Tabula Rasa

by Rivyn Daniel

Trapped and left to live out the rest of her life in the form she hates, Ranma finds herself at the crux of a crossroads and forced to face the mistakes she's made and decisions that will shape the rest of her life... but even she couldn't have forseen where this will take her... Please R&R Warning: may contain strong language at times

37. Chapter 36: Tabula Rasa

Chapter 36

Tabula Rasa

The silence was deafening.

Ranma felt the blood rushing in her ears, felt her skull pounding as she stared with eyes wide with horror, mouth parted in shock. Her lungs aches, constricting in her chest; at the back of her mind she could hear herself screaming to breathe, but all she could do was stand there, shaking. Every muscle in her body was frozen in place as she stared across the dojo, taking everything in at once, listening to her mother shouting, Mr. Tendo rushing to her side as the others looked about not knowing what to do, and focusing at the same time on the man standing there with the dark grin plastered across his face while her mind trying to make sense of the jumbled mess of disjointed thoughts whipping through her head.

'What are you doing!?' someone shouted.

It took her a moment to realize it was her voice, but it sounded so far away and garbled, like she was straining to hear herself underwater. Sound suddenly rushed back to her ears and she gasped in a deep lungful of breath, heart hammering violently against her rib cage.

'Oh, don't be so naïve Saotome,' Tetsuya clasped his hands behind his back smirking, looking more like a suave businessman about to give a presentation. 'Though I must admit, even I'm impressed by the sheer gullibility of all of you.'

She shook her head, not understanding. 'What are you talking about?!'

'Oh come now. Didn't you think this was all just a little too convenient?' he asked, enjoying having this power over her, over all of them. 'I just happen to show up with information that Happosai has possession of the Jewel and that it just happens to be causing worldwide environmental problems? And, on top of all this I just happen to know of a place that teaches a fix all "fighting style" to beat Happosai? Please, I could have pulled that plot off one of those idiotic sentai shows. My acting must be a hell of a lot better than I thought it was if I was able to fool even the old crone,' he chuckled harshly, shaking his head in disbelief.

Cologne's entire body shook with anger. 'You might wish that you hadn't.'

'You're only mad because you brought into my little act, but somewhere deep inside you knew something was wrong, but your hatred for Happosai blinded you,' Tetsuya replied coolly. 'Is it really my fault you allowed yourself to be duped so easily? All of you, you were all so eager to believe my silly story. Only Ranma had enough sense to walk away, but you all drew her in against her better judgment….. I must admit though, it was fun watching you struggle with your silly little problems and the drama between you two,' he glanced at Ryoga, then back at her. 'I have to say, I was surprise to find out you two had gotten together. When you two fought me, you seemed like you hated each other so much. Losing everything that made you a man must have made you really desperate to fall for this buffoon. Though, really it didn't take much to drive doubt between you though did it? All it took was a simple little question and suddenly you're too distracted to really pay attention to anything. One simple little question I'm sure your former fiancée's would love to know.'

The girls looked at Ranma in confusion, but she ignored them, her brain racing to find something, anything to hold on to.

Her tongue felt thick as she tried to swallow. 'You were lying about being able to do that?'

'Technically, I never lied,' he shrugged. 'I merely asked, would you? I never actually said I would do it. I just let you draw your own conclusions. This whole time you were more concerned about the maybe, perhaps that's why you couldn't learn whatever it was Cologne tried to teach you. Or perhaps you're really just not as good as you think you are.'

Ryoga snarled. 'Bastard!'

'Why?' she demanded, fist clenching so tightly she felt her nails slice flesh, blood dripping between her fingers.

'Why?' his expression darkened considerably, and roared. 'Why!? You pushed me into a lake of boiling water you stupid bitch! You cannot even begin to imagine the agony of having your skin bubble and blister over and over again, clinging desperately to a single thread of life trying to swim to the edge to safety. I vowed I would make you suffer as I had suffered… and not just you. I realized you were only a symptom of the real problem that has plagued my family for centuries.'

He glared at Happosai.

'For four hundred years my family has had to live in hiding, never part of anything for fear of attracting your attention. Fear of a stupid old pervert with delusions of grandeur!' he sneered with disgust. 'That was when, in a moment of pure agony when I was laid out healing, I realized there was only one way this ridiculous cycle was ever going to end. If my family, if my descendants were to ever know any true peace, I had to take you out! I had to take your entire ridiculous school out. I knew, after these two idiots attacked us, it was only a matter of time before you would show up looking for the Jewel. I wasn't stupid enough to think I could take you in a fair fight and I knew you would never fight fair anyway. One way or another you were going to leave with the Jewel, so I made sure it was on, my terms.'

Happosai chortled. 'So your master plan was to give me the one thing that makes me invincible?'

Tetsuya smiled coldly. 'No…. this was my plan.'

The shard of Jewel hanging around his neck glowed, and suddenly Happosai was yanked off his feet with a startled yelp into the air with his little legs and arms kicking and flailing wildly. The Jewel glowed in unison with Tetsuya's shard. Without warning Happosai's battle aura exploded out of him, filling the dojo completely, washing over all of them with such power that it almost knocked them down. Happosai screamed like nothing Ranma had ever heard before; that was when she saw it. His battle aura was being sucked into the Jewel.

It was over so fast she barely had time to register it; the battle aura vanished and the shard and Jewel pulsed vibrantly. Happosai was left hanging limp in the air. Then the leather cord around his neck snapped and the Jewel flew to Tetsuya's hand, dropping the old man to the ground like a ragdoll, where he laid without moving, his eyes wide and white with drool pooling around his slack jawed mouth. Tetsuya grinned as he turned it over in his hand a couple of time, relishing in the feel of it….. then he inserted the shard back into the Jewel.

In an explosion of ki Tetsuya was surrounded by Happosai's stolen energy. The others backed away wearily, the oppressive battle aura spreading out like it had from Happosai before, trying to suffocate them. For once, Ranma didn't feel it. Her body and mind was too disjointed to feel it. It just washed over her like an incoming tide, tugging at her, but she refused to budge….

'Oh yes!' he gasped, breathing deeply in exhilaration. 'No wonder you're so arrogant with all this power at your beck and call, you dried up little prune! This is incredible! My body feels alive like never before. I can feel your power coursing through my veins like my blood is electrified. It's absolutely amazing!'

Ranma blinked, feeling the shock slowly starting to wear off as she stared down at her parents. Her mother had torn strips of her kimono off and packed them against one of her father's wound, while Tendo pressed others between her father's back and the floor. A numbness that she hadn't noticed before started to peel away, leaving her trembling. Exposed like a raw nerve.

'You… you did all of this….. just to steal Happosai's power for yourself?' she asked slowly, voice dead and devoid of emotion. 'You tricked us… lied to us…put all of us at risk….. you hurt my father….. just to steal his ki…?'

Tetsuya laughed. 'No… I did all of this to steal his power so I could wipe the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts from the face of the planet! Of course my initial plan was to let Happosai destroy you all and save me the trouble of dealing with you myself and then drain his energy, but it's good to be flexible when you're planning something like this.'

'But why!?' Akane demanded, half angry, half confused. 'You can't blame us for everything that Happosai's done!'

'This isn't about blame,' Tetsuya snapped. 'The Anything Goes School of Martial Arts is a blight on the history of the arts, invented by this little monster! It flies in the face everything that Martial Arts stands for. You make a mockery of your opponents and everything they stand for. There is no honor in it. It teaches its students to be underhanded and dirty. It's a disgrace and those that learn and teach it are just as bad as the thing that created it. You're not Martial Artists….. you're just pathetic, childish thugs!'

'You're insane if you think we'll just let you get away with this,' Ukyo pointed out, twirling her spatula staff, ready for another round.

Tetsuya's grin turned oily. 'I would love, to see y-'

Ranma slammed her fist into his face like a wrecking ball, sending him flying backwards through the back of the Dojo, faster than anyone could blink. Her eyes blazed with unadulterated fury, burning through every pore of her body. She felt it blazing up from the deepest pit of her core, burning through every shred of calm and reasoning she possessed. Her entire body shook with rage; she could taste it in the back of her throat, setting her blood on fire, snarling through clenched teeth.

She wanted blood!

His blood!

"I am going to rip you apart!' she screeched.

Tetsuya flipped to his feet, snarling viciously. 'Come and try it little kitten! We'll see who rips who apart first!'

Tetsuya turned and leapt on to the roof tops; Ranma growled and bounded after him with blinding speed.

~oOo~

'Ranma wait, damn it!'

Ryoga stopped at the hole Tetsuya had left in the back of the dojo, staring out over rooftops hoping to spot her, but she was already gone. He balled his hands into fists, thumping one against the wall and knocking a piece out; if he wasn't careful he'd bring the whole place down on top of them. And gods, it would be so easy to do at the moment. Every fiber of his being screamed to go after her, but the reasonable side of him stopped him short. If he went off half cocked he'd end up getting lost and would be of no use to anyone.

The teenager shuddered at the memory of the rage in her eyes, the fury of her voice. She wasn't thinking straight. That wasn't good when she was fighting someone with Happosai's power super charging him. If she rushed blindly into fighting him the kami only knew what would happen.

Genma snarled in pain, cutting through his thoughts.

Cologne was already at the senior Saotome side, helping Mrs. Saotome, after undoing the pressure point attack Happosai had used on Shampoo and Akane.

'There's so much blood,' Nodoka was pale with panic, trembling all over.

'That's because he's been stabbed dear,' Cologne replied with straight faced calm, as she pulled away the blood soaked kimono strips. 'Now, let's see…. Ah, this isn't so bad. I think your fat lazy hide may have just saved your life Genma. Along with Tetsuya's impatience. It looks like the blade only went through muscle…. A couple of inches inward and he would have nicked your kidney….. Soun! Clean water, first aid kid and thread and needle. Go, now!'

Nodoka looked at the old woman gravely. 'Do you know what you're doing? Shouldn't we call an ambulance?'

Cologne smiled patiently. 'Dear, you don't get to be Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku without learning how to patch up some accidental stab wounds. Even still, we will get him proper medical assistance, but first we need to stop the bleeding. That's the immediate problem.'

'What about Ranma?' Ryoga demanded. 'She needs our help.'

'She's a big girl, she can take care of herself,' Cologne replied without looking up from her examination of the wound. 'Since I can't really stop you though, the three of you should go with him too and make sure he doesn't get lost along the way.'

Ryoga looked at the others and was relieved to see them ready to go, battle weary but ready nonetheless. Ukyo and Mousse especially looked worse for wear, but they had their second wind and they weren't going to waste it.

'Alright then,' he nodded seriously. 'Let's go.'

'Ryoga wait!' Nodoka leapt to her feet and collected her katana, cleaning the blade on her already ruined kimono before returning it to its sheath. She pushed the sword into his hands, her face fierce with anger. 'Give this to her when you find her.'

Ryoga stared at her, startled. 'Mrs. Saotome… I'm not su-'

'Do it Ryoga,' Cologne cut him off, glancing over her shoulder slightly. '... She's going to need it.'

The dojo fell silent, shaken by the chill that filled it as Ryoga looked from the blade to Nodoka and then Cologne... not knowing who to stare at, or what to say. The silence wasn't only deafening, it was also burdening...

Finally his hands tightened around it and he nodded stiffly.

'You have my word.'

With that, he followed the others out and took to the rooftop.

~oOo~

Ranma screamed with eye blazing rage as she hoisted the section of telephone pole over head and hurled it straight into the traitorous son of bitch! Only for him to stop it one handed before throwing it back. Ranma leapt on it in mid air, launched herself at him like a feral cat, right into the path of a sign post that battered her aside. She sailed through the air and slammed hard into the side of the wall and through it. She snarled, bouncing straight back up and rushing head long back into battle.

She couldn't feel anything.

Except rage and pain!

Why hadn't she seen it!? He had played her like a damn fool! The whole time he had been playing them, put them all at risk, just to satisfy his need for revenge! He could have just came after Happosai and herself and she would have understood... but, to come after her family and friends...Tetsuya was going to pay, even if she had to rip him apart, one little piece at a time!

'You're not so tough without your little friends,' Tetsuya smirked, easily side stepping and dancing around her attacks. 'I can't wait to see that rage turn into desperation!'

He caught her by the ankle and flung her into the air across the ward. Ranma's world flipped around her, over and over again before she crashed through someone's backyard garden patch. Pain lanced through her shoulder as she hit the ground hard and tore through thorny roses, ripping at her clothes and skin. Push it aside, she screamed at herself as her skin burned with countless cuts from the sharp thorns, feeding on the rage the likes of which she had never felt. Not even when she had blamed Ryoga. It was like raw unbridled energy fed by fury and anguish. The image of her father, his face confused and unfocused, with red spilling down his side was scored into her brain; no matter what he had done in the past, no matter what crap he had put her through, he was still her father and it felt like someone had just gutted her...

Without him, she would never have become strong and she sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone get away with this!

She sprung sideways as Tetsuya slammed his fist into the ground where she had been, a crater forming under him as dirt and rock blasted around him. Ranma landed on all fours and leapt into the air, firing a Moko Takabisha fueled with pure rage, screaming furiously as the beam of energy blasted him into the ground with a thunder clap like blast. The red head landed on the edge of the house, hunched over and glaring with predatory eyes into the cloud of dust...

She snarled through clenched teeth. 'Come on you piece of filth! I know you're not dead yet you traitorous bastard!'

With a roar Tetsuya burst from the cloud of dust, his body transformed into a near total bestial state. His arms and legs were like tree trunks, tough muscled with pulsing rope like tendons and veins. Thick shaggy fur sprouted from parts of his body, along the backs of his arms, his back and chest, while his teeth lengthened and pointed, snapping at the air like a beast. Even his finger nails had become claws and his height and mass had increased. This wasn't like the states she had seen before; he was drawing on more and more energy than ever before to transform this much.

Tetsuya's throat rumbled with a growl. 'I'll enjoy ripping you limb from lim-HURK!'

Ranma ploughed a kick straight into his gut, with all the force and speed she could muster, shooting forth with a burst of ki infused speed. She was in no mood for any gas bag threats! Tetsuya staggered back, gagging and clutching his stomach, snarling. Ranma felt her leg going numb, but she didn't care if her entire body gave out! She would make him pay!

Tetsuya screwed up his monstrous face, enraged. 'You infuriating little bitch! I'll kill you!'

His great claw cleaved the air, slashing through an after image. She reappeared a second later, punching him across the face, only for him to back hand her across several houses. She smacked the ground hard, shoulder first and felt something pop. A blood curdling scream ripped from her throat as she grabbed at her dislocated shoulder, kicking her feet uselessly against the ground in eye watering agony.

Tetsuya landed with a heavy thump, smirking sadistically with an eerie chuckle. 'Aww... did the little princess get a booboo? Here, let me make it all better!'

He yanked her off the ground by her neck like she was made of nothing, and brutally popped her shoulder back into place, relishing in the second ear drum bursting shriek that followed. He slammed her into the ground and flung her down the street like and Olympic hammer thrower. Her tiny frame screamed with pain as she bounced along like a rag doll, white and black spots dancing in front of her vision.

Ranma drew up on to her knees and doubled over, holding her as she gagged and coughed, spitting up a sticky glob of blood on the ground. Waves of nausea washed over her, threatening to overwhelm her. She had been hurt before. She'd had broken arms and been beaten black and blue, but she hadn't felt real physical pain like this before. He was so strong and his hits were like nothing else. Her attacks weren't even slowing him down... Swallowing it back desperately, she climbed to her feet, swaying dangerously off balance, glaring as Tetsuya approached with deliberate, arrogant slowness, feeling angrier than ever.

'You think that's enough to stop me?' she struggled to steady her trembling hands.

Tetsuya sneered. 'I sure as hell hope not! I want to enjoy killing you slowly! I want to watch you suffer. I want to see that stubborn fierceness of yours transform into soul wrenching despair when you realize you can't beat me... right before I crush your skull with my bare hands!'

'Funny...' she glowered. 'I was just about to say the same thing to you…..'

Ranma rolled when Tetsuya's massive arms swung at her, and dived between his legs. She snapped a kick to the back of his knee, and bit back against the jarring pain. It was like kicking a solid block of iron!

Tetsuya whirled around and swiped at the red head, even as she scrambled backwards and sprung off the ground. She fired a Moko Takabisha blast and caught him point blank in the face. The monstrous bastard was punched back by the explosion. He held his face, snarling and bellowing like the beast he was.

Ranma spat. 'Let's see if Cologne's training paid off!'

Tetsuya snapped his gaze around to see her disappear. Then, she appeared at the corner of his vision and he spun around just as she disappeared again. He heard her feet hit the ground behind him and whirled, but she was already gone. Suddenly she was all around him. Dozens of her forming a circle about him. He roared and slashed, his claws cleaving through air where she should have been.

'What the hell is this!' he hissed.

The Ranma's grinned viciously, sending shivers down his spine.

'Splitting Cat's Hair Technique!' she sneered. 'Thanks to Cologne's training!'

Tetsuya growled. 'So what? You can't hurt me with that!'

'But I can with my Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!'

All of a sudden she was all over him, punching him hundreds and thousands of times over and over again in the space of seconds. Striking every vital point at the same time. Tetsuya howled, swinging wildly to bat her away. She was a blur of red though, dodging around his pathetically slow attacks. She just poured on the speed, channeling more and more ki through her limbs and body, ignoring the burning screams of agony that tore up through her. Her pain didn't matter! All that mattered was beating him!

Then the back of his fist caught her across the face and sent her smashing through the side of a wall. Ranma swore and leapt to her feet. Tetsuya was hunched over, panting with pain and anger. His body was covered in countless indentations in the shape of her first.

Ranma smirked; she had hurt him that time….. if she could do it again sh-

She screamed and fell on her knees, grabbing at her chest, struggling to breath as her heart felt like it was being strangled and ripped apart at the same time. Her whole body was wracked with agony. Sweat cascaded off her, vision clouding, focusing and unfocusing rapidly. She could barely hold herself up with her other arm. Her chest felt like it was exploding with every paralyzing beat. She could hear Tetsuya laughing over the pounding rush of noise between her ears.

'Little too much for you to handle huh?' he grinned sadistically.

She glared, screwing her face up as she tried to block the pain out. Cologne had warned her! She had told her not to use it unless it was absolutely necessary. Ranma had learned it by accident, a byproduct of the training, but her body was nowhere near conditioned enough to handle the stresses it put on a person to maintain the concentration and energy it took to use it, let alone using it in conjunction with the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken.

Tetsuya continued to laugh.

'Oh, how the mighty have fallen,' he gloated. 'I can already taste the fear on you, girl.'

Ranma gritted her teeth; it felt like every nerve was on fire and being ripped to shreds by broken glass. Her body wouldn't listen, overwhelmed with pain. Before she could even blink, Tetsuya's massive hand wrapped over her head and hoisted her off the ground, letting her dangle uselessly. He licked his lips, eyes hungry with malevolence…

'I'm really going to enjoy this,' he told her….

She spat in his face. 'Go to hell!'

~oOo~

Ryoga shivered as he took in the destruction the two had caused. There were craters all over the place, shattered walls, damaged roofs. There were even a few houses that looked like a wrecking ball had been sent crashing through them… and no shortage of angry, confused residents wondering what in the hell was going on.

It was like a war zone.

'Wow….' Akane breathed wearily. 'Daddy is going to have a lot of work ahead of him when the neighborhood committee come to him for answers.'

None of them envied him having to deal with that mess.

Ryoga looked ahead worriedly though; he had never seen Ranma this angry, not even at the start of all this when he had been the lucky recipient of her wrath. That had been grief, confusion and anger all rolled into one. This time it was just pure, raw fury. And justified fury at that... but she didn't see clearly when she was mad; she was acting on pure instinct at the moment, and that instinct was telling her to win at all costs, no matter what the hell happened to her in the process….

He could only imagine the rage she was feeling. To be put through everything they had been only to discover that it was all for nothing was infuriating by itself. But, she didn't even want to help the bastard in the first place and they had talked her into it! And not only that, but to find out that her last hope of restoring her other half was there only to torment her... if it had been him... well he didn't want to think about what he would do...

'Do you think she's winning?' Ukyo asked quietly.

Ryoga exhaled uneasily. 'We should hurry...'

~oOo~

Ranma was slammed bodily into the wall by the massive fist clamped like a vice around her neck. She heard herself scream over the static in her ear, but she sounded so far away. Pain lanced through her with fiery tendrils, searing through muscles and nerve bundles. She didn't even have time to blink, when Tetsuya punched her through the wall and let her fly. Arms flopped about uselessly as she hit the ground and rolled several feet.

'What is going on!'

She raised her head weakly to see the owners of the house come rushing out, angry and annoyed. They came to a screeching halt though when Tetsuya stepped into view, like something straight out of a nightmare. The wife screamed and ran back inside as her husband fell on his ass, trembling in terror.

Tetsuya snorted. 'They fear me, but it's me they should be thanking, for destroying the likes of you.'

'Get the hell away from them you monster!' she gritted her teeth as she tried to get up, hoarse and exhausted.

'So much spirit,' he frowned irritably. 'How badly must I beat you before I break it!?'

Tetsuya lunged and Ranma blasted the ground with her Moko Takabisha, blasting the Guardian right in the eyes with dirt and rocks. He reared back, roaring as he clawed at his face, blinded and pissed. Ranma shot at him with a burst of strength. She smashed her fist into his stomach, spun and slammed an uppercut into his jaw. She ducked under a blind swing and kicked him hard in the ribs. Tetsuya snarled with every hit, staggering back, slashing wildly. She darted behind him and leapt onto his back. Her fist blurred as she fired off another Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, straight to the back of his head.

Tetsuya howled.

Then Ranma choked as her chest tightened painfully and fell backwards, gasping. Hissing through clenched teeth she scrambled away, sliding under the house and pounding the ground angrily. Her body was over taxed from the Splitting Cat's Hair technique. It would take hours before her body was ready for an all out fight again... a day max! She didn't have time or luxury to rest though...

'Where the hell did you go you little coward!' Tetsuya bellowed. 'If you don't come out now, I'm gonna go rip that idiot boyfriend of yours apart!'

Ranma growled deeply as she pictured him running her father through again, rage flaring up anew. She wouldn't let him anywhere near Ryoga!

The red head sped out from under the house and threw herself at him with a scream of rage. She forced everything aside, all the pain and replaced it with hate as she rained down blow after blow on him, driving him back out of the yard and into the street, screaming and enraged beyond reason.

'I will kill you!' she screeched, clawing at his thick skin with her razor like nails, tearing ragged lines down his face.

Tetsuya collected her with a haymaker, sending her flying sideways. She hit the ground bouncing, and jumped back to her feet against the protests of her body, just in time to see Tetsuya's massive form fill her vision. He crashed his knee into her stomach and slammed his fists down on her back a second later, smashing her into the ground. He sneered and kicked her across the street into a telephone pole. She shrieked as fresh pain exploded up her back, sending her mind spinning violently as the dark spots clouded her vision more and more.

'You're like a damn cockroach!' he snarled in aggravation. 'And the only way to kill a roach properly, is to crush it!'

The beast of a man charged across the street like a rhino, the road shaking with each thunderous foot fall. Ranma closed her eyes and braced for the impact, sucking in a deep breath. He slammed into her like a Mack truck, smashing her backwards into another wall. She bounced off it and collapsed to her knees, strength fading rapidly as she panted heavily. Tetsuya's hand wrapped around her face and he sent her flying across houses and streets.

She cart wheeled through the air, the world spinning uncontrollably. She crashed through a chain link fence and into the canal, bouncing off the side of the canal into the ankle deep water.

Ranma rolled on to her back, coughing and spluttering.

Everything was so quite, the water closing over her ears blocking out all but the loudest of sounds and the vibrations of the world around. Darkness crept in from the edges of her vision and her thoughts deadened… She blinked staring at the sky... the crystal clear blue canvas. There wasn't even a single cloud... the sun beamed down warmth on her face, even as the water soaked through her. It was such a beautiful day...

A tear slipped down her cheek.

She couldn't win….

Water exploded up like a geyser as Tetsuya landed in the canal, sending tiny waves crashing over her. The enclosed space of the canal somehow made him seem even bigger than he already was, looming over her and blocking out the sun, casting his shadow over her. Ranma could only turn her head, her body wracked with agony in so many places, places she didn't even know she had.

Tetsuya laughed cruelly.

'There it is!' he grinned. 'Despair! Crushed hope and defeat! You understand now don't you? You can never beat me Saotome. Not when we first met. Not when I let you think you and you little friends had beaten me at your home… and definitely not now! I am unstoppable!'

Work! She desperately willed her limbs, screaming inwardly at them to move.

'Let's see what we can do about fear now,' Tetsuya glowered. 'And then... we'll move on to real suffering...'

Just as he lunged at her, a parcel smashed into his head and exploded into a cloud of white, followed by a burning stick. Ranma only had time to blink when everything exploded. The bright flash stung her eyes shut and her ears ring. Arms suddenly wrapped around her and she felt her body leap into the air, momentarily weightless before landing smoothly on dry ground. She was gently laid down with the same arms propping her up.

'Ranma!'

'I think she's ok, just exhausted.'

She blinked, eyes blurred at the figure holding her. She strained to make sense of the voices. She knew, she knew them, but the high pitch ring that deafened everything else made it hard to distinguish them.

'Ryoga?' she asked softly... uncertainly.

'Not quite...'

Her vision started to clear and the ringing in her ears quietening. She blinked in surprised to find herself staring up at Akane, smiling back down at her worriedly.

~oOo~

Nodoka hovered over Cologne and Genma, face screwed up with panic and worry as she stared down at his sweaty pale face twisted with pain. She tried to help where she could, but Cologne had everything well in hand without her. Mostly all she could do was kneel beside him and squeeze his hand supportively. Her heart was racing and she felt tears welling behind her eyes, waiting to burst at the slightest provocation as she tried to make sense of it all.

All the things they had ever fought about, all the stupid things he had done that ticked her off or put Ranma through, was forgotten the moment she had looked up to see her sword sticking through him... to see the blood gushing out of him and staining that horrible, tattered uniform he was so fond of wearing. In that instant he was the man she had fallen in love with, the father of her child and it didn't matter what had happened in the past anymore.

There was only the flash of fear that he wouldn't be there to see….

'Don't you quit on me,' she kissed his forehead. 'You stupid old panda…'

'You're in my light dear,' Cologne chided gently.

Nodoka sat back like she'd been stung, fearing suddenly that she had just made things worse. 'I'm sorry!'

'It's ok,' Cologne assured her. 'Soun, get her some water please.'

Before she could tell him not to worry, Tendo was up and out of the dojo in a rush. Nodoka blinked suddenly as she looked towards the door, realizing something was missing…..

'Where's Happosai?'

~oOo~

'Akane?' Ranma whispered in confusion. 'I thought I heard Ryoga...'

'I'm here Ranma.'

She glanced around to find him kneeling there, worry eating away at his nerves. The sight of him caused something to catch in her throat, a great lump that she struggled to swallow back.

'Ukyo, Shampoo and Mousse are fighting Tetsuya. I had to get you out,' Akane was explaining. 'Cause, you know aside from Ukyo I'm the only one not cursed.'

'Thanks,' Ranma replied, wincing. 'Now, help me up so I can smack that son of a bitch into the ground.'

She didn't wait for their protests, wincing as she forced her legs and arms to work, gasping at the effort it took to summon the strength, swaying dangerously. Ryoga gently grasped her shoulder to steady her; she felt her skin goosebump at his touch. She became very aware of her torn clothing and the injuries covering her from head to toe. She knew without looking at a mirror that she was a wreck. She was exposed... beaten... battered...broken... vulnerable... Everything hurt, and right at that moment she didn't want him to see her like this... she didn't want him to see her weak and victimized...

'You're in no conditioned to fight,' he told her gently.

She flinched at the sympathy in his voice, and just for a second, one blinding second she hated him for it... and hated herself for feeling that way. All the rage and pain was blurring together, becoming indistinguishable. She was hurting on more levels than one and she didn't know how to make sense of it.

'I'm fine,' she muttered quietly.

'Ryoga's right, you can barely stand!' Akane agreed firmly.

'I said I'm fine!' she snapped venomously, glaring warningly.

She could see the others fighting Tetsuya. They attacked him from every side, with such speed and precision, but he was faster and they were only just managing to stay ahead of him. Mousse whipped bladed and weighted chains at him, dancing around the bastards attacks with all the speed and grace of a rhythmic gymnast. Shampoo struck with her hammers, battering his knee's and legs as well as his hips and abdomen. Ukyo's giant spatchula cleaved at the air, parried by Tetsuya's claws as he guarded his face.

It wasn't enough.

Her jaw tightened and her eyes filled with malice; she wanted to hurt him in the worse way possible. She wanted to make him pay for hurting her pops, for making her mother hurt, and for threatening everyone she held dear. She wanted him to bleed for making her feel like this! She had never felt like a victim before and she didn't like it! This wasn't just a fight with another martial artist. Tetsuya was absolutely toxic and he was going out of his way to humiliate her, to hurt her...to terrify her... this wasn't about proving who was the better fighter. There was no prize in it for any of them. Tetsuya just wanted to hurt her for the sake of hurting her. This was about wanting power over her, about wanting to tear her down...

And the bastard was winning!

Ranma exhaled through clenched teeth, ready to explode. She went to step forward and her legs gave out on her. Ryoga was there in a flash, catching her before she could hit the ground. She clung to him instinctively, feeling his arms holding her steady, letting her lean into him for support. He was warm and he smelt like the earth. She found something so inexplicably comforting about him...

And she didn't like it!

She didn't want to feel comforted!

She smacked his arms away. 'Get off me!'

'Ranma!' Akane gaped at her in disbelief. 'We're only trying to help!'

'I don't need anyone's help!' Ranma snarled. 'I will put him in the ground even if it's the last thing I do!'

'You're being a jerk!' Akane snapped.

Ranma ignored her and carefully started forward, drawing on more ki to support herself. She was so exhausted and running on empty. She had no idea what she was going to do when she ran out. If it came down to that, she would jam her hands down his throat and fire a Moko Takabisha straight in him and make him choke on it!

Ryoga quickly stepped in front of her.

She glowered dangerously, her voice dripping with ice. 'Move... Now!'

'No,' he replied simply.

'Get out, of my way Ryoga!' she hissed. 'I'm serious!'

'You're going to get yourself killed!' he growled, anger welling up behind his eyes. 'You can barely stand and you're hurt! You look like you just went ten rounds with an oni! If you think for one second I'm just going to stand back an–'

'I said move!' she screamed, her throat raw and coppery with the taste of blood filling her mouth as she glared furiously at him. 'You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do damn it! This is my fight, mine! So get the hell out of my damn way!'

'Ranma, would you just wait!'

He grabbed her arm as she tried to push past him, and before she could even think to stop herself, she slugged him across the face. The crack of flesh against flesh was like a thunder clap that swallowed the three of them up in the vacuum of sound that followed. Akane's hands flew to her mouth in shock, but she was rooted in place as Ranma shot icy daggers at him, ignoring the stinging pain that shot through her poor hand. Ryoga met her gaze impassively; her punch may as well have been a mosquito bite, his grip around her forearm never wavering.

He just stared at her calmly.

'Stop it!' she snapped. 'Stop looking at me like that!'

She tried to pull free of his grip, but it was like a vice around her damn arm. He just stared down at her with his soulful eyes, that saw straight through her. She looked away sharply, refusing to meet his gaze, but even then she still felt his damn eyes piercing through her, like she was an open book to him. Her heart thumped harder and her cheeks burned. Baby blue eyes screwed shut and she pulled at his grip desperately until her arm felt like it was going to be pop from the socket like her other had.

'Let me go!' she screeched frantically.

She laid into him with furious blows that he weathered without a word. He stood there and let her pound her fists against him, listening to her shout and snarl. He was like a mountain, unmovable and unflappable. Still he held her, watching her.

'I have to beat him!' she smashed her fists against his chest. 'He's a monster! You saw what he did! What he wants to do! I have to stop him, I have to make him pay!'

She felt hot tears slide down her cheeks, as she grabbed at him, balling the material of his shirt within her fists as she shook him. Her humiliation unending.

'He stabbed my father and I just stood there! I couldn't stop him!' she cried. 'He tried to kill me and I couldn't stop him! He just kept punching me, over and over. The bastard was laughing damn it, he was laughing! He was enjoying it and I couldn't stop him!'

Her voice broke with a ragged scream of pain, fear, rage and frustration, the realization of how close she'd come to death, came crashing down on her. Her whole body shook with pain and fear she hadn't let herself feel before. Tetsuya's hideous laughing face burned into her mind like a waking nightmare. She had never fought someone like him before, someone that not only wanted her dead but enjoyed the pain he inflicted. It scared her.

She pounded Ryoga's chest with tears of frustration and defeat streaking her face.

'I can't beat him!'

She buried her face against his chest as they both went down on their knees, her legs buckling. She trembled, clinging to him desperately like a life line, disgusted at herself at the same time for being so weak. She didn't ask for this! She didn't ask for any of it! So why did she have to feel this way? How was that fair? She never asked to be in love, she was supposed to be strong and powerful, above this weakness... and yet it kept pulling her down to her knees and she hated it!

Hands gripped her shoulders and pushed her back slightly. She looked up, blinking through wet eyes as Ryoga leaned in and captured her lips with his own. Her eyes widened in shock, quivering as she felt the heat of his lips against her own. He held her steady, his hands cupping her cheeks gently as her eyes closed, brushing away the streaks of tears. Her heart hammered rapidly as he kissed her; it wasn't fast or passionate, it was slow and calming and she gave herself over to the sensation pulsing through her, an indescribable joy chasing away the fear, quietening the hatred and pain and confusion. She was caught up in it... and she didn't want it to end...

Ryoga finally pulled back slowly, resting his forehead against her own, smiling kindly into her eyes, letting the silence drift between them for a few seconds, letting her catch her breath; she couldn't ignore the disappointment she felt, the sense of loss as she was left with only the memory of his lips against hers... and the shock that she wanted to feel it again.

'I love you Ranma Saotome,' he whispered softly, like they were the only two in the whole world. 'You are the most infuriating, impossible and with a doubt the absolute most incredible person I have ever met, in my entire life... and whether you like it or not, I'm always going to be here to stop you from getting yourself killed doing something stupid... and I will never, let you give up and you will never fight alone. You will always have me...'

Ranma stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. A lump formed in her throat that she struggled to swallow, feeling a tide of raw emotion welling up behind her eyes and overflowing slightly, rimming the edges of her glistening blue gems. She didn't know what to say, she wasn't even sure she trusted herself to speak as she stared at him, her mouth opening and closing in silence. Every part of her trembled uncontrollably, overwhelmed by the emotions she felt streaming off him...

'Ryoga...' she replied quietly.

'We will beat him,' Ryoga told her in a way that left no room for doubt, squeezing her hands reassuringly. 'We will beat him, together...'

Suddenly, all Ranma wanted to do was throw her arms around him, to feel his around her. She didn't care anymore where these feelings came from. It didn't matter where they came from. They were real and that was enough for her. She didn't care how the old her would have reacted; that Ranma was gone, a relic of the past and she was never going to be that person again... And that was ok...

Because she had everything she needed... Right in front of her...

'You should know something,' she replied just as softly, grinning with a smile that reached well into her eyes. 'Before I even knew Tetsuya was a traitor... I chose you...'

Ryoga stared at her quietly, blinking blankly. Ranma nearly laughed when it slowly dawn on him what she meant, his eyes lighting up with shock and joy. She had made her peace well before leaving the forest. Hell, she had made up her mind when Saki had them all locked up under the temple. He deserved to know and she didn't care what anyone else thought; she didn't need to be a man to prove herself or anything for that matter. She was who she was and no one and nothing was ever going to tell her otherwise.

'Awww!' they both looked up to see Akane gushing with hands clasped in front of her mouth and a tear in her eye. She grinned sheepishly. 'I have no idea what you just said to each other, but it looked so beautiful!'

Ranma snorted in amusement, her face burning so hot it felt like it was on fire.

Then Akane's eyes widened as she stared past them, before diving to the ground. 'Incoming!'

They ducked just as Mousse sailed overhead and crashed across the ground in a tangled heap of chains and limbs, beaten and battered and his glasses cracked. Akane rushed to his side to help him; the long haired teenager had seen better days, but he still had some fight left in him. They looked around as Shampoo smashed her hammers down on Tetsuya's head, staggering him as she leapt backwards, just as Ukyo ignited another parcel of gun powder flour right at his face, blasting him backwards. The two of them retreated back to the rest of them, and nearly collapsed on their knees.

'There's no quit in that freak!' Ukyo gasped, panting heavily. 'And that was my last bomb.'

'Shampoo's arms feel like they about to fall off,' the Chinese girl groaned.

Ranma frowned, sobering quickly. 'Ok, gotta figure out how to get that Jewel away from him, so we can kick his ass!'

'Here,' Ranma blinked as Ryoga picked up a sword from the ground and handed it to her. 'Your mother wanted me to give you this.'

Ranma noted with shock that it was her mother's sword, the reason her father was bleeding out back at the Tendo Dojo. She couldn't believe she had been so enraged that she didn't notice it before. With shaky hands she took it from him, and unsheathed the blade, shuddering as the ringing of steel it made as it left the sheath. It was spotless, the metal surface gleaming, reflecting her blue orbs back at her. However clean it was though, it seemed forever tainted now that it had tasted blood...

Her mother's reason for wanting her to have it were obvious.

'I wasn't sure about giving it to you,' Ryoga admitted calmly. 'But, Cologne said you would need it...'

The red head's eyes widened slightly; of course...

'Cologne wants me to use it,' she realized thoughtfully, more to herself than those around her.

'Well, yeah that's why she said you would need it,' Ryoga pointed out patiently.

'Not the sword, you dork,' she chuckled lightly at his confusion. 'She wants me to use the Tenryu no Kiba...'

Ryoga flinched visibly with alarm, sucking in a great gasping breath like he had just been punched in the gut. 'But... you said you couldn't learn it!?'

Ranma grinned slightly. 'That was something Cologne and me came up with. I knew Happosai was never going to give me the chance to use the attack, so we decided to make that Plan B. Instead we decided to play on his pride and enormous ego. We thought maybe we could trick him into taking the Jewel off if I made him insecure enough about using it. If not that, I hoped I could at least get him to lower his guard enough so I could use the attack... I just didn't expect Tetsuya to screw everything up though.'

'Ranma, you're worn out,' he looked her over worriedly and she could only imagine how much of a wreck she looked after the beating she had taken. 'You know what Cologne said about this. It could kill you and you're not exactly in tip top shape at the moment.'

'Whoa, whoa,' Ukyo held her hands up. 'What do you mean it could kill you?!'

'And if I don't use it, Tetsuya will kill us anyway if we don't stop him,' she explained as she ignored the others, sighing a little as she met his concerned gaze. She shook her head and offered a reassuring smile. 'You said you'd stop me from making stupid decisions that could get me killed... but, you're going to have to learn to trust me to know what I'm doing too...'

Ryoga frowned, grunting uneasily; it was obvious he didn't like this idea, but he nodded anyway, albeit very reluctantly. He looked her over carefully. 'You sure you've got enough strength left to do this?'

Ranma winced as she pushed herself to her feet, nodding.

'I have enough strength left for one shot,' she replied thoughtfully as she considered what reserves of ki she had left. It wasn't good, but she was certain she could do this at least once... without killing herself at least. 'But, I'm going to need some help to pull this off.'

'Well then,' Akane cut in as she stood with the others, hands planted firmly on her hips. 'It's a good thing you have us to rely on isn't it?'

Ranma was about to protest; they had already done more than enough for her. But, she stopped herself short. It would have been far easier to get blood from a stone than it would have been to convince them to leave willingly. Instead she simply smiled and shook her head with a soft snort of mock exasperation at them.

'As if I could make you leave anyway,' she rolled her eyes and waved them over. 'Ok, we haven't got long so listen carefully. To pull this attack off, I need to do the Hiryu Shoten Ha first and I need it to be as powerful as possible. Tetsuya's putting out a ton of battle heat as it is, but I need more. That's where you all come in. Once I have his attention, I need all of you to push yourselves to your limit, get your battle aura's to burn as hot as you can. You got that?'

'What do you need me to do?' Ryoga asked.

'What you do best…' Ranma replied seriously. He blinked vacantly, and she cracked a devious smile. 'Smash…'

Ryoga grinned viciously.

~oOo~

Ryoga cracked his knuckles and neck, savoring the satisfying pops as he glared straight ahead at the rapidly recovering monstrous son of a bitch; he was even uglier up close. Just the sight of him made Ryoga's blood boil with anger. The thought of this bastard beating on Ranma, hurting her and enjoying every damn minute of it stoked a mighty rage at the pit of his stomach. Before this was all over, he was going to make sure Tetsuya regretted the day he was born.

The look in Ranma's face, the irrational rage, the hopeless desperation, it was burned into his mind. She'd felt so small, so beaten and broken as he'd stared down at her and it broke his heart to see her that way. She was the strongest person he had ever known, just as strong in spirit as she was in body and it killed him to think that this piece of garbage had beaten her so badly that he had cracked that armor of hers. Though not nearly as much it killed him that he hadn't been there, that he should have been there to help her, whether she wanted it or not.

'Tetsuya!' he boomed.

Hideous features narrowed on him, like he was a bug waiting to be squashed.

'So the bitch sends her fool to fight her battles for her, huh?' Tetsuya huffed in disgust. 'I suppose it'll be fun making her watch as I rip your spine out through your throat, boy.'

Ryoga's jaw tightened dangerously. 'Don't you dare call her that...'

Tetsuya's lips curled into a cruel grin. 'Call her what?' A bitch?'

Ryoga shot forward, slamming his fist into the bastard's stomach. Tetsuya was blasted backwards like a smooth rock across flat water. He skipped and bounced along the road, flipping head over ass before crashing through a wall, shattering it with the force of a wrecking ball. The Guardian climbed to his feet, swaying slightly as he shook his head. He shot the teenager the filthiest look Ryoga had ever seen. Ryoga punched his fist into the palm of his hand, shifting his stance with gritted teeth.

'Let's see how you deal with someone that can hit just as hard as you can you piece of shit!' Ryoga roared.

The air vibrated with Tetsuya's snarl.

The two of them charged at each other with bellowing roars. They slammed into each other with incredible force. The air cracked as Ryoga smashed a right hook into the side of Tetsuya's face. The bastard delivered a punch to the teenagers stomach, lifting him off the ground and hammered a second blow to his head. Ryoga sneered through clenched teeth, pain rattling through his skull as he dodged a third punch, grabbing the Guardian's arm and throwing him over his shoulder, smashing him into the ground, shattering it beneath them into a spider web pattern. Tetsuya's foot whipped up and back, catching Ryoga in the face, staggering him backwards.

Tetsuya leapt to his feet and rounded on the teenager, grabbing him around the throat. 'This isn't a stupid schoolyard brawl, boy! This is how real men fight!'

'If you think you're a man...' Ryoga's eyes blazed as his hands clamped around the man's hands and slowly pried them apart. 'Then you're even more deluded than I thought!'

He suddenly snapped Tetsuya's thumb back and heard an audible crack. Tetsuya howled and released his grip. Ryoga dropped to the ground and jumped up, grabbing Tetsuya's head and slammed it down onto his upraised knee. Blood sprayed from the warriors nose, splattering the teenagers clothes. Tetsuya stumbled back, snarling in pain. Ryoga leapt at him with a mid air power punch, and was backhanded across the street like a volley ball. He bounced off the ground and landed in a crouch, in time to see Tetsuya popped his thumb back into place.

'I'm going to enjoy beating you to death with your own arms!' he hissed.

Ryoga wiped blood from the corner of his mouth on the back of his hand, grinning with feral satisfaction as his opponent fumed; that's it you overgrown ape, he thought, get good and angry! Ranma needed the son of a bitch as angry as possible, and he was all too happy to oblige her... he just hoped she didn't take too much longer "finding" her Soul of Ice; he could hold his own for awhile without any trouble, but Tetsuya could still hit harder. The side of his face tingled with burning pins and needles where he'd just been back handed and the rest of his body throbbed with a dull ache from the brutal hits it had taken already. He wasn't used to fighting someone that could hit hard enough to actually hurt him. So long as that Jewel was around the Guardian's neck, he would have to be careful...

The teenager dived sideways as Tetsuya charged past him. Ryoga whipped his belt free, channeling ki through it, hardening the cloth into a blade to parry the slashing claws. The belt went limp as and he snapped it with a crack, slicing a bloody line across Tetsuya's cheek. With a roar the claws came again and Ryoga turned them away with the ki infused cloth as it hardened into a blade again. His training in rhythmic gymnastics served him well as they went back and forth with their weapons. Claws and blade clashed over and over again, until Tetsuya suddenly grabbed it out of mid air and yanked Ryoga off his feet before he could let go. Tetsuya's massive fist smashed him into the ground, knocking the wind out of him; then his other fist joined in, raining down a storm of pummeling blows loaded with ki.

Ryoga gritted his teeth as he threw his arms in front of his face. His inhumanly durable body felt like it was being trampled in a stampede. For something so huge, Tetsuya moved with the speed of a man a quarter his side with reflexes almost as fast as Ranma's. At the back of his mind Ryoga couldn't believe she had withstood this kind of assault without worse injuries. Her little body should have snapped like a twig under this kind of punishment.

The ground beneath him was pulverized and shattered with tremendous force, sinking with every hit into a crater. With a hiss of frustration, Ryoga threw a wild punch that caught the monster in the side of the face. Tetsuya's attack lost momentum as he flinched back from the hit and Ryoga fired two Bakusai Tenketsu' into the ground on either side of him, the sides of it shaping and directing the blasts straight at Tetsuya. He reared back with a sharp cry, the debris irritating his wounds and peppering his face. Ryoga smashed his feet up into the man's gut, sending him flying backwards before staggering to his own feet.

Ryoga coughed and hacked up a glob of blood; he shook his head with an uneasy exhale of breath.

'You think she really loves you?' Tetsuya sneered through clenched teeth. 'Are you so desperate for someone to care about you that you would risk your life for that freak!? She's just like every other practitioner of Anything Goes Martial Arts! She's just as over confident, arrogant and two faced as her father and the little tengu of man, Happosai. She only cares about herself, she'll turn her back on you the first minute she has no need for you.'

Ryoga frowned.

'You're right...'

Tetsuya blinked in surprise. 'Huh?'

'Ranma's cocky and arrogant and she's not afraid to flaunt her skills or take advantage of her opponent's weakness. She can be petty and prideful, and she won't think twice about making someone's life hell if they get on her bad side. I can't even count all the times she ruined my plans or all the stupid pranks she's pulled just to screw with me,' he grumbled darkly as memory after memory played through his mind like old black and white movies. 'Hell, I'm even cursed because of her!'

Tetsuya's face morphed into a hideous smile.

'That's right,' he agreed eagerly. 'Help me destroy the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts and I give you my word, I'll remove your curse. You can have a normal life again...'

Ryoga eyed him seriously. 'And she's loyal!'

Tetsuya's smile vanished, his face darkening.

'She has always been there for me when I really needed her, even when I didn't deserve it, when she had every reason to walk away. She's honest and warm and she loves her friends and family, even when they make life hard for her. She never turns her back on a challenge or those she loves and she never gives up!' Ryoga spat furiously, straightening as muscles tensed. 'And more importantly... I would never turn my back on her to help a pathetic monster like you!'

Tetsuya's eyes blazed with rage.

'Well then, let's see how you feel about that when you're stuck as a pig for the rest of your life!'

The Jewel suddenly turned as red as blood and crackled with arcs of energy. Ryoga's blood turned to ice with fear, rooted in place as his lung froze up on him. The energy exploded out and blasted him backwards like a cannon into the wall. He screamed, pain sliced through his body, his blood boiling and muscles tensing so tight they felt like they would snap. His body convulsed and he felt like fiery fingers were digging into his soul and ripping it in two. Tears sprung from his eyes as horror choked his heart; he didn't want to be a pig forever!

'Asshole!'

Tetsuya whipped around in time to catch Ranma's knee with his face! The force of the collision threw the monstrous bastard off balance, sending him staggering in shock. The crimson energy vanished in an instant and the crystal returned to its normal blue glow. Ryoga slumped forward, panting heavily with smoke dancing off his body. Ranma flipped to the ground and shot Ryoga a wink.

It was time.

'So you're ready to fight again huh?' Tetsuya hissed irritably; obviously this wasn't going as easily as he thought it would. 'I was starting to think you had ran off with your tail between your legs.'

'I'm ready to finish this if you are,' she replied coolly.

Ryoga glanced around to see the others getting into position.

'I hope you don't think that little sword will be enough to stop me,' Tetsuya laughed as he noted the blade strapped to her waist. 'How desperate must you be if you're already resorting to weapons to try and defeat me.'

'How desperate you must be, that you'd need to supercharge yourself to beat an innocent little girl to death,' Ranma smirked calmly. 'Are you scared of little old me? Big bad pathetic Tetsuya, so weak and useless he can't even defeat a little girl without a magic rock to make him big and tough... and you think we're the cowards...'

Tetsuya exploded with rage, his stolen battle aura unfolding and billowing out to fill the street around them as it flared up with the parody of a demonic face looming over them, screaming soundlessly from a jagged mouth.

'I'll show you desperate you little bitch!'

He flew at her in a blind fury, claws cleaving at empty air as she smoothly danced backwards out of his reach. She had her hands stuffed in her pockets, leaning back cockily, like she was ten feet tall and made of steel.

'Un uh,' Ranma wagged a finger at him with an infuriating grin. 'We're playing by my rules now pal... and you're gonna lose...'

'I'm going to wipe that smile from your face!'

'You'll have to catch me first.'

The red head stuck her tongue out like a child with a loud obnoxious pleeeeeeh; Tetsuya bristled, eye twitching in seething anger. He leapt at her and she ducked around him, laughing before taking off at a sprint. Tetsuya's let loose a thundering roar born of frustration and raced off after her with Ryoga and the others in close pursuit.

~oOo~

Ranma sank into the Soul of Ice as she ran, even as she tried o think of the perfect place to run to. She couldn't fire off the Hiryu Shoten Ha here, there were too many houses around, too much potential for innocent bystanders to get hurt in the process. She needed some place with a lot of space to move. The School maybe? No, too cliché she thought dismissively. There was the park, but she didn't want any little kids getting caught up in all of this.

She hopped to the roof tops, blinking as she saw it from the corner of her eye as she glided through the air.

The baseball field!

It was perfect; there wasn't usually any practice at this time of day and there would be few people around to worry about. Once they caught sight of Tetsuya, they'd run away screaming. There was plenty of room to move and finish the big bastard off for good. The red head turned sharply and hopped the houses between them with incredible agility.

'You think you can get away from me!?' Tetsuya snarled after her.

She turned in mid air to see him racing after her, and felt the briefest surge of worry when she didn't see the others behind him; where the hell were they? He tore tiles from roofs and flung them like shurikans, but the crimson haired fighter flipped and bounced off the projectiles in mid air, smashing others to smithereens. She didn't have time to deal with this.

Ranma soared over the high fence surrounding the baseball field and landed gracefully. Tetsuya crashed through the fence, shredding the metal chain links like paper. The red head dived as he trampled past her and rolled to her feet in the same smooth motion. He spun on the spot with claws slashing at her throat, missing by a hairs width as she flipped backwards; he was so fast! He was all over the place and she couldn't get him to follow her into the damn spiral... and even if she could, she had to wait for the others to catch up!

Inwardly she winced; if they didn't hurry up, she wasn't going to have the strength to pull this off.

'You think just because you put on a cocky front, you can beat me?' Tetsuya boomed, clawing out trenches in the ground, spraying dirt everywhere. 'You're nothing compared to me! None of you can even hope to defeat me!'

Ranma landed on his fist in a crouch as he went to strike, startling him back. 'All you jerks I fight always say the same damn thing, but yah know what? I still kicked their butts and before this day is done, you'll just be another name on a long list of names of douche bags I've beaten. You're not special Tetsuya, you're just more long winded than the rest!'

He growled and swiped at her, but she was already moving, flipping backwards off his fist.

'I've sacrificed too much to be beaten by such an infuriating little brat!' he raged impotently. 'I'm going to shove that sword so far down your throat when I catch you!'

'You haven't got the balls,' she dodged around another attack. 'If you were man enough to kill me, you would have done it earlier when you had the chance to.'

He lunged at her with frenzied eyes, snarling like a beast as he loomed over her, only to catch a chuii in the side of the face that sent him sprawling across the ground. Ranma looked around to see Shampoo arrive with Mousse close behind her on one side, at the same time Akane and Ukyo appeared on the other side with Ryoga.

'Finally!' she huffed. 'What took you so long?'

'Porky went the wrong way,' Ukyo rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Ryoga shifted uncomfortably as Ranma shot him a look of disbelief.

'Your idiot friends can't help you Saotome!' Tetsuya sneered as he got to his feet, shooting them all a deadly glare.

Ranma saw the fierce look of determination burning in their eyes, and snorted at him with a grin. 'Yes... yes they can. You though, you'll never win because you fight alone. You're not a martial artist. You're not even a man. You're just a pathetic monster and that's all you'll ever be. Alone, second best and completely worthless, relying on a magic rock to make you strong, because you're too weak to do anything yourself!'

Tetsuya lunged at her in a blind fury, bellowing in a terrible rage claws cleaving at empty air as she smoothly danced backwards. So blind that he didn't see her drawing him into the spiral with each perfectly placed stepped, or the others as they rushed in around them from all sides. The air sizzled with their combined battle auras burning around them as she led them around the large spiral path and into the center like she had practiced a hundred times before.

Time slowed as she caught Ryoga's gaze just for a second and saw the concern behind his eyes.

Ranma simply smiled.

Then time sped back up as they hit the center and Ranma dropped into a crouch as massive claws sliced above her head. She spun on the spot, glaring fiercely up at the monster...

'Hiryu!'

Drawing her fist back...

'Shoten!'

She sprang up with her fist screaming upward with all the force she could muster.

'Ha!'

The air cracked...

...and then it roared!

~oOo~

The surge of ki was like a bomb going off.

Cologne raced to the hole in the dojo and peered out with eyes as wide as saucers as she stared at the blackening sky, clouds forming over the ward dozens of streets away. Lightning cracked through the air and rumbled with thunder. She was left speechless as the tornado tore up from the ground like something out of a nightmare, as black as the sky itself. The beautiful spring day shattered in a single instant as winds picked up and ripped through the streets.

The ki she felt in the air was astounding; she couldn't believe her eyes. How angry had she made that man to produce such an incredible Hiryu Shoten Ha?

'Is that Ranma?' Soun asked in awe as he walked up behind her.

Cologne couldn't help but smirk with pride.

'Who else would go so overboard?'

~oOo~

There was no time to think or back out.

No time to scream.

There was only the roar, like dragons descending from the heavens in an angry horde. And then, there was the cold wrapping her body, freezing the air in her lungs till they felt like they were on fire. She was being pulled in every direction at once, her stomach roiling with nausea as if she was stuck on some stupid carnival ride. Every part of her body, battered and bruised and protesting against the onslaught was in agony, even through the darkness of her tightly closed eyes. Everything roared and howled, deafening her ears as she tried to move and failed; it felt like a thousand tons were pressing down on her, trying to suffocate her.

Her eyes slowly peeled open with force, and she found herself peering up at hell. It was as black as night, save for the arcs of lightning that cracked across the inside of the twister, tearing at the air like tongues of white blue fire. Debris flew all around as she stared up at the abyss above. This was like no Hiryu Shoten Ha she had ever produced before, but with so much energy from all her friends and the mammoth amount of energy that had been pouring out of the Jewel, it shouldn't have come as any shock... but it did, and she stared up at it in horror.

The Tenryu No Kiba, she thought with a panic, she had to finish this before the tornado exhausted itself.

Her face reddened and sweat was whipped from her skin by the high speed forced pummeling her tiny frame as she tried to pull her arms in, gasping sharply at the effort it took. Her strength was fading rapidly, rushing from her body and it screamed in agony as muscles burned and injuries stacked on top of injuries, crying for rest. Just a bit longer, please, she begged desperately as her hand inched closer, fingers brushing the capped pummel. Then suddenly her arm gave and the forces of the tornado wrenched her arm back. She screamed in frustration, kicking and wriggling uselessly as she tried to gain some measure of control, struggling to breath as her heart raced and her lungs tightened painfully in her chest... she couldn't move!

Her eyes widened in alarm; she couldn't execute the Tenryu No Kiba like this!

What was she going to do?!

The others were all depending on her to finish this!

'Saotome!'

Powerful fingers wrapped her neck from behind and wreathed her around. Terror froze her still as Tetsuya glared at her through powerfully enraged eyes. Fingers tightened until pointed tips pierced flesh and drew blood that dribbled down the side of her slim neck, dragged by the forces around them as he snarled like an animal, with his other clawed hand drawn back ready to strike.

'I've had enough of your stupid games,' he roared, face a mess of nasty cuts from flying debris. 'This ends now!'

His claws came crashing down and she screwed eyes closed, waiting for the end to come... when something landed on her shoulder and she felt a heavy jolt shoot threw her. She opened her eyes and turned hesitantly... to find Happosai perched there holding Tetsuya's claws back with his tiny hands, grinning malevolently.

Tetsuya hissed hatefully. 'You!'

'Happosai?' she gasped in shock, blinking in disbelief as she stared.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes with a wide smirk. 'You didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun did you, missy? I have a score to settle with this little upstart as well.'

'I have all your power old man!' Tetsuya snapped straining to overcome the little old freak. 'You're still too weak from the extraction to take me down!'

'You may have stolen my ki, but that doesn't mean you know how to use it sonny,' Happosai snorted with narrowed eyes. 'You're still four hundred years too early to best me!'

'You still can't beat me!' Tetsuya snarled insistently, ki burning off him.

Happosai grinned viciously. 'But I can hold you here till she does!'

Before Ranma could blink, the old man sent the Guardian flipping backwards against the speed of the winds. Ranma could only stare in disbelief that the little old man still had enough strength to do that. There was a life to him that hadn't been there before when he'd had the Jewel, as if a great burden had been lifted off his little black soul and renewed him.

'I thought you were out for the count,' she admitted, straining to be heard over the rushing wind in her ears.

'It'll take more than that,' Happosai huffed indignantly... then he glanced down and cracked a sleazy grin. 'I could use a little pick me up though. Bonzai!'

Without warning he dived onto her chest. Ranma screamed as he squeezed her breasts together and rubbed his face against them through her top. She shrieked and flailed, trying to shake him off to no avail; he held on with a death grip, cackling like a child on a fun park ride.

'Oh yeah, that's the stuff!' he laughed.

Ranma shook with red faced rage. 'Get off me!'

She threw an angry punch, only for him to grab her wrist and stop it dead in mid swing, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

'Thanks of the boost!' he told her. 'Now go!'

Ranma blinked in confusion, and he flung her up into the tornado before she could react. She screamed as she soared up through the funnel, hair whipping at her eyes, stung and watering, half closed, lungs struggling to suck in breath. She felt wind whipping at her clothes as she glided up the currents, arcs of lightning cracking and thundering through the twister with flashes of light splashing chaotic patterns of shadows all over the place. Without the wind pressure battling against her, her hand went to the hilt of her sword easily.

She could do this!

But she needed more speed!

She could already feel herself losing momentum.

'Ranma!'

She looked up and spotted Ukyo struggling against the high speed winds and the distance between the two of them vanishing rapidly as she shot up. The chef twirled her giant spatchula at the ready, and Ranma grinned; perfect! She tucked her feet in and flipped over as Ukyo swung the weapon around. The red head's feet planted firmly against the serving end.

Ukyo smiled brightly. 'Need a lift?'

The okonomiyaki chef catapulted her upwards with all her strength. She felt herself climbing higher and higher and more than that she felt the ki of the tornado all around her, vibrating the air and the sides of the twisters. She felt it flowing through her, wrapping around her like a blanket as she raced up the currents, sucking in short breaths, forcing herself to take deeper and deeper ones, drawing the ki in around her. A chain wrapped suddenly wrapped around her ankle and she looked down sharply to find Mousse attached at the other end.

'Hold tight Saotome!' he shouted.

Suddenly she was being swung around and around, caught in the currents, spinning faster and faster till her mind spun and her brain pressed up against the inside of her skull. He released her with a flick of his wrist, the chain around her ankle falling away and sending her rocketing up. Then Shampoo appeared seconds later, her chuii crossed above her head; as soon as Ranma's feet touched it, the Chinese girl launched her with all the terrifying strength of an Amazon she possessed. She couldn't hear anything over the howl of the wind and the roar of ki cracking through the air. A wide grin spread from ear to as Akane came into view.

Akane grabbed her hand, grinning fiercely. 'Kick his butt!'

Ranma winked and her ex-fiancée threw her upwards. She unsheathed her blade with a cutting ring she heard even over the twister, twirling it over in her hand and flicking the blade out, breathing deep. She felt the ki around her growing stronger and stronger, a faint blue aura buzzing around her.

Then she felt her heart skip a beat when she spotted Ryoga, hovering there, as unmovable as a mountain. She flew straight at him, their hands clamping around each other's forearms as her momentum sent them spinning along the currents. Time slowed as they locked gazes, everything disappearing for a moment as they stared into one another's eyes.

He smiled and nodded. 'Finish it.'

And with that he launched her like a javelin. She shot up the inside of the tornado, with her sword slicing into the dirt, debris and kinetic energy. The lightning like ki latched on to her blade, like a lightning rod buried in the ground. She roared as she drew in the energy all around her, soaking it up like a sponge the way Cologne had showed her. She felt it overflowing from the blade, spilling into her, burning through her as she flew higher and higher. All of it, all of the ki that made up the Hiryu Shoten Ha all rushed into the blade, arcs of energy crackling all around it as her battle aura expanded like a comet tail trailing behind her.

Her pig tail ripped free of its binding, crimson tresses billowing behind her like a cape as she was ejected from the top of the tornado into the black clouds above. She was surrounded by the dark cold as she shot through it, the battle aura of blue ki pulsing through the black clouds, veins of blue energy bursting into the sword all around her, spider webbing through the stormy masses. Without the momentum of the tornado driving her, she slowed considerably, flinging her arms wide as she breathed deep the fresh energized air all around her, filling her lungs as she hung weightless. It lasted just for a second, her small form floating, an exhilaration she hadn't felt in long time rushing through her.

Then gravity grabbed her with its relentless grasp, and she fell backwards, letting it take her.

She plummeted like a ballistic missile into the yawning maw of the Hiryu Shoten Ha, thunder blasting the air, the wind howling as she channeled all of it, all of the energy, all of hers and the tornado's ki into the sword till it shined like a beacon of azure in the darkness, all of the lightning striking into it, over and over again. There was so much, bursting around her; it was incredible. The tornado dissipated behind her as she stole its energy, unraveling it like someone had plucked an invisible thread, pulling it apart in her wake as the walls of dirt and debris fall away, shafts of light and clear sky shooting through the darkness.

A sudden burst of agony flashed through her without warning, chest tightening, bones screaming as a freezing cold cut into them. Her insides shrieked and her breath caught in her throat as eyes watered as she struggled to keep her focus. Her body was its limit; the Splitting Cat's Hair technique, with the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, the Moko Takabishas and now this. She felt a blackness edging in from the sides of her vision, threatening to consume her whole...

This had to end now.

'Tetsuya!' she screamed.

Far below she saw him, battling back and forth with Happosai, locked in a stalemate. His head whipped up with a snarl.

His fists clenched 'Saotome!'

'Let's finish this!'

He punted Happosai away. 'Lets!'

Tetsuya shot into the currents and rocketed up through the twister. Ranma closed her eyes, breathing deep as she steadied her racing heart, her chest aching with a dull throb of its pounding. She focused on the ki all around her, concentrating it into a single point, ignoring the agony tearing her apart from the inside out. She focused everything on it, all the rage and pain she'd experienced in the last five months, everything. Even the love and new lease of life she'd discovered after so much trial and hardships, all that she had suffered at her own hands, at the hands of the Jusenkyo Preservation Society and Yukino, the confusion of falling for the last person she would have expected, and how she had some out the other side stronger than ever!

All of it, focused directly into her blade.

'Die Ranma Saotome!' Tetsuya bellowed

Her eyes blazed opened, and she drew the sword back.

'Tenryu No Kiba!'

She slashed the sword forward with a mighty roar echoing throughout the destabilizing twister, throwing every ounce of strength she had left behind it. A wave of energy leapt forth from the blade with an explosion like a sonic boom, the force blasting her backwards, flipping end over end before she stopped herself, glaring fiercely down at him. The wave of blue ki ripped down through the air, splitting it apart. For a single instant Tetsuya's eyes widened in a horror, realizing his mistake but it was too late to do anything about; the wave slammed into him and flattening him against the powerful updrafts of air like he'd slammed into a brick wall.

Everything went dead silent, the howl of the wind fading as she hovered there, staring down, muscles tensed and lips pressed thin in a frown. Tetsuya's eyes suddenly opened and he gasped, looking down at himself in disbelief, before laughing. He stared up at her triumphantly as her sword shattered down to the hilt without warning and she doubled over and coughed up blood, that spilt over her hand and down the side of her mouth, pain tightening around her body with cruel fingers, robbing her of all her strength.

'All of that for nothing!' he snapped, eyes gleaming with arrogance and victory. 'All of that and you didn't even scratch me! You've killed yourself for nothing!'

Ranma smiled grimly, wincing and shook her head.

'I wasn't aiming for you...jackass'

Tetsuya blinked, staring in confusion. Her eyes flicked down, and he looked down to stare at the Jewel, shining bright with pulsing light...then lines spider webbed through it with a loud crack. Tetsuya's eyes snapped towards her, wide with terror as light burst through the countless pattern of cracks.

She hissed with a smile. 'Go to hell.'

Then everything turned white...

~oOo~

There was no warning.

The tornado of volatile energy was suddenly sucked in on itself to a single point like water down a drain... and then the sky exploded in a brilliant ball of ivory energy that blasted shockwaves in every direction; trees nearly folded in half on themselves, fences torn from the ground and tiles were ripped free from roofs as the clouds above were visibly swept back in a perfect circle while the ground was shattered with countless cracks, groaning in protest.

People stopped and stared in awe and fear, gazing silently as it blasted and rumbled like a second sun. Only it didn't burn hot. It radiated a cold that covered everything nearby in a thin sheen of frost like a morning dew. Whatever grievances the residents had was forgotten for a moment as they watched, rooted in place waiting for something else to happen, some other spectacle waiting to take its place, watching with fear baited breath. Just as quickly as it formed though, the ball of explosive energy faded into nothing, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. It was the silence that always accompanied the end of battle...

Cologne could only stare in wonder.

'Well done, Saotome,' she muttered softly. 'Well done...'

Nabiki shouted from the street. 'I think I see them!'

Cologne rushed into the street to join the shrewd young businesswoman, following the middle sister's gaze down the road. In the distance five silhouettes appeared, walking slowly towards them. Sure enough it was them, becoming clearer one by one; all of them looked exhausted and battered, clothes torn and tattered and their bodies covered in a myriad of bleeding cuts and scratches. Ryoga had one armed around Ranma's waist with one of hers draped across his shoulder, gently holding her up right. As it was her feet dragged along the ground more than they walked.

The red head looked worst than all of them combined, so drained that there was only the slightest, faintest trace of ki in her body, with blood trickling down the side of her face and her hair was a matted mess; crimson locks were plastered to her face with sweat and blood and sticking out at all angles as her free arm hung limply at her side, clutching the sheathed katana in a death grip. Cologne felt her old heart lurch at the sight of her; she looked as bad as her father. Even Nabiki's typical unflappable demeanor was shaken.

Ranma looked at her weakly, eyes dull and nearly lifeless she was so exhausted.

'It's done...'

Cologne nodded slightly. 'You did good child... now come, and rest before you keel over...'

'No,' she managed to shake her head, wincing as she did with effort. 'I-I-I, w-want... to see...Pops...'

Cologne exchanged worried glances with the others; it was obvious the red head was in bad shape. Finally she just sighed and nodded. She led them through the damaged wall, and through the hole in the dojo, watching as Ryoga carefully helped the stubborn girl inside. On the floor, Genma was laid out on the ground. They'd moved him from the pool of blood that he'd created and removed the top half of his uniformed, revealing the clean wound through his side her expert stitch job. The man had only the smallest trace of color to him and shivered and perspired, his breathing ragged.

Nodoka looked up from her spot next to him and her eyes, sore and red from crying widened at the sight of them.

'Oh my god, Ranma,' she flew to the girl's side. 'Are you alright?'

Ranma fell into her mother's embrace; she didn't have the strength to return the hug as her mother wrapped her arms around her and squeezed her tight, grimacing silently. She managed a small smile after a while and pulled away, lifting the sheathed katana.

'I finished it,' she replied, her breathing strained and hoarse.

Her mother took the sword with trembling hands, clutching it tightly with regret in her eyes. 'He's dead?'

'I don't know,' Ranma admitted. 'Whether the bastard's dead or not though doesn't matter. The Jewel is destroyed and that was the only thing that gave him an advantage over any of us. If he's still alive, he'll be too much of a coward to come after us again... and if he does, he'll wish he hadn't.'

Nodoka nodded, her shoulders sagging with relief.

Ranma glanced down at her father and felt like she'd be punched in the face, a great fear welling up inside her, choking her heart with its dark grip. 'H... How is he doing? Is he ok?'

Cologne shook her head gravely. 'He's lost a lot of blood Ranma... He's very weak...'

'Isn't there something you can do?' she asked, with just a hint of pleading in her tone.

'I have done all that I can,' The old woman replied simply. 'His wound by itself isn't life threatening, but as I've said, he's lost a lot of blood and he's not a young man anymore and he's not exactly the picture of health...' she glanced at Nodoka with a pointed look. 'What he needs, is a reason to keep fighting.'

Nodoka looked at the old woman silently for a while as the others watched on, not knowing what to say or do. Ranma could barely stand, let alone offer anything that could help, except the knowledge that she had gotten the bastard that had done this to her father; but what did it matter if her father wasn't around. A victory against Tetsuya meant nothing.

She felt useless...

Then her mother knelt back down beside her husband, squeezing his hand. Slowly she bent down and kissed him gently on the forehead, before bending further so that her mouth was next to his ear, and whispered something to him so softly, so quietly that none of them heard it. Time seemed to slow, the moment stretching out into what felt like an eternity as they stood there, waiting for some miracle to happen right before their eyes. Ranma felt her chest ache with emotions she rarely let herself feel, for so many reasons, most of all because she knew her father would berate her for it, but right at that moment there was little she could do to stop them. She wanted... needed him, to be ok...

...

...

...

Then his hand slowly curled around her mother's, startling Nodoka. A smile spread across his face as he looked up through pain filled eyes.

'I'm not going anywhere.'

Nodoka's face lit up with relief and she threw arms around him; everyone's faces lit up with smiles, the collective cloud of growing grief in the room fading rapidly as Genma wrapped an arm around his wife and squeezed her tight, kissing her properly as he held her, ignoring his own discomfort. Ranma sighed as the weight lifted from her shoulders, her fear retreated, replaced with joy, and the simple happiness that her parents were fine.

It didn't matter that the world was starting to spin...

'What did you say, Aunty?' Akane asked curiously.

Nodoka looked up at the girl, smiling in relief. She was about to answer when her gaze shifted and her face flinched with concern. 'Ranma…? Are you alright?'

Without warning the red head hit the ground with a heavy thump before anyone could blink; she heard startled shouts and the rushing of feet across the hardwood floor, faint and far away as her vision clouded over, darkness rapidly closing in from the edges as a great white pain sliced through her...

...And then nothing...

...

...

...

…..To be Concluded...