Anything goes: Blue sky generation.
By Bakasaiga
Chapter 1: Anything Goes Introduction!
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Furinkan high school was famous for an extended period in its history during which it was terrorized and horribly damaged by super powered beings. Despite all logic stating otherwise, this had not caused the school to close down, but instead increased its success. Furinkan became synonymous with successful athletes and martial artists, thus causing an influx of students interested in that area in attendance. The school received so many requests for students to attend that they had to expand the school building.
Unfortunately none of that was on the history curriculum, which was unfortunate as that would spice it up some. As it was, Kazuki could barely even focus on the textbook in front of him. History was his last class of the day, which mean that Saotome- No, Aosora chan would be expecting him to come over to her dojo after school, 'but I don't have any idea where she lives!' he thought with a sigh.
The end of school bell rang. Kazuki quickly gathered up his things into his bag and headed out the door. 'Well at least now I have an excuse not to-'
"Morning Uehara kun!" Kazuki jumped at the voice. He spun around to look at the speaker, a blue haired girl his age. It took him a few seconds to realise that it was Aosora beaming at him. She wasn't wearing her gi, though he wasn't quite sure why he had been expecting her to wearing that, but rather the junior high's summer uniform. She also had her hair in a braid, rather than wearing it free like last night. Remembering last night Kazuki blushed and looked at the ground.
He managed to respond with a, "Um, Ohayo Saotome San. How are you?" while examining the tile pattern on the floor. Much to his surprise Aosora griped him by the chin and forced him to look into her eyes. "Don't look at the ground like that so much, it will make people think you're a pushover. And didn't I give you permission to call me Aosora last night?" She said with a mocking tone, grin still plastered on her face.
Kazuki blushed again and began to stutter out and apology when she cut him off. "Well it doesn't matter that much. I just realised that when I asked you to come by my home earlier, I forgot to tell you where it was! So I thought I would just show you were it was myself."
"Oh, that's good." Kazuki said nervously. He glanced around; people were beginning to stare at them. 'This is so awkward.' He thought to himself. Aosora was either oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation or just chose to ignore it, as she simply moved from her grip from his chin to his forearm and began to slowly lead him out of the school.
"Come one slowpoke." The blue eyed girl giggled as she pulled him along. "It'll be sunset before we get to the dojo if you keep that pace up. Kazuki simply nodded dumbly and allowed her to lead him.
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The Saotome home was not at all what Kazuki had expected. Most of the martial arts dojos he had seen were small building, often sharing their lower floor with stores or even the owner's living quarters. He had expected something like that not... this
This was a three story building of traditional Japanese architecture with a dojo around the size of their school gymnasium attached to it. "You live here?" Kazuki asked incredulously.
Aosora nodded happily. "The house and the dojo both used to be allot smaller, but then an... accident happened and they had to rebuild it. Several of the people living around it at the time didn't want to live here anymore for some reason and auntie Nabiki gave them a lot of money so we could expand."
Kazuki glanced at the houses around the complex. Most of them were two stories and featured similar architecture, but the Saotome home, no mansion, was easily four times their size. "Wow, your aunt must be loaded." Kazuki said with a hint of awe.
Aosora giggled. "Well, it was mostly our uncle Tachi really. His family is super rich so he paid for most of it. I wasn't born yet, so I'm not quite sure about the details." She moved towards the gate and motioned for him to follow. When Kazuki remained where he was standing, she frowned. She attempted to make him stir by poking, prodding, and pushing him. Finally, she sighed in defeat and took hold of his right arm.
"REVISED ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS: HOLY FROG CATAPULT!"
The last thing Kazuki rembered before blacking out was hurtling forward at alarming speed, and the sky suddenly changing color from blue to green.
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'Why does my... Everything hurt?' Was the first thing Kazuki thought as he opened his eyes. The second was 'Wait, where I am?' Upon inspection of his surrounding, Kazuki decided that he was in and infirmary. The ceiling was made of wood and he was lying in a cot. 'Wasn't I just outside Saotome San's house?'
"Oh good, you've woken up!" A smiling brown haired man wearing thick glasses moved into view. "Hello, I'm doctor Tofu Ono. I believe that you have my niece?" Kazuki stared at the man in confusion for a few seconds, until a blue haired girl appeared from behind the man and stood beside his cot. "Thank you for the help uncle." Aosora said over her shoulder before turning to Kazuki with a Guilty look on her face. She reminded Kazuki of the time he had caught his cat with its paw in the fish tank. "I am so sorry Uehara kun; I forgot that you weren't a martial artist for a second there." She blushed and looked down sheepishly.
Doctor Ono strode over to Kazuki's cot with a chuckle. "It's alright Ao Chan; luckily for your friend the lawn is quite soft." He pressed a finger into each of Kazuki's forearms. The dark haired boy gasped in pain. The doctor took no notice and continued his train of thought. "Although for someone with no martial arts training, I'm impressed by your inner strength!" He flashed a smile at his patient before pressing another finger into somewhere in Kazuki's side. The white hot agony made it hard to tell where exactly. "Most untrained people your age would have been out for a week after a fall like that!" Aosora turned bright red just behind the doctor.
"Well if it's so impressive that I can move already, WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO PUT ME INTO A COMA AGAIN!" Kazuki shouted as he sat up, frothing at the mouth half from rage and half from pain. He grabbed the surprised doctor's hand and forced it away from its intended target.
The doctor looked genuinely shocked at Kazuki's reaction. "My you can move already? You're even tougher than I thought!"
Kazuki glowered at the man. "OF COURSE I'M GOING TO MOVE, WHATEVER YOU WERE DOING ONLY MADE THE PAIN WORSE!" The man simply grinned smugly and said with an obviously false tone of concern. "Oh really? Tell me, where you still feel pain." Kazuki was about to scream at the man again when he realised that he wasn't in pain any more.
"How..." He said, confusion rapidly replacing his anger. Luckily, Aosora decided to explain. "Uncle Tofu is an expert on pressure points and ki flow, he can do incredible things." She managed a small smile. "Most of which hurt like hel-"
"Language young lady." The doctor cut in as he continued to poke and prod. He stared at Kazuki with unusual intensity. "Are you sure you haven't had any earlier martial arts training? You have an unusually high level of inner strength for someone untrained."
Kazuki stared back in confusion. 'So this guy is some kind of new age doctor? Weird.' He shook his head in bewilderment. "What the heck is inner strength? Some kind of weird ki or chi or whatever thing?"
The doctor continued prodding his mid section for a few more moments before looking up to answer. "No, Inner strength refers to the strength of the muscles that protect your internal organs." He frowned. "I would ask if you played any sports, but according to Ao Chan you don't and, no offense, you don't really have the build for that."
Kazuki attempted to suppress his surprised look, but from the smirk on both Aosora's and the doctor's faces he had failed. "Well, I did take a Kempo class a few years ago," He began slowly. "Didn't get too far into it though, when I dropped out I had only learned how to throw a punch without breaking my hand and how to take a fall without breaking, well, most of me. I figured I would at least keep practicing those on my own, just in case ya know." He felt embarrassed talking about his own pitiful experience in martial arts in front of Aosora, after what he had seen her do last night.
Doctor Tofu smiled and nodded. "That explains it then. Good for you! This kind of development doesn't really help for much outside of martial arts and sports, but it protects some of the most important parts of the body." The doctor then straightened up and patted Kazuki on the back. "It certainly helped you out here. No breaks sprains scratches or pulls either, you are right as rain sir."
Aosora beamed at this. "Oh, then can I take him to see daddy now?" The doctor grinned at her as he helped Kazuki out of the cot. "You certainly can, I'm sure he will be quite interested in Uehara San..." The man gave Kazuki a wink then wandered off into another room. Kazuki stared at the door he had disappeared into for a second, then shook his head and walked over to Aosora.
"So where are we going now?" He asked tentatively. Aosora glanced back at him for a short second and said. "To the dojo." And with that she broke out into a run.
"HEY!" Kazuki shouted after her. "Wait up!"
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It took about ten minutes for them to reach the dojo from the doctor's office. When Aosora finally slowed to a stop Kazuki was gasping for air. 'Either that house is even bigger than I thought,' He thought as he braced himself against the dojo's wall. 'Or she picked the longest possible way to get here.' When he looked up, he noted with some annoyance towards his physique that Aosora herself was only sweating slightly.
Aosora disappeared inside the dojo. Kazuki was about to follow her inside when she emerged again, carrying two water bottles. She handed Kazuki one of the bottles, which he took gladly, guzzling its contents as fast as he could.
"So daddy, how do you think he did?" Aosora asked excitedly as he drank. Kazuki set down the bottle and turned to see whom she was talking to. He yelped in pain and shielded his eyes from the sudden blaze of light that stood before him. Three figures, one that was clearly female, a tall male, and a third crouched down like an animal stood wreathed in a blazed of multicolored fire.
"I'd say that he did alright my dear. Very impressive endurance for someone his age, if a little slow for my tastes." Said a masculine voice from just in front of Kazuki. The shaken young man lowered his arms to get a better look and was surprised to see that the fire had disappeared and only the male figure remained. With the flame no longer obscuring his features, Kazuki could now see that he wore a Gi top and black kung fu pants similar to Aosora's clothes the previous night, but the top was red instead of orange and the belt was replaced by a white sash. He had blue eyes like Aosora, but his were slightly greyer in color. He was tall, but not extremely so, and kept his black hair in a short pigtail that floated impossibly in the air without any obvious support.
The newcomer held out his hand to Kazuki. "Nice to meet you kid, I'm Ranma Saotome, Aosora's father. I run things around here." Kazuki stood dumbly before the man for a few seconds before realizing that he wanted to shake his hand. He blushed and took the tall man's. "Um. Very nice to meet you Mister Saotome, I'm Uehara Kazuki. I go to the same school as your Daughter."
The man chuckled. "Don't call me mister Saotome kid, it makes me uneasy. You can call me Ranma San."
"Um yes Mi- Ranma San. If you don't mind me asking, why am I here?" Kazuki asked. He was still very confused about what was going on.
Ranma San Smiled at him. "Well, according to my daughter you have a rather interesting talent. We were wondering if you would like to practice learn our school of martial arts."
Kazuki's spirits fell. He let out a sigh. 'So that's all, huh? She just wanted to attract some more students'.' He braced himself and gave his answer. "I'm sorry Ranma San, but I really don't have any interest in martial arts. I'm very sorry for wasting your time."
"But Kazuki kun," Aosora began to protest, but her father held up a hand to go silence her. "Its fine that you don't have that much of an interest in martial arts Uehara Kun, I'd hate to think of the world if everyone was." The man clapped Kazuki on the shoulder and let out a laugh, then turned his attention directly at his daughter. "Aosora, aren't you supposed to be helping your mother with her basic division class right now?"
Aosora swallowed loudly. "Oh that's right!" She held her hands in apology to Kazuki. "Sorry Kazuki kun, I have to go!" She bolted into the gym like the room deck they were standing on was on fire. Kazuki found himself once again standing in an unfamiliar place, feeling awkward. 'I wonder if they do this to all of their guests, or I am a special case.' He wondered briefly.
"Um, well I guess I should be going then-" He began to stutter out but Ranma San held up a hand to the boy's mouth to quite him. "I never said that you had to leave right now Uehara Kun, Actually I wanted to talk to you about my Daughter."
Kazuki blinked. "Um, Aosora Chan sir?" Ranma smiled and nodded. "You see Uehara Kun; my daughter has devoted her entire life to our family style. You no doubt saw her skill last night." Kazuki nodded in answer, but Ranma continued without acknowledging it. "I am very happy to see her progress this far, but I worry that she's missing out on a normal life because of it." He returned from whatever train of thought he had been on and stared into Kazuki's eyes. "Did you know that you are the first friend that she has brought home since she graduated elementary school?"
Kazuki didn't know what to say to that. So he said the first thing that came to mind. "Um, well actually we just met last night, we aren't really friends-"
"EXACTLY!" Ranma shouted, cutting Kazuki off. Kazuki also would have jumped several feet if both of Ranma's hands not been tightly clenched around his shoulders. "She doesn't have any friends! She has acquaintances at school and at the dojo, but she never really spends any time with them! She doesn't go out shopping with friends, she doesn't go to karaoke with friends, and she doesn't even go out for ICE-CREAM with friends! Do you understand the problem here Uehara?" The man said with extreme passion. At this point Kazuki was terrified beyond all rational thought, but somehow managed to shake his head no.
Ranma Frowned. "What I am asking you, Uehara Kazuki, regardless of whether or not you decide to join our martial arts school is would you be willing to be my daughters friend!" Kazuki nodded yes vigorously. The action was mostly out of fear, but if he had been thinking clearly he would have likely agreed anyway. Aosora seemed like a nice enough girl in his opinion and he would be happy to spend time with her.
Ranma beamed at the boy. "Good man Uehara!" he said, clapping Kazuki on the back. "You should probably head home right now though, if your parents have any kind of curfew." Kazuki stared at the man in bewilderment before catching sight of a window. The sun was setting.
"But how! I came here right after school!" He yelled.
Ranma chuckled. "You were out for four hours after my daughters little toss." The gi wearing man pointed to the left." Go straight down the hallway until you reach the first door you see, it's a back door out of the complex."
Kazuki broke out into a run. "Thank you very much see you later sir!" He shouted as he dashed out of the building and towards his home.
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Ranma stood on the second floor roof of his home, watching the boy as he dashed away. It was only a short hop from the dojo to the roof for him now, but seeing Kazuki made him think of older days when he could never have cleared it. "So Doc," Ranma asked thin air, "What do ya think about him?"
"He is quite healthy, and he has an abnormally large supply of ki." Said Doctor Tofu as he appeared from thin air. "I don't think even Happosai had that level of ki before he started training. I take it that you will be in charge of his training?"
Ranma shook his head. "Nah, the kid has no interest in training. Kind of a shame really, ki don't do much unless you learn how ta use it. Still, it'll be good enough to have him hanging out with Ao Chan though."
Doctor Tofu let out his soft laugh. "His willingness for training will change soon I expect." Ranma raised an eyebrow. "How do ya figure doc?"
The brown haired man simply smiled and stared out in the general direction of Kazuki's retreat. "In the words of a monk I once studied under, I see a great shadow of misfortune in that one's future."
Ranma laughed."C'mon doc, you say that about everyone around here."
"And am I wrong?" The doctor said with a smile, before vanishing into air, leaving Ranma with his thoughts.
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Quick note about names:
Kazuki Uehara: one hope, higher plain
Aosora Saotome: blue sky, rice planting girl
Bakasaiga: Idiot crushing fang... not that you care.