Ranma stood on the wall surrounding Furinkan staring impassively at the setting sun. He was beaten up and covered with scratches and bruises, even a broken rib could be seen. Yet, he was seemingly oblivious to his horrible condition while on his the foot of the wall lay his pack, a small violin shaped necklace tied to the drawstring top. Beside the pack lay two crossed Pa Kua sabers resting on top of the martial artist's usual chinese shirt, both with the image of a dragon across the blades. The boy himself seemed absoultely normal, with the exception of the deep uncertainty that played across his features, and the strange appearing and disappearing tattoo of a dragon on his arms and open chest. Starting at his sternum, each tattoo snaked down an arm down to the hand, where the heads appeared with gaping mouths. In his mind were the scenes from the previous battle, the flashes of flames and ki, the hatred with which all of Nerima looked at him with after the battle, and the angry glares from the Tendos and his father when they banished him from their home and familes respectively. Strangely, he didn't feel angry, sad, or anything along those lines. Really, the only thing on his mind was the battle.
Since Saffron there had been a steady stream of challengers that came from all over to test themselves against the mighty 'Godslayer', and each came with another crazy school that employed some of the most ridiculous techniques he had ever seen. Sure Mousse's Fist of the White Swan seemed pretty lame with the training potty involved, but calling out Burning Dragon Strike and then lighting yourself on fire was overstepping the fine line of amazing to just plain stupid. Ranma gave one last glance behind him, to the utterly mangled ruins of what was once the proud halls of Furninkan High School and gathered his things. He need to leave this town, it had been holding him in, and move on.
Perhaps being a ronin would be for the best, since it did technically end all honor bound promises that his idiot pops had made. The swords were placed through the sash Ranma had tied around his waist, and the shirt put back on. Where the shirt had been laying was a strange silver stone in the shape of an egg and roughly the same size as the martial artist's head. After slipping his pack over his shoulders, Ranma carefully stowed the stone away into a subspace pocket. All his belongings gathered, he took one last deep breath and dashed off into the setting sun. In the wind that swirled with his leave, you could here the final words he whispered in Nerima, "Damn you Ryu Asuka, damn you."
Ranma stood in front the temple with a haggard look about him. His clothes were torn, and had dirt caked on his face from weeks without a bath. Only the swords that hung from his sash were in pristine condition, a stark contrast to the dirty and worn sash its self. His pack had obviously seen better days, sporting large loosely stitched up tears behind which the dull reflection of worn weights could be seen. Despite all of this, Ranma's face sported a huge grin. The past weeks were not spent rolling around in the mud after all. His training journey had gone fairly successfully so far, traveling from dojo to dojo offering the same stipulations every time. He would fight the highest level practitioner in the dojo available, and if he won, then they would give him food and shelter for the night along with a week's worth of training in the style. If he lost, he would concede to the opposition's terms. This was the thirteenth training hall he had found, one that was whispered about by the elite of the martial arts world. It went by the name of Dragon Hill.
A good fight was not why Ranma had come, although the dragon style did have its own charm. No, he was here because it was said that there is a legend that only the grandmaster knew, the legend of something called the mark of the dragon. Unfortunately for all but Ranma, the legend was only told if you defeated him in a challenge match. Rumor also had it that, if you defeated the guy, he would train you in his whole style. Well, during his travels Ranma had several things down as facts in his books. First, the tattoos were not normal, since he could make them appear and disappear after some practice. Second, he couldn't lose the damn swords. He had tried to pawn, break, blow up, even push them off as far off into the pocket dimension he learned how to create from Mousse. No matter what, they always reappeared into his hands. Third, whatever the mark of the dragon was and why they hell he got it, he was going to find out.
The walk up to the temple would have taken Ranma only a few minutes had he gone at his usual pace. But, the silence struck a chord in the pigtailed martial artist. It was peaceful, and along with the surrounding chi it was like being hugged by Kasumi every second. Thoughts like that made him cringe, the sharp memories of his expulsion from Nerima replaying in his head. 'It wasn't my fault! Why did I ever meet you Asuka?' thought Ranma bitterly as he continued his trek up to the temple. If that man hadn't shown up in Nerima, things would very different. For one, Ranma would back in the Tendo family, with Akane beating him into a pulp, crazy ghouls and ancient perverts, random challengers out for his blood, and the fianceés clamoring for him to marry them or to 'Take Shampoo on date now, yes?'. Ok, so there really was nothing good going for him back in Nerima, the but at least there was Kasumi's cooking to let him get over it. But, it wasn't going to be like that now. No, now there was training, so that he can clear his honor by catching that slippery bastard Asuka and beating into something that would be an insult to Akane's cooking.
Ranma stopped his brooding as he approached the temple gates at the top of the steps. With a deep breath, he approached the large and ornate gates to knock and issue his challenge. After only a few steps Ranma stopped, and his jaw hit the floor with a resounding thud. The gates had opened themselves, and beyond them lay a martial artist's dream. There were tons of training apparatuses, from the basic set of bamboo poles stick up from the ground to an obstacle course that would serve to test every base aspect of one's skill up to a certain level. Even more surprising was the fact that there were throngs of students training everywhere. All movement stopped once they all noticed the astonished martial artist standing outside the open gate. Wordlessly the entire group filed themselves into two columns on either side of the path that approached the ornate temple and dojo, all in a careful stance that showed readiness if he tried anything funny.
The pigtailed martial artist walked calmly down the path, not sparing so much as a glance at the walls of students. They all had some skill, and the best of them would be enough to get by in Nerima. But none were enough to give him even the barest of challenges. Here and there there those with great potential, and all seemed to have some rudimentary ki training since they all were attempting to hide their auras. But this wasn't the place to admire another's handiwork in training their pupils. He needed the grandmaster, and the rather stern, albeit young, looking man who just appeared from inside the temple could probably point him in the right direction. First though, introductions were in order.
"Hey there I'm Ranma, and I'm lookin' for the grandmaster of this place. Wouldja point me the right way?"
The stern man stared at him for several seconds before lightening his expression slightly and replied, "Hello to you Ranma, welcome to my humble temple and school. I am Ryu Keisuke, grandmaster of this temple." before pausing for a moment and then asking, "Your family name wouldn't happen to be Saotome, would it?" prompting a deep sigh from the young man who replied, "What did my po- ahem- Genma do to ya?" completely ignoring what the man had said before his question. His slip-up did not go unnoticed by the once again stern Keisuke, whose eyes widened at it and said, "That scum is your father? I trully feel sorry for you then. But that is not why I ask. There was a rumor that, several months ago in the Phoenix kingdom, their deity engaged in combat against a young martial artist. It was said that he was defeated, torn to pieces. The identity of the young fighter was limited to the name Saotome, and the style of Anything Goes. Are you the Saotome who killed the Phoenix king with your bare hands? The young man who was willing to go so far for someone you loved?"
Ranma merely stared back, guilt flooding his features only to be replaced with an empty expression. "It wasn't for, love. I woulda done it if anyone of us was taken, even the dumb pigboy. He wouldn't let me go through though. I just wanted to get to the spring to save her, but he insisted to fight me." Ranma mumbled, bangs casting shadows across his face as he stared at the ground. He looked up and gave a piercing glare to the man in the temple doorway and yelled, "HE MADE ME DO IT! I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL HIM! BUT DAMN IT, HE JUST ATTACKED ME AND WOULDN'T LET ME THROUGH! THAT BASTARD HAD NO HONOR." he calmed down slightly before continuing, "Honor wasn't a part of that fight. But in the end it was mine that was lost." Ranma laughed bitterly "Since then everyone's out to kill the 'godslayer' or marry the guy to whose pops they gave their dowries or something else to. My own family was afraid of me, and they thought that I had given my all in that fight. When they coerced the truth outta me, all trust was gone. It was always 'why did you risk my baby girl's life?' or 'Wahhhhh, my honor-less son wouldn't save his fianceé!' my own mother would look at me in fear. All because y'all pass some kinda judgment on me for what I did." he walked forward and up the few steps to where Keisuke was standing. Sticking his finger in the man's chest he growled, "I'm over all that, its in the past with mosta the pain an' guilt I suffered for what I had ta do. I'm not a Saotome anymore, hell I'm not anyone anymore. Anything goes ain't my style anymore cause honor calls for me to stop practicing it. And I'm not here to give ya my life story, but you have a story for me. Thanks to some more craziness in my life, I now got two curses ta deal with and you happen to know a tale 'bout one of them. So we are goin' to the dojo right now, I'm gonna kick your ass, and you are tellin' me that legend 'bout the mark of the dragon and what the hell it is."
A collective gasp escaped the aligned martial artists as well as the grandmaster, although for different reasons. The group was shocked at the disrespect for their master, while the master himself was shocked that the boy had knowledge regarding a closely guarded secret of his family. Nonetheless this was a challenge, and he had to treat it accordingly.
"Very well, the dojo is behind me as you can see." he said before turning sharply and walking into said dojo.
Ranma merely smirked and followed. He had heard great things about this man too. It was said that he was the definition of the dragon style and the 'teeth' of the Ryu clan. A common story was about how, in order to enter the position of grandmaster, he killed his father who held the position before him. Either way, he had fought killers before and this Keisuke guy didn't feel very different. His aura was tightly controlled, Ranma easily saw this, but the way his pathways were arranged put the martial artist on edge. For a normal person, your ki flowed through paths that spread through the body like blood vessels. Yet, this man's pathways all tapered off into the ambient chi around him, as if his ki was in reality the chi of the earth. 'It don't matter, I'll find a way. I have no choice but to beat him!' thought Ranma as he made his way into the dojo. Inside was another impressive display of a high quality training hall. The Tendo dojo was good, no doubt about it, but this one was built for a king. On wall had a rack covered in every which weapon one could think of, the other two were ornately paneled sliding doors that led deeper into the temple. The last door was the one through which the two entered. It was huge as well, the entire expanse easily four times larger than that of the Tendo dojo's.
Keisuke stopped at the rack of weapons and paused. Turning to the pigtailed martial artist behind him he asked,
"I see you carry weapons, do you intend to use them in this challenge or will we do this purely hand to hand?"
Ranma smirked as he usualy does and replied,
"I really don't intend nothin'. It's up to ya though, I'll fight ya with or without 'em."
"Very well, you may use what you wish, but I shall be using this." Keisuke returned as he removed a massive Chinese dao from a rack. Similar to Ranma's saber's it had a dragon design that curved its way from hilt to tip. The pigtailed challenger simply placed his pack in a nearby corner and took a position facing the Dragon Temple grandmaster, sabers unmoved from their positions in his sash. The other man returned his stern expression and took up a position several feet away from his opponent, dao held at the ready in both hands. Silence reigned for several seconds as both men slowly released their battle auras. Outside the open door that led outside the temple, a bird chirped and both combatants leaped into action.
Keisuke made the first move, dashing up to Ranma and executing a slash that perfectly bisected the young martial artist. Suddenly, the image of Ranma faded away at the two slash marks in its gut, revealing Ranma smirking a few steps behind it. The dragon style practitioner's eyes barely had time to widen as his opponent flew towards him, sabers now draw and held up front. Afterimages began appearing behind him as Ranma further sped up. He hadn't wanted to reveal his newest technique so early in the fight, but the temptation to show off his Twin Thieves won out. With a quick feint to slash at the young man's head, Keisuke spun his dao around to attempt to slash Ranma's feet. Forced to halt his charge, Ranma flipped over his opponent to avoid the slash while tapping him on both sides of the head with the flats of his sabers. Landing lightly, he unleashed a hurricane of steel at the startled Keisuke, who was forced to start to channel the ambient chi to allow him to keep up with the attack. Ranma stopped suddenly in his onslaught and delivered an unexpected kick to the still retreating Keisuke, catching him in the gut and knocking the the wind out of him. Keisuke fell to one knee gasping for breath while Ranma stood calmly off to the side. "Do ya yield?" asked the pigtailed martial artist with a smirk. "NEVER!" Came the returning cry as the Ryu school practioner leaped back into action. Blades flashed as once again a maelstrom of swords began anew. Parries rang out and grunts of pain sound with each connected blow as both fighters struggled for dominance. Finally, they separated, both breathing heavily. Once more Keisuke increased his chi withdrawal, an action not unnoticed by his pigtailed opponent. "So ya wanna step a notch dontcha? Hmm well then LETS DO IT!" Roared ranma as his battle aura raged around him, now fully visible to all. Keisuke grinned maliciously at the young man before they once again clashed. Going low, the older man swung his dao with a sound barrier breaking clap forcing his opponent to desperately flip over him. Then, upon his feet barely touching the ground, Ranma erupted into motion. A feint thrust turned into a bare dodge at decapitation by Keisuke, an unexpected kick hastily blocked by Ranma. To the students crowding at the door watching the match, it seemed to be dead even. But to the pigtailed combatant, things were going badly. While his opponent could draw in the ambient chi, Ranma could only go off of his ki reserves, and those were going to be exhausted fairly soon if he didn't do anything about it. It was at that moment he spotted an opening. Reversing his slash, he slammed the hilt of his saber into Keisuke's chest, sending the man to the ground painfully.
Between gasps of breath the dao user muttered, "You...are a truly powerful opponent" and continued as he rose from the ground, "...but now...you have forced me to show you the true...power of the dragon style...behold THE FANGS OF THE DRAGON!"
Slowly Keisuke began to glow with an unearthly light, bolts of lightening shooting out from his body. The dao in his hands began to glow as well, the dragon patterned into the blade dancing as if alive. The light then guttered out, revealing the once stern man with glowing slitted eyes, large fangs, and the dragon on his dao outlined in pure chi. All Ranma could say was, "Ah shit." before the other man seemed to teleport in front of him, swinging the massive sword at lightning speeds.
Ranma was forced to frantically pour all the ki he could muster in keeping what can only be described as a full body Chestnut Fist. But, slowly the young man was tiring and small cuts were appearing on his sleeves and chest. He scrambled backwards in an attempt to gain some breathing room. The dao flashed twice and Ranma winced as the sleeves of the long chinese shirt he was wearing fell along with a spray of blood. There two circular gashes at the middle of his biceps, not deep enough to cut the muscle, but enough to cause pain in keeping up the shock wave inducing speed required to defend himself with. 'Things are lookin bad!' thought Ranma as he block two more strikes that could have easily killed him. Things got a whole worse when three slices penetrated his defense causing him to cry out and release his hold on the sabers. In less than a second they were smacked into the wall behind the bleeding boy, and Keisuke approached with bloodlust gleaming in his eyes. Ranma was frantic, he saw the look in the other man's eye. He had seen it before, Herb wore it near the end of their battle, and Saffron carried it proudly on his face the whole fight. It brought fear into Ranma's heart, and he searched everywhere for something to let him carry on, something to let him live. The man with murder in his eyes stopped right in front of him, and with a frightening smile smile he lifted his dao high above his head and slashed downward. He could only watch as the blade moved in slow motion towards him, it was almost funny to think what Ryoga would say when he found out that someone else had killed the object of his ire before him. 'No.' Ranma thought, 'I'm not done, Ranma Saotome never loses.' he stared at the blade coming faster at him, "YA HEAR THAT? RANMA SATOME DON'T LOSE!" power filled his veins as a glow covered his body, blasting his would-be executioner off to the other side of the dojo. Blood was replaced and the dragon tattoos reemerged, extending across his body with the exception of his head and neck. They burned into the boy's skin and then lifted off of it floating in midair. Keisuke could only stare in fright as the seemingly living dragons shot out another few feet before being reabsorbed into Ranma. The pigtailed boy opened his eyes, revealing the now glowing blue irises that burned with power. Stepping forward, he simply said,
"Ryu Keisuke, its your turn ta see true power...MARK OF THE DRAGON"
and all exploded into white.