Take off your armour,
Friend of mine,
I have no arrows,
But I got time,
All your sorrow,
Keeps you glued to your seat,
Can we get you out of your head,
And into your feet?
And it's not that the rest of us don't have the blues,
It's just that some dance partners need a dance partner too.
Is that you?
-Dance With Somebody by The Midnight
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Ryouga walked with Ranko along the ground, thankful to be on solid earth once more. Getting off the ship hadn't been difficult – they'd already given him a ticket and somehow made it seem as if he'd boarded with them. Walking along, Ranko was holding several flight cases of equipment by herself, though she'd foisted some onto him too.
"So we're gonna fight in a decent empty lot we hired. The fans love it when I get martial and I figured with you there I can really pull out the stops."
Ryouga smiled. "So you're gonna show me the fighting part of the 'Path of the Silken Breeze'?"
Ranko nodded. "Yep." She grinned. "Well, some of it. Some of it's my own stuff."
He pointed at her footwear. "You're fighting in those heels?"
"Gotta have some kinda handicap, Ryo-chan. Besides, I learned to fight in these pretty well." Ranko laughed at him. "I'll swap 'em out if it gets too serious, don't worry, but I like how they look anyway."
Ryouga nodded and stopped as they entered a large, vacant lot with clear ground. Nabiki seemed to just be finishing setting some things up and the two martial artists walked over to her to put the flight cases down. Ranko cricked her neck and started opening the cases, setting down odd prisms in the corners of the lot, making a perimeter. The fanged boy looked at her quizzically.
"Protective thingamajigs powered with a burst of chi. Protects bystanders and stuff from a fight, given we can both get a li'l carried away." Ranko explained. "Herb gave 'em me, apparently given their nature they use 'em to protect dojos in Musk territory since they get a little… rowdy."
Ryouga looked curious. "You visited Herb?"
"How else you think I got perma-locked? All he wanted was a fight for it. And some uh… Other stuff too." She pinked. "I'll tell ya about it later." Ranko coughed.
Ryouga took off his pack and laid it outside the perimeter as Nabiki set more equipment up. Ranko walked onto the lot, heels clacking on the ground.
The redhead was dressed in a cheongsam split on both sides, though her legs were bare. The slits were high enough that he could see the line of something underneath, though he tried not to focus on it. Around her waist was a sash of silk in a jade green colour, with blue embroidered designs on it. At her right hip hung a wooden straight sword, about a two feet from hilt to tip, and on the other hip was an orb of crystal, faintly glowing, with a wide crescent blade on a very short chain under it.
She stared at him, her hair bound up behind her in two buns atop her head, some curls spilling out of them down, and her gaze was half-lidded, as if she wasn't paying much attention. She'd gone with the green eyeshadow and bright lipstick, though he wasn't sure if she had any other makeup on. She gave him a look full of mischief, a smirk that promised something interesting. Ryouga blushed at the look and tore his own gaze away, starting some stretches. He heard her doing the same and then looked over to see her moving.
Moving might have been the worst word for it. Flowing was better, being, even better. He couldn't sense any intent from her in her kata. His excitement grew as he looked forwards to the spar.
Ranko finished limbering up, dropping into a casual stance. "Alright, Ryouga, ground rules. I'm not going to be makin' anything capable of cuttin'. I'm assuming your own bandanna trick can also be set not to do the sliceydicey stuff?" He nodded. "Alright then. Go until one of us is down and out?" He nodded again. She smiled and blew him a kiss. "Good boy. You usin' the brolly?"
He hefted the umbrella and looked unsure. "Maybe. Is it just those things on your hip?"
Ranko's smile was slow. "Ah, it can be unless ya push me too hard, then my secret weapon comes out."
He blinked and then laughed. "Alright, I'll keep the umbrella then."
Ranko grinned, and then pressed her fists together, giving him a bow, then executed a curtsey. Her entire demeanour changed, slipping from friendly to blank in a moment. "Looking forwards to this." She said, her tone an odd mix of the very polite Himeko from last night and her own relaxed tones. She sounded excited.
Ryouga nodded and hefted the umbrella. Ranko stood in a classic pose of hers, the 'hit me, I'm open' stance that always infuriated the people she fought with. He almost laughed. The more things change…
Nabiki stood just outside the protective square and held her hand up. "Ready?" Both nodded. "Begin!" She chopped her arm down.
Ryouga exploded into motion, bringing the umbrella up and swinging it down with incredible force.
The heavy umbrella impacted the floor of the lot as Ranko moved to the side, her feet tattooing his chest. Kami, those heels hurt! Ryouga fell back, wincing as he spied her standing there again. She was loosening the sash, but hadn't drawn the sword or blade yet, and had a smile of satisfaction on her face. Ryouga winced at the pain in his chest as it faded. Even with bakusai tenketsu training she'd managed a flurry of blows enough to cause him pain. He'd lost count at fifty in that short time.
Great heavens above was she fast. Faster than she'd ever been before. He remembered her male form had always had more power, her female more speed but this was insane.
He circled her warily. He knew his own strengths and with Ranma they'd been pretty solidly matched. He was strong, and he was steady and built like a tank to boot. He had some speed, what martial artist of their calibre didn't? But he didn't have Ranko's insane speed, nor her adaptability.
He aimed a kick that she dodged, then another, and she flipped back away from the one he'd sent out as a feint. Ryouga smiled tightly. He'd have to fight a little dirty. He made as if to action a kick, but went into a flip and as he did used his free hand to bakusai tenketsu the ground, sending a shower of pebbles and dirt her way. He didn't wait to see if she'd dodged, he instead swung his umbrella round, getting a satisfying 'oof' from her as it smacked into her and sent her tumbling.
She hadn't gone down though. Once again in that weird way she twisted in the air, and then the air was full of her sash, dragging the ground and bouncing her to a stop as she landed on her feet with a click of her heels. She grinned at him. "Dirty trick, Ryo-chan. Can't believe you've been takin' pointers from Anything Goes."
Ryouga grinned back at her. "Learned from the best dirty trickster after all."
"What, Pop? Happosai? I'll have you know I'm an honourable lady." She stuck her tongue out at him, but her hands were busy with the orb. He watched as her delicate hands uncinched the sash from about her and she started swinging the wooden pendulum blade in a lazy vertical circle. "Well, ya get one trick outta me if you're gonna breaking point me."
Ryouga grinned and hefted his umbrella. "Come get some then." He said, launching himself at her and bringing it down, then following it up with a kick when he knew it would miss.
Something grabbed his leg, sending a shiver of chi through him, and then he was tossed back, landing on his feet and skidding back.
The air around Ranko was alive with her sash. It flared and flapped in an unseen wind, writhing around her like a snake made of silk. She grinned as she twirled the blade and then sent it flying forward. He dodged to the side, but the wooden blade caught under his shoulder and spun him while a part of the sash impacted his chest. A moment later he felt her feet on his chest, a tattoo of kicks slamming into his sternum again and again. He hefted his umbrella, only to feel it torn away.
Ryouga growled as she grinned at him, flipping away as he sent bandannas flying at her. Her cheongsam moved with her, the sashes too and he found himself at the mercy of the pendulum blade heading to his head while the sash grabbed at his leg. He jumped and threw some bandanas to the floor to press the sash down, but it nimbly dodged as the blade curved on the end of the sash and went round his neck.
Ryouga scrabbled at it as it drew him towards Ranko, who stood in the middle of her swirling sash. She had an odd, serene smile on her face as she rolled her neck and readied a kick.
Ryouga whipped a bandana from his wrist and threw it at Ranko. Her dodge sent him sailing past her, but he freed his neck from the pendulum blade and dropped out, grabbing the sash in two more bandanas and pulling. The entire thing slammed into the ground and he stomped onto the sash, leaving it on the floor.
Ranko watched him. He noted she'd only gotten close to deliver a kick or two, but mostly stayed away. It certainly lined in with her telling him she didn't do much grappling anymore. But this was like fighting several opponents at once, all coordinated. He grinned at the rush as she sighed, the silk sash flying through the air and trying to grab him in its folds.
He dodged but kept his foot on the end of the sash, and then he saw her put hand to her hip and draw the wooden short sword from it. She grinned as she ran a hand down it, script lines activating at her chi until it hummed. "Well then, Ryo-chan…" She purred at him. "Looks like you've got me opening the whole bag of tricks."
Ranko leapt. She was twenty feet into the air, the sash underneath her trailing behind her (did that thing ever end? He wasn't sure it did. It already must have been at least sixty feet long by now. Did she run out?
He was still appreciating the ballistic arc, the way the cheongsam flapped in the breeze of her flight, the way it revealed what she was wearing underneath- Part of the sash grabbed his leg while he was distracted and flung him into the air, off the end. The pendulum blade slithered through the air after him, hooking under his armpit and dragging him up.
Ranko was flying down to meet him, the sword dancing in her hands as she weaved some kind of complex arc in the air. Burning chi in a green hue surrounded her and then expanded like a halo, moving behing her in a circle. She gripped the short sword with two hands, angling it so it would pierce his chest, had it been a real sword.
Ryouga, flying up towards her, had only a moment to think. He spun his bandanas and lassoed her legs as she fell, using the bandanas like bolas. She didn't seem to notice as she still fell, that smile still on her face as the ring of green chi behind her lit up and pushed her forward.
The sword bounced off his sternum once, he felt the shock, but he'd grabbed it with his bandana and tore the sword to the side, throwing it away.
It came back and bounced off his head. Stupid! He berated himself, it's still attached by a sash!
Now there were two projectiles flying through the air about him, each of them striking as Ranko moved back in the air using that strange green chi halo. She grinned at him and blew him a kiss, trying to untie her legs. He grinned and lashed out with a kick while grabbing the sword in one hand and keeping it still.
The kick connected with her stomach and she made an 'oof' sound as she careened back in the air. He threw two bandanas, and while she was still moving back they wrapped around her hands, tying them together.
Both of them landed, Ranko hard on her backside and he on one leg, the other wrapped in the silk sash. The sword in his arm kept moving, the sash curling and constricting his arm.
Ranko looked up at him with her tied legs and hands and then grinned naughtily. "Well, well, Ryouga-kun. I never pegged you for tyin' a gal up to have your way with her."
He kept his gaze on the sashes around him. Somehow, she was still dangerous with her hands tied. The sash was like his bandanas, only much more flexible. Sure, he could use them to cut and to hold, and reinforce with chi, but this was like trying to fight the wind itself. If he swatted the sash, it picked him up, if he tried to keep it in one place, it moved. Ranko's grin widened.
"Kami above, this is insane. How are you doing this?" He growled and Ranko's smile grew mischievous.
"Mom is an excellent trainer. That and I am still an Anything Goes practitioner." She wiggled her feet and managed to escape her bonds, standing up. Her hands were still tied, but she stood in front of him, grinning. "Good work on the bandanas, but you've probably caught on that I don't really need my hands."
As if to prove her point, the short sword bonked him on the head before retreating back to her, along with the crescent blade. Ranko managed to unbind her hands with a quick application of the sash and rubbed her wrists, catching the pendulum blade in her left hand and the sword in her right. She let the pendulum drop a few feet, so she was holding the sash again and started to swing it in lazy circles.
Her face was flushed, and she was breathing hard. Ryouga, too, and he realised how much he'd missed this.
Then she was attacking again, and this time it wasn't with the sash flying around but as a direct weapon to swing the pendulum blade. He reinforced two of his bandanas to use as short sticks, parrying her hits. Where the blade wasn't circling and slamming at him, the sword was getting into his guard. Ranko was relentless in her assault, making him step back.
Then she got her feet involved and he remembered how much those heels hurt when they hit him. He could see little puffs of chi fly from her feet so she must have been enhancing them as she hit. Where had she learned that trick?
He blocked with his bandanas-turned-sticks and managed to catch her off guard, slipping them under her leg and slamming her to the ground, delivering another bakusai tenketsu to shower her in degree.
She pirouetted away, the sash around her sending the rocks and dirty flying away. He followed it up with another bakusai tenketsu on a rock, pelting her as he spun several more bandanas.
In response she threw the pendulum blade at him, the sash sailing behind it as it. He blocked with crossed arms, but she countered with the sword, forcing his arms apart and planting a high kick that sent him into the air.
The sash grabbed his arm and he grinned, reaching for the pendulum blade to keep it- it wasn't there!
He looked and saw it was a second sash around his arm, writhing and flicking at him like a living thing. He cursed and reached for it, slicing at it with a bandana, only for another sash to gab his other arm. Between them, his bones protesting at the movement, they forced his arms behind his back.
He looked down to see her jumping over him, smiling still as she delivered more kicks, then a third sash, the original this time, with the pendulum blade, wrapped around his legs and she delivered a spectacular axe kick to his head, sending him plummeting down.
He knew it was spectacular because he'd gotten a view of what she was wearing under that cheongsam and it was definitely not a leotard, nor was he entirely sure why there were ties on the side in ribbons and hey wasn't he falling and-
Ryouga slammed into the ground like a dump truck falling from a bridge, leaving a shallow crater. Ranko's sashes were still wrapped about him, his arms tied behind his back as the redhead herself landed gently on his back, driving him back into the ground. Perched there with one leg crossed over the other, she gave a wink to Nabiki's cameras, blew a kiss and then thwacked Ryouga on the head with her wooden sword.
"You yield yet, Ryo-chan?" She purred into his ear as she leaned over his prone body.
"N-no…" He groused, twitching but unable to remove the sashes tying his hands and legs together. Coupled with her weight atop him and that they were pulling him to the ground with not inconsiderable force, he couldn't move.
Ranko grinned and kept leaning over, making sure to press herself very closely to him. "Oh, I don't know about that. I guess you're not the only one who likes tyin' people up, huh? What if you an' I…" She whispered some rather dirty ideas involving the sash and his bandanas into his ear. "Whatcha think?"
Her only answer was a choked noise and a small pool of nosebleed on the floor as he fainted. Standing up, she grinned as the sashes all slithered away, the extras returning to her chi space and the main sash returning to her arms as she put the sword back to her hip and retied it about her waist. Perching on a nearby rock, she crossed one leg over the other and let Nabiki take some extra shots while she preened.
Sure, she probably wasn't as cocky as she'd been before, but she still loved to show off her talent, and it had been months since she'd had a workout like that. He'd really nearly forced her to pull out the final stops, and when that particular weapon was involved you know someone on her mother's Path was in trouble.
Not that Ranko really practiced a pure version of the path. She really needed to come up with a name for her variant. Silken Storm maybe? Eh, she'd decide later, she was crap at naming things.
Ryouga groaned as he came to and sat up blearily. "Ah hell." He said, rubbing his head.
"You OK there, Ryouga? I think I piledrivered ya into the dirt a bit hard. Sorry."
He rubbed some more at his forehead. "S'alright, I think you pounded me harder back when you were Ranma."
Ranko giggled naughtily. "Oh, really now, was that durin' the whole koi rod thing? Or is that just poor phrasing?"
Ryouga went bright red. "N-no! I never, I mean we d-d-didn't…"
Ranko laughed again, mischief in her eyes. "I know, Ryouga, don't worry. Not that I'd mind some'a that sugar now, but I'll wait for you to be ready for it." He kept blushing. "Man, you really are bashful." She sighed and stood up, walking over and then leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for a great workout, by the way." She said, smiling as she sauntered over to Nabiki. "Yo! Nabs, how was the footage?"
As the two started discussing, Ryouga put a hand to his cheek and looked over at Ranko standing next to Nabiki. His heart fluttered a little as he heard her make that giggle again, and then give him an almost instinctive glance with her eyes and a smile that was definitely unconscious.
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Ryouga looked about the café he and Ranko had retreated to after helping Nabiki put all the equipment away. The bob-haired middle Tendou had cited wanting to get it edited and uploaded 'before any randos on the street watching kung fu fights did', leaving the redhead and the lost boy to wander the city they found themselves in.
"Where are we, anyway?" Ryouga asked.
"I dunno." Ranko shrugged. "Somewhere in Spain, I think. Annoyingly, no habura esupanoru." Her accent was terrible.
Ryouga shrugged back. "I speak some, enough to get by. Spain's just after the Alps, right?"
"Uh…"
"I mean it's like Nerima is a hop and a skip after Sapporo. I know I can find Nerima if I'm in Sapporo."
Ranko turned to look more directly at Ryouga. "Huh. I always thought it was random."
"…It is, most of the time. Sort of? I can't explain it, but I know that Nerima's after Sapporo, and whenever I end up in Hokkaido it's after some time in Alaska."
Ranko pondered a moment. "That's… weird. Especially given the distances involved." She took a moment to enjoy a sip of coffee and sighed. "Well, stick with me an' Nabs for a bit. I don't want you wanderin' off before we're done with the story an' what we're gonna ask of ya."
Ryouga shook his head. "It sounds like you made a plan and then hinged on me doing something. Can't you just tell me?"
Ranko sighed. "I… guess I could." She admitted. "Don't tell Nabs I did, but she'll guess. I'd bet half my bank account that she's got listening devices attached to me for moments like this."
"Sucker bet." Ryouga grinned at her.
"Well, long as she don't mind sex noises I don't exactly have deep dark secrets she's unaware of, 'ceptin' the card I gave Akane with my phone number and some instructions on." Ranko sighed. "Right, the thing…"
She sat up straight in what Ryouga was coming to recognise as her 'serious business Ranko' mode. "So… ya can probably tell, I've hadta pretend to be like, a bunch of different people, and also at no point had I really found myself in that mess, right?"
Ryouga nodded. "Right."
"So… I wanted to find myself. Not find who Nayotake Himeko, or Rena Mizuko, or Kaname Yoiko were, Saotome Ranko." Ranko looked down at her coffee and kicked her legs. "I mean, I got some ideas already, but I just… I don't think I know myself so well." She sighed again. "So… I figured, to find myself, I gotta get lost somewhere that the only person I hafta be is me."
She smiled at him. "That's where you come in, Ryouga. Ya see, I know of one person for whom getting' lost is an art form."
Ryouga snapped his gaze to her. "So what, you just want me to cart you around?! Is that all I am?"
Ranko shook her head. "No, idiot, I want to travel with you. You must see some real interestin' things and… I dunno. You're the only one of that lot of idiots who decided to leave me alone at the wedding. Everyone there was trying to do their own thing. 'Ceptin' for Akane, you're the only one who thought about what I wanted. You're my friend, Ryouga."
Ryouga's ire left as quickly as it came. "…Sorry. I guess I just…"
"I getcha. And you don't have to do it. I've got some things to give you if you do, but I'll probably do so even if you don't agree. I just…" She folded her arms and rested her chin on them, looking at him. "Wanna wander a bit. See the world when I'm not bein' trained in ways that make torture look appealin'. And I always thought it must be real lonely for ya." She smiled sadly at him. "No one goin' with you, just on the road all the time. Specially without Akari to come back to, or our scraps to return to."
Ryouga looked down at his lap. "…Yeah."
Ranko sat up and reached across, taking one of his hands and squeezing it. "You don't have to say yes or no quite yet. Just… think about it, alright? I'd like to go with you, see what you see, see how the world is for you. I think it'd be interesting, and to be honest, you're the only person I'd trust to go with like that. Maybe Akane would, but I'd be dodging mallets all the time."
Ryouga looked at her and shrugged. "I'll think about it." He said, softly. "Thanks for telling me."
Ranko smiled at him. "You're welcome, Ryouga. I'm not gonna lie to you again, no tricks or anythin'." She let go of his hand and leaned back on the chair, sighing.
"Hey let's check some stuff out and get back to the ship, huh?"
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Nabiki looked up from her laptop as Ranko and Ryouga burst into the room singing. Ranko's voice was still the same soprano she'd been perfecting during their time making the money to come on the cruise, but Ryouga's could wake the dead.
What really caught her attention was Ryouga's outfit. He'd swapped his tunic outfit for what appeared to be an outfit for a mariachi band.
"Hora senorita!" Ranko yelled, Ryouga echoing and tipping his hat. The two of them were flushed with laughter and she wasn't entirely sure if they were drunk or just high from some dumb antics.
"You two dorks realise that mariachi is Mexican, not Spanish, right?" She eyed Ryouga. "Wait, what am I saying, of course you don't. Ranko wouldn't know good geography of anything outside of China or Japan and you're… you." She said to him.
Ranko shrugged. "Doesn't matter, we still got the outfit and sang."
"Oh kami, please don't tell me you got caught by someone with a camera."
"Nah, I did that chi blurring thing with wind. Ain't gonna cut into your profits."
Nabiki sighed and closed her laptop. "And you're both drunk."
Ranko giggled. "Maybe a little." She said.
"What happened?"
"Martial Arts craziness." Ranko said, laughing bitterly. "What else, Nabs? Guess I can't always escape it!" She rolled her neck, making a satisfied noise. "Naturally, Ryouga and I make a fuckin' awesome team, even if I wasn't dressed for the occasion. Did you know this moron knows trumpet?"
"Hey, I had to learn an instrument in school!" Ryouga protested. Ranko waggled her fingers.
"Man, if he could do things with his fingers like that with a lady you'd think he'd be less bashful."
"Ranko could you stop?" Ryouga sounded plaintive.
"Why?" She challenged. "I like flirtin', and you're so receptive to it! Lookit them ears burn!" She beamed and poked him.
Nabiki sighed. "Nice to see you two getting on."
"Aw, he don't mean to be grumpy." Ranko grinned. She hooked an arm around Ryouga. "But look at him, ain't he cute? Just wanna take him to the bed an' nibble him a bit."
Ryouga went red, though not as red as he would have had he not had a few. Neither was particularly drunk, but they were at least tipsy. He grinned. "Ehhh, I'm not sure I'd enjoy being eaten…"
Ranko grinned at him. "Oh, I bet I could change your mind on that." She said. "For now, it's dinner time!" Ranko paused and then laughed naughtily. "Well, dinner as in food, not-"
"Yes, I think we both know what you mean." Nabiki said. "I can't believe I'm the one telling you to slow down."
"Yeah yeah." Ranko said, moving to drop her bags in her room while Ryouga followed her. They both returned no longer laden and Ryouga having taken the jacket and hat off.
Nabiki sighed and followed the two out of the suite once they'd put their souvenirs down.
Someone had to watch these two idiots while they sobered up.
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A/N: I hope the fight scene was fun - I've never felt I was very good at describing them so I'm kinda nervous about this one since it's Ranko debuting her path.
She hasn't dug out ALL the tricks yet, but she's got most of the basics there for a spar. There will be a time in Part 3 when she does pull all the stops though.