Disclaimer: Ranma Saotome is a copyright of Rumiko Takahashi, Shounen Sunday, Kitty and Viz Video. Naruto characters are copyrights of whomever owns it because I forgot who does.

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Ranma dodged the claws of Ryuunosuke while slowly backing away. Suddenly leaping up, he stomped down on the dragon's head as it lunged. The pigtailed man ran down it's spine, leaping off into the air and turning around. His arm jerked quickly in a cutting motion.

Ryuunosuke roared in pain as the vaccuum blade cut into his scale-hide. But the Dragon wasn't down. It swung around and batted the martial artist out of the 'air' with its tail and once again into an invisible wall. It's jaw then opened, spitting forth a huge fireball the size of it's opponent. Ranma already knew what that thing could do and dodge immediately, crying out as the blast impact shot him forward and into the heavy knuckles of the a half-human beast.

The dragon-man grabbed Saotome by the head and smashed his knee into his face. He then slammed the man down and grabbed him by the leg, dragging him along the 'ground' a few feet before flinging him away.

But Ranma seemingly did the impossible, turning completely around as the throw happened to capture the dragons wrist. He used him momentum to swing forward and slam a glowing palm into the dragon-man's left side of his chest.

"DOKOJA TANKETSU SHO!!"

Nothing happened.

Ryuunosuke laughed loudly and simply head-butted the human, before tossing him away like a rag-doll.

"My heart is on the other side, human worm."

-----

Horse of the Leaf by Bud

Chapter 6: Dreams or Memories

Ranma Lee woke up with a yawn. Sitting up, the young boy stretched out the kinks in his muscles from a good nights sleep. He was glad to be were he was today. In his own bed in his family's home. Well, he was the ONLY Lee in the house, but he considered his guardian family. Speaking of which, he needed to get out of bed and eat. It was very uncharacteristic of him to sleep in, but it was recommended by Gai-sensei after he learned the 'Primary Lotus'. So without further adue, he hopped out of bed.

Just in time for his guardian, a young girl of 21 years, to walk into his room and wake up the sleepy head. And it was unfortunate for Ranma that he was in a state of undress - meaning that the only thing he had on was his ankle weights.

"OH MY!" gasped the young girl, blushing heavily and pinching her nose to prevent leakage. She quickly back-tracked out of the room. For a boy of only thirteen, soon fourteen, he.. he... his name was reflected in his body in EVERY way. Definately his body, she thought in a most pedophile way.

Ranma blinked. What was up with her today, he thought in question. First she barges into his room then suddenly sprouts a nose bleed and runs away, red as a tomato. For the years that he knew her, he still didn't understand her one bit.

Another thing he didn't understand were these dreams he was having lately. Most of them involved the same guy and the same dragon, or a cross-breed of dragon and human. He wondered what these dreams signified to him. At first they were a major form of entertainment on a semi-nightly basis when he was completely relaxed, but lately the fighting has become even more intense between the two opponents. Sometimes he would wake up at night in a cold sweat when the dragon opponent was winning. Sometimes he would wake up energized and confident when the guy was winning.

Either way, it was strange.

Before he woke up, he had this dream were he visited a foreign country and found a valley full of springs. In his dream, he wanted to take a dip into one but for some reason he had a bad feeling about it. That was when he woke up.

Thinking of his guardian again, he wondered why she was so spooked when she walked in. He looked at the mirror and inspected himself.

He was tall for his age, half a head taller than Neji, he already knew that. The constant training from Gai-sensei and the usage of weights to force him to train harder shaped his body into a very manly physique. Thinking about it, he was proud that he was manly. It just suited him somehow. But what would of caused her nose to bleed? He thought only perverts have nose-bleeds when they see something they REALLY liked.

He paused at that. Now that he thinks about it...

... his guardian is a pervert.

-----

"RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!!" Shouted an all familiar voice.

"Geez, P-chan, what did I do this time." said another familiar voice, the recipient of the first's declaration.

"You made Akane cry you jerk! Now stay still and take your punishment like a man!"

Ryoga tosses his umbrella at Ranma like a missle. The pigtailed martial artist hit the front of the projectile with a toe-kick, knocking it up in order to grab and open it. He did it just in time to block several flying bandanna's.

-----

Ranma's eyes blinked. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned. What kinda of dream was that anyway? He'll figure that out later. Right now, it was time to train in the one subject that he was lacking.

Shuriken.

Sure, he knew how to use them and was taught the basics in the academy. It was his full attention to taijutsu that had him almost nearly forgetting about his other tools. But, he was hesitent in actually using the kunai and shuriken. To ninja they were are just tools. But Ranma considered those tools also to be weapons. For some strange reason, using a weapon felt wrong to him.

But anyways, he continued to repeatedly throw shuriken at a target 50 meters away. The star star shaped projectiles hit the target, but he continued to miss the bulls-eye, not matter how he tried.

"Damn it!" He just threw his last shuriken without aiming.

It hit the bulls-eye.

"....."

But then he was suddenly bowled over by some package. He found himself looking up at a very family girl.

"S-s-sempai!" Hinata stuttered softly, backing away and looking very shy and embarrassed. "I didn't know what came over me.... I.. I..." her cheeks were very red. "ano... I haven't seen you in so long and...umm..." she speaking very softly now and he could barely hear her.

"Hey, Hinata-kun!" He jumped to his feet and patted the girl on the back. His eyes lit up when he looked at what was around her neck. "You passed the academy!"

"...Y-yes...registration is tomorrow and Iruka-sensei said that we will get assigned to teams."

Ranma patted her back again and smiled brightly.

"I'm sure you'll do good, Hinata-kun. I'm sure you'll be the strongest one on your team!"

Boy, was Ranma definately wrong.

-----

Ranma was sitting in a furo, enjoying the comforts of a hot and steaming bath. His was completely relaxed and close to falling sleep. If this was heaven, he's about to sin because he was really joying the soak.

"Ah, this is the life. Too bad this is only a dream."

He felt a chill ran up his spine which made him shiver. It was a bad feeling and it was coming from the window above him. Ranma dared to look and saw.. a cat? Why would a cat give him a bad feeling. It wasn't like it had an explosive note on it. He watched the cat jump down and into the hot water. He gasped, the cat wouldn't like the hot temperature so he attempted to cat it.

And missed.

But instead his hands caught onto something else. They were big, round and very soft. Whenever he squeezed it garnered a reaction in the form of a femanine moan.

Femanine moan?

That ment he had in his hands...

Ranma looked up into a pair of purple spheres. The girl had beautiful bluish-purple hair and by further inspection, she was definately a natural. She was very tone, more toned than most normal girls in Konoha.

"Ranma," she whispered in an exotic accent. "Take to bed, yes?"

-----

"GAH!!"

Lee woke up and immediately pinched his nose. He reached for some tissue and stuffed the bleeding nasal passages. Damn hormones and puberty giving him these infernal dreams of lust and... well, it was good dream. Very damn good.

His tissue soaked up more blood.

At least it was better than his last dream were some uncute tomboy kicked him into orbit. He still wondered how is imagination thought up something like a person punting another person two cities away.

-----

"KONOHA WHIRLWIND!!"

Ranma shouted his favorite technique, knocking the blocks off of three bandits and the ones they crashed into. He quickly set foot on the ground and charged, throwing a pair of kunai ahead of him. The knives missed but distracted the bandit leader long enough for Neji to come up behind and slam his palm into his back and injecting chakra into his spine, completely crippling the bandit's leader from the waist down.

"I found it!" said Tenten, holding up a pair of scrolls after sifting through a chest. "These are the ones that we are ordered to retrive. Mission completed."

Gai stepped out from his place behind a tree, arms crossed and smirking in a manly way. They were getting way better. He didn't even have to interfere at any time during the battle. His subordinates completely overwhelmed the group of thirty bandits in a matter of minutes. Especially Neji and Ranma. If those two were not rivals, they would make the perfect team. Just like himself and Kakashi had at one point during the spring-time of their lives.

"Good job team! Your burning youth and will to complete your mission was astonishing to feast my eyes upon." Ranma shed crocodile tears for getting praised while the other two look on incredulous.

"Neji was really impressive today." Gushed Tenten. "Oh no, your hair is a little disheavelled, Neji-kun! Allow me." She started combing his hair with her fingers.

"Please stop that, it is annoying." said person grumbled.

Tenten pouted.

"Well, enough with the banter. Tenten, hold onto those scrolls. It is a long ways until we reach the village again."

"Yes, Gai-sensei."

"Okay!" Gai pumped his arm once and pointed towards the direction of the village with the other. "Let's go!"

"Ossu!" said Ranma. Neji and Tenten followed.

-----

Hours later, the group returned to the village of Konoha and delieved the scrolls to the headquarters to return to their original owner. After being paid for their 11th 'C' rank mission, they parted from Gai-sensei after he said he had some business to take care off. The three of them - Neji, Tenten and Ranma - were sitting in their usual training area, not for from Ranma's old training area.

"I wonder why Gai-sensei was called for?" Ranma wondered. It was close to a year the last time Gai-sensei disappeared like this before.

Tenten shrugged, throwing a kunai at a bullseye, which was only inches from the top of Neji's head.

"Maybe he's seeing a girlfriend," she said in mock jealousy, before giggling and throwing another kunai. "Not."

Neji kept quiet.

Ranma thought of starting a conversation with Neji, just for the hell of it. And to piss him off majorly.

"Ne, Neji-kun." Ranma started, laying down on the tree branch above Tenten's target. "Why do you hate the Hyuuga head family?"

"None of your business, Lee."

"Tell me, I've been wondering about this for the longest time."

"No."

Ranma started to up the stakes a little bit by getting really personal.

"I heard that the head family's currently leader and the former branch family leader, your old man, use to be brothers. Twin brothers as a matter of fact." Ranma could feeling the anger from Neji, though his teammate didn't show it externally. "I wonder what it's like to have a twin brother. Or a sister. Or a sibling period."

"Shut up, Lee." grumbled Neji.

Ranma knew he was reaching the boiling point now. He wondered what he had to do to set off the his teammate.

"What did happen to your old man, Neji!"

"That's it, Lee!" Neji leaped up and prepared to deliever a blow right into Ranma's back.

But a fist impacted his face and launched the Hyuuga genin straight into another tree, back first. Gai retracked his fist from the air and stared at Neji. He then turned to look up at Ranma with an angered expression.

"Ranma!" Gai pointed at the ground in front of him and Ranma immediately complied, standing in front of Gai at the position of attention. The pigtailed genin flew through the air and slammed into the tree right next to Neji, also recieving punishment from Gai-sensei.

Tenten whistled in amazement. That HAD to hurt.

"Idiots!!" Gai shouted. "Both of you are rivals, that is understandable. But you are also teammates! And teammates do not fight each other unless it is to better each others strengths and skills!"

Gai walked to the boys and kneeled in front of them, grasping them by the shoulders. He was crying dramatically.

"You are both young and make mistakes." He suddenly became angered again. "But it will not be a mistake you will make again, correct?!"

Both nodded their heads quickly.

"Okay, now dust yourselves off and listen up. Tenten!" Their female teammate joined them and helped dust the boys off, must to Neji's irritation. "I have some important news for the three of you."

"What is it, Gai-sensei?" Ranma asked.

The jounin passed each of his genin an application form.

"Be patient, Lee." Gai coughed into his hand. "Over a year has passed since this team has been formed under my teaching. Each of you has grown individually and also as a team. Each of you have also improved dramatically, especially you, Ranma."

Ranma smiled.

"Since the last time I was called into the Hokage's office, I was asked to give my recommendations for rookie candidates to participate in the Chuunin examinations." He coughed again. "As you know, Chuunin are mid-level ninja that take command of small squads of other chuunin, sometimes genin to partake in 'C' and 'B' rank missions. Last year, I was not confident enough to allow you three into the chuunin examination. I personally thought that our team work and trust in each other were perfect, yet individual skills truely held you three back."

"This year, I am more than confident of your abilities and I trust that you three will make your sensei proud." Gai smiled all manly-like and gave them a thumbs up.

Gai suddenly got serious.

"Listen up, Neji. Ranma." Gai sat down on the ground which both boys followed example. Tenten sat behind them. "This year's Chuunin exam will be very challenging. Rookie genin will be participating for the first time in five years, which is good and bad. Good, because they would not have the same experience as you three have. Bad, because if they are capable to take the examination, it would mean that they have gut... or they are strong."

"But that is not the main reason I wish to speak to you of. This delves more deeper into personal matters." Gai looked at Neji. "I understand that you have a strong dislike for the Hyuuga head family, stronger than most branch members have. I also understand that you have a cousin by the name of Hinata Hyuuga, daughter of your father's twin brother."

Ranma paid attention to this, while Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Hinata Hyuuga will be participating in the chuunin examaination along with the rest of her team." Gai stared at Neji. "Neji-kun. Even thought the Hyuuga head and branch family and their differences, you must promise me that you will not bring bitter family rivalry into play if by chance you come across othe Hyuuga head family members."

"...."

"Neji!!"

Neji looked up at Gai, staring at him with his white eyes.

"I swear that I will not bring the Head and Brach family rivalry into the chuunin exam."

"Okay, Neji." Gai looked at Ranma. "Lee, state the abilities of and condition that you swore when you learned Lotus."

"Ossu!" Ranma nodded. "The Lotus opens the first of eight Heavenly Gates which removes the limiters of the muscles which the brain has placed upon the body. This allows the user to use 100 percent of their muscle strength a the cost of faster muscle cell derengeration." Ranma stared at Gai-sensei. "The condition to use this forbidden technique is only in the defense of someone important."

"Now state the condition concerning your weights."

"The 1000lbs weights placed on each of my legs are to keep my speed in check and hidden. They are ONLY to be used when protecting many important people."

Gai nodded.

"Remember that carefully, Ranma and Neji. Both of you remember your promises. Break them and I might not forgive you."

-----

"Chuunin exam, huh?" Tenten wondered, a day after Gai announced their participation and handed them exam applications. She threw four kunai that struck it's stationary target precisely.

"And it'll have rookies for the first time in five years." said Ranma.

Tenten scoffed. "The Jounin's must be trying to look good." she said, twirling a kunai with her fingers."

Ranma shook his head. "I heard that three of them are from Kakashi's unit. You know how much Gai-sensei talked about his rival."

"That's interesting." said Neji, whom forgave Ranma for yesterday's incident.

"Either way..." Tenten threw a Kunai that missed Neji's head by mear inches.

"It's pitiful for them." Neji and the other two smirked.

Ranma thought of something.

"When we go in tomorrow, wouldn't we be the strongest of all the Konoha genin's?"

"Ranma has a point, Neji-kun."

Neji cocked his head to the side. "What do you have in mind?"

"We should hold off from showing off our abilities before the exam. So we don't make a show of ourselves. Let everyone think we are not strong. And not do anything that stands out."

-----

Ranma shot up from his bed and gasped loudly. The dream had just as was really disturbing.

It started off as him as a young baby, young enough to still be craddled in his fathers arms. His Pops was walking with a blonde-haired man dressed up as the Hokage, which was strange because the man looked like the Fourth, Yondaime. They were walking until he felt airborn and landed in a pile of shrubbery. When he looked up, he saw a dragon rearing back it's head before lunging down at him.

That was when he woke up.

Ranma look at the time. He barely went to sleep and he had such a vivid nightmare. He felt completely helpless in that dream. He didn't know what to make off it.

"Ranma-kun?" asked his guardian as she walked in in only a robe.

They stared at each other.

"OH MY!!" She ran out, blushing and holding her nose after seeing Ranma in nothing but his ankle weights.

"Pervert." her groaned.

He went back to sleep.

End of Chapter 6 -----

Author's notes:

If those of you whom are wondering, Ranma whom is fighting Ryuunosuke is using the Saotome Forbidden techniques.

Dokaja Tanketsu Shou: Poison Snake Deep Blow Hole, basically a palm strike to the heart. A death blow if used correctly.

Kijin Raishuu Dan: Demon God Assault Bomb, technique in which quick movements of the arms create vaccuum blades.

Haku Dato Shin Sho(u): White Snake Reliable Fist, technique in which quick strikes thrust damage into and through a target causing internal damage.

You'll see many forbidden techniques as the story goes along. BTW, if I haven't said it yet. Excuse some typos and grammar errors. I'm only human.

If you haven't guess it, next is Chapter 7: Chuunin Exam