The original upload got messed up, entirely a fault of mine. Gomen.
The computer I use has been having problems lately. I´ve been wondering wether I should call in an exorcist (Or, failing that, a new computer).
Thank y´all for the comments and positive reviews. Nothing boosts your ego quite like total strangers telling you that you´re doing a good job, and with the aforementioned teachers, I need all the boosts I can get. (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more.)
Oh, I also have a policy to reply all mail sent to my inbox, so if you want to ask me something, just mail me at MrAndri@Hotmail.com. (Shameless plug, this ;-) )
Slightly disturbed productions present
A Ranma 1/2 FanFiction by WhiteIckyThing(Patent pending)
With special thanks to:
Nementh
Sonic
And, of course, Metroanime.
May the muse be forever bountiful for them.
The Masters of the Art
Part 2: The life of a master
Disclaimer: I have made no money and will not make money from this piece of fiction, and it´s not really mine either, only the storyline that I make up can be called my property. So buzz off, lawyers!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Toltiir looked around, and saw a lot of beings, far more than had been there when it all began. Many had conjured seats out of nowhere, others floated in the air, yet others sat on rocks or even hung on the shoulders of the bigger ones. It seemed as if this timeline was turning out to be rather popular, though there would always be those whom did not agree with the way it went. But, he thought, was that not part of the fun?
He looked at the newcomer, and noted that he had changed from a young woman into an age-bent Tengu, and was talking to a rather sleek looking taloned thing. Whoever this person was, it was obviously rather powerful. He would have to find out who this was, eventually.
The cat shook his head, then looked into the well, along with almost everyone else. He abruptly noted that he had not even considered stopping the stranger off, and as he looked down, He was rather glad that he hadn´t, for this little gathering was proving to be amusing, as well as interesting. He wasn´t going to be bored for a little while yet, possibly even for another week.
This Ranma was turning out to be more emotionally controlled and far more introspective than the original. Two points for the stranger there. He seemed to know what he was doing, even if he had just shifted shapes again... Ick. Even the Tengu had been better than this. I mean, a PINK ELEPHANT? In ROBES?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
In the Nerima district of Tokyo, Japan, a panda walked along, with a young red-head walking in long strides by its side. She had several bruises on her face, but seemed to bear it stoically with no apparent sign of discomfort. She wore a dark grey gi, and thus the injuries were rather comfortably explained to any bystanders, even if the panda was not.
The panda in question was fuming. He had trained his son so well, and the boy had been such an example of manhood that Genma had been ready to forgive the Cat-fist thing, and then this had to happen. The fates were truly cruel to this poor man.
On top of that, that GIRL of his had disobeyed him in that village in china soon afterwards! He had, of course, disciplined her severely, but she would recover in time for the challenge. In three days, his SON would at last complete his destiny, and clear the shame of any unmanly thing he had done. Now to find a place to stay for a little while and watch the hated Tendo at work...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma Saotome walked, head high and face carefully void of emotion, and thought of his current situation. The challenge, it seemed, would be fought soon, and and then they could at last settle down, Genma taking on new students and Ranma helping as well. This was what he hoped for, for the constant motion that was his life was becoming irritating and tedious. Perhaps he would get permission from his father to go on one last journey in order to find a cure for the curse.
He was, however, thinking of this mainly in order to avoid his current crisis of faith. He had been turned into a girl, the one thing he simply could not be, and yet, against all he had learned, he was no weaker for it, compensating for a slight loss of strength with a significant increase in speed. This both interested him and frightened him, though he would not admit it. He deeply hated his father, but all he knew came from the man, and if some of it was proven to be wrong, he would have nothing that he could fall back upon. He would lose his mental balance, so to speak. His life was as it was, and he could not imagine it being any different.
He then recalled the amazons, his father ordering him, and his hesitation... the hesitation that had cost him dearly. It took very little to anger Genma Saotome, and the bruises still pained him. They were not only on his-, well, why not face the truth- her face.
She stopped when the panda put a paw in her way, holdin a sign saying #We´ll camp here. Set up the tent.#
The girl noted that they were currently in a park of some sort, surrounded by trees. She nodded at the panda, which immediately walked off on some business of it´s own. Ranma then did something that would never have gone unpunished if her father had seen it.
She sighed.
The girl quickly unpacked the tent, and silently began to knock the tentspikes into the ground with the flat of her palms.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Dawn broke the next day, the sun casting it´s light to banish the last shadows of the night, and all was peaceful in the Nerima district.
"Heeeeyaaaah!"
Well, mostly peaceful.
In the Tendo family dojo, a fierce sparring match was currently taking place. Soun and Akane faced off, the two older sisters of the household watching the practice with interest even as they warmed up for their own match. Even on the frequent and, indeed, numerous training trips they took, they had not seen Soun train with such intensity. Akane didn´t seem to mind this at all, and indeed seemed not to notice, as she moved from block to punch to jump to kick seamlessly, giving no quarter. Her father was no less graceful or skilled, punching, dodging, backing up and blocking in response to his daughter´s maneuvers.
Each of the three sisters had her own strength and way of fighting. Kasumi rarely attacked, preferring to psyche out opponents into making mistakes, and had a superb defence. Nabiki read her opponents, often knowing before they did how they would strike, and had the ability to play a fight in her head a hundred times to cover any possibility. And yet, neither could defeat the youngest Tendo.
Akane´s strategy was to simply outclass her opponents, and when this was not an option, to find a weakness in her opponent, sometimes making up new moves on the fly. It made her an extremely unpredictable opponent, and she was patient enough to find a chink in any armour, so to speak.
When properly motivated, Akane could beat almost any opponent, the only exception so far having been her father, for even with all her skill she simply could not beat the man. His skill was greater than any of them (and all of them together, in fact) could boast of.
With something almost amounting to regret, the two sisters watched the display end, for it had been as good as any ballet when it came to pure grace and form, and began sparring themselves as the other two members of the family stopped and bowed to each other. Even then they were amazed, listening to their father criticising their sister´s form, berating her for things they hadn´t even considered to be weaknesses.
Soon after, Akane went out on her normal run through the neighborhood, mostly bouncing off the rooftops just for the hell of it, and thought of the upcoming challenge. Her daddy obviously wanted to make sure she was ready, for he had been far more intense this morning than usual. She was grateful for this, because any extra training was worth it, as long as she continued to improve. Gaining a little extra skill before the challenge couldn´t hurt.
She smiled at the feel of the sun´s warmth on her back, jumped on a nearby fence for a little balance practice and, well, because she wanted to, and slowed down a bit, enjoying the cool feel of the morning breeze.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Elsewhere in the district another match was taking place. The park did not see many visitors so early in the morning, and the few who were there shuddered and left when they saw the display before them.
While the sparring of the Tendos had been full of grace and vitality, showing the Art at it´s best form, this was brutal and fierce, no mercy shown, no quarter given. There were no jumps, no exultant battle cries, no flashy attacks. This was far more conservative, more about winning and survival rather than the Art itself. The cold feel of the combatants practically radiated from them, making people nearby shiver with sudden fright, and goosebumps rise from a chill felt only in the heart.
Ranma coolly noted everything in his environment, including the rising sun, useful for distracting the opponent before him, not caring about trivial matters like the morning being somehow "nice". He knew that his father had taught him that fighting was meaningless if you did not win, but he secretely enjoyed the exultation that he felt in battle. After all, he wouldn´t enjoy the feel of victory any more than usual. He had never really beaten his father, for everything he did always seemed to be countered in ways he had never even thought of.
It was rather appropriate for him to be thinking of this at that exact moment, for it was right then that his father somehow managed to block a new punch with barely any effort, and threw the boy ungracefully into a nearby pond, much to the annoyance of the local ducks.
"You´re getting overconfident again, boy. Never base your strategy around a single attack, thinking that it cannot be countered. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sensei."
The newly turned girl noted that this did not seem to satisfy him, for he walked with a determined expression towards her. She knew what was coming, and prepared for it. She hoped that her father wouldn´t cause too many bruises this time, they were annoying enough without being there all the time.
Genma punched his offspring fast and furiously in the face, with enough power to break an elephant´s neck.
"Do you understand?"
The girl did not even flinch, showing no discomfort at her new injury.
"Yes, Sensei, I understand. I will not base my strategy around a single attack."
Her father simply sneered, saying nothing to either apologise or praise her.
"Pack up the tent. We have a place to stay until the challenge is done with."
The girl silently complied, hate and anger flashing in her eyes when the man turned away.
She did not mind the pain she felt on her face. One has a tendency to get used to pain when it is applied frequently in large amounts. There was another pain she felt, however, that had nothing to do with the growing bruise on her features.
She knew that, according to her father, a man had every right to discipline his children as he saw fit. If the stupid old man wanted to punish her, he could do so with no fear of retaliation.
So why did it always feel like a part of her died every time he did so? Wasn´t it supposed to be like this? Was her father wrong about more than the supposed weakness of her current form? And if so, what?
Ranma was lost in thought, silently packing the supplies, and hoping that the answers would be forthcoming soon. The bruises were getting on her nerves again. One of these days, the stupid old man would get what was coming to him.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Some time later, Akane walked home from school, thinking angrily once again about the stupidity of the male part of the human race, in particular the teenaged part, and what she would like to do to them if the opportunity came. She was contemplating many ways of torture for a certain kendoist and had reached a very discusting thing involving three albino rats and a grated piece of gorgonzola cheese when she thought that maybe she should see Kasumi about some extra training and headed towards the local clinic. Kasumi spent all her time with that nice doctor Tofu since she asked him out for the first time. She had been so embarrased about taking the initiative by doing so, but Nabiki and Akane had convinced her to do it, seeing as he would never have worked up the courage himself.
It was pretty sweet, but not always practical, because she never seemed to be around except in the morning and around dinner, forcing Nabiki and Akane to take a more active role in the duties of housekeeping. Neither of them had to cook dinner yet, but it seemed as if it was only a matter of time.
As she approached the clinic, she was rather surprised to see a large panda in the lotus position in front of the building, looking for all the world like a meditating martial artist, or possibly a monk. She was rather more surprised to see a red-haired girl in front of it, in exactly the same position but upside down. Both had their eyes closed and seemed completely unaware of her presence.
Akane walked slowly between them, for they were on either side of the door which led inside, and stared quite openly at the display. Who was that girl? Why was that panda sitting like that? And why in front of the clinic of all places?
Being distracted, she failed to notice the skeletal figure creeping up behind her. A hand came down on her shoulder and, to put it mildly, Akane jumped- in the meaning that she rapidly accelerated upwards by the force of muscle expansion and/or contraction in her legs- and was left clinging to the ceiling for dear life.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Hi Akane, come to check up on your sister?"
Akane calmed down, then got a slightly sour look on her face as she jumped down, her long hair trailing behind her. Doctor Tofu always delighted in doing this to her, and according to him, Betty, the skeleton, felt the same way. It did tend to become rather annoying, because no matter how she tried she could never feel him coming. Kasumi didn´t seem to have that problem, though. She always knew where the good doctor was.
"Don´t scare me like that! But yeah, I was looking for Kasumi. But I also want to know who that girl is and why there´s a panda with her."
"Oh, them? They´re just staying here for a few days on family business, I think. They said they would be leaving in a few days. I decided to let them stay for a while, they don´t seem to have any other place to stay."
Akane grinned a little, knowing that Tofu was sometimes charitable to a fault, but Kasumi didn´t mind, and he did a lot of good things around the neighborhood, so he had become very popular around Nerima. She supposed that it wouldn´t hurt to have the houseguests around, and dismissed the way he talked about the panda as if it was human as another of his little ways.
"They´re pretty good martial artist, actually. You should have seen them sparring earlier, it was amazing!"
Akane instantly raised her interest in the strange guests a hundredfold at the mere mention of martial arts.
"Really?"
"Yes, in fact, maybe you should have a talk with them for a little while. Kasumi isn´t here, she went to the store, so that way you could pass the time until she gets here. But be patient, Ranma- the girl- is a bit... intense."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma had gotten up and was currently engrossed in a defensive kata while the panda was off on some business. It seemed as if the old man was doing that a lot since they came here, but he never told Ranma anything about it, and she wasn´t interested. Interest in anything but the art was swiftly crushed and Ranma subsequently punished for it. He had developed several secret interests besides the art in spite of his father´s warnings, however, especially at that time he had to recover from one of Genma´s "exercises". No one but him knew about this, and it would remain that way if he had any say about it.
"Hi there!"
Ranma looked over her shoulder at the girl that had just stepped out of the clinic. She had obviously come in while Ranma and her father had been meditating, for she had not noticed her before. Perhaps it might be benificial to learn how to detect more than just hostile opponents while meditating. What did she want?
Akane got a bit nervous as the strange girl simply stood there, staring into her eyes with cold, blue eyes, without even aknowledging the greeting. The doc hadn´t been kidding, this was just plain scary! And the clothes the girl wore were no better: A dark grey gi, slightly worn and frayed, with no sleeves and an accompanying black belt to go with it. The pigtail the girl wore seemed almost out of place on her: you got the sense that her hair should be in a ponytail or standing straight up. There was also an almost intangible feel of a chill in the air as she approached her. Oh well, she had begun, so no sense in stopping now...
"I´m Akane. You want to be friends?"
Good thing that her voice was steadier than she felt. Man, those eyes... Well, at least they were not quite as cold as before. Maybe she was making progress!
Ranma, in the meantime, was studying the girl inconspicuously. Long hair, black: A boy´s uniform, What was that all about? And what was this about "being friends", was she trying to lull Ranma into lowering his guard? Not gonna happen. Not after Ucch... Kuonji.
"You may want to think a bit before offering friendship to total strangers. You never know whether they are normal or not."
A sly insult there. Unfortunately, it seemed to go right over the girl´s head. Subtlety obviously wasn´t the method here. The girl- Akane?- just laughed.
Akane was relieved, and laughed nervously. For a moment there it looked as if Ranma was going to attack her right then and there. Still, there was more than coldness in those eyes. If Akane hadn´t been used to reading other people´s emotions, in particular her superhumanly calm father and sisters, she would have missed it.
"Heh, well, maybe you´re right, but doctor Tofu trusts you, and that´s enough in my book. Say, he mentioned something about you studying martial arts, could we spar a bit?"
Ranma was quite surprised, both at her apparently genuine wish for friendship, but also at the desire for sparring he heard in Akane´s voice. That girl obviously liked martial arts, thus once again contradicting what Ranma´s father had taught her. Well, it was martial arts, he could practice against someone besides her father without being punished and besides, if the girl was good it would give Ranma something to think about.
"Very well. My name is-"
"I know, it´s Ranma. The doc told me."
Straight to the point, eh? Ranma actually thought she felt a small grin forming on her face. This was just the way she liked it!
Akane grinned when she saw Ranma´s mouth twitch into what might have been a smile. If the face hadn´t been so expressionless she might have missed it. She took a relaxed stance, inviting her opponent to attack first.
Ranma went into a neutral stance, equally offensive and defensive, and looked at her opponent´s deceptively harmless posture. The girl was good, no doubt about that. Now to find out how good.
And with that thought, she charged silently, throwing a small jab at Akane´s face, followed by a snap kick at her head before jumping back.
Akane simply avoided the strikes, but the kick had nearly connected. She decided that this opponent was far beyond what she normally faced, and went into an offensive maneuver, using the momentum of her dodge to flip backwards and then jump into the air, going for the mid-air combat that her school specialised in.
Ranma blocked the attack, and got in a hard hit in the lover abdomen of her opponent, before backing off a bit and taking to the air herself.
The two fought in midair, jumping repeatedly, and exchanging blows for about ten minutes. Akane had only got a couple of hits in, while Ranma outclassed her severely, getting in at least a dozen hits in soft spots around Akane´s body. And the only thing that ran through Akane´s head at this point was that this was a real challenge. The hits she got in didn´t seem to have any effect at all! And to top it all off, the red haired girl knew Anything-goes! At most, Akane could defend herself for a while and hold her own for a bit, but winning seemed out of the question.
Ranma was really grinning now, having proven his theory about his father lying to him about the supposed weaker sex, and thought how this was far more challenging than those amazons, although Akane was still no match for Ranma.
The fighters stood facing each other, staring into each other´s face for a minute before, on some unseen signal, they broke off, bowing to each other.
Akane noted with some disappointment that the smile on the girl´s face seemed to fade almost instantly, but wasn´t discouraged. This just showed that there was a nice person behind those eyes... Brrr, cold again. It almost gave her goosebumps, the way Ranma looked at her.
Ranma, in the meantime, was silently berating herself for allowing someone to draw out an emotion in him. Emotions were weak. Friends were just enemies that had not been beaten. He would stand alone in all things...
"Hey, you´re even better than me, Ranma. But where did you learn the Anything-Goes style?"
Once again, Ranma was surprised by the friendly tone, and decided that he owed her at least an answer to that question. Seemed harmless enough.
"My father taught me. He is a master of the Art."
Akane´s mind boggled a bit. Just yesterday her father had told her that there was another master besides him, and now there was yet another one in the district?
"I thought there were only two masters!"
Ranma considered this for a moment, her expression not changing in the slightest.
"I thought there was only one, until we fought. Your style couldn´t be more distinctive."
This was true, Ranma thought. Only the Anything-Goes school specialized in mid-air combat and on-the-spot improvisation like that. This was interesting, to say the least. He would have to look in on this matter.
"Wait, I think I hear my sister coming. We´ll talk later, okay? I´d like to spar again."
Ranma couldn´t even open his mouth to answer before the girl waved her goodbye and ran off, jumping on the rooftops. She was a bit flashy for someone who fought for a living. Then again, that flashiness actually seemed to serve a purpose, for the girl was an incredibly good dodger. Maybe she could use that bit of knowledge...
The boy turned girl couldn´t even finish that thought before a panda came at her from nowhere and pointed a sign at her.
#Come with me. We´ll spar until dinner.#
The girl silently complied, her thoughts still fixed on her new- acquintance, but only because there was no other word for it. She then focused on the challenge ahead, for on the day after tomorrow she would face an unknown opponent, and wanted to be ready.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Akane ran up on the rooftops, thinking of the sparring match with Ranma. The girl was rather conservative in her movements, but seemed to use her rigidity to increase the power of her blows. That trick could be useful to remember...
She got no further with that thought, for she spotted her sister and jumped to her, talking of the upcoming challenge. She would have to focus, because she wanted to be ready for anything. Who knew what the third branch of the school would be like?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma was right: He had not been punished for sparring with that Akane girl. It was a good thing too: a new opponent, one that he could beat, and the opportunity to practice as a girl, so as to get used to the form. He would not be found at a disadvantage just because it rained when he was fighting. He didn´t like the thought of being caught off guard.
But that girl had managed it. She actually made him smile. Made him show emotion. That was supposed to be impossible. Emotions were weak.
Ranma shook his now male head slightly as he silently looked at Nerima from his vantage point from the rooftop of the clinic. He had managed to find a kettle in the kitchen when that Kasumi girl had left. There had been something about those two, something he could not put his finger on. It irritated him slightly. Especially Akane. Perhaps it had been her naivety, or maybe that enthusiasm she had shown? Something about her had caused him to slip, and it was not a good thing. He would have to examine her speech and reactions more closely the next time they met- if there would be a next time.
Ranma heard the snoring of a panda waft out through the window directly beneath him, and judged that it was safe to begin. He took out a small, unadorned and rectangular case from his gi, opened it and removed something from within it. And then, under the watcful gaze of the moon and the shine of the stars, he let his worries and anger slip away as he began his practice.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The day after was uneventful for all parties involved: The hospital wing of Furinkan high was visited once again by a throng of male students, A young boy turned into a girl and got yelled at, A young woman stopped by at a certain clinic to see her boyfriend, and things were rather peaceful around the neighborhood.
Ranma had sparred with that Akane girl again, in female form of course, and had not reached any conclusion. Nothing was amiss, he was the same person and in control of his emotions. Yet he had almost smiled again. This was not the best of times to discover a weakness, for the challenge would be held tomorrow. What if he lost control in the middle of that fight? He would have to be careful. He sincerely hoped that his opponent would be nothing like Akane. Then he would be in trouble.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Once again, the sun rose above the horizon, but this time, all was not well. There was a tension in the air, as if something momentuous was about to happen. The world itself seemed to hold it´s breath, the birds were subdued in the morning light, the breeze spoke not of the good weather but of dire portents. This was the morning as it was experienced at the Tendo dojo.
Akane was nearly bursting with anxiety. After having been once again soundly beaten by Ranma the day before, she was beginning to think that this opponent would be even worse. Ranma studied Anything Goes, and so did that Saotome guy her dad had talked about. What if he turned out to be even better?
Akane shook her head. No one was going to beat her in this fight! She would put all she had into this one. No matter what, she wasn´t going to lose.
She looked at her sisters, both dressed in formal Kimonos, and at her father, staring intently into the distance with a hard look in his eyes. She saw nothing but determination and it bolstered her. She would not lose, even if it killed her. She would prove to her father that she was worthy of his trust.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma showed no emotion, but his mind was in turmoil. The more he thought of the confirmed weakness he had, the more he began to feel afraid. He wished that he had had more time to practice with that Akane girl before the challenge, but it looked as if that would have to wait. The upcoming challenge was a large factor in his current emotional state, and he was hoping that he wouldn´t have any trouble with this opponent. Then again, he shouldn´t have to worry too much. Akane was the only person that had ever uncovered his weakness.
Then a flash of inspiration hit him. Maybe his father would be forgiving when he had won the challenge, so maybe Ranma could nudge him gently into staying a little longer in the Nerima district. Then he could work on his weakness at his leisure. His father would never need to know about it. What Genma did not know did not hurt Ranma.
Thinking thusly, he walked onwards alongside his father towards what looked like a dojo. A large sign outside proclaimed it to be "The Tendo dojo of Anything-Goes Martial Arts". They were finally here.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The Tendo´s were slightly shocked to hear someone knock the front door out of it´s hinges, causing a loud crash. All except Soun, that is.
"So, Saotome is here. Now it ends at last."
The sisters exchanged glances. By what they had heard, that Saotome was a monster!
Footsteps were heard, coming ever closer to the dojo. There were at least two people walking towards their position, and in a sudden movement the door slid open.
In walked an obviously bald man with glasses, but any further sign of age was not to be seen on the man. He looked at the assembled Family in front of him, and smiled a smile that looked more like a sneer than anything.
"Sorry about the door, Tendo. I guess I don´t really know my own strength. Or was the door maybe that weak and light so that you could open it?"
Before Soun could answer the man, Genma swept his hand towards the door.
"No matter. I present my son and heir, Ranma."
Akane´s head snapped up in shock, but she calmed down when she realised that this was not the person she was thinking of.
In walked a tall, dark-haired boy of about Akane´s age, but more of Soun´s build. At first glance, he looked rather handsome until you noticed the cold, dispassionate eyes and the total lack of emotion on his face. He wore a dark grey gi, frayed and dirty, which only caused him to look even more menacing. He looked no less dangerous than his father and, in fact, seemed even more so. He walked to the center of the dojo and crossed his arms, looking dispassionately at the family.
Kasumi looked at the boy with some fright showing on her face, Nabiki had tuned out her feelings and was analyzing the boy´s skills and coming out with rather impressive results, And Akane simply looked determined. This opponent was a boy, and she would be damned if she was going to lose to some big testosterone-marinated pervert!
Soun, however, showed nothing.
"I have my own heir, Saotome. You will not get away with your treatment of this house. Akane, step forward."
Akane got up, and felt her fear flow away. It was like stage fright; You felt it when anticipating the show, but once on the stage it seemed almost irrelevant. She walked to the center, the boy backing up, making space for the duel without uncrossing his arms, and stared into his eyes.
His sky blue eyes...
They looked familiar. Very familiar. Too familiar for comfort.
"You can´t be serious. A girl as your heir? You´ve obviously forgotten what the master taught us. Women are-"
"No weaker than men, Saotome. This was a fault in our master´s techings. Why should we believe anything that old man said?"
"He may have been an old fool, but he was a master of the Art. You don´t get to be that good without being right."
"Might does not make right."
"Tendo, you have truly grown soft if you believe this. Might is right. It´s the only true rule in life."
As the two men argued ever more loudly, Akane and Ranma stood watching each other, completely unheeding of what was going on around them. There was only their opponent. There would only be the fight. Their thoughts were absolutely focused on the person before them.
Ranma, in fact, was almost panicking. Of course, you wouldn´t see it on his face, but it was true nevertheless. His opponent was the only one who had ever found a weakness in his technique besides his father. The only one he had not wished to face. He couldn´t beat her, otherwise he would never figure out what was wrong! And who knew what would happen if he showed any emotion.
Akane was getting more and more frustrated by the second. That guy wouldn´t even blink! And his eyes... they were just too familiar, and the longer she thought about it, the more frustrated she became when she could not remember where she had seen them before.
At some unseen signal, the two fighters simultaniously snapped into fighting positions, still watching each other. Then, the fight began.
Both combatants jumped high into the air, exchanging blows mostly to test each other out. Or at least Akane did. Ranma was intent on not showing any emotion, and was not really focusing on the fight.
They landed, watching each other warily, and Akane was struck immediately by the familiar style the boy used. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that he was as good as the girl Ranma. Only one thing for it: All out attack!
Ranma could not do anything. Something about that girl was slowly causing him to smile, especially when she showed such enthusiasm! He dodged and blocked her attacks, only occasionally throwing in a punch more for show than anything. They were still powerful enough to stop a horse, though.
Suddenly, in the heightened state of mind caused by adrenaline, Akane remembered where she had seen those eyes. The red-headed girl. Ranma. And that grin... It was just like hers... and the pigtail, and the gi, and...
She backed off, trying to seem determined, but a small look of amasement still crept on her face. They were just too much alike. Not even siblings could be that close, could they?
She didn´t stop to think further, renewing her attack which seemed to be rather more careful than before. The small, almost-smile on that boy´s face should have irritated her, but for some reason it didn´t. It was just too much like the girl´s smile.
And then Ranma used an attack only the two of them could possibly know. It was a move that Akane had developed when sparring with the girl-Ranma. It hadn´t worked, but it was a good move nevertheless. And now, this boy was using the exact same move. That cinched it: The girl and the boy definetly knew each other. And they were obviously close.
Unconsciously, the fight slowly went down from an all-out match into a friendly sparring match. The two martial artists didn´t care who might be watching, or what was going on. They simply sparred together, comparing their skills on an invisible scale. Ten minutes passed, then another ten, then twenty, and still they fought in an almost friendly fashion.
And suddenly they stopped when they both realised at the same time that something was wrong. For one thing, there was no one in the dojo to watch the fight.
This, as one might imagine, was surprising.
Ranma just looked around, an extremely small look of surprise on his face for just a moment.
Akane wasn´t quite as subtle as that.
"Where is everybody?"
Ranma was about to answer with a sarcastic remark when he heard the noise of a fight outside.
The two fighters looked at each other for a moment, then Ranma made a small noise of irritation and Akane shrugged.
Before Akane could ask the boy about wether he knew the girl-Ranma, he quickly walked outside, and Akane was forced to run after him.
"Hey, wait up you jerk!"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Soun and Genma were fighting.
That was it. There was no other word for it. Simple and direct, yet in simplicity can be found great beauty.
Too bad that this wasn´t the case this time...
"FLYING CRANE SPIRAL ATTACK!"
A small, easily dodged kick from Genma.
"ROARING PANTHER PUNCH!"
An ineffectual jab from Soun.
"CROUCHING DRAGON STRIKE!"
A slight punch, slow and impotent, on Genma´s part.
Well, you get the picture. It was as if the two masters were children at play. And as Akane watched, she suddenly understood how they could have fought for an entire night without pausing. She had an incredulous look on her face and then, quite understandably, put her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook with what is commonly known as silent laughter. Her sisters wouldn´t have wanted to miss this for anything: Their serious father doing something like this? No wonder they weren´t in the dojo!
Ranma, in the meantime, was pissed. He had gone through hell for ten years, suffered every torture imaginable and a few more besides, had gotten a mortal fear of cats, lived in fear and hate for his father, had a curse that turned him into a girl... All for THIS?
The only reason he didn´t attack the stupid old man on the spot was the fact that Akane seemed to find this funny. How could anything be funny about this?
"What´s so damn amusing?"
Akane tried to look annoyed, but in the face of the spectacle in front of her, she just couldn´t do it. She simply pointed at the two men and laughed some more.
Ranma just blinked once, still showing no emotion, before turning his head to the fight. He really did not understand this girl. He suddenly realised that the only way for him to weed out his weakness would be to understand what it was about her that made him smile. Shouldn´t be too hard, right?
Poor Ranma. Greater men than he had tried the very same thing and failed utterly. He had his work cut out for him, right enough.
Ranma suddenly felt irritated at his father again, and muttered under his breath.
"Stupid old man. Can´t do anything right, can you."
And at those words, Genma and Soun attacked each other at the exact same moment, and knocked each other out. This duel was over.
Without any parting words whatsoever, Ranma picked up his father with one hand and jumped up onto the wall of the compund, pausing only for a moment to look at Akane speculatively before running off to the clinic, leaving behind a very amused young girl to look for her sisters, who had obviously decided that this wasn´t worth it some time earlier.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Later that night, Genma woke up with a headache to rival the old master´s beatings, and noted that he was in the clinic, on his futon and in panda form. Ranma was nowhere to be found. His son had obviously thought of maintaining their disguise in front of the oldest of the Tendo girls- Kasumi, that was her name. He wasted no time in speculating on what went wrong.
That treacherous Tendo had grown even weaker than he had thought at first, tricking Genma into the yard and thus posponing the match until a later date due to the lack of a witness on the Saotome´s part. Soon enough the challenge would be enacted, and then he would show him who was the master of the Anything Goes!
But first, he would beat up that dwarf with the hammer that was pounding on his head...
Genma Saotome fell asleep once more, the relaxing tunes of a flute playing somewhere outside lulling him into slumber.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Soun Tendo woke up, feeling a pack of ice on his forehead. So, that traitorous Saotome had betrayed his trust again. This was far from over!
There were some minor annoyances to take care of first though...
"Damn dwarf... stop pounding on my head with that hammer."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Somewhere, on the shores of china, a very angry amazon was pondering how to get to japan. She fingered the bandage on her face, still sore from the incident at the village.
She would find that girl and that man with her, and kill them both. For what they had done, they deserved no less. Their transgression was too great for anything more lenient.
"Never to Forgive, Never to Forget!"
She walked along the beach, hoping that she would find a port soon. It would not do for her to attempt to swim the distance, it was too far and besides, salt water and open wounds did not mix.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ryoga Hibiki was lost. This was not really a special or unique occurance. He was eternally lost, and that was it. Of course, he would never admit it.
Who knew why he was lost? Who knew how he had been cursed with a sense of direction so bad that it took him four hours to find his way out of a closet? No one really knew, but he had found himself a culprit. A man who had beaten him up every day just to get some bread, a man that had skipped out on their man-to-man fight, a man that had been mean to him just because he had been there. And his opinion was suddenly voiced loudly.
"RANMA SAOTOME, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The boy looked around, seeing nothing but a dense wood, and decided to scare the local wildlife some more.
"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ukyo Kuonji was dressed in a black suit, and had tied her long, brown hair with a black ribbon. She had a giant spatula on her back and wore a bandolier full of smaller spatulas, as she did at all times. The rain pounded all around her, but she didn´t care. Nothing really mattered at the moment.
She stood in front of her family shrine, and looked at the picture of her father she had just left there. He had been crippled for life, unable to feel anything below his waist since that bastard Saotome had brutally attacked him. He had still found the strength to teach her the secret arts of her family and had helped her with the shop she had opened when she was at school. He had been so strong, never complaining but always feeling pain that had nothing to do with his body.
And now he was dead.
She had sworn to him that she would avenge him, that the Saotomes would pay for what they had done.
She walked off, leaving the shrine behind, and decided that she would practice her Art for a while before facing the bastards. Battling the sea seemed like a good training method, and she would stay on a local beach for a while before setting off.
"You´ll pay for this, Saotome. This I swear on my father´s grave."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
What? Don´t look at me like that, it´s scary. And what are you doing with that cattle prod?
So I didn´t feel like writing a dark fic just yet. A little bit of humor never hurt.
Feel free to review, and say whatever you wish. Only by expressing our thoughts do we truly become free.
P.S. You like Nachos? I like Nachos.
The computer I use has been having problems lately. I´ve been wondering wether I should call in an exorcist (Or, failing that, a new computer).
Thank y´all for the comments and positive reviews. Nothing boosts your ego quite like total strangers telling you that you´re doing a good job, and with the aforementioned teachers, I need all the boosts I can get. (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more.)
Oh, I also have a policy to reply all mail sent to my inbox, so if you want to ask me something, just mail me at MrAndri@Hotmail.com. (Shameless plug, this ;-) )
Slightly disturbed productions present
A Ranma 1/2 FanFiction by WhiteIckyThing(Patent pending)
With special thanks to:
Nementh
Sonic
And, of course, Metroanime.
May the muse be forever bountiful for them.
The Masters of the Art
Part 2: The life of a master
Disclaimer: I have made no money and will not make money from this piece of fiction, and it´s not really mine either, only the storyline that I make up can be called my property. So buzz off, lawyers!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Toltiir looked around, and saw a lot of beings, far more than had been there when it all began. Many had conjured seats out of nowhere, others floated in the air, yet others sat on rocks or even hung on the shoulders of the bigger ones. It seemed as if this timeline was turning out to be rather popular, though there would always be those whom did not agree with the way it went. But, he thought, was that not part of the fun?
He looked at the newcomer, and noted that he had changed from a young woman into an age-bent Tengu, and was talking to a rather sleek looking taloned thing. Whoever this person was, it was obviously rather powerful. He would have to find out who this was, eventually.
The cat shook his head, then looked into the well, along with almost everyone else. He abruptly noted that he had not even considered stopping the stranger off, and as he looked down, He was rather glad that he hadn´t, for this little gathering was proving to be amusing, as well as interesting. He wasn´t going to be bored for a little while yet, possibly even for another week.
This Ranma was turning out to be more emotionally controlled and far more introspective than the original. Two points for the stranger there. He seemed to know what he was doing, even if he had just shifted shapes again... Ick. Even the Tengu had been better than this. I mean, a PINK ELEPHANT? In ROBES?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
In the Nerima district of Tokyo, Japan, a panda walked along, with a young red-head walking in long strides by its side. She had several bruises on her face, but seemed to bear it stoically with no apparent sign of discomfort. She wore a dark grey gi, and thus the injuries were rather comfortably explained to any bystanders, even if the panda was not.
The panda in question was fuming. He had trained his son so well, and the boy had been such an example of manhood that Genma had been ready to forgive the Cat-fist thing, and then this had to happen. The fates were truly cruel to this poor man.
On top of that, that GIRL of his had disobeyed him in that village in china soon afterwards! He had, of course, disciplined her severely, but she would recover in time for the challenge. In three days, his SON would at last complete his destiny, and clear the shame of any unmanly thing he had done. Now to find a place to stay for a little while and watch the hated Tendo at work...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma Saotome walked, head high and face carefully void of emotion, and thought of his current situation. The challenge, it seemed, would be fought soon, and and then they could at last settle down, Genma taking on new students and Ranma helping as well. This was what he hoped for, for the constant motion that was his life was becoming irritating and tedious. Perhaps he would get permission from his father to go on one last journey in order to find a cure for the curse.
He was, however, thinking of this mainly in order to avoid his current crisis of faith. He had been turned into a girl, the one thing he simply could not be, and yet, against all he had learned, he was no weaker for it, compensating for a slight loss of strength with a significant increase in speed. This both interested him and frightened him, though he would not admit it. He deeply hated his father, but all he knew came from the man, and if some of it was proven to be wrong, he would have nothing that he could fall back upon. He would lose his mental balance, so to speak. His life was as it was, and he could not imagine it being any different.
He then recalled the amazons, his father ordering him, and his hesitation... the hesitation that had cost him dearly. It took very little to anger Genma Saotome, and the bruises still pained him. They were not only on his-, well, why not face the truth- her face.
She stopped when the panda put a paw in her way, holdin a sign saying #We´ll camp here. Set up the tent.#
The girl noted that they were currently in a park of some sort, surrounded by trees. She nodded at the panda, which immediately walked off on some business of it´s own. Ranma then did something that would never have gone unpunished if her father had seen it.
She sighed.
The girl quickly unpacked the tent, and silently began to knock the tentspikes into the ground with the flat of her palms.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Dawn broke the next day, the sun casting it´s light to banish the last shadows of the night, and all was peaceful in the Nerima district.
"Heeeeyaaaah!"
Well, mostly peaceful.
In the Tendo family dojo, a fierce sparring match was currently taking place. Soun and Akane faced off, the two older sisters of the household watching the practice with interest even as they warmed up for their own match. Even on the frequent and, indeed, numerous training trips they took, they had not seen Soun train with such intensity. Akane didn´t seem to mind this at all, and indeed seemed not to notice, as she moved from block to punch to jump to kick seamlessly, giving no quarter. Her father was no less graceful or skilled, punching, dodging, backing up and blocking in response to his daughter´s maneuvers.
Each of the three sisters had her own strength and way of fighting. Kasumi rarely attacked, preferring to psyche out opponents into making mistakes, and had a superb defence. Nabiki read her opponents, often knowing before they did how they would strike, and had the ability to play a fight in her head a hundred times to cover any possibility. And yet, neither could defeat the youngest Tendo.
Akane´s strategy was to simply outclass her opponents, and when this was not an option, to find a weakness in her opponent, sometimes making up new moves on the fly. It made her an extremely unpredictable opponent, and she was patient enough to find a chink in any armour, so to speak.
When properly motivated, Akane could beat almost any opponent, the only exception so far having been her father, for even with all her skill she simply could not beat the man. His skill was greater than any of them (and all of them together, in fact) could boast of.
With something almost amounting to regret, the two sisters watched the display end, for it had been as good as any ballet when it came to pure grace and form, and began sparring themselves as the other two members of the family stopped and bowed to each other. Even then they were amazed, listening to their father criticising their sister´s form, berating her for things they hadn´t even considered to be weaknesses.
Soon after, Akane went out on her normal run through the neighborhood, mostly bouncing off the rooftops just for the hell of it, and thought of the upcoming challenge. Her daddy obviously wanted to make sure she was ready, for he had been far more intense this morning than usual. She was grateful for this, because any extra training was worth it, as long as she continued to improve. Gaining a little extra skill before the challenge couldn´t hurt.
She smiled at the feel of the sun´s warmth on her back, jumped on a nearby fence for a little balance practice and, well, because she wanted to, and slowed down a bit, enjoying the cool feel of the morning breeze.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Elsewhere in the district another match was taking place. The park did not see many visitors so early in the morning, and the few who were there shuddered and left when they saw the display before them.
While the sparring of the Tendos had been full of grace and vitality, showing the Art at it´s best form, this was brutal and fierce, no mercy shown, no quarter given. There were no jumps, no exultant battle cries, no flashy attacks. This was far more conservative, more about winning and survival rather than the Art itself. The cold feel of the combatants practically radiated from them, making people nearby shiver with sudden fright, and goosebumps rise from a chill felt only in the heart.
Ranma coolly noted everything in his environment, including the rising sun, useful for distracting the opponent before him, not caring about trivial matters like the morning being somehow "nice". He knew that his father had taught him that fighting was meaningless if you did not win, but he secretely enjoyed the exultation that he felt in battle. After all, he wouldn´t enjoy the feel of victory any more than usual. He had never really beaten his father, for everything he did always seemed to be countered in ways he had never even thought of.
It was rather appropriate for him to be thinking of this at that exact moment, for it was right then that his father somehow managed to block a new punch with barely any effort, and threw the boy ungracefully into a nearby pond, much to the annoyance of the local ducks.
"You´re getting overconfident again, boy. Never base your strategy around a single attack, thinking that it cannot be countered. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sensei."
The newly turned girl noted that this did not seem to satisfy him, for he walked with a determined expression towards her. She knew what was coming, and prepared for it. She hoped that her father wouldn´t cause too many bruises this time, they were annoying enough without being there all the time.
Genma punched his offspring fast and furiously in the face, with enough power to break an elephant´s neck.
"Do you understand?"
The girl did not even flinch, showing no discomfort at her new injury.
"Yes, Sensei, I understand. I will not base my strategy around a single attack."
Her father simply sneered, saying nothing to either apologise or praise her.
"Pack up the tent. We have a place to stay until the challenge is done with."
The girl silently complied, hate and anger flashing in her eyes when the man turned away.
She did not mind the pain she felt on her face. One has a tendency to get used to pain when it is applied frequently in large amounts. There was another pain she felt, however, that had nothing to do with the growing bruise on her features.
She knew that, according to her father, a man had every right to discipline his children as he saw fit. If the stupid old man wanted to punish her, he could do so with no fear of retaliation.
So why did it always feel like a part of her died every time he did so? Wasn´t it supposed to be like this? Was her father wrong about more than the supposed weakness of her current form? And if so, what?
Ranma was lost in thought, silently packing the supplies, and hoping that the answers would be forthcoming soon. The bruises were getting on her nerves again. One of these days, the stupid old man would get what was coming to him.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Some time later, Akane walked home from school, thinking angrily once again about the stupidity of the male part of the human race, in particular the teenaged part, and what she would like to do to them if the opportunity came. She was contemplating many ways of torture for a certain kendoist and had reached a very discusting thing involving three albino rats and a grated piece of gorgonzola cheese when she thought that maybe she should see Kasumi about some extra training and headed towards the local clinic. Kasumi spent all her time with that nice doctor Tofu since she asked him out for the first time. She had been so embarrased about taking the initiative by doing so, but Nabiki and Akane had convinced her to do it, seeing as he would never have worked up the courage himself.
It was pretty sweet, but not always practical, because she never seemed to be around except in the morning and around dinner, forcing Nabiki and Akane to take a more active role in the duties of housekeeping. Neither of them had to cook dinner yet, but it seemed as if it was only a matter of time.
As she approached the clinic, she was rather surprised to see a large panda in the lotus position in front of the building, looking for all the world like a meditating martial artist, or possibly a monk. She was rather more surprised to see a red-haired girl in front of it, in exactly the same position but upside down. Both had their eyes closed and seemed completely unaware of her presence.
Akane walked slowly between them, for they were on either side of the door which led inside, and stared quite openly at the display. Who was that girl? Why was that panda sitting like that? And why in front of the clinic of all places?
Being distracted, she failed to notice the skeletal figure creeping up behind her. A hand came down on her shoulder and, to put it mildly, Akane jumped- in the meaning that she rapidly accelerated upwards by the force of muscle expansion and/or contraction in her legs- and was left clinging to the ceiling for dear life.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Hi Akane, come to check up on your sister?"
Akane calmed down, then got a slightly sour look on her face as she jumped down, her long hair trailing behind her. Doctor Tofu always delighted in doing this to her, and according to him, Betty, the skeleton, felt the same way. It did tend to become rather annoying, because no matter how she tried she could never feel him coming. Kasumi didn´t seem to have that problem, though. She always knew where the good doctor was.
"Don´t scare me like that! But yeah, I was looking for Kasumi. But I also want to know who that girl is and why there´s a panda with her."
"Oh, them? They´re just staying here for a few days on family business, I think. They said they would be leaving in a few days. I decided to let them stay for a while, they don´t seem to have any other place to stay."
Akane grinned a little, knowing that Tofu was sometimes charitable to a fault, but Kasumi didn´t mind, and he did a lot of good things around the neighborhood, so he had become very popular around Nerima. She supposed that it wouldn´t hurt to have the houseguests around, and dismissed the way he talked about the panda as if it was human as another of his little ways.
"They´re pretty good martial artist, actually. You should have seen them sparring earlier, it was amazing!"
Akane instantly raised her interest in the strange guests a hundredfold at the mere mention of martial arts.
"Really?"
"Yes, in fact, maybe you should have a talk with them for a little while. Kasumi isn´t here, she went to the store, so that way you could pass the time until she gets here. But be patient, Ranma- the girl- is a bit... intense."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma had gotten up and was currently engrossed in a defensive kata while the panda was off on some business. It seemed as if the old man was doing that a lot since they came here, but he never told Ranma anything about it, and she wasn´t interested. Interest in anything but the art was swiftly crushed and Ranma subsequently punished for it. He had developed several secret interests besides the art in spite of his father´s warnings, however, especially at that time he had to recover from one of Genma´s "exercises". No one but him knew about this, and it would remain that way if he had any say about it.
"Hi there!"
Ranma looked over her shoulder at the girl that had just stepped out of the clinic. She had obviously come in while Ranma and her father had been meditating, for she had not noticed her before. Perhaps it might be benificial to learn how to detect more than just hostile opponents while meditating. What did she want?
Akane got a bit nervous as the strange girl simply stood there, staring into her eyes with cold, blue eyes, without even aknowledging the greeting. The doc hadn´t been kidding, this was just plain scary! And the clothes the girl wore were no better: A dark grey gi, slightly worn and frayed, with no sleeves and an accompanying black belt to go with it. The pigtail the girl wore seemed almost out of place on her: you got the sense that her hair should be in a ponytail or standing straight up. There was also an almost intangible feel of a chill in the air as she approached her. Oh well, she had begun, so no sense in stopping now...
"I´m Akane. You want to be friends?"
Good thing that her voice was steadier than she felt. Man, those eyes... Well, at least they were not quite as cold as before. Maybe she was making progress!
Ranma, in the meantime, was studying the girl inconspicuously. Long hair, black: A boy´s uniform, What was that all about? And what was this about "being friends", was she trying to lull Ranma into lowering his guard? Not gonna happen. Not after Ucch... Kuonji.
"You may want to think a bit before offering friendship to total strangers. You never know whether they are normal or not."
A sly insult there. Unfortunately, it seemed to go right over the girl´s head. Subtlety obviously wasn´t the method here. The girl- Akane?- just laughed.
Akane was relieved, and laughed nervously. For a moment there it looked as if Ranma was going to attack her right then and there. Still, there was more than coldness in those eyes. If Akane hadn´t been used to reading other people´s emotions, in particular her superhumanly calm father and sisters, she would have missed it.
"Heh, well, maybe you´re right, but doctor Tofu trusts you, and that´s enough in my book. Say, he mentioned something about you studying martial arts, could we spar a bit?"
Ranma was quite surprised, both at her apparently genuine wish for friendship, but also at the desire for sparring he heard in Akane´s voice. That girl obviously liked martial arts, thus once again contradicting what Ranma´s father had taught her. Well, it was martial arts, he could practice against someone besides her father without being punished and besides, if the girl was good it would give Ranma something to think about.
"Very well. My name is-"
"I know, it´s Ranma. The doc told me."
Straight to the point, eh? Ranma actually thought she felt a small grin forming on her face. This was just the way she liked it!
Akane grinned when she saw Ranma´s mouth twitch into what might have been a smile. If the face hadn´t been so expressionless she might have missed it. She took a relaxed stance, inviting her opponent to attack first.
Ranma went into a neutral stance, equally offensive and defensive, and looked at her opponent´s deceptively harmless posture. The girl was good, no doubt about that. Now to find out how good.
And with that thought, she charged silently, throwing a small jab at Akane´s face, followed by a snap kick at her head before jumping back.
Akane simply avoided the strikes, but the kick had nearly connected. She decided that this opponent was far beyond what she normally faced, and went into an offensive maneuver, using the momentum of her dodge to flip backwards and then jump into the air, going for the mid-air combat that her school specialised in.
Ranma blocked the attack, and got in a hard hit in the lover abdomen of her opponent, before backing off a bit and taking to the air herself.
The two fought in midair, jumping repeatedly, and exchanging blows for about ten minutes. Akane had only got a couple of hits in, while Ranma outclassed her severely, getting in at least a dozen hits in soft spots around Akane´s body. And the only thing that ran through Akane´s head at this point was that this was a real challenge. The hits she got in didn´t seem to have any effect at all! And to top it all off, the red haired girl knew Anything-goes! At most, Akane could defend herself for a while and hold her own for a bit, but winning seemed out of the question.
Ranma was really grinning now, having proven his theory about his father lying to him about the supposed weaker sex, and thought how this was far more challenging than those amazons, although Akane was still no match for Ranma.
The fighters stood facing each other, staring into each other´s face for a minute before, on some unseen signal, they broke off, bowing to each other.
Akane noted with some disappointment that the smile on the girl´s face seemed to fade almost instantly, but wasn´t discouraged. This just showed that there was a nice person behind those eyes... Brrr, cold again. It almost gave her goosebumps, the way Ranma looked at her.
Ranma, in the meantime, was silently berating herself for allowing someone to draw out an emotion in him. Emotions were weak. Friends were just enemies that had not been beaten. He would stand alone in all things...
"Hey, you´re even better than me, Ranma. But where did you learn the Anything-Goes style?"
Once again, Ranma was surprised by the friendly tone, and decided that he owed her at least an answer to that question. Seemed harmless enough.
"My father taught me. He is a master of the Art."
Akane´s mind boggled a bit. Just yesterday her father had told her that there was another master besides him, and now there was yet another one in the district?
"I thought there were only two masters!"
Ranma considered this for a moment, her expression not changing in the slightest.
"I thought there was only one, until we fought. Your style couldn´t be more distinctive."
This was true, Ranma thought. Only the Anything-Goes school specialized in mid-air combat and on-the-spot improvisation like that. This was interesting, to say the least. He would have to look in on this matter.
"Wait, I think I hear my sister coming. We´ll talk later, okay? I´d like to spar again."
Ranma couldn´t even open his mouth to answer before the girl waved her goodbye and ran off, jumping on the rooftops. She was a bit flashy for someone who fought for a living. Then again, that flashiness actually seemed to serve a purpose, for the girl was an incredibly good dodger. Maybe she could use that bit of knowledge...
The boy turned girl couldn´t even finish that thought before a panda came at her from nowhere and pointed a sign at her.
#Come with me. We´ll spar until dinner.#
The girl silently complied, her thoughts still fixed on her new- acquintance, but only because there was no other word for it. She then focused on the challenge ahead, for on the day after tomorrow she would face an unknown opponent, and wanted to be ready.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Akane ran up on the rooftops, thinking of the sparring match with Ranma. The girl was rather conservative in her movements, but seemed to use her rigidity to increase the power of her blows. That trick could be useful to remember...
She got no further with that thought, for she spotted her sister and jumped to her, talking of the upcoming challenge. She would have to focus, because she wanted to be ready for anything. Who knew what the third branch of the school would be like?
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma was right: He had not been punished for sparring with that Akane girl. It was a good thing too: a new opponent, one that he could beat, and the opportunity to practice as a girl, so as to get used to the form. He would not be found at a disadvantage just because it rained when he was fighting. He didn´t like the thought of being caught off guard.
But that girl had managed it. She actually made him smile. Made him show emotion. That was supposed to be impossible. Emotions were weak.
Ranma shook his now male head slightly as he silently looked at Nerima from his vantage point from the rooftop of the clinic. He had managed to find a kettle in the kitchen when that Kasumi girl had left. There had been something about those two, something he could not put his finger on. It irritated him slightly. Especially Akane. Perhaps it had been her naivety, or maybe that enthusiasm she had shown? Something about her had caused him to slip, and it was not a good thing. He would have to examine her speech and reactions more closely the next time they met- if there would be a next time.
Ranma heard the snoring of a panda waft out through the window directly beneath him, and judged that it was safe to begin. He took out a small, unadorned and rectangular case from his gi, opened it and removed something from within it. And then, under the watcful gaze of the moon and the shine of the stars, he let his worries and anger slip away as he began his practice.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The day after was uneventful for all parties involved: The hospital wing of Furinkan high was visited once again by a throng of male students, A young boy turned into a girl and got yelled at, A young woman stopped by at a certain clinic to see her boyfriend, and things were rather peaceful around the neighborhood.
Ranma had sparred with that Akane girl again, in female form of course, and had not reached any conclusion. Nothing was amiss, he was the same person and in control of his emotions. Yet he had almost smiled again. This was not the best of times to discover a weakness, for the challenge would be held tomorrow. What if he lost control in the middle of that fight? He would have to be careful. He sincerely hoped that his opponent would be nothing like Akane. Then he would be in trouble.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Once again, the sun rose above the horizon, but this time, all was not well. There was a tension in the air, as if something momentuous was about to happen. The world itself seemed to hold it´s breath, the birds were subdued in the morning light, the breeze spoke not of the good weather but of dire portents. This was the morning as it was experienced at the Tendo dojo.
Akane was nearly bursting with anxiety. After having been once again soundly beaten by Ranma the day before, she was beginning to think that this opponent would be even worse. Ranma studied Anything Goes, and so did that Saotome guy her dad had talked about. What if he turned out to be even better?
Akane shook her head. No one was going to beat her in this fight! She would put all she had into this one. No matter what, she wasn´t going to lose.
She looked at her sisters, both dressed in formal Kimonos, and at her father, staring intently into the distance with a hard look in his eyes. She saw nothing but determination and it bolstered her. She would not lose, even if it killed her. She would prove to her father that she was worthy of his trust.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ranma showed no emotion, but his mind was in turmoil. The more he thought of the confirmed weakness he had, the more he began to feel afraid. He wished that he had had more time to practice with that Akane girl before the challenge, but it looked as if that would have to wait. The upcoming challenge was a large factor in his current emotional state, and he was hoping that he wouldn´t have any trouble with this opponent. Then again, he shouldn´t have to worry too much. Akane was the only person that had ever uncovered his weakness.
Then a flash of inspiration hit him. Maybe his father would be forgiving when he had won the challenge, so maybe Ranma could nudge him gently into staying a little longer in the Nerima district. Then he could work on his weakness at his leisure. His father would never need to know about it. What Genma did not know did not hurt Ranma.
Thinking thusly, he walked onwards alongside his father towards what looked like a dojo. A large sign outside proclaimed it to be "The Tendo dojo of Anything-Goes Martial Arts". They were finally here.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The Tendo´s were slightly shocked to hear someone knock the front door out of it´s hinges, causing a loud crash. All except Soun, that is.
"So, Saotome is here. Now it ends at last."
The sisters exchanged glances. By what they had heard, that Saotome was a monster!
Footsteps were heard, coming ever closer to the dojo. There were at least two people walking towards their position, and in a sudden movement the door slid open.
In walked an obviously bald man with glasses, but any further sign of age was not to be seen on the man. He looked at the assembled Family in front of him, and smiled a smile that looked more like a sneer than anything.
"Sorry about the door, Tendo. I guess I don´t really know my own strength. Or was the door maybe that weak and light so that you could open it?"
Before Soun could answer the man, Genma swept his hand towards the door.
"No matter. I present my son and heir, Ranma."
Akane´s head snapped up in shock, but she calmed down when she realised that this was not the person she was thinking of.
In walked a tall, dark-haired boy of about Akane´s age, but more of Soun´s build. At first glance, he looked rather handsome until you noticed the cold, dispassionate eyes and the total lack of emotion on his face. He wore a dark grey gi, frayed and dirty, which only caused him to look even more menacing. He looked no less dangerous than his father and, in fact, seemed even more so. He walked to the center of the dojo and crossed his arms, looking dispassionately at the family.
Kasumi looked at the boy with some fright showing on her face, Nabiki had tuned out her feelings and was analyzing the boy´s skills and coming out with rather impressive results, And Akane simply looked determined. This opponent was a boy, and she would be damned if she was going to lose to some big testosterone-marinated pervert!
Soun, however, showed nothing.
"I have my own heir, Saotome. You will not get away with your treatment of this house. Akane, step forward."
Akane got up, and felt her fear flow away. It was like stage fright; You felt it when anticipating the show, but once on the stage it seemed almost irrelevant. She walked to the center, the boy backing up, making space for the duel without uncrossing his arms, and stared into his eyes.
His sky blue eyes...
They looked familiar. Very familiar. Too familiar for comfort.
"You can´t be serious. A girl as your heir? You´ve obviously forgotten what the master taught us. Women are-"
"No weaker than men, Saotome. This was a fault in our master´s techings. Why should we believe anything that old man said?"
"He may have been an old fool, but he was a master of the Art. You don´t get to be that good without being right."
"Might does not make right."
"Tendo, you have truly grown soft if you believe this. Might is right. It´s the only true rule in life."
As the two men argued ever more loudly, Akane and Ranma stood watching each other, completely unheeding of what was going on around them. There was only their opponent. There would only be the fight. Their thoughts were absolutely focused on the person before them.
Ranma, in fact, was almost panicking. Of course, you wouldn´t see it on his face, but it was true nevertheless. His opponent was the only one who had ever found a weakness in his technique besides his father. The only one he had not wished to face. He couldn´t beat her, otherwise he would never figure out what was wrong! And who knew what would happen if he showed any emotion.
Akane was getting more and more frustrated by the second. That guy wouldn´t even blink! And his eyes... they were just too familiar, and the longer she thought about it, the more frustrated she became when she could not remember where she had seen them before.
At some unseen signal, the two fighters simultaniously snapped into fighting positions, still watching each other. Then, the fight began.
Both combatants jumped high into the air, exchanging blows mostly to test each other out. Or at least Akane did. Ranma was intent on not showing any emotion, and was not really focusing on the fight.
They landed, watching each other warily, and Akane was struck immediately by the familiar style the boy used. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that he was as good as the girl Ranma. Only one thing for it: All out attack!
Ranma could not do anything. Something about that girl was slowly causing him to smile, especially when she showed such enthusiasm! He dodged and blocked her attacks, only occasionally throwing in a punch more for show than anything. They were still powerful enough to stop a horse, though.
Suddenly, in the heightened state of mind caused by adrenaline, Akane remembered where she had seen those eyes. The red-headed girl. Ranma. And that grin... It was just like hers... and the pigtail, and the gi, and...
She backed off, trying to seem determined, but a small look of amasement still crept on her face. They were just too much alike. Not even siblings could be that close, could they?
She didn´t stop to think further, renewing her attack which seemed to be rather more careful than before. The small, almost-smile on that boy´s face should have irritated her, but for some reason it didn´t. It was just too much like the girl´s smile.
And then Ranma used an attack only the two of them could possibly know. It was a move that Akane had developed when sparring with the girl-Ranma. It hadn´t worked, but it was a good move nevertheless. And now, this boy was using the exact same move. That cinched it: The girl and the boy definetly knew each other. And they were obviously close.
Unconsciously, the fight slowly went down from an all-out match into a friendly sparring match. The two martial artists didn´t care who might be watching, or what was going on. They simply sparred together, comparing their skills on an invisible scale. Ten minutes passed, then another ten, then twenty, and still they fought in an almost friendly fashion.
And suddenly they stopped when they both realised at the same time that something was wrong. For one thing, there was no one in the dojo to watch the fight.
This, as one might imagine, was surprising.
Ranma just looked around, an extremely small look of surprise on his face for just a moment.
Akane wasn´t quite as subtle as that.
"Where is everybody?"
Ranma was about to answer with a sarcastic remark when he heard the noise of a fight outside.
The two fighters looked at each other for a moment, then Ranma made a small noise of irritation and Akane shrugged.
Before Akane could ask the boy about wether he knew the girl-Ranma, he quickly walked outside, and Akane was forced to run after him.
"Hey, wait up you jerk!"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Soun and Genma were fighting.
That was it. There was no other word for it. Simple and direct, yet in simplicity can be found great beauty.
Too bad that this wasn´t the case this time...
"FLYING CRANE SPIRAL ATTACK!"
A small, easily dodged kick from Genma.
"ROARING PANTHER PUNCH!"
An ineffectual jab from Soun.
"CROUCHING DRAGON STRIKE!"
A slight punch, slow and impotent, on Genma´s part.
Well, you get the picture. It was as if the two masters were children at play. And as Akane watched, she suddenly understood how they could have fought for an entire night without pausing. She had an incredulous look on her face and then, quite understandably, put her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook with what is commonly known as silent laughter. Her sisters wouldn´t have wanted to miss this for anything: Their serious father doing something like this? No wonder they weren´t in the dojo!
Ranma, in the meantime, was pissed. He had gone through hell for ten years, suffered every torture imaginable and a few more besides, had gotten a mortal fear of cats, lived in fear and hate for his father, had a curse that turned him into a girl... All for THIS?
The only reason he didn´t attack the stupid old man on the spot was the fact that Akane seemed to find this funny. How could anything be funny about this?
"What´s so damn amusing?"
Akane tried to look annoyed, but in the face of the spectacle in front of her, she just couldn´t do it. She simply pointed at the two men and laughed some more.
Ranma just blinked once, still showing no emotion, before turning his head to the fight. He really did not understand this girl. He suddenly realised that the only way for him to weed out his weakness would be to understand what it was about her that made him smile. Shouldn´t be too hard, right?
Poor Ranma. Greater men than he had tried the very same thing and failed utterly. He had his work cut out for him, right enough.
Ranma suddenly felt irritated at his father again, and muttered under his breath.
"Stupid old man. Can´t do anything right, can you."
And at those words, Genma and Soun attacked each other at the exact same moment, and knocked each other out. This duel was over.
Without any parting words whatsoever, Ranma picked up his father with one hand and jumped up onto the wall of the compund, pausing only for a moment to look at Akane speculatively before running off to the clinic, leaving behind a very amused young girl to look for her sisters, who had obviously decided that this wasn´t worth it some time earlier.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Later that night, Genma woke up with a headache to rival the old master´s beatings, and noted that he was in the clinic, on his futon and in panda form. Ranma was nowhere to be found. His son had obviously thought of maintaining their disguise in front of the oldest of the Tendo girls- Kasumi, that was her name. He wasted no time in speculating on what went wrong.
That treacherous Tendo had grown even weaker than he had thought at first, tricking Genma into the yard and thus posponing the match until a later date due to the lack of a witness on the Saotome´s part. Soon enough the challenge would be enacted, and then he would show him who was the master of the Anything Goes!
But first, he would beat up that dwarf with the hammer that was pounding on his head...
Genma Saotome fell asleep once more, the relaxing tunes of a flute playing somewhere outside lulling him into slumber.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Soun Tendo woke up, feeling a pack of ice on his forehead. So, that traitorous Saotome had betrayed his trust again. This was far from over!
There were some minor annoyances to take care of first though...
"Damn dwarf... stop pounding on my head with that hammer."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Somewhere, on the shores of china, a very angry amazon was pondering how to get to japan. She fingered the bandage on her face, still sore from the incident at the village.
She would find that girl and that man with her, and kill them both. For what they had done, they deserved no less. Their transgression was too great for anything more lenient.
"Never to Forgive, Never to Forget!"
She walked along the beach, hoping that she would find a port soon. It would not do for her to attempt to swim the distance, it was too far and besides, salt water and open wounds did not mix.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ryoga Hibiki was lost. This was not really a special or unique occurance. He was eternally lost, and that was it. Of course, he would never admit it.
Who knew why he was lost? Who knew how he had been cursed with a sense of direction so bad that it took him four hours to find his way out of a closet? No one really knew, but he had found himself a culprit. A man who had beaten him up every day just to get some bread, a man that had skipped out on their man-to-man fight, a man that had been mean to him just because he had been there. And his opinion was suddenly voiced loudly.
"RANMA SAOTOME, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The boy looked around, seeing nothing but a dense wood, and decided to scare the local wildlife some more.
"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ukyo Kuonji was dressed in a black suit, and had tied her long, brown hair with a black ribbon. She had a giant spatula on her back and wore a bandolier full of smaller spatulas, as she did at all times. The rain pounded all around her, but she didn´t care. Nothing really mattered at the moment.
She stood in front of her family shrine, and looked at the picture of her father she had just left there. He had been crippled for life, unable to feel anything below his waist since that bastard Saotome had brutally attacked him. He had still found the strength to teach her the secret arts of her family and had helped her with the shop she had opened when she was at school. He had been so strong, never complaining but always feeling pain that had nothing to do with his body.
And now he was dead.
She had sworn to him that she would avenge him, that the Saotomes would pay for what they had done.
She walked off, leaving the shrine behind, and decided that she would practice her Art for a while before facing the bastards. Battling the sea seemed like a good training method, and she would stay on a local beach for a while before setting off.
"You´ll pay for this, Saotome. This I swear on my father´s grave."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
What? Don´t look at me like that, it´s scary. And what are you doing with that cattle prod?
So I didn´t feel like writing a dark fic just yet. A little bit of humor never hurt.
Feel free to review, and say whatever you wish. Only by expressing our thoughts do we truly become free.
P.S. You like Nachos? I like Nachos.