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.