Akane woke up slowly, her brain passing through levels of consciousness like a bubble rising through the ocean

A Heritage of Power: Chapter 3

Trouble Also Loves Company

The ideas and characters of Ranma ½ and Dragonball Z are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama, respectively. I

claim no rights to any of the characters portrayed herein.

--

Akane woke up slowly, her brain passing through levels of consciousness like bubbles rising through the ocean. Her first complete though was, "ouch," followed almost immediately by, "ouch ouch." Even for someone of Akane's fierce determination, getting up this morning was going to take a great deal of will power. Fighting with Ranma, really fighting, was like trying to take on a tornado. Strike that, a skilled tornado. She almost regretted the sparing sessions she had had with Ranma over the past week, but the thought of her new speed and power brushed aside any lingering soreness. Groaning, she sat up and began to get ready.

Outside the rain fell in tiny stinging needles. Akane stared out of the window as she put on her Gi; Nerinma was not a pretty place, and in the rain it was doubly depressing. Still, rain meant a new opponent, who would fight with Ranma's overall style, but she would be smaller, faster, and slightly weaker. As Akane walked downstairs, she unconsciously clenched her fists as she though of techniques to compensate.

Ranma, in girl form, was already in the dojo, warming up. Akane watched as she finished her kata. Her eyes were closed and his arms hung loosely at his side. Akane felt, as well as saw, Ranma's battle aura. It fell in waves over her mind: calm, cool, and determined. "Soul of Ice?" she wondered idly as she stepped across the threshold.

"Hey Akane!" Ranma said suddenly, her eyes flashing open.

"What was that Ranma?" said Akane as she came to stand in front of the red head.

"Ya felt that? Yeah, it's this thing I've been working on since I fought with Saffron." Ranma said slowly, her features darkening as she though of the fiery god.

"It just makes things cooler?" Akane said, hoping to change Ranma's train of though.

"Nah, that's the neat thing. Its like… like using a lens for my chi. If I concentrate hard enough, I can almost amplify my power." said Ranma, hoping to explain in some small way what she was attempting.

"Well, it's still cool!" smirked Akane.

"Har har, tomboy." said Ranma, but there was no malice behind her voice.

"Come on, lets get started." said Akane as she moved to one side of the dojo.

"This time, try to mix up your techniques a little." Suggested Ranma from across the wooden floor.

"What do you mean? My technique is fine, you stupid baka!" Akane shot back.

"Yeah, boring old kempo all the way." Ranma intoned sarcastically.

"Argh, I'll show you technique." Akane cried as she sailed toward Ranma, intent on wiping the grin off of her face.

Ranma, as per usual, danced around Akane while managing to avoid crushing blows from all corners. Suddenly, Ranma was on the offensive. Akane, to her credit, avoided dozens of strikes as the smaller Ranma threw near Amaguriken-speed punches at her. Deciding enough was enough, Akane dropped below the level of the punches, only to spring up and lash out with her feet as she flipped backwards. Ranma realized a moment to late that her target was gone, and was clipped on the jaw for her inattention. Despite this, she was able to launch herself into the air and catch Akane with a crossover sidekick. Akane landed badly and Ranma was beside her in a flash, pounding her into the hardwood floor.

"Jeeze Akane, that was great." Said Ranma as she dropped down next to Akane, barely breathing hard.

"But I still got beaten." Akane said, her eyes downcast.

"Yeah, I almost had to go all out." Ranma said, still smiling.

Akane's head snapped up, "That's just it, Ranma! Why don't you go all out?"

"Well you know…you're like, a girl." Ranma stammered, suddenly finding the wood grains of the dojo floor exceedingly interesting.

"I'm a martial artist! You are such a jerk!" Akane said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You stupid tomboy, if I went all out, I'd kill you. Is that what you want?" Ranma yelled, responding to the insult.

"I want you take me seriously! If you beat me, you beat me, but don't dismiss me!" Akane cried as she leapt off the ground towards Ranma, tears streaming behind her. Her fist crashed down into the floor where, up until recently, Ranma had been sitting. Without thinking, the red headed girl spun and lashed out with her foot. Akane took the blow on the forearm, and then ducked under Ranma's leg intent on sending the smaller girl into orbit. In order to avoid an untimely space trip, Ranma wrapped her legs around Akane's torso, pinning the larger girl's arms to her side. Both crashed down onto the floor with Akane ending up on top, her arms still trapped.

"What do you do when you're defeated in a fight?" Akane asked sharply.

"What?!?" said a confused Ranma.

"When you're defeated, what do you do?"

"I never get defeated. Maybe I get beaten, but I train and I get better, and I win!" Ranma shouted up defiantly.

"What about me? If you beat me, how can I get better when you don't take me seriously?" Akane implored.

"But you're a girl…" Ranma said, falling back on her old arguments.

"So what if I'm a girl? Didn't I catch you today?" said Akane as she glared directly into Ranma's eyes.

"Yeah, but I don't hit people who are weaker than me." Ranma said.

"Like Kuno?" Akane flung back.

"Well… I don't like him very much." Said Ranma, as her arguments began to crumble.

"So?"

"And I like you! Geeze, ya made me say it once already. I don't hit ya because I like ya! Is that so hard to understand?" Ranma yelled, her hold on Akane weakening.

Akane relaxed her struggles for a moment. "But…but I want you to train with me." She said softly.

Ranma raked his fingers through her hair as he spoke, "I dunno, Akane. I understand that you're a martial artist. The only reason you weren't better when I got here is because you haven't had good opponents. But… "

Akane's face brightened immediately "Really? You think I have potential?"


Ranma released Akane and continued, "But I don't know if I can go all out on ya."

Akane scooted forward and placed her arm on Ranma's. "I'm not asking you to kill me or break my bones or anything like that. You know I'm the heir to the Tendo dojo, my father said so. I want… no, I need to be better than I am right now."

"I know. I know. But I just can't hit you." Ranma looked up for a moment, "How can you hit me?"

Akane, for the first time in the conversation, felt ashamed. "Well most of the time you deserve it!" Ranma, sensing she was in for a beating, turned away. "I'm sorry I get angry. I guess I just see you as a martial artist, so it's ok to hit you." Akane turned her eyes down, "I…I'll try not to from now on."

"Well, I still don't like it when you hit me." Ranma said, pausing to consider for a moment and continuing in a softer tone, "Maybe, though, if we sparred some more, I could get used to you as, you know, a fighter."

"Really? Oh Ranma, thank you. What did you think of that flip-kick?" Akane asked, her mood lifting.

"It was really great, but here's the thing: ya gotta tighten up the flip a little or somebody will get ya, like I did. Let me show you." Ranma said, moving back and stretching.

Akane lowered herself in a mock bow. "Oh, thank you Sensei." She said.

"You are just all laughs today. Maybe some more sparring would be funny, too." Said Ranma as he advanced menacingly, or at least as menacingly as he could while trying not to smile.

"No, no. Show me the flip and then we need to get ready for school."

--

Akane sank down into the furo with all the grace and style of a dead carp. Still, the warm water began to loosen her tired and abused muscles. It wasn't even 8pm and she was already exhausted, emotionally and physically. As Akane lay back, she thought of how her schoolwork was suffering; it was just so hard to work when she could hear the dojo calling to her. She was hooked, not since she was little had she felt such a rush at mastering new techniques. Now that Ranma had agreed to train her, it was only going to get worse. "This must be what drives Ranma on." Akane thought as she remembered the feeling of practicing the flip kick twenty minutes earlier. With the Sayain discipline she had just learned, Akane had seen her techniques go from slow and sloppy to strong and crisp in under a week; in fact, even unfamiliar moves came faster now.

Still, she needed to change Ranma's mind. Why couldn't he just see that she was willing to take risks and endure pain to become better than she was. She wasn't jealous of his skill any more, but for him to refuse to share it fully was intolerable. As the thought back on the morning's fights, a plan began to form in her mind…

A knock at the door startled Akane out of her daydreaming. "Akane, I think there's a…a call for you." Said a somewhat hesitant Kasumi.

"Sure thing sis! Tell them I'll be right down." Akane said as she stepped out of the furo and wrapped a towel around herself.

--

Downstairs, a now male Ranma and his father were already seated at the breakfast table. The entire Tendo family had decided that it was just too dangerous to sit near the Saotome's during breakfast. Eight foodless hours of sleep turned the pair of martial artist into ravenous wolves, or pandas, depending on the situation. Consequently, Kasumi had started serving a breakfast for two early, and keeping the rest of the food safely in the kitchen.

"Leggo, old man! That's one's mine!" Shouted Ranma as he moved his chopsticks in a lightning fast motion.

"Boy, you need to learn some respe…Damn it Ranma!" Cried Genma as he realized that Ranma had broken his chopsticks, only to catch the tasty morsel that they had been holding.

"Ranma, will you grow up?" Asked Akane as she moved past the pair into the kitchen.

"Maybe when you can beat me, tomboy!" Ranma said under his breath.

--

In the kitchen, Kasumi was humming gently as she prepared lunches for the day.

"Who's on the phone, Kasumi?" Akane asked brightly as she snagged an octopus ball.

"Honestly Akane, you're almost as bad a Ranma. No, it's not the phone. I heard some noise from the basement, so I went downstairs to see what it was. I think someone is trying to talk to you through your ship." Kasumi finished, inclining her head to indicate the basement door.

"I bet its just Limar trying to get some attention. He probably gets lonely during the night. I'll go tell him to keep it down." Akane said turning to walk down the stairs.

--

"Limar! Limar, is that you?" Akane yelled into the gloom.

"No, this is Brocol. Is that you, your Highness?" A voice called out.

"I don't know about being a highness, but I'm the one Limar said was the princess." Akane said as she approached the ship. In Limar's place was a large woman with an enormous amount of hair sticking straight up. She stood solemnly at attention, but Akane couldn't help but giggle at the alien's comic appearance.

"Your highness, it is you." Brocol cried.

"How do you know I'm really the princess?" Akane asked.

"Limar should have told your Royal Highness that he took a measure of your DNA to test when you pressed the blue button. That's how the program was designed to work."

"That's kind of cool. So, why did you…call?" Akane asked. She was beginning to get uncomfortable with the formal tone Brocol kept using. Maybe the Sayains really bought this whole princess thing.

"Your father, King Vegeta, has not yet heard of your triumph. I thought you would want to surprise him, so an envoy has been dispatched to escort your Royal Highness home."

"What?? You're coming here?" Akane asked.

"We assumed that you have crushed the people of that planet and enslaved the remaining few. In fact, the servant I spoke with earlier seemed very docile. Of course we expected no less from your Highness." Brocol said proudly.

"Do you mean Kasumi? No she's my adopted sister. I haven't crushed anyone." Akane said, wanting to clear up any misunderstandings.

"You've not done what!?! Princess, do you mean to tell me that you have failed to destroy that measly planet? Their Tech level barely reaches above 7! Their average power level is below 10! Why haven't you ground them to dust? Haven't you even destroyed their major centers of industry?" Brocol cried.

"Now hold on a second! I love my family. I'm not going to crush them or do anything like that!" Akane shouted back at the hologram.

"Princess, you must be confused. You are a Sayain. You're a warrior, a killer, and a force that makes the universe tremble. If you were adopted, it was a mistake. You should go kill those scum right away." Brocol said, now pacing around in the air.

"Shut up! I couldn't forgive myself for something like that. Just stay away from here!"

"Listen, listen. You have been brainwashed. If your father finds out you were sent to a planet full of such deceptive slime, I'm dead. Here's what I'm going to do: I am sending a full Sayain warrior, not the entire royal entourage, to come get you. It will take three cycles for him to arrive. He will teach you how to maim and kill, you will destroy the planet and return home triumphant." Said Brocol, relived that she had thought up a plan to save her hide.

"No, no, no! I won't let you do that!" Akane yelled at the tiny image.

"Princess, I don't see that you have a choice. Just make ready, and please, try to kill as many of the inhabitants of Elrani-3 as possible. Brocol out."

"Ranma!" Akane cried as she raced of the stairs for the second time is as many weeks.

--

Ranma's concentration shattered. In that moment, his father choose to apply a rather painful and immobilizing hold with one hand, and with the other, to eat every bit of food off of Ranma's plate. Ranma struggled, but finding no purchase, was forced to watch his hard earned morsel's be devoured.

"Damn it, Akane! What do you want?" Ranma yelled when his father released him.

"You and Nabiki need to come downstairs right away." Akane said, visibly agitated.

Nabiki walked out from around the corner, "Did Limar's program crash? He always was a little high strung"

"No!! Just come downstairs."

--

Gathered around the Sayain craft, Akane spoke. "Limar can you replay what Brocol said?"

"Who's Brocol?" Ranma asked, only to be shushed by the girls.

"Yes Princess, easily." The holographic program responded.

In the air above the ship, Brocol appeared for the second time that morning. An exact copy of the earlier conversation took place, with Akane filling in her parts to the best of her memory. When the recording finished, Akane turned to Ranma and Nabiki expectantly.

Nabiki shook her head, "Sis, you are in some deep trouble."

"Ah, this Sayain guy probably isn't that tough." Ranma said, lacing he fingers behind his head.

"But Brocol seemed to think that he could kill everyone on earth." Akane said, her voice betraying more than a little worry.

Nabiki turned to face Limar, who had returned, "Well, we need to know a couple of things before we jump to conclusions. Limar, could we talk to King Vegeta?"

"I am sorry mistress Nabiki, all communications with the planet Vegeta have been cut off." Limar said as he bowed his head in shame.

"Damn, I bet you could have gone over Brocol's head. It's probably just as well; you definitely don't want to upset the King. Limar, how long is it going to take for this warrior to get here?" Nabiki asked, looking for more useful information.

"Three Sayain cycles is roughly 360 Elranian days." Limar said.

"So we have a year. How strong is this warrior they're sending?"

"The average Sayain warrior has a power level of just under 800, one of the best racial averages in the known universe." Limar said while puffing out his chest.

"Damn, we don't have any idea how strong that is." Akane said.

"Begging your pardon princess, but would it help to know that you are currently displaying a power level of 124, the young man has a power of 175, and mistress Nabiki is around 12." Limar offered.

"No way." Ranma said. He had never imagined that someone could be more than four times as good as he was.

"Ok, that's bad news, but still we've got to look on the bright side. We've got numbers and a year to prepare. That's better than we get with most of the weirdoes that attack here." Nabiki said, taking stock of the situation.

"Right! Yeah, we'll train, and Akane and me will whip this punk's ass!" Ranma said defiantly.

"Easy Saotome, we still need to get to school." Nabiki said, still noticing the way Akane's eyes glowed with appreciation as she looked at Ranma.

Ranma looked over his shoulder at his fiancée, "Hey Akane, are you coming?"

"Yeah. Sure thing."

--