This is the last part of chapter 3. Actually, I myself didn't know why I did this in parts. Well, the heck with that. This part will continue on with Ryoga's fight against some guy which was more powerful than him. Thanks for the reviews, and thanks to those who were willing to keep reading this story. Well here we go. Oh yeah, I forgot to say it…err…type it, again. I don't own Ranma ½.
Chapter 3 Part 3 Jusenkyo.
They stood there; fists ready, legs apart. Both were in a strong stance. Someone had challenged Ryoga, but the man said it was a test. What kind of test, Ryoga didn't know. All he said was if Ryoga was still standing by early nightfall he'd pass. Ryoga didn't feel confident. This guy was more powerful than him, he could feel it. Possibly even stronger than Ranma.
He wasn't sure he could win this.
"Pay attention!" the guy said to Ryoga. For some reason, he wanted Ryoga to remain focused. It's like; he wants Ryoga to win, to pass the test. Ryoga shook his head, regaining his focus.
The guy smirked and said "Alright, we start now." At that he charged towards Ryoga; a fist cocked back ready to pound the pig boy. Ryoga dodged it; barely. The fist was about half a centimeter from Ryoga's face. Ryoga jumped back and took his stance.
'That was close!' Ryoga thought. It was Ryoga's turn to attack. He executed a side kick to the guy's head. He caught Ryoga's leg by the ankle. He threw Ryoga over his head. Ryoga flipped in mid air and landed on his feet.
Just then, he started to see…things. (Not mysterious floating objects mind you) He knew it was in his mind but he saw them in front of his eyes. In his mind he was fighting another guy. He was about his height and his power equaled to Ryoga's.
"Stay focused!" the guy who said it was a test said as he charged at Ryoga again. Ryoga got ready in a strong defense stance. The guy jumped and aimed a dive kick towards Ryoga's abdomen. Then, again, an image of him fighting…Ranma. He could see Ranma, in male form. He was distracted again. The kick connected with Ryoga's stomach and he fell back creating a gash in the ground.
Whatever test it was, it was hard for Ryoga to focus. He tried to get up when he saw flashes of him fighting Ranma. Weird thing was that none of the fights he saw of never happened. It was like, a vision from the future. The guy walked over to Ryoga and kicked him which sent him further away.
Ryoga tried to get up again. He'd only been hit a few times and already he felt like he was hit by 5 000 punches. The images flashed in his mind again. This time there was a girl fighting Ranma. It looked like…Ranma!? Ranma's girl side! She was fighting herself? Ryoga didn't understand these visions. In the images, Ranma-chan was fighting hardly, currently losing to her male side. Ryoga tried to help her in his mind but he couldn't. He didn't know why but he couldn't help her.
"Ranma!" The male Ranma kicked the female Ranma which caused her to fall to the ground. "Ranma!" Ryoga said, not in his mind but out loud. The male Ranma stood over his girl form and smirked evilly. "Ranma!" The male Ranma cocked back his fist; readying it for the final blow. It happened slowly in Ryoga's mind. He could see Ranma's fist slowly inching towards the other Ranma's heart. "NOOOO!!" Ryoga yelled his irises had lost their colors. They were now white.
Automatically, Ryoga cupped his hands in front of him. The guy who Ryoga was fighting with simply smirked. "AAAAAH!!" Ryoga yelled as a blast of pure white energy blasted out of his cupped hands. The wave of energy was directed to the man. He prepared himself for the blast, but the smirk never disappeared. The wave of energy hit him with full power.
A few seconds later, the wave of energy disappeared. The guy still stood strong. Ryoga's irises regained its colors; his arms fell limp on his sides. The other man looked at Ryoga and said "Alright, you passed." Ryoga looked up to him. He pointed to where the sun once was. "See, you fulfilled the requirements," he said "but there'll be more challenges that you'll face."
The guy turned around and started to walk away.
"Wait," Ryoga said. The guy stopped in his tracks but didn't look back at him.
"You saw, didn't you?" the guy asked.
Ryoga nodded even if he knew the man wouldn't see him do that. "What do they mean?"
"It shows you what happens, if you make wrong choices," the guy said. He began to walk again.
"Wait!" Ryoga called to him. "Who are you?"
"You can call me Xeron," he said. Xeron then vanished into the forest.
Ryoga looked at where Xeron disappeared to. 'A wrong choice?' Ryoga thought. Ryoga went to sit back down near the fire. It was already dark and he was hungry. 'Why did those visions came to me?' he thought while eating some food he had brought with him. 'Why did he test me?' Ryoga looked at the fire that was slowly dying out at the cause of the lack of fuel.
Xeron was in the forest, searching for Ryan. Then, he appeared behind Xeron.
"Did he pass?" Ryan asked.
"Like you said he would," Xeron answered "his inner power was strong. He's been holding it in him for a long time."
Xeron turned to face Ryan. Ryan nodded. "He has much power in him," Ryan said "I believe in him. He is the one."
Sleep. That was what he couldn't do now. He was kept awaken by a thousand questions. One big question was bothering him. 'When did I know how to do that?' he thought. 'It was pure energy. Where did it come from?' If he tried to close his eyes, images that he had earlier in the day would come flooding back to him.
He tried to go to sleep again. He tried to decipher the visions he had. It was strange, every time, when the moment came; the final blow, Ryoga felt like he wants to destroy something. Many times he did it, and finally he fell asleep. He was glad that he could finally fall to sleep. He'll be in the cursed valley by tomorrow and he had to get some rest.
Next day had come, and Ryoga was nearing Jusenkyo. He could see the valley from where he was. Ryoga's face lit up. He ran towards the valley. Slowly, the pools came to his sight. He had reached there. He couldn't believe it. Finally, he could get rid of his curse.
Ryoga entered the valley and was greeted by the Jusenkyo guide.
"Oh, is you. Welcome back honorable guest," the guide said "I believe you here for cure?"
Ryoga nodded gleefully. Then he remembered his other reason for coming here.
"And could you give me the waters of 'The Spring of Drowned Boy' and 'The Spring of Drowned Girl'?" Ryoga asked the guide. "And do you have the cure for the Dragon's Whisker?"
"The Dragon's Whisker cure is near here," the guide said "I take you there."
It's done. Ryoga's mission was complete. He had reached Jusenkyo. This was the first phase of his journey. The next would be the hardest, which will take him on a ten long year journey. (Hey, Japan's a big country. Ranma could be in any of the over 1 000 cities in Japan.
Part 3 has ended and I'll continue with chapter 4 soon. So how'd you like the story so far? Please review. Next chapter will be in the present (ten years after Ryoga had reached Jusenkyo)