Liquid Fighter Gold

Part 2

Ranma's secret.

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

The girls sat around at the table staring at the newcomer, Ranko
sat beside him looking just as embarrassed as he was.

Genma smiled as he realized everyone was present and started his
speech.

Nabiki was staring at the boy with the suspicion that she knew him
from somewhere and could not quite place her finger on it.

"I am Genma Saotome, and this is my son..." he stopped to allow
the boy to introduce himself.

"Ranma," finished the boy.

"If you're Ranma, then who is this girl?" said Nabiki as she
indicated the red head.
"Huh? Oh that's just Ranko," replied the boy.

"I could have sworn she called herself Ranma Saotome, what a
relief," said Soun with a laugh. "You never told me you had a daughter
Saotome."

"I don't," replied the man simply.

The Tendos looked at the pair in confusion, but remained silent.
Soun finally spoke up, "So tell me Saotome, have you been well?"

Genma looked at the man and laughed. "I'm fine Tendo, the girl is
Ranko, my son's liquid fighter unit."

A sudden understanding seemed to come over the girls as they
looked at the girl. Nabiki definitely had an interest in the pair now,
she could make a lot of money off of this if she played it right.

"I knew it, he's a pervert!" snorted Akane in disgust.

Ranma turned towards her with a look that told her he didn't quite
understand what she was talking about.

"Just what do you think you where doing in our bathroom with that
thing huh? I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that here!" snarled
the girl as she turned away from him.

"What the hell are you talkin..." the boy was cut off as Genma
smacked him on the back of the head.

"Watch your mouth boy! We're guests here!" chided the elder
Saotome.

"Ouch! You stupid old man! She was callin me a pervert for no good
reason!" screamed the boy in retort as he threw his father into the
air and smiled as he landed in the small Koi pond in the back yard.

"No good reason?!" snapped Akane angrily, she stopped cold when a
large panda emerged from the water and growled at the boy angrily.

Ranma charged forward, attacking the animal full force. "We have
to tell them boy!" said the animal with a large sign.

"They don't gotta know nothin!" retorted Ranma as he kicked the
beast back.

Genma snorted and gave the boy a low sweep that was narrowly
dodged. Ranma flipped back and landed on his feet a few yards away.

Soun stood up and looked at the scene in shock. "Saotome?"

Genma stopped and turned around sheepishly as he held a sign up.
"Hello Tendo."

"What don't we need to know about?" asked Nabiki warily.

"Nothin," replied Ranma simply as he sat down at the table while
Genma produced the electric thermos again pouring its contents over
his head.

"If that's the way you want it boy, I'll have no part in it,"
snorted the man as he changed back.

"Stupid old man," grumbled Ranma as he sat down and crossed his
arms showing disinterest in the whole affair.

Nabiki had a revelation and stared at the boy in shock. "I know
him!"

Akane looked at her and frowned before dismissing the matter.

Soun looked at Genma as the man started his story. "It all started
in China a fateful two months ago..." Genma finished his tale giving
all the particulars of Jusenkyo and how he became a panda. Cutting off
just short of his son falling into the spring of drowned girl after
the boy gave him a warning glare that no one else seemed to notice.

"Ah, that explains it," said the Tendo patriarch as he moved
beside Ranma and grabbed him by the shoulder. "These are my daughters,
Kasumi nineteen, Nabiki eighteen, and my youngest daughter Akane,
she's sixteen! Pick anyone you like and she'll be your new fiancee."

Ranma turned to stare at him in disbelief and was about to protest
when Kasumi spoke up. "Oh, he want's Akane."

"What? Why would I?" started the girl in protest.

"No! I'll take him!" cried Nabiki as she felt her opportunity
falling through her fingers.

Everyone in the room stared at her in shock. "Are you sure
Nabiki?" asked her elder sister.

"Positive," replied the girl as she eyed the expensive clothing
Ranma's father was wearing.

"Hey! I ain't got time for no girls!" snapped the boy angrily as
he started for the door. "The Liquid Gold Tournament is only a year
away and I got some training to do, I'm going back to China!" He
started for the door and was stopped by his father's arm.

"Have you forgotten what's waiting for you in China boy? Are you
out of your mind?" he snapped bitterly.

"If I can last this long I think I can go another year without any
problem, she was an idiot anyway," retorted the boy as he pushed past
him.

Akane almost seemed relieved as the boy walked towards the door.
"I don't need to be around no stupid peeping tomboys anyway,"
commented the boy as he walked just within her reach. Almost as a
reflex she found herself crushing him under the weight of the table.

"Now that he had coming," replied Genma sagely. No one even
noticed Ranko blink out of existence as her master was knocked out
cold.

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

Ranma woke up with Kasumi and Nabiki kneeling over him, "Don't
mind Akane, she's really a very sweet girl; it's just that she's a
violent maniac," said the elder girl to the boy.

"I noticed," replied the boy as he sat up, Ranko appeared beside
the two girls with a neutral expression on her face.

"Oh good Kasumi, that makes a lot of sense," said Nabiki as she
put a towel across his head; she turned her attention towards Ranma
and smiled. "How are you feeling fiancee?"

"Don't call me that!" he replied curtly before laying back down.
"I feel like someone hit me over the head with a table."

"You'll get over it," said the girl with a knowing smile. Behind
her back was a sports magazine, a local rag that had Ranma on the
cover, his picture was inside a small box on the corner of the page.
If the article on him was even remotely close to the truth he'd be on
the covers of magazines across the world someday. "So tell me Saotome,
how advanced is this thing anyway?" asked Nabiki as she looked the red
head up and down. Ranma sat up and looked at her quizzically, it was
not an unusual question; but hardly one he was expecting given his
current situation.

"She's a lower mid-level power unit right now, but her skills are
far above any other know unit of her experience and age."

Nabiki nodded and pushed him back down on the floor. "Lay down,
you need your rest."
Ranma didn't like what was going on around him much, Ranko had a
distressed expression on her face as she watched the situation as
well.

"I don't like this Ranma," she whispered. He looked at her and
decided that maybe he could use another nap.

Akane sat fuming in the living room as the two men laughed and
recalled old memories nearby. A sudden thought hit her. "That jerk was
testing me! He sent that stupid robot to fight me!" It explained why
she had been reluctant to hit her and also why she had been so hard
pressed to connect any of her attacks. The unit wasn't even human, she
never stood a chance against it. Still a surge of pride welled up
inside of her as she realized she had done well against such an
opponent. "I showed that jerk, he'll know better than to mess with
me!" she exclaimed proudly.

Soun and Genma turned to look at her with horrified stares, they
thought she was talking about the earlier incident involving the
table.
"Tendo, is she all right?" whispered Genma.

"To be honest, I'm not sure Saotome," replied his friend as the
turned away from the girl as she laughed maniacally while flexing her
arm in pride.

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

The next day Genma called his son down to the living room after
their morning practice, it was held a good distance away from the koi
pond almost in the front yard.

Ranma sat in front of his father with a confused look on his face.
"School?"

"Yes, we are going to be staying a while," replied the man as
pleasantly as he could.
"You'll be going to the same school as Akane and me, I think
you'll like it there," said Nabiki as she poked her head around the
corner and smiled at him. There was something he didn't like about it,
but he kept quiet. "Hurry up and get ready so we can walk to school
together."

She almost giggled at him and it ran chills down his spine as she
tried her best to look cute. Not that she failed or anything, it just
looked a little faked to him.

"Nabiki, are we going or not?" snapped Akane as she ran down the
stairs and past her sister.

"No, you go on ahead, I'm going to take him with me," replied the
girl indicating Ranma. Akane scowled at him and turned away on her
heels in disgust.

"Now what did you do?" wondered Ranko from beside her counterpart.


"I haven't seen her since last night, you tell me," replied the
boy a little sharply.

"I guess we should go get ready then," replied the red haired girl
as she stood and a school uniform appeared on her body. "All done."

"You know that I hate you," muttered Ranma as pulled his favorite
shirt off the floor where he had discarded it before the morning
practice. Nabiki blinked at this, and turned away.
"That's strange," she muttered to herself as she waited patiently.


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

A few moments later the three of them where strolling towards the
school, Ranma walked along the top of the fence with Ranko walking
cheerfully behind him. Nabiki walked just below them and looked up in
surprise, she noted that Ranko was wearing boxers under her skirt for
some strange reason.

The trip was relatively silent, occasionally Nabiki would ask a
question and receive either a nod or a shake from the boy's head. He
seemed strangely reserved and closed to her.

When they almost reached the school he stopped and stared in
disbelief. "What's going on?"

There appeared to be some sort of battle going on at the school.
"Oh that, don't worry about it, this happens every morning," it was
too late though as Ranma dashed forward for a better view.

Nabiki sighed as she rushed forward and tried to keep up with his
pace. The pair came to a stop as Akane was finishing up the last of
her morning attackers.

He jumped down beside her and surveyed the damage. "Boy, you sure
are popular."

"What's it to you?" snapped the girl as she turned towards a large
tree in the courtyard.
"Oh what fools these mortals be, each seeks the honor of your
company in the unlikely event that he defeats you," said a new voice
as Akane caught a rose that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Ranko leaned forward and inspected it curiously. "Hey, what's
this?" she asked.

"It's a rose!" snapped the girl in disgust.

"I know that, but why?" replied Ranko in annoyance.

A seventeen year old boy dressed in a kendo uniform stepped from
behind the tree and smirked, it died down as he noticed the two new
faces beside Akane. Nabiki Tendo stood nearby watching cautiously.

"Get back or you'll get hurt," warned Akane with a scowl appearing
on her face as she got into a defensive stance.

"I'm not worried," replied Ranma with a shrug.

The boy turned his attention towards Ranma. "Tell me, who are you
bore?"

Ranma blinked and pointed at himself. "Huh? I'm..." he was cut off
as the kendoist continued his speech.

"Ah, but is the custom to give one's own name first! Fine then!
Mine I shall give!" cried the boy in what seemed like over dramatic
anger.

"If you want," replied Ranma still uncertain about what to do.

"I am the rising new star of the high school fencing world, the
sound of my voice sends fear into the hearts of my peers. They call me
The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High! Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen." The
statement was punctuated by a crash of lightening from above as Ranma
tried to understand exactly what was happening to him.

"Ok, Um, I'm staying at the Tendo Dojo..." he started, but the boy
would hear no more.
"Under the same roof as Akane? I will not allow it!" he screamed
as he charged forward raising his bokuten. His heart stopped as the
strange red haired girl rushed in front of his target as he slashed
downward. He sucked in a quick breath and tried to stop the strike as
it cut into her body without any resistance. He froze with a look of
complete terror on his face as the blade remained inside her chest
taunting him.

Ranko smiled and laughed at him. "Fool." Kuno looked up just in
time to see a fist come through her head from behind, that slam into
his face, sending him sprawling across the ground in shock.

"A liquid fighter?"

Ranma stood over him dusting his hands off with a snort of
disgust, Nabiki Tendo walked up to the boy and kicked Kuno in his
ribs.

"You leave my fiancee alone!" she said angrily.

"Fiancee?" whispered Kuno as the words sunk in. "You mean, he does
not hound Akane?" The remaining students of Furinkan gasped in shock
as the girl's words struck home.

Nabiki looked around and cursed herself, she could have charged
money for that information. She still had a lot of ways to do that yet
today, the most important of which involved the boy lying on the
ground in front of her. "Kuno baby, you are such an idiot," she
grabbed the kendoist by his arm and pulled him into the building.

+++++++++++

Tatewaki sat up and frowned deeply at the thought of this new
development, he shook off Nabiki's grip and stood up. "No doubt he
seeks to take Akane's heart through her sister. I must put a stop to
this evil plot, such a cowardly defense cannot be forgiven either.
Using a woman's body to shield himself cannot be forgiven, it matters
not if she is real." As he stood up and turned towards the school
building a light shower began to fall from the sky. "Vile knave, we
shall see who is worthy of Akane Tendo's heart!"

"That we shall master," said a feminine voice from behind him. It
was emotionless, yet somehow produced a sort of pride.

"Sakura, I shall need you soon. We shall show this upstart who is
worthy of my love's heart," said the boy as he turned towards the
woman behind him.

She looked to be in her twenties, her long brown hair done up into
a pony tail at the top of her head blew in the breeze and yet remained
dry despite the falling rain. She was dressed in a delicate silk
kimono with a katana hanging at her side. Two deep green eyes stared
forward with an almost militaristic stare as she awaited her master's
commands. "It shall be as you say."

Kuno ignored her words and started towards the building with her
following closely behind him.

Nabiki merely smiled at the scene, and walked into the school.

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

Nabiki smiled in her seat as she looked towards the boy standing
over her desk. "Set up a match Kuno baby? Why I thought you'd never
ask!"

Everything was going according to plan, she had suspected that
Ranma and Kuno would not get along. The Saotome boy's gruff nature and
Kuno's idiotic formality were sure to clash, she wasn't expecting this
quite so soon though. "Oh well, more money for me!"

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

That night Ranma sat at the table reading the note Kuno had given
Nabiki that morning. "He's challenging me?"

Akane smiled, it would be good to see him get a lesson, and
something about him just made her angry. The perverted things she knew
he was doing at night with that thing probably had something to do
with it. She seemed to be with him almost everywhere he went. He
certainly kept her out more than anyone else she knew of with a liquid
unit. It was a short list though so she didn't have much to go on as
far as that was concerned.

"Yup, Kuno baby had a liquid unit too, he want's to set up a
match," replied Nabiki calmly. This was the perfect opportunity to
check up on her investment. Her expectations were high, the boy had
easily paid her delivery charge for the letter.

"I can take that idiot anytime!" cried Ranko confidently.

"That's good to hear, but you haven't even met Sakura yet,"
snorted the girl with a deadpan gaze.

Ranko sat down and smiled. "She's got to be at least as stupid as
he is."

"She's the regional champion in middle class units," replied the
girl curtly.

"Middle class?" said Ranma in shock. "That means..."

"Right you are Ranma, she's stronger than Ranko," replied Nabiki
with a smile.

"I've always wanted to see how I'd do against a higher class
unit," replied the red head with a shrug.

It was the truth, but her air of sure win confidence was now gone.
It was replaced by a hard, and determined gaze as she stared at the
letter; no one else but Nabiki noticed that it mirrored Ranma's face
exactly.

Nabiki smiled, if her suspicions where true she could make a
killing tomorrow, regardless of who won.

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

Meanwhile, Inside Tatewaki Kuno's bedroom, Sakura stood before a
chalkboard writing the days lessons from school there flawlessly; it
was even in the teacher's handwriting.

Kuno found he rarely had to pay much attention in school since he
could retrieve the lessons from her memory at his leisure. Still,
cheating was beneath him and he still aspired to learn the lessons as
best he could. It was invaluable that he keep his grades up as a roll
model and captain of the kendo club.

It also didn't hurt that Sakura was not wearing any clothing at
the moment.

He relaxed and lowered his eyes to the book in his hands before
placing it aside and flicking off the light.

The liquid unit's voice floated down to him. "Do you wish to
retire? Should I continue the lesson?"

"You may stop," replied the boy as he lay on his mat and sighed.

"Shall you dream of the Tendo girl tonight master?" she asked as
she kneeled next to him once again clothed in the kimono.

"As always my dear Sakura, shall you assist me again?" the whole
event had a strange formality to it and that was just the way he liked
it.

The liquid unit seemed to change shape in an instant revealing a
perfect image of Akane Tendo sitting beside him on the bed. "Oh, my
darling Kuno, thank you for saving me from my savage ways and showing
me the path of true honor."

"It was as it should be my beloved," he replied looking away
dramatically.

"How should I ever repay you?" asked the girl as she removed the
cloth from her shoulders exposing her chest to him.

Kuno did not look at her, he merely stood meekly and honorably
looking away. "I cannot accept such a payment."

"My darling Kuno, we shall be wed on the morrow! Will you accept
me this night, even if it is premature?" she gasped passionately as
she pulled at his back gently and caressed his shoulders.

"It shall be as you say!" said Kuno as he turned slowly to meet
her lips. He broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes. "Tomorrow, I
shall make this a reality as I destroy that dishonorable cur and his
deceitful advance on Akane Tendo."

"Yes master, it shall be as you say!" replied Sakura with Akane's
face and voice as she kissed him again.

They fell against the mat in passion as the night drew on.

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

Ranma sat in the furo relaxing in the water as he thought about
the coming day. "Do you think we can handle it tomorrow? A medium
class unit is a big power difference."

Ranko looked at him from her place beside him and smiled. "That's
all up to you and you know it," was her answer.

"I wish you'd stop dumping all this stuff on me," he replied in
annoyance.

"Sorry Ranchan, that's the way things are," she said as she handed
him a towel as they emerged from the water.

Ranma sighed and walked towards the changing room.

He stopped cold as he saw Nabiki standing there in the nude
smiling at him. "Oh, finished already? I was just about to join you."

"Wha?" gasped the boy in shock as he backed away with a look of
complete shock and terror on his face.

"What are you so jumpy about? We are engaged Saotome," snorted the
girl as she walked by him and sat down on the stool. "Besides I would
think you had some experience before now." She eyed Ranko carefully
and smiled as the unit gave her an uncomprehending look.

Ranma quickly removed himself from the room with a completely red
face as he dressed himself and got out as fast as he could. "Man, I
don't know how long I can take this place."
Akane stared at the scene in shock as Ranma walked out of the
bathroom with an odd look on his face.

Nabiki had gone in there not moments before and she reasoned that
her sister had thrown the boy out. "You'd better not even think about
it, cause if I find out I'll kill you myself."
Ranma looked at her and turned away wordlessly. Akane merely
smiled to herself thinking he understood what the score was. "What the
hell are these people talking about?" he asked Ranko as they reached
the top of the stairs.

"You got me," replied the girl with a shrug. "Maybe it's just that
they're all crazy?"

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