves here alive," Galfgar said simply. Yuri sprung to the attack. "Suit yourself!" She ran towards the towering monstrosity, avoiding the fist that slammed into the ground near her. Kenji and Ukyo let loose a volley of projectiles to distract him, but they pinged harmlessly off his thick hide. Ukyo yelled a warcry and charged as well. Kenji sighed. He joined the fray. Nabiki became fascinated as she watched the three martial artists engage the demon. She never got over the fact of seeing them put their lives on the line against terrifying odds. She watched in awe as they danced around the giant, dodging attacks and slashing back with their weapons. A roar from the demon punctuated every successful attack. Her gaze wandered around the yard, looking for another way out. Most of the house had been demolished by now, and the gate was covered in a bunch of rubble. She walked around the outside edge, hoping to make it to a crumbled section of wall that was made when a blast from the demon missed it's target. That's when she heard the muffled cry. Moving closer to a destroyed section of the house, she specifically heard a female voice calling out. It almost sounded like... Akane! "Akane?" she called out. The voice answered her, but she couldn't make out any words since it was mostly muffled. She walked over to the pile of rubble where she heard the voice and began to remove rocks and planks of wood. After a several minutes, she clearly heard the voice of her sister and saw a glimpse of bodies underneath. "Hurry Nabiki!" she called frantically. "Ranma's not responding!" "I'm going as fast as I can sis, but heavy lifting isn't my forte. Besides, where's that brute strength of yours?" "Nabiki! I'm trapped under Ranma. If I do anything, I could hurt him!" Nabiki doubted that, but wasn't going to say it. She grunted and tossed off a few more pieces of concrete and planks of wood. Soon, enough had been cleared to where she could drag Akane out from underneath Ranma. A hot water pipe had burst nearby, changing Ranma back to a male. Together, they freed both him and Kuno. Akane froze when her gaze found the huge red thing fighting the three martial artists at the other end of the estate. "What is that!?" she asked, horrified. "Some hideous mythical creature or something," Nabiki replied nonchalantly. "We better wake up Ranma so he can fight it." "Hey! I can fight too, you know!" "Calm down Imouto-chan. I was merely stating that this battle would be easier with more people to fight it." That deflated Akane some as Nabiki slapped Ranma. He didn't wake up. "Maybe he would awaken with a kiss? Mind if I try?" "Don't you dare!" Akane threatened. "He's mine!" And with that, she bent over and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. When she finished, Ranma slowly opened his eyes. "Wha...?" was all he could manage. Nabiki tapped her chin. "Interesting, I didn't think that would work." "Get up baka!" Akane commanded her fiance. "We've got a monster to fight." Ranma sat up, still half-groggy. "Okay, sure why not. I've got the time." Akane pulled him to his feet and they departed to join the battle. Nabiki glanced over at the unconscious form of Kuno. Then she got an interesting thought in her head and shrugged. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: I'm hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Welcome to the final chapter in this story arc. Honestly, I don't know what I expected with this story arc. I just threw a bunch of little things together and added a big battle at the end. Hopefully, my next stories will have more of a plot worked up. Send C&C to: oddball22@hotmail.com Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 DISCLAIMER: Okay! I admit I was involved in Watergate. Whitewater, too. Ranma 1/2: New Challenges All That We Have Known Chapter 12 "Fe Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of Saotome-san," the giant intoned. "Funny, all I smell is your bad breath," Ranma replied, jumping to the demon's shoulder and delivering a powerful kick to it's face. Galfgar roared. "You try stay locked in a statue for a thousand years and see how good your morning breath is! Just make it easy on yourselves and submit to me!" Ranma sighed. "Why do you all-powerful types spout the same garbage? `Foolish mortals, submit, die, can't hurt a god.' It gets rather boring after awhile." He landed onto the ground and released a ki-blast at the same time as Akane. The demon staggered under the impacts until it seemed he was about to stumble through the outer wall of the Kuno estate, then something strange happened. He stopped suddenly, as if he had backpeddaled into an invisble wall. A bright white light flared up behind him and by the expression on his face, it seemed to be painful to the creature. Galfgar snarled and stepped up his attacks. He was already bleeding from several small cuts and gashes made by the twin blades of a pair of ninja trainees, and a certain giant spatula. He was strong and tough, but he was slow. Unfortunately, he had to get in a lucky strike sometime and managed to catch Yuri in the air with a backhanded strike. She screamed in pain and went tumbling into a wall. Enraged, Kenji quickly thrust his sword into the monster's backside as far as he could, then withdrew. Galfgar growled in agony while the young ninja went to check on his sister. Kneeling by her, he determined that she was unconscious and there was blood by her head. Suddenly, Akane was beside him. "How is she?" she asked, worridly. "I-I don't know!," he replied hysterically. "Sh-she's not moving and there's blood... and..." Akane tried to calm him. "It's okay, she's going to be fine. It looks like just a light concussion. We'll get her to a hospital and she'll be fine." When she didn't get a response, she looked up. "Kenji- kun?" He was standing now, and looking back at the battle. "He did this. He hurt my sister. Tell Ukyo and Ranma to get clear. Apparently, there's some sort of barrier that keeps this creature on the property, and it hurts him when he hits it." His eyes narrowed and Akane didn't like the tone of voice he used next. It was so full of venom and hate. "I'm gonna give that SOB my strongest wind blast and pin his ugly hide against that barrier." "Kenji..." She nodded and picked up his sister, taking her to the farthest end of the battle and setting her down where Nabiki could see to the young ninja girl.. As Kenji concentrated his wind energies, Akane informed the others. Kenji felt the spiral of wind descend on him and gather around his body. He struck his hands out focused on the demon in front of him. The others leapt clear. "Hey Ugly!" he yelled. Galfgar looked up at him. "This is for you! KIJIN BOUHUUKEN!" The mega-blast of wind shot forward in one concentrated stream, slamming into Galfgar and driving him backwards. Sure enough, he struck the barrier behind him and howled in agony, unable to move from the shear amount of wind that was pinning him. Light from the invisible barrier flared behind the demon. Ranma and Akane added a few ki-blasts while he was pinned, and Ukyo charged a few spatulas with her creative ki energy. She tossed them and they exploded after embedding themselves in his skin. After 20-30 seconds, Kenji felt his strength begin to wane and he reluctantly cut off the attack. As soon as he did, Galfgar unleashed a red energy beam that cut into the ground and struck Kenji while he was recovering. He went rolling along the ground and ended up unconsciousness. It was a good thing, too, since had he been awake, he would have been suffering badly. "Yeesh, that hurt!" Galfgar grunted. "I guess he was just full of hot air!" He snickered at his own joke. "Anyway, it doesn't seem to take much to stop one of these puny mortals." "Then foul demon, you shall face the Blue Thunder!" All attention was now focused on the figure standing on the highest point (which wasn't saying a whole lot, everything was pretty much flattened) and pointing a katana at the demon. The sword was crackling with blue electrical energy. Kuno wasn't finished with his speech. "For too long, demon, you have afflicted my family and caused us to hurt those we care about. The madness ends now!" He charged. "Kuso!" Ranma swore. "He's gonna get himself killed! Come on!" The three remaining martial artist re-entered the melee. Kuno's sword, charged with lightning, bit deep as he swung at the creature. He didn't quite posses the speed of the others and was soon whacked away. Galfgar lifted his arms and and shot another wave of the bone- spikes out, their course set for the the youngest Tendo. Ranma yelled her name, trying to warn her, but Akane didn't move. Instead, she burst into gold flames and caught a couple of the large spikes in her hands, while dodging the rest. She flipped them around and readied herself. "TORA SUMAT-SU!" she yelled. Her body became a golden comet that shot through the air to impact the creature's chest. There was a flash of an explosion, and Galfgar was thrown backwards to impact the invisible wall that was keeping him on the estate. He now had two spikes speared through his chest. Akane backflipped out of the impact and landed on the ground. "This isn't working!" Ukyo yelled. "I'm out of spatulas and he's still standing! None of our attacks are strong enough. He just keeps healing himself." She limped up to Ranma and Akane. Her leg had received a nasty gash from a near claw strike by the creature. "Then we need a new, stronger attack," Ranma said slowly. "It just heals from the physical attacks, but ki attacks really seem to hurt it. Ucchan, back away and guard Kenji and Yuri, there's something I'd like to try." "Okay, Ranchan, be careful! I believe in you." She limped away. "I've had enough of this," Galfgar stated. "Can't we just skip to the end now where the singular hero is supposed to face me?"" "Akane, stay close to me," Ranma whispered. She nodded, then he said louder, "Hey ugly, right here! Tell you what, let's settle this now. Take me out, and you win." "Yes, Saotome, I kill you and the master will triumph! That, and I'll get a nifty raise when I return to the demon plane." He began to glow with a blood red aura, bringing himself to full power. "Akane, put your arms around me and use your Tora Dokiken," Ranma said quietly. "If we join our ki, we may able to stop him. And whatever you do, don't let go." She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you Saotome Ranma, so don't screw this up and leave me." "Hey, have ya ever known me to fail when it really counted?" He grinned back at her, then his visage changed. "I love ya, too. Have faith in me; I need you to believe in me for this to work." She nodded. "I do, I know you can do this." Ranma turned face forward again as Akane activated the Tora Dokiken. Both were consumed by the fiery gold aura, and Ranma drew from both his and Akane's ki, forming the sphere of energy between his hands. It continued to grow, until it was larger than half his body. Ukyo realized what he was about to do. "I know you're the best Ranchan, you can beat him!" She nudged Kuno who was standing next to her and hissed," Say something encouraging!" He glared at her, but she waved her battle spatula at him menacingly. He gulped, then turned and said loud enough for Ranma to hear, "I, too... believe in you, Saotome. We had our differences, but I know you to be a strong warrior." "Gotta admit, I didn't think much of you when you first arrived," Nabiki said, catching on. "But I know now that you always protected Akane no matter what the cost." Kenji was sitting against a wall with his sister's head in his lap, and Nabiki glared at him. He didn't know quite what was going on, but he followed suit. "Uh, you helped when I needed it. You're the strongest guy I know." Ranma heard all of this, and felt his confidence grow to new heights. His friends believed in him, Akane loved him, he loved Akane, and there was nothing he couldn't beat. This demon would die. The forming ki-ball grew bigger. "Time to end this!" Ranma yelled. "I highly agree! I'm gettin' a nasty cramp in my right back spike." Galfgar retorted. His red aura was huge now, almost doubling him in height. Then, he launched his attack. A huge beam of swirling red and black energy lanced out toward the gold couple. Before it hit, they could hear Ranma shout. "COMBINED MOKO TAKABISHA..." The beam engulfed them. For a few seconds, everyone else lost sight of them. Then, a spark of blue light emerged from the turbulent energies, growing ever stronger. When it was full size, they could see both Ranma and Akane encased in a blue and gold sphere, the red and black energy washing around them. Ranma thrust his cupped hands forward. "...PERFECT!" The sphere expanded slightly, then an intense blue beam shot out, cutting through the red energy and nullifying it. It slowly grew in size and intensity. Galfgar seemed to realize he was losing. "Oh momma, this ain't fair." With a final flash, the beam tore the rest of the way through it's counterpart and engulfed the monster, pushing him into the invisible wall that caused him so much pain. The sphere began to shrink as Galfgar wailed in agony. With a final push, Ranma sent the remaining energy all at once. The final blast exploded against the creature in a flash of bright blue light, forcing all to shield their eyes. When Nabiki opened her eyes again, she noticed several things. Ranma and Akane were froze in the same position, with her arms around him and his cupped outward. Also, Galfgar was still standing. His skin was blackened, green blood running from nasty-looking pores. Nabiki thought he looked pretty awful, even for a dark creature of the demon plane. The group watched expectantly as he dropped to one knee. He was obviously still alive, but it didn't look like he had much left. Nabiki inhaled sharply as she saw Kuno approach it. "You are finished monster," he stated. "And when your master comes, he will be similarly obliterated. For now, face your defeat at the hands of Blue Thunder!" He pointed his katana up, and lightning lanced down from the sky, energizing the blade. He leapt at the creature and sliced downward, starting at the middle of his grotesque head, and ending at it's crotch. The crackling energy dissipated and Kuno backed away. "Oh my!" Galfgar sputtered. "I coulda... been... a contendah..." He then ran out of steam and his body fell apart. First in half, then the rest of him simply crumbled into black dust. For awhile, nobody moved. Then slowly, they gathered around the exhausted and now-collapsed couple. Kenji had recovered enough of his strength to stand, and carried his sister, who had also revived. "Ranma, I'm no martial artist, but I could tell that was incredible!" Nabiki said. "Indeed, `twas a mighty blow that thou delivered this day, Saotome," Kuno admitted, grudgingly Ranma was shocked to get such a compliment from Kuno. "Thanks. That sword of yours was pretty cool, too. What's the story with that?" "I shall tell you another day. For now, we should leave this place and recover our strength." "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Kuno," Akane said. "I'm pooped." Ranma recovered enough to force himself to his feet. He helped Akane up and the small group left the battleground that was once the Kuno estate. Nabiki took Kenji and Yuri to the hospital along with Ukyo to get their injuries taken care of, while Ranma, Akane, and Kuno walked back to the dojo. Since he had come through for them at the end and seemed back to his old (sane) self, they allowed him to stay at the Tendo Dojo until the Kuno mansion could be rebuilt. Ranma was still uncomfortable with the idea of Kuno spending the night on the same property as him, but he was just too tired to argue. Plus, Kuno would be sleeping out in the dojo instead of the house, so it wasn't like he was going to be in the same room. Across town, two people awoke from their unconsciousness and stared at each other. Slowly, they got off each other and sat there, unsure of what to say. Finally, one spoke. "What just happened?" He grasped his throat, wondering why his voice sounded different. "Wh-who are you?" Ariko asked, worridly. She too, grabbed her throat in surprise. "Why do you look like me!? What's going on?" Ariko felt her chest and looked down, the promptly fainted. Hikaru slapped his head. "Great, just great. I don't how this happened, but obviously Hikaru didn't take it as well. I wanted to get closer to him, but this isn't what I had in mind." He sighed. "I guess I better figure out a way to fix this." He stood up and looked down at his (her?) fainted self and shook her (his?) head. "And I better do it before Hi-chan has a nervous breakdown." Kasumi help set Kuno up in the dojo with Genma's old futon and blankets, but he didn't go to sleep right away. Instead, he assumed a lotus position and pondered this latest development. The demon who had afflicted his family with madness was finally gone, after who knows how many centuries. He knew he couldn't blame his delusions entirely on the creature; after all, they were based on his own perceptions. Yet the creature sensed both Tendo and Saotome blood, as well as his own. What did it mean? And what was the talk of the master? There was a basement room that contained many old texts beneath the Kuno mansion. Hopefully, it survived and he could go there for answers. Something about all this seemed eerily familiar. Maybe with Galfgar gone, his father and sister would return to normal? Maybe his father would have some answers? "Don't hurt yourself, Kuno-baby," came a familiar voice from the doorway. "To what would you be referring Tendo Nabiki?" he asked. Nabiki had returned home after checking the three in. They were going to spend the night there, but since the middle Tendo hadn't received any real injuries, she went home. She walked up to him and sat down. "You're thinking, I can tell." She smirked. "It's a rare sight and I was tempted to take pictures for posterity." Kuno sighed. She did love to tease him. "Tendo Nabiki, I have much to apologize for, and much to atone for. No, please let me finish. My behavior over the past year and a half has been dishonorable. I am a dishonored samurai from a long line of dishonored samurai. The fact that the beast was in some way responsible, does in no way ease my blame. I wish to make amends and I trust you know better than I how to best go about that." She smiled. "You got that right. I've got several ideas I'll discuss with you in the morning." She cocked her head. "You know, you're kinda cute when you act this humble. Ranma rarely has this kind of meek attitude." Kuno turned his head to look at her. "Tendo Nabiki, is it true that Ranma and the pig-tailed girl are the same person?" Nabiki actually looked moderately shocked. "You finally figured it out? It's about time, and yes it is true. Ranma was traveling with his father in China when they fell into the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. His father now changes into a panda when hit with cold water and Ranma changes into a girl. Hot water changes them back." She cocked her head at him and smirked. "You do know this means you've been in love with a man all this time?" Horror crossed his face, even as he hid that face in his hands. "Surely, the heavens must hate me. My life must be some sort of, how do you say, `cosmic joke'." Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Kuno-baby. Quit being so melodramatic. You see the truth now, don't you?" He looked up slowly. "Yes. Ever since the demon was vanquished, it's as if a fog has been lifted from my mind. I can see things more clearly." He lowered his head. "But if my perceptions were wrong before, how can I trust them now?" He got up and went to the dojo window. "What I knew before was a lie. That both my loves are lost to me. No, I take that back. They never were mine to begin with. I was only in love with the idea of being in love. I do not know how to love." Nabiki stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Puh- lease, Kuno-baby. You'll find someone new to obsess over in no time." "At least one thing ceases to change. Thy wit continues to plague me." She smirked. "It's mutual, Kuno-baby." Kuno turned to her with a curious glint in his eye. "Nabiki-kun, would you perchance be free this weekend? I would show my gratitude to all you've done for me." Nabiki's smiled disappeared. "'Nabiki-kun'? You're being awfully familiar aren't you?" He simply smiled at her, and she sighed. "Very well. On one condition, though." Kuno nodded, understanding perfectly. "But of course. As a gentleman, I would consider no less than paying for the entire day." Her smile reappeared somewhat. "You read my mind. There may be hope for you yet." She began to walk toward the door. "I'll look forward to it. As she walked away, Kuno spoke up again. "There is two more things I would offer you." Her ears perked up. "Oh? And what's that?" "First, I will be staying here while, so I trust you will charge me appropriate room and board." She nodded. "And second: A job working for me. While my family owns shares in numerous companies, I do not know the first thing going on with them. I could use a trusted financial advisor to look after our family investments. Again, I feel you can determine a suitable salary." Nabiki's eyes widened, as she came as close to genuine shock as she had ever come. She recovered quickly. "Well, well, well," she said at last. "You do surprise me, Kuno- baby. And that's not an easy thing to do. If I do take the job, it will be the understanding I will still attend college. I want the degree." Kuno nodded. "That is a noble goal." "And I may have additional requirements and conditions that will need to be met before I sign any contracts," she added. "They shall be met," Kuno said simply. Nabiki smirked. "I don't know if the world is ready for this new you. Goodnight, Tatewaki-kun." She winked at him and left. Kuno looked through a window and into the starry sky. In her room, Nabiki couldn't stop smiling to herself. She climbed into bed and flicked off her desk lamp. By the time she went to sleep, she had almost convinced herself of that. "Milady..." "I know," the lady in blue replied. "It's the third one." "'Death of a kami, death of a demon, death of a human with great magical power,'" the caretaker quoted. The lady nodded. "Saffron, Galfgar, and Garon." "But the text does not speak of what else they need." "Even I do not know. All we can do now is concentrate on our side." The caretaker looked up. "The Kuno family madness is gone. You could..." She shook her head. "No, not now. Tatewaki has almost recovered, but Kodachi is still in trouble. She must progress to a certain point before I can help her." "But what about your hu-" She cut him off. "I cannot help him now, either. No matter how much I want to. For now, all we can do is wait." ------------------------------------------------------- Author's Notes: Well, this concludes this story arc and many questions remain. Who is the master that Galfgar talked about? What do Kuno, Saotome, and Tendo have to do with it? How will Kuno cope with his situation? What has happened to Kodachi and Sasuke? Will Kuno and Nabiki be a workable couple? With the exception of the last question, I know the others. I do see a possibility of a relationship between Nabiki and Kuno, though time will tell if it will work. Let me know your thoughts. Takahashi has said Ranma and Akane are the only real couple in her series, so I'm kinda experimenting with the others. If you think two particular characters should get together, let me know which ones and why. I plan on bringing a lot of the characters, who've appeared in the manga and anime, into my series, so anything's possible. Oh, and I could really use pre-readers for my stories. Just remember, your suggestions could alter the story!!! This fanifc written and brought to you by Brad aka Kaiphantom If you want to contact me, use this address: oddball22@hotmail.com