Ranma 1/2: New Challenges Trouble with a Capital `A' Chapter 6 "I still don't see why I had to come," Akara complained. She glared at the man with her. Tenma shrugged and muttered quietly. "I don't see why I have to put up your macho attitude either. "What was that?" she demanded. Tenma sighed. "Nothing." He really didn't want to get into another argument. He absently rubbed his jaw where she had socked him. A slight smile crossed his face, as the scene of Akara stepping out of the stream flitted through his mind. He shook his head and focused once more on the mission. Apparently, Senshin had made intial overtures with a ninja clan and he needed a couple of strong people to meet them in person and hopefully convince them to join the cause. That would explain Akara's presence. Despite her attitude, she was a formidable fighter. Tenma's battle senses suddenly went on alert and he froze. Akara stopped behind him and had the good sense (for once) to not say anything. Maybe she sensed it, too. Tenma extended his ki. "I count six figures surrounding us," he whispered. She nodded. "What do we do?" Tenma went through several plans in his head. "If we stay, they get the drop on us. On the count of three, follow me." Surprisingly, she didn't argue. He counted down, then as one they sprinted at high speed, eventually taking to the trees. Continuing to sense the figures, he noted them mirroring their movements, so he sprung off the trunk of a particularly large tree, sending his body crashing into one of their pursuers. Akara mirrored it slightly, barreling into a second opponent, grabbing his arm, and flipping him into the ground. By the time the others figured out what changed, two of their number were taken out of the action. They converged on the now still targets. Tenma swore as the projectiles came at him. He dodged the first few, then caught the rest. He had no more time to ponder this, as the enemy was upon them. It was four on two, but to Tenma, the skill level of his all- black clad opponents wasn't a concern. He was more worried for Akara. While pretty good herself, she could be easily distracted in a melee fight. He slammed his current opponent to the ground and thrust downward with an iron-palm strike, taking the man out of action. To his side, Akara was hard pressed against the two enemies that took turns attacking her. They're actions were continually backing her up. She growled. She stepped forward into the next attack, a slice of a katana blade. Ducking under it, she came up inside the surprised man's defenses and unleashed a powerful series of punches and kicks to various vital points. The black clad opponent stood stunned for a second before she threw him into a nearby tree. She instinctively backed up just in time to avoid a flight of shuriken that whizzed by in front of her. Feeling something, she glanced down and was a bit miffed that a couple of shuriken had grazed her stomach, slashing open the cloth across her belly. She screamed and lunged for her attacker who stepped out of the way, bringing the butt-end of his katana down on her head. Akara went down and rolled, dodging the foot aimed for her back. She grabbed it and pulled, bringing the man off balance while she did a quick handstand that let her foot impact his jaw. As his head snapped up, she came to her feet. It didn't take much to finish him. Akara turned to see Tenma clapping with a big grin on his face. "What?" He shrugged. "Nothin'. Not bad, but I kinda feel sorry for the guy." "As am I." Tenma froze. The voice anticipated his question. "You're good, but you don't sense me because I'm not a threat. I was merely watching while my students tested you." "Well, come on down and we'll finish the lesson!" Akara challenged. "That won't be necessary," she said. "You passed." "You're from the ninja clan, Garou," Tenma said flatly. An obviously female figure in black ninja garb emerged from the shadow of a tree and removed her mask, her medium length, jet black hair spilling out in a pony tail. She bowed. "It is a pleasure to greet the emissaries of the army of Tendo Senshin. I am called Kae. May I ask your names?" Tenma bowed. "I am Saotome Tenma, trained by Sensei Satsu." At a glance from Tenma, Akara also bowed, albiet with less enthusiam. "I am Tendo Akara, daughter of Senshin." Kae nodded. "Very well. Come with me and I'll take you to our clan elders." She clapped her hands and several more figures appeared out of thin air, picked up their unconcious comrades, and disappeared again. The pair began to follow Kae deeper into the forest. Miyo groaned. Again, another part of the dream, but still nothing about it made sense! She hadn't figured out yet if it had happened for real, or if it was some sort of vision. If it was real, the clothes and mannerisms told her it had happened long ago; several hundred years at least. She glanced at the clock. The red, digital readout placed her at 7:00 am. The young fortune-teller rolled out of bed and prepare to face the day. Ranma awoke Akane the next morning with a bucket of cold water. Naturally, that enraged the Tendo girl enough to come at Ranma with everything she had. She even yelled her famous battle cry of "RANMA NO BAKA!" After several minutes of heavy combat, er, sparring, Ranma tossed Akane to the ground. She jumped back up and charged him, ending back on the ground again. She tried this five more times before growling, giving up and going back to the tent to change. When she re- emerged again, she found Ranma cooking breakfast. "Alright Ranma, you've got one minute to explain yourself," she growled. "Weren't expectin' an attack while you were asleep, eh?" he asked, slightly amused. "Of course not!" she yelled. Then it hit her. "Uh, I suppose this is another lesson in anticipating an attack?" He nodded. "That's how Oyaji woke me up every mornin' on the road. After awhile, my body tuned in to the warnings of an attack and I'd spring awake at the first signs of danger." He looked up at her. "I won't do that again, since their are other ways of training you in that. I just wanted to let you know if I was a serious attacker, you could be dead now." She shivered at the thought. "You always think that death is waiting around the corner? How can you live like that?" He shrugged. "Well, not really. But living on the road with Oyaji proved kinda... hazardous, especially with his knack for stealin' and tickin' off the people we came across. But don't worry, after awhile it just becomes instinct. It doesn't work all the time, but enough that you survive. How do ya think I avoided all those times I was ambushed by Ryoga and Mousse?" She decided to changing the subject. "So, what's on the schedule for today?" He handed her some of the fish that was cooking and they ate. "We need to get your speed up more. All your strength is nothing if you can't land a single punch." "But I hit you several times yesterday," she retorted. He shook his head. "I wasn't moving at full speed. I wanted you to land some attacks. You're a force to be reckoned with once you use that Tiger's Wrath trick, but you have to learn to fight without it. You can't rely on it, since there will be times when you need to save your ki for later." "So more jumping around and chasing you, huh?" Akane sighed. She glanced at the weights still strapped to her arms. After yesterday, they almost felt like they were a part of her. Almost. "Yeah, but there's something I want you to work on first." They finished breakfast and Ranma led her to a tree. He carved a small square on it with a knife, then stepped back. "Okay, we're gonna work on your punches," he stated. "I want you to start punching inside that square as fast as you can. Don't worry about power, since I know you can destroy this tree. " She stepped up. "Okay, go for it." She lanced out with her fists, trying to put as much speed into her actions as she could. At first, she was putting small impact points in the trunk and Ranma had to remind her to lighten up the power. Soon, she was barely touching the trunk before withdrawing her hand and lancing it foreward again. "That's better," he said. "Keep it up. I'm going to leave you alone for awhile so I can work on some stuff I've been meaning to do. Don't stop or slow down until I come back!" Kasumi was humming to herself as she walked back to the dojo from the supermarket. She smiled and greeted each person she came across and they happily returned the favor. After all, everybody liked Kasumi and Kasumi liked everybody. She glanced up at the clear blue sky. "It's going to be a wonderful day," she said to herself. "I should be able to get some laundry done, and then maybe go on a walk with Tofu." She giggled lightly. Tofu was always so funny and made her laugh. Lately, he'd been a bit more serious, but that was okay. She turned a corner and the Tendo estate came into view. Yes, it was going to be a wonderful day. If Kasumi detected the two people tailing her, she gave no sign. They were under orders not to attack, but to find the target and they believed they could do that by following this person. Sure enough, she led them straight to the dojo. They leapt to the top of a nearby building to talk. "This is the place?" asked the first one. "Yep, I'm sure of it." replied the second one. "The Tendo Dojo." "So this is where the target lives..." said #1. "Can we attempt an extract?" #2 shook her head. "No, too many people and we were warned the target was very dangerous and armed with our techniques. Our mission is a simple find and report." #1 shrugged. "Well, we found the dwelling, but I don't see anyone matching the description inside. I suggest we go report and then stake the place out." #2 agreed and the two women leapt away. Out of a nearby shadow another figure, an old man, appeared. He stroked his white goatee thoughtfully as he watched the fleeing forms of the two women. He frowned. He cocked his head. The old sensei left to find his two students. "Brother dear?" Kodachi croaked. "Yes my sister, I am here," Tatewaki moved to her side as she lay in a mental hospital bed. Her injuries had been treated and Kuno thought it best for her to be committed until she returned to a sane mind. "I feel bad, Tatchi," she said in a weak voice. "I think I did some bad things, but I don't know what." She grasped her head. "No! Why do I have to listen to you! Shut up!... No, you only bring me pain!" Tatewaki grabbed his sister's hand. As near as he could figure, Galfgar must have left some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion in her head that acted as another voice, one that was once again trying to take over. "Fight it, Dachi! You are stronger than this!" She screamed out in pain and Kuno stood back as the doctors stepped forward and administered a seditive. She soon stopped thrashing and crying, settling into a deep sleep. As the doctors left, Kuno sighed. This was not going to be easy. Nabiki sat back and stretched, hoping the mess before her would clear away as easily as the crinks in her back. Oddly, they hadn't by the time she took another look at them. Sitting on her desk were various ledgers and financial information, and on her computer was even more data. All of it was Kuno family investment reports, and most of it stank. If she was right, there were untold number of people embezzling money from the companies the Kuno family owned. That, and some of their business practices were decidely immoral. If she wanted to clean up this wide spread corruption, she had her work cut out for her. Her line of thought was broken, however, by a tapping on her window. She opened it and in popped a duck. A duck with glasses. Nabiki blinked. "Mousse?" The duck quacked and nodded. He also pulled out a robe and a kettle of hot water from his wings. Nabiki blinked again. After splashing himself with hot water and donning his robe, Mousse grabbed Nabiki by the shoulders. "Tendo Akane! I've come to speak to you on a very important matter!" Nabiki reached up and pulled his glasses down. "Tendo Nabiki? Sorry." "Nevermind. Now what's this important matter that concerns my little sis?" He thought for a minute. "I need to warn Ranma and Akane. They're lives are in danger!" The middle Tendo's eyes narrowed. "From what?" Mousse looked down. "Amazons." Nabiki thought on this for a second, while Mousse looked up again. "Please, at least let's assemble your family. I do have some more information to relate and it will be easier if I can do it all at once." Nabiki nodded and the two headed downstairs. Onna-Ranma was working through a complex kata she had devised. The movements were horribly complicated and combined moves from a dozen different styles. She had strung them all together in a unique way that promised great things if she could get it right. She she jumped, punched, and kicked through the motions, a faint blue aura began to build around her, though she didn't notice since she was too busy concentrating. She neared the end of the sequence and brought her hands together. "Moko," she said silently. She jumped and flipped in mid-air. "Takabisha," she intoned a little louder as she came down. Touching down, she finished it. "Perfect!" The ki ball in her hands suddenly grew in size and engulfed her. For a second, her nerves were on fire as her confidence began to wane. Then she recovered and held onto the fact she had worked through the kata to perfection. The fire she felt dimmed to a mere tingle as the high-powered blue ki energies swirled around her. She felt her control slipping and felt she needed to let go, else she would be consumed. She concentrated on her target, and thrust out her cupped hands. A brilliant beam of blue energy burst from the shield and plowed into the large rock formation. The shield quickly drained, and of her target, it was no more. "Yatta!" she leaped into the air. She didn't want to tell Akane, but the shear amount of energies they were generating together during the battle with Galfgar nearly killed them both. Ranma foolishly thought she could handle the extra energy, but it nearly proved her undoing. Only by focusing it around them, was she able to contain it. If it hadn't been for the confidence her friends showed in her, and Akane's love for her, they might've died. But now, now she had duplicated the move without Akane. It wasn't nearly as powerful, but she didn't have Akane's ki to draw on. Now she needed to perfect it; she could only hold the intial shield stage for no more than 10 seconds before she had to release the pent-up energy. She took a breath, closed her eyes, and began the kata again, though she didn't get the chance to finish. "AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!" Her eyes snapped open. That was Akane's voice! Ranma leapt into action, heading to where she left the girl practicing on the tree. As she came into view, her heart moved into her throat. Akane was laying on her side, away from him. She wasn't moving and blood covered her arm. Ranma dropped to the ground from the tree branch and ran to her, but froze midway. A large tiger was standing a few feet away, growling. She felt the fear began to rise. Despite all their Nekoken training, Ranma still held a fear of cats. Although if they were calm and non threatening, she could deal with one in a room. A huge tiger she still had problems with, but if she didn't do anything, Akane was as good as dead. Her cat persona began to claw it's way out of her mind, trying to take control and protect her from the menacing cat. She could almost smell the fish sausages, and her body began to tingle with the memory of many cats, biting and clawing at her flesh. Through shear strength of will, Ranma fought it down. If she went cat now, she wouldn't be able to treat Akane later. She had to do something. Her fists came up and she gulped, taking a single step forward. Then another. And another. The tiger continued to watch this intruder nearing it's meal. Sensing it was coming too close, it growled again, and leapt to the attack. Ranma dropped to the ground and rolled as she felt a claw swipe her back. It wasn't a deep cut, but it hurt nonetheless. The cat lunged again and onna-Ranma twirled out of the way. Her cat persona was screaming to be let out now. She almost let it, her fear was preventing her from forming any effective attack plans. Another lunge and swipe, and yet another near-miss. And then Ranma discovered something. Her body was starting to react like a cat, but she was still concious. The cat persona in her mind may still be contained, but her body was beginning to react. She didn't have full command of the Nekoken, but there was one thing she could try, and it just might ease the burden of the bestial force in her mind. Slowly, she let a trickle of the Neko persona loose. Not all of it, just a bit, and it was enough. With the next lunge, Ranma leapt to the attack instead of dodging. The tiger's claws met onna-Ranma's invisible ki-claws. The tiger growled and Ranma hissed. She repeated that word in her mind over and over, and fought back. With a twist of her wrists, she sheared the claws off the big cat with her own and sent it tumbling backward. The tiger limped to it's feet and tried to decide whether to risk another attack. The pain in it's paws convinced it otherwise and it took off into the forest. Ranma collapsed to her knees, shaking greatly, as the cat persona in her mind retreated. She had done it! She had taken control, although she felt extremely exhausted from all the energy she used to both control her mind and go through the motions of attack and defense, not to mention the stress. Then she remembered Akane and crawled over to her. Trembling badly from the hyper dose of adrenaline still shooting through her veins, she rolled her iinazuke to her back and check the arm. Apparently the weights took the brunt of the attack and her arm was just scratched. Ranma thought worridly. She brushed her hand through the unconcious girl's hair, and felt a bump. "A-Akane?" Ranma whispered. "Come on Akane, wake up!" She stirred. "Ran-ma?" "I'm here." She jerked awake. "Kami! The tiger!" "It's gone." Ranma began to feel dizzy and weak, the exhausting experience catching up to her as the adrenaline faded. "Sorry, you'll have treat us both..." Ranma collapsed. "Ranma!" Akane exclaimed. She sat up and then noticed the blood, as well as the glistening sheen of sweat covering the redhead. After checking the smaller girl over, Akane relaxed some, realizing that she was going to be okay. "I guess I better get to the stream and wash us both off." Ranma awoke with the sensation of very cold water running down her back. She involuntary winced and hissed. She then noted she was on her side and topless. "Sorry about that, but I need to clean your wound," Akane said from behind her. Ranma winced again as Akane dabbed at the wound with a towel. "Careful, tomboy!" "Ranma?" Akane asked. "Yeah?" "Thank you." Ranma blinked. "Oh, it was nothing." "Baka! You faced down a tiger for me. I don't know how you did it." Ranma groaned as her fiancee finished dressing the wound with some bandages. "Neither do I." Ranma replaced her shirt and they walked back to the campsite together. Both still somewhat weak, and each partially supporting the other. Ranma called a halt to the day's training so Akane could recover. Well, so she could recover too, but she didn't admit it. After lunch (and a quick hot water change), he snuck away from the campsite and wandered to the top of a nearby cliff to think. He never really realized how powerfully the Nekoken had affected him until now. Before, the change had always been quick, and he held no memory of it afterwards. But even now, he could practically feel that other personality within him, and the memory of it clawing at his conscious mind lingered still. He felt very much like a ticking time bomb, and for once, he was very much in fear for what it what mean for Akane. His iinzuke, meanwhile, had gone to find Ranma after cleaning up the few dishes from dinner. She was worried about this latest challenge would affect him. He might put on a macho front, but she knew he could actually be quite fragile inside. Just because he didn't express complex emotion, didn't mean he didn't have them. After several minutes of searching, she finally managed to find him perched on top of the rocky precipice. "Ranma?" she asked, unsure whether he wanted her to join him. "Ya know, I think I almost understand," he said slowly. "What's that?" "The Nekoken," he replied. "It's more than a fear-based reaction." Akane walked over and sat down beside him. "I've never told anyone this before, but, everytime my fear reaches a certain level and if a cat is present, a presence in my mind takes over. Usually, my mind is happy to let it take over." "So why was this time different? You must've been terrified of the tiger, but you drove it off." Ranma was silent for a minute, but when he spoke next, it was very quiet. "Because of you. You were in danger." Akane wrapped her arm around him, trying to comfort him as Ranma continued. "I knew that if I went Nekoken, I might not be able to help you if you were seriously hurt. The part of me that wants to protect you fought with the cat personality." Akane looked up to see a tear run down his face, teller her how deeply this was affecting him. "I-It nearly won, Akane. I could feel it clawing and hissing and screaming and..." Ranma dropped his head as the tears flew freerer and his voice began to break. "Oh kami, Akane, I nearly lost it. I was so scared. I was so damn scared..." Akane squeezed him tighter and laid her head on his shoulder. "Shhh. It's okay. You beat it and saved me." He fought back his tears. "No, it's not alright! I may have this time, but what about next time? Just easing my fear to cats isn't enough. It'll always be with me and sooner or later I'll get scared enough of something and I'll lose control to it." Akane furrowed her brow in thought. "You almost make it sound like a living, seperate entity." Ranma thought for a moment. "Tha-that's what it feels like. That's exactly what it feels like." "Then maybe you should try to communicate with it," she said simply. "How?" "I don't know. You'll figure out a way." She leand up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "You always do." "Man, I'm so messed up." He looked down at Akane's concerned gaze. "How can you stand to be with me?" She smiled. "Because I do. I need you and you, Saotome Ranma, need me!" He finally, and hesitantly, wrapped his own arm around her, returning the hug at least. "I used to think I didn't need anybody, that I could get by on my own." He kissed the top of her head. "Now, I don't know what I'd do without you. I love you so damn much." She looked up at him and smiled that smile that drove him nuts. "I love you, too."