Disclaimer: You know what all this stuff means, so why bother reading it? All characters but the ones I create for this purpose of this fanfic are the sole property of Rumiko Takahashi. Don't get any funny ideas about suing me.
Ranma ½: The Tale of Two Dragons
By: OmegaGear
Chapter 1: Another Day. Another Battle
Ranma stood with his arms resting at his sides. The cool morning breeze of a newborn fall sent a chill over his sweat covered body, but he quickly warmed himself with his chi. Ranma took a deep breath and cleared his mind, preparing for his daily morning sparring session with his father. He closed his eyes softly and let himself appear completely at ease.
His father, Genma, stood just as calm from across the yard next to the koi pond, although his face was sharp with determination. He tightened his belt around his gi one last time and glared at his son. "Boy, are you ready?"
Ranma gave no response save for a gentle exhaling of his lungs and the opening of his eyes. Despite claming he was ready; he looked totally unprepared to fight. He looked too loose and free, too careless. Even those who knew nothing of martial arts would say he wasn't in the right state of mind to be fighting.
"Very well," Genma acknowledged, tilting his head so that the rising sun reflected off of his glasses. He stretched his arms at his sides and took a quick breath as he readied for combat. He took his usual stance, one leg in front of the other on its toes with the other more firmly planted. His arms were tensed as his hands balled into tight fists and were raised, ready to attack or defend if needed. "Let's see what you've learned…"
Ranma gave no vocal response. He instead flung his arms through the air in fluid motions. His hands were straight with the fingers and thumbs pressed together like boards of wood. As he settled into his stance he stood much in the same position as his father, but with his hands straight and arms and legs more loosely formed. As he saw his father hunch lower in preparation, he began his newly trained technique.
Ranma stepped sideways slowly and gracefully, keeping his eyes on his father as he circled him. As he did so, he began to extend his ki outward, creating a cool area around the two martial artists. Ranma didn't thoroughly enjoy the amount of time it took to prepare the technique, but was confident in its ability.
Genma watched Ranma with a firm glare. He could feel the area encircling him begin to cool slightly and tensed, marveling Ranma's level of control over his ki. Impressive, boy, but you haven't shown me anything yet. Letting go of his thoughts, Genma sprang forward with a cry and lunged at Ranma with his fist.
Ranma stopped his circling dance and changed directions, evading the attack while brushing the arm aside with his right hand. Genma responded by spinning to his left and lifting his leg in an overhead roundhouse. Ranma easily ducked, spreading his arms with a grace most would associate with dancing. As he got to his feet he struck his hand outwards and poked Genma in the gut more mockingly than seriously.
Genma stepped back and rubbed his stomach where he had been poked more amazed than in pain. Refusing to let his mentality falter, he sprang forward again, attacking more quickly and varyingly. He quickly began a complex kata of high and low strikes, but found that Ranma was able to parry each move with just his hands. Most surprising of all was the speed that Ranma moved with. His arms moved sharply to block, but regained their grace immediately afterwards. Each time he moved to block, his body seemed to snake at angles impossible to balance. His upper body would extend forwards while his legs slid back. When twisting around, Ranma would skip slightly, keeping his body in a constant motion that almost entranced his father,
As Genma's kata came to an end, Ranma struck again. He brought both his arms to parry a punch, locking Genma's arm tightly between his left hand and right elbow. With a quick motion, his right arm extended, bringing Ranma's newly formed fist to the side of Genma's head.
Genma cried as the blow threw him off balance, but quickly returned to a battle stance. Ranma had returned to circling around him, still holding a calm look on his face. With the boy so calm, I can't read his attacks. Genma thought out his strategy as Ranma continued to circle him, his ki continuing to cool the area around them. He's learned well.
Ranma kept a constant pace with his feet steeping one over the other. He breathed in through his nose and out his mouth as his aura filled the air around him. A constant flow of ki in and out of his body made his body both light and strong. It had taken him over a month to master the flowing art of Baqua Zhang. He would have done it much sooner had he not decided to perfect the art by incorporating his ki into it. He soon discovered that by letting his ki flow outwards, his body could sense everything he encircled, almost like he was the wind itself.
This revelation was overwhelming at first, causing Ranma to be overcome by his expanding senses. His first time in the flow of ki made him dizzy, and he eventually fainted, causing everyone to panic. His second time wasn't as bad, but still was more than Ranma could handle. It wasn't until two weeks and eleven more sessions in the expanded ki that Ranma was able to concentrate his senses on a single object within the space. Now, he was showing his father the results of his training and enjoying it greatly.
Sensing no change in the boy's state of being, Genma took the offensive once again. He entered another kata, this time attempting a sweep while Ranma moved to parry his high punches. This proved more trouble than good for Genma, as Ranma stopped the sweep by stepping on his foot. Ranma released Genma's foot, but quickly kicked his shin with the same foot, forcing him to bend forward.
Genma didn't have any time to react to his pain as he found a palm flying for his face. He quickly blocked it with his forearm, but was too off balance to remain standing. He fell back, tumbling to the ground with his arm still thrown over his face.
Genma stared at Ranma wide-eyed, trying to figure out what was going on. Ranma's movements… his ability to react so easily… Baqua Zhang shouldn't be this effective. He got to his feet again and wiped some sweat from his brow. Very well… then I mustn't give him a chance to attack and wear him down!
Genma dashed forward and attack furiously, alternating arms and legs in a barrage of highs and lows. Ranma continued to move like water as he danced around the older man, blocking each blow with just his open palms and light feet.
As the violent dance continued, Genma soon became aware of the folly in his plan. His body was starting to feel heavy as he threw more attacks at the boy and his lungs felt short of air. "You've gotten better, Ranma," he said, giving a fake smirk. "What's say we call it a day, hmm?"
Ranma didn't respond to his father's pathetic attempt at stopping their sparring exercise. He noticed that his blows were becoming slower, and knew it wouldn't be long before he would end it.
"Mr. Saotome! Ranma! Breakfast is ready!" Kasumi called from the dinning room.
Genma instantly stopped and spun on his heels. "Be right there Kasumi! Ah!"
Ranma hadn't stopped to dash to the table like he normally did. He struck his father in the ribs with his palm and again on his lower chest with the back of his fist. Moving through a flowing kata, Ranma dropped his father to the ground in a daze while he made his way to the table. "Gee, pop, aren't you the one always saying 'you're too sloppy'?" Ranma didn't find Baqua Zhang to be a very practical form of martial arts, but was satisfied with its effectiveness. Ranma smiled as he sat down and was handed a bowl of rice.
Genma didn't say anything, but mumbled as he took his own bowl from Kasumi.
"Come now, Saotome," Soun said, patting his old friend on the shoulder. "You should be proud that Ranma has become such an outstanding martial artist."
Genma grumbled at his friend's attempts at consoling him. He ate his food with intent as Soun continued.
"It's only a matter of time before Ranma is worthy of inheriting the school," he claimed, leaning over to speak to his friend more privately. "And you know what that means," he said too loudly, chuckling to himself and his friend.
"Dad, cut that out!" Akane yelled form across the table.
Soun choked on his own words and gave Akane an all too familiar look of surprise. "But Akane," he pleaded. "Don't you want to see the school prosper?" He leaned over the table, fake tears forming around his sad eyes. "Don't you want to bring honor to the Tendo name?"
"Oh please, dad" Akane said, closing her eyes in amusement. She had really gotten tired of her dad's routine act, although it was pretty amusing that he continued to do it. "Would you stop it with the act already?"
"Akane!" Soun cried, tears running down his cheeks.
"Geez, Mr. Tendo, I'm surprised with you, putting so much responsibility on Akane like that," Ranma said lightly. Everyone turned to look at him as he continued to eat his breakfast at a quick pace. "Akane's life is hard enough as it is, being an uncute tomboy and all."
Akane visibly flinched at hearing Ranma's words. Her eyes shut tightly and she began to growl as she broke her chopsticks.
"Not to mention not being able to cook even canned vegetables," Ranma added.
By this time, Akane was burning with anger, but Ranma didn't seem to notice since he continued his insults. "She's so far behind already, there's no way she could possibly carry on the dojo in addition to all that."
"Ranma!" Akane yelled, tightening her small hands into fists.
"Hmm?" Ranma asked, chopsticks hanging from his mouth.
Akane was trembling with anger as she turned her burning eyes upon him. "You jerk!" she screamed, swinging her arm around and slapping Ranma on the cheek. The sound of flesh hitting flesh was loud enough to make everyone, even Nabiki, cringe. Akane was still trembling as she sat towards Ranma with her hand suspended in the air.
Ranma didn't turn his head back around, but stared sideways with wide eyes. He reached for his cheek with his hand and flinched in pain as it touched the sensitive area on his face. Slowly, he brought his fingers back and rubbed the area that now burned hot to his touch.
Ranma was used to being hit, but it felt different this time. Over the two years he spent with the Tendos, there was one thing he knew for sure, and that was that Akane was really upset if she slapped him. Getting crushed by tables or mallets was pretty normal anger venting, but a slap usually meant Ranma had some lecturing heading his way.
Oh man, what did I do now? He thought to himself, still rubbing his cheek in shock. "Uh…" he blinked a few times as he timidly turned his head on his neck to look at the girl next to him. Her shoulders were still trembling violently as she seemed to be holding something back. "Akane?" Ranma asked innocently.
Akane slammed her hands on the table and gripped the sides. Without so much as a huff, she lifted it and threw it sideways into Ranma's face.
No one said a word. They all simply gathered the plates of food and drew them back to save them from flying onto the walls. As Ranma's head was dropped to the ground by the wooden table, Akane got up and ran away, tears finally breaking through her show of anger.
Everyone was used to this, although they really wish it would stop. As Genma pulled the table off of Ranma's face and set it down, Soun let out a sigh.
"Ranma," he beckoned. His voice was low and serious, a sharp contrast to its humorous tone just moments ago. "Was that really necessary?" he asked, turning to address Ranma directly.
Ranma sat back up and rubbed his head and neck to work out the sores. "What are you talking about?" he asked, irritated. "She's the one who did it."
"She did it because you upset her," Soun said frankly.
Ranma's mouth hung open as he started to conjure up a retort, but found that he had none. His eyes were slightly wide while he pointed at Soun with his chopsticks, but all seriousness was lost on him. He just couldn't deny this time, but that didn't mean he was going to bow.
"Ranma…" his mother said, sounding a little disappointed.
Ranma looked up at his mother to his left and examined her sad face. "What's wrong, mother?" he asked.
Nodoka put the sleeve of her kimono to her small lips and closed her eyes as if she was ashamed of what she was about to say. "You really shouldn't speak about your fiancé like that."
"Huh?" Ranma sunk back into a shocked state. It may not have sounded like much, but from his mother, that was quite the scolding for him. Even in the worst cases, she always supported him, but not this time. "But I've always…"
"That doesn't mean you can keep doing this," she said, making her words more firm. Everyone was watching them now, not wanting to disrupt the conversation even by eating.
Ranma was about to protest, but couldn't bring himself to. He could do anything; anything, but argue with his mother. He relaxed and let his shoulders slump. He knew he had to apologize, but wasn't sure how. After two years of the same thing he still didn't know how to approach Akane afterwards. "I'll go apologize…" he said, getting to his feet. He tried to look confident, but felt like he dragged himself out of the room with his head hanging low.
****
Akane burst through her bedroom door without once opening her burning eyes. Without even thinking, she slammed the door hard enough to threaten the wood into shattering, but it somehow held. "Ranma… you jerk!" she sobbed, pressing her face into her pillow as she spread herself on her bed. She found little comfort on the soft mattress and pressed with all her might, hoping she would somehow disappear. Akane hated how Ranma treated her, especially since it brought the worst out of her.
"That jerk!" she cursed into her pillow. Her crying didn't cease the slightest, making her whole body quiver. She couldn't stand it anymore. All she wanted was for Ranma to see that he hurt her, but he continued to be the same jerk even now, two years later. "Can't he see I'm trying to get better?" Akane continued to cry out whatever crossed her mind. "Can't he see I'm doing it all for him?"
A knock at the door could barely be heard through her sobs, but the voice at the other end of the door was all too familiar. "Akane?" Ranma asked through the wooden barrier.
"Go away!" Akane screamed, still crying uncontrollably. Just hearing Ranma's voice made her chest burn with anger, yet her heart seemed to feel the worst pain ever at the same time.
"Akane…" Ranma said again, sounding sincere. "Can I come in?"
Akane was silent for a moment. She took deep breathes, heaving and coughing as she fought to get control of herself. When she had quieted down to mere sniffles, she wiped her face. "Please… just leave me alone," Akane asked, almost sounding like she was begging.
There was an uncomfortable silence for what seemed an eternity. Akane would have assumed Ranma left had she not been able to sense him on the other end of the door. Akane refused to move. She couldn't, not with him watching her like that. She knew Ranma could sense her at that very moment. Ranma always could, but he was always an idiot about it. Finally, she heard a step out side of her door as Ranma must have turned around to leave.
"I'm sorry, Akane," came Ranma's voice through the door. The sound of footsteps followed, fading as he descended down the stairs.
Akane let the words hang in the air while she silenced the last of her tears. It was rare for Ranma to be so sincere, especially to her. Akane felt her heart flutter at the thought of how Ranma spoke to her just moments ago and newly formed tears again rained from her eyes. "Ranma…" Akane buried her face into her pillow again, hiding the emotions that swelled in her heart. "You jerk…"
****
Genma and Soun sat as they usually did, playing a game of shogi. Neither, however, was paying attention to the game. Everyone could hear Akane yelling at Ranma from her room that morning, and knew by the way he returned to the table that he was unable to make up with her. Usually they wouldn't let it bother them, but the routine was starting to wear them down.
After breakfast, Ranma decided to return to practice. For nearly an hour, Ranma did nothing but basic striking exercises against a wooden post. He didn't rest, say a word, or even divert his gaze from the slowly cracking wood.
Akane… what did I do wrong? He thought to himself as he continued to perform straight punches against the pole.
Genma and Soun were watching Ranma intently as he practiced aimlessly. "I've never seen the boy so distracted," Genma stated, crossing his arms.
Soun didn't look at his friend, but nodded in agreement. "He does seem troubled."
Ranma shouted out loud for the first time as he broke the pole. He used a simple straight fist to shatter the weakened area of the pole, but aimed it poorly due to his lack of concentration. Instead of striking the pole head on and shattering it away from him, his fist ran along the side, causing the larger shards to cut it. Ranma didn't verbalize his pain, but retracted his hand quickly and cradled it in his other.
Blood poured fairly quickly from the cuts on his hand. Ranma winced as he pulled a larger splinter from his knuckle when a soft hand grabbed his wrist.
"Here," Akane said, taking a damp clothe and removing the splinters from his hand.
Ranma said nothing, letting Akane tend to his wound in silence. He wanted to talk to her about earlier that morning, but didn't know what to say. What could he say? Here he was being taken care of by the same girl he had insulted to the point of crying just an hour ago. His conflicting thoughts were interrupted as an intense burning was felt on his hand. By reflex, he tightened his grip, getting a reaction from Akane.
"Sorry," she said, wiping his wound gently with a clothe that was probably soaked with medical alcohol. Ranma loosened his grip on her hand, ignoring the burning that the alcohol brought.
He watched her as she wrapped a bandage around his hand, and felt worse than before. He noticed that Akane refused to look at him, keeping her head tilted to hide her face from him. Ranma wasn't the brightest when it came to reading people, since he had spent most of his life alone with his father on the road, but he knew Akane. She wanted to make him feel better, but felt ashamed to look at him. "Akane?" he finally said.
Akane didn't respond immediately and released his hand. "I'm done," she said plainly, still hiding her face from him.
Ranma sighed as he rubbed the bandage around his right hand gently. The wound felt warm, but didn't hurt much, even when he applied pressure to it. "Thanks, Akane," he said. He stood facing her as the morning breeze blew her scent to him. She smelled like lavender, but the salty traces of tears could still be sensed in his nose. "Um…" he began.
"Akane," Nodoka called from inside the house. "Would you like to go shopping for clothes with me?"
Ranma mumbled at the interruption, but waited for Akane to make her reply.
"Sure, Auntie Saotome," she said. She turned slowly and walked into the house with her hands folded in front of her, never once lifting her eyes to look forward.
Nodoka smiled happily as Akane passed her to get her things and returned her attention to her son. Ranma looked puzzled to her and she smiled again. Her smile was more assuring to him, meaning she would talk to Akane about this morning while they were out.
Ranma nodded and began to clean up the splintered wood as his mother and fiancé left for the shopping district. He was nearly done gathering the larger pieces form the ground when Happosai came crashing onto his head. Ranma dropped the pile of wooden shards in his arms and fell backwards with Happosai tumbling after him.
As he got up, Ranma rubbed his head, cursing the pain that lingered. "Stupid old man!" he shouted. "What's the big idea falling out of nowhere like that!?" He shouted, turning around and preparing to grab the small martial arts master and punch him back into orbit.
He came to a sudden halt when he saw the old man sprawled on the ground, contorted in ways that shouldn't be possible. Smoke floated from his clothes while he twitched randomly, coughing quietly. Soun and Genma had run over from their game by now, wondering what was wrong.
"Master!" Soun shouted. "Master, what happened?"
Happosai only coughed out a puff of smoke in response, twitching a bit more from the heightened activity.
"He's practically knocked out," Ranma said, getting on all fours and examining him closer. Happosai's eyes were nearly perfect circles. His limbs were bent, stretched, and tied while he was overall burned. "What could have done this?" Ranma asked.
"I don't know," Soun said. He was trembling from the thought of something powerful enough to do this to his Master, whom so easily defeated him with a single finger. "Master… can you hear me?"
Happosai's mouth jittered as he mumbled something that the trio didn't hear. They all moved their ears closer. "Come again?" Genma asked. Again, Happosai mumbled, but still too quiet for them to make out.
"Master, you'll have to speak up," Soun said, cupping his ear.
Happosai coughed as he choked out the words one more time, but again, they couldn't make sense of his mumbles. Ranma growled and took the little pervert by the arms and shook him violently to try to bring him to his senses. "Damn it old man! Speak up so we can hear you!" he demanded.
"Ranma!" Genma shouted, grabbing his right arm to stop him from shaking the beaten man.
"Please, be reasonable, son," Soun pleaded, grabbing his other arm.
Ranma stopped shaking the old man, but glared at him. He was bare inches form Happosai as he spoke up as best he could. "Hmm?" Ranma turned his face over and put his ear to Happosai's mouth.
"How can you treat a poor, defenseless, old man like this?" he choked weakly.
The three students nearly fell over in disappointment, but managed to keep it to a low growl and piercing eyes.
"Why you…" Ranma growled as he lifted Happosai at eye level with him. "I'll teach you to fake trouble like that!" he shouted, slamming the old man into the ground and stomping on him.
****
"Thank you for coming with me, Akane," Nodoka said as the two walked out of a small bakery.
Akane was holding a small pastry that Nodoka had bought her, despite her insisting that she wasn't hungry. Akane was lying of course. Since she had left breakfast abruptly, she hadn't eaten much and crying for nearly an hour really took it out of her. "It's no problem," Akane said as she stared at the small treat in her hand. It was a French style tart with strawberries and blueberries on top of a sweet egg based paste. The fruit was coated with powdered sugar whish was in turn covered with some whipped cream. It was pretty expensive at 550 yen, but was one of Akane's favorite treats.
Nodoka smiled sweetly, but noticed that the girl hadn't touched her pastry. "What's wrong, Akane?"
"Nothing's wrong, auntie," she replied. Her voice sounded sweet, but her face was devoid of any emotion.
"Then why aren't you eating the pastry I bought you?" she asked, looking a little sad. "Ranma told me it was your favorite."
Akane looked up at the comment and nearly dropped the fragile pastry. "He did?"
Nodoka smiled again at getting that sort of response from her future daughter-in-law. "Oh my, yes he did." She said happily. "Ranma may seem difficult, but he tries," she continued.
Akane smiled slightly and took a bite of the pastry, the sweet powder of the sugar and nectar of the fruit seemed to affect her mood positively. "Thank you for the snack, Auntie Saotome."
"You're welcome" she said with a cheerful smile.
Akane giggled as she finished her little snack and wiped some powder from her mouth and nose. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to shop for?" Akane asked. She noticed that Nodoka was aimlessly walking forward, glancing into stores for only a moment while she passed them.
"Actually," Nodoka stopped walking and turned to face her companion. "I asked you to come with me, because I wanted to talk about earlier this morning."
"Oh…" Akane couldn't hide her disappointment. She had a feeling that was the reason for the shopping trip, but was hoping it wasn't.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Nodoka assured her. "I think it would be best that you talk to someone about it though," she finished.
Akane was silent as they continued to walk. It was true that she wanted to talk about it, especially to someone as open and kind as Ranma's mother, but she didn't know how to start. She didn't quite understand what went on that morning either. It wasn't different from any other morning, so why did it upset her so much? "Auntie Saotome?" She asked, deciding to give it a go.
"Oh my, isn't that the cutest dress?" she asked, completely missing Akane's question. She pointed towards a store across the street.
Akane looked over to where Nodoka was pointing and saw a yellow sundress. They walked over and Akane looked it over. She had to admit that it was a cute one piece. It was a simple pale yellow sundress. The top had two thin straps for the shoulders and a fairly low cut at the back. The bottom of the dress stopped just above the knees.
"Want to try it on?" Nodoka asked.
"Me?" Akane asked, addressing herself with her finger. She looked at the dress again and frowned. "No thanks."
"Oh come on," Nodoka pleaded, taking Akane's hand and pulling her towards the door gently. "I'm sure you'll look absolutely adorable in it."
"Auntie Saotome, please," Akane blushed. "I'm not a kid anymore."
"Please?" Nodoka begged. Akane didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't help but notice the face she gave was the same one Ranma used as a girl to get free stuff from suckers. More so, she didn't want to believe that she was caving in at seeing it.
"Okay, I'll try it on," she said.
Nodoka smiled and ran into the store as fast as she could in her kimono. Akane walked after her shyly. Nodoka soon returned to Akane holding the small yellow sun dress in her arms delicately. "The changing rooms are at the back," she instructed happily. "Don't forget, a sundress is worn without a bra."
Akane swallowed even though there was nothing in her mouth and became a deep shade of red. "Auntie Saotome!" she cried. "Not so loud!"
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Nodoka giggled. "Lots of girls wear this sort of thing."
Akane sighed. After stepping into the changing room, she began to undress.
****
Ranma, Genma, and Soun sat at Happosai's sides as they waited for him to wake up. As it turned out, their master was not faking his condition, although Ranma insists he had it coming. Soun and Genma didn't argue, but were still worried about what had done this to their master, whom seemed invincible at times.
Kasumi walked in and kneeled as she changed the towel on Happosai's forehead. As she placed the new cloth on his head, the old man began to mumble. "Oh my," Kasumi said. "I think he's coming to."
"She's right," Soun said, amazed. "He's waking up!"
Everyone leaned over as Happosai opened his eyes slowly, not knowing what to expect. "Ranma?" he asked, still a bit groggy.
"Yeah?" Ranma replied.
Happosai looked over at him and nodded. After taking a deep breath he leapt off of the futon he was on and bonked Ranma on the head. "How dare you hit me like that!"
Ranma growled in annoyance and grabbed the old man by the arms. "Would you leg go of that already!?"
"Not until you apologize!" Happosai insisted.
Ranma's eyes turned into slivers as he glared at the old man in his grip. "I'll do no such thing," he scowled.
"You dare show such disrespect for your master!?" Happosai hissed.
"Master, please," Soun interrupted. The two stopped their staring contest and looked at the out of touch martial artist. "Master, what happened to you? Who did this to you?"
Happosai forced Ranma to release him and crossed his legs into a meditative position. "Hmm…"
"Yes, Master?" Genma asked, urging him to speak.
"I don't know," he said plainly.
Everyone, but Kasumi, fell over. Ranma was the first to get back up. "What do you mean you don't know!?" He yelled, slamming his hands onto the ground. "A beating like that doesn't just appear out of thin air!"
"All I can tell you," Happosai said seriously, causing everyone to listen closely. "All I can tell you is that the man who did this to me is unlike any martial artist I've even heard of."
"What?" Genma and Soun both said in astonishment.
"Could it be?" Soun asked.
"A Martial artist beyond what the master has even heard of?" Genma finished the thought, visibly shaken.
Ranma didn't know what to say. He knew that Happosai was an amazing martial artist when he wanted to be, but had no idea of what kind of knowledge he truly had. Happosai nodded, "Indeed. This man used a form I've never seen before."
"Master," Genma said with respect. "Surely your defeat was a misjudgment!"
Happosai crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He sat in that position for a good amount of time before speaking again. "I didn't even touch him."
"No…" Genma lowered his head. He feared that nothing could stop this mysterious martial artist if the master failed to even touch him.
"There…" Happosai sobbed. "There were just too many pretty girls around! I couldn't concentrate!"
Everyone groaned again at Happosai's immaturity. Ranma bonked Happosai on the head, "Hey, can't you be serious about this!?"
"I am being serious!" Happosai shouted back. His ki burned to life suddenly, but cooled down quickly. "All I've said is true," he said. "Beware, Ranma!"
"Eh?" Ranma bent back. "Why should I look out?"
"Because, since it involves martial arts it will no doubt find its way to you," he said.
"And it is your duty as the heir of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts to avenge your master!" Soun said.
"Get serious!" Ranma whined. "I ain't avenging nobody!"
"Ranma!" Happosai began to cry like he always did. "How can you say that? Don't you care about me?"
"Cut the act, old man!" Ranma demanded. He hunched over, ready to punch the second rate actor through the ground.
"Ranma," Genma beckoned. Ranma turned to look at him. "Forget all this foolishness and think about the situation!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ranma asked.
"A martial artist has appeared with a form unknown to the anything goes school!" Genma stated. "As the heir, it is your duty to secure this art!"
Ranma squinted. "And since when was it the goal of the school to steal other arts?"
"It is our goal to better the school!" his father said proudly. "If that means we must secure other arts, so be it!"
"Whatever!" Ranma yelled, getting to his feet. "You want this unknown art, get it yourself. I'm not looking for trouble."
Ranma… you should know by now that trouble finds you! Genma thought with a glare. He was certain that no matter what happened Ranma would be faced with this unknown art. "Hmm?" He glanced up as he heard a noise. A scroll painting fell from the wall, revealing a growing crack. "Could it be?"
****
"Oh my, you look so cute in that dress, Akane!" Nodoka shouted. Her smile was practically ear to ear and her hands were shaking with excitement.
"You really think so, Auntie?" Akane asked, twirling around to view it in the mirror at all angles. The dress suited her almost perfectly. The generously cut top didn't reveal too much of her chest. The top hugged her body fairly tightly while flowing loosely at the bottom.
"Oh, yes!" Nodoka assured her, smiling. "Would like to get it?"
"That's okay, Auntie," Akane said. She had her hands behind her back and tapped a foot behind her nervously while she looked at the ground.
"It's no trouble, Akane," Nodoka insisted. "I'm sure Ranma will just love it."
"Auntie Saotome…" Akane blushed slightly. She's so utterly clueless… she thought.
"Hmm? Yes, Akane?" Nodoka asked, still smiling as she always did. It was a smile that prevented even Akane from getting frustrated or angry. No matter the situation, the sight of her smile had a calming effect that touched everyone who saw it.
"Do… do you really think Ranma will like it?" Akane asked, turning a bit redder.
Nodoka couldn't help but giggle at Akane's uncertainty. She found it rather cute that Akane valued Ranma's approval so much, but understood where her apprehension came from. Since moving in with the Tendos about a year ago, Nodoka discovered that Ranma criticized Akane quite a bit. She could see that Akane's own image of herself was being affected by the constant insulting. "I'm sure he will," she said.
Akane turned around to look into the mirror again and frowned as she imagined what Ranma would say when she showed it to him. "Oh, it's perfect for someone as flat chested as you." Yeah, that's probably what he'd say. "I'm not so sure," she said out loud.
"Akane," Nodoka walked up and put her hand on Akane's. "Please, accept it as a gift from me," she said. She was looking into Akane's eyes, urging her with unspoken words to give the little sundress a chance.
"Okay, Auntie," Akane said. She began to walk into the dressing room, but stopped when Nodoka asked her to.
"Why not keep it on, Akane?" Nodoka suggested. She waved over a store clerk and told her to ring up the dress. "We'll take this one, please."
"Of course, ma'am," the clerk said, taking the offered yen bills and moving to the register. Moments later she returned with the change and wished them a good day.
Nodoka and Akane both bowed as they left. Nodoka had a happy smile on her face as they exited while Akane was more bashful. She was happy about the new sundress she was wearing, but still apprehensive about Ranma's potential reaction.
****
Ranma walked without concern on the fence by the river with his hands in his pockets. Before leaving, he had changed into a white Chinese vest and his usual black pants. After he left the discussion about the mysterious martial artist, Ranma needed some fresh air. He was going nowhere in particular, but was unknowingly walking towards the shopping district.
"It is your duty to secure this art!" He replayed what his father told him in his mind. "Yeah right!" He argued to himself. "Since when was it my duty to do their dirty work?" he asked towards the sky as if he expected Heaven to answer.
As if on cue, a panda came running down the fence, slapping Ranma over the head with a sign that read "Trouble is coming!"
Ranma bent his knees from the blow and rubbed his head. "Geez, pops! What'd you do that for!?" Ranma took a smell leap and turned around before landing to face his father.
The panda took his sign and flipped it around while waving his paw frantically. The sign read "A bad omen!" The neck of the sign suddenly snapped, dropping the board into the river. The panda panicked, pressing its paws into its cheeks and started to run away.
Ranma kept him in place, however, by grabbing the fur on its back. "And just where do you think you're going?" he asked.
Genma-panda flailed its arms and legs like he was running from death. Finally, he pulled out another sign that read, "Away from you!" This sign also snapped into pieces. Genma-panda's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock and fear.
Ranma grinned. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" he asked with sarcasm in his tone. He released his grip on his father and punted him into the sky. "How about I help you get a head start!?"
Genma-panda yowled as he was punted into the sky. Before leaving view, he pulled out a sign. "Do your best, Ranma!"
"I always do my best!" Ranma shouted after him. When he turned around to continue his aimless journey he noticed that a small crowd had been watching. "What?" he asked simply. He didn't know what the big deal was. Surely the people of Nerima had become accustomed to seeing things like what had just happened by now.
The people in the crowd looked at each other nervously and then cleared the area gradually. Ranma began walking along the fence again, mumbling to himself. Man, my old man sure gets scared easy. He contemplated. He looked towards where his father had vanished in the sky and then down at the pieces of his signs floating with the river current. Still… he's usually right when it comes to omens.
Ranma stopped walking and stood with his arms crossed. "Humph…" Ranma closed his eyes and let his ki flow outwards much like he did when he did his perfected Baqua Zhang. He could feel nothing around him save for innocent passer-bys. "There's only one other person the omen could be about then…"
Ranma hopped off of the fence and onto a nearby roof. Taking off at a sprint, he went from roof to roof in search of Akane.
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A/N: Pretty slow chapter to start off, huh? I probably spend too much time with story building, but that's how all my fanfics go.