Ranma Puff Z
By Skye Silverwing
Disclaimer: You know I don't own this, right?
Chapter 1: The incident.
It was a normal day in Tokyo City. The Sun showed brightly in the sky over the vacant lot where a fifteen year old boy by the name of Ranma Saotome waited for his Rival Ryoga Hibiki to show up, so that they could have the duel that the Lost Boy wanted to have so badly.
Ranma sighed. Unfortunately, Ryoga was living up to his directionally challenged reputation, and had apparently spent the last several days looking for the vacant lot, located behind his house. It was no matter, though. Ranma had promised the Lost Boy that he would be here to fight him, and he had no intention of letting his opponent's tardiness make him break that promise.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
In a rocky area along Tokyo Bay, Ukyo Kuonji, a well-known student of the Okonomiyaki Chef Martial Arts Style, practiced her chosen trade. She stood on a cliff at the edge of the Sea, waves crashing up around her as she cooked the Japanese Pizza for a red-haired girl, using all of her not inconsiderable skill to protect the batter from being ruined by the water.
As she practiced her defense, and finished the Okonomiyaki, and handed it to the young red-haired girl, she thought about the jerk and his father, who were the reason she was here. She would learn to wield her chosen weapons in the most deadly manner she could, and then, when she was ready, she would find him and his worthless father, and she would destroy them both!
She would destroy him, as he had destroyed her womanhood.
Ranma Saotome, Prepare to die!
The red-head, Momoko Akatsutsumi, realizing that she was late for school, thanked the Chef for the treat and dashed off quickly.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Somewhere in the dense forest to the West of San Francisco (nearest he could figure) Ryoga Hibiki trudged on his way to his appointed duel. He was aware of the fact that it should not have taken him this long to reach the vacant lot, no more than fifteen paces from his front door, but it seemed that somehow, his rival, the Coward, Ranma Saotome had moved it. No matter. Ryoga would overcome his Rival's treachery, and finally acquire the vengeance that he so deserved for the offense of the curry bread. He just had to get back to Japan first.
On the other side of the bush to Ryoga's left, in Tokyo Park, a young brunette tomboy by the name of Kauru Matsubara Shot along the path on her skateboard, making great time on her way to school.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Nabiki Tendo watched from the second floor windows of Furinkan High School as her classmate, Tatewaki Kuno, defeated the last of the members of the School's Varsity Kendo team. She was fairly certain that the boy was unmatched in the art of the sword at this school, or any other schools nearby. She calmly made a note in her book to avoid betting against Furinkan in any of the upcoming kendo tournaments.
This "Shining Star of Furinkan High" was sure to lead the Kendo Team to victory over all of his opponents… Provided that any of the rest of the team managed to survive training with him, she amended, taking in the current state of Kuno's opponents. She figured her big sister, Kasumi, was already planning on making get-well gifts for them all while they were in the hospital. She might even have Miyako help her.
Nabiki was honestly trying to avoid thinking of ways to exploit Kasumi's friendship with the Goutokuji heiress. Her sister allowed herself so little time for true friends, and though the two were over five years apart in age, they got along famously. Kasumi thought it was funny how much emphasis the younger girl put on fashion, while Miyako was always impressed by how well Kasumi pulled off the "housewife look" and constantly sought to convince her to try a different look.
Nabiki kept the pictures to herself as a reminder never compete against Kasumi for a man.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Several hours later, in a large research lab on the hill overlooking Tokyo City, Professor Utonium, one of Tokyo City's most prominent research scientists, was frustrated. He used a pipette to transfer a small amount of a violet fluid into a larger beaker, where it dissolved into a clear liquid with no reaction. He sighed and made a note of it.
The Professor's eight-year-old son, Ken, entered the room, pushing a small lunch cart, along with a mechanical dog Utonium had built to be his companion, called Peachi. "Papa- I mean, Professor Utonium," Ken said, "Let's have tea."
"Okay." Utonium replied, setting his work aside. He then moved to wash his hands, as the chemical he had been working with was not necessarily safe.
"Is there any progress with the Analysis of the Chemical X?" Ken asked, his interest both professional and personal, as the professor's lab assistant and as his son.
The Professor sighed. "It is not progressing as I had hoped it would." He said, inclining his head in frustration. "I have tried mixing the Chemical X with several different chemicals and liquids, but I can't seem to get a reaction."
He noticed the Luck buns on the cart and smiled. "Oh, these big luck buns look good." He said, "Can I have one?" He picked up one of the buns, and in Ken's arms, Peachi began to struggle, acting like she wanted a bun.
Ken Chuckled. "Professor, it looks like Peachi likes the Buns as well." He said as the Digital Dog leapt from his arms onto the table. "Hold on, I will give you one in a moment!"
Peachi, not heeding its master's words, took hold of one luck bun in its mouth and another with one paw. It began to dance happily until the bun held by its paw slipped out, flying through the air.
Everyone gasped as it landed in the vat containing the Chemical X and quickly sank below the surface. A moment later a glow began to emerge from deep in the vat, and the chemical X began swirl, shifting in color from a deep violet to a swirling rainbow.
The professor and Ken quickly went about cataloging the changes as the computer announced that the new chemical was more powerful than Chemical X. Because of this the Professor decided that the new Chemical would be called "Chemical Z".
As the System registered the new name, a flash of lightning drew their attention to the outside. Large chunks of ice were falling from the sky.
Ken was confused. "Hail?" he said in disbelief. "In this season?"
Professor Utonium nodded. "And such large hail." he said, "Just what is going on?" He pressed a call button on the nearby panel, "Mr. Mayor!" he said, as the Mayor's image appeared on the monitor.
The Mayor turned to look at the camera. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "Professor Utonium! Just in time! You must help us! Something terrible is happening!"
Professor Utonium looked at the Mayor in alarm. "What's wrong?" he asked.
The Mayor indicated another screen. "A mysterious iceberg has appeared in Tokyo City's Bay!" he said, "At this rate, Tokyo City will Freeze, turning the surrounding area into a land of ice and penguins!"
"I don't think that is right, Mayor." Mrs. Bellum, the Mayor's assistant, said. "The strange weather patterns aren't that localized. Reports of strange weather are coming in from all over the world."
Ken looked at his father. "Papa… I mean Professor," he said, "we must use the Chemical Z immediately."
Professor Utonium shook his head. "We can't do that yet." He said, "We don't know enough about the Chemical Z. First we must research it, Using luck, experimentation and controlled conditions to find the best way to…!" The Professor suddenly realized that Ken was no longer standing beside him, and the vat of Chemical Z was no longer there either.
He spotted his son at the Chemical-Powered Laser Cannon. Ken commanded the window to open, allowing the wind to blow in, wiping away his father's words of warning as he got a bead on the iceberg that was causing all the trouble.
Professor Utonium tried one more time to stop Ken from firing the Z-charged beam of energy at the iceberg, but it was too late. A beam of white energy fired from the cannon, quickly crossing the distance between the device and the iceberg. When the beam impacted, the iceberg exploded, dissipating the storm and returning the atmosphere to normal.
Ken was about to announce his victory when his attention was drawn to a number of black and white beams of energy streaking out from the explosion, falling like rain over the unsuspecting city below.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Momoko was in a good mood. She had acquired a large amount of tasty junk food and was on her way to the park to eat it. She had seen several of the most handsome Sempais in her school on her way, not to mention the cute Bishonen Okonomiyaki Chef she met before school and that fanged guy that had passed her on her way here. She was a little worried when it started to storm, but she took shelter in a gazebo in the park, until, a few moments ago, there was a loud boom in the distance over the bay and the storm just… stopped.
She wasn't worried, though, since she was certain that Tokyo City had all sorts of experts and Super Heroes and Martial Artists to deal with that kind of thing. It wasn't until she noticed the numerous beams of light flying across the sky that she became certain that something was wrong. A few yards from her, a small girl was playing with her Yo-yo and with one of the white beams heading straight for her. "Look out!" Momoko cried, leaping from her seat and dashing across the intervening distance and putting herself between the girl and the beam.
The Beam struck her and she suddenly cried out, "HYPER BLOSSOM!" and then she found herself whirling through a transformation. A Red skirt, red shoes, pink jacket, black fingerless gloves, a red bow in her hair and a technological-looking belt replaced the clothes she had been wearing. In her hand was an upgraded and color coordinated yo-yo.
Momoko was shocked. "Huh?" she said softly, "Could it be… that I have become a transforming super heroine?"
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Miyako sighed and put on an aloof look as she headed out of school, studiously ignoring the cries of love and affection showered upon her by the boys around her. She was honestly tired of being called on by boys all the time. They only served to get in the way of her true passion: fashion.
Darting into a nearby shop, Miyako discovered a particularly cute outfit. She was so busy buying it that she failed to notice the storm suddenly springing up, or the explosion that marked the end of it. When she exited the building, she spotted a child, playing with a bubble wand, producing endless streams of sparkling bubbles.
Miyako was commenting on her desire to have clothing as lovely as the bubbles when she noticed the mysterious beam of light streaking toward the child. Not hesitating, she wrapped her arms around the child and placed herself in the light's path.
"ROLLING BUBBLES!" she called, beginning a transformation that left her in a blue skirt and jacket combo, with blue shoes, black gloves and hair pin. The belt was kind of tacky, but chic in its own way. Over all, she loved the ensemble. She had what appeared to be a wand in her hand. "Huh?" she said, "When did I buy such nice clothes as these?"
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Kauru grimaced as she prepared to leave school. The hail had finally abated and she wanted to get away as quickly as possible, so she pushed her state board hard. Outside, many girls her own age called out to her, heaping praise on her and trying to flirt with her. She was not interested in girls, however, and could not understand how they could be such perverts. She may dress like a boy, but she was not a boy.
She slid between the girls at high speed, dodging her skate board back and forth to avoid plowing into any of them.
As she exited the gate, she saw a small boy playing with some blocks and a hammer. A mysterious white light was bearing down on him. Being the only one near enough to do so, Kauru flung herself into a rolling tackle, placing herself in the line of fire.
"POWERED BUTTERCUP!" she cried, going through a martial arts kata as the green outfit formed around her. She stared down at the skirt in disbelief and humiliation. "A skirt!" she said, "I am wearing a skirt! I haven't worn a skirt since kindergarten!"
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Ryoga was happy to have reached the bay. It meant that he was in the right city and could only be a few kilometers from his destination. He was also happy to see the Okonomiyaki Chef. His stomach was growling, and foraging was not his strong suit. "Excuse me," he said, "I would like a chicken, fish, and octopus okonomiyaki to go, please."
Ukyo smiled at the fanged boy. "Sure thing, Sugar." She said, pouring the batter and selecting the ingredients. "You look like you are in a bit of a hurry to get somewhere. Mind if I ask where?"
Ryoga smiled back. "I am on my way to have a man-to-man duel with my rival." He said. "I need to get to the appointed place as soon as possible."
Ukyo nodded as she kept most of her attention on the grill. "Good luck with that." She said. "You want soy sauce in it?"
Ryoga shook his head. "No thanks." He said. The two of them continued chatting companionably until a clap of thunder shook the area. Then the hail began to fall.
"Training time." They both said in unison, sparing each other a well humored glance as they moved to do what they could. Ryoga jumped around, deliberately taking as many hailstones to his body as possible for toughening training, while Ukyo wielded her spatula expertly to protect her grill and batter from the falling hailstones, training her speed and accuracy with the weapon. As they trained, both of them took the time to appreciate the other's skill.
After several minutes, a beam of white light shot across the sky from the structure on the hill to the iceberg floating in the bay. The iceberg exploded with a brilliant flash, and the hail stopped.
Ryoga and Ukyo exchanged looks. "You're pretty good with that thing." Ryoga said, indicating Ukyo's weapon.
Ukyo smiled at him. "You're not so bad yourself." She said, "Deliberately taking all of those hits, that takes a lot of endurance. The few that hit me really stung."
Ryoga chuckled. "My family style follows the ideals of endurance." He said, then he extended his hand. "Ryoga Hibiki."
Ukyo shook it and smiled. "Ukyo Kuonji." She replied, then cocked her head as she heard a high-pitched keening noise. "Huh?"
Ukyo and Ryoga turned to see a beam of white light flanked by two beams of black light. The beams were heading toward a small child who was busy trying to imitate Ukyo's moves with a regular spatula.
With a quick glance at one another, the two martial artists nodded, and then they sprang into action. Ryoga loosed his umbrella, attempting to wield it as a club to deflect one of the beams of black light white Ukyo attempted to do the same to the other two with her Combat spatula.
As the light impacted, there was a bright flash.
"ULTRA BUNNY!" Ukyo cried as she whirled through a transformation that placed her in a purple skirt with a purple jacket, purple shoes, fingerless gloves and a purple bandanna holding back her hair. She was holding a large, ornate combat spatula in her hand.
Ukyo might have made a comment about the skirt, if not for the fact that the moment the transformation ended, a bolt of immense pain shot through her system as black energy arced all around her reacting with her new powers.
Ryoga tried to leap to Ukyo's aide, but he was immediately beset by the black energy arcing around him as well. A moment later the reaction reached its peak and there was a burst of energy that hurled both Ryoga and the untransformed and unconscious Ukyo toward a nearby tree.
With the last of his strength, Ryoga wrapped his arms around the unconscious chef, turning to take the brunt of the impact with the tree. As he slipped from consciousness, he hoped that she would be alright.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Nabiki was slightly concerned. She was fairly certain that it was out of season for hail, but that did not excuse Kuno for having the entire Kendo club out in it! She watched as the next three best swordsmen under Kuno fell to the harsh hailstones and the fool went so far as to berate them for being weak, even as he used his blade to keep the stones from his own head.
A bright flash lit the sky, drawing Nabiki's attention to the bay, where an iceberg that should not have been there in the first place was being blasted out of existence by some kind of shore-based laser cannon in the Tokyo City District. She was curious as to if the SDF was responsible for that, or if there was someone with a lot of explaining to do (such high-powered weapons being illegal for civilian use in Japan). She then noticed the black and white streamers exiting the steam plume. As they shot out over the city, they began dropping down onto it like dozens of meteors.
One such projectile, black in color, flew onto the campus and struck one of the Kendo blades racked outside the Kendo club. Nabiki made a note to keep an eye on that blade.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Kasumi Tendo was not happy with the weather. She had just gotten out of school and was on her way to a shopping district in Tokyo City that was having a big sale on assorted foods today. She was hoping to meet her young friend Miyako and make an afternoon of it.
Unfortunately, when she got into the area, there was a flash of lightning. Kasumi just barely managed to duck into a nearby odds-and-ends store before the hail began to come down. As she waited for the sudden storm to pass, she browsed the store. She smiled when she found a beautiful pair of traditional Sensu folding fans. She finished purchasing them as a clap of what she guessed must have been thunder announced the end of the storm.
Kasumi continued her trip to the Shopping district, opening and closing the fans and kind of dancing as she went.
Suddenly, a high pitched keening sound filled the air. Kasumi stopped and looked around in confusion. To her surprise, a massive beam of light was heading straight for her.
"Hey, look out!" Kasumi suddenly felt herself being lifted into a strong pair of arms and rotated to be shielded from the beam. She stared up in shock at the mysterious pigtailed boy as the light impacted his back and arced through his body like a bolt of lightning. He let out one cry of pain and then collapsed.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Genma Saotome had a bad feeling. He had been on his way back to the small apartment he and his son were currently living in when the freak hailstorm hit. He decided, of course, to use this opportunity to work on his dodging, as he knew his son would. He leapt to the rooftops, actively tracking and avoiding hundreds of large hailstones. He was just reaching the end of his first wind when a white beam shot out of the research lab on the hill and put an end to an iceberg that had apparently been forming in the bay, bringing the hail to an abrupt end.
When Genma saw the black and white lights arcing out over the city, the ominous feeling he had increased dramatically. He was suddenly filled with the conviction that he and his son had stayed in Tokyo City too long. Turning, he leapt across the rooftops as quickly as his legs could take him. He did not even want to be in Japan right now. China… yes… China was the place to go. He would ramp up his son's training. They could leave before anything too horrible could happen.
Even as the thought crossed his mind, two of the white beams of light intersected each other and impacted far too close to the lot that he had been heading toward. He heard his son cry out as he came off the roof at maximum speed and hit the ground rolling. He spotted his son lying cradled in the arms of a pretty girl, who seemed rather alarmed.
Genma dashed up and knelt beside his son. "What happened?" he asked the girl. "This is my son!"
The girl looked up at him with a mortified look. "H-He saved me." She said, "He was hit by that light!"
Genma checked Ranma's vitals. "He still has a pulse." He told the girl, "I will take care of him. You get home. This isn't a good day to be out and about."
Kasumi nodded and then turned to run home as quickly as she could.
Genma hoisted his son onto one shoulder and fled as quickly as his considerable skills would allow.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
It was several hours later when consciousness once again intruded upon Ryoga's mind. The first thing he noticed was that he was sleeping on the hard ground. This was not particularly unusual with how easily he tended to get lost. What was unusual was the feeling of something soft and warm pressing down against his chest.
He cracked his eyes open, and the glare of the setting sun blinded him for a moment. As his vision returned, he froze. Lying against his chest was a head full of long brown hair and certain… other attributes… were pressed against stomach. He struggled not to make any sudden moves that might awaken the girl and alert her to their compromising situation before he could remember how he had gotten into it and come up with a way to extricate himself safely.
Unfortunately for Ryoga, Ukyo chose that moment to stir, looking up with a confused and bleary look on her face. It took but a split second for her to realize where she was, and her first instinct was to clobber the man who had been acting as her cushion. A kickflip, two thrown shuriken and a stifled shriek later, the two separated and quickly tried to collect their thoughts, failing miserably.
"WHO…? WHAT…? HOW DARE…!" was all Ukyo could manage to stammer out.
"Sorry! I don't…! I didn't…" was Ryoga's reply.
As the two stood in a sort of stand-off, their memories began to come back.
Ukyo cocked her head. "Wait… I remember… you bought Okonomiyaki from me, right?"Ryoga merely nodded, and Ukyo continued, "and… there was a kid and some beams of light… and… we… Saved her?"
They both looked around hurriedly, noticing for the first time how late it had become.
Ukyo noticed the incinerated Okonomiyaki on her grill and sweat-dropped. "Guess I will be re-making that one…" she said.
Ryoga smiled. "Don't worry about it." He said, "I have to get going or that coward Saotome will think I forfeited."
Ukyo stopped. "Saotome?" she asked, "That wouldn't be Ranma Saotome, by any chance, would it?"
Ryoga nodded, pulling out the address of the Lot. "He is a sneaky jerk I know from school. I am scheduled to have a duel with him." He said, then cocked his head "Why, do you know him?"
Ukyo tightened her grip on her combat spatula and nodded. "That jerk and his father stole my family Yatti!" She said, grabbing the address from him. "Come on! Let's go show him what for!"
With Ukyo in the lead, they reached the lot in a short time, but found it empty.
Ukyo glared at Ryoga. "Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked.
Ryoga nodded. "Yes." He said, "That jerk must not have shown up."
Ukyo was now even angrier at Ranma for proving his lack of honor once again. "You know where he lives, right?" she said, and Ryoga nodded. "Then let's go there and call him out! We will gain revenge on that a**hole!"
Ryoga nodded. "That is a great idea!" he said, "Let's go!"
Ukyo smiled. The day of reckoning for the Saotome clan had come at last. "Lead the way, Ryoga!" she said, unaware that more ill-fated words had never been spoken.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Later that night, at the mayor's office, the Mayor's assistant, Miss Bellum, was in a remarkably good mood, given the circumstances. Sure, the city had nearly met with disaster more than once that day, and there was a fair amount of damage to be cleaned up, not to mention the possibility of monsters like that Mojo being on the loose, but in the end, the disaster had been averted, the city had been saved, and they had even managed to recruit three young Super Heroines to defend the city from those supernatural foes for less money than it cost to pay a single meter maid. The best part was that Utonium was going to end up footing the bill for the costs they did incur. Sure, the city would need to pay to fix damage they caused while fighting crime and the forces of evil, but that and the girl's compensation requests were nothing at all compared to the money they could have asked for.
All of that meant that the Powerpuff Girls Z were going to be easy to maintain, so long as none of them told anyone with a real head for numbers about the deal.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
In the Tendo household, Nabiki sneezed.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
A.N. I will admit, this story is mostly here because sometimes you must write what your muses tell you to write, or you won't be able to write at all. Depending on the reviews, I may or may not continue.
If I do, I will pick it up several months later, after the end of PPGZ and at the start of Ranma Canon. I have many entertaining ideas for this.
As always, I love feedback. Constructive criticism, ideas, and opinions are always welcome.