I do not own Ranma ½ or any characters part or parcel of that great work, nor lay claim to any of the incredible ideas expressed by Rumiko Takahashi, or Viz video. This is just a labor of love from one fan to the rest.

Part 10

Lunchtime finds most of the more interesting people in the class sitting together, chatting about this and that, with one of the newcomers sitting off well to the side, watching them, two of them in particular. Sakura once again finds herself doubting her choices, doubting the rightness of this as she watches Akane and Ranma. She can't help but stare at Ryoga and Shampoo's antics, the furtive glances they give each other, the quick words in Chinese, and the almost inevitable fighting, followed by a full-on Amazon glomp. She begins to quietly go over her studies, both her classes, and the medical texts she always carries with her. She is pulled from her quiet studies by Akane standing next to her, a hand outstretched, and a hesitant, shy smile on her face. "Why don't you come over and join us, Sakura...Whether any of us like how things are, you are part of this, we all are." Akane hides the nervousness in her voice and her heart as she begins her mantra in her head 'He wont leave me, he won't leave me, he won't leave me...Trust...I have to trust him'.

Sakura bit her lip, wondering what to do, unsure in her course of action, at least till she looked into Akane's eyes, seeing the nervousness there...But also noticing the sincerity. She bows slightly, then stands as she nervously straightens the fall of her skirt. "If you are sure, Akane...I...Don't want to intrude..." She casts furtive looks at Ranma, caught between her families honor, her own desires, and the obvious closeness that these two share. Its a very subdued Sakura that joins the group as Xian Pu attempts to revive her unconscious 'husband' who had gotten a little too good of an introduction to her prodigious assets, and was now resting with a healthy nosebleed, and glassy eyes. Sakura looks at the two of them, then hesitantly reaches over, pushing on a few pressure points she brings Ryoga back to sputtering consciousness, just in time for him to get glomped once again.

All of them look more than a little surprised as Nabiki moves to join them, breaking away from her usual group of flunkies, gamblers, and hangers-on. She sits quietly, her bruised body protesting as she settles in, then looks at Shampoo. "Xian Pu, do you have any idea what your Grandmother has planned for me? And...why do I have to wear a silk pants suit like yours? I can only guess at some of the other things on this list..." She looks over the list once again, furrowing her brows as she tries to understand how some of these things could fit into training.

Its a giggling Shampoo that addresses her, never releasing Ryoga from the glomp that has him turning all sorts of interesting colors. "No tell new student what Grandmother have in mind, is too too good surprise." She giggles at that, rubbing against Ryoga some more, enjoying the rather amusing sounds he makes as he tries his best not to pass out, and somehow wriggle out of the glomp without actually touching her in any way. Xian Pu turns her attention to Akane "I look forward to fighting too too violent girl, to!" She giggles more at the look of anger that crosses Akane's face, then purses her lips a little as Ranma lays a hand on Akane's, and whispers in her ear. The 'Yes, Sensei' that follows from Akane is quiet and reserved, even if the look that Shampoo gets is far from being the same. 'Oh yes, Ranma WAS right, her temper is her greatest weakness...I will do as Ranma requested, and see how much I can irk her before she slips over the edge. If Ranma sees that much potential in this foreigner, then there has to be more than there appears.' Xian Pu thinks to herself, her revery being cut short as the one true bane of her existence lands, threatening another young couple nearby.

"How dare you touch my darling Xian Pu, Ryoga!" The myopic martial arts master of Hidden Weapons style addresses the young man who must surely be Ryoga, at least as far as Mu Tsu is concerned. "I will teach you to try and steal her from me!" He assumes a battle stance as several blades emerge from the long sleeves of his robe, his glasses perched on top of his head. His preparations for battle are interrupted by one of Xian Pu's maces bouncing off of his head. He picks himself up from the ground, then squints in the direction the weapon flew from "Xian Pu! How did you get over here?" He looks back, to find the couple he was 'talking' to have left in a rush. He picks up the mace, and returns it to Shampoo, glaring at Ryoga. "How dare you sit here next to my darling Xian Pu! I can't permit this...On guard!" He strikes out at Ryoga with weighted chains, as Ryoga rolls out of the way, quickly getting into his stance. Then the battle is joined, the two martial artists bounding off in the general direction of the soccer field, by way of the cafeteria, the front gates, and a few other locations, one of which would appear to be the girls locker room from the screams, and the horde of girls that chases them for a bit. The others just watch in a mix of puzzlement, shock, and wonder. The first one to stand and start to move towards where the fight seemed to be heading was Ranma, followed quickly by Akane. The others follow along, talking quietly among themselves, all but Xian Pu who is letting out a stream of comments in Mandarin that would peel the paint off a tank at 50 paces.

The battle they find is an unusual one, to say the least. Mu Tsu is unleashing a veritable barrage of objects from his robes; swords, chains, axes, shuriken, and...A swan shaped potty? This unusual assortment of implements of mayhem are met with bandanna's flung like buzz saws, and Ryoga's belt, that seems to be as rigid as iron, and as sharp as a katana. Ranma and Xian Pu are the only ones that don't seem to be surprised, both having gotten used to the usual brawls that seem to follow the two whenever they meet. Ranma follows the course of the fight as best he can, listening to them fight, tracking the heavily chi-laden objects that Ryoga flings about. Xian Pu continues to fume and mutter darkly as Akane turns to Ranma, the only one able to speak of the rest. "Does...This happen often, Ranma? And...Isn't anyone going to stop them? They could kill each other..." Ranma chuckles a little as Shampoo mutters under her breath "Could not be that lucky..."

Ranma turns towards Akane, his ears tracking the fight "They do this all the time...Ryoga is one of the toughest fighters I have ever met, and Mu tsu...He is by far one of the most crafty. Neither one is REALLY trying to kill the other...At least I don't think so. Ryoga wont back down from a challenge...And Mousse just has to keep trying. Mu Tsu has been infatuated with Xian Pu since they were kids...I don't think he has ever tried to challenge her, but he sure goes after any guy near her...In some ways, it reminds me of the whole Kuno mess...But Mu Tsu is at least competent." He turns back to watch the fight, as the ground explodes under Mu Tsu, sending him flying with a savagely grinning Ryoga looking on, his finger touching where the explosion seems to have come from. "The breaking point...I guess Ryoga got tired of this fight..." Almost as if he can sense the questioning look Akane is giving him, he continues "The Breaking point is a technique that infuses an object, in this case the ground, with a portion of the users chi along the planes of weakness that all inanimate objects possess, causing it to come apart...Violently. The training that goes into it is part of the reason that Ryoga is a walking tank...Someday, you might be ready to learn it." He gets a thoughtful look on his face, then moves towards the grinning Ryoga as Mu Tsu takes a nap against the post he was blown into. "Your getting slow, buddy, it took you almost twice as long to take care of him...And are you going to take care of your divot?"

Ryoga looks a little sheepish, looking down at the hole in the ground as he rubs the back of his head "You know I will, Ranma...I always do, right? Ever since Khu Lon got mad at me for blowing up the herb garden..." He looks a little uncomfortable as he remembers that "You don't really think she would toss me into one of the cursed springs...Do you?" He gives a pleading look to Ranma, even if such looks don't really help any, then sighs as he sees Xian Pu nodding. "Ok, so she would..." He sets about cleaning up the mess they made as the others head back to class, the excitement over for now.

From the shadows a lone figure watches them, his eyes narrowed as he stares at Ranma, dark thoughts stirring in the depths of his mind "Ranma Saotome, because of you, I have seen hell! I will get my revenge...' He slips back into the shadows, watching, waiting. Soon, soon the time would be right, and then...Then, he would reclaim what was his. He would get revenge on him, and prove once and for all who the greatest was.

End part 10