Liquid Fighter Gold!

Part 1

Yet again, Here's Ranma!

++++++++++++

The open expanse of the ring stood before Ranko as she eyed her
opponent carefully; Her body had grown over the past few years, she
now had the look of a girl in her mid-teens, a poor testament too her
skills.

The other fighter looked weary and beaten on, his energy bar
showed more than half gone, with a nervous looking and heavily
sweating trainer seated in the corner as he tried his hardest to
concentrate.

Her opponent was a muscular fighter-class unit, dressed in a white
dogi with long brown hair that cascaded around his face. He smirked
with an almost disgusting looking grin and charged forward reaching
for her.

With a carefully calculated speed she rushed forward slamming her
fist into his gut causing a massive loss of energy on the unit's
energy bar. He bent forward in reaction to the blow and returned her
strike with a spin kick aimed at her forehead. She ducked easily and
reversed the move sending her own leg immediately following his own;
she connected with his forehead sending him down on the mat. Within
seconds the man vanished in a ripple of space and appeared behind the
squatty looking bald man in the opposite corner.

Ranma jumped about excitedly as he celebrated her victory in the
corner. To those watching it seemed as if he were merely a spectator
at the sidelines. He had been energetic and had hardly sat still
throughout the entire five-minute match.

"And the winner, controlled by Ranma Saotome! Ranko!" cried the
announcer as he walked fearlessly into the center of the ring and
pushed a small button that seemed to zap her out of the ring and next
to Ranma.

A wave of cheers erupted through the crowd as they went wild in
the stands.

"Did you see that Pop?" Next to the boy a large panda sipped at
its drink lazily as it watched, it looked completely ridiculous as it
sat there wearing a gold ring on it's claw with a small expensive
looking watch on it's arm. The animal showed its teeth in an attempt
to smile and nodded at its son lazily, with several gold teeth
sparkling in its grin. It flapped an arm lazily moving the expensive
looking Kimono around slightly.

Ranma pat the girl on her back cheerfully. "That was great! We're
in the tournament for sure this year!"

He was sixteen years old now and had grown quite handsomely. His
hair was tied in a loose ponytail behind his back and he had a strange
confident gleam to his eyes.

"Yeah! Just you wait!" replied the girl with a confident look that
matched the boy's almost exactly.

"Say old man, what are we doing now?" She turned to look at the
panda expectantly.

It pulled a sign out from behind it and gave another attempted
grin. "We've got a meeting son."

"You handle it pop, I don't need to be there. I was gonna go spar
with Ranko some, I don't get much exercise at these things," replied
the boy as he turned away. He looked around as the crowd settled in
for the main event fight.

It felt good to be back in Japan again, despite everything that
had happened to him in China he still felt good being on his native
soil. He rarely stayed in the arena to watch the matches after his
own. Glancing up as the professional fighters entered the ring he
smiled, the units in the ring now would completely destroy Ranko as
she was now with a single blow. Still determination burned in his
eyes.

"Someday, that'll be us up there Ran-chan."

"You bet!" replied the girl flexing her arm. The younger Saotome
was hit in the back of his head by a sign.

"You have to be there this time dolt!" The boy looked at his
father and blinked,

"What are you talkin about pop? You always handle this stuff, why
do I need to go?"

"It's not that kind of meeting!" said the panda's sign.

"What kind of meeting is it?" asked Ranko in confusion.

Genma simply stared at them for a moment. "You have to be there,"
said the sign he put up after trying his best to come up with another
response.

"So when do we go?" asked the girl with a deadpan look in her
eyes. Ranma could tell that he was up to something, consequently, she
was suspicious as well.

"Right after we get paid of course!" replied the animal.

"I don't like this," snorted Ranma with a skeptical look appearing
in his face for a moment.
"You don't have to like it you just have to come!" retorted the
panda with yet another sign as it smacked the boy over his head with
it. It stuffed a fat looking wallet into its kimono and shoved the boy
forward as they stepped out of the small auditorium.
"Ow! Okay, okay! Jeez!" replied the boy as he allowed himself to
be pushed out into the rain. Ranma turned towards her father and
frowned. "Good thinking genius!"

"We'll take a cab!" replied the panda.

"Who's gonna stop for a panda idiot!" retorted Ranma angrily as
her father stood by the side of the road waving his arm in the air.

A cab pulled up next to him and the animal opened the door while
looking at his son. "See?"

Ranko seemed to ripple for a moment as she vanished from Ranma's
side into thin air. "You stop for pandas?" asked Ranma after tapping
the man on the shoulder.

"Hey babe, I stop for anyone wearin a Rolex," he stepped on the
gas and Ranma merely slumped down in her seat.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" asked Ranma
impatiently.

Genma gave his best panda smile again and held up another sign.
"Well you see, I made this promise..."

In the center of the street several motorist and pedestrians
stopped and stared as a scream erupted from the cab. "WHAT!?"

The vehicle started to shake violently back and forth suddenly.
The cabby inside merely looked back lazily and turned up the already
obnoxiously loud stereo to drown out the cries of pain. "It's almost
like having hydraulics," he snorted lazily to himself.

+++++++++++++

Akane Tendo jogged towards her home dressed in shorts and a tank
top shirt. She had a pleased looking smile on her face as she
approached the gates to the grounds. She gave a heavy sigh as she
rushed into the home ignoring her family in favor of the changing
room. Quickly dressing in her dogi she rushed out into the back yard
to get in some power training. After a moment of setup she punched
down sharply shattering the cinder block she had raised into dust. She
gave a satisfied sigh as she looked at its remains and placed another
one for demolition in its place.

"Ah, that was nice."

++++++++++++

Meanwhile...

Ranma dove from the window of the taxi rolling across the wet
pavement and finally pushing herself up into a defensive stance. She
saw her father emerging from the car while handing a small wad of cash
to the driver.

In his paw was a sign that said "This will be fine."

"No way am I gonna let you do this to me!" snapped Ranma and Ranko
in unison as she appeared beside her master.

Genma stepped back and growled getting into his own stance. The
pair charged each other slamming into each other's bodies' in a flurry
of punches and kicks.

Ranma was outclassed and skittered to a stop on her feet after
being thrown back several feet. He growled and turned away dashing
into the crowd in hopes of a better battleground.

Genma followed easily keeping up with the boy while Ranko lazily
followed a few feet behind him.

They stopped in a deserted looking street corner and faced off
again, this time Ranma had the clear advantage as she rushed her
father.

Genma was clearly more powerful, but Ranma dodged and weaved
between his blows, the girl jumped back after no opening presented
itself. Genma took the initiative and rushed forward with a punch
combination.

"Where do you get off old man?" snapped his son angrily as she
caught the arm and used the momentum to throw the large animal over
her shoulder. "Picking my fiancee for me, without even asking!"

Genma watched her sail over his head and retrieve her bag as he
lay there and snickered to himself.

"I'm going back to China! Suck on that old man!" snapped the girl
angrily. Genma sat up and pulled a street sign from the side of the
road and promptly swung it at his son. The animal froze when the pole
swung right through the girl's pack and into her head. She turned and
smirked at him as the real Ranma slammed into his head from behind
with an angry scream sending the animal to the pavement. "I'm gonna
find a cure for this stupid curse and then win the Liquid Gold
competition, I don't have time for girls!" she snapped as she turned
away.

Genma was not quite out yet though and quickly returned the strike
with his sign, this time striking the correct target.

Ranma was knocked out cold and Ranko seemed to freeze suddenly
before flashing out of existence. Genma snorted and lifted up the two
bags before continuing on with his son over his shoulder. "The boy is
getting smarter, that was unexpected," thought the animal angrily as
it chided itself for being so easily fooled.

Ranko did not look like Ranma did initially, there was a slight
resemblance before; but nothing like after Jusenkyo. Ever since the
boy climbed out of the pool she had looked exactly like him when he
was cursed. He wasn't sure if it was an effect of the pool either
since she didn't look like her old self when he was male.

A few moments later Ranma woke up and started to struggle, Ranko
appeared again next to her and simply walked silently for a ways
watching the scene quietly.

After a short time they walked up to a house with a large wooden
gate in front of it. Genma walked through the structure and headed
towards the house. He stopped outside of the home and put Ranma on her
feet before dropping his traveling bag on the ground. The boy stood
silently glaring at the front door of the home angrily while the panda
went through his belongings.

After a moment of rummaging around in his things, Genma came up
with a small thermos and chuckled to himself. There was a small green
light on the side of it and Genma poured some of the contents on his
son returning him to his male form.

"Ow! Idiot! That's for making hot tea remember?"

Genma was staring at his son with a look of pain on his face as he
danced around in an attempt to cool off his arms and head. "Why didn't
you say so sooner boy?" snapped the man angrily.

"Where the hell are we?" snorted Ranma angrily as Ranko walked up
next to him keeping quiet about the whole affair.

"Put her away boy! We're going to see an old friend of mine and
you're going to marry his daughter and like it!" snapped the man.

"I don't got no time for no stupid girls!" snapped Ranma in retort
as Ranko vanished again.

Genma opened the door and something creaked over their heads, both
men looked up as a leak formed on the porch just over their heads
spraying the both of them with a small trickle of water. It wasn't
much, but it was just enough. "Growf," cursed Genma angrily as a young
girl looked at them expectantly.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked in a sweet voice.

"Is this the Tendo residence?" said the panda with a sign.

"Oh my," replied Kasumi as her sister and her father rushed up
behind her with expectant looks on their faces.

++++++++++++

Ranma looked down at the man resting across the floor and sighed
heavily.

"This is all your fault daddy!" snapped the middle daughter
angrily.

"Well I assumed my friend Genma's son was a boy!" retorted the man
from his place on the floor.

"Does this look like a boy to you?" cried the girl as she grabbed
Ranma's chest.

Ranma was about to stand up and walk out of the home, she had been
fondled and accosted one to many times by this family and she was
getting tired of it fast. "Stupid old man, they must be some kind of
perverts or somethin; that must be why the old fart like them so
much."

"Nabiki! He...she is a guest!" snapped the youngest girl angrily.
She turned towards Ranma and smiled, "My name is Akane, you want to be
friends?"

Ranma found herself nodding and decided that it might not be such
a bad idea to stick around after all.

++++++++++

"This is the dojo," said Akane as they entered the training hall.
"So you study kenpo?"
Ranma stopped looking around and nodded sheepishly. "A little."

"So let's have a little match then!" cried Akane excitedly. Ranma
could see she was pleased by this revelation. "Don't worry I won't
hurt you."

"O...ok," replied the girl shyly. She still was unsure about her
situation.

What followed was easily a joke on Ranma's part. Akane started her
attack expecting someone who was good, but still below her own level.
Ranma smiled inwardly as she realized this and dodged with a little
more flash and seeming effortlessness each time she punched.

Finally Akane reached the end of her frustrations and charged
forward angrily. "This time for real!" she slammed her fist into the
wall creating a hole there easily.

Ranma landed behind her and touched the base of her neck lightly
signaling that she had won the match. The girl was foolish, finesse
always beat out brute strength, but she still seemed nice enough so
far.

"Wow, you're pretty good!" exclaimed Akane as she smiled with a
hint of embarrassment in her face.

"Yeah," replied the redhead shyly.

"I'm just glad you're not a boy," said the Akane as she turned
away.

Ranma sucked in a quick breath and stared at her in shock. "Huh?"

"It's just that, I'd really hate to lose to a boy."

Ranma clenched her jaw slightly as a sudden fear took hold of her.
"What the heck did she mean by that?"

Kasumi entered the room and stopped the conversation abruptly, as
she showed Ranma to the room she'd be staying in.

The pigtailed girl placed her bag on the ground and looked at the
barren room silently.
"Would you like to take a bath now Ranma?" asked the girl sweetly.


"Um, no thanks," she said quickly.

"You've been exercising haven't you?" chided the girl calmly.

"Uhh, yea," replied Ranma as she realized she was trapped.

++++++++++++

Once inside the furo Ranma dumped water over her head to rinse
away the soap while Ranko finished scrubbing her back lazily.

"Thanks."

"No problem," replied the girl as she stood up and lowered herself
into the hot water with her.

Ranma looked at her and sighed. "What am I gonna do now?" he sat
back against the tiles and stared at the ceiling.

"You're asking me? You're the one in charge remember?" he frowned
slightly at her comment and looked at her.

"Come on at least try," he said impatiently.

"Ranma, you can't ask me what I think; mostly because you already
know what I think remember?" the girl winked at him and looked down
into the water. "Hey, I can take care of that if you want...it's in my
programming you know," she said calmly.

"No! How many times to I have to tell you I don't need your help
with that?!" snapped the boy in embarrassment.

"I'm also programmed to offer if it happens while we are alone,"
replied the girl with a shrug. "Thinking about that girl out there?"

"You shut up! What kind of pervert programmed you?" snapped the
boy bitterly.

"It's standard on all female models, especially the more expensive
ones like a fighter-unit," she turned away and looked at the doorway
for a moment. "I was designed to cater to rich males, like you've
become by the way."

"Thanks to you, I miss not having money sometimes," replied Ranma
wistfully. He put his head further into the water and moved around a
bit. "What to do though? Should I go out like I am?"

"Don't ask me," replied Ranko lazily.

"I might as well go out like I am," said Ranma as he stood up.

Suddenly, the door opened and there she was standing there staring
at him. He froze in shock and stared at her for a moment with Ranko
getting the exact same expression on her face.
"Sorry to intrude," gasped Akane with a deep blush appearing on
her face. She stepped back out of the room and put on her dogi. "Who
was that?" her mind screamed. She thought back and noticed Ranma was
in there with him, "It's none of my business, but honestly in someone
else's house no less!" the blush returned a new and Nabiki looked up
in surprise.

"I thought you where going to take a bath," asked the older girl
as she noticed the blush on her sister's face.

"Ranma's in there with some guy," replied the girl simply without
stopping as she walked to the other side of the table and poured
herself a cup of tea.

"What does that matter you're both gir...what?" Nabiki realized
exactly what her sister had said and froze.

Kasumi blushed and put her hand up to her face and blushed deeply.
"Oh, my." They all turned to see a boy dressed in Chinese clothes
looking at the floor in embarrassment as he walked into the room.

"Uhh," Akane quickly turned away trying desperately to remove the
mental image from her mind.

"Who are you?" asked Nabiki.

"I'm Ranma Saotome...sorry about this."

Liquid Unit Profile: Construction Unit Omnicom Designation:
Un15377 Class: C-2 general use model, variant 27 Description and
General info: Used in the construction industry these units are used
by foremen and workers to perform light menial tasks. While large and
slow they are usually used to operate machinery, perform light tasks,
and mix/heat construction materials for use by the human workers.

As with all Units their semi solid form prevents them from doing
any heavy lifting. They can however use hand tools and go places a
normal human being cannot. One unique ability that the worker-class
Units have is the ability to change their relative size to suit the
situation. A six-foot tall worker can easily become a four-foot tall
worker to more easily move in a cramped environment. Because of the
expense of the Unit most workers who wear them are foremen or
extremely trusted employees.

This has caused numerous problems for some companies in the past,
as on occasion the employee would quit soon after the unit was
implanted. This problem was solved when Construction companies started
using long-term contracts with all employees using the Liquid units.

++++++++++++++