A Saiyan Tail
Part 22
The Return
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Tatewaki Kuno stood opposite Kurillin on Kame Senin's island. His breath was short and his body covered in sweat. "You are no match for me."
"Still as dumb as ever," commented the bald man lazily as he pulled his fists back and frowned. "You've really improved though."
"Heh, the true might, of the Blue Thunder, has yet to show itself," commented the teen with a light smirk. His fists were clenched at his sides; both arms were tightly tucked away beside him. "Shall I show you my true power?"
"Let's see what you've got," said the older man with a grin on his face. He'd never admit it, but he was a little more than impressed with the boy's skills. He'd never seen anyone improve as quickly as the loud mouthed kid, not even Goku had gained skills as quickly as this during his time studying under Kame Senin. Although, his old friend's learning curve only became shorter with time. Kuno also had quite a bit more to improve on as well.
"Very well," said Kuno as he charged forward.
Kurillin let out a battle cry as they flew into one another, punching and kicking at impossible speeds. Kuno smirked as the bald man passed by his head, the younger boy whirled around and slashed, catching the man just behind his head as he turned to face him.
"Ouch! Hey! Where did you get that?" snapped Kurillin as he eyed the bokuten in his opponent's grip.
"Tatewaki Kuno's true skills shall always lie with the blade," replied the boy as he charged forward again. Thrusting the wooden blade forward, and forcing the older man to back flip away from him across the sand.
"No fair!" snapped the bald man angrily.
"Now Kurillin," said Kame Senin as he walked up to the pair. Both men bowed to him for a moment as the match was ended.
"Right master, I know, always expect the unexpected," grumbled the man as he looked away in shame.
"You've done well, I must say I'm surprised at you boy," commented the old master as he looked Kuno up and down.
Happosai bounded up next to him and tossed an orange tunic on the ground at Kuno's feet. "I hate to say this, but you've earned this boy."
"Master?" commented Kuno in shock as he picked it up from the ground gently. "So, my skills are at last recognized! I am now, truly the Mighty Blue Thunder!"
"What a dip," muttered Kurillin as he walked away from the scene. "I suppose he's got a little room to brag, but not that much."
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Ranma seemed back to his normal self as he walked cheerfully towards Furinkan High. Akane stood next to him, as silent as she had been since that night.
"What's wrong Akane?" said the boy as he looked at her.
"It's nothing," muttered the girl as she glanced at him. He had gotten so upset when he had seen the video of himself trashing downtown Tokyo, the adults had explained things to him, and told him why his tail was missing. Still, the whole mess didn't sit well with her, and three days later, he was as cheerful as before. It was as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, are you sure?" said the boy with worry etched into his features.
"No, I'm not," she said as she looked at him for a moment and smiled. With that said, she continued on her way towards the school, leaving him standing there.
"Akane..." he muttered with a small frown. Finally, he shook his head and started forward again.
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The crowd in front of the school parted as Akane walked in with Ranma. The morning fights had ended long ago, there were a few who refused to give up after Ranma defeated Kuno, and most of them gave up a few weeks ago. Now, no one dared to challenge Akane. She was simply too much, and Ranma was no pushover himself. Today, it was different; everyone was looking at them.
"What's up?" said Ranma as he moved up to her side and glanced around.
"What are you all looking at?" snapped Akane angrily. Her hand shot up suddenly, and grabbed something that was moving too fast for anyone else to see. "Oh...oh no," she muttered.
"The vengeance of heaven is slow, but sure," said a familiar voice from behind the old oak. Thunder rumbled in the distance, just over the horizon. "Akane Tendo, rejoice, for I have returned from my voyage of training at last! I shall free you from the grip of tyranny that Ranma Saotome has placed you in, and at last, you shall be free to date with me alone!"
"Hey, it's that guy," commented Ranma obliviously.
"Ranma Saotome, I challenge you!" said Kuno as he stepped from behind the oak. A rose held in his hand, where he sniffed it gently.
Ranma's grin grew three times larger as he recognized the boy's clothing instantly. "All right!"
Kuno was dressed in an orange martial arts dogi, with the turtle symbol in a small white circle over his right breast, and Happosai's mark, in a much larger circle on his back. "Today is the day I shall finally defeat you."
Ranma cracked his knuckles and smirked at the boy. Akane looked at him and gasped in shock, Ranma actually looked happy to see the older boy.
"Ranma?" she muttered.
"You look much stronger Kuno, this should be a good fight," said Ranma as he spread his feet apart and grinned.
"Indeed," agreed the older boy as he took up a battle stance, a martial arts stance, with his bokuten tucked away behind his back, in his belt.
Akane's eyes went wide as she stared at him. "No way!"
Ranma glanced at her and smiled. "You'd better get back Akane, we're gonna need some room."
"R-right," muttered the girl as she staggered away from the scene. The only thing she could think of, was that her older sister would absolutely pass out in shock at this scene.
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"Have a nice day at school dear," said her father as she walked out the door.
"Right!" the young girl brushed a lint ball off of her school dress as she walked out of the house and closed the door behind her. She was around sixteen years old, with a light blue school uniform on. Her smile seemed to make the sun shine a little more as she skipped away from her home cheerfully. It seemed like a good day to be alive. No matter how nervous she was at the moment, she had just moved into Nerima. All her old friends were left behind, and she was basically alone. She made friends easily though, and enjoyed her life so far.
Unfortunately, it was her first day, at a place called Furinkan High.
A short time later, she walked into the gates and saw the crowd standing around, seemingly waiting for something. "Huh? What's going on here?"
A nearby boy glanced at her and started to stutter incoherently. Finally, a girl standing close to him elbowed his gut and frowned at him. "Kuno came back today, he's weirder than ever. There's going to be a fight."
"A... fight?" she asked. "Where are all the teachers? Isn't somebody going to do something about this?"
"You must be new here," said the girl with a small smirk on her face.
The new girl felt a grin forming on her face. A school, where you're allowed to fight? No more visits to the office? No more getting sent home in shame? Life in this new place was getting better and better.
Then a young girl walked into the schoolyard. She was about her age, with long black hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. It was tied with a bow near the base, and a boy walked next to her. A very familiar figure. "It can't be..." she found herself muttering.
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"So, you believe that you still have hope against the mighty Tatewaki Kuno? Such foolishness! I shall smite thee!" snapped Kuno as he rushed forward, punching at Ranma with insane speed.
"He ain't half bad," commented Akane with a small smirk on her face.
"What's going on?" said an unfamiliar voice from just behind her. Akane turned to see Kurillin watching the battle in confusion. He was dressed the same as Kuno, and was floating to the ground as she turned.
"Kuno challenged Ranma," she replied lazily.
"Oh, I guess I'm not surprised. He's taking it easy on him I hope," said the man calmly.
"Of course he is, I could beat that idiot easy," commented Akane as she turned her attention back towards the battle. Ranma was currently on the defensive, backing away from his new opponent with a stupid looking grin on his face as Kuno punched and kicked at him fiercely.
"So, that Kuno guy, is taking it easy on Ranma?" said an unfamiliar girl as she walked up to the group. Her eyes were latched onto the battle as if she couldn't look away.
"You must be new here," said Akane with an arched eyebrow.
"Actually, she's right," commented Kurillin with a small nod.
"Huh?" said Akane in shock.
"I've been training with that idiot for the past few months, he's much better than this," said Kurillin with a small frown.
"I could still take him," snorted Akane angrily.
"He's holding back?" said the new girl in shock. "No way!" The pair's arms were nothing but a blur of motion as it was.
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Kuno punched out and Ranma flipped off of it pushing his foot into the boy's face and kicking off to avoid a counter blow.
"Hey, you ain't bad Kuno," said the pigtailed boy lazily as he landed on the ground a few feet away.
"Foolish heretic! I have found perfection!" roared the older boy as he jumped towards Ranma and forced the boy to jump back with a side kick.
"Whoa!" muttered Ranma as he rolled back on his heels to avoid the spinning kick that Kuno attempted to catch his face with.
"You still mock me!?" snapped the older boy.
"Come on Kuno, you're gonna get hurt!" said Ranma in annoyance.
"Nay! It is you who should beware!" replied the boy as he suddenly spun into a backhand strike that actually clipped the tip of Ranma's nose.
The pigtailed boy rubbed at the spot with the back of his hand and smirked. "Heh, you're starting to bug me, Kuno. Cut it out." He floated out of his opponent's grasp and looked down at him angrily.
"Fool! Such cowardice can no longer be used to escape my wrath!" snapped Kuno as he jumped up into the air and matched Ranma's height. The pigtailed boy smirked again as he realized that the boy was not falling down.
"Hey! You learned to fly too? That's great!"
"Have at thee!" snapped Kuno as he charged forward again in mid air. Punching and kicking at his maddening opponent. Ranma was just too fast, the boy easily dodged every attempted strike fluidly in the air.
"Come on Kuno, quit it. I know you're holding back, it's no fun this way," commented Ranma lazily as he continued to dodge.
Kuno paused and became very calm and still. "So, you realize that you are indeed doomed. I had hoped to allow you a few moments of hope, before I defeated you utterly."
"That's more like it," replied Ranma with a smirk. He put his fists up and prepared himself.
Kuno chuckled, and slowly reached behind his back.
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"They sure are taking their sweet time," commented Akane angrily as she watched the scene. "Classes start in a few minutes."
"Kuno always was a bit longwinded," agreed Kurillin. "I haven't known him that long, but I've never seen anyone who likes to hear himself talk that much."
"You're the one who trained that fool?" commented Akane with a slightly angry look at the man.
"Huh? Who me?" said the man as he backed away from her. "No way! It was master Happosai. Master Roshi did a little bit with him towards the end, but I was just hanging around mostly. I kind of room with the old guys on occasion."
Akane merely nodded and glanced back up. Things were starting to happen again.
The new girl was watching the sky with her mouth hung open. She had yet to say a single word after the pair started flying around. Now, her jaw was simply hanging open. "No way..." she muttered the words over and over to herself as she stood there.
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"I shall smite thee!" cried Kuno as he charged headfirst into battle. His bokuten held high over his head.
Ranma smiled and moved towards his target, headlong into the fight. "Come on!"
The pair slammed into each other, Ranma blurring his arms to match Kuno's wooden blade, strike for strike. Forced on the defensive, the pigtailed boy backed away slowly, as the kendoist jabbed at him with the blade.
"Not bad!" commented Ranma as he picked up his tempo suddenly and changed the direction of the battle in an instant.
"What?" gasped Kuno as he was forced back. His blade worked quickly in front of him, blocking punches, kicks, knee strikes, and elbows. "Enough of this!" snapped the older boy as he pushed himself harder.
Soon, both of them were striking and blocking at almost the same rate of speed. The spectators below could see nothing but the image of dozens of blades, feet, and arms, between them.
"Concede fool!" snapped Kuno as he worked his blade tirelessly.
"What? Faster?" said Ranma as he pretended not to understand. "All right!"
Kuno felt something sting on his abdomen, immediately followed by a quick strike to his shoulder and chest. His attack faltered and he shot backwards with his blade held defensively across his chest.
Ranma hung in the air, completely relaxed opposite him and still smirked viciously back at his opponent.
"It is time to end this," said Kuno with a frown.
"Right, it's almost time for class to start," agreed Ranma.
Kuno rushed forward, with what appeared to be hundreds of bokutens striking forward at one time as he blasted towards Ranma.
The pigtailed boy flipped in mid air, sailing over the attack and pushed both his feet into Kuno's face in a hard kick. The older boy responded by flipping backwards with the momentum, and slamming his foot into Ranma's gut.
Both of them flew apart, with Ranma moving higher, and Kuno lower towards the ground.
"A skilled attack," muttered Kuno under his breath.
"Man, he's gotten better than I thought," said Ranma as he eyed the boy cautiously.
"Enough! I can see that you are truly a worthy opponent for my skills Saotome! I shall honor you, by destroying you with my final attack!" roared Kuno as he pointed his bokuten directly behind himself.
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"Oh boy," muttered Kurillin as he looked up at the sky. "He'd better watch out."
"Huh? What do you mean?" said Akane as she glanced at him. A sudden rise in Kuno's power level caught her attention though. "Hey, that's..."
"Yeah, I know," confirmed Kurillin. "The Kuno Family Secret Technique. I learned about it when we were sparing once."
The new girl seemed to be out of her stupor. "That's bad right?"
"This fight is about to end lady," said Kurillin as he watched the scene in the sky.
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Ranma watched as the boy reared back his bokuten in an unusual mid air pose. He could feel the energy being pulled into the blade from the air.
"Some sort of Ki blast?"
"At last I have you Saotome!" roared Kuno as he glared up at his target hatefully. "Prepare to taste death!"
"He's almost done charging it!" thought Ranma in alarm. He tucked his hands at his sides and began to prepare a counter move. "Ka..."
"Die Saotome! Rose Petal Slash!" screamed Kuno angrily as he thrust the blade forward.
"Mehame...huh?" muttered Ranma dumbly. A huge stream of rose petals was blasted directly into his face. "Hey!"
Kuno appeared behind Ranma's back and promptly thwacked him on the back of his head with the bokuten. "Ha! It is finished!"
"You jerk! That hurt!" cried Ranma as he rubbed at the back of his head and brushed a few petals off of his face at the same time.
"What is this? He has survived the Kuno family final attack! It is not possible!" said Kuno in shock. Right before he fell to the ground from Ranma's well placed spinning kick.
The pigtailed boy landed on the ground still rubbing at his eyes in irritation. "Of all the stupid... what the heck kind of final attack was that!?"
Kuno remained on the ground stoically, obviously unable to move. "I shall allow you to escape this once Saotome."
"You jerk! I thought you were gonna blast me! I could have killed you!" replied the pigtailed boy in irritation.
"He would have lived. I really did blast him the first time he tried that stupid move on me. I was afraid you'd do the same thing," commented Kurillin as he walked up to Ranma with a smirk on his face.
"Hey! Uncle Kurillin! What are you doin here?" said the boy cheerfully.
"Kuno's been training on the island with us for a few months. I thought I'd come with him and visit when he came back here. I'll see you after school, all right?"
"Heck with school! I'll come with you!" said the boy cheerfully.
"Now Ranma, what would your mother say about that?" chided the man as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Oh Ranma! You're so manly!" guessed the boy after a moment of thought.
Kurillin sighed and hung his head. "You're probably right, but I'll still be around after you get out of class. I've got to stop by and see your dad for a while anyway. We'll just meet up later, okay?"
"Right!" said the boy happily. "I guess I'd better go. We got a little time before class starts though."
"Kuno's gotten better, but I can still take that moron any day of the week," commented Akane as she looked down at the 'resting' form of Tatewaki Kuno in irritation. "It was kind of nice getting a break from him."
"Yeah, he's nowhere near as good as you are Akane," agreed Ranma cheerfully.
"That's right!" said the girl as she put her nose into the air proudly.
"Hey, don't over do it," muttered Ranma as he pulled on her arm and started to walk her towards the building.
"Man, kids today," muttered Kurillin as he flew away from the scene.
The new girl shook her head from side to side and rushed up to the pair. "Wait!"
"Huh?" said Akane as she paused and turned towards the girl. "Who are you? Are you new here?"
"Yeah, umm. Ranchan, is that really you?" muttered the girl nervously.
"Ranchan?" said the boy as he blinked and looked at her for a moment.
"Ran...chan?" muttered Akane in irritation. "You know her?"
"Um...no?" muttered the boy in confusion as he peered at the new girl for a moment.
"Ranchan! It's me! Ukyo!" cried the girl.
"Ukyo?!" said the boy in shock as he stared at her with his jaw almost scraping the ground. "Okonomiyaki Ucchan?"
"Ucchan?" said Akane as her temper flared suddenly.
"Yeah! It is you!" cried the girl as she threw her arms around his neck. "Wow! I never thought I'd see you again!"
"Who is this?" snapped Akane.
Ranma merely looked surprised and did nothing but look back at his fiancee dumbly. "Uh... wait."
"We were friends! When we were little!" exclaimed the strange girl as she turned and smiled at Akane. "Who are you? Are you friends too?" said the girl excitedly as she grabbed Akane's hands and released the boy.
Ranma merely looked confused. "Um, yeah."
"I'm Akane Tendo, Ranma is staying with my family," muttered Akane irritably as she glared at her fiancee for a moment.
"Oh! Really?" said the girl cheerfully.
"Yeah, Akane's my fiancee," mumbled Ranma as he stepped back away from the pair for a moment.
"You're engaged?" gasped the girl. Her face fell slightly, but her smile returned quickly. "I guess you two must get along pretty good then?"
"Yeah! Akane's real nice!" said the boy with his stupid grin returning again.
"Wow! I'm happy for you," said Ukyo with a slight twitch in her eye. Akane noticed this and frowned.
Ranma blinked, and seemed to vanish from sight.
"Huh? Ranchan?" said the girl as she glanced around. Akane blinked and looked around in confusion as well.
Ranma reappeared a moment later with a teakettle in his hands. He promptly dumped the contents over Ukyo's head.
"What the heck!" cried the girl in alarm as she jumped back suddenly.
Ranma dropped the hot water and stumbled back over his feet. He landed on his back and gawked at her for a moment. "No...no change!"
Akane raised her eyebrow at this and looked back at the sputtering girl as she wiped the water off of her face. "What the? Why did you do that?!"
"Ucchan! You've been turned into a girl too!" said Ranma as he raised his head and looked at her with tears of sympathy in his eyes.
"She... has?" muttered Akane as she eyed the new girl with a sudden, unexplainable, relief.
"What? What the heck are you talking about?" snapped Ukyo as she stared at him dumbly.
"Don't worry! I promise we'll turn you back old buddy!" exclaimed the boy as he jumped to his feet and pulled her to his side.
Ukyo blinked and glared at him. "What? Turn me into what?"
Akane sighed and shook her head for a moment. "Ranma, I don't think..."
"Akane! I can't just leave him like this! He was my best friend!" exclaimed the boy as he looked back at his fiancee.
"What the heck are you talking about?" cried Ukyo angrily.
At that moment, it started to rain lightly. Ukyo found herself standing beside a buxom redhead. She blinked, and started screaming, then she simply passed out.
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"Cursed?" muttered Ukyo as she sat in the nurse's station and looked at the two teens standing in front of her.
"Uh, yeah," muttered Ranma sheepishly. He was male again, and had a bucket of water and a teakettle beside him. It had taken several demonstrations to calm the girl down, and prove to her that she hadn't gone crazy.
"This is so cool!" exclaimed Ukyo as she dumped more of the water over his head and changed him again. "Wow!" she picked up the kettle and reversed it.
"Do you mind?" grumbled Akane.
"Sorry, it's just so... so..." the new girl struggled to find the right word.
"Cool?" finished Akane as she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah! That's it!" said the girl cheerfully. Akane thought she was taking this a little too well.
"So... you're a girl?" muttered Ranma sheepishly.
"Uh, yeah. Why do you..." Ukyo trailed off as something clicked in her head suddenly. She promptly dented the kettle over his head. "I've always been a girl you jackass!"
"I'm sorry!" cried the boy as he hung his head.
"You and Ranma were friends?" said Akane as she looked at them for a moment. It was easy to see.
"Yeah! We used to play together all the time! It was back when Pop and I were training together," said Ranma cheerfully.
"My father ran an Okonomiyaki cart when we were little. We used to spar for food, he always won," said the girl with a slight blush on her cheeks. "I guess I was a bit of a tomboy..."
"So naturally, Mr. Clueless here thought you really were a boy," muttered Akane in irritation.
"Yeah," agreed Ranma.
Both girls punched him in the gut. "Ouch! Hey."
"Anyway, he left after about six months. He promised me we'd always be the best of friends!" said Ukyo proudly.
"Sounds like something the idiot would do," said Akane with a small smile on her face.
"Well, I've never had a better one since," said Ukyo with a slight blush.
"I can believe that," said Akane with her own blush forming as well.
"Hey, what the heck are you doin here anyway?" said Ranma cheerfully as he turned towards his childhood friend.
"My father bought a restaurant nearby. So I'm going to school here!" replied the girl excitedly. "Looks like we're going to be in school together!"
"Hey! That's great!" said Ranma happily.
Akane wasn't so sure she liked the idea, but remained silent. She did manage a tiny scowl though.
"We'll be together again! Just like old times!" said Ukyo happily.
"Right! Say, do you still do martial arts?" asked Ranma with a smile on his face.
"Of course! I practice my family style!" beamed Ukyo proudly. She flexed her arm as she said this and winked at him. "I'm nowhere near as good as you are though. I saw that fight this morning, you'd cream me in about two seconds."
"Oh," said Ranma with a little disappointment in his face. He perked up quickly though. "Akane's Pop has a dojo! I'm gonna inherit it one day! Maybe you could come by one day, and we'll spar? I promise I'll go easy on you!"
"All right, we'll do that," said Ukyo with a small smile.
Akane frowned at this, and nodded her head. "I don't see why not." Her mind added a bit more, "As long as I'm watching you two." Something about this girl bugged her, she was being a little too friendly for her liking.
"You two should come by my restaurant! Bring your dad too! I'm sure Pop wouldn't mind seeing him again!" said Ukyo cheerfully. She turned towards Akane as well. "You can come too!" Her smile widened as she noticed the girl's scowl lighten somewhat.
"Sure," said Akane. "Like I'd let you get him alone," she thought to herself.
Ukyo and Akane's eyes were having a silent war. Whether Ukyo was aware of this was still being debated in the back of the young Tendo girl's mind.
"We'd better get to class. My first day, and I'm already late," said Ukyo in embarrassment.
"She's right, we'll get a note from the nurse and go back to class," agreed Ranma.
"So, what room are you in Ukyo?" asked Akane.
The girl handed her a slip of paper, Akane ground her teeth as she read it.
"What's that noise?" said Ukyo as she looked back at Ranma again.
"Huh? I dunno?" muttered Ranma.
"Why, it's the same room as us," said Akane a little too cheerfully. "Come on, we'll show you where it is."
"Great! I was hoping!" said Ukyo happily.
"You hussy," muttered Akane under her breath quietly. She paused and looked back to see a cheerily smiling Ukyo just behind her. She could have sworn that statement was in stereo.
Ranma walked just behind them, grinning like an idiot. "Man, what a great day!"
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Sitting at his desk, Tatewaki Kuno frowned deeply. "So, Saotome has escaped death today! Soon I will show him my true power! No doubt he is deeply relieved from his narrow escape! My final attack has never failed to fell an enemy in battle. His luck is greater than that of the honorable monk I trained with. Curse you Ranma Saotome! Curse your luck, justice will prevail though. Soon, you shall fall by my hand!" He struggled to hold in his maniacal laughter.
After a moment, he glanced back at the desk behind him and frowned again. "Nabiki Tendo is out sick? Most unusual. I had wanted to procure a few more photos of my lovely Akane Tendo, and some of the beauteous Pigtailed Girl as well. I hope she is well again soon, for I have missed so many precious hours of allowing them to bask in my greatness due to my training! Oh, how it must have tormented them so! Fear not my maidens, soon we shall be together for all eternity!"
Righteous tears fell down his face as he said this to himself.
Kuno caught the eraser that was aimed at his head and glanced at it for a moment. "Why have you interrupted my internal dialogue? I must contemplate my position, so that I may pursue more dramatic tension in my righteous battle with the foul Ranma Saotome!"
"Kuno, go stand in the hall," muttered the teacher as he pointed at the door. He was mildly surprised at the boy, no one had ever caught one of his erasers before.
"Ah, I see. That way, I can lament my predicament without disturbing the lesson! These lowly peons are in need of your knowledge, although my own intellect will surely strive on without it! I understand my good man, please, I shall now retire to the hall! Such a sacrifice is only fitting for one of my noble standing!" With righteous tears still in his eyes, Tatewaki Kuno, dramatically strolled out in the hallway.
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TBC...
Next Time: Cologne's Revenge?!
Part 22
The Return
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Tatewaki Kuno stood opposite Kurillin on Kame Senin's island. His breath was short and his body covered in sweat. "You are no match for me."
"Still as dumb as ever," commented the bald man lazily as he pulled his fists back and frowned. "You've really improved though."
"Heh, the true might, of the Blue Thunder, has yet to show itself," commented the teen with a light smirk. His fists were clenched at his sides; both arms were tightly tucked away beside him. "Shall I show you my true power?"
"Let's see what you've got," said the older man with a grin on his face. He'd never admit it, but he was a little more than impressed with the boy's skills. He'd never seen anyone improve as quickly as the loud mouthed kid, not even Goku had gained skills as quickly as this during his time studying under Kame Senin. Although, his old friend's learning curve only became shorter with time. Kuno also had quite a bit more to improve on as well.
"Very well," said Kuno as he charged forward.
Kurillin let out a battle cry as they flew into one another, punching and kicking at impossible speeds. Kuno smirked as the bald man passed by his head, the younger boy whirled around and slashed, catching the man just behind his head as he turned to face him.
"Ouch! Hey! Where did you get that?" snapped Kurillin as he eyed the bokuten in his opponent's grip.
"Tatewaki Kuno's true skills shall always lie with the blade," replied the boy as he charged forward again. Thrusting the wooden blade forward, and forcing the older man to back flip away from him across the sand.
"No fair!" snapped the bald man angrily.
"Now Kurillin," said Kame Senin as he walked up to the pair. Both men bowed to him for a moment as the match was ended.
"Right master, I know, always expect the unexpected," grumbled the man as he looked away in shame.
"You've done well, I must say I'm surprised at you boy," commented the old master as he looked Kuno up and down.
Happosai bounded up next to him and tossed an orange tunic on the ground at Kuno's feet. "I hate to say this, but you've earned this boy."
"Master?" commented Kuno in shock as he picked it up from the ground gently. "So, my skills are at last recognized! I am now, truly the Mighty Blue Thunder!"
"What a dip," muttered Kurillin as he walked away from the scene. "I suppose he's got a little room to brag, but not that much."
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Ranma seemed back to his normal self as he walked cheerfully towards Furinkan High. Akane stood next to him, as silent as she had been since that night.
"What's wrong Akane?" said the boy as he looked at her.
"It's nothing," muttered the girl as she glanced at him. He had gotten so upset when he had seen the video of himself trashing downtown Tokyo, the adults had explained things to him, and told him why his tail was missing. Still, the whole mess didn't sit well with her, and three days later, he was as cheerful as before. It was as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, are you sure?" said the boy with worry etched into his features.
"No, I'm not," she said as she looked at him for a moment and smiled. With that said, she continued on her way towards the school, leaving him standing there.
"Akane..." he muttered with a small frown. Finally, he shook his head and started forward again.
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The crowd in front of the school parted as Akane walked in with Ranma. The morning fights had ended long ago, there were a few who refused to give up after Ranma defeated Kuno, and most of them gave up a few weeks ago. Now, no one dared to challenge Akane. She was simply too much, and Ranma was no pushover himself. Today, it was different; everyone was looking at them.
"What's up?" said Ranma as he moved up to her side and glanced around.
"What are you all looking at?" snapped Akane angrily. Her hand shot up suddenly, and grabbed something that was moving too fast for anyone else to see. "Oh...oh no," she muttered.
"The vengeance of heaven is slow, but sure," said a familiar voice from behind the old oak. Thunder rumbled in the distance, just over the horizon. "Akane Tendo, rejoice, for I have returned from my voyage of training at last! I shall free you from the grip of tyranny that Ranma Saotome has placed you in, and at last, you shall be free to date with me alone!"
"Hey, it's that guy," commented Ranma obliviously.
"Ranma Saotome, I challenge you!" said Kuno as he stepped from behind the oak. A rose held in his hand, where he sniffed it gently.
Ranma's grin grew three times larger as he recognized the boy's clothing instantly. "All right!"
Kuno was dressed in an orange martial arts dogi, with the turtle symbol in a small white circle over his right breast, and Happosai's mark, in a much larger circle on his back. "Today is the day I shall finally defeat you."
Ranma cracked his knuckles and smirked at the boy. Akane looked at him and gasped in shock, Ranma actually looked happy to see the older boy.
"Ranma?" she muttered.
"You look much stronger Kuno, this should be a good fight," said Ranma as he spread his feet apart and grinned.
"Indeed," agreed the older boy as he took up a battle stance, a martial arts stance, with his bokuten tucked away behind his back, in his belt.
Akane's eyes went wide as she stared at him. "No way!"
Ranma glanced at her and smiled. "You'd better get back Akane, we're gonna need some room."
"R-right," muttered the girl as she staggered away from the scene. The only thing she could think of, was that her older sister would absolutely pass out in shock at this scene.
++++++++++++++
"Have a nice day at school dear," said her father as she walked out the door.
"Right!" the young girl brushed a lint ball off of her school dress as she walked out of the house and closed the door behind her. She was around sixteen years old, with a light blue school uniform on. Her smile seemed to make the sun shine a little more as she skipped away from her home cheerfully. It seemed like a good day to be alive. No matter how nervous she was at the moment, she had just moved into Nerima. All her old friends were left behind, and she was basically alone. She made friends easily though, and enjoyed her life so far.
Unfortunately, it was her first day, at a place called Furinkan High.
A short time later, she walked into the gates and saw the crowd standing around, seemingly waiting for something. "Huh? What's going on here?"
A nearby boy glanced at her and started to stutter incoherently. Finally, a girl standing close to him elbowed his gut and frowned at him. "Kuno came back today, he's weirder than ever. There's going to be a fight."
"A... fight?" she asked. "Where are all the teachers? Isn't somebody going to do something about this?"
"You must be new here," said the girl with a small smirk on her face.
The new girl felt a grin forming on her face. A school, where you're allowed to fight? No more visits to the office? No more getting sent home in shame? Life in this new place was getting better and better.
Then a young girl walked into the schoolyard. She was about her age, with long black hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. It was tied with a bow near the base, and a boy walked next to her. A very familiar figure. "It can't be..." she found herself muttering.
++++++++
"So, you believe that you still have hope against the mighty Tatewaki Kuno? Such foolishness! I shall smite thee!" snapped Kuno as he rushed forward, punching at Ranma with insane speed.
"He ain't half bad," commented Akane with a small smirk on her face.
"What's going on?" said an unfamiliar voice from just behind her. Akane turned to see Kurillin watching the battle in confusion. He was dressed the same as Kuno, and was floating to the ground as she turned.
"Kuno challenged Ranma," she replied lazily.
"Oh, I guess I'm not surprised. He's taking it easy on him I hope," said the man calmly.
"Of course he is, I could beat that idiot easy," commented Akane as she turned her attention back towards the battle. Ranma was currently on the defensive, backing away from his new opponent with a stupid looking grin on his face as Kuno punched and kicked at him fiercely.
"So, that Kuno guy, is taking it easy on Ranma?" said an unfamiliar girl as she walked up to the group. Her eyes were latched onto the battle as if she couldn't look away.
"You must be new here," said Akane with an arched eyebrow.
"Actually, she's right," commented Kurillin with a small nod.
"Huh?" said Akane in shock.
"I've been training with that idiot for the past few months, he's much better than this," said Kurillin with a small frown.
"I could still take him," snorted Akane angrily.
"He's holding back?" said the new girl in shock. "No way!" The pair's arms were nothing but a blur of motion as it was.
++++++++++
Kuno punched out and Ranma flipped off of it pushing his foot into the boy's face and kicking off to avoid a counter blow.
"Hey, you ain't bad Kuno," said the pigtailed boy lazily as he landed on the ground a few feet away.
"Foolish heretic! I have found perfection!" roared the older boy as he jumped towards Ranma and forced the boy to jump back with a side kick.
"Whoa!" muttered Ranma as he rolled back on his heels to avoid the spinning kick that Kuno attempted to catch his face with.
"You still mock me!?" snapped the older boy.
"Come on Kuno, you're gonna get hurt!" said Ranma in annoyance.
"Nay! It is you who should beware!" replied the boy as he suddenly spun into a backhand strike that actually clipped the tip of Ranma's nose.
The pigtailed boy rubbed at the spot with the back of his hand and smirked. "Heh, you're starting to bug me, Kuno. Cut it out." He floated out of his opponent's grasp and looked down at him angrily.
"Fool! Such cowardice can no longer be used to escape my wrath!" snapped Kuno as he jumped up into the air and matched Ranma's height. The pigtailed boy smirked again as he realized that the boy was not falling down.
"Hey! You learned to fly too? That's great!"
"Have at thee!" snapped Kuno as he charged forward again in mid air. Punching and kicking at his maddening opponent. Ranma was just too fast, the boy easily dodged every attempted strike fluidly in the air.
"Come on Kuno, quit it. I know you're holding back, it's no fun this way," commented Ranma lazily as he continued to dodge.
Kuno paused and became very calm and still. "So, you realize that you are indeed doomed. I had hoped to allow you a few moments of hope, before I defeated you utterly."
"That's more like it," replied Ranma with a smirk. He put his fists up and prepared himself.
Kuno chuckled, and slowly reached behind his back.
+++++++++
"They sure are taking their sweet time," commented Akane angrily as she watched the scene. "Classes start in a few minutes."
"Kuno always was a bit longwinded," agreed Kurillin. "I haven't known him that long, but I've never seen anyone who likes to hear himself talk that much."
"You're the one who trained that fool?" commented Akane with a slightly angry look at the man.
"Huh? Who me?" said the man as he backed away from her. "No way! It was master Happosai. Master Roshi did a little bit with him towards the end, but I was just hanging around mostly. I kind of room with the old guys on occasion."
Akane merely nodded and glanced back up. Things were starting to happen again.
The new girl was watching the sky with her mouth hung open. She had yet to say a single word after the pair started flying around. Now, her jaw was simply hanging open. "No way..." she muttered the words over and over to herself as she stood there.
+++++++++
"I shall smite thee!" cried Kuno as he charged headfirst into battle. His bokuten held high over his head.
Ranma smiled and moved towards his target, headlong into the fight. "Come on!"
The pair slammed into each other, Ranma blurring his arms to match Kuno's wooden blade, strike for strike. Forced on the defensive, the pigtailed boy backed away slowly, as the kendoist jabbed at him with the blade.
"Not bad!" commented Ranma as he picked up his tempo suddenly and changed the direction of the battle in an instant.
"What?" gasped Kuno as he was forced back. His blade worked quickly in front of him, blocking punches, kicks, knee strikes, and elbows. "Enough of this!" snapped the older boy as he pushed himself harder.
Soon, both of them were striking and blocking at almost the same rate of speed. The spectators below could see nothing but the image of dozens of blades, feet, and arms, between them.
"Concede fool!" snapped Kuno as he worked his blade tirelessly.
"What? Faster?" said Ranma as he pretended not to understand. "All right!"
Kuno felt something sting on his abdomen, immediately followed by a quick strike to his shoulder and chest. His attack faltered and he shot backwards with his blade held defensively across his chest.
Ranma hung in the air, completely relaxed opposite him and still smirked viciously back at his opponent.
"It is time to end this," said Kuno with a frown.
"Right, it's almost time for class to start," agreed Ranma.
Kuno rushed forward, with what appeared to be hundreds of bokutens striking forward at one time as he blasted towards Ranma.
The pigtailed boy flipped in mid air, sailing over the attack and pushed both his feet into Kuno's face in a hard kick. The older boy responded by flipping backwards with the momentum, and slamming his foot into Ranma's gut.
Both of them flew apart, with Ranma moving higher, and Kuno lower towards the ground.
"A skilled attack," muttered Kuno under his breath.
"Man, he's gotten better than I thought," said Ranma as he eyed the boy cautiously.
"Enough! I can see that you are truly a worthy opponent for my skills Saotome! I shall honor you, by destroying you with my final attack!" roared Kuno as he pointed his bokuten directly behind himself.
++++++++
"Oh boy," muttered Kurillin as he looked up at the sky. "He'd better watch out."
"Huh? What do you mean?" said Akane as she glanced at him. A sudden rise in Kuno's power level caught her attention though. "Hey, that's..."
"Yeah, I know," confirmed Kurillin. "The Kuno Family Secret Technique. I learned about it when we were sparing once."
The new girl seemed to be out of her stupor. "That's bad right?"
"This fight is about to end lady," said Kurillin as he watched the scene in the sky.
+++++++++
Ranma watched as the boy reared back his bokuten in an unusual mid air pose. He could feel the energy being pulled into the blade from the air.
"Some sort of Ki blast?"
"At last I have you Saotome!" roared Kuno as he glared up at his target hatefully. "Prepare to taste death!"
"He's almost done charging it!" thought Ranma in alarm. He tucked his hands at his sides and began to prepare a counter move. "Ka..."
"Die Saotome! Rose Petal Slash!" screamed Kuno angrily as he thrust the blade forward.
"Mehame...huh?" muttered Ranma dumbly. A huge stream of rose petals was blasted directly into his face. "Hey!"
Kuno appeared behind Ranma's back and promptly thwacked him on the back of his head with the bokuten. "Ha! It is finished!"
"You jerk! That hurt!" cried Ranma as he rubbed at the back of his head and brushed a few petals off of his face at the same time.
"What is this? He has survived the Kuno family final attack! It is not possible!" said Kuno in shock. Right before he fell to the ground from Ranma's well placed spinning kick.
The pigtailed boy landed on the ground still rubbing at his eyes in irritation. "Of all the stupid... what the heck kind of final attack was that!?"
Kuno remained on the ground stoically, obviously unable to move. "I shall allow you to escape this once Saotome."
"You jerk! I thought you were gonna blast me! I could have killed you!" replied the pigtailed boy in irritation.
"He would have lived. I really did blast him the first time he tried that stupid move on me. I was afraid you'd do the same thing," commented Kurillin as he walked up to Ranma with a smirk on his face.
"Hey! Uncle Kurillin! What are you doin here?" said the boy cheerfully.
"Kuno's been training on the island with us for a few months. I thought I'd come with him and visit when he came back here. I'll see you after school, all right?"
"Heck with school! I'll come with you!" said the boy cheerfully.
"Now Ranma, what would your mother say about that?" chided the man as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Oh Ranma! You're so manly!" guessed the boy after a moment of thought.
Kurillin sighed and hung his head. "You're probably right, but I'll still be around after you get out of class. I've got to stop by and see your dad for a while anyway. We'll just meet up later, okay?"
"Right!" said the boy happily. "I guess I'd better go. We got a little time before class starts though."
"Kuno's gotten better, but I can still take that moron any day of the week," commented Akane as she looked down at the 'resting' form of Tatewaki Kuno in irritation. "It was kind of nice getting a break from him."
"Yeah, he's nowhere near as good as you are Akane," agreed Ranma cheerfully.
"That's right!" said the girl as she put her nose into the air proudly.
"Hey, don't over do it," muttered Ranma as he pulled on her arm and started to walk her towards the building.
"Man, kids today," muttered Kurillin as he flew away from the scene.
The new girl shook her head from side to side and rushed up to the pair. "Wait!"
"Huh?" said Akane as she paused and turned towards the girl. "Who are you? Are you new here?"
"Yeah, umm. Ranchan, is that really you?" muttered the girl nervously.
"Ranchan?" said the boy as he blinked and looked at her for a moment.
"Ran...chan?" muttered Akane in irritation. "You know her?"
"Um...no?" muttered the boy in confusion as he peered at the new girl for a moment.
"Ranchan! It's me! Ukyo!" cried the girl.
"Ukyo?!" said the boy in shock as he stared at her with his jaw almost scraping the ground. "Okonomiyaki Ucchan?"
"Ucchan?" said Akane as her temper flared suddenly.
"Yeah! It is you!" cried the girl as she threw her arms around his neck. "Wow! I never thought I'd see you again!"
"Who is this?" snapped Akane.
Ranma merely looked surprised and did nothing but look back at his fiancee dumbly. "Uh... wait."
"We were friends! When we were little!" exclaimed the strange girl as she turned and smiled at Akane. "Who are you? Are you friends too?" said the girl excitedly as she grabbed Akane's hands and released the boy.
Ranma merely looked confused. "Um, yeah."
"I'm Akane Tendo, Ranma is staying with my family," muttered Akane irritably as she glared at her fiancee for a moment.
"Oh! Really?" said the girl cheerfully.
"Yeah, Akane's my fiancee," mumbled Ranma as he stepped back away from the pair for a moment.
"You're engaged?" gasped the girl. Her face fell slightly, but her smile returned quickly. "I guess you two must get along pretty good then?"
"Yeah! Akane's real nice!" said the boy with his stupid grin returning again.
"Wow! I'm happy for you," said Ukyo with a slight twitch in her eye. Akane noticed this and frowned.
Ranma blinked, and seemed to vanish from sight.
"Huh? Ranchan?" said the girl as she glanced around. Akane blinked and looked around in confusion as well.
Ranma reappeared a moment later with a teakettle in his hands. He promptly dumped the contents over Ukyo's head.
"What the heck!" cried the girl in alarm as she jumped back suddenly.
Ranma dropped the hot water and stumbled back over his feet. He landed on his back and gawked at her for a moment. "No...no change!"
Akane raised her eyebrow at this and looked back at the sputtering girl as she wiped the water off of her face. "What the? Why did you do that?!"
"Ucchan! You've been turned into a girl too!" said Ranma as he raised his head and looked at her with tears of sympathy in his eyes.
"She... has?" muttered Akane as she eyed the new girl with a sudden, unexplainable, relief.
"What? What the heck are you talking about?" snapped Ukyo as she stared at him dumbly.
"Don't worry! I promise we'll turn you back old buddy!" exclaimed the boy as he jumped to his feet and pulled her to his side.
Ukyo blinked and glared at him. "What? Turn me into what?"
Akane sighed and shook her head for a moment. "Ranma, I don't think..."
"Akane! I can't just leave him like this! He was my best friend!" exclaimed the boy as he looked back at his fiancee.
"What the heck are you talking about?" cried Ukyo angrily.
At that moment, it started to rain lightly. Ukyo found herself standing beside a buxom redhead. She blinked, and started screaming, then she simply passed out.
+++++++++
"Cursed?" muttered Ukyo as she sat in the nurse's station and looked at the two teens standing in front of her.
"Uh, yeah," muttered Ranma sheepishly. He was male again, and had a bucket of water and a teakettle beside him. It had taken several demonstrations to calm the girl down, and prove to her that she hadn't gone crazy.
"This is so cool!" exclaimed Ukyo as she dumped more of the water over his head and changed him again. "Wow!" she picked up the kettle and reversed it.
"Do you mind?" grumbled Akane.
"Sorry, it's just so... so..." the new girl struggled to find the right word.
"Cool?" finished Akane as she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah! That's it!" said the girl cheerfully. Akane thought she was taking this a little too well.
"So... you're a girl?" muttered Ranma sheepishly.
"Uh, yeah. Why do you..." Ukyo trailed off as something clicked in her head suddenly. She promptly dented the kettle over his head. "I've always been a girl you jackass!"
"I'm sorry!" cried the boy as he hung his head.
"You and Ranma were friends?" said Akane as she looked at them for a moment. It was easy to see.
"Yeah! We used to play together all the time! It was back when Pop and I were training together," said Ranma cheerfully.
"My father ran an Okonomiyaki cart when we were little. We used to spar for food, he always won," said the girl with a slight blush on her cheeks. "I guess I was a bit of a tomboy..."
"So naturally, Mr. Clueless here thought you really were a boy," muttered Akane in irritation.
"Yeah," agreed Ranma.
Both girls punched him in the gut. "Ouch! Hey."
"Anyway, he left after about six months. He promised me we'd always be the best of friends!" said Ukyo proudly.
"Sounds like something the idiot would do," said Akane with a small smile on her face.
"Well, I've never had a better one since," said Ukyo with a slight blush.
"I can believe that," said Akane with her own blush forming as well.
"Hey, what the heck are you doin here anyway?" said Ranma cheerfully as he turned towards his childhood friend.
"My father bought a restaurant nearby. So I'm going to school here!" replied the girl excitedly. "Looks like we're going to be in school together!"
"Hey! That's great!" said Ranma happily.
Akane wasn't so sure she liked the idea, but remained silent. She did manage a tiny scowl though.
"We'll be together again! Just like old times!" said Ukyo happily.
"Right! Say, do you still do martial arts?" asked Ranma with a smile on his face.
"Of course! I practice my family style!" beamed Ukyo proudly. She flexed her arm as she said this and winked at him. "I'm nowhere near as good as you are though. I saw that fight this morning, you'd cream me in about two seconds."
"Oh," said Ranma with a little disappointment in his face. He perked up quickly though. "Akane's Pop has a dojo! I'm gonna inherit it one day! Maybe you could come by one day, and we'll spar? I promise I'll go easy on you!"
"All right, we'll do that," said Ukyo with a small smile.
Akane frowned at this, and nodded her head. "I don't see why not." Her mind added a bit more, "As long as I'm watching you two." Something about this girl bugged her, she was being a little too friendly for her liking.
"You two should come by my restaurant! Bring your dad too! I'm sure Pop wouldn't mind seeing him again!" said Ukyo cheerfully. She turned towards Akane as well. "You can come too!" Her smile widened as she noticed the girl's scowl lighten somewhat.
"Sure," said Akane. "Like I'd let you get him alone," she thought to herself.
Ukyo and Akane's eyes were having a silent war. Whether Ukyo was aware of this was still being debated in the back of the young Tendo girl's mind.
"We'd better get to class. My first day, and I'm already late," said Ukyo in embarrassment.
"She's right, we'll get a note from the nurse and go back to class," agreed Ranma.
"So, what room are you in Ukyo?" asked Akane.
The girl handed her a slip of paper, Akane ground her teeth as she read it.
"What's that noise?" said Ukyo as she looked back at Ranma again.
"Huh? I dunno?" muttered Ranma.
"Why, it's the same room as us," said Akane a little too cheerfully. "Come on, we'll show you where it is."
"Great! I was hoping!" said Ukyo happily.
"You hussy," muttered Akane under her breath quietly. She paused and looked back to see a cheerily smiling Ukyo just behind her. She could have sworn that statement was in stereo.
Ranma walked just behind them, grinning like an idiot. "Man, what a great day!"
+++++++++++
Sitting at his desk, Tatewaki Kuno frowned deeply. "So, Saotome has escaped death today! Soon I will show him my true power! No doubt he is deeply relieved from his narrow escape! My final attack has never failed to fell an enemy in battle. His luck is greater than that of the honorable monk I trained with. Curse you Ranma Saotome! Curse your luck, justice will prevail though. Soon, you shall fall by my hand!" He struggled to hold in his maniacal laughter.
After a moment, he glanced back at the desk behind him and frowned again. "Nabiki Tendo is out sick? Most unusual. I had wanted to procure a few more photos of my lovely Akane Tendo, and some of the beauteous Pigtailed Girl as well. I hope she is well again soon, for I have missed so many precious hours of allowing them to bask in my greatness due to my training! Oh, how it must have tormented them so! Fear not my maidens, soon we shall be together for all eternity!"
Righteous tears fell down his face as he said this to himself.
Kuno caught the eraser that was aimed at his head and glanced at it for a moment. "Why have you interrupted my internal dialogue? I must contemplate my position, so that I may pursue more dramatic tension in my righteous battle with the foul Ranma Saotome!"
"Kuno, go stand in the hall," muttered the teacher as he pointed at the door. He was mildly surprised at the boy, no one had ever caught one of his erasers before.
"Ah, I see. That way, I can lament my predicament without disturbing the lesson! These lowly peons are in need of your knowledge, although my own intellect will surely strive on without it! I understand my good man, please, I shall now retire to the hall! Such a sacrifice is only fitting for one of my noble standing!" With righteous tears still in his eyes, Tatewaki Kuno, dramatically strolled out in the hallway.
++++++++++
TBC...
Next Time: Cologne's Revenge?!