Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and whoever she sold the rights to.
Ryoga Hibiki trekked through the overcast countryside of Japan, having finally made it back to his homeland from his journeys through China. While he was glad that he was back on (semi) familiar soil, especially since his time abroad hadn't been a pleasant experience, his heart was heavy with anger and remorse. His anger was directed at his arch rival, Ranma Saotome, for having made his life a living Hell while his remorse was for abandoning a sweet and pure girl to the horrors of that sleazy port town. Ranma would get his soon enough but there was nothing Ryoga could do for the girl he had left behind. Every time Ryoga thought about her, the more scenarios ran through his head of what may have become of her, each worse than the one before. Being forced into poverty and begging off the streets, getting captured by slave traders, or, kami forbid, falling into one of the cursed pools of Jusenkyo.
Worst of all, there was nothing Ryoga could do about it. It was very unlikely that he'd find the girl again and somehow make it up to her. The only thing he could think to do was dedicate his upcoming vengeance on Ranma to her. His old classmate would feel the wrath of his misfortune and that of the mysterious red head. Nothing would stop him until this task was complete!
He suddenly halted in his tracks by a figure dressed in a large, concealing black cloak blocking his path. Ryoga couldn't see the figure's face but he could feel that he was sending off some very bad vibes. Sensing that the person in front of him was up to no good, Ryoga reached behind him and pulled off his bamboo battle umbrella from his backpack and pointed it at the one standing in his way. "What quarrel do you have with Ryoga Hibiki?" he demanded.
The figure didn't answer. It just lifted its head and looked up at the sky above. Ryoga had the sensation that the person was smirking for some reason.
That's when the clouds above rumbled and released their pent up fury. Ryoga quickly raised his umbrella and snapped it open to protect himself from the oncoming rain. He then noticed that the figure had thrown off his cloak, revealing a man a few years older than himself and wearing kung-fu pants and a dragon scale vest. However, the man's form began to change the moment the first few drops of water struck him. And then he grew.
Less than a minute later, the rain stopped and Pantyhose Taro doused himself with a canteen of hot water, changing him back to his original human form. He then redressed himself into his outfit and began walking away. "Nothin' personal," he said over his shoulder at the beaten piglet wearing a yellow bandanna with black spots around its neck.
Taro reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small notebook. He opened it up, found Ryoga's name that was written in a list of other names and then crossed it out with a pen. Many of the names on the page had already been stricken like this. Only a few remain untouched. Satisfied, Taro placed the book back and then brought out a map of Japan. According to the list, the next targets were Genma Saotome and Ranma Saotome.
Taro sneered at thinking of that name and the person attached to it. Saotome's beating would be epically personal. It was that damn red head that had jump-started his quest in the first place. Originally, Taro was going to wait a few more months to begin tracking down the man that had ruined his life since birth. However, his encounter with Saotome had shown him that he would never have any woman take him seriously until his retched name was finally changed. It was time to set his life on a new course and a name change would be the beginning of it.
That is, as soon as he tracked down the man that had named him. Taro came from a village that was known for the tradition of naming newborns by the ones that had delivered them. It was a sacred task, one that was taken seriously since the babe would carry that name for the rest of its life. Often, the name bearer would choose a name that the baby would try to live up to, a goal set before it before it even knew how to walk. Unfortunately for Taro, the one that had named him was a sick freak.
Taro had been told by his mother that a little old man had been traveling past when he had encountered her just as she was going into labor. How the hell she had ended up in Jusenkyo of all places she wouldn't say but Taro had been born with the help of the man without problems and had been immediately christened in one of the pools. He had been cursed by the Spring of Drowned Yeti-riding-Bull-while-carrying-Crane-and-Eel, possibly the most ludicrous, and powerful, pool in the entire valley. However, Taro didn't mind that part. His cursed form was awesome. It was the next part that would haunt him for years to come.
Apparently, the little man had agonized over what to call Taro for three days. The decision was too important to mess up so the name had to be the best name in all of creation to be worthy of his time. And on the third day, the man finally became inspired and declared to the world that from that day forth, the newborn would be henceforth called, Pantyhose Taro.
Now anyone that wasn't from his village would naturally ask, "Why don't you just change it to something else?"
Taro punched those people.
Really? They thought it was that simple? As if he had gone his entire life, going by the name of Pantyhose, and not once he stopped and thought, "Gee, I hate my name. I should change it!" Did those idiots who asked him this really think that they were shedding new insight unto him, as though they were the first to think of it?
No. Taro couldn't change his name by himself. Only the man that had named him could do that, as dictated by his village's tradition. He had been tempted on many occasions to level his village to the ground to get them to reconsider but his mother had talked him down each time. So, that left him seeking out the bastard that had done this to him and "convince" him to reconsider a new name.
Fortunately, Taro had found a means to tracking the old man down. He had traveled to Jusenkyo shortly after his encounter with Ranma and had "acquired" the registry from the Guide's house. The Guide took very precise notes on who came to the valley so a simple process of elimination of all the males in the book would lead him to the right person. He was nearly to the end.
However, before that, a small detour was in order. Taro had waited this long for his rebirth so an extra day wouldn't kill him. Placing the map away, Taro headed for Tokyo.
Later that night...
The space around the dinner table in the Tendo home was becoming crowded. The Tendo family itself, their new house guests, the Saotomes, a gymnast who had battled one of the Tendo girls just that day and the newest arrival, a girl whose outfit made her look as though she was a concubine that had just escaped from a sultan's harem. It made for a colorful group of people to say the least.
It also made for an awkward and intense atmosphere. As soon as they spotted each other, Akane and Kodachi began glaring at one another with undisguised contempt. Rouge was nervously wringing her hands together while stealing sidelong glances at Ranma. Soun, Nabiki and Kasumi were silent but wore questioning looks on their faces while expecting the Saotomes to explain what was going on. Genma was beside himself with worry about what Rouge was doing here and what she had planned. Finally, Ranma was sweating under all the looks he was receiving and was debating if engaging the Saotome Secret Technique would be worth using right now. It wouldn't solve his problems but it sure as hell would keep them away for a while.
Eventually, Soun cleared his throat and asked towards Rouge, "So, young lady. What ah..., what is your name?"
"Well," Rouge quietly began before she stood up and held a microphone to her mouth. "My name is Rouge. I come from India. I was born under the sign of Virgo with blood type A. I'm very beautiful, but shy." Her introduction over, she sat back down.
There was a collective blink around the table.
"I guess that answers questions I wasn't going to ask," Nabiki quipped.
Afraid to ask but also too curious to stop, Soun continued, "And...why'd you come here?"
Rouge bit her lip in uncertainty. She opened her mouth to try to explain when Kodachi stood up and said, "You can talk about all that later! I'm here for my date with Ranma and we're leaving now!" She reached down, looped her arm around the boy in question and pulled him to his feet. She dragged him to the door and said in departing, "You all have a pleasant evening!" With those final words, Kodachi pulled Ranma out of the house and then out of the compound.
The remaining people just stared as they left. Then Rouge turned to Genma and said in a troubled voice, "You never told me he had a girlfriend."
"This is all new to me, too!" Genma defended quickly.
"And us!" Akane seconded. "I can't believe he's cheating on us already. It hasn't even been a full day!"
"I don't know if you can call it cheating if none of us have been chosen as the fiancée yet," Nabiki pointed out.
"Fiancée?" Rouge repeated.
"Yes," Soun confirmed. "Ranma is engaged to marry one of my daughters. He will carry on the teachings of the Anything Goes martial arts style with whoever he marries.
"Are you a friend of his?"
"I believe so. I met him while he was trying to find his way back to Jusenk-"
Before she could finish, Genma slapped his hand over Rouge's mouth and lifted her and himself to their feet. He started pulling her to the back yard while saying to the family, "That's right! Just a friend from China. Let me talk to her quick to explain everything! Be right back!" He turned away from them and took Rouge to the far end of the backyard. Once he felt he was far enough away he released the girl in his arms and said intently, "None of them know about our curses yet. I'm trying to find the best time to explain it to them so they don't freak out. Can you keep quiet about it until then?"
"Yes," Rouge agreed. "But you have to keep your own promise not to tell Ranma about my curse. Remember?"
"Right, right," he quickly waved off. He turned to go back to the house but Rouge grabbed his sleeve to stop him.
"One other thing. This is for abandoning me in China." Before Genma knew what was happening, Rouge picked up one of the stone garden statues in the yard and slammed it down onto his skull. Genma crumpled to the ground, the statue acting as a tombstone for his head.
Rouge dusted her hands and walked back to the dining table where the Tendo girls were arguing amongst themselves about who would get the honors of dating Ranma when he returned. Rouge quietly sat down and helped herself to one of the pastries that Kasumi had laid out and listened in on the conversation. It seemed that she had been right in that Ranma was a special person if so many girls were interested in him. She hoped she could find a way to be one of those special girls herself.
For Ranma, the date he was currently on with Kodachi was both what he was expecting and at the same time not. He had been expecting dinner and then maybe a show and those things had indeed happened. However, what he hadn't expected was the expense being paid on his behalf.
As soon as Kodachi and himself had left the Tendo compound, a limo had been waiting for them. Stunned that he was going to be riding in a vehicle that he'd only seen from the outside, he was ushered in with no resistance and marveled at all the features that were available inside. Minutes after the limo had left for their first destination, Ranma began poking around the backseat area, finding all manner of neat things to mess with. There was a fridge stocked with sake, juice and snacks which he immediately began raiding. Next to that was a TV with a video game system hooked up to it which he had played for a while before moving on to look at something else.
Kodachi, lunging on a cushioned couch, giggled at his wide-eyed excitement as he partook in all the luxuries. "Never been inside something like this before, have you?" she asked, amused.
"Uh, uh!" Ranma confirmed back, distracted with playing with the electric window buttons. "I'm lucky if I ever get to travel on a bus!"
"Glad that you are enjoying it. It never fails to humor me when I get to show off my toys."
"You own this?"
"Why, yes. The Kuno family is one of the richest in Japan. This limo is just one of many that we have at our estate."
"Cool," was all Ranma could say before sticking his head out the ceiling skylight.
The limo dropped them off at a restaurant with a French name that Ranma couldn't pronounce. Kodachi said it to him several times but he just couldn't seem to get the flow of it right. However, she didn't seem to take offence and was delighted to correct him no matter how often he butchered the name. Once inside, they were quickly ushered to a private booth with a band next to them playing a mood setting tune. When they were settled, Kodachi explained that he could order whatever he wanted as price was not an issue.
"Is it really okay?" Ranma asked, a little embarrassed that he was being pampered so much. "I mean, I thought it was the guy that was supposed to pay for everything during a date."
Kodachi waved the concern aside. "Old traditional nonsense like that is not my thing. Why else would a girl with my family background get involved in such things like rhythmic gymnastics? It's hardly what my station calls for. Same for my brother. He could be going to a private school such as myself but chooses to attend that brutish Furinkan High."
They placed their orders, with Kodachi helping explain to Ranma what each dish was on the menu, and a very short time later they received their meal. Ranma wasted no time devouring it.
"Such a manly appetite," Kodachi murmured in approval as she ate her dish much more slowly and ladylike. Not that she minded that Ranma's table manners were completely out of place for a setting like this. His childlike mannerisms and innocence was enduring to her, much different than all the preppy boys that she was expected to court. If anyone complained then she'd see to it that heads would roll.
Conversation was light between the two since Ranma was experiencing food the likes of which he'd never imagined tasting. Why waste his mouth muscles with talking when it could be chewing and swallowing and then stuff it with more to do it all over again? After three courses though, he finally called it quits and let off a very satisfied belch.
"Good?" Kodachi asked, placing aside her finished meal.
"Delicious," Ranma sighed out.
The smirk that Kodachi has been wearing the entire time grew wider. "I hope you're not too full that we won't be able to make our next appointment."
"Why? What's next?"
What was next was a red carpet theatre production. Walking down the isle with Kodachi by his side, with a large crowd of people on either side of them watching and taking photos, Ranma began to realize that he was severely underdressed for this occasion. Even the nice Mao suit that he had picked up in China would have been grossly out of place here. The suits and gowns of the people in line and those hoping to get in were so extravagant that he started to feel like the country bumpkin that he was. However, Kodachi never said a thing about it, content to hold him to herself and paid no head to anyone around them. When they were let inside, they were taken to balcony seating so that the entire stage was easily viewable.
Soon after the play started, Ranma began to dread that this was going to be a very boring few hours. There was a lot of talking and not nearly enough action. He stayed quiet about it though as Kodachi had been treating him so well that even he knew that it would be bad to complain. That didn't stop him from falling asleep, however.
A small snore alerted Kodachi that all was not well with her date sitting next to her. She lowered the ornate binoculars that she had been using to view the play and regarded Ranma's slumbering form. Resisting the urge to laugh at how adorable he looked, she instead rose from her seat, lifted Ranma's body out of his chair and carried him bridal style out of the balcony, all the while ignoring the stares she was receiving from the audience around her. When she exited the theatre, the limo was already waiting for her. She placed Ranma in the backseat then climbed in herself and cuddled up next to him. Moments later, the limo sped off.
Ranma awoke with a start from the limo's abrupt take-off. It took a moment to orient himself before feeling something laying on him. He looked down and then gulped loudly. Kodachi was resting against him but what was more alarming was that he could easily see down her cleavage given how her dress was cut. Blushing heavily, Ranma tore his gaze away and focused on looking out the skylight.
"Awake, I see," Kodachi drawled as she moved herself into a more comfortable position, consequently pressing her chest into Ranma's body.
"Um, y-yeah," Ranma stuttered. Gulping again, he asked, "The play over?"
"No. You fell asleep. I brought you out here rather than stay."
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't be. I find those productions dull myself. Besides, I'm far happier this way," she cooed and squeezed him to herself happily.
Ranma was rapidly losing his higher brain functions, mainly because his blood was being sent somewhere else. Trying to keep his wits about him, he nervously asked, "W-What's next?"
"Whatever you want. Though I'm fine this way."
The air in the limo was becoming stifling. He pulled at the collar of his red Chinese outfit with his free hand to get some much needed air but it did no good. His heart was beating hard and fast, threatening to burst out of his chest. The date so far had been pretty enjoyable but now he was looking for ways to escape. He didn't want to insult Kodachi though as she had been kinda fun this whole time. Until now that is.
Whipping his head back and forth trying to find inspiration, he noticed that they were driving by a park. Quickly, he pointed out the window and suggested, "Why don't we get some fresh air, huh?"
Kodachi lifted her head and smiled at what she saw. "A romantic stroll through the park? Ranma Darling, I didn't think you could be so thoughtful."
"Y-Yeah, that's me! Mr. Thoughtful!" 'Whatever gets me out of this car!' he thought frantically.
Kodachi hailed the driver to pull over and as soon as it came to a stop, Ranma wrenched the door open and bolted out into the cool night. Taking several deep breaths, he was finally able to get his body under control.
That is, until Kodachi wrapped her arms from behind him and pressed up against him.
"There's a fountain nearby," she breathed into his ear. "Let's walk over to it."
"S-Sure..." he agreed, feeling the heat rise around him once again.
Kodachi took his arm and lead him over to where a large water fountain was on display in the middle of the park. Ranma eyed the cold water nervously but Kodachi wouldn't ease up the pace. Nobody was in sight. They were the only ones out at this time. Once they stood next to it, Kodachi turned and looked up at him with shining eyes.
"I had a very good time tonight. I'm glad I made that deal with your sister when I did. Otherwise we wouldn't be here now. How about you?"
"What about me?" Ranma asked, becoming aware of how close Kodachi's face was to his.
"Did you have a good time?"
The hopeful look that Ranma was receiving made it clear that he'd be breaking her heart if he said no. However, thinking over the night so far, things had been rather nice. The limo was fun, dinner was great and Kodachi had even gotten him out of that stupid play. For his very first date, Ranma couldn't have thought of anything better.
"It was really fun," he answered honestly.
Kodachi smiled, causing Ranma to go weak in the knees from how cute it made her look.
"I'm glad," Kodachi said softly. "Now let's make it a night neither of us will forget." She closed her eyes and puckered her ruby lips and began to pull Ranma towards her.
Ranma froze. His arms didn't respond the way he wanted to, nor did his legs. Soon, Kodachi would bring him down and he'd experience his very first kiss. The thumping of his heart was even louder than before but all his attention was on the lips coming closer to his own.
'But is it really so awful?' Ranma thought. 'She's been nice to me all night. I could at least do this for her...' Still, as much as he wanted, he couldn't bring himself to move forward the tiny space left to bring the kiss to fulfillment. Berating his cowardliness, he mustered his will to close the barely existing gap-
And that's when he heard the sound of clapping coming from a few yards away.
Ranma suddenly regained control of his body and looked up with a hint of anger in his eyes. However, that look turned to utter disbelief when he saw who it was that had interrupted them.
"Oh, don't mind me," Pantyhose Taro said to the couple while still bringing his hands together. "By all means, finish up. It will be the last thing you'll enjoy."
In a blur of motion, Ranma pulled Kodachi behind him so that he was between her and Taro. Once he was sure that she was a safe as could be, he yelled out to the man across from him, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Taro stopped his clapping and smirked cruelly. "What do you think? Dyke."
The color drained from Ranma's face. 'He knows I'm that girl he fought.'
"Though dyke probably isn't the right word, is it?" Taro resumed. "How about fagot? Or femboy?" He made a production of thinking about it and then nodded his head. "Yeah, Femboy suits you."
Ranma sneered at the slander against him but that's when Kodachi slipped away from where he was holding her and stepped out in front of him. "Just who do you think you are, interrupting us?" she demanded.
"Kodachi!" Ranma called out in alarm and grabbed her hand so that she wouldn't move any further away. "Don't go near him! He's dangerous!"
"You should listen to your boy-toy there," Taro said to her, cracking his knuckles. "Better get lost before things get messy."
"I think not," she proclaimed and suddenly snapped out her ribbon.
"Kodachi, I'll deal with him," Ranma interjected before she could make a move. He pushed her behind him again and then faced off with Taro. "It's me you want; not her. Leave her out of it."
"Works for me," Taro shrugged. "One less head to knock around." Without any warning, he charged at Ranma and began unloading on him with fast and vicious punches and kicks.
As Ranma took the assault, he realized that Taro wasn't fooling around and was hard pressed to keep up. He swept aside a fist to his temple and countered with a side kick to Taro's torso. Taro casually sidestepped out of the way and then brought his elbow down hard on Ranma's outstretched leg. Ranma grunted with the sharp pain and was thus unprepared when Taro continued with his attack by grabbing the leg he had just struck and used it to hurl Ranma into the air. Ranma quickly reoriented himself and landed lightly on his good leg, pushed off and launched himself back at Taro. Surprised at such a fast recovery, Taro was placed on the defensive.
"You're just delaying the inevitable, Femboy!" Taro taunted as he waited for an opportunity to regain the advantage.
"In your dreams, pantyhose freak!" Ranma shot back.
"Don't call me that!" Taro roared and upped the intensity of his attacks.
The two continued to battle back and forth but it became very clear to Ranma that he just wasn't fast enough. Taro was striking faster and hitting harder than Ranma could handle which was punctuated when Taro landed a telling blow to Ranma's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to fall to his knees. Taro followed up with a kick to the same area, inflicting further damage. Gasping for air, Ranma was helpless when Taro pinned him to the ground with a foot to his chest.
Taro smirked down at him and raised a fist up. "Light's out, Femboy."
"My, my. What a specimen I've found here."
Taro glanced to the side while keeping Ranma in his sights as Kodachi sauntered her way over to them, her ribbon discarded on the ground. She was grinning sensually and swaying her hips to and fro while keeping her eyes locked on Taro's. In warning, Taro said, "Don't get involved. Your boyfriend isn't worth saving."
"Who said anything about saving him?" Kodachi responded, pointing a finger at Ranma's downed form without looking at him. "You've shown to be the superior man."
Ranma tried to raise himself up but a stomp from Taro's foot knocked him back to the ground. "Kodachi, run!" he pleaded with her.
"Shut up!" Kodachi snapped at him, contempt filling her voice.
Ranma stopped struggling as those words left her mouth. He stared at her in shock and numbly asked, "W-What?"
Kodachi ignored him and stood next to Taro, who was watching her carefully, with a look of adoration and lust covering her features. "I prefer my men big and strong and you sir have proven to be both. Why don't you finish taking care of this pathetic waste and then we can finish my date." She ran a slender finger up Taro's chin, causing an involuntary shiver to run through him, and stared deeply into his eyes. "I'll make it worth your while."
Ranma couldn't believe what he was seeing. What happened to the girl who had been showering him with attention all night? She said she had been enjoying herself and now that he was temporarily down she was hooking up with another guy? And she had almost taken his first kiss! Didn't she know how much that meant to him? It seemed that he had been duped by a fickle beast but all he could do was give the most hurt and betrayed expression upon his face. It went unnoticed.
Above, Taro eyed her suspiciously but he couldn't detect any trickery emanating from her. Just a look that promised many pleasant things to come once he took care of Saotome. He smiled lecherously and pulled Kodachi close to him. Kodachi gasped in sweet surprise and molded herself against him. "Heh, I guess those rumors were true that Japanese girls liked bad boys," he said smoothly. And why shouldn't they? If it weren't for his name, he'd be beating off his admirers with a stick. And soon, that wouldn't be a problem anymore, either.
Taro, with Kodachi still in his arms, looked down at his defeated opponent, in more ways than one, and gloated, "Seems karma has a way of working itself out sometimes, Femboy. Now let's get things finished up here so that I can show your date how real men get things done."
Kodachi squealed happily in his grip at those words. "Keep talking like that and we may not make it to the car." She then reached behind her and pulled out a bouquet of black roses and held them up for Taro to take. "Here, my stud muffin. A token of my love."
Taro plucked them out of her hand and looked at them curiously. "Never seen roses like these before," he mulled.
"Enjoy them because they will be the last thing you see." With that, Kodachi slipped from his grasp just before the bouquet erupted, spraying petals and black gas into his face.
Immediately, Taro felt his entire body begin to freeze up. He dropped what remained of the roses and staggered back, fighting intensely to stay upright. "What...what did you...do?"
"HOHOHOHOHO!" Kodachi cackled in delight. "Those are a little something I created on my own. You'll be paralyzed in seconds, you uncouth barbarian! That is what happens to those that interfere with the Black Rose's dates!"
Indeed, Taro could barely move at all. He was having trouble even breathing. Feeling the last of his movement slipping away, he fell back. However, he didn't land far because without knowing he had backed up against the fountain. Despite how difficult it was, he managed a smile.
Ranma had finally regained his feet after watching Kodachi's surprise maneuver and noticed what was about to happen. Frantically, he called out, "Don't let him fall into the water!"
Too late. Taro splashed into the fountain and then a mountain of fur rose up. The dripping monster flexed his arms experimentally, finding that whatever dose of that gas he had taken as a human was far too little to affect his cursed form. Using his limited vocal chords, he chuckled in amusement and then stepped out of the fountain, towering above the two people he was about to crush.
Kodachi stood stunned and looked up at the creature in front of her. So catatonic was she that she didn't react when Taro raised one of his fists and brought it down to flatten her into the pavement. She would have been struck if Ranma hadn't pushed her out of the way before jumping away to safety himself.
As soon as Ranma touched down, he sprang back up and landed on Taro's outstretched arm. He ran up the length of the arm and then jumped and landed a kick to Taro's large nose. Taro grunted in pain and flailed around to try to knock Ranma away.
"Get out of here!" Ranma shouted to where Kodachi was gathering herself up. He then began to hop around Taro's bulky form while Taro tried to swat him like an annoying gnat.
Kodachi stared at the scene wide-eyed before pointing at Taro and screeched, "How did that happen? He was boy and now he's Godzilla! What is going on?"
"Feh," was all Taro could say to that. Well, if she thought he was freaky, then it was time to show her a little secret about her boyfriend. He finally managed to tag Ranma with a swat from his palm and aimed him to land in the water fountain. A second later, a wet and angry red head popped upped.
"R-R-Ranma...?" Kodachi blanched. "How...?"
Ranma leaped out of the fountain and landed next to her. "It's a long story," Ranma quickly explained. More intently she asked, "You got enough roses to take something like that down?"
Kodachi didn't answer for a few moments and just stared blankly at the girl next to her. Finally, she managed to get out, "I don't know..."
Across from them, Taro wasn't about to let them form a strategy and lumbered forward. "Then I guess we do this the hard way..." Ranma sighed and then motioned for Kodachi to split up on the large bull bearing down on them. The battle was then rejoined.
In the Tendo home, a stare down had commenced. The daughters of Soun Tendo had worn themselves out arguing over fiancée duties and had settled for glaring at each other. Nothing had been accomplished other than each of them now knew that the others were conspiring against them to hand off Ranma to someone else. Now none of them were willing to trust the others. Akane had her arms crossed and was stubbornly glaring at her sisters as if daring them to take her on. Nabiki was doing much the same though with a dangerous glint to her gaze. Kasumi was the most relaxed but her calm countenance was just as effective in discouraging either of her sisters to say anything.
Soun and Genma were wisely staying out of it and had decided to get a game of shogi in while they waited for Ranma to return. The boy had a lot of explaining to do about why he was gallivanting off with another girl rather than picking one of the superior Tendo sisters. They also had an audience for once as Rouge watched them and tried to follow how the game was played.
Such a scene may have continued a while longer had a small tremor not passed by causing the plates and cups on the table to rattle and clank together. Everyone became silent for a time and Akane was about to ask what that was when they felt it happened again.
"Are earthquakes common in this area?" Rouge questioned to everyone in the room.
"Not for several years now..." Soun answered.
Another tremor went past and this time everyone sprang to their feet and rushed outside and away from the house. Once they did another shock went by and this time Nabiki pointed towards the town and said, "Is it me or are there explosions coming from over there?"
"Fireworks?" Kasumi offered as an explanation.
"I don't know of any celebrations scheduled for tonight," Soun explained.
After a few more moments of silence, Rouge worriedly suggested, "Maybe someone's in trouble. Ranma?"
"Why would Ranma be in trouble?" Akane asked in confusion.
Rather than answer, Rouge said more to herself than to Akane, "I'm going to go check." Akane was about to question how she planned on doing that when Rouge ran back into the house and picked up a glass of juice from the table. She then ran through the house to the front entrance.
Those left behind blinked at the odd behavior before Akane moved to follow her. However, Genma stepped in front of her and quickly said, "I'll get her. You all just wait here." Without explaining further, he raced off to catch up with the fleeing Hindu girl. He found her just outside the main entrance to the compound where she was about to dump the cold juice over herself.
"Hold on!" Genma called to her fanatically. "What if it's not my son?"
"I have to be sure," Rouge responded and then finished the movement of splashing herself. Genma had to cover his eyes and step back as the brightness and temperature rose dramatically from where Rouge stood. Once he was far enough away, he opened his eyes and beheld the six-armed and three-headed demoness, Asura.
"I'm coming, Ranma!" Asura's middle head cried out. The left one then followed up with, "But first..." Suddenly, Asura spun and spat out a stream of fire that caught a surprised Genma straight on. "That's my revenge for China! Be glad I'm in a hurry, cretin!" Finished with her business here, Asura blasted off into the night, incinerating a sizable chunk of the entrance behind her.
Meanwhile, Genma flailed around the yard, his skin singed and his clothes aflame. By more luck than intent, he found his way to the back where the Tendos were still standing, tripped and fell into the koi pond. One problem was solved but now he had unintentionally created another. Once he had recovered enough to be aware, he realized that he was now a large panda sitting in his best friend's water hole and receiving horrified stares from the family he was trying to get his son to marry into.
[Trust me,] Genma signed. [I've got a real good story to explain all of this.] Distantly, the Tendos and himself heard a large piece of chard wood fall from the entrance archway, causing everyone to flinch. He flipped the sign over. [You'll laugh when you hear it...]
Two to one odds were generally in the favor of the ones on the majority side. Those odds didn't account for a giant minotaur creature that could shrug off hits as though they were being delivered by an infant. No matter what Ranma and Kodachi could throw at him, Taro ignored it in favor of catching either with a fist that would no doubt fell them in one blow. Ranma was glad that Taro was relying on brute force rather than finesse since it was all he could do to stay in the fight as it was. With the way Taro was casually creating craters with his missed attacks, Ranma shuddered at what it would mean if just one of those fists connected.
While Ranma was busy trying to smack Taro's form whenever he could, Kodachi was acting more as a distraction, pulling Taro's attention away so that Ranma could land an attack. Her ribbon strikes were proving ineffectual in penetrating Taro's fur but the threat of more paralysis gas had managed to gain his attention whenever she pulled out a new set of roses. Unfortunately, she had yet to get a good opening to use them so she had to settle for waiting for the right time. However, time was not something she or Ranma had in abundance since Taro had not let up on his assault and didn't seem to need a rest whereas she was growing winded. If she were to drop out now then Taro would be able to bring his power squarely on Ranma.
Even though he was winning, Taro was becoming impatient to get things over with. The two pests darting around him were quick and hard to pin down and he wasn't about to let either of them get a lucky break. He looped his hands together, raised them high and then brought them down hard onto the ground. The tremendous force of the impact caused the surrounding area to shake violently resulting in Ranma and Kodachi to lose their footing and fall. Taro used the opportunity to grab for the closest one, Kodachi.
Kodachi looked up, only to see a hairy palm fill her vision. She had no time to move out of the way or even throw a weapon. Just as she was about to scream, she felt an impact that pushed her several feet away. When she regained her footing enough to turn around, she found that Taro had substituted one victim for another as now Ranma was in his grip.
Ranma struggled mightily to get free but Taro's strength was just too great. She was pinned in completely with only her head poking out of the top of the monster's fist. Desperate, she bit down onto one of the fingers that surrounded her but all this managed to do was get an amused chuckle out of Taro and hair in her mouth. She spit out the disgusting fur and then saw that Taro had positioned his pointer finger and thumb from his other hand around her head. Taro pinched down and allowed a large grin to spread his snout making Ranma realize that he was going to pop her head off like someone tearing a fly's wings off its back. The only thing Ranma could do was stare down the beast in defiance and prevent him the satisfaction of appearing scared.
Below, Kodachi was at a loss as to what to do to save her date. Actually, she was at a loss about a lot of things. The girl that she had mistaken for Akane turned out to be really a boy (or was he really a girl?) making her wonder if she had been duped the entire time for some sinister purpose. Then, just as her date with Ranma (or was it Ranma?) was just getting good, some upstart interfered and then turns into a hulking nightmare. With just a splash of water! How did that happen? Nothing she knew should have caused that!
And yet the evidence was before her. She had seen a boy turn into a girl with her own eyes. And now that girl was going to get a messy decapitation if she didn't act immediately. Holding up her ribbon, Kodachi braced herself for an attack-
-and then had the strongest sensation of her life to dive to the ground. A mere second later a fireball the size of a car rocketed above her and impacted against the monster. Taro was completely caught unawares and collapsed into a heap of singed fur. His grip on Ranma faltered and she was able to slip away.
"OW! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Ranma yelped. Despite being saved, the blast had gotten her too and she was now alight with fire all over her person. Much like her father, she darted around in a panic before running into the fountain and dowsing herself and putting out the flames. Sighing in relief, Ranma draped herself over the side of the fountain and then looked up to see her savior touch down.
"Once again, defiler, you have fallen to my might!" Asura proclaimed triumphantly.
Ranma smiled and gave a happy wave. "Hey! Asura! You're back!"
"Indeed, and not a moment too soon, I see." She turned to face Taro who was patting himself down in an attempt to put out any lingering fire. "I will now finish you off once and for all!" She raised all six of her hands and concentrated. A ball of hot light appeared between them and began to grow larger and larger. Ranma understood what was about to happen and hopped out of the fountain, grabbed a shell shocked Kodachi and backed themselves away. Finally, the ball became twice the size of Asura herself. "To the depths with you!" she cried and reared back to throw it.
Only Taro was ready by then. He picked up a large slab of broken concrete and threw it at Asura. Startled, the demoness released her ball prematurely causing it to veer off course. She darted out of the way of the falling rubble while her ball missed Taro completely. It crashed into the pavement and detonated, sending molten rock and dirt to spew in all directions. Once the dust settled, a crater large enough to fit a house was left.
Not that anyone noticed. Taro had taken flight the moment the attack had passed by allowing him to miss the explosion. He circled around once then dove down to try to catch Asura unawares. He knew of all of Asura's tricks now and he wasn't about to let her use anymore.
Asura managed to catch sight of him in time and raised up her arms again. "Fool! You make your demise all the more painful!" She focused again and called out, "Six-Fisted Random Comet Shot-URK!" All at once, Asura lost control as her back seized up in a cramp. The chi in her arms petered out and she dropped to the ground. The sudden drop in altitude saved her as Taro overflew her, missing with his attempted punch.
Asura landed but was fighting to keep on her feet. "NO! Not now!" she screamed in rage and frustration. Her greatest weakness, the back pain from having so many arms, had come back at the worst possible moment. If only she could find a way to ease it at all times.
"Uh, oh," Ranma groaned as she saw Asura flounder around. "This ain't good."
"What happened?" Kodachi asked her, too confused by everything to even ask who it was that had saved them.
Ranma scrunched up her features in determination. She knew what had to be done to get Asura back into fighting shape. She turned to Kodachi and said, "Stay here. I have to go help her." Without another word, Ranma rushed off.
However, as Kodachi watched entranced, she saw that Ranma wasn't going to make it. Taro touched down and launched a fist at Asura's struggling form. Asura was forced to fly away but Taro followed her, striking out in an effort to take her down. Finally, he managed to line up a punch that would land but then Ranma came in with a brutal kick to his cheek. Now it was two on one again but with Asura weakened it was even more one sided that before. The trio of combatants fought on, Asura retreating with the last of her strength while Taro chased after her with Ranma dogging his every move. Soon, their fight took them away and out of the park completely.
Kodachi remained behind, too stunned to form any kind of coherent thought. Nothing she had seen tonight made any sense to her. It was like she was in the middle of a dream, aware that things were not right but unable to pinpoint just what was wrong. As she gazed over the park and all the destruction left in the wake of the battle, she came to realize that this was no dream.
Anger filled her then. She hated not knowing what was going on. She demanded answers! However, standing around alone like this wasn't going to get her those answers. Hardening her features and resolve, Kodachi took off after the fleeing creatures and one human. There was no way anybody was going to stop her!
"SAOTOME! How could you keep this from me?"
Genma cowered under the dreaded Demon Head, one of Soun's most fearsome techniques. What was even more frightening was that his daughters looked like they wanted to join in on the attack as well. Needless to say, his explanation of his curse had not gone over well. The damage to the house hadn't helped matters.
So now Genma was performing one of the most embarrassing techniques in his school, the "Crouch of the Tiger," which simply was him prostrating himself before them and begging for forgiveness. Unfortunately, judging by the auras still being given off by the Tendo family, it didn't seem to be working very well.
"You have to listen to me, Tendo!" Genma pleaded. "I was going to tell you. Honest! I was just waiting for the right time!"
"And what time would that be?" Soun roared. "When my house is burned to a cinder?"
"That wasn't my fault! It was..." Genma trailed off as he contemplated telling his friend about Rouge's curse. Getting roasted again wasn't something he wanted to experience any time soon and staying on the good side of an overpowered deity sounded like a good idea for his continued health. However, if he didn't tell Soun something, he'd be jeopardizing his plans for uniting the schools and living off his last years in comfort.
He didn't get the chance to think of a good explanation though, as the sounds of battle could be heard overhead.
Outside and just above the Tendo Dojo, Taro finally managed to grab hold of Asura. Touching her blazing hot body was causing searing pain to his hand but he suffered through it. He brought the struggling demoness in close to slam her with his other hand but was interrupted when she managed to fire off one last small fireball that struck his face. At the same time, Ranma, who had been clinging to his back, let loose a titanic punch to the back of Taro's skull. The result was that Taro lost consciousness and plummeted down to the ground, taking Asura and Ranma with him.
Instead of falling on terra firma, the trio landed in the koi pond. The water steamed up instantly from Asura's aura, transforming all of them back to their original forms. The suddenness of changing back shocked Taro awake. He blinked rapidly and once he regained his senses, noticed that he was no longer holding a six-armed, three headed creature, but a girl. A girl that was staring up at him in abject terror.
Taro chuckled. "So, this is your secret. How amusing." He then formed a fist and brought it down upon her.
Only to receive an elbow to his head, crashing his skull into the rocks surrounding the pool.
"Pantyhose jerk," Ranma, now male, muttered down to his sprawled out form. He picked up Taro's naked body and flung him away where he landed in a pile next to the pond. Doing this revealed Rouge, who was shaking in fear.
"Rouge?" Ranma asked of her in concern. "What are you doing here?"
Rouge sniffed once before flinging her arms around Ranma and began crying into his shoulder. "I'm sorry!" she sobbed. "Please don't hate me!"
Ranma gulped and tentatively placed his arms around the weeping girl. "H-Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Rouge couldn't answer as she continued to cry. Completely at a loss and feeling terrible that a nice girl like Rouge would think he wouldn't like her for whatever reason, he pulled her away and looked into her tear filled eyes.
"C-Common, don't cry," he stuttered, the sight of her causing him to stumble over his words. "We're okay. We were saved." Somehow, this made Rouge look even more miserable. Frantic at trying to figure out what to say to her, he explained, "I have a special friend. She's helped me out a couple times already. She's like my guardian or something."
Rouge blinked and her crying died down much to Ranma's relief. "Guardian?" she hesitantly asked.
"Yeah. Her name's Asura. She seems to appear whenever that jerk over there acts up. If it wasn't for her we'd be in a lot of trouble right now. Not that I wouldn't win in the end, of course."
Rouge just stared up at Ranma, his face not angry or accusatory. 'He doesn't know,' Rouge thought to herself in disbelief. 'Somehow, Ranma doesn't know that me and Asura are one and the same.'
"You okay, now?" Ranma questioned.
Rouge wiped away her tears, looked up at Ranma and nodded. She then smiled up at him which caused a smile to appear on Ranma's face as well.
"Good. Let's get out of this water." Ranma helped Rouge climb out of the pond. That done he looked around and noticed that the yard he was in looked awfully familiar.
"Care to explain yourself, son?"
Ranma cringed at hearing the cold fury of Soun's voice coming from behind him. He turned and found the Tendo's were watching him with varying degrees of disbelief and anger. Soun was especially furious that Ranma was still holding Rouge.
"We have a lot to talk about."
