Author's notes: So I finally went around to have the next chapter of this story ready. Hadn't had the opportunity to work on it due to focusing in other stories, but I finally set myself the task to write it. In any case, let's start already.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; copyrights to the different series and/or franchises that appear in this fic belong to their respectives owners.

THIS CHAPTER IS UPLOADED ON THE 20/05/2021

Training Time!

Part 4

!

Pan walked up into a podium, her demeanor a thunderstorm of bitterness and chagrin, a veritable army of reporters and members of the press waited all lined up in front of the platform. A press conference having been quickly arranged by Bulma with the aid of Piccolo, Roshi, Tien and Krillin, to take place on one of the most spacious buildings located inside the main compound of the once known YAMI organization. The veteran Z fighters that had come from Pan's world were waiting for her to join them atop the Podium.

"I can't believe you forced me to do this sensei…!" She declared with a look of betrayal as she turned towards Piccolo who was walking right behind her like a guard escorting a dead-row inmate.

"You were procrastinating and taking your sweet time to apologize for your little stunt. Well, no more girl… You are facing the music today whether you like it or not…" The Namekian stated brooking no room for argument, his words being clearly heard by all in the silent room as no one, even those visitors that have just met him in person for the first time, wanted to make any kind of fuss in his presence. Survival Instincts at its finest.

"You do understand it means nothing for you to force me into apologizing for picking a fight with Lind and almost wrecking the entire city as it would simply be hollow words without me being truly sorry…" She asked to the green fighter with an incredulous expression.

"It does not matter; this is simply mere formality before I make sure that you truly end up feeling sorry for what you did after this…" It was Piccolo's succinct and to the point retort. "Think of it as the opening ceremony for your inevitable punishment…"

"You're evil Piccolo-sensei!" Pan accused in affront, pointing at him with an accusatory finger.

The Namekian actually cracked a small smile at that. "Former holder of the title of demon lord in case you have forgotten…"

With that said, the young Saiyan girl was prompted to climb the steps of the platform until she was atop the podium with the microphone pointed at her mouth to convey her words, all under the watching gaze of the rest of the Z warriors while her minions and co. waited at the other end of the room behind all the reporters.

"Right… Let's end with this so I can go get my head chopped off by the mean green axe-man… (Sigh) Ah, damn it… Okay… I'm… I'm sorry…" Pan said through gritted teeth as it cost her a great effort of will to utter each and every single word. "For all of the destruction, and the rain of fire and the crumbled bridges and Highways, etc, etc…"

"She looks as if she is suffering from constipation." Whip said with no small amount of amusement at seeing the alien girl in such predicament. She liked Pan, truly; but that doesn't mean she will not resist the temptation of laughing at her when she fucks up. What are friends for after all…?

"Ah yes… there was also all of those boats and shipping vessels that ended up being strewn over the docks when Lind and I were fighting over the bay. That I didn't expect for it to happen. Even I was surprised, took a while to clean all that mess but it was good training, I must say…" The Saiyan girl continued listing off, looking completely tone-deaf to an external observer.

Krilling visibly face-palmed at such insincere apology.

"What!?" Pan exclaimed, looking towards the short martial artist. "Well, I'm not sorry! Why are you putting me here I already fixed all the damage I caused, Pro-bono and without complaint? Rebuilt all the broken highways, replaced all the broken windows and glass, I even went to where that little park in Katsushika used to be and filled the crater it had been turned into. I had to endure the annoying racist comments from that midget policeman and resist the urge of punching his head off. What more do you want from me…!? Do I have to build a new city for you to get off my case!?" She exclaimed with no small amount of affront.

Eighteen turned towards Pan with an uncaring expression. "You do know you are getting your ass chewed for this right?

"Well, what is the great difference? I am getting the crap beaten out of me either way, so what incentive do I have to play along with this farce?" Pan replied, looking back with a defiant expression.

Piccolo sighed, rubbing his temples for a bit before addressing the alien girl. "PAN! The issue isn't whether or not you have made amends for the trouble you caused. The problem is that you shouldn't had put the entire city in such danger in the first place!?"

The alien girl simply turned her head and stared at the Namekian with an uncomprehending expression. "I don't follow…"

"That fight with that goddess is something you could have pretty easily avoided, if you weren't such a brat! You could have saved yourself a lot of grief and the people of this planet a great scare if you had been a little bit patient…" Piccolo simply stated with his usual rigidness.

Pan whipped her entire body towards the Namekian and stared up at him with a blank face. "Piccolo-sensei, you, my grandfather and uncle Vegeta have taught me a lot of things. Some I'm grateful for, others I've liked and have proven useful, and even some others I've hated. But how to avoid confrontations is not one of them. In fact, I was taught that when it comes to fights, putting your opponent down in the most decisive and effective manner possible is the way to go. If I remember correctly, you yourself taught me that I should never take crap from anybody, and should not be afraid to teach a lesson to any fool that tries to be cute with me…" She recited automatically and dispassionately as if reciting from memory.

"Yes... That's true…" Piccolo easily replied with a nod, unfazed. "And those are valuable lessons to live by, as you need to show who is boss whenever some dumbass idiot comes trying to make trouble for you; otherwise people will always be walking all over you unless you lay down the law hard. But never mind that, regardless if you instigated that fight with Lind or not, at the very least you should have moved the venue of your fight to a more isolated place. You could have easily done that to avoid unwanted wide-spread destruction. But you didn't…

Remember that when we've had to fight against powerful opponents that threatened the security of our planet, we usually make sure to have these sorts of confrontations on places that are as far as we can away from population centers. Abandoned canyons, deserts or wastelands and such.

The Saiyan race, Cell, The Androids, Majin Buu… All of them we faced in isolated locations. We do not make a habit of fighting within cities if we can avoid it, unless there is no other choice. Sure, sometimes even with us trying to contain the collateral as best as we can, cities nonetheless end up being destroyed; but that's because our enemies purposefully target major population centers. At the bare minimum, what you could have done was give the alarm for people to evacuate the city before you had your little showdown…" The Namekian lectured, crossing his arms and giving a stern stare at the tailed girl for emphasis.

A lightbulb could visibly be seen to have turned on in Pan's expression. "Aaah…!" It was all that the young Saiyan could say.

"Yes… Aaah… Now you finally understand…?" Piccolo pointedly asked.

Pan began to rub the back of her head, suddenly feeling pretty self-conscious as a blush covered her features. "… Okay I fucked up, I'll admit it… I have no excuse, I just didn't realize… But alright, I'll own it; it's my bad… I … Damn I truly messed up…" She said slapping a hand to her fore-head as she finally realized what she had done wrong.

Piccolo shook his head side to side. "Brats! Why must you always be so dumb…"

"Hey…!" Pan complained as she found such declaration unfair.

"Shut up brat! Now come, it's time for your punishment!" The Namekian declared with a less than reassuring smirk on his face.

Pan simply turned to her audience. "Well, I'm fucked… It was nice knowing you all. I'm off now to get buggered in the ass to the death." She turned to look up again at Piccolo's completely unforgiving expression. "Welp… I have a feeling I'm not going to like this…"

"It is called punishment for a reason brat…" Replied the Namekian as he reached towards her with a hand.

!

Now Pan and Piccolo found themselves completely alone in the middle of a deserted canyon. The short girl standing in front of the former Mao as he looked down on her in disapproval clearly etched in his features.

"So… What are we doing here in this isolated location? Are you going to murder me and hide my body…?" She said as she looked at their surroundings. She knew Piccolo would not do anything to seriously harm her, but she couldn't restrain the nervousness creeping up on her and thus her mouth ran at full pedal in order to hide her discomfort, which did nothing but make her dig herself in a hole deeper. Worst of all, some of the little Giru cams were buzzing about the place, ready to capture her imminent humiliation for the entire world to see.

"Keep up with that mouth and I will seriously start considering it…" Piccolo deadpanned. "But no Pan, we are because it has come to my attention that you've been showing a pretty poor performance on all the fights you've had during the time you've been on this planet…" He simply stated matter-of-factly.

Pan became pretty insulted at that. "What? The hell do you mean by that sensei!?"

"You've shown no technique or skill against any of your opponents and simply limit yourself to stand there on your spot and take all their blows, never mind the fact they are much weaker than you. That's no excuse for laziness! And it's not the way I've taught you how to fight." The Namekian simply explained.

Pan simply shrugged. "I just didn't consider worth the effort to even try or spent any amount of energy against those incapables of hurting me in any meaningful way…" It was her simple answer.

Piccolo shook his head in disapproval at that. "No matter how true that might be, it does not justify for you to drop all of the teachings I've drilled into you at the drop of a hat. You've become sloppy in your lessons, and it is plain for all to see. So, consider this little exercise a sort of remedial training, a going back to the basics kind of thing…" He stated with a small devilish smile.

Pan didn't immediately offer a reply to that, she had the distinct suspicion that there was more to what her sensei was telling her. But at large she inquired. "So, what will this little training session be about…?"

Piccolo smirked, it wasn't a nice smile. "It is simple… All you need to do is…"

DODGE!

"Wha~"

POOM

A green fist suddenly smashed right into Pan's cheek, deforming her features and sending her barreling face first into the face of a nearby cliff. The resulting impact releasing an impressive cloud of dust that hid the alien girl from view.

":Cof: :Cof: What The Hell Sensei!" The alien girl exclaimed as she spat dust out of her mouth and tried to rise back to her feet. Only to find that Piccolo was nowhere to be seen.

"What?"

BAM!

"DODGE!"

The voice of the Namekian could be heard in a yell as an elbow struck Pan in the back of her head and sent her spinning through the air again until she impacted upon a lonely rock face first.

"Oh my Goddess, this is not cool…" The Saiyan Girl complained aloud, as she unstuck herself from the shattered rock's remains and began to rub the bump she now sported on her forehead. Only for a leg to strike her in the stomach on once more send her careening in a helpless heap.

POW!

"DODGE!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"DODGE!"

Again, and again the Namekian lashed at Pan, giving not a single moment respite to the alien girl. Luckily, Pan was quick on the uptake and after a few initial and painful slips she was able to get her bearings back together and adopt a defensive stance to better respond to her sensei's aggressions.

However, despite her best efforts to bring the fight back to Piccolo, Pan soon found herself overwhelmed by the sheer viciousness and speed of the Namekian's attacks who was clearly not pulling back any punches and making full use of his greater experience and training. Pan was savagely pushed to the back foot and left helpless to respond to Piccolo's offensive, leaving her no option but to try to avoid the continuous barrage of her sensei. Something that she failed pretty miserably at.

"DODGE!"

WHAM!

"OUCH!"

"DODGE!"

ZOCK!

"AH!"

"DODGE!"

!

Those who were watching the little training session through Giru's transmission were rather stupefied at the raw ferocity displayed by the Namekian.

"Riiiiiiiiight… If any of us ever entertained the thought about not following Piccolo's sensei instructions to the letter. I think every single one of them just suffered a horrible death in this very moment…" Mature commented with a deadpan as she and the rest of the retinue with some of the students watched the beating through one of the monitors back at YAMI's HQ.

"I hear you, lady… I really don't wish to be singled out and picked for one of these 'remedial lessons.'" Bob Makihara said with a flat stare. "Better not lag behind during the training sessions, isn't that right Nagi…?" He asked towards his best friend.

"I don't know Bob, I have the feeling we are getting screwed either way…" The short blonde punk stated with some concern.

"You are only saying that because you have the whole Black Dragon/Susanoo thing in need to be dealt with…" Uncho Kann'u said from were she was standing alongside her friends. "Didn't lady Shoryuki said something about giving you a private exclusive training to deal with that issue….?" She inquired outloud.

It was Belldandy who answered her. "Lady Shoryuki is a dragon deity tasked with guarding Myoushinzan, it is unlikely she will have a lot opportunities to leave her duties unattended without serious repercussions. I'm sure she will take care of that matter promptly once she has some time to spare." The kind Goddess declared.

"I bet she isn't going to wait for long… After all, I suspect she would wish to see her precious baby again. Isn't that right Chou'un…?" Ekitoku Chouhi said with a shit-eating grin, turning towards her quiet friend.

The usually composed and serious girl actually opened her eyes to glare at her smaller companion. "I see I will have to inform Piccolo Sensei once he returns that you will require a bit more of a personal touch during our training sessions my dear Chouhi…" It was all she said before returning her attention back to the monitor.

The smaller fighter got incredibly concerned at that. "Hey now! No need to involve Piccolo sensei on this, what is a little ribbing between friends? Don't you know how to take a joke…?"

!

Pan slammed back first upon the sand, laying sprawled in a tangle of limbs. Her face a landscape of bumps and swellings after several hours of Piccolo's lessons in evasion.

"I hope you've learned your lesson Pan and never again forget your training no matter how meager the opponents you face might be…" The Namekian sternly stated without an ounce of pity.

"Blegh… Sometimes, I hate you so much Piccolo sensei…" It was all that the alien girl could say through puffy inflamed lips.

"Yeah… Love you too… Now get your ass off the ground and get moving, we have to rejoin the others before night comes upon us." Piccolo commanded, uncaring of any objection. Pan only response was a groan of complaint.

"If you have time the energy to complain then you are more than capable of flying back home on your own. And make sure you arrive on time if you don't wish to miss dinner. You wouldn't want to go to bed with an empty stomach, I'm sure…" He commanded as parting words, before floating away and start making his way home. "And just to make myself clear… No Instant Transmission… Make your way the old fashioned way…" Piccolo threatened as an addendum before resuming his flight.

Pan clicked her teeth in annoyance and began to force her body to move through the pain in what would be a long miserable flight back to HQ.

!

"Nnnh… Piccolo-sensei… Zero mercy… With that one…" Shigure Kosaka said rather impressed by the sheer no fucks given attitude of the Namekian.

Cammy White shrugged her shoulders at that. "Well I cannot deny his efficiency. Piccolo is the only one I've seen who is able to successfully keep Pan in line."

"I can see why he earned the tittle of Mao…" Chun-Li interjected. "I can fully visualize him bringing about a reign of terror without end…" She stated with a deadpan.

"You are talking about us and the kiddos, right…?" Ken Masters piped in with a grin, knowing full well they were the ones who had to suffer the rather strict training regimen employed by the Namekian.

Raoh turned towards the Chinese policewoman with a scoff of disdain. "Well, how else would you expect to make sure the little shits learn their place? You need to show them who is boss from the very beginning. Piccolo has earned my respect by showing he has the guts to do whatever is necessary to get the job done and doesn't hesitate from dirtying his own hands…"

"Yeah… Why I'm not surprised that you approve of Piccolo's harsh teaching methods, Raoh?" Toki commented.

"That's pretty much Piccolo in a nut-shell…" Krillin intruded. "He is the one of the few people I know who are reliable enough to know what needs to be done to keep things from going down the drain. Can't say the same for the rest of us, though…" He added with a wince, remembering the few times he screwed up things for the rest of the group.

!

After her humiliating punishment, Pan was treated for her boo boos and quickly accepted back into the fold with Piccolo simply resuming the training regimen as if nothing had ever happened.

Currently, the Namekian alongside Tien and Krillin are inside the portable gravity chamber that Pan had brought with her. Which is simply a regular Capsule spaceship that Bulma had retrofitted and removed all of the spacefaring systems from it, leaving only the gravity controls before sticking it inside a capsule.

In front of the trio of Z fighters. Ryu, Ken, Iori, Terry Bogard, K' and Kazuma Mishima were meditating inside the hollow spaceship on a 10x level of gravity as they tried to remain afloat while having heavy Iron balls clasped on each of their limbs. Suffice to say, they had different levels of success on their enterprise.

Terry let out a huff as he struggled against the gravitational forces that wished to drag him back into the ground. "Man, this exercise is really pretty hard…!" He exclaimed as he slowly but surely lost his fight against gravity.

"Too much for you Bogard…?" Iori taunted with a smirk even though he wasn't doing any better than the blonde if the thick sweat falling from his brow was any indication.

"You're kidding me? I love it!?" Terry replied with a shit-eating smile. "It is not every day that I found a training exercise that actually gives me a challenge. I can't remember the last time I struggled to do a repetition… I think since I was a child who first began his instruction in martial arts…" He elaborated as he redoubled his efforts to remain in the air.

"Yes… This is a good training…" Ryu agreed with a nod despite his visible exertion.

"Less yammering and more flying… Or I will slot you all for some dodge training just like I did Pan…" Piccolo threatened with an expressionless face.

Ken smirked at that. "Now… That is… A terrible threat indeed…"

!

The students and apprentices were in a training field taking lessons from Krillin of all people, who also had been told to pitch in training the students when everybody else is busy. Currently, he was having them all practice on how to create a particular ball of energy (Known as Sokidan) with a single raised hand, open palm facing upwards while using their other to support their active limb.

"Concentrate, fell the Ki course through your body and mold it into the form you want. But do not try to force it, rather try to coax it in taking the shape you desire. It is pretty similar like trying to change the course of a river. You do not simply jump into the raging waters and struggle against the current, you build canals instead for the water to move where you want it to go…" He explained as a soccer ball size sphere of light was formed in his open palm.

Akane Tendo was in a deep focus, staring intently at her raised hand as she tried to follow the instructions of the vertically challenged martial artist. Thanks to the close supervision given to her by people like Ryu, the Z fighters and some of the other masters on the subject of meditation and how best to get in contact with her inner Chi, she has managed to improve her mental aptitude, it hasn't been easy by any stretch of the word but she has successfully accomplished to do slow, but steady and visible progress.

The evidence of it being shown right at this very moment, with sparks of electricity surging wildly all over her hand and the faint silhouette of a sphere being briefly seen floating above her hand before fading away.

"Mmmmph… This… This is hard, but I think I almost got it…" She said with anticipation in her voice as she was just at the edge of making a breakthrough.

Only to be interrupted by Ranma and his usual indifference.

"Meh… I don't know why you struggle so much with such a simple exercise, Akane. It is so easy, see!" He declared, showing his own energy sphere floating lazily above his palm. "It is clear you have a serious lack of talent, if you're failing with such a basic technique…" He said uncaringly as he jabbed the pinky finger of his free hand inside his ear to clean it.

The merciless comment cut deep into Akane's psyche and almost immediately deflated her mood, causing her almost materialized sphere to splutter into non-existence. Krillin frowned at this, not liking the way the pigtailed boy tended to run his mouth but not commenting on it since he knew he was too stubborn for a direct confrontation. No… A lesson like this requires a different approach.

"Oh…? So, you think my lessons are too easy? Then perhaps you are ready to take things to the next level…?" He said with faux-indifference.

"Bring it on shorty! I can take whatever is that you throw at me. Can't be any worse than training with the Big Green…" Ranma commented without an ounce of self-awareness.

"If Piccolo hears you calling him that he is going to kick your ass…" Krillin just replied, not expecting for Ranma to heed his words, and he was right as he simply received a shrug from the water-cursed boy. "But regardless, that is not my problem. C'mon then, let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is. Just do what I do…" Ther bald martial artist stated before closing the fingers of his hand until only his index finger remained straight, the Ki ball floating placidly on its tip.

Then with a flick of the finger he threw the ball towards Ranma, the pigtailed boy was startled for a moment as he hadn't expected to be attacked so openly during a lesson. He was about to react when Krillin pointed his finger in another direction, causing the ball of Ki to change course and avoid striking Ranma. Krilling then began to change the sphere's flight path mid-air, leading always with his index finger, tracing the course that for it to follow as the Ki ball mimicked the movements of his digit. The Sphere then circled around Ranma several times without touching him before flying away, leaving the water-cursed boy rather astounded.

"Okay… I'll admit that's cool. But there's nothing Ranma Saotome cannot accomplish!" He declared before throwing his own ball of KI forwards and splatting into the ground before detonating with a small explosion. The laughs of the other apprentices present didn't wait, even Akane giggled a little at his rather poor performance.

Krillin chuckled. "I think you need a little more practice if you can't keep your Sokidan from exploding at the first touch." He stated, moving his finger side to side in a no-no signal, causing his energy sphere to perform the same motion.

"Meh, it was just a little mishap. A sleight of the hand, everyone knows Ki attacks detonate on contact. No reason to get all worked up about it…" Ranma replied, putting his hands inside his pants pockets.

"That's not necessarily true…" Krillin simply responded before pointing down with his finger, causing his KI ball to plunge into the ground and disappear from all sight as it carved a tunnel through the earth.

Ranma's curiosity got the better of him and he approached to take a look at the newly made hole in the earth, unable to see anything but a winding tunnel whose bottom could not be seen due to an impenetrable darkness. He pulled at his pigtail, honestly impressed. "(Whistle) Damn, this tunnel looks deep enough to come all the way out to America…" He declared, taking a step back from the hole to glance at Krillin.

Suddenly the earth under his feet split and Krillin's ball of energy came out ejected from the bowels of the Earth, striking Ranma right under the chin and causing him to do a full body spin on the air before falling face down to the ground.

"Hey what gives!?" Ranma exclaimed with outrage as he wiped his mouth with a hand.

"That's for running your mouth and making comments nobody wants to hear, and otherwise being a general bother. If you have the energy to waste in empty boasting, then you could do something more productive while you're at it, like I dunno' mastering the techniques we are teaching you…" He said as he called his KI ball back to him and proceeded to give an explanation.

"Knowing how to create a Sokidan is just the first step, since from this apparently basic at first sight technique many more advanced techniques stem from, as you can clearly see…" He said, making the sphere spin a round him several times as he spun his finger. You can fully control its trajectory and chose where you want it to go while making sure it will only be able to explode on command. But that's not all, if you end up fully mastering how to shape your Ki, you can have it take many other different forms that will allow you to unlock several different arrays of functions that will now become available to you…"

The sphere under Krillin's control suddenly flattened into a disc whose edges began to take the form of small serrated teeth like those of a saw, a pitched humming began to be heard as the serrated disc cut through the air. Krillin tossed the disc towards the woods that lined the edges of the training field, the disc passing with complete ease through the thick trunk of a tree as easy as if it was air, causing the entire tree to come down in a calamitous racket. The bald fighter simply called the disc back to hover above his hand once more before changing its shape back into a ball, leaving a wide cluster of stupefied students gaping with their mouths wide open.

"That's the Ki Enzan, a much more advanced technique. So as you can see, there's still a long way for all of you to go. Now get up and start the entire exercise again from the beginning. You too girl…" He added, glancing briefly towards Akane.

"Man, nobody knows how to take a joke around these parts." Ranma commented with a sulk as he proceeded to do as he had been told.

"You are not here to make jokes or comment about our teaching style." Krillin spoke with a visible sigh. "We are not forcing any of you to be here against your wills. If you don't like the things we are teaching you or how we are teaching them… Then there's the door right there…" He said, pointing to the main gate of the compound.

"Meh, Ranma Saotome never gives up…" It was Ranma's simple response.

"Yes well… He would do well to learn some humility…" It was all Krillin said in reply.

!

Inside the girl's locker rooms, Akane was putting her things away inside her handbag as she got ready to go back home when she was approached by some of her fellow female apprentice's.

"You know girl… I don't understand how you can stand that Ranma fellow, least of all like him enough as to accept being his girlfriend when he can be an outright jerk at times…" Shimei Ryomou said, feeling the best she has ever felt since the Black Dragon KI was extracted from her body thanks to lady Shoryuki. Usually she wouldn't be so forthcoming into initiating a conversation with another person on her own volition, but Ranma's overbearing attitude rubs her the wrong way and thus her mind is left unable to comprehend how someone can stand more than five minutes in his presence without feeling the overwhelming need of throttling him.

"I'm not his… We're not… (sigh) Its… Complicated…" Akane replied feeling self-conscious but resigning herself to a conversation she really wasn't looking forward too.

"Yes… I don't doubt that…" It was the deadpan response from the bluenette before crossing her arms and giving a pointed look of expecting an answer. Behind her, some of the other girls were gravitating closer at the thought of fresh gossip.

"Ranma is… an acquired taste…" Akane elaborated, trying to find the correct words for a polite answer.

"Ha! Eating blowfish is an acquired taste. But you girl are eating the entire fish without cutting the poisonous bits first!" Ryomou exclaimed with a complete lack of cheer.

"I am not blind to his faults, believe me I am well aware of just how grating Ranma can be. I've firsthand experience, being the target of his insults many times before…" Akane declared with a stern gaze, before trying to calm herself with a long-tired sigh, recalling the lessons of her new senseis. "He is an obnoxious jerk most of the time, but he has his moments. He can be kind sometimes…" She admitted, letting her mind wander to the moments were Ranma proved he could be a decent person.

"Oh?" Kannu said as she leaned closer.

"Do you love him…!?" Chou'un inquired, cutting right to the heart to the matter with a bluntness that only a martial artist dedicated to its craft can display.

That brought Akane train of thought to a halt, a blush appearing on her face. "T—That's none of your business!" She declares in alarm.

A wicked smile appeared in the face of Ekitoku Chouhi. "Oh? You do!? That's an actual surprise, considering how much of an ass he is… AKANE LOV-" She was suddenly interrupted by Chou'un who cut through her words like the expert swordswoman she is.

"Chouhi, Shut up! I want to hear it from her very lips, otherwise it means nothing..." She chided her smaller friend before turning towards Akane in full and repeating her question. "Do you love him…?"

Being put in the spotlight so blatantly, Akane has some trouble formulating her words. She was about to refuse to answer and put an end to the questioning, but the rather commanding gaze of Chou'un quickly forced her to rethink that line of action and give an answer. "I… care for him…"

"That's not the same as love." Karin Kanzuki comments, having approached to see why everybody was crowding the Tendo sister.

A constipated expression took hold of Akane's features for a moment, but then she simply folded to the peer pressure under the expectant gazes of her fellow female fighters. "I do feel some fondness towards Ranma, even though he can be a big jerk most of the time… He has saved my live more times than I can count, and although sometimes he gets a bit nosy and likes to butt where nobody is calling him, he has shown he can be sweet and kind when he wishes… I've seen another face of him, I know he can better… If he were to get his act together; and if he were to ask… I wouldn't mind for us to be together…" She confessed, her gaze softening a little.

"I sense a 'but' coming…" Karin interjects.

Akane's expression soured, she turned to zip close her handbag before taking a long breath and letting out a tired sigh. "It's just… I would wish we had met in better circumstances; I wish our relationship would have been something we had chosen for ourselves… I feel I am being forced into an engagement with him regardless of what I might want because of our parents and their stupid pledge of joining both of our family's martial arts schools… And it makes me wonder that if ever comes a day in which he would accept to marry me he would be doing so because of me or out of duty due to family honor…" She stated as her gaze fell a little.

"AH…!" Kann'u exclaims, figuring out what the problem was.

"This is why arranged marriages have fallen out of style, so much unnecessary drama…" Karin says with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"You know… boys like that… You're going to have to be upfront and tell him to his face what you feel about him, because he's a tick-headed dumbass who will never get a clue if you leave it up to him." Maya Natsume plainly states as she approaches with her sister and Hakufu Sonsaku in tow.

"You're going to have to take command and mark your territory to make sure no other bitches come and try to steal him from you." Ryofu Housen stated in a matter-of-fact tone as she finished changing back into her school uniform, closing shut the buttons of her blazer.

"WHAT!?" Akane exclaimed rather scandalized, raising a hand to the side of her cheek.

"Yup…" Bachou Mouki comfirms with knowledgeable nod.

"Fo' sure…" Ijyuin Shizuka agrees with a more curt nod of her own.

"I—I could never be able to do that!" The Tendo girl exclaimed in a panic.

"Not to worry…" Kazuko Kawakami stated, interjecting like a ball of excitement.

"That's what friends are for!" Sakura Kasugano declares boisterously with a smile, pumping a fist into the air.

"I didn't even know we were friends!? When did that happened!?" Akane refuted, though she secretly was pleased that her fellow trainees considered her one of the group. Suddenly she feels someone put an arm over her shoulders and she turns to see a grinning Momoyo leaning over her as she pulls her closer.

"Girl… Just shut up and let it happen. By the time we are done with you, you will be able to proudly stake your claim over your man to the whole world! Without any guilt or shame whatsoever! And fight anyone who might wish to take a ride on your wild stallion!" She exclaims rather loud with a shit-eating toothy grin, gesticulating with her free arm.

"I didn't know you worried so much about other people love lives, Senpai!" Mayuzumi asks as she holds her wooden horse Matsukaze up between her two open palms.

"Of course, I do! I always worry about the troubles that my fellow trainees might be going through and will always strive to help then in any way I can…" Momoyo declared rather affably, making a dismissive gesture with her free hand. Like a queen being benevolent with her subjects. "Especially when it means that if Akane here is able to stake her claim on Ranma, that would leave me with the road open with no other obstacles in my way to stake my own claim on Pan and keep her all to myself!" She was prompt to add, raising a closed fist for emphasis as her face took a rather sinister expression.

"I knew it! She is not one to have pure intentions! She just wishes to use that girl for her convenience in order to fulfill her own selfish desires!" Matsukaze declared, jumping frantically between Mayuzumi's hands.

"Goddammit Momoyo! You are such a shameless reprobate!" Ageha Kuki remarked with a scowl.

"You are only saying that because you regret not having thought about my excellent idea first, Ageha." The Kawakami heir replied mockingly. "As they say, everything is fair in love and war! So, if you snooze, you lose my dear Ageha. But maybe I might be convinced to let you join our little love nest if you were to show me enough of a good time in order to change my mind…" She insinuated with a jeer, even though those who know her best knew she was referring about fighting; its just that she always has to make everything she says to sound dirty, being the bit shameless tease that she is.

"I do not like Pan in that way, you degenerate!" Ageha rebuked, her face starting to turn red due to her mounting rage and exasperation.

"Oh…? So, you do like her…?" Momoyo teased.

"But big sister! You do not truly love girls enough to be intimate with them and neither does Pan!" Kazuko suddenly exclaimed, cutting through the middle of Momoyo's fantasies, or delusions depending on whom you are asking.

"That does not matter Wanko! She is the first individual that was able to defeat me fair and square! And as I had vowed, I will only marry whoever managed to defeat me in combat. Therefore, Pan and I are destined to be together!" Momoyo declared rather melodramatically.

"I don't think that's how things work, Onee-san…" It was Wanko's unsure reply.

Ryuubi turned towards Akane with a face full of pity. "I know the pain you are about to go through…" She stated before taking her hand on her own in a reassuring gesture. Something that actually ended up having the opposite effect in Akane, as the dark-haired blunette was now starting to worry about what troublesome shenanigans she is about to get dragged into against her will.

!

Here it is, the next chapter. Regarding Pan's punishment, I was drawing a blank in how to resolve that situation until it came to me I could either do it the serious way or the funny way… No need to remark over what my decision was, and I certainly don't need to explain from where I am blatantly stealing the idea. Anyway…

Regarding the entire mess that is Ranma/Akane relationship, I find myself to have reached a dead end in that front. People kept writing to me to break them apart and pair them up with someone else, like having Ranma hook up with Shampoo or some of the other fiancées. In theory, I am not averse to this, I myself am not a fan of the Ranma/Akane ship. I do not have an everlasting hatred towards Akane like so many others in this site, but neither is she my favorite as the prime choice for Ranma to end up marrying.

I will confess, I am a Kasumi shipper, I would prefer if she and Ranma end up together, or barring that for Ranma to end up with his teacher Hinako Ninomiya. I too started considering this ship after reading a chapter of the manga in which Hinako catches a cold and Ranma ends up having to look after her in her home while she gets better. Yes… I have a taste for mature sophisticated women, not girls thank you very much. And for Akane I am not averse for her ending up with Shinnosuke.

The problem is… I cannot justify the separation and/or having them getting on with someone else from the cast. The manga is very RanKane centric, Akane and Ranma share a lot of bonding moments together, many a time they are about to finally kiss, only to have the moment ruined due to the intervention of some of the rivals, fiancees, Happosai or because the parents or the Tendo sisters were spying on them.

And the thing is… I cannot remember from the top of my head Ranma ever having a romantic moment with any of the other girls that is not Akane.

Nabiki doesn't want anything to do with his regular shenanigans and only limits their interactions to be strictly business and will only be flirtatious when she wants to scam some money out of him or considers she can make some profit out of his misfortune. Ranma knows this and that's why he is always suspicious of her.

Kasumi is more of a mother figure and is never considered girlfriend material by him at any moment during the entire manga run.

Kodachi stalks him and tries to ambush him to either kidnap him or poison him, or both at the same time.

He never has a romantic moment with Ukyo either because he doesn't consider her a girl, to him she's his old friend from childhood and one-of-the boys.

And Shampoo, though she does try to seduce him with regularity, never do they share an actual romantic moment. The only one time where I can truly say they were sharing a moment; she was just deceiving him in order to steal some magical gizmo from him. She lured him into a false sense of security before attacking him when his defenses were lowered to steal from him. She was lying and being duplicitous. And I believe Ranma remembered this because he never had another moment with Shampoo after this even though she kept chasing after him.

The truth is, the so called fiancées are not really fiancées, none of them act as if they actually want to have a real relationship with him, none of them actually try to get closer to him as a person or shown any interest in his preferences. They act more like pests; obstacles and nuisances that get in his way and that he has to surmount in order to achieve a particular objective. That's seriously not a basis in which to build a romantic relationship, and this is why I cannot really justify the fact of Ranma ending up with any of them. Which frustrates me greatly, but that is something I've learned to deal with regarding this series.

Ah Ranma ½, this a series from my childhood that I really liked but that ultimately ended up disappointing me greatly. The ending was trash, I fucking ended up loathing the manga. The problem with this series is… That nothing happens, nothing that the characters do has any relevance, they learn no lessons, they do not grow as characters; Ranma is the same in the beginning of the manga as he is in the ending, with the only difference being that he has grown stronger and learned more and better fighting techniques. None of the characters, rivals, fiancées, relatives, etc; moves on with their lives and they always inevitably end up doing the same things they've been doing over and over again in each misadventure.

The only thing that actually happens is that the relationship of Ranma and Akane deepens (They can actually interact like regular human beings without constant fighting by the late volumes, I know, even I was surprised) but it has no resolution, they stay in the same place they always are. None of the two is willing to admit their feelings or daring to take the next step and seeing no way to get out of limbo.

The whole 'status quo is god' thing is what ultimately ended up killing this series, nothing, absolutely nothing that they do has any impact to their lives or the world at large.

The battle against Herb, completely useless, as soon as he is able to change into a man again he discards the ladle as if it were mere trash before turning to fight Ranma because he had annoyed him by wanting to pick a fight with him and his retainers. Would have completely departed back to his country without a backwards glance had Ranma not been there, making the entire plot of Ranma getting his curse-locked rather moot since if he had left Herb well-enough alone he wouldn't had gotten himself curse-locked in his girl form in the first place. Even if he was being a dick to Akane, he said so himself, she wouldn't had been hurt by Herb slapping her away since it was a weak attack, and was only intervening because he was feeling territorial at having someone raise a hand at her.

The battle against Saffron and Akane almost drowning. The guide of the Jusenkyo pools gets kidnapped, his toddler daughter on her lonesome, by her own means, manages to travel from China to Japan and successfully locates Ranma in what amounts to be a foreign city where none of the inhabitants speak her language in order to ask him for his help and tells him unless they stop the ritual of the Saffron tribe the cursed pools are going to be completely destroyed.

After a lot of epic shonen battles, Ki attacks flying about, Saffron setting the whole mothe-fucking sky on fire, Akane almost drowning… Turns out the ritual is something that Saffron's tribe does every century or so to allow the tribe to have power and electricity as saffron acts like a giant living battery for the whole tribe because apparently they have never heard of Duracell or Energizer. Anyway… The ritual is completed, Saffron leaves, Ranma and the others get back to Japan. And the jusenkyo valley is flooded and the pools are destroyed… Only for a week later for the water to recede and the pools to recover their shape causing everything to return back to normal, therefore making the entire last arc of the manga an utter and complete waste of time.

Then Rumiko teases us with a wedding that ends in abject failure, the water from the pool of drowned man gifted to Ranma as a reward to cure him from his curse is drank by Happosai, The Tendo Household is destroyed, Soun puts the engagement on hold. And Ranma and Akane simply get up for another day of school, and the mange ends with the two of them racing to see who gets there first.

Fucking mediocre series…

… I really can't recommend people to read ½, it is a dissatisfying manga, do not read if you don't want to end up hating the series. If you still wish to read it despite my warnings, avoid the last arc at all costs. My life was better when I used to believe that Ranma ½ was a cancelled anime that was never finished instead of a manga with a hastily and poorly written ending.

But whatever, as I said, do not read Ranma ½ ending. That's all for now. As always leave a review, tell me what you think, recommend this story to other people, visit my P-a-tr-e-on for some alms if you feel charitable enough and I'll read you next time.