Chapter Seven: The Fight
The wind blew lightly in the open field in the back of the school. A crowd had gathered in mere moments. Nabiki was already busy collecting bets and figuring out odds. Akane just sat down on the edge, slightly away from everyone else. Her long hair blew in the wind. She brushed it out of her eyes as she thought to herself.
'I need to cut my hair sometime.hehehe, I still remember the first time I saw Ranma and Ryoga fight. My hair was butchered during the fight. Man, that was definitely not a good memory. The fight started right here and Ranma thought it was all about bread.'
Akane's brow darkened slightly then lifted.
'Boy, was he wrong. Ryoga. I still consider him one of my best friends. even if he was P-chan.' Akane thought when she heard Ryoga start speaking.
"No holds barred match. Anything goes," Ryoga announced to Ranma.
Ranma smirked.
"No problem with me," he said, still smiling.
Ryoga laughed a little himself.
"I'll be wiping that smile off your face," Ryoga stated.
Akane watched the verbal toss up between the two. Ranma stood tall with the wind blowing in his hair, his ponytail whipping around his shoulder. He had his ever-cocky smile on his face. Ryoga stood slightly crouched with his signature fanged smile on his face. Akane watched closely. Ranma was standing in a strange yet familiar stance. As she stared longer she realized what it was. It had been the stance Ranma had used against her the very first time they had sparred in the Tendo Dojo.
'So Ranma plans on testing Ryoga.' Akane mused to herself.
She turned her attention to Ryoga who was standing slightly crouched as if ready to blast off. His fingers were slowly flexing themselves. It was a stance she had seen Mousse use many times.
'Hidden weapons style. Ranma must notice Ryoga's stance,' Akane thought as she turned her attention back to Ranma.
That was when everything went quite. There was certain stillness to the area when out of nowhere a chain shot out of Ryoga's left hand straight at Ranma. Akane smiled knowingly as Ranma merely shifted his unbalanced stance to the side. The chain flew harmlessly past him only to suddenly whip around and head straight back for Ranma's head. People gasped as they saw the end of the chain near Ranma's head. Ranma just smiled as the chain passed through his after shadow that he left behind as he quickly ducked. Ryoga quickly grabbed the end of the chain out of the air and stood still.
'He's good. well let's see if he can dodge my chain when there are rocks flying around.' Ryoga thought as he quickly formed a mock plan in his head.
Ryoga suddenly threw his patented iron bandannas at Ranma who dodged them with minimal movement but in that short time Ryoga shot his finger at the ground.
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" He shouted as a cloud of dust and rocks shot out of the ground.
Ranma quickly shielded his eyes from the debris and dodged the rocks when he noticed the chain out of the corner of his eye. He jumped over the chain when he quickly realized that he had fallen right into a trap. Ryoga was right above Ranma in the air with a toothy grin on his face. In an instant Ryoga shot his leg down at Ranma kicking him at his face. At the last second Ranma was able to protect his face with his arms but flew backwards hitting the ground with a grunt. Ryoga stood as the dust cloud settled with a smug look on his face. His smug look quickly disappeared as Ranma jumped up and patted his pants. Ranma cracked his neck and looked Ryoga.
"Not to bad. Now why don't you come at me with everything you got?" Ranma goaded with an even cockier expression than before.
Akane sighed as she saw Ranma. Ryoga's eyebrow twitched. Then his whole demeanor dropped.
"If you say so." Ryoga said sullenly.
Ranma watched as a light green glow surrounded Ryoga. Ranma's eyes got larger.
'What the. how the hell did he learn that. the Amazons must have. man, how much stronger is Ryoga?' Ranma thought as he gathered his own ki.
Ryoga gave Ranma a quick look then shouted as he shot his ki out of his body.
"Shishi Hokodan!"
The green ball of depression ki shot at Ranma at a higher speed then Ranma expected. However he was ready for it as he shot out his own ki.
"Moko Takabishi!" He shouted as his confidence ki collided with Ryoga's depression ki.
Ryoga stood with a shocked look on his face. He quickly regained his composure though and readied his next attack. Ranma stood panting slightly. Ryoga was about as strong as Ranma had last seen, and that was in the other world.
'Why the hell is he so strong?' Ranma thought as he readied his first attack.
"Well, I think play time's over." Ranma said with a smile.
Ryoga just stared at Ranma.
'Shit. he's a lot better than I thought.' Ryoga thought to himself.
That was when Ranma disappeared. Ryoga jumped back and looked around. Ranma had vanished. That was when he felt something underneath him. He quickly lifted his arms to block whatever was coming but it was a fraction of a second too late as Ranma shouted.
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma yelled as he pummeled Ryoga with hundreds of punches. Ryoga flew backwards and landed on the ground panting. Ranma stood a slight distance away, also panting.
'Dang. Ryoga's as strong as I remember. I just punched him over 800 times and he's still going.'
'Damn that hurt! He's damn strong! Even though I've been through the Bakusai Tenketsu training he was still able to damage me this much. I'm going to have to pull out all the stops to beat him.' Ryoga thought to himself.
He slowly got up, clutching his stomach. Ranma saw this and smirked.
"Too much for ya?" he teased.
"No way! I'm just getting started!" Ryoga yelled back.
Ryoga breathed deeply and set his new plan into motion. He shot his chain out from his hand again then flicked it back as he saw Ranma dodge it. This time as the chain was about to hit Ranma He yanked it down straight at Ranma, who had to jump out of the way. While Ranma was unbalanced he shot rocks at him with his Bakusai Tenketsu technique. As Ranma dodged the new rocks he quickly pulled out his umbrella and swung it hard at one of the rocks shattering it. The smaller pieces hit Ranma, as he was unable to dodge them.
"Is that the best you can do? Throw pebbles at me?" Ranma taunted as he was shielding himself.
That was of course when Ranma noticed the big green ball of ki flying towards him. Completely caught off guard the ball smacked his in the side shooting Ranma into the ground. Ranma sat in the new crater formed by his body and thought to himself.
'Ryoga is a hell of a lot better than I thought he'd be. He can think up plans now instead of just barging ahead. My comments don't even faze him. He's a completely different type of fighter now. even if he still is built like an ox. I think I'll have try seriously now. Wouldn't want to loose.' Ranma thought as he saw Ryoga advancing on him, panting heavily.
'That last shishi hokodan must have taken a lot out of him,' Ranma thought as he slowly got up.
Ryoga saw Ranma get up and smirked.
'Man. I'm fighting a monster. I threw everything at him. and he's still getting up. Mousse is usually out by now. Shampoo would have been out a while before Mousse. Only Cologne is able to stand up to this much. He's great. I'm getting pumped just fighting him.' Ryoga thought as he approached Ranma.
The two boys stared at each other. Both of them were smiling. The wind blew through the field as the crowd just stared in silence. They were witnessing the most incredible fight they had ever seen. Even Akane was in awe of the skill and power they were showing. She was surprised at the level of skill Ryoga was showing. He was able to keep up with Ranma, almost. Akane felt slightly jealous but squashed the feelings. She would just tell Ranma to help her later. She watched as the fight continued. Ranma made the first move this time as he shot at Ryoga with a spinning back kick aimed for his face. Ryoga blocked it with his left arm, shifted his feet and spun around with a back fist to Ranma's stomach level. Ranma, still in the air, dropped his arms and grabbed Ryoga's fist before it made contact and pushed off launching himself and Ryoga in opposite directions. Ranma landed and shot forward again seeing Ryoga off balance. Ryoga saw Ranma's fist shooting up at his face and fell backwards placing his hands on the ground above his head and shot himself up with his strong arms. Ryoga's legs kicked themselves forward at Ranma's midsection but Ranma jumped over Ryoga's legs and flipped himself in the air a few times before landing on the ground facing away from Ryoga who had jumped to his feet with his last attack and was now also facing away from Ranma. The two panted as they tested each other in their own way.
'I'll have to give the Amazon's a little credit. Ryoga's become one hell of a fighter. He's better than I was at this time. Course I'm gonna ask him a few things about the Amazons. Probably has no idea what he's even gotten himself into. Of course that doesn't matter right now.' Ranma thought to himself.
'I can't find any openings. He has a better defense than even Cologne. I didn't think there could be anyone my age that was anywhere near my level. It's. it's exciting.' Ryoga mused excitedly.
The two caught their breath and stood still as the wind blew around them creating a small whirlwind between them. A small leaf caught in the wind floated gently to the ground as the wind dissipated. The instant it touched the first blade of grass both boys disappeared only to reappear in between. Ranma threw a punch only to find air. Ryoga, who had ducked shot his leg out in a sweep. Ranma back flipped over Ryoga's leg and shot his own leg out at Ryoga's head. It finally connected as Ryoga flew backwards with a loud grunt. Ranma was panting again as was Ryoga. Ryoga lay on the ground gasping for air. He was nearing his limit and both of them knew it. Ryoga pushed himself up with his arm and stared at Ranma. He had only one more chance before he would completely run out of energy. He readied his mind and prepared his next attack when out of nowhere a one of his own bandannas came flying at his face. At the last second he ducked letting the bandanna fly harmlessly over his head. He quickly brought his body back up to go on with his attack. The last thing he saw after that was Ranma's fist flying towards his face.
*****
Ryoga slowly opened his eyes. His vision was slightly blurry so he closed them again. He rubbed his eyes and tried to open them again. This time he was able to see more clearly. He looked up and wondered where he was. He felt the blanket over him and he tossed it off. He got up and rubbed his head, which hurt a little. He looked around and stared at the room he was in. It wasn't very large but it was comfortable. He sat and wondered where he was when the door to his room opened.
"Oh my, I didn't realize you were awake," Kasumi gasped.
"Uh. who are you and where am I?" Ryoga asked, afraid that he was lost again.
Kasumi smiled.
"My name is Kasumi Tendo and you're in the guest room of our house," Kasumi stated. "Let me tell Ranma that you're awake."
At Ranma's name Ryoga jumped up.
"Ranma's here?" Ryoga asked.
"Why, yes. He brought you here," Kasumi said.
Ryoga immediately left the room then stood there looking in both directions. Kasumi watched Ryoga as he looked back and forth. Just as suddenly Ryoga turned around and faced Kasumi.
"Uh. where is Ranma?" Ryoga asked sheepishly.
"Follow me," Kasumi said smiling.
Kasumi led Ryoga downstairs where Ranma jumped up, as did Akane.
"Hey, you ok man?" Ranma asked.
"Yea. I'm ok," Ryoga answered back.
"That's good," Akane said with a smile.
Ranma tugged his ponytail.
"I think I went a little overboard with my last attack," Ranma muttered.
"Heh, you're incredible. I am honored to have been defeated by you," Ryoga said smiling.
Ranma opened his eyes in surprise at that then smiled back.
"You're one hell of a fighter too," Ranma said smiling.
Ryoga laughed.
"Maybe, but I could tell that you were holding back a little," Ryoga stated.
"Not as much as I would have liked to," Ranma said right back.
"Hahaha. Well that's good. I wouldn't want you to think I was too easy!" Ryoga said laughing.
Akane looked back and forth. It was incredible how the two were talking so amiably. She smiled then stood up.
"You guys want anything to drink?" Akane asked.
"Yeah, can I have some of that lemonade that Kasumi made yesterday?" Ranma asked.
"Sure, how about you Ryoga?" Akane asked.
Ryoga shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
"Uh, that's ok." Ryoga responded.
"Ok." Akane said, then got up and went to the kitchen.
Ryoga just sat there in silence. Ranma stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What's wrong with you?" Ranma asked.
"Huh? Oh. nothing." Ryoga said.
Ranma just shrugged his shoulders.
"So how was the Amazon village?" Ranma asked out of the blue.
"Well. it was ok. I learned a lot from them, most of my stuff actually. Mousse was my master, until I surpassed him of course. Shampoo. she. she's kinda weird." Ryoga rattled off. "Cologne was really nice to me. She taught me all kinds of things. Well, she was really nice until I decided that I wanted to leave. It seems they were trying to keep me in their village."
Ranma slapped his forehead.
"Well I got lost about two months ago after. anyways, I'm pretty sure they can't follow me. Not many people can. Well I was just wandering around and then I ended up here," Ryoga stated.
"Well, if I know the Amazons they'll find you eventually," Ranma muttered.
"Yeah. maybe." Ryoga agreed.
"Well." Ranma was about to ask when he heard a yell behind him.
Akane had been walking over to give Ranma his lemonade when Kasumi called to her. Akane turned her head to see what Kasumi wanted but in the process she missed the small fold in the rug and tripped over her feet. She let the glass go flying over Ranma's head and straight onto Ryoga. Ryoga stared at the glass as it flew towards him. He nodded his head as he realized that it was over. It was all over. He would have to go to another city. He silently mourned as the lemonade splashed all over him. He felt the familiar shrinking feeling as he began to transform. Ryoga waited for the screams of terror with his eyes closed. Then he waited some more. He slowly opened his eyes only to find Ranma staring at Ryoga. Ryoga sighed. It was over. That was when Ranma began to laugh.
"HAHAHA, You went to Jusenkyo too?!" Ranma shouted.
"Ranma! You shouldn't laugh about that!" Akane reprimanded Ranma.
"But, but." Ranma stuttered between bouts of laughter. "It's P-chan!"
"Shut up Ranma!" Akane said angrily.
"Ok, ok. sorry." Ranma said still laughing a little.
Akane sighed. She had gotten over the entire P-chan incident by now so it didn't really bother her. At least not that much.
'Geez. Ranma can be so insensitive sometimes.' Akane thought to herself.
"I'll go get the hot water," Akane said giving up.
"Ok, I'll take care of little Ryoga here," Ranma said, still laughing a little.
Ryoga just sat there frozen. They weren't scared. They didn't even seem to care. In fact it was as if this kind of stuff was nothing to them. Ryoga just sat there with his eyes wide open. He watched as Akane brought the hot water to Ranma.
"I'll go wait over there," Akane said walking back to the kitchen.
Ranma poured the hot water over Ryoga and watched as he transformed back into a human. Ryoga just sat there, naked.
"Hurry up and put your clothes on before someone walks in." Ranma muttered when Nabiki decided to walk in.
Nabiki just stood there. She looked at Ryoga, who was sitting on his clothes completely naked. Then she looked at Ranma was sitting across from Ryoga. Her mind found about four conclusions that she could have reached. She decided not to make any and just walked away shaking her head. Ryoga began to shiver and blush. Ranma hit him over the head.
"Hurry and put your clothes on you big moron!" Ranma shouted.
Ryoga immediately broke out of his reverie and put his clothes on.
'Geez. wonder what Nabiki's gonna say about this.' Ranma thought to himself.
He shivered thinking about all the ways she would blackmail Ryoga because of this. That was when Ryoga started to talk again.
"Wha. how. the." Ryoga stuttered.
Ranma smirked and then sat down.
"How did I know? Well, to put it simply I have a curse too," Ranma said. "I turn into a girl."
"What?!" Ryoga shouted.
"Hey, it's not that big of a deal," Ranma shouted back.
"Yeah. but I never thought I'd meet someone else that was cursed, besides Shampoo and Mousse." Ryoga muttered.
"Yea. well, it happens," Ranma muttered back. "Oh yea, Akane you can come back now."
"Oh, ok," Akane, said as she walked back into the room.
"Anyways, we know all about the curse so you don't have to worry about it. But that's not what I really care about right now," Ranma said seriously.
Ryoga looked at Ranma as Ranma continued to speak.
"Did you ever spar with Shampoo?" Ranma asked.
"Huh? Yeah, all the time. Why?" Ryoga asked.
Ranma just slapped his forehead and fall back in the sofa he was sitting in. Akane sighed. Ryoga just stared at the two with a confused look.
"What?" Ryoga asked.
"Do you know anything about Amazon laws?" Ranma asked hopefully.
"Uh. not really." Ryoga stuttered.
"Damn. He's engaged to Shampoo. No wonder they wouldn't let Ryoga leave. They'll find Ryoga eventually. Damn. didn't want to deal with them," Ranma muttered to himself.
Ryoga heard most of what Ranma said and just sat there. Akane looked at Ryoga, who remained emotionless. Of course that lasted a whole five seconds.
"What?! Engaged?! Why?!" Ryoga spat out, utterly confused.
Ranma just sat back and let Ryoga sputter out a bunch of nonsense. Akane sighed. This was not going to be fun to deal with. Ranma stared at Ryoga who was still going on and on and punched him in the face, quickly and with little force. It was, however, strong enough to make Ryoga snap out of his reverie.
"What the hell was that for?" Ryoga yelled.
'That sounds more like the Ryoga I know.' Ranma thought for a second.
"Will you settle down for a second and let me explain?" Ranma said exasperatedly.
Ryoga just crossed his arms and stared at Ranma. Ranma sighed. It was going to be a long night.
Author's Notes: This chapter was a little shorter but I if I added anything more it would have gone on forever. I had this written for a while, just never got enough time to post it up. Well, I hope you all enjoy this little spurt of posting. I'll try to post up more as soon as I can. Until next time, please R&R!
The wind blew lightly in the open field in the back of the school. A crowd had gathered in mere moments. Nabiki was already busy collecting bets and figuring out odds. Akane just sat down on the edge, slightly away from everyone else. Her long hair blew in the wind. She brushed it out of her eyes as she thought to herself.
'I need to cut my hair sometime.hehehe, I still remember the first time I saw Ranma and Ryoga fight. My hair was butchered during the fight. Man, that was definitely not a good memory. The fight started right here and Ranma thought it was all about bread.'
Akane's brow darkened slightly then lifted.
'Boy, was he wrong. Ryoga. I still consider him one of my best friends. even if he was P-chan.' Akane thought when she heard Ryoga start speaking.
"No holds barred match. Anything goes," Ryoga announced to Ranma.
Ranma smirked.
"No problem with me," he said, still smiling.
Ryoga laughed a little himself.
"I'll be wiping that smile off your face," Ryoga stated.
Akane watched the verbal toss up between the two. Ranma stood tall with the wind blowing in his hair, his ponytail whipping around his shoulder. He had his ever-cocky smile on his face. Ryoga stood slightly crouched with his signature fanged smile on his face. Akane watched closely. Ranma was standing in a strange yet familiar stance. As she stared longer she realized what it was. It had been the stance Ranma had used against her the very first time they had sparred in the Tendo Dojo.
'So Ranma plans on testing Ryoga.' Akane mused to herself.
She turned her attention to Ryoga who was standing slightly crouched as if ready to blast off. His fingers were slowly flexing themselves. It was a stance she had seen Mousse use many times.
'Hidden weapons style. Ranma must notice Ryoga's stance,' Akane thought as she turned her attention back to Ranma.
That was when everything went quite. There was certain stillness to the area when out of nowhere a chain shot out of Ryoga's left hand straight at Ranma. Akane smiled knowingly as Ranma merely shifted his unbalanced stance to the side. The chain flew harmlessly past him only to suddenly whip around and head straight back for Ranma's head. People gasped as they saw the end of the chain near Ranma's head. Ranma just smiled as the chain passed through his after shadow that he left behind as he quickly ducked. Ryoga quickly grabbed the end of the chain out of the air and stood still.
'He's good. well let's see if he can dodge my chain when there are rocks flying around.' Ryoga thought as he quickly formed a mock plan in his head.
Ryoga suddenly threw his patented iron bandannas at Ranma who dodged them with minimal movement but in that short time Ryoga shot his finger at the ground.
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" He shouted as a cloud of dust and rocks shot out of the ground.
Ranma quickly shielded his eyes from the debris and dodged the rocks when he noticed the chain out of the corner of his eye. He jumped over the chain when he quickly realized that he had fallen right into a trap. Ryoga was right above Ranma in the air with a toothy grin on his face. In an instant Ryoga shot his leg down at Ranma kicking him at his face. At the last second Ranma was able to protect his face with his arms but flew backwards hitting the ground with a grunt. Ryoga stood as the dust cloud settled with a smug look on his face. His smug look quickly disappeared as Ranma jumped up and patted his pants. Ranma cracked his neck and looked Ryoga.
"Not to bad. Now why don't you come at me with everything you got?" Ranma goaded with an even cockier expression than before.
Akane sighed as she saw Ranma. Ryoga's eyebrow twitched. Then his whole demeanor dropped.
"If you say so." Ryoga said sullenly.
Ranma watched as a light green glow surrounded Ryoga. Ranma's eyes got larger.
'What the. how the hell did he learn that. the Amazons must have. man, how much stronger is Ryoga?' Ranma thought as he gathered his own ki.
Ryoga gave Ranma a quick look then shouted as he shot his ki out of his body.
"Shishi Hokodan!"
The green ball of depression ki shot at Ranma at a higher speed then Ranma expected. However he was ready for it as he shot out his own ki.
"Moko Takabishi!" He shouted as his confidence ki collided with Ryoga's depression ki.
Ryoga stood with a shocked look on his face. He quickly regained his composure though and readied his next attack. Ranma stood panting slightly. Ryoga was about as strong as Ranma had last seen, and that was in the other world.
'Why the hell is he so strong?' Ranma thought as he readied his first attack.
"Well, I think play time's over." Ranma said with a smile.
Ryoga just stared at Ranma.
'Shit. he's a lot better than I thought.' Ryoga thought to himself.
That was when Ranma disappeared. Ryoga jumped back and looked around. Ranma had vanished. That was when he felt something underneath him. He quickly lifted his arms to block whatever was coming but it was a fraction of a second too late as Ranma shouted.
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma yelled as he pummeled Ryoga with hundreds of punches. Ryoga flew backwards and landed on the ground panting. Ranma stood a slight distance away, also panting.
'Dang. Ryoga's as strong as I remember. I just punched him over 800 times and he's still going.'
'Damn that hurt! He's damn strong! Even though I've been through the Bakusai Tenketsu training he was still able to damage me this much. I'm going to have to pull out all the stops to beat him.' Ryoga thought to himself.
He slowly got up, clutching his stomach. Ranma saw this and smirked.
"Too much for ya?" he teased.
"No way! I'm just getting started!" Ryoga yelled back.
Ryoga breathed deeply and set his new plan into motion. He shot his chain out from his hand again then flicked it back as he saw Ranma dodge it. This time as the chain was about to hit Ranma He yanked it down straight at Ranma, who had to jump out of the way. While Ranma was unbalanced he shot rocks at him with his Bakusai Tenketsu technique. As Ranma dodged the new rocks he quickly pulled out his umbrella and swung it hard at one of the rocks shattering it. The smaller pieces hit Ranma, as he was unable to dodge them.
"Is that the best you can do? Throw pebbles at me?" Ranma taunted as he was shielding himself.
That was of course when Ranma noticed the big green ball of ki flying towards him. Completely caught off guard the ball smacked his in the side shooting Ranma into the ground. Ranma sat in the new crater formed by his body and thought to himself.
'Ryoga is a hell of a lot better than I thought he'd be. He can think up plans now instead of just barging ahead. My comments don't even faze him. He's a completely different type of fighter now. even if he still is built like an ox. I think I'll have try seriously now. Wouldn't want to loose.' Ranma thought as he saw Ryoga advancing on him, panting heavily.
'That last shishi hokodan must have taken a lot out of him,' Ranma thought as he slowly got up.
Ryoga saw Ranma get up and smirked.
'Man. I'm fighting a monster. I threw everything at him. and he's still getting up. Mousse is usually out by now. Shampoo would have been out a while before Mousse. Only Cologne is able to stand up to this much. He's great. I'm getting pumped just fighting him.' Ryoga thought as he approached Ranma.
The two boys stared at each other. Both of them were smiling. The wind blew through the field as the crowd just stared in silence. They were witnessing the most incredible fight they had ever seen. Even Akane was in awe of the skill and power they were showing. She was surprised at the level of skill Ryoga was showing. He was able to keep up with Ranma, almost. Akane felt slightly jealous but squashed the feelings. She would just tell Ranma to help her later. She watched as the fight continued. Ranma made the first move this time as he shot at Ryoga with a spinning back kick aimed for his face. Ryoga blocked it with his left arm, shifted his feet and spun around with a back fist to Ranma's stomach level. Ranma, still in the air, dropped his arms and grabbed Ryoga's fist before it made contact and pushed off launching himself and Ryoga in opposite directions. Ranma landed and shot forward again seeing Ryoga off balance. Ryoga saw Ranma's fist shooting up at his face and fell backwards placing his hands on the ground above his head and shot himself up with his strong arms. Ryoga's legs kicked themselves forward at Ranma's midsection but Ranma jumped over Ryoga's legs and flipped himself in the air a few times before landing on the ground facing away from Ryoga who had jumped to his feet with his last attack and was now also facing away from Ranma. The two panted as they tested each other in their own way.
'I'll have to give the Amazon's a little credit. Ryoga's become one hell of a fighter. He's better than I was at this time. Course I'm gonna ask him a few things about the Amazons. Probably has no idea what he's even gotten himself into. Of course that doesn't matter right now.' Ranma thought to himself.
'I can't find any openings. He has a better defense than even Cologne. I didn't think there could be anyone my age that was anywhere near my level. It's. it's exciting.' Ryoga mused excitedly.
The two caught their breath and stood still as the wind blew around them creating a small whirlwind between them. A small leaf caught in the wind floated gently to the ground as the wind dissipated. The instant it touched the first blade of grass both boys disappeared only to reappear in between. Ranma threw a punch only to find air. Ryoga, who had ducked shot his leg out in a sweep. Ranma back flipped over Ryoga's leg and shot his own leg out at Ryoga's head. It finally connected as Ryoga flew backwards with a loud grunt. Ranma was panting again as was Ryoga. Ryoga lay on the ground gasping for air. He was nearing his limit and both of them knew it. Ryoga pushed himself up with his arm and stared at Ranma. He had only one more chance before he would completely run out of energy. He readied his mind and prepared his next attack when out of nowhere a one of his own bandannas came flying at his face. At the last second he ducked letting the bandanna fly harmlessly over his head. He quickly brought his body back up to go on with his attack. The last thing he saw after that was Ranma's fist flying towards his face.
*****
Ryoga slowly opened his eyes. His vision was slightly blurry so he closed them again. He rubbed his eyes and tried to open them again. This time he was able to see more clearly. He looked up and wondered where he was. He felt the blanket over him and he tossed it off. He got up and rubbed his head, which hurt a little. He looked around and stared at the room he was in. It wasn't very large but it was comfortable. He sat and wondered where he was when the door to his room opened.
"Oh my, I didn't realize you were awake," Kasumi gasped.
"Uh. who are you and where am I?" Ryoga asked, afraid that he was lost again.
Kasumi smiled.
"My name is Kasumi Tendo and you're in the guest room of our house," Kasumi stated. "Let me tell Ranma that you're awake."
At Ranma's name Ryoga jumped up.
"Ranma's here?" Ryoga asked.
"Why, yes. He brought you here," Kasumi said.
Ryoga immediately left the room then stood there looking in both directions. Kasumi watched Ryoga as he looked back and forth. Just as suddenly Ryoga turned around and faced Kasumi.
"Uh. where is Ranma?" Ryoga asked sheepishly.
"Follow me," Kasumi said smiling.
Kasumi led Ryoga downstairs where Ranma jumped up, as did Akane.
"Hey, you ok man?" Ranma asked.
"Yea. I'm ok," Ryoga answered back.
"That's good," Akane said with a smile.
Ranma tugged his ponytail.
"I think I went a little overboard with my last attack," Ranma muttered.
"Heh, you're incredible. I am honored to have been defeated by you," Ryoga said smiling.
Ranma opened his eyes in surprise at that then smiled back.
"You're one hell of a fighter too," Ranma said smiling.
Ryoga laughed.
"Maybe, but I could tell that you were holding back a little," Ryoga stated.
"Not as much as I would have liked to," Ranma said right back.
"Hahaha. Well that's good. I wouldn't want you to think I was too easy!" Ryoga said laughing.
Akane looked back and forth. It was incredible how the two were talking so amiably. She smiled then stood up.
"You guys want anything to drink?" Akane asked.
"Yeah, can I have some of that lemonade that Kasumi made yesterday?" Ranma asked.
"Sure, how about you Ryoga?" Akane asked.
Ryoga shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
"Uh, that's ok." Ryoga responded.
"Ok." Akane said, then got up and went to the kitchen.
Ryoga just sat there in silence. Ranma stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What's wrong with you?" Ranma asked.
"Huh? Oh. nothing." Ryoga said.
Ranma just shrugged his shoulders.
"So how was the Amazon village?" Ranma asked out of the blue.
"Well. it was ok. I learned a lot from them, most of my stuff actually. Mousse was my master, until I surpassed him of course. Shampoo. she. she's kinda weird." Ryoga rattled off. "Cologne was really nice to me. She taught me all kinds of things. Well, she was really nice until I decided that I wanted to leave. It seems they were trying to keep me in their village."
Ranma slapped his forehead.
"Well I got lost about two months ago after. anyways, I'm pretty sure they can't follow me. Not many people can. Well I was just wandering around and then I ended up here," Ryoga stated.
"Well, if I know the Amazons they'll find you eventually," Ranma muttered.
"Yeah. maybe." Ryoga agreed.
"Well." Ranma was about to ask when he heard a yell behind him.
Akane had been walking over to give Ranma his lemonade when Kasumi called to her. Akane turned her head to see what Kasumi wanted but in the process she missed the small fold in the rug and tripped over her feet. She let the glass go flying over Ranma's head and straight onto Ryoga. Ryoga stared at the glass as it flew towards him. He nodded his head as he realized that it was over. It was all over. He would have to go to another city. He silently mourned as the lemonade splashed all over him. He felt the familiar shrinking feeling as he began to transform. Ryoga waited for the screams of terror with his eyes closed. Then he waited some more. He slowly opened his eyes only to find Ranma staring at Ryoga. Ryoga sighed. It was over. That was when Ranma began to laugh.
"HAHAHA, You went to Jusenkyo too?!" Ranma shouted.
"Ranma! You shouldn't laugh about that!" Akane reprimanded Ranma.
"But, but." Ranma stuttered between bouts of laughter. "It's P-chan!"
"Shut up Ranma!" Akane said angrily.
"Ok, ok. sorry." Ranma said still laughing a little.
Akane sighed. She had gotten over the entire P-chan incident by now so it didn't really bother her. At least not that much.
'Geez. Ranma can be so insensitive sometimes.' Akane thought to herself.
"I'll go get the hot water," Akane said giving up.
"Ok, I'll take care of little Ryoga here," Ranma said, still laughing a little.
Ryoga just sat there frozen. They weren't scared. They didn't even seem to care. In fact it was as if this kind of stuff was nothing to them. Ryoga just sat there with his eyes wide open. He watched as Akane brought the hot water to Ranma.
"I'll go wait over there," Akane said walking back to the kitchen.
Ranma poured the hot water over Ryoga and watched as he transformed back into a human. Ryoga just sat there, naked.
"Hurry up and put your clothes on before someone walks in." Ranma muttered when Nabiki decided to walk in.
Nabiki just stood there. She looked at Ryoga, who was sitting on his clothes completely naked. Then she looked at Ranma was sitting across from Ryoga. Her mind found about four conclusions that she could have reached. She decided not to make any and just walked away shaking her head. Ryoga began to shiver and blush. Ranma hit him over the head.
"Hurry and put your clothes on you big moron!" Ranma shouted.
Ryoga immediately broke out of his reverie and put his clothes on.
'Geez. wonder what Nabiki's gonna say about this.' Ranma thought to himself.
He shivered thinking about all the ways she would blackmail Ryoga because of this. That was when Ryoga started to talk again.
"Wha. how. the." Ryoga stuttered.
Ranma smirked and then sat down.
"How did I know? Well, to put it simply I have a curse too," Ranma said. "I turn into a girl."
"What?!" Ryoga shouted.
"Hey, it's not that big of a deal," Ranma shouted back.
"Yeah. but I never thought I'd meet someone else that was cursed, besides Shampoo and Mousse." Ryoga muttered.
"Yea. well, it happens," Ranma muttered back. "Oh yea, Akane you can come back now."
"Oh, ok," Akane, said as she walked back into the room.
"Anyways, we know all about the curse so you don't have to worry about it. But that's not what I really care about right now," Ranma said seriously.
Ryoga looked at Ranma as Ranma continued to speak.
"Did you ever spar with Shampoo?" Ranma asked.
"Huh? Yeah, all the time. Why?" Ryoga asked.
Ranma just slapped his forehead and fall back in the sofa he was sitting in. Akane sighed. Ryoga just stared at the two with a confused look.
"What?" Ryoga asked.
"Do you know anything about Amazon laws?" Ranma asked hopefully.
"Uh. not really." Ryoga stuttered.
"Damn. He's engaged to Shampoo. No wonder they wouldn't let Ryoga leave. They'll find Ryoga eventually. Damn. didn't want to deal with them," Ranma muttered to himself.
Ryoga heard most of what Ranma said and just sat there. Akane looked at Ryoga, who remained emotionless. Of course that lasted a whole five seconds.
"What?! Engaged?! Why?!" Ryoga spat out, utterly confused.
Ranma just sat back and let Ryoga sputter out a bunch of nonsense. Akane sighed. This was not going to be fun to deal with. Ranma stared at Ryoga who was still going on and on and punched him in the face, quickly and with little force. It was, however, strong enough to make Ryoga snap out of his reverie.
"What the hell was that for?" Ryoga yelled.
'That sounds more like the Ryoga I know.' Ranma thought for a second.
"Will you settle down for a second and let me explain?" Ranma said exasperatedly.
Ryoga just crossed his arms and stared at Ranma. Ranma sighed. It was going to be a long night.
Author's Notes: This chapter was a little shorter but I if I added anything more it would have gone on forever. I had this written for a while, just never got enough time to post it up. Well, I hope you all enjoy this little spurt of posting. I'll try to post up more as soon as I can. Until next time, please R&R!