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Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Trials
Chapter 13
It had been several days since she was brought here, and this
was the time she was waiting for. Her wounds were mostly healed, thought
her body was unchanged. Still, she was well enough to travel and that
was the important thing. She desperately wanted to get away, thought she
didn't have any particular ideas on where to go.
Anyplace would be fine as long as she could get away from...
him. It wasn't so much that she hated him, it was just the strange
effect that he seemed to have on her lately. Practically every time she
saw him, he was in the midst of some sort of training excercise while
wearin nothing more than a pair of pants. He did have a nice body, she
was forced to admit, and she always held a certain likeness for males
who practiced martial arts very well. Something else he did well.
So, the combination of martial arts excercises, minus his usual
robe, plus the sweat from the warm sun making his chest glisten, had
caused her own body temperature to rise. It made her want to despise
him even more. It had to be the fault of her current body, she decided.
Steeling herself, Shampoo opened the cabin door and stepped
outside.
The two men running through the weapons drill outside with a
pair of staves, stopped their sparring attacks and turned as one to the
front door of the cabin. They removed their blinfolds as the cat-girl
approached them. She stopped in front on them, though she only addressed
Fen Wu.
"Thank you... for help," she told him in their native Mandarin.
Speaking was still difficult for her hybrid human-cat vocal cords. "Am
healed now and... must go."
The elder weapons master nodded once.
Mousse started, as she had not even acknowledged his presence.
"S-Shan Pu, y-you..."
Her glare cut him off, then she turned and strode into the
forest.
Mousse almost made to follow, when he glanced up at his sensei.
The look he received was almost enough to make abandon that idea. He
could almost hear Fen Wu's voice telling him not to capitulate to a
woman, and be a beaten slave for the rest of his life.
But there was something else that also stopped him from
following. The memories of all his attempts to show Shampoo his love for
her and her rejection of him every single time. He still loved her, but
it had just reached the point where he was about ready to give up. It
was becoming more and more clear that she wouldn't return his feelings.
The thought that he was doomed to fail had finally broken through to
him.
And more than that was the fact that he had attacked her, in
anger, something he had sworn long ago to never do. That had proved
beyond a doubt that, in his mind, he was no longer worthy of her. He
could have fought her anytime and beat her, then claimed her as a wife,
but he didn't want that. He didn't want a wife that loved him only
because he was stronger than her, he wanted her love him because she
chose to.
That's why he didn't take advantage of the incident in Jusendo
when she was trapped in the egg. Instead, he had done what he thought
was the right thing when he gave her the mirror. And yet she still
seemed to despise him.
Without Shampoo, all that was left to him was his training.
He glanced back up at his master and nodded once, putting the
blindfold back on. That's why he didn't see Fen Wu's slight smile of
approval.
Ranma-onna awoke grumpily and rubbed the back of her head. Her
memories of just before she was knocked out came flooding back and she
immediately leapt to her feet, ready to do battle. That's when she
noticed her new surroundings.
It was a steel box, about six feet from wall to wall, and from
floor to ceiling. Two small, barred windows on opposite walls were the
only source of light, and her only way to view the outside world. The
sounds of fighting outside drew her to one of the windows to see what
was going on.
Her eyes widened at the scene. "Akane!" Her fiancee was
fighting a desperate battle against a brown-haired female martial artist
in a reddish-brown gi, and it wasn't going well. Ranma could tell Akane
was favoring her right leg, as if her left was sprained. The shirt and
jean shorts she was wearing were torn in several places, revealing red
welts. There was also a nasty bruise on her right cheek.
"I apologize for your current accomadations, young lady," an old
voice told him, that Ranma recognized as coming from the one called
Hajime. "But we cannot allow you to interfere."
"Why are you doing this!?" Ranma demanded. "What has Akane done
to deserve this!?"
The old man moved so he could be seen in Ranma's limited view.
His face was solemn. "It's not so much what she has done, but what she
has within her. Surely you've seen, in the past few months, how powerful
she has become?"
"Yeah, but that's just `cause I've been trainin' her!" Ranma
countered, a smirk on her face.
The old man shook his head. "Hasn't there been something else?
A technique she uses which turns her body gold?"
Ranma's smirk disappeared. "Yeah, somethin' `bout her mother's
side of the family..."
Hajime's solemn gaze never wavered. "It's a ki amplification
technique, and if it's allowed to run out of control, it could destroy
the world."
Akane knew she didn't have much left. The girl known as Li Chun
was as tough a a fighter as Shampoo. Normally, the raven-haired girl
probably could've taken her, but the Chinese girl was coming in fresh,
where as Akane had already been through two grueling fights. Her ribs
were also a little sore, and she guessed they must be be bruised pretty
bad.
she wondered worridly. As if in reply to
her thoughts, she heard her iinazuke's female voice call her name.
Then there was no more time for thought as she ducked under a
roundhouse kick, wincing with the pain. Still, she ignored it, springing
up with an uppercut that clocked the other girl in the chin, sending her
stumbling back. Akane attempted to follow up on her attack, but found
her legs swept out from underneath her. She hit the ground hard, but
rolled away to avoid her opponent's ax kick.
Akane rolled to her feet. I could really use your help right
now, Ranma!
"You can do it, Akane!" came Ranma-onna's voice again.
And that's when Akane realized something. The spark of her confidence
reignited.
Li Chun kiyah'ed and leapt forward, right foot outstretched.
Akane didn't move, didn't make any motion to dodge. Instead, she
gathered her ki and brought her hands up, her gold aura flaring into
existance.
"Moko Takabisha!"
The other girl was helpless to avoid the attack as the huge
blue fluorescent beam of ki-charged air, laced with gold, slammed into
her. Akane didn't let up, but drove the Chinese girl from the air and
into the ravine wall, cratering it upon Li Chun's impact. Only then did
she cut the attack off, allowing the other girl's body to collapse to
the ground in unconsciousness.
Ranma's jaw nearly disconnected from the rest of her face.
Akane had been getting better at using ki-blasts, but they had always
been basketball-sized spheres that she had been throwing around. For the
first time, Akane had focused all of her ki into huge Shishi Houkodan-
like blast.
The raven-haired martial artist collapsed to one knee,
breathing heavily, as weakness overtook her. She glanced around for
Ranma, but all she saw was an old man in a tan robe standing in front of
a steel cube. Beside him, a youth in faded T-shirt and jeans leaned up
against the cube.
"That is why she must be dealt with," Hajime told Ranma.
Another girl, who appeared slightly younger than Akane, was
standing next to it and glancing at her with much apprehension. She had
long black hair, and was dressed in a green gi. She almost reminded
Akane of Kurumi, except for the hair.
The old one turned to the girl. "Now, Yuni-san. She is ready."
"When I get outta here, you'll be sorry!" Ranma screamed from
inside the steel cube.
The girl glanced at the old man once, and nodded hesitantly.
Walking slowly, she approached the youngest Tendo, but her eyes showed
her reluctance. "I'm sorry about this."
Akane somehow pulled strength from reseviours she didn't know
she had. "I'm not... beat... yet!" She stood slowly, preparing to defend
herself if need be. "Now let Ranma out of there!" She turned to the
younger girl. "I don't want to fight you. Stay out of my way and you
won't get hurt."
For a moment, Yuni hesitated.
"Yuni-san, you know what is at stake," Hajime's calm voice said
from behind her. "You know what has to be done."
The young girl's resolve hardened as she turned back to Akane.
She brought her arms up in an attack position, steeling herself for
battle. Both Ranma and Akane were confused at the action, but knew that
at Akane's current strength, she might not be able to beat the girl.
"You cannot defeat me Tendo-san," Yuni told her. "Please, give
up before you are hurt worse."
"Sorry..." Akane replied, her breathing evening out some. "Not
in... my nature... to give up." She steadied her breathing,
concentrating. "Tora
Dokiken!"
Akane sprinted forward, moving as fast as she could go and
yelling a mighty war cry. Her intent was the scare the girl out of the
way, then bust throught the two men behind her and break the cage.
However, that wasn't what actually happened.
The young boy threw his arms forward and the air rippled in
front him. Akane didn't bother dodging, but instead thrust her right
fist into into as the near-invisible wave reached her, completely
stopping her forward momentum. Her golden aura flared brightly for a
split second, then the wave reversed itself and blasted Takao several
meters backward.
But the wave had done it's job by stopping Akane in her tracks.
Glancing to the left, the raven-haired martial artist
discovered Yuni had stepped out of the way, but she was still was close
enough to touch Akane, and touch her she did. She reached out an arm and
grabbed a hold of the other girl's bare forearm.
And Akane screamed.
By the time Genma and Soun arrived at the scene, the courtyard
of the mental ward was a mess. The perimeter wall had been destroyed in
several places and the other patients were fleeing the scene. Half of
the area was shrouded in smoke, limiting visiblity.
As the duo stepped inside the grounds, they shivered, and
that's when they realized something.
Genma spoke it aloud. "It's cold. And that isn't smoke, it's
mist."
"What happened here?" Soun wondered aloud.
The sounds of fighting echoed in the distance, and the two
martial artists raced off in that direction. It didn't take them long to
find the source of the disturbance, but it wasn't quite what they were
expecting.
First off, scattered parts of the battlefield were frozen in
ice crystals. A huge section of the building wall was destroyed,
reavealing a beautiful middle-aged woman in a blue kimono. She was
apparently pleading with the huge warrior outside to spare her son. And
across from the warrior, was Tatewaki Kuno. His left leg was frozen in
ice up to mid-thigh, though he was attempting to chop away at the ice
with his katana.
Soun raised an eyebrow. "That women is Kuno-san's mother?"
"Apparently so, Tendo," Genma replied. "And I think we got here
just in time."
"Well, time to do our job, Saotome." Soun hefted his naginata
and pointed it at the strange warrior wielding the six-foot long no-
dachi in his right hand. He spoke loud enough to be heard by all. "I
think that's quite enough for one day, young man. You've done enough
damage."
Drakon turned to look at the newcomers, as did Kuno and his
mother. "'Tis is no business of yours, strangers. T'would be best for
thine own health to take leave, while thy hearts still beat in thy
chest."
Genma pushed his glasses up. "I'm afraid we can't do that."
The big man frowned. "I hath been delayed from mine quest too
long. If thou insists on standing in mine path, I shalt have no choice,
but to send thee all to the abyss." He brought his left hand and pointed
the palm at the two men. "Begone!"
"Lookout!" the woman in the blue kimono yelled.
The two martial artists jumped apart as a brilliant blue beam
burst forth from the man's palm, striking the ground where they were
standing. Ice crystals formed rapidly on the surface, and then the
ground exploded in a blast of frozen dirt and ice shards.
Genma launched his attack while still in the air. "Kijin Rashu-
Dan!" The pair of vacuum `blades' streaked rapidly towards their target,
but the big man parried them both with his sword.
Soun hit the ground running, his naginata coming down in an
overhead arc. Again, Drakon parried the attack and the Tendo patriarch
was forced onto the defensive as the bigger warrior counterattacked. The
courtyard rang with the clang of metal, as blow after blow was countered
and parried, but Soun was losing both ground and armor. He couldn't
block all of the blows, and his armor was paying the price.
As he backed against a wall, he ducked, just as Genma barrelled
into Drakon from behind, smashing the other man through the wall and
into the building. Then he helped his old friend up.
"That was pretty poor form, Tendo," Genma commented.
Soun didn't respond right away, but instead glanced down at
what was left of his armor. Numorous gashes had opened along practically
every piece, and a few were now missing. "Well, it is old. As am..." He
paused, then added sadly, "As am I."
Genma realized his friend suddenly looked a lot older, but had
no time to comment. He pulled Soun to the ground and they rolled, as
Drakon's blade came down in an arc intended to split them both in two.
They quickly regained their feet.
"Go help the Kuno boy get free," Genma told Soun. "I'll hold him
off." He turned and assumed an attack posture. Soun took one last look
at his old friend, then went to help Tatewaki.
Drakon hefted his blade. "Dost thou think you canst triumph
against me?"
"Come at me and find out," Genma returned, folding his hands
down and hunching his back ever so slightly.
"Very well." The warrior Rogue charged and cleaved his sword at
Genma, but the other man faded out of sight before the blow could land.
"What the-?" He felt a gentle breeze, then turned and saw his opponent
calmly leaning against wall, holding a green cloak in one hand and a
drab green breast plate laying at his feet.
Drakon then realized the breeze he was feeling was because he
was now naked from the waist up.
He growled and charged once more, but Genma faded out of sight
again, and the bigger man felt several strikes to his back.
Unfortunately, they barely fazed Drakon, who reached behind him and
grabbed his opponent's arm in mid-punch, then flipped him over and
slammed him into the ground.
Genma thrust his legs up into his advesary's gut, but the
attack didn't seem to hurt the other man much. Instead, Drako picked the
elder Saotome up by the arm he was still holding and slammed him through
a wall. Genma then decided it was a good time for a short nap.
His sword held high, Drakon prepared to finish the job. A
flicker of movement in his peripherial vision caused him to abort the
finishing move, however, and deflect the thrown naginata. Behind it,
Tatewaki Kuno and Soun Tendo stood ready to fight, Soun's armor now
discarded, leaving him in his regular brown gi.
"You forgot about us!" Soun yelled.
"The Blue Thunder stands ready!" Kuno challenged.
Drakon growled in frustration. What was supposed to be short trip into Japan to kill the
Lady that held his master bound, was turning into a lengthy ordeal with
those that would presume to stand against him.
His hand brushed against the pouch at his waist, and the orb
that was within. He eyed his two opponents.
He hefted his six foot blade with both hands and stalked toward
his two opponents.
Shampoo spared a glance back as she ran throught the forest,
expecting to see a white duck right behind her, but there was none. Much
to her surprise, Mousse was not following her. Her brow crinkled in
confusion.
She easily leapt over a thicket of bushes and landed
gracefully, not allowing the maneuver to slow her down.
she thought. She slowly began
to think back on all the schemes Mousse had pulled and the lengths to
which he had gone to get her to love him, including trying to to kill
Ranma.
She nearly stopped at that last statement, because several
images flooded her mind's eye. All of them included Shampoo trying to
kill Akane in one way or another, and Ranma protecting Akane, no matter
what the threat to her. The unpleasant thought suddenly occurred to her,
that everything she did to get Ranma, Mousse did the same to get her.
Except he didn't drug her, nor try any mind tricks to trap her into
marriage.
Her eyes clenched shut as the tears began to leak out. She sniffled.
Suddenly, Shampoo felt very alone. She had no one, and because
of her current form, she couldn't go home, either to Nerima or
Joketsuzoku. She would be hounded as a freak in Japan. In the Amazon
village, the girls that had been jealous of her strength would mock fun
of her and the elders would pity her. Her status as Cologne's successor
would drop, and it would reflect on badly her great-grandmother as well.
So where could she go? Who would accept her?
The answer came almost immediately: Mousse. He hadn't been
repulsed by her appearence, and in his own stupid way, was trying to
help her and look out for her.
She violently shoved that thought out her head, since she
wasn't ready to deal with it, and instead concentrated on her current
surroundings.
That's when she noticed she had been running on all fours for
quite awhile, and moving very quickly at that. She stopped suddenly,
becoming aware that while she had this body, she hadn't really
considered what it could do. She knew she was quicker and more agile,
but she also knew it wasn't as tough as her old human form.
I think some training is in order, she decided at last. It
would take her mind off her current troubles, and put it back into more
familiar territory: combat.
Bracing herself, she easily leapt to a tree branch and shot off
through the forest, leaping from tree to tree.
"You want us to what!?" came the stereo reply.
Yuri sighed. "I said I want you two to work together in my
absence."
Neko and Kazao looked at each other uneasily, each wondering
whether their new clan leader had finally lost it.
"Are you sure about this, Yuri-chan?" Neko asked, turning back
to her friend.
"Yes," the young Soyokaze girl replied. "I'm leaving to search
for my brother. He's the last of my family I have left, I'm not going to
lose him." She turned slightly to gaze out the window. "In additon, we
both know I'll be relatively ineffectual as a leader until this matter
is cleared up."
"It doesn't matter what you find," Kazao commented. "You don't
have the support of the whole clan to be an effective leader."
Yuri shook her head. "You're right. If Neko is right, only
about half of them will follow me, and that's just because Oka chose me
as her successor." She fixed the elder ninja with a steely gaze.
"However, you have the support of nearly half the clan. With Neko and
Satsu as my representatives, if you were to work together, it would go a
long way towards solidification."
Kazao examined his fingernails casually. "What makes you think
I won't take over completely while you're away?"
"Because you know I'd bring any and all resources to bear
against you," she told him. "We're a small clan, and a civil war would
destroy us. I know you care about the clan as much as anyone else, so I
know you won't want to see it destroyed."
Neko nodded in admiration, and even Kazao seemed taken aback by
the young ninja woman's stance. It seemed she had matured greatly in the
past few days since Kenji's disappearence and Oka's death. It was a
great change, but Neko suspected that Konatsu's support had really been
the clincher.
"Very well, for this, we are in agreement," Kazao told her
gruffly, then turned and left.
Neko watched him go with a smirk on her face, then turned to
address her friend. "When will you be leaving? And where will you go?"
"Later today, Selah, Konatsu, and I will head back to Nerima,"
Yuri said. "We have friends there that might help us." She smiled and
embraced the other woman. "Take care, and be sure to keep Kazao in-
line."
"I will," she replied. "You take care as well. And good luck."
Selah sat at her campsite, thinking. They were going after
Kenji, and while that should have made her happy, something felt wrong.
She had missing her mother terribly lately and wondered what
had become of her. She did promise to be strong for her mom, but she had
broken that promise several times already. She just felt so lost, which
was why she attached herself so hard to Kenji. She needed someone to
take of her and look out for her.
In the few months she spent with him, it had become somewhat
clear he didn't feel the same way about her. So maybe that's why this
didn't feel right. Regardless of whether they found him or not, he still
wouldn't love her, and she still wouldn't have her mother.
Alone, under the forest canopy, Selah broke her promise again
and cried.
Find my stories at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000
Ranma 1/2: New Challenges
Trials
Chapter 13
It had been several days since she was brought here, and this
was the time she was waiting for. Her wounds were mostly healed, thought
her body was unchanged. Still, she was well enough to travel and that
was the important thing. She desperately wanted to get away, thought she
didn't have any particular ideas on where to go.
Anyplace would be fine as long as she could get away from...
him. It wasn't so much that she hated him, it was just the strange
effect that he seemed to have on her lately. Practically every time she
saw him, he was in the midst of some sort of training excercise while
wearin nothing more than a pair of pants. He did have a nice body, she
was forced to admit, and she always held a certain likeness for males
who practiced martial arts very well. Something else he did well.
So, the combination of martial arts excercises, minus his usual
robe, plus the sweat from the warm sun making his chest glisten, had
caused her own body temperature to rise. It made her want to despise
him even more. It had to be the fault of her current body, she decided.
Steeling herself, Shampoo opened the cabin door and stepped
outside.
The two men running through the weapons drill outside with a
pair of staves, stopped their sparring attacks and turned as one to the
front door of the cabin. They removed their blinfolds as the cat-girl
approached them. She stopped in front on them, though she only addressed
Fen Wu.
"Thank you... for help," she told him in their native Mandarin.
Speaking was still difficult for her hybrid human-cat vocal cords. "Am
healed now and... must go."
The elder weapons master nodded once.
Mousse started, as she had not even acknowledged his presence.
"S-Shan Pu, y-you..."
Her glare cut him off, then she turned and strode into the
forest.
Mousse almost made to follow, when he glanced up at his sensei.
The look he received was almost enough to make abandon that idea. He
could almost hear Fen Wu's voice telling him not to capitulate to a
woman, and be a beaten slave for the rest of his life.
But there was something else that also stopped him from
following. The memories of all his attempts to show Shampoo his love for
her and her rejection of him every single time. He still loved her, but
it had just reached the point where he was about ready to give up. It
was becoming more and more clear that she wouldn't return his feelings.
The thought that he was doomed to fail had finally broken through to
him.
And more than that was the fact that he had attacked her, in
anger, something he had sworn long ago to never do. That had proved
beyond a doubt that, in his mind, he was no longer worthy of her. He
could have fought her anytime and beat her, then claimed her as a wife,
but he didn't want that. He didn't want a wife that loved him only
because he was stronger than her, he wanted her love him because she
chose to.
That's why he didn't take advantage of the incident in Jusendo
when she was trapped in the egg. Instead, he had done what he thought
was the right thing when he gave her the mirror. And yet she still
seemed to despise him.
Without Shampoo, all that was left to him was his training.
He glanced back up at his master and nodded once, putting the
blindfold back on. That's why he didn't see Fen Wu's slight smile of
approval.
Ranma-onna awoke grumpily and rubbed the back of her head. Her
memories of just before she was knocked out came flooding back and she
immediately leapt to her feet, ready to do battle. That's when she
noticed her new surroundings.
It was a steel box, about six feet from wall to wall, and from
floor to ceiling. Two small, barred windows on opposite walls were the
only source of light, and her only way to view the outside world. The
sounds of fighting outside drew her to one of the windows to see what
was going on.
Her eyes widened at the scene. "Akane!" Her fiancee was
fighting a desperate battle against a brown-haired female martial artist
in a reddish-brown gi, and it wasn't going well. Ranma could tell Akane
was favoring her right leg, as if her left was sprained. The shirt and
jean shorts she was wearing were torn in several places, revealing red
welts. There was also a nasty bruise on her right cheek.
"I apologize for your current accomadations, young lady," an old
voice told him, that Ranma recognized as coming from the one called
Hajime. "But we cannot allow you to interfere."
"Why are you doing this!?" Ranma demanded. "What has Akane done
to deserve this!?"
The old man moved so he could be seen in Ranma's limited view.
His face was solemn. "It's not so much what she has done, but what she
has within her. Surely you've seen, in the past few months, how powerful
she has become?"
"Yeah, but that's just `cause I've been trainin' her!" Ranma
countered, a smirk on her face.
The old man shook his head. "Hasn't there been something else?
A technique she uses which turns her body gold?"
Ranma's smirk disappeared. "Yeah, somethin' `bout her mother's
side of the family..."
Hajime's solemn gaze never wavered. "It's a ki amplification
technique, and if it's allowed to run out of control, it could destroy
the world."
Akane knew she didn't have much left. The girl known as Li Chun
was as tough a a fighter as Shampoo. Normally, the raven-haired girl
probably could've taken her, but the Chinese girl was coming in fresh,
where as Akane had already been through two grueling fights. Her ribs
were also a little sore, and she guessed they must be be bruised pretty
bad.
she wondered worridly. As if in reply to
her thoughts, she heard her iinazuke's female voice call her name.
Then there was no more time for thought as she ducked under a
roundhouse kick, wincing with the pain. Still, she ignored it, springing
up with an uppercut that clocked the other girl in the chin, sending her
stumbling back. Akane attempted to follow up on her attack, but found
her legs swept out from underneath her. She hit the ground hard, but
rolled away to avoid her opponent's ax kick.
Akane rolled to her feet. I could really use your help right
now, Ranma!
"You can do it, Akane!" came Ranma-onna's voice again.
And that's when Akane realized something. The spark of her confidence
reignited.
Li Chun kiyah'ed and leapt forward, right foot outstretched.
Akane didn't move, didn't make any motion to dodge. Instead, she
gathered her ki and brought her hands up, her gold aura flaring into
existance.
"Moko Takabisha!"
The other girl was helpless to avoid the attack as the huge
blue fluorescent beam of ki-charged air, laced with gold, slammed into
her. Akane didn't let up, but drove the Chinese girl from the air and
into the ravine wall, cratering it upon Li Chun's impact. Only then did
she cut the attack off, allowing the other girl's body to collapse to
the ground in unconsciousness.
Ranma's jaw nearly disconnected from the rest of her face.
Akane had been getting better at using ki-blasts, but they had always
been basketball-sized spheres that she had been throwing around. For the
first time, Akane had focused all of her ki into huge Shishi Houkodan-
like blast.
The raven-haired martial artist collapsed to one knee,
breathing heavily, as weakness overtook her. She glanced around for
Ranma, but all she saw was an old man in a tan robe standing in front of
a steel cube. Beside him, a youth in faded T-shirt and jeans leaned up
against the cube.
"That is why she must be dealt with," Hajime told Ranma.
Another girl, who appeared slightly younger than Akane, was
standing next to it and glancing at her with much apprehension. She had
long black hair, and was dressed in a green gi. She almost reminded
Akane of Kurumi, except for the hair.
The old one turned to the girl. "Now, Yuni-san. She is ready."
"When I get outta here, you'll be sorry!" Ranma screamed from
inside the steel cube.
The girl glanced at the old man once, and nodded hesitantly.
Walking slowly, she approached the youngest Tendo, but her eyes showed
her reluctance. "I'm sorry about this."
Akane somehow pulled strength from reseviours she didn't know
she had. "I'm not... beat... yet!" She stood slowly, preparing to defend
herself if need be. "Now let Ranma out of there!" She turned to the
younger girl. "I don't want to fight you. Stay out of my way and you
won't get hurt."
For a moment, Yuni hesitated.
"Yuni-san, you know what is at stake," Hajime's calm voice said
from behind her. "You know what has to be done."
The young girl's resolve hardened as she turned back to Akane.
She brought her arms up in an attack position, steeling herself for
battle. Both Ranma and Akane were confused at the action, but knew that
at Akane's current strength, she might not be able to beat the girl.
"You cannot defeat me Tendo-san," Yuni told her. "Please, give
up before you are hurt worse."
"Sorry..." Akane replied, her breathing evening out some. "Not
in... my nature... to give up." She steadied her breathing,
concentrating. "Tora
Dokiken!"
Akane sprinted forward, moving as fast as she could go and
yelling a mighty war cry. Her intent was the scare the girl out of the
way, then bust throught the two men behind her and break the cage.
However, that wasn't what actually happened.
The young boy threw his arms forward and the air rippled in
front him. Akane didn't bother dodging, but instead thrust her right
fist into into as the near-invisible wave reached her, completely
stopping her forward momentum. Her golden aura flared brightly for a
split second, then the wave reversed itself and blasted Takao several
meters backward.
But the wave had done it's job by stopping Akane in her tracks.
Glancing to the left, the raven-haired martial artist
discovered Yuni had stepped out of the way, but she was still was close
enough to touch Akane, and touch her she did. She reached out an arm and
grabbed a hold of the other girl's bare forearm.
And Akane screamed.
By the time Genma and Soun arrived at the scene, the courtyard
of the mental ward was a mess. The perimeter wall had been destroyed in
several places and the other patients were fleeing the scene. Half of
the area was shrouded in smoke, limiting visiblity.
As the duo stepped inside the grounds, they shivered, and
that's when they realized something.
Genma spoke it aloud. "It's cold. And that isn't smoke, it's
mist."
"What happened here?" Soun wondered aloud.
The sounds of fighting echoed in the distance, and the two
martial artists raced off in that direction. It didn't take them long to
find the source of the disturbance, but it wasn't quite what they were
expecting.
First off, scattered parts of the battlefield were frozen in
ice crystals. A huge section of the building wall was destroyed,
reavealing a beautiful middle-aged woman in a blue kimono. She was
apparently pleading with the huge warrior outside to spare her son. And
across from the warrior, was Tatewaki Kuno. His left leg was frozen in
ice up to mid-thigh, though he was attempting to chop away at the ice
with his katana.
Soun raised an eyebrow. "That women is Kuno-san's mother?"
"Apparently so, Tendo," Genma replied. "And I think we got here
just in time."
"Well, time to do our job, Saotome." Soun hefted his naginata
and pointed it at the strange warrior wielding the six-foot long no-
dachi in his right hand. He spoke loud enough to be heard by all. "I
think that's quite enough for one day, young man. You've done enough
damage."
Drakon turned to look at the newcomers, as did Kuno and his
mother. "'Tis is no business of yours, strangers. T'would be best for
thine own health to take leave, while thy hearts still beat in thy
chest."
Genma pushed his glasses up. "I'm afraid we can't do that."
The big man frowned. "I hath been delayed from mine quest too
long. If thou insists on standing in mine path, I shalt have no choice,
but to send thee all to the abyss." He brought his left hand and pointed
the palm at the two men. "Begone!"
"Lookout!" the woman in the blue kimono yelled.
The two martial artists jumped apart as a brilliant blue beam
burst forth from the man's palm, striking the ground where they were
standing. Ice crystals formed rapidly on the surface, and then the
ground exploded in a blast of frozen dirt and ice shards.
Genma launched his attack while still in the air. "Kijin Rashu-
Dan!" The pair of vacuum `blades' streaked rapidly towards their target,
but the big man parried them both with his sword.
Soun hit the ground running, his naginata coming down in an
overhead arc. Again, Drakon parried the attack and the Tendo patriarch
was forced onto the defensive as the bigger warrior counterattacked. The
courtyard rang with the clang of metal, as blow after blow was countered
and parried, but Soun was losing both ground and armor. He couldn't
block all of the blows, and his armor was paying the price.
As he backed against a wall, he ducked, just as Genma barrelled
into Drakon from behind, smashing the other man through the wall and
into the building. Then he helped his old friend up.
"That was pretty poor form, Tendo," Genma commented.
Soun didn't respond right away, but instead glanced down at
what was left of his armor. Numorous gashes had opened along practically
every piece, and a few were now missing. "Well, it is old. As am..." He
paused, then added sadly, "As am I."
Genma realized his friend suddenly looked a lot older, but had
no time to comment. He pulled Soun to the ground and they rolled, as
Drakon's blade came down in an arc intended to split them both in two.
They quickly regained their feet.
"Go help the Kuno boy get free," Genma told Soun. "I'll hold him
off." He turned and assumed an attack posture. Soun took one last look
at his old friend, then went to help Tatewaki.
Drakon hefted his blade. "Dost thou think you canst triumph
against me?"
"Come at me and find out," Genma returned, folding his hands
down and hunching his back ever so slightly.
"Very well." The warrior Rogue charged and cleaved his sword at
Genma, but the other man faded out of sight before the blow could land.
"What the-?" He felt a gentle breeze, then turned and saw his opponent
calmly leaning against wall, holding a green cloak in one hand and a
drab green breast plate laying at his feet.
Drakon then realized the breeze he was feeling was because he
was now naked from the waist up.
He growled and charged once more, but Genma faded out of sight
again, and the bigger man felt several strikes to his back.
Unfortunately, they barely fazed Drakon, who reached behind him and
grabbed his opponent's arm in mid-punch, then flipped him over and
slammed him into the ground.
Genma thrust his legs up into his advesary's gut, but the
attack didn't seem to hurt the other man much. Instead, Drako picked the
elder Saotome up by the arm he was still holding and slammed him through
a wall. Genma then decided it was a good time for a short nap.
His sword held high, Drakon prepared to finish the job. A
flicker of movement in his peripherial vision caused him to abort the
finishing move, however, and deflect the thrown naginata. Behind it,
Tatewaki Kuno and Soun Tendo stood ready to fight, Soun's armor now
discarded, leaving him in his regular brown gi.
"You forgot about us!" Soun yelled.
"The Blue Thunder stands ready!" Kuno challenged.
Drakon growled in frustration. What was supposed to be short trip into Japan to kill the
Lady that held his master bound, was turning into a lengthy ordeal with
those that would presume to stand against him.
His hand brushed against the pouch at his waist, and the orb
that was within. He eyed his two opponents.
He hefted his six foot blade with both hands and stalked toward
his two opponents.
Shampoo spared a glance back as she ran throught the forest,
expecting to see a white duck right behind her, but there was none. Much
to her surprise, Mousse was not following her. Her brow crinkled in
confusion.
She easily leapt over a thicket of bushes and landed
gracefully, not allowing the maneuver to slow her down.
she thought. She slowly began
to think back on all the schemes Mousse had pulled and the lengths to
which he had gone to get her to love him, including trying to to kill
Ranma.
She nearly stopped at that last statement, because several
images flooded her mind's eye. All of them included Shampoo trying to
kill Akane in one way or another, and Ranma protecting Akane, no matter
what the threat to her. The unpleasant thought suddenly occurred to her,
that everything she did to get Ranma, Mousse did the same to get her.
Except he didn't drug her, nor try any mind tricks to trap her into
marriage.
Her eyes clenched shut as the tears began to leak out. She sniffled.
Suddenly, Shampoo felt very alone. She had no one, and because
of her current form, she couldn't go home, either to Nerima or
Joketsuzoku. She would be hounded as a freak in Japan. In the Amazon
village, the girls that had been jealous of her strength would mock fun
of her and the elders would pity her. Her status as Cologne's successor
would drop, and it would reflect on badly her great-grandmother as well.
So where could she go? Who would accept her?
The answer came almost immediately: Mousse. He hadn't been
repulsed by her appearence, and in his own stupid way, was trying to
help her and look out for her.
She violently shoved that thought out her head, since she
wasn't ready to deal with it, and instead concentrated on her current
surroundings.
That's when she noticed she had been running on all fours for
quite awhile, and moving very quickly at that. She stopped suddenly,
becoming aware that while she had this body, she hadn't really
considered what it could do. She knew she was quicker and more agile,
but she also knew it wasn't as tough as her old human form.
I think some training is in order, she decided at last. It
would take her mind off her current troubles, and put it back into more
familiar territory: combat.
Bracing herself, she easily leapt to a tree branch and shot off
through the forest, leaping from tree to tree.
"You want us to what!?" came the stereo reply.
Yuri sighed. "I said I want you two to work together in my
absence."
Neko and Kazao looked at each other uneasily, each wondering
whether their new clan leader had finally lost it.
"Are you sure about this, Yuri-chan?" Neko asked, turning back
to her friend.
"Yes," the young Soyokaze girl replied. "I'm leaving to search
for my brother. He's the last of my family I have left, I'm not going to
lose him." She turned slightly to gaze out the window. "In additon, we
both know I'll be relatively ineffectual as a leader until this matter
is cleared up."
"It doesn't matter what you find," Kazao commented. "You don't
have the support of the whole clan to be an effective leader."
Yuri shook her head. "You're right. If Neko is right, only
about half of them will follow me, and that's just because Oka chose me
as her successor." She fixed the elder ninja with a steely gaze.
"However, you have the support of nearly half the clan. With Neko and
Satsu as my representatives, if you were to work together, it would go a
long way towards solidification."
Kazao examined his fingernails casually. "What makes you think
I won't take over completely while you're away?"
"Because you know I'd bring any and all resources to bear
against you," she told him. "We're a small clan, and a civil war would
destroy us. I know you care about the clan as much as anyone else, so I
know you won't want to see it destroyed."
Neko nodded in admiration, and even Kazao seemed taken aback by
the young ninja woman's stance. It seemed she had matured greatly in the
past few days since Kenji's disappearence and Oka's death. It was a
great change, but Neko suspected that Konatsu's support had really been
the clincher.
"Very well, for this, we are in agreement," Kazao told her
gruffly, then turned and left.
Neko watched him go with a smirk on her face, then turned to
address her friend. "When will you be leaving? And where will you go?"
"Later today, Selah, Konatsu, and I will head back to Nerima,"
Yuri said. "We have friends there that might help us." She smiled and
embraced the other woman. "Take care, and be sure to keep Kazao in-
line."
"I will," she replied. "You take care as well. And good luck."
Selah sat at her campsite, thinking. They were going after
Kenji, and while that should have made her happy, something felt wrong.
She had missing her mother terribly lately and wondered what
had become of her. She did promise to be strong for her mom, but she had
broken that promise several times already. She just felt so lost, which
was why she attached herself so hard to Kenji. She needed someone to
take of her and look out for her.
In the few months she spent with him, it had become somewhat
clear he didn't feel the same way about her. So maybe that's why this
didn't feel right. Regardless of whether they found him or not, he still
wouldn't love her, and she still wouldn't have her mother.
Alone, under the forest canopy, Selah broke her promise again
and cried.