PART 2
What's happened so far: Jeff Anderson, a 20 year old telekinetic 'retiring' super hero, has come to Nerima for reasons involving a dead colleague and Mishima Heavy Industries. He has arranged a cover as a student teacher at Furinkan High School. He's met the Tendo family, Ranma's male form, Ukyo and Kuno. He's renting time in the Tendo training hall to keep himself in shape. He's also seen a couple of things he considers weird involving girls on bicycles moving at ridiculous speeds. Jeff is waiting for something. While he's waiting, someone else decides to introduce themselves first...
-----
"Ranma! PREPARE TO DIE!"
I hear this and my body instantly kicks over to combat mode. The voice is from behind and above me. I shove Ranma to the right and use the recoil to move left, turning as I go. I see young man in a yellow shirt, black pants and a yellow and black bandana. Raised high over his head in his right hand is an... umbrella??? He's about 6 meters off the ground at this point and falling fast.
Ranma turns my shove into a shoulder roll and comes up facing the attacker. Meanwhile the newcomer smashes his... umbrella... into the sidewalk between himself and Ranma, kicking up debris. I throw up a repeller field in front of Ranma, deflecting the shrapnel to the ground. Flying and the repeller field are the only two TK tricks I can do by reflex, without having to concentrate or see what I'm affecting. At least they're useful tricks.
With an exasperated sigh, Ranma says, "All right Ryoga, what I do this time?"
Neither of them notice the altered trajectories. 'Ryoga' doesn't notice me moving to his blind side either. This guy obviously has super-human strength and I'm not going to worry about hurting him if he's trying to kill Ranma. I drop the repeller field and reset it around myself for protection.
Ryoga charges Ranma, thrusting and swinging his umbrella wildly. Ranma is calmly dodging the attacks as he did with Kuno's much faster strikes yesterday.
"Stand still damn you, so I can kill you for what you did to Akane!" shouts Ryoga, punctuating every word with a swing of his umbrella. At this end of this accusation, Ranma suffers a surprise break much as Akane did during our sparring match. I just hope it isn't fatal. Ryoga's blow lifts Ranma into the air and slams him into the school wall.
Damn, damn, damn me. No staff, no shuriken, no body armor, no smoke bombs, no first aid kit, not even a roll of duct tape. I swear, after this fight I'll never leave home unarmed. Of course, I said that day my son was born too. I run up behind Ryoga, plant my left foot and put my right heel into the middle of his back to the best of my ability. I crushed three of Nightblade's vertebrae and paralyzed her with a similar move.
Ryoga must be a lot tougher than Nightblade. He takes the blow, stumbles forward a few steps, turns to me and shouts, "Who the hell are you?!?"
"You're not killing anybody!" I shout. Behind him, I see Ranma pry himself out of the wall.
"Stay out of this!" This comes from both Ranma and Ryoga. Although for what I hope are different reasons.
"No way," I inform them as I review techniques for taking out people with super human strength. Don't let them hit you and keep them off balance. In this case add separate the weapon from the weapon user. The last is not a problem as Ryoga flicks open his umbrella and spins it at me like some giant top. I use a repeller field to guide it away from me. The feedback tells me that it must weigh over 65 kilograms. Another item to place in the weird file.
While I've been dealing with the umbrella, Ryoga and Ranma have gone into close combat. Ranma is as fast on offense as he is on defense, but Ryoga doesn't seem to be feeling the blows. They are both shouting at one another, but I can't make out the words as I approach the two of them.
Ryoga performs a block that knocks Ranma back a few feet. He then thrusts a glowing finger at the sidewalk and screams, "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" This time, I'm surprised at what happens. The sidewalk explodes like it was hit with a small mortar. My repeller field protects me and I can see Ranma's hands swatting away shrapnel while dodging the larger chunks. Still, his clothes get shredded and he takes some small cuts.
Enough is enough. I have to stop this guy, even if it blows my cover. I drop the repeller field so I can put it somewhere it'll do some good. Before I reset it, Ranma closes the gap between them while shouting, "KACCHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"
I suffer another surprise break as I see Ranma's arms blur into motion. Wiggle a pen between your thumb and index finger. You'll see an image of the pen at the top and bottom of it's arc with a blur in the middle. If you do that in front a television or computer screen, the blur resolves itself into a group of false images. In this case I don't think any of the images I saw were false. Each one was a solid punch to Ryoga's midsection. He finishes with a shot that knocks Ryoga back. I focus my telekinesis and achieve a lock on him. Using over 700 kilos of lift, I join with the force of Ranma's punch and throw him over the school wall. Unfortunately, when he leaves my line of sight, I lose my telekinetic hold on him.
I turn to Ranma, who seems confused.
"I didn't hit him that hard. No way," he says quietly.
"Ranma, are you all right? Ranma!?" I look over him over. None of his wounds are bleeding badly, but he does look a little shocky.
He shakes his head hard, and seems more focused than a moment ago. By this time some of the crowd that had gathered to watch the fight come over to check out the damage. Ukyo dashes up with her giant spatula held at the ready like a weapon. Akane is a few steps behind her.
"Ran-chan, what happened?" Ukyo pleads.
"Later. Take him to the nurse. NOW!" I state in a flat voice. She puts her shoulder under his and they start off to the school doors.
Akane grimaces at Ukyo and Ranma before turning to me and asking, "Sensei, what happened?"
"Some lunatic attacked Ranma!" I don't tell her anymore because by this time I'm half way to the wall I threw Ryoga over. If I'm lucky, he's hurt and hasn't got far. I jump the wall with my repeller field up and ready for trouble.
Landing, I see a divot in the ground where Ryoga must have landed. I find a dent in the ground near where I crossed the wall, but no sign of Ryoga. I run to the nearest intersection and hope for the best. Straight, nothing. Right, nothing. Left, huh? About 20 meters down the road I see a large backpack and a pile of clothing that includes a pair of black pants and a yellow shirt. He stopped to change clothes? In the middle of the street?? I search some more but only find a couple of small kids playing with water pistols in a nearby alley.
I grab the clothes, stuff them into the backpack, lug it back to the school and heave the whole mess to the top of the wall. It's a very heavy pack, almost as if there were weights in it just to make it heavier. I glance around before jumping over the wall myself. I note that the umbrella is not where I left it. Nothing I can do about that now. I head to the nurse's office to check up on Ranma.
Poor guy. I don't have a scratch on me. Ranma looked like hell when I left. I give Ryoga the best shot I can without using my powers, and he barely notices. Ranma shouts something about chestnuts and beats the stuffing out of him. I've felt outclassed before in the hero business, but seldom so badly. Going to have to do something in case this Ryoga guy shows again. Doesn't surprise me that Ranma and Ryoga are meta-humans though. We're popping up all over the place these days.
My body is on auto-pilot while I think about what I should have done during the fight. I second guess myself a lot when I make a showing as poor as this one. I reach the nurse's office before I'm ready to deal with everything, but go in anyway. I drop the backpack inside the office door before looking around. I don't see the nurse, but I do see Nabiki and Ukyo doing a professional job of cleaning and bandaging Ranma's wounds. Including a lump on his head that wasn't there when I saw him last. I'm certified to teach First Aid, and if I wasn't in Japan, I'd be finishing an EMT certification course right now. Wish I was home instead of here, or Canada instead of here, or anywhere instead of here, but I owe Fastball... dammit Rich... this.
Ranma is awake and alert, putting up with the bandaging with good humor. "Hey sensei! Are you O.K?" he inquires.
"That's my line, Ranma," I respond in a voice I barely recognize as my own.
"Aw, don't worry, I'm a martial artist. I get worse than this all the time."
"I saw your face at the end of that fight, you were _not_ all right"
He smile fades a bit. "Well... that's cause of my last punch. I _know_ I didn't hit him hard enough ta knock him over the wall. He musta been jumpin' back or sumthin'."
It's the 'or something', but I don't tell him that. The nurse shows up, compliments Nabiki and Ukyo on their work and gives Ukyo a hall pass so she can get back to class. Nabiki sticks around as she spends time down here as a nurse's aide a few hours a week. The nurse leaves to attend to a girl with a fever, so I bring up what's on my mind.
"Looks like you'll live. So, Ranma, you want tell me what all this was about?" I ask.
"I'd rather not," he says, his glance shifting between myself and Nabiki.
Nabiki pipes in, "I could tell you all about it for 1500 yen."
I give Nabiki my blackest look. She doesn't rattle a bit. Her English is better than my Japanese, so I switch languages. "Tendo-san, one day you may either sell information that isn't yours to sell and get killed for your trouble or try to sell information to someone who'll decide it's easier to kill you than deal with you. Either way, you wind up dead."
"Is that a threat Anderson-sensei?" she inquires icily.
"Merely the observation of someone who has seen more dead people than you."
She doesn't change expression, but does leave. Ranma seems to relax slightly when she does. I change mental gears back to Japanese.
"You know Ranma, I met Nabiki last Saturday when I first got here. She made a great first impression. Tuesday, when I bought time at the dojo, she made a good second impression. But yesterday, she offered to _sell_ me information on why Kuno was absent, and just now she offered to sell me personal information about you. Right in front of you!"
Ranma sighs and looks as thoughtful as I've seen him during our brief acquaintance. "She don't mean nuthin' bad by it... and it don't really hurt me."
I think about emotional harm as compared to physical harm. And about how much longer it takes to recover from emotional harm. My language skills aren't up to the challenge of explaining that. Something I'll have to work on. Besides, I think Ranma would rather receive a hundred beatings than talk about his feelings. I remember how bad I was at his age. So I fall back on habit and change the subject. "Now that the audience is gone, what was the fight about?"
The way Ranma explains it, he considers Ryoga a 'friendly rival'. Ryoga attacks Ranma over a list of grievances, mostly imaginary from what I can tell, and Ranma tolerates it because Ryoga is one of the few people who can give him a good fight. Personally, I think the whole thing is insane.
"Ranma, if _anyone_ screams 'Prepare to die!' around me, I am going to treat it seriously. Ryoga looked ready, willing and able to kill you."
"Aw, it was nuthin'. Ryoga wasn't _really_ try'n ta kill me."
"Didn't look like it. What if it had been someone you didn't know?" I try reasoning.
"It is, usually"
"Huh?"
"I'm heir ta the 'Anything Goes' School of Martial Arts. People are attack'n me or try'n ta marry me all the time. Actually, it's been kinda quiet this week."
This is a quiet week? His life must be more messed up than mine. Even though I'm in Japan for another reason, I'm glad I've met Ranma. As mean as it may sound, it's nice to be on the outside of a problem for a change.
'Click.'
The sound of a camera gets my attention, but it's just Nabiki taking a picture of me and Ranma. As I turn to face her, she takes another picture.
'Click.'
"Please don't do that," I tell Nabiki, "I don't like having my picture taken." She points the camera squarely at me.
'Click.'
"I'm serious. Don't do that."
Adjusting the focus, Nabiki grins and shoots another frame. 'Click'
Before she can so much as flinch, I snatch the camera out of her hands.
"Hey! Give that back. That thing costs money!" Nabiki yells heatedly.
"How much?" I ask, trying to keep my voice level.
"7500 yen plus tax," she answers, surprised at my question.
Focusing my TK, I crush the camera in my hands. I could have done it without it, but the TK makes it easier and much less messy. While Nabiki looks at the results, I toss them in the nearest wastebasket and reach for my wallet. Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. "Here's 10,000 yen for the camera, the tax, the film and the time it'll take to replace it. _Never_ take my picture again." I hope she remembers what I told her about selling things that aren't hers.
She grabs the money, gives me a look that just _screams_ 'This isn't over' and leaves in a huff. Maybe I should have just exposed the film, but hopefully this will get the message across a little clearer.
"Ya know, there are times I've _really_ wanted ta do that," states Ranma, who has risen from his cot. "But I can't afford the camera."
"It was worth it."
I tell Ranma that I'll be at the dojo a bit after school as I want to stop at Ukyo's restaurant for some food first. Okonomiyaki. Who knew? I get a note from the nurse and return to my class before Nabiki can return and do something else that pisses me off. Damn. Forgot to ask Ranma about that bump on his head, the camera thing distracted me.
-----
I bike to Ucchan's after classes and wait for Ukyo to arrive. I'm not the only one waiting. A few other students are here with a smattering of 'salary men' and a few others. There are a some uncomfortable looks from the crowd, but I'm used to that sort of thing from the natives by now. Japan is surprisingly insular despite, or perhaps because of, it's modern technology.
After a bit, Ukyo unlocks the door and the crowd streams in. It looks like a one woman operation as she's running the grill and the counter and everything else. Busting a hump too. I wait until the first rush is over, buy two beef and a pork okonomiyaki and enjoy the best food I've had since I got to Japan. I thank Ukyo for the meal and ride over to the Tendo dojo. The sky darkens and it looks like it may rain soon.
Akane lets me in and I see no sign of Nabiki, which is good because I really would rather not put up with her right now. She seems determined to get on my bad side. As we walk toward the dojo, Akane asks if I would like to spar again.
"After my workout, sure." I tell her and she gives me this wonderful smile. "But first, I need half an hour alone in the dojo for my practice."
"Do you need anything?"
"Just the dojo and some quiet."
"Well... you can have the dojo, the quiet might be harder to get."
I laugh as we enter the dojo. Ranma is there, performing a complex kata, while an older man sits and observes. Considering how he looked at lunch time, he looks much better now, with only a few bandages remaining. I wouldn't say that Ranma is flowing through the kata, he's far too fast for that, but I have no trouble imagining a swarm of attackers falling to the punches and kicks that Ranma is tossing off. The kata ends and Ranma introduces me (grudgingly) to his father.
Saotome Genma is probably the largest Japanese man I've seen who isn't a wrestler of some sort. I'm guessing his age at around 45 or so, and he's looks in pretty good condition except for a case of middle age spread.
"Have you come to challenge my son?" Genma asks me after the introductions are finished.
"No Saotome-san, I'm just here to practice in the dojo."
"What form do you use?" he inquires, looking me over.
"No form Saotome-san. It's just something I've come up with that works for me." Actually, I wasn't here to practice fighting. My strength maintenance routine requires a lot more free space than is available in my rented room. More privacy too. Plenty of both here if I get everyone to leave.
"Hmm... Perhaps you could spar with Ranma then."
"I've already promised Akane I'd spar with her after my workout."
"Un!" Akane adds, smiling.
Ranma looks at her as if noticing something different about her.
"Well perhaps after that."
"Maybe," I say, trying to think of a polite way to get everyone out of here. Akane saves me.
"I'm going to do my homework now. Call me when you're ready."
"Sure thing." Akane leaves, followed by a thoughtful Ranma and his father. Rain begins rattling on the dojo roof as I take off my T-shirt and toss it in the corner. I set up practice dummies in front of the doors to give me a moments notice in case anyone enters. I bow to the dojo sign and the tatami then walk to the center of the mat.
I gather my power and will, drawing my telekinetic ability into a repeller sphere around me. Concentrating, I rise from the mat, slowly drifting to the center of the room. Once I'm there, I increase the pressure until I feel like a fly trapped in amber. Slowly, I begin to curl and stretch my arms and legs against the pressure, a workout with every motion. Sweat runs from my pores only to be caught in the repeller field and bounced around until it evaporates.
After 10 minutes of this, I cut the sphere and drop to the floor. I rest for a minute and then back to it for another 5 minutes. Rest and then 5 more minutes. I don't have a name for this, but it incorporates some of the techniques of dynamic tension. It's also exhausting both physically and mentally. I burn half of my daily supply of telekinetic energy and can barely stand when I'm done. I finish with some stretches and get my wind back.
I can't say that I really like this routine, but I can't argue with the results. I get strength and muscle mass without a lot of bulk to slow me down. I may not look that strong, but I can bench 350 kilos, which is a bit over 4 times my mass. I wonder how strong Ryoga is? Super-human for sure considering he was 6 meters in the air when I first saw him. No normal human can jump that high. Even I can't unless I use my powers. A minimum of twice my strength and probably higher. I'm juggling probable masses and distances and strengths when I remember my promise to Akane. I towel off a bit, and pull my T-shirt back on and head out the of the dojo.
It's still raining as I get to the house proper. I knock and Kasumi, looking as beautiful as the last time I saw her, lets me in. After leading me to what looks like the dining room, I see Genma and Soun bent over a board playing what looks like a variant of chess.
Soun looks up and asks, "How was your workout Anderson-san?"
"It went very well Tendo-san. You have an excellent dojo." Soun beams at this compliment and I continue, "Do you have a bo I could use while I'm here? I wasn't able to bring mine from home."
"A true martial artist doesn't need weapons," says Genma, who also moves a couple of pieces on the game board while Soun isn't looking.
"I'm not a martial artist Saotome-san, so I guess that doesn't matter." I'm not sure if Genma is surprised by that comment or not. I can't read him well enough to be sure. Not that I really care.
"I think there may be a few in storage, Akane will know where," Soun tells me as Akane enters the room. She's changed into her gi and is carrying a small black pig. A pig which is wearing a familiar bandana.
"Who's this," I ask, "and what's his connection to Ryoga?" Soun goes a bit pale at this, Genma maintains his poker face and Akane looks at me like I've grown a second head. Soun knows something, but I've no idea what.
"What do you mean 'connection to Ryoga'?" Akane asks heatedly. In a much sweeter voice directed at the pig, "You've never met Ryoga, have you P-Chan?"
"Bwee bwee!" goes 'P-Chan' in what sounds suspiciously like an answer.
"That pig is wearing the same style bandana that Ryoga had on when he attacked Ranma at lunch," I tell her.
"Oh! That's why it looks so familiar," Akane declares. For some reason, Soun relaxes at this comment. Don't know why. "I never noticed that before."
Gimme a break, you'd have to be blind to miss it. Forcibly pushing the matter out of my head I ask Akane, "Well, are you ready to spar?"
All four of us and the pig head to the dojo. I'm guessing Soun and Genma want to observe my lack of style for some reason. We bow to the dojo, and I bow to the tatami, as is my personal habit. I ask Akane if she wants to warm up.
"Not really, you don't get a chance to warm up in real life," she tells me.
A commendable attitude, so I launch a kick at the same speed I used in our last match. She must have been expecting it, because she blocks it and my follow up punch. I stay on the attack, avoiding her counter moves and exploiting my reach advantage. My strikes are connecting with her arms and thighs, she's taking them without a problem. I grab the sleeve of her gi, but she counter-grapples and throws me. I roll with the throw, coming back to my feet and smile at her.
"Fixed that little problem did we?"
"Hai!" she says, smiling. Then she starts her own offensive.
I block and evade for bit, her attacks increasing in tempo and power. Unlike our last fight, she's not being over aggressive, but attacking with discipline. After deflecting a particularly hard punch, she tries a high kick and I leg sweep her. I step back and allow her to get up and settle her gi. All this time Genma and Soun have been watching with the occasional comment between them. They haven't spoken to me or Akane, letting us spar in peace.
"Anything special you want to work on?" I ask.
"No, this is fine."
"Mind if I get some bo work in?"
She pauses before answering, "I'm not too good with weapons. Maybe you could spar with dad."
"I don't think so. That isn't covered by my deal with Nabiki. She's already mad at me and I don't want to deal with her right now."
"Oh? Why is my sister mad at you?"
"She was taking pictures of me, I asked her to stop, she didn't, so I told her to stop, she didn't, so I broke her camera."
"How could you!"
"Well, I grabbed the camera an-"
POW!! Must have been a rhetorical question.
I'm knocked across the room and land on my ass. There is pain there and in my jaw where she got me. Nasty right cross that girl has. I guess I deserved it for being careless. I reverse shoulder roll to my feet in time to see Akane charging me, apparently in earnest. Her anger makes her faster and stronger, but it's also messes up her accuracy and technique. After dodging five strikes, she seems even madder and I decide to stop this before someone really gets hurt. A punch gives me what I need as I twist out of the way of the blow while grabbing her arm with both hands. A second later, I've got her pinned to the mat in an arm bar. She keeps resisting and she's strong enough that if it keeps up I'll either have to let her go or dislocate her shoulder. P-Chan looks ready to attack me. Loyal pig.
"Akane! Stop!" I shout.
"Akane! Stop!" Soun shouts.
At her father's order, Akane stops struggling. I quietly ask her, "When I let go, are you going to be all right?" She nods without speaking. I release the hold and she scrambles to her feet before fleeing the dojo, crying. P-Chan glares at me, and trots off after her. For a moment there is no sound except for the rain on the roof.
"I apologize on behalf of my daughter and myself Anderson-san."
"No, Tendo-san. The apologies are mine. I could have stopped her without hurting her." He looks like he's about to start crying himself.
"You were not hurting her. She was hurting herself."
That's true, but I don't know what to say, so I remain quiet. I realize why Akane was upset, but I don't know why she reacted the way she did. Then again, I've never been good at dealing with women from my mother on. With my head held low I tell Tendo-san, "I don't think Akane and I should spar anymore."
"I understand Anderson-san, but beg you to reconsider. Sparring with you Tuesday made Akane very happy and she's been looking forward to this. She's just a bit excitable."
"If we'd have been here alone, I might have had to dislocate her arm to get her to stop. Worse, I'm not sure that _would_ have stopped her."
"Please reconsider. If need be, myself, Genma or Ranma will supervise."
"Will she listen to Saotome-san or Ranma?"
"Myself or Genma then."
Interesting that he took Ranma off that list. "I'll think about it."
"Thank you. Now please excuse me while I look after my daughter." He leaves me in the dojo with Genma.
"You were holding back," he says. It isn't a question.
"Yes," I reply while I bow to the tatami and dojo.
"For someone who is no martial artist, you fight well enough."
"I get by."
"Your technique is sloppy."
"I don't do technique." He's trying to bait me.
"Ranma is much better then you."
"Yes he is. I've seen him fight twice now. He's very skilled and incredibly fast." This admission seems to surprise Genma a bit.
"I could have him challenge you."
"I wouldn't accept." Before this conversation can get any worse, the dojo doors open. I hope it isn't Ranma come to kick my ass for hurting his fiancee. Luckily for me, it's Kasumi who enters the dojo.
"Uncle Saotome, dinner will be ready in ten minutes," Kasumi states in her lovely voice.
"Well, that's my cue to leave." And grateful I am for it.
"Oh, please stay for dinner Anderson-san. Or at least until the rain stops," she requests.
I don't know why, but any thought of leaving flees my mind. It would be like kicking a puppy. Kasumi is the type of woman that you just can't refuse. Some day, she's going to make some lucky guy _very_ happy. Innocents like her are why I stayed in the hero business as long as I did. My innocent son is why I'm getting out. Somewhat against my better judgment, I decide to stay for dinner with the Tendos.
END PART 2
In Part 3: Dinner Discussions. (And a gratuitous fight or two.)
What's happened so far: Jeff Anderson, a 20 year old telekinetic 'retiring' super hero, has come to Nerima for reasons involving a dead colleague and Mishima Heavy Industries. He has arranged a cover as a student teacher at Furinkan High School. He's met the Tendo family, Ranma's male form, Ukyo and Kuno. He's renting time in the Tendo training hall to keep himself in shape. He's also seen a couple of things he considers weird involving girls on bicycles moving at ridiculous speeds. Jeff is waiting for something. While he's waiting, someone else decides to introduce themselves first...
-----
"Ranma! PREPARE TO DIE!"
I hear this and my body instantly kicks over to combat mode. The voice is from behind and above me. I shove Ranma to the right and use the recoil to move left, turning as I go. I see young man in a yellow shirt, black pants and a yellow and black bandana. Raised high over his head in his right hand is an... umbrella??? He's about 6 meters off the ground at this point and falling fast.
Ranma turns my shove into a shoulder roll and comes up facing the attacker. Meanwhile the newcomer smashes his... umbrella... into the sidewalk between himself and Ranma, kicking up debris. I throw up a repeller field in front of Ranma, deflecting the shrapnel to the ground. Flying and the repeller field are the only two TK tricks I can do by reflex, without having to concentrate or see what I'm affecting. At least they're useful tricks.
With an exasperated sigh, Ranma says, "All right Ryoga, what I do this time?"
Neither of them notice the altered trajectories. 'Ryoga' doesn't notice me moving to his blind side either. This guy obviously has super-human strength and I'm not going to worry about hurting him if he's trying to kill Ranma. I drop the repeller field and reset it around myself for protection.
Ryoga charges Ranma, thrusting and swinging his umbrella wildly. Ranma is calmly dodging the attacks as he did with Kuno's much faster strikes yesterday.
"Stand still damn you, so I can kill you for what you did to Akane!" shouts Ryoga, punctuating every word with a swing of his umbrella. At this end of this accusation, Ranma suffers a surprise break much as Akane did during our sparring match. I just hope it isn't fatal. Ryoga's blow lifts Ranma into the air and slams him into the school wall.
Damn, damn, damn me. No staff, no shuriken, no body armor, no smoke bombs, no first aid kit, not even a roll of duct tape. I swear, after this fight I'll never leave home unarmed. Of course, I said that day my son was born too. I run up behind Ryoga, plant my left foot and put my right heel into the middle of his back to the best of my ability. I crushed three of Nightblade's vertebrae and paralyzed her with a similar move.
Ryoga must be a lot tougher than Nightblade. He takes the blow, stumbles forward a few steps, turns to me and shouts, "Who the hell are you?!?"
"You're not killing anybody!" I shout. Behind him, I see Ranma pry himself out of the wall.
"Stay out of this!" This comes from both Ranma and Ryoga. Although for what I hope are different reasons.
"No way," I inform them as I review techniques for taking out people with super human strength. Don't let them hit you and keep them off balance. In this case add separate the weapon from the weapon user. The last is not a problem as Ryoga flicks open his umbrella and spins it at me like some giant top. I use a repeller field to guide it away from me. The feedback tells me that it must weigh over 65 kilograms. Another item to place in the weird file.
While I've been dealing with the umbrella, Ryoga and Ranma have gone into close combat. Ranma is as fast on offense as he is on defense, but Ryoga doesn't seem to be feeling the blows. They are both shouting at one another, but I can't make out the words as I approach the two of them.
Ryoga performs a block that knocks Ranma back a few feet. He then thrusts a glowing finger at the sidewalk and screams, "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" This time, I'm surprised at what happens. The sidewalk explodes like it was hit with a small mortar. My repeller field protects me and I can see Ranma's hands swatting away shrapnel while dodging the larger chunks. Still, his clothes get shredded and he takes some small cuts.
Enough is enough. I have to stop this guy, even if it blows my cover. I drop the repeller field so I can put it somewhere it'll do some good. Before I reset it, Ranma closes the gap between them while shouting, "KACCHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"
I suffer another surprise break as I see Ranma's arms blur into motion. Wiggle a pen between your thumb and index finger. You'll see an image of the pen at the top and bottom of it's arc with a blur in the middle. If you do that in front a television or computer screen, the blur resolves itself into a group of false images. In this case I don't think any of the images I saw were false. Each one was a solid punch to Ryoga's midsection. He finishes with a shot that knocks Ryoga back. I focus my telekinesis and achieve a lock on him. Using over 700 kilos of lift, I join with the force of Ranma's punch and throw him over the school wall. Unfortunately, when he leaves my line of sight, I lose my telekinetic hold on him.
I turn to Ranma, who seems confused.
"I didn't hit him that hard. No way," he says quietly.
"Ranma, are you all right? Ranma!?" I look over him over. None of his wounds are bleeding badly, but he does look a little shocky.
He shakes his head hard, and seems more focused than a moment ago. By this time some of the crowd that had gathered to watch the fight come over to check out the damage. Ukyo dashes up with her giant spatula held at the ready like a weapon. Akane is a few steps behind her.
"Ran-chan, what happened?" Ukyo pleads.
"Later. Take him to the nurse. NOW!" I state in a flat voice. She puts her shoulder under his and they start off to the school doors.
Akane grimaces at Ukyo and Ranma before turning to me and asking, "Sensei, what happened?"
"Some lunatic attacked Ranma!" I don't tell her anymore because by this time I'm half way to the wall I threw Ryoga over. If I'm lucky, he's hurt and hasn't got far. I jump the wall with my repeller field up and ready for trouble.
Landing, I see a divot in the ground where Ryoga must have landed. I find a dent in the ground near where I crossed the wall, but no sign of Ryoga. I run to the nearest intersection and hope for the best. Straight, nothing. Right, nothing. Left, huh? About 20 meters down the road I see a large backpack and a pile of clothing that includes a pair of black pants and a yellow shirt. He stopped to change clothes? In the middle of the street?? I search some more but only find a couple of small kids playing with water pistols in a nearby alley.
I grab the clothes, stuff them into the backpack, lug it back to the school and heave the whole mess to the top of the wall. It's a very heavy pack, almost as if there were weights in it just to make it heavier. I glance around before jumping over the wall myself. I note that the umbrella is not where I left it. Nothing I can do about that now. I head to the nurse's office to check up on Ranma.
Poor guy. I don't have a scratch on me. Ranma looked like hell when I left. I give Ryoga the best shot I can without using my powers, and he barely notices. Ranma shouts something about chestnuts and beats the stuffing out of him. I've felt outclassed before in the hero business, but seldom so badly. Going to have to do something in case this Ryoga guy shows again. Doesn't surprise me that Ranma and Ryoga are meta-humans though. We're popping up all over the place these days.
My body is on auto-pilot while I think about what I should have done during the fight. I second guess myself a lot when I make a showing as poor as this one. I reach the nurse's office before I'm ready to deal with everything, but go in anyway. I drop the backpack inside the office door before looking around. I don't see the nurse, but I do see Nabiki and Ukyo doing a professional job of cleaning and bandaging Ranma's wounds. Including a lump on his head that wasn't there when I saw him last. I'm certified to teach First Aid, and if I wasn't in Japan, I'd be finishing an EMT certification course right now. Wish I was home instead of here, or Canada instead of here, or anywhere instead of here, but I owe Fastball... dammit Rich... this.
Ranma is awake and alert, putting up with the bandaging with good humor. "Hey sensei! Are you O.K?" he inquires.
"That's my line, Ranma," I respond in a voice I barely recognize as my own.
"Aw, don't worry, I'm a martial artist. I get worse than this all the time."
"I saw your face at the end of that fight, you were _not_ all right"
He smile fades a bit. "Well... that's cause of my last punch. I _know_ I didn't hit him hard enough ta knock him over the wall. He musta been jumpin' back or sumthin'."
It's the 'or something', but I don't tell him that. The nurse shows up, compliments Nabiki and Ukyo on their work and gives Ukyo a hall pass so she can get back to class. Nabiki sticks around as she spends time down here as a nurse's aide a few hours a week. The nurse leaves to attend to a girl with a fever, so I bring up what's on my mind.
"Looks like you'll live. So, Ranma, you want tell me what all this was about?" I ask.
"I'd rather not," he says, his glance shifting between myself and Nabiki.
Nabiki pipes in, "I could tell you all about it for 1500 yen."
I give Nabiki my blackest look. She doesn't rattle a bit. Her English is better than my Japanese, so I switch languages. "Tendo-san, one day you may either sell information that isn't yours to sell and get killed for your trouble or try to sell information to someone who'll decide it's easier to kill you than deal with you. Either way, you wind up dead."
"Is that a threat Anderson-sensei?" she inquires icily.
"Merely the observation of someone who has seen more dead people than you."
She doesn't change expression, but does leave. Ranma seems to relax slightly when she does. I change mental gears back to Japanese.
"You know Ranma, I met Nabiki last Saturday when I first got here. She made a great first impression. Tuesday, when I bought time at the dojo, she made a good second impression. But yesterday, she offered to _sell_ me information on why Kuno was absent, and just now she offered to sell me personal information about you. Right in front of you!"
Ranma sighs and looks as thoughtful as I've seen him during our brief acquaintance. "She don't mean nuthin' bad by it... and it don't really hurt me."
I think about emotional harm as compared to physical harm. And about how much longer it takes to recover from emotional harm. My language skills aren't up to the challenge of explaining that. Something I'll have to work on. Besides, I think Ranma would rather receive a hundred beatings than talk about his feelings. I remember how bad I was at his age. So I fall back on habit and change the subject. "Now that the audience is gone, what was the fight about?"
The way Ranma explains it, he considers Ryoga a 'friendly rival'. Ryoga attacks Ranma over a list of grievances, mostly imaginary from what I can tell, and Ranma tolerates it because Ryoga is one of the few people who can give him a good fight. Personally, I think the whole thing is insane.
"Ranma, if _anyone_ screams 'Prepare to die!' around me, I am going to treat it seriously. Ryoga looked ready, willing and able to kill you."
"Aw, it was nuthin'. Ryoga wasn't _really_ try'n ta kill me."
"Didn't look like it. What if it had been someone you didn't know?" I try reasoning.
"It is, usually"
"Huh?"
"I'm heir ta the 'Anything Goes' School of Martial Arts. People are attack'n me or try'n ta marry me all the time. Actually, it's been kinda quiet this week."
This is a quiet week? His life must be more messed up than mine. Even though I'm in Japan for another reason, I'm glad I've met Ranma. As mean as it may sound, it's nice to be on the outside of a problem for a change.
'Click.'
The sound of a camera gets my attention, but it's just Nabiki taking a picture of me and Ranma. As I turn to face her, she takes another picture.
'Click.'
"Please don't do that," I tell Nabiki, "I don't like having my picture taken." She points the camera squarely at me.
'Click.'
"I'm serious. Don't do that."
Adjusting the focus, Nabiki grins and shoots another frame. 'Click'
Before she can so much as flinch, I snatch the camera out of her hands.
"Hey! Give that back. That thing costs money!" Nabiki yells heatedly.
"How much?" I ask, trying to keep my voice level.
"7500 yen plus tax," she answers, surprised at my question.
Focusing my TK, I crush the camera in my hands. I could have done it without it, but the TK makes it easier and much less messy. While Nabiki looks at the results, I toss them in the nearest wastebasket and reach for my wallet. Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. "Here's 10,000 yen for the camera, the tax, the film and the time it'll take to replace it. _Never_ take my picture again." I hope she remembers what I told her about selling things that aren't hers.
She grabs the money, gives me a look that just _screams_ 'This isn't over' and leaves in a huff. Maybe I should have just exposed the film, but hopefully this will get the message across a little clearer.
"Ya know, there are times I've _really_ wanted ta do that," states Ranma, who has risen from his cot. "But I can't afford the camera."
"It was worth it."
I tell Ranma that I'll be at the dojo a bit after school as I want to stop at Ukyo's restaurant for some food first. Okonomiyaki. Who knew? I get a note from the nurse and return to my class before Nabiki can return and do something else that pisses me off. Damn. Forgot to ask Ranma about that bump on his head, the camera thing distracted me.
-----
I bike to Ucchan's after classes and wait for Ukyo to arrive. I'm not the only one waiting. A few other students are here with a smattering of 'salary men' and a few others. There are a some uncomfortable looks from the crowd, but I'm used to that sort of thing from the natives by now. Japan is surprisingly insular despite, or perhaps because of, it's modern technology.
After a bit, Ukyo unlocks the door and the crowd streams in. It looks like a one woman operation as she's running the grill and the counter and everything else. Busting a hump too. I wait until the first rush is over, buy two beef and a pork okonomiyaki and enjoy the best food I've had since I got to Japan. I thank Ukyo for the meal and ride over to the Tendo dojo. The sky darkens and it looks like it may rain soon.
Akane lets me in and I see no sign of Nabiki, which is good because I really would rather not put up with her right now. She seems determined to get on my bad side. As we walk toward the dojo, Akane asks if I would like to spar again.
"After my workout, sure." I tell her and she gives me this wonderful smile. "But first, I need half an hour alone in the dojo for my practice."
"Do you need anything?"
"Just the dojo and some quiet."
"Well... you can have the dojo, the quiet might be harder to get."
I laugh as we enter the dojo. Ranma is there, performing a complex kata, while an older man sits and observes. Considering how he looked at lunch time, he looks much better now, with only a few bandages remaining. I wouldn't say that Ranma is flowing through the kata, he's far too fast for that, but I have no trouble imagining a swarm of attackers falling to the punches and kicks that Ranma is tossing off. The kata ends and Ranma introduces me (grudgingly) to his father.
Saotome Genma is probably the largest Japanese man I've seen who isn't a wrestler of some sort. I'm guessing his age at around 45 or so, and he's looks in pretty good condition except for a case of middle age spread.
"Have you come to challenge my son?" Genma asks me after the introductions are finished.
"No Saotome-san, I'm just here to practice in the dojo."
"What form do you use?" he inquires, looking me over.
"No form Saotome-san. It's just something I've come up with that works for me." Actually, I wasn't here to practice fighting. My strength maintenance routine requires a lot more free space than is available in my rented room. More privacy too. Plenty of both here if I get everyone to leave.
"Hmm... Perhaps you could spar with Ranma then."
"I've already promised Akane I'd spar with her after my workout."
"Un!" Akane adds, smiling.
Ranma looks at her as if noticing something different about her.
"Well perhaps after that."
"Maybe," I say, trying to think of a polite way to get everyone out of here. Akane saves me.
"I'm going to do my homework now. Call me when you're ready."
"Sure thing." Akane leaves, followed by a thoughtful Ranma and his father. Rain begins rattling on the dojo roof as I take off my T-shirt and toss it in the corner. I set up practice dummies in front of the doors to give me a moments notice in case anyone enters. I bow to the dojo sign and the tatami then walk to the center of the mat.
I gather my power and will, drawing my telekinetic ability into a repeller sphere around me. Concentrating, I rise from the mat, slowly drifting to the center of the room. Once I'm there, I increase the pressure until I feel like a fly trapped in amber. Slowly, I begin to curl and stretch my arms and legs against the pressure, a workout with every motion. Sweat runs from my pores only to be caught in the repeller field and bounced around until it evaporates.
After 10 minutes of this, I cut the sphere and drop to the floor. I rest for a minute and then back to it for another 5 minutes. Rest and then 5 more minutes. I don't have a name for this, but it incorporates some of the techniques of dynamic tension. It's also exhausting both physically and mentally. I burn half of my daily supply of telekinetic energy and can barely stand when I'm done. I finish with some stretches and get my wind back.
I can't say that I really like this routine, but I can't argue with the results. I get strength and muscle mass without a lot of bulk to slow me down. I may not look that strong, but I can bench 350 kilos, which is a bit over 4 times my mass. I wonder how strong Ryoga is? Super-human for sure considering he was 6 meters in the air when I first saw him. No normal human can jump that high. Even I can't unless I use my powers. A minimum of twice my strength and probably higher. I'm juggling probable masses and distances and strengths when I remember my promise to Akane. I towel off a bit, and pull my T-shirt back on and head out the of the dojo.
It's still raining as I get to the house proper. I knock and Kasumi, looking as beautiful as the last time I saw her, lets me in. After leading me to what looks like the dining room, I see Genma and Soun bent over a board playing what looks like a variant of chess.
Soun looks up and asks, "How was your workout Anderson-san?"
"It went very well Tendo-san. You have an excellent dojo." Soun beams at this compliment and I continue, "Do you have a bo I could use while I'm here? I wasn't able to bring mine from home."
"A true martial artist doesn't need weapons," says Genma, who also moves a couple of pieces on the game board while Soun isn't looking.
"I'm not a martial artist Saotome-san, so I guess that doesn't matter." I'm not sure if Genma is surprised by that comment or not. I can't read him well enough to be sure. Not that I really care.
"I think there may be a few in storage, Akane will know where," Soun tells me as Akane enters the room. She's changed into her gi and is carrying a small black pig. A pig which is wearing a familiar bandana.
"Who's this," I ask, "and what's his connection to Ryoga?" Soun goes a bit pale at this, Genma maintains his poker face and Akane looks at me like I've grown a second head. Soun knows something, but I've no idea what.
"What do you mean 'connection to Ryoga'?" Akane asks heatedly. In a much sweeter voice directed at the pig, "You've never met Ryoga, have you P-Chan?"
"Bwee bwee!" goes 'P-Chan' in what sounds suspiciously like an answer.
"That pig is wearing the same style bandana that Ryoga had on when he attacked Ranma at lunch," I tell her.
"Oh! That's why it looks so familiar," Akane declares. For some reason, Soun relaxes at this comment. Don't know why. "I never noticed that before."
Gimme a break, you'd have to be blind to miss it. Forcibly pushing the matter out of my head I ask Akane, "Well, are you ready to spar?"
All four of us and the pig head to the dojo. I'm guessing Soun and Genma want to observe my lack of style for some reason. We bow to the dojo, and I bow to the tatami, as is my personal habit. I ask Akane if she wants to warm up.
"Not really, you don't get a chance to warm up in real life," she tells me.
A commendable attitude, so I launch a kick at the same speed I used in our last match. She must have been expecting it, because she blocks it and my follow up punch. I stay on the attack, avoiding her counter moves and exploiting my reach advantage. My strikes are connecting with her arms and thighs, she's taking them without a problem. I grab the sleeve of her gi, but she counter-grapples and throws me. I roll with the throw, coming back to my feet and smile at her.
"Fixed that little problem did we?"
"Hai!" she says, smiling. Then she starts her own offensive.
I block and evade for bit, her attacks increasing in tempo and power. Unlike our last fight, she's not being over aggressive, but attacking with discipline. After deflecting a particularly hard punch, she tries a high kick and I leg sweep her. I step back and allow her to get up and settle her gi. All this time Genma and Soun have been watching with the occasional comment between them. They haven't spoken to me or Akane, letting us spar in peace.
"Anything special you want to work on?" I ask.
"No, this is fine."
"Mind if I get some bo work in?"
She pauses before answering, "I'm not too good with weapons. Maybe you could spar with dad."
"I don't think so. That isn't covered by my deal with Nabiki. She's already mad at me and I don't want to deal with her right now."
"Oh? Why is my sister mad at you?"
"She was taking pictures of me, I asked her to stop, she didn't, so I told her to stop, she didn't, so I broke her camera."
"How could you!"
"Well, I grabbed the camera an-"
POW!! Must have been a rhetorical question.
I'm knocked across the room and land on my ass. There is pain there and in my jaw where she got me. Nasty right cross that girl has. I guess I deserved it for being careless. I reverse shoulder roll to my feet in time to see Akane charging me, apparently in earnest. Her anger makes her faster and stronger, but it's also messes up her accuracy and technique. After dodging five strikes, she seems even madder and I decide to stop this before someone really gets hurt. A punch gives me what I need as I twist out of the way of the blow while grabbing her arm with both hands. A second later, I've got her pinned to the mat in an arm bar. She keeps resisting and she's strong enough that if it keeps up I'll either have to let her go or dislocate her shoulder. P-Chan looks ready to attack me. Loyal pig.
"Akane! Stop!" I shout.
"Akane! Stop!" Soun shouts.
At her father's order, Akane stops struggling. I quietly ask her, "When I let go, are you going to be all right?" She nods without speaking. I release the hold and she scrambles to her feet before fleeing the dojo, crying. P-Chan glares at me, and trots off after her. For a moment there is no sound except for the rain on the roof.
"I apologize on behalf of my daughter and myself Anderson-san."
"No, Tendo-san. The apologies are mine. I could have stopped her without hurting her." He looks like he's about to start crying himself.
"You were not hurting her. She was hurting herself."
That's true, but I don't know what to say, so I remain quiet. I realize why Akane was upset, but I don't know why she reacted the way she did. Then again, I've never been good at dealing with women from my mother on. With my head held low I tell Tendo-san, "I don't think Akane and I should spar anymore."
"I understand Anderson-san, but beg you to reconsider. Sparring with you Tuesday made Akane very happy and she's been looking forward to this. She's just a bit excitable."
"If we'd have been here alone, I might have had to dislocate her arm to get her to stop. Worse, I'm not sure that _would_ have stopped her."
"Please reconsider. If need be, myself, Genma or Ranma will supervise."
"Will she listen to Saotome-san or Ranma?"
"Myself or Genma then."
Interesting that he took Ranma off that list. "I'll think about it."
"Thank you. Now please excuse me while I look after my daughter." He leaves me in the dojo with Genma.
"You were holding back," he says. It isn't a question.
"Yes," I reply while I bow to the tatami and dojo.
"For someone who is no martial artist, you fight well enough."
"I get by."
"Your technique is sloppy."
"I don't do technique." He's trying to bait me.
"Ranma is much better then you."
"Yes he is. I've seen him fight twice now. He's very skilled and incredibly fast." This admission seems to surprise Genma a bit.
"I could have him challenge you."
"I wouldn't accept." Before this conversation can get any worse, the dojo doors open. I hope it isn't Ranma come to kick my ass for hurting his fiancee. Luckily for me, it's Kasumi who enters the dojo.
"Uncle Saotome, dinner will be ready in ten minutes," Kasumi states in her lovely voice.
"Well, that's my cue to leave." And grateful I am for it.
"Oh, please stay for dinner Anderson-san. Or at least until the rain stops," she requests.
I don't know why, but any thought of leaving flees my mind. It would be like kicking a puppy. Kasumi is the type of woman that you just can't refuse. Some day, she's going to make some lucky guy _very_ happy. Innocents like her are why I stayed in the hero business as long as I did. My innocent son is why I'm getting out. Somewhat against my better judgment, I decide to stay for dinner with the Tendos.
END PART 2
In Part 3: Dinner Discussions. (And a gratuitous fight or two.)