Think it's getting good? I do. I just love big battles with multiple
heros fighting a powerful evil. I really do.

If you want to fight me, let me know:  oddball22@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: I'll take "DISCLAIMER" for 200, Alex. And the answer is: A
statement designed to address the issues of copyrighted material while
avoiding potential lawsuits. *BBRRIINNGG!!* Who is... I mean.. What is
.. hmmm.... I know this! It's... It's... What is a Dis- *BUZZ!* Dang!

Ahem. Onward...


Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Winds Calling

Chapter 10




        <That baka! Baka, baka, baka, baka, BAKA!> Akane ran into the
forest and crouched behind a tree, crying silently to herself. <Just
when I thought he cared! Why!? Why does he have to be such a macho jerk?
Why won't he let me help?>

         As soon as she thought the question, she knew the answer, even
though she didn't want to accept it. <Because I'm only a good martial
artist. All I do is jog almost every morning, do a few katas, and break
a few blocks. Occasionally I spar with Ranma, but he won't take me
seriously! How am I supposed to get better if he won't? I used to spar
with daddy, but ever since mother died, he's shown no interest in
teaching anymore.>

         Akane wiped her tears on her sleeve and sniffled. <Still, if I
had thrown as much energy into it as Ranma does, I probably could have
improved a whole lot more than I have.> Akane's tears slowly dried up.
<Okay, so what does he have that I don't?> The answer came to her almost
immediately. <Control.>

         She remembered a time when she was sparring with Ranma and was
getting angry that he wouldn't fight back. She went through a complex
series of moves and Ranma dodged them all without moving his feet. In
anger, she tried a jumping spin kick that also missed, but misjudged her
landing and twisted her ankle upon landing. After seeing that she was
okay, Ranma had told her that until she could learn to control her
anger, she would always be her own greatest enemy. Of course, this made
her even angrier and she malleted him, completely missing the lesson.

        <So, he was trying to help me and I hit him for it.> She sighed.
<And he takes his martial arts seriously, while I do it to keep in shape
and beat off Kuno and the boys. But ever since our engagement became
public knowledge, I haven't had to fight the boys and Ranma's handled
Kuno. I haven't had any serious fights since, and that's caused my
skills to wane. Because of that, Ranma has had to come to my rescue time
and again.>

         She thought back to the latest incident where she was kidnapped
and taken to Phoenix Mountain. Ranma had fought Saffron and killed him,
just to save her; yet she had nearly died. <If I had been stronger, then
maybe the whole mess could've been avoided.>

         Akane began absently drawing in the dirt with her finger.
<Ranma is one of the strongest people I know and he's full of honor. As
such, if I do get married to him, he'll be going off all over the place
to help people, leaving me at home. But what if he needs my help? What
if he gets kidnapped? I'm a Tendo of the Musabetsu Kakuto Tendo-ryu.>
That sounded good to her, so she decided to say it out loud.

        "I'm Tendo Akane of the Musabetsu Kakuto Tendo-ryu!" she said
with only a slight hint of indecision. "As such, it's my duty to my dojo
and to my family to defend our honor and our lives."

         <I haven't been totally ineffective,> she realized. <I've
fought with Ranma, LinLin and RanRan, Shampoo, Taro, Pink and Link,
Natsume and Kurumi, and Kiima. I remember what happened from each
confrontation and I learned from it! I also remember how I fought with
Do-chan. I can fight! I won't give up!>

         And that's when she found it: Her center, the calm at the
center of her being. She changed, the anger seeping away to replaced by
a renewed sense of purpose. All the lessons and skills she learned over
the years became fresh in her mind. <I can do this! I am a martial
artist and I know what that means: to defend myself and those I care
about.>

         She leapt to her feet, then remembered the cumbersome cloak she
was wearing, and how it would inhibit her movements. She ripped off the
sleeves and the hood, then tore off the bottom leaving the bottom
hanging about mid-thigh.

         Tightening the belt, she started towards the compound, her
thoughts and feelings strangely calm in the face of the impending
conflict.When she emerged from the treeline, she stopped and took in the
battle. To her eyes, it did not appear to be going well.

         Ranma, Ukyo, Hikaru, Ariko, and another girl she didn't
recognize were fighting it out with the powerful mage. Mousse, Kenji,
and Ryoga were down and not moving. <Wait a minute, Hikaru? What can he
do?>

         Ukyo, Hikaru, Ariko, and that other girl moved off to one side,
watching as Ranma went one-on-one with Krynn. Then she realized what he
was doing and watched in horror as it went terribly wrong.

         She renewed her determination and quickly rushed in to join the
battle.






         Farther up the hill, Tofu's group had stopped to rest and
observe the battle. Soun immediately panicked when he realized one of
his daughters was missing.

        "There she is daddy," Nabiki said, pointing. The group looked to
see her marching into battle.

         Soun, predictably, cried. "Waaaaaaah! My little baby's going to
get herself killed!"

         Kasumi shook him, which surprised everybody present. "Stop that
father! I've had just about enough of your whining. You're a martial
artist and the head of this family, it's time you started acting like
it." Soun promptly stopped crying.

         Nabiki looked the least shocked, but it took a lot to get to
her. "Wow, oneechan, I'm impressed. I never knew you had it in you."

         The group watched her as she rose and walked over to the
doctor, taking a seat on the log beside him. She intertwined his hand
with hers and smiled tenderly at him.

        "Ka-Ka-Kasmui, I-I..." Tofu stammered.

         She put her finger over his lips. "That's enough of that, my
dear doctor. It's worked well enough until now, but there is no need for
it anymore."

        "Kasumi!" Soun exclaimed while Nabiki cheered.

        "It may not be proper for a lady to act this way," Kasumi
replied. "But from watching Ranma and Akane's relationship, I decided it
was time." She glanced over at Tofu who slowly smiled back at her,
glasses clear.

         Tofu nodded. "Kasmui-chan?"

        "Yes?"

        "Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?"

         Kasumi smiled. "Why I'd love to, Tofu-chan! Next Wednesday
would be perfect!"

         Soun sat down and blubbered silently to himself.

         Miyo smiled, while Toshi looked disinterested.

         Genma looked back and forth between the couple, dumbfounded.

         And Nabiki... Well, Nabiki silently calculated the money she
would pull in from the betting pool that put odds on how long it would
take Kasumi and the doc to get together. As well as where, and under
what conditions.

         Yes, she was gonna make a bundle on this one.






        "Mousse, DUCK!" Ranma yelled, ignoring the pun. Still, it was
too late. The
Amazon took a flight of fireballs in the chest and flew backwards to
land several yards
away. He didn't get up.

        "This isn't working!" Ryoga yelled, blocking another fireball
with his umbrella.

         Another flight of shuriken launched from the Soyokaze siblings
flew through the air, but failed to breach the shield. It was followed a
second later by several green glowing spatula's. When they impacted,
they cut into the translucent blue shield and exploded.

        "Where'd you learn to do that!?" Ranma asked her, coming down
from a jump to land beside the chef.

         A strange twinkle appeared in her eye. "Ask me later." Her
attention turned back to the battle and yelled,  "That shield has to
come down!"

        "You cannot defeat me!" Krynn bellowed, while moving around and
launching fireballs, rock spikes, hydro blasts and wind blasts left and
right.

        "Oh yeah?" Ranma sneered. "You can't defeat us either!" It was
kinda true. Krynn was extremely powerful, but Ranma's group had numbers
and forced him to split his attacks. "Ryoga, Kenji, got enough ki to
join me?"

        "Anytime Ranma!" Ryoga answered.

         Kenji landed near Ranma after dodging a flight of spikes. "I
think I can manage another wind strike."

         Ranma nodded. "On 3! Everyone else, keep him off of us!"

         A lightning bolt flew out of Ranma's peripheral vision and
impacted the shield. The bolt dissipated, but the electricity traveled
around the shield, causing Krynn to wince in some discomfort.

        "1!"

          Ukyo worked her way behind their enemy and readied her battle
spat'. Concentrating, she felt her creative ki energies flow into the
weapon, as it took on a greenish glow. Rearing up, she brought it down
with all her strength. It cut through the shield and lightly scraped his
back. Krynn growled and sent her sprawling with just a wave.

        "2!"

         Hikaru thrust out his hand and hit Krynn with an invisible
telekinetic bolt,
staggering him and forcing him back.

        "3!"

         Three martial artists now stood several feet apart and facing
their foe, energies
gathered and ready. As soon as Ranma reached three, they released their
signature attacks.
Feelings of confidence, depression, and desire united their powers.

        "MOKO TAKABISHA!"

        "SHISHI HOUKODAN!"

        "KIJIN BOUHUUKEN!"

         Ranma fired off his ki blast in beam-form, engulfing the target
when combined with Ryoga's yellow one. Kenji's 200 mph winds slammed
into the floating madman. They poured the energy on, and for a moment,
it seemed to be working. The shield changed from bluish to red and began
to flicker as he was slowly forced back. Then the elemental master
screamed and retaliated.

         Afterwards, they wouldn't know how he did it, but he somehow
redirected the energies focused on him, back to their senders.

         Ryoga's Shishi Houkodan turned back on him and sent the lost
boy flying, his clothing shredded in various places. The wind blowing
from Kenji, reversed direction and impacted his body, picking him up and
slamming him into a wall. Yuri screamed and ran over to the fallen form
of her brother.

         Ranma was a bit faster. He realized what was going on and
managed a leaping roll to avoid the ki blast returning to him.

         He quickly regained his feet. <Damn! It didn't work and now
Ryoga and Kenji are out. How much can this guy take?> He leapt out of
the way of another attack. <Well, I've only got one more trick up my
sleeve. Hope this works.>

         He made his way over to Ukyo and let her know what he planned
to do. She nodded and ran over to Gos, Ariko, and Yuri to fill them in
on the plan while Ranma engaged Krynn at close range.

        "Hey Krynn!" Ranma yelled. "How about we finish this, just you
and me?"

         The wizard smiled. "Whatever you say, just keep them out of
it." He indicated the only other three people standing.

         Ranma nodded. "They won't do anything until one of us is
defeated."

        "Then let us begin!"

         The two adversaries charged each other began the deadly gambit
of punches, kicks, feints, dodges, and counterattacks. Ranma struck the
shield over and over again, but failed to bring it down. He couldn't
risk another chestnut fist, since he was already drained from before and
he needed all his ki if what he had planned was gonna work.

        "What's he doing?" Hikaru asked Ukyo, his new confidence fueling
him. "I know Saotome's good, but he can't penetrate the shield!"

         Ukyo shook her head. "He doesn't need to." She watched him as
they battle around the courtyard, moving around and around. In a circle.

         Or more appropiately, a spiral.

        <But it won't work if Krynn doesn't get angry enough!> Ukyo
realized.

         Ranma had to admit, Krynn was giving as good as he got. Maybe
even better since his shield prevented any of Ranma's blows from getting
through. Still, he noticed Krynn wince everytime Ranma struck. <I'm
doing something to him, so my attacks aren't that ineffective. Now to up
the ante!>

        "You know, for some sort of kami, you're pretty pathetic," he
said offhand. "I mean, here you are, claiming to be all powerful, and
you can't even beat a few kids..."

        "Shut up!" He snarled. "I'll kill you and rip your intestines
out."

         Ranma laughed. "I'd like to see you try it. So far, all I've
seen is some fireworks and pitiful boasting on your part."

        "I said, SHUT UP!" He practically screamed it. "You are nothing
before me! You are an insect!"

         Ranma grinned. The knife was in, and now to twist it. He
narrowed his eyes. "At least this insect doesn't hide behind a
shield..."

         Krynn snarled, screamed, yelled, and generally said a whole
long string of nasties that would make a sailor blush with shame.

         And then the shield flickered.

        <It worked! Now for the coup de grace.> He focused his cool
energies in opposition to Krynn's now hot and angry aura. <Now!>

        "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!"

         He punched upwards, missing Krynn. But of course, Ranma didn't
need to make actual physical contact for it to work. The hot and cold
air mingled and the dragon formed. The ensuing tornado began to suck the
wizard into itself, shattering the shield. At first he was resisting and
Ranma had to fight to keep his cool energy flowing. But eventually,
Krynn was drawn into the dragon's whirlwind, but not before grabbing
onto Ranma's outstretched arm and pulling him into it as well.

         Ranma grunted as the biting winds sucked his breath out even
while they pulled him to the top of the twister. Krynn hit the apex
first and began his rapid descent, Ranma  following a second later. <No
more energy, I can't get out of this!> he thought grimly. <My only hope
is that it stops this guy once and for all.>

         That hope died as he saw Krynn's body shield flicker into
existence a split second before the tornado slammed him into the ground.
Ranma's turn was next, and he braced himself.

         The last thing he remembered was striking the concrete and
blacking out.





        "RANMA!" Akane screamed as she joined Ukyo in running towards
the body.

         The twister dissipated once it disgorged it's victims, allowing
the two girls to get to Ranma unharmed. They knelt down beside him after
turning him onto his back. Akane raised her fiancee's head and held it
in her lap.

        "Ranma," she begged, tears staining her cheeks. "Please Ranma,
be okay."

         Ukyo felt his neck. "He's still got a pulse, but he's hurt
bad." She felt his chest next. "I'd guess fractured ribs, and maybe an
arm and a leg. These bruises and cuts are superficial. It's the internal
damage I'm worried about. Ranchan`s tough; any other person would have
been dead by now. He put up one hell of a fight."

         Akane could only nod silently while she stroked his hair and
his cheek. <Was this how he felt when he held me after the battle with
Saffron? Watching in vain as I died before his eyes? But I didn't die. I
thought I heard him say he loved me and that brought me back. Oh, Ranma,
you can't die! I need you! I lo.. lo> She shook her head.

        "I love you, Ranma," she said softly. "Please come back to me.
Don't leave me." She bent down and kissed his forehead.

         Ranma's body stirred. "Akan-ne?"

         Akane stared in shock, then smiled and hugged him fiercely.

         Ranma winced. "Ouch! Hey, tomboy, leggo!."

         Akane gasped and let go. "Gomen. But don't ever scare me like
that again!"

         He blinked his eyes open. "Did you... Did you mean that?"

         Akane remembered Kasumi's words, `Have you told him you love
him?' Tears still streaming down her face, she nodded. "Don't ever leave
me, please?"

        "I'm glad someone is enjoying this," the hated voice rang out.
"Because we seem to be running out of heroes."

         Ukyo rose and turned around, hoisting her battle spatula into a
ready position. Akane looked up in horror to see Krynn rising above the
ground once more, translucent blue barrier in place.

        "How!?" Ukyo asked. "You shouldn't be alive, it's not possible!"

         The wizard grinned. "Indeed, if I were a mere mortal, then I
would be in the same predicament as your Ranma there. Quite an
interesting boy, really. He had a lot of fight in him. Very strong for
one so young." He waved his hand. "But ultimately futile." Yuri, Hikaru,
and Ariko started to launch their attacks, but were struck by an
invisible force and sent rolling along the ground by a simple gesture
from Krynn. All three collapsed. "And now it's down to you two. Feel
like trying your luck?"

         Ukyo gritted her teeth, even as she swung her green glowing
battle spatula. Something exploded between the two and Ukyo was sent
flying to land a several yards behind Akane. The wizard grinned at her,
as if daring her to try something.

         Akane gently placed Ranma's head on the ground, then slowly
stood up.

        "That's the last time you hurt my friends," she said silently.
"Give up now."

         Krynn laughed. "Oh that's funny! I sense even less power in you
than in your boyfriend there. What makes you think you have a chance?"

        "He's not my boyfriend," she said. Ranma's eyes widened and his
head came up to stare at her. "He's my fiance." Ranma's head hit the
ground with a *thunk*. She assumed an attack posture.

         He shrugged. "Same difference. Well, if you're that insistent,
let's go."

         Akane went through all the attack and defense tactics in her
mind, rating them and putting them together to decide which way to
proceed. She felt her ki gathering, preparing to power the attacks that
would put this guy out for good. Her crimson battle aura flared into
existance.

         Without warning, images of her attack as a tiger flashed into
her mind, and somehow she knew what to do. She bent her knees and held
her hands in front of her like a boxer, except that her knuckles were
facing her and fingers were crooked. Words tumbled from her lips

         Krynn leaned foreword. "Hmmm? I didn't catch that. What did you
say?"

         Akane looked at him. "I said, Tora Dokiken!"

         Ranma blinked. <Wrathful Tiger Fist?>

         The wizard looked confused, until Akane's aura flashed gold.
Then, before he knew what had happened, she was on him. Her punches and
kicks exploded in a shower of sparks everytime they struck the shield.
Krynn couldn't counter, because Akane was moving fast, too fast.

         Ranma turned his head and stared in shock. Akane gold aura
intensified as layed into her opponent. She was moving as fast, if not
faster than Ranma himself. Sparks were flying everywhere as she battered
him around the area. The one or two strikes Krynn got in, were easily
knocked aside by the glowing girl. With a flash of insight, Ranma
suddenly realized what was happening.

         For the first time, she was focusing her ki, something she had
never consciously done before. He had seen Akane display an impressive
battle aura before, which was just generated ki flowing off a highly
charged body. It was mainly an unconscious effect, though he noticed she
had channeled her ki in rare instances before, like whenever she broke
her cement blocks, or was really worked up over something and got into a
fight.

         But now, she was channeling the full power of her ki into her
body, hyper-enhancing every aspect, from offensive power to speed to
defensive strength. The technique she was apparently using would have
one serious drawback though. If she didn't finish her opponent before
her ki ran out, she would be helpless. Ranma used ki to strengthen his
punches and kicks too, but nowhere near the degree she was doing now.

         Akane continued the furious assault until it happened. Her fist
found an opening in the shield and landed a body blow. Krynn doubled
over in pain by the sheer power of the impact.

         More shield strikes, then a head blow.

         A few more shield strikes and another body blow.

         Akane knew she was running out of power and had to end this
soon. Gathering all her strength into one last attack, Akane brought her
right fist foreword, aiming for the chest. It struck the shield, but
instead of glancing off in a shower of sparks, she kept up the pressure
and slowly began to work through the barrier.

         Krynn saw her fist, pulsing with golden ki energy, working
slowly through the barrier and moving toward him. However, he was hurt
pretty bad from the previous strikes and all his energy was being
drained to maintain the shield.

         He couldn't stop her.

         With a final push, Akane shattered the shield and landed the
hyper-punch. There was a flash of light, an explosion, then Krynn was
launched backward, impacting the building behind him. That only slowed
his movement slightly, and he ended up flying through several walls
before coming to a stop.

         The gold aura finally winked out and Akane, exhausted, dropped
to her knees. Ranma wanted to cheer. She had done it! She had done what
all of them combined couldn't do! <Well, we did wear him down enough for
Akane's new trick to work,> Ranma's ego popped in. <Aw, shut up> Ranma
countered.

        "Alright Akane!"

         Ranma turned to watch the people who had escaped earlier emerge
from the treeline and start walking toward them. That voice belonged to
Nabiki. She was just about to say something else, when she froze, the
group with her mirroring her frozen state.

         Ranma followed their line of sight to see what they were
staring at. <No way!> Krynn had emerged from the building. He was
breathing heavily and leaning on the wall. One eye was closed, all black
and puffy, thanks to the head blow Akane had worked in. His left hand
was clutching his stomach. He left the wall and started towards Akane
staggering a bit.

        "You little bitch," he spat. "You'll pay for that!"

        "Akane!" Ranma yelled. He tried to move or get up, but his body
refused to obey him.

        "We got it, boy!" Genma yelled.

        "I'm coming, too," Tofu added.

         The two started forward, but Krynn used a more powerful version
of Kenji's inherited wind blast technique on them. The strong gale
slammed into them and the people behind them. The group smashed together
and went tumbling into the trees. He then continued his advance on Akane
and Ranma watched in horror as he viciously backhanded her across the
face, sending her to the ground in pain. He then seized her throat and
began to squeeze.

        "AKANE!" Ranma screamed.

         It was Jusendo all over again. In his mind, he was on that
ledge, but this time she didn't wake up and he was holding her lifeless
form.<No! If I don't do something, she's dead! I can't lose her now! I
almost lost her once, I can't go through it again!> Gritting his teeth,
he pushed himself up. All of his nerves echoed the same burning
sensation to his brain, and his body protested his actions. But he was
focused only on one goal, the girl with the short, dark blue hair in
front of him.

        "Leave... her... alone!"

         Krynn smirked. "I see you think you've got some fight left. But
it won't be enough."

         Ranma continued to advance, ignoring the throbbing pain in his
body that threatened to black him out. "I said, Let Her Go!"

         The smirk changed to a frown and his grip loosened, allowing
Akane to breath. "Why? Why should I do that? What's so special about
this girl?"

         The pained martial artist stopped, and locked gazes with Akane.
<Why?> "Because she's my fiancee. And..." <Might as well go for broke.>
"I love her."

         Against the sounds of battle that were heard earlier, the sound
of silence that now permeated the battlefield was deafening.

         The self-proclaimed kami laughed once, not happily. "Love? What
is love? It's a crutch for the weak! Those of us who are strong have no
need for love!"

        "That's what I used to think," Ranma said quietly, his gaze
never leaving Akane's. "But I was wrong." He looked back up to Krynn.
"End this. There is no need for us to fight anymore. Please."

         For once, the black-robed wizard looked uncertain. His hands
came away from Akane's neck and he appeared to be fighting some sort of
internal battle. <What am I doing?> thought the black-robed wizard. <I
nearly became as power-mad and insane as Garon.>

         A nearby wall exploded, shattering the moment.

         The hole that remained in the nearby building disgorged two
figures after the smoke cleared. They were glowing a faint blue and
holding hands. Ranma's brain nagged him with a very strange sense that
said he knew who they were, but he couldn't place them.

         Both figures appeared to be in their late 20s. One was a young
woman about 5'6" in height with light blue hair that streched to her
waist. The other was a young man wth short black hair, and seemed
slightly shorter than 5'. Both appeared quite good looking, and somehow
seemed to belong together.

        "Don't worry m'boy, your old master wouldn't let anything happen
to the two heirs to the Musabetsu Kakuto-ryu," Happosai said.

        "Actually he's going to marry Shampoo, but that's not important
right now," Cologne added. "Let us handle him, Ranma. Or should I call
you son-in-law?"

         Ranma jaw dropped. "Happosai?... and Cologne!?"