I'm sorry for the mistakes on the first chapter. It seems I still keep using "as", "which", "until" and others way too much with the goal to try and link sentences together. I guess that's what someone who never learned English at school would do. I'll try to do better.
Chapter 2
The day seemed just as exciting as any other for a couple well known for their bickering in public areas. These two managed to raise the eyebrows from old and young across the years after ferocious fights ensued almost on a daily base, fact that never ceased to amaze some while horrifying others..
Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo raced one after the other during their usual chase away, either from a giant mallet readily available to impart justice, or trying to squash a cheater whose fault he hardly had on the matter.
"Ranma you idiot!, stay where you are right now!" Yelled the girl who tried to avoid a major incident between her family, and the people around who already pegged them as a dysfunctional bunch riddled with too many issues.
"No way. I ain't falling for that again, Akane." Said the boy who were able to avoid a crushing blow against the pavement. The reason for their altercations were none other than the usual intervention of a purpled haired girl intensely obstinate in destroying whatever union their fathers boasted ever since they tried to officially marry three years ago.
"I keep telling ya!, It wasn't my fault Shampoo decided to show herself half naked through the bathroom's window. Again!" Admitted the teen who could barely avoid damage.
Neither the innocent response nor the giggling girl riding her bike right behind the two while donning nothing else but a towel made things any better for the seething Tendo who at this point entertained the idea of calling it quits, and leave the idiot alone with his "other" fiancées.
In fact, hearing the maddening screams from the pigtailed boy explaining aloud what had happened this morning made Akane blush apologetically towards the neighbors staring back at them.
"Ugh!" growled intensely the girl. She knew things like these were mostly Shampoo's idea, but she always believed Ranma had the power to stop such behavior if he talked to the Chinese waitress about some ground rules to follow.
In all, things seemed like the regular mishaps these town folks grew accustomed to outlive. The other situation that was about to ensue though became a staple well known around the locals, only this time the outcome was going to be completely different from before.
"Ranma Saotome. .. .Prepare to die!" Came the scream out of nowhere. A familiar phrase that didn't phase the most alarming, or fearful of them all. Not even the cop swinging his stick around would heed attention to the super powerful teens who were able to destroy walls, bent the environment out of shape and move aerodynamically impossible. After all, the city's council had already come up with measures available for this kind of things.
"Great, ta make things more interesting I get ta deal with Ryoga as well." Muttered Ranma as he saw an angry bandanna boy rushing at him.
"Hey, pig breath. Haven't seen you in a while. What's shaking?" Asked the teen amused. It had been a year since Ranma and Ryoga attended their personal squabbles over rivalry, and duels. Akari Unryu was now in the picture and the eternally lost boy had been put in a trance away from the city, and them.
Despite the light demeanor in which Ranma handled the situation things began to unfurl in a totally different way when a fist managed to crush the pavement right below his feet regardless of the people he could hurt in the process.
Ranma, barely able to avoid the attack waited on top of a nearby roof, watching in horror as the pieces of concrete, and dirt flew all over the place. His gaze followed not only at Shampoo who was able to expertly deflect the debris but at Akane who had no time to even jump back from the incoming trash.
"Akane!" claimed the pigtailed boy, rushing at her side but stopping in mid air when the enraged lost boy conveniently grabbed the rocks aiming at her direction, tossing them aside without any effort.
In that moment the raven haired girl saw something she had never seen before. Right before her eyes Ryoga remained quietly staring away from her as if he looked right through the girl. Akane tried to reach and touch him, but that's when the teen reacted to her presence.
"Akane-san. Don't get involved." Dryly said Ryoga.
His rasped and tired voice told the girl something terrible happened to her best friend and confidant. She defied luck itself as her hand almost touched the boy's cheek only to be repelled when Ryoga twisted around and marched towards Ranma without any concern for her.
"Damn it. Don't get in my way." Bit the boy angrily at the unsuspecting Tendo girl, rushing over as his deepest depressive aura began to flare wildly.
"Ranma. This is all your fault. Prepare to die!" challenged Ryoga at his opponent once again, this time seriously meaning every word.
"Ryoga. What got into you man?" Said the pigtailed worried now that he saw true anger in his features. Something he had never seen before from their usual fights.
The question didn't phased the fanged teen who at this point remained focused on his target. Neither Shampoo or Ukyo, who at this moment appeared out of nowhere stayed on his radar much longer. Only Ranma remained in his enraged sight like a bull to the color red.
"I have no idea how are you doing this, but stop it right now!" Demanded Ryoga as his hands drove maddeningly towards the sides of his head, stopping for a mere second before engaging his opponent once again.
Ranma tried to discern the meaning behind the lost boy's rant, but what caught him off guard were the looks on Ryoga's features. His eyes started to blur thanks to the tears suddenly swelling on his face. He felt an extremely painful demeanor coming from his rival, and the vibe coming from his attacks felt desperate and sorrowful not the mess of punches he would aimlessly direct at him.
Ranma had no time to think what was going on through him though after the few avoidable hits the fanged boy threw suddenly vanished, leaving in their place a more intense intent to kill on every attempt to connect.
"Damn it Ryoga. What's going on man!?" Asked Ranma this time under the pressure from the assault. No answer came from the attacker who seemed eager to end what he had started as soon as possible.
Ukyo managed to throw her own spatula with the hope to stop Ryoga's relentless onslaught, but the maddening teen carelessly snapped the back of his hand towards the projectile, sending it flying over the houses around them.
"Pigboy stop now!" Demanded the Chinese girl as well, deciding to take her own luck on the unstoppable juggernaut and jumping into the fray despite the lack of clothes on the girl. Once she threw the bicycle over to the boy with her unusual fighter's strength it would look like Ranma had a powerful ally on his corner. Too bad the two-wheeler ended up where the spatula had gone before.
"Aiya!. Shampoo third 'cycle this month." Complained the girl this time, moving back from the boy who didn't care what remained in his path.
"Stay out of this! My beef is with that bastard only. Anyone else tries to intervene, and I'll just.. ." Nothing more he was able to say when Akane herself walked right between the two fighters. For a second he tried to stop and attend to the girl, specially after all the times they had spent together as close friends, but images in his head started to replace those feelings of friendship with the urgency to kill Ranma.
"Move." Declared Ryoga dryly.
"I don't know what's going on Ryoga but we can help you, just let me." Pleaded sweetly Akane right before she was interrupted by the demented teen.
Surprisingly enough Ranma, Ukyo and Shampoo saw with growing eyes as the lost boy softly, yet consistently shoved the girl aside. They knew that sudden reaction would never be used by the boy who had a crush on her for so long, giving them a more serious take on the situation.
"This isn't about you, so move." Said the teen almost unconsciously. The regular Ryoga Hibiki would have never done something like this, but his mind riddled with the crying, and the begging from that voice had his sanity buried deep at this point, locking his actions on the only responsible for it.
Ranma realized this was something in need to be solved hastily which prompted him to jump and catch the girl before she could hit a wall, or let the broken street beneath their feet prove a hazardous fall for the girl. "What the hell man. Are you insane?"
Ryoga simply stopped and waited impatiently until the pigtailed teen deposited Akane safely aside, then he moved away from the other girls and opted to get into a defensive stance a few feet away from the bunch.
"Get ready Ranma because you die today" Said the teen in a more serious manner.
Ranma found no other way to deal with the problem, but get serious this time around. He saw his rival, and friend stumble from one side to the other while his left hand reached his head in pain and his lips mutely spoke inaudible words only to himself. Something was bothering the lost boy, that was for sure although he had no time to try anything when blows began to fly his way out of nowhere.
"Damn it. Something keep him from aiming right, but his punches have some power in them. I better keep myself from getting hit." Thought the boy carefully when his guard protected him from harm, but the intensity from the punches would numb the affected area. Ranma had always been an expert in fending off from most attacks but this time a more focused Ryoga began to hit and skip towards him more furiously.
The anything goes martial artist could read every single blow with ease, and as he jumped from side to side Ranma failed to see the real strategy Ryoga unconsciously began to use to counter his insuperable speed.
The moment of truth came when a huge opening let Ryoga vulnerable for an assault from Ranma. The chestnuts roasted in an open fire technique proved perfect when his opponent concentrated mostly against Ranma's arms and legs, outside the center from his opponent.
The more Ryoga hit towards his shoulders and upper legs, the easier he let his full torso open for retaliation. Ranma figured that the lost boy thought he could take in any attack directed at his chest but a few thousand hits focused on his stomach by his fastest technique were more than enough to force the air out of him.
As planned, the pigtailed fighter began his assault against Ryoga, and just as he predicted, the bandanna clad boy walked a few steps back, trying to regain the air lost from such relentless blast of punches. It was satisfying to see him like that despite the strange numbing sensation his muscles began to register.
Ranma's labored breathing hardly mattered when he saw his rival suffocating on the ground, but that never counted as a victory when Ryoga, tired and weak stood once again without hesitation.
"Guess we're at it again buddy." Mustered bitterly the lighter teen.
"Guess again, Ranma Saotome." Gasped under his breath Ryoga right before he slowly got up, and walked closer to the pigtailed boy. Ranma decided to ignore his threat, and instead went back into an offensive stance exactly when both his arms, and legs almost gave up on him, leaving him leaning against a nearby wall.
"What the hell?" Asked the boy to himself. He tried to quickly understand the reasoning behind this outcome. There sure weren't any hits connecting directly against his guard which he used to slide away from a more powerful Ryoga.
That's when he realized something he didn't take into account up until this second happened. If he had some very good talents, analyzing a situation in the nick of time was his most valued asset thought assuredly the boy. "Man. I never thought of that in the first place, good one Ryoga." Said Ranma finally in defeat.
Akane and the other two girls saw in doubt what had happened but unable to explain it to themselves. It all seemed like Ranma had beaten Ryoga into a hyperventilating teen grabbing his guts and bent down on his feet. There were no assault fast enough the fanged boy could use to reach the pigtailed fighter, and yet at the end the slower opponent remained standing while the more agile one laid static against a wall.
"R-Ranma. What happened?" Asked Akane as she tried to wrap her mind around the situation.
"It took me some time ta realize, but Ryoga managed to harden his body ta a point where my punches just crashed against his steel like form, almost like what would happen if a normal person relentlessly punched a concrete wall. My muscles went numb and stopped reacting a few seconds after I could do anything about it."
It was something not even Ryoga had come up with in the heat of the fight. It was more like a reflection from the hell reigning in his troubled mind.
Without any other interruption, the lost boy grabbed Ranma by his silken shirt, pulling him up at his level and pulling his arm back ready for his own pummeling punishment.
"Like I said Ranma. You die today."