Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Trouble with a Capital `A'

Chapter 8





"So that's what I've learned so far," Miyo stated. "Mom's
library doesn't have much on the subject, but from what I gather, the
dreams I've been having did really happen a long time ago. So I was
hoping..."

"That Yubanaga would know something," Toshi finished. "Give me a
minute to speak with him." He closed his eyes and assumed a lotus
position. He stayed that way for more than ten minutes, during which, he
never moved, not even a single muscle.

His eyes suddenly burst open and he inhaled sharply. Miyo
offered him a glass of cold water which he gladly accepted, then she
waited until he was ready to speak.

"There is a reason to your dreams," he said at last. "What
you're witnessing is a 1000 year old war between an entity known only as
the Dark Shogun, and the forces of Tendo Senshin. Yubanaga doesn't know
a whole lot of the details, but he did fight in the war as a minor
soldier on the Tendo side. He thought the war was won and everything
went back to normal."

He took another drink of water, finishing off the glass.
"That's as far as his knowledge goes. His `divine connections' only tell
him that the battle is not over. He thinks your dreams are a way to pass
the knowledge on. My advice would be to continue to record your dreams
until we have a better handle on the situation. Maybe talk to the Tendos
and their friends and see what they know."

Miyo nodded as she absorbed all this in. [It makes sense,
though mainly my dreams are foggy interpretations of the future,
occasionally I do get glimpses of the past.]

She looked up. "I think I'll make an appointment with Akane
soon so we can talk."

"I think that's a great idea." Toshi refilled the glass with the
pitcher on the table. [Man, these talks with Yubanaga sure do leave me
thirsty.]







"Oh, good morning Yuri-chan!" Kasumi said sweetly as she led the
young girl inside. "What brings you by?"

"I was wondering if you've seen my brother at all," she said as
she entered the living room. "He didn't come home last night and our
sensei says he left him after training, so he doesn't know."

"Methinks this disappearence while yon Amazons are in town makes
too much of a coincidence," Kuno intoned evenly from where he sat on a
cushion next to the middle Tendo.

"Really, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said sarcastically. "That's a given.
If he doesn't show up soon, then we have to assume the Amazons have him.
Probably took him for questioning."

"I do not mean to pry, but may I ask who this gentlemen is that
you are referring to?" Natsume asked as she and her sister emerged from
the hallway. Kurumi saw the food and immediately jumped on it.

"He's my brother," Yuri replied. "We moved into town awhile ago.
I'm sure Nabiki-san can fill you in, but I've got to go and help Ukyo-
chan and Selah-chan at the restaurant."

Nabiki made the introductions. "Yuri, this is Natsume and
Kurumi. They're old friends of ours. This is Soyokaze Yuri and her
brother is Kenji."

They bowed to one another and then Yuri excused herself to go
back to Ucchans while Natsume sat down. "I'm grateful you're letting us
stay here until Ranma and Akane come back, but I sense something amiss.
If you tell us, maybe we can help?"

"It's a long story, but the short answer is this," she began. "A
group of Chinese Amazons are in Japan and apparently they want Ranma.
You see, he learned a few of their techniques from an old Amazon name
Cologne, and they want that information to stay within the Amazon
nation. Also, they consider him a great warrior and are hoping to breed
him so the next generation of warriors grow up to be as strong as him."

Nabiki took a breath. Natsume blinked. Kurumi continued to eat,
now competing with Genma for her meal (and holding her own).

"Oh, and I found out what train Ranma and Akane took, so I can
make a good guess as to where they're training," Nabiki added.

"Really!?" Soun said, excited. "Where?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Entawa Mountain, near as I can tell."

Soun stood up. "Then we must make plans to go after them!"

"Don't bother, I've already alerted the local forest rangers,"
The middle Tendo said nonchalantly. "If they find them, they'll pass
along the message."






Outside the Tendo home, two female figures were lip reading the
entire conversation. They saw Nabiki mouth `Entawa Mountain' and leapt
away to report to their leader.





Akane blinked her eyes open and saw Ranma. She blinked again.
[Ranma's in my bed?]

Before the anger climbed too high, she remembered it was her
idea and relaxed. She brought up her hand and looked at the ring on her
finger. After all this time, all the adventures, misunderstandings,
fiancee battles, he was finally hers. He had proposed; he had wanted to
marry her!

Amazingly, their bodies were in the same postion they were in
last night. She smiled and lifted one hand to brush some hair out of his
eyes. [All the times I pushed him away, or got jealous; he always came
back to me. I wish I could've done this a long time ago.]

Ranma stirred a bit and Akane leaned over and kissed him
lightly on the lips. After she pulled away, he yawned and slowly opened
his eyes.

Though Ranma's brain lacked most of it's functionality in the
morning, it did manage to put together a few random facts and draw a
conclusion. He was wearing only a t-shirt and boxers, she was in her
pajamas, and they were in bed together. His mind processed this info and
spit out a likely consequence.

Prepare to get pounded.

He attempted to back away and apologize, but Akane had already
wrapped her arms around him, preventing him from breaking away.

"Baka!" she scolded. "Where do you think you're going?"

He blinked. "Wait a minute, was last a dream?"

She tried to scowl at him, but found her face wouldn't do that
at the moment, so she tried a different tactic. "Does this answer your
question?" She crawled onto his chest and kissed him passionately.

"Yeck, morning breath!" she complained after pulling away.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, a little upset. "You're the one who kissed
me!"







An hour later after breakfast, and seperate baths, Akane stood
ready before him.

"So, what's on the training schedule for today, sensei?" she
asked.

"Just some good old stamina and endurance training," he replied.
His face softened a bit. "Ya know, you have shown some improvement over
these past few days." He grinned. "I'm startin' ta think you may be the
martial artist you were claimin' to be all along."

"Ba-a-ka," she said, sweetly. "So, how do we train?"

He sighed. He really was hoping to avoid this, but he wouldn't
be a good teacher if he didn't. "You can move and you can hit; now you
have to learn how to be hit. Meaning, I have to beat on you until pain
becomes a distant memory."

She looked a bit horrified. "You're sure about this?"

"Yep. Pop beat on me on the time. And just look at Ryoga when he
went through the Bakusai Tenketsu training. He's built like a tank now,
thanks to having a boulder slam into him."

"I won't have to do that, will I?" She shivered at the thought.
There was quite a bit she was willing to do to perfect the Art, but she
definitely didn't want to go through that, even if she learned the
technique.

"Naw, you ain't ready for it, and even I think that's a bit
extreme. It may make you tougher, but it also slows you down some. I
think speed is better. Nope, you just need to learn how to take hits.
And also get hit enough that you can ignore the pain enough to
concentrate on your next move."

"So, how do you think I'd compare with everyone else?" she asked
curiously.

He thought about for a second. "You could take Ukyo, and of
course you've beat Kodachi easily. The only reason you beat Shampoo, was
because ya sprung a couple of surprise moves on her, but now..." He
shrugged. "I think you might be able to take her in an even fight now.
Still not as strong or as tough as Ryoga, but just as fast." Grinning,
he added, "And I think you could probably tangle with Oyaji and come out
okay."

Akane felt awed. "Wow. Do you really think I'm that good?"

"Not as good as me, `course I am the best!" He paused while she
stuck her tongue out at him. "But think about it: You only trained for
maybe a couple of hours a day, for most of your life. Ukyo trained
heavily for about ten years and Shampoo almost her entire life, and you
weren't that far off from them. If you'd trained as seriously as them
during the past ten years, you could've easily wiped the floor with them
when they arrived. I think that says you've got more raw potential."
[Almost as much as me,] he almost added, but thought silently.

Akane blushed from all the gratuitous praise she was receiving
and then she was back to normal as Ranma launched his attack.





"[You've found them?]" the old woman asked.

"[Yes matriarch,]" Wen Tsu replied. "[They are training alone in
the Engawa Forest.]"

Zhao Len smiled. "[Very good, you may leave.]" Wen Tsu bowed
and left. "[You know where this forest is?]"

"[Yes, I do,]" came a voice from the shadows of Zhao Len's tent.
"[And I can lead a team there to take them.]"

"[You will do no such thing,] the old woman commanded. "[I've
heard enough about this Ranma to know he is a very formidable opponent.
He beat Herb of the Musk and most of the other opponents that have
crossed his path. No, you'll stay here, guard the camp, and prepare for
our return. I have ways of dealing with dangerous prey such as this
Ranma.]"

The figure stepped out of the shadow. "[And then I marry him
and take him back to Joketsuzoku!]" Shampoo said with a happy grin on
her face.






"Come on, Akane, think!" Ranma taunted. "Analyze my attack
patterns and counter them."

"Baka!" she growled. "What do you think I'm doing!? The
Musabetsu Kakuto style changes constantly, that's one of it's greatest
strengths."

"Then use the knowledge. You've seen me fight hundreds of
times."

He leapt toward her again with a thrust kick, which she
sidestepped. She barely ducked under the arm swing and lanced out with a
sweep that Ranma hopped over. She in turn, rolled away from a snap kick
to the head.

Then she saw it, her opening.

Ranma charged again, feinting with a few fast punches. Akane
saw through it and grabbed the leg that impacted her side. She winced
with the pain, but ignored it and flipped her feet up in a flash kick
that impacted Ranma's chest and sent him to the ground. He was already
jumping up when it hit him, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

"It's about time," he grumbled while standing up. "Now, what did
you see?"

"You were most vulnerable when you kicked, almost as if you
weren't expecting a counter," she said.

"Good. I faced someone in a dojo in Hokkaido that made that
mistake." Ranma grinned. "He doesn't make that mistake anymore. Okay, I
think we're finished with `learning to read your opponent.' Now, we see
what you've learned in a full sparring session."

Akane gulped and they faced each other. She knew what that
meant: Ranma would hold little back as he attacked. She assumed the
casual stance she had seen him use so often. It was her favorite now
that she learned how to use it. She could easily see why Ranma used it
so often.

Before they could start however, Ranma froze, then warily
looked around. "Kuso! We're being surrounded!"

Akane grinned. "Can't fool me like that again!"

"Quiet, tomboy! This is for real, use your senses!"

Akane fumed a bit at his tone of voice, but did extend her ki
senses... and felt it. Her eyes widened. "Wh-who are they?"

He slowly walked over to her. "Don't know, but they can't be
friendly. Chikuso, there's a lot of them." He reached her and whispered
to her. "We're gonna start out walking slowly, then when I give the
word, we'll have to make it running battle all the way to town."

She nodded. "What about our stuff?"

"We'll have to leave it and hopefully come back for it later.
Let's go."

They began to walk out of the small clearing where they were
sparring and entered the forest. All around them, they could hear and
sense figures moving with them. They walked hand-in-hand as silently and
as quickly as they could. At first, they made it appear they were
heading back to camp, then they changed course for the trail to town,
only to find it blocked by a short old woman who seemed to resemble
Cologne.

"Now, now, don't leave us yet," she said.

"Who are you and what you want?" Ranma demanded.

"That's no way to speak to your elders, boy. I am Zhao Len,
matriarch of the Joketzusoku."

"Amazons?" Akane asked in disbelief. "We're finished with them.
I beat Shampoo, so there's no reason to come after us."

"Ah, but there is," she replied. "That boy knows secrets and
secret moves of the Amazon tribe. He must come back with us for those
techniques must never exist outside of our tribe."

"That's ridiculous!" Ranma interjected. "Cologne never said
anything about that when she taught them to me. And I got news for ya: I
ain't goin' back."

She shook her head sadly. "I figured you say that, not that it
makes a difference. [Attack!]"

Dozens of female warriors sprung out of the surrounding forest,
from the bushes and from the trees, clad in colorful armor and wielding
various swords, spears and other assorted weaponry. The young couple
soon found themselves surrounded, all potential exits blocked. Ranma and
Akane went back to back.

"Remember what I said, running battle back to town," Ranma
whispered to her. "Just handle this like you did the boys that used to
attack you every mornin'."

The tide of warriors attacked and the targets went into motion.
The Amazons were good, but Ranma and Akane (thanks to his training) were
better. Still, they were hopelessly outnumbered. For every Amazon they
took down or tossed away, three more took their place.

Ranma gave the signal and the two turned and plowed through a
section of their
attackers. They managed to break free and set off running, their enemies
in hot pursuit. A fluorescent ki blast flew past the retreating pair and
exploded the ground in front of them. The shockwave from the attack
forcing the couple to stop and hit the dirt.

When they got back up, they were surrounded once again.

Ranma whispered back to Akane. "Think you can break free? I'm
gonna try a Hiryu Shoten Ha on them."

"Watch me," she replied. "Mouko Sumat-Su!" She burst into golden
flame and shot comet-like through the horde.

Ranma leapt into the fray afterward, and began to move around,
never spending too much time on an opponent, just enough to deliver one
or two hits. [That's it... Almost there. Don't need to anger anybody,
there's plenty of battle aura.]

A few of the more experienced Amazons recognized the spiral
beginning to form and jumped out of the way. Many more didn't.

"Hiryu Shoten Ha!" Ranma let the dragon's whirlwind loose.

The tornado a dozen or of the warriors up and cleared some
breathing space for Ranma. He noted a second one probably wouldn't work,
since the Amazons at least knew of the move and would be watching for
the spiral. He didn't have time to build up a ki-blast... unless he went
with that new kata.

[It's worth a try,] He thought, then began the motions.

Akane was feeling elated. She was going toe-to-toe with many
skilled warriors and was holding her own! If the boys at Furinken ever
got it into their minds to attack her again, they'd be sorry! She noted
Ranma's tornado and smirked. [Let them suck on that! Uh oh, they're
getting too close again.]

"Tora Dokiken!" She burst into gold flame in mid-kick, giving
her target a nasty surprise. She continued to lay into her attackers for
several seconds, before allowing the enhanced aura to fade. [I can't
keep this up!]

That's when she felt a tap on her neck.






Ranma neared the end of the kata and executed the final move.
The kata was specifically designed to allow him the time to charge
enough ki for an attack. And it worked.

He smiled. [You can't beat me, I'm the best!] "Moko Takabisha
Perfect!"

The blue ball that formed in his hands expanded to cover him
completely as he landed from the jump. Several weapons hit the blue
sphere and bounced off. Punches or kicks that impacted caused the
unlucky attacker to scream in pain from the harder-than-steel barrier.

Ranma felt the field beginning to destabilize, so he cupped his
hands outward and let the field energy pour into a wide blue wave that
he swept from right to left. Some of his opponents managed to leap out
of the way, but many more were struck and thrown backward by the blast.
Ranma came out the move and went on the defensive. [I can't risk another
one of those, it took too much out of me.]

Plus, his confidence waned as he grimly realized they might not
get out of this.





Zhao Len was furious.

What should have been a quick subduing, was turning into a long
drawn out battle that was rapidly turning ugly. Already the boy had used
a Hiryu Shoten Ha and a specialized ki blast that she had never seen
before. The girl was also using moves she didn't recognize.

[I must get both of these two for the tribe!] she decided.

She calmly assessed their strengths and devised a way to end
it. [The girl! She will work fine!] Zhao Len leapt into the battle and
wove her way to Akane. When the gold flames died from around the girl's
body, Zhao moved in and struck the back of her neck with the end of her
staff. She grinned as Akane fell to the ground.

She signaled the Amazons away, then grabbed the girl and called
out, "ENOUGH!"

The battlefield froze. Ranma, breathing hard, looked over at
where the voice was coming from. "Akane!"

"Surrender or this one dies now!" Zhao Len threatened. She hit a
few points over Akane's heart at the same time. Pain fled across the
girl's face before Zhao Len repeated the move. Akane relaxed.

"What did you do, you old crone!?" Ranma growled.

"Simple, I stopped her heart for a few seconds," Zhao Len
explained. "And I can do it again before you can get to me. I am the
only one who knows how to undo it, so don't get any thoughts of killing
me. Surrender and she lives. Fight on and she dies."

Ranma gritted his teeth... and surrendered. Someone approached
from behind and hit a point on his neck. He felt his body go numb as he
dropped to the ground. The were promptly tied up and tossed in the back
of a cart.

As the small army departed, Zhao Len jumped into the cart next
to him. "You did the right thing boy. Keep playing smart, and you and
the little lady here will live through this."

Ranma could only glare as she hit a few more points on his head
and he blacked out completely.