Exams are coming in fast and furious now, so don't expect to hear from me much until mid-May perhaps. In addition, I will be moving late-May early June. I'm going to Hell! Otherwise known as California, near San Francisco. Pray for me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½, but California is gonna own me big time ;;
Ranma's POV
The day had started just like any other day. I had been woken up by Pops, and after a quick spar and breakfast went to take a bath. After that, thing began to go downhill. Ryoga had written me a letter, telling me that he'd been training and would be swinging by on Friday to face me. In other words, the day I had gotten the letter. But Ryoga's sense of direction was so bad; he probably wouldn't be here for at least another week.
Sure enough, one week later, Ryoga finally showed up. He attacked as I was taking an eel home to Mr. Tendo from Dr. Tofu.
"Not half bad, considering it's you," I quipped
"I've given you another week to live! You should be grateful." Ryoga replied
"Grateful? For what? The day you actually manage to follow through on your promise to kill me is the day Hell freezes over." I remarked
"Ranma….PREPARE TO DIE!" Ryoga roared and then started trying to break the bowl I was carrying the eel in. He said that if I wasn't carrying it, then I'd be able to fight with a clear conscious or something like that. I dodged for awhile before hitting him right into a nearby fountain. As luck would have it, that's when Akane walked by.
"Yo Akane!" I greeted
"So Ryoga finally showed up? Only a week late too." She observed
"That's what I said!" I exclaimed and then Ryoga finally managed to drag his sorry carcass out of the fountain. Ryoga started bwee-ing something that I doubt was very nice, so I punted him.
Later that day, I thought back on the fight and how seemingly easy it had been. Ryoga had said he'd been training in the mountains, so I came to the only possible conclusion; I was just getting that much better! Come to think of it, I hadn't seen Ryoga since before The Old Ghoul and Shampoo showed up. Heaven knows how much training the Old Ghoul put me, Akane, and Ryu through. If it can be called training instead o' torture.
1 week later
Akane's POV
"I know why you and Ranma are here, but how'd I get dragged along again?" Ryu complained while setting up one of the tents.
"Because Kasumi wanted someone to tag along to make sure Ranma and I didn't get into any 'funny business'." I responded while karate chopping wood. Ranma let loose a snort from his position in the stream, hunting for fish.
"As if I'd do anything with such an uncute tomboy." Ranma teased, and that's the only thing that kept him from a date with Mr. Mallet. As it was, I merely threw a piece of wood at him that nailed the back of his head. He sprung back up with an angry glint in his eyes and his mouth open to hurl an insult, but then a miracle happened. He closed his mouth, thought for a moment and then said
"I deserved that, didn't I?"
"You better believe it," Ryu answered
"And besides, it's not like I'd do anything with such an egotistical jerk who keeps spouting off how much better he is at being a girl than I am," I quipped and Ranma clutched at his heart in a melodramatic fashion
"My pride…I think it's sustained a fatal blow!" He gasped and then pretended to die. This got a chuckle out of both Ryu and me.
"How I got stuck babysitting you jokers…besides, I'm supposed to be going to visit my brother in two weeks! I have to make sure everything's ready!" Ryu groused
"You cannot stand there and tell me you have not had your bags packed with everything you need for at least three weeks now," I said
"But I might forget something…" He protested weakly. Ryu may keep certain things about his past heavily under wraps, but in things like this, I knew him all too well. "In any event, since Ranma's dead, we might as well cannibalize the body. I wonder if he'd change back with hot water, now that he's dead…"
"WHAT?! I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU EAT…me…?" Ranma looked at us confused as we were literally rolling on the ground in laughter.
"I can't believe you took me seriously, even for an instant! I knew you were a bit naive, but I didn't think it was this bad!" Ryu crowed
"I didn't…you're a good actor is all! I was just playing along." Ranma denied and we decided to let the matter lie.
"Well hello! If it isn't the part-timers!" That voice sent shivers up our collective spines. We turned around and sure enough, Cologne had decided to 'grace' us with her presence. "So, are you three in training as well?"
"Well duh." Ranma answered
"What do you mean, 'as well'?" I asked
"Oh just some young man with a yellow bandana who says he knows you." The Old Ghoul responded
"Ryoga!" We all exclaimed at once
"Well, anyway, I came to wish son-in-law here luck. He's going to need it after I'm done with my new trainee." Cologne then jumped on her stick as she cackled.
"Oh well, looks like I won't be able to throw you upon the mercy of Scarlet's cooking after all," Ryu sighed as she left and I promptly crushed him with my mallet.
"What do you mean 'throw me on the mercy of Akane's cooking'?" Ranma asked
"Ow…I mean I was planning to give you a personal introduction to Scarlet's home-made bio-weapons." I glowered at Ryu, but he continued, "For some strange reason, she just can't cook. Heaven knows I've tried to teach her, but every single time she slips something in she wasn't supposed to and before you know it, you have a substance that is banned under international treaty. You're just lucky I got her to try her own cooking before you came around."
"You're pulling my leg, right? Not even Pop's cooking is that bad." Ranma remarked
"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. I can't so much as make a sandwich without adding in soap flakes or something," I grumbled
"Well, dinner's still a ways off yet. So let's get some training in," Ryu suggested and then we were off doing just that. But in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder what the Old Bat was teaching Ryoga. She had certainly hinted that she had techniques far more powerful then the Amaguriken, but why would she teach Ryoga of all people?
Speak of the devil, in the middle of training; Ryoga came running through the forest and right into one of my kicks. It looked like he was trying to chase down a rabbit for his dinner.
"Hello Ryoga," I greeted briskly
"Hey Scarlet, it's almost dinner time. Why don't you whip up something for the pork chop?" Ryu suggested, giving me a meaningful look. I knew what he was suggesting and I agreed with him. This was a most excellent way to get some small revenge on Ryoga. At last, my cooking was finally good for something! "Ranma and I will be along later, we just want to finish up."
On the way back to the campsite, Ryoga was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. It took awhile, but I eventually finished some curry. I took a small taste of the finished product and had to fight hard to keep any outward signs of disgust from tipping Ryoga off. I gave him an extra big portion and with a false-sweet smile, got him to eat the whole thing. I was just about to load up a second serving, when the Old Hag found us and dragged the twitching, moaning, sorry wreck that was Ryoga back to their camp. If nothing else, Ryoga had paid off a respectable bit of his debt for his transgression. But before she had left, she told me to tell Ranma that in one week, he and Ryoga would do battle.
The next day, we all decided to go spy on Ryoga and his training. What we found was mildly disturbing. Cologne had tied Ryoga up, hoisted him into a tree, and was swinging boulders at him while he had a single finger sticking out. The Old Ghoul had called the technique the 'Breaking Point'. She claimed that it had been passed down solely through 3000 years of Amazon History. But I had been around Ryu long enough to read at least a few Star Wars books and distinctly remembered that one of the Jedi Masters had known how to use a 'Shatter Point'. From what I remembered, the two sounded almost identical in both name and function.
"But why would the Old Ghoul waste her time on something like that? It's not an offensive technique," Ryu muttered
"Really?!" Ranma hissed, "Because it looks plenty dangerous to me!"
"Relax Ranma; living things don't have a breaking point. He pokes you and you laugh at him. It's as simple as that." I remarked and Ranma looked at me like I had grown a new head. Ryu knowing something obscure was fairly normal, me on the other hand? Not so much. "It's in Star Wars…which you might actually know if you picked up something other than manga."
"Hey-!" Whatever Ranma was going to say in response was lost when we heard a voice behind us.
"Enjoying the view, part-timers?" The Old Ghoul had found us.
"Not particularly, no," Ryu responded and got whacked on the head.
"Run along you three, now that you know what you're up against, maybe son-in-law can prepare. But I doubt it!" And with that, she bounced off to check on Ryoga.
Once we got back to camp, we started to plan. We all agreed the Old Hag was up to something. She wouldn't waste time on something that wouldn't do anything. So we decided two things: First, we'd work on speed like never before. If Ryoga couldn't touch Ranma, then it wouldn't matter what the Old Ghoul was planning. Second, one of us would learn the Breaking Point and see if there was something we were missing (Of course, we wouldn't use the method Cologne was using; that was simply barbaric). We drew straws and I ended up being the one who would learn the breaking point; after Ryu devised a safer way of doing so.
"You know something, I'm glad my Pop isn't here right now. He'd probably suggest something crazy like knocking hornets out of the air," Ranma remarked and for some reason, I got a vision of Mr. Saotome doing just that. After Ranma had told us about Mr. Saotome setting hungry wolves after him when he was seven, nothing surprised me.
Ryu's POV
The week was up and I was fairly happy with our progress. Scarlet had mastered the Breaking Point just last night while Ranma and I had never been faster. Unfortunately, we were still no closer to figuring out why the Old Hag had taught Ryoga the Breaking Point. Looks like she'll just have to explain it to us during the fight and we have to hope Ranma can think up a counter. For whatever reason, the Old Ghoul had tried to kidnap Scarlet in the middle of the night, but she had found me as a rather pissed off kitty cat. Neither of us like to be woken up before 5:00 in the morning and the fact that my cat side was dominate while asleep was what had ruined Cologne's plot.
"Hey son-in-law, how about a bet? If you can beat Ryoga, then you can keep Akane. But if he should be you, then Akane will be Ryoga's fiancé. How about that?" Cologne suggested and it was probably why she had tried to kidnap Scarlet.
"No way you Old Ghoul! I said it to Mousse and I'll say it to you, Akane ain't some prize to be won! She's a human being and she'll decide who she wants to be with!" Ranma declared
"We shall see about that…let's see how well you can defend that statement when you're beaten to a pulp!" Cologne called out and then Ryoga charged with his finger held out. Clearly, The Old Hag and neglected to inform Ryoga of the Breaking Point's limitations.
"For someone trained by the Old Ghoul, you sure leave a lot of openings!" Ranma shouted as he knocked Ryoga to the ground. Ryoga retaliated with a Breaking Point into the ground. Unfortunately, for Ryoga, Ranma was able to catch all the chunks of rock that went flying. Ryoga kept using the Breaking Point again, and again, and again. That's when it clicked, the reason behind the Breaking Point training!
"Ranma, the Breaking Point isn't for offensive, but defensive!" Scarlet shouted, apparently she figured it out at the same time I did.
"What?!" Ranma shouted
"It makes those that learn it super tough! I didn't realize it because we hadn't sparred while I was doing the training!" Scarlet informed him, "But now that I see Ryoga getting pelted by all those rock shards, I know it must be true!"
"But that means…"
"That's right, son-in-law! You can no more take down Ryoga than a mountain!" The Old Ghoul cackled and then Ryoga let out a slightly insane laugh.
"I didn't wanna have to use this, but…Saotome Secret Technique! FAST BREAK!" Ranma then ran away…I face palmed.
"Some 'secret technique'!" Scarlet couldn't help but laugh. I felt a smile creep on my face despite myself as well. If I had to guess, the whole point was to shout something impressive sounding and catch your opponent off guard when you flee. Then you get to think up a new strategy. If it wasn't so ridiculous, I might have applauded it.
"How much you wanna bet that this 'secret technique' was made by his dad?" I asked Scarlet and she just shrugged. We both knew that it was the most likely answer and we went to track down Ranma. Unfortunately, Ryoga found him first. Fortunately, Ranma managed to hurt him somehow.
"If I have to guess, I'd say it's because Ranma's been hammering the same spot over and over," Scarlet commented, answering my unasked question. Then Ranma managed to get off an Amaguriken on that same spot and Ryoga went down. I thought it was over, but then Ryoga managed to get back up! Ranma unloaded another Amaguriken, but Ryoga remained standing this time! The stamina and toughness the Breaking Point training bestows is truly a thing to behold!
"I wonder how you and bacon breath would go toe to toe. You've both gotten the Breaking Point boost, but you have the advantage of the Amaguriken. However, he's a lot stronger than you," I remarked
"I think that thought is best for later. Right now, Ranma's in big trouble," Scarlet said and just then, Ryoga pounced on Ranma and used the Breaking Point. He missed, but blew up the ledge they were on. Ranma took advantage of the situation to give Ryoga one last Amaguriken with everything he had left. It was enough and Ryoga finally fell into unconsciousness.
"I won…" Ranma breathed, hardly believing it. But then the rock they were on broke and they both fell into the river. When we dragged the two of them out and revived Ryoga, Cologne finally told him about the fact that the Breaking Point didn't work on living things. Needless to say, he was pissed at her. She knew to make herself scarce before we heated up some water for him.
"You're just lucky I'm not the type to hold a grudge," Ryoga told us later that day and then walked off into the sunset.
"If he didn't hold grudges, then he wouldn't have followed me to China, now would he?" Ranma grumbled, but Ryoga was already out of earshot.
2 days later
We had finally returned to Nerima and School…now it was time for my plan to come to fruition! Nabiki Tendo walked towards her class, completely unaware of the trap that I had set! Upon returning to Nerima, I had decided that it was time to revenge myself upon the last prank Nabiki had played. So I had swung by the Cat Café and purchased a case of instant Nanniichuan. Now a bucket of water, spiked with the stuff, was connected to a trip wire that I was holding in my hand. I heard Nabiki open the door to her classroom and pulled. When I heard the scream, I knew I had better pull a vanishing act.
Akane's POV
"RYU TOMOE PREPARE TO DIE!" Shouted an unknown guy who was wearing a girl's uniform.
"Sweet revenge!" Ryu chirped from his position on the windowsill and then jumped before the guy could catch him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to piece together what had happened.
"When I get my hands on that no-good…" The guy whom I strongly suspected to be Nabiki growled
"Uh, who are you and what's your beef with Ryu?" Ranma asked
"It's me, stupid! Nabiki!" She barked, "Ryu must have gotten his hands on some of that instant powder and just used it on me!" She then rushed out the door, no doubt to go after Ryu.
"What the heck was that all about?" Ranma wondered and I just sighed
"Looks like the war has started back up and the weapon of choice seems to be instant Jusenkyo water. This could get messy…" I sighed again
"War? What war?" Ranma asked
"Well, no one's really sure who started it, but ever since Ryu and Nabiki met, they've been playing pranks on each other off and on. Most of us think it was just a way to let loose pent up stress or just for the sake of excitement. I think since you came along, they had the longest cease fire I can remember; probably because of all the chaos you bring with you. But it looks like that's over." I told him
"Really? Nabiki doesn't seem like the kind to enjoy playing pranks." Ranma observed
"Everyone needs a hobby," I remarked and that's when Ryu slipped back into the classroom, just as the bell rang. Looks like he's safe for now, but Nabiki will find a way to get him back; she always does.
And so, The Great War of the Instant Powder has begun. It shall be my first original running joke! Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or constructive criticism! Or Flames…I have excellent flame shields.