"It sure got stormy out…" Ane noted.
"Hey, old man! Are we there yet? Huh?"
"Almost! See over there? That's Seven Luck Mountain!"
"That's a stupid thing to call a mountain…" The blonde grumbled.
"Looks more like 'Come here to get your ass mounted on a wall as a trophy' mountain…"
"…And that's better?"
"Oh, shut it. At least it's more accurate!"
Columns of water were flying into the air around the mountain…
'Uh oh…'
They flew straight into one, causing Ranma to transform back into a boy, but the force knocked them off the rope.
Landing on Ranma at least lessened the shock of the fall…
"Do you mind…I don't know…GETTING OFF?"
"Fine, fine…TOUCHY…"
"Hey, there's a castle up there."
"YAY…Thank you, Mr. Observant…I never would've spotted it…"
BONK!!!
"OW! HEY!!"
BONK!!!
"OW!!! NO HITTING BACK!!!"
BONK!!!
"OW!! NO HITTING GIRLS!!!"
SMACK!!!
"OW!!! WHAT GIRL!?!"
PUNCH!!!
"OW!!! YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!!"
STOMP!!!
"OW!!! OKAY, OKAY!!! I GIVE!!!"
"There lies the headquarters of the Lucky Gods Martial Artists."
"Really? That's probably where they've got-."
Ranma was cut off by a boulder hitting the ground before them…
"…Is this the Chinese version of e-mail or something?" Ane wondered, pulling a note off the stone.
"Do you know what it says?" Ranma wondered.
"Of course. I had to learn Chinese before my field trip. Let's see…'Today at sundown, on the top floor of the castle, Akane Tendo will marry Kirin, leader of the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Artists. People who want to watch must go through towered gates, where martial artists await'."
"No doubt about it…This is a challenge!"
"And I say we meet it."
Both were charged up with righteous rage and adrenaline, and started off at a run towards the nearest gate.
Lichi followed on Jasmine, and Happosai seemed charged up enough when he thought of the 'pretty lady'.
The first gate was coming into sight, along with the naginata-wielding warrior, and Ane sped up, almost a flash of gold now…
"Throw me overboard, will you?!"
He was surprised by an uppercut, and would've slashed at her if Happosai hadn't practically jumped on him with a bomb…
With that over and done with, they ran on ahead.
The next gate was white and black, and completely blocking them from continuing up the path…
The doors even open for them, and Ane quirked an eyebrow.
"CREEPY…"
"I guess that means 'come on in'."
The three of them slipped inside, looking around at the strange room, the two twins playing Go within.
There was even a strange mist covering the ceiling and the far side, making the room seem far larger than it probably was.
"Nice game. Don't let us get in your way."
"Yeah. We'll just show ourselves out."
"Why, I never. How rude."
"He certainly is. We should teach our friends some manners."
"I don't like the sound of that…"
One twin put down a black Go piece, and a huge one fell above them.
Leaping out of the way, Ane started bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"You go that way!"
"Why-?"
Another piece, and the pace was rapidly quickening…
"JUST GO!"
Running low, she managed to speed ahead and dodge all the pieces.
Both twins seemed to have trouble keeping up with both of them, so they each focused their attention.
"That's right! Try to run while you still can!"
"And when you run out of places to go, its over for you, don't you know?"
They were running out of places to run to…
"ANE!"
Catching his eyes, she nodded.
Back-flipping, she landed on the giant stone before propelling herself forward with the powerful legs of a rabbit.
"Where'd they disappear to?"
"We're right here, boys."
Both looked up in surprise, seeing Ane and Ranma on either side of their board.
"You're attack has one fatal flaw. In the game, you can't place a stone in the same place twice. You jerks kept talking about no place to go, so I figured out I should run on TOP of the stones."
"Not THAT hard to figure out."
Ranma jumped into the air, fist coming down on the board…
"Ranma, DON'T!!!"
Too late…
The board was snapped in two…
His victory smile fell as the gate itself was sliced in half…
With the speed of a bolt of lightning, she managed to grab Ranma and Lichi before pulling them to safety, Jasmine trying to follow her.
Falling to her knees outside, she panted for breath as Ranma tried to catch his own breath.
"WHOA…"
"You two okay?" She wondered, chest still heaving.
"We're fine. Come on."
Managing to stand, Ane followed, trying to calm her racing heart…
The next gate that came into sight seemed abandoned, but the rabbit girl wasn't so sure about that…
The giant of a man, whom almost seemed made of RUBBER last Ane checked, blocked their way.
'Oh GREAT…'
"He's huge!"
"He many times bigger than Jasmine!"
"We kind of noticed…"
There was a tense silence before Jasmine tentatively stepped forward, trunk held up like a handshake.
The fat man seemed to like the elephant, so it seemed this gate was easy enough to pass…
'I wonder whose at the next gate…'
Without Jasmine, it seemed they were moving a bit faster, at least.
As the sound of 'music' reached them, Ane remembered how much she wanted to burn every damn lute in the world…
Falling back and jumping onto some boulders higher into the air.
Ranma and Lichi didn't notice, since they were absorbed in defeating the woman and moving on through the gate.
"I've got business with the guy ahead of you, so if you don't want to get hurt, move and let us through!"
"Such bold words…You're no match for me."
"Hey, I'm serious!"
The woman jumped down from the roof, and Ane tensed…
'What is she planning?'
The lute strings flew out, catching both by the arms, legs, and neck, causing the blonde to glare, eyes narrowing…
"The more you struggle, the tighter the wire becomes…"
A single note, and Ranma cried out as his shirt was ripped open and blood began to trickle…
"Give up and go home like a good little boy…"
Ane whipped out her weapons, eyes mere green slits…
'Wait for it…Wait for it…'
"Give me a break, will ya?! I don't give up that easy, lady!! You're gonna have to kill me first!!"
'Ranma…'
She was almost touched…
'He really does care about Akane…'
"I see…Then I have no choice, do I? DIE!"
Something whizzed through the air, and the two spiked knuckles stuck themselves into the grown as the lute strings split…
Jumping down to retrieve her weapons, Ane locked eyes with the surprised woman.
"That's my friend you're talking to, lady." She growled.
"And when you mess with my friends, you mess with ME."
Someone jumped in front of her, and the green-eyed girl blinked for a moment…
"Shampoo?"
"Thank you for saving Ranma, Ane."
"…No problem…"
"My patience is wearing thin!"
"Monlong, I defeat you now!" Shampoo stated, glaring at the gate guardian.
"Ranma, Ane, take girl and go."
"…Thanks…"
As they went around the gate, Ane closed her eyes as there was an explosion…
'Be careful, Shampoo…'
The final passage…
Guarded by Epiten…
"So you've all made it to the fifth castle gate? But this is where your luck ends!"
"Bring it on, little man!"
Ranma charged before she had the chance, but he was knocked to the floor face-first.
He was getting his butt handed to him…
STOMP!!!
Epiten grunted, crushed to the floor by Ane's foot while he was distracted.
"I've had about enough of you and your fancy fishing pole, shrimp!"
Perking in confusion at a new sound, she stepped aside to look back…
"Ryoga?"
He ran straight over the little man's face…
"Ranma, leave Akane to me!"
Kuno came next…
"How dare you threaten my angel?! I shall vanquish thee!!"
"…I'll just go now…" She muttered, turning to get away before Kuno was finished and came after her…
The rest of the group stampeded over the once 'fearless' martial artist, and Ane looked after the cloud of dust, quirking an eyebrow at Ranma.
"Do they do this often?"
"More often than you think…"
Not wanting to be left too far behind, the trio headed out after the group…
The castle was HUGE, but the rabbit-girl's sensitive ears managed to lead them in the right direction.
"Come on, where are you, you flaky jerk?!"
They skidded in front of the open door, bolting in.
"Akane!"
"Ranma! Ane!"
"Miss us?" Ane teased, smiling hugely.
"So there you are! Let's settle the score, just you and me!"
"Hold on."
Ranma looked at the younger girl in confusion.
She looked determined about something…
"I want to fight him, too. Just one good punch is all I want."
"But you two can not defeat Kirin."
Both bristled.
"Oh yeah? Bring it on!" She challenged.
Ranma went first, but his rapid punches were being blocked before a harsh strike knocked him back.
"My turn. Bunny Barrage!"
Kirin seemed to be hard-pressed now, when her foot caught him in the gut.
Then, his chopsticks struck her in the chest, knocking her back into a head-over-heels roll.
"OW…"
Sitting up, Ane rubbed her head, wincing…
Rubbing just above her breasts, where the chopsticks had hit her, she gritted her teeth.
"Alright, then…"
Standing, she seemed to be loosening up her legs…
"No more child's play…"
Stretching one leg up to her shoulder in preparation, she centered herself…
"Rabbit Kick!"
She was gone, like a flash of light moving too fast to register with the naked eye, and her foot kicked Kirin in the chest, knocking him back quite a bit.
"Not so tough now, are you?"
"Ane!"
Pausing, she turned green eyes back at Ranma…
"He's mine now…"
Thinking it over, she nodded, hesitantly stepping back so the boy could take her place…
There was a tension in the air as the two 'rivals' faced off…
Akane stood beside her cousin, looking worried and annoyed at herself for her helplessness.
Taking hold of her hand, Ane gave a faint squeeze to reassure her cousin.
"He's strong, Akane…I'm sure he'll manage…"
"…If you're really sure…"
"Positive."
Ranma then used the rest of his energy to strike the ground, causing hot water to rush up and cover the wood floors…
"At last, I'll be able to break down your iron defenses, Kirin!"
"What's he planning?" Ane mused…
'With the speed of that move and water, what could he-?'
It clicked in place, and an almost twisted grin spread across her face…
'Good thinking…I couldn't have done better myself…'
His fists flew, and water came up to 'punch' Kirin in the gut, across the face…
The man seemed down, but definitely not out.
The two faced off once more, and the 'spectators' could almost see the chi gathering, giving off the strangest glows…
Two ultimate techniques struck each other, exploding in a bright light that caused everyone to cover their eyes, as the castle seemed to explode and shatter all at once.
Water swirled, becoming a tornado whirlwind around them, and Ane hit a protruding beam of wood as she flew around because of errant winds.
Flinching as she was pulled away, she was surprised by someone catching her around the waist.
"Are you okay?"
"Ryoga?"
She blinked in amazement, then smiled.
"Thanks for the hand."
He seemed to blush, but the blonde didn't notice because the whirlwind seemed to be calming now that they were floating nearer the middle.
Looking up, she saw Ranma and Kirin silently coming to an understanding…
'I wonder what happened while I wasn't looking…'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A recipe…for PICKLED VEGETABLES?!"
"I know, I know…"
"All this trouble…for a RECIPE!!"
Ane seemed full of righteous wrath, and Ranma sighed…
"There'll be no talking to her now…"
"She'll calm down soon." Ryoga assured.
"She can't stay mad forever."
"ANE-!!!"
PUNCH!!!
SLAM!!!
STOMP!!!
"…On the other hand…"
