Authors Note: I do not own Ranma 1/2. Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted to Rumiko
Takahashi,who I would like to thank for making such a great Manga/Anime.
Yugo Saotome is copyrighted to me, as is the storyline. Please ask if you
would like to any of the afformentioned (though I will almost always say
yes ^_^) Now, enough with legal stuff. After reading, please R&R.
"Thoughts" "Chinese" "Japanese" Chapter 3 Genma's punishment
Ranma sighed in frustration from where he sat under the sakura tree. So far, the day had been an absolute disaster! Twice, some fools who tried to beat his Amazon sisters had to be transported to the infirmary. Not to mention the hell that was raised when the teachers found out that he had a katana on him. Only when he pointed out that many other students had weapons on their person, did they (quite reluctantly) allow him to carry his weapon on school grounds. Now to top it all off, he could sense the ki signature of what could only be described as the most concentrated mass of stupidity in either Japan OR China, and it was heading right towards him. "Ummm, Rai-Zor?" Pepper said as she glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah?" his voice was full of boredom. "That moron, Kuno is behind you." "So?" "Just saying." "Do you want me to take care of him?" the lavender haired Amazon inquired as she polished off the remnants of her ramen. "I don't mind, how about you, Pe-Pohr?" he asked the green haired Amazon, who responded without even turning to face Ranma. "Well, I did kinda want to slap him around, but...what the hell. Knock yourself out Xian-Pu." Shampoo let out a childish giggle before standing up and switching to her broken Japanese. "Okay stupid-stick-boy. We all know you here, so quit trying to be sneaky, yes?" She then turned and faced the slightly surprised kendoist. "Oh, my fair Chinese lotus. How it pains me to see you enslaved to the dark will of this...despicable creature." Kuno shot a look of venom towards Ranma. "Okay..." Ranma stood up then faced the samurai wannabe. "Where the hell is this coming from?" he was very confused, as was his Chinese companions. "Do not play ignorant with me! It's quite obvious from the false anger they are directing at me that you have their wills enslaved in magical bondage! Yes, I can see it now, you have woven a spell of the darkest magics around their hearts, and have blinded them to my undying affection!" Ranma raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? That's a truly fascinating story Kuno-sempai. But please, enlighten me...your claims of my 'evil magic'. Are they are result of some drugs that you are on or drugs that you aren't on?" the two Amazons looked at Ranma with confusion, catching their looks, he quickly translated what he had said into Chinese. The result, was the two Amazons bursting into laughter. "Sham...Sham....Shampoo think....is buh, both!" Shampoo explained, then promptly returned to rolling on the ground in merriment. "You mockery of me is vile enough, but to use your magic to force your slaves indulge your travesty!? Only cowards do such a despicable act!" Ranma felt the hair on his neck bristle. He had been called many things in his life, including weak, stupid, foolish, and even, a miserabl outsider (the fool who said this learned that insulting his Amazonian pride was a very bad thing). But a coward...grrrrr! In a flash, Ranma's good humor and joking mood vanished and was replaced by his katana. The White shot out of the scabbard that was strapped to his back, there was a sound a very distinct ringing as the edge of the blade and the scabbard rubbed against one another. Then Kuno found the edge of the blade against his throat. "Never, ever calm me a coward, Kuno." Ranma hissed, he didn't even bother to hide the menace in his voice. "For I have battled long and hard for the position that I hold. In fact, if anyone here is a coward, that person is you. You who attacks small groups of people with entire gangs and still losses, you who claims to have honor, then tries to stab me in the back like a common thief. You are the coward Kuno." Ranma then drew the edge of his weapon across the inside of his forearms, and blood began seeping out through the wound. Ranm wiped either side of the katana in the blood before replacing his weapon. As he did so, the onlookers gasped, and a lot of the grimaced-Akane included. Then he gathered his lunch and turned to walk away, but a thought came to mind, and he decided to leave Kuno with something to think about. "Cowards die a thousand times before their death, the valiant never taste death but once." Then he left, his Amazon sisters skipping happily behind him.
Later that night, Tendo home... "HE'S WHAT!" Genma cried out in joy. Nabiki grinned, "Gotcha." "That's right Uncle Saotome. I saw Ranma at school. Though he seems to be going by the name of 'Razor' now." "Razor?" Genma echoed, then his face hardened. "Tell me, where is he staying? I must talk some sense into the boy. I must make him see the dishonor he is causing me by not fufilling our family's promise." "Fine, but it'll cost ya..." she did a quick mental calculation. "3000 yen." Genma gaped at the price. "WHAT!?" "Hey, it's worth it 'aint it? I mean to be reuinited with your son after so many years. You may not be able to put a money figure on it, but I can. I can put a money figure on anything." she gave him an unreadible look. He sighed then, handed her the appropriate bills. "Great, he's at the Neko-hanten."
On top of some roofs, somewhere in the Nerima Ward district... A black clad ninja was breathing hard as she stared at her opponent. Her opponent had a more muscular build, not to the point where he was freakishly large, but just athletic. But this appearance bellied his true, almost inhuman strength, and the shades he was wearing also gave him the appearance of danger, though the ninja was offhandly wondering how someone managed to fight at night when they had a pair of shades on. The ninja gripped her oversized spatula, a very distinct weapon. "So Ukyo, we gonna battle all night, or are you just going to give up and go home?" the ninja's eyes widened. He knew it was her!? Even thought they hadn't seen each other for so long, nor had she removed her mask! Her opponent grinned and knocked an arrow into his longbow. "Well? Which will it be Ukyo? I know we never did get along all that well, but that's no excuse for going all mental on me." She blinked, Yugo? Was it really Yugo. Her faced hardened, she still remembered how indifferent he looked when his bastard father left her behind. "I choose, TO KILL YOU YUGO SAOTOME!" she reached in her cloak and pulled out a small silver ball, then hurled it at Yugo. There was a brilliant flash, and Ukyo was slightly stunned, despite the fact that her eyes had been shut. But it was only momenary. She then leapt at the startled Saotome, swinging her baker's peel. Yugo leapt up and loosed his arrow, it struck her baker's peel directly in the middle of the pan, then pierced it!? Ukyo wasn't sure which one shocked her more; the fact that he was showing no visible effects of her flashbomb, or the fact that his arrow had pinned her weapon the rooftop. "Actually Ucchan, it's Jai-yel now, or Gel if you prefer." he spoke with a lot of confidence, too much confidence. "How come my flashbomb didn't affect you?" she demanded. He shrugged. "Probably because of my shades."
"Bullshit." "I don't care if you believe me or not, your going to lose anyway." "Huh?" Suddenly, Gel was airborne, another arrow had just been released from his bow, but the arrow suddenly glowed, and no less then fifty more of the projectiles materialized around it. Ukyo gritted her teeth. She hated to admit it, but he was right. If she didn't haul butt quickly, then she would lose. She decided that, for now, the best course of action would be a strategic retreat. She pulled out another silver ball, but this one had a white line around the center. Ukyo hurled it at the ground, the was a blast, and smoke soon covered the rooftop. But smoke didn't stop the arrows from pinning her weapon to the ground. "Damn! I can't afford the lose the peel, but if I don't pull back now, I may lose more than the fight." Suddenly there was the tell-tale whistle of arrows cutting through the air, and Ukyo leapt back to avoid becoming a human pin-cushion, she failed. The arrows came in hard and fast, cutting into her outfit, and cutting the fabric. Finaly, the last arrow cut through her mask, and it flopped open. "OH SHIT!" She was thought that he was pulling his punches, or shots, whichever the case may be, but that was just TOO close! She realized that if that last shaft had been even three centimeters lower (that's two centimeters for you Americans,) then she wouldn't be standing here. Deciding to cut her losses, and figuring that her peel was replaceable, the teenage ninja bolted back to the safety of Ucchan's to rethink her strategy and get some sleep. Tommorrow was a big day, and she had to be in tip-top condition to face Ranma...she just hoped that his aim was as uncanny as his brother's, or she would be in big trouble.
Furinken High, the Next Day... "RANMA, I CHALLANGE YOU!" Ranma let out a sigh, he knew this day would come. Ever since Elder Cologne had told him about his father's decleration that he would marry a Tendo, he figured that he would probably get challanged by Akane. Because she seemed to be the most logical choice for him to marry. "But why would I want to marry her!?" he demanded of himself as he shot her a glare of equal intensity that she was shooting him. "She's violent, impulsive, loud" "...Cute." a part of his mind told him, he quickly squelched that line of thought, though not very affectively. He quickly put all of those thoughts into the back of his mind and got back to the task at hand. "Why?" his question was simple and justified. "To prove that I'm the better martial artist!" "Why?" "Because...because....grrrrr!" she didn't have a plausible reason. "Alright...under normal circumstances I would decline...however." he sank down into a battle position. "I also think that you need to be taken down a peg." "WHAT!!!!!?????" She demanded. Then Ranma made a mistake that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He focused all of his ki on Akane, he was sensing nothing but her, every move she made. Every breath she took, every motion of her hand, or flicker of her eyes. These were all drank in and computed until he realized what possible moves she could make. "OY SHO TO!" The cry was loud, and it startled both fighters. Whipping around, Ranma looked about, then up. He saw a boy, dressed in a Furinken uniform come descending down at him. Time slowed down as he stared at the opponent. He didn't even have time to blink as he swung. The peel slammed into his face and sent him spinning. Ranma cried out in pain and blood began dripping onto the ground. The newcomer flipped back and grinned when he realized his attack had connected, but his grin was short lived when he saw Ranma suddenly look up at him, all thoughts about Akane were long gone. He was now focused on this newcomer, Ranma wasn't even aware of the large, deep bloody cut that went from above his right eye, across the bridge of his nose, and just underneath his left eye.
Akane gasped when she saw Ranma suddenly flip and hit the ground, she felt her stomach wrench at the blood that was flowing freely from his wound. She then watched in some kind of morbid fascination as Ranma slowly stood up, then faced his attacker. Thunder flashed, but no rain came down. She could see that Ranma wasn't even making an attempt to control the rage that seemed to pour off of him like waves. "I don't know who you are, but you have insulted my honor in the worst possible way. For this...you will die." Ranma then reached behind him and pulled out his katana. Akane gasped when she heard the sound the blade made. It wasn't the distinct ring of metal against metal she had heard the first time, but it sounded like a...a...growl of some great predator. "What I did!? What about what you did! You broke my heart!" The newcomer said in a VERY feminine voice. "That was a ten years ago. I thought you were a boy. You talked like one, acted like one, hell, you even smelled like one" The boy (which was actually a girl) seemed shocked that Ranma recognized her through her disguise. "So then you must know all the hell you put me through!" "It's nothing compared to the hell I'm going to put you through now." With that, Ranma attacked. First he leapt at her, and performed a slash with his weapon, before he flipped over her head. Ukyo twirled around and swung at the space he had been occupying a few minutes earlier, but Ranma simply wasn't there. He was behind her, where he performed some rapid slashes with the katana, then he stabbed the blade into the earth between her legs. There was a mighty explosion, and Ukyo was flung into the air. Pulling he weapon from the ground, Ranma followed her up where he began slashing at her. Oddly enough, she wasn't bleeding...yet. Ranma finally finished his insane combo by giving her a viscious kick in the side that sent her earth bound. Ranma alighted a few meters away. Then he slowly slid his weapon back and stood panting. Ukyo slowly stood on unstable legs and glared at Ranma. Then, to everyones surprise, small slash marks appeared all over her clothes and her bandoleer of throwing spatulas had been reduced to ribbons. "It's...over." Ranma whispered, then he collapsed, the loss of blood finaly getting to him.
Dr.Ono Tofu's Office, about five minutes later... "Doctor Tofu!" Came Akane's desperate call. She was looking around wildly as she came in, a figure draped over her shoulders and with a girl at her side. The girl didn't look any worse for wear (aside from small cuts and bruises over her body) but the figure on her back wasn't moving at all.
Doctor Tofu came out from the back. "Yes, what is it Akane?"
"It's this guy, his name is Ranma and he's hurt pretty bad." "Wow, Akane actually caring about a boy? Well this is a first." Dr.Tofu thought, but he didn't voice his observation. "Bring him in here." He motioned to a room. Akane quickly rushed in an carefully lay the boy down. Dr.Tofu then washed his hands and began examining the wound. "This is...this is..." he looked at the two girls, the newcomer was looking uncomfortable. "Brutal! Who could've done this?" "...Me." The new girl squeaked. Dr.Tofu peared at her. She had long black hair that was tied in a pony tail on her back, and her eyes were brown pools of despair. "Who are you?
"Ukyo Kuonji" "And why did you slash his face?" "Because, he left me ten years ago, and broke my heart!" "Did he? He broke your heart when you were too young to understand what true love was?" Ukyo was silent after that. Dr.Tofu then went back to the boy. Carefully moping up the blood around the wound, then he began to stitch it shut. "This is going to leave a nasty scar. You do realize this, don't you?" both Ukyo and Akane were silent. "...So, what is this boy's name?" "Ranma Saotome." Akane answered. "And where does he live?" "I don't know, but his father lives with us." Dr.Tofu frowned. There was something here that these two weren't telling him. "Well, then maybe you should take him back to Your house, his father should know what to do then." "Yes Doctor." turning to Ukyo he said. "Come with me, I'll put something on those cuts." Ukyo simply nodded, and didn't bother to watch Akane carry Ranma out, and back to her Dojo.
Tendo Dojo, the next night... Ranma slowly pulled his eyes open, then squeezed them back shut when a bright light assaulted his eyes, and the pain that seemed to come off of his forehead in waves. "Go away Ro-hoz, I'm tryin' to sleep." he grumbled to his little sister, then turned over. "What'd he say?" An unrecognizable voice asked. "WAKE UP BOY!" suddenly a sharp pain shot through his side as someone kicked him in the ribs and Ranma groaned before slowly opening his eyes. "Huh? Thay-Orn? is that you Dad?" he opened his eyes, and saw Genma Saotome grinning down at him. "Hello m'boy!" Ranma's eyes got the size of dinner plates, and he brought both feet up into Genma's chest and shoved him backwards before doing a handspring to his feet. "WHERE THE HELL AM I!?" he shouted angrily. Then a man ran at him, crying almost enough tears to trigger his transformation. "OH MY SON-IN-LAW!"
WHAM! Suddenly the over-emotional Tendo family patriarch found himself laying on the floor with Ranma straddling the small of his back and twisting his arm around behind him. "Don't touch me." he snarled, turning to Genma. "What the hell are you doing back in my life old man?" he demanded, the harshness in his voice doubled. "Ranma, have some respect for your father." Genma shot back. "What? After all of your inhuman training?" Genma now looked furious. He reached down and grabbed his son by the gi. "Ranma, you sound like a girl!" he hurled his son out the open door and towards the koi pond. There was a huge splash, then a volouptus red-head got out. "Well, if I sound like a girl, then I better start actin' like one shouldn't I?" she shot back. Akane also noticed that the scar that was on Ranma's face wasn't there when he was in girl form. "Huh? What's that suppose to mean boy?" "It means that I'm an Amazon pop. You know what an Amazon is right? A female warrior." With that Ranma turned back towards the house and walked in. "But I'm also a village elder." "WHAT!?" Genma roared in incomprehension. "That's right pop, I'm a village elder. The reason I was granted the status of elder is because I killed my master and took her place. She challanged me to ritual combat because, at the time, I was a mere outsider who had learned the skills of the Amazon tribe. If I won, then I would become both an Amazon and an elder. If I lost, I would die." "And what skills did you learn boy?" Genma had a hungry look in his eyes, the kind of look that a starving man gives a feast. "Ki. I am the village master of Ki and the village elder of martial arts." Ranma began to glow with a blue battle aura. "And don't even think of trying to get me to show you any techniques because I'm not allowed to teach outsiders them." the aura faded. "Now, where is my pack?" "Upstairs, why?" Genma was eyeball her warily. "Because I need to change, that's why." With that Ranma walked upstairs and dissapeared around the corner.
Half-an-hour later... "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING BOY!?" Genma roared angrily. Onna-Ranma gave him a smug grin. "A mini-skirt, bra, panties, shoes, socks, earings and a tank-top. Oh yeah, I'm also wearing a bit of make-up Why what's wrong pop?" "THAT ISN'T MANLY!" he then threw a glass of hot water at her. It hit her full in the face and...nothing. Genma pailed. "Huh? Wha-?" Onna-Ranma shrugged. "You told me I sounded like a girl so I decided to dress the part." then she saw him starting to move towards the kitchen. "And don't try to soak me with warm water, 'cause it won't work. I don't transform with warm water. Only cold water will make me a girl, but I need to do something else if I wish to become a boy." "Why are you doing this to me?" Soun wailed. "Because I'm frustrated with my pop screwing up my life, and I'm just physicaly beat." she motioned to her body, "Think of this as a taste of things to come. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep in Akane's room, 'cause there's no way in hell that me, Genma's daughter, am going to sleep in the same room as my old man. That is of course, if you don't mind Akane." Akane smiled. She had gone up with the girl and had witnessed everything that had happened. First Ranma had made a glowing white sphere appear between her hands and had spoken with her fellow elder Koh-lon. Koh- lon had said something to her in Chinese, which Onna-Ranma had responded in such, then...
Flashback... "Okay Akane, I know your there." Akane blushed then stepped in. "So...what are you doing?" She asked politely. Onna-Ranma plopped down on the ground. "I was talking to my fellow elder. Cologne." "Cologne?" "Her real name is Koh-lon, but Cologne is the closest you can get in Japanese." Onna-Ranma sighed. "She suggested that since my father is treating me like a girl, that I should dress, and act the part. I don't have a problem with that, I mean I've attended many gatherings as a girl, with a male date I might add. But it's just that, I don't wanna sleep in here with him. I don't know what he might do to me." she shuddered before continuing. "Look, it may sound sick, but I don't trust that jerk for one second. Cologne also told me about the whole 'fiance' thing and how that my old man and your father kinda landed you with me.And oh man am I pissed about THAT one. I'm really sorry that you got stuck with me, I'm hoping that we can be friends, even if it's just with my female side." Akane blinked, Onna-Ranma was taking this all quite well, a lot better that she would've taken it.
"It's no problem Ranma. I can call you that right?" "Umm, in my female form, could ya call me something like, Ranko or something?" "Uh, why not Razor?" "Because Razor is a guy's name. And I'm not a guy right now. Think of this as Genma's punishment for all the hell he's put me through." "Okay, Ranko. Anyways, I don't blame you for this whole fiance thing, judging by the way you were ranting, I thought something had you pissed. I also understand why sleeping in the same room as your pop might make you wary, so why don't you sleep in my room?" End Flashback...
"I have no problems with that Ranko." Akane said sweetly. "WHAT? YOUR NAME IS RANMA BOY!!!" "Not right now it isn't." Ranko decided in a sing-song voice. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." she switched to mandarin. "Good night, ya great lazy bastard, and I hope that the bedbugs eat you alive." Then she stalked upstairs, her fiance in tow. "Oh Saotome, what are we going to do?" "I don't know Tendo. Who has enough experience that they would be able to defeat..." "THE MASTER!" they both exclaimed in both pride and shame.
END OF CHAPTER 3
"Thoughts" "Chinese" "Japanese" Chapter 3 Genma's punishment
Ranma sighed in frustration from where he sat under the sakura tree. So far, the day had been an absolute disaster! Twice, some fools who tried to beat his Amazon sisters had to be transported to the infirmary. Not to mention the hell that was raised when the teachers found out that he had a katana on him. Only when he pointed out that many other students had weapons on their person, did they (quite reluctantly) allow him to carry his weapon on school grounds. Now to top it all off, he could sense the ki signature of what could only be described as the most concentrated mass of stupidity in either Japan OR China, and it was heading right towards him. "Ummm, Rai-Zor?" Pepper said as she glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah?" his voice was full of boredom. "That moron, Kuno is behind you." "So?" "Just saying." "Do you want me to take care of him?" the lavender haired Amazon inquired as she polished off the remnants of her ramen. "I don't mind, how about you, Pe-Pohr?" he asked the green haired Amazon, who responded without even turning to face Ranma. "Well, I did kinda want to slap him around, but...what the hell. Knock yourself out Xian-Pu." Shampoo let out a childish giggle before standing up and switching to her broken Japanese. "Okay stupid-stick-boy. We all know you here, so quit trying to be sneaky, yes?" She then turned and faced the slightly surprised kendoist. "Oh, my fair Chinese lotus. How it pains me to see you enslaved to the dark will of this...despicable creature." Kuno shot a look of venom towards Ranma. "Okay..." Ranma stood up then faced the samurai wannabe. "Where the hell is this coming from?" he was very confused, as was his Chinese companions. "Do not play ignorant with me! It's quite obvious from the false anger they are directing at me that you have their wills enslaved in magical bondage! Yes, I can see it now, you have woven a spell of the darkest magics around their hearts, and have blinded them to my undying affection!" Ranma raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? That's a truly fascinating story Kuno-sempai. But please, enlighten me...your claims of my 'evil magic'. Are they are result of some drugs that you are on or drugs that you aren't on?" the two Amazons looked at Ranma with confusion, catching their looks, he quickly translated what he had said into Chinese. The result, was the two Amazons bursting into laughter. "Sham...Sham....Shampoo think....is buh, both!" Shampoo explained, then promptly returned to rolling on the ground in merriment. "You mockery of me is vile enough, but to use your magic to force your slaves indulge your travesty!? Only cowards do such a despicable act!" Ranma felt the hair on his neck bristle. He had been called many things in his life, including weak, stupid, foolish, and even, a miserabl outsider (the fool who said this learned that insulting his Amazonian pride was a very bad thing). But a coward...grrrrr! In a flash, Ranma's good humor and joking mood vanished and was replaced by his katana. The White shot out of the scabbard that was strapped to his back, there was a sound a very distinct ringing as the edge of the blade and the scabbard rubbed against one another. Then Kuno found the edge of the blade against his throat. "Never, ever calm me a coward, Kuno." Ranma hissed, he didn't even bother to hide the menace in his voice. "For I have battled long and hard for the position that I hold. In fact, if anyone here is a coward, that person is you. You who attacks small groups of people with entire gangs and still losses, you who claims to have honor, then tries to stab me in the back like a common thief. You are the coward Kuno." Ranma then drew the edge of his weapon across the inside of his forearms, and blood began seeping out through the wound. Ranm wiped either side of the katana in the blood before replacing his weapon. As he did so, the onlookers gasped, and a lot of the grimaced-Akane included. Then he gathered his lunch and turned to walk away, but a thought came to mind, and he decided to leave Kuno with something to think about. "Cowards die a thousand times before their death, the valiant never taste death but once." Then he left, his Amazon sisters skipping happily behind him.
Later that night, Tendo home... "HE'S WHAT!" Genma cried out in joy. Nabiki grinned, "Gotcha." "That's right Uncle Saotome. I saw Ranma at school. Though he seems to be going by the name of 'Razor' now." "Razor?" Genma echoed, then his face hardened. "Tell me, where is he staying? I must talk some sense into the boy. I must make him see the dishonor he is causing me by not fufilling our family's promise." "Fine, but it'll cost ya..." she did a quick mental calculation. "3000 yen." Genma gaped at the price. "WHAT!?" "Hey, it's worth it 'aint it? I mean to be reuinited with your son after so many years. You may not be able to put a money figure on it, but I can. I can put a money figure on anything." she gave him an unreadible look. He sighed then, handed her the appropriate bills. "Great, he's at the Neko-hanten."
On top of some roofs, somewhere in the Nerima Ward district... A black clad ninja was breathing hard as she stared at her opponent. Her opponent had a more muscular build, not to the point where he was freakishly large, but just athletic. But this appearance bellied his true, almost inhuman strength, and the shades he was wearing also gave him the appearance of danger, though the ninja was offhandly wondering how someone managed to fight at night when they had a pair of shades on. The ninja gripped her oversized spatula, a very distinct weapon. "So Ukyo, we gonna battle all night, or are you just going to give up and go home?" the ninja's eyes widened. He knew it was her!? Even thought they hadn't seen each other for so long, nor had she removed her mask! Her opponent grinned and knocked an arrow into his longbow. "Well? Which will it be Ukyo? I know we never did get along all that well, but that's no excuse for going all mental on me." She blinked, Yugo? Was it really Yugo. Her faced hardened, she still remembered how indifferent he looked when his bastard father left her behind. "I choose, TO KILL YOU YUGO SAOTOME!" she reached in her cloak and pulled out a small silver ball, then hurled it at Yugo. There was a brilliant flash, and Ukyo was slightly stunned, despite the fact that her eyes had been shut. But it was only momenary. She then leapt at the startled Saotome, swinging her baker's peel. Yugo leapt up and loosed his arrow, it struck her baker's peel directly in the middle of the pan, then pierced it!? Ukyo wasn't sure which one shocked her more; the fact that he was showing no visible effects of her flashbomb, or the fact that his arrow had pinned her weapon the rooftop. "Actually Ucchan, it's Jai-yel now, or Gel if you prefer." he spoke with a lot of confidence, too much confidence. "How come my flashbomb didn't affect you?" she demanded. He shrugged. "Probably because of my shades."
"Bullshit." "I don't care if you believe me or not, your going to lose anyway." "Huh?" Suddenly, Gel was airborne, another arrow had just been released from his bow, but the arrow suddenly glowed, and no less then fifty more of the projectiles materialized around it. Ukyo gritted her teeth. She hated to admit it, but he was right. If she didn't haul butt quickly, then she would lose. She decided that, for now, the best course of action would be a strategic retreat. She pulled out another silver ball, but this one had a white line around the center. Ukyo hurled it at the ground, the was a blast, and smoke soon covered the rooftop. But smoke didn't stop the arrows from pinning her weapon to the ground. "Damn! I can't afford the lose the peel, but if I don't pull back now, I may lose more than the fight." Suddenly there was the tell-tale whistle of arrows cutting through the air, and Ukyo leapt back to avoid becoming a human pin-cushion, she failed. The arrows came in hard and fast, cutting into her outfit, and cutting the fabric. Finaly, the last arrow cut through her mask, and it flopped open. "OH SHIT!" She was thought that he was pulling his punches, or shots, whichever the case may be, but that was just TOO close! She realized that if that last shaft had been even three centimeters lower (that's two centimeters for you Americans,) then she wouldn't be standing here. Deciding to cut her losses, and figuring that her peel was replaceable, the teenage ninja bolted back to the safety of Ucchan's to rethink her strategy and get some sleep. Tommorrow was a big day, and she had to be in tip-top condition to face Ranma...she just hoped that his aim was as uncanny as his brother's, or she would be in big trouble.
Furinken High, the Next Day... "RANMA, I CHALLANGE YOU!" Ranma let out a sigh, he knew this day would come. Ever since Elder Cologne had told him about his father's decleration that he would marry a Tendo, he figured that he would probably get challanged by Akane. Because she seemed to be the most logical choice for him to marry. "But why would I want to marry her!?" he demanded of himself as he shot her a glare of equal intensity that she was shooting him. "She's violent, impulsive, loud" "...Cute." a part of his mind told him, he quickly squelched that line of thought, though not very affectively. He quickly put all of those thoughts into the back of his mind and got back to the task at hand. "Why?" his question was simple and justified. "To prove that I'm the better martial artist!" "Why?" "Because...because....grrrrr!" she didn't have a plausible reason. "Alright...under normal circumstances I would decline...however." he sank down into a battle position. "I also think that you need to be taken down a peg." "WHAT!!!!!?????" She demanded. Then Ranma made a mistake that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He focused all of his ki on Akane, he was sensing nothing but her, every move she made. Every breath she took, every motion of her hand, or flicker of her eyes. These were all drank in and computed until he realized what possible moves she could make. "OY SHO TO!" The cry was loud, and it startled both fighters. Whipping around, Ranma looked about, then up. He saw a boy, dressed in a Furinken uniform come descending down at him. Time slowed down as he stared at the opponent. He didn't even have time to blink as he swung. The peel slammed into his face and sent him spinning. Ranma cried out in pain and blood began dripping onto the ground. The newcomer flipped back and grinned when he realized his attack had connected, but his grin was short lived when he saw Ranma suddenly look up at him, all thoughts about Akane were long gone. He was now focused on this newcomer, Ranma wasn't even aware of the large, deep bloody cut that went from above his right eye, across the bridge of his nose, and just underneath his left eye.
Akane gasped when she saw Ranma suddenly flip and hit the ground, she felt her stomach wrench at the blood that was flowing freely from his wound. She then watched in some kind of morbid fascination as Ranma slowly stood up, then faced his attacker. Thunder flashed, but no rain came down. She could see that Ranma wasn't even making an attempt to control the rage that seemed to pour off of him like waves. "I don't know who you are, but you have insulted my honor in the worst possible way. For this...you will die." Ranma then reached behind him and pulled out his katana. Akane gasped when she heard the sound the blade made. It wasn't the distinct ring of metal against metal she had heard the first time, but it sounded like a...a...growl of some great predator. "What I did!? What about what you did! You broke my heart!" The newcomer said in a VERY feminine voice. "That was a ten years ago. I thought you were a boy. You talked like one, acted like one, hell, you even smelled like one" The boy (which was actually a girl) seemed shocked that Ranma recognized her through her disguise. "So then you must know all the hell you put me through!" "It's nothing compared to the hell I'm going to put you through now." With that, Ranma attacked. First he leapt at her, and performed a slash with his weapon, before he flipped over her head. Ukyo twirled around and swung at the space he had been occupying a few minutes earlier, but Ranma simply wasn't there. He was behind her, where he performed some rapid slashes with the katana, then he stabbed the blade into the earth between her legs. There was a mighty explosion, and Ukyo was flung into the air. Pulling he weapon from the ground, Ranma followed her up where he began slashing at her. Oddly enough, she wasn't bleeding...yet. Ranma finally finished his insane combo by giving her a viscious kick in the side that sent her earth bound. Ranma alighted a few meters away. Then he slowly slid his weapon back and stood panting. Ukyo slowly stood on unstable legs and glared at Ranma. Then, to everyones surprise, small slash marks appeared all over her clothes and her bandoleer of throwing spatulas had been reduced to ribbons. "It's...over." Ranma whispered, then he collapsed, the loss of blood finaly getting to him.
Dr.Ono Tofu's Office, about five minutes later... "Doctor Tofu!" Came Akane's desperate call. She was looking around wildly as she came in, a figure draped over her shoulders and with a girl at her side. The girl didn't look any worse for wear (aside from small cuts and bruises over her body) but the figure on her back wasn't moving at all.
Doctor Tofu came out from the back. "Yes, what is it Akane?"
"It's this guy, his name is Ranma and he's hurt pretty bad." "Wow, Akane actually caring about a boy? Well this is a first." Dr.Tofu thought, but he didn't voice his observation. "Bring him in here." He motioned to a room. Akane quickly rushed in an carefully lay the boy down. Dr.Tofu then washed his hands and began examining the wound. "This is...this is..." he looked at the two girls, the newcomer was looking uncomfortable. "Brutal! Who could've done this?" "...Me." The new girl squeaked. Dr.Tofu peared at her. She had long black hair that was tied in a pony tail on her back, and her eyes were brown pools of despair. "Who are you?
"Ukyo Kuonji" "And why did you slash his face?" "Because, he left me ten years ago, and broke my heart!" "Did he? He broke your heart when you were too young to understand what true love was?" Ukyo was silent after that. Dr.Tofu then went back to the boy. Carefully moping up the blood around the wound, then he began to stitch it shut. "This is going to leave a nasty scar. You do realize this, don't you?" both Ukyo and Akane were silent. "...So, what is this boy's name?" "Ranma Saotome." Akane answered. "And where does he live?" "I don't know, but his father lives with us." Dr.Tofu frowned. There was something here that these two weren't telling him. "Well, then maybe you should take him back to Your house, his father should know what to do then." "Yes Doctor." turning to Ukyo he said. "Come with me, I'll put something on those cuts." Ukyo simply nodded, and didn't bother to watch Akane carry Ranma out, and back to her Dojo.
Tendo Dojo, the next night... Ranma slowly pulled his eyes open, then squeezed them back shut when a bright light assaulted his eyes, and the pain that seemed to come off of his forehead in waves. "Go away Ro-hoz, I'm tryin' to sleep." he grumbled to his little sister, then turned over. "What'd he say?" An unrecognizable voice asked. "WAKE UP BOY!" suddenly a sharp pain shot through his side as someone kicked him in the ribs and Ranma groaned before slowly opening his eyes. "Huh? Thay-Orn? is that you Dad?" he opened his eyes, and saw Genma Saotome grinning down at him. "Hello m'boy!" Ranma's eyes got the size of dinner plates, and he brought both feet up into Genma's chest and shoved him backwards before doing a handspring to his feet. "WHERE THE HELL AM I!?" he shouted angrily. Then a man ran at him, crying almost enough tears to trigger his transformation. "OH MY SON-IN-LAW!"
WHAM! Suddenly the over-emotional Tendo family patriarch found himself laying on the floor with Ranma straddling the small of his back and twisting his arm around behind him. "Don't touch me." he snarled, turning to Genma. "What the hell are you doing back in my life old man?" he demanded, the harshness in his voice doubled. "Ranma, have some respect for your father." Genma shot back. "What? After all of your inhuman training?" Genma now looked furious. He reached down and grabbed his son by the gi. "Ranma, you sound like a girl!" he hurled his son out the open door and towards the koi pond. There was a huge splash, then a volouptus red-head got out. "Well, if I sound like a girl, then I better start actin' like one shouldn't I?" she shot back. Akane also noticed that the scar that was on Ranma's face wasn't there when he was in girl form. "Huh? What's that suppose to mean boy?" "It means that I'm an Amazon pop. You know what an Amazon is right? A female warrior." With that Ranma turned back towards the house and walked in. "But I'm also a village elder." "WHAT!?" Genma roared in incomprehension. "That's right pop, I'm a village elder. The reason I was granted the status of elder is because I killed my master and took her place. She challanged me to ritual combat because, at the time, I was a mere outsider who had learned the skills of the Amazon tribe. If I won, then I would become both an Amazon and an elder. If I lost, I would die." "And what skills did you learn boy?" Genma had a hungry look in his eyes, the kind of look that a starving man gives a feast. "Ki. I am the village master of Ki and the village elder of martial arts." Ranma began to glow with a blue battle aura. "And don't even think of trying to get me to show you any techniques because I'm not allowed to teach outsiders them." the aura faded. "Now, where is my pack?" "Upstairs, why?" Genma was eyeball her warily. "Because I need to change, that's why." With that Ranma walked upstairs and dissapeared around the corner.
Half-an-hour later... "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING BOY!?" Genma roared angrily. Onna-Ranma gave him a smug grin. "A mini-skirt, bra, panties, shoes, socks, earings and a tank-top. Oh yeah, I'm also wearing a bit of make-up Why what's wrong pop?" "THAT ISN'T MANLY!" he then threw a glass of hot water at her. It hit her full in the face and...nothing. Genma pailed. "Huh? Wha-?" Onna-Ranma shrugged. "You told me I sounded like a girl so I decided to dress the part." then she saw him starting to move towards the kitchen. "And don't try to soak me with warm water, 'cause it won't work. I don't transform with warm water. Only cold water will make me a girl, but I need to do something else if I wish to become a boy." "Why are you doing this to me?" Soun wailed. "Because I'm frustrated with my pop screwing up my life, and I'm just physicaly beat." she motioned to her body, "Think of this as a taste of things to come. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep in Akane's room, 'cause there's no way in hell that me, Genma's daughter, am going to sleep in the same room as my old man. That is of course, if you don't mind Akane." Akane smiled. She had gone up with the girl and had witnessed everything that had happened. First Ranma had made a glowing white sphere appear between her hands and had spoken with her fellow elder Koh-lon. Koh- lon had said something to her in Chinese, which Onna-Ranma had responded in such, then...
Flashback... "Okay Akane, I know your there." Akane blushed then stepped in. "So...what are you doing?" She asked politely. Onna-Ranma plopped down on the ground. "I was talking to my fellow elder. Cologne." "Cologne?" "Her real name is Koh-lon, but Cologne is the closest you can get in Japanese." Onna-Ranma sighed. "She suggested that since my father is treating me like a girl, that I should dress, and act the part. I don't have a problem with that, I mean I've attended many gatherings as a girl, with a male date I might add. But it's just that, I don't wanna sleep in here with him. I don't know what he might do to me." she shuddered before continuing. "Look, it may sound sick, but I don't trust that jerk for one second. Cologne also told me about the whole 'fiance' thing and how that my old man and your father kinda landed you with me.And oh man am I pissed about THAT one. I'm really sorry that you got stuck with me, I'm hoping that we can be friends, even if it's just with my female side." Akane blinked, Onna-Ranma was taking this all quite well, a lot better that she would've taken it.
"It's no problem Ranma. I can call you that right?" "Umm, in my female form, could ya call me something like, Ranko or something?" "Uh, why not Razor?" "Because Razor is a guy's name. And I'm not a guy right now. Think of this as Genma's punishment for all the hell he's put me through." "Okay, Ranko. Anyways, I don't blame you for this whole fiance thing, judging by the way you were ranting, I thought something had you pissed. I also understand why sleeping in the same room as your pop might make you wary, so why don't you sleep in my room?" End Flashback...
"I have no problems with that Ranko." Akane said sweetly. "WHAT? YOUR NAME IS RANMA BOY!!!" "Not right now it isn't." Ranko decided in a sing-song voice. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." she switched to mandarin. "Good night, ya great lazy bastard, and I hope that the bedbugs eat you alive." Then she stalked upstairs, her fiance in tow. "Oh Saotome, what are we going to do?" "I don't know Tendo. Who has enough experience that they would be able to defeat..." "THE MASTER!" they both exclaimed in both pride and shame.
END OF CHAPTER 3